I stood there, with my eyes on the horizon, coat and scarf blown about by the wind, standing on the beach.
How was it so quiet? The wind and the sea rushed and howled, but it was so serene. It was so beautiful.
SURVIVAL DIFFICULTY:
Class 2
- {$one}
- {$two}
- High Entity Count
I hear footsteps from behind, tiny feet crunching on the sand and shells of the ground beneath. I turn, and there she is— my daughter, my little girl.
She seemed entranced by the movements of the waves, her eyes glazed over as her attention became fixated on the water. She is precious. Precious to me.
Recovered photograph from Level 101.
Level 101 is the 102nd level of the Backrooms.
Description:
Level 101 is a nigh-perfect replica of Earth, the third planet from the Sun and the origin of most wanderers within the Backrooms.
While Level 101 resembles Earth in almost every way, it is unknown how well it replicates other areas beyond Earth, if it does at all. If it does not, it was not made apparent according to reports from those who have been to Level 101.
Visions of a time without her flashed into my mind, visions of hounds and fires and faceless things that I have to force myself to forget again. Those memories aren't real, not anymore.
Once you enter Level 101, you awaken within your home from before entering the Backrooms. No records exist of what occurs to homeless individuals or those who were born within the Backrooms when they enter Level 101, either due to none having entered Level 101 as of yet or due to those individuals having not exited Level 101.
While there are several beliefs on what exactly occurs, the prevailing theory is that once you enter Level 101, you are effectively reinserted to your life prior to entering the Backrooms, although how this conflicts with the possibility of multiple wanderers existing within the level is not known or reported.
I see my daughter picking up a shell with her tiny hands. Her. She's real. I rush over and pick up my flesh and blood, scooping her into my arms and clutching her close to my chest. I press my head against hers, and her confused face turns to a happy one as her eyes close and she coos softly.
However, Level 101 has several recorded "inconsistencies", which gradually become more visible and more intense as time passes within Level 101.
"You two having fun?"
The "inconsistencies" are poorly understood, but certain elements repeat across legitimate reports, several of which are recorded below:
- Tendency to perceive lamposts as "too tall", although by how much varies.
- Almond water does not exist. While it is assumedly possible to create almond water, the product is not sold or distributed by any vendor nor is it recognized by any search engine. This does not appear to have a major effect, if any, on the Earth of Level 101.
- Periods where sound does not align with the forces causing it, described as "lagging behind."
- Since Level 101 is still within the (hypothetical) boundaries of the Backrooms, certain phenomena typical to other levels of the Backrooms can still occur, but this is less substantiated in reports.
- Certain animals1 lack or have an excess of skin when viewed from a distance, supposedly approx. 100 meters, although this is an estimate based on reports. This effect appears to be a hallucination and is only observed by wanderers, as it usually does not last for more than a moment.
- New Zealand does not appear on any world maps. New Zealand still exists, and still has an effect on the world of Level 101, but maps do not (and reportedly, cannot) feature New Zealand in any capacity. This is not noticed by the native inhabitants of Level 101.
I turn to face him standing there up on the dune, hair pushed back by the wind and sand covering his legs.
Judging by his face, he's obviously cold in his shorts and shirt, but he's trying to hide it in his weirdly adorable way.
For a moment, his skin is… wrong, baggy, haggard. Like layers of flesh were draped over him.
But it fades once I blink. I feel for my medication in my pocket.
Bases, Outposts and Communities
Given that access to Level 101 is based entirely on random chance and is incredibly difficult to access, as of writing there are no (lasting) efforts by any faction to establish an outpost in Level 101.
I shrug, and set our daughter down. "Maybe we were just waiting for you."
He laughs. "You’re too kind."
He walks to my side, and watches as our daughter runs along the shore, waddling in her big coat.
Entrances And Exits:
Entrances
Level 101 is entirely inaccessible, except for unlocked doors found in Level 2. The chances of a door allowing for access to Level 101 is unknown, given that there are only 7 recorded instances of individuals accessing Level 101, of which only 3 have been confirmed and verified.
"Can't believe she's almost a year old."
I nod. "Oh yes, I remember. I was there when she was born, did you know that?"
He laughs again, this time more forced— he's heard this joke before, but he laughs anyway. "I saw, I saw."
Exits
Our daughter turns back to us, presenting a large shell she found. It was smooth, purple, white. It was beautiful. I take it, feel it with my thumbs. "It's amazing, sweetie." I hand it to my husband, who holds it up to his eye and inspects it as if he were an appraiser examining a gem.
"Fantastic contour, but the luster is hardly exceptional."
I chuckle, and give him a shove.
"Hey! I'm a critic at work."
I roll my eyes and turn back to the horizon.
Stating "I'm ready to go back" invariably causes you to fall unconscious and reawaken in Level 0, usually with some degree of disorientation.
There it is again. That creeping feeling. The sound of the waves doesn't match their motions, the sun is just a little too far to the left, and the clouds move a fraction too quickly.
The feeling fades in moments as my husband takes my hand in his.
"Ready to head in? I think it's done cooking, right?"
I nod.
"Yes," I said, the memories of that other place long gone from my mind. "I'm ready to go back."
And everything began to fade, fade, fade away. The darkness crept in from the corners of my vision, overtaking me. I begin to fall- but the falling doesn't stop. I fall asleep, and dream of the daughter I leave behind.
As I go back, back to the place that isn't real, not anymore, awakening on the old moist carpet, that sickening yellow color, and the agonizing cry of fluorescent lights.
I lose everything, all over again.
And I, lying there on the carpet, weeping, screaming, know that I will never return to that beach, with nothing but a memory of the shore to remember it by.