So, you had a job interview with the SCP foundation,
nailed it, signed the requisite non-disclosure
agreement, and you got yourself the job!
Congrats!
Now, you’re an operative in charge of some
of the strangest, scariest, and most dangerous
discoveries out there, and it’s time to
Secure, Contain, and Protect.
So, what is your assignment here at the good
old SCP Foundation?
You must have drawn the short straw, because
you have to keep an eye on one of the deadliest
creatures in the organisation’s custody:
SCP-096, also known as the Shy Guy.
As your terrible luck would have it, on your
first day looking after it, SCP-096 has escaped
from custody, and you are now in very real
danger of a direct encounter!
It is now up to you to face off against this
formidable foe and try to make it out in one
piece.
But don’t despair just yet!
We’re here with all of the advice you need
to survive your first day on the job and best
SCP-096, as lethal as it may be.
So, strap in and get ready for the fight of
your life.
Before we talk about how a fight against this
anomalous creature might go for you, it’s
important to know your enemy as well as you
can.
So, let’s get to know SCP-096.
It may be nicknamed the “Shy Guy” but
trust us when we say that it is nowhere near
as demure as it sounds.
In fact, 096 may be one of the most frightening
finds in the history of the organization,
and it is not to be underestimated.
An emaciated-looking humanoid creature, Shy
Guy stands about 2.38 meters tall.
It is pale and hairless, with unnaturally
long arms that span a length of 1.5 meters
each.
Perfect for strangling, beating, and dismembering
foes from a distance.
If that wasn’t terrifying enough, its jaw
can open four times wider than the average
human.
You read that correctly, this thing can open
its jaw four times wider than a human jaw.
Its eyes have no pigmentation, and may or
may not be able to see.
Whether it has a sense of sight or not, SCP-096
can tell when it is being observed.
Normally, when left alone, it spends its time
pacing and largely keeping to itself.
However, once its face has been seen, whether
in person, via a video feed, or in a photograph,
SCP-096 stops being quite so docile.
This is where the dangerous part comes in.
Once its face has been spotted, SCP-096 flies
into hysterics, screaming, babbling, and covering
its face in apparent despair.
Don’t feel too guilty for upsetting it,
however, because that’s time you should
be using to run.
The next thing the creature will do – once
it’s gotten its weeping out of its system
– is begin heading right for you.
SCP-096 runs at a documented speed of at least
thirty-five kilometers per hour, so good luck
trying to outrun it once it’s set its sights
on you.
Once it reaches you, it will kill you.
Details of the method of killing have been
redacted from official SCP reports, but whatever
it does it leaves no trace of its victim behind,
so you are very possibly going to get really
familiar with that freakishly large mouth.
When SCP-096 was initially captured, it was
found outdoors in extreme cold without a scrap
of clothing on it.
The creature was just calmly sitting there,
without giving off so much as a shiver in
response to the temperature.
Multiple members of the team assigned to retrieve
it happened to see its face, and that was
when the mission took a turn for the worse.
The entity began to scream and cry, sounding
more like a person than an animal, to a reportedly
uncanny degree.
The team fired on the entity, but the bullets
didn’t so much as phase it.
It picked up one member of the team and ripped
off his leg.
The team fired an anti-tank round at the entity
and, again, it didn’t so much as slow down
or take any noticeable structural damage.
Finally, the entity was stopped when a bag
was placed over its head.
Once its head was covered with a bag, it ceased
all aggression and sat down, no longer intent
on attacking anyone.
The entity only calmed when everyone who had
seen its face was destroyed, after which it
sat back down.
A soldier who had not yet seen the creature’s
face placed a bag over its head seemingly
preventing any future deadly outbursts.
So now, let’s get back to your predicament.
You are working at the SCP Foundation, going
about your merry business, when suddenly you
find yourself about to be face to face with
an escaped SCP-096.
Face being the operative word.
The first tip for surviving an encounter with
SCP-096 is to avoid looking at its face, of
course, but when that option is out the window,
what can you do to escape with your life?
Is it possible to defeat a creature that wasn’t
even slowed down by an anti-tank weapon and
a team of armed operatives?
Maybe!
It may be tempting to try and take a flamethrower
to the gangly creep or just turn tail and
run away from it, but as we know by now, neither
of those solutions are likely to be viable.
However, there is hope, and maybe your first
day at your new job does not have to be your
last.
There are a few possible solutions that would
allow you to come out victorious in a conflict
with SCP-096 – and they have less to do
with pure firepower, and more to do with utilizing
the most powerful weapon in the human arsenal:
Your mind.
Option one, cover the entity’s face.
As previously mentioned, the entity’s aggressive
behavior was curtailed when a bag was placed
over its head during its capture.
Covering SCP-096’s face seems to render
it passive, even helpless.
However, this is a risky option, as it would
require you to get close enough to the entity
to put a covering over its face, and it is
likely that getting that close would result
in you accidentally seeing said face.
Once that happens, it may be too late to get
the bag over its head before the entity flies
into a rage and tears you limb from limb like
a helpless crustacean at your local crab shack.
You could always try to close your eyes and
approach the entity with the bag, in the world’s
most dangerous game of “pin the tail on
the donkey”, but we don’t recommend it.
Option two is high risk, but with a potentially
high reward.
While SCP-096 does not respond to assaults
with deadly weapons, there is one thing that
it is afraid of, and that has done significant
damage to it in the past.
