Level 0

I began to wander. Even though I believed I was hungover, I was really still drunk. The night had yet to pass. Looking back, part of me believes that being drunk actually helped me with this initial floor because I wasn’t so heavily focused on trying to keep track of my location. Apparently, those who do go insane.

After stumbling around the endless labyrinth for a few hours, I began to sober up and panic. I didn’t know where I was. Before entry, I may have seen an image of this level online, but I’m not even sure of that. When it came to knowledge about this area, I was completely unprepared. All I knew was that I had to keep moving.

“There have to be at least two exits. That’s just modern fire codes.”

I still wasn’t aware that I was in a different world. Eventually, after walking for what felt like hours, my feet began to hurt more than my stomach. Then, I saw something. It looked like a man. He was facing away from me, wearing khakis and what appeared to be a black work uniform shirt. Generally, he just looked like a middle-aged contractor.

I approached him to try to ask for directions to the exit. He was not a contractor, let alone even human. It turned toward me. When I saw that it lacked a face, I fell backward in shock, barely managing to catch myself. Briefly, my mind avoided the damp, nasty carpet on which I had been laid. The only thing that could enter it was complete, unbridled panic.

Scrambling backwards, I kept my eyes on it and frantically moved until I hit my head on a wall. It wasn’t drywall. It felt like something significantly stronger; somewhere between wood, metal, and a smooth brick. There was an almost powdery thin layer of dust which coated every surface of the wall. But never mind the wall, my back was against it and I felt like I was about to die. But then he did nothing. The thing didn’t attack me, didn’t pursue me, didn’t even threaten me. All it did was put a single finger up to where it’s mouth would be and make a motion to listen.

I heard footsteps. And I knew their owner heard me as well. I reached for my pocket knife as the “faceling” (as I now know it) began to sneak away without making a sound. The footsteps I heard, however, got closer. I knew that whatever the faceling was trying to avoid was coming for me.

That’s when it appeared. Emaciated. More human-like than I could have ever expected. It was dirty. In a way, it almost felt like it could sense my fear. I had been in fights before, but this was completely different. This was completely unknown to me, and it seemed like it could run faster than I. Even though it was scary, it didn’t really phase me as much as the tattooed guy in the bathroom. I knew that I had to confront it.

It bared its teeth held together by an unhinged jaw. I held the knife in front of me, dashed at it, and screamed. It began to run, but I was right up on it as it turned around. As I brought the knife down, I closed my eyes, and then… silence. A faint dripping. It was a little colder. The floor was hard.

I opened my eyes to discover that I was no longer in the room with the damp carpet and piss-yellow walls. The buzz of the fluorescent lights was still present, but not to nearly the extent. It looked more like a dingy garage. The lights flickered over the concrete floors covered in dust and scattered puddles.

“What the hell was going on back there?”

“Huh?”

I looked around to see a small group that happened to witness me appear in the area.

“I’m not gonna lie, you looked kinda stupid when you entered. Welcome to Level 1, buddy.”

“Huh?”

“Come with us and we’ll explain as much as we can.”

“Where the hell am I? How much did I drink to end up here?”

“You’re in the Backrooms, buddy. Get used to it, because this is going to be your new home.”

“You’re telling me I’m stuck here?”

“Let me put it this way, you can’t go home anymore.”

“There have to be exits somewhere. That’s just modern fire codes… At least two exits…”

“Oh hell, do you work for the state or something? Get your ass over here if you want to live.”

Even though I was hesitant, I was confused enough to join them, for knowledge of my situation if nothing else. They led me somewhere. It was a shanty town of sorts, the only kind of civilization that could exist within this bizarre, artificial hellscape.