Good Intentions

rating: +11+–x


The Broken City: Chapter Five
Good Intentions

Max continued down the hallway, tightly squeezing Macy’s hand. The sweltering heat of the boiler room was excruciating, even through the heatproof suits. He rushed air into his lungs, a vain attempt to manage the pain and cool down. The hallway grew hotter, tighter, and darker as they progressed. The group stayed in a harrowing silence, still processing the sight they had just seen. The sight of the explosion flashed through Max’s mind as the pain of the burns continued to crawl over his entire body. He felt a tear leak out of his eye, quickly evaporating into the heat.

He squeezed Macy’s hand tighter as his breaths started to accelerate from stress. He had never been to Level 6, nor did he ever think he would go there. He remembered all of the horror stories of experienced M.E.G. agents who had narrowly survived this hellscape; it wasn’t something that left you quickly. They were different people: colder, more reserved. Horrid images flashed in his mind of what this twisted labyrinth would do to him, to his companions as well. He briefly glanced behind him at the distant, fading light of the boiler room hallway, taking one last look at them. He turned forward again to be greeted by pitch black darkness. His heart sunk as he the sweltering heat suddenly turned into a soulless, brisk cold. The feeling of Macy’s hand disappeared, replaced by the empty feeling of nothingness.

Max waved his hand in front of his face, trying to gauge how much vision he had, but he saw nothing. He had officially entered level 6. He unzipped his suit and left it behind, no longer needing it. A feeling of dread creeped up his spine as he looked into the dark abyss. He grabbed a small flashlight from his backpack and attempted to shine it forward, but was shocked to see nothing. The darkness clearly overpowered any light he attempted to shine. He scoffed in frustration and chucked it into the abyss, hearing the loud clang of metal reverberate through the empty halls as he did so. The sound felt like an explosion in the otherwise dead silent room. His heart beat faster as he realized he shouldn’t have done that. Due to the lack of light, the M.E.G. have been unable to determine if Level 6 actually had any entities in it or if they were just hallucinations from the level’s environment. Remembering Alex’s advice, he quickly sipped the green Almond Water once more. The cold water felt good on his singed lips as it coated his dry, hoarse throat.

Max extended his arms into the darkness, aimlessly bumbling around to find the walls of the place in order to have a better gauge of where he was going. He finally felt something, but it wasn’t the cold, metal wall he was expecting — it was soft and squishy, yet rough like sandpaper. He felt the object a little more, before suddenly running his fingers across a row of sharp, grooved, slightly wet objects. His eyebrow contorted in confusion as he tried to figure out what he was touching. His heart dropped as he heard a raspy moan come from where the object was. He gasped and quickly moved his hand away, finally connecting the dots. That was no wall, it was skin… and teeth.

“Max…” it groaned quietly. “Max…” it groaned again. He stumbled backwards, screaming at full volume like a teenage girl on a rollercoaster. He fell to the floor, causing a loud boom sound to reverberate through the room once again. The sound of his scream and the thud of his fall vibrated throughout the metal walls of the labyrinth of darkness. As the echoes faded, he slowly lowered his hands, confused why it had not attempted to attack him yet. The silence once again flooded the room. It was so quiet, he swore he could hear his own heartbeat. His breaths slowed as he sat up and remained still for a moment.

Was that a hallucination? he wondered to himself. He began breathing faster as he entered a slight crisis over this question. I felt it. I heard it. It said my name… but how could it have known my name? I haven’t said a word since I came here? And why didn’t it try to kill me? He suddenly caught himself spiraling and took deeper breaths, remembering what Alex said about this place and how easy it is to lose your mind in here. He took another sip of the almond water and recollected himself. He decided to instead try going to the wall from the floor. He felt around cold metal, waving his arms in a snow-angel motion. Eventually, he felt the cold, metal floor curve upwards, sighing in relief that he had finally found the wall. He used it to help himself to his feet, taking deep breaths in the process.

He stepped forward, clinging to the wall as his only way to know he was still walking forward. He brushed his singed and dry hands across the cold metal wall as he winced in pain. As time passed from the blast, the pain started to kick in and get progressively worse, and he was beginning to feel it. His back ached from the momentum of hitting the floor as well. The silence was causing his ears to ring, and losing the ability to see his own hand in front of his face was starting to get to him mentally. He knew he had to get out of here quickly, or he’d surely die within a few hours. He unscrewed the Almond Water bottle once again and took a much larger gulp, feeling much more satiated and awake afterwards.

