Entity #444

5: 444

Playlist songs for this chapter:
Mending a Secret- Steve Jansen
***

I carried on the next day in my normal life, my mind heavily preoccupied by the adventure that had taken place in my dreams. I most certainly looked forward to going back to sleep and, did I dare admit, re-entering the Backrooms. It was nothing about the rooms themselves, however, that intrigued me. It was the mystery of a creature I had gotten to know within them that slowly and surely reeled me back in. Curiosity and wonder fed my need to go back to him. To know him. I wanted to know everything about him. Name and species was not enough; I thirsted for his history. His knowledge. His personality. Maybe even his affection or love.

Nestled in my bed that night, I laid my head down and situated my body accordingly. I popped melatonin and eased into a deep sleep. Nazarius' oddly comforting warmth soon welcomed me back into the void of the Backrooms. Eyes still closed, I absent-mindedly rolled inward towards him and wrapped my hands around his bony muzzle, pulling it down to me. He lifted his head slightly in surprise, then let it rest on me again. I hardly knew this creature; had even witnessed him kill. Yet I found myself astounded by how affectionate he could be. My eyes slowly opened, straining against the lights.

"Welcome back, little Marzena," he hummed. "Thank you, Nazarius," I replied with a small grin. "I actually couldn't wait to come back." I brushed my straying hair behind an ear. What I really wanted to say was that it was him I was so intrigued by.

"Marzena..." he angled his skull so that one red eye was leaning toward me, and his voice took on a low tone, laced with a growl. I took my hand from his nose. "A place like this is nowhere to be for someone such as yourself. You shouldn't have returned."

His growl shot straight through to my core. Shouldn't have returned? He was still here waiting for me, wasn't he?

I looked him in the eye that was at my level, ignoring his warning. "Are you not a protector?"

He stared right back, no blinking to be done. "I suppose I am," he said after a second.

"Well, every protector needs a healer." I pointed back at his shoulder on my other side. "How is your wound doing?"

If I hadn't been here to help with the almond water, how would he have healed his wound?

Nazarius curled his neck around me to look down at his scabbed over injury. He ran his tongue over it, squeezing me to him in the process. It was no horse's tongue, for sure, which still mystified me. The pressure of him wrapping around me relaxed me even further. All of this physical contact seemed natural to him, but to a human, it might've been considered too much.

I reveled in it.

He brought his bony head back to me when he was done. "It is healing..."

I grinned up at him.

"Thank you... Marzena." A sudden, deep yawn escaped his jaws, which he opened wide. Nazarius' thorn-sharp canines and wolf teeth glinted in the fluorescent light. I stared at his jaws, awestruck.

His yawn ended in a hearty, deep growl, and he let his head sink down into my lap, resting his incisors on my thigh. "I should get some rest. You are on watch, delicate woman. If you hear anything, you must wake me."

I nodded, and inhaled sharply, partially from what he said. I reached one hand around and slid it up the side of Nazarius' muzzle, then rested it on his forehead. I leaned back into him, not daring to take my eyes off of the rest of the rooms. For a few minutes, at least.

It was merely seconds before Nazarius' breathing evolved into a slight rumbling, and eventually a rough, monstrous snoring. Once it started, my grey eyes stared at him in horror. That kind of sound would frighten the dead! Or worse, it would alert any and all entities that were within a mile of our location.

I guess that's what happens when you have no nasal passages...

My uneasiness continued for a few minutes, until I really tuned in to his snoring. It was otherworldly and rough, yet almost calming. It was a constant reminder that here, in the deadly, lonely Backrooms, I was actually not alone. Not only the sound, which didn't actually bother me, but the heavy vibrations also eased my nervous system like a massage. They traveled down my spine and thus radiated throughout my entire body. I gladly soaked in his presence- vibrations, bass, heat, and all. I was able to relax and keep my eyes open just enough to keep watch for anything suspicious.

His soundwaves continued to pass through me. The heat Nazarius radiated grew more intense by the minute. I turned outward to my left and quietly studied his body, trying to guess what kind of terrain he must have come from. His massive hooves were ground down but in fine condition. I guessed he either associated with humans often or he regularly traversed over rocky terrain.

He took on a brute form and proud stature with long muscular legs. Mane-like, medium length hair grew on his fetlocks and elbows and made him look untamed, yet his thick tail and mane were chopped as short as could be.

A large, tall, and thick pair of greyish-brown horns spiraled out of the top of his skull, each one originating from where the... ears should be?? I hadn't noticed before. How does he hear anything? His horns most closely resembled those of a Kudu, spiraling wide and tall.

I took my time while he slept, reading into every part of him and remembering how my name rolled off his tongue. I might've bounced back and forth between full and half-consciousness, keeping a wary eye on our surroundings.

The fascination I held for this creature only grew each time I looked at him. I was stunned at how he could fall asleep so quickly in an environment as dangerous as this. I knew very well that this was a learned trait over many many years, and figured Nazarius was used to war zones and dangerous situations.

I looked down beside me at his right inner forearm. Sure enough, a scar in the form of a cross was planted there, running down towards his knee. A 444 was running vertically beside it.

"Oh, wow..." I whispered to myself, raising both eyebrows.

Maybe I'll consider him as Entity #444...