2 Am: A hot summer night succeeded to the scorching day.
“Even the stars are together in constellations." thought Chloe Marx while she headed back from her restaurant to home.
This day, she walked to her home using a different road. It happened to her on some days without reasons.
The streets were silent, as was the expression on her face. She finally got back to the junkyard that was her apartment. It has a bathroom part and a central room that served both as a kitchen and a bedroom. Documents and random objects were, for the lack of a better word, divided into piles without any logic to organize them. She didn’t appreciate the neon light and the yellow walls that were visible behind the mess. She sighed and entered her personal space, ready to rest.
But some post-it on the fridge prompted her back to work. A dishwasher occupied the main entrance with unfiltered arrogance. She promised to do some repairs for the neighbours.
It was a long time since she didn’t go to dinner with them; there was such a nice family. But each time she left, it was always the hardest part for her.
She passed in front of the photos. They displayed her many stages in life in a disordered manner. These pictures survived despite the different relocations in the same way she survived her whole life.
Sometimes, she wondered how they would look with some extra people.
4 Am: She finished her work in silence on the dishwasher and went back to the wasteland that was currently piled up above her bathroom. Without any warnings, her eyes stared among the piles at an unopened gift. A complicated mixture of love, hate, joy, disgust, nostalgia, melancholy, betrayal… made the tears build up in her eyes.
She should have thrown it a long time ago. She took the gift and looked in the mirror. Part of her wanted to open it, but would this change anything?
She looked in the mirror.
She saw a grown woman with red bangs and dark bags under her brown eyes and some semblance of professionalism to ensure her own survival. The stupid gift was in her hands. It was such a long time she managed to be open to anyone. The frustration started to change into drowsiness, indicating that she reached her limit for today. She didn't even realize that her two feet started to lose the strength to support her.
Then, a nightmare happened. She tripped and fell deeper into the dark. She met the woman she was as she phased through the mirror. Nothing happened for a few seconds. Vision, hearing, smell, and touch ceased and lost meaning. In the long dark between, she blacked out.
She woke up the following day in her apartment. She must have slept on the floor all night.
Wasn’t she in the bathrooms?
The buzzing of the neon annoyed her enough for her to gather the energy to stand up. Yet, she started to panic when she found out she may have missed her alarm. A broken phone was her only answer; she sighed out of frustration.
By the way, why do the walls feel different? Her mind started to speed up. The layout was also strange. A corridor cut multiples times an empty room while spinning on itself. She asked herself during a half second if she managed to change the layout by the force of her bad sorting habits. Half a second later, she came to the conclusion of the absurdity of this thought.
By the way, where was her stuff?
She stood up here for a few minutes, trying to process the situation without a satisfying conclusion.
Then she steadied her resolution and walked into this strange wonderland without any clues of what it would have in store. She suffocated in this place that she knew by heart yet rediscovered as another thing. This couldn't be her apartment, couldn't it?
She pinched herself to the cheeks, trying to prove something, only to resign to her current reality.
Her heartbeat entered in unison with the neon, and her legs started to walk by themselves. A lonely woman walked inside this silent parody of a place.
Terror caught her heart while her mind was deadly calm.
Hours succeeded to seconds. Second to minutes, in a location where time didn’t make sense.
As such, hunger, thirst, and exhaustion were the only things that she used to count down her time.
Her mind began to race but stayed at the same place. Sometimes, she heard sounds but didn’t have the resolve to check them out. Dread took its hold on her heart.
But was she afraid to find out what they mean or if they were fake in the first place?
She heard people shout for help a few times but ignored them.
She heard footsteps but never met their owners.
In this strange environment, one constant remained. Fear was her greatest counselor, be it at the orphanage or on another planet.
Indeed, a few minutes later, the same call for help repeated itself like a perfect record.
Unsure of her direction, her feet guided her out of danger.
Her body moved sure of her direction while her mind started to lose itself. Or was it the reverse?
"It was a long time since she lost the gift." Her mind wandered.
"Did I die that day?" echoed the environment.
As the environment explored her, it started to ask questions. Or…
As she was about to completely lose herself, she found a wall. Something was different here. She found a lot of them earlier. But this one, she felt it. She touched. And then the dark swallowed her. She fell… for the second time.