This is yet another highly dangerous entity,
SCP-682.
One of the most powerful, deadly, and aggressive
anomalies the Foundation has ever been able
to contain.
This entity is not to be trifled with, but,
if you can get it into the room with SCP-096
and get yourself as far away from the both
of them as possible, it may just solve your
problem.
The two creatures were previously introduced
to each other in an attempt to terminate SCP-096,
and, while 096 survived the encounter, it
emerged from the attempt severely wounded
and upset.
Future exposure to SCP-682 caused 096 to erupt
into hysterics, screaming and clawing at its
own face.
If you need to get SCP-096’s attention away
from you, and perhaps succeed in terminating
it, it is definitely worth a shot.
So, what is SCP-682?
Simply put, it is a highly dangerous and difficult
to destroy reptilian creature.
It exhibits a high level of intelligence,
unlike SCP-096, which does not appear to be
especially intelligent or aware of its surroundings
beyond its fits of rage that follow its face
being seen.
This entity hates all life forms, and is incredibly
strong, fast, and exhibits lightning-quick
reflexes.
Its size fluctuates dramatically and quickly
depending on what it has ingested . It is
capable of speech, and has given several interviews
where it admits its hatred for life and its
willingness to kill.
It is regarded as extremely dangerous, and
is seemingly impossible to permanently kill.
We say “permanently” because the creature
has been temporarily killed in the past, but
was able to resurrect itself afterwards.
It recovered from bullets, acid, fire, and
attacks from other SCPs.
It has successfully escaped six times, and
attempted escape unsuccessfully seventeen
additional times.
So, is it worth it to attempt to employ SCP-682
as a weapon against 096?
That is debatable, but the answer is likely
no.
At the very least, it is a dangerous last
resort that would possibly cost you your life
even if it is able to terminate 096.
For starters, SCP-682 would have to be released
from its containment, a room full of acid
that consistently erodes away its skin, so
that it can attack 096 in the first place.
As previously mentioned, 682 is highly intelligent,
and is unlikely to be able to be tricked or
manipulated into acting on your behalf unknowingly.
If it goes after SCP-096 and attacks the humanoid
monstrosity, it will do so only because it
wants to.
Because this creature hates all living things,
and you just happen to be living, it is just
as likely that it will attack and kill you
before it goes after SCP-096.
However, if by some miracle you are able to
get SCP-682 and SCP-096 into the same room
without getting killed in the process, then
you may just have freed yourself from this
dangerous trap.
Once 682 sees 096, it will attempt to kill
it, as it has in previous encounters.
Meanwhile, 096 will be thrown into a state
of distress at the sight of 682, distracting
the Shy Guy from your presence and allowing
you to escape and find a superior who can
amend the situation and return both creatures
to their containment.
This would require a great deal of planning,
however, and no small amount of good luck.
Since you’ve found yourself in this situation
in the first place, luck does not appear to
be on your side.
This brings us to your third and final option,
and the one that is the most likely to prove
effective against SCP-096, allowing you to
terminate the creature and emerge victorious.
As you already know, SCP-096 cannot bear for
anyone to see its face, and will viciously
attack anyone that does so.
Much like in the myth of Perseus and Medusa,
it all comes down to reflections.
In the story of Medusa, the hero Perseus was
able to avoid being turned into stone by looking
at Medusa’s reflection in his shield, rather
than looking at her directly.
Since SCP-096 attacks anyone who sees its
face, not just directly but via indirect methods
like video and photographs, it is unlikely
that looking at its reflection would save
you.
However, we aren’t just trying to save you,
we are trying to defeat SCP-096.
The solution is as simple as it is effective.
Take a reflective surface, ideally a mirror
or a piece of reflective metal if you can
find one in the facility, and approach SCP-096
with it.
Keep your eyes averted from its face, looking
down at the rest of its body or even just
at its feet on the floor.
Just make sure that you can see which way
it is facing.
Then, present the creature with the mirror,
showing it its own reflection.
If what we know about the entity holds true,
it will fly into its trademark uncontrollable
violent rage, and begin to attack the creature
that has seen its face.
In this scenario, that creature is itself.
It will begin to tear itself into pieces,
ripping and clawing until there is nothing
left of itself, or until it cannot move anymore.
Because SCP-096 seems to be stronger than
any weapons we have, the only weapon that
makes sense to kill it with is itself.
Once it has stopped its self-destructive assault
and has been neutralized, you will be able
to escape with your life and the knowledge
that this deadly threat has been eliminated
once and for all
Congratulations!
Not only did you live through your first day
at the SCP Foundation, but you succeeded where
countless other scientists have failed, and
managed to terminate one of the organization’s
deadliest finds!
Okay, okay, it won’t be THAT easy.
If showing the thing its reflection was the
simplest way to totally kill it, the Foundation
would have done it already.
But according to some accounts, being presented
with reflective surfaces has caused the creature
to frantically claw at its own face in a state
of extreme distress.
What could be a better distraction to tag
and bag this insecure monster and cart it
back to its cell?
Either way, your work here is done.
Run yourself a hot bath, pour yourself a drink,
and celebrate a job well done.
Now, let’s see what kind of trouble you
can run into tomorrow.
Be sure to check out the rest of the “You
Vs.” playlist to see how you’d fare against
the biggest and baddest of pop culture!
If it’s more monsters you’re after, check
out “You vs The Rake - Could You Survive
and Defeat This Creepypasta Horror Monster.”
