[b]“Well, no, not a flashlight, but I do have my phone.”[/b]

“Whatever works,” Sho replied with a shrug. He reached into his bag to retrieve his own cell phone, setting it on a flashlight app. He finally had a good use for the stupid thing. He gestured for the other two to join them at the entrance.

Near the door, Haruka had stopped and was staring at something on the wall. She looked shell-shocked. Sho hurried to her side and followed her gaze to the dark red lettering. He read the bloody looking message, and it only increased his sense of urgency. There was something so deadly here that the entire world was in danger? It was hard to believe, but then again a lot of unbelievable things had happened in just the last fifteen minutes. He couldn’t afford to play ignorant.

“Cryptic,” Sho breathed. “We should… we should call the police. We’re in over our heads.” He turned off his phone’s flashlight app and tried to dial up 110. “What the…? No signal? It was working fine just ten minutes ago!” He heard the rising panic in his voice and took a deep breath. He had to keep a level head. Freaking out wouldn’t help anyone.

“Okay,” Sho said. “So we’re on our own. Supposing this message is for real, that means we’re trapped here with some dangerous… thing. I propose we stick together until we find our way outta this place. No one should wander off by him or herself. That’s all I’ve got for a plan. I’m not big on horror movies, so I don’t really know how these sort of situations play out.” He looked at the others in turn. “Any more ideas?”