Xandrya

Backrooms: The Thing that Breathes

Aw, a problem worm making friends! ♡

@Lexisheeps

Little fuzzy fella needs friends despite its behavior

Backrooms: The Thing that Breathes

"Mommy? Sweetie, I'm afraid I'm not your mom. I'm Leila's mom. Have you seen her?" Michelle then stood straight. "She's about this height," her hand was by her waist, palm down. "Red hair, blue eyes. Wearing a white top and black jeans."

It was a silly notion to go on thinking she'd get anywhere by asking the worm such questions, but she had to at least try. Michelle then leaned on the edge of the surface where the worm lay. "I can also help you find your real mommy too, is that okay?" If she was being honest with herself, she didn't really care too much whether it was okay. None of this was, what was happening to her and her daughter, so it was only fair. "Here, help me find her..." Michelle scooped up the worm before climbing the few steps. "Is there another way out of here, something that doesn't involve getting in that water?"

Backrooms: The Thing that Breathes

Posting tomorrow!

Backrooms: The Thing that Breathes

A quick toss into the depths below. She'd not foreseen what was to come, but how could she? Michelle took a step back when the worm leaped out of the water to catch the sanitizer. An odd choice of a plaything for a stuffed animal, but that wasn't the strangest thing she'd seen there yet. What happened next was also unexpected. The worm began writhing aggressively, which was somewhat shocking and slightly amusing all at once. Then when it went limp, the word that was uttered making her feel as if she had a lump in her throat.

There was nothing in her immediate vicinity with which to attempt to save the worm. The other obvious choice was to go in the water, but that definitely easier said than done. Her lack of action didn't stop it from sinking and drowning though, and so as silly of a premise as it was, Michelle went down a step to attempt to save it. She stood on the edge and carefully leaned towards the center to attempt to get a good reach, but her efforts fell short, her finger tips only grazing the fur. "Come on..." she whispered. Stretching herself to the limit, she pinched some of its fur and pulled herself back, dragging the worm out of the water. Michelle then quickly ascended the stairs to place the worm on the ground. It didn't move, not even so much as flinch. Michelle sighed, then did what she would do if she had an unconscious person in front of her that had just been pulled out of the water. No signs of breathing, that much she could tell. With the worm laying belly side up, Michelle used her middle and pointer fingers to administer chest compressions, or whatever the equivalent was in this case. As ridiculous of a scene as it appeared, she needed to communicate with the worm because whatever entity it was, it may be nice enough to giver her a clue as to where exactly her daughter was. At that point, she didn't even care for her other questions, even though in the back of her head, the thought of what exactly this otherworldly realm was continued to bug her.

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.