After waiting for his wounds to heal, Anton stood up and looked at the girl named Sara with difficulty. If the dark entity were an enemy he couldn't defeat, Sara's life couldn't be guaranteed. Feeling a bit thirsty, Anton looked at the water flowing beneath his feet.
"Don't even think about it, Anton," he said to himself, shaking his head. In a scenario created by a dark entity, the possibilities of traps and mistakes were unpredictable. Therefore, Anton decided to refrain from doing anything that would jeopardize his life, at least for now.
Walking towards where Sara was, Anton picked her up and walked away from the bodies of the girl's parents. Considering her age, he couldn't let her know about her parents' deaths for now, at least until they exited this place.
"This place seems to have no end," murmured Anton quietly. Knowing in advance that it was a labyrinth, he didn't expect to find himself in this situation initially.
"Mom..."
Anton stopped as he felt movement in his arms. "Little Sara."
"Sir..." Sara murmured slightly as she opened her eyes.
"I didn't tell you my name; it's Anton."
Sara looked at Anton and nodded in understanding, then looked around and asked, "Where...? My parents, where are my parents?"
"Well, little Sara, your parents took a break. They said we could set off, and when they're ready, they'll meet us at the exit," Anton said with a smile and a reassuring voice.
"But... I don't want to be separated from them; the big doll is chasing them," Sara said with a broken voice.
"Well, then we should find the exit and come back for your parents later. So, you have to walk, and I'll protect you, okay?" Anton lowered the girl and waited for her response. Considering that he could be attacked at any moment and that his main goal was to eliminate the dark entity, he had to be ready to fight at any time.
"I understand; my mom says I can trust good people." Sara nodded and took Anton's hand.
As they walked through the long tunnel, Anton could finally be more at ease. Now, taking into account everything that was happening, he could slightly understand the situation.
Just as he was about to ask Sara something, the sound of radio interference sounded relatively close—no, right next to Anton.
Rooong!
Turning his gaze, Anton looked at something on Sara's neck. "Can you tell me what you have on your neck?
"It's on!" Sara exclaimed.
"On?" Anton asked, seeing something shiny on Sara's neck.
"We found it with my parents a while ago; we were looking for the exit, and it was on the body of someone sleeping," Sara said as she took off the recorder and handed it to Anton.
"[Survival guide on how to survive in the backrooms!]"
"[If you're listening to this, it's because, unfortunately, you fell into this place. Maybe this information I'm going to give you can help you a bit, at least to get through the next levels.]"
"[Most likely, you are now between levels 1 and 5; these are usually the easiest levels. All places have in common this characteristic of long hallways, carpeted floors, neon lights, and a damp smell.]"
"It may be a bit annoying at first, but believe me, you get used to it."
"By encountering a familiar face, I regret to be the one to tell you that no, you are alone, at least as far as level 5..." Anton listened attentively to the narration coming from the recorder; according to his words, everything he said made no sense according to personal experiences and all the evidence he had gathered until now.
After hesitating for a moment, Anton pressed the pause button. His right hand held his knife, and his senses were on high alert. If this place wasn't a backroom, it could have been created by a dark entity.
"This makes no sense," Anton murmured to himself. Just by listening to that voice, he knew it was a trap by the smiling doll for anyone who wanted to leave this place.
When Anton muttered that, the screech of a metal door sounded not far from his position. Taking Sara, he walked slowly towards the door's creaking.
On the endless path, there was an open door that apparently led to a special place. The door was slightly ajar, and the whistle of a cold wind could be heard.
Even if it were a trap, Anton still had to find out the whereabouts of the dark entity, and the only way was to move forward.
Anton entered the door first, and without letting go of Sara's hand, they entered together. Inside, there were long stairs leading to a long corridor by an empty pool.
On the floor, there was a recorder like the one Anton held in his hands. "Wait here; I'll go get the recorder." Anton jumped into the almost empty pool.
"Be careful, good sir Anton," Anton said with a worried voice.
His feet got slightly wet from the puddles inside the pool. Taking the recorder, he pressed the power button.
"If you've reached this level and found this second tape... Congratulations! Welcome to the aquatic nines; welcome to levels 5 to 10, although... I warn you in advance; this specific area will start behaving very strangely. [You can enter a door and magically not know where you might end up.] "
"Don't worry, everything will be wet; if you're afraid of getting wet, believe me, the whole place in this area is like that. I recommend you stay in a place where there is light; those things might hear you."
Anton frowned as he angrily broke the record. "Enough of these games!"
Anton's strong voice echoed throughout the empty place. Without fear of being heard, he took his knife and prepared to attack anything that might come suddenly.
"Hehe..." A strange laughter echoed around. "Who is it?" Anton turned and looked back.
He found a blue doll with a red balloon tied to its hand standing not far behind; its smiling face wouldn't stop looking at him.
The famous smiling doll.
It could only be him.
"Sara, come and stand behind me." Anton left the almost empty pool and held Sara. Taking two steps, he held his knife in a fighting position.
"How dare you try to save Elizabeth during the day? Now that you're here, ask me for forgiveness. Maybe you'll consider giving yourself a quicker death." The strange smile of the smiling doll deformed in a very strange way as it spoke the last words.
There was even a bloodstain at the corner of its mouth; it looked extremely terrifying.
However, he wasn't the only one who smiled; Anton also did the same.
Anton smiled disdainfully. He was only worried about not being able to find the smiling doll before, but now the dark entity appeared before him with just a little provocation.
Soon, the smiling doll's body disappeared into the darkness.
Leaving Anton alone.
Anton smiled and took Sara's hand. "Let's get out of this place."
"Okay..." Sara responded confidently to Anton's words.
Anton entered the door where the Smiling Doll disappeared; soon, they were outside an old and abandoned hospital.
...
Safe base of the Light Association.
Inside a room, many cables and doctors meticulously examined Anton's unconscious body.
"Report, how is the Guardian?" Rafael asked as he entered through the door.
"Sir, the Guardian Anton's body is fine; we recently detected an instability in his emotions, and also, his body started decreasing in temperature," the doctor replied while reviewing some documents.
"Is that serious?" Rafael asked, stopping what he was doing.
"The Guardian Anton's body should not be underestimated; even if he were to go into hypothermia, nothing would happen to him," the doctor said with determination.
"Alright then," Rafael replied.
"Sir, we've gathered all the people related to the dark entity." An agent hurriedly reported.
"Understood, let's go."