Chapter 3: Short Lived Respite

I stepped down from the end of the long staircase, finding myself in the large foyer of a mansion. There was a coat rack, shoes lined the left wall. They were of varying sizes and shapes, making me wonder if I could fit in any of them, if they were better for walking in than what I had on.

The intricate designs on the walls kept distracting me. It felt exactly like the interior of a mansion I had been in once when I was a lot younger. A school field trip to a local vineyard, we were allowed into the mansion in groups of five with a chaperone. The large wooden staircase at the end of the foyer looked almost exactly as what I remember seeing all those years ago.

Though it is a hopeless thought to think that I've escaped, I know this is just another part of wherever I've ended up. I had to keep moving, find water and food. The stairs down here took more of a toll than I was expecting, so I will have to find someplace safe to rest as well. I was unable to rest on the previous floor, and I could really feel the buildup of tiredness.

With those thoughts out of the way, I started exploring. The only place to go was up the majestic wooden stairs, a chandelier hung in the center of the ceiling, large and almost crystalline, not at all matching the rest of the décor. There were paintings of medieval armies on the walls, sparsely placed with reckless abandon, giving a feel of chaos.

Once at the top of the stairs, I found three closed doors, one straight ahead and then on on both the left and right of me. Large painted white doors that looked cheap, a stark contrast to the rest of the room's appeal. I wonder if this floor was all about picking the right door, if I picked the wrong door, I was going to get attacked by a random monster.

Before I opened any doors, I would need to mentally prepare myself for running back up the long set of stairs. Considering how I wasn't followed, I can only guess that the monsters are somehow locked to the floor they are already on. I had some sort of safety net, at least while I stayed in the first room, I knew instinctively that after I went through a door, coming back here would be impossible.

I decided to check the door that was immediately in front of me, and unsurprisingly it was the interior of a house, but not one similar to what would be in a mansion, it looked like a lower-middle class bungalow's living room. The bay windows were interesting, as I could see lush green scenery outside.

Checking the left door, it was a bathroom with a door on the other side of the room. The chance for running water was tempting, but part of me was unwilling to trust it, just in case I got sick. The right door was a small bedroom, and I noticed another door immediately beside a window. Outside this window was the scenery of winter, unless I was crazy, that's wildly different from the other window just one room away.

Another point that was worth noticing, every single room always had at least two doors. One that I would enter through, and another I would presumably exit through. Interesting in concept, but what would happen if there was a room with only a single door, would the room behind me get randomized and I'd just go on my way like normal or would I have to backtrack?

Either way, I picked the bungalow with the large bay windows. I wanted to see if it was possible for me to escape into the open world. Doing a full sweep of the room, I notice the same almost orderly chaos that was present in the mansion foyer. Picture frames filled with photos of cats were lining a wall, another stark contrast to the dog toys and dog related items scattered on the floor.

I decided to sit down on the light blue sectional that was placed in the middle of the room, facing a group of wooden dining room chairs. No table in sight, but it was nice to sit down on something soft. I was tempted just to sleep here and now, but the large windows were bothering me.

Looking out I could see it was a suburb area filled with identical looking bungalows for the entire street. A cookie cutter neighborhood by definition right here. Unnervingly, I felt like I was constantly being watched, despite not a single thing outside moving, not even the identical tree in every house's front yard.

The more I looked out the window, the more fake everything looked. Identical copy pastes of every lot, and nothing moved. I couldn't even see a single insect, and getting up to look close out the window, I could even see the clouds weren't moving.

I could see myself.

Not a reflection, I could actually see myself, move for move in every window my eyes could reach. Not even just the same window I was actually in, I was in every single window. I could only see it in the closest one, but there was a creepy smile on my face that didn't match the look of horror that was on my own.

The more I looked, the less I wanted to go out through the window, but part of me still wanted to try. I'd have to get ready to leave though, in case those copies of me also escape and start coming for me. I stand up and start my preparations.

Not seeing anything of value in this room, I open the door to the next room, and see it is a similar bedroom to the one that was at my previous choice, just different colored blankets on the bed, and different scenery out the window.

