The Backrooms(Book 1)

Chapter 1

Chapter 1.

   In Front of the Royals Bank building, Diana Rose stepped out of the taxi. She was a beautiful young lady with a defined jawline and slender body. She had tied her hair into a bun. Her lips were bright red from the lipstick she had just placed in her bag. She wore a suit and a scarf around her neck. She walked towards the bank, carrying herself with elegance and confidence. She went through the rotating doors. Her high heels rasping against the floor. Aside from the bag that hung daintily from her left hand, she held a couple of files in her right hand. She approached the reception area.

“I'm here for the interview” she said. Flashing a bright emotionless smile.

“Mr.Kurtz’s office is on the thirteenth floor” the woman behind the desk said.

“Thank you”

Diana approached the elevator and pushed the button summoning the elevator. She crossed her arms and waited patiently for the elevator to return. There was a lot going on in her mind. She had been anticipating this interview for a very long time. She had been pressured by her family and friends to get a job. And this was her first ever interview. She had rehearsed a  lot of lines and pre-anticipated a lot of possible questions. And after countless video tutorials, she finally felt ready.

*Ding

The elevator had arrived.
She had been so lost in thought, she hadn't even realized the three men who had been waiting alongside her.

They all stepped into the elevator. She stretched out her hand to the number pad only to be blocked out by another man.

“Please, allow me.” The man said. Smiling.

He pushed 1-3. There was an awkward silence as it started to ascend. The silence seemed to stretch on forever. The screen on the elevator door displayed 8. They were now on the eighth floor. The lights began to flicker ominously, casting eerie shadows on the walls, but they stayed on. Then the screen displayed 9. The lights flickered again. The entire elevator began to rumble. Diana was too lost in her thoughts to care. She might not have noticed, but the men around her were growing visibly uncomfortable.

On the eleventh floor, the lights went out. Diana snapped out of her haze, suddenly concerned. The elevator rumbled more violently now. Her heart raced. She started hyperventilating. The number 11 on the screen was glitching out. The men trembled as they tried to maintain their balance. One crouched on the ground.

The lights came back on. The rumbling stopped. Diana looked around frantically, her accelerated breathing finally slowing. She tried to calm herself. The men around her forced out nervous laughs. Diana smiled awkwardly as she wiped away a lone tear from her left eye. She thought she was going to die. She had to check later if she had peed herself.

They reached the twelfth floor. Suddenly, with a deafening screech, the elevator lurched to a halt. They all exchanged confused looks. They had stopped moving. One of the men approached the control panel and started tapping at the buttons. Nothing worked. He kept furiously pressing the buttons, more and more rapidly, hoping to escape the claustrophobic confines of the malfunctioning lift.

“Damn machine!” he exclaimed in exasperation, slapping the panel. Things remained the same. Panic gripped everyone. The atmosphere grew tense. The relief they had felt just a moment ago faded, replaced by distress.

There was a long and terrible creak.

Then the elevator dropped.

With a sickening crash, it plummeted downward, sending screams echoing through the metal shaft. The lights flickered faster now, illuminating the fear and terror in the eyes of the passengers. Some of the men lay on the ground, screaming. Others chanted prayers. Diana's legs went weak. She was shaking uncontrollably with fear. She screamed her lungs out, every hair on her body standing on end. The bun on her head came loose, her hair whipping violently in every direction. The numbers on the elevator screen continued to decrease rapidly.

It hit 0.

The elevator crashed.

Everything went quiet but Diana was still screaming. Her eyes were shut tight. Everything was black! Was she—dead yet!? She felt herself lying down. A wave of relief flooded all over her body. She believed she would wake up and see her bedroom and that it would all just be a horrible nightmare. Her screams died down. What was that scent!? It smelled damp. Maybe it was sweat. After all, sweating was normal during nightmares. There was also an annoying buzzing sound. She opened her eyes only to realize… she wasn't in her bedroom. She had no idea what she was staring at. It was blurry and all… yellow. She closed her eyes again, hoping that when she reopened them, she'd be on her bed. But when she opened them, things were still the same. Where was she? Everything was so… yellow! The floor was a little moist and smelled damp. Fluorescent bar lights buzzed over head. There were dis-jointed and discontinued walls scattered randomly everywhere. They all had a pattern on them. Again, where was she!? She sniffled, wiped the tears from her eyes, and began to walk around. At first, it looked like a long hallway that stretched on forever. Cautiously, she began to navigate the labyrinthine corridors. There were turns and curves everywhere. Her heart pounded with fear when she realized she was trapped in a maze-like realm. Was this some kind of joke? A Game? The walls seemed to stretch on endlessly, lined with faded yellow paper. At the corner of her eye she spotted something move! She snapped around and looked. Nothing.  Nothing was there. She continued walking. She had taken so many turns she had lost track of the way to her starting point. She heard some clanking in the distance.

“Hello?”
“Is anybody there?”

There was no response.

Now her blood was rushing. She could feel her breathing start to accelerate again. She was lost in a creepy yellow maze. She was hearing sounds but seeing nothing. She had been involved in an elevator accident earlier on and she was still alive! WTF WAS GOING ON!? She felt an oppressive presence lurking in the shadows, watching her every move. Whispers echoed through the empty halls, their source elusive and chilling.

Desperation drove Diana forward, her only goal to escape this nightmarish realm and return to the safety of reality. But with each turn she took, the corridors seemed to shift and warp, leading her further into the depths of the Maze.

Suddenly, a primal sense of dread washed over her as she felt a malevolent presence closing in. Panicking, she quickened her pace, her footsteps echoing through the empty halls.

But it was too late.

From the darkness emerged a grotesque entity, its form twisted and contorted into an unholy abomination. With a terrifying scream, Diana turned to flee, but the entity was upon her in an instant, its cold, clammy hands began to clobber her. Tearing her apart.

In her final moments, Diana's blood curdling screams echoed through the endless corridors of the maze, unheard by any living soul. And as the entity claimed her life, her body vanished without a trace, lost forever in the unfathomable depths of
The–Backrooms.