Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the scp universe, only my OC's. All the credit for the scp's belongs to their respective authors and the scp wiki.

These stories may contain bad language, blood, violence and sometimes death. You have been warned.

Without further ado,

Chapter 1: SCP-026_ Afterschool Retention.


Cecile tightened her grip around the warm steering wheel. Her piercing emerald eyes glancing back and forth across the desolate road. It had been hours, but the scenery barely changed.

Most nights were the darkest of greys, but this one was nothing but pure black. No lights, no moon, no stars, just an empty void of darkness, not even letting the tiniest speck of light penetrate through. It was impossible to see beyond the boundary of luminous headlights.

"Ugh, that stupid camera!" A deep voice called out from her side, sounding a bit shrill yet still pleasant to the ear. Cecile quickly broke eye contact from the road and looked past her shoulder. Sitting in the passenger's seat was a young man, probably not much older than her. His unnaturally pale complexion revealed by the car's dim golden light. In his hands, he tweaked around with a small dove-gray recording camera.

"You better not break it before we get there Tom." Cecile said as she focused back on the road.

"Relax Ceci, I'm not going to break it. It's brand new for god's sake." Tom responded.

Cecile giggled at his comment. Shaking her head in delight. "Okay, okay. No need to be so agitated about it my friend."

"It's 4 in the morning. I have every right to be agitated." Tom muttered as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "How on earth did you even find this place to begin with?"

Cecile grinned. "Remember that urban gossip website I was talking about?"

"Yes..." Tom hesitantly responded.

"Well, according to it, this school is surrounded by creepy rumors. People who went missing, and explorers who suffered a strange memory loss... Can't you see, it's an urban goldmine! The perfect location for our next video."

Tom let out a soft groan, sinking deeper into his seat as he exclaimed. "Okay I get it, but that still doesn't justify how early it is! Couldn't we have gone in the evening or something?"

"Ha, no way! I'm pretending I didn't hear that just now." Cecile laughed while making a sharp turn to the right. "Just wait and see. This is going to be—."

She gasped as her heart skipped a beat. A dark silhouette moved past her vision, causing her foot to jump toward the brake and with screaming tires the car came to an abrupt halt.

"Cecile what the f*ck!" Tom screamed, puffing for air.

Cecile blinked, glancing into the darkness in search of the silhouette. Unfortunately to no prevail. Must have been a deer. She thought as her poor heart nearly went into overdrive. Then she noticed it. Beyond the endless darkness, something glistered in the distance. Sparkling in the golden headlight like stars on a winter evening. She narrowed her eyes. Is that a... fence?

"I think we might be here..." She whispered. Her foot slowly pressed down and they pulled into the verge before turning off the warm engine.

"Well, I'm never letting you drive again." Tom mumbled as he grabbed his cheap looking cobalt-blue backpack. Cecile opened the portier, shivering when a wave of wind rushed past her body. She pulled her coat tighter. Had she known it be this cold, she would have brought some warmer clothes for the trip.

"Are you sure it's here?" Tom called out. He slowly stepped from the car, rubbing his hands together in an effort to keep warm.

"100 percent." Cecile answered confidently while taking the smartphone from her pocket. She turned on the flashlight. Its glow seeming nothing more than a pinpoint of light that was swallowed by the unyielding darkness. She had to keep her eyes peeked not to trip.

She took a deep breath of earthy air. Pulling her fingers through the entangled, curled, coffee-brown mess that was her hair. This is it... Time to see how many of those 'rumors' are actually rumors. She thought with a wide grin.

Though it was barely visible, A massive building stood tall between the overgrown pine trees. Which shook uncontrollably as the wind howled through. From what she could see, the school had seen better days. But that was to be expected from something that withstood the test of time through rain and wind.

Cecile moved her phone across the rustic iron fence surrounding the property. The faint light flashed through and temporarily lit up the dry ground behind. A large sign hang near the side. The chipped paint and rapid plant growth revealing its old age.

'Warning! Private property. Do not pass.'

Not for me! Cecile thought as she proceeded. An abandoned school and a creepy rumor. No way that she was going to pass up an opportunity like this. She had explored creepier places and always made it back in one piece. This was going to be a walk in the park and no warming sign was going to stop her.

