Xandrya

Backrooms: The Thing that Breathes

Still have writer's block. Aiming to get something out today or tomorrow!

Backrooms: The Thing that Breathes

As she was staring at the water below, Michelle placed a hand over her stomach. It was growling again, which was odd given the biscuits should have filled her up for a longer period of time. But that thought soon disappeared. Just below the surface of the water, a body lay perfectly still, almost as if it was floating in place. The light from down below casted an almost unnatural glow around it. That, plus the distortion caused by the water made it hard to make out the face, and so Michelle walked over to the steps to start her descent. As she went down, step by step, she began to recognize some features, though the face was still unfamiliar.

Halfway down, Michelle missed a step when her vision blurred for a few moments. She lost her balance, but managed to stay upright as her shoulder hit the wall, though a bit too painfully at that. She uttered a string of curse words and found it best to take a moment to stop, sitting back on one of the steps. She hurriedly open the backpack then as her stomach growled more violently than before, though that turned into a mission as her hands started to tremble. She didn’t have to rummage for the snack bar as she knew exactly where it was, and Michelle only hoped that it would do the trick.

The first bite was heavenly, satisfying to the point where she could have been confused with someone who hadn’t eaten in days. Michelle scarfed down what was left in a matter of just a few bites. She wasn’t sure for how long it would hold, but for the time being, it didn’t feel as if she were dying anymore. It was then she looked over the side only to notice the body was gone. Even more carefully now, she continued to travel further down the steps until she reached the end. Once there, Michelle crouched and placed part of her hand in the water. Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t freezing cold. The light was glowing just as bright as before, though that wasn’t of any help in her determining how deep the water went, or even worse, what was waiting for her underneath. She looked up from within the well but there was nothing on the surrounding walls. This situation was only getting more frustrating for her.

It was then she had an idea. Michelle reached within the bag to pull out a small bottle of hand sanitizer which was nearly empty. She then tossed it toward the center of the water, waiting to see what would occur.

Backrooms: The Thing that Breathes

Posting today at last after my son takes his nap. Haven't had the time otherwise but I'm looking forward to it!

Firefly - Second 'Verse

Nice post @Xandrya! Love to see Imani in her space with all those thoughts and feelings.

@wanderingwolf

Glad it was enjoyed! It was fun writing it.

Firefly - Second 'Verse

New ‘do

Imani had worked up the remainder of the crew and was now left to do as she pleased, which was not a whole lot to choose from that list. But she did have her stash, a bottle of some type of liquor she couldn't bother to learn how to pronounce, much less spell. Pretty sure the real label was replaced and then the bottle resold, but that mattered even less. She was back in her private quarters standing in front of the mirror she had hung up on the bulkhead. A pair of scissors in one hand and a quarter-full glass on the other. She gulped down some of the drink, then stared at her reflection once more. There's no going back after this... It was almost as if she were trying to convince herself not to take the next step. But regardless, she did.

Little by little strands of her hair fell by her feet. Probably the second time ever she'd cut her own fringe. But Imani had done a whole lot of learning since, mainly in the form of observing how to go about it with the proper technique and practicing twice on someone. That someone—both times her friend's daughter, Catalina—was just about the sweetest little person she'd ever met. Of course she never minded when Imani would give her a haircut, and Imani couldn't help but wonder if Catalina would mind now. She was 12, growing and maturing like the rest of them despite her mother hoping otherwise.

Once the deed was done, Imani inspected her work. It wasn't bad, definitely not by her own standards. In fact, she was pretty impressed with herself, and that called for a celebratory shot. She put the scissors down and picked up the glass, heading over to snuggle with her comforter, which meant sitting up against the wall, her lap nice and covered while she messed with her datapad. Though this time, she'd be calling someone.

Settled in her spot, Imani called up her friend.

"Rosaline, hi."

The video feed came to life. "Well look who it is! You've gone and disappeared on me yet again. How long has it been now, six months?"

