A scream ripped through the air.
It wasn't a zombie's groan. It wasn't even the sound of a human in distress. It was something else entirely—something raw, pained, and utterly wrong.
Tysone's blood ran cold. The others did too, instinctively raising their weapons.
He couldn't place it, but every fiber of his being screamed at him: Don't look. Don't move.
The shriek came again.
Tysone caught a better look—without meaning to—and realized this thing wasn't human. Not anymore.
Its arms were too long. Its fingers twisted into clawed points. Its jaw hung slack, trembling, like it didn't know how to close it properly.
Its entire body shivered violently, as if holding back an unstoppable rage.
It didn't seem to notice them at first.
Tysone instinctively lifted his halberd halfway, but he didn't dare aim it.
"...What the hell is that?" Mai whispered, barely audible.
Tysone shook his head slowly, never looking directly at the creature's face.
Something deep in his gut told him it would be a bad idea.
The thing sniffed the air. Trembled harder. It bent backward at an unnatural angle, spine popping loudly with the movement.
For a second, nobody moved. Even the distant groans of zombies seemed to fade into a vacuum of silence.
Then Kohta, ever eager, lifted his rifle just a little too fast.
The click of the safety being flipped off echoed like a gunshot.
The thing's head snapped in their direction.
Tysone's breath caught.
He caught a glimpse—a flash of its face—and instantly regretted it.
It howled. A shriek so loud and piercing it made Tysone's ears ring.
The creature hurled itself forward at a speed no zombie could hope to match.
"RUN!" Tysone roared, shoving Mai back toward the Hum-Vee's direction.
The team sprinted, weapons forgotten, survival instincts kicking in.
The creature gave chase, barreling down the street, smashing through lampposts and abandoned cars like they were paper. Its scream echoed out like a ghost's cursed wail.
It sounded like it was in unimaginable pain, and the only way to relieve it was through wanton slaughter.
Tysone didn't dare look back.
They tore through the streets, hearts hammering in their chests.
Kohta tripped but Tysone yanked him up without slowing down.
Ahead—the Hum-Vee.
Only fifty meters.
Forty.
Kohta, despite the fear, turned around to fire a couple of rounds. Despite the running, his aim was uncannily on point. And it seemed to work as well, albeit briefly.
The bullets did slow it down.
Still…
The creature's shrieks grew louder, closer.
Tires screeched as Tysone slammed into the driver's seat, Mai piling into the passenger side, Kohta and Takashi scrambling into the back.
The engine roared to life.
Tysone floored the gas pedal just as a pale blur slammed into the rear of the Hum-Vee, sending it fishtailing.
"Go, go, go!" Mai screamed.
Tysone corrected the swerve and blasted down the street, tires kicking up debris. The Hum-Vee sped down the street, the creature's hot on its tails. Tysone's grip on the wheel tightened. "Kohta, shoot the damn thing down!"
Kohta lifted his rifle and took a shot at the creature, hitting its left eye.
It let out a scream of pure agony. And yet, despite the grievous injury, it refused to fall back.
Takashi leaned over the rear seat, window down, and took aim with his pistol. He fired several times in rapid succession. Not every bullet hit true, but those that did managed to chip away pieces of its flesh, leaving gaping holes in their wake. But, still, the creature kept going.
Tysone gritted his teeth and gripped the steering wheel tightly. This was insane; bullets at the very least should've been still effective...
The thing staggered briefly, giving Tysone an idea.
"Guys! Aim at its legs!"
Without hesitation, Takashi and Kohta shifted targets, peppering the monstrosity's appendages with rounds.
Incredibly, this proved effective—sort of. With its legs damaged, it lost traction, skidding across concrete before crashing violently through several parked vehicles. Metal screeched, glass shattered and sparks flew amidst the chaos. The Hum-Vee finally gained some ground, allowing Tysone to press the accelerator further, putting distance between them.
In the rearview mirror, he caught one last glimpse of the thing.
It stood in the middle of the road, twitching violently, clawing at its own face in frustration.
Its silent agony haunted him even as it disappeared from view.
"What the hell was that?!" Takashi gasped, struggling to catch his breath.
Tysone didn't answer immediately. His hands gripped the steering wheel so tight his knuckles went white.
"I don't know." He said finally, voice tight. "But it wasn't infected. It wasn't like anything we've faced before."
He stared grimly ahead at the ruined city, thoughts racing.
