WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:00.350 --> 00:00:01.350 “What was that?” 00:00:01.350 --> 00:00:05.480 The man and woman’s hike through a gently rolling portion of the Rocky Mountains has 00:00:05.480 --> 00:00:07.450 just taken a turn for the dangerous. 00:00:07.450 --> 00:00:10.960 “There’s something there in the bush” the man tells her before stepping in front 00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:12.590 of her in a defensive pose. 00:00:12.590 --> 00:00:16.860 They watch the bush intently, there’s a slight rustling of the leaves as if something 00:00:16.860 --> 00:00:17.900 is inside. 00:00:17.900 --> 00:00:21.830 The man picks up a stick from the ground and holds it in front of him, ready to strike 00:00:21.830 --> 00:00:25.170 whatever fearsome beast is lurking in the underbrush. 00:00:25.170 --> 00:00:29.030 The rustling stops but the man doesn’t move from his protective stance. 00:00:29.030 --> 00:00:31.880 “Do you think it’s gone?” the woman asks. 00:00:31.880 --> 00:00:33.059 The man isn’t sure. 00:00:33.059 --> 00:00:37.909 He leans in towards the bush, searching for signs of what might be hiding inside when 00:00:37.909 --> 00:00:38.909 - Ahhh! 00:00:38.909 --> 00:00:42.350 The man screams and falls backwards as the creature emerges from the bush. 00:00:42.350 --> 00:00:45.780 “Aww” the woman cries, “it’s a pika!” 00:00:45.780 --> 00:00:48.699 She kneels down to get a closer look at the adorable little creature. 00:00:48.699 --> 00:00:53.319 Pikas are native to this part of Colorado and they resemble rabbits but with small, 00:00:53.319 --> 00:00:54.730 rounded ears. 00:00:54.730 --> 00:00:58.499 She watches it hop back off the trail before turning around to see her friend lying tangled 00:00:58.499 --> 00:00:59.890 in the branches of a tree. 00:00:59.890 --> 00:01:04.100 She can’t help but laugh as she offers a hand to help pull him out of his predicament. 00:01:04.100 --> 00:01:07.240 “Are you alright?” she asks between fits of laughter. 00:01:07.240 --> 00:01:08.799 Yes, he’s fine. 00:01:08.799 --> 00:01:10.539 The only thing hurt was his pride. 00:01:10.539 --> 00:01:15.479 He notices a small red spot on his arm and rubs it, but it doesn’t seem to hurt at 00:01:15.479 --> 00:01:16.479 all. 00:01:16.479 --> 00:01:19.939 His attention is diverted by the woman though, who is marveling at the tree he was just stuck 00:01:19.939 --> 00:01:20.939 in. 00:01:20.939 --> 00:01:25.299 Free of the branches, he can appreciate now that the tree really is incredible. 00:01:25.299 --> 00:01:29.619 It looks like a huge blue spruce, but the name is a complete misnomer, because this 00:01:29.619 --> 00:01:31.810 tree is a vibrant red color. 00:01:31.810 --> 00:01:36.009 “I’ve never seen anything like it,” she says and the man hasn’t either. 00:01:36.009 --> 00:01:41.219 Neither knows what species it is, and strangely, there don’t seem to be any others like it. 00:01:41.219 --> 00:01:46.180 Maybe this is the result of an odd genetic defect that turns blue spruces red? 00:01:46.180 --> 00:01:50.030 After admiring the tree for a moment, the pair decides that they’ve hiked far enough 00:01:50.030 --> 00:01:52.640 and that they should probably head back to the car. 00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:56.640 She jokes that he’s likely exhausted from his run-in with a wild animal and he laughs, 00:01:56.640 --> 00:02:02.420 but clearly his ego has been bruised. 00:02:02.420 --> 00:02:06.359 The man stops his car in front of the woman’s house and she thanks him for taking her on 00:02:06.359 --> 00:02:07.479 the hike. 00:02:07.479 --> 00:02:10.120 As she starts to get out though he stops her. 00:02:10.120 --> 00:02:12.580 He asks if she wants to go do something else. 00:02:12.580 --> 00:02:13.850 Like… dinner? 00:02:13.850 --> 00:02:18.200 The woman thanks him for his offer, but she has to be up early the next day for work. 00:02:18.200 --> 00:02:19.360 Just a quick drink then? 00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:20.360 An hour? 00:02:20.360 --> 00:02:21.360 30 minutes? 