THE BACKROOMS

CHAPTER ONE

You sigh, crumpling the old sticky note in your hand and tucking it into your front pocket. You had a gun hidden beneath your coat, just for safety. You'd only use it if things got dangerous. It's common knowledge to take your bosses warnings seriously.

You couldn't see through the curtains, and most likely nothing could see out of it either. It's a little suspicious, but some people just really value their privacy. Definitely not to this extent though.

You lift your fist and knock on the door thoroughly three times.

After a long pause, the door creaks open. It's pitch black, just as you imagined. A man with dark, messy long hair peeks out. Upon seeing you, he furrows his eyebrows.

"What do you want."

He definitely looks in much worse condition than the picture.

You fumble with your words for a moment. "Uh... Pepper, right? We- I have some questions to ask you."

He says nothing, instead opening the door wider and gesturing for you to come in. Once you enter, a very dim light turns on, barely enough for you to see. The door shuts behind you, inducing a lot more anxiety in you than it should.

You follow him into one of the only rooms existing in the building. It looks much bigger from the outside, but all you've seen so far is a long, ominous hallway with around five doors. in total. The room you're led into is some sort of mixture between a master bedroom and a living room.

There are two chairs across from each other, close to the corner of the room. You both sat down, a short silence between you two.

"This is about the disappearances." He mumbles flatly.

"Uh- Yes. I just wanted to know what you've witnessed on your part."

Pepper sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose and furrowing his brows. Very obviously irritated. Which somehow made you all the more eager to know what happened.

"Charlie disappeared first. I have no idea what happened. Evan was thd one who told me about Rei, plus the recording. I wasn't there to witness it. And Evan disappeared on live, so pretty much everyone knows about that. But, thats all I know."

He's not lying. But he's not telling the truth, theres so obviously a massive part thats being dug deep underneath so nobody finds out. And you know he has the shovel. Luckily you went through the files ten times before coming here.

"Before all this, Evan was held captive. He escaped and was rushed to the hospital. People nearby have said he lived with you for a while before moving out."

Pepper wasn't expecting to hear that. He looked up at you, dead purple eyes threatening to do something you couldn't put your finger on.

You swallow all the saliva that was built up, taking a deep breath. "And you were close friends with Charlie. You know what happened, so "tell me."

He abruptly stood up, definitely on his last straw. He roughly slams you against the wall, one hand tightly grasping your neck. His nails dug into your skin, swiftly cutting off your breathing. Mind racing, the only thing you can think of to grab is your gun. Which isn't in its pocket. Shit.

"This yours?" He holds up your gun, smiling. The smile quickly fades as he throws it across the room and you watch as your one and only weapon breaks and falls to the floor.

You shoot him a nasty look, tightly gripping onto his arm in attempt to pull it off, with no success. He chuckles, walking closer and pulling a pocket knife out, pressing it right under your chin. "It doesn't matter how much I know," He whispered.

"You'll never get it out of me."

You can't breathe anymore. It's only a matter of time. Tears flow freely down your cheeks. You still have a life to live.

A loud BANG sounded from a different side of the room. Both of you looked to the source of the noise. Before you could clearly see what it was, Pepper dropped you to the floor.

You gasped for the air you've been yearning for. Looking back up, theres now another person in the room. They stare like a deer in headlights, definitely concerned on what just happened. Squinting you eyes, you can see something hidden behind them. Is that a tail?

"What the fuck is that."

Pepper give you a furious look. "Leave. Now. Before I change my mind."

You scurry to your feet, exiting the building with record time. You check your watch to make sure you haven't been there too long.

7:00 PM.