Darkness Fell. . . (REMASTERED)

Flash, Wallflower and Sweet Leaf made their way carefully through the lower floors of the office building, taking the same precautionary measures as Bon Bon and Trixie were many floors above them, tiptoeing whilst constantly swiveling their heads in every direction, peaking around every corner to every hallway. Flash led the way, with Sweet Leaf behind him and Wallflower bringing up the rear.

Then, coming from somewhere on the floor above them. Footsteps. The three stopped in their tracks, taking a moment to make sure they weren’t hearing things.

“Do you think that’s Bon Bon and Trixie?” Wallflower asked. Flash didn’t answer, instead holding up a finger to signal to them to remain quiet while he listened intently. It didn’t take him long to realise that there were multiple sets of footsteps now, along with the occasional brief hiss of static that the corruption emitted.

“I don’t think that’s them.” He replied coldly. “Quick! We gotta get somewhere there’s light!”

Without another word, the group started heading towards the outer edges of the floor, where the windows facing the full moon were to make up for the loss of light. Along the way, as they were moving through the last hallway which branched off into office spaces and cubicles, Flash spotted something on the wall ahead and to the left, reflecting the light shining in from the moon.

“Guys, look!’ He exclaimed, breaking into a quick jog to get to the object quicker. Sure enough, what he’d seen was a fire axe, hidden from his grasp by a panel of glass, with a sign above it that read BREAK GLASS IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, along with a large red alarm positioned above it.

He thought to himself, wondering if he should break the glass or not. On one hand, not only would he likely injure himself in trying to break the glass, but that alarm above it would almost certainly go off, meaning that if the footsteps they’d heard above them wasn’t their friends, whatever it was would immediately know where they were. On the other hand though, this could be their saving grace if push came to shove. There was a very real chance that they’d be found anyway, and in that case having a weapon, any weapon, could mean the difference between life and death.

He looked back towards his fellow survivors, seeking either their praise or scrutination for if he should do it or not.

“I don’t think it’s worth the risk.” Sweet Leaf said, her look one of discouragement.

“I think it could be.” Wallflower said. "I think if we get out of here quick enough after triggering the alarm it’ll be a great distraction for us to get out of here. Plus we’d have a weapon.”

“Hmm. . .” Sweet Leaf pondered. “That could work, but I’m still not too keen on taking that big of a risk. What about Bon Bon and Trixie? There’s no way they’d be able to get out fast enough before this place is swarming with those things.

“Wait! The powers out! Doesn’t that mean we can do this risk-free?” Wallflower exclaimed.

“There could still be a backup somewhere." Flash replied. "So right now it comes down to a coin toss: Do we break the glass and risk an alarm going off leading to the possible deaths of two of our friends. . .” He paused for a second upon hearing more footsteps above them. “. . .Or do we go without and risk not having anything to protect ourselves. . .”

“Ah screw it.” Wallflower said after a moment. “Flash, give me your jacket.”

Flash did as he was asked, taking off his jacket and handing it to Wallflower before questioning it. “What are you-” He asked while he watched her wrap his jacket around her right hand, before punching the glass with all her might, causing it to shatter on impact.

Flash and Sweet Leaf both recoiled in fear from the noise of the shattering glass, though to their relief, the alarm above the case didn’t go off, meaning that it was only the sound of the glass that could give away their position.

That was all that was needed, however.

The sound of footsteps again cut through the air above them, along with the familiar static roar of corruption, now much more intense. Wallflower quickly grabbed the axe from its case, taking a fighting stance gripping it with both hands and facing towards the stairwell.

“LOOK OUT!” Sweet Leaf screamed, pointing a finger towards the ceiling. It was too late though, the other two survivors noticing too late the corrupted image of Snips emerging and then falling from the ceiling above them onto Wallflower. Not expecting an attack from that direction, she fell over, the axe falling off and away to the side, forcing Wallflower to now fight back with only her hands against the entity now trying to tear her apart, screaming herself in desperation.

Hearing the call for help of his friend, Flash dove for the axe where it lay on the floor, grabbing it haphazardly and just as quickly swinging it in Snips' direction in a desperate bid to save Wallflower. He succeded, the axe connecting with Snips’ right elbow just as he had that arm raised to end Wallflower. Drops of blood and corruption splattered against the wall as the axe cut through, followed by an inhuman shriek as he fell away and retreated.

Flash took a fighting stance with the axe like Wallflower had, except this time watching the ceiling just in case. He looked back towards Snips after a moment, ready to fight should he attack again. He didn’t, instead snarling at him before running behind a corner and out of sight, his dismembered arm still laying lifeless on the floor where it had been cut.

“We need to get out of here, before more of those things show up.” Flash said, gritting his teeth and looking back towards his friends. “Wallflower, you okay?” He asked.

“Y-yeah, I’m good.” She replied, Sweet Leaf still helping her get back on her feet. “Thanks for the save.”

“No problem, now come on, let’s go.” Flash said.

“W-wait!” Sweet Leaf exclaimed. “Shouldn’t we go get Trixie and Bon Bon? We have a weapon, and without Trixie we wouldn’t have made it here in the first place!” She paused for a moment to let her words sink in. “I’m not leaving without them.”

Flash thought for a moment. “You’re right.” He admitted. “We’ll go get them, then-” He was cut off by the sound of a loud BANG coming from above them, quickly followed by another. The group stood there dumbfounded for a moment, not realizing immediately what was making the sound.

“Were those gunshots?!” Wallflower exclaimed. “Where could they have found a gun?!”

Another pair of gunshots rang out from the floors above them in reply.

“We don’t have time to go get them.” Flash declared. “If those gunshots were heard outside the building this place is gonna be swarming with those things before long.” He looked back to his two friends, Sweet Leaf wearing a bitter expression and Wallflower a more solemn, accepting one. “I don’t want to leave them behind either, but I don’t think we have a choice.” He said. “Besides, they have a hell of a lot better a chance fighting their way out with a gun than we would with an axe. Now come on, last call.” He said, turning away and starting a slow jog towards the stairwell, axe still in hand. Wallflower and Sweet Leaf both shot each other looks, before hesitantly following Flash. They made it without incident out of the building and onto the road below, taking off into a full sprint out into the ruined city.

Flash spared a moment to look back at the towering office building as they ran. ”I’m sorry, I hope you make it out okay, and if you do, I hope you can find it in yourselves to forgive me.”