You slammed the door shut behind you. You had successfully survived the first level of the Backrooms. Heart racing from adrenaline and many flights of stairs, you sat down at a diner-like table.

The room you were in now was similar to the one you woke up in. However, this one was smaller. It was more of a kitchen than a restaurant. It had a sink and a refrigerator on the left, and two small diner tables on the right. This room wasn't the cleanest. There was a half eaten slice of pizza on one of the tables, and the fridge was open, revealing several moldy bagels and unlabeled cans. Once again, there was a window at the back of the room that was pitch black on the other side. It had a metal door besides it, no doubt leading to the next level.

Unlike last time, however, this window had a message above it. It read "Congratulations" in a big text. Besides it, another message was painted onto the wall. "When you're ready, go through the door to continue."

"What is this? Did someone plan this whole place?" You wondered.

There was a small glass cube with something inside of it right below the window. You couldn't quite see that well from across the room, so you stood up and walked over. Inside the glass was a figurine of what looked like another entity. It was a completely black figure with a few grey stripes on its chest resembling ribs. It had a piece of parchment covering its face, with red eyes and a smile drawn on. It had a card that read "Next up you'll be seeing Paper Mask!"

"Paper Mask? The entities have names?" You said, looking at the figure. It didn't look too intimidating. It was actually kind of cute.

You went over to the door and flipped a lever, hoping to turn the lights on the other side on. You heard the sound of electricity running through a large power source. There was a low beep, just like last time. The lights didn't turn on. You looked through the window, wondering why the lights were stalling. There was a noise that sounded like quick footsteps. Before you had time to react, a large black hand slapped the glass, making you jump out of your skin. The entity himself, Paper Mask, pressed his face against the window for a split second, then disappeared as the lights finally came on.

You stood back from the window, eyes wide and heart racing. The mechanical door opened up. On the other side of the glass was another small room. The walls were concrete and there was a half-open garage door leading to the next level. The entity was nowhere in sight.

You slowly crept through the door, hoping nothing would jump out at you. You didn't want to continue after that scare, but your empty stomach was getting to you. Even mold covered bagels were beginning to sound appetizing. The only way to get real food was to escape the Backrooms, no matter how many levels there would be.

You continued through the garage door. To no surprise, it lead to a garage. It was a large parking space with a few cars. Once again there was a table with five big flashlights. On a pillar next to the table, there was a poster that read "Wanna keep your fingers? Take ONLY one!" There was an image of a woman trying to give a thumbs up, but her finger was missing. It was slightly disturbing.

Just then the half-open garage door slammed shut behind you. You wheeled around, scared. There was nothing there. You breathed a sigh of relief, but then the realization came that you were now trapped. Not that you really had anywhere else to go. You took a flashlight and started on your way.

It was a labyrinth of a area. Just like the last level, there were many, many rooms. Some were small, some were a bit larger. Some had broken down cars while some were just narrow hallways. Most of the rooms were pitch black once again making you grateful for the flashlight.

You eventually found a room with another garage door, but it was shut. Above it, there were words painted onto the wall again. They read "Water Pipe Maintenance." On the left, there was a fuse box next with two empty slots that said "Employees Only" above it. If you were going to open this door, you would need the power sources.

For the next hour you wandered around the garage. The first fuse you found fairly easily. It was back near the beginning where the table was. It was inside another fuse box. As soon as you took it out, the door it was powering slammed shut. You jumped again in surprise.

"I don't know how many more jumpscares I can take." You said wearily.

The other fuse was a bit harder to find. It was in a random room that took a bit of walking around to find. You were prepared for the door slam this time. And sure enough, another path was closed off when you took the fuse. You wandered a bit more, honestly not knowing where you were. Every room was built different, but it didn't matter. They were dark, and too similar to tell a difference without the lights on.

You finally found the exit door after a long time of walking. Your feet were hurting now, and it felt like your stomach was trying to digest itself. You put the fuses in but nothing happened. You inspected the box and found that there was supposed to be a lever on the side. A quick glance around revealed the lever laying on the ground. You picked it up and snapped it into place, then pulled on it. Your hopes began to rise along with the door. There was then a loud buzz as it shut once again. A few lights around you went out. The power had gone. You remembered seeing a maintenance room while you were looking for the fuses. There was nothing else you could do, so you ventured back out through the rooms in search of the generator.

Lucky for you, you found it quickly. It was a normal looking door with the words "Power Maintenance" above it in yellow. You found the generator inside and flipped all of the switches. A red light came on above you as power surged through the place. You were going to escape! You left the room and entered back into the garage. It seemed like everything was going to be fine. Until a car shot across the room and smashed into the wall, almost crushing you.

