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Prologue 5,751 words
Chapter 1: From the frying pan...1,862 words
Chapter 2: Into the fire...5,362 words
Chapter 3: Alone again1,440 words
Chapter 4: Denial6,045 words
Chapter 5: Once more unto the breach1,832 words
Chapter 6: The truth will set you free8,098 words
Chapter 7: A new day873 words

Prologue

Written by: Thegodhand

Edited by: Toasthandle

Creative consultants: JakeHeritagu & Brony17

The carriage rolled down the unpaved road, bouncing along the uneven path, pulled slowly by a single brown stallion with a white mane. Through a single small window on the door of the black carriage, amid the dim interior, sat a pegasus staring blankly at the blue sky above that matched his eyes, lost in thought. The pegasus had a bright pink coat, at odds with the gloomy expression etched on his muzzle. His short black mane and tail lay unkempt and tangled.

The pegasus watched as the sun moved across the sky while idly toying with the silver chain around his neck that held his inhaler. It wasn’t until Celesta had begun placing the sun under the horizon to make way for the moon that the carriage made it’s way onto the cobblestone road leading to it’s destination. The orange light of the evening sun lit a large wooden sign, faded with age on the side of the road. The carriage’s lone occupant watched the sign pass by reading the message written in chipped black lettering “Welcome to Ponyville”.

‘Looks like my trip is almost complete’ thought Skybridge

Colorful cottages lined the street as ponys of every type went about their business, eager to complete their day's activities before retiring to their homes for the night. Many of the ponies stopped to watch the carriage pass by with interest, caught by the uncommon sight of a new arrival in town. Sky viewed the town filled with it’s unknown ponies from the window with a gleam of worry in his eye.

Just as the carriage rolled up to a somewhat run down looking apartment building it slowed to a halt.

“We have arrived at Ponyville Heights sir.” the colt pulling the carriage declared loudly.

Sky stepped out of the carriage into the evening air and looked over the building. Unlike the beautiful homes he had passed on his way into ponyville this three story complex looked neglected and aged. The brown paint had begun to chip away from the wooden walls and the small flight of concrete stairs leading to the double doors of the lobby were cracked and worn. The lawn around the complex was in dire need of cutting and had patches where the grass had become brown and stiff.

‘Well you get what you pay for right? Who knows, maybe the rooms are nice. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover after all.’ Sky thought as he looked upon the underwhelming visage.

Sky was pulled out of his thoughts as the brown stallion behind him his cleared his throat. Sky turned to face the carriage driver, seeing that the stallion was looking at a small yellow notepad in his hooves.

“Let’s see now, one way trip from Manehatten, single occupant with four luggage items. That will be forty four bits Mr. Bridge”

“Yes of course Mr. Pully, let me get my coin purse from my suitcase” Sky said as he turned and walked to the back of the carriage where his luggage was roped in place. After taking his luggage of three ragged brown suitcases and a black cello case that stood out in it’s pristine condition, he unzipped the front of one of the suitcases and pulled a small sack out with his mouth. Walking back to Mr. Pully he took the purse in his hooves and shook out the fair into the waiting hooves of the driver.

After counting the bits and placing them into a lockbox on the front of the carriage Mr. Pully hooked himself back in position and with a final wave goodbye to Sky pulled the carriage away.

Sky watched the carriage roll down the now dark street. With only a sliver of moon out that night the road was meagerly lit by the street lamps spaced out every block. Head held low, Sky turned to his cello case and unwilling to leave it in the street while he went inside to get his key, grabbed the handle in his mouth. Starting toward the steps leading to Ponyville Heights he raised his head only to see a world composed of pink fur and blue eyes.

“GAH?!” Sky shouted as he dropped the case and fell over backwards in shock.

“Hi im Pinkie Pie! I saw you riding into town and wanted to meet you! I welcome everyone to Ponyville and...”

Pinkie continued her welcome rant, oblivious to the look of fury on the face of the wheezing pegasus before her. Sky reached for his inhaler only to find the necklace was no longer around his neck. ‘The necklace must have slipped off when that Pink pony made me jump!’ Sky began turning in place frantically searching the ground around him for the necklace.

“...Oh! and at the party you're going to meet everyone and make lot’s of new... hey, are you even listening?!” Pinkie exclaimed.