Cecile hooked her fingers tightly against the cold fence. Lifting herself off the ground before jumping over. The leaves crisping beneath her feet as gravity took hold and dragged her down. A loud screech echoed behind her, followed by a hard thump.

"Aaaah! A little help here!" Tom cried out, dangling by one leg as his arms swept in the air. "Get me down!" He cried again. Cecile had to do her best not to laugh at the sight. How could she not? It was hilarious! This totally made her day. Tom had always been a bit clumsy, ever since they were but children. Back then he would cry over every little thing... And in all honesty... He still does. She pointed the dim light right into his face. Grinning when Tom squeezed his eyes tight and yelled. "This isn't funny Ceci!"

"I'm not laughing." Cecile lied. After taking a quick picture she unhooked her friend's leg and with a loud squeak, Tom tumbled face first into the ground. He looked up, spitting the leaves from his mouth as he nearly gagged. The bitter taste of decomposed leaves, gritted dirt and who knows what else was going to be stuck in his mouth for hours!

Standing this close to the menacing silhouette that was ones an ordinary school, Cecile couldn't help but shiver. The air felt heavy, like something pushed against her chest. And for a second, the building seemed to grow taller. Either that or she was shrinking.

Tom seemed even more intimidated than she was. His thin body shaking like a Chihuahua before a Pitbull. Normally Cecile would have made fun of the poor boy, but she herself was quivering in fear just as much. She didn't know why, but there was something about the place that just seemed off.

This fear was quickly overridden with excitement as her heart fluttered with each passing breath. This feeling, this rush! The sensation that tingled beneath her skin. It was the call of adventure. The corners of her mouth pulled into a wide grin as she looked back towards her friend.

"Okay... this is it." She whispered. "Get the camera ready. I'm going in."


Her hand slowly pushed against the cold metallic door, opening it as a loud creak echoed throughout the abandoned hallways. Upon entering, she was greeted by the strong metallic stench of rust, penetrating her senses.

Through the darkness, the dim mobile light revealed a massive cloud of dust that was otherwise invisible to the naked eye. Cecile could faintly see graffiti littering the bare concrete walls. She assumed that it must have been the locals expressing their creativity in an isolated area. A bit of a waste if you asked her, but It did gave the boring looking halls a somewhat more colorful aesthetic.

She stepped forward, passing by some broken lockers that were ones surrounded by bright students. The fern-green paint chipped off on all sides, revealing the rust-stained metal underneath. Cecile craned past her shoulder, calling out. "Tom! Don't just stand there. Come on!"

Tom stood in the doorway, frozen in fear. His sweaty hands clutched tightly around the recording camera. "I... I don't know if this is such a good idea!" He yelled back.

"Aaah, come on Tom. Where is your sense of adventure! Exploring the unknown! We have done this so many times. This time will be no different. Trust me!"

"Well, if you say so..." Tom whispered before stumbling forward. He looked back one more time, shivering as a gust of icy wind slammed against his cold body. Goose bumps appeared across his arms. He had a really bad feeling about the place. The same awful feeling he would get when watching a horror movie, where the main character is about to walk straight into the murder basement.

"Come look at this!" Cecile whispered in awe. She pointed towards a heavily damaged wall. The text, 'The children used to sing' painted across its concrete surface in vibrant crimson letters. "This looks so mysterious and creepy! We should totally use this wall for our intro!" She exclaimed.

Tom stared at the wall, unimpressed by the somewhat unsettling looking text. "Alright, it's your video." He mumbled before turning on his camera. The small scarlet recording light flickered to life as he counted down. "Camera rolling in three, two, ..."

Cecile took her position. Smiling as she spoke in an upbeat tone. "What's up people and welcome to another episode of 'Exploring the unknown!' My name is Cecile and today we are going to explore the rumored abandoned school of [REDACTED] High! With me is Tom, my trusty assistant and partner in crime."

Tom pointed the camera into his face. Giving their future viewers a nervous smile before quickly turning back towards Cecile, who continued her exaggerated speech. "Rumors tell this place to be hunted by the souls of students who committed suicide. People mysteriously disappear and there is a strange memory loss to those who pay an unwanted visit. Without further ado... Let's go and dive into... 'The unknown.'"

