#entity 9

August 12, 20XX

The Backrooms, Level 1 - The Parking Zone

Near Outpost Zero

Gray inhaled slowly inside her helmet. It was quiet so far. The grimy overhead lights of the Parking Zone stretched for a great distance, broken only by cement pillars and pockets of darkness where some lights had gone out. She could hear a faint buzzing, probably the lights, and water dripping from somewhere. She wore a helmet and protective suit, despite the normal oxygen levels. You never knew where pockets of poisonous gas could appear, and there could be entities lurking nearby, especially in the darker areas. She exhaled, watching her breath condense on the visor. Sixty feet behind her lay Outpost Zero. It seemed like a mile away.

"This is a bad idea," came Leon's voice through the helmet's mic. "Forget the drone. We can send a team after it later. Over."

"I spent weeks tweaking that drone." Gray's voice was cool. "It's got valuable data on it. I'm going to find it. Wish me luck. Over."

"Wait at least until we get a team together. Some more folks are dropping by at 1500 hours tomorrow, over."

"By that time it might be too late. Over." Gray started walking, her boots crunching on the damp, gritty tarmac. She decided to avoid the pockets of darkness in the near distance. Smilers could be lurking around there.

"I can't authorise this. I'm your superior. Get back here, now. Over." Leon's crisp English accent had taken on an angry edge. The only reason he hadn't gone after her was because they were—momentarily—the only two people at Outpost Zero. Some idiot higher up the ladder had made some staffing error and the shift changes had gotten screwed up. More researchers wouldn't arrive until tomorrow at the earliest. Leon needed to stay back just in case somone decided to contact the base.

"It's not far," Gray protested. "I'm picking up some of its signal. It's maybe a mile away. This won't take long."

"Ignore me at your peril," Leon growled. "Because you are literally in danger, especially if you go exploring alone. But if you really want to be this suicidal, be my guest. If you're really lucky I'll send a recovery team for your body. Over."

"You're so sweet. Over."

"Instead of doing this, have you tried therapy? Or weed?" Leon said loudly, but she shut him off. Focus was important when traversing the Backrooms. Even the so-called "safe" levels had their hazards.

Outpost Zero was now dwindling behind her. The readings on her HUD showed the outside temperature was a stifling 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Thankfully her suit had good thermal regulation, she was a little warm at most. Good O2 levels here too…but her helmet was staying on. She could almost feel it, the warm damp air that hung in here, smelling of wet tarmac and gasoline. An earthly smell, so familiar and strange in a place so unearthly.

Gray brought up the drone's last known route on her HUD: a blue glowing line. Still a mile ahead, roughly east, but cardinal directions weren't a guaranteed thing in the Backrooms, even in the "stable" levels. Normal magnetic compasses spun endlessly in circles, or simply broke, with no earthly pole to latch onto.

I am in another dimension.

Gray tried to ignore this thought. Six months of being part of the Entity Research Committee and the fear and thrill hadn't left her yet. She was outside of time and space, supposedly. Time did pass here, but it passed strangely, or sometimes not at all, or it looped, and it varied from level to level, even from person to person. Being here was a risk, perhaps the greatest risk of all.

There was a warning blip from her HUD. A sensor had gone off.

Gray snapped back from her thoughts. Idiot. Always pay attention to your surroundings, you stupid bitch. She could see the temperature was dropping steadily, the numbers going down in her peripheral. Why? Ahead of her looked clear. Still well-lit, still endless parking spaces and puddles…

She turned. There was a fog wall behind her, some thirty feet back, and it was creeping forward stealthily. The puddles, endlessly evaporating. Behind the fog, the lights were going out—why couldn't she hear them before? The bulbs were blowing, going out in little zaps. Her sanity meter on the HUD, which she was pretty good at keeping in the healthy range, dropped a little. Shit.

The fog crept closer.

Gray ran.

She tried to keep to the path of lost drone when possible, skirting the outer edge of the glowing line when it dipped into the fog wall. Her footsteps were loud, echoing, slapping wetly in the puddles. Any entity hanging out within a half-mile radius was sure to hear her, she thought bitterly.

