“It was there with its back to me, still, under the green sign. I went toward it and by twelve meters all that was left was the door, nothing else.”
The One Who Waits is the figure wanderers see at the far end of the long corridors of Level 0.01: standing, back turned, still, under the exit sign. It is the false ending. It promises an exit and the door doesn’t open.
How to recognize it
- A flat silhouette, the size of a person, with no visible face.
- Back turned, always. Still, always.
- Under the green exit sign, at the other end of the corridor.
- If you approach to twelve meters or less, it is gone. The door is still shut.
Behavior
It doesn’t approach, doesn’t chase and doesn’t harm. It vanishes without smoke or noise, unlike the Smiler, which announces itself. Wanderers who have seen it describe the same thing, a silhouette that is there and then isn’t.
It reappears in another corridor of the same Level 0.01, never twice in the same place. Where it stood, a note is left with three words, “Don’t cross it,” and only one per corridor.
How to survive
- Don’t run toward the door. The faster you get there, the sooner you learn that nothing opens.
- Read the note it leaves, which is the only thing it offers.
- Don’t cross the white frame of the EXIT door, even if the door gives way.
- Go back along the corridor counting doors.
What is said
According to one version it is a remnant and not a creature, the last one who waited for the door to open. Others say it faces inward and that when you approach, it is because you have already turned your back on it. There is also no agreement on whether what is seen is always the same.
It is related to the footstep echo and to the Receptionist, figures that are where they shouldn’t be and never touch you.