God fucking damnit, nine out of ten expeditions end up doing just fine, and I had to be in the one that goes south.
Ben checked through the window of the house he was currently in. Getting Pockets had always been one of the riskier missions. Escaping when the whole Neighborhood Watch was on your back required proper preparation and timing as well as sacrifices that he was never fond of. Particularly given that he was the one who had pulled the short straw today.
The ninth floor was actively avoided for several reasons. While some people enjoyed the apparently familiar sight of a modern suburb, numerous persistent anomalies kept reminding any unfortunate wanderer of the eldritch nature of The Backrooms: from the strange eyeballs that were frying everyone to the perpetual night without forgetting the possibility that a monster-spawning fog could roll in at every moment and kill everyone, most people weren't in a hurry to explore this place.
It's going to be different, they said. We have guns and military training, they said. We have an actual strategy, they said. And for stupidity, WHAT DO YOU HAVE SIR MCFUCKFACE?!
Everything had started well enough for Ben. Instead of the usual mad dash, the plan was to do a rolling fire retreat. He was in a team of eight people instead of the usual three and they had been given guns, decent amounts of ammo, and even a few grenades in case of emergency. The travel from the offices to the suburbs had been mostly trivial as they only met a small pack of hounds that could be dispatched without even the smallest scratches. Once arrived, they had quickly located the possible location for a Pocket without incident. There even was a playground to escape close by.
The group had split in two teams of four, with one halfway in the direction of the playground while his partners would cover him the instant he grabbed their precious target. There were no visible monsters in the immediate vicinity, which meant just a slightly better but welcome chance to get out. Their odds looked good…
…Until the covering team noticed another possible Pocket location, and, before anything could be said or done, had decided to grab the item inside.
On the bright side, their partners'… precipitation had led to the discovery that what they thought to be a rocky decoration was actually a pair of Striders close to one another. Ben didn't have the opportunity to see what happened to the quartet, but the two monsters were now patrolling around their intended exit.
I didn't see Sam and Leo… I hope they're fine. At least I have my radio and my phone.
Ben left the window and perambulated in the house in hope of seeing the two abominations leave. That house was curiously well furnished, although there was no loot besides the Pocket on the buffet at the entrance taunting him. There were still arranged tables, chairs, and even a mirror in which he reflexively checked himself.
He cleared a bang of brown hair from his face and examined his growing beard. He would need to shave once of those days, but someone had started a rumor that your own hair could come to life if you removed it in The Backrooms, and nobody wanted to check if it was true or just a prank. He had taken a light armor, with a stab-resistant vest under a half-loaded rig, and a backpack. You had to balance free space and supplies in the Backrooms in case you found something interesting, and only a gun nut would bring more than a rifle and a pistol. Of course, Pockets changed that dynamic since you could carry a small room worth of equipment while only having to wear an armband-sized jewel. They had even planned for everyone to get one.
That plan ended in the trash when it appeared they were losing tens of peoples for each item, limiting the acquisition missions to the experts and the equipment available to whatever their backer would give them.
That military garb isn't my style, but at least they got comfy stuff and not just the cheapest.
A beeping noise interrupted his break. He took a radio holding at his rig.
"Listening."
"Leo here, you're still in the house?"
"No, I'm on a beach enjoying a cocktail and getting my dick sucked."
"In that case pull your pants up and join up in the red house behind. I'm with Sam, and he wishes to get the fuck off as soon as their majesty wishes."
"Copy that."
Relieved, Ben cut the communication and checked the different windows: his destination was visible, and he wouldn't need to cross the street. He only had to climb a fence. Ben opened the window, passed through the opening, and didn't so much climb the palisade than walked over it as it fell under his weight. A window opened, and he saw two massive arms come out. Ben grabbed both hands, and let himself be pulled through, recognizing Sam's bold head and serious expression. He appreciated the sight of his massive body. The big guy had a survival instinct that had saved them more than once.
"Thanks guys… For a moment I thought I would make the return trip on my own."
"We were going to let you, buuuuut..." Leo was leaning against the wall, a hand scratching his short blond scalp. "You're the one who have the notes, and I still can't remember how to get back home from here."
Ben smiled. "You're too swell… right, where's John?"
"We didn't see him, he ran in another direction altogether. We lost radio signal." Leo sighed. "Anyway, what's the plan? The operation is toast, our current exit's fucked, and I'm pretty sure half the squad is dead."
"For starter, let's forget about the Pocket…" Ben closed his eyes. "The fastest way to leave would be running through the fields and get to floor ten, but then getting back home could get really tedious… barring that, we could search for another playground, but once again, it relies on luck."
