Level 227 is the 228th level of the Backrooms.
Description
Level 227 is a hilly expanse of dry, cracked earth approximately 150 km2 in area, ringed by mountains and orbited by a sun. The air in this level appears to affect the native entities as if it were water, with no direct effect on humans or equipment.
Entities
Level 227 is populated with aquatic wildlife seemingly identical to those found in the backrooms, with them appearing to swim through the air with no difficulty. The most common are shoals of a small unidentified silver fish and Blue Whales, with the smaller creatures found nearer the ground and larger creatures more often "swimming" at heights of approximately 100m. When the sun sets, entities resembling angler fish will "swim" out of fissures in the earth and hover in a fixed position in the air about a meter off the ground,illuminating their surroundings. Growing out of cracks in the ground are strands of Eye Kelp, a from of seaweed with ocular organs resembling human eyes, these entities straddle the line between entity and flora and fauna. They are made up of green fleshy stalks dotted with eyes with long leaf like structures splitting off the main stem with an average height of 5 metres (16 ft). These leaves seem to act as both large surface areas to catch sunlight for photosynthesis and hiding the eyes from view until close inspection of the plant/entity. It is believed that all of the Eye Kelp is connected via some kind of underground root system. Contrary to the kelp native to the Frontrooms, Eye Kelp mostly not grow in proximity to one another, so they give the impression of trees dotted around a dry and empty landscape.
It is theorized that this level has no "natural" entrances or exits.
They never quite knew what was waiting for them when they Hopped. The small black devices that allowed inter-level travel were unpredictable at best and deadly at worst, so you couldn't be sure where you would end up. The team of three eliminators glanced at each other, confirming they had all arrived safely before examining their surroundings. They were standing atop a small hill, the barren split earth beneath their feet stretched and undulated for miles before reaching upwards to form tan craggy mountains in every direction. The bleak landscape was only broken by the occasional tree, a drop of green in an ocean of yellow.
"Quite a view" observed Carrick Helms, the team lead, before jerking backwards as his expression changed from that of pensiveness to surprise. All three M.E.G members watched the bubbles that had just left Carrick's mouth float lazily upwards until they were indistinguishable from the blue abyss of a bright desert sky. Simon Grey exhaled heavily, causing a stream of bubbles to shoot from his mouth and follow the first group as if they all had a place to be. "We'd better get moving if we want to get anywhere by nightfall" noted Coral Wynn, barely containing her amusement at the bubbles slipping past her lips and scurrying off after the others like they had been left behind."Yeah," agreed Carrick, dragging himself away from watching the tiny bubbles leave Simon's nose as he breathed "I want to get this over and done with and I'm sure you do too". The others nodded in agreement, falling into step beside him as he started walking.
Not long passed before they were climbing another slope, this one with a tree worming it's way out of a crack in the dried mud and reaching upwards like a drowning man clutching desperately at the surface. Simon beelined for it and reached out a hand towards the leaves before recoiling, "Fuck!" he exclaimed. The other two, a few steps behind immediately trained their rifles on the plant but lowered them as Simon gestured at them. "Come look at this," he called, pushing the leaves away from the main stem and revealing the eyes that studded it. There was an audible intake of breath from Carrick and a soft "eugh." from Coral. A moment passed before Coral spoke, "Why are the leaves swaying?", Simon stepped back to look up at what was definitely not a tree as it moved back and forth in the breeze. "There's no wind." Carrick pointed out evenly. Their smiles gone, the trio continued onwards silently, leaving a rising trail of bubbles in their wake.
After three hours of trudging across the blasted land Carrick noticed his teammates were starting to lag behind. Spotting a grey mass in the distance, he pointed to it "We rest at that rock for ten minutes" he stated, the words were left to hang in the air with no reply to keep them company. As they grew closer however, Carrick narrowed his eyes and readied his gun, maybe it was just the heathaze but he could've sworn... His teammates glanced at each other nervously and followed his example. The rock split in half and seamlessly flowed towards to group, fingers tightened on triggers and then relaxed, the shimmering shoal of fish passed over their heads and they watched it until it passed over the hill.
Night had fallen by the time they reached the summit of the next rise. The three gazed down into a large crater lit by the light blue glow of bioluminescence, the lights all lead inwards in lines at regular intervals, converging at a point in the middle. "Just where he said it would be" commented Simon,
"All roads lead to Rome" Coral replied, "Come on". The three of them scrambled into the steep sided crater and followed the blue glow towards the center where the weeds were getting progressively thicker. "I hate these things" Coral declared, trying not to touch the watching kelp as little as possible. The others made sympathetic noises expressing that they were no fonder of the sinister greenery.
To the soldiers' relief, the kelp forest soon parted to reveal a small cobblestone circle with a plinth at the center. Upon it stood a figure of slate grey, his features and details unrecognisable due to erosion. It's posture suggested that of proclamation or observation, with the head tilted back and one arm raised to point at the empty sky. It's head bore a crown of dark grey-blue colour that bore no such marks of time, it was formed from twisted vines of metal and vaguely resembled the weeds surrounding it. "Again, just like he told us" observed Simon, looking pointedly at Carrick, who rolled his eyes "I never said i didn't trust him, just..."
"Just what Carrick?" asked Coral, plucking the crown off the statue's head.
"This whole thing feels off to me." Sighed Carrick, the others said nothing, teasing aside they felt the same way.
Coral examined the beautifully crafted artifact in her hands and hooked it onto her belt. "Time to go then" She announced, they each fiddled with their blinking devices before nodding at each other and pressing a button. The world fell away and they were suddenly standing in a familiar hallway next to an office door. All present and correct, Carrick turned the handle and they entered, it was a well furnished room, with a bookshelf in one corner and a desk at which sat a tall thin man observing them quietly. "Do you have it?" He asked, looking from Carrick to Simon and then his piercing gaze finally settling on Coral, who handed over the crown. Beta turned it over in his hands before glancing up at the team, "A job well done, I will remember this, dismissed." Coral and Simon walked out and down the corridor, laughing about something that Carrick wasn't listening to "I'll catch you up!" he called out and turned around, curiosity propelling his feet back the way he had come. The door was still half open and Carrick watched as Beta donned the crown and swept his hand to the side, the brick wall in front of him melted away and he stepped through, the wall sealing up seamlessly behind him. Carrick closed the door quietly and jogged after his friends. From now on, he thought, he was going to mind his own business.
