Act 5

  Setting: The Backrooms

  Date: Thursday, May 4th, 1995?

  John: Fresh chalk… Someone went through here recently.

  (John pauses. Eyeing the markings.)

  John: They’re all directional markers, but half of them are scratched out for some reason.

  Lily (tilting her head, voice soft): Maybe they were going the wrong way, and got rid of them.

  John: Or maybe they wanted to make sure no one could figure out what they meant.

  (As they move further, they come across an abandoned camp. Ripped sleeping bags, scattered trash, bloodstains drenching the carpet floor, and papers torn and crumpled. The stench of mildew, and something strangely metallic hangs thick in the air.)

  Alex: Hope this wasn’t the camp you were talking about Lily.

  Lily (shaking her head): No. This one wasn’t here before…

  (John kneels beside an overturned cooler. Slowly starting to sift through the tattered remains of the camp with an almost tired precision.)

  John: No bodies left behind either. If it was a monster you’d assume we’d find signs of the victims… take whatever they left behind, but be quick. We can’t afford to run into whatever it was that did this.

  (As John and Alex search the camp, Lily slowly steps over a pile of overturned boxes that sit in front of a large, tattered tent in the camp’s center. She squeezes her way into the tent, before the sounds of her softly rummaging through it begin.)

  John (frustrated): There’s just nothing here… either they didn’t bring any supplies, or whatever hit this place took them with them.

  Alex: I mean. At least we’ve narrowed down the fact that whatever it was had hands. That’s gotta be comforting at least.

  John: Not sure how that’s supposed to be comforting…

  (Lily emerges slowly from the tent, clutching a stack of crumpled paper in her hands.)

  Lily:

  Hey Alex. John. What are these?

  (Alex walks over. The wrinkled pages in her hands are soaked in a red liquid that Alex hopes isn’t what he thinks it is. Sloppy, smudged writing covers the paper in a scribbled panic.)

  Alex (reading the notes aloud):

  Higher ups said we lost Felix today, but something about their story doesn’t add up…

  (John leans in, eyes scanning the page over Alex’s shoulder.)

  Lily: Felix?

  Alex:

  He was the best tracker I’ve ever seen, and a damn good man. We were told he just wandered too far off the route, and was reported missing in action, but it doesn’t make sense. Felix had been running those routes for years, and knew those areas like the back of his hand. There’s just no way he’d…

  John: Patrol routes? Sounds more official than just a bunch of wanderers trapped down here.

  (Alex flips to the next note, carefully peeling it from the others. It sticks together roughly by crimson puddles that cover the pages.)

  Alex:

  I asked too many questions today, which seemed to piss off Boone for God knows what reason… I’m not sure how that damn convict managed to move up the ranks, but I know what getting on his bad side can lead to. Seems like it’s best to just leave it as it is. I mean, it’s The Backrooms. Maybe something did really catch Felix off guard on his patrol. Either way. It’s not worth risking my life over.

  Lily: Risking his life? Why would asking questions put him in danger?

  John: Sounds like the answers were hidden in dangerous places. You can’t dig through a minefield for treasure, and not expect to get blown up.

  (Alex frowns, pausing before flipping to the next page. The handwriting looser now. Each letter melting into the next, as erratic lines ran off the edge of each word.)

  Alex:

  Something’s off… One of our own members apparently went rogue, and has been killing the wanderers at random. I’ve heard whispers of a person they’re all calling the “Hazmat Killer”, and I think there’s a chance that has something to do with Felix. I’m tired of being a coward. I’ll make sure you get the closure you deserve Felix. You were a damn good man. Too good for a place like this…

  (There was no trace of fear anymore. Now, replaced with a cold fury that pressed deeply into the pages with every word.)

  Alex:

  I’m done. He’s done. We’re all… we’re getting out of this place. Too many damn secrets, and promises from the higher ups that they’ll deal with this rogue. Telling us to trust a process that’s done nothing but fail us. It’s all a lie. We don’t control anything down here.

  (John’s jaw tightens as he reads along. Lily stays silent, staring at them with wide eyes, now fully absorbed into the story.)

  Alex:

  We put our lives at risk every day. Surrounded by all these convicts that the base said would make our lives easier. But now… We deserve answers. Felix deserved answers. First we have Boone, that untrustworthy bastard, breathing down our necks at all times. He was just a tagger. We weren’t supposed to take orders from him. Yet, these days we can’t even piss without his permission.

  (Alex’s hands tremble slightly, causing the paper to shake. A hint of unease slowly creeping into his voice as he reads, each word the only sound in the now eerily silent camp.)

  Alex:

  Then there’s the wanderers. We’ve always had problems with them, but this time’s different. Because one of our own… who we don’t even know the damn name of. Has been harassing the wanderers, and we haven’t done a thing to help them. The wanderers. They won’t talk to us anymore. Won’t help us. Some of them even attack us on sight now. They think we sent the Hazmat killer after them… who knows, maybe we did. But it doesn’t matter anymore. Now, every time a body turns up, we’re targets. Doesn’t matter if most of us know just as little as they do. MEG says he’s a rogue element. Not under their control, but how the hell did he get the suit then. How does he know our signals, our patrol routes… they’re lying.

