Chapter 13 - January 27 2020

Level 3

-Class 4

-Unsafe

-Insecure

-Medium Entity Count

CONTENT WARNING: MENTION OF NAZIS, DISSOCIATION

Rose learned to write very well. She could articulate her own sentences and even write her own notes, and her handwriting was very neat. However, she couldn't speak no matter how hard she tried. She could only moan and make an "aaah" sound, and when she tried to speak she made an incoherent stutter sound. However she was able to maintain a coherent line of thought in her head and write them down just like any regular human. Today, Hayden studied history with Rose.

"Rose, these are the Nazis." said Hayden, sitting on a shelf right next to her. "Back in 1945, they took over most of Europe which was unprepared to fight back, and they killed a lot of innocent people. When America and the Soviet Union both beat them back, they lost like the pathetic little wimps they are. After the war, we found out that they gathered up Jews, Gays, Gypsies, Communists, and disabled people into concentration camps and killed them." he said, reading out of a textbook and showing her some gruesome images. Rose wrote on a piece of paper, opening her mouth and trying to speak. She handed Hayden the paper.

"They're horrible people, I'm glad they're gone." said Rose's note. Hayden smiled and took the note.

"Yeah, there's no more Wehrmacht, no more SS, and Germany is now a good country which has apologized and changed. But unfortunately Nazis are far from gone. Back home, Fascism: the Nazi's far-right ideology, is still on the rise. They're committing mass shootings on synagogues and hurting people of color." said Hayden. "Pinkie promise, if you see a Nazi in the Backrooms, you'll kill it."

Rose took Hayden's pinky. "You know Rose, I honestly think you're a better human being than some humans I know," said Hayden. "Facelings don't hate people. They don't kill other Facelings just because they look different, they aren't a part of Fascist groups like the Nazis- or at least I hope not." he said. Rose put her arm around Hayden and they continued reading. She pointed at a red flag with a hammer and sickle.

"Oh this this!" said Hayden. "This is Communism. Joseph Stalin wasn't a good man, but the Communist ideology was actually really good. Communism built many undeveloped countries and destroyed Fascist regimes which were backed by the Nazis." he said. "So the main Communist belief is from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs..."

. . .

The two were a screaming tide of destruction in Level 3. Rose knew all of Hayden's Taekwondo techniques- all of the hand-to-hand combat, staff, and spear techniques at least, and everything up to junior black belt. Hayden couldn't find a pair of num-chuks in Office Space EL3A or anywhere for that matter. This didn't matter because Rose had weighted fingerless gloves and boots which could kill a Wretch in a few hits, and had padding under her clothing.

Hayden fought ferociously, he spun his spear around and used the momentum to tear through entities. He also used the blunt end. He screamed while he fought, killing like an insane maniac. For once, his Taekwondo technique had actual practical application other than beating up a few bullies who tried to take his bag of chips.

"RAAAAAARRRRGGGHHH!" gurgled a Wretch, shambling like a fat wormlike zombie. It was a slow bumbling bloated idiot without eyes. Rose flipped it over and broke its bones out of the sockets.

The fact that Wretches used to be humans that succumbed due to isolation, sleep deprivation, or mental illness disturbed Hayden. However, they were beyond saving at this point, and M.E.G theorized that the human mind might still be conscious, trapped in a bloated flesh prison. Either way, killing them was an act of mercy.

Hayden stabbed a Wretch in the heart and watched it bleed out. It gurgled and gasped in pain as it died. They walked back the way they came- over piles of slain entities. Hayden stabbed one or two here and there in case he left them alive. He drank a large chug of almond water: this stuff helps you stay sane and alert, always drink almond water.


Chapter 13 - January 30 2020

Level 3

-Class 4

-Unsafe

-Insecure

-Medium Entity Count

The hallways of Level 3 were long, dark, and twisting. Not quite as dark as Level 2, but definitely not ideal. They were lined with glazed brick and a cheap whitish-yellow tile floor, and occasionally there would be light. It was like the inside of a school except dark and empty.

Some halls were barred off with a set of iron prison bars. A few of these bars were open, a few were able to be lockpicked, and a few were absolutely impossible to pass through. M.E.G attempted to saw through using power tools and explosives with no success. Some of the bars were ok to be around, while some caused extreme discomfort and visual hallucinations, as if a ghost was living there.

