”One Dark and Stormy Night"

The darkness that enveloped the room was not one of a late night, but was actually very early in the morning. The downpour that battered the windows blocked out any light in the cavern above that usually would have shown a nice orange rise. It was dreary to put it lightly. The streets below the apartment were empty, seldom a few buns unlucky enough to get stuck with working on a day like this. 

Irvyll sat in the nook of the window. Sipping a cup of dark roast, and reading mindlessly in candle light from a novel recounting the events of a massive flood. Fitting for such a day. With how much water seemed to seep down into the cities of Burrowgatory this time of year, he'd almost wonder if it would reach a limit of overflow into a tide that would drown out the infrastructure. Although finding any records of or such events only led to stories of buildings left with structural water damage and mold after the month's end. But never anything as drastic as his imagination. 

He turned to flip the switch of his lamp. Unsurprisingly, the light did not flicker to life. Just as had happened over the night as he was researching news reports for his next article. The computer he had been using unceremoniously fading to black with no warning but a loud click of the circuit breaker. Hours, an ongoing blackout stopping him from both work and play. All he could do was read. 

He was not going to try and battle the rain, leaving the confines of his dry apartment remained out of the question. Reading by the little bit of light he could get from his candle was the best he could do until the electricians finally woke up for work. A knock on a door caused him to cock his head, but it was not his. A bun in the next apartment had asked if the power was out for the rest of the building. 

Irvyll walked to his door, twisting the knob and peeking out to see his neighbours still drowsy in their conversation. The hall was even darker than the apartment, the lack of windows made the eerie inky black feel thick. The neighbors talked in the light of a flashlight that one had brought with them, but that didn't stop them from noticing the flame of Irvyll's candle peeking through the crack. 

The bun in the hall called out to him. "Hey. You're out too? Damn. This rain is getting ridiculous. You got any more candles? I ain't got a light in mine. He only has the one flashlight." 

Irvyll pushed the door open a bit more. The ghosts over his shoulders peering out of the crack now as well. "You can have this one. I have more in the closet." He holds out the thick glass jar holding the candle. The neighbour gave him a smile as he took it and walked back to his door, giving the other neighbour a wave on the way in. He'd lied. That was his only candle. Now in the complete blackness of the hallway. He stood motionless.

Perhaps, the book wasn't the only way he could spend his time. Letting his eyes adjust to the dark, Irvyll walked the empty halls. Taking in the sound of the rain beating against the ceiling and the shuffle of buns in their rooms figuring out their own power outages. Irvyll walked until he found the stairwell to the first floor. Once inside, he listened carefully. Nobody was around, and only the gentle patter of the rain was all that could be heard. He sat down, adjusting his voice slightly and coughing a few times to get himself comfortable to sing.

♪Here's a lullaby to close your eyes♪

♪It was always you that I despised♪

♪I don't feel enough for you to cry♪

♪Here's a lullaby to close your eyes♪

♪Goodbye♪

The sound of his voice echoed off the concrete walls. Allowing his deep monotonous words to reverberate and leave a haunting resonance. He performed a song from one of his favourite horror games. He'd seen many videos of people singing scary songs inside of stairwells to potentially catch anyone off guard. Perhaps what would make his morning more interesting, would be the ghost stories told in his complex. Quietly creeping back to his room, he noticed the sounds in the other rooms got deafeningly quiet. The rain was all that was left to hear. 

Suddenly. Click. The sounds of several startled screams could be heard from the rooms on the floor. The power had been restored, and the halls were once again lit. Some neighbours peeked out of their rooms to look for the source of the singing. But by then. The hall was completely empty.