backrooms

I used the modrinth app along with optimisational mods and axiom to create this. this is my first tine publishing so im unsure if you need to download modrinth along with axiom but i thought i would share this just incase anything isnt working.
Text: “KLWNA SVY REC 446 - N. Warne 19 JUN 1990"

The screen cuts to footage of an Async researcher named Naren Warne, who is lost in the Kelowna Branch area of the Backrooms.

Naren checks his surroundings.

Naren Warne: [muttering] Okay, okay, okay, okay...

He continues looking around.

Naren Warne: [muttering] Okay.

He picks up a duffel bag on the ground and looks around, then runs briefly before coming across the navigation ropes.

Naren Warne: [muttering] Yes. Yes. Yes, yes. Come on. Come on! Yes... Yes! Yes!

Naren follows it, leading him into a secluded outpost. He barricades the entrance with a rolling equipment case and turns around, seeing objects and devices within the room, including a radio transceiver.

Naren Warne: [shakily] Here we go. Here we go. Okay. [​activating the radio] Ah, fuck. Work, work, work.

The machine activates with a beep noise.

Naren Warne: Standard? Standard, can you-can you hear me? This is Naren, and I've um... I've been separated, uh, from the others and I think I'm okay but I'm not sure where I am.

Naren Warne: I've never been out this far before so I don't-Um, [exhales] There was this uh... I didn't get a good look at it, but there's um… there's something else in here.

Naren Warne: I need you guys. Okay? I need you guys to get me, please! ...Fuck, I need you guys to come out and get me? Can you come please, Standard? Standard?

Something makes a noise from the corridor behind Naren.

Naren Warne: [startled, looks back] Oh, fuck! Fuck...

After some silence, a screeching seagull flies out of the hallway, dropping onto the carpet.

Naren Warne: Fuck! Fuck.

Naren approaches the fainted seagull.

Naren Warne: [muttering] Oh, shit... what the fuck.

The seagull suddenly takes off from the ground, flying through the room to somewhere.

Naren Warne: [yelps]

Naren enters the hallway and briefly turns around after hearing a distant thud and a groan. Entering the hallway, he sees a bunch of misplaced objects and furniture. Walking further, he looks above and hears the sounds of windchimes tinkling softly and distant bird calls.

Naren Warne: What the fuck.

Naren hears a door opening with a creak and looks behind, revealing a tall, shadowy figure stepping out to approach him. Naren gasps sharply and begins sprinting in the opposite direction. He reaches the hallway's intersecting end, looking in all directions to run.

Naren Warne: Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

Naren runs into a room with a dead end. He notices a door in the corner and throws himself at it, frantically twisting the handle and realizing it is locked.

Naren Warne: [panicking] Fuck, fuck, fuck! Fuck!

Naren looks back at the entrance and decides to flee out of here. When turning a blind corner, he suddenly bumps into the creature.

Naren Warne: [shouts]

His camera drops off him.

Naren Warne: [muffled, distorted screams and shrieks]

The audio is briefly interrupted by static.

Naren Warne: [distorted screams]

The footage ends. A TV shuts off. The reflection of the screen reveals Async scientists who have been viewing the incident through the TV.

Opening Scene & Clark's Therapy Session with Mary (06:42-13:55)

[♫ "Handprint"]

Near a construction site, a young girl presses her hand into cement alongside her mother to leave a handprint. The moment is suddenly interrupted by a bulldozer dropping concrete from above, revealing the scene to be a childhood flashback of Mary Kline watching her childhood home get demolished for the construction of Crest Ridge Towers. Shortly after, her monologue plays over the scene.

[♫ "People In San Jose"]

Mary Kline (monologue): We all have our loops, our habits... behaviors that keep us walking in circles... reaching for the same solutions over and over again,

The scene cuts just before a worker hammers the handprint, showing a pirate-themed furniture store with the title "Cap'n Clark's Ottoman Empire" with a car parking in front of it.

Mary Kline (monologue): thinking each time they'll take you somewhere new. But they don't.

A man steps out of the car. It is Clark. He stares confused at his store.

Mary Kline (monologue): And still, it's the neural pathway of least resistance.

A graffiti text is sprayed on the store's glass, written as "RIP OFF."

Mary Kline (monologue): A path you made. It's the one that kept you safe when you were a child.

Clark glances briefly at the graffiti before entering the store. The store's interior is packed with furniture beneath sale signs.

Mary Kline (monologue): You learned to push people away before they could hurt you.