There was a distorted screaming sound coming from where the car had first been. You turned to see a colossal figure advancing towards you. You immediately booked it in the opposite direction, listening to the beast screech as you ran. As you passed under the light, you looked over your shoulder to find a creature you recognized. Paper Mask, the same entity that scared you from behind the window in the beginning of this level. And he was a whole lot scarier now that you could see his full figure.

A large, skinny, black entity with a piece of paper covering his face. He had long limbs and long fingers, complete with dagger-like claws. His ribs were on the outside of his body, wrapping around his chest like giant grey hands. The mask he wore had a red smiley face drawn on, with two slits for eyes and a dripping mouth. His hooved feet clacked on the cold stone ground as he lumbered towards you. You sped away, faster than the entity but still fearing for your life.

All you could see was a grey blur around you as you rushed through room after room. Running through the garage based Backrooms level, ducking under cars, frantically searching for the door that would lead to your safety. You heard Paper Mask from a slight distance and dove behind a wall, waiting a few seconds before the creature stalked by. You caught yourself staring at the hulking figure as he passed, and a different feeling mingled with your fear. It was a strange feeling that you couldn't quite identify. Assuming it was just exhaustion, you turned away and ran into a different room.

But as you ran, you saw the entity turn a corner ahead of you. He saw you and shot back in your direction. You screamed and bolted away. But days of no food were starting to catch up with you. You swayed as you ran, feeling light headed. You supported yourself against a wall and tried to catch your breath, but Paper Mask was still advancing on you. You pushed off from the wall, still tired. As you ran into another room, you spotted the fuse box on the left.

"Yes! The door!" You exclaimed, rushing over and almost breaking the lever as you pulled on it. The door started to open, but with the limited amount of power, it was extremely slow.

"Oh come on!" You yelled in frustration.

Paper Mask barged in before the door was even open enough for you to crawl under. You temporarily abandoned the exit to find a shelter somewhere, a hiding spot to stay in until the door finished opening. You ran by a car, wishing you could hide there, but it was beeping and flashing as if someone had tried to break into it. It would only give you away. You passed by, listening to its eerie honks growing more distant. You only ran for another minute or two before rushing into a dead end room. It was a completely empty space with no doors, no way out. You turned to leave, but the massive entity stood still in the doorway.

Your heart dropped into your stomach and dread spread throughout your body. Paper Mask slowly made his way into the room. You fell onto your back as you tried to scramble away and pushed yourself against the wall, hoping to clip through it like your car did a few nights ago. But it was no use. The creature crawled towards you now, stalking his helpless prey. You closed your eyes, knowing it was over, waiting for a hit to come. But it never did.

You opened your eyes to see the Paper Mask standing inches from your face, staring. Staring at the trembling figure he saw before him. He cocked his head slightly, almost seeming curious. At this distance, you could see that his body wasn't entirely black after all. It was covered in small grey specks.

He reached his hand out and you braced yourself, expecting him to hurt you. But his fingers only lightly touched your terrified face. He was so close that you could see his glowing white eyes through the paper he wore. They stared into your soul, scaring you but mesmerizing you at the same time. Just then your stomach growled. The creature shifted his burning gaze to where the noise had come from, then back to your eyes. He could tell that you were exhausted. Normally, this meant an easy kill. But something about you seemed to fascinate Paper Mask.

He backed up and stood on two legs again, however still hunching over from his bad posture. You quickly got to your feet but felt very dizzy again from the sudden movement. You swayed once more, but the entity reached out his long, twisted hand. You grabbed onto it without thinking to stable yourself. After a minute, your head stopped swimming. You hesitantly looked up at Paper Mask. He towered above you. You gulped, nervous at his massive size and apparent killer instincts. But he did not strike. You didn't know why, but you were grateful nonetheless.

You let go of the creature and started off back towards the exit. He silently trailed behind you the whole way there. This made you uneasy, but you were also thankful for the company, even if it was from a monstrous entity. After a few minutes you found the door once again. It was all the way open this time, welcoming you to the next level. You walked up to the door, then turned back to look at Paper Mask. Both of you stayed silent for a few moments.

"Thank you. For, um, not killing me I guess?" You finally said. You couldn't tell if he understood you, but he moved forward and lowered his head.

You hesitated, then stretched out your arm and carefully caressed his masked face. He stood there, letting you touch him. He leaned into your hand ever so slightly, seeming to enjoy the attention. You slowly pulled away, then started off through the door.

It opened up into a hallway with another door at the end of it. You guessed that this door lead to the next level. Before going through, you turned back to look at Paper Mask one more time. He slowly raised his hand, then moved it side to side. He waved at me, You thought. You waved back as a goodbye, then ventured into the unknown.