Alice's diary

It was a sea of blood, formed from thick, dark red liquid.

Countless human faces floated on its surface, each lifelike, each bearing a different expression.

Some faces were twisted with anger and hatred; others were hideously contorted, as though enduring endless agony. Some were strangely calm, their eyes vacant. Others bore dried tear tracks, as though they had suffered an unbearable injustice. Still others wore expressions of compassion, as if mourning the suffering of the entire world.

The faces rose and fell with the sea of blood, forming a chilling sight.

Zhou Ze was among them, floating peacefully on the sea of blood with his eyes closed. As the viscous waves gently swelled, his body drifted with the current, becoming one with the sea.

Here, he had never felt so peaceful, as though all his troubles and pain had drifted away.

Empty your mind, stop thinking, forget everything, and remain at peace like this forever.

"Zhou Ze... don't give up..."

A hoarse voice broke the silence, echoing beside his ear.

Zhou Ze thought the voice sounded familiar. His eyelids stirred, but he did not open them.

"Would your buddy ever hurt you...?"

Old Yang...

Zhou Ze struggled to open his eyes, but the instant scarlet light pierced his vision, a cacophony of thoughts and desires flooded his mind.

Countless voices roared, screamed, and whispered in his ears. Old Yang's voice was soon drowned out by the clamor.

"Kill... kill..."

"...watch rivers of blood flow..."

"...die... die..."

"Shouldn't... must..."

The relentless thoughts savaged his mind, leaving him agitated, his head splitting with pain, until he had no choice but to close his eyes.

At once, the world fell quiet.

"...hold on, don't let Them control you..."

Old Yang's voice came through clearly again, but Zhou Ze ignored it.

I'm tired. Let it all end...

"Mr. Zhou..."

It was a gentle call.

Zhou Ze lifted his eyes.

He saw a light shining down from beyond the void. Like a sword, it pierced resolutely through the endless scarlet. In this blood-red hell, the light seemed so pure, so dazzling.

A girl in a pure white nightgown stood within that radiance, her outline faintly visible in the light. With a gentle smile, she extended her slender right hand toward him.

"Mr. Zhou, you promised me..."

"You said everything would get better..."

"You still have so much to do..."

Bathed in the light, Zhou Ze felt memories begin to take shape in his mind.

Suddenly, he struggled with all his strength, trying to lift his body out of the viscous sea of blood.

"Alice..."

The faces in the sea of blood seemed to sense his intention. Countless faces surged madly toward him, twisting and warping as they tried to stop him from leaving.

But the faces did not act as one. Some tore at one another with their teeth, while others screamed soundlessly. Yet whenever they were about to leave the sea of blood, the scarlet ocean behind them swallowed them again, some invisible force dragging them back into the abyss.

At last, Zhou Ze grasped Alice's hand and embraced that dazzling radiance...

Site 108, Alpha Office Area.

Collapsed beams, torn chunks of flesh, horrifying corpses-no signs of life remained here.

Time froze at that moment. Falling stones and metal debris hung suspended in midair, dust and particles frozen throughout the space. The shape rising from the rotting flesh had become a grotesque sculpture.

The next second, the collapsed structures slowly restored themselves, and shattered walls pieced themselves back together. The mass of flesh composed of different bodily tissues writhed rapidly. Scattered fragments drew together, and blood began to flow backward, like a film playing in reverse.

Soon, the twisted mass of flesh took human form again, and Zhou Ze's outline gradually became clear.

Meanwhile, the tentacles that had already solidified became transparent again. They struggled within this sluggish rift in time, then stabbed toward the rapidly healing body they had originally protected.

But a thin veil of light blocked the tentacles' lethal attacks. No matter how hard they struck, they could not break through the seemingly fragile barrier.

When their efforts proved futile, the tentacles changed targets, swarming madly toward the two torn halves of Dai Yong'an's remains as they slowly drew together. Like starving beasts, they greedily coiled around the remains.

Amid a grotesque distortion, the tentacles merged with the corpse, then dissolved like bubbles, vanishing into nothingness.

Time began to flow backward. Fragments of the collapsed building rose from the ground, reassembling into intact walls and ceilings.

Zhou Ze's body slowly rose into the air alongside the surrounding debris. As though pulled by invisible threads, they rapidly retraced their paths.

The torn metal pipes in the corridor twisted back together, wires reconnected, and lights flickered back on.

Scattered blood flowed back, broken bones knitted together, torn muscles healed, and skin once again covered their bodies as everything returned to its source.

The containment squad members' hearts began to beat. The hollows in their chests filled in, and life breathed back into their bodies.

Only when the collapsed Biological Containment Zone 23 had been restored to its original state did time resume its normal flow.

Zhou Ze lay unconscious beside Liu Xin's corpse, with the giant snail a short distance ahead of him.

The pseudopods protruding from the snail's shell trembled weakly, then slowly withdrew inside. Its body gradually stopped writhing and fell still once more.

"Humidity in Biological Containment Zone 23 has returned to safe levels. Alert lifted..."

Site-17, SCP-239's containment chamber.

Inside the wooden cottage, Alice sat at a beautifully carved little table, gazing at the garden bursting with flowers and the lush green lawn outside the window. This place was forever bathed in warm, gentle sunlight, like a little paradise forgotten by time.

After a long while, the girl carefully took a leather-bound diary from the drawer and gently opened it on the table.

Quite a few entries had already been written in a childish but tidy hand:

[Day one: sunny

Mr. Zhou suggested I try keeping a diary. I think it will be a good idea.]

[Day two: sunny

Colin is still listless. I'm very worried.]

[Day three: sunny

I've realized I don't seem to have anything worth writing down. That makes me a little sad.]

[Day four: sunny

Professor Gear came to see me. He told me some stories, but they weren't very interesting.]

[Day five: Colin died in my arms.]

Just then, a canary with glossy feathers flew onto Alice's shoulder.

The girl turned to look at Colin and smiled gently, then affectionately reached out her little hand to play with the bird.

But soon, her expression grew downcast again, and a thin mist spread across her eyes, blue as the deep sea.

[Day six: sunny

I brought Colin back to life. I don't regret it, but Archwizard Clive will kill me for it and imprison my soul...]

Large tears rolled from the girl's eyes, smudging the writing in her diary. She wiped her tears away, picked up her pen again with a trembling hand, and continued:

[I don't want to die yet. I hope someone can save me...]