"There were a few cars around. Maybe we could grab one to go faster."
"In that case, we could get it and drive to floor eleven." Ben closed his notebook. "We can regroup with the guys there, and with a little luck, we'll be able to get back to the offices without too much trouble…"
"That's the best we're going to get, doesn't it?" Leo sighed. "Next time, I'll ask for guard duty."
Ben could only agree. Joining the expedition teams to explore "The Backrooms" had been exhilarating at first, as they discovered eldritch locations offering endless possibilities… then they were faced with the nightmarish reality of having to navigate an inconstant place filled with lethal hazards. What would start as a small trek to get some additional supplies could end in a week-long expedition as you ended in an unmapped section when switching floor. And it had taken way too much time before the higher ups decided to seriously consider the Entity problem by giving them equipment and adequate training, and conventional weaponry didn't do much against the more unconventional entities besides attracting even more.
Let's stop moping and move. Car first. Break later.
The three men carefully checked at the windows before leaving the house. Sam broke the window of the first car, a family sedan, and opened it from inside. Leo opened the hood. Ben was surprised to see a normal engine instead of one of the more esoteric components The Backrooms loved to generate. Seeing a mundane but complex mechanic work was now stranger to him than all those anomalies.
"Ok, this one's starter can be mechanically bypassed… give me a minute."
Ben and Sam remained on the lookout. The Neighborhood Watch didn't seem to care about what amounted to a break-in so far. After a few minutes of fiddling noise, Ben heard the engine roar.
Woohoo. First try. And the gas tank is full. Aaaand…
Leo threw himself on the driver's seat as soon as he started the engine. "I drive!"
"Shotgun!"
Ben remained immobile as Leo's face decomposed in a grimace.
"...It's a manual."
"It's a shame, isn't it? I guess I'll have to drive while you sleep in the back seat."
Leo briefly flipped him the bird but switched seat anyway. Ben took one last quick look around before getting in the car. While there were still no signs of the eyeballs, he couldn't see any other partner around either.
It's just willful thinking. Let's just get the hell out of here.
"Keep an eye out for any signs or angry monsters. And no whining about the driving."
Ben drove slowly to reduce the noise made. His hands were slightly trembling while his eyes kept darting around, desperately checking the darkness for either a sign of danger of an exit. He slowed down when he noticed a human silhouette in the darkness.
"I think it's John… he's coming in that direction."
"Stay on your guard."
The team stopped the car and got down with their weapons at the ready. The man was indeed wearing a military outfit not so different from them and looked mostly stoic, his short brown hair overlooking cold blue eyes.
Leo sighed. "Where were you gone? We've been trying to call you for the past hour? Were you lost?"
John nodded. "Yes. Lost."
The three men looked at each other. When Ben looked at Sam, the mountain of a man was frowning and preparing his weapon.
Fucking skinstealer… I fucking hate those pieces of shit. Shooting at the face of an old partner is… no, just no. Fuck the data he got on his own. We'll do without that.
"We're leaving." Ben got back in the car. Sam was still standing with his rifle ready to shoot, aimed at John who looked around completely unfocused, unconscious of the gun pointed at him.
"Sam, come on man… We have to leave without a bang. We don't want the Watch on our ass."
Sam groaned, but relented. He got back in the car and kept glaring at the disguised monster for as long as they were in sight. For a moment, Ben wondered if the man would lash out, even as he was sitting silently with his arms crossed. Eventually, Leo's voice attracted his attention.
Leo's voice "Floor eleven on the right."
"Lucky us… Now it's only a matter of hours until… the next step of our journey actually."
The ambiance was heavy as the car rolled into the night. Even if he was slightly relieved to be done with the Neighborhood Watch for the moment, Ben was still shaken by the deaths of his partners followed by the unfortunate monster encounter. The team silently ruminated during the major part of the trip.
All in all, it's never getting easier. Sure, we got better equipment, but it's only to take bigger risks, and a gun can only help against so many entities anyway… I hope we'll be able to bring a tank one day and shoot a few thousands of those horrors. That might barely make a dent in their number, but it will make everyone feel better.
"By the way, Ben, do you happen to know what happened on floor zero?"
"What?"
"You were on observation duty when we got reports of anomalies affecting the totality of the entrance of The Backrooms… What was that about?"
"I can't tell."
