A Long Forgotten Exclamation

"alright, explain to me again why we're in 14?"
"okay, okay, so remember that horror legend on the forums? the stupid one about the hallway?"
"i- yeah, we were laughing about it last week... why?"
"so, and this is gonna sound crazy–"
"oh god."
"–i think... i found it. here."
"..."
"what?"
"be serious, dude."
"i am, though!"
"you think something probably put together by a nine-year-old is real?"
"i mean, i thought it was fake but— look, just come find this door with me."
"fine. but if this proves to be wrong, i'm leaving you here."
"oi! don't you dare even think about doing that or i swear to god-"
"... it's just a door."
"yeah but can't you see that faded mark on it?"
"anyone could have put that there–"
"looks real scratched up and faded... like someone's tried to remove it..."
"or it's a prank."
"it's not a prank, man! look, bring up the page on it again."
"ugh, fine. hang on."
...one of the most common ways to enter this hallway can be found via walking through a door with a symbol of an exclamation mark painted upon it...
"... well then."
"c'mon, we could make history here! a legend, found to be true!"
"or we end up dead before word gets out."
"please? we'll just take a look inside and be done, okay?"
"..."
"fine. one look! that's it."
"well, what are we waiting for?"
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"... well, this seems–"
"dead quiet for no reason? yeah. lemme check something on that page again..."
...the first room one will walk into will be entirely encased in a reflective metal, and lit by a dim red glow...
"where's the lights?"
"where's the everything for that matter?"
"... hate to say it, but there's only one way to check that."
"oh so now you want to go inside the creepy hallway?"
"i don't, but this is all just... too odd for my liking."
(coughing noises)
"oh jesus, you okay?"
"this place is really dusty, man. like the kind of dusty you find in really old buildings."
"yeesh, one step inside was all it took?"
"ack, yeah– pass me my water dude–"
"... how did it get like this?"
"what do you mean?"
"i don't know, but it's like this place was just... completely forgotten, i guess?"
"that... doesn't sound right. isn't it a legend?"
"storytelling only keeps things alive for so long. eventually someone warps it to the point no one knows what the original tale is. a real fucked up kind of forgetting."
"alright socrates."
"hey! i'm being serious here!"
"jokes aside, that... actually does hold some interesting merit."
"it does? honest to god i thought i was kinda spewing out nonsense for a moment."
"no i actually like it! puts a lot on the mind to think about, y'know?"
"well, don't hold back for my sake!"
"well– it's that– i just–"
"you were just trying to make me feel better, huh–"
"no! i– give me a second, i do got something, just need a moment to put it into a coherent sentence!"
"alright then."
"okay so– first thought on my mind is just... is this our fault?"
"well, it wouldn't be ours, but-"
"i know that! i mean as in like... people living in the backrooms. we are usually the ones to pass around tales of the levels we see. how many times has the the story of this place been told? who's forgotten bits? who's warped it? we've slowly just... desecrated this place without even realising."
"geez, who's socrates now?"
"ugh, i guess i deserved that."
"but yeah, that's exactly what i was thinking. glad you put the theory into more words, heh."
"oh this isn't the hallway–"
"oh, isn't this the room where the entities would start gathering? one moment."
...in the starting room are two doors. one is locked upon entering, but entities can be heard gathering behind it, attempting to break free...
"well thank god nothing's here now! we would've been dead!"
"sure would've been... geez, look at the state of it though– (gagging noise) god, definitely smells like things died in here."
"don't even know what kinda entity has the bones i'm starting to spot."
"... think one of these is a smiler?"
"there's no way any of these are, they're just floating faces... right?"
"dunno, heard that they have an amorphous body."
"how would they have bones if their body is amorphous. that should constitute a lack thereof, you dumbass."
"hey don't get on my ass for that! i've also heard like... lizards, birds... snakes–"
"to be honest, snake make some sense. those things are fast, dude."
"okay can we leave this door now. that smell is gonna make me vomit."
"yeah, good idea."
"so... this is it. the door to the hallway."
"think it's really ten kilometers like it says?"
"hah, no. i don't care how athletic someone is, no one could survive that, and i highly doubt anyone could even guesstimate something like that while running for their life."
"fair."