She found herself in an industrial zone.
An abandoned warehouse she deduced as her gaze tried to pierce the new environment that remained opaque.
She felt cold as some sort of fog envelopped her, akin to the grasp of a giant. The bare walls supported the place in an unnatural manner akin to bones out of their natural element. Water bled out of them to form puddles.
The light breathed and flickered as if something was waiting for her to make her last mistake.
Something hidden in this place didn't want her to see her home back.
It could have been the last straw for her, a last dip into madness, but a part of her wanted to continue to advance.
She only hoped to wake up. But the dream always caught back to her? It was another dead end…
Her endless journey had only started.
At this moment, the sounds of the neon started to annoy her beyond recognition. Annoyance succeded to frustration, who crowned anger as its rightful heir.
Her phone, already broken and useless since the start of her journey, met the neon above her at high speed in an instinctual manner. Broken glass felt down in revenge.
She covered herself with her arms, as she regretted in the instant her reflex.
As she tried to calm down, a predatory howl from far away filled the atmosphere. Dread started to build up and invade her from the tip of her ears to her toes.
She never fought once in her lifetime. Never did she manage to stand up for herself. The panic took the place of her fear, petrifying her in this very moment.
Then, she felt a horifying presence behind her. Her heart raced faster. Her blood started to heat. All her senses were completely awake, opposing the oniric state in her strange travel.
"Uhm, it seems I met a dangerous person…” joked an old woman behind.
A reflex punch directed at the face of the stranger met a hand strong as a wall.
“Okay, you need to calm down; we need to act fast." as she tried to pierce through her fear.
“Where… where are we? Who are you?” whispered the newcomer with a mix of stress and timidity.
“We’re in the backrooms and…”
“So, you… kidnapped me… or something…" hesitated Chloe Marx without great confidence but great paranoïa.
She looked more at her. She looked like some kind of mercenary in military clothes, unkempt by time, covered with scars and some wrinkles. She was a white-haired person who participated in every fight since the dawn of humanity. Furthemore, this monster won them all and was carrying the weapons of the vanquished as her personal trophies. Not a part of didn't scream danger.
The howls were now heard from a shorter distance and their number grew by the minute. Chloe was pale, frozen by the situation.
The impatient and scarred women articulated these words to reassure the scared woman:
“We need to go now… Trust me, you won’t like it when they arrive. Explanation is for later."
From the hesitant eyes of the newcomer to her mouth, one word summarized her whole attitude.
"Never!!" she yelled, opposing her natural weakness for once.
This was her last word this day. Her vision darkened; her ears buzzed louder than the neon as she fell to the ground.
She was unconscious for the second time of the day.
“You ungrateful moron." concluded the stranger.
She woke up in her bed or not…
It was some sort of bag with an old blanket on top of it.
Her head still hurts. The nightmare didn't stop.
She faced this rude fighter, built like a Russian bear and busy on the maintenance of her weapons.
“You finally woke up. You slept 10 hours. Don’t worry, we’re in security inside this outpost in level 1.”
She turned her head and saw some extra people. It was a rather unremarkable room from the warehouse. Its contents were not. The survivors improvised the many planks, boxes and material into a makeshift camp.
She thought back of her mess of a home. At least, they managed to achieve some functionality at the cost of aesthetics.
She and her attacker were on one side of the rooms while the bulk of the supply was in the center.
“Definitely, you’re the worst.” she began to mutter.
“You’re free to leave if you want. But I recommend you to listen to me before." commanded the mercenary.
“Or you’ll punch me again!!” sneered Chloe. The mental toll of her journey and the absurdity of the situation had started to chip away at her natural timidity.
“Lilith Marks. And you?” said the veteran with natural nonchalance.
She gave up. “Chloe Marx. Where am I?”
“Funny coincidence…” She chuckled for a few seconds.
“For where we are, as I said, we’re in the backrooms. To explain you better, look at your blanket; there is another blanket below."
As Chloe took out the first blanket and saw another blanket, even more worn down. A pure look of confusion was on her face.
Lilith then continued. “The first blanket is your former reality, Earth, the frontrooms, whatever… The second one though…”
The former waitress started to have a pure look of horror on her face.