Walking back to the center of the room, I grab a wooden chair. I was going to throw it as hard as I could against the window, and see if the window would break. I've seen videos of both sides happening, so I will toss the chair at least five times before I give up if it doesn't break. I position myself so that if the chair does bounce off the window, I should be safe.

I heave the chair with all of my strength, it collides with an incredibly loud noise, and while the window in front of me doesn't even crack, I can hear the shattering of windows in the distance. I quickly took a look outside to see that every window on the copies was broken. It appears that something on this floor was very, very wrong.

I watched as the copies just stood in front of the windows, smiling. More clearly now that the glass obstructing my views of them had disappeared. The resemblance to my own appearance on another creature was uncanny as all hell to look at. So, I won't look at it anymore, I should move to another room, the fact that every window but my own broke was not a good sign.

Moving into the bedroom and closing the door, I immediately was starting to feel less nervous. This floor wasn't all that bad as long as I didn't look out the windows for that long. The creepy visage of myself was something I don't think I could, or even would, like to ever get used to.

I don't think I was in any real danger here, as long as I was able to stay away from the windows. Everything seemed to be fine, and I could take it easy. I wanted to rest, but if I could explore a little bit and find a kitchen area, I was hoping there might be some food and water.

After I find some food, I would raid closets for clothing, and pray for a bag of any kind. I'd carry around a purse if it meant taking the waters and granola bars out of my pockets. The added pressure was starting to hurt more than I was comfortable with.

I opened another door and it led to another almost identical room. I wonder if this floor only has a small set of rooms that just repeat over and over. Honestly, kind of boring if that's the case. I was starting to expect something interesting from this place when it was putting me in random rooms.

The next room is a fairly large bathroom, a massive tub and other standard rich looking bathroom items. I notice the toilet has some water in it, not quite desperate enough, I don't even think about drinking it, no matter how clean the toilet looks. Curiously though, I decided to act like a civilized human for the first time in a while and use the toilet.

Surprisingly, the toilet flushes when I try. So I tested it, and both the tub and sink have running water. I could clean myself if I found new clothes and some way to dry myself off. I'm hoping that I will find another bathroom after I can find new clothes, but honestly, it's a low priority.

A few rooms later, I found exactly what I was looking for. It was a retro style kitchen, bright reds and dull greens were everywhere. I don't think it looked bad, just not quite up to modern standards. There were red barstools lined up underneath and overhang from the countertop.

I open every cupboard and take inventory of what I can find. I found four bottles of water, six unknown granola bars in tin foil wrappers, and one loaf of bread. There wasn't a fridge, but I was grateful for the bottled water, which appeared to be the same brand as the one from the first floor.

Clear Water, oh how I love you. My only savior from dehydration. I was curious about the unlabeled bread in a plastic bag, so I undid the twist tie and noticed the bread wasn't sliced. May someone forgive me for what I am about to do.

I tear a chunk off of the bread, not having anything to cut it. Tasting it, the bread tastes freshly baked, and slightly sweeter than what I expect from normal bread, but honestly, it was going to be coming with me until it was too much of a hassle or dangerous to take it with me past here.

I decided to finish one bottle I was rationing, quenching a deep thirst. I was keeping myself under hydrated to ration the water, barely keeping myself alive. With what is available to me on this floor though, I might actually be able to stay hydrated properly.

Wishful thinking I'm sure, but I should keep moving. I want to find a place to rest tonight where there isn't such a large window. Seeing myself in daylight was creepy enough, if I were to see myself when there was very little lighting, I might just cry.

Moving through door after door of strangely decorated rooms, I eventually find myself in a large bedroom with a window high up on the wall. It was hard to see out of because it was a recessed window for a basement, no direct view of the outside world, other than a stationary sky that was beginning to turn red.

The lights were already on, but I turned them off. It was kind of uncomfortable, but I decided to keep the water bottles and granola bars in my pockets. If I needed to run quickly, I wasn't confident in gathering everything before getting killed just after waking up.