00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:24.710 The woman tries her best to let her friend down easy, explaining that she likes him as 00:02:24.710 --> 00:02:26.510 a friend and as only that. 00:02:26.510 --> 00:02:30.100 The man opens his mouth to respond but she stops him. 00:02:30.100 --> 00:02:33.820 If he valued their friendship then he wouldn’t try to take advantage of it by using it as 00:02:33.820 --> 00:02:35.430 a backdoor to dating her. 00:02:35.430 --> 00:02:37.880 The man again looks like his pride has been shattered. 00:02:37.880 --> 00:02:40.710 He apologizes and admits that she is right. 00:02:40.710 --> 00:02:44.560 It’s just that he has such a good time with her that he never wants it to end. 00:02:44.560 --> 00:02:48.840 She gives him a sad smile as she closes the car door and he watches her enter her house 00:02:48.840 --> 00:02:50.950 before he finally drives away. 00:02:50.950 --> 00:02:53.920 It’s two weeks later when the man’s phone rings. 00:02:53.920 --> 00:02:55.310 It’s his friend. 00:02:55.310 --> 00:02:58.590 She explains that she’s been thinking a lot about what he said in the car and that 00:02:58.590 --> 00:03:00.870 she likes spending time with him too. 00:03:00.870 --> 00:03:04.040 Maybe there could be something more to their relationship. 00:03:04.040 --> 00:03:06.370 The man can’t believe it, is this really happening? 00:03:06.370 --> 00:03:07.890 The woman is serious. 00:03:07.890 --> 00:03:12.120 She’d like to take him up on that dinner offer if he’s still interested, her treat. 00:03:12.120 --> 00:03:14.000 She wants to know what he is doing right - AHH. 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:16.430 The man suddenly yelps in pain. 00:03:16.430 --> 00:03:17.430 Is he okay? 00:03:17.430 --> 00:03:18.430 What was that sound? 00:03:18.430 --> 00:03:21.040 “Yes, I’m fine, it was nothing,” the man tells her. 00:03:21.040 --> 00:03:24.660 “It’s just that now… now’s not a good time.” 00:03:24.660 --> 00:03:28.320 The woman doesn’t understand, she thought he’d want to see her. 00:03:28.320 --> 00:03:31.370 She explains that she’s leaving town for a work trip the next day and will be gone 00:03:31.370 --> 00:03:32.690 for a couple of weeks. 00:03:32.690 --> 00:03:37.320 She was hoping she could see him before she left but - The man cries out in pain again. 00:03:37.320 --> 00:03:41.300 He tells her that he hasn’t been feeling well all day, but that he’ll be alright. 00:03:41.300 --> 00:03:43.650 “Okay, well… get well soon. 00:03:43.650 --> 00:03:44.720 I’ll call you when I get back.” 00:03:44.720 --> 00:03:48.940 They exchange goodbyes and the man hangs up the phone. 00:03:48.940 --> 00:03:51.150 The man looks terrible. 00:03:51.150 --> 00:03:54.300 His skin is pale and his face looks hollow and gaunt. 00:03:54.300 --> 00:03:59.180 He looks down at his arm and sees that the veins themselves appear to be moving, pulsing 00:03:59.180 --> 00:04:00.180 and vibrating. 00:04:00.180 --> 00:04:04.880 He screams again in agony and falls to the floor, clutching his arm. 00:04:04.880 --> 00:04:08.440 After writhing on the floor he manages to summon the strength to reach for the phone. 00:04:08.440 --> 00:04:12.580 His hand searches on the table above him and eventually he’s able to knock it onto the 00:04:12.580 --> 00:04:13.580 floor. 00:04:13.580 --> 00:04:15.660 He grabs the phone and starts to dial… 00:04:15.660 --> 00:04:16.660 Nine… 00:04:16.660 --> 00:04:23.780 One… before he can press one again another wave of intense searing pain consumes him. 00:04:23.780 --> 00:04:26.700 Several weeks later, the woman is standing outside the man’s house. 00:04:26.700 --> 00:04:31.410 Mail and newspapers are piled up on his front porch, as if no one has been in or out in 00:04:31.410 --> 00:04:32.710 some time. 00:04:32.710 --> 00:04:35.360 She knocks on the door but there’s no response. 00:04:35.360 --> 00:04:38.370 “Hello?” she calls out, but still nothing. 00:04:38.370 --> 00:04:40.020 She’s very worried. 00:04:40.020 --> 00:04:44.960 She’s tried calling him several times but he never answered or returned her messages. 00:04:44.960 --> 00:04:49.720 She tries the doorknob and to her surprise, the front door swings open. 00:04:49.720 --> 00:04:51.780 She steps inside and the room is dark. 00:04:51.780 --> 00:04:56.890 She’s also immediately hit by a strong aroma of… pine? 00:04:56.890 --> 00:04:59.300 She searches on the wall and finds the switch. 