Whose stupid idea was it to go after this drone alone? Oh yeah…

She could almost see Leon's smug hazel eyes now, if and whenever she managed to return. What do you mean you got lost and were chased in the Backrooms by unseen forces, Gray? Whoa! Next time alert me when water becomes wetter.

The lights seemed to going out from all sides now, spreading out from the fog. Each exploding bulb sent another sliver of panic through her brain. A blackout! They'd been seeing more and more of these lately, on the fringes of the Parking Zone. But she wasn't at edges yet, surely? Gray was pretty sure she was still in the main section, and no one had recorded a blackout in the area for weeks…

Through the dimming light she could see a wall ahead of her, and a black door—but her eyes snapped to the humanoid figure leaning a few yards away from the door, fully-clothed, with a head of brown curls bent over what looked like a cellphone. A human?? No—

It looked up sharply at her running footsteps. It looked human, but had no eyes or mouth, only a nose and ears.

Faceling!

Slowing down wasn't an option. She could hear something else now, the electric snarling of a pack of Smilers behind her, borne along by the tide of darkness, like a wave waiting to crash over her. Her HUD was beeping incessantly. The distance between them was closing.

The Faceling didn't react, other than to raise one hand, and point at the black door.

There wasn't any time to think about it. The darkness and the Smilers were on her heels. Gray yanked open the door and tumbled inside, slamming it shut behind her. She yanked her helmet off, gasping in chilly air.

Around her was a hallway with passages branching off, painted white and painfully bright to her eyes after the darkness of the outside level. The ever-present sound of dripping water reached her ears. Bits of plywood and debris were on the floor. Gray breathed in the smell of old paint and dust. The maintenance halls. Of course. That black, metallic door was the main entrance to this sub-area.

Outside the door she heard the buzzing snarls of the Smilers. The lights in here flickered briefly, making her stiffen, but held. Whatever electricity powered this area would be unaffected by the blackout of the Parking Zone. She remembered learning that in her induction training.

An odd sound came from an outside, like a vibrating scream, more felt than heard, like little needles in her scalp. The Faceling, probably. She couldn't tell if it was a scream of pain or not. But the snarling of the Smilers stopped, and a heavy silence fell.

Gray backed away, but the door didn't open. If the Faceling was still outside, he or she or it didn't want to come in. She was lucky though, that this one had been friendly, or at least non-hostile.

Adrenaline left her in a rush. Gray wearily slid down against the wall to sit in the dust and litter, and took a small bottle of almond water out of her suit pack. The cool, slightly bitter taste calmed her nerves. Sanity restored: she didn't need her helmet to tell her that.

She flicked on her wrist comm. "Hey. Gray here. Over."

"Oh good." Leon sounded incensed. "I wasn't sure if you'd switched your radio off, or if you were fucking! Dead! Gray! Fucking OVER!"

"I turned it off," Gray admitted. "But after awhile, I kinda found myself missing your low dulcet tones, over."

"I'm starting a betting pool with myself." Leon took a deep breath. "What Backrooms creature will kill you first? A Faceling, a Duller, a Smiler…so many options…I win and lose either way, over."

Gray ignored this. "Anyway, get this. I got caught in a blackout. It just came on in the main section like a sudden storm. Fog preceded it. Over."

"I know. I saw the fog form through the cameras. You were already lost to sight though, over."

"Got chased by a pack of Smilers within the blackout. I'm in the maintenance halls now, having a breather." Gray took another swig of almond water. This is the sugar-free version. Blech. "When the coast is clear, I'll resume going after the drone. Over."

"Hm. Are you hurt? Over."

"No. Over."

"Pity. Being wounded would humble you a bit more. You take exploring the Backrooms way too lightly, Gray. Over."

"There's something else. I ran into a Faceling. It—he?—pointed me towards the door to the maintenance halls. It…seemed friendly. It might be still outside, over."

"Proceed with caution anyway." Leon sounded wary. "Those things can turn on you, even the friendly ones. Over."

