So I picked myself up off the street and tried to get my head together, 'cause I was in a totally new spot. That's just how the Backrooms roll - they can zap you to some random level without warning, and let's be real, most folks freak out 'cause they don't know what's coming.
The road looked like it just rained, with puddles everywhere. Every step I took went "splash, splash." I'm walking down this street, right? Just streets, houses, and trees all around. Every now and then, I'd step in a puddle - "splash!" It kept echoing as I walked.
Then I stopped dead in my tracks, but the splashing didn't stop. Uh-oh, that ain't me. There's something behind me. I froze for a sec, then played it cool and kept walking, but I was ready to bolt any second.
"Scratch, scratch..." Now there's this creepy scraping sound behind me, and the splashes are getting closer. Nope, not sticking around for this. I took off running, zigzagging through the streets, trying to lose whatever's tailing me. But no matter how fast I ran, those splashes were right on my heels.
When I realized running wasn't cutting it, I ducked into a house by the street. Here's the thing about these houses - they're all different. During my escape, I noticed each one was unique.
I bolted into this two-story villa, slammed the door shut, and leaned against it, eyes wide open, checking out the place while listening for any sounds outside. In the dead silence, I heard this hook-like scraping at the door and faint footsteps circling around. But after a few minutes, it all stopped.
You'd think I'd relax, right? Nope. My heart was racing even more. If whatever was outside gave up so easily, there must be something worse inside. "Out of the frying pan, into the fire," I thought with a bitter smile.
The place was pitch black - no lights working. I tried flipping the switch in the living room, but nada. No power. The furniture was all neat in the dark, with several closed doors. The stairs to the second floor had this dark, sticky stuff that looked like dried blood.
Suddenly, from a room on my right, I heard furniture crashing and something moving on the floor. My alarm bells went off. Before I could react, this skinny red creature, kinda human-shaped, burst out holding an iron rod. It made this "clack" sound like teeth chattering when it saw me.
The only way out was up the stairs. Scared out of my mind, I didn't care what was upstairs. As the creature came at me, I bolted up the stairs, and it was right behind me. I could hear its bones creaking as it climbed.
When I hit the second floor, I didn't think twice - I ran into a room with a window, slammed the door shut, and leaned against it with all my might. The creature was at the door, but instead of breaking it down, it tried to open it! I felt the knob turning, and then it started pushing.
I held on as best as I could, but this thing was strong. With one push, it sent me flying. I hit the ground but rolled straight to the window. Just as I moved, the monster smashed the spot where I'd been standing, cracking the floor!
No time to waste. While it missed, I jumped up, grabbed the windowsill, and leaped out onto the gate roof, then down to the ground. I rolled and ran back to the street. When I looked back, the red monster was just standing at the window, calmly watching me with its metal rod.
I didn't stick around to stare. I had to get out of there, fast.
So, I'd only been here for like ten minutes, and already I'd been through two crazy escapes. This was way different from the other four levels I'd been to. Based on what I'd seen, this place was at least a level three danger zone, maybe higher!
Remembering what happened on the street earlier, I wasn't about to stick around. I jumped off the road and into the bushes, trying to stay hidden as I moved forward cautiously.
As I was nervously making my way through the bushes, all of a sudden, hundreds of colorful, cartoon-style kites appeared in the sky. They flew right over my head, and I could even hear kids cheering and laughing! It was like something out of a dream, but definitely not Level 9.
"What the hell is this?" I thought to myself, quickly ducking deeper into the bushes.
But before I could fully hide, a group of masked guys in black combat gear, each carrying a submachine gun, burst out of a house and started chasing after the kites like they were possessed.
Seeing this, I totally lost my cool. I jumped out of the bushes, and the group just ran right past me. When they saw me pop out, they were startled and started to raise their guns. I quickly shouted, "I'm just a lost wanderer! Don't shoot!"
I was worried they didn't hear me, so I ran after them, repeating it a few times. One of them made a gesture, and the others lowered their guns, but they didn't slow down. I tried to keep up, but I was falling behind by tens of meters.
Just as I was about to give up, one of them slowed down, picked me up, and started running with me on his back. I was bouncing around, totally stunned. Were these guys actually looking out for me? Could they be from M.E.G.?
Then, all the kites in the sky suddenly exploded with a loud "bang," and the group stopped running to catch their breath. The guy who'd carried me put me down and started breathing heavily.
Honestly, I had no idea what was going on. I just followed them because it seemed like they knew what they were doing. If they were running, it must be something really dangerous. I figured if I didn't follow, I'd be the first to go.
After they caught their breath, the leader said in English, "Let's go to another stronghold." I was a bit confused—my English wasn't great—but I understood "let's go," so I followed them closely. They seemed like they could protect me.
They formed a tight formation around me, submachine guns ready, keeping watch. It felt pretty safe, honestly.
The journey was quiet, no danger at all. Soon, we arrived at our destination: a two-story European-style house on a hill, surrounded by barbed wire.