On the wall, drawings of strange buildings are framed. Overdue bills are sitting in a basket tray. Clark is seen sitting in his office.

Mary Kline (monologue): And now, as an adult, you're still stuck right where you started.

The ambient music stops. Then the scene cuts to Mary in her office doing a therapy session, looking at Clark.

Mary Kline: Alone.

Clark: [sighs] ...I mean, I'm not lonely. I have employees and... customers--

Mary Kline: I didn't say lonely. I said alone.

Clark: [mumbling] Yeah, well, I mean... [chuckles] I hurt people. I don't want to. It's just the way I'm wired. So maybe I deserve to be alone.

Mary Kline: Do you think anyone deserves to be alone?

Clark: I don't know, but, you know, maybe it's not such a bad thing.

Mary Kline: Being alone feels... deeply ingrained. I understand. You've had dreams and a lot of resistance, not a lot of support in realizing those dreams.

Mary Kline: And when we've experienced... hurt again and again, we start to expect it. It's like "Oh, I know this path. I know where it goes."

Mary Kline: So... are you interested in forging a new path and see where that leads?

Clark: Sure. Why not? You know, I'm here.

Mary Kline: Great. So, I want to revisit an exercise we've done before. The role play.

Clark: Oh, the acting thing?

Mary Kline: Yeah.

Clark: I feel stupid doing that.

Mary Kline: I know. But we have a few minutes. Let's um... Yeah, let's try. A little bit.

Clark: [sighs] All right.

Mary Kline: Let's set the scene. Let's go back to the night that Barbara left you.

Clark: You mean the night she kicked me out of my own house?

Mary Kline: Yeah.

Clark: I'm playing myself.

Mary Kline: And I'll be Barbara.

Clark: It is my house, by the way. I'm the one paying for it.

Mary Kline: I know.

Clark: [sighs] All right.

Clark: Okay, so um... [clears throat] I'd gotten home late. I don't know how late. Uh... She was already asleep. Maybe midnight.

Clark: She usually goes to bed before... It doesn't matter. The point is, I was in the kitchen, and, um... the glass, I broke the glass, and she comes running down to see what happened, and... things escalated.

Mary Kline: And how do you feel?

Clark: Well, I was... I was drunk, and, um... I-I felt stupid, you know. I was angry, because I broke the glass.

Mary Kline: Can you say that to me?

Clark: Uh, what, to-to Barbara?

Mary Kline: Yeah.

Clark (roleplaying): Um... I'm sorry that I woke you.

Mary Kline (roleplaying): Maybe, if you'd come home earlier, we could have spent the evening together.

The scene pans closer to Clark.

Clark (roleplaying): No, I was... I was working, you know? I came straight home after work.

Mary Kline (roleplaying): Be honest with me, please. I can smell it on your breath.

Clark (roleplaying): I had a few beers.

Mary Kline (roleplaying): Define a few.

Clark (roleplaying): Well, it was a hard day. I needed to wind down.

Mary Kline (roleplaying): All you ever do is wind down. You're always at the store.

Clark (roleplaying): ...You want kids right?

Mary Kline (roleplaying): We both do.

Clark (roleplaying): Well, you know... having a family takes money, which means someone has to work. Unless being a professional student is considered a job these days.

Mary Kline (roleplaying): That's not fair. You know I had to take time off.

Clark (roleplaying): Well, it's not my fault if you can't keep up. How are you going to be a lawyer if you can't even handle law school?

Clark (roleplaying): Who do you think pays for everything while you're gallivanting around campus like a 30-year old freshman? I'll give you a hint: it's me. I pay for your school, I pay for your time off school, I pay for the roof over your head.

Mary Kline (roleplaying): Can I talk now?

Clark (roleplaying): No! No. Because I'd like to know, what do you think happens if you do manage to graduate? You know, you pop out a kid, and then you leave me with the bill.

Clark (roleplaying): [snickering] Or am I stuck at home changing diapers because you're too busy working for the first time in your life?

Mary Kline (roleplaying): Now you're being cruel.

Clark (roleplaying): I'm being honest. I thought that's what you always wanted.

Mary Kline (roleplaying): Just because you didn't get to be an architect doesn't mean--

Clark (roleplaying): I am a fucking architect! God damn it, I'm just stuck selling shit furniture because someone won't get off their fat fucking ass and help me!

The scene pans close-up to both.

Mary Kline: ... [exhales softly] How do you feel Clark?

Clark: Who am I talking to?

Mary Kline: Me, here, now.

