No-Clipped

Chapter 17: The Company Town

      I ran up to Michelle but as soon as I got close to her she kicked me square in the stomach, knocking me back a few steps.

"Don't touch me." She snapped.

"What did I do?!"

"Hmm, nothing. Other than the fact that you ELECTROCUTED ME."

"It's not like I did it on purpose!" I insisted.

"I told you to use the wire on THE SKINSTEALER. Not me."

"It's your fault for slipping into the water the exact second Albert caught up to us! And besides, you're fine now, the skinstealer is gone, and I got us OUT of the electrical station while carrying you the entire time ON A SPRAINED ANKLE."

Michelle pauses for a few seconds before rolling her eyes. "Whatever. Just help me get this stupid door open."

I stepped forward, but before I managed to give her some help she had pried open the door. Both of us stumbled off the train and looked around. It was hot and humid, and the train track seemed to extend both directions infinitely. Unlike the electrical station we had just no-clipped from, Campbellville was very empty. We walked for a minute and reached the area behind the train stop with a few weatherboard houses. The paint job sucked and they also seemed empty, like everything else.

"This seems perfectly habitable." I said with a shrug. "How come there aren't any outposts or other wanderers?"

"Because it's Campbellville." Michelle responded. We both stood there in an awkward silence until I broke it.

"Am I supposed to know what you're implying?"

She didn't answer my question, and just walked. I wasn't sure where we were going, but I followed, taking sips of almond water along the way. My ankle didn't hurt nearly as bad anymore.
My backpack was starting to lose weight, which means we had room for more supplies. I peeked through a window of one of the buildings. There was nothing inside. Absolutely nothing. I turned back around to see that Michelle was walking off. I quickly caught up to her, and after a minute we were back at the railway station. The interior was dusty, but there were padded benches, a small fridge full of supplies which Michelle took and stored in her own bag, and even an old empty ticket office.
The wood on the walls and floor was polished, and aside from the dust the smell of polish and wax lingered through the air. The way the lights flickered made it feel almost like we were in an old timey movie. I lay down on the bench and fixed my bangs before pulling one of my school books and mechanical pencils out of my backpack. I decided to take notes. Notes on everything I've seen throughout my time in the backrooms. Levels, food, entities, and just feelings in general. I've never been very good at writing or found it at all enjoyable, but IF I were to make it back home, it could be of use. Although, would anyone believe me?
After writing a few pages, I heard my name.

"Wyatt!"

"Huh?"

"Wyatt, come over here! You gotta see this!" I heard Michelle call from inside the ticket office. I slipped through the broken window and looked over at Michelle, squinting my eyes as the dust made it slightly difficult to see clearly.

"See what?"

We both slid back out of the window and she shoved a jar in my face. I pushed it away and my eyes widened. It was a brain. A whole freaking brain submerged in this weird liquid.

"Michelle...what the heck is this and why are you so excited?!"

"It's the Hermes device!"

"Stop just saying words and expecting me to understand the meaning of them! Im not as cultured as you! And what's so exciting about a brain?"

She stares at the jar in awe. "The Hermes device allows you to no-clip through levels at will."

My face lit up. "WHAT? That's amazing! I think!"

"It's the only one of its kind, Wyatt. Even rarer than royal rations! If I hold the Hermes device while one of us is asleep, whatever backrooms level we dream of we'll wake up in. I learned about it from the Radical Radio Team."

"I miss those guys." I respond, remembering Hunter, Nathaniel, Maxwell, Tyler, and Andrew.

"Yeah, me too." She says with a smile. "Anyways, I have a plan."

About an hour later, we packed up all of our supplies and belongings and held our backpacks close. We both lay beside each other on the bench.

"Alright. Im going to hold tightly onto the device while we're asleep. I guarantee you the level we wind up in will be safe. Weirdly, I haven't had nightmares in a while." She shrugs.

I nod. "But, how do we know we'll both no-clip there and not just you, since you're the one holding it and it's your dream we're gonna end up in?"

Michelle didn't answer, and I all of a sudden felt a rush of this strange, tranquil feeling. Campbellville was peaceful. Although the air was hot, it was clean and clear. I somewhat enjoyed the emptiness. I had time to think. I was so busy running around and trying to escape the entities and loud noises and strange smells in all the levels I'd been in before. I thought back to our conversation about traveling through Michelle's dreams.

     My cheek felt sharp, and I snapped out of what I didn't even realize was a trance like state. I looked frantically at Michelle, who had slapped me in the face to knock me out of it. She was still holding the Hermes device. I took it from her.

     "What the heck, Wyatt?!" She snapped.

     "I-I don't want to leave! Not for a while! I love Campbellville!"

     "This was what I was referring to when I said 'because it's Campbellville'." She shook her head. "The tranquility of the level makes you want to stay forever. You can't. It's not safe. You'll be in so  much peace you'll fade away completely. I've seen it happen, Wyatt."

     I was breathing heavily and shaking my head in protest. I didn't want to listen. My grip loosened on the jar and she snatched it back.

     "Fine. If you want to stay and like, die or something, then do that. But I'm using the device." She said, and lay back down. I lay down too, and smiled as I closed my eyes, the sereneness pulling me back into my hypnotic state. I had no intention of leaving Campbellville. My desire was to stay. Forever...