He started walking much faster, turning every corner with haste. Every second more he spent in this level, the more vulnerable he became. His fear began to turn to impatience and frustration. He remembered the day of his police training with Macy when they had to endure the pepper spray. They were expected run a full obstacle course with their guns in front of them, enduring and pushing through the pain of the pepper spray without faltering. This situation felt all too familiar: blind, painful, and the looming, crushing fear of failure over his head. He had people who were counting on him to make it through this, and he wasn’t going to fail. His heartbeat increased as the pressure started to get to him, and his eyes started to water. Suddenly, he remembered what Alex said to him in the casino.

You can either sit here and sulk about it and get yourself killed or roll with the punches as they come. Don't expect me to always be there to save your sorry butts from trouble, and toughen up.

He wiped his tears and laughed. The memory was so vivid, he almost heard it through all the silence. He thought about what Alex would say to him if she were here. She’d probably call him a sissy or a loser for crying about the dark.

What a wimp. A broad, 6’1” cop blubbering about being alone in a dark room. What are you, five years old? Pull yourself together, you loser!

He chuckled again under his breath, comforted by the thought of seeing his companions again soon. He collected himself emotionally and continued forward. He had to focus and remember both his M.E.G. training and police training. He attempted to listen carefully for the buzzing of electricity, knowing he had to find a wire on the floor to initiate entry into Level 6.1. The otherwise inaudible murmur of surges rushing through the cables, usually drowned out by every day noise, would be much easier to hear in this silent chamber of darkness. He listened very carefully, trying not to let the hallucinated ringing, the reverberating sounds of his footsteps, his heartbeat, or even the faint sound of fluids moving throughout his body drown out the noise. The sound suddenly caught his eardrums, although faint. He attempted to pursue it, listening very carefully as he approached.

The sound started to get closer and louder, and his adrenaline started rushing throughout his body as the possibility of escape finally seemed imminent. As he got closer and closer, a general sense of dread rushed over him, causing him to start breathing a little heavier. He assumed this was the ambience of the level messing with his head again, so he took some deep breaths and another sip of almond water. The feeling didn’t go away, causing him to start freaking out a little.

Suddenly, a loud screech pierced his ears. He covered his ears in pain, as going hours in mostly silence caused the loud noise to feel much more painful than it would in normal circumstances. The echoes of the scream vibrated along the hard, metal walls, fully drowning out the faint sound of electricity. His heart dropped into his stomach as he processed what he just heard.

That sounded like Macy… he thought. No… Alex said it’s impossible to encounter another human in this place. It’s just another hallucination. Another shrill screech echoed through the metal halls, this time far closer than the previous. Max’s heart began pounding like an engine at this point as he froze in fear. He began hyperventilating and sweating profusely.

“Max! Max! Help us!” the voice yelled. It undeniably sounded like Macy at this point. He grabbed his bottle of almond water quickly unscrewed the cap, his hands shaking in fear. He began to chug what was left of the water, trying to regain his composure.

“MAX! HELP US!” screamed two voices this time. It sounded like both Macy and Alex in unison. Max stumbled backwards the surprise. His ears began to rang as his heart pounded like it was trying to break free from his chest.

“It’s not real… it’s not real… it’s not real!” he mumbled. “I’m sorry!” Max turned away from the voice and ran away. He heard the booms of large footsteps following him as he ran for his life. The two voices repeated, slowly growing more distorted as he ran. He screamed in pain as he ran full force into a metal wall, falling backwards as his momentum brought him to a screeching halt. His adrenaline prevented him from faltering, however, and he jumped back up and kept running. He screamed at the top of his lungs in fear for help in a final act of desperation. His legs burned in pain from all of the sprinting he had been doing. The loud footsteps grew closer and closer and closer until suddenly he felt his foot catch on something. He yelled as he felt himself falling, closing his eyes as he prepared to die. He put his arms out to brace for impact wondering if the creature would get him before he even hit the ground. Thumping and thumping and thumping as it got closer, closer, closer…

Max’s eyelids were suddenly bombarded with a flash of light. He squinted them open in confusion, groaning in pain from all his injuries. He looked up to faintly see a blurry group of people standing over him.

“Am I dead? Is this hell?” he muttered with a hoarse voice. The group gasped in shock.

