Item#: 6918

Containment Class: neutralized

Secondary Class: none

Disruption Class: dark

Risk Class: notice

Special Containment Procedures

As SCP-6918 was discovered post-neutralization, it does not require direct containment. While staff are advised to be on the lookout for similar events, no other occurrences of the precise phenomena of SCP-6918 have been discovered. Disinformation regarding the disappearance of Harley Warren is to be disseminated under standard cover story for persons of interest "St. Agnes's Outsider"1.

Analysis of Warren's remains has not revealed any anomalous qualities. Though anomalous circumstances lead to Warren's death, the method by which Warren died was not anomalous. Autopsy did not find anything out of the ordinary for victims of non-anomalous drowning. As such, Harley's remains and belongings (sans journal) have been returned to Warren's family for burial. The precise location of Warren's burial site near Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, has been recorded for Foundation archives should need arise for disinterment and further analysis.

Description

SCP-6918 refers to a personal, reiterative temporal anomaly2 affecting Harley Warren between the dates of September 19th, 1989, and February 22nd, 1990. The temporal anomaly is believed to have spontaneously ceased moments prior to or immediately following Warren's death, perhaps as a direct result of it. The precise nature of the anomaly is currently unknown; no other individuals with whom Warren had contact during the events described in his journals seem to have been affected by the anomaly. Further research is required to determine the cause of the anomaly. Research into other missing persons cases in the area has not yielded evidence of similar temporal phenomenon, but investigation into the matter is still ongoing.

Addendum 1: Journal Entries

The following entries are transcribed from a journal found on Harley Warren's corpse. Prolonged exposure to seawater has rendered almost all of the journal unreadable. Through use of the Sculptor-Hypnos AI, several of the journal entries have been successfully reconstructed. As the precise cause of SCP-6918's activation remains unknown, lead researcher Dr. Uwe has elected to include all successfully recreated entries yielded by Sculptor-Hypnos regardless of perceived relevance in the hopes that some information about SCP-6918's nature may be gleaned from them.

+ Entry 1, Day 12?

- Entry 1, Day 12?

For future reference, I'm just guessing how many days it's been. I can't say I even know how many times it took me to realize what was happening. It's kind of terrifying to think that I could have repeated the same day countless times without realizing it.

It's not like I haven't seen movies or TV shows where this happens. I always assumed I would have figured it out by the second or third iteration of the same day, but I guess I'm not as clever as I give myself credit for. Sure, everything seems the same, but going into the same job, doing the same work, having the same basic conversations in passing with people isn't really that far out of the ordinary, is it?

Honestly, the more terrifying thought is that this isn't a time loop. My life is just that boring, and I'm finally being driven insane by it and becoming paranoid. Even my walks on the beach to "clear my head" don't really do as much as I thought. I've never really given enough self-reflection to notice the habits I've fallen into.

My therapist suggested I keep a journal about this feeling. Obviously, she thinks it's just in my head. It probably is. At least this'll prove to me that I'm just imagining things, give me some private validation, or at least just let me vent.

+ Entry 4, Day 15

- Entry 4, Day 15

I've been keeping this journal in my pocket every time I go to bed at the end of the day, just to be certain. Yesterday (well, the previous today, I guess), I wanted to test something. I wrote out an entry in a separate journal and left that on my bedside table. It was gone when I woke up. I have to keep this journal on me, otherwise I fear I'll lose all record of what's happening.

The thought of that is kind of horrifying, to be honest. This feels like my only tether to reality, in a way. If I don't have this to reassure myself it's real, I'll probably go back to thinking I'm just insane and paranoid.

Well, no, maybe I wouldn't go crazy without it. Honestly, I'd probably go back to thinking everything was normal for a few days, then come back around to realizing I'm in this loop. I can't say it feels like a waking nightmare being in this loop or anything. It feels fairly normal, really. I've lived the same day countless times before I got stuck in this loop. I've let myself slip into routines, spending every day the same as the last one. I guess I'm only really aware of that in hindsight because I'm living the EXACT same day over and over.