"Yeah, more or less," Imani laughed. Rosaline seemed to be cooking something, a section of her frame hidden by a large, white bowl. "I was just thinking 'bout you guys since I did this myself," Imani pointed to her new hairdo.

"Well look at that, Cat would be proud!"

"I bet she would, is she around?"

"Nah, she's off with her dad." 

"Guess you two never fixed the relationship?"

Rosaline answered with a sigh, "Nah, we weren't fixable, not anymore." Her voice had lowered, the subject no doubt a sore one. "But it happens, just a matter of getting over our many years together, though it's taking me longer to deal with than it took him."

Imani stayed silent, and eventually Rosaline spoke up again.

"But enough about that, I don't wanna sour this little chat of ours. How's your life? Any new developments, romantic or otherwise?"

Imani scoffed. "Just workin', flying through space doing medic stuff and serving this fine crew." Her statement sounded slightly sarcastic, however she didn't mean such tone.

“Oh you’re doing that again?” Rosaline asked.

“Yeah, sad story actually. The previous doctor onboard passed away, it was some tragic stuff. She was young and a really sweet girl, but when it’s your time, it’s your time... But other than, it’s the same old for me. Haven’t found anyone, rather inconvenient time given I’m stuck with the same faces out here in the black most of the time. Nothing wrong with ‘em, but none of them are my better half.”

Both women then continued their conversation for a little while longer, that which entailed recalling some shared memories as well as making vague plans for the future which would likely fall through, but the thought was there at least.

After saying their goodbyes, Imani tossed the datapad aside. She lingered in bed for a little while longer, then quietly decided to clean up the bit of mess on the floor. She headed out to gather the necessary supplies, and her plan for after the fact was to finish some more of the bottle.

Firefly - Second 'Verse

@wanderingwolf I couldn't agree more!

@Gunther Alright, we can have them meet sometime soon.

Firefly - Second 'Verse

@wanderingwolf Hey it's definitely more interesting that way!

Firefly - Second 'Verse

@wanderingwolf

Like you said, the shenanigans would be hilarious!

But I think I'm gonna have Imani be a little envious of her, like she feels threatened by Penny for whatever reason, which leads to Imani not liking her and Penny in turn not caring less about it. Something like that.

Firefly - Second 'Verse

@wanderingwolf

Wait, got his characters confused! I meant Penny, though such feud would be hilarious!

Backrooms: The Thing that Breathes

No, she thought to herself, "I don't think I will." The plushies, unnerving as they were, did definitely irk her. It took some restraining on her part to not forcibly kick them against the wall. The options before her were pretty clear; no doubt the hard part–yet again–was making that choice. But it wasn't only a matter of picking "A" over "B". With no other information, it was simply sheer luck that would dictate whether she would make the right decision. And if she didn't, then that was probably it for her. But that wasn't what scared her the most; it was the thought that if she were to take a wrong turn, then she'd find herself outside of whatever type of facility this was with no other way in and no way of finding her daughter. Because if she were to go to the police and tell them everything that had occurred in here, then at the very least, they'd surely send her to get evaluated.

We're not there yet... Michelle looked around the entire room once more, the only upside being she wasn't at that weird pool anymore. God knows how deep that water went. However, even with nothing but solid ground underneath her feet, this room didn't feel quite right. None of them had, thus far. She slowly walked over to the door on her left, completely ignoring the plushies as if they didn't exist. There was no sound coming from the other side of the door, nor any sign of life on that side either. Likewise, it seemed she was the only one present in the room at the moment. No rhythmic breathing other than her own, and no objects moving freely on their own as if she were in a room full of ghosts, which at that point, it wasn't that far-fetched of an idea. Michelle then placed her hand on the doorknob, telling herself it was better than touching the blood-stained button, without a doubt for more reasons than one. And if she did get it right, then maybe she was one step closer to finally being able to see her princess.