'This world's changing too fast.' He thought. 'And whatever that was... it's only the beginning.'
They didn't stop driving until the mansion was back in sight, and even then, Tysone kept checking the mirrors, half-expecting that thing to be right behind them.
The ride had been disturbingly quiet throughout.
…
Meanwhile, somewhere beyond the city.
Rain hit the concrete in sharp, angry taps. Floodlights buzzed and flickered over what was once a fortified medical compound—now just a carcass, torn open from within.
The walls, designed to keep everything out, had been breached. Not by the infected. Not by any outside force. But from within. The chaos that had unfolded here was something far worse than the monsters roaming the streets.
Arashi Mikami and the rest of Black Label had been sent here for a simple reason—containment. What had begun as a mission to retrieve intel on an unknown anomaly quickly spiraled into something much darker.
Arashi's footsteps echoed through the compound's now-deserted hallways, his breath steady as he scanned the surroundings. His fingers tightened around his weapon, eyes flicking from corner to corner, searching for the slightest sign of movement.
"The breach point was here." Mikoto said, her voice low but carrying a weight of understanding. "The anomaly was contained in one of the higher-security cells. If it's gone, it means..."
"It's loose." Arashi finished for her, already thinking ahead. His team had always been prepared for the worst, but this—this was something else entirely.
Yuuko Sagiri approached one of the now-open containment doors, her expression tight. "This isn't just a security breach. This is a disaster waiting to happen." She knelt, inspecting the damage, the slashes in the thick steel door where something—or someone—had forced its way out. "Whatever this thing is, it's beyond our normal enemies."
"A zombie couldn't have done this." Mikoto stated flatly.
"You're right." Yuuko nodded in agreement. "But a virus mutant could have..."
Miki Tsurugi adjusted her glasses, scanning the papers scattered around the control room. She found a file that seemed out of place—something from the previous research team. The pages fluttered under her fingertips as she hurriedly browsed through the information. Miki's eyes widened as she skimmed through the file. "It's not a mutant." Her voice was low but sharp, carrying an edge of disbelief. "This... this is something entirely different."
"SCP-096, classified as an 'Object of Special Containment Procedures,' is a humanoid creature with extraordinary strength, speed, and resilience. It was first discovered in a remote part of the Siberian tundra." Miki read out. "Humanoid, 2.38 meters tall, with an unsettling lack of facial features. It becomes violent if anyone sees its face, regardless of the method. Once it targets someone, it relentlessly hunts them down and kills them, no matter the distance."
Arashi frowned. "How was it contained, then?"
Everyone's attention returned to Miki. "Through isolation." She continued. "It was kept in a high-security cell, under strict protocols. But the real key was a drug—Compound-097—designed to suppress its rage and abilities. Honestly, I can't believe this is real... this anomaly's regenerative abilities make it near-immortal and impossible to kill."
"An unkillable monster?" Arashi's eyes narrowed. "That's not possible."
"The researchers' notes disagree." Miki tapped a document with her finger. "When exposed to Compound-097, SCP-096 undergoes temporary memory loss of its previous encounters, effectively resetting its behavior patterns and rendering it docile. It also greatly weakens its physical attributes. The bursts of memory loss also make it possible to outrun it. Theoretically, that is. If you survive long enough." Miki paused, reading ahead. "It's not a permanent fix, though."
She muttered aloud, mostly talking to herself. "SCP-096 develops a tolerance to the drug over time, reducing its effectiveness."
"I see. A ticking time bomb waiting to explode."
Yuuko stood next to Arashi, her usually stoic face showing a hint of concern. "There are four vials of Compound-097 left in their vault..."
"Are you suggesting we go after it? That's reckless, even for us."
"We don't have a choice, captain. Think about it—if this thing gets into the capital, the consequences could be catastrophic."
Arashi weighed his options. As a soldier, he had seen war and death in many forms, but this, an enemy that cannot be reasoned with or stopped by conventional means, was new territory.
They were already on the edge due to the zombie outbreak, if any more anomalies like SCP 096 popped out—
He shook his head.
No, he knew what had to be done.
"Gather the team." He finally said, his voice resolute. "Killing it might be impossible, but containing it… that's something we can manage. We'll keep it docile for as long as we can, until we find another solution."
Author's Note:
If you're enjoying the story and want to read ahead or support my work, you can check out my P@treon at [email protected]/LordCampione. But don't worry—all chapters will eventually be public. Just being here and reading means the world to me. Thank you for your time and support.