Tom rolled his eyes. Giving Cecile a taunting glare that screamed 'that was lame' on all sides. She off course noticed, but kept smiling as the camera was still rolling.

They slowly passed through the abandoned hallway, occasionally showing off the creepy graffiti art painted across the walls. Cecile kept bragging on about the rumors. Even going as far as to say it was a curse.

Tom suddenly screeched louder than a horror movie maiden in destress as Cecile pointed towards a half-decomposed mouse. Dead off course, but it still seemed to twitch around a little from all the maggots crawling inside. Might as well keep the scream in the video, saying that it was a ghost. Cecile thought while continuing forward. She slowed down as her eyes rested on a large mink-gray door.

Unlike the other rooms they passed by, this one was wide open. Encouraging whoever passed by to take a look inside. Cecile couldn't help herself and took a quick peek. It looked surprisingly decent for a classroom that had been empty for decades. A thick layer of dust rested undisturbed on the rotten oak-wood desks. Massive cracks stained the graffiti-colored walls. At first glance, the room looked quite mundane. Except that the text 'The children used to sing' was scratched all across every desk, wall, board and even the windows.

"Whoa, creepy." Cecile mumbled while frowning like she bit on a sour lemon. Tom was thinking the same as his eyes were wider than a dear caught in headlights. "Maybe I could walk in and pretend to be possessed by ghosts or something?" Cecile joked.

"Please don't..." Tom wined. "I'm going to have enough nightmares as it is already."

"Scaredy-cat." Cecile whispered.

"I heard that..." Tom responded.

Cecile let out a loud giggle, looking back into the hall as she said. "Then how about we check out the second floor first. I'm sure that we can get some really good shots there."

Tom nodded. "Hmmm, yeah, why not. Anything is better than this creepy mess."


It didn't take long before they were standing beneath a half-broken staircase. The concrete steps looking all cracked up, seeming almost like they would break by the tiniest increase of weight. Cecile looked up, but the second floor wasn't visible, even with a flashlight.

Tom shook his head. "We should go back... I'm getting a really weird vibe from this place."

"Still a scaredy-cat as ever. Okay, we'll leave. But first, let's take those few shots of the second floor." Cecile mocked.

"I don't know Ceci, I have a bad feeling about it. We should go back." Tom whispered as he anxiously glared around. "This place is getting creepier by the second."

Cecile casually waved her hand in the air. "Just relax Tom. It will be fine."

As she began to climb the stairs, step for step, the hollow sound of her feet hitting the concrete echoed throughout the building. Slowly she climbed... and climbed... and climbed... and climbed, and climbed, and climbed...

Her hand clutched around the railing. Rust staining her sleeve as her legs grew heavy. The empty void on the second floor seemed to remain the same, despite her moving towards it.

No… It wasn't just that the darkness stayed the same. It almost seemed to move further away from her. She bit her lip, picking up speed and skipping two steps at a time. Cecile wasn't going to let herself be defeated by some stairs. Her breathing accelerated as it was getting more and more difficult to breathe. She panted, her longs and legs bagging for a break. Why were these gods forsaken stairs so long?! She wondered.

Cecile stopped, letting her tired longs fill with stale air before muttering. "Tom, this isn't working. Maybe we should—." She froze mid-sentence. Her eyes searching across the dead empty hallway. "Tom?" She asked nervously.

No answer...

Her eyes widened as she looked down. Three steps below lay the old, cold, broken and dust covered floor she started from. What the hell is going on! Cecile thought as she rubbed across her eyes. She had been climbing for what felt like hours. How could she have passed just three steps? That made absolutely no sense! It wasn't even possible! Being an urban explorer, Cecile had seen her fair share of weird and creepy things. But this was on a whole different level of weird and creepy! Maybe, there really was such a thing as a curse...

Carefully she stepped down to the ground. Her knees shaking uncontrollably as she screamed. "Tom! Tom where are you?!"

No answer...

She tried to swallow, but her mouth was too dry to get anything down. With her heart thumping against her chest, she continued. "Tom this isn't funny! Where are you!"

This must be some kind of sick joke, Cecile thought. It must be! If that ungrateful idiot is hiding behind the corner, laughing his ass off because I'm panicking. He has another thing coming. Cecile took a long, slow and deep breath, before rounding the corner. "Tom!" She yelled, but was ones again confronted by an empty hallway. The dim flashlight barely enough to see through the impairing darkness.

