The Crawling Chaos, The Lurker and the Threshold.

"Well you would have to be eliminated quickly before you get a chance" he said while visibly tensing at my words, I sighed and snapped myself out of my outburst.

Mary who was holding my hand hummed while dragging her crook along the ground, Borak was following while cursing under his breath.

As we walked into the city, it didn't seem that new nor that old too, the buildings were full with multiple cracks as if the person who built it got tired of fixing them over again for a long time.

There were some security cameras but other sense of technology seems non-existent here, it is probably something that would have to do with influence from other beings. There were also a few people sitting on the streets. "Where are we even going"

I asked with a small sigh. Conner smiled. "Well you three are going to be using a yellow color card, which means you are unpredictable, we use the color coded system here"

"Uhm ok but what does that do?" I asked not really getting what he is at.

"Well you look like someone that has been running for…a long time, so i wanted you three to join our organization, The scp foundation" I wouldn't think that is a good idea, I need to keep moving…but where should I keep going.

Where exactly am I supposed to go.

What exactly is my purpose..

Thinking about that my entire vision became bright green, everything was on fire and in front of me was an eye, no, there were multiple of them, looking at me, spying at me, studying me and just watching.

I couldn't move.

I couldn't breathe.

My eyes wouldn't leave its own. I could feel it invading my mind and then suddenly it blinked, the next thing I saw was a being, It has multiple large tentacles extending outward, giving it a powerful, chaotic presence. The body is humanoid but highly distorted, with spiked appendages emerging from its back and several arms raised upward. The face was monstrous, with glowing, sinister eyes and intricate details on the head, resembling a crown of an elongated headdress.

It cackled. "Take this toy".

It suddenly threw something at me, a weapon or something that else, I felt a strange familiar sensation when i looked at it, it felt…almost too creepily comforting.

The object landed in my hand with an eerie weight, a feeling of cold that sent a shiver through me. It was unlike any weapon I had ever seen—dark metal, twisted and warped, as if it had been pulled from the depths of something ancient and forgotten. Its shape shifted slightly as I held it, almost as if it were alive, responding to my touch. The strange familiarity lingered, unsettling yet… calming.

I couldn't tear my gaze away from it. The green flames in my vision flickered and pulsed, resonating with the object. It was like the thing had been made for me, and that thought alone scared me more than anything.

The being—the monstrous figure with its spiked appendages and glowing eyes—watched me with a twisted grin, as if it knew what I was feeling. Its cackling echoed in my mind, growing louder, more menacing.

What is this? I thought, gripping the weapon tighter.

Suddenly, the green flames dimmed, and the city came back into focus. Conner was standing in front of me, staring at me with a concerned look on his face. Mary was still holding my hand, her fingers tightening around mine. Borak, usually grumbling or muttering under his breath, was dead silent, his eyes wide with alarm.

"James?" Mary's voice was soft, but there was an edge of fear to it. "What… what just happened?"

I blinked, trying to ground myself in the present. The strange being, the weapon,it all felt too real to be a hallucination. But there I was, standing in the cracked, decaying city, with Conner still watching me.

"You spaced out for a second," Conner said cautiously. "Looked like you saw a ghost or something."

I shook my head, still disoriented. "It wasn't… a ghost."

I looked down at my hand, expecting the weapon to be gone, like a figment of my imagination. But it was still there, cold and solid, clutched in my grip. My heart raced, a thousand questions swirling in my mind, but none of them had answers.

Conner's eyes flicked to the object in my hand, narrowing. "What the hell is that?"

"I don't know," I muttered, still staring at it. "It just… appeared."

Borak finally spoke, his voice low and grave. "That thing… it reeks of something dark, something old very old, older than that stinky clown bastard"

The object disappeared in a burst of green flames, Mary who had as clutching my hands seemed to shake in fear, i was…feeling guilty, but a bit of my unstable urges seem to have numbed for a moment. "Are you ok there Mary"

"I-i, yeah I am…it's nothing really, but can you carry me for a bit? My legs feel kind of wobbly." Mary's voice was shaky, her eyes still wide with lingering fear. She looked smaller, more fragile than I'd ever seen her, and the sight of it twisted something in my chest.

I picked her up gently, her arms wrapping around my neck as I carried her. She felt light, but the weight of the situation hung heavy between us. The strange energy from the weapon, the vision of the monstrous being it all clawed at my mind. Mary buried her face into my shoulder, her breath shaky, and I could feel her trembling.

Borak walked beside us, his usual scowl deepened. "That thing you saw, whatever it was… it's not done with you."

I didn't respond, but I knew he was right.