"What? They're fine about everything else, but this is where they drew the line? Now I want to know more…"
"No, and I'm sorry for the poor phrasing. I mean we barely grasp what happened. None of the possible ways to travel to floor zero worked for a time, and it was apparently shrinking … then it started expanding again at a relativistic speed after a large amount of energy got emitted. We have no idea why, no understanding as to how… It just kinda happened. Of course, a few teams have been sent to investigate what was the deal, but none of them have come back yet."
"That sounds like your average day in The Backrooms..."
"Maybe, but everyone wants to get more details on the phenomenon… was any wanderer caught in it, were there entities, can it be copied…" Ben muttered under his breath. "Also, if we're suddenly at risk of finding ourselves getting caught up with entities while walls are pushing in all directions, we'll have to redraw our plans to explore this damn place."
"I can understand that." Leo shivered.
"I wished all those abominations got squished when it happened."
"Me too, big guy, me too…"
At least there are no signs of those right now. I kinda like those moments of tranquility, where you can appreciate the ambient weirdness without its risks.
Eventually, the dark sky turned a light grey, hinting that they finally left the infamous ninth floor. Their relief soon turned into confusion when the first skyscrapers of the city appeared in front of them: several structures were showing visible damage, from broken windows to scorching marks or even breaking parts, none of the building had visibly been spared. The streets were filled with all the debris, making them impossible to navigate with a car.
"What the fuuuuuuck…"
"Holy crap… did that place get nuked?"
"Floor Eleven was fine a week ago… at least, as fine as it could be."
The three men descended from the car to move forward, looking at the devastation all around them as they walked around. There were no signs of anyone. Only the howling wind was keeping them company. The visible damage was more and more important as they progressed toward the epicenter of the town. Whole buildings had collapsed in the streets, and even those that were still standing displayed some large missing chunks, revealing their empty insides.
"What the hell happened to damage a whole floor that much?! And it's not one of the smaller ones either!"
"At least, you can take samples now…" Leo lifted a brick from the ground and examined it. The mundane object remained indifferent to his attention. The man pointed at a tall concrete tower afterward. "We can reach the side of this building by climbing the pile of debris on its side, and then get to the top through the fire escape. That should avoid any surprise we could suffer if we entered it."
We need a better sight on the place to plan out our next move... let's do it.
Climbing the debris pile was long and tedious. Each step landed on a traitorous brick that threatened to collapse to bring them down. Fortunately, the iron catwalk that made for the second step of their journey proved more reliable, steadfastly holding even as it showed signs of aging. When Ben reached the roof, he gasped in shock as the full scope of the destruction was finally unveiled.
The center of the floor had simply disappeared, replaced by a glass crater that went off for miles. It was impossible to differentiate the streets from where the buildings were in the immediate vicinity as everything was indifferently covered in rubble. He needed to look far in the other directions to even see something bigger than foundations standing.
"I have a scope in case you want to check."
"Thank you." Ben accepted the sight and used it to examine the destruction in greater detail. He didn't know what more he could find through it, but still desperately searched around for a movement or sign of life. To his surprise, there was some movement at the edge of the crater. At this distance, he couldn't quite see every detail, but several human shapes were coming out with a surprising regularity. He tracked the source of this movement to the center of the crater, showing him another surprise. The very center wasn't reduced to a black glass like its surroundings, but was instead emitting a purplish light.
Ben staggered a bit as he handed back Leo his possession. That joke about the floor being nuked was now ringing true. He slumped against a wall.
Just what kind of nuke could deal that amount of damage? And what's that weird spot? A defense system from The Backrooms? Is everyone just fucking dead? I can't- I can't believe it. There has to be a trick…
Also, we're close to the ground zero of a nuclear explosion… Nevermind, I don't think it will cut in our life spans.
"We have some creatures coming out of something at the center of the crater. They're dubiously human."
"So what's the plan, cap?"
"We go down, try to take a few recordings if possible, and search for the most likely exit that would send us to the offices. But first… meal time."
The members of the trio each took a metallic bottle and drank it. Ben got to enjoy a sweet taste as he gulped down his own ration of almond water, and sighed in satisfaction once done.
"That stuff isn't bad, but I miss a real meal… Maybe I'll try to get one of those prepared meals from the higher ups to share."
"Please do… Simply hearing the word steak makes me want to sink my teeth in something juicy."
"Third!"
"No promises are made… let's get down and move on."
The descent was identical to the ascent. As they carefully got down from the debris, a brick slipped from under Leo's foot. While he managed to stabilize himself without falling, his ankle twisted as an unnatural angle before Sam grabbed him.
"Fuck, dude, are you alright?"
