In the pitch black, these creepy "buzzing" noises kept coming and going. Every now and then, we'd hear some death moths smacking into the door of our hideout, making this loud "clang" sound.
Every time that "clang" happened, me and everyone else in the room would totally freeze up and hold our breath.
'Cause we all knew if we got caught, it was game over.
No clue how long it took, but eventually, the buzzing noise died down. I figured they'd bailed from the main hall and were off hunting in other parts of Level 5. Which, of course, meant the king and queen death moths had shown up.
As the buzzing faded, everything outside went dead silent. You could practically feel everyone in the room breathe a sigh of relief.
After waiting a bit to make sure the coast was clear, I whispered to Ronid next to me, "How long 'til the king and queen death moths wrap up their hunting spree?"
"Dunno. Usually takes 'em a couple days," Ronid snapped back, then asked, "How much almond water you got? Don't wanna end up going nuts and turning into some physical form, dragging us all down with you."
With that, he pulled out a bottle of almond water and handed it to me, saying, "Don't chug it if you're thirsty. Save it. And don't forget to give it back when we're outta here."
Seeing Ronid hand me the bottle, I was kinda shocked and touched. I quickly said, "Thanks, but I'm good on almond water. You keep it."
Hearing that, Ronid stuffed the bottle back.
Then it hit me—Ronid had mentioned they were part of "Homey Hotel." So I whispered, "Does 'Homey Hotel' actually run a hotel in the Backrooms?"
"Duh," Ronid shot back, annoyed. "Why else would we be called 'Homey Hotel'?"
I was speechless for a sec. That actually made sense...
I wanted to ask more about Homey Hotel, but this old dude's voice cut in, "Alright, zip it. Now's not the time for chit-chat. If even one death moth hears us, the rest'll swarm. For your own sake, keep quiet for the next two days."
The old guy seemed to carry some serious weight around here. As soon as he spoke, everyone who'd been whispering shut up, and I didn't dare ask any more questions.
Guess everything would have to wait 'til the hunt was over.
So, after sitting in the dark for about two days, the lights finally flickered on with a "click."
Having been in the dark for so long, the sudden light made it hard to open my eyes.
After a bit, I managed to crack my eyes open. That's when I saw this old foreign dude, the one with the old voice, looking around like the light didn't bother him at all.
Which totally blew my mind.
The old guy seemed to notice my shock, but he just smiled at me and didn't say anything.
Once everyone had recovered, the old man spoke up, loud and clear, "Alright, folks, the king and queen death moths are done hunting. Now it's our turn! This hunt, ten pairs of male death moth wings get you a week at 'Homey Hotel,' and one pair of female death moth wings scores you six months! Let's get hunting!"
Instantly, the room erupted in cheers. As soon as the door opened, everyone bolted out.
Suddenly, it was just me, Ronid, and the old foreign dude left in the room.
"Ha ha, Ronid, fill him in," the old man said with a grin. After that, he slowly walked out.
When the old man left, I asked Ronid, "Who was that old guy? What do we call him?"
Ronid didn't answer right away. Instead, he pulled out something that looked like lipstick and put it on his lips. Then he said, "He's the owner of the Homey Hotel on level 5. We all call him 'Old Man.'"
"Old Man?" I was kinda taken aback. Isn't that a bit disrespectful? I mean, he's the big boss of your crew...
"Yep, he told us to call him that," Ronid quickly explained, noticing my confusion. "He said he's old, and 'Old Man' fits him just fine. So even though it might seem rude, we gotta call him that."
Then, Ronid said, "Let me give you the lowdown on the Homey Hotel."
"The Homey Hotel's spread across three levels: level 11, level 230, and level 5. It runs hotel services on level 5 and welcomes new wanderers. We've got plenty of food and rooms to keep wanderers safe."
"But," Ronid paused and added, "we don't do freebies. To stay at the Homey Hotel, you gotta regularly complete tasks assigned by the hotel. We're not running a charity here."
Ronide shrugged and continued, "You probably don't realize how sketchy level 5 is when you first get here. The dangers aren't just from the death moths. Like, the elevator you took only goes up to floors 1 to 12, but the buttons show there are 382 floors total. Wanderers who tried to go higher either vanished or bit the dust. So what we've seen here is just the tip of the iceberg on level 5."
Finally, Ronide patted my shoulder and said, "If you can, it's best to bail from level 5. The dangers here are just as bad as the dead zones in some ways."
After Ronide finished, he took off.
Hearing Ronide's words, level 5 suddenly seemed way more mysterious to me. But it also made me wanna get back to level 1 even more.
I wasn't sure why I was so set on settling down in level 1. Maybe it's 'cause I felt some warmth there when I first got to the Backrooms.
Before leaving, Ronide told me that if I wanted to get out of level 5, now was the best time. 'Cause after the King and Queen of Insects finish hunting, they crash for a long sleep, and most of the other creepy stuff here hides out too. So this is the safest window.
I headed back to the main hall. It was dead quiet, no death moths or wanderers around. Totally silent.
I was confused. Logically, Ronide just left the room, and I was right behind him, so I should've seen him.
But now, in this huge main hall, there was no sign of him at all!
I immediately got the chills. There's too much weird stuff in the Backrooms, and this is the mysterious level 5. They say most wanderer deaths here aren't from entity attacks, but from stuff that seems supernatural.
I clenched my fists and slowly backed up, wanting to get back to the room.
I figured I'd reached the door. I suddenly turned around, wanting to go in, but the door was shut tight. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't open it!
I clearly remembered not closing the door when I left, just in case I needed to hide in a hurry. But now, not only was it closed, but I couldn't open it!
I quickly grabbed a bottle of almond water, staying alert. At that moment, I thought I heard a faint murmur in my ears, and it felt like something was watching me from the corner. Instantly, I broke out in a cold sweat. I tried to open the doors of the nearby bedrooms one by one, but no luck. Then, eyes started popping up all over the walls. No matter where I went, I could feel those eyes staring right at me. Then, at the end of the main hall, a dark wooden door appeared, half-open like it was tempting me to push it open. The murmur around me got louder, and it felt like something was crawling on my back. I knew if I didn't push that door open right then, I was a goner. I rushed to the door in three quick steps and pushed it open. As the door opened, I felt that familiar falling sensation. I knew I'd been cut out again. I just hoped this time I wouldn't end up in another confined space, 'cause that's way too claustrophobic... That was the only thought in my mind as I was cut out.
After a moment of dizziness, the scene before me slowly cleared up. I found that this level wasn't daytime but night. I was standing on a street, surrounded by rows of neatly lined houses, standing quietly in the pitch-black night. The moon hung high in the sky, and the wind blew the trees by the street, making the shadows of the tree crowns sway gently on the street. The surroundings were as silent as death. This was the first thing I saw. ...…
Level 5, main hall.
As I phased out, the main hall went back to being peaceful.
Then, a black cat slowly emerged from the corner. It was Samantha.
She gracefully licked her paws and muttered to herself, "Should I say this kid's unlucky or lucky?"
Samantha tilted her head, kinda puzzled, and kept muttering, "If I say he's unlucky, he managed to phase out in a situation where he was sure to die. But if I say he's lucky, he phased out right into Level 9..." ...…
Level 9, Suburbs
Survival Difficulty:
Level 5
• Unsafe
• Unstable
• Infested with Entities
And Level 5 is the highest danger level in the Backrooms.