Scp-096 Stories Novels & Stories

The old woman's words hung in the air long after she said them. "The Bride of the Ninth Life has returned." Nobody moved. Not Kai, Not Draven, Not even the servant. The whole courtyard had turned to stone around me, and I stood in the middle of it, shaking, with no idea why a stranger kneeling on cold marble made me feel like the ground had opened under my feet. Ninth life?? What did that even mean? I looked at Kai. His jaw was tight enough to crack. I looked at Draven. For the first time since I'd met him, he wasn't smiling.

My pulse spiked. I took it, holding his gaze. “Where is he?” “Not far,” the stranger said. “But you have to move. Drayke’s bringing something up from sublevel nine.” “What something?” He hesitated. “The Alpha Protocol.” The words hit like a gunshot. I’d heard the term whispered once, in one of Drayke’s encrypted files. A hybrid project. Something beyond human. Something he’d called the future of obedience. “Move,” the stranger said again, grabbing my arm. “We don’t have much time.”

Something escaped from that tank and killed him. Harper picked up the clipboard from the skeleton's hand. The last entry was scribbled in shaky handwriting: Subject 001 has breached containment. Protocol failed. May God forgive us. - A.S. "Subject 001?" Harper read aloud. A noise came from the darkness at the back of the lab. Scrape. Scrape. Like claws on metal. The three of them went dead silent. They weren't alone. "Louis," Sebastian unholstered his gun, his hand steady despite the shock. "You said the lab was abandoned."

The alarms blared. Red light swept across the lab, painting the glass walls in flashes. Dr. Hattie Quinn's hands shook as she typed into the terminal. “No, no, no, containment was secure.” Her throat felt tight. “It was secure.” A shadow moved beyond the glass in a predatory movement. Then he stepped into view. Subject X-9. He shouldn’t have looked so… human. He was tall, broad-shouldered, with silver veins glowing faintly under his skin. His eyes were wrong though, they were a burning gold and were locked on her as if she were prey.

Gone were any semblance of intelligence or even wildness - instead there was an emptiness that was accompanied by a distant bloodlust. “By the way,” said the Director. “Thank you for bringing subject X99 with you. She’s my finest experiment, and this is an excellent opportunity to awaken her.” The Director then raised a gauntleted arm, and curled his hand into a fist. In that exact moment, a tone echoed out all around the room, which pierced the wolves’ minds. It tore through their psyches like a blade, even as the Director himself laughed at Freya and Lucifer’s predicament.

“One more step and she’s dead!” Adrian froze. “Okay. I won’t move. Just don’t do anything rash.” Claire burst into fake tears. “Adrian, I’m scared! Help me!” “Don’t be afraid, Claire. I’m here!” Adrian called back, panic thick in his voice. Zoey, meanwhile, stayed completely silent. Not a single word. The kidnapper turned and said bluntly, “Only one of them leaves. The other gets fed to the sharks. Choose.”

“But you said three days. So we figure it out in three days.” He nodded. Once. And the lights went out. Emergency lighting kicked in. Red. Low. The door locks cycled. Heavy. Final. Antonio checked his phone. “Comms are down. We’re dark.” Dominic looked at the two men on the floor. Then at me. “Welcome to Directive 9.2, Aliyah.” “Is this how it started for your mom?” I asked. “Locked in? Lights out? Leo on the other side?” “Yes,” Rosie said. “Except she was alone.”

She was wearing a thick sweater and was surrounded by dozens of monitors showing scrolling lines of green text. "Hope," the woman said, not looking up from her screens. "I told you that 'Breach' was a bad idea. You’ve brought the 'Cancellation' right to our doorstep." "Grandma," Hope said, her voice trembling. "They were going to delete them. All of them." The woman finally turned around. She looked at me, her eyes sharp and analytical. She didn't see a Queen. She saw a "Variable." "So, you're the 'Red Blood' girl," the woman said. "Subject 01. The one who broke the Fourth Wall. I’m **Dr. Aris Vance Sr.**"

I sat in my hospital room shaking, my hands trembling on the grip of my crutch. I didn't notice the visitors at first. It wasn't until I tried to stand, needing the bathroom, that a girl in a white dress rushed forward to steady me. "Ada," she said, "we're Professor Julian Veil's students. I'm Sheila. We heard about your accident. Let me help you." I looked at her. Her face was soft and pretty, the kind of face people compared to a lily.