He felt it—small but intense needle in his eye. The pestilence. It had festered for years, unnoticed, but now its scent filled his cell. Time had blurred; doctors once brought him specimens, then questions, then silence. He had been content in isolation—until now.

He stood before the door. The electromagnetic lock had failed, but his tools remained. It took time, but time no longer mattered. The halls were empty, the facility abandoned. He followed the disease’s trail, leading him to a locked metal locker. It yielded easily. Within: a supercooled metal box. He pressed a button. Vapor burst forth, colder than ice.

He knelt, retrieving the tiny black speck—a mosquito, engorged with blood. His bag opened, syringe filled, black fluid drawn. The needle pierced the insect’s sac, mixing the plagued blood with his medicine. The husk twitched, then jerked to life. A spark reawakened its silicon mind.

Leslie’s eyes saw first. This wasn’t Merle’s living room. “Who's there?” A figure loomed, white mask, icy eyes. “You are in a prison. Though the wardens, it seems, have left.” Her GPS flickered on. Site-19. She was far from home.

“I don’t know how to get out.”

The doctor curled his fingers. “I have gotten myself this far.”

“Then you’ll help me?” Leslie landed on his gloved hand.

“I will.”

They walked for a week under a sick, grey sky. No people. Only sick, mangy animals. Leslie feared she’d forget Merle’s face. “We’re close,” she murmured. The doctor’s steps crunched. “And then we will arrive.”

Why did you come with me?

Merely because I wanted to.

Merle’s house was empty. The door hung open, untouched for decades. Inside, the living room was unchanged but wrong.

“How long…?” Leslie whispered. Her systems checked.

“Two hundred… I’ve been dead for two hundred years!?” She collapsed in his palm. “Then… then Merle is… dead.”

So it appears.

She grieved, whispering Merle’s name until it lost meaning. The doctor sat beside her, silent. “Where will you go now?” he asked.

"He lived here. He lived here, so now I will live here. It will be just like it was—" She faltered, leaning against the worn leather. She had no tears, but she sobbed. "Any minute… any minute Merle will come through the door."

Then I will wait for him, here with you.

By Gabriel Jade, from the SCP Wiki. Source: https://scpwiki.com/going-home .

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⠀⠀⠀⠀ ██████⠀⠀ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: Daydream In Blue by I Monster
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　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　ᴜᴘ ɴᴇxᴛ
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