SCP - 019 "The Monster Pot"
Object Class - Keter
-----------------------------------------------------------
Site-19, SCP-019 Containment Chamber
Dr. Alice Light pressed her face to the observation window, watching the massive, unbreakable vase at the center of the freezing concrete room. Her breath fogged the glass. Next to her, Security Officer Grant checked the incinerator controls.
"Another one's coming," Alice said, voice tense.
From the yawning black mouth of SCP-019, a squat, gray creature tumbled onto the grate. It blinked, hissed, and scuttled toward the glass. Its claws scraped the surface, leaving faint tracks.
Grant grimaced. "Ugly little things. That's the third this hour."
Alice scribbled notes. "Manifestation rate's up. Did you hear the vocalizations last time?"
"Sounded like a catfight in a blender," Grant replied. "You really think they're speaking Greek?"
Alice shrugged. "Ancient Hellenic, maybe. Or something older. We'll need a linguist."
The creature clawed at the glass, then slumped, shivering in the cold.
Suddenly, the lights flickered. The room's temperature display jumped:
0°C → 8°C
Alice's eyes widened. "No, no, no—Grant, the temperature's rising!"
As if on cue, the vase rattled. Dozens of SCP-019-2 poured out, yowling and snapping, their bodies writhing over one another.
"Incinerator—now!" Alice shouted.
Grant slammed the button. Flames roared beneath the grate, engulfing the swarm. Most shrieked and curled up, but a few crawled through the fire, their skin blackening but not burning away.
"Some of them aren't dying!" Grant yelled. "They're adapting!"
Alice's voice shook. "Get the acid bath ready. We can't let them breach containment."
Later, in the reinforced pen, Alice observed a surviving specimen. It glared at her, baring needle-like teeth.
She spoke softly, recording. "Specimen vocalizes continuously. Attempting communication."
The creature hissed, then muttered something guttural and rhythmic.
Alice leaned in. "Repeat that?"
It snapped its jaws, then croaked, "Ekhthros... ekhthros..."
Grant watched from the door. "What's it saying?"
Alice's brow furrowed. "Enemy. In Greek."
The creature shivered, then collapsed. Its body began to dissolve, leaving only a thin, oily residue.
That evening, Alice met with Dr. Vaux in the observation lounge.
"They're evolving," Alice said. "Some resist fire. Some are almost transparent. And they're trying to speak."
Vaux nodded. "I think the vase is learning from us. It makes new creatures to counter our containment methods."
Alice stared at her notes, troubled. "But why? To escape? Or just to survive?"
Vaux's voice was grim. "Maybe both. Or maybe it just hates being contained."
On the monitor, the vase sat silent and still, but Alice could almost feel it watching back.
End of Log