Clark: You? Okay. [swallows] Um... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, uh... [puff of air] ...you know, get angry or lose my temper or whatever.

Mary Kline: I know. That's the purpose of the whole exercise.

Clark: [huffs]

Mary Kline: This is a good start. To feel what you feel, and then learn to identify a new path. Your reaction was actually quite normal.

Clark: [breathes in and out] Well, that's me! [chuckles]

Commercial Filming for Clark's Store (13:56-15:51)

A filming session of Cap'n Clark's Ottoman Empire commercial, showing Clark dressed in a pirate outfit.

Clark (commercial mascot): Well, ahoy there, mateys!

[♫ "Pirate Shanty"]

Clark (commercial mascot): Tired of spending your hard-earned doubloons on overpriced furniture? Looking for deals that'll shiver your timbers? Then come on down to Cap'n Clark's Ottoman Empire, the Santa Clara Valley's favorite warehouse and showrooms,

Clark is hopping with a costume peg leg while relying on a crutch.

Clark (commercial mascot): You'll find bedrooms, living rooms, dinettes, dens and bathrooms aplenty. First-time homeowners? We've got ya. New parents looking for Billy's first crib? We've got ya! From the latest in modern design to the classic styles of yesteryear, it's all here and it's all a steal.

Clark (commercial mascot): What's that, Polly? You're worried about credit? Ha! Cap'n Clark says no credit, no problem! Sail the high seas of high quality, and leave your money problems at the door. Walk in today and get your dream sectional lounger, kitchen table, floor lamp, and bed frame here at Cap'n Clark's Ottoman Empire, located at Capitol and McKee, just off the 680.

Clark hops toward a sultan throne chair to sit as he's panting.

Clark (commercial mascot): Arr! Walk in today... [panting] ...kick your feet back, and enjoy an empire of your own! For every sultan deserves a throne, and we've got one with your name on it, here at Cap'n Clark's--

One of the legs of the chair breaks, and Clark falls on the floor.

Clark: [yelps]

Bobby Franklin (cameraman): No way!

Kathrine Taylor: Clark, you good?

Clark: Turn the camera off.

Bobby Franklin (cameraman): No, no, it's good. It's outtake stuff, dude.

Clark: Turn the fucking camera off, Bobby!

Bobby Franklin: Okay... Jesus...

The background music continues, and Bobby and Kat are revealed. He is holding a camera, and she wears a duffel bag on her shoulder.

Bobby Franklin: You, uh... you need help?

Clark: No, I got it. I got it. [grunts]

Kathrine Taylor: Um... Are we going again, or...?

Clark: No. Kat, you can open the store now. [grunts]

Kathrine Taylor: We've been open.

Clark looks around his store.

Bobby Franklin: You know, dude, I still don't get it. Are you like a pirate or a sultan? Just be good to establish these things.

Clark: I'm a... Shut up.

Clark gets up from the floor.

Clark: [grunts] It's some cheap particleboard bullshit. [kicks the chair] Clear this stuff up, will you?

Kat hands the duffel bag to Bobby.

Kathrine Taylor: Here.

Bobby walks somewhere into the store, and Kat goes over to the carpet to clean the stuff.

Breaker Box Scene (15:52-18:12)

Clark sits at his office, looking at bills. A meterman walks into the room and knocks on the wall, accidentally dropping a calendar off the wall.

["Eyes of a Stranger"]

Meterman: Sorry about that.

Clark: How's it looking?

Meterman: Uh, meter reads fine. If your bill's coming in high, that's on you.

Clark: What about the outages? That happens after hours.

Meterman: Don't know. Fluorescents must be tripping a breaker.

Clark: [grunts] I turn the overheads off, when the store closes, before the power gets weird. Anyway, wouldn't that just make the bills go down?

Meterman: ...Where's your breaker box?

The scene cuts to Clark and the meterman heading down into the basement of the store, and towards the breaker box.

Clark: I mean, I'm no expert, but I uh, checked earlier and everything looks okay.

Meterman: You said the lights flicker.

Clark: Yeah, whole store does, just not at the same time. One night, I lose the power upstairs, next night, it's down here. There's no rhyme, or uh..

The meterman opens the box and checks the list of switches.

Meterman: Who the hell installed this thing?

The meterman would start turning on and off the lights through the breaker box.

Clark: Well, building came wired, I mean, dated but it's not that old.

The meterman keeps fiddling with the switches and Clark briefly turns behind.

Meterman: Take a look at this.

The meterman and Clark would look at two distinct, misplaced red switches at the bottom.

