The Backrooms: Descent into Madness

Chapter II - Run!

I slammed the room door open and began to run down the hallway, which now was illuminated only by red exit signs that glared brightly in the dark halls. My heartbeat thundered in my chest as that thing's hollow, sadistic laughter pursued me. I turned back as I ran to glance at it, only to reveal that where it walked the lights had gone out. Only its face stared back at me, gleaming with murderous intent. It got close, and a glaring radio static ripped around it sending my fear to new heights. Pumping my legs harder, adrenaline coursing through my body, I dashed down the hallway to escape with my life. Right, Right, Left, Left, Right. The creature continued to laugh, as if amused by my efforts to escape it. I ran down a hall and passed a turn, as the exit sign didn't point in that direction. Second Left, Left, Right, Second Right, Left. When I ran down this hall, a red exit sign illuminated a hole in the floor, surrounded by construction equipment. I glanced back to see the creature still on my tail, without a second to think twice I jumped down into the pit legs first.

I plummeted down through the darkness, hearing the air whip around me. I looked upwards and saw that the creature was not there and I couldn't hear it either. The walls of the tunnel were made of stone, with cables and pipes running off into the dark. Suddenly, gravity seemed to have gained a mind of its own and pulled me towards the wall of the tunnel I was falling through. I slid across the cave wall as gravity finished its 90° turn, I was effectively on the cave wall I was just falling past. I turned around and instead of the tunnel I fell down, there was an open tunnel hallway lit by shaft lights, turning around again to where I was just looking I was met with a cave wall. I fell to my knees and cradled my head in my hands, shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. My ears rang and my head hurt. What is going on? The sounds of steam and the echo of grinding metal resounded through the tunnels, setting me on edge. I turned away from the solid tunnel wall and took a hollow breath.

Step by step, I began to walk down the dark corridor. A large pipe with a diameter of about a foot, accompanied by some smaller pipes, ran along the wall to my left. I walked for a long time, until I reached an intersection. There were two unlit tunnels, and one that continued to be lit by shaft lights. I chose to follow the lit path. After a while longer of walking, questioning what I should do and where I was, I came across a forgotten desk and chair that sat against the wall with an old Tandy TRS-80 box computer sitting atop it. I looked left and right, making sure the tunnel was clear, before sitting in the chair and trying to turn the computer on. The fans stalled for a moment, before humming to life gradually. The TRSDOS operating system began its bootup, asking for a name and password. I stared at the screen for a moment, before swallowing my nerves and looking around the desk. A sticky note against the side of the monitor gave me my answers.

Username: MEG_uest
Password: youregoingtobeok

I was a little confused that the password seemed to be referring to me, and that the username was some sort of guest sign-in, but nonetheless I input the credentials. The screen turned blue for a moment before a black screen appeared with the words "Major Explorer Group" in white lettering across the center. A slightly distorted tape began to play from the computer, and a voice, human as can be, spoke from the recording.

"Hello, my name is Johnathan Bradley. If you're hearing this, congratulations on completing your run successfully without dying! Or you just wandered around the parking garage until you found an unlocked door, both equally valid. In any case, welcome to Level 2!" The voice, who was now clearly named Johnathan, spoke jovially. "As I said, my name is Johnathan Bradley! I am an explorer and scout for the MEG, and I help guide travelers to the safety of our established settlements or any safe area in general. 'But who are the MEG?' I hear you asking! The MEG is the largest collection of settled groups in the Complex, so you can rest assured you're in the right hands! Based on the username and password you used, the ones obviously taped to the computer, you're new to the MEG and the Complex! Now, you're probably confused so let me give you the rundown! The Complex is a highly elaborate and anomalous dimension outside of normal existence, where the laws of physics are entirely different and every area is full of unknowns!"

I stared at the screen dumbfounded. A place outside of normal existence? "You may now be wondering, how did I get here? Well, on some incredibly rare occasions, the Complex and the normal world will temporarily overlap! This creates a one-way invisible hole in the real world that can take many forms and sizes! Essentially, you got incredibly unlucky and fell through one of these holes at the exact wrong time and place. But don't fret, this is NOT a death sentence! Despite the things you may have seen or even worse, experienced, I promise you that just about everything in this place has a workaround! That's why we're giving you this!" The disc drive of the computer opened and a black keycard slid from the port. I took it in my hands and looked at it. "The MEG Scout Database Access Card! Any MEG computers you come across will be loaded down with the entire database, and this card is your holy grail! The level you are currently on is known as Level 2: Pipe Dreams, this terrifying locale is characterized by its dimly lit conditions and, of course, pipes! That's not all this level contains, there's a quick list of the entities you'll need to keep aware of! Facelings, Hounds, Scratchers. You may already be familiar with Smilers if you just came from the Run level!" I froze. There were more?! I leaned back in my chair looking around in fear.

"Ah, don't worry, the hallways with those shaft lights are 'safe spaces' per se, and the entities can't enter them! You could stay there forever if you wanted! U-Until you starved, of course." Johnathan said. I gulped in fear, this guy wasn't helping very much on the terror side. "After this message is over, feel free to browse the Level 2 Files for maximum survivability! Bye for now, and good luck!" The tape then made an audible click as it stopped, and the computer returned to the blue screen. A card reader was plugged into the computer, and I swiped the keycard through it. The computer auto input my credentials and a list popped up on screen... how many levels is this place?! Is that even a number? And there's no way out?! I leaned back in my chair and groaned. I'm so fucked.