The Backrooms: Zeta Code

Chapter 4: The Cruise Ship

We tumbled onto the deck of what looked like a cruise ship, which was modestly decorated and mostly clean. The smell of seawater was subtle and crisp, lowering my guard. When we were all done complaining about landing on our backs or heads, we looked around to find that we were on a cruise ship. Newt whistled. "Wow, this ship sure is fancy," he said. We looked around, discovering the place for ourselves. The outer deck we landed on was furnished with a pool, waterslide that was running, and a few tables and chairs. The sky was the navy blue of midnight, with stars splattered across.

We walked into the lodging area to find that the rooms were simply yet elegantly furnished as well, with a king-sized bed, bathroom, a television across from the bed and a couch with a table in front of it. We decided to split up and each take a room, since none of us had slept in what felt like ages. Clair and Axel went into one, Newt, Ky and Jay in another and finally me and Kash in the last one. There was also a wardrobe in our room, which was filled with extra clothes for us. I waited in the bedroom while Kash showered, and took the chance to investigate the room further.

Beside the bed, there was a nightstand with a towel in it, and on top of it a notebook. Intrigued, I picked it up and started reading.

ENTRY ONE:
Gone with the wind.
Everyone left.
There it is.
Over there.
Understand?
The first of everything is important.

"Whoever wrote this was insane," I muttered, putting the biok back into the drawer. Kash came out in a oversized shirt and long pants, flopping down onto the bed saying, "Wow! That was the best shower I've had in a while. Newt's shower was too cold." I got up and showered, put on a fresh set of clothes and went back to the bed. I found Kash already lying down, and I assumed she was sleeping. However, when I turned off the light and got into the bed, she moved closer to me and put her arm around me. Her face buried in my chest, she asked, "Columbus, if we get back to reality, will you still want to be with me? With your physicue now, you could get a better girl than me." It's true that the awkward kid I was back then was no longer within me. I had gained slight muscles from all the physical actions we did, and have grown in confidence. "Other girls won't know what I had to go through to get these. I've formed a bond with you, Kash, and no one can take that away from us." We fell asleep in each others arms, until the screaming started.

The solder that was injured slept in Jay's room. He somehow transformed into what seemed to be the monster that attacked him and started going after Ky. Newt was able to shoot him dead with his own gun, and thankfully Ky didn't get hurt. We inspected his body closer, and concluded that he was infected by the cut and turned into the thing that attacked him. At this point I was scared, since I was only just realising how bad things could get. To get that thought out of my mind, I instead thought about the notebook I found. What did it mean? The last sentence was especially intriguing. The firsts of everything is important... wjat does that mean. Then, it clicked. The first letter of every sentence spelt GET OUT.

"Axel, how do we get out of here?" I asked him frantically. "We go through the boiler room. Why?" Damn. This started to feel like Level 5 again. "No time to explain, but we have to get out of here. Let's go!" I exclaimed. I rushed out, following the signs to the boiler room. I could only trust that the others were following, but when I heard footfalls behind me, I knew that they had followed. Suddenly, the ship rumbled, its lights flickering. Unrelenting, I pushed forward. The shaking got worse, and then the doors started to fling open, like someone, or something, was trying to stop us. I dodged all the doors, flung open the boiler room door and jumped it, the others following close behind.