Clark: That wasn't there before. Or did it... Maybe I didn't notice, like I say, I'm no expert. Why-why is it... why is it going that way?

Meterman: Better question: what is it even connected to? ...Huh?

Clark would flip one of the switches, and nothing would seem to happen.

Clark: Kat! How's the power?

Kathrine Taylor (upstairs): What?

Clark: Anything happen up there?

Meterman (distant): Damn...

Kat would run down the stairs and the meterman is trying to figure out about the breaker box.

Kathrine Taylor: The rat's back.

Clark: But the power's on?

Kathrine Taylor: Yeah. I thought we killed the rat.

Clark: We killed a rat.

Kat runs back up the stairs and Clark turns towards the meterman.

Clark: So is this the problem?

Meterman: Don't see how. Power can't even go through this part of the circuit. It's just... there. Like some schmo just stuck it in there.

[♫ "Local Network"]

The meterman repeatedly turns the red switches on and off as Clark looks troubled with his arms crossed.

Meterman: Yeah.

Behind Clark and the meterman, few lights flicker at the corner. They don't notice it.

Mary's and Clark's Daily Lives (18:13-23:02)

[♫ "Local Network"]

The night sky of San Jose, looking slightly up from a house with the sound of insects chirping. The sound of Mary's commercial plays over the landscape before cutting to the video on TV.

The soundtrack stops.

Mary Kline (On TV): You can be the author of your own design because we all deserve another chance to fulfill our dreams. The moment you believe change is possible, you've already begun.

Man 1 (On TV): Order "The Window Within" and the companion three-part audio program, "Guided Openings", by Dr. Mary Kline. Available now for $24.95 plus shipping.

The scene shows Mary sitting with cheek-in-hand on a sofa in a dim-lightened living room with unfinished food on the table and the piece of concrete with her young self's handprint she took from the demolition of her childhood home.

Man 1 (On TV): Call 1-800-555-0199.

The scene shows the TV again.

Mary Kline (On TV): It's never too late to forge a new path.

The TV plays a different advertisement and the scene switches back to Mary looking down on the table and then to the concrete with the handprint sitting on the table.

[♫ "Furniture Lament"]

The scene cuts to a different TV broadcasting a sci-fi film named "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" and, briefly after, shows Clark watching it in darkness while sitting upright on a display bed in his furniture store and drinking beer. Momentarily, the TV clicks off suddenly and he gets up to open it back through remote.

Clark: Piece of shit.

He leaves the remote just before the store's lights suddenly lighten up. Clark looks around the store and sighs in frustration, then sits on the bed with his palms on his face as the lights flicker back into darkness. He glances behind to the picture frame on a drawer, showing him and his ex-wife.

As Mary's audio program plays over the sequence, Clark drives past his old neighborhood, trying to catch a glimpse of his ex-wife from his car. The scene cuts briefly to Mary at a house party, then back to Clark in his store, drawing a blueprint. The scene switches back to the party, showing Mary listening to one of her friends and drinking wine.

Mary Kline (in audio): Why did you do this to yourself? How did you get here?

Mary Kline (in audio): Your consciousness is a room full of memories that is constantly evolving. But as you walk through life, the untrained mind can start to build walls, put up barriers to protect itself from the outside world. It's a natural response, something we are often unaware of.

Mary Kline (in audio): But if gone unchecked, it can leave you feeling trapped. You can become convinced that the world outside is better off without you. That you never deserve the relationships you've had. Resigned to watch your life unfold from behind a lone window.

Mary Kline (in audio): I can help you open it now. Because the window isn't locked. The latch was never broken. Are you ready to step through? So that you can reclaim that which was once yours... and take back control of your life. The life you want to be living. Unburdened by the traumas of the past. Free of the confines you had built... and free to choose a path of your own design.

A mother and her daughter are sitting in front of Mary. She zones out and stares blankly at both.

["Ulterior Motives" plays in background]

Mary opens the door to a room as she's breathing rapidly. She briefly stops before closing the door and opening a cabinet. She gets anxiety-reducing pills from a package and takes them.

Clark Discovers the Backrooms (23:03-39:57)

A strip mall, with multiple shopping carts outside. Cut to a stop sign.

The scene would then cut to Clark lying on a display in his furniture store watching TV. A commercial for Big Wayne's Furniture Barn shows up on the TV, one of his rival competitors.

Big Wayne (in commercial): Well, hey there, cowboys and cowgirls! Are you looking to rustle up the best deal this side of the Rio Grande?

