There is still one thing I don’t understand. Since coming to Site-12-ZH, we have been moving exclusively by bus. Is it for the Foundation’s security? Does anyone still believe that unreasonable excuse? Like, those front businesses starting with the initial S-C-P are practically out in the open. Furthermore, even Site Director Owen shares a bus with the staff. People of that importance usually use teleportation, some even have their own private helicopters. Is it to strengthen the bond between superior and subordinate or something? That much is enough to conclude that there is definitely something strange going on with the road to Site-12-ZH.
Image of the tunnel leading to Site-ZH-12 facility.
Item #: SCP-121-VN
Object Class: Thaumiel
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-121-VN is currently in Foundation possession. As the anomaly does not affect the Veil protocol and is being utilized by Site-ZH-12 as a facility defense measure, containment procedures are currently suspended. In the event that the anomaly causes any future incidents, containment protocols must be activated immediately.
Description: SCP-121-VN is the temporary designation for a bus route to Site-ZH-12 sponsored by the Foundation. While SCP-121-VN is the designation assigned to the aforementioned route, the anomalous nature of SCP-121-VN lies in the route itself, as well as the transport process in general. The activation of SCP-121-VN usually starts when personnel get on the vehicle and ends when they disembark and enter the facility.
To be exact, the route follows a pattern as below:
- Foundation personnel or relevant individuals travel to a secluded area to approach the anomaly.
- The issued ticket is used then burned.
- 12 minutes after this action, a bus (its appearance may vary depending on the environment) will appear. Personnel must immediately enter the vehicle.
- After all passengers have boarded, the bus will proceed to the facility.
- All routes must pass through a sealed tunnel, unobservable to the naked eyes to reach the destination. All efforts to measure the length of the route show a constant result that the distance moved inside the tunnel is 12 meters.
- Upon exiting the tunnel, personnel will arrive at Site-ZH-12.
SCP-121-VN is currently considered to be the sole way to access Site-ZH-12, functioning as an effective entrance security measure. This saves on transporting, security, and personnel cost, while also prevents information regarding a facility researching antimemetic anomalies and hostile memetic agents from falling into the hands of other groups.
Sketch map of the distance-measurement sessions inside the tunnel.
SCP-121-VN seems to have appeared at the same time Site-ZH-12 became operational in 19██. Despite the documented evidence regarding the point in time at which the Foundation utilized this system, SCP-121-VN was still reclassified as a separate anomaly, and therefore, a relevant document has been drafted.
Addendum. 01: Interview relevant individuals
Foreword: The interviewee is Mr. Lin, a senior driver of the bus to Site-ZH-12. The subject has no knowledge of the facility and the anomaly as he was hired through a front organization from beyond the Veil.
»BEGIN LOG«
Interviewer: I was informed that you have been driving for this route since a long time ago, is it true?
Mr. Lin: Yes, but not that long though, my hair hasn’t turned grey yet. I have only been driving for route 12 for a little over 10 years. But why are you asking, do I look like I should be retiring?
Interviewer: Not at all, I’m with social insurance. I just need to finalise your health record today. Can you tell me more about who hired you? And what does a work day of yours look like in detail?
Mr. Lin: Ah, I see. My cousin introduced me to this job. The salary was decent so I accepted immediately. I used to drive long-haul when I was young, to transport material to construction sites. My days now are all the same, waking up, making two trips, one there and one back, and going home to rest when I’m done. Pretty comfortable compared to my youth when I bounced around a lot.
Interviewer: Do these routes belong to your cousin?
Mr. Lin: Not exactly, he’s just a salary man like I am. He’s a broker, found a company looking for shuttles for their employees so he let me know. I didn’t pay much attention to it as they said knowing how to drive was the only requirement.
Interviewer: I didn’t know that you could contract routes here.
Mr. Lin: I don’t think this is an official route. It doesn’t appear on public maps when searched for either. Only that specific company contracted this road probably, because most of the people on the bus wear identical clothing. I haven’t seen any objections from the locals either. In fact, this area is rather sparsely populated. There are only a few households around.
Interviewer: I heard they all moved away.
Mr. Lin: Yea, right around the time this route was initiated, people started moving out.
Interviewer: Do you know the specific reason?
Mr. Lin: They kept saying they ran into ghosts. The locals back then said they saw some strange thing haunting the area. Things like hearing laughter on the road at night, seeing rotting animal carcasses near the tree stumps. There was this auntie who came home from work late one night and randomly passed out. The next morning, they found her near a bush, mouth stuffed full of dirt. But that’s just words of mouth I heard. Maybe they were just squeamish. Since I took the job, I haven’t encountered any supernatural things. Or maybe they moved away because of land compensation, this area used to have frequent landslides after all.
Interviewer: You knew all that but still didn’t switch to a safer route?
Mr. Lin: Changing jobs is too much effort, I’m fine with staying put here. Besides, as you reach my age, you stop fearing supernatural things.
Interviewer: I see, I’ll ask one last question then. How do you manage to safely drive through that tunnel?
Mr. Lin: What tunnel? I haven’t travelled through any tunnel since working here.
»END LOG«
Addendum. 02: SCP-121-VN’s Internal Tunnel Testing
Foreword: The following documentation contains footage from inside the tunnel obtained by the Foundation via remote-controlled drones. The remains of the volunteer personnel could not be retrieved. The footage contains twelve different segments.