Face red from anger and difficulty drawing breath, Sky turned to look Pinkie in the eye while gritting his teeth and drawing slow, shallow breaths spat “Een hal ur” at Pinkie.

Pinkie’s eyes widened with realization and she blurted out in a single breath “Ohmygoshimsosorrydon’tworryi’llfindit”.

As Pinkie turned her back to Sky he saw the silver necklace dangling from her tail, tangled in the messy hairs. He quickly lunged forward before the mare could turn again and grasped the necklace in his teeth, quickly pulling the necklace free along with the pink hairs caught in the chain eliciting an indignant yelp from Pinkie.

“Ow! Hey what’s the big idea?!” When Pinkie turned back to Sky she saw him holding the inhaler to his mouth while taking a deep breath, relief apparent on his face.

“Oh great you found it! Guess it was in my tail huh? I’m always finding stuff in there!”

Sky however was not listening as he was far more concerned with the cello case the insane mare had caused him to drop. Seeing that there was no apparent damage to the case he focused his attention back on the offending mare.

“Where do you get off jumping me like that?! Making me drop my instrument, giving me an attack, only to have my inhaler get in your filthy tale!”

Pinkie slumped under Sky’s glare, her smile turning into a small frown “I’m sorry, I just wanted to welcome you...”.

Sky raised a brow, rage leaving his voice being replaced by weary irritation “And the best way you could think to do that was to jump into my face in the dark?”. Pinkie opened her mouth to reply but Sky cut her off, saying with exasperation “Look, I’m going to go inside and unpack my things so please just give me some space.”.

“Oh..well okay, I’ll just talk to you later then. Oh ya, you never told me your name silly!” Pinkie said, her smile coming back.

Skybridge sighed “Sky, my name is Sky. Alright?”

“Okey dokey Sky! See you later!” With that She was gone in a pink blur down the street.

Sky watched the street for a moment, shocked at the speed with which Pinkie had retreated until finally picking up where he left off. Walking through the doors of the lobby with cello in mouth, Sky gazed around. The lobby was a small room with a brown tiled floor and white painted walls from which hung a few cheap looking paintings of nature scenery. At the far end of the Lobby was a door leading to the first floor apartments and a stairway leading up to the second floor. On the immediate right of the lobby entrance was a small desk on which sat a few pens and a bell, behind the desk was a door stating ‘Employees only’.

After ringing the bell a third time an elderly stallion with a blue coat and yellow greying mane came out from the door behind the desk.

“Hey there. Names Sundered Land, just call me Sunderland, everypony does. I’m the landlord here, and you must be the new tenant in room three-oh-three.” he said with a tired smile on his face, yellow eyes focused on Sky.

“Skybridge, nice to meet you sir.” Sky’s voice lacked any eagerness to be meeting this new pony and his blue eyes kept themselves lowered to the ground.

After being introduced to his room and given the key Sky proceeded to bring his belongings into his apartment, locking the bolt on his front door and placing the small security chain in place. The apartment was small but spacious enough for a single pony to live in. To the left of the front door was a small kitchen area closed in by a chest high countertop with a space at the hall to let one enter the kitchen. The kitchen floor was a checkered black and white tile while along the outer wall of the kitchen area was a sink, a small refrigerator without a freezer and a old gas oven.

In the same room as the kitchen separated by the countertop was the living area. The area was carpeted in a short brown rug that while clean bore many stains from years of use. The only furniture currently in the room was a ragged yellow loveseat facing the two closed windows on the far wall that overlooked the street, a bookshelf set against the right wall next to the hallway that led deeper into the apartment, and large footlocker sitting against the right wall just below a large splotchy black stain on the wall.

Sky walked to the cramped hall of the apartment finding a brown wooden door immediately to his right, and a pair of similar doors at the end of the hall opposite of each other to the right and left of the hall. The first door on the right revealed itself to be a small room with a washer and dryer inside as well as some shelves on the wall bearing some cleaning supplies and closed cans of white paint. ‘Well I suppose I can use the paint to cover that stain on the living area wall.’
Sky closed the door and reached the end of the hall opening the final door on his right. Inside was a bathroom with a single pony sized stand up shower encased in glass that distorted the sight inside for privacy. Across from the shower was a toilet that bore a brown stained ring in the bowel, next to which sat a small sink fixed into the white tiled wall. Sky grimaced as he looked over the condition of the toilet, sighing as he decided he would have a lot of cleaning to do tomorrow if he wanted this place to be livable.

