SCP Containment Breach

Fresh Horror

The elevator rattled as it finally reached the bottom floor, the doors sliding open to reveal a long, dimly lit corridor. My long-standing phobia of the dark insisted I return to ground level but I was not tempted to have another encounter with Radical Larry. I pushed such fears out of my mind and I took a tentative step out of the elevator and into the ominous darkness.

"Come on, William," I encouraged myself, taking further steps, "You can do this."

I turned left at the end of the corridor, wishing I had a flashlight or even a lantern. As I continued my journey through the corridor, I noticed a wide-open area on my right with control panels littered on its perimeter. I averted my eyes from the body of the deceased guards and out of curiosity, entered the control area. My childish instincts took note of a lever and without a second thought, I pulled it down. Nothing happened and I just shrugged, exiting the area. However, just across from the control room, a door opened and a figure stepped out. As the figure came into view, my jaw dropped. The figure was dressed in a long, black hooded robe, a garment most traditionally worn by plague doctors. To complete the ensemble, the figure's face was covered in a mask with a long, hooked beak.

"Greetings," the plague doctor politely said.

My eyes flitted to the wall and caught sight of a sign that read "SCP-049-Euclid." During my quick review of the papers I was given during breakfast, I had come across such an SCP. Its touch would put you straight into a state of sleep before it would perform an operation on its victim, causing them to revive in a zombie-type state. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the two deceased guards suddenly rise to their feet and take slow, menacing steps toward me. SCP-049 raised its hand in front of it and began walking toward me. With a scream, I sprinted down the corridor, SCP-049 and its "minions" in my wake.

"I am the cure," SCP-049 spoke again, in its soothing, polite voice.

To be fair, this SCP had far more manners than the doctors at Site 19 which would have been laughable, considering the circumstances. I finally made it to the elevator and rammed the button with my fist but the doors would not open.

"Come on!" I begged, continuously mashing the button as I saw SCP-049 round the corner.

Just as he was almost a metre from me, the doors mercifully opened and I instantly ran inside, shutting the door in 049's face. The elevator began to ascend, the dreaded plague doctor being left far below me as I reached the top floor. As the doors opened, I took a deep breath, expecting Radical Larry to be standing just outside the doors. To my pleasant surprise, he was nowhere to be seen and I walked out of the elevator with a semblance of confidence.

"No Radical Larry," I said, almost cheerfully.

I was aware that such a nickname was frowned upon at Site 19 but in some ways, it lessened my fear of the monster it represented. I walked through another door and found a bridge in front of me, black gas spouting from cylinders that lined the bridge. I remembered my gas mask that I hooked to my belt and put it on, jogging through the gas. I nearly slipped as I saw SCP-173 standing next to the door at the end. I widened my eyes and went through the door backwards, ensuring I never broke eye contact before closing the door.

"What a bastard," I mumbled, taking off my gas mask and re-fastening it to my belt.

I found myself in a corridor, lined with a variety of cells. I went along and noticed they all held SCPs. SCP-012 seemed to be a sheet of music and SCP-008 simply looked like bacteria. I tried my key card for the latter's cell but it was rejected. My clearance wasn't high enough.

"Damn it!" I cursed.

Not that I really wanted to go in there but I was insanely curious. I continued to walk and found myself in a foyer area. A sign reading "SCP-914-Safe" was on the wall and I tried my key card. To my surprise, the door opened.

"Yes!" I almost cheered.

In front of me was a massive machine complete with gears and other machinery. There was two small rooms attached to it, one reading "Intake" and the other "Output". On its front, there were a variety of settings ranging from "Rough" to "Very Fine." I consulted my papers, unsure of whether I should be anywhere near this SCP. According to the information I was provided with, this particular SCP was something of a refiner, having the ability to vastly improve a variety of objects. I suddenly had an idea. Gripping my worthless Level 2 key card and dropping it into the "Intake" room, I switched the setting to "Very Fine" and turned the machine on. It roared to life, the sound of gears turning resonating in my eardrums. I only hoped nobody heard this. The machine eventually stopped and I went to the "Output" room. On the floor was a key card reading "Omni." A master key card! Just exactly what I needed! As I exited the room, I was about to sprint back to the SCPs cells I spotted earlier but was distracted by the sound of people talking from the room on my right. With caution, I entered the room and found myself in a small room with two doors and some windows. Peering through the window, I gasped as I saw a rather large creature inside with its back to me. It was tall and skinny with pale white skin, his long arms reaching the ground. No evidence of body hair and I couldn't see its face. Two guards suddenly entered the room with the SCP, their guns pointed at it but their faces cast to the ground.

"How on earth did he get out?" one of them said, in surprise.

"I don't know," the other admitted. "Half of the damn things are out."

The first one screamed as the SCP moved toward him, causing him to look up.

"Oh no," the first one said, in a small scared voice.

"What?" the other inquired.

"I saw its fucking face!" the first one cried.

So, this must be SCP-096, I thought. Sure enough, SCP-096 began to rock back and forth, his hands covering his face, letting out tortured screams. The guards opened fire but the bullets proved futile as 096 lunged at both of them. The sight before me will never leave my mind. Within a matter of seconds, there was nothing left of the two guards as 096 ripped its long claws into them, their blood splattering the windows. I started to cry, backing away shakily. I was making the decision to turn back when I noticed something that resembled a walkie-talkie laying on the ground inside the room. One of the guards must have dropped it before he met his demise. I could call for help! But that meant I had to enter the room with SCP-096. I shakily opened the door and stepped inside, the door closing automatically behind me.

"Just look at the floor," I reminded myself, turning my eyes to the floor.

Taking slow steps, I made my way towards the walkie-talkie. I couldn't see where SCP-096 was but it was still wandering around in this very room. I was making excellent progress until I bumped into something. I caught a glimpse of SCP-096's feet. I walked right in to it! I braced myself for its screams and sharp claws but nothing was forthcoming. SCP-096 didn't even react and started taking slow steps away from me.  I guess somebody viewing its face was its only annoyance. I finally made it to the walkie-talkie and scooped it up, slipping in into my pocket. I was about to start the blind journey to the door when I heard a familiar liquid-like sound. My stomach dropped as I saw a black stain spread across the floor and the head of Radical Larry rising from the ground, right at my feet.

"Not now, Larry!!!" I yelled, before I could stop myself.

As he had risen out of the ground, I ran to the door, my eyes still cast to the floor. It's enough I had SCP-096 to worry about. But it looked like he wasn't my problem anymore. I slammed into the door and desperately hit the switch. However, an error sound occurred and the door didn't open.

"No! Please!" I cried, ramming the switch. "Open the door!"

I gave a quick glance and saw Radical Larry was less than a metre away. I screamed and backed into the corner, still hitting the switch with desperation but being met with the error sound. Radical Larry had just reached me and his hand landed on my shoulder. I felt a searing pain resonate deep within my shoulder. That was when the world turned to black and I fell unconscious.