"well... you ready?"
"i guess so? i mean considering all that we've seen so far, doubt it's gonna be anything specky... but–"
"nervous anyways?"
"mhm."
"i do get it, though. who knows what's there? maybe that's the one bit that got preserved out of all of this. i mean, it is the main feature of this place."
"exactly."
"hey, it's okay though. we're here together. i'm here with you. if we walk in there, take a few steps in, and we find hell is still here then... we're together in our end."
"heh... thanks."
"well... let's open up the door then."
"whenever you're ready."
"jesus christ"
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"i... this place–"
"–looks completely ruined."
"yeah, you could say that again."
"this is... fuck, i have no words, honestly."
"there's even more bones in here than in the other room... oh god–"
"what? what's wrong?"
"dude, look at the walls."
"oh yikes, yeah these have... sure been scratched up."
"..."
"what's up?"
"these look... desperate. ravenous. the food source must have stopped at some point."
"jesus, they turned to the walls for sustenance?"
"the walls, the floors, anything laying around... their fellow entities, maybe."
"you really think they would resort to that?"
"whether that was their first solution or last... they turned to it at some point. look, even some of the bones look torn into."
"what the fuck... this is... incredibly messed up."
"makes you feel real sorry for them, huh?"
"yeah."
"... well, we got a ways to walk. shall we?"
"we're seriously doing this trek?"
"well, we're in here now! we may as well!"
"alright then. let's see what else we can find."
"onwards we go then! down the creepy abandoned hallway we venture!"
"hey, just thought of something."
"hm?"
"you know that one level that's just apparently a garbage dump of lost levels? think this place dropped out of that?"
"hmmm... i mean i wouldn't be surprised, but i feel like this place would be far more broken than it is currently if that was the case."
"damn, got a fair point there."
"by the way, take a step to your left in a few seconds."
"wait, why– woah!"
"see, you gotta be careful!"
(panicked breath) "yeah, thanks a lot! shit, that looks like a far drop."
"alright, hold onto me, i'll help you move through the next bit of pitfalls i'm spotting."
"heh, thanks."
"hey... about that theory of yours."
"that's still on your mind?"
"well, yeah. it kinda gets heavier the longer you think about it.
"oh god, where have you taken it?"
"if, let's say your theory holds some traction... can that apply to anything?"
"... huh."
"think about it though. if re-tellings change how a level looks, what about entities? people? us?"
"woah, woah, woah– okay hang on, calm down now–"
"by the time someone finds a way back home, will the people we know even recognise us? remember us? i– i just–"
"okay. look at me."
"..."
"need you to take a few deep breaths for me– well, as many as is bearable. still kinda stuffy from dust here, heh."
"okay good, you're looking a lil' less distressed now."
"i... i guess so."
"hey, listen to me. my theory's just a theory, alright? doesn't make it real, or anything at all. this place could've always been like this. it could've fallen from the broken like you suggested. anything could have happened!"
"i... but still–"
"–and if it is right? if people can be forgotten like this level was? if we can be forgotten like this level was? then let's be forgotten together."
"..."
"i'll be by your side beyond the end of it all. no matter what."
"heh... that's really sweet, actually... thank you. here's to being forgotten."
"to being unknown to the universe."
"this is by far the most empty the hallway's been so far..."
"yeah, was noticing the debris was clearing up... it's an interesting marker."
"for?"
"how far the entities got in their destruction."
"oh. huh, guess you're right."
"resources must have started to get scarce in the hallway's starting point. some must have fled further down to scavenge."
"wouldn't have been the best idea though, right? i mean just how many people made it this far? i doubt the resources were plentiful around this point."
"you forget the potential of things clipping into this area."
"again, how often would that have happened, theoretically?"
"point taken."
"that does beg the question though... do you think some entities managed to make it out?"
"leave at the end of the hallway, right?"
"yeah. the exit doesn't just exist for wanderers, right? surely an entity could leave as well?
"if they were smart enough to comprehend that it was an exit, i'd assume those that could, did leave."
"... god, could you imagine the state of things if the entire horde got out?"
"i would say we'd be done for, but would they all end up in random places, or would them all barging out at once make them all leave out into the same level?"