“He’s alive? How?” he heard one of them whisper. Max sat up, still struggling to adjust to the bright lights above him after being in pitch black for so long. It was a relief to be able to see again, and a wave of comfort washed over him. He saw one of them reach their hand out to offer him help to stand. He hesitantly accepted the gesture and came to his feet. He rubbed his eyes and finally looked around to assess his new location, realizing he had made it into Level 6.1. He turned to look at the group of people surrounding him and gasped in shock. All of them were 7-foot-tall humanoids with TVs for heads. They wore aprons and gloves and had antennas sticking out of the top of their TVs. He stumbled back, not expecting to see such a sight. The creatures themselves also seemed to be a little surprised by his reaction.

“Sir, please. You’re covered in bruises and burns! Let us help you!” one of them exclaimed.

“You know, I really shouldn’t be surprised at this point. And yet, here we are…” he mumbled under his breath.

“Sir, apologies for the sudden disturbance. I can assure you we have nothing but good intentions.” another one said.

“Who… what… are you?” he asked defensively.

“I believe the M.E.G. refers to us as Entity 132, but that designation feels a little demeaning, in my opinion; we’ll circle back to that later. We are employees of the Backrooms Remodeling Co. at your service. Please, follow us to the building nearby so that we can be of assistance.” One of them tried to put their arm around his shoulder to help him walk, but Max slapped it away. He yelled in pain as soon as he did this, grabbing his arm and groaning.

“Sir, we wish not to harm you. Your body is covered in burns, you have multiple broken bones, several bruises, and you’re in shock. You’ve been through a lot, and we want to help heal you,” another one pleaded.

“How do I know I can trust you?” Max asked hesitantly. The TV head whom he had slapped slowly reached his hand out and placed it over one of Max’s burns on his arm. He covered it up for a moment, and then lifted it up. Max was shocked to see that the burn had disappeared, along with the pain in that specific area.

“We can help you. Please, sir, I implore you to come with us. You do not have the bandwidth to wander around by yourself.” At this point, Max finally let his guard down and began to breathe normally. The shock of everything he had just endured suddenly overwhelmed him, and he felt his eyelids growing heavy as he fell asleep.

Max woke up once again to a warm sensation throughout his whole body. The pain that he had been dealing with since the explosion in the casino was notably absent. He opened his eyes to realize he was sitting in a large bath of warm water in the middle of an empty restaurant. He looked around in confusion wondering how he had gotten into this situation. He looked around wondering what happened to his backpack and clothes, only to see them folded neatly on the floor next to him.

“Hello? TV guys? Are you there?” he yelled out. He saw one of them peak their head inside the entrance of the restaurant and beckon for the rest to come in.

The strange beings wandered in single file and surrounded the tub. He awkwardly squirmed around in the water and covered his exposed self. Now that he had come to his senses, Max was able to finally get a good look at them. They were certainly very interesting beings.

All in all, there were four of them. They towered over Max, despite the fact he himself was fairly tall himself. They all wore fancy clothes with gloves and an apron. One wore a blue plaid shirt with a black tie and khaki pants. A name tag saying “Frank” was present next to the tie — presumably his name. The next was Melanie, who wore a pink blouse and jeans. The third was Brittany, who wore a black, long-sleeved polo shirt and black cargo pants with dress shoes. The final was Ralph, who was the shortest of the four, yet still far taller than Max. He wore a purple, short-sleeved polo with khakis and slacks. Max was still in awe over their uncanny appearance: so human, yet so foreign.

“Ah, you’re awake.” Melanie held up a small mirror. “Everything feeling alright? Is the water of appropriate rejuvenating temperature? All your ducks in a row, and such?” Max looked at his face in the mirror in awe. Every pimple, blackhead, and acne scar had disappeared. His skin looked like it had a social media beauty filter applied to it in real life. He looked down at the rest of his body, realizing the scars, stretch marks, burns, bruises, and other injuries and impurities had disappeared. He used his tongue to feel the back of his mouth, and was shocked to find even his wisdom teeth had appeared back in his mouth, perfectly aligned in his mouth without causing damage to his other teeth. Despite being removed in high school for being indented, they felt as if they had been there all along.

“My… body… how in the world did you-” Max stammered

“Apologies, I don’t believe we formally introduced ourselves. As mentioned, the M.E.G. has designated us as Entity 132. We work for the Backrooms Remodeling Company and have been sent to assist with the situation in The Snackrooms, or 6.1 as you refer to it,” Frank explained.

“Our job is to fix things that are flawed and make them better. Typically, we section off parts of a level to improve it and fix its impurities, along with generally improving it overall. Levels are usually all we deal with, but we can do the same with humans as well,” Melanie continued.