I've kind of been letting my life slip past me, haven't I? I'm 34 now? I have to take a moment to remember that. I've stopped paying attention to the years rushing past me. Sure, I've reflected a few times on all of my friends getting married and having kids, but it's not like I've ever wanted that for myself. I don't think I'd be that great of a parent. I'm too short-tempered. I don't think I could deal with all the screaming and crying. After hearing all my friends talk about not getting sleep for months on end and seeing just how chaotic their lives are, I can't say the idea of having a kid ever really appealed to me.

This is kind of making me rethink that. Waking up to have everything the same as when I went to bed isn't really new. That's how my life always was. If I don't change something, it won't be different, at least in my apartment. Maybe I should get a dog once life is back to normal. It'd bring some kind of variance into my day. Less difficult than having a kid, but it would keep things from being the same every day.

+ Entry 7, Day 18

- Entry 7, Day 18

I've managed to convince my therapist I'm not crazy. Sure, I'll have to do it every single time I see her, but it's nice to have someone to confide in. Her middle name is Gloria, and when she was in high school, she'd bring a metal water bottle with milk in it during tests because it felt soothing to her. That's the information she gave me yesterday (it still feels wrong to call it, like, "the previous today" or stuff like that) to convince her. Did she have that planned? Has she had to use that code information before or something?

Maybe she just made it up on the spot. Maybe she's just trying to reassure me. Then again, it's not like lying to me would make her a good therapist, would it? Is it better for her to try and help me feel accepted or to not feed into what she might think are delusions? Maybe I should look up stuff about therapy tomorrow so I can figure out if she's being honest with me.

Even if she doesn't ACTUALLY believe me, there's not really anything bad that'll happen if I tell her whatever crazy things I'm thinking. It's not like she'll remember them next I see her.

I just came to the realization I can use my therapist for therapy, didn't I? God, I'm such a moron sometimes.

+ Entry 8, Day 19

- Entry 8, Day 19

I keep thinking about dogs, ever since offhandedly mentioning one a few days ago. I can't really go about adopting one. If it requires some kind of background check or anything that keeps it from being a single-day process, there'd be no way for me to even GET a dog until I'm out of this loop. Even if I did, it would probably just be in the pound again as soon as I woke up the next morning.

But there's a bit of a solution I've found. See, adopting a dog from the pound might be out of the question, but that doesn't mean I can't go look at them. I can spend time with each dog up for adoption until I find the one that's perfect. Even if it won't remember me when I'm out of this loop, it's not like it'll be that different. Dogs just kind of love people innately, right? So I don't think it'll be difficult for the dog to get just as attached to me as I'll be to it.

Thinking about it is kind of exciting. I'll definitely take it with me on my evening beach walks. I bet it'll love that. I don't know if it'll want to go in the water, but it's not like I do either. We can just stare out at the sea together. That'll be good enough. Hell, a dog would probably be a better swimmer than me. Dogs kind of seem to innately know how to swim, but people need to be taught.

I guess learning how to swim is another thing I could do while I'm stuck in this loop. I can find a pool to practice in. If I make a fool of myself and need to be rescued by the lifeguard, nobody will know it happened when I wake up the next morning. It's kind of reassuring to know I can't embarrass myself THAT badly while I'm stuck in this loop.

+ Entry 12, Day 23

- Entry 12, Day 23

I tried out what my therapist suggested yesterday. I don't know why I didn't think of it before, but I guess it WOULD be kind of hard for the pound employees to give every dog the exercise they need. Sure enough, they seemed pretty happy to let me take one of the dogs for a walk.

The dog I walked today was named Gus. He's a former racing greyhound. He's pretty shy, but he seems like a sweetheart. He seemed to hate having sand between his paws, though. As soon as we set foot on the beach, he started picking up his feet way more when he walked like he was trying to keep them from touching the sand as much as possible. At least he didn't really stop me from holding his paws to clean them off.

There's something comforting about being at the beach with a dog. I'm kind of alone right now, since nobody else seems to know about the loop besides me, at least not as far as I know. Looking out into the ocean, though, hearing the waves lapping at the shore, seeing Gus's tail wagging away… I think it's going to be alright. We'll make it through this together.

+ Entry 21, Day 38?

- Entry 21, Day 38?

I let myself slip into a routine, taking Gus out for a walk on the beach in the evenings. I forgot to write in my journal a few times because of it, since I normally wrote my entries while I was at the beach. I hope my estimate of how many days passed is accurate. I don't really have a way of checking. I have to remember to write SOMETHING each day before I go to bed, even if it's just a single sentence. I don't have any other way of marking the days if I don't.

