DSMP Backrooms AU

Chapter 3

Level 5: The Hotel

It had been a few days or so since Karl had arrived in the Backrooms. He honestly had no idea how much time had passed but he learned quite a bit about it. He knew roughly what to expect in his new day-to-day. He stuck around with the group, glad to have any positive company. He'd seen some things here over the past few days. He's seen what this group had grown to be capable of. He's learned what happened to them for them to end up here. He's even found out some of their reasons for wanting out. He's met the other members.

Dream had set up an expedition group for Level 5 so they could try and get more Almond Water. The expedition group consisted of Dream, Sapnap, Karl, Antfrost, a man named Sam, and another man referred to as Quackity. Before the six of them had left for their exploration a boy named Tommy had complained that he wasn't allowed to go. Tommy ended up just walking off in a huff however after Dream told the boy he'd be allowed to go on the next one.

Karl found the situation somewhat amusing if he was being honest. Currently the group was on Level 4, taking a staircase that supposedly led to Level 5. At the head of the group was Sam, then behind him was Quackity and Antfrost, Karl, then at the very back was Dream and Sapnap. All of which are armed with various weapons. Machetes, knives, actual swords. The six of them entered what was known as Level 5. "Everyone, look for sinks and drips from the ceiling. Karl, everyone has heard this many times but you haven't. Almond Water has a distinct, albeit faint, smell of vanilla and rose water. It has a subtle taste of sweet, watery almond butter. If it does not exhibit these qualities, and isn't clearly fresh water, avoid it." Sam said, looking at Karl.

The brunet nodded."Yes Sam.". Sam pulled his mask down for a moment to speak once more, making his voice clearer. "If you come across an entity. Don't scream unless you know for absolute certainty that one of us is near. Fight like your life depends on it, because it does!" Sam pulled his mask back up and turned away. "Kill any entity that attacks you. Do not hesitate Karl. Every second you hesitate, is another second you can die." Sam's voice was stern. "You know what actually. Sapnap." Sam flipped around, directing his piercing gaze to the raven. Sapnap straightened his back and stared at Sam. "Make sure Karl stays safe but don't forget why we are on Level 5. Almond Water is the main focus." Sam said, turning back and walking off. Everyone moved off in any direction. Karl looked back at Sapnap as they started walking in the only direction that no one had started traveling. "So... Sapnap... you haven't let much out about how you ended up in the Backrooms." Karl said, trying to avoid being too loud. Karl had no idea what lurked on this level. Sapnap stopped mid step, grabbing Karl's sleeve. "Wait." The half blind raven whispered, looking around. His eyes squinted, trying to see whatever he was hearing.

A rat looking creature ran up to the two men. Sapnap darted his eyes down and pulled his machete out, slamming the blade down, just barely missing the entity. He stepped back, taking another swing down at it. Karl realized quickly that Sapnap would have trouble getting the thing so he pulled out a knife, dropped down, and plunged his weapon into the base of the creature's neck, blood spilled out of the entry and exit points as he pulled his knife out. Sapnap looked at Karl with shock. "I-" Sapnap seemed at a loss. "Wow... I'm impressed, Karl." Sapnap put his machete away. He seemed annoyed with himself having been unable to get it. Karl stood back up, wiping blood from his face and looking at Sapnap. "Thanks." the brunet huffed, smiling. Karl put his bloodied knife back into its holster. "By the way, what was that?" Karl asked, referring to the entity he'd killed.

"To answer your questions, Karl. That was a Death Rat, best not to anger them. They are shockingly, pretty fuckin' smart. How I ended up here, I slipped off my porch steps a year ago, I think, and no clipped through the concrete and ended up in this hell hole." Sapnap shrugged, continuing on their journey. Karl followed with no hesitation. "What is no clipping?" Karl questioned. "No clipping. Like 'going out of bounds in a video game'. But this isn't a game. It's how you, and me, and everyone in the Backrooms ended up here." Sapnap vaguely gestured around. Karl hummed in acknowledgement. The two kept walking and exploring every room they came across. They soon found a room that had a sink to which they ran to, putting their bags down. Sapnap was the first to pull out some bottles and quickly turning the faucets. What flowed out was the sweet victory of Almond Water. The two of them filled every bottle and canteen they had in their bags.

