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The Endless One-Way Highway Where Missing Drivers Go (SCP-5322)

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SCP-5322 is defined as a short, one-way road originating from a farmhouse in Hackett, Georgia, which leads into a non-anomalous woodland clearing after traveling exactly 50 meters. The anomaly only manifests when an individual drives the entire length of this route while their vision is obscured; if they keep their eyes open and observe their surroundings, nothing unusual occurs. However, once the driver's view is blocked, both the vehicle and the occupant vanish completely without a trace, and no individuals have ever reappeared after such an event. To study this phenomenon safely, Foundation personnel conducted experiments using volunteers equipped with cameras and audio recorders, revealing that upon disappearance, drivers find themselves on an endlessly extending road where time passes normally but distance does not accumulate in the conventional sense. The experiences of volunteer agent Simeon Woods, recorded over several months, illustrate the surreal progression along this infinite highway. Initially driving through endless fields under a static sun, Woods eventually encounters clusters of abandoned houses and properties that appear cozy yet decayed, with rotted food and no inhabitants. As time progresses, he meets various individuals who have been missing for decades, such as Brenda Calloway from 1977 and Harvey Preston from 1932, who have established permanent lives along the road, running diners or farms that sustain themselves indefinitely. These encounters highlight a psychological shift where drivers, realizing they will never reach an end, begin to accept their eternal journey, using the time to record messages for loved ones or simply find contentment in the endless drive, effectively trapping them in a loop of existence separate from the outside world. As Woods continues his journey, the landscape transforms dramatically into towering piles of gray concrete buildings that stretch endlessly into the sky, creating a surreal urban canyon where structures slide and fade away periodically. The atmosphere becomes increasingly hostile as he passes crowds of angry people living within these impossible structures, who shout after him with resentment for continuing their journey while they are left behind. Eventually, the environment shifts again to bright, blinding light that resembles a gentle star rather than the sun, causing his vehicle's engine to stop and the windows to roll down on their own. In this final state of transcendence, Woods is found smiling upon his reappearance at the starting clearing, having completed an impossible journey that defied the laws of physics and time, only to be declared dead by Foundation personnel with a cause of sudden heart failure at an indeterminate date.
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Item number: SCP-5322 Object class: Safe Special containment procedures: The property housing SCP-5322 has been purchased by the foundation and sealed off from the public. Any individual attempting to gain access to SCP-5322 are to be apprehended by on-site security, interrogated, and amnestisized as appropriate. Description: SCP-5322 is a short one-way road which begins at a small farmhouse in Hackett, Georgia and terminates 50 m in leading to a non-anomalous woodland clearing. A hand-painted sign next to the beginning of the road reads, "Route 108." The anomalous properties of SCP-5322 only become apparent when an individual in a motor vehicle drives down its entire length. If at the termination of the road the individual in question is busily observing their surroundings no unusual phenomena will occur. On the other hand, however if the individual in question has their eyes closed or their vision otherwise obscured they and their motor vehicle will disappear completely. To date, no individuals have reappeared after vanishing in this way. Experiment log: 5322-1 In order to better understand the nature of SCP-5322 three tests were performed by foundation personnel over the course of 3 weeks. In the first two of these tests performed by D-class personnel the vehicle disappeared as usual and were not recovered. In the third test, volunteer agent Simeon Woods was equipped with a specialized vehicle featuring array of exterior cameras and sensors along with a handheld audio recording device. Any of bit of equipment malfunction. The following logs constitute the recovered data from said audio device. Approximated time. April 13th, 2019. 14:26 30 seconds following disappearance of vehicle. Speaker, agent Simeon Woods. Recording start. Confirming, um, crossover. Some sort of crossover has just occurred. Not entirely sure of current location. There was about 10 to 20 seconds of, sort of, turbulence. I'm not sure if that'd be the right word to describe it. Bright lights and shaking of the vehicle, anyway. I'm not sure. I'm not sure if the exterior equipment is still functional. I heard something snap off. Audio recording equipment still functional. Will perform a quick exterior inspection if safe. Recording end. Approximated time. April 13th, 2019. 