In the deep, dark black, there was smoke and in the darkness, there was blood.
The stench of both suffocated a young copper haired woman as she rushed across linoleum tiles, slipping on the substance that turned the tiles crimson red. Vision blurred by haze and shadows, she wrenched a semi-conscious blondie to her feet, shouting at her other comrade to get up, get moving, and to do both now. Every moment of hesitation was another moment of inhaling smoke that turned the world sideways, smoke that would destroy any possibility of escape. The haze brought the young woman's gut to her throat, and she began to run, all while choking on fumes. Because Asha knew all too well that where there's smoke, there's fire.
The young woman Asha was dragging along by the arm coughed similarly, only the blonde wasn't conscious enough to piece together exactly why she felt as if sandpaper lined her lungs. Her feet slid out from underneath her, splashing in warm pools of red, a sensation that would've brought the young woman to her knees had Asha not wrenched her up and shoved her forward. Far along the corridor, a green exit sign glowed faintly. But the young woman couldn't fathom walking all that way, not when she felt her consciousness slip away, not when the memory of how this event came to be was beginning to become shrouded in mist. Deep in her core, Conifer felt her gut wrench as a root took hold, filling her with the overwhelming urge to look behind her.
Conifer would find the gruesome sight of her brunette teammate struggling under the weight of another. The brunette felt her knees turn to water and her head spin as the stench of crimson liquid overwhelmed her. Warmth coursed down through her arms and onto the floor. It was splattered across her face, and she could taste it faintly. With each drop that dribbled down, the young woman quickened her pace. Her head swam with blurry visions and blame, so much so that she didn't hear Asha call for her to hurry. The best she could do in response was stumble along, praying for the bright light of morning to wash over them. Although Billow was the leader of her small band of heroes, she hardly felt like it.
Billow looked down to find her pigtailed teammate's eyes fluttering. The more startling thing was the absence of her characteristic grin. The young pigtailed woman stared ahead blankly, her hands and feet both numb. The air hummed and vibrated with electricity, and Luxia found herself losing consciousness just in time to notice the odd glow that emanated from her skin.
All around, there was a suffocating quiet, and even more so, a darkness. The teammates remaining in consciousness could barely see let alone avoid the smoke that plagued their lungs. All around them there was fear, and all around them there was dread.
Still, Conifer found herself grasping at hope. Surely, help was waiting for them, surely someone wouldn't be willing to let blood stain snow. All three of Luxia's teammates rationalized that this was just a brief falter, once the light of day emerged, they'd be safe. In wistful thinking, they'd one day tell the story of their brief falter. And they'd thank fate for sparing a soul.
But when white crystalline moonlight filled the air, they discovered that fate's mercy was finite.
