THE BACKROOMS: Mystery of the Shrouded Halls

Chapter 13

"The Major Exploration Group," the woman says. "We'll explain everything when we get back to base." I recognized that name, M.E.G, from the documents in the Manila Room.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Yells the grey haired man, who I can only describe as thé 'Chief'. I had zoned out completely, shaken up from all the sudden information. Adrian is dead? There are more people? Something is hunting me down? "Get moving! We don't have all day, these lights may turn off at any moment." He puts his mask on, grips his gun and waves at everyone towards a new direction.

I begin to freeze up, ignoring the man's comments, still in shock. That's when someone grabs my shoulder. "Hey," the woman who bled me says. "I promise that you'll be okay. You can trust us. We have a base in this Sector, Sector 1, and we're bringing you there." My heartbeat begins to calm down and I can finally organize my thoughts. I'm okay, I'm okay, I repeat to myself.

So this is Sector 1, filled with concrete walls and puddles of musty water. The woman briefly explains that the sign of flickering lights is an immediate danger, only to be interrupted by orders to stay on guard. "We'll have to explain later," She whispers.

The trip is long, about an hour, according to the chief. And I barely get to know anyone, either because I'm afraid to start a conversation or because I get interrupted by the shutting of the lights. Every time they do, we immediately bolt into the white corridors, and the Chief would often shoot at the Smilers or more of those monsters with the big mouths if needed.

After about half an hour, halfway into our journey, I begin to get nauseous again, forcing me to stop for a moment and huff for air. The Chief looks back towards me, and asks: "Hey, what's wrong?" I try to speak but am unable to. My tongue is dried out and my stomach is hurting.

"When's the last time you've had something to drink?" The woman asks. "Have you had any Almond Water." I shake my head.

"No, only.. only normal water." I answer. I notice the Chief waving at another masked man, who rushes over to me with a backpack strewn over his shoulder. He pulls out the same beige colored bottle, the Almond Water, and hands it to me. I grab it and begin chugging it, and the liquid sloshes down into my throat and across my chin.

"Slow down, there!" The Chief says and laughs.

I return the bottle to the man, who puts it back into the pack. "Thanks." My vision becomes clearer and I begin to feel a bit better. But what was the difference between normal water and Almond Water? I'll have to ask once we get there.

The rest of the trip is apparently quicker than usual, as the group was apparently testing out a shortcut. Finally, in the horizon, I notice large, thick wooden planks and metal scraps forming a wall. A perimeter, around something large. "Is this.."

"Yes," the woman says. "Welcome to Outpost Alpha!"

"We're back! And we've got fresh meat!" The Chief yells over the wall.

Just as he finishes his sentence, the large wooden gates begin sliding outwards, revealing multiple people, only a few in the same suits. The rest looked normal, wearing regular clothes. Then, more people started popping up. Suddenly, I could see about a dozen people, all cheering or murmuring to others. My heart drops, as I notice the large crowd forming. Our group enters the walls, as the roars and hoots of the crowd fill the air, all of them staring intensely at us.

***

The base isn't anything amazing, only one of the larger areas of this Sector, situated in a large, square room of concrete. But it's better than nothing, better than staying out there.