Leo grimaced. "I've seen worse… I'm pretty sure I sprained my ankle though." He nervously chuckled. "With all those fucking abominations in The Backrooms, I'm sure I'm the only one who ever got owned by a dumb brick."
"Can you still walk?"
"Yeah… I wouldn't bet on myself if I had to compete in race against a dead drunk hobo though."
"Crap… And there's no way we can get help around here now. We'll start to look for a way home in that case. Sam, you take the rear."
Ben carefully examined each skyscraper as he passed in front of them. Entering one that would lead him to their intended destination required a lot of observation and a little luck. If he made a mistake, ending further away would be a positive results compared to some of the other possibilities.
Ben raised his hand. Beyond the howling wind, there was a subtle yet persistent mechanical sound made by a pair of legs stomping the ground. Sam pointed behind a building. The three men spread up to take cover amongst the rubble, weapons in hand but not pointed forward. Ben attached his smartphone to his weapon, camera recording.
Then the source of the noise appeared. A feminine yellow robot with her hands connected behind her back slowly strolled forward. Her head was circled by jade hair, and while she had a mouth, she had only a single red eye at the center of a visor.
She looks like the drunken design of a sex robot.
Leo called out to her. "Miss? Are you alright? Do you need help?"
"Class one cross-world contact. Eliminate." Her visor started glowing before shattering under the impact of a single bullet. The strange contraption stumbled around before a few more shots sent her down.
Leo slowly exhaled. "Well that was straightforward. And easy for once."
Ben got up and carefully approached the remains of the monster, his weapon ready to shoot. He poked at the remains with his canon before jumping back.
"It's dead. Keep your eyes and ears open."
"We now have a new type of entities to deal with, don't we?"
Ben nodded and grabbed a few parts of their impromptu target. "I'll take a few samples and we're out. I'm pretty sure the noise will attract more of them." A quick look in the direction where that strange contraption came from informed him that there were no immediate threats, only the same omnipresent rubble.
I feel squicky just touching it… Hurgh, whoever designed that one needs a therapist.
Ben quickly shoved what he considered the most important pieces in his backpack. "Okay, I'm done. Now, let's find an exit."
On the plus side, since we're going away from the crater, we're less likely to fall on more of those freaks.
Ben felt his hopes dashed away as Sam aimed at another strange creature. This one looked like a decomposing woman wearing a blue dress. However, her body seemed to be supported by several small skittering metallic legs. Her green eyes looked utterly hollow, and Ben shivered when she looked in their direction.
"Class one cross-world contact. Eliminate."
A short salvo quickly tore her head apart. To Ben's disgust, a purple, reeking fluid flowed from her neck stump. Sam groaned as he examined its remains.
"The same words… this is not just a new type of entity we're dealing with, it's a whole new group."
"Fuck…" Ben took a few pictures of the creature and quickly got up. "We'll have to make sure, but I think you're entirely right. Just when you think you start to get a solid grasp on this place, it throws you another curveball in your face."
As the two men examined this new enemy, Leo checked one of the concurrent streets. The grimacing man quickly limped toward the group. When he reached them, he talked in a panicked whisper.
"There are a lot more of those entities coming down on us. We need to get away ASAP."
Ben slowly breathed in and out. Visibly he had overestimated how randomly those monsters were moving. "Sam, carry him. We need to get away right now."
Sam reorganized his equipment and slung Leo across his shoulders as Ben ran to the first door of the first building that hadn't completely collapsed. The only thing he could do was checking behind those and pray his luck.
Come on, behind which one leads to those damn offices?
The first door revealed the large concrete corridors of a warehouse. Ben groaned and resumed running ahead when a beam of light flew close to his head before disappearing in the street in front of him.
"Lasers?! They have god damn lasers?! What the actual fuck is that circus freak show?!"
Ben took cover behind rubble and checked in the direction of the attack: there were several entities identical to those they killed, as well as a few different ones he hadn't seen yet. He didn't bother aiming one in particular before shooting. Even if his shots landed, the hostile mob continued moving forward, dogmatically pushing through his attacks without a care for their self-safety. The longer he saw them, the more he felt disgusted by the look of those twisted amalgamates of women and machine.
It's only when Sam overtook him that Ben started retreating himself. He didn't even attempt to shoot at the entities anymore. It would just have been a waste of time. Luckily, they were only progressing at a walking pace for the moment, but their ranged attack forced them to slowly move from cover to cover. Another salvo of lasers flew in the direction of the group. However, they disappeared in the middle of the street as they hit an invisible wall.
