"The world is so much chaos, energy and noise. It's enough to drown out your being, any acknowledgement of your existence. But just as it becomes unbearable, suddenly, everything goes quiet. The lights feel harsher."
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Description
Level 55, also known as the "Pit Stop", is an infinite set of segmented rooms that take the appearance of an abandoned, rustic, restaurant. The Pit Stop is known as a safe oasis that, while appreciated for its safety, will never host sustainable habitation.
The level is a complex of restaurant rooms which connect to each other through hallways and corridors. Each room, though randomized, usually contains an ordering counter, a kitchen, and rows of seating. Other rooms, such as bathrooms, are rarely present. Level 55 is in a worn state, with cracked brick walls, flaking wallpaper, creaking floorboards, and thick dust which clings onto every surface. Although structural compromise has never been recorded occurring, wanderers are urged to be vigilant.
Upon entering, wanderers will find themselves within the Safe Room. This room is the one and only point of entry into the level, and the main indication of entering Level 55. It is advisable to set up a temporary shelter within this Safe Room.
While the level is mostly empty, it does have consistent food sources, with cuisines of many varieties from the world of the Frontrooms. Ordinary food of the Backrooms does not exist within Level 55, including Almond Water, which is entirely substituted for normal drinking water.
Should one choose to exit the Safe Room and explore the rest of Level 55, they will enter the outskirts. The outskirts are aesthetically similar to the Safe Room, with little variation.
I can't look at what I'm seeing.
When I first arrived here, in this new, alien world, I thought it would be my answer. That maybe, it would give me the freedom I so sought for. That at the end of my journey, I would be at the top of some ivory pillar of enlightenment.
The bitter, cruel truth of my situation snaps at me now, as I come to my senses resting on a cold brick floor. A sharp pang of pain shoots its way through my head as I get up. This is my life now.
Light floods my eyes, and I recoil, retreating my head into my arms. It's a terrible intruder, ruining the view…
As my senses finally adjust, I get a look of my surroundings.
Nothing. Still nothing…
Other Properties of Level 55
Unlike other levels, Level 55 is always eerily quiet; the lights have no hum-buzz, there is no industrial machinery creaking or hissing, and there are no signs of life anywhere.
In combination with the sound, the level has high humidity and a temperature of 21°C, which leaves most rooms feeling damp and cool.
With these factors in mind, staying within Level 55 may lead to auditory and sensory hallucinations.
I don't know what to do. For the first time, I feel directionless. I'm no longer in any immediate danger. No longer are creatures of dark energy taking the reins of my life, guiding where I go.
My eyes dart everywhere. My face twitches. My legs machinate on their own, guiding me to a table.
Shouldn't I be happy?
But I've already withdrawn into my mind, looking for any agent of preoccupation.
When wanderers are not immediately present within the level, the layout of the rooms in the outskirts shift and change.
During this process, the level does not manifest new rooms, rather, the existing rooms move, connecting back together in a new orientation. The rooms that one individual may find at a specific time may not be found by another at a later time.
In effect, each journey in Level 55 is unique.
I've withdrawn.
This place is a restaurant. I finally, actually wake up, and consciously acknowledge my surroundings.
These past few days, I've been so out of it. I don't feel real, as if everything that I have been experiencing has all been a terrible, nasty dream. I imagined myself as a third person, watching through the eyes of someone else…
And now, something is pulling on my mind. I'm unraveling.
All the rooms have sunlight appearing from an unknown source within each room. Research has concluded that light beams enter the rooms of Level 55 from various angles in each room from an unperceivable source.
Researchers noted that those who had stayed in Level 55 expressed positive sentiments towards the sunlight. In one report, the person claimed "[the sunlight] felt real. Like I was really outside again. I felt so exhausted in that moment."
The sunlight in the Pit Stop has been known to induce tiredness and drowsiness in wanderers who have overexerted or exhausted their body. This is especially true for those who have spent a long time in the Backrooms. The sunlight is extra potent in this case.
In my circling thoughts, I occasionally return back to my current state.
And then I see the light within the room.
And each time that I see it, it acts as a new inspiration for me to begin unpacking a new memory.
At first, it guided me through my childhood… the last days of school, seeing the afternoon glow through the windows, and then the bells would ring dismissing us. The days when me and my few friends would spend the afternoon messing around in our small, ramshackle town.
But then as we grew up… I just felt so distant.
Why is that?
…
It brings me through many memories similar to this. Each one reminding me who I am. Why I'm here.
And then at last, it brought me to the spark. The reason I am here at last.
I sink further into my seat, and at last close my eyes.
One of many restaurant rooms in Level 55.
Prior Bases
Aside from a small attempt at a base in 2018— jointly conducted by the B.N.T.G. and the M.E.G., which resulted in only minimal success— no other bases have been established in Level 55.
