The large plateau of Level 533 rise thousands of meters above any other ground. This is where wanderers enter the level, and where they stay, trapped. The plateau is an endless forest, where entities lurk to hunt wanderers as prey. And at the forbidden zone, there are the hills at sea level, and the mountain range as far as the eye can see only temp the wanderers to climb down the endless cliff face. None have succeeded.
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They say it'll all end soon. They say it'll be all gone. My home. My family. My life. Everything. On and on they ramble about the doom and the gloom, but that matters to me less than anything. I don't care if I don't feel safe, I need my daughter to feel safe. Lying is the only option. It might be wrong, but I want her to feel safe. And guess what? That rules out telling my eight-year-old child that the world is about to end. It doesn't matter how dangerous her world is, she has a home, she has a family, she has me. She doesn't need to know the shit that falls upon us every day to survive, and I don't want to let her cry. My grandmother brought me here and I know we can't leave, but I don't want this to be the last generation. I've never even known what the Backrooms is, but I want to open that door to my daughter. I love you Ma, this might just be the last time I get to say that.
Cooper's crying again. I think out of our family he's taking it the worst. He's always been this way, the crybaby, no matter how much he tries to hide it from me, from Amelia. Why does it have to be just so, the advent of the end, right before her ninth birthday. Ah- she's grown so big, it's hard to imagine. Oh, ha! I can picture the times when Cooper had to run from a smiler hiding in the woods, with Amelia in arm. The golden days, when we would almost die, then laugh it off. When we'd be chased by a hound, then nearly fly off into the forbidden zone! The language Cooper taught our daughter, well let's just say it's not acceptable by my standards. I'd always scold him afterwards. I wish we could live carefree like before, well I guess we were never carefree, the threat of death constantly looming over us. But now, the threat of death isn't just looming over us, it's more than that by now, and it's not an obstacle to overcome. It's a fact.
Fuck. I… god damn it. DAMN IT! I can't keep it together. I saw Amelia's drawing, it's beautiful, oh my god. AGH! Get it the fuck together Cooper. You are a grown-ass man you shouldn't be crying. Be a man. You can't cry in front of Amelia, you can't! I can't let Amelia know the world is going to shit. I have to be the one to deal with it. It has to be ME to deal with the pain. I need Amelia to feel safe… I need Amelia to BE safe for gods sake. I can't let my family end like this. I should be the protector of my family. But why? Why is it me, why am I the ONLY GOD DAMN PERSON crying? I can't let Rose read this, no matter how much I love her. I need to keep myself under control. God damn it… god damn it all.
Cooper, I'm sorry, I read what you wrote. Why didn't you tell me? I've always been there for you, I want to help you! You and Amelia are my whole life, please just tell me. This is about Amelia, you know. How do you expect to keep her safe when you can't even talk to your wife about how you feel? This isn't about you, okay? This is about us. We are a family, and we need to work together. I don't care if "the world is going to shit" just work with me Cooper! If you really, and I mean really want Amelia to feel safe, then the LEAST you could do is make yourself feel safe. Our future is Amelia, and even if we don't have one ourselves let's keep hers with hope. Cooper, hope with me, for our daughter's future.
It's here. Fuck, what do I do? Okay, okay, let's think this out logically. The sun went out, now it's a giant ball of burnt out ash, but at least it is still glowing in a red tint. What does that mean? We can't grow plants because there isn't sunlight, but at least there is enough warmth that the we're not going to freeze over. Think this logically Cooper, this is your only fucking chance. AGH, what do I do? What do we do? I need to make Amelia safe, but to do that, I need to talk to Rose.
Oh god… The sun went out. Cooper talked to me first thing in the crimson morning. We need to make a decision. This is life or death, and we've known it for so long. Is there even hope though? Is there really? Yes, yes there is. Not for me, not for Cooper, but at least Amelia can still have hope. Amelia is will be the one to survive. And it's not as bad as what we thought it would be, or at least that's what Cooper says. I think there is going to be a town meeting before we let all hell break loose. And what can I even do? Pray that my family will be safe? Yeah, that's the best, no, only option. Please don't let this prayer be fruitless.
All the wanderers of Level 533 gathered. Families of all variety and sizes, young children, elderly folk, yet it all remains the same. The same shade of fear lies in the eyes of every soul. The same awkward fiddling with clothes, shifting side-to-side, eyes darting from one corner to the next. The film of sticky dread lies like a blanket over the populace. A debate started, with one question echoing from each ear to the next, "What will we do? How will we survive?" Many suggested to stay, to let it be, yet many said to walk to the forbidden zone and scale the cliff face. Yet, most said nothing at all, an eerie silence breaking out every other word. Nobody came to a conclusion, and nobody agreed within the chaos. One thing however, was agreed: "It's humanity versus nature. We will win."
As the gathering continued, a seedling sprouted. Nobody noticed.