Then a burning meteor crashed on the crowd of entities, kicking up a cloud of dust that was stopped a few meters in front of them again. When the dust cleared, Ben felt his heart skip a beat. A blond woman was standing in place of the mob. Long fluffy golden appendages in her back complemented her mane and her fluffy triangular ears. Her white dress complimented by a purple skirt was showing an impressive amount of cleavage, while her turquoise eyes were overlooking a small smile. When she talked, her voice was as sweet as honey.
"Greetings, son of men… were you in need of help?"
"Yes…" Ben shook his head clear. "I mean, thank you for your help miss…"
"Please, call me Amara." She flirtily giggled. "And it was nothing. I wouldn't have let people as handsome as you suffer an ignominious fate at the end of apoptosis."
"Apoptosis… like the cell suicide mechanism?"
"I see you are quite smart. You're right, but enough talking about that trivia." She pulled out a fan and started refreshing herself in a dignified fashion. "Why don't you introduce yourself?"
Ben felt slightly ashamed for his rudeness. They had just been saved by her, they should have done so before anything.
"Sorry… My name's Ben, and this is Sam and Leo. We were scavenging another floor for supplies. When we came back, it looked like the town and our friends had been nuked… Did you see what happened?"
Let's keep important information to ourselves for now… She might have helped us, but she's raising a few too many red flags to my taste.
"Nuked…" She sighed, bringing an interesting movement in her chest that didn't escape the gaze of any of the male. "My apologies, but I am completely lost in this place as well. I simply noticed a skirmish from afar when I saw you. It looked like you were having a bad day." She showed another playful smirk.
Leo's voice echoed from behind Ben. "Our day has improved a lot with your arrival."
God damn it Leo… You have no shame, have you?
The fox woman giggled again. "Why thank you… although I will not conceal that I am interested by some of the skills you apparently mastered… you said that you travelled from another floor? I wish I knew how… you make it look so easy…"
While Ben shrugged the compliment, he felt himself sweat heavily under his clothes. "We're starting to get used to it. We even mapped out some of the floor connections, but we're still discovering some unusual possibilities."
"Interesting… Would you happen to know how to exit this place? I won't hide that I'm searching for a way to leave myself."
Ben grimaced. "We found some ways, but we're not sure they work… They're also located in the more dangerous territories, and we don't have the resources to reliably reach them."
"I see… in that case, may I offer you my services? I will offer you my power and the knowledge I have about the apoptosis in exchange for your own knowledge about this labyrinth and a place to rest…"
Ben carefully weighed the options available. On the one hand, it was the mission of his group to assist anybody in need of help, she had supported them against a large group of enemies, and she had openly declared her own goal. On the other hand… besides her gorgeous appearance, she looked as dangerous as some of the most lethal enemies they got to face, and he was concerned about the possible tricks she could hide. The trio hadn't survived the backrooms for so long by accepting opportunities that looked too good to be true.
He looked at his partners. Sam was still frowning, while Leo was looking quite enthusiastic.
Ah, screw it… Worst case scenario, we'll dump her on one of the more dangerous floors.
"If nobody has anything to say, you can come with us. Stay careful though. We're not out of trouble."
"Perfect!" The fox woman fanned herself in obvious satisfaction as she approached them. "I will make sure every one of you come out fine of this little trip. This is a beginning of a new alliance..."
So. Many. Red Flags. I'm already getting a headache.
"May I heal your friend's wound? He looks in pain."
"Yes please."
A small light appeared in Amara's hand, and the same one surrounded Leo's ankle. While he grimaced in pain, he happily wiggled his foot right afterward.
That's either magic, or she has a really good sleight of hands.
"You can put me down, I can walk now."
Sam unceremoniously dumped Leo on the ground under the woman's bemused expression. Ben returned to his task of checking the various buildings in search of one that would lead the party to their destination. After another series of disappointments, he checked around the corner of the next street and quickly backed away.
"There's a strider right in the next street. He didn't see us yet."
"Craaap."
When Amara quizzically looked at her, Ben felt compelled to finish his explanation.
"It's a giant eyeball carried by nerves. It might sound dumb, but considering it's eight-meters tall, can fry everyone it looks at, can run at a hundred kilometers per hour, and is resistant against our weapons, it won't end well if it sees us."
"I see… Let me try something."
Ben stepped back. Given her meteoritic entrance, that woman might be able to damage it. She stepped in the middle of the street, fully showing herself to the strider which emitted a strange groaning noise as its eye focused on her. Ben peeked from his hideout. In the blink of an eye, the woman was right under the strider and cut one of his leg, then another in a smooth continuous motion before stabbing him in the eye as its body was falling. The battle had lasted less than five seconds.