Gus still does his funny little high-step when we first reach the sand, so I can tell he's not getting any more used to it. Still, he can't really show confusion when I act familiar towards him. He's just as happy to see me every time. Maybe it's a greyhound thing, maybe it's because he's stuck in a pretty small pen, I dunno. Whatever the reason, when I ask him if he wants to go for a walk, he starts spinning in circles as fast as he can. It's honestly hilarious, super endearing too. I've done this pretty much every time I've seen him, but I haven't gotten tired of it.

I said I'd try spending time with different dogs to find the right one, but I kind of fell in love with Gus right away, didn't I? I've taken him for a walk every time. He's really calm, maybe just because he's shy, but it makes him seem that much more comforting for me. There's a feeling of kinship, at least on my end. We're both going through stress. Hell, I bet he feels just as stuck in routine as I do. Every day in the pound is the same for him.

Once I'm free from whatever's going on, I'll adopt him.

+ Entry 99, Day 122

- Entry 99, Day 122

I keep talking about what I'll do when I'm free from whatever's going on, but I've only recently started to realize I have no idea if I'll ever get free at all. I don't know why this started, after all. It's not like I can do anything to figure it out, since nobody else even knows this is happening. Even if I lash out and yell at or hit someone at work, nothing comes from it. I get written up, sure, but nobody remembers it the next morning when I come in. The previous version of the day never happened for them, after all.

In every movie or story I've seen about this sort of thing, there's some kind of inciting incident for it all, isn't there? Someone has been making some kind of mistake they need to rectify for their life to return to normal. I've thought about it for a while, but I can't figure out anything of the sort here. My life is just too boring for that. I don't have any huge mistakes to fix or relationships to repair. Everything is just… average. My parents are fine, we've got a good relationship. I don't have any particular friendships with my coworkers, but they're all as disinterested in me as I've been in them. I think they forget about me the second they're off work, really. Besides the time loop making them forget, I mean. It's not like I haven't tried probing them to see if there might be something I hadn't picked up on.

I'm pretty sure there's nothing underlying in my relationships with my coworkers that I hadn't noticed before. People are only confused when I show interest in getting to know them or spending time outside of work. I've tried EVERYONE I interact with at work, and none of them seem to regard me as anything more than someone they pass by every day. Then again, that's kind of how I always thought of them, isn't it?

I hope I figure something out soon.

+ Entry 110 Day 141

- Entry 110, Day 141

I've let a few weeks go by without bringing Gus to the beach with me. I think that might be part of why I've been feeling more and more down about this whole loop business. Maybe it's because I've been feeling more down that I haven't bothered to bring him with me.

I don't really feel like reflecting on things right now. I've been forgetting to even bother writing entries lately, and I can't bring myself to write more. I guess I'll just leave things off here. Maybe bringing Gus to the beach tomorrow will help me gather the energy to really think about what's going on.

+ Entry 111, Day 142

- Entry 111, Day 142

I wish I hadn't brought Gus with me. For whatever reason, he bolted as soon as we were on the beach. He's never reacted that way before. He completely tore the leash out of my hand and ran off into the waves. I couldn't really go after him even if I wanted to. I'd probably drown if I tried to swim out into the ocean at all, even when the waves are more tame.

I lost sight of him, and no matter how loud I called, I couldn't get him to come back. I stayed until the sun set, but he never showed back up. I couldn't find pawprints in the sand anywhere. He just… vanished.

It's well past midnight. I don't know if I've already looped back into the same day or not. I've tried to sleep, but I'm just worried sick about him. I have a sinking feeling that letting myself stay up all night might break the loop, and Gus will really just be gone. It's not like I haven't tried pulling an all-nighter before. It never worked. I always fell asleep at some point and woke up with my alarm the same morning. What if this is the one time it's different?

+ Entry 112, Day 143

- Entry 112, Day 143

I must have dozed off at some point. I don't know when. It was definitely some time after 5 AM, I remember still being awake then. Considering my alarm goes off at 6:30, I probably didn't get much sleep at all. I don't really feel like it, though. I feel just as well-rested today as I have any other morning.