So I'm staying with Cooper's family now. It was decided that we'd condense our housing, anyone that lived alone joins another home. If I'm being honest I don't get it, I don't know Cooper very well either. Yes, we have been childhood friends, but you know? We haven't gotten along in the past decade. We just didn't agree with each other's viewpoints. But this is the least of my problems. Our problems. Entities have been acting strangely, more aggressive too. Luckily there has only been four deaths. I didn't know them. I suspect they got caught from the different behaviors of the entities, or just walking alone in the crimson light. We don't actually know, that's the strange thing. I hope me and Cooper can get along, but I think I'm the least of Cooper's problems right now, he has a kid. That must be hard.
Robert joined us. That fucking bastard I'll never forgive him. I get that it's the least of our worries but I can't stand that bitch. He… He god damn it I can't stand him. I thought I got him out of my life for good. But alas, he's here. I need Rose to help me with this. I'll end up doing something fucking idiotic if I don't get help. I need to be there for Amelia, but… AGH! God damn it I can't keep it together. Get it together Cooper. You're a man, you need to be there for your family. If you're a fucking man then you'll know you need help. You aren't alone. I need Rose's help.
Who is this man? Daddy seems so upset. I think daddy is angry at him. I don't know what is happening. Why wont anyone tell me? Something is wrong. Very very very wrong.
Amelia is scared, she's crying. I don't know what to do, this isn't the normal cry. There is a difference between her crying because she got hurt, because she and Cooper are being chased by entities. This is different. She's crying from dread. Sheer dread. Like all of us, she's scared, and this is what Cooper was oh-so afraid of. We're all scared, but we still need to struggle. The struggle to survive. I've had to cradle Amelia in my arms, because Cooper is too caught up with the Robert situation. Even Robert is helping more than Cooper! And even so, I know what Robert did, and I can't forgive him either, but just for once, god's sake! And either way, I love you, Amelia, Cooper, I pray that this isn't the end.
I don't get it. I just don't get it, man. Cooper's gone bat-shit crazy over me, he's freaking out! He has a daughter, shouldn't she be his top priority? I don't have a family anymore, and I of all people, OF ALL PEOPLE, I can vouch for how important it is to take care of them while you have them. I can tell his daughter is crying, and I've been trying to help Rose with whatever I can. But that bastard, I'm just trying to get along, why doesn't he get it? Why am I taking care of Rose and his daughter? It's his family! I'm just trying to help for god's sake! You're the father, Cooper. Be a man.
Be a fucking man god damn it. It's not all that difficult, right? Get it together, we have a plan for god's sake! It's cold, like really cold but survivable, right? That's the whole reason why that bastard is staying with us. Get it TOGETHER. There's no sunlight except for a eerie red glow, that means we can't grow food. That's fine. THAT'S FINE! If we include hunting entities that gives us- oh what the fuck is that-
I don't think the sun going out was the worst of our issues.
My birthday is here! I'm turning nine years old! Mama says I'll get big soon, and daddy says I'll almost be all grown up! Daddy says when I turn eleven then I'll be a grown-up!
(Image: Amelia happy, overly-big cake. "9!!!")
That's depressing as hell. "When you turn eleven you'll be a grown up," like hell that's true. Pretty sure Cooper just said that so that his kid has hope. By the time the kid is eleven we'll all be dead. I- God damn it I don't know what to do. The sun grew a fucking plant. Like what the hell? It's hopeless, man. Why give the kid false hope? I'll just pray with Rose that everything will be okay, I think Cooper might start joining us. He snapped out of whatever he was going through when the plant grew. I don't know what to do. I really don't know what to do. Was there even any hope to begin with?
Hooooooo-boy. I've had to really give this some though. Lingering in the crimson light all night long. Shit, there's hope, right? There WILL be hope. I will save Amelia if it's the only thing that I can do. Okay, okay! I have a plan. This plan WILL work. But let's recall our deepest memories within this crimson winter. Ma always told me stories of outside here, about the Backrooms, about the Levels. And each Level had an exit, but this one doesn't? That can't be true. I fucking can't be. So where is the only place nobody has gone? The forbidden zone. Nobody has climbed down that cliff face and lived. We'll spend every hour we can making rope, and Amelia, my beloved Amelia will climb down there, and escape. I love you Amelia, you've grown so big.
Cooper joined us in our prayer. I was shocked, he's never been like this. I can see hope in his eyes for the first time in years. It shimmers like fire. He tells me, "We'll save Amelia… We'll save Amelia," and for once I believe him. Cooper has a plan, he's always the type to never crumble in the face of impossibilities. That's why I married him, I trust that he won't break my trust now. Go for it Cooper.
Daddy looks very happy today. Daddy isn't crying anymore, and mama is happy too. I wonder why? I don't think anything changed from before. It is still dark, red, dangerous, and scary. That man has even been happy too! Why is everyone so happy?
(Image: Amelia looking strange. "How could you be happy?")
Hell yeah! I've gotten my shit together and now I know exactly what I'm going to do. For the next two years, I'll spend as much of my time possible making rope. Out of what? Fucking tree bark! It works! Haha I didn't think it'd work this well! Fuck yeah! Just you wait Amelia! You're going to be safe!
It's cold. REALLY cold. Not to a point of danger, but seriously cold. Not only that, the entities are extra aggravated. Luckily we expected this, and prepared for it. I don't know what Cooper is up to, but I just hope he'll make it work. I know he will, he always has. Go get 'em Coop!