"I know." Gray swept her fingers over her buzzcut. She liked to keep her hair quite short, mainly for comfort reasons. Having long thick hair under a helmet sucked ass. After a couple weeks of having a sweaty neck while wandering around the levels, she'd buzzed it off without regret.

"Well. I can't hang around here too long." She stood up, tucking her almond water away. "Need to find the drone. Then I'll head back. Over."

"Uh-huh." Leon sounded resigned. "Hey. Don't turn your radio off this time. Over."

"Roger that. Over and out."

Her helmet clunked into place with a soft click. At the same time, she thought she heard a meaty thunk above her head somewhere. Not good. There was basically a 99% chance it was a fucking Clump. Time to fucking go.

She opened the black door quickly, and stepped out.

The lighting had only been partially-restored, the overhead lights flickering, but the Smilers had vanished. So had the Faceling. She saw no blood or signs of a struggle, so maybe it had wandered off somewhere. Gray walked warily to her right, following the drone's path on her HUD. There were still pockets of darkness in the far distance, but they weren't spreading. Smiler haunts. Best to steer clear.

Twenty minutes of walking passed without incident. The lights no longer flickered. There were more parked cars than usual, but it probably meant nothing. Like all cars in this level, they had no branding or license plates. There was something faintly chilling about that. Something about the Backrooms and its aping of human invention…

Gray stopped. Thirty feet ahead was the Faceling from before, lying on top of a car bonnet, its back against the windscreen, once again on its phone. She could hear the faint sound of some nonsense video being played. How does it watch if it has no eyes?

She could see it better now, with the improved lighting: it was maybe over five-foot-five, of average build, wearing black basketball shorts and black sneakers, a red-and-white hoodie and a sportswatch. It had a mop of light-brown curls, reaching halfway down its ears. It appeared to be white, and possibly male, but it was hard to tell. Gray thought it might be a young adult, maybe in its twenties or early thirties.

"Hey," she called.

It looked up, gazing at her sightlessly for a moment, before seeming to recognise her and giving a lazy wave. Then it went back to its phone.

Typical young person behavior. She bit back a smile. It couldn't have been much younger than her. If it's friendly, maybe it can help me.

She ventured closer. It ignored her until she was about five feet away, then sat up.

"Hi. Um, hello." Now she felt a bit nervous. She hadn't really had any success in communicating with Backrooms denizens. "I just wanted to say thank you for earlier. You helped me out. Did you scare those Smilers away? The creatures with the glowing eyes and fangs?"

It nodded, and made flippant gesture.

"Great, great. Thanks again. So. I was wondering if, you'd uh, help me one more time." Gray let her breath out. "Have you seen a drone anywhere nearby? Do you know what one is? Like a little flying machine…"

The Faceling considered. Gray watched it lower its phone and tilt its head thoughtfully. Then it signed something, too fast for her to catch.

"Oh. Sorry, my signing's still pretty shit. Uh…"

It began typing into its phone, and Gray heard something that sounded like text-to-speech.

"Saw something flying. Small. Machine. Up a ramp, behind us. 2 the higher level. Then idk."

"Yeah, that's right. We lost it on an upper level. When did you see it?"

"Idk. Maybe 3 hrs ago. Maybe 10 min ago. Time is weird here."

"Right?" Gray laughed. "Hey…can you show me where the ramp is, where you last saw it? That drone was mine. I need it real bad."

"Humans always losing things down here. But yea. Ok."

It hopped off the car and walked off at a fast pace, leaving her to catch up. Gray settled in by its side, they were around the same height. It turned its head to look at her, then began typing again.

"Not safe 4 humans here. Not even 4 me. Worse things than night hunters here."

"Hey, I know it." Gray nodded. "That's why drones are useful. They can explore and gather data without risking human lives."

"Not safe 4 drones."

"I guess nowhere is safe. Hey, do you have a name? Mine's Gray."

"Many names. Hard 2 pick a fav."

That made her laugh.

"Have hoard of names. Currently going by Cassander."

"Cassander. You're a guy, then?"

"Yeah."

"Why are you here, Cassander? I thought your kind preferred the more populated levels. With towns and whatever. It's not so nice down here…is it?"