"Let's look in here," said Hayden, carefully turning a corner. "There's a generator in this room, three skin stealers, one Burster!" said Hayden. "We gotta take those out first before we can loot!"

Rose threw her shitty metal pipe at the Burster, killing it. Hayden and Rose both ducked out of the way as the Burster exploded into a cloud of acid. When the cloud settled, the Skin Stealers: gross creatures who wore human skin and had octopus suckers on every square inch of their body, chased after them.

Rose grabbed the back of the creature and broke its face on her knee. She punched another Skin Stealer and sent it falling back. She stomped on the head, translucent blood leaked on the floor. She had killed two Skin Stealers, their skins sagged off of their bodies.

"I got the other one," said Hayden, standing in a ready stance. He stabbed it with a spear and pushed it back against the wall. He pushed a knife into its neck and tore a gash, transparent blood flowed down to the ground.

"Alright, now, let's loot." said Hayden. "Oh also the generator in the back, loot quickly. It looks like it's about to explode." he said, pointing to it with his spear.

. . . . .

"It's almost eight o-clock. Let's find a place to camp for the night," said Hayden, checking his phone. As they walked through the dark hallways, Rose pointed to something. It was a part of the wall which appeared bluish-white.

"...The hell is this stuff?" asked Hayden, touching the wall, It was a real wall. The wall was made out of bricks that were composed of ground-up bits of plastic and mortared together with caulk. "I think we should be close to the B.N.T.G Storage Facility, this wall definitely seems man-made." he said, approaching with caution. He heard that strange walls or doors could take you to different levels, and some levels were extremely dangerous, so he was careful. He heard footsteps coming.

"Hey emo kid! Identify yourself!" shouted an armed guard, crossbow lowered in his hand. Hayden kept poking the wall and looked to the guard. He was a teenager, not much older than Hayden was. He didn't feel very threatened. The guard was only a few inches taller than he was, he had white-blond hair poking out from under his helmet. There was this guard with a book, a guard in a riot helmet behind him: the same age.

"Huh? The name's Hayden." he said, still feeling the wall. "And her name is Rose. Anyways who are you and where am I? Is this the B.N.T.G storage facility?" he asked. The guard looked to his friends who snickered.

"B.N.T.G? Is this kid lost?" said a guard, laughing to his friend. "No dude, this is the M.E.G Outpost Gamma!" he said. "Well, you're welcome to stay either way. The name's Jason," he introduced himself.

The guards all had crossbows with capsules of red stuff: liquid pain. Touch this in any way and you'll die a slow and agonizing death. They also had matching black body armor and spears or machetes. Guns were very hard to come by in the Backrooms, so only a few guards had any at once.

"Hey Jason! Hey Kale! Hey Cody, or Dante or whoever!" said a guard standing on top of the wall. "What've you got?" he asked. He had a bump-stock assault rifle and was drinking an energy drink. This was another kid who slacked off.

"Let us in Dyson!" said Jason, yelling. "We found two kids outside of the wall." he said. "Let us in before a Smiler eats us."

"Damn bro!" said the guard on top of the gate, pressing the button to an electronic door. "Dude you've got a hot girlfriend." he said, looking at Rose. "Come on in!"

"Oh shut the fuck up," said Hayden, blushing. "Or I'll climb up there and strangle you." The door opened slowly.

. . .

The Gamma Base was quite big. There were a lot of kids who just like Hayden in the dorm. They noclipped into the Backrooms and joined M.E.G, they were maybe a bit older than him. Just looking at them, he was reminded of his friends Dimitrius and Ivan, and his Taekwondo class. They were rowdy and full of energy. The kids were guards-in-training who were given simple jobs such as killing low-level entities and also fifteen of them ganging up on a smiler, but usually they gathered and processed resources.

"So Jason," said Hayden, taking a drink of almond water. "Is there anything I need to know, moving forward. Any places I should or shouldn't visit?" he asked. Rose was reading the atlas in the back of the room. The three of them sat in the empty Break Room.

"Skip level 6 at all costs," said Jason. "That level is fucking dangerous, like, really fucking dangerous. A whole lot of our people died in there and never came back. The only good thing on Level 6 is the Snackrooms where we pick out a bunch of snacks. Anyways just go on Level 5 and take a black-painted door into Level 9. Levels 6, 7, and 8 are also absolutely horrible. I went there once by myself, I would never do it again."