My loaf of bread stayed beside my head while I laid in the nice bed. It was definitely more comfortable than the one I have back in my house. Not able to take it anymore, I start to drift off to sleep despite my wanting to test what the first night of this floor was going to be like. I guess there's no helping it.

…

I awake to a horrible screeching that sounds as if it is screaming from inside my head. My eyes shoot open as I check my surroundings, already standing up to run, I see nothing in the room with me. The screaming grows loud every second I look around, when suddenly, my eyes land upon the window.

There were shadowy figures with bright yellow eyes that almost looked like stars staring in through the window. They were pushing each other out of the way to each get their own look at me. When one saw me, its face would open up as tendrils of shadows linked each half together.

I immediately chose a door to run through, and left. Every room seemed to have large windows. I went through bedrooms, kitchens, foyers, living rooms. Everything had a window with those terrifying shadow creatures. The only humanoid thing about them was their face before they saw me.

Room after room went by. Every window was already filled with the creatures. They all screamed directly into my head as soon as they saw me. I felt violated as they skipped me having to use my ears, but that also meant that covering my ears didn't lessen the noise in any way. I tried.

Dealing with the noise, I kept moving through rooms. Eventually I found an unlit double sided closet. Closing the door behind me, the screaming stops. There wasn't a single window here, just a small closet that I could barely sit down in. My only loss out of all this was that I forgot my bread in the bedroom.

Thankfully, I was tired enough that I was willing to sleep in this small closet. So I did, but it didn't feel like it lasted long until I could see the sun shining through the door. I was still tired, but there's nothing that can be done about it. Sun was shining and it was time to check some windows.

I exit the closet into a glass tunnel. What the… If I would have tried to keep going, I probably would have had my brain screamed into mush by the shadow creatures. This place is a nightmare at night, but just kind of creepy during the day. Not a bad floor, I'd probably rate it a six out of ten.

Today's goal was going to be to get more food, find a bag or something to hold my food and water, then find an exit. Bonus objective; find the leather bound book that should give me more info on this floor. The book said it would chronicle every floor it could, so I should keep an eye out for it when I can. Extra knowledge could never hurt.

I enjoy the views outside of the glass tunnel. It was a botanical garden, with some kind of flower I had never seen before. The stems were easily thicker than my wrist, and taller than me. The flower itself was a very dark shade of purple near the center, but changed to a bright red near the ends of the petals. It had six petals per flower, and looking at them made me want to stop and stay here forever.

An odd feeling washes over me as I keep walking through, something pulling me, trying to force me to look at the flowers longer. I refused to listen, as I already had plans for the day, I wasn't able to stop and stare at some flowers. Food was much more important.

I nearly collapse as I close the door of the glass tunnel behind me, the flowers now out of sight. The pressure I was feeling to stay in that tunnel was atrocious. I never want to go through there again. How can a flower force me to look at it? What is wrong with this place?

I sat down on the floor of some living room that was completely unfurnished. I needed to rest my head for a second, I think things are starting to catch up with me. I rub my eyes and lean my head back in exasperation, I needed to relax. Things like that weren't going to be common, and if I let them get to me this bad, I'm going to die.

A serious issue. I was going to die if I didn't start acting more composed, I'm not going to be able to stop and catch my breath like this. There's going to be way more than three floors if there was someone distributing books to all the floors. I already know that some are going to be incredibly dangerous, and sitting on the ground like this would probably see me dead faster than regaining composure.

A situation I won't be able to fix quickly, but one I would have to figure out anyway. I simply don't have time. So I stand up, not with hesitance, I straighten my back and focus on my objectives. Food, water, bag, clothes, leave. In that order. No more, 'maybe I should', or 'I think that.' Man up, and survive.

I walked forwards confidently with renewed vigor, my previous tiredness having almost faded completely. I was probably running on adrenaline right now, but when I stick to this plan, I will survive better. I will leave this place.

Alive.

Resuming my exploring, I eventually came across another kitchen, but this one was slightly more modern than the last. This kitchen even came equipped with a working fridge. Unfortunately the only thing inside the fridge was an expired container of milk, so much for that.