14:30 4 minutes following previous message. Speaker, agent Simeon Woods. Recording start. Yes, um, okay. Exterior equipment is definitely non-functional. Majority of it is completely missing. Not sure if it was left behind on the other side, or or what. Will continue documenting experiences via audio equipment, uh, as best I can. My surroundings, um, it's a road here, still a road, much longer now, stretching as far as I can see, off into the horizon, past that probably. There was a forest around me when I came in here, but it's just fields now. Normal grass, normal. All normal, except for the fact that there's so much of it. It's the same time of day, I think. The sun's in the same position at least, if it's the same sun. Will continue driving as instructed. Recording end. Approximated time, April 13th, 2019, 19:21, roughly 5 hours since previous recording. Speaker, Agent Simeon Woods. Recording start. Now speaking. Have been driving for the last 5 hours or so. Nothing to report landscape-wise in that time, just just fields on either side, and the road continuing on. Fairly smooth road. Hasn't been much in terms of bumps. Haven't noticed any vegetation on the sides of the road other than grass. I don't know if you can tell, but I'm sort of reaching for things to report here. Been grateful for the music already loaded on the radio. It's a little cloudy. Oh, oh, yes. I've been keeping an eye on my fuel as I've been driving, of course, and the position of the meter doesn't seem to have changed in that time. Unsure whether there's some kind of malfunction with the equipment or if I'm actually just not using fuel. I'll inspect at first opportunity to confirm which is the case. It's getting dark. Will concentrate on driving. Recording end. Approximated time, April 14th, 2019, 11:42, roughly 4 hours since previous recording. Speaker, Agent Simeon Woods. Recording start. Quick update. Still driving. Haven't stopped since I came in, really. It's um it's boring. But I don't feel any physical fatigue. Any kind of physical tiredness. Just as awake as I was when I came in here. I'm not hungry, either, or thirsty. So, I guess it's one of those kind of situations. It's uh pitch-black outside. I don't think I mentioned there wasn't any streetlights out here. I mean, I never said that there were, but I just want to say specifically now that there aren't. It's just some slight light from the moon. A moon, I guess. No way to tell if it's the one I know. Oh, and the the headlights of the car, thank god those weren't broken coming in. It's just it's kind of calm, you know? Just the sound of the engine. Can't even hear any insects out there, or birds. Just this thing purring. I was kind of worried, you know, that this would be one of those things where like something awful would come out, but only at night. That something would start trying to get in the car, or I'd catch glimpses of something out in the dark, or something like that. Well, I'm not trying to jinx it, but it doesn't seem like that's the case. There's nothing out there, far as I can tell. Just me, the dark, and the road. It's not so bad. Recording end. Approximated time April 14th, 2019, 11:45. Roughly 3 minutes since previous recording. Speaker, Agent Simeon Woods. Recording start. Forgot to mention I'll do an inspection of the car to check the fuel soon as first light comes in. Okay, that's it. Recording end. Approximated time, April 15th, 2019. 10:02. Roughly 10 hours since previous recording. Speaker, Agent Simeon Woods. Recording start. Okay, sort of a mass update here. Didn't want to clog this thing up with a bunch of 10-second recordings. First things first, did that inspection of the fuel I was talking. Definitely still a full tank. So, I should be good to keep driving, unless something unforeseen happens. I mean, I'm hardly going to crash, so well, I say that. That leads me to the second thing, actually. Came across a house on the side of the road a couple hours after sunrise. A little little sort of cottage thing. Mostly made from wood. Kind of cozy-looking. That sort of like the kind of thing you'd see on a Christmas card. Idealized. I think that's the best way to put it. Anyway, I parked up and took a look around. Wanted to see if there was any kind of, I don't know, natives or or other people here. Needless to say, there wasn't. Place looked abandoned. Bed upstairs had been slept in, clearly. And there were dishes in the sink. Oh, there was a sink. But the food in the fridge looked like it'd been rotten for a while. If someone once lived there, they haven't for a while. Got back in the car after my search, and went back on the road. Oh, it was on the left side, if that's important. Probably not. Recording end. Approximated time, April 15th, 2019. 