"Alright, does this town have a Taekwondo master or a blacksmith?" asked Jason. "Anyone who can make weapons? I need one for myself and one for Rose."

"BAHAHAHA! A TAEKWONDO STUDIO?" he laughed. "Yeah I dunno I'll check Level 1 or Level 11. As for the blacksmith, yea we actually do have one right here, do you need anything?"

"Yeah as I was saying I wanna order a sword for Rose, and also a spear for me. And before you ask I do know how to use them, I'm a junior black belt. I could get a real black belt if there was a goddamn studio in here." said Hayden, getting annoyed.

"What do you need a black belt for?" said Jason laughing. Hayden stood up and straightened his glove. "A kid in the backrooms wanting a black belt? Hahaha! Are you gonna karate-chop a Smiler in the head?"

"Promise you won't get me arrested for assaulting a guard?" asked Hayden, double-checking. "I don't feel like being put on the M.E.G wanted list." he smirked.

"Go ahead, Karate boy!" said Jason. They faced off and Jason punched Hayden, he fell against the table. Rose stopped reading, but she shook her head and continued to read when she realized the two were just fighting.

Hayden took Jason's arm and flipped him over. "How's that for my Taekwondo takedown technique. I can do this with a Shadow Person as well!" he said. Jason flipped over and grabbed Hayden by the throat.

"Not so fast," said Jason, shaking his finger. At this time, a bunch of guards: Jason's friends, came back from break and stood in a circle. Noticing there was a fight "FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!" they cheered. Most of them cheered Jason on, until two people pushed apart the crowd.

"Alright alright, break it up kids!" said a young man, pulling them apart. Rose followed him. The man pulled Jason back and Rose pulled Hayden off of him.

"ZACH LET GO! I WAS WINNING!" said Jason. "HE STARTED THE FIGHT! HE ASKED FOR IT!" he protested. "FUCK YOU ZACH LET ME GO!" Zach pinned his arms down and wrestled him.

"Shut up little roach!" said Zach, clonking him on the head. "Don't worry, this is my brother. I'm the guy in charge of this base, and this little guy is an absolute pain in the ass!" he said. He had white hair and wore a suit with gloves and a lace choker.

"ROSE, I WAS GONNA TEACH HIM A LESSON!" shouted Hayden, kicking and screaming. Rose carried him on her shoulder without effort. She slapped his behind hard to get him to stop wriggling. A bunch of the teenage guards envied Hayden as he was being restrained, as expected.

Chapter 13 - February 5 2020

Level 3, M.E.G Outpost Gamma - Class 4

-Unsafe

-Insecure

-Medium Entity Count

Hayden showed Rose his sword form: first the basics like downward swing and deep stance, and then the form itself. It took her a few days to master the technique to Hayden's level, but when she did, her hits were stronger and her stance was more balanced. They practiced in a basketball court that the guards used while off-duty. The guards were all out gathering plastic so they had the entire court to themselves.

Hayden attacked her with his spear repeatedly, and Rose parried all the attacks. This was just practice of course, but still Hayden didn't hold back. Rose was just THAT strong. Rose however held back a lot, but turned the pressure stronger and stronger every day to challenge Hayden.

. . .

"Ow ow, not so much!" said Hayden, doing after-workout stretches. Rose decreased the pressure on Hayden's leg. She was behind him helping him stretch, usually something he did before and after every class.

"God damn Hayden, enjoying it aren't you!" said Jason, standing on top of the wall of the court. "I take back what I said about Taekwondo, mind if I join in?" he asked sarcastically. Hayden rolled his eyes.

"Y'know, I haven't had a good punching bag to practice on. So if you don't mind, stand in that corner for a sec," said Hayden, sarcastically. Hayden held his face to hide the redness. He stood up and drank from his two canteens: his regular water, and his almond water supply.

"I'll ignore the fact that you're hiding your face," said Jason. "So dude, wanna tag along with us when we go to Level 11?" he asked, picking up a basketball and dribbling.

"Level 11? Going to the city?" said Hayden. "Fuck yeah, as long as I get to beat your stupid ass on the way there." he said.