Holy crap. What are we supposed to do against someone who can do that with... a PAPER FAN?!
No. There's no way. She looks like a fox-woman, foxes are tricksters in nature, she must be tricking us…
There's no way that dead body is a trick though.
The trio entered the street as Amara was waiting for them and methodically returned to their examination. Luckily, it didn't take long before Ben opened one that led to a furnished office with cream walls and carpets.
"Found one that looks like it. Here's to hoping that it's not a million miles across the base…"
"I'll take the lead!" Leo enthusiastically stepped forward with a smile. "Ladies first…"
Amara giggled and followed him, leaving Sam and Ben to take the rear guard. The latter pair let the two other get a lead before Sam whispered to his partner.
"That woman is more dangerous than a maximum fun room."
Ben nodded and whispered back. "I know. But so far she's been helping us, and I think she's telling the truth… not the whole truth, but the truth nonetheless. She's not a resident, but this opens a whole other can of worms."
"She doesn't give me the impression of being a resident as well, but she's not human either. She wouldn't be out of place in a movie as the femme fatale who seduces the hero to stab him."
"Or in a manga to be more precise… look, I'll take responsibility for whatever damage she occasions. Taking her in is a serious risk, I can only admit that. We're talking about someone who casually tore apart a strider like paper maché after crashing down on a large mob of those strange monsters, all without a scratch. But beyond the M.E.G. code of helping those in needs, there's the fact that she could grant any exploring team some much needed safety. Last, she seems to know something about this new threat, those apoptosis, and if we could learn more losing without twenty people again, I'll call that a win. I won't wave my dick around like Leo to attract her attention. I'll make sure that lady Amara -which I admit is probably not even her real name- has a reason to keep helping us."
Sam acknowledged his partner's words with a small nod. "Let's join them back before they get lost. I don't think Leo knows the place as much as he is pretending to."
"No, he doesn't… HEY! WAIT FOR US!"
The duo started trotting in the direction where the two lovebirds had disappeared. Leo greeted them with a mocking smile while the fox-woman was just looking bemused.
"What? Were you worried about getting lost?"
"No. Weren't you?"
Leo didn't answer, instead focusing himself on scratching the back of his neck. Ben pinched the bridge of his nose and pulled out a notebook.
"God damn it Leo… sorry about that Lady Amara."
After flipping through several pages, Ben arrived to a drawing that looked like a plate of spaghettis. He checked his surroundings.
"We're roughly here. We take right, and we'll be back to base in less than an hour."
"My, I can't wait to meet our partners…"
Let's try to make radio contact before we reach them…
Fortunately, crossing through the endless rows of randomly furnished offices happened without trouble for the team. As a set of fortified door appeared, Ben raised his hand and progressed alone until he was right in front.
"Team Hexa, reporting in. Mission failure. Three survivors and one rescuer, code… huuuh, gamma."
An electronic voice escaped the door. "Code gamma? What did he do to deserve that?"
Ben leaned closer and whispered. "It's a she, and she casually destroyed a Strider with a paper fan."
"…You're kidding me, aren't you?"
"No, I am not. Please, just open the door, it's not been a good day and I just want to get rid of the debriefing to get some sleep."
"…Okay, get back from the door."
Ben obliged, and the door slowly opened on a squad of soldiers who scanned the entrance with their guns.
"Everything's clear. Get in."
When Amara showed up, everyone turned toward her. The woman was visibly relishing in the attention she was receiving. She politely bowed, her usual smirk showing on her lips.
"Greetings. My name is Amara. I thank you for welcoming me."
Two soldiers looked at each other, visibly confused. "Huuh, likewise. Please follow us if you don't mind. We have a lot of question for you. As for you three, get to the command center for debriefing."
Ben nodded. The remainder of the day was a blur as he led his partners through the equipment filled hallways, ignoring everyone's gaze or the activity in the current scientific team that got sparked by their discovery. The debriefing itself felt an endless chore, as they had to repeat all the events of the day again and again to their commander as the latter visibly remained skeptical. He couldn't blame the woman. Even if the Backrooms ran on their own brand of logic, a magical entity-slaying fox-lady looked completely out of place.
"It's a shame that the second team died because of their own greed. I'll remind everyone about the importance of cooperation and communication. We're currently interrogating that strange woman, and we'll see what comes out of her. We'll send another team to validate the damage on floor eleven. You'll be on research duty for the next weeks. Dismissed."
The trio made their way to the designed refectory room. To their disappointment, they could only get the regulatory bottle of almond water. The cold container only further reminded him of the inhuman nature of The Backrooms. Even the lively, mundane activity around him didn't alleviate the cold sensation gripping at his guts.