Opening the door on the left side of the hall Sky found his favorite room in the apartment, the bedroom. Sky finally allowed himself a small smile looking over the room. There was already a mattress in place covered in some dark yellow sheets and a rather flat looking pillow. The floor was covered in the same carpeting as the living area, and the walls were similarly covered in a fading white paint. Against the wall on the same side as the door was an indentation with a coat rack in it to serve as a closet for the few clothes an average pony might have. Against the opposite wall was a single window near the head of the bed that looked over the street, a pair of lamp posts directly in the path of the window cast a bright light into the room. ‘Guess i’ll have to keep the curtain closed at night if I want to get any sleep in here’ Sky thought, the small smile he had finally allowed himself vanished as quickly as it had come.

Finally against the right wall in front of him stood a desk and chair made from the same tan wood. The chair creaked noisily as Sky settled himself into it. The surface of the desk was covered in a multitude of small scratches and nicks in the wood. On the left and right side of the desk where the sides of the desk reached down to the floor were a pair of drawers. The two on the left slid out easily when Sky pulled on them, as did the top drawer on the right. However, the bottom right resisted Sky’s attempt to open it. Placing both hooves on the handle Sky pulled on the drawer only to have the desk pull slightly with him while the drawer stayed firmly closed.

Snorting in irritation Sky allowed the desk to defeat him for now and shuffled out of the chair and over to the bed. Sky made a face of disgust taking a closer look at the condition of the sheets ‘No way in tartarus am I sleeping on those sheets and pillow until I have them washed. Who knows what could have been on them.’.

Not wanting to touch the sheets with his mouth, Sky carefully used his front hooves to remove the sheets and pillow. Draping them over his back and using his wings to lift the hanging cloth so as not to drag across the floor sky walked back to the washer closet and placed them on top to be dealt with when he had purchased detergent.

Tired as he was, Sky was eager to make his way back to the bare bed to sleep for the night, but as he started to make his way back he abruptly stopped and widened his eyes. ‘I almost forgot the photo! I can’t leave him in there all night...it wouldn't feel right to sleep without him there to keep an eye on me.’

Sky quickly made his way over to one of his suitcases and pulled from it a framed photo of a younger teenage Sky and another larger Pegasus colt standing in grass in front of a large tree during a bright, sunny day. The other colt in the picture had a plain tan coat with a long blue mane and tail, and was looking at the camera with his bright green eyes with a toothy grin plastered on his face. The colt had a foreleg draped over Sky’s withers and Sky was looking up at him while laughing.

Gliding back to the bedroom Sky placed the picture on the desk facing the bed and went over to close the curtains to block the light from the two street lamps outside. Settling down in bed Sky gave a last look to the photo before closing his eyes. As Sky began to drift off to sleep a single tear made it’s way down his cheek as he muttered “Goodnight Shield”.
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Sky woke up with a start, his heart was pounding in his chest and he was struggling to get even the most meager breath into his lungs. Grasping the inhaler from his neck he released several sprays into his throat. Slowly his breathing became easier and Sky continued to sit in bed, wide eyed and sweaty as he waited for his heart to calm. He couldn't remember the nightmare, and as he racked his brain for the cause of his distress he had the feeling he didn't want to remember it. All he knew was that it had been awful.

Not having soap, Sky settled for simply rinsing himself off in the shower to deal with the stench of his sweat from the nightmare. After shaking himself dry he went to the kitchen to get something from the fridge to fend off his morning hunger. He had always been the cook at home for both his father and his brother. Sky had just always had a knack for it, though not as much as his music but still it was a talent of his.

He opened the fridge only to stare blankly at it’s empty interior. “Right...you haven't gone grocery shopping yet.”

Opening the suitcase that held his supplies he pulled out a large wood mug and proceeded to settle for a glass of water for breakfast. His stomach grumbled it’s protest to the situation. “Stuffy in here” Sky said, flying over to the living rooms windows. The windows proved difficult to open but in the end he had managed to get both of them fully open, working up some new sweat in the proces.

Sky dug through his belongings, pulling out his dark blue saddle bags and strapping them on.