00:04:59.300 --> 00:05:04.070 She turns on the lights and can’t believe what she sees standing in front of her. 00:05:04.070 --> 00:05:08.780 There in the middle of the room, is a massive spruce tree, it’s upper branches pressing 00:05:08.780 --> 00:05:10.180 against the ceiling. 00:05:10.180 --> 00:05:13.120 She reaches out and touches the tree's vivid red branches. 00:05:13.120 --> 00:05:15.120 They feel sticky and wet. 00:05:15.120 --> 00:05:18.401 She pulls her hand away and looks down to see that it’s covered in a red substance. 00:05:18.401 --> 00:05:19.410 That’s when she notices something else. 00:05:19.410 --> 00:05:28.840 Stuck among the trunk at the base of the tree, is the half consumed body of her friend. 00:05:28.840 --> 00:05:32.060 Unfortunately this pair would never have the opportunity to see their feelings take root 00:05:32.060 --> 00:05:38.530 and grow, because unbeknownst to them, this beautiful tree is actually a very deadly anomaly, 00:05:38.530 --> 00:05:44.400 known to the SCP Foundation as SCP-867, but which is perhaps better known by its very 00:05:44.400 --> 00:05:46.430 appropriate nickname… 00:05:46.430 --> 00:05:47.490 Blood Spruce. 00:05:47.490 --> 00:05:54.610 SCP-867 is, or at least appears to be, quite similar to the species of tree Picea pungens, 00:05:54.610 --> 00:05:57.060 better known as the blue spruce. 00:05:57.060 --> 00:06:02.700 Of course there are a number of dramatic differences between 867 and its non-anomalous counterpart. 00:06:02.700 --> 00:06:06.460 Visually, and most obvious, is the coloration. 00:06:06.460 --> 00:06:11.271 While blue spruces, as the name implies, are typically a blue-green color, SCP-867 is a 00:06:11.271 --> 00:06:13.810 deep, vibrant red. 00:06:13.810 --> 00:06:17.980 There’s another major visual difference too, with the Blood Spruce lacking any sort 00:06:17.980 --> 00:06:20.950 of seed cones that you would normally expect to find. 00:06:20.950 --> 00:06:26.450 With no pine cones to protect and spread seeds, you’d be right to ask how SCP-867 goes about 00:06:26.450 --> 00:06:27.450 reproducing. 00:06:27.450 --> 00:06:32.770 The answer to that question is what makes this beautiful tree such a dangerous anomaly. 00:06:32.770 --> 00:06:37.560 The secret to how SCP-867 reproduces is found in its leaves. 00:06:37.560 --> 00:06:42.100 While they look like pine needles, SCP-867’s leaves are, in fact… 00:06:42.100 --> 00:06:43.270 needles. 00:06:43.270 --> 00:06:47.190 Their structure is very similar to that of hypodermic needles, and each one contains 00:06:47.190 --> 00:06:51.930 a single long, thin seed which sits above a small gas pocket at the base. 00:06:51.930 --> 00:06:55.590 When a living creature touches the leaves, the tree immediately reacts. 00:06:55.590 --> 00:06:59.640 It triggers the gas pocket in the base of the leaf to release which injects the seed 00:06:59.640 --> 00:07:02.030 into the skin of whatever touched it. 00:07:02.030 --> 00:07:05.990 The process is quite similar to that found in auto-injectors, like those used to quickly 00:07:05.990 --> 00:07:07.880 treat allergic reactions. 00:07:07.880 --> 00:07:11.960 The seed itself is extremely small, and is coated in a liquid that has both anesthetic 00:07:11.960 --> 00:07:16.810 and coagulant properties, which makes the process virtually undetectable. 00:07:16.810 --> 00:07:21.310 Once implanted in the skin, these seeds can lay dormant for up to two weeks, before they 00:07:21.310 --> 00:07:27.650 begin the germination process , and the true horror of SCP-867 is revealed. 00:07:27.650 --> 00:07:31.500 Once the seeds begin to sprout and grow, they will not seek to penetrate through the skin 00:07:31.500 --> 00:07:33.530 like a plant rising out of the soil. 00:07:33.530 --> 00:07:37.670 Instead, the strange plant will grow within its host’s body, spreading throughout the 00:07:37.670 --> 00:07:39.430 circulatory system. 00:07:39.430 --> 00:07:41.910 This process is extremely painful for the host. 00:07:41.910 --> 00:07:46.160 The plant’s tendrils wind through their veins and capillary system, stretching and 00:07:46.160 --> 00:07:49.880 pressing against them as the blood spruce grows within them. 00:07:49.880 --> 00:07:54.360 Eventually, the ever increasing size of the plant’s tendrils becomes too much and the 00:07:54.360 --> 00:07:56.449 veins will begin to rupture. 