Inside the cupboards though, an unexpectedly amazing haul. I found fifteen bottles of 'Clear Water', ten labeled granola bars, seven packs of fruit gummies, and a single bottle of acetaminophen that had yet to expire based on the last date I checked on my phone.

Medicine though. I was naively hoping there just wasn't going to be anything down here that would get me sick. In fact, I should already know that I am very much in danger of sickness down here. The mold was taking its toll on me in the yellow zone of the first floor, I knew immediately how much of a danger it was.

In the end though, I now had something to help me if I get a minor cold or infection now. I knew this would help me, I just desperately needed something I could carry all of this in. If I left this room, I don't know if I would get this lucky again.

Push onwards and carry as much as I can with me. I know the daytime is mostly safe as long as I do not look at anything out of the windows. Nothing, absolutely nothing outside of these houses is safe. I have yet to be proven wrong, so I will continue under that assumption until I am proven wrong.

I put the acetaminophen in my front pocket, stuff the snacks in my pockets as much as I can, then carry five waters by tucking some under my arms. A foolproof strategy if I do say so, and I'm the only one here, so none can argue with me.

I walk through rooms, searching for something to carry my water in that wouldn't destroy my shoulders. The frequency of kitchens was about one in fifteen rooms. Bedrooms were almost every other, larger rooms were one in ten, and roughly the same odds for a bathroom. Specialty rooms like the double sided closet and the glass tunnel seemed to be one of a kind so far. Room types themselves also seemed to split into different rarities.

Kitchens for example could be sorted into retro being the most common, modern being rare. I'd yet to see anything else than those two for now, but this floor is most likely going to be something of a pet project. Plenty of resources for very little risk, places to sleep and hide at night to avoid the shadow creatures.

If I could find the book left behind for people like me, I would be set. It would probably be able to tell me everything I needed to know and prepare here for the next floors… but finding a single book among the randomness that may as well be infinite corridors? Next to impossible I would think.

So I would continue to think while I wandered the rooms in search of something, anything to carry water. After what seems like over three hundred rooms, a couple of kitchen restocks, and two nights, I stumble on a room type I had never seen. A storage room.

The room itself was pretty barren, save for several storage cubbies filled to the brim with craft supplies, and even one filled with hiking gear. Hiking gear usually had hiking boots, and I prayed, for the first time in a very long time, I prayed. If any of these boots fit me, I could ditch my already deteriorating shoes.

Shoes that had done me well, but were showing signs of overuse. Normally I would only get a pair of shoes to this point after a year or so of using them, not a few weeks. Rummaging through the hiking equipment I find exactly what I am looking for.

I found a bag small enough that no matter how much stuff I jam into it, it won't get too heavy to wear and walk around with all day. I also found boots, but they were ever so slightly too big for me. I would just have to grab an extra pair or two of socks to wear to fill the boot.

I was super happy with the sleek black bag. I was easily able to fit all my food and water into it, leaving one water easily accessible on the side of the bag for easy drinking without stopping. From the craft supplies, I grabbed two small plastic sewing containers and filled them with patching supplies like extra fabric and needles.

I wasn't the best at sewing, but in the absolute worst case scenario, I could use them to stitch shut a wound. I would avoid doing it if I could, I knew sewing thread and needles were anything but sanitary, but leaving a wound that needed stitches open was so, so much worse. I also nabbed a couple bottles of super glue that I had found. Also for first aid reasons.

Now to explore and find some clothes to change into and some spares to store in my bag. Exploring was quick, as bedrooms were common, and usually had dressers or closets that were full of clothes for me to take. I managed to easily find some that fit my frame, two t-shirts, one long sleeve, two track pants, a set of shorts, enough socks to kill a man, and four pairs of underwear.

I was set to go now, I had everything I could ever need. It's a shame I never came across the book that would give me information, but that's what happens sometimes. Cleaning myself in a shower, I dry myself off using a random set of fluffy and soft clothes.

Eventually, I found the exit to the floor. The door looked like it belonged in a wooden cabin, so I entered it and started to walk down the long stairs.