Fall - verb: to move downward, typically rapidly and freely without control, from a higher to a lower level
Hey gamers! I'm back after a long pause to bring you some PanPrice goodness! Of the Backrooms variety! Get hype, it's a long one!
I'm posting this to AO3 as well, and I'll also be posting an accompanying art piece on my tumblr:
tumblr dot com slash yours - the - author
I hope you're ready for angst, angst, and more angst (and a little fluff every so often, as a treat)! I'll let you get right to it. See you at the bottom of the page!
A sudden tremor made Dave smack his head against the wall,. He jolted upright, wincing at the ensuing headache. He'd been napping again, his prison cell well lit in the daylight. Had the Toppat's narrowly avoided another flock of ducks? That had happened at least three times since he'd been captured, at least according to the voice on the audio system. Deciding to leave it at that, Dave leaned back against the wall…
Only to be jolted again by a second tremor. Then a third, then a forth. Dave scrambled to his feet and peered through the glass window of his prison door, eyes flicking around at what little he could see.
A Toppat passed by, and Dave ducked away from the window instinctively. They usually ignored him, but that didn't mean one of them couldn't suddenly decide to use him as a punching bag.
The tremors were growing more frequent, as were the number of Toppats rushing past his cell. They were all going in the same direction, and he managed to glimpse the look of panic most of them were wearing. Dave's heart leapt into his throat. Was the airship crashing? Was everyone running for the exits while he got left behind? He frantically banged his fist against the window. "Hello?" He called, his voice sounding dull and muffled even from this side of the door. "C-can someone get me out of here? Please!"
There was a crash that shook the airship all the worse, and Dave bonked his forehead painfully into the glass. He groaned in pain, shaking from both the effort to stay upright and the fear that was slowly taking over him.
He was really going to die here, wasn't he? Either exploded in midair or crushed under the gaudy red debris of the ship when it inevitably crashed into the ground. Would anyone find his body? Would there be anything left of his body to find? He beat against the window with both fists, yelling, "let me out of here! Let me out! Please!"
Another tremor rocked the airship, sounding way too close for comfort, and Dave squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the end.
The door slid to the side, sending Dave toppling forward in a spiral before he was caught by someone. It was another Toppat, and there were three others nearby, bracing their arms against the walls for balance. The Toppat that grabbed him set him on his feet firmly, then shoved Dave in the direction the other Toppats had been going in. "Move it," they hissed in his ear. One of the other Toppat's grabbed Dave by the arm and yanked him down the hallway, the others following close behind.
"W-What's going on?" Dave managed.
The Toppats didn't respond, and continued to push and drag him out of the prison brig. There was another tremor that made the group lurch into the wall, and one of them grumbled a curse as they pushed forward. "Of course it was today," they complained, "of course they chose the day I was supposed to get promoted-"
"Shut up, moron," another snapped, "there won't be any more promotions if we get arrested! Just focus on getting the hostage to the bay window."
Dave's brain was starting to blur from the shaking and the arguing. So someone was attacking the airship like he'd thought, but it wasn't just anyone. It was someone with the authority to arrest the Toppats. Someone with the power to save him! …Someone the Toppats were going to use him as a bartering chip for.
No, he couldn't think like that! He'd been stuck in a room the size of a closet for way too long, and an opportunity to escape, to be free, was finally around the corner. He just needed to be patient. He needed a clean shot to get away, away from his tiny prison cell, away from these awful Toppats, back to a normal life, back to his beloved childhood friend-
Dave tripped, his foot twisting awkwardly from the motion, and he flinched in preparation for the pain that would come once his foot hit the floor… but it didn't hit the floor.
It didn't hit anything at all.
The forward momentum from rushing through the crashing airship sent him toppling forward, where he should have hit his head on the ground, or even on one of the other Toppats, but he just kept falling.
The gray metal floor rushed to meet him, blurring into a violent mess of gray and yellow shapes that crashed into him like concrete, knocking him unconscious with the scent of bloody noses and damp motel carpets.
Oops, you fell into the Backrooms, Dave! Good luck; you'll need it!
You may recognize the concept of this fic from somewhere. That's because I made a one-shot about it for PanPrice Week 2023 which you can read here:
www dot fanfiction dot net slash s slash 14267994 slash 5 slash Panprice - Week - 2023
The one shot basically continues from where this chapter ends, and will occasionally be referenced in future chapters (really mostly chapters 2 and 3), so if you like this and don't want to wait until next Monday for more, check it out! The references should be vague enough that you won't need to read the one shot if you don't want to, but I'm pretty proud of that one, so I'd appreciate the extra love!
Leave a review and let me know what you think! What could happen to poor Dave? What about poor Rupert? What about poor EVERYONE? You'll have to come back next Monday to find out. I'll see you when that day comes; until then!