“This place are the backrooms, a collection of smaller planes of existence filled with opportunities and danger. And in your case, you fell through the first blanket without possibilities of return. Don’t dirty up my blankets, though."
The dizziness and the realization climbed up to her head. She puked by the side. The somewhat aloof warrior then concluded before she drinks a sip from her flask.
“You'll clean that up later. Now that I saved your life, how do you repay me?”
“Still abusing those poor newcomers, you old hag, give her some slack.” said a metallic voice.
After her initial shock, Chloe started to pay attention to the other people in the room. The metallic voice belonged to another mercenary. They were in gray military clothes concealing their appearance with a gas mask and a large soldier helmet with a spike on the top. Chloe was yet astonished by their surprising slender and elongated build, making them more tall yet less massive than Lilith.
“Rust, by the way." His unatural voice emanated yet again from behind the gas mask.
Many equipments and pockets fixed on his jacket served to carry a variety of equipment, from weapons to cooking tools and rations. 4 small machettes protected his back. He even had the luxury to complete them by a machette on each of his sides, ready to strike, and a plethora of knives.
As Chloe remembered her history classes, she could only think of comparing him to a World War One soldier.
But she felt a form of nobleness and kindness inside this mysterious figure.
An old black bald man dressed in civilian clothes is doing a bit of chemistry with an adolescent with long hair. A gentle yet strict gaze commanding respect emanated from the experimenter. Yet the journey exhausted him.
The young girl was more energetic but felt anxious and ready to flee in case of danger, be it undescribable ones or new meetings. She braided her long hair great care, except for some damaged zones. Both wear rugged clothes marked by trials despite the excellent state of their chemistry set.
They shared similar physical traits and seemed to have a close bond.
"So, family still exists in this wretched place?" thought Chloe.
Another person on the corner looked like a regular yet strange salaryman.
His true remarkable quality was that he was unremarkable to the perfection, made to completely fade in the crowd. It was strange in this kind of situation, noted Chloe.
Despite this, he was one of the rare people, aside from both mercenaries, to have clothes in good condition and to not suffer from exhaustion.
He was akin to an old uncle who lost everything yet was happy.
It defied any forms of common sense and made Chloe raise her vigilance in an instant.
Returning her gaze back to Lilith, she reevaluated her back. The circumstances of their meeting made her sabotage her impression of her. On a better day, she saw the old woman for who she is.
"A seasoned veteran who harms only for business and with a wicked sense of humor." she thought with a pinch of guilt while she started to lower her guard.
She blinked her eyes many times while her stomach started to growl, furious about the long neglect.
Rust gave her a strange bottle. The newcomer looked at the recipient with apprehension and confusion.
"Don't worry, it's Almond Water1. Tt's effective against hunger!" smiled the young mercenary behind his mask.
She gazed back at the crowd, only to meet gazes of approval. She drank and felt her hunger disappear to her surprise.
What kind of wonderland logic was that?
The night followed. People start to relax and tales added color to the grey day.
She learned more and more about this place, as she listened in silence most of the time.
This is a temporary camp built by M.E.G. (Main Explorer Group) and often reused by the persons passing by.
Rust and Madam Russian Catcher Lilith were both mercenaries specializing in the extermination of entities. They talked a few times like old acquaintances but exuded an aura of prominent experts in their fields.
Both are pure natives from this place, but Rust has this fascination for the frontrooms.
He took some time to explain her general knowledge of the place she ended up in, albeit between the endless waves of questions.
The salaryman Jim told his story with a mix of self-deprecation and humor.
He used to be in the telecoms and was by far the least adapted to the place. He struggled with survival in the backrooms due to his lack of experience in many vital skills.
He fell down here when he got fired from his job. He then decided to improvise himself as a robber, completely failed. He ended up here when he missed the last step of a stair while trying to run away.
"At least, I won't get arrested here." he commented with irony.
The father and bald chemist Henry talked with confidence while his daughter Tina looked anxious and reserved.
He used to be a teacher at a renowned university. He was also a fan of fungus and moss and used to gather samples. His daughter was with him when they found a strange wall. The rest is history, as they struggled and finally managed to reunite back in level 1.