“You were very badly injured when you fell through the roof in front of us. We thought everyone had been evacuated to The City by now, and were surprised to find a straggler. Where did you even come from?” Brittany asked.

Max’s heart dropped when he realized The M.E.G. had completely vacated the level. Level 6.1 was one of the only safe havens in the Backrooms, but unlike Level 11, this place was not protected by the 11 effect. As a result, Partygoers noticed this vulnerability and have been attempting to invade the level for many years. Armed guards were stationed around the clock to ensure this nightmare scenario never occurred, as it was considered one of the worst possible case scenarios that the group could endure. He tried to forget about this, hoping The Decay would deter them.

“I was stuck in Level 5, and the only way out was into Level 6 through the boiler room. The plan was to get here through that level,” Max responded. The group gasped and looked at each other.

“Level 6? Lights out? My word, you went through Lights Out with nothing but a backpack and survived? You are fortunate. Almost everyone who goes in there loses their mind from the vivid hallucinations. No wonder you were in such bad shape…” Ralph murmured.

“You were on the verge of death, sir. You’re lucky you landed next to us like you did, or else you may have perished!” Brittany exclaimed.

“Fixing humans is always fun. We tried our best not to go too crazy and fix everything like your belly button and your circumcision,” Melanie said. Max blushed with extreme embarrassment, awkwardly looking at the group with immense discomfort.

“Mel! What did we talk about? Humans hate it when you tell them about their anatomy. Get your ducks in a row and work on your professionalism! The higher-ups would not be pleased!” Ralph exclaimed, slightly whacking Melanie on the shoulder. Max stared at the odd group with profound confusion.

“Ok, I’m sorry. Thank you for helping me, but I need to go find my friends. Have you seen a talking blue bird, a tall white lady with a pony tail, a slightly chubby black lady in a blue robe, a nasty looking lady with super long, greasy hair, or a crusty old man in a ridiculous bird costume running around here, by chance? We all got separated when we entered Level 6, and I need to make sure they’re okay!” Max pleaded.

“Apologies, sir. We have not seen anyone other than you since the evacuation. However, The Snackrooms are quite immense. It is possible some of them may be wandering around here,” Brittany explained. Max sighed, still unsure if the voices he was hearing in Level 6 were real or not.

“Wait, wait, wait. Evacuation? What are you talking about?” Max asked. The group was silent for a moment.

“The higher-ups ordered us to come here and evacuate the residents due to a sudden presence of a troublesome black void that is slowly progressing through levels and consuming everything in its path without prejudice. The M.E.G. has designated it as The Decay. They knew we were the best candidates to stop it due to our synergy, and the remaining M.E.G. agents throughout the level evacuated all the residents while we set up Reality Fresheners, or Object 32 as you call them, in front of where The Decay currently is. As suspected, it seems to have stopped it in its path, but we need to figure out now how to reverse the damage it has done. We’re kind of boiling the ocean right now with trying to figure this out, and we’re kind of lacking the bandwidth to effectively dive into this, but it’s the best the company can offer at this time,” Ralph responded. All of the heavily forced corporate jargon from these weirdos was starting to give Max a headache.

“Goodness… I was trying to get back to Level 11 to inform the Oversight Council about the decay, but it’s progressed way faster than I expected. Level 0 is probably fully consumed by now at this rate. I wanna see it. I have some research data that may help you out!” Max responded. “Just… um. Do you have a towel?” Frank scurried over to a nearby closet and handed Max a towel as he stood up from the tub, dripping wet. He covered himself awkwardly, still embarrassed to be fully exposed in front of 4 total strangers. He dried himself off and redressed himself quickly, gathering his belongings into his backpack and pockets once again. He was unsettled by the expressionless, black screens that these creatures had for heads. They at least seemed nice, but he was far from trusting them. Once he was ready, he followed the group out of the restaurant and down the long hallway of restaurants.

A sense of dread washed over him as he walked down the empty hallway. He had never seen this level so abandoned before. Usually, it was bustling with activity, trading, settlers, and M.E.G. operatives yelling at unruly people. He wasn’t sure if it was the dampness in his hair or the dread, but a chill crawled up his back as he saw this horrifying sight. The threat of an invasion also remained in the back of his mind, giving him some anxiety. The TV heads stopped as they reached a corner and turned around, looking at Max. Due to the absence of facial features, Max had a difficult time reading what they were thinking.