"Quiet. Not many creatures. Can be peaceful. Not so much lately tho. The blackouts more frequent wtf? Draws in predators. Need 2 find new quiet place."

"Makes sense."

A beeping sounded in her helmet: it had picked up the drone's signal. Gray saw a ramp just ahead of them, leading to a higher level of the Parking Zone. There seemed to be less light up there, dim and shadowy, but not pitch-black. Her drone was somewhere up ahead.

"Saw it go up there," she heard Cassander say. "Didn't follow. Heard snarling. Sounded like those dog things? Maybe. Not sure. Dangerous."

"Probably those fucking hounds." Gray bit her lip. She had a couple weapons on her, a Glock and a specially-engineered ray gun. But those hounds could be surprisingly tough…and fast. She decided to radio Leon.

"Gray here. Cassander's led me to where he last saw the drone, the first upper-level of the Parking Zone—"

"Who the hell's Cassander?" Leon growled. "You making pals in there?"

"Cassander is the Faceling that saved me—"

"Oh Je-sus, Gray—!"

"He says he didn't follow it because he heard snarls," Gray pressed on. "Probably Entity No. 8, or some variant. Over."

"Abandon your mission. Those things can rip right through your suit. You want the Hound Virus? I don't give a flying fuck about the drone. Come back right now. Over."

"I haven't even gone up there yet. I need to investigate. Just wait for my next communication. Over and out."

"I've had enough of—"

She tuned him out, and turned to Cassander. "Stay here. It could be dangerous. I'm going up to look for my drone."

"Idk. Seems stupid."

"Just stay here." She hid her rueful annoyance. It was better to stay on friendly terms with entities here for as long as possible. It was a proven survival strategy.

"Duh. Not going up there. I'm smart."

Not me, I'm stupid as shit. Gray walked slowly up the wide ramp. She decided to keep her headlamp off, as not to not alert any creatures, and just follow the drone's signal. The shadows hung thick up here, and the dim lighting made strange shapes of everything. She proceeded forward slowly, ears pricking. Yes, there was definitely growling.

At the top the ramp, she could see they had both been wrong.

Homo capgras.

A skin-stealer, a few yards away. Its back was to her, crouching, examining something in its hands. It made ragged growling noises in its throat. It appeared to be in its base form, a rare sight, showing beige-red skin covering lean stringy muscle. Its ears were pointed, twitching, its form semi-emaciated, wrapped in ragged remains of human clothing. There was a crunching noise and the drone's signal abruptly stopped.

Damn. She'd really wanted that drone back.

The skin-stealer sniffed the air, tensing. Gray began slowly backing away. Fascinating though it was for her to see one in its original form with her own eyes, she had no desire to see its face, or teeth.

Her boot crunched on something.

She whirled and ran, not waiting to see its reaction, only hearing its answering roar. Gray pounded down the ramp toward Cassander, yelling.

"RUN!"

He took to his heels but she blew past him, eyes on the orange beacon on her HUD, showing the location of Outpost Zero. Stupid, stupid. Leon was right. She should've given up on the drone. Now it was very likely if that if she ever returned to the outpost, it would be in form of this creature wearing her skin.

At least they don't hunt in packs, she thought frantically. I've got that going for me!

Cassander caught up on her left. He couldn't communicate using his phone as they were running, but she could sense his fear. Gray swore. She had dragged the innocent Faceling into this. If he died because of her…

"Split up!" she screamed at him. "Let it go after me! I've got—"

I have fucking guns! The realisation slammed into her. Am I stupid?? I have weapons!

Cassander peeled off to the left. Gray whirled, drawing out her Glock, and fired. The shot whiffed just over the skin-stealer's shoulder but it halted. She dashed off again, and heard it roar. It resumed chasing her, and was catching up faster than she liked. Outpost Zero seemed like a distant dream. But running toward it was the only option. If she headed back to the maintenance halls, it would only follow her in.

Overhead, the lights began flickering.

Another blackout?? Or is this place just fucking with me? God!

