The UnLondon Account (SCP 1678)

Chapter 14 | Crucifiction

After the Bobbies had ruthlessly dragged Aiden and Camilla away, Donald suggested we should stay low to avoid any lingering Bobbies or Eyes in the Skies. At first I didn't see the issue, that was until I spotted the form of a mechanical avian, perched on a nearby rooftop. The mechanised avian, or Eye in the Sky was completely motionless, it was watching the street. I prayed that the it hadn't seen us, but by its constant scanning eyes and lack of focus suggested that me and Donald had been undetected.

Eventually, the Eye in the Sky sprung into the air. It's wings flapped rapidly as the creature gained more elevation and finally soared up into the darkness of the cavern. The creature disappeared with as little sound as it had arrived with.

After a few more minutes Donald finally spoke up destroying the silence, "alright, we should get to the exit."

At first I was confused, but I couldn't just follow Donald's commands without further questioning. "Why? The exit is closed. We can't get through even if we wanted too" I replied.

Donald didn't even look back when he responded, "just before Josephus stole my combat knife and escaped, there was a message from the foundation. They said that the exit is being reopened in two hours. So we need to get the hell out of dodge!" Donald's tone was commanding, he had his mind set on it, and it seemed he had already decided to leave Camilla and Aiden, even though we knew Camilla was still alive from her earlier screams.

"But we can't leave. We know Camilla is alive and it's likely that Aiden is as well. We can't just leave them!" I argued back.

Donald gritted his teeth. "There's no way. We have no fucking clue where they are!" He snapped back, clearly annoyed by my questioning.

I took a moment to think for a second. "So what you're saying is that you won't go looking for them because you don't know where they are. Is that right?" I asked, trying to clarify my suspicions.

Donald was silent for a moment. "Yeah exactly" he eventually responded.

"Alright what do you know about the Bobbies?" I asked in response.

"What does- never mind. Well not a whole lot."

I smiled, thankful I knew more than Donald, so he couldn't correct any of my words. "Well the Bobbies under their police uniforms all were a prisoner jumpsuits. And on those prisoner uniforms, is the name Bryson's Home for the Poor."

Donald was a little stunned or confused. "Why does that matter we still don't know where they are?" He replied.

"Well that's the thing. The foundation found Brysons. It was found near the Houses of Parliament, in Westminster."

"And how do we know the Bobbies took them there?" Donald half snapped back.

I was silent for another moment, "well for one thing the Bobbies went in the direction of Westminster and therefore, Parliament. Furthermore after the initial attack the Bobbies took the corpses of the deceased, my assumption is that they use the corpses to make new Bobbies, and we know the Bobbies are made from dismembered corpse from the foundations preliminary autopsies on the Bobbies."

Donald was quiet for a second, as if I'd actually stunned him into submission. "Fine. We'll go find them, but there's no saying they're still alive" Donald grimly stated.

"Well they definitely die if we don't do anything!" I snapped back.

•••

Donald was silent as we headed towards Westminster, and more pressingly the Houses of Parliament. Ever since I had convinced Donald to accompany me, he hadn't spoken a word. I assumed his silence was due to my argumentative attitude, but I couldn't just abandon Aiden or Camilla.

We travelled the seemingly endless streets of UnLondon while also avoiding the constant patrol of the Bobbies all around. Finally, we found an end, we reached a street packed with Bobbies, too many to fight, so we snuck up to a flat rooftop. From the rooftop we saw what the Bobbies were crowded around. It was Josephus.

Josephus stood in front of a large building a white and brown sign across the room door. The sign said "Bryson's Home for the Poor" and looked almost new, like the rest of the property. The building, Bryson's Home for the Poor, seemed to be the only maintained building in all of UnLondon, well apart from the brief glimpse of Parliament I'd seen. The building also emanated an industrial feeling, with walls adorned with pipes and an excess amount of metal.

"FOR OUR LEADER, HER STRENGTH RUNS THROUGH US AND THROUGH THESE STREETS. FOR HER WE CLEASE, FOR HER WE KILL" Josephus shouted to the crowd of Bobbies. I half expected the crowd to cheer, but they all remained silent, displaying their lack of individuality.

Josephus moved back, not the least bit deterred by the crowd's silence. "NOW FOR THE SACRIFICE TO HER, TO THE MONARCH WE OFFER...THE WHORE!" Josephus moved further back, reaching into the shadows of a building and pulling Camilla out. She screamed in pain as Josephus twisted her hair in his fist.

Her screams ripped through the air, "AIDEN HELP! ANYONE!" Camilla screamed flailing her arm to the crowd. Her arm waved towards an unconscious figure, Aiden.

My heart jumped for a second before calming.

"CITIZENS OF UNLONDON WE GATHER HERE TODAY TO SEND THIS WHORE TO WHERE SHE ONCE CANE FROM. ANY LAST WORDS WHORE?" Josephus's words were laced with evil intent and directed at Camilla.

Camilla struggled in his grasp. "Please. Please. Please, let me go. Josephus you know me!" She begged and pleaded, Josephus just smiled. "Please let me go!"

"No" Josephus replied as he motioned for something to be brought forward.

Out from the shadows, three Bobbies dragged a large shape out. A large wooden cross shape. The shape was propped up and left to stand by itself. Camilla cried and screamed as Josephus dragged her closer to the cross. Camilla was pressed to the wooden cross, her arms and legs held in place. Camilla struggled desperately under their grasp.

Next Josephus produced a hammer and a set of nails from his pockets. "First we add this nail to help your repent for the sins you have committed" Josephus announced as he slammed the hammer on to the nail straight through Camilla's right palm.

She screamed like a banshee, warning of her own death.

"The next nail is to commemorate, the sins you would've committed if you were to live" he announced as he struck another nail this time through her left palm.

Her voice shattered as her screams dissipated into nothing more than animalistic cries of pain and terror.

"Now release her limbs" Josephus commanded and the bobbies did as ordered. Camilla fell slightly but then she was hanging by the nails through her hands. Camilla cried as tears flew from my eyes. "HER SINS HOLD HER TO THIS MORTAL COIL, FOR THE WHORE LIVES FOR NOTHING ELSE EXCEPT HER PRIMAL DESIRES!" Josephus's words were a mix of religious reference and darker imagery. His perverse use of the religious imagery was sickening and disturbed me, the way he twisted it for his own purposes. Twisting it to inflict pain on Camilla, she didn't deserve it, and if she deserved it, then so did I.

"Get the fuck say from her!" Aiden shouted as he aced towards Josephus. His speed was unprecedented, that was until a Bobby took a swing with a pipe, connecting with his head.

Aiden fell the the ground and the Bobby raised its weapon and smashed it against his skull. The blow was hard, but the three that followed were harder and enough to silence Aiden completely. The bobbies almost immediately dragged his body away as I whimpered.

My knees buckled. I'd watched Aiden die, but I still wasn't prepared.

"DAMMIT!" Josephus's screamed into the air. He unsheathed a combat knife and violent thrust it into Camilla's chest. She whispered in pain and family went limp. Camilla was dead. And so was Aiden.

I fell to the floor, tears burning my eyes, my heart beat faster. My breathing became ragged and rapid, my books grew blurry, I felt as though I was dying.