Five people died today in less than a few minutes, but it happened because of their own stupidity. I don't even know how to feel about that. And that girl… she's a bit shady, but she did help us. I don't know how we could deal with her if she starts acting up. I don't know how to feel about that mess any longer.
I have to stop overthinking. I need some sleep.
"I'm off. See you later guys."
Ben left the group and dragged his feet to the room that was used as barracks. To his surprise, he ran into Amara. The latter looked slightly disappointed.
"Ah, am I glad to see you… I was told that I would be given an empty room to install myself, but the man supposed to accompany me decided to busy himself by attempting to sweet-talk the nurse."
Another one that will be turned away by Laura… Considering how cold and indifferent she is, I wonder why she took on that job. Also, fuck that guy, I just wanted to sleep.
"Right… Please follow me; I think I know which room they were talking about."
Ben felt several envious gazes when he passed amongst his colleagues. If one of them had stepped forward, he would have let them take care of his company, but they were more content with disapprovingly watching than acting. The two of them eventually ended in a dead-end room roughly as big as a bedroom.
"It was used for testing, then for storage before they completely emptied the place. I'll get some necessities for you."
"Thank you, but this is unneeded."
With a few movements of her wrist, Amara spawned a large king-sized bed, a desk in a corner and a wooden table with a few chairs in the middle of the room. Ben was dumbfounded.
"Wow… I'm…"
"Enraptured?" She giggled again and closed the door behind him. "Now, let me properly reward you for your help…"
Ben gulped and started sweating. In a different context, he would have jumped on the opportunity. However, right now, he was concerned about how little he knew about her. Also, rumors would spread extremely quickly from word of mouth. The door was locked, and a magic symbol had appeared on it. He felt like a mouth in front of a... well, a fox.
"Look… Thank you lady Amara, but I didn't do much… You killed those monsters that were attacking us like they were nothing, so please, don't mention it."
Amara grinned. "And modest with that! But allow me to insist… You seem to be in dire need of company…"
Her dress hit the floor, fully revealing her body. Ben gasped, his mouth remaining open as he was utterly charmed by her curves. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and he even found himself attracted by her more exotic features. She approached him while swaying her hips, only her fan in her hand. Ben remained completely still, frozen in a primal desire he never knew could even be possible as his heart threatened to burst from his chest, and he let himself be grabbed by her soft hands. Then she whispered in her ear.
"By the way… my real name is Tamamo No Mae."
"Huh?"
She exhaled in his ear, further increasing his desire as his brain struggled to keep up with her words. "You suspected me of giving you a fake name. You were right. My real name is Tamamo No Mae."
Ben felt his disrupted brain slowly put the pieces together as it tried to keep a lid on his libido.
She heard everything… oh crap.
"Wait, mph?!"
Before he could move, Tamamo was firmly holding his head and forcing her tongue down his mouth. As he tried to struggle away, she deftly grab his own tongue in a display of domination. Quickly, his rising fear was clouded by pleasure. Ben felt his mouth being thoroughly violated until he stopped struggling. When she pulled back, she displayed a familiar mischievous smile that was now scaring the man out of his mind.
"Oh, don't make that face, I won't kill or torture you, fufufu… And don't feel bad for letting the fox in the henhouse. I would have gotten in on my own anyway. The only difference is that instead of using my magic to brainwash everyone and spend precious mana, I'll take my time to earn everyone's trust and corrupt you slowly, gently… One. At. A. Time."
Ben barely understood what was happening. He was utterly confused as conflicting emotions mixed in his brain. He wanted to run. He wanted her company. He wanted to scream. He wanted to enjoy her body. He wanted to cry out in despair. He wanted to be her toy.
"Now, I apologize, but while I won't hurt you… I still need to recover some energy. Also, even amongst your companions, you seem to be impressively knowledgeable about the Backrooms… And I need that information."
Ben collapsed on the bed like a rag doll, naked. He didn't even remember removing his clothes, but it felt like an insignificant detail as Tamamo was crawling like a playful cat above him.
"I'll make sure you enjoy every second of it."
Tamamo finally dropped on him and wrapped him in her tails. Ben gasped in pure delight. It wasn't the simple pleasure of a classical intercourse. Every single inch of his body was filled with an impossible ecstasy. He felt his consciousness recede as he was instantly reduced to a beast acting on pure instinct according to Tamamo's whims.