15:09. Roughly 5 hours since previous recording. Speaker, Agent Simeon Woods. Recording start. We're getting somewhere now. More houses like the one I reported about earlier. Well, more properties, I suppose. They're all starting unique, different designs, different sizes. Cozy little cottages next to all this modern metal, glass next to like a little castle. Not much in terms of a unifying theme. I searched them all, of course. And they're just as abandoned as the cabin was. Food rotted where it's stored, so it's definitely been left there for a while. These things seem to be coming up in clusters. I went an hour or so with just fields. And then I got a bunch of them all together. There haven't been any vehicles, just houses. One house had a driveway, but there was no car in it. Not sure if that means anything. Fuel meter still hasn't budged. That probably isn't changing anytime soon. Not sure there's anything to be done except go on driving, so hold up. Recording end. Approximated time, April 15th, 2019. 15:28. Roughly 20 minutes since previous recording. Speakers, Agent Simeon Woods, Brenda Calloway. Georgia native, reported missing in 1977. Recording start. Brenda Calloway, I just talk? Agent Woods, you just talk. Actually, actually, I should probably give it some kind of introduction first. Hold on. Agent Woods clears his throat. I'm sitting in a a diner, a roadside diner by the name of Brenda's Spot. Is that right? Mhm. Okay, yes. That's where I am. And I'm speaking with the proprietor, Brenda Calloway. Do you mind if I describe you? It's we just have audio, so So long as you're polite about it, I guess. All right, Ms. Callaway is a a young woman, 20s. You're in your 20s, is that right? She's nodding. Caucasian, brunette, green eyes. Wearing some kind of waitress uniform. She's got a name card on with her name on it. Sorry about that, and thanks for the coffee. No problem. You done? Yes. Yes, I'm done. I have to say, you didn't seem too surprised to see me. Well, you're the first in a while, but people come through here every now and then. Last couple of fellas were prisoners in these orange suits, and they weren't too polite, but they went on their way quick enough. I see. And may I ask when you yourself came through? Well, it was I guess it must have been a while ago. Couldn't tell you the exact date if that's what you want to know. Was driving home from work one day, took a wrong turn, and I ended up in this place. In this diner? No. No, on the road, I mean. Still driving. Like I just had been, but the road just kept going. Was so dark I didn't realize for a while, you know. And when I did, there still weren't that much I could do except keep going. Keep driving. I didn't notice your car when I came in. >> [sighs] >> Well, you know, you can only keep on driving for so long, right? Eventually, just you have to just accept that you're not going anywhere. No matter how far I drove, it might as well just have been a dead end. So, I well, I just stopped. And then? I parked the car, got out to well, you know. I carried a gun for safety and there was the diner just in front of me. Like it'd been there for years. Brenda's Stop. I was a waiter before, did I mention that? It was all I'd ever been good for, so I figured why not? I set up shop. All the supplies I needed were already here and they stocked themselves up every now and then. You take what you can get. You're content just staying here forever? Well, not forever. If I wanted to, I could just walk off across the fields. And I get the feeling that that'd be like that. But it's not so bad here. I keep myself busy, you know. Right. Hey, what year is it? Could you tell me that? It's um It ain't the '70s anymore, is it? No. Pause. Faint sound of sniffing. Could Could you? Of course. Recording end. Approximated time April 15th, 2019. 17:22. Roughly 2 hours since previous recording. Speaker Agent Simeon Woods. Recording start. Asked her if she wanted to come with me. I was happy to give her a ride, but guess not. Seemed happy enough where she was. Well, not happy, but you know what I mean. Better the devil you know, I guess, or something like that. Back in the car now, back on the road. Starting to uh starting to get a little played out. These songs you guys gave me probably should have accounted for a uh a long trip. Well, we didn't know there'd be a trip at all, so this is fine, I guess. I'm fine. Cloudy again. Recording end. Approximated time. April 16th, 2019. 5:11. Roughly 12 hours since previous recording. Speaker, Agent Simeon Woods. Recording start. But the lime in the coconut at Oops, Recording end. Approximated time. April 22nd, 2019. 