Wordmongers' Masque
The End of Days.
"Mike, we need to find a way to climb down to the next floor down. Maybe make a rope?" Paul's looking at me for an idea. Which is insane. I'm his boss, but when this sort of stuff happens, I'm not sure that really applies anymore. At least he's thinking. With the stairs blocked off and the elevator too dangerous to use. But there's no way we're going to be able to get everyone from the tenth to the ninth floor. The best bet we have is get someone out who can tell rescuers where we are.
I walk towards Jen. She seems to have stopped crying, but she's still not looking at anyone.
"Jennifer. You're the smallest here. Do you think you'd be okay if Paul and I lowered you down to the next floor?" I put my hand on hers and try to give the sincerest smile I can manage. She looks up from her hands and into my eyes. And I can almost instantly tell that she trusts me. She grips my hand tightly and nods her head.
We all talk for a few moments, each of us deciding what the best course of action is. Jen, once she gets down, would take the stairs all the way to the ground floor. She'll then tell the emergency crews exactly where we are. If she can't make it all the way down, she'll come back. She nods her head and we make sure she understands.
I kneel down to the floor, as close to the window as I can. It's quiet. And it has been for a while. It bothers me that I didn't notice when all the screaming stopped. It bothers me, but I put it out of mind. Jennifer gives Paul and I each one of her hands and she begins to climb backwards out the window. The glass cuts into my legs and I regret having not swept it away, but it's manageable.
"I can get in. Just a little bit lower." Her voice sounds stronger than just a few minutes ago. Something about being useful gives people some courage. She swings her body and slips her hand out of mine. Immediately I look out the window to make sure that she hasn't fallen. The smoke is too thick to tell. But the silence isn't encouraging.
"Made it!" she shouts from below us. Paul and I both sigh deeply and stand up. We look at each other and smile. It feels good.
A scream pierces the silence. Jennifer. She screams again.
"Jennifer!" I frantically look out the window, trying to see any sort of clue. Nothing. "JENNIFER!"
Her scream is abruptly cut off. What the hell would make her scream? We all screamed and cried at first. People we knew were dead in front of us. But... that was done. We were able to manage now, because we had to get out.
So what the hell made her scream.
I turn around to look at the group. Before I have time to say anything, my eyes become fixated behind them.
The elevator lights tell me it's on floor nine. Before it was sitting on the ground floor.
"Uh. Paul..." I nod my head to get him to look at it. And as I do, the light switches to ten.
The moment feels too surreal. As the doors open the hallway is illuminated with electric light. And there are two men standing in the elevator. I'm scared before I even fully realize it. They don't look at all like men. Horns come from their head. Tails from their backs.
They look like the devil.
With guns.
I dive behind a broken wall as they begin to raise them. Paul copies my movements. A high pitched hum blares up again, this time I can definitely tell where it is coming from.
Them.
"What the f-" Paul's voice echoes through the remains of the office. I clamp my hand on his mouth. I'm trying to listen for what just happened, but before I can determine anything I hear the voices of the rest of the group. They're screaming in pain. Someone manages to get up and start running. His face was too burnt and bloodied to tell. He's skin has boiled over his eyes and he runs straight out the window and his scream carries all the way down.
"Get... anything. And we're going to wait until they're just outside the door. Then charge them." I whisper while my hand searches for something to use as a weapon. Instead of something deadly, I grab the chair that Paul had used to clear glass. He has two fist sized chunks of concrete. And we just crouch and wait.
They don't say as word as they walk down the hall, but their steps betray their positions. I wait until they are right outside the door before bringing the chair up like a shield and charging. I manage to drive the... creature into a desk. His legs stay standing while his torso twists backwards.
Behind me, Paul screams out. I grab the gun off the dead creature and run back to the hall. Paul is on the ground and I try to fire the weapon I'm holding. It takes half a second to realize there isn't even a trigger. Quickly, I throw it at the devil and am running right behind it. The gun hits it in the face and then my tackle takes him to the ground.
Paul is already up with another piece of debris. He begins smashing it against the creature's head. Blue goo sprays out hitting us both. I pull him off and we walk down to the elevator. We try to keep our eyes away from the melted flesh that was our coworkers, but it's stuck in our mind. We stay silent as it makes the trip to the ground floor.
We peer out into the lobby and, seeing nothing, go outside.
Paul is limping, barely able to walk. I give him my shoulder for support and we make our way across the street. Just one glance backwards tells me that getting out was almost pure luck. Of a building with hundreds of people working in it, we were the only two to survive.
I try to get my mind out calm but I can't. The devil killed everyone. It sounds almost funny.
I look at what's left of the body of whoever it was that jumped out.
Yeah. Not so funny.
"... Christ, Mike. Is... is it over?"
Looking out over the mess of buildings and bodies, I try to hold back tears. The voices crying out. Charred metal and flesh. This wasn't a war. It was a slaughter.
"No. I don't think this is over." He looks up at me, trying to understand. My eyes are fixated on the sky. Giant ships looming over the city, blasting fire at anything that moves. "I think this is just the beginning."
You be careful. People in masks cannot be trusted.
The Princess Bride