“Around this corner is where The Decay has stopped. We’ve been heavily monitoring it since we arrived, and our state of the art Reality Refereshers are working wonderfully! It hasn’t moved an inch since then!” Brittany explained excitedly. Max covered his nose as he was bombarded by the overwhelming scent of mangoes. He took a deep breath as he stared into the cold, dark void before him. The objects, which were plugged into the wall, sprayed a thick blue mist around the entire area which created a haze. Still, the unforgiving darkness of The Decay pierced his pupils like knives.

“This is it alright. The unstoppable force that killed my friends…” Max said solemnly as the visions of the explosion flooded his mind.

“You said you were able to stop it, correct? What did you discover?” Frank asked.

“Well… we threw various different objects at it in an attempt to discover a way to stop it. We thought that Object 4 worked, but when we tried to use it in Level 5.1, it was a dismal failure. Object 47, however, specifically the black variant, has proven temporarily effective twice. If only you could somehow create a permanent source of black bottled lightning, that could potentially work…” Max replied.

“Yes, Deculidators and Black Lightning. The former has quite similar, though inferior, properties to our Reality Fresheners. The latter, however, is quite interesting. Perhaps overwhelming it with unfathomable amounts of energy like Black Bottled Lightning provides is how to stop it…” Mel commented.

“Do you have any left?” Ralph asked.

“Yes, one left. Sinclair had 3, and gave me 2 for the tests. It’s very rare, and she collected those 3 over years of pilfering Level 3. We’ve used two, already. Given that Level 3 is probably long gone by now, make it count. This may very well be the last one in existence…” Max said solemnly. He grabbed the bottle from his bag and placed it in Frank’s hand.

“Your donation is very appreciated. I will develop a new prototype of a Reality Refresher that will stop The Decay once and for all!” Frank exclaimed excitedly.

“Be careful — and whatever you do, do not open it. We’ll all die immediately if you do. It’s one of the most powerful objects in The Backrooms. Put it to good use,” Max ordered sternly.

“Worry not. We’re plenty familiar with this. It’s so powerful that opening the bottle will not be necessary. Just the residual static electricity is enough to channel for what we have in mind,” Mel replied confidently.

“How long will this take you?” Max asked.

“A few hours. Once The Snackrooms are secure, we can then attempt to meet with The Oversight Council to discuss our success with them, and work on securing The City as well. The Backrooms Remodeling Co can develop a partnership with The M.E.G. to ensure humanity’s survival, and everything will be okay,” Brittany asserted confidently.

“Well, I’m glad you’re confident. Someone on 11 has to have some lying around somewhere. And if not, at least 6.1 will be safe…” Max sighed.

“Right then. Feel free to be on your way to The City, and we will follow you to Base Beta at our earliest convenience. Thank you for working with the Backrooms Remodeling Company!” Frank replied, suddenly reverting to his corporate accent he had when they first met. Max smiled awkwardly and nodded in gratitude.

Max walked back into the restaurant containing the tub and started packing his things into his sack. Frank walked in, tinkering with the reality refresher in his hands, looking up at Max as he approached.

“Are all of your ducks in a row, then? Just wanted to check on you!” Frank said with a painfully forced corporate tone. All of the forced professional jargon was giving him flashbacks to his college internship in an office.

“Uh, yeah. I’m just packing my stuff. Thank you again for, uh… fixing me, I suppose,” Max replied shallowly. Frank sat in a nearby chair next to Max, still tinkering with the device.

“Can I just ask, if it’s alright, what led you to join The M.E.G. as fodder?” Frank asked. Max was taken aback by the blunt question.

“Similar reason as most other people, honestly. I survived Level 0 by the skin of my teeth, and when I made it into Level 1, The M.E.G. was there to save me. During my time there, they presented me with a choice: live quietly on Level 11 like normal, begging for scraps in 6.1… or join their cause and get guaranteed housing, food, pay, and the such. Back on Earth, I was a police officer. I suppose I’ve always had the propensity for risking my life for the greater good.”

Frank nodded longingly. It was hard to tell his emotion from the fact he didn’t have a face, but his body language was noticeably sad. “Admittedly, I’ve always disliked The M.E.G. It’s not because I’m hateful or rooting for your downfall, but I’m jealous…” Frank mumbled, ceasing the forced corporate jargon.

“How so?” Max asked inquisitively.

“When I… we were created, we are born knowing exactly what we are meant to do and our life’s purpose. We are what we are made to be, and that is it. This suit, this tie, these machines — all of it is what I am. If that’s the case, if it’s what I’m supposed to be, I sometimes wonder why I want to be something else so badly. When you came here, you were granted the opportunity to choose your path and decide what you wanted to be. I, on the other hand, do not…” Frank replied solemnly. Max was quiet, feeling sympathetic for him.