12:22. Roughly 6 days since previous recording. Speakers, Agent Simeon Woods, Harvey Preston. Georgia native, reported missing in 1932. Recording start. Agent Woods, like normal? Harvey Preston, yep, just like you'd expect. Was a little wary to try it myself at first. Of course, you understand. But it's just like normal. Not half bad. You want to? Oh, no, no, that's okay. Like I was saying though, is there a message you want me to pass on once I get out or >> [laughter] >> I told you, son. There ain't no place to reach. There's just the road and wherever you decide to stop driving. You've got to get realistic at some point. All the same. I I'm not an idiot. There's nobody out there for you to give a message to. I'm happy enough here. Just let me be. Are you sure? There's seats in the car, we could I'd thank you to get off my property, son. Recording end. Approximated time. April 22nd, 2019. 12:49. Roughly 30 minutes since previous recording. Speaker, Agent Simeon Woods. Recording start. That was uh That was Harvey Preston. He was in this farm I came across, huge, just huge sort of place. Fields and fields of stuff other than grass, actually. All sorts of fruits, crops, you know. Even a combine harvester. I wonder if you could use that to drive the road. Probably not. God, it's nice out. If If there's some background noise, I've got the window open. Anyway, he was just um Sorry about the lack of updates, by the way. It's just that there's not been much to report. Lost the habit. He was just doing his thing. You don't need to eat here. But I guess he enjoys the work of it. Don't know if enjoy is the right word, though. More like um something to keep you busy. You got to find something to waste the seconds away with, I guess. Just build again now. Dum de dum. Recording end. Approximate time. May 14th, 2019. 21:43. Roughly 22 days since previous recording. Speaker, Agent Simeon Woods. Recording start. I've got to um I'm not sure if this is a confession, exactly. It's not like I've done anything wrong, exactly. I just feel like I've got to say it. And I guess you guys are like a captive audience. Will be a captive audience, hopefully, I mean. I volunteered this after the first two guys didn't come back. Must have looked like a suicide thing. Maybe it was, but I I don't think so. It just felt like doing this was some kind of impact. A contribution of something that wasn't me, like like an important one. It's hard to put into words. My dad died when he was 30. And his dad before him and uh so on. My mom told me about it. I mean, I'm not a superstitious guy, but there's something there. You guys have to admit there's something there. And I am I'm 28 now. So, there's that kind of fear. You know, you start thinking about the impact you're going to leave. Whether it all means something. Whether it meant anything. There's this There's this feeling where you just want to worry about it all the time. And you realize that as you're you're worrying about it, you're wasting time. And you don't have time. It's running out every second. Even as you're thinking that. But it's just so awful you can't help it. And nothing means anything. Shh. This road. I get the feeling nobody's got to the end. Not proper. That's got to mean something, hasn't it? If I find out what's there, if I meet it, it has to. And all I have to do is keep driving. It's the easiest thing in the world. And if it goes on forever, well, I guess there could be worse things. I've got nothing but time. Recording ends. Approximated time, July 11th, 2019, 14:22. Roughly 2 months since previous recording. Speaker, Agent Simeon Woods. Recording start. Nothing to report. Recording end. Approximated time, October 26, 2019, 17:49. Roughly 3 months since previous recording. Speakers, Agent Simeon Woods, Lucy Carson. Georgia native, reported missing in 1996. Recording start. Agent Woods, this is uh Lucy Carson. She lives at Go ahead. Harry baby, if you're uh if you're there, I love you. I love you so much and and the kids, if they're if you're listening to this, too, Mommy loves you. God, you're probably too old for that now, aren't you? So so old. You just You just got to keep going, okay? I love you guys. I I so much. It's I That's okay. You did great. Recording end. The following 62 recordings proceeded in much the same manner, with Agent Woods allowing various individuals he encountered to record messages intended for friends and loved ones. Deliberation is currently underway regarding a way to deliver these messages to their intended recipients without a breach of secrecy. A full archive of these recordings is available upon request. This log will proceed following this aforementioned period. Approximated time, September 11th, 2020. 