The Plague Doctor

You'd only been working for the SCP Foundation for a few months. You were usually assigned to safe objects: SCP-999, SCP-131, and occasionally SCP-500. Nothing serious—observation, reporting, and simple testing.

But today everything was different.

You were assigned to work with SCP-049—the Plague Doctor. Technically, he was listed as a "green zone" object, but every staff member knew that if the doctor became aggressive, someone would die.

You stood behind the bulletproof glass, filling out an observation form. Across the room, SCP-049 sat calmly at a table, fingering an old cane.

“Good afternoon, doctor,” you said, trying to sound confident.

"Ah... a new employee," he replied in his hoarse voice. "The others refused to come. Curious."

You pretended not to hear the last sentence and continued writing. Just then, you noticed movement out of the corner of your eye.

The plague doctor raised his hands and suddenly folded his fingers into a small heart.

You froze.

"Um... was that addressed to me?" you asked cautiously.

The doctor bowed his head slightly, nodding in agreement.

• Yes.