It's 8 AM now. I'm going to be late for work, but I don't care. It won't matter. I need to go to the shelter and see Gus first.

+ Entry 113, Day 143 (Evening)

- Entry 113, Day 143 (evening)

Gus wasn't there. They don't have any record of him ever having been at the shelter. The people working there looked at me like I was crazy when I asked about him. They say they've never had a racing greyhound in their care.

This is the only time anything has been different in these loops. Why isn't he there? What did I do wrong? Did something happen to him?

I mean, I guess I know what probably happened, but I don't want to write it. I feel like putting it into words will make the possibility all that more real. I can't accept that it could be the case.

I guess there's a way to test it, but do I have the heart to do it?

+ Entry 120, Day 149

- Entry 120, Day 149

I let myself run over a squirrel this morning on the way to work. I figured it would be a good test to figure out if something gets removed from the loop when they die.

In retrospect, it was an awful thing to do. I killed a squirrel for no reason. I know it's dead. I saw the vultures hanging out by it when I was driving home this evening. I couldn't see the body, but it was in the exact spot where I ran over the squirrel. It's just not likely enough that some other animal would have died in the same spot. I haven't seen any other roadkill pop up (except the deer I pass on the highway every morning, that one is always there), so it had to have been the one I hit.

I would rather an animal die to test this than a person, but I have no way of knowing if that particular squirrel disappears or not. There's only one place I know of where I can test to see if a specific animal shows back up after it dies. It would be so easy. If it works, nobody will know it happened. Nobody will know whatever dog I pick ever existed. If it doesn't work, the dog will still be there, and nobody will remember I did that the previous loop. The dogs are just going to be put down anyway so the pound doesn't get overcrowded.

I feel awful just for writing this. I don't think I could bring myself to hurt an animal intentionally. I think I'm going to stop writing here. I don't want to keep giving voice to these kinds of thoughts.

+ Entry 124, Day 153

- Entry 124, Day 153

I tried going to the pound again today. Not for anything nefarious. I just wanted to try walking a different dog to get my mind off of things.

I didn't end up taking a dog out. I felt horrible just being in there. The people there might not know me, but I feel like the dogs do. The way they looked at me was so sad. It's like they're mourning. Or maybe they know I thought about hurting them.

I couldn't do it. I wasn't there to hurt them, but I couldn't bring myself to even take one for a walk. I'm too worried those thoughts of hurting them will come back.

I keep hoping I'll see pawprints on the beach. I keep hoping Gus will show back up. He hasn't, but I feel like I'm less alone when I'm here. If nothing else, I can remember the nicer walks Gus and I had. Maybe he's the one I feel watching me.

+ Entry 125, Day 154

- Entry 125, Day 154

I couldn't even bring myself to walk past the doors of the pound today. Just thinking about it made me feel sick.

I didn't go to the therapy appointment either. It's been a while since I did, honestly. I don't want to talk about these thoughts I've been having. I know she won't remember, but just thinking about discussing it makes me want to curl up and wait for the day to be over.

I don't think I have it in me to hurt a living thing on purpose, even to figure out if it'll free them (or me) from this loop. Since having just thought about me fills me with so much guilt, I can only imagine how I'd feel just trying to do it, let alone actually going through with it.

+ Entry 126, Day 155

- Entry 126, Day 155

I might not be able to hurt another living thing on purpose to test my theory, but there is one thing I think I could hurt without feeling bad.

I'll do it tomorrow. I'll rent a fishing boat to take out into the ocean. I'll see if I can't find Gus out there. I think he wants me to come out into the open sea. I think that's what he was trying to tell me.

Footnotes

1. The codename for a type of general cover story for anomalous disappearances. Generally, St. Agnes's Outsiders are described as voluntarily going missing or otherwise running away, as this typically dissuades law enforcement from pursuing any immediate or serious investigation. Voluntarily going missing is not a crime in most countries.

2. A type of temporal anomaly in which one or more individuals experience the same period of time repeatedly, with changes only arising from their personal interactions. Individuals who are not the subject of the PRTA typically remain unaffected by events occurring within the anomaly. This is distinct from a localized, reiterative temporal anomaly, or LRTA, wherein everyone contained within the affected area experiences the anomaly.