Clark: [huffing] Prick.

Big Wayne (in commercial): Well, yeehaw, I say, yee-hee-haw! Here at Big Wayne's, our dining room sets are going to make you feel like you just struck gold! So don't even think about going anyplace else. Big Wayne's! Just look for the golden--

TV abruptly cuts to a room with fluorescent lights and yellow wallpapers, opening into a dark hallway with a cardboard figure standing in the doorway. A static sound grows louder from the TV until it shuts off.

[♫ Unknown unsettling music]

Clark: [gets up] What the...

Clark smacks the TV. Then, he notices the lights flickering from the basement.

Clark: Stupid, fucking... piece of shit!

[ambient music stops]

Clark opens the breaker box with anger. He turns off all the switches, but nothing happens. He turns the three misplaced red switches at the same time, and all the lights go out. He tries to turn the switches back on and off again, but the lights won't turn back on.

[♫ "Quiet Wall in Dark Room"]

Clark almost walks away in defeat but notices a glowing slit of light in the wall. He would go left and right to check what he's seeing right now. He approaches closer to inspect it. He puts his hand and body against the wall and falls through it onto the yellow carpet of the Backrooms.

[ambience of fluorescent lights buzzing]

Clark gets up and looks around confused, seeing a furniture pile in the middle of a room. He looks back at the wall to figure out how he fell in here. He sticks his hand through the part of the wall where he fell through, and it would phase, which he would quickly pull out in shock. He then walks through the wall and appears back in the basement of the furniture store. Clark curiously returns to the Backrooms.

[♫ "Basement Land"]

Clark walks to the pile of furniture and picks up two chairs fused together. He immediately dropped the chairs. He leaves the room and enters another room. Clark goes left and sees an inverted stop sign on his right.

Clark goes toward the sign and looks right to see an open door. While walking to the door, behind a pillar, he spots a dead seagull on the floor and a blood stain on the nearby wall.

[ambient music stops]

He enters the doorway, seeing a wide hallway with chairs and hearing distant chatters on his left. He would follow the voices, and it would lead to a hallway with a caveman cardboard cutout equipped with a speaker playing "Greetings in 55 Languages" by NASA Voyager Golden Records and a wire connecting somewhere.

Clark: [shouts] Hello?

[ambient music resumes]

Clark walks into the hallway and approaches the cutout.

Clark: [muttering] What the... fuck.

Clark walks into the room with a CCTV camera and a door. He would look up at the camera briefly before going up to the door, but there would be no handle, only a wire connecting to the cutout. Clark would almost leave the room before seeing a strap of something behind the wall.

[♫ "Ottoman Empire"]

He takes out a wallpapered panel in the wall, discovering a hidden passageway leading somewhere. Inside the space, there is a duffel bag. Clark opens the bag and sees a bunch of objects and tapes with names like "Ivan Beck ...Pathway backup v4" and "Leigh Encounter 1990" He pulls out an Async clearance badge attached to the bag and looks at it, seeing it belongs to an employee named Naren Warne.

Clark: [shouts] Hello?

After no response, he crawls through the tunnel and ends up in a large room. He sees two pairs of shoes, a shoulder parrot, and a purple throne chair clipped into the ground, along with a square hole in the floor and an upward slope leading to a hatch with multiple knobs. He would walk over to the shoes and kick one of them, but it would not move. He would then walk over to the throne chair. He would also try to move it, but it would not budge.

He walks over to the hole, seeing multiple chairs stacked inside. While looking down in it, Clark hears a loud thud coming from the tunnel. Clark steadily walks over to the tunnel to check if anyone is there.

Clark: [shouts] Anyone there?

The caveman cutout stops playing voices, and Clark slightly backs away after seeing a slight shadow of something. A moment later, something tears apart the cutout into pieces. Clark returns back and walk over to the slope to escape.

[♫ "Next Room Over"]

Clark tries to open it with the bottom and middle knobs, but it won't budge. He uses the top knob, and the door finally pushes open. Clark squeezes through the small entrance and closes the door. He realizes the door leads to the same room with the inverted stop sign, which he passed by earlier.

He runs back to the same room with the furniture pile. He touches the back wall, but his body doesn't go through. He slides left and frantically attempts to find the hidden doorway. He looks back and sees nothing approaching. After some attempts, he gasps as his hands phase in, and he escapes the place.

[ambient music stops briefly before resuming]

He quickly re-enters to grab something from the pile of furniture. Looking at all things, he picks up a stool and runs back into his store basement.