Then it hit her. The hall... It looked... different...

The rustic lockers, ones lined up against the right side were gone, vanished like they evaporated into thin air. The graffiti was shuffled around, entire sections appeared completely new and the colors were all switched up.

"What's going on?" Cecile whispered as she stepped back. Her whole body shaking like a leaf in the wind. Though she loved adventure, this was getting way too freaky for her liking.

"Tom?" She barely uttered underneath her breathe.

Again, no reaction. She turned back towards the stairs, yelping as her face slammed against a concrete wall. Cecile stumbled, struggling to keep her balance. She looked up, staring at a rough stone-gray surface.

Blood started pounding through her ears. Her mouth gasping for air. Her feet tingling as her vision blurred. The stairs... The stairs were gone! How was that even possible? They were there just a second ago!

"Tom where are you!" Cecile screeched in a panic. Like the floor would collapse beneath her feet, she sprinted down the hallway without hesitation. Leaping like a rabbit chased by a fox. Every fiber of her existence was screaming to run. To find an exit and leave this god forsaken school behind. Her vision gradually disfigured, like she was looking through a fish-eye lens. This couldn't be happening!

After a while, Cecile finally came to a slow stumbling craw. Her longs burning as she spasmed and coughed. Sweat drizzling from her forehead like rain on a window. She bowed over, letting a hurl of hot sour saliva drip from her mouth. Every muscle in her body was stiff from the cold and ached like a thousand needles pierced her flesh.

She looked up, leaning against the wall in an effort to keep herself from falling. "O...kay... ca...lm... dow...n." She mumbled in between gasps. Panting like an exhausted racehorse. It's going to be okay, it's going to be okay, you're okay. She chanted in her head, like that would somehow make the situation a little less dire.

Trees clattered their branches against the broken windows and wind howled through the creaks like banshees hunting a graveyard. Still shaking Cecile tilted up her phone. Shining the dim light across the darkness in an effort to see where she was going.

Before she could see anything significant, the light on her phone died, engulfing her within a blackness that seemed to consume everything. It felt like her eyes were closed... But they weren't.

"Oh, no, no, no, no." Cecile whispered as she tapped against the black screen. This was the worst possible time for her phone to have a dead battery! "Okay, okay, you're going to be fine Ceci… You're going to be fine… The sun is rising soon. So, there is no need to worry." She mumbled to herself. Her large eyes filled with tears that threatened to roll down at any moment.

A soft yelp escaped her throat as her knee ticked against something metallic. She held out her arms, hoping to catch herself from falling. But instead of the cold concrete floor, her hands landed on a large, wooden surface.

Cecile looked up. Though she could barely see it, there were rows of large rounded tables lined into the dark. The room felt a lot more spacious too. Much like a lunch cafeteria.

"Ah!" Cecile yelled as her hand touched something sticky. She had no idea what it was and honestly, she didn't even want to know. It smelled horrendously sour. Almost making her want to throw up what little food remained in her stomach. She quickly wiped her moist palm across the tables edge, but that seemed to do very little.

Great... Cecile thought. Now I have god-knows-what on my hand... Maybe with my water bottle I can... Oh right, Tom had the water with him.

She looked up as a thin streak on light glistered across the edges of broken glass. Cecile immediately stumbled forward, almost pressing her face against the cold window. From this side, she had a perfect view across the overgrown yard, right into another part of the school.

A small speck of silver light, looking almost like a will-o'-wisp, slowly move behind the glass, gradually becoming brighter. It suddenly flared towards her. Shining straight into her face as the cafeteria lit up and elongated shadows rose across the pale walls. Cecile had to narrow her eyes to see anything.

A tall silhouette appeared to be standing behind the wispy light. Though she couldn't make out who it was, a spark of hope welled up inside. Tom? She thought as a warm tear trickled down her flushed cheek. It had to be him, it has to be! Thank god he had a spare flashlight. Knowing him, he would panic like a headless chicken without it.

"Tom!" She yelled while waving her arms. Tom didn't seem to react to her gesture. Instead, he moved away from the window, out of Cecile's view. "Tom wait!" She yelled, but there was no way that he could hear her like this. She had no choice but to go towards him. Which has proven to be quite difficult.