There were little sharp crackles as the lightbulbs burnt out. Gray whirled again, and this time her shot hit home. The skin-stealer dropped back, howling. Once injured, they tended to give up the hunt. Unfortunately, now she could hear the Smilers swarming: and bullets meant nothing to them. There was no fog this time, but the darkness was spreading, reaching out to her with many glowing eyes and teeth.

She had to keep running. Gray turned on her headlamp, which made the Smilers falter a little, but they didn't give up. Outpost Zero was closer now, just visible through the murk.

"Leon!" she screamed. "Open the FUCKING door! I've got—"

She stumbled, falling to her knees. Her vision doubled, tripled, filled with smiling teeth and insane colors. There was a buzzing yammering in her skull, her sanity meter was plummeting. The Smilers, feasting, nearly upon her.

A scream tore through the darkness, more felt than heard, sending fine needles of pain across her scalp. The Smilers recoiled, scattering, and her vision steadied. Gray felt herself yanked to her feet and dragged along. The darkness had halted.

Cassander pulled her the last few yards towards Outpost Zero, where Leon ran to meet them, a large flashlight in one hand. The Smilers had regrouped, harrying their backs, but Cassander screamed again and they fell back. Leon turned the white high-beam of his flashlight on the Smilers and they dispersed, buzzing and keening. They fled to the darker corners of the level, and the lights began flickering again.

Leon took her other arm. She couldn't see the expression on his face because of the helmet, but she had no doubt he was pissed. He quickly led her inside and sat her down on a cot, before closing the heavy door behind him. Cassander had followed them in, his head turning left and right, but Leon ignored him for the moment.

"Somehow I knew this would happen." He yanked his helmet off. Wavy dark hair fell about his shoulders. "You're lucky you made it back alive. Very few people survive a Smiler attack, especially unscathed."

"Suh-Sorry." It was hard to speak in full sentences, or string two thoughts together. Gray slowly took off her helmet, letting her head fall forward. The fresh air felt good against her sweaty face. Her vision still wavered in strange colors at the edges, but that was better going insane.

"Hey you," she heard Leon say, "You can't just grab our stuff—"

An almond water appeared appeared in her vision. Gray looked up: Cassander was in front of her, head cocked. He had thin eyebrows, she saw, but no eyes under them, just the smooth skin, like most of his kind. It was unsettling.

"Thank you," she grunted. Her hands shook, but she twisted the cap off. This almond water had sugar in it, chasing away the faint bitter taste. That was better.

"Are you listening to me?" Leon demanded. "You're not going out on your own again. I need you to stop and think for once."

"Lecture later," she heard Cassander's phone say. "She's in shock. Recovery more important."

"Stay out of this," Leon snapped. His ears had turned red. "You're not even authorised to be in here."

"I'm not in shock." Gray was nettled. "Just a little shuh-shaky. And you back off, Leon. Cassander saved my life tuh-twice. I would be dead or insane if weren't for him."

Leon glowered. Gray ignored him and got to her feet. Cassander stepped back but she gingerly reached out and touched his elbow, stilling him.

"Hey," she said quietly. "Thanks. For everything. And for not attacking me. I know Facelings have no reason to love humans."

"Love? No. Like…yes. Like is good enough." Cassander's typing somehow took on a teasing tone. "Love can come later. Maybe."

That drew a shocked burst of laughter from her. "Whoa! Hey, you—"

"No chance, mate." Leon crossed his arms. "And Gray, pretty sure cross-species relationships, especially if you're a member of the ERC, are forbidden. It's fucking unprofessional, for starters."

"Friends is ok tho." Cassander flashed a peace sign. "Right?"

"Friends is ok," she agreed. Her cheeks still felt a little warm. She looked away from Cassander, then felt stupid. It wasn't like he was staring at her, yet somehow he was.

"Right," Leon grunted. "Time to clear out, uh, Cassander. You're not allowed in here. And Gray, you need to rest."

"Ignore him," she told the Faceling. "He's bossy as hell. C'mon. I'll walk you out."

She put her helmet back on. As she opened the door for him, he turned back to Leon and quickly signed something. Leon stiffened, reddening. Cassander made a soft wheezy noise in his throat that sounded like laughter, then followed Gray out, closing the door again behind them. They stood in silence for a moment, hesitant.