13:39. Roughly 1 year since previous recording. Speaker, Agent Simeon Woods. Recording start. The clusters are starting to die off now. Delta since Grace placed for a week or so now. Had a birthday driving. I realized just after the big castle. It's sunny today. I like the warmth on my skin. It's like It's nice. I've got the window open. I wonder if it'll rain soon. It rains every now and then. Did I ever mention that? It's not slippery, but it sounds nice coming off the windows. Like fingers tapping against the glass, but uh >> [laughter] >> a little less spooky than that, I think. Recording end. Approximated time, December 24th, 2020, 1922. Roughly 3 months since previous recording. Speakers, Agent Simeon Woods, D-9221. First member of D-class personnel sent through SCP-5322. Recording start. D-9921, I do appreciate though. Agent Woods, no problem. You really did get sick of that cabin, didn't you? Mhm. Did we send you in with that bag? Must have. I read the files. I don't remember that. It was in the cabin when my car crashed. It's not a big deal. I never said it was a big deal. Okay. If we're going to be driving together, we might as well try and get along. Where were you? Are you recording this? Yeah. I want to drive. Sure thing. Let me just stop the car. Recording end. Approximated time, December 24th, 2020, 23:57. Roughly 4 hours since previous recording. Speaker, Agent Simeon Woods. Recording start. Had to ditch him. Got a bad vibe. Didn't like the way he was being cagey about the bag. Might have been nothing, but if it was nothing, why would he get so defensive about it? Was it a weapon, maybe? It could have been a knife. I don't know what he would have done with it. Maybe he was a little sore about being thrown in here. I wouldn't blame him. Or it might have been nothing. I feel a little bad, but not as bad as I thought I would. It's not like I left him to starve or freeze or die alone. Someone will come along. Something will come along eventually. Things don't happen here in ways they aren't meant to. Or anywhere. This is the one-way road after all. It's very empty now. Not even grass. I think I'm getting somewhere. Beeping sound. Oh, merry Christmas, I guess. Recording end. Time stamps from this point onward are unclear. Preventing specific dating of entries. Logs are adjusted as appropriate. Approximated time, unknown. Speaker, Agent Simeon Woods. Imagine the biggest apartment building you've ever seen. Like, imagine you lived in the country all your life. I don't know if you, the person listening, can relate to that. Or if any of you can. If you're listening in a group. I grew up in the country. And when you go to the city, everything just looks massive. In a different way, I guess. In the country, things are wide. Things stretch out forever. But in the city, things are tall. Things reach up for the sky. Imagine a building, just just the biggest you've ever seen. Full of people. And then imagine it over and over again. Stacked on top of itself, like a kid's toy. Just left in a pile. It's like that right now. Both sides of the road, just just these gray concrete buildings, just smashed together. The piles reaching up all the way into the sky. Sun's sort of poking through the gaps, but just barely. Sounds of rumbling and crashing. Did you catch that? Every now and then, dozens of those buildings would slide off those piles, smash onto the road, and just just fade away. It's kind of sad. Once, I think these were places people could settle for, and they're just gone forever. There are people here, too, but I don't think I'll be stopping this time. I catch them looking at me through broken windows, peeking over shattered balconies. They have angry eyes. It's not that they want the car, I don't think. It's just the audacity, I think, that I'm still going and they aren't. I can understand why they're angry. They almost made it, I think. Recording end. Approximated time: unknown. Speaker: Agent Simeon Woods. Recording start. Made it through. When I cleared the buildings, I could hear them behind me, shouting after me like uh like a chorus, like an angry chorus. I didn't look back. It's fields again now, but not the same fields. I haven't gotten out to check. I feel like this isn't a good idea anymore, but I'm pretty sure it's reeds, not grass. Well, I know reeds are a kind of grass, but, you know, long and yellow instead of short and green. Just thought it might be worth mentioning. Let's get this done. It's bright out. Recording end. Approximated time: unknown. Possibly April 16th, 2021. Speaker: Agent Simeon Woods. Recording start. Still driving, I think. I can't hear the engine. It's too bright for that, I think. Like I'm driving into the sun. Can't even see outside the windows, but, you know, my eyes don't hurt. Don't even sting. It's like a gentle star. I think it might be my birthday. Recording end. Approximated time: unknown. Speaker, Agent Simeon Woods. Recording start. The engine stopped. I Okay, that's Sound of knocking against glass. Sound of window being rolled down. Hi. Okay, I Oh my god, that's >> [laughter] >> That's so beautiful. Recording end. On May 23rd, 2021, Agent Simeon Woods and his vehicle reappeared within the forest clearing at the end of SCP-5322. On-site personnel quickly recovered both. And Agent Woods was declared dead at the scene. Cause of death ruled as sudden heart failure at an indeterminate date and time. Agent Woods was found to be smiling.