[♫ "Feeling of a Door Imminently Remembered"]

Clark enters back into his store's basement while he's rapidly breathing. He briefly looks at the stool he took and places it down to sit. He stares at the invisible doorway in shock as the scene zooms in closer to his face.

The scene zooms into the wall, switching to a facility building. "Greetings in 55 Languages" by NASA Voyager Golden Records from the caveman cutout begins playing in the background.

The scene cuts to two close-up shots of an active reel-to-reel tape deck. Then, it cuts to CCTV camera footage on a TV, showing Clark in the Backrooms, looking at the camera. It then shows a man in a scientist uniform watching the footage before cutting to black.

Clark Tells Mary about Backrooms (39:58-44:23)

The scene shows several views of San Jose, California. Then, the scene cuts to Clark and Mary Kline at the start of the therapy session.

Clark: Sorry I'm late, uh... [sighs] Traffic was hell, and I couldn't leave early.

Mary Kline: Let's just use the time we have. [sits down]

Mary Kline: How are you today, Clark?

Clark: [chuckles] How do I look?

Mary Kline: ...Fine. A little tired, maybe.

Clark: I look like shit.

Mary Kline: Can I ask, and there is no wrong answer here, you know that... Are you intoxicated right now?

Clark: Why you say it like that?

Mary Kline: ...Like what?

Clark: I haven't had a drink since Friday, [sits down] probably why I look like shit.

Clark: [clears throat] Can I ask you something?

Mary Kline: Sure.

Clark: You ever 5150'd someone?

Mary Kline: A few times over the years, when it was necessary.

Clark: Wh-wha-what makes it necessary?

Mary Kline: If I believe that the person is a danger to themselves or others, or they're gravely disabled.

Clark: Okay. Okay.

Clark would lean forward and quickly swipes off his nose.

Clark: Um... [clears throat] I found something in the store.

Mary Kline: Okay. What did you find?

Clark: Uh... A place. I f... I found a place.

Mary Kline: A place?

Clark: Yeah. It's like, um... It's like the store just, uh... continues, I guess. [chuckles] It's like... you know, like there's a wall and on the other side of the wall, the store just keeps going, you know, like-like a... like a copy of itself. I-I-I figure they're using mirrors or something to hide the entrance, I don't know.

Mary Kline: Sorry, I'm not following you. Is this a room you didn't know about before?

Clark: No. Okay, so y-y-you go in and, uh, at first it just looks like a-like an office building. Like a... like a huge office building, you know? And then, uh... But then you-you keep going, and then-then you realize th-th-that none of it makes any sense. It's-it's like, um... Imagine describing a dog to someone who's never seen one before and then asking them to draw it. They might get some things right, you know, but there's no way they'd get everything right. [chuckles] You know the devil's in the details. So, from a distance, you look at it, you think you're seeing a dog, but then you look clos-- Why are you looking at me like that?

Mary Kline: ...I'm just trying to understand.

Clark: Oh... You know, for a shrink, you got a terrible poker face.

Mary Kline: What you're saying might sound fantastical, but not dangerous... Are there any people in these offices?

Clark: Not that I've seen. You know, I hear, um... There's footsteps, an-an-and stuff gets moved around when I'm not looking, I know how this sounds, but you've got to understand, it's massive in there. Like, New-York's-subway-system massive, you know. For all I know, there's hundreds of people. I just haven't seen. [clears throat]

Clark pulls a paper map from his pocket and unfolds it frantically to show it to Mary.

Clark: Look. You see? It's like a... it's like a maze, [chuckles] It's like a maze. It just goes on and on and on. [wheezing]

Mary picks up the map from the table.

Clark: Sometimes I'm scared I'll get lost!

Mary Kline: [looking at map] Why do you think no one else has found this place?

Clark: [sighs] I don't know. The entrance is on the subfloor, so, the whole structure is probably underground, you know? It's not on any city maps. The entrances are hidden, so who'd think to look?

Mary Kline: I'm not saying I don't believe you... but you told me yourself you haven't had a drink since Friday. Do you think there is a--

Clark: [mutters] Okay.

Clark briefly looks to his side while making a mocking smile.

Mary Kline: Clark--

Clark: No, no.

Mary Kline: If this is true--

Clark: Yeah, I get it, I get it. Thank you.

Clark gets up and snatches the map from Mary's hands.

Clark: You know, [approaches] I'm gonna come back here with proof and you're gonna owe me a serious fucking apology.