Each of these stories made her realize the terrible truth. She thought back about the words of the old mercenary. There is no way to come back. It seems she had no choice but to accept this.
She spent the rest of the night with the old teacher after Lilith made her clean up her mess near the blanket.
The old man was akin to an orchestra leader in his favorite field, while the young woman tried to help him in his manipulations.
"Ok, can you please hold it? Ehm… This old material has an issue."
Her common sense tingled like a superhero bitten by a radioactive regular person.
"You may have squeezed this valve a bit too much. Why needing the whole setup, anyway?"
"Excellent observation for the valve. I'm purifying a bit of water; in case anyone needs to drink."
"We've already got almond water. You're showing off like usual." objected the salaryman.
"I will maintain my words, Jim. Science had always been the bread and butter of humanity.
And this won't change even in these places.
At least my daughter and the young lady here are helping me.
I don't see you being useful here, only complaining and arguing." He concluded to the dismay of Jim.
The old man turned his attention to his new student "By the way, good observations here; a pity you couldn't study more, Corinne."
"Chloe…" she corrected, with hope to escape the crossfire.
Jim started to argue more and more with Henry and cover this nice moment with his spite.
She heard both of the mercenaries talking and used that opportunity.
"Sorry, it seemed I almost forgot. These two wanted to talk to me. Guess I'm leaving…" Her subtlety, which was equal to none and bred by her awkwardness, made chuckle the old professor who let her and his daughter go. He and Jim were about to exchange words like blows, and he hoped to finish on an upercut.
On the other side of the room, Rust and Lilith discussed a problematic subject.
"Well, I saw a lot of things, but this Azure company is getting more and more concerning."
The old soldier took a gun out of her pocket and snatched a bullet out of it. The bullet had a peculiar design and some sort of brand on it.
"W.C.O.?
Ehmmm, this is their new bullet. They wasted their ammo against the entities and made new ones. This one has two hollow cores, one smaller for propulsion at the back and a bigger one at the front. I've dismantled one and confirmed the presence of Firesalt2 in both of them. I think we would need to…"
The presence of Chloe interrupted the discussion.
"What's the Azure Company?"
Lilith sighed while Rust temporized the situation.
His metallic voice answered the question. "A new group. They arrived 3 months ago and became more numerous and powerful with an unprecedented speed. The main pillar of their society is their money, the Backcoin. They announced to have a mean of travel to the frontrooms, hence the large number of people joining them."
Her heart started to race. But a firm hand grabbed her shoulder with surprising softness. Lilith had a stern gaze. "I would advise you to stay on your guard here. People got stuck here; none returned; some disappeared with them, and no one ever confirmed their words. These people are plain unscrupulous and would do anything to meet their selfish goals. And their favorite prey are newcomers. Got it?"
Her paranoïa raced the multiple bad scenarios that could unfold if even a mercenary found them unscruplous. But, from the short times they shared stories and her short experience, she reached one simple conclusion. The Backrooms are way worse than her former reality. So she has to take her chances.
"I made up my mind."
Lilith sighed in defeat.
"And you're still a moron… Did I punch you too hard? Don't come back crying if you have problems."
But Chloe maintained her pitiful eyes to at least earn some sympathy from her.
The veteran continued her attempt to reason with this unreasonable girl with a cold patience.
"By the way, how are you going here? You wouldn't last a month, not with your current skillset and mindset… And you still owe me."
Rust took a deep breath through the gas mask and made a suggestion.
"What if we could form her? She become useful to us. And when she pays her debt, she can go where she wants."
Lilith chuckled in surprise.
"I'm a tough teacher; you know it, don't you, Rust? She won't last one hour with me."
In this moment, Chloe struggled to keep her nerves in check, completely shattering her former cocky attitude.
"I… I… Maybe…!"
"New member, I guess… she's under your responsibility, Rust." concluded the old woman without letting her have a choice.
A metallic voice caught up to Chloe, akin to a death bell.
"In this case, we're starting tomorrow. You'll be carrying our luggage. Get some rest today; you need it."
Chloe regretted in this very moment her inability to confront herself to conflict.
Little did she know how brutal her new life has become.
One of the Bullets Used by the Azure Company