As abruptly as the screaming had begun, it stopped.
The lights began to go out, in the reverse order that they were turned on, he could hear the heavy clunk of the switches shutting down one after another, quicker now until the building was once again steeped in blackness. This quiet darkness was worse than before, after the calamity in the room, the only sound now his harsh breathing and the feather-light sweeping swish of the last few pieces of paper sliding off open drawers to the floor.
The door slamming shut broke the silence.
He reached down to the floor, scooped up a handful of the papers, and smoothed them into a neat stack. He worked methodically through the night, gathering hundreds of them in his arms and bringing them to the space in the middle of the floor where a pile grew. Once he was sure he had every last one, he wrapped the stack in his coat and tucked the bundle securely under his arm.
The door wouldn't open.
He waited for a few heartbeats in the room, standing motionless before finally taking a deep breath and talking softly.
Open the door, please.
He heard laughter all around him.
Open the door now, please.
More laughter, and the doorknob rattled violently.
Please?
Everything stopped.
The door opened slowly, as wide as it could go and the a single word reverberated through his skull as it echoed through the empty building.
NO!
The door slammed shut again.
He walked to the door and tried the knob gingerly. There was no resistance as he turned it and he opened it again and looked both ways down the long hallway. There was nothing to see in the darkness and so he took a step out. He walked purposefully back to the window at the end of the hall, the same way he had come in and stepped out, back onto the rusted fire escape to make his way back to street-level.
He thought he could hear the faint sound of someone crying, softly like they didn't want anyone to hear. He shook his head as the sound was carried away on the wind and descended the stairs slowly and carefully until he reached the bottom, stepping off onto the wet pavement into the deserted alley.
He broke into a run.