"Hey. Give me ur phone," Cassander typed. She handed it over without thinking, and he tapped at it before handing it back.

"Gave u my number. Not that u needed 2 try hard 2 get it."

"Are you always this flirty?" She felt warm again.

"Only 2 humans who r interesting."

"Yeah, yeah. Ok, Romeo." Gray could feel herself getting flustered. And wasn't that dumb? A hound or skin-stealer could appear at any moment.

Cassander somehow gave the impression of smirking. "U can text me anytime. Don't b sad if it doesn't go thru tho. Signals carry strange in here. Might not work if I'm not nearby."

"Right. Right." She made herself take a deep breath. "…Well. You should go. Wherever you're going. Where are you going anyway?"

"Idk. I wander around. I've been here a few days already. It was peaceful, like I said, til the blackouts started." Cassander looked around, looked back. "Was going 2 leave the level soon but. Might stick around, if u are. Hanging around I mean."

"That'd…that'd be nice. For, uh. Research purposes. I'm going to be doing more research in this level, I mean. So maybe we'll run into each other."

He flashed a thumbs-up. A thought occured to her.

"…What did you sign to Leon?"

"Heh." Amazing how an AI voice could sound smug. "Ask him."

Before she could reply, he spoke again. "Need 2 go. Better not 2 stay in 1 place for 2 long."

"Yeah. Um. Good luck, Cassander." She offered her hand. He stared at it for a moment, then carefully gripped it. His hand was a little larger than hers, with six fingers, she noticed. They shook. Gray nodded at him.

"Goodbye. Thank you for everything, Cassander. I'll see you later, maybe. Or I'll text you."

"Hope so. Goodbye, Gray."

Then he was loping easily away, the yawing openess of the Parking Zone quickly swallowing him. Far off in the distance, the lights flickered, and even farther away, she could hear a faint howl. A hound, maybe.

She quickly headed back in, the door closing firmly behind her. The warm, mellow light of the outpost was somehow calming. Gray sat back down on the cot and removed her helmet, sipping some almond water, ignoring Leon's questioning hazel stare.

"That was a long goodbye," he said, when she didn't speak. "Talk about anything interesting?"

"Actually we were making out."

"Very funny."

"What did he say to you anyway?" She leaned back. Drowsiness was starting to set in, after the sheer terror had fled. "He seemed smug about it."

Leon cut his eyes away. "He said, basically, 'Don't be jealous, you're cute too.' Mouthy little shit."

He sighed at Gray's sudden peal of laughter. "At least you're happy…and safe. I suppose that's all that matters."

"I won't do it again." She yawned, and began to struggle out of her suit. "Gonna take a nap. Being chased by monsters takes a lot out of you."

"Oh, I know." Leon sat at a workstation, glancing over the monitors. "You rest. I have some more work to do anyway."

He watched her curl up and close her eyes. But she wasn't asleep yet, and he heard her murmur: "I lost the drone by the way. A skin-stealer destroyed it."

"I told you. I don't care about the bloody drone. Go to sleep."

"Grumpy." She rolled over, turning her back to him. Leon waited until her breathing deepened, then got up and put his helmet back on. He walked outside and leaned against the side of the outpost. His HUD showed no organic lifeforms nearby, but the scanning radius wasn't great and frankly sometimes it was the inorganic ones you had to watch out for. He desperately wished he could have a smoke. Technically, he could. But smoking meant a distraction, and also a lure, and there was no way to predict how the environment would react…

Leon thought of Gray, of the drone, of the Faceling, the blackouts, all of it, churning them around in his head until he felt frustrated and tired. He had uneasy feeling from all of this, and it wasn't just paranoia from being in the Backrooms for an extended period of time.

"I'm sure it's fucking nothing," he said aloud, his voice swallowed up by the boundless expanse of concrete and tarmac. "I'm sure nothing bad will come from any of it."

The Parking Zone didn't answer...but Leon had a feeling it was watching him.

"Fuck you too." He spun around and went back inside the base. The door shut securely behind him.

Far in the distance, the lights flickered out.

—