"Bold of you to think you'll win." said Jason, shooting his basketball and hitting a goal. "Hayden, what do you want to make of your life in the Backrooms. You can forget going back, but you know, not all hope is lost."

"I'm going to show Rose the Frontrooms one day," said Hayden, looking blankly at the darkpipe-laden sky. "I promised her, I promised her that I would get her out of this fucking place and show her Philadelphia. I was gonna show her Disneyland, I was gonna take her to Japan, and I was gonna take her to the Bahamas."

"You're crazy, taking a Faceling to Earth? The Frontrooms?" asked Jason.

"But no, I don't care that I can't get to take her to the Frontrooms, like that'll stop me. I'll take her to all the levels of the Backrooms. I already created a scrapbook out of a notebook and a map, I've got some pretty good pictures already." he said. He took his camera out of his pocket and took a picture of Jason.

"...God damn, well aren't you the boyfriend of the year!" said Jason. "Man why can't I get a boyfriend like you, I like men too you know." he said.

"I dunno, probably cuz your hair looks like a dandelion," said Hayden.

"Kid, you look like a doll that someone picked up in a haunted house," said Jason. "Fucking emo."

"Nah, your head is better off under the helmet," said Hayden. "At least I look good without my bunny hat," he said.

"At least people don't confuse me for a Shadow Person when I walk in the room," said Jason.

"At least I don't need a stupid crossbow with some extra-spicy kool-aid on it!" said Hayden. The two were locked back-and-forth in a roast battle.


Chapter 14 - February 7 2020

Level 3 - M.E.G Outpost Gamma

-Class 4

-Unsafe

-Insecure

-Medium Entity Count

Six boys joined Hayden and Rose. Of course, Jason joined, and also Dyson. Jacob, Kale, and Cody joined. Zach gave Jason the go-ahead to leave. They all carried their duffel bags and backpacks, and were armed with crossbows with glass capsules. These capsules contained either Smiler Fluid or Liquid Pain.

"Alright, when we go to Level 11, stay the fuck away from Insurrection Station! And if we see any Followers, we're gonna kill the bird and absolutely fuck up all the followers!" said Jason, energetically. "We can't trust those assholes."

"Who are those people? I heard of the Followers of Jerry: losers," said Hayden. "But who is Insurrection Station?"

"Even bigger losers than the Followers. M.E.G is pretty cool, better than a lot of Frontroom governments, but these people somehow want to overthrow M.E.G? What?" asked Jason. "Oh yeah, also the Partygoers, some fascist clowns. And the Eye of Argos: they're emo weirdos just like Hayden!"

"Hey!" said Hayden. "Fuck you!"

"Dude," said Jacob, slugging Jason's arm. "We're just supposed to go to Base Beta on Level 11, not go on a literal murder spree. Followers of Jerry and Eye of Argos are shady as hell, but we aren't supposed to kill them." he said.

"Rose and I can kill them, we aren't affiliated with M.E.G. Plus if we see a Partygoer, we'll kill it." said Hayden.

The group headed off into the dark tunnels, shining their flashlights brightly.

. . .

"Crawler fungus!" said Jason. Jacob took out his crossbow and shot a spider-like organism. It curled up and died like a regular spider. The spider was quite large- about a foot tall and wide, and had a cottonball body. It had fluff around the joints like a poodle.

"The fuck is that? A walking marshmallow entity?" asked Hayden. The boys shone their flashlights down the hallway and at the ceiling, making sure there aren't any more.

"Nah it's the crawler fungus, nasty shit." said Kale. "It's basically a fluffy zombie virus, get bitten and you're dead in twelve minutes. These are just spiders, crawler humans look absolutely horrendous."

"What do they look like?" asked Hayden. Kale took out his phone and showed Hayden. It was a moldy human- so white and caked in mold that it looked like a furry faceling, except for the fact that he had no legs. It was skewered to the ground with spears.

"What the fuck is wrong with this place?" asked Hayden. "We have faceless shadow people, crawling shadow-people, squid men that steal your skin, the ugliest fucking zombies I've ever seen," he said. "Oh and also giant moths, pixel-men, and now a zombie fungus outbreak?" he said.

