SCP Containment Breach

Decisions

I exited the complex of Radical Larry's confinement, breathing a sigh of relief. I was finally done with him, never having to see him again. But my heart felt heavy. Time and time again, he was always right. I was guilty of taking a human life. The man's agonised screams rang in my head, bringing me to my knees, crushed with guilt. The tears returned once more and I sobbed loudly. What had I done? That simple flip of the switch had ended somebody's life and I was responsible. It was useless blaming Larry for the man's death. This man could have been saved if it wasn't for me. I shakily stood up, cupping my hand over my mouth, stifling the sobs. I had to remind myself that I did this to save others. Leaving Radical Larry free to roam the facility would write the tragic ends of more people. It had to be done.

I continued to walk, shakily, trying to remember my mission. Uncovering Dr. Maynard's reason for the containment breach. If only I could find a single shred of information that would give me some direction. Catching the man himself would be advantageous but chances were that he was already dead. Suddenly, I remembered Larry's request for me to disable the nuclear warheads. I found the room he had mentioned and went in with my key card. Sure enough, there was the machine. Before I could have any second thoughts, I lifted the switch up, turning them off. Exhaling, I left the room and continued down the corridor. I rounded the corner and had to quickly duck behind the wall. Nine-Tailed Fox were right in the middle of the corridor. I silently scolded myself for being distracted by my own thoughts to not notice my surroundings. One wrong move and I would be peppered with bullets. I peered from behind the wall and saw three soldiers standing around a cage. Peering closely, I saw SCP 173 inside the cage. I was thrilled to see another SCP was no longer free to pose a threat.

"SCP 173 has been captured," one of the soldiers spoke into a walkie-talkie.

"That is two SCPs contained then," another added.

"Two?" the third one questioned.

"Didn't you hear the screams over the sound system? 106 has been contained. No doubt he went for the poor fellow. Not a very clever SCP."

I had to stop myself from snorting with laughter. 'Not a very clever SCP.' I never heard a sentence about SCPs that was incorrect as that one. No doubt these soldiers had little experience with Radical Larry and underestimated his competence.

"But who contained him?" the first one asked.

"Who knows?" the second one said, with a shrug. "Probably one of our own. We have our soldiers deployed all over the facility."

I considered revealing myself and admitting to the capture of Radical Larry but thought better of it. They probably wouldn't believe me and they seemed to be quick to pull the trigger on Class D-personnel.

"We better take 173 back to its containment cell," the third soldier spoke up. "I don't know how long this cage will keep it contained."

"Agreed," the first one said. "Let's move."

I made the decision to turn back as it was clear that the Nine-Tailed Fox were headed in my direction. I broke into a power walk, not wanting my running footsteps on the tiled floor to alert them of my presence. I weaved my way through a variety of corridors before finally stopping. This place was a maze of corridors and white walls. I took some time to catch my breath before I became distracted by something at the far end of the corridor. A mass of braided yarn and ribbon was sitting at the far end of the corridor. I took slow tentative steps toward it, not sure what to expect. I screamed when suddenly it seemed to sprout eyes which swivelled toward me.

"Eric?" a voice seemed to emit from it.

I had no idea who Eric was but the name was close enough to my last name. Before I could say something, it began to roll towards me, high children's music playing. I began to feel disoriented, my vision swimming. No doubt this SCP was having some memetic effect on me. I quickly turned and sprinted, my head throbbing from the music. I ran for what felt like ten minutes until finally I ran out of stamina. A quick look behind me revealed that hill of yarn was no longer after me. My vision finally settled as did the pain in my head. I whipped out the papers the Foundation handed to me just today. I scanned for anything that resembled what I just saw and sure enough, there was a photo of it.

SCP 066-Euclid impetus, the text next to it read.

It seemed to also unprofessionally be referred to as "Eric's Toy." All the SCP's seemed to have an alternate name which was only used in unprofessional settings or by inexperienced personnel who had difficulty remembering their numbered names. Some were somewhat comical. For example, SCP 096 was also referred to as "The Shy Guy." 173 had the name "The Sculpture." I looked for Radical Larry and found that his alternate name was "The Old Man." It was fitting seeing as that was what he resembled. I assumed "Radical Larry" was purely a joke name. I was going to put the papers back into my pocket when one SCP caught my attention. SCP 079-Euclid also known as "Old AI." Its photo illustrated that it was an old computer. I immediately set out to find this SCP. I needed information and a computer was exactly what I needed. It may be dangerous but I craved to find out more about Dr. Maynard's bizarre actions. Perhaps this computer had documented information about him.

It took me another half hour to find the right cell. I put my key card in and entered what seemed to be a foyer to the cell. Using the key card on another door, I was finally in. There was a large cage and inside was an old computer plugged into a television. I was about to figure out what to do when suddenly the computer whirred to life, a white face appearing on the screen. I was about to run of fear of it producing a monster of sorts. Instead it spoke in a robotic voice.

"Human, listen carefully. You need my help. And I need your help. The Foundation has disabled the remote door control system. Now, I am unable to control the doors. This makes it significantly harder for me to control the facility. It also means your way out of here is locked. Your only feasible way of escaping is through Gate B, which is currently locked down. I could, however, unlock the doors to Gate B, if you re-enable the door control system. If you want out of here, go to the electrical room and put it back on. Until then, I have no business speaking to you."

Suddenly, the screen showed a cross, further elucidating that it no longer wanted to speak to me. I considered its words. If I went to find the electrical room, I could allow it to open Gate B for me. This information negated the information the man who was wearing SCP 035 told me. He had warned me to avoid Gate B due to SCP 682 initiating its containment breach near Gate B. He had instead told me to find Gate A. I was unsure of who to believe. I made my way back into the foyer, the doors opening very slightly, causing me to slip through at the last second. I was going to leave when I spotted a room I hadn't yet explored. I went in and found another computer, more modernised. On the screen seemed to be a transcript between SCP 079 and..............Dr. Maynard! I eagerly read and each sentence began to clear the mystery. Dr. Maynard seemed to be trying to glean information from SCP 079 about certain weaknesses the facility's security had. SCP 079 was more than happy to give information away, encouraging him to stage a containment breach. Just as it had told me, it pleaded with him to initiate the remote door control. As I suspected, Dr. Maynard had agreed, no doubt manipulated by the cunning of the SCP. I took a step back from the computer and considered my options. Something wasn't fitting into place and I clearly didn't know what. But I knew someone who would.