“My name is Jane
Phoenix, and this is my assistant Mary Kate. We’re here because Father Patrick
sent us,” said Jane. Reyna’s eyes shot open, she softly gasped. “Father
Patrick? Oh, I see,” said Reyna, with a gulp.
“Can we speak
privately?” asked Jane. Reyna’s roommate looked at them suspiciously.
“Do you want me to
leave?” she asked her friend.
“It’s okay,” she
responded.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, it’s okay,” Reyna
reassured her roommate. Mary pressed her lips together and sighed, “Okay then,
I will step out to get us something to eat,” she said, with a worried look on
her face. She wasn’t sure if she should leave her alone with strangers. Mary
grabbed her purse and left.
She is worried that if
Reyna relives the ordeal, that she may have a relapse. Reyna is seeing a
therapist, one that the church assigned to her. The Church has a special
therapist on hand who counsels victims of paranormal/supernatural experiences.
Sometimes, if a paranormal incident happened in the victim’s place of
residence, they are relocated, free of charge and the house or apartment will
be privately owned by the Church. It will be looked after until an exorcism is
performed, if needed, but in this case, they just keep the condo locked. They
can’t guarantee that the portal won’t open if another person was to move in. An
exorcism is not an option, in the case of Reyna’s story, the condo must remain
locked until further notice. “Reyna, I am sorry, but I must talk to you about
the,” Jane paused and took a breath. “About the experience you had 5 years ago.
Father Patrick sent us to get information about what you experienced and um,”
Jane paused again, feeling uncomfortable bringing up something that clearly
still haunts Reyna.
“Yes, I know but my
experience still haunts me, and I still have nightmares,” said Reyna, her hands
trembling slightly. “Please, there is a 13-year-old girl who is lost in the Backrooms,
we are Hunters, and we are going to rescue her but we need more information
from you, like what did you see while you were in there, and how you managed to
escape,” said MK. Reyna gulped and sighed. “I trust Father Patrick and if you
say he sent you then, I will talk to you but please don’t go to the Backrooms,
it is a perilous place, and you may never return,” she said. Jane nodded. “I
understand, it’s okay, tell us,” Jane reassured her. She took out a mini
recorder. Reyna took a deep breath and started.
“I was 18 and attending
a local community college while working part-time as a Target associate. One day, my roommates and I went out for our
usual Friday hang out. We arrived at Wild Wing Hot Chicken at 8pm to hang out
and chat about anything and everything related to social media and boys. After
we had been there for an hour, Teresa's boyfriend walked into the restaurant.
Teresa waved him over.
Her eyes lit up and her
smile widened. "Hey babe, what are you guys talking about? I hope it’s not
about me," he said and gave her a kiss. "Really? You think every
conversation is about you?" said Teresa, with a Latin accent. Teresa loved
his cockiness and bravado, but I was never fond of his personality. I often
wonder what attracted her to him. After a while, I looked at the time on my
phone and I made an excuse to leave early. "Hey guys, I'm gonna head home.
I have a class tomorrow morning and I have work after." Teresa looked at
the time on her phone. "It’s only 9:30, I thought you were gonna stay
till twelve midnight? This place doesn’t close until one in the morning.
Stay," she insisted. I pressed my lips together and smiled. "Um, no.
I need my sleep, sorry guys."
"Oh, okay, drive
carefully," said Teresa.
She turned her
attention back to her boyfriend. "We'll see you at home," said Mary.
I gathered my belongings. "See you guys later," I said. Teresa, Mary,
and I are roommates and we’ve been renting the two-bedroom condo for about two
years. Mary works at an Amazon facility, she is satisfied where she works and
chooses not to attend college, she says she really doesn’t have the time and
Teresa works at a dental office as a receptionist. At the time, I was the only
one attending college and I was the youngest of the three. Teresa was 23, Mary
22. Our sleeping arrangements were as follows: Mary slept on the
sleeper couch in the living room, while I took one room and Teresa took the
other,” she paused. “Wait, where are my manners. Do you want some iced tea?” she
asked. Jane and MK nodded. “Sure, that’ll be fine,” MK responded. Recalling the
whole incident is making Reyna thirsty.
“I’ll be back.” Reyna stood up and
walked to the kitchen. She poured three glasses of iced tea, set them on a tray
and carried the tray to the living room. She set the glasses down on the coffee
table in front of them. “By the way, a year ago, Teresa moved out and now lives
with her boyfriend, so Mary and I share the same room,” Reyna softly exhaled
and took a sip from her iced tea. “So, you
don’t like sleeping alone?” asked MK, she suspects that her dreams have
tormented her every night since the incident. “Yeah, I have nightmares and
sometimes they seem very real,” she responded and took another sip of her tea
and set it down on the coaster.
“Continue,” said Jane. Reyna
nodded. “I drove home and got ready for bed. However, I laid in bed staring up at
the ceiling; time went by. Teresa and Mary got home around two in the morning. I
looked at the time. “2am?" I said to myself. I rolled over and
listened as they talked for a bit, then they quieted down and turned in
for the night.
