THE BACKROOMS: Mystery of the Shrouded Halls

Chapter 8

Just as my mind begins to perceive the horror in front of us, two more begin appearing out of seemingly nowhere. They snarl and grunt at us barbarically, and their teeth and eyes shine brightly.

"Katrina, run!" I hear Adrian yell, as he pushes me into the darkness of the hallway. He and I begin sprinting across the carpet, waving across the smooth ground and walls. The distorted screeching and scowling become louder and hellish, and the hallways only became darker and darker. Had we stumbled upon their lair? The same questions I once had about the Howlers come back to intimidate me once more. I look behind me and try to look for any signs of limbs or appendages. However, the darkness obscures almost every inch of the things. The hallway is narrow, so we're forced to travel in a single-file line, only making it more dangerous for Adrian, who is still behind me. I grasp his wrist tightly to make sure we don't lose each other in the madness of the situation. "W.. What do we do!?" Adrian yells right next to my ear. I can't think of anything this time, except to run. Fighting was out of the question. How could we land a hit on those things, if we couldn't even see their bodies? Even if we could, we're already outnumbered by three to two. We become hopeless, and our only choice is to keep running.

As the air becomes warmer and more rancid, most likely from all our bodies sweating and heating up the hallway, I notice the ceiling lights flickering in the distance of the, still, darkened hallway. Maybe we could finally see what those things look like. As we enter the light, I look over my shoulder and-

The lights flicker violently and then burst into sparks, which nearly burns my hair. "Watch out!" I hear Adrian yell, then yelp. He had been scorched by the tiny flames, dropped from the ceiling.

There are more lights in the near horizon, so we try once more to get a good look at our pursuers. We try again, but the same thing happens, causing sparks to fly and to land on our skin. We shriek at the twinge, but we have to keep hold of our bearings. That's when I notice a similarity. Every time the Smilers land under the ceiling lights, they just seem to burst out of nowhere. What does this mean? Do these things have some kind of electromagnetic aura? I look back once more and see that one of the three Smilers has retreated, possibly out of boredom or defeat. Maybe now's our chance to finally fight back.

"Adrian," I yell behind my back. "Throw the book!"
"Roger that!" I hear a woosh behind me, then a soft thud against something. I look back, and see that he had hit the Smiler in between the eyes. It's horrid screeches fill the hallway and pierce my ears, making me feel dizzy. My legs become weaker and throb in pain. Along with that, I can hear their footsteps becoming louder and quicker, so I tell Adrian we need to pick up the pace.

Just as the end of the hallway comes up, back into the light, I tumble onto my back when something heavy knocks me down. Adrian stumbles over my body, just before spinning back around to have a look at me. But it was too late. One of the Smilers had caught up and pounced on me, now gripping onto the front of my clothes. I squirm and struggle, only to be stopped by an unbearable and searing pain in the side of my ribs. It's claws dig into my flesh, causing the pain to become sizzling, slowly nearing the point of no return. I scream in pain, trying to gasp for air, as I try to get out of its grasp, which only makes the pain worse.

As horrible thoughts begin to surround my mind, I feel the weight of my attacker's body diminish completely. I open my eyes, only to see that Adrian had charged into its body, knocking it over and saving me from probable death. My vision becomes blurry and dark, and all I can see are those glowing, grinning faces in front of me. Adrian runs back towards me and drags me up by the arms. I begin trying to run towards the light, only to be stopped by the agony that has appeared in my ribs, forcing Adrian to resort to dragging me by the arms.

As he's dragging me away, I look back into the hallway for a moment. The Smilers' grins become wide, shining their teeth. I can even see one of them squinting it's eyes at me. It feels like they were taunting us, sneering in pride at their achievement, almost with a look that said 'We got you.' My eyes slowly droop as I black out, into the possibility of death. I look at their gloating expressions one more time, before drifting off to sleep.

***

The golden rays of early morning light peer through the curtains of my windows and into my room, caressing my still sleeping eyes. I turn away to shield my face from the light and lie there for a few minutes. Come on, just a few more minutes.. I think to myself. I rest my head on the soft pillow, until the alarm on my phone chimes it's usual melody. I shift and turn in my bed, until I ultimately decide to turn it off and get up.

I check the time and date on my phone. Saturday, September 27th, 2013. Finally, it's Saturday. Which means I get to go hiking, into the peacefulness of nature, where I can be alone and free from the troubles of life. I get out of bed and take a warm shower, then I put on some clean clothes, a jean jacket, and black leather boots. I exit my room and notice that Robby's door was open, but he was nowhere in sight. He must've left before I woke up.

I rush down the stairs with a slight feeling of excitement, when the smell of smoke stops me. I immediately know where it's coming from. I step into the kitchen, and find my mother, smoking by the counter. She said she had stopped, but honestly, I don't care. Her frizzy hair flows in the wind of the open window, making her seem almost life-like, which she normally isn't.

"Hey, where's Robby?" I ask her, as I grab some bread from the pantry. She looks up from her cigarette and at me.
"You're not gonna say hello to your own mother?" she responds sarcastically. She must have seen my face melt into an expression of unease, because she suddenly changes her tone. "He's out to see your father." Smoke rises out of her mouth, and I fan my face to disperse the terrible scent.
"Well, it's Saturday, I'm going out to hike." I shove the bread into my mouth quickly. She doesn't seem to notice and just keeps smoking, while reading the daily newspaper. I begin to step out of the kitchen, into the door which leads outside, until my mother's voice stops me. "Hey, could you pick up some milk and eggs on your way back? We're out," She says. "Oh, and your friend, Josie. She's been asking about you."
I haven't spoken to Josephine in a while, since we were both busy with some trainee jobs we were working at. I should go see if she's at home.
"Sure, sure," I respond. "Well, I'm off, bye Mom."
"Bye sweetie, I love you." She's cut off by the sound of me slamming the door.

***

I'm woken up by a nightmare, filled with those creatures I had encountered up to this point. I'm out of breath and confused about where I am, until I remember. What had happened after I blacked out? That's when I feel the aching pain my right rib, where I had been stabbed. I begin to feel the area of the wound, wincing in pain, until I begin to feel a material stuck to it, like woven fabric. It's some of the bandages I had in my pocket, now wrapped across the wound. But how? It must've been Adrian.

I look around to find him, but he's nowhere to be seen. "Adrian?" I yell out, while trying to stand. "Adrian!?" No answer comes, and he's still nowhere. I'm alone again. I begin to freak out and hyperventilate, descending to the ground and curling up slowly with my legs up to my chest. I shut my eyes in fear, until something taps me on the back. I get up quickly and almost immediately. "Get away from me!" I scream and thrash at no one. "Get away-"

"Hey, hey! It's just me!" It's Adrian. I calm down slowly, which quickly converts to anger.

"You scared me! Where did you go!?" I scowl at him. "You could've gotten hurt-"
"Dude, calm down! I was just looking for something to help you!" He says back, his hair flowing forth as he does. "I understand how you feel, but you need to get yourself together. Just look around-" I storm off before he can say anything. "Hey! Look, I'm sorry-"
He's cut off, again, by the sound of screaming.