Sapnap pulled his personal canteen from his thigh holster and filled it, drinking what was in it and refilling. Karl proceeded to do the same but drank a little bit instead of chugging the entire canteen. As Sapnap turned the faucets again, stopping the run of Almond Water, a scream could be heard. It sounded like it was pained and involuntary. Sapnap quickly zipped his bag, flung it over his shoulder and ran out, going in the direction of the scream. Karl's heart sank as he heard Sapnap yell in response. "I'm on my way, Dream! Please try and get out of there!". Dream was in danger. Karl quickly grabbed his back off the ground and ran out, zipping it up as he ran. He quickly found the room that everyone else was in. Dream lay on the ground, bleeding and his breathing raggedly hollow. Quackity gripping his own newly injured arm. Sam could be seen struggling to get to his trident that lay a few feet away. Sapnap was pinned to the ground, being attacked by the entity. Karl grabbed Dream's discarded machete and slammed it into the entity's back causing it to flip around and go for Karl. The brunet quickly moved the blade to the entities neck and pinned the damned thing to the ground, slitting it's fucking neck. Ant ran in and quickly moved to Dream's aid, noting that the blond seemed to be in the worst shape. The man flipped Dream into his back, seeing the slice to Dream's throat, cheek, and his fleeting vision. "Dream stay with me!" Ant yelled, gently poking at Dream's neck to gauge the condition of the man. Ant placed his hands to Dream's neck in an attempt to slow the bleeding.

"Sapnap! Get my first aid kit!" Antfrost ordered. Sapnap did as he was told, finding the dirty white box and slipping it over. Antfrost flipped the lid open and grabbed the medical grade sewing supplies. Karl moved away from the dead hound and to be of Ant's aid. Ant slipped the threaded needle in and out of the wound on Dream's neck. Once the blond had been stitched up, Antfrost used sanitary wipes to clean as much of the blood as he could. He wrapped Dream's neck up with bandaging. Quackity, Sam, Sapnap, and Karl all stared in worry at the horrid state Dream was left in. Ant quickly got to work on Dream's cheek, sewing it up, cleaning it, and patching it up. "He'll be fine but we will need to stay here until he can walk." Ant sighed, sitting down properly. "Sam, did you bring the equipment?" Quackity asked, sitting against the wall. Sam pulled his bag from his shoulder and rummaged through it before hissing a curse word under his breath. "Fuck."

That one word caused everyone to look at the man with wide eyes. Quackity got up and moved quickly over to Sam. "Fuck? Fuck!? What do you mean 'fuck'?" Quackity grabbed Sam by the collar of his jacket and forced the much taller male to his feet. Sam remained silent, staring into Quackity's discolored eyes. Tension filled the room as Quackity kept yelling various questions and accusations. Sam placed his hands on Quackity's shoulders. "Would you shut up! We are in no condition to fight another entity. And with all your screaming there's probably a multitude of them on their way. Dream is on death's doorstep. Your arm is most likely broken, Ant is running out of medical supplies, Sapnap's chest was slammed against concrete, my ankle feels like it was ripped out of place! We will die if another hound or god forbid a growler comes here. So shut up, sit down, and stay quiet or we are dead." Sam hissed through gritted teeth. Quackity yanked himself away with a quiet 'fine' and sat back down. Antfrost was rushing to take care of everyone's injuries. Sam had refused Ant's help however. Even after a few hours, everyone's spirits seemed to be down, the tension in the room still hanging over their head's like a thick fog. Antfrost seemed exhausted, barely even able to move his med kit as he sluggishly tried to move back to Dream, collapsing as tears started to drip down his face. Everyone was sitting in different parts of the room. Even Dream was awake now. Karl walked over to the now crying Antfrost with some Almond Water.

"Hey Ant. It's okay. Calm down. Just take a break. Here." Karl's voice was soft as he held the Almond Water towards the man. Antfrost took his glasses off and wiped the tears from his cheeks and put them back on. He carefully grabbed the Almond Water and drank some. Karl quickly looked to Sapnap, "Give everyone some. We need it after this whole ordeal." Karl sighed, sitting next to Antfrost and rubbed comforting circles against the man's back. Ant went to pull his phone from his pocket to look at his one saving grace, his boyfriend. But his screen wouldn't light up. He held down the power button, muttering to himself. "No.. no no no no.." Ant started to shake as a red battery symbol popped up, showing that the device had run out of battery. He shoved his phone back into his pocket and sobbed. Karl felt his stomach to drop, feeling bad for the man. He just wanted to see the man he loved again in his darkest moments. "Hey Antfrost don't worry. I have a phone charger in my bag. If we find an outlet we can charge your phone." Karl soothed.

Dream spoke up, voice raspy. "I have a power bank. It might have enough battery left on it to charge his phone. Can someone bring me my bag?". It was clear everyone cared. In their own ways. They cared about each other like some dysfunctional family. Sam limped over and grabbed Dream's bag, going through it until he found the power bank Dream was talking about. It was neon green with a smile crudely drawn on it. Sam handed it to Antfrost as Karl pulled a charger out. Ant quickly plugged his phone in and breathed a sigh of relief as a small light lit up at the top of the device, indicating it was charging.