Level 296

Level 296 is the 297th level of the backrooms.
==Description==
Level 296 takes the appearance of an enclosed empty mall seems to have been recently abandoned, containing barely any businesses, offices, or stores, or even rooms where they should be. The level keeps the same general layout throughout its entirety, but contains slight variations in its structure on each of the level's endless floors, each floor fluctuating around five hundred square feet in size, with speakers scattered throughout playing calm music. Accessing each floor is as simple as taking an escalator randomly positioned around the floor, which can stretch between one to three floors in height. At the bottom of the level, wanderers have seen the escalators leading into a black abyss.
There is one elevator present in the level, which when entered, will take you to a random floor up to twenty floors above or below your current one, depending on which arrow you pressed. The elevator can also duplicate itself; when two wanderers call the elevator at the same time or when one is already riding it, the elevator strangely clones itself and appears on the floor where the other wanderer is. If two elevators were on a collision course with each other, they will seem to clip through each other, yet there will be no indication that the other elevator exists. 
The level is very safe. No entities or environmental dangers have been reported thus far, aside from male Deathmoths who roam around the level peacefully, posing no threat to wanderers whatsoever. However, due to the lack of people that are typically in the level at any given time, it has been proven difficult to find other people. Also, due to the lack of differences in each floor makes it very easy to lose track of your location. 
Resources are common around this level. Normally, items like purses, shopping bags, and more can be found around pillars, elevators, or the occasional empty store, though these are rare. These items normally contain Moth Jelly, Almond Water, or rarely normal water. 
==The Plaza==
The Plaza is a unique floor which will normally be 1-15 floors away from the floor one initially appears at on entry. The Plaza is easily noticeable with its signature fountain in the middle of it, which unfortunately has numerous types of bacteria in it. However, drinking the water will not harm or kill you, the result of drinking it only being headaches, low fever, or fatigue. The Plaza is normally the most populated location in this level, with the M.E.G. having set up a base in one of the empty stores, as this floor has significantly more than the others. 
Around this floor, wanderers can find water fountains, restrooms, plants, paintings showcasing random levels, and vending machines. These specified vending machines usually contain what a wanderer would normally find in the backrooms, such as Almond Water, as well as bags of chips, candy bars, canned goods, battery packs, and water bottles, which are all safe to consume. The Plaza contains about a dozen of functioning stores, where wanderers can take various items such as electronics, snacks, toys, sports items, and clothes that will eventually restock automatically. Therefore, this is a great place to rest and stock up on items. Several wanderers have made this place their permanent home.
==The Blackout==
The Blackout is a fairly common event that takes place here randomly, but wanderers living here have said it occurs at least five times a year. In this event, as the name suggests, the electricity will be cut off for around a period of two days. It is theorized that the cause of this is that electric flow from Level 3 gets cut off by the entities tampering with the machines. However, the system will anomalously repair itself. This is unconfirmed, however the most likely theory. During the blackout, most of the lights will shut off, the vending machines will stop working, the escalators will malfunction, the overall temperature will drop (from around 70 degrees Fahrenheit to a brisk 58), and the elevators will likely fall into The Void at the bottom of the level, most wanderers being trapped, or rarely falling into a random level. Once the blackout is over, the elevators will replenish.
Before the blackout starts, the lights will flicker sporadically for two minutes. During this period, it is advised to get out of the elevators unless you want to fall into The Void. Other than this, the blackout poses no danger to the actual level and the wanderers inside. 
==Colonies and Outposts==
===M.E.G. Base Tristan===
This base was set up in one of the empty storerooms, named after the wanderer who first found the level. The base is around the size of an average suburban garage and contains about seventy members. The base has supplies stocked up from previous levels, with people occasionally searching for other supplies throughout the level and others around it. The items here are kept in boxes, or on shelves. The base is guarded only by about two people at once, as there have been multiple thefts taking out almost half of the base's stock by other wanderers or organizations. Apparently, the base has also set up some diners around it, usually paid in items or money from The Frontrooms.
Wow...
I was just in that huge metropolis; I don't know how long I was there.
It sure seemed like a long time.
I found this sort of... mall building.
But it wasn't really a mall.
I saw it stretch up as far as the eye could see.
Knowing I had nothing to do, I took a deep breath and entered.
I recognized this place. I don't remember where it was from.
My family might have taken me here. I could have found this place myself as a kid.
It could have been one of those images on those threads I used to scroll. Videos I used to watch.
Used to.
Since I've been here, I have barely ever seen another face.
But seeing this; it gives me hope that humankind once lived here.
Maybe still does.
I walk for what seems like hours.
Days.
Weeks.
And then, tired, I sit down on an escalator. 
There I saw it.
-Entry from a diary found in this level. Wanderer currently lives in The Plaza.
==Entrances and Exits==
===Entrances===
*Entering a mall that stretches infinitely upward in Level 11 will take you here.
*An automatic door in Level 156 or Level 297 will bring you here.
===Exits===
*Entering an employees only door will bring you to Level 20.
*One of the stores may lead you to Level 40.
*Entering a door covered in flowers will bring you to Level 297. This is likely where the Deathmoths in the level come from.
*Finding a library will take you to The End.
*Jumping off the bottom of the mall will take you to The Void.
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Author Information >
Written by: Flashcube1999.
Wikitext stolen- I mean borrowed from Wind
Greenlit by: Moscovium-289
Category:Safe
Category:Levels
Category:Cluster I