Before I knew it, my surroundings shifted. Something warm embraced my body, and a second later, I was somewhere else entirely. I’d grown familiar with that sensation. I knew what had happened. Iris pulled me out of the photo.
After blinking several times, I looked around me. I was back in Dr. Bright’s messy lab. It was exactly the same as before I strayed (seems like a decent word to describe it) into that eerie theme park, the Carnival of Horrors.
I made it back! As that fact sank in, my knees gave out from under me. I was so relieved that I sunk down helplessly to the ground and nearly burst into tears. The realization I might not have made it back was overwhelming.
Strictly speaking, Dr. Bright’s lab—a laboratory run by the SCP Foundation—was still like another world to me, so it wasn’t like I’d truly made it back to my normal life. But I’d just been in a terrifying, nightmarish place. A place where I could lose my life at any second. Compared to that, an otaku’s room filled with comics and video games was like Heaven on Earth.
“███? Are you okay? I’m so sorry!” Iris exclaimed, staring into my eyes worriedly.
Struck with such fondness—even love—at the sight of her, I nearly gave her a hug. But still suffering the aftereffects of my terror, I wasn’t able to lift a finger. Trembling, I took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm myself. The nightmare was over. It was supposed to be over. I could relax now.
“Well done! My, you were great out there! I would have joined you if I could. Alas, I had to give up when it became evident I couldn’t—not that it kept me from trying! Ah, but after so many failures, I had to face facts. Too bad, so sad!” Dr. Bright spoke with unsettling enthusiasm as they swiveled in their chair before the workbench of junk to face me. That painfully bright red dress flared out as they turned.
“The experiments are far from over, but it would appear my hypothesis that only you can enter the photos was correct! I would love to experience the sensation myself, so I’m going to present Immortality to you as a reward for doing such a fabulous job! Congratulazioni!”
Even though I’m pretty sure they said “congratulations,” either Dr. Bright’s pronunciation was funky, or the word was translated to sound weird. Acting goofy as ever, the mad scientist gave a big grin as they removed the necklace resting on their bosom in the blink of an eye and approached me.
I could swear I saw that necklace somewhere before… Oh yeah, it was the antique brooch near me when I very first appeared in this bizarre research site. It appeared to be a rather expensive piece. A bunch of diamonds surrounded an oval, crimson gem—perhaps a ruby. The chain and brooch itself were either white gold or platinum.
Seeing this, Iris made a face of disgust. “Doc, you’re joking, aren’t you? I won’t let you get away with that!” she snapped and moved in front of me with arms spread out as if to protect me.
Dr. Bright cursed, “Damn!” although they didn’t sound terribly disappointed, and elegantly crossed their legs. “Yes, I was kidding, just kidding! It was a gag to lighten the mood! Do you know the best way to handle situations like this? I believe it’s best to laugh! Aha ha ha ha…☆”
I had no idea what was so funny, but after laughing for a while (much later, I was informed they were paraphrasing a famous mecha anime, but I really couldn’t care less), Dr. Bright’s expression turned blank as rapidly as if they were a robot shutting down.
They placed the strange necklace back around their neck and stared at me intently. Those were the eyes of a researcher. That cold, unfeeling gaze made me remember that as weird as they were, they were nonetheless a scientific scholar worthy of the title “researcher.”
“Thank you. I was able to conduct a most fascinating test, ███,” Dr. Bright said, quickly flashing a smile and bowing elegantly from their seat.
“I’d like to compile my report, so I’d appreciate it if you could tell me what you experienced in the photo. You’re such a mystery! I’ve yet to discern how your powers work. But that’s what makes this so much fun!”
In the photo… So, I really was inside the photo. Nevertheless, everything I experienced in the Carnival of Horrors was extremely vivid and real. The pain of hitting my face on the ground. The stench of blood. The warmth of the woman soldier’s hand…
When she ran across my thoughts, I grew concerned for the woman soldier. What became of her? Even though she nearly lost her mind to fear, that brave woman nonetheless led me by the hand as we tried to escape from that theme park. Did I make it out, leaving her behind? That seemed extremely callous somehow.
“Naturally, she is dead,” Dr. Bright informed me indifferently in a surprisingly businesslike voice. “The cause of her death is shrouded in mystery. She was discovered with a broken jaw and her rib cage was cracked open. Teeth and pieces of her heart were retrieved from her trachea. It is currently unknown whether she died of suffocation, or shock due to blood loss from the open chest wounds. It is also theorized she committed suicide.”
……
I didn’t know what to say. I mean, I had feared this might happen. So she didn’t make it. She didn’t get to return to her family after all.
Feeling disconsolate and miserable, I lowered my head. Tears filled my eyes. Before the might of such an outrageous anomaly as the Carnival, my existence felt horribly small and insignificant.