"on top of that, check this bit."
...if a group should enter this level, they will be separated into solo instances of the hallway, with no two people ending up in the same area as another...
"multiple instances. meaning even more entities possibly escaping and flooding the rest of the backrooms."
"... yikes. well hey, at least we already know that's defunct! i mean, we're here together and all that."
"that is true, heh."
"wait... dude, i think i can see light–"
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"we... actually got to the end?"
"huh, guess so. man, i know it wasn't that long of a walk, but it really does feel like we've spent hours here."
"while this wasn't... the experience i was expecting to have here, i'm glad i had it!"
"and i'm glad you convinced me to step inside. despite the nothing this place has become, i… still thought it was interesting."
"yeah, you're right!"
"hey, on that note... i got something to add to your theory."
"once more, i'm all ears!"
"you talked about things getting retold in ways different from it's original intention when we first got here, right? warps it into something new and disconnected from the true thing... whatever it was."
"yeah, i did. what about it?"
"do you think... sometimes it could be for the best?"
"go on."
"i mean, picture it from a storyteller's perspective. you want to tell a story. people ask you for a specific one, but you think it's boring! so you rework it, weave something new into it, give it a new sense of life you never saw within the original vision."
"i think i see where you're going with this?"
"it could... be beneficial? to the level? or whatever's being spoken of?"
"uhhhh maybe i'm not seeing it, actually."
"like a phoenix! they may die out, but they're reborn anew, maybe even better than they were before! the same could be said for this place! that forum post could very well be real out there! we just haven't found it yet!"
"... you sure you wanna find that version of this place?"
"hey, just using it as an example while we're here! but picture it: levels slightly shifting in new, unheard of ways, just because one single person saw fit to improve upon what they heard. do you know incredibly cool and powerful that sounds?"
"now i think you're starting to lose your own point."
"possibly! the prospect is exciting, you know? but let me see here, hmm... ah! what i'm trying to get at is basically... even if something changes, it's okay! change is cool, interesting, an extra bit of spice in life! it's boring if something stays the same forever, y'know?”
"... huh. that's... incredibly optimistic of you! i can agree with that sentiment."
"whew, glad it made some coherent sense!"
"... so what do you think lies beyond the exit here? i think in it's current state, it wouldn't be able to send someone to a random level, right?"
"who knows? i'm not thinking too hard on it. besides... whatever happens, we'll face it.
"together?"
"yeah. together."
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With my infinite hatred, I give you this gift... But it seems that hatred has mellowed out, and become something new. 
This was written by PrinceBun, a lurker from the Wikidot. If you wanna see my usual works, check them out here!
This page would not have been made possible without the critique and encouragement of so many people both on Fandom and Wikidot! However, I particularly dedicate this lil' ramble to Scutoid, who helped port this whole thing to Fandom since I'm an absolute noob with this site's coding, and Mickey, who helped me brainstorm the end note and then begged me to put it up here.
Image Credits:
Image 1 is a combination of the following:
Image 1 was posted by Joseph Akbrud on Unsplash, and is licensed under the Unsplash License
Exclamation Mark was posted by OpenIcons, and is licensed under the Pixabay License
Image 2 was posted by ManyMade on Flickr, and is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Image 3 was posted by Kev Seto on Unsplash, and is licensed under the Unsplash License
Image 4 was posted by 652234 on Pixabay, and is licensed under the Pixabay License
Image 5 was posted by McAlpine on Flickr, and is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Image 6 was posted by 826 PARANORMAL on Flickr, and is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Image 7 was posted by Mr. Moment on Flickr, on Flickr, and is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Image 8 was posted by matthew Feeney on Unsplash, and is licensed under the Unsplash License
Image 9 was posted by Nitram242 on Flickr, and is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Image 10 was posted by Homeandgardners on Flickr, and is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
I made those exclamation mark linebreak thingos, they're licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Oh, and to anyone who's mad at the new and improved level !/Run/Whatever... uh kindly do the following:
Cope + Seethe + Mald + Perish + Suffer :)
Category:Levels
Category:Anomalous Levels
Category:Tales
de:Ein längst vergessener Ausruf
zh:Run For Your Life!
es:Una Larga y Olvidada Exclamación