As Cecile turned away from the window, a cold shiver rolled down her spine. Ones again, her surrounding had changed. She knew that there was a table behind her, yet, now there was only a chair. Like someone removed it while she wasn't looking. Cecile clutched her fist tightly against her chest. She was sure of it... This place was cursed. She couldn't stay in this damned school any longer.

Cecile wrapped her fingers around the chair, slamming it against the window with all her might. The glass quivered a little but was otherwise undamaged. "Stupid window!" Cecile yelled as she tightened her grip, moving back a little before ones again slamming the half-broken chair against the window. With a loud crack, a small piece of glass shattered. Cecile cried out in pain as her finger sliced past a lose shard. Feeling like her skin was on fire, hot crimson blood quickly trickled its way down her wrist.

"Sh*t." Cecile cursed. She looked down, but it was too dark to see the full extent of her injury. It burned like crazy, so she knew it was bad. Her eyes searched across the darkness for anything she could use. Anything at all… Her eyes fell on an open door. A small plain cart strapped to the front, depicting a familiar symbol. "Great, a bathroom. Just what I needed." She whispered.

Carefully Cecile opened the door, walking into the ruins that was ones a bathroom. Where normally stood a toilet, was now nothing but an empty hole. What little remained of the porcelain tiles was hanging lose from the wall and dark brown water constantly dripped from a loose rusty pipe beneath the sink.

She slowly turned the faucet, hoping for some clear water. But unfortunately, nothing happened. "Guess I was getting my hopes up for nothing." Cecile mumbled before walking back. Cleaning a cut with water that dirty was no option. She just had to ignore the pain, continue hitting the window and reach Tom. That way they can-. As Cecile bowed over to pick up the chair, her vision started to blur.

"What?" She whispered before leaning against the wall. Her body felt like lead, as if gravity itself was actively pushing her down. It felt like she was pulled underwater, unable to swim up.

Why am I so exhausted? Cecile wondered. She was fine just a few seconds ago. It was getting difficult to think, like her mind was filled with thousands of fluffy clouds. She rubbed her puffy eyes, which were getting heavier by the second.

Something echoed in the distance, but Cecile struggled to pay attention. What was that sound?... Singing? It sounded like a lullaby. One her mother would always sing before she went to bed… It seemed to make its way through her ears, slowly engulfing her muffled mind. A sweet melody, soft and gentle like sirens on the sea, luring her into the deep. It was nectar for the ears, a delight one cannot resist.

Cecile let herself fall to the ground. Staring down the blurred room as her eyes began to flutter. Everything slowly faded into darkness. But it was okay, wasn't it? She had been up for so long... She deserved a break... It would just be for a few minutes. There was no harm in that... She could just… sleep….

Just…. sleep…..

…..

…..


Cecile's eyes shot open, gasping like a fish out of water. It was bright. So bright that she had to keep her eyes squeezed. Is it morning? Cecile thought... Where is Tom? He must still be-. Her eyes widened as she noticed her surroundings.

She was sitting in a classroom, awfully similar to the one from before. Only this time, each seat was filled by a student. All staring forward, devoid of emotion. The walls appeared spotless, like they were brand new.

Creepiest thing off all, everything looked like it was covered in a black and white filter. Much like an old photo or film...

Everything... except her...

Thank you for reading this chapter. I'm still new at writing stories so any feedback will be appreciated. I love to learn.

I am a fan of scp foundation, but I'm no expert. So, I might get some details wrong. (Please go easy on me.)

This chapter was about scp 026. Told through the eyes of a young urban explorer. I left fate of Cecile and many other things to the readers interpretation. Such as: Who was it that Cecile saw standing behind the flashlight. It could off course be Tom... But it could also be a foundation agent looking for a pair of idiot explorers that ignored the warning sign. Then again... Maybe it's neither.

If you're not familiar with this scp, I suggest you read the wiki entry.

I wrote Cecile and Tom as poler opposants to one and other. Cecile who loves adventure, is a thrill seeker and has a personality... And Tom, who has a camera. (?w?)

This will be a collection of oneshots, so more wil follow. It may take some time for me to update, since my primary focus is still on my other two stories.

If you have a suggestion or a specific scp you wish to see a small story of, let me know.