THE BACKROOMS: Mystery of the Shrouded Halls

Chapter 18

The lady has a slight Irish accent, green eyes and is standing in a very formal position. "That, over there, is the receptionist. He has no name, but we just call him Davey the Faceling," she says, smiling. "My name is Darlene, and I'll be serving you today. Very well!" She claps and waves at us to follow her. We all look at each other confusingly, including the receptionist, and begin following her. "Uhh.. I'll check us in," Charlotte says, going back towards the reception table.

The rest of us follow Darlene throughout hallways with multiple paintings and fancy, wooden furniture. "Wait! Don't look at the paintings," Hayes whispers to us. "There's this entity, The Gentleman. He will manipulate and corrupt you if you anger him. That's including looking at his paintings." We all quickly cup our hands to the sides of our faces and look at the ground. But as we walk through the hallway, I just can't help but take a look at them. Involuntarily, I decide to take the risk. He's not here, so he wouldn't notice, right?

When I do, I'm quickly surprised and a little disturbed by what I see. The walls besides us are filled with bizarre paintings of a man with the head of an octopus. There are even some original paintings, like the Mona Lisa, but their heads are replaced with his. How big is this guy's ego.. I think to myself.

Finally, Darlene stops right in front a large ballroom, with large tables and giant chandeliers on the ceiling. And two large groups of people. Soft classical music is playing all around, and the people in the room are dancing to it. "This is The Beverly Room. We normally have dinner here, and even some dancing, as you can see," she says. "Go on, make yourselves at home!" She's about to leave, when Charlotte comes back.
"Wait! Are we all sharing a room, or do we take two?"
"I think we should split two rooms, between the boys and the girls," says Lilah. "I do want some privacy.."

"Very well," replies Darlene. "I'll inform Davey. Now go on, enjoy yourselves! I will show you to your rooms once you've settled in." We wave goodbye, and join the large group of people. Surprisingly, not only are there adults, but kids and elderly folks. Me, Charlotte and Damien decide to go dance with some other people, to try and forget what had happened to Benji, while Hayes leaves us be to help prepare our rooms. Lilah says she notices people of her age and decides to go meet with them. I even meet a few new people. "Hi! Are you new here?" Says a tall, skinny girl with long, black hair named Clara. Another older man with splotches of white hair on his head and glasses named Reggie greets us as well. I think I even saw a cat around here.

After maybe of few hours of — for the first time — fun, we decide to go see Hayes, who is now near our rooms. Two white doors with the numbers 205 and 206 are open, revealing the antique looking bedrooms with two large beds each and bathrooms. We stare in awe and excitement, as we all enter our rooms, jumping onto our beds. The soft covers rub against my skin gently and their warmth appeases me, reminding me of my own bed back home — but better.

After Lilah insists on taking a shower first, I sit down on a couch right next to Charlotte. "So, are you enjoying this Level so far?" she asks. Level. I had only heard that term in video games and such. "Oh, Levels is just what other wanderers call Sectors. Since M.E.G is a big organization, we gave it a more formal name." We then talk about where we came from and what we used to do. She explains she was once an office worker who got fired and no-clipped into the Backrooms while running back home, which makes me feel a bit bad for her. So I put my arms around her in apology, and she does the same.

After a quick hot shower, Charlotte enters the bathroom next. Lilah doesn't even bother trying to talk to me, but I figure we should have some kind of relationship.
"So, uh.. How did you end up in the Backrooms?" I say. She looks up from her phone, which still doesn't have any connection. "Why do you care? Well, I was leaving school and.. yeah, you know the rest." She quickly says and looks back at her phone.
"Okay, good talk.." I mutter. I'm about to leave the room, when she speaks up again.
"Hey.. I know I haven't been the best person so far," she says. "But want to be.. friends? I'm sorry about everything I said, I'm just.. lonely."
May my kind heart be damned, because I end up actually feeling bad for her. "Sure.. I'm gonna go get something to eat," I respond. "Wanna come?" She nods, gets up from the bed and begins changing herself in the other room. I figure I should get a change of clothes, too. The wardrobe is filled with antique dresses and bathrobes, so I opt for a nice, light blue dress. Lilah chooses a shorter white dress with yellow accents and a new layer of make-up.