‘Okay so objectives for today. Get food, get bath and laundry supplies...’ Thinking of the stain on the wall and the can of white paint in the closet he added one more thing to purchase ‘and a paint brush. Then just need to unpack.’

Sky undid the locks on his door and pulled on the handle, only to have it barely give when he pulled. ‘Oh you have got to be bucking kidding me! How many things in here are gonna give me trouble opening them?!’ Giving a few more harsh pulls on the door and snorting in anger Sky managed to open the door, step outside, and angrily buck it closed with a rear hoof making sure to lock it afterwards.

As Sky stomped down the concrete stairs outside of ponyville heights into the street something gave him pause. Next to the stairs at the street was a large wooded lamppost with a mesh cage to hold the fireflies that would be added at dusk. Everything about the lamp post seemed perfectly normal but Sky couldn't help but feel that something was...off about it. He looked back and up seeing the window of his apartment bedroom. ‘Wait thats it! Wasn’t there a second lamp post right next to this one last night?’ Sky simply shrugged this off deciding that he must have been mistaken. there were no signs of something having been removed recently so there couldn't have been a second lamp post.

It was late in the afternoon when Sky finally made it back to the door of three-oh-three. His shopping list proved too large for one pair of saddlebags and had been forced to purchase and equip and second pair to carry all that he bought. The town had proven slightly hard to navigate for a newcomer, especially when having to avoid and run away from a certain party obsessed mare.

Sky unlocked his front door and remembering how it had resisted to being opened this morning slammed his shoulder into the door to open it, only too have it smoothly give way causing Sky’s over abundance of force to send him falling to his side into the apartment. Luckily the straps of the bags held avoiding the need for a cleanup.

Glaring at the front door as he shut and locked it sky growled “Make up your mind. Either you’re easy to open or you’re not!”. Realizing he was verbally reprimanding a door, Sky sighed and rubbed his face with his hooves in exasperation.

Sky turned into the apartment only to increase his frustration when he found the windows he had struggled so much to open were now shut. This time no matter how Sky pulled at the windows he could not get them to move in the slightest.

Declaring this another temporary win, Sky proceeded to unpack his things. It was well into the night by the time the unpacking was finished, the bed sheets had been washed, and he had eaten his quick dinner of raw carrots he had bought from an orange maned mare at the market.

The apartment now at least looked a bit more homey in Sky’s eyes. His cello case now sat in the far corner of the living room, open and displaying it’s contents next to a small fold up chair to sit on while playing. Pots, pans, dishes, and the like were now stored in the kitchen shelves and the fridge was stocked with a variety of vegetables. Sky stepped into the bedroom looking contently around the room. The bed was now properly made and the desk had been set up with his clock, writing instruments, papers, and books of sheet music, all ready for him to compose.

The only source of irritation left in the room was the bedroom window which like the ones in the living room had not only had been shut when he returned, but could not be forced open. As Sky looked out the window however his complaints about the window were immediately forgotten. Outside shining clear as day in front of the building were not one, but two identical lamp posts filled with fireflies and sitting right next to each other.

Sky’s eyes widened and feeling a slight tightening in his chest took a pull from his inhaler. It didn't make sense, he was sure there had been only one lamp post outside. He even took note of it when he had returned to Ponyville Heits after shopping. Sky was tempted to go outside to triple check but knew that would solve nothing. He knew what he saw outside and he knew what he was seeing at that moment. “It..must be something with the window. Ya, it’s probably the glass bending the light or something.” He said with trepidation.

Eager to change his focus from the oddity, Sky planned his next day as he got into bed and beneath the sheets. ‘Okay, tomorrow I need to clean, paint over that stain, and get to writing my next piece. That means I have no reason to leave and can finally relax.’

As Sky settled his head on the pillow with a content smile he looked to the Photo facing him from the desk. His smile was instantly whipped from his face. “Night Shield” Sky said with his voice breaking as he lay his head back down on the pillow and drifted off to sleep.
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Sky hit the floor with a loud thud as he woke attempting to scream through his burning lungs. His limbs were tangled in the bed sheets leaving him to struggle wildly as he panicked. He couldn't get his hoof free to grab at the inhaler around his neck to free him from the strangling pressure in his chest. As he writhed on the floor desperately trying to lift out his right hoof, his heart pounded in his chest and darkness started to creep into the edges of his vision. As his struggles began to weaken, the cloth around his right leg shifted, freeing his hoof. Clutching to the inhaler he immediately shoved in in his mouth and ejected it’s lifesaving spray.