Clark leaves the office. Mary exhales and stands up to check the windows. She then looks down to the concrete handprint on the desk.

Clark asks Bobby and Kat for Research (44:24-45:15)

The scene cuts to Clark walking in a rush through an outside hotel, then goes over to one of the houses and knocks on the door. No one responds, so Clark knocks on the window.

Clark: Kat!

Bobby Franklin: [approaching] Jesus, goddamn, I'm coming! I'm coming!

Bobby opens the door.

Clark: Hey.

Bobby Franklin: Cap'n Clark?

Clark: Um...

Bobby Franklin: Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, Kat?

Kathrine Taylor: [from inside] I'm coming!

Bobby Franklin: Kat!

Kathrine Taylor: Okay, I'm coming!

Bobby sighs and Kat shows up.

Kathrine Taylor: [shrugs] What the fuck?

Clark: Yeah, I'm sorry, uh... What are you guys doing tomorrow?

Kathrine Taylor: What are you talking about?

Clark: I'll pay you. Two hours. Overtime. Tops.

Kathrine Taylor: Okay, pay us for what?

Clark: [falters] ...Research.

Bobby and Kat would glance at each other confused.

Clark: You got the camera, right? You can-you can borrow it again... Right?

Clark's Research with Bobby/Kat (45:15-57:56)

The scene cuts to footage on Bobby's camcorder. Bobby waves at a reflection of himself holding the camcorder and zooming in onto himself in front of a mirror in the basement of Clark's store.

Bobby Franklin: Okay, we are rolling. We got, um, some shit over here. We got some stop signs, and, uh... a rope. What's the rope for?

Clark rolls the rope and shoves it into a bag.

Clark: Supplies.

Kathrine Taylor: Oh great, he's gonna tie us up.

Clark: No, we're gonna tie ourselves up.

Bobby turns the camcorder toward Kat.

Bobby Franklin: Hmm. Kinky.

Kathrine Taylor: [mutters] What the fuck?

Bobby Franklin: Uh, you still haven't told us what we're doing here, man.

Clark: I did tell you. Research. These are supplies, and we're using them for research. It's not that hard to understand.

Bobby Franklin: Okay, research for what? Y-you gotta be more specific, dude.

Clark finishes packing up and stands up to approach the blue-taped wall, rubbing his nose and looking at the camera.

Clark: I'm gonna go through the door.

Kathrine Taylor: What door?

Clark points at the taped wall, marked as a entrance door.

Clark: That's the door.

Bobby mockingly snorts.

Clark: I taped an outline on the other side, too, just to help us find our way back.

Bobby turns the camcorder toward Kat.

Kathrine Taylor: Bobby?

Bobby Franklin: [chuckling] What?

Clark: [facing camera] Look, I know it sounds crazy, but follow my lead. Okay?

Bobby loudly exhales as he chuckles.

Clark: I want to be back before sunup.

Bobby Franklin: Dude, it's like 9 p.m. What the fuck are you talk--

Clark phases through the wall with an eerie swoosh.

Bobby Franklin: [gasps] Woah!

Kathrine Taylor: [gasps] What the fuck! Clark?!

Bobby Franklin: What the fuck?

Kathrine Taylor: How did you do that?

Bobby Franklin: Dude, did you... Did you fucking see that?! H-how did he, um...

Clark (from otherside): I'm right here. Come see for yourself.

Bobby Franklin: What the fuck? D-did you just fucking... What? How the f...

Bobby pokes his left hand toward the wall and it phases through

Kathrine Taylor: Bobby, stop. Please.

Bobby Franklin: What the fuck?! [checks his hand]

Kathrine Taylor: Clark, where are you?

Bobby Franklin: Ha! Hey, did you... did you see that? Where the fuck did he go!?

Kathrine Taylor: Yes, Bobby, I saw it!

Bobby Franklin: Oh! Where the f--

Clark (from otherside): Just step through the door, you'll be fine!

Kathrine Taylor: What? No! Tell us what is going on!

Bobby Franklin: You know what, just...

Bobby steps toward the wall while the audio crackles.

Kathrine Taylor: No, Bobby, wait! Bobby! Wait, what are you doing? [distorted voice] Bobby!

Bobby enters the Backrooms.

Bobby Franklin: What the fuck?! [surprised laugh]

Bobby zooms the camcorder onto Clark, who is seemingly tired of waiting for both.

Bobby Franklin: Dude! Dude, how is this possible!?

Kathrine Taylor (from otherside): Bobby! Clark!

Bobby Franklin: Okay...