A breeze was blowing outside, and I could hear a branch from a
tree lightly tapping at my window. I soon drifted off to sleep. Around four in
the morning, I awoke with a start. I had a weird vivid dream which jolted me
out of sleep, leaving me with a feeling of uneasiness and trepidation. I rubbed
my eyes as I laid in bed and stretched my arms over my head. I let out a heavy
sigh and sat up.”
“What kind of dream?” MK
interrupted.
“My dream was a bit
jumbled, but I remember being in a strange place that wherever I walked, I
ended up back in the same spot where I started. I couldn’t escape. I suppose it
was a premonition of sorts, perhaps I should have heeded its warning,” she
said. MK and Jane exchanged concerned glances; they knew it might have been the
Backrooms she was dreaming about. “I could hear Teresa snoring in the next
room. Mary doesn't snore, thank God. I decided to go downstairs to get a cup of
water. Mary was sound asleep. She’s a heavy sleeper. The only light in the
room was the dimly lit cabinet light. I drank some water and placed the cup by
the sink on the counter, then tiptoed upstairs. As I walked into my room, I
suddenly tripped. A sudden dizziness came over me as well. “Damn it,” I said. I
was afraid that I would wake them up. As I stood up, I found myself not in my
room! I caught my breath and looked around.
“What the Fuck,” I said,
my mouth agape. I took a few steps forward. I was looking at a series of
randomly generated rooms interconnected with one another. The wallpaper,
ceiling and carpet were a dull dirty yellow color. There are fluorescent lights
hanging over my head, like the ones found in many buildings from the 70’s or
80’s. I was flabbergasted, and I stood there
paralyzed. My heart raced. Am I dreaming? “Where am I? I thought to
myself.
There
was a muggy smell in the air and the sound of the florescent lights buzzing
overhead was annoying. I
realized that this looked like something from my dream. I was shocked, I didn’t
know what to do. I was barefooted since I just got out of bed and didn’t put on
my slippers beforehand. The carpet felt moist, and gross. I curiously walked
forward, not knowing how I got there and afraid that I would bump into something
or someone that would harm me. I did not have a weapon, not even my hand
taser that I usually have in my purse and my feet were bare. I cautiously
walked around the maze of endless rooms, and hallways, while all the while the
noise of the fluorescent lights sounded above me like a hoard of bees buzzing
around. The place appeared desolate; no other person was around. After a while
of wandering around, which felt like eternity, panic set in and I realized that
I would never find a way out. I had the sunken feeling that I wasn’t going to
leave at all. I was becoming hungry, thirsty, and weary. I sat down with my
back against one of the walls, pondering, reevaluating what happened.
I
facepalmed, took a deep breath and stood up. I began to run, well more of a
jog, then stopped when I heard a sound coming from afar. I caught my breath and
listened.
There are many strange rooms and hallways but
it seems as though I am the only one in here but what was that sound? I thought to myself. I dare not call out for
help. I don’t know what was coming toward me, but I turned on my heels and ran
back the way I came, however the walls seemed to have changed, I was confused
and frustrated. The florescent lights buzzed above, confusing me. One of the
walls looked a little different from the others, a little darker in color but I
didn't pay attention to it at the time.
“Am
I dreaming? I must be because this can’t be happening,” I thought to
myself, and I heard the sound again, something strange, scrapping along the walls,
but the sound was still too far away to be of any concern. The florescent
lights above sounded louder and flickered, sometimes the sound was deafening. I
decided to continue my journey through the yellow crazy maze and perhaps I will
find my way out eventually. My heart pounded in my chest, and I felt like a
mouse trapped, trying to find the exit. A part of me wanted to believe that
this was a dream, a nightmare but instinct told me that it wasn’t. As I turned
a corner, I came across a Nike tee shirt and Nike Air Max shoes. I picked it up
and inspected the shoe, I saw some dried blood on it. I gasped and dropped it.
I took a step back and looked around, wide eyed. I was worried that whatever
killed the person who owned those shoes might still be around. I was dizzy with
fear, my heart pounded, and I took a deep breath; continued through the ominous
yellow labyrinth. “There’s a killer in this place, something killing people.
I must be careful, or I will end up like that person.” I stopped and
listened. My ears strained as I could hear a low growl, but it was still far from
me, not a cause for alarm. However, I remained vigilant. I breathed a sigh of
relief. The musky smell lingered in the air; the moist carpet squished at every
step my bare feet took. Lucky that in some areas of the carpet it was somewhat
dry.