“What stops you from just abandoning it all?” Max asked.

“My loyalty is to the higher-ups. They are my creator. They are everything to me. It is my duty to serve them, and their will is superior to mine. Even though I want to be free, I also want to be loyal to the one who made me. If they want me to be this, then that is what I am, but that doesn’t stop me from wishing I could have both…”

“You’re saying you want to join The M.E.G.?”

“Something else… As servants to the higher-ups, we are told we are not allowed to choose for ourselves what we want to be. As a result, love is forbidden, as they believe it is disgusting and dangerous. Understanding this, I’ve tried so hard to resist, but… every time I see Mel, I can’t help but look at her. She’s so beautiful, and I want to be with her, but I’m not even supposed to feel this way. If it’s not allowed, why am I hardwired this way? Why are feelings I can’t control wrong?” Frank asked. His screen began to fade into static, surprising Max.

“You don’t have to put yourself through this. I can take you to 11 with me. You can be free from these higher-ups and live there. You can be whoever and whatever you want.”

“No… As I said, my loyalty is to the higher-ups. They are my creators, and I want to serve them. If serving them means depriving myself of these feelings, I am happy to suffer in their name. They always say they give their most difficult projects to their strongest employees,” Frank replied assertively. White noise began to come loudly out of his TV as Frank’s hand curled into a fist. The other one, which held the Reality Refresher, began to shake. Max was silent for a moment, processing what he said.

“How could love be evil? Why is what I am an abomination? Why was I made like this?” Frank asked, his voice stammering and breaking as the volume of the white noise grew progressively louder. “I didn’t choose to be like this… Why am I a monster simply for how I feel? I- I just… I’d rather be free.” Max looked at him with fervent empathy and began to feel incredibly sorry for him. Faintly, Max almost thought he could hear the sound of crying underneath the white noise. Before he could respond, the white noise suddenly stopped, and Frank twitched back into a firm stance. He stood up and turned to Max.

“I apologize, it seems I went defective for a moment there. Melanie, Ralph, and Brittany would like to wish you safe travels.” Frank quickly walked out of the restaurant and turned the corner towards the others. Max stared at the wall solemnly in silence. Until now, he was disturbed by the strange personalities of the TV Heads, but now he felt horrible for Frank. He grabbed his bag and followed Frank to the others. He turned the corner to see them all working hard on reprogramming the Reality Refreshers to make full use of the Bottled Lightning. He wanted to say something, but was afraid of making Frank upset.

“Ah yes, Max! Are you all prepared to leave?” Brittany asked.

“Yeah, thank you guys again for helping me and humanity. I’ll talk to the Base Leader in Level 11 to start returning people to the level. I’ll also let them know of y’all’s good deeds and ensure you are both helped and rewarded adequately.”

“Great to hear. The exit to The City is about a 3-minute walk down the corridor,” Melanie replied, pointing in the direction of the exit.

“If you get lost and need directions, let us know!” Ralph replied.

“Safe travels!” all four of them replied in unison, freaking Max out. He waved with an awkward smile and waved. Before he could even turn around to head towards Level 11, Max heard the loud sound of a bird squawk echo through the long hall of 6.1. He quickly turned around to see Jerry flying around the corner and landing on Max’s shoulder. He had a worried expression on his face, breathing heavily.

“Jerry! What’s going on? Where are the others?” Max asked with concern.

“You stupid Meggies have always been so incompetent!” he squawked with resentment. “Where are all the guards you people have stationed here?!”

“They evacuated to 11 because of this!” Max exclaimed, pointing at The Decay. “What’s happening?”

“Good going. Because of you idiotic clowns not doing your job, The Partygoers have taken the opportunity to invade The Snackrooms. About ten of them have emerged to scope the scene, and they’re heading this way. If we hurry, we can escape before they block the exit!” Max’s heart dropped. He had never seen a partygoer before, but he was more than familiar with what they were capable of. One touch, and he was as good as dead. This nightmare, the worst possible case scenario in regards to human safety, had just come true. Max froze as his mind rushed through all the implications and effects of what this meant moving forward… if and when The Decay was ever stopped.

“We have to get out of here now. This level is no longer salvageable!” Max screamed.