00:07:56.449 --> 00:08:01.110 This leads to severe internal bleeding and soon after, the death of the host. 00:08:01.110 --> 00:08:05.250 The entire process is quite quick, with it only taking twenty-four hours from when the 00:08:05.250 --> 00:08:09.870 seeds first sprout to the host dying, but that single day will feel like an eternity 00:08:09.870 --> 00:08:15.060 to the afflicted individual as they feel the plant rapidly growing inside of their body. 00:08:15.060 --> 00:08:19.190 But even though the host has expired, this parasitoid tree is far from finished with 00:08:19.190 --> 00:08:21.729 them, or at least their body. 00:08:21.729 --> 00:08:25.599 Soon after death, a new instance of the Blood Spruce will burst from the body. 00:08:25.599 --> 00:08:29.690 The red tree is quite small at first, but it will continue to quickly grow, just as 00:08:29.690 --> 00:08:34.839 it did within its host’s body, and can reach maturity in just thirty days. 00:08:34.839 --> 00:08:40.809 And unlike most other plants, SCP-867 is able to grow regardless of light or soil conditions, 00:08:40.809 --> 00:08:46.619 because it does not produce food via photosynthesis, no this plant is carnivorous. 00:08:46.619 --> 00:08:52.220 As it grows, the 867 will slowly consume its host’s body until nothing remains except 00:08:52.220 --> 00:08:54.620 the blood red tree. 00:08:54.620 --> 00:08:59.970 Instances of SCP-867 were first identified in Colorado during the 1990s, following reports 00:08:59.970 --> 00:09:03.149 of numerous disappearances of hikers and Park Rangers. 00:09:03.149 --> 00:09:07.529 The SCP Foundation dispatched a team to the area to investigate, and they soon discovered 00:09:07.529 --> 00:09:11.730 numerous instances of the previously unidentified tree. 00:09:11.730 --> 00:09:15.680 Several still young specimens were acquired, though unfortunately this led to the deaths 00:09:15.680 --> 00:09:19.579 of several agents, who were not yet aware of just how dangerous the red spruces could 00:09:19.579 --> 00:09:20.879 be. 00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:24.990 Once their threat level was properly assessed, several specimens were flagged for containment 00:09:24.990 --> 00:09:29.639 and research purposes, while all of the other identified instances still in the wild were 00:09:29.639 --> 00:09:30.860 destroyed. 00:09:30.860 --> 00:09:36.170 The remaining instances of SCP-867 were classified as Euclid, and are now securely kept at a 00:09:36.170 --> 00:09:38.300 Foundation Bio-Containment site. 00:09:38.300 --> 00:09:42.579 Direct human contact with the plants is normally not allowed, and remote rovers are used for 00:09:42.579 --> 00:09:44.990 the majority of tests and upkeep. 00:09:44.990 --> 00:09:49.670 If for any reason, it is necessary for a human to enter 867’s containment cell, they are 00:09:49.670 --> 00:09:54.980 to wear full hazmat suits with a kevlar underlayer, and upon exiting the cell must undergo a full 00:09:54.980 --> 00:09:57.190 herbicidal treatment and inspection. 00:09:57.190 --> 00:10:01.389 Should any possible puncture marks be discovered, they will be forced to quarantine for no less 00:10:01.389 --> 00:10:02.570 than fifteen days. 00:10:02.570 --> 00:10:03.870 Ah nature… 00:10:03.870 --> 00:10:09.350 It's so beautiful, peaceful, and calming, yet seems determined to try and kill us in 00:10:09.350 --> 00:10:10.550 any number of ways. 00:10:10.550 --> 00:10:15.429 If you’re out hiking or camping in the woods, try to remember this extremely famous adage 00:10:15.429 --> 00:10:18.029 which I may, or may not, have just made up. 00:10:18.029 --> 00:10:24.059 It goes, “leaves of three, let them be, needles of red, well… you’re probably 00:10:24.059 --> 00:10:26.160 already dead.” 00:10:26.160 --> 00:10:31.970 Now go and watch another entry from the files of Dr. Bob, like SCP-021 The Skin Wyrm, for 00:10:31.970 --> 00:10:35.380 another deadly anomaly with parasitic tendencies. 00:10:35.380 --> 00:10:39.610 And make sure you subscribe and turn on notifications, so you don’t miss a single anomaly, as we 00:10:39.610 --> 00:10:43.549 delve further and further into the SCP Foundation’s classified archives.