“I will find a way out,” I kept telling myself. I have faith. I would
find a way out but as I continued to journey through the maze, I turned a
corner and stopped. “What is this?” I said to myself. I found a mini camcorder next
to its case. I picked it up and looked at it. It was an older model of a
Panasonic mini camcorder. “I wonder where this came from?” I walked to a secluded corner where I felt
safe. It had a tape inside and I played it. I quickly turned down
the volume. I held my breath, and looked around, my heart pounding. I waited a
few minutes then exhaled. Whatever was out there, did not hear me so I took out
the earplugs from the case, placed one into my ear and plugged it into the
camera. The video consisted of these teens who were maybe two years younger
than me. The date is April 26th 2015. They were ghost hunting at an
abandoned old house. As I looked through the video, the footage glitched and became
blurry at times.” Reyna took a sip from her cup. MK is very intrigued by
Reyna’s story, for a second, she could see into her mind, her memories, as
though she was there. Reyna continues: “The young men, joked around about
meeting a ghoul or ghost or coming across something otherworldly. “Hey, we might slip into
another dimension or something,” one of them joked. “Very funny,” said the
African/American boy who was holding the camera. He turned the camera around
and introduced himself and his friends. “I am Jet this is Mike
and Victor, we are the Truth Seekers, we go to abandoned places and search for
the paranormal,” he said.
“They must have a YouTube channel,” I thought.
“Yeah, so we upload a
new video every Friday on our YouTube Channel, please give us a thumbs up on
this video and subscribe to our channel,” said Mike. They proceeded to go
inside the house and look around. Nothing special, just old furniture and a lot
of dust everywhere. The curtains of the house were half hanging by the rods,
the rooms looked as if whoever lived there before, left abruptly many years
ago. Jet had the camcorder and the other two had some ghost hunting gadgets.
When Jet entered one of the rooms it was then that the camera glitched and he
found himself in the Backrooms. “What the Hell is this!” he exclaimed as he slowly
stood up. At that point the camera must have been facing down because I
couldn’t see anything but the carpet. He lifted the camera to check if it was
still recording. “Good, it is recording,” he said, breathing a sigh of relief.
He slowly walked onward, much like I did when I first arrived, he kept on
walking and walking much like I did, he finally started to run down the
hallways, looking around, breathing heavily with every step he took. I can tell
that he was afraid and frustrated just as I was, but he kept recording and
moving forward. “Wow, I can’t believe
this place, it’s endless,” he said to himself. He called out to his friends but
there was no response. He began to panic. He stopped for a moment as though he
heard something. He slowly turned around. He heard scratching on the walls but
couldn’t see anything. He started to run. On occasion he would turn the camera
back to catch something but there was nothing. Then he stopped cold on his feet
and was in a room with many columns. He saw something that frightened him. He
pointed the camera in that direction. The camera caught a grotesque looking creature,
something out of Hell. It had the head of a Human but acted like a hound. It
crawled on all fours much like one of them. I honestly thought it was a
werewolf. The back legs were twisted like hind legs of a dog, and the claws are
sharp. It was as though someone cut the head off a person and sewed it onto the
body. The most horrific part of the creature was its face. You couldn’t see it
under the matted hair, but its eyes glowed as it glared. When it opened its
wide maw, it had several rows of teeth. I am sure you must’ve seen the video
that Father Patrick gave you.” Jane nodded. “Yes, and you’re describing exactly
what I saw in the video.” MK stared into Reyna’s eyes as she told them her story,
she could see the Backrooms as vividly as if she was there. Images of the
yellow labyrinth flashed in her mind.
Reyna continued, “When I saw it on the video my
mouth dropped; I was beside myself. “Is that real?” I asked myself. He
continued running but I heard on the video the creature close behind. Jet
couldn’t find a way out; it was then he dropped the camera and the case; he
kept on running, as the camera caught footage of him running away. The creature
lunged at him in a heartbeat and that was the end. After I watched it, I sprung
up and put the camera securely into the case, hung the strap of the case
diagonally around me and continued the trek through the Backrooms as quickly as
possible. I came across a strange wooden crate, but I ignored it as I heard
that familiar sound again, the same sound that was in the video and the same
sound I heard earlier. I gulped and stopped. I held my breath and I slowly
turned around. The creature was a few yards away from me, so I ran, as if my
life depended on it because it did. It was strong, fast and I could feel its
breath on my heels. My heart raced and the only thing that ran through my mind
was finding a way out. Then I remembered the strange wall, the weird looking
wall. It was then when I heard something say, “Go through it.” Maybe
it was my Guardian Angel, I don’t know. “Yes, that’s where I have to go,”
I thought. I can hear my own heart pounding, but I can hear that thing pouncing
its feet on the moldy carpet as each step brought it closer to me. I was never
very religious but at that moment, I recited the Lord’s Prayer in my head. The
creature was hungry, and it was not going to stop until it caught me. “God,
help me find the way out,” I shouted.
(Thank you for reading this excerpt from Lost in the Backrooms. Please post your comment in the comment box. Visit the link below to the book page on Amazon and leave your rate/review. I will add more random excerpts from different chapters in the coming weeks)Ages: 16 & over
Lost in the Backrooms
The Phoenix Files