Sky wasn't sure how long he lay on the floor next to his bed, just staring at the cracks in the ceiling while he recovered from his near death. Again he couldn't remember the nightmare that had caused this, though he felt that this one had been different from the other somehow, and that it had been much worse. As he got up from the floor and tossed the sheets back onto the bed he looked the the photo with Shields smiling face on his desk and felt compelled to hold in close against his chest for a moment. Letting his tears flow freely he remembered how Shield had always been able to calm him down when things got bad. It was almost like Sky hadn't needed the inhaler when he knew his brother would be there for him.

Gathering himself he looked at the clock on his desk and saw that it was almost noon already. Sky showered while humming Hall of the Pony king to himself. He had finished cleaning his body but he continued to stay under the warm spray of water letting it calm him. There was suddenly a metallic groan from the wall behind the shower head and the water abruptly stopped.

Sky turned the knobs of the shower in different directions eliciting no response, then proceeded to bang his head repeatedly against the glass wall of the shower letting out a groan far louder than the pipes had made.

“Well Mr. Bridge, I wasn't able to find anything wrong with the pipes and none of the other tenets are having problems. So it must be something wrong with the pipes in your shower itself.” Sunderland the landlord explained while standing in the hall outside three-oh-three. “I can get a guy by tomorrow to knock out some of the tiles in your shower wall to get at the pipes, alright?”

Sky stood in the apartment on the other side of the open doorway, which had thankfully opened without a problem when the landlord had come knocking. “I understand Mr. Sunderland, I should be in all day tomorrow playing so I’ll let him in when he comes by.” Sky had severe reservations about letting some strange repair pony into his apartment for any reason, but unless he felt like showering in the kitchen sink there was no alternative.

With that Sunderland said his goodbye and Sky closed the front door. As Sky turned though he saw the stuck windows of his apartment and remembered he needed to tell Mr. Sunderland about those as well. However, when Sky pulled on the door it refused to budge. “Oh by Luna’s frozen nipples not again!” Sky shouted, face turning red with rage. He heaved on the door again and again, going so far as to hold on with his front hooves while bracing himself against the wall with his back and flapping his wings as hard as he could, but the door didn't even creak or groan, let alone move.

“FINE! I didn't want to go out today anyway!” Sky shouted as he bucked both his back hooves against the door in revenge.

The cleaning had gone smoothly and the apartment not had a presentable appearance. All that was left to do was paint over that splotchy black stain over the footlocker in the living room. Setting the now open paint can down next to him Sky took the paintbrush he had purchased yesterday in his mouth and dipped it into the white paint. The apartment however seemed content to frustrate him at every turn, as while he painted he noticed that the paint would not stay on the wall anywhere there was black, instead running off completely leaving the stain untouched.

Furious at the apparently faulty paint, Sky was about to buck the open can across the room until he was surprised by the sound of his shower running.

Letting a smile climb onto his face and relaxing his body in relief, Sky forgot the pains of the day at the thought of his shower running again. That would mean he would not have to let anyone in to fix it, which would be a very welcome change.

Sky opened his bathroom door and was assaulted by a wave of steamy air. Apparently while messing with the shower knobs he must have turned the water to it’s hottest setting. The bathroom was like a sauna, so thick with steam that he could barely see. As Sky stepped closer to the shower however, he swore he could see the distorted image of a pony though the haze of steam and blur of the frosted glass shower door. Leaping forward and opening the door Sky raised his hoof ready to hit whoever was in his bathroom ... only to find the shower completely empty.

Sky turned off the shower and walked out, closing the door behind him with a heavy sigh and his head low. ‘All the stress today really got to me I guess if i’m acting that stupid.’

Settling himself into bed and saying his good night to the picture on his desk Sky thought about the next day. ‘Well today might not have been overly pleasant, but tomorrow I can take a shower and send the repair pony away so I can be by myself to practice.’

Sky was about to let himself drift to sleep when he remembered what had happened this morning. Deciding to play it safe for the night, Sky chose not to lay under the sheets while he went to sleep.