"Yeah, freaky!" said Kale. "This place is the scariest fucking thing ever sometimes," he said. "But I wouldn't go back if I was given the chance. I would still be studying algebra- sometimes Zach still makes us do it, but at least I get to kill Skin Stealers and Shadow People in between classes. I'm Monster Kale, the expert on entities, just ask me if you need to know anything."


Chapter 15 - February 8 2020

Level 3, M.E.G Outpost Gamma - Class 4

-Unsafe

-Insecure

-Medium Entity Count

"TAKE THAT YOU STUPID FUCKIN ASSHOLE!" shouted Dyson, gripping his bump-stock AR-15. Hordes of countless entities poured out of the brick hallway into the hail of lead. These entities were cut down like pathetic demons in a storm of holy water. There was a few seconds of silence, followed by three faces smiling at the group from the darkness.

"FUCK! SMILERS!" shouted Jason. Jacob searched his bag for Smiler Fluid, but one of them stuck their tendrils out and swung towards Cody. He hit his head against the wall and slumped.

"CODY!" shouted Jason, sticking out his hand. Rose ran forward and sliced the tendrils as they tried to hit her. She found the body of the smiler and punched it, it fell down. She cut the body and began to repeatedly punch it, it released a deafening roar as it was injured.

Cody groaned and writhed against the walls for a few seconds. He breathed heavily, and he picked himself up from the ground. He pulled two machetes out of his pocket and laughed like a maniac. It was as if something had taken over Cody's body.

"Dante?" asked Jason, running over to Cody. "Hey Dante, we're in a tough situation here, help us take down the Smilers!" he said, screaming over the sound of Dyson's gunshots. The "thing" inside Cody slapped Jason to the side and screamed.

"OUT OF MY WAY! HAHAHAH! KILL THE SMILER, KILL THE SMILER!" shouted whatever the fuck had taken over Cody. "HAHAHAHAHA!" she screamed, swinging both of her machetes. She ripped through a few of its hits and cut through the tendrils, her speed was comparable to Rose. Everyone kept their distance from her.

"God damn it, what the fuck has gotten into Cody?" asked Hayden. It was clear everyone was scared of this thing. She had the personality of a hyperactive, neurotic little girl. She was also very good at fighting and dodging the Smiler's hits.

"Cody has Dissociative Identity Disorder, or Multiple Personality Disorder. He's the host of the system," said Jason, holding his face where he got slapped. "Usually it's either Dante or Alucard who fights, but this is one of his alters, a fictive alter named Chocola. There's like, eleven other alters in the system, most of them aren't bat-shit crazy as her, and most live on the inside."

"Alright, multiple personality syndrome? Cool." said Hayden. "You're gonna have to tell me about this later, I knew a kid in the Frontrooms with this stuff."

"We would prefer Alucard or Dante to do all the fighting." said Jason, searching the quiver for Smiler Fluid arrows. "She's really good but god damn it, that crazy hellcat is gonna put the whole system at risk."

"EEEUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" shouted Chocola, taking Cody's machetes. She shoved them in the skull of the Smiler and started pulling out tendrils. The smiler died as it was being torn apart. "DIE! FREAK! DIE, DIE, DIE!" she screamed. The Smiler she was fighting died, she actually killed a Smiler.

Rose repeatedly punched the other smiler and split its body in half, killing it. Then there was the last smiler. The two of them charged at it.

"HEY! CRAZIES!" shouted Jason. "WE FOUND AN EXIT TO LEVEL 4!" he yelled. Rose immediately left and joined the rest of the group.

"THAT INCLUDES YOU TOO!" said Jason, grabbing Chocola by the shoulders. She protested by kicking and screaming.

"I WAS KILLING IT, GET THE FUCK OFF.. of... me..." she said, spacing out. "God damn it, oh hey what's up Jason it's Cody again."

"Oh one of your alters fronted I-" Jason said.

"No no, I saw everything... stupid fuck almost got all of us killed. Where the hell is the exterminator fluid?" asked Cody.

"RIGHT HERE!" shouted Dyson. He threw a lit bottle with Smiler Fluid right at the creepy face, it melted and crumbled. They heard a faint but shrill whirring sound. "OH GOD OH FUCK IT'S AN ANTIDULLER, GET OUT RIGHT NOW!" he yelled. Everyone ran.