Return to the Lost Level

I came to the Lost Level by accident, via something called the Labyrinth, which is best described as an interdimensional pathway of energy running through space and time. The Labyrinth touches and connects everything in our universe. Since all the planets, stars, and galaxies are connected together by the Labyrinth, madmen, magi, occultists, and other seekers can travel from planet to planet and star system to star system. But they can also travel to other dimensions and alternate realities. You see, just as there are different planets in the universe, there are also different versions of those planets. These other-dimensional realities are often referred to as “levels.” The Labyrinth allows travel to and from these levels. Imagine an Earth where the Germans won World War II, or where China landed on the moon in the year 2002, or a version of Mars where, instead of arid, frigid desolation, one might find temperate jungles teeming with intelligent alien life. All of these exist, and all of them are accessible, if you know which doorway in the Labyrinth to open.

But there is one level that is different than all of these—a dimensional reality that exists apart from all the others, a place where the flotsam and jetsam of space and time occasionally wash up from across the shores of the multiverse. It is a place where one can encounter creatures and beings and objects from, quite literally, anywhere in the multiverse, and from any time in the multiverse, as well. That place is called the Lost Level, and if you are reading this, then you are in it, and you are screwed.

That’s the first thing you should know.

The second thing you should know is that there’s no escape from the Lost Level. There is no going home. No going back. The Labyrinth leads into this place, but there is no exit, except in death—and even then, scholars are divided. Some say souls and spirits can escape the Lost Level. Others say those energies remain trapped here for all time, just like everything else. I don’t know who is right and who is wrong. Regardless, I can say with some authority that Jim Morrison was right when he said that no one gets out of here alive. On my world, there was a song by the Eagles that I think sums it up aptly—you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.

BRIAN KEENE writes novels, comic books, short fiction, and occasional journalism for money. He is the author of over fifty books, mostly in the horror, crime, and dark fantasy genres. His 2003 novel, The Rising, is often credited (along with Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead comic and Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later film) with inspiring pop culture’s current interest in zombies. Keene’s novels have been translated into German, Spanish, Polish, Italian, French, Taiwanese, and many more.

The father of two sons, Keene lives in rural Pennsylvania.