»BEGIN LOG«
First segment: The personnel entered the tunnel, holding a handheld camera directed at the interior with one hand and taking notes with the other.
Second segment: The personnel proceeded deeper. The camera’s infrared light reflects off the black void within the tunnel. The camera is unable to discern surrounding textures or structures. The personnel angled the camera toward the ceiling, but no notable result was captured.
Third segment: The personnel proceeded deeper. The camera only captured illumination on the ground immediately beneath the personnel. Multiple decomposing corpses were clumped together and littered the path. The personnel approached to examine them but was unable to determine the specific species of the remains. The personnel counted twelve similar instances before they ceased to appear. Some of them exhibited signs of slight gas expulsion, resembling the action of gasping for breath.
Fourth segment: The personnel proceeded deeper. They attempted to touch the black void. The notebook abruptly vanished, their hand is now coated in a viscous black fluid. The personnel attempted to remove the fluid but this caused it to adhere more tightly. After some time, they gave up and continued moving.
Fifth segment: The personnel proceeded deeper. A series of sounds resembling metal clashing, running water, and several unidentified noises similar to continuous human whispering can be heard. All sounds ceased when the personnel shouted “shut up.”
Sixth segment: The personnel proceeded deeper. The camera recorded a flash of light appearing ahead on the path. The personnel attempted to walk faster and approach the light source. Upon reaching it, the camera feed was abruptly cut and changed to a dense forest environment after reactivation. The personnel screamed loudly, seemingly in a state of excitement or relief.
Seventh segment: The personnel proceeded deeper through the forest. At this point, the camera captured the aforementioned series of sounds, which has now turned into the voice of a woman. The personnel suddenly stopped. In front of them, standing behind several canopies, was a faceless woman wearing a red dress. The entity waved at the personnel before shouting: “You have yet to pass the tunnel.” The personnel screamed in fear, ran back in the opposite direction, then tripped and fell unconscious. The camera recorded the entity slowly approaching the personnel. It was abruptly powered off and restarted. The footage returned to the dark space inside the tunnel. The personnel then woke up and continued moving.
Eighth segment: The personnel proceeded deeper. They seemed agitated, waving the arm coated with black fluid wildly in the air. It struck an unseen object, causing the personnel to lose balance and fall. After standing up, they saw a circular object lying on the ground. They approached and picked the object up. The camera experienced interference when attempting to record it. The personnel threw the object into the void in a panic and it disappeared. They attempted to wipe the slime from their hand. They then began running, the camera lens was smeared with red streaks.
Ninth segment: The personnel proceeded deeper. Multiple footsteps from behind them were registered. Upon noticing the sound, they turned around. The camera failed to capture any anomaly. The personnel decided to speed up, and the footsteps accelerated in tandem with them. The footage cut out approximately 30 seconds later.
Tenth segment: The personnel proceeded deeper. The camera shook violently, infrared lights recorded that the path was gradually disappearing, with surrounding matter being enveloped by black voids. After a moment, the camera recorded the interior as being completely engulfed.
Eleventh segment: The personnel proceeded deeper. The camera detected light.
Twelfth segment: The personnel approached the tunnel’s exit but suddenly froze right before it. The camera captured a humanoid entity resembling the personnel walking into Site-ZH-12.
»END LOG«
Note: Investigation of the Site’s entry and exit logs indicates no record of that personnel entering the facility after the test above.
Addendum 03: Final hypothesis regarding the anomaly.
SCP-121-VN, based on my hypothesis, is not an official product of the Foundation. It would be more accurate to call it something we have managed to utilize. Working with antimemes is like inhaling poison daily; no matter how careful you are, one slight mistake is enough to cost you the entire journey.
The weakness of facilities specialising in a specific field is that we concentrate too many SCP with the same anomalous properties in one place. Too much of anything is detrimental, especially of the things in our possession. Did SCP-121-VN appear because it was attracted to the amalgamation here? I suppose so, and I hope it grows no further than that. The worse scenario would be if this anomaly was the consequence of our testing, or instances where we failed to contain an apocalyptic concept.
Site-ZH-12 dossier absolutely does not have an acroamatic abatement section like at Site-43. By now, you have likely already shared my train of thought. The obsolete stratification system definitely flushed everything into the tunnel. The tunnel was not that dark before. Now, the black void is clinging to every facet of that tunnel is them. The previous doctors were so brilliant in “accidentally” creating such a lethal defensive weapon for this place. Yet, they were also incredibly foolish to have devised no method to control them.
The folks at this Site often tease me about not going out frequently. That is true, partly because I dare not exit via that route. I try to minimize stepping foot on that bus and traversing a tunnel as dark as the abyss, knowing I cannot resist gazing into the indefinite void beyond the glass. Every time I look at it, the fragments of memory in my mind are filled by its voices, its invitations, and its gaze returning my stare. I admit that I am scared.
Even as the most senior personnel working at Site-ZH-12, I dare not dig too deep into this matter. Those before me, before you, have found a safe loophole for us to exploit, so please, maintain the state as it is. Remember that as we are breathing with the poison, we should never play with it.
As for those who still wishes to investigate further, have you considered how many people we had to leave behind to determine that the limit was 12?
–Site Director AD