Blueprint Barn

Walking alone along the shore of a great lake, I had left Bowser's Brothel behind. I had snuck out while all fourteen of the women there slept. Although we had amazing times together, it all began to feel too superficial for my liking. I felt guilty, like I was abandoning them, but it was time for me to move on. 

The sun never set in this place, and I had become disoriented by my perception of time. For all I knew, I had spent months at Bowser's Brothel. I had the time of my life with all fourteen of the Princess Peach ladies, and I will tell you about the erotic escapades we had together some other time. 

For now, my focus was to continue exploring the Brightburbs, and to see if I could ever get back to my own reality. I had my turquoise backpack with me, but I needed more supplies. I had my Brightburbs: Region 22 map with me, and I followed the shore until I reached the edge of Region 22. It was at this point that I turned inland and followed the map along the edge of Region 22. 

There were no paths or roads through the rolling grassy hills. Although the sun never changed position in the sky, the weather was perfect. It was always room temperature, with a constant gentle breeze and puffy clouds floating overhead. What paths I did encounter were randomly segmented, leading nowhere, and there were sparse trees and shrubs around. 

As I meandered through the hills, I passed by some pocket neighborhoods that had various quaint cottages. I never saw a single soul, and I was certain that all the homes I saw were vacant. It seemed like a waste that no one was living in such a picturesque paradise. 

Some neighborhoods I passed by varied in strangeness and style. One such pocket neighborhood had houses that resembled Barbie doll houses, all made of plastic. The neighborhood looked chaotic, with plastic furniture and toys strewn about in the yard surrounded by a white picket fence. The life-size doll houses made me feel uneasy, for some reason, as I felt like I was being watched. I quickened my pace and continued past the plastic properties. 

I came to another 7-Eleven that sat alone atop a grassy hill. I restocked my bag with new supplies, and found another map that read, "Brightburbs: Region 21." The new map had a blue barn icon on it, a few miles away. Curious about it, I headed in that direction. 

Similar to my previous experience at the Region 22 7-Eleven, there was no checkout or anyone around at all. The only sound was strange elevator music playing on repeat. Although strange, I liked that I didn't have to pay for anything in this realm. The supplies seemed to be provided by an organization called "D.A.R.B.", but I had no idea what or who that was. I hoped I could find answers and get clarification some day. 

As I was leaving the store, I thought I heard a faint giggle. Was I hearing things? The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and my instincts kicked into high gear. A sense of dread began to brew in my mind. I looked around, but only saw a calm environment. I continued on.

~~~~~~~~

Now isolated and alone in the middle of a sea of grassy hills, the only sound was that of the gentle breeze rustling through the tall grass. I was now on edge, with a growing sense of dread that something was following me. 

"TEE-HEE-HEE!" A disembodied feminine giggle pierced my ears, and my heart just about stopped. Quickly looking around and breathing hard, I saw no one around. Just myself, exposed in the middle of a grassy field. 

Off in the distance, I could see a blue barn, the one that I was heading for on the map. I quickened my pace, almost to a full-on sprint toward the isolated structure. 

When I came within a few hundred yards of it, I could see that it was more like a house that also resembled a barn. It was all blue, with white blueprint drawings on it's exterior. It looked small, possibly with only one room. The front door was made of rustic barn wood, and there were a couple windows on either side. 

"SCREEEEE! TEE-HEE!" I heard the voice far more sharply this time, and I could hear small footsteps running toward me in the grass. In a panic, I bolted toward the door, shoved it open, jumped inside, and slammed it shut. I heard a muffled THUD! sound somewhere outside, and I locked the door. 

Breathing heavy, I leaned against the door, listening for the unseen threat. 

After a few moments, everything seemed calm, and I looked around the room. The barn-house interior appeared to be some sort of architectural office fused with that of a rustic barn interior. The room was illuminated with a melancholic blue hue, with the light sources coming from lanterns suspended from wooden rafters. 

In the center of the room was a large drafting table with a large blueprint sheet laid out, with various drawing utensils scattered around. As I looked closer at the drawing, it appeared to be a floorplan for a new house. 

I browsed through several of the desks and filing cabinets that were surrounding the table. It quickly became obvious that this room was used to draft plans for future Brightburbs houses.

As I was opening a cabinet, I noticed a trap door in the floor at the back of the room. I opened it to reveal a vertical passage with a ladder that led down into a black void. I pulled out a flashlight, and used it to see down into the hole. 

The hole seemed to lead down into a basement level, and there was a light switch on a concrete wall next to the ladder. I climbed down, flipped the switch, and fluorescent lights flickered on with a hum-buzz. 

I was now in a beige bunker that had several tunnels leading off in three directions that met at the base of the ladder. Just as I got to the bottom of the ladder, I heard a loud knocking at the wooden door from the blue room above me. It sounded like plastic hitting wood, followed by a low growling sound. 

I quickly climbed back up into the blueprint room, and looked out one of the windows. Just as I did so, a blur of blonde hair brushed by the window. Startled, I fell back, but peeked back out. 

For some reason, out of the blue, I began feeling a deep sense of melancholy mixed with dread and despair and distress. The melancholic mood of the blue light didn't help, of course, and I began to feel deep sorrow as I looked outside. 

The blonde blur whizzed by the window again, and then I heard aggressive knocking at the door and pounding  on the walls all around the building, mixed with random giggles that sounded screechy and unnatural. Growing ever terrorized, I grew increasingly anxious, and I began to cry.

Finally, the blur stopped moving for a moment, and I got a good glimpse out the window of my stalker. It was a disheveled-looking three-foot-tall Barbie doll with a psychotic grin and wide eyes staring at me. 

So there I was, a forty-something-year-old grown ass man crying because of a psychotic Barbie doll. Alrighty then. Awesome apples. 

This psychotic stalker entity must have been following me since I passed by that Barbie neighborhood. The only thing I could think of to do was to keep the door locked, and retreat down into the beige bunker below me. 

I descended back down the hole, and locked the trap door above me. The hum-buzz of the fluorescent lights was now the only sound I could hear, apart from my breathing. I chose the middle tunnel, which angled sharply down and to the right. 

After several turns, the plain beige concrete bunker walls gave way to mono-yellow wallpaper with a chevron pattern. The concrete floors gave way to musty, moist brownish carpet. 

I was now in a labyrinthine place called... the Backrooms.