"Just like home… Human are a welcome constant in every universes. I missed your kin so much…"
Ben felt a flood of weakness as he felt his energy being absorbed by his partner. The slight fear of dying was completely overwhelmed by the sheer primal pleasure of the act. Nothing mattered besides the bliss this sex goddess was giving him.
A gnawing sensation at the back of his mind slowly brought him out of this inhumane pleasure. Tamamo's mind was slowly examining his own. The unknown sensation brought him to sudden lucidity as he realized how much he had been toyed with. Everything that woman had done was simply to make him lower his guard to appropriate his very existence to herself. As she entered his mind, he briefly felt utterly overwhelmed by the power she had hidden so far. He was barely a gnat in front of her, and one that was lucky she restrained herself to not utterly crush him by accident.
"Shhh… just enjoy the sensation in your loin. Wallow in your own lust. Welcome the pleasure drowning your body in sweetness."
Even if her words brought him comfort, he couldn't stop feeling utterly violated. Her body was making physical struggle impossible, and he simply didn't know if mentally resisting was a thing. He had made the mistake of thinking that she wouldn't hear anything earlier, and she was now proving him that even his own thoughts, his last bastion of privacy was within her own reach and freely treated as plunder. Nothing was sacred to her.
And yet… he felt his heart beating for her. Her very being inspired him a mix of love, lust and respect as she was making his heart hers. She was simply irresistible in every aspect.
After an ambivalent eternity, he fell into blissful unconsciousness when she took energy one last time from him. When he woke up alone, he remembered spending a pleasant evening with Amara, the woman bringing a fresh insight on The Backrooms. He slowly dressed himself up, trembling in the unusually cold air. That night hadn't been as refreshing as he hoped. The death of his partners had still left a mark on his mind.
Nobody minded him as he left Amara's room and made his way to the refectory. They were all busy with their own activities. No salacious rumors were tainting his day so far. He found himself drinking several bottles of almond water to fill his unusually large hunger before making his way to the laboratory.
The room in front of Ben could only be qualified by this name by virtue of being the one where most of the research in the Backrooms happened. Different workbenches, analysis machines and computers were arranged in rows while a large group was discussing their discovery around a table. It had been decided to move the biological analysis room some time ago after one too many complaints. Ben's arrival attracted the men's attention.
"You're unusually late… are you alright?"
"I spent a bad night thinking about all those deaths yesterday. Sorry Zack." He also suspected that he had overexerted himself with Amara, but if nobody took notes of it, he would keep silent about it as well. The less said about their intimate relations, the better. "Did you learn something interesting?"
His interlocutor shook his head. "Sort of… Lady Amara had a lot of info about those strange entities you fought yesterday, and most of them are concerning. They're known as apoptosis, they bring in more and more powerful specimen to spread destruction, and they may end up swallowing the world if they're not contained. However, she thinks that they won't leave floor eleven for now, so the best we can do is avoid the place. She remains in the dark about what did so much damage though. Everyone there is to be considered killed in action."
"Fuuuuck…"
"But there's worse…" Zack showed a bunch of pictures of women whose scantily outfits made Amara look prude. "She told us that a bunch of angels are roaming out there. They may look and sound benevolent, but their goal is to brainwash everyone into worshipping their own goddess. Those that resist are killed. She's currently with the guard team, deploying some detection wards around the floor so that we get informed if they approached."
"So we have to keep an eye out for another threat as well… Did she say anything about how everyone entered the Backrooms?"
"No, she doesn't know herself… We gave her the basics about no-clipping, but it didn't look like it rang any bell. Most of the information we shared looked new to her. Curiously, the one that attracted the most her attention was the work done by team Vanguard."
"Vanguard…" Ben closed his eyes. "Team specialized in rescue, recruitment, and priority target elimination. Seven people in total, led by sergeant Luka."
"Good memory, I needed to check the archives to remember what their job is. I don't know why she's interested in them, and besides, we have bigger troubles on our plate right now. From making plans to deal with those chicken-winged abominations to rewriting exploration protocols that will avoid floor eleven, we have some work ahead of us. Once that's clear, we'll focus on the big question… But it's enough blabbing for now, let's get to work. Get started on those protocols before more people die because they took the wrong turn."
Ben nodded and comfortably sat himself as he started working. As he accomplished the mundane task, his mind regularly wandered to the obvious big question.
Are the Backrooms connected to more worlds than just earth? Or does she come from the future? We'll need to investigate that as well…
…And now I'm thinking about her. This playful smile, this marvelous body, those incredibly soft fluffy tails, those sweet words of her… I want to always be with her. I'll make sure she always has a reason to keep helping us.