Kathrine Taylor (from otherside): Where are you? What the fuck is that back there?

Bobby Franklin: No, no, no, Kat, it's good, it's good. J-just, you gotta come see this.

Kat phases in with an eerie swoosh and enters the Backrooms, looking around in shock.

Bobby Franklin: [sharp exhale] I mean... Right, you see... You see, it's, um.. It's fine.

Kathrine Taylor: [panting] Clark, what is this? Where are we?

Clark: [begins walking] Oh! That's what I'm trying to figure out.

Bobby Franklin: Whose um... Whose shit is this? Is it-is it... is it part of your store?

Clark: If it belongs to someone, I haven't met them yet.

Bobby Franklin: Okay...

Clark: I've been in here every night since I found the place, and I still barely scratched the surface. Come on. I'll show you. It only gets better.

Clark continues walking.

Bobby Franklin: What the fuck...

Kathrine Taylor: Hey. Hey.

Kat stops Bobby.

Kathrine Taylor: You don't think he, like, dosed us or something, do you?

Bobby Franklin: What? No, no, no. We're not on drugs. I think I'd be able to tell if I was high.

Kathrine Taylor: You are high!

Bobby Franklin: Pot doesn't count.

The scene cuts to the group walking through the hallway looking at the inverted stop sign.

Bobby Franklin: So, um, it's like... what, like an empty office building?

Clark: In here? Sure. But it's like it was made by a bunch of construction workers on acid. [laughing] There's even a pool!

Bobby turns the camcorder toward Kat.

Kathrine Taylor: There's a pool?

Clark: Yeah, I mean, kind of. Keep up.

Bobby chuckles and zooms the camcorder in onto the inverted stop sign, reading similarly to "POTS".

Bobby Franklin: "Pots." What the fuck? [chuckles]

The scene cuts to another area, notably having a window looking to a room with plants and "sun in splendour" pictures.

Bobby Franklin: [deep exhale]

Clark (distant voice): Yeah, no, no, that's the way I went last time.

Clark (distant voice): Yeah, when I was looking for a staircase down or something.

Clark (distant voice): Only thing I found so far is basically more of a...

Bobby Franklin: Okay...

Clark (distant voice): I don't know, it's like a ramp, really. It's, uh... It's up here.

Clark (distant voice): We'll be at it in a minute.

Bobby puts the camera to a small gap on the wall.

Bobby Franklin: [deep voice] Okay...

Bobby zooms in onto a long hallway leading to a dark doorway.

Kathrine Taylor (distant voice): How many floors does it go down? Is it not technically...

The scene cuts to Clark tying Bobby's waist to the bed with a rope.

Clark: Okay. All right, you filming?

Bobby Franklin: Yeah.

Clark: All right.

Kathrine Taylor: I don't see why Bobby has to be the one to go.

Bobby Franklin: I want to.

Clark: Well, he's the one with the camera.

Kathrine Taylor: Well, it's not like it's attached.

Bobby Franklin: Yeah, well, I mean, to my student ID, yeah, it kinda is.

Clark: Any trouble, you just give a tug on it, and I'll pull you up, okay?

Kathrine Taylor: Trouble? Clark, what fucking trouble?

Clark: There's not going to be any trouble.

Bobby Franklin: Hey. Babe, babe, babe, it's good.

Kathrine Taylor: No, hey--

Bobby Franklin: It's good. I'm good.

Kathrine Taylor: Baby, you don't have to do this.

Bobby Franklin: No, it's cool. I-I just want to see what's down there. Are you not curious?

Kathrine Taylor: This is stupid!

Clark: Just go as far as you can.

Bobby turns toward the downward ramp.

Bobby Franklin: No, look, look, look! You can basically walk down without a rope. It's fine, and it's not even steep.

Clark: [grunts] Okay.

Bobby Franklin: [looks at Kat] Okay, just don't... just one thing.

Bobby Franklin: If I don't come back, you'll tell my mom I love her, right?

Kat looks at Clark, breathing angrily. Bobby chuckles.

Clark: [nodding] Okay.

Bobby Franklin: All right, okay.

Clark: All right, just take it slow.

Bobby walks down the ramp.

Clark: Okay.

Bobby Franklin: [heavy breath] Oh, it is actually kind of steep.

Bobby turns back to look at Kat and Clark holding the rope.

Clark: You good?

Bobby Franklin: Yep. Just, uh... try not to drop me.

Clark: All right.

Bobby continues moving.

[​b][url=kane-pixels-b