“Do you still doubt our abilities? We can finish this device very quickly, and all of our products wor-”

“CAN IT!” Max screamed, interrupting Melanie. “Entity 67 is not something I’m messing with. This is one of the primary scenarios that The M.E.G. was trying to avoid! We’d need an entire army to stop them!” Max started running back down the hallway, hoping to beat the partygoers to the door to Level 11. As soon as he turned the corner, he was greeted by the sight of 3 partygoers rapidly approaching him. Their legs shuffled against each other as they moved, extending their arms outward to show the teeth at the end of their stubs. Small holes were indented into their heads resembling a horrifying smiley face, with red stains around them resembling blood. Whether it was human or not was impossible to tell. Max’s heart began pounding out of his chest at the mere sight of them.

“What are you waiting for? Do something!” Jerry exclaimed. Without any further hesitation, Max swung his backpack around his shoulder. He reached in and grabbed a large chunk of Firesalt and clutched it in his hand. He hurled it towards the floor in front of the monsters and braced himself as it immediately burst into a small explosion. He breathed a sigh of relief as he realized the explosion took all 3 of them out, reducing them to a singed pile of guts.

“We have to get out of here n-”

“On your right!” Jerry exclaimed again, interrupting Max. Max looked to the right to see another Partygoer peeking out through a window, pointing a crossbow at his head. Max moved his head to the side as the creature shot the bolt, ruffling his hair as it passed mere centimeters above the top of his ear. He turned back towards the TV heads as the arrow flew past him and right towards Frank’s head.

Before Max could even say anything, the crossbow bolt pierced the screen of Frank’s head. The glass that made up the screen of his TV shattered immediately, causing Frank to fly backwards from the impact. Max covered his mouth in shock as Frank’s body went limp and flew back into The Decay from the impact of the arrow, falling into the void and disappearing. A tear dropped as he watched the being fly backwards into the abyss. He would never be able to confess his love to Melanie, live a life of choice and freedom, or be free of his prison of morality. Time seemingly froze as the bottle he held flew from his hands and fell towards the floor. Max dove like a soccer goalie around the corner of the wall before the bottle broke, fully aware of what was about to occur. As his body slammed onto the floor, the sound of the small bottle hitting the floor pierced his eardrum like a knife as he prepared for what was about to happen.

The bottle shattered on impact, releasing the powerful lightning instantly. The lightning scattered around the entire area, electrocuting Melanie, Brittany, and Ralph. The Reality Refreshers that were plugged into nearby outlets also burst apart from the power of the lightning, causing the blue liquid contained inside to pour out onto the floor. The power from the blast likewise knocked the other three TV heads into the decay, killing them immediately. The lightning bounced around the room, also electrocuting and immediately killing the archer partygoer. Max used the rush from adrenaline to react quickly and run into a nearby restaurant before the residual electricity reached him. He slid onto the ground into the fetal position, crying and hyperventilating.

Jerry flew above him, carefully scouting the scene as Max shielded himself on the floor. He flew around the corner with care to avoid the residual sparks to see that the TV heads had all been killed immediately. Perhaps more shocking was the Reality Refreshers and the Bottled Lightning being destroyed. It was incredibly unlikely there were any more of either of those objects left lying around. Even if there were any left, the only ones who knew how to utilize them for their intended goal were gone. The thought was harrowing as Jerry realized that one way or another, humanity would never be able to safely enter Level 6.1 ever again. His thoughts were interrupted by a shriek from Max around the corner. He flew back around to see a group of 5 partygoers entering the room Max was now trapped in.

Max grabbed a set of shurikens from his bag and threw them at one of the partygoers, lodging them in its head. To Max’s shock, the creature hardly flinched and kept approaching Max with the others. He grabbed his taser stick that was attached to his waist and extended it, yelling as he whacked the foremost one as hard as he could. The volts of electricity jumped around its body and caused it to collapse. The other four stopped for a moment to look at it, but did not falter. Max ran to the back of the restaurant, clutching the corner of the wall. Max frantically tried throwing more shurikens at the wretched creatures, but they were useless. In a last ditch effort, he took what was left of his Almond Water and splashed it on the creatures, hoping it would have a similar effect as it had on Jerry. Unsurprisingly, this was a failure.

“Jerry!” Max screamed. “Tell the others I’m sorry! Tell them I tried to save everyone! Tell Alex I-”

Before Max could finish, a comically large sword suddenly appeared behind the hoard and sliced the remaining 4 creatures in half. The upper halves slightly flew up into the air as the bottom halves fell limp. Max looked up to see Father Bluebird coldly staring down at the corpses. His piercing gaze shot out from the darkness caused by his hood and mask, still giving Max a slight chill. He was relieved to see him, however.