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Sky woke slowly, pleased to not have had a nightmare this time. Looking out the window Sky saw it was still pitch black outside, leaving him to wonder why he had woken up. It was then he noticed it was hot, very hot. Even though he had not had a nightmare the heat was enough for him to once again wake up covered in sweat. Looking to the door of his bedroom he could see light coming from the crack under it. Concerned he had left the hallway light on Sky opened the door, only to be assaulted by a wave of heat and smoke hitting him hard in the face.

Coughing on the smoke, Sky ducked down and pulled from his inhaler. Stepping out into the hallway, Sky’s eyes opened wide in terror. The apartment beyond the hall was completely engulfed in flames. A solid wall of burning death stood between him and the living room, and it was spreading down the hall fast. Running to the window in his bedroom Sky began to frantically pull at its handle. Normally it would be too high of a fall to jump to the ground below, especially with the concrete to land on. However, if Sky could get out the window he could safely fly to the ground.

Unfortunately no matter how much he pulled at the window, it would not open. The smoke grew heavier, billowing into the room in a choking black torrent . The fire in the hall outside of his room crept even closer as Sky nearly found himself frozen in panic . With a gasp for air, he managed to pull himself back into the moment and away from his despair, as a wave of heat lashed across his entire body. He could feel the feathers on his wings nearly singe at the rippling blaze passed over him; the only way he knew he could get out was through that window ... ‘but how?’. Thinking as quickly as his oxygen starved nerves would allow, his eyes fell upon the desk chair through the burning haze of smoke. Fighting his panic with a sudden clarity, Sky grabbed the solid oak desk chair with his front hooves and smashed it into the window as hard as his screaming muscles could manage. The chair smashed into matchsticks and kindling as it collided with the window, which remained completely undamaged.

Sky’s eyes shrunk to pinpricks as he stared in horror at the sight before him, coughing from the smoke and from the asthma that it was irritating. He could feel like flames licking at his back as he desperately punched at the glass with his hooves to no avail. In agony, he collapsed to the ground as the flames began to eat at his flesh, all the while unable to draw any more breath from the smoke filled air. The pain from the flames subsided as inky darkness slowly crept across his eyes. All he could do before losing consciousness was mouth the word ‘help’ for no pony to hear.
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Sky woke from the memorable nightmare with a groan. The only consolation to him for another restless night was that he was not sweaty and had no difficulty breathing.

Sky’s whole body felt sore and his head pounded. He felt like he hadn’t gotten any sleep even though the clock on his desk clearly stated it was nine in the morning. Shuffling into the bathroom, he laid his necklace on the sink while looking at himself in the mirror.

His pink coat seemed to have lost some of it’s brightness while his black mane was even more disheveled and tangled than it usually was. His eyes were bloodshot with dark circles forming around them. Hoping that a warm shower would relieve even the smallest fraction of his tension, Sky stuck his right fore leg under the shower head and reached with his other hoof to turn the shower knob.

Sky let out a sudden shriek, and jumped away from the shower drawing his right leg to his chest. Instead of water flowing from the showerhead, a stream of warm blood was cascading onto the shower floor and had coated his outstretched hoof.

Eyes wide and gasping for breath Sky turned to the sink and grabbed for his inhaler with his unsoiled hoof. After taking two long drags, he turned on the sink and fervidly scrubbed at his arm, splashing water on his chest over and over even after all traces of the blood were no longer on his fur. After several minutes of manic washing, Sky finally paused taking deep breaths and whimpering. His soft cries hushed as he felt the bile rise to the back of his throat and lurched himself over to the toilet to vomit.

Once done heaving, he began to calm slightly and noticed that although the air was thick with the smell of blood, the shower had stopped running. Hesitantly, Sky looked behind him into the shower, only to see the once white tiles soaked in blood. A slow crimson drip continued to fall from the showerhead, each drop landing with a sickening splash that left Sky gagging.

Disgusted, Sky closed the shower door and backed out of the bathroom slamming it’s door shut as he left.

“I need...I need to get out of here. Get a guard, or... something.” Sky said while staring at the bathroom door, still panting. Trembling, Sky walked down the hall and turned to leave the apartment, stopping dead the moment the front door came into view.

The door, once an unassuming portal, was now wrapped with large heavy chains which themselves ran through metal loops set into the walls next to the door. Large padlocks that bore no dials or keyholes to be unlocked held the chains firmly in place, while scrawled on the door in dried blood just beneath the peephole were the words:

DONT GO OUT!!

-Shield

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