  (The page rustles harshly as Alex turns it, the sound sharp and jarring against the fragile silence that blankets the hallway.)

  Alex:

  We’ve set up camp. It’s not perfect, but it’s comfortable. No more leaders who only tell us what bullets to stand in front of… on our way out, we grabbed some logs, and reports. Seems like they were hiding something after all. It took us a while to figure it out, but it’s all connected to __________.

  (The name unreadable. The paper itself in tatters as a hole is ripped where the name should be.)

  John (muttering):

  If they were really trying to hide something why not just burn it all?

  Alex:

  We thought we were safe. We moved far into Sector B. Through places that even MEG hadn’t mapped out itself. But it feels like someone’s out there watching us. It seems like it’s waiting for something. I think they’re closer than we thought.

  (The page abruptly ends there. No farewell, no final words. Just a long streak of black ink that bled like a wound across the page where the name should’ve been. As Alex lowers the page, his eyes land on rough-looking badge with the name L.P Blake barely legible through the scratches.)

  (Alex stares at the badge, silent for a moment.)

  Alex (quietly): Poor Bastard… didn’t even let him keep his name.

  (Alex picks it up, as he noticed the large, jagged scratches now seemed deliberately placed. Like someone trying to snuff out any signs of the previous owner’s identity. Alex shakes his head, before tossing it down the hallway.)

  John:

  Seems like this MEG group isn’t too friendly either.

  Lily: They’re not… one of the groups I was with said they were part of the government or something. They wear these big yellow suits, and have scary voices. I’ve only seen them a few times, but they always ignored me. Even when I yelled.

  John (frustrated): So the government knows about this place, and doesn't send any rescue teams? How many people have they let die in order to hide this from the public?

  Alex: Are you really surprised that the government is hiding stuff from us like this? Think of how many years they spent hiding the fact that the moon is hollow. It's no surprise they'd go to these lengths for a new plane of existence

  Lily: WHAT?

  (She yells, genuinely shocked.)

  Lily: Your moon is hollow?

  John: No it's not. Alex just can’t help himself from falling from every conspiracy theory out there.

  Alex: If you believe in all of them you'll never be caught by surprise by one. Just think about it. Who would've thought a place like this existed in the first place? How far fetched is it to believe that the moon is hollow now that you've seen this is real?

  John: Why in the world would the government care about hiding the hollow moon from us?

  Alex (serious): Because that’s where they hide the lizard people, John… I swear. It’s almost like you’re allergic to critical thinking. I mean, imagine this-

  (A sharp noise cuts off Alex… Footsteps. Not too far away from the camp.)

  John:

  We need to get out of here.

  (John leads the way, followed closely by Alex as he grabs Lily by the arm, dragging her along. They quickly move out of the camp as they hear the sound of soft, methodical steps echoing in the halls behind them. Followed closely behind by a distorted hum. The sounds of pursuit slowly fading away with each step, until finally, it disappears all together.)

  Alex: We’re safe… for now. If they weren’t in a rush, that means that we either weren’t the target. Or they’re not worried about catching up later.

  John: Lily, it’s all up to you now. You think you can lead us back to the camp still?

  Lily: I remember it John, I promise. I told you that you could count on me didn’t I?

  (Lily says with a hint of pride in her voice.)

  (Lily takes the lead, navigating around the turns with the confidence of someone who’s walked the area many times before. The hallway begins to breathe again. Widening, and stretching out from the previously narrow hallways. The dim, flickering lights give way to a more structured space. Cleared out, lived in. Supplies stacked against the walls. Improvised barricades. A faint glow of lanterns casting warm, flickering light ahead. The soft hum of conversations slowly pick up as they move deeper into the area)

  Alex (quietly): …Is that?

  John (relieved): A camp.

  Lily (smiling): See? Told you we were close.

  (John and Alex exchange a glance, still wary but unable to deny the relief of seeing actual humans. They step forward before being intercepted by a group of four figures who stand guarded, all armed, as they watch them carefully. A few tense moments follow before an older, rugged man steps out of the group. His clothes are a mix of salvaged gear sewn together with random assortments of old clothing. He eyes the two of them up and down, looking for any signs of hostility.)

  ??? (calmly): You’re lucky you found us.

  John (carefully): Who is us?

  (The man doesn’t answer immediately. Continuing to look over them, before nodding softly to them. Motioning towards the camp.)

  ??? (gesturing): Come on in and eat. You three look like you could use a good rest right now.

  (Behind him, the others in his group watch silently. Their fingers tracing cautiously along the length of their weapons. John and Alex hesitate.)

  John (cautious): I’m not sure this is a good idea…

  Lily: Let’s just give them a chance John. We made the trip over here already… besides. That food smells so good!

  (Lily quickly makes her way into the camp, not bothering to wait for John, or Alex’s decision.)

  Alex (muttering): She was terrified of everything just a few hours ago. What happened?

  John (low): She got too comfortable…

  (John sighs. Shaking his head.)

  John: Lily’s made the choice for us. Let’s just hope she didn’t choose wrong.

  (With no other options, they step forward, following Lily into the camp. They’re welcomed by suspicious looks, and hushed conversations that seemed aimed at their arrival. But even the glares of unfriendly strangers felt… comforting. At least these eyes were human.)