SCP-529:
Josie the Half-Cat
SEVERAL DAYS had passed since that whole affair with the Eye Pods. I was in Dr. Bright’s lab (slash otaku room), slowly grinding on an RPG since that researcher claimed, “This is necessary for an extremely important test.” In reality, I knew good and well there was less than a 1% chance this was actually related to some sort of test or experiment… The trouble was Dr. Bright actually possessed quite a bit of authority and I was under orders to follow their directions as best I could.
Besides, it wasn’t like I had anything that demanded my immediate attention. Since I was no longer allowed to relax by playing with the Eye Pods, I was feeling pretty down in the dumps. By endlessly repeating the same monotonous task, I was attempting to bury my sense of loss and loneliness.
If I sat doing nothing, my mind would only hurtle toward depressing thoughts. But that having been said, I wasn’t up to anything mentally challenging in my current state. As such, I had to admit, this was currently the perfect way for me to kill time. As I methodically continued an endless level grind—one that somehow seemed reminiscent of meditation, something that could accidentally lead to enlightenment—the door suddenly swung open.
“Hello! ███, would you like to join me for lunch?” Iris asked, peeking her head into the room. There was an adorable lunchbox dangling from one hand.
I had been holed up in Dr. Bright’s lab since bright and early that morning. That made it sound like we were conducting highbrow experiments, but I was just playing video games. Apparently, time had slipped away from me. I couldn’t believe it was already time for lunch.
I glanced over at the clock in the room to check the time before turning back toward Iris and nodding. Asking for her to give me a second, I hastily saved the game, found a reasonable enough home for the controller, and rushed over to her.
Iris seemed in high spirits, wearing a bright grin. “Sorry for suddenly dropping by. Were you in the middle of an important task?”
I told her it was by no means important.
“Really? Glad to hear it! When I asked some of the other personnel, they said I could find you here, ███. So what were you up to?” she asked.
I told her I was saving the world.
“…What do you mean?” Despite asking that with a puzzled tilt of her head, she snatched my hand, unable to wait a moment longer—truly happy and hyper today—and began tugging me along.
“There is something I’d like to show you. Please come with me,” she said, thrusting her thumb to point the way in a gesture not typically done by Japanese.
✦ ✦ ✦
We walked for a good while, Iris pulling me by the hand all the while. Along the way, we got on the elevator to the ground floor. It was surprisingly easy to forget, but the area where we generally went about our business was part of a primarily underground research facility. We didn’t have much business with the surface (not that there was much there to begin with). And since we were still considered an SCP object and its accessory, an alarm would have on-site security rushing to secure us if we stayed out too long. As such, the amount of time we could spend outside was fairly limited…
“This way! Over here!” Iris said, walking with such a spry step she practically bounced. She led me toward a certain area.
It was located in a courtyard, probably in the center of the ground-floor building. I only said “probably” because the research site’s blueprints and floor plans weren’t made public in order to maintain confidentiality. It didn’t help that the place was freaking huge, preventing me from forming any sense of direction.
Iris simply referred to this as the “courtyard.” It was essentially a glass-encased greenhouse, where a variety of flowers bloomed with no regard for the season. There was everything from unwieldly tropical plants to some bored personnel’s efforts to grow the semblance of a vegetable garden.
It was a rare plot of abundant greenery in the otherwise drab gray and metallic research site. But the stifling humidity characteristic of greenhouses made it a less-than-ideal location to kick back and relax. There were a bunch of bugs flying around, and mud was getting all over me after hardly walking a few feet… Raised in a city pretty close to Tokyo, I lacked that drive to “return to nature.”
“I’ll never get over how great the air is here,” Iris exclaimed.
Unlike me, it was apparently in her nature to love the great outdoors. She happily took in a great, deep breath. She seemed to enjoy looking at the flowers and pantomimed taking pictures. Not only was Iris prohibited from carrying around her beloved Polaroid camera, she wasn’t even allowed to have a normal camera or photos, so she couldn’t actually take any pictures. I felt a bit bad for her, but there was nothing I could do about it. Iris waved me over once she had taken enough photos of stuff with the imaginary camera made from both her hands’ pointer finger and thumb.
“I made sandwiches,” she said, sitting on a bench in the courtyard and placing the lunchbox that she brought on her lap. For some reason, she was looking about the area with restless excitement.
…Was she searching for something?
“Yes, Josie the Half-Cat has been spotted here lately. Really, that kitty should be underground, but it must have slipped out sometime,” she said.
I could swear I had heard that name before. After thinking for a minute, it hit me. During the string of events concerning the Eye Pods, Dr. Selkie mentioned that name.
“Ahh, the Eye Pods. The rule is there for a reason, but you really have been down ever since you were prohibited from playing with them,” Iris observed.
She popped open the lunchbox, grabbed one of the sandwiches, and took a big bite out of it. Then she handed one of the plastic-wrapped sandwiches to me. Gratefully accepting it, I sat down next to Iris to join her for lunch.
“So I decided to introduce you to a new cute friend. There are reasons why you can’t interact with the Eye Pods, but there’s no reason why you can’t befriend something else.”
Iris… She could tell I was down and went out of her way to cheer me up. I was honestly happy. Grateful. It gave me the warm fuzzies. Iris’s kindness alone was enough to unravel the knot of loneliness that was growing in my heart. Overwhelmed with happiness, I chomped into my sandwich. She went heavy on the mustard (a good portion of the people here went surprisingly heavy on condiments and spices), but it was still good.
“I’ve been a bit lonesome of late myself. I haven’t been informed of the details, but Bill—Builder Bear—has gone missing,” she confessed.
Oh, that moving teddy bear… I knew Iris was pretty infatuated with that thing… So it was missing, huh? What could have happened to it?
“I don’t know. The site director—the whole Foundation, for that matter—doesn’t seem to know. It’s currently under investigation. But things don’t look good… I’ve heard a task force from another facility has been mobilized to handle the situation.”
A task force… Like the soldiers I maneuvered with back in the Carnival of Horrors, or to be more precise, inside a photo of SCP-823. Those soldiers boasted they could neutralize a small town! I felt throwing such strong forces at a moving stuffed animal was overkill.
“Agreed. I suppose they are being extra careful since it’s always possible the situation will develop in the most unlikely of ways when SCP objects are involved.” Iris sighed heavily, probably beside herself with worry for Builder Bear.
Nevertheless, Iris was an overall cheerful, optimistic girl. Rather than fret over the various possibilities, she focused on the fun things in life as she put on a smile, once again looking around us.
“That having been said, in order to avoid losing my mind for want of something cute to cuddle while I wait for the issue concerning Builder Bear to resolve…I’d like to get closer with Josie the Half-Cat.”
I could see where Iris was coming from… But what type of creature was this “Josie the Half-Cat?” Dr. Selkie put it on the same level as Builder Bear and the Eye Pods, so I assumed it was an SCP object.
“That’s right. It’s SCP-529, Josie the Half-Cat. It’s an overall extremely harmless cat that is absolutely adorable with gray tabby markings. But as the name implies, it is only half a cat,” Iris said with a grin.
I didn’t quite follow. I outright suspected the translation collar around my neck had failed to properly translate what she said. Uh, what did she mean by “only half a cat…?”
“It’s hard to explain. It’ll be quicker if you see for yourself. Josie the Half-Cat loves cheese, so let’s use that as bait,” Iris suggested.
She pulled the slice of cheese from her partially eaten sandwich and flapped it between pinched fingers as she called out, “Hey, Josie! Cute little Josie the Half-Cat!”