While it is possible to suggest that an outpost could exist in Level 55 for a prolonged period of time, such a feat would require immense luck due to the spontaneity and unpredictability of exiting Level 55. In the most idyllic scenario, staff would routinely circulate in and out of Level 55. However, this proves to be realistically impossible due to the difficulty of entering the level itself.
In the place of an outpost, the M.E.G. returns to the level occasionally to leave important supplies and utilities such as phones, weapons, pamphlets which give information about the level, and information on how to contact the M.E.G..
Provided by the research team, there is also a forum on BackNET which can be used to report and document journeys within Level 55. Such forums have been instrumental in better understanding and documenting the level's effects.
Perhaps it was only in my mind, but I now hear an angelic choir, ringing in my ear. The light grows harsher, and I feel as the world around me disintegrates.
I'm back at the cafe. That fateful day. The first and only day that I was able to have a real heart-to-heart. Before I left town, I sat at a table, with my dad. I finally revealed how I felt about my life. Now, I watch myself going through that day again. The rain tapping on the glass in little droplets, as I looked down at my mug.
"I just… I don't know what I want to do. I know how badly you… how badly mom want me to succeed. I'm sorry. I just don't think I can live up to it anymore."
I know my parents loved me. My dad's eyes said everything he wanted to say. Back then, I had no courage to look at him.
"_… your mom and I just want you to be happy… trust us, and have patience."
The rain continued to pour down. I'm pretty sure it's raining where I am, as well.
"Ok, _… can you just promise us something? Whatever it is that you will do… just promise us. You will find your freedom and happiness."
I bit my tongue. It rained even harder.
…
The world returns around me. It was that day. That day that I embarked on this journey. My expectations, my own confusion, my own pressures… that's what I wanted to find the solution to. To find my success out of my failures.
Since then… it's been months of trekking through these wastelands.
I had forgotten why I chose this.
Entrances And Exits
Entrances
Entering Level 55 is a rare incident. However, there have been some observed similarities in people who have entered Level 55. While it has not yet been proven, it is believed that susceptibility to entering Level 55 is increased by fulfilling the following conditions:
- Being within the Backrooms for longer than two years
- Carrying few items
- Running away from a danger or threat
- Running or barging through doors
Performing and fulfilling some of these conditions increases odds of entering the level.
From 2015 — 2025, only 404 cases of entry into Level 55 have been recorded. The entrances have been recorded occurring on Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, Level 4, Level 5, Level 11, and Level 54 by running through a door while being chased by an entity or in a particularly dire situation.
Uniquely, Level 5 has been a commonly recorded level to enter into Level 55 from, with 64 out of 404 cases of known entries into Level 55 coming from the hotel.
In two separate incidents, two individuals have no-clipped into Level 55 from Level 56 while in a dire situation.
Exits
Level 55 has no conventional exits. In the place of standard exits, Level 55 has been observed to no-clip wanderers out of the level after a random duration of time has elapsed, back to the original level from which they entered.
The exact amount of time varies between individuals. The shortest duration of stay reported was approximately fifty-three minutes. The longest duration of stay ever reported was four months and fifteen days. The average duration of stay is about three days and seven hours.
In a compilation of journeys within Level 55, numerous subjects reported being consciously aware that their time within the level was limited.
There have been zero cases of re-entering Level 55.
Time is ticking, so enjoy the sunset.
The rain slows down, and it trickles in the air like snow all around me, now. The memory is over, and I'm now left with its remnants. At this moment, the cool air feels different.
I never noticed it, but there truly is an abnormal beauty in this place.
Perhaps, in a twisted way, I will leave enlightened.
A wind picks up.
There's someone else at the table with me. I now know I've gone insane…
Because it's him.
"I'm sorry. I know it's been months since you've heard from me."
"But I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have left town that day. I promise, I was only searching for answers…"
"You might be asking about where I ran off to."
"I really don't know. But what I can tell you are my sleepless nights. I've been terrified. I just want to come back to you both. Hell, maybe I'll even try to go back into college and study up just like you wanted me to…"
"But now I'm not even sure if I'll live to see tomorrow."
He's silent. His face is shrouded in a light that's piercing through the rain.
"What I'm trying to say is… I promise. I don't know how much time I have left, but I want to find my light."
He seems to acknowledge what I've said. The rain subsides, and before I know it, I'm staring at the ceiling of a little diner once again.
I breathe in sharply. There's still some rain drops on my face.
With my intent, my legs rise out of my chair.
I find myself at a cold, white-tiled kitchen. The lights flicker, and I think they're the only warmth left. My hands start moving, too, and they gravitate towards a vibrant yellow apple resting on the white countertop.
When I first came here, I believed I would walk out enlightened. That I would find my Deus ex machina, and return back to my normal life.
That image has been burned out of me.
I have to move on.
This time, I have a purpose. I have to fulfill my promise. The promise I never had the courage to take back then. And that starts with finding my way out of here.
So thank you, little pit stop.