“Father Bluebird! You’re alive!” Jerry squawked.

“I apologize for the delay, your greatness. Level 6 posed quite a challenge, even for someone with the mental fortitude as I.” Max almost snickered at the irony of this statement, briefly forgetting the deadly situation he was in. “It seems The Partygoers have infiltrated this level. We must evacuate to The City immediately.”

As he spoke with Jerry, Max noticed the partygoer he had hit earlier start to get up and approach Father Bluebird.

“Watch out!” he exclaimed. As Father Bluebird turned around, he didn’t have time to even begin to react to the creature’s approach before a small firesalt explosion killed it instantly, launching the corpse forward towards Father Bluebird. He groaned in disgust.

“What was that you wanted to tell me?” a familiar voice asked. Max smiled to see Alex and Sinclair standing side by side in the threshold of the restaurant. Max beamed in relief knowing that they were all okay.

“You guys! You’re-”

“Save the gushy stuff for later. We got a popsicle stand to blow,” Alex interrupted. Without hesitation, the group charged down the hallway in the direction of the nearest sliding glass door. A group of about 15 more partygoers swarmed the area, entering from an hole that had been blasted through the wall; Max was shocked to see the others charging right into the crowd without hesitation. Father Bluebird effortlessly sliced through them like butter, impaling them with impeccably precise and speedy blows. Max was still awestruck by his agility in spite of his age. Sinclair employed her usual arsenal of offensive objects, hurling an array of miscellaneous weapons into the crowd to take out some of the ones deeper into the crowd. Alex assisted Father Bluebird with her taser stick to ensure he didn’t get overwhelmed and watch his six. Jerry soared above the crowd to see Macy standing at the glass door they intended to reach, using a Squirt Gun to man off the monsters trying to transform her. Macy saw Jerry in the air and realized the crowd was close, yelling for them to follow her voice.

“We’re almost there! Keep going!” Jerry squawked. Sinclair grabbed a glass bottle of Cashew Water from her pouch and hurled it forward upwards, causing it to shatter on the ceiling. The contents of the glass bottle poured into the group of remaining partygoers, immediately causing several of them to fall to the ground limp. This revealed that the door was now right in front of them. Father Bluebird took one last big swing with his sword to slice any remaining creatures that did not get impacted by the Cashew Water, creating a physical opening. Without hesitation, Alex, Max, and Father Bluebird dove into the glass door and disappeared into the white light that emitted from it. Jerry quickly swooped in from the air. Sinclair stepped over the corpses and paralyzed partygoers and turned around, her back to the door. She turned around to the hole in the wall to see an unfathomably large swarm of partygoers coming through the hole en masse.

“Go in, Macy. I’m not letting these sick beasts live get away scot free,” Sinclair snarled. Macy obliged immediately. Sinclair reached into her pouch to pull out a small grenade filled with Rixa Gas. Sinclair pulled the pin, hurled it into the group of partygoers in front of her, aiming for the hole. She immediately fell backwards into the door, slamming it shut behind her. As she felt her body noclipping through reality, she saw the gas quickly spread throughout the crowd, narrowly avoiding inhaling it herself.

Max felt his body slam onto hot, black pavement, groaning in pain. He pushed himself up, looking around to see his friends in the same position. He looked behind him to see one of the restaurants used to enter 6.1 behind him, realizing he had successfully entered Level 11. He looked in front of him to see a skinny woman with purple hair looking down at him. She had a cold expression on her face, and her suit implied she meant business. Max looked up in confusion at the woman.

“I’m sorry, did we fall onto you? We were just trying to get out of 6.1, and-”

“Did you not listen to the evacuation orders that were provided to you?” she responded coldly.

“Long story actually. I-”

“Save it. You’re Max Blackfield, correct?” the woman interrupted again. Max sighed in annoyance.

“Yes. And who are you supposed to be?”

“Overseer B,” she boomed back coldly. Max’s heart dropped. “Quite bold of you to show your face here after your little stunt.”

“I’m sorry, what?!” Max exclaimed in disbelief. Overseer B took a small flask of Almond Water from her pocket and unscrewed the cap. Without hesitation, she splashed the contents on Jerry, causing him to fall to the floor and scream in agony like before.

“You are under arrest for conspiring with the Followers of Jerry to cause widespread destruction across several different levels. You’re going to pay for the grievous crimes you’ve committed against humankind.”

The Broken City will continue in Chapter 6

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