After walking for some more time we were brought into a small house, the rest of the personnel were gone and only Conner and the woman I almost choked remain. She didn't want to be here. "Ok this place used to belong to one of our own, but you can stay here for the time being and we can talk tomorrow morning, goodbye"

They left us with the key to the house and closed the door behind them, leaving us in a heavy silence. The house was dimly lit, the furniture covered in dust, and the air was thick with an unsettling stillness. I shifted Mary in my arms, carefully setting her down on a worn couch.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked, looking into her eyes. They were wide, reflecting a mix of fear and exhaustion.

"I'm fine, just… shaken," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. She leaned back, taking deep breaths to steady herself.

Borak wandered around, inspecting the space. "This place feels off," he muttered, frowning at the peeling wallpaper.

"Everything feels off" I sat on the couch closing my eyes to get rid off the headache. Borak snorted and went to explore the house. When he was gone Mary spoke.

"Are you ok" She asked, her voice now calm and the fear in it was gone. Was i really ok though, maybe i just need a break from all these things. I feel like committing suicide.

But then again it would be a much more troublesome thing, if I die I a my not even rest in peace and the tentacle bastard who I assume to be the 'Crawling chaos' gave me a toy. Which in terms means I am somehow connected to him.

There was also 'The lurker and the threshold' observing me if I was an interesting specimen and at the same time he wasn't really that much interested, it was as if he was doing something for the 'Crawling chaos'.

I sighed deeply, feeling the weight of everything crashing down on me. Mary's question hung in the air, but I didn't have an answer. Could I even be "okay" in the traditional sense, with the things I've seen and the entities that seemed to have some strange claim over me? Every breath felt like borrowed time.

"I don't know, Mary," I said quietly, staring at the floor. "There's too much going on. Too many… things I can't control. I'm tired of running. But I'm also tired of feeling like I'm trapped."

She was silent for a moment, her eyes watching me carefully. "I..sorry I guess but atleast you have me and my lambs to work with and ofcourse our guard dog Borak"

She looked at me giving a small innocent smile that was full with sincerity. Sigh maybe i should comfort her for a bit, she is still a child even if she is a Nightmare Manifestation or whatever Goldilocks said.

I patted her head gently, feeling the soft strands of her hair slip through my fingers. "You're right, Mary. I'm glad you're with me." Her innocent smile and the way she leaned into my touch made it clear,despite everything, she was still a child who needed comfort, no matter how twisted our reality had become.

She giggled softly, her tension easing, and for a moment, the weight of the world seemed to lighten just a little. "We'll be okay, won't we?" she asked, her voice soft, but there was a hidden strength there, like she was holding on to that hope as tightly as I was.

"Well, That's a Big maybe, I am pretty sure I have no more luck also you don't talk cryptic anymore" She pouted, puffing out her cheeks like an upset child. "I can still talk cryptic, you know," she muttered, folding her arms in mock defiance. "I just choose not to."

I couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction, and the sound felt strange in the heavy air. "Alright, alright. I believe you." For a moment, it was nice to pretend that everything was normal, even though we both knew that nothing about our lives was.

Borak appeared from the back of the house, his face even more grim than before. "No surprises, but this place feels wrong," he said, his eyes scanning the dim corners of the room as if expecting something to emerge from the shadows. "Whoever lived here before us left in a hurry, and not by choice."

I nodded, my mind drifting back to the weapon that had appeared in my hand, the dark, twisted object that seemed tied to something far older and more sinister than I could understand. "We won't stay long," I said, more to myself than anyone else.

Borak grunted in agreement. "Good. We don't need to get too comfortable. There's something… lingering here. Can't put my finger on it, but it's bad."

Mary looked up at me, her earlier smile fading as she took in the seriousness of the situation. "We'll keep moving, right? We won't get stuck here?"

"We will stay here for let's say two days and we can go explore more horrors lurking around this world" I joked, Mary chuckled and then continued enjoying her treatment. I don't trust the Scp foundation, if it means I have to get my hands dirty in order to squeeze out more ways to survive, at this point I don't really mind, it's just life it can reproduce itself.

Borak who was ideal suddenly turned around to look at me. "You are starting stink, clean yourself up"

I gave him a middle finger mixed with a smile and Ignored him, I would have definitely hurled a fireball at him but I don't want to burn this place down, not yet atleast. He retaliated back with his famous fuck you'd, this makes it the third time and I am very tempted to make him sleep outside, i wonder why I even tried to feel pity for it when Mary's sheep were tearing him apart piece by piece.

Mary didn't seem satisfied with me patting her so I am now a seat, i don't want a daughter,whatever.

Wait…how old am I again?.