The Blackout and the Deleted Spreadsheet

I watched the cursor hover over the ‘delete’ button, my heart hammering against my ribs. Mark’s office felt like a freezer, despite the weak afternoon sun trying to pierce through the grimy blinds. He hadn’t said a word since I walked in, just pointed silently at my monitor.

“Can you explain *this*?” His voice was low, colder than the air in the room, devoid of its usual booming warmth. Rows of red numbers screamed ‘fraud’ under my login ID. I smelled stale coffee, cloying and heavy, mixing with the metallic tang of fear in my mouth.

“That’s impossible, Mark!” I choked out, my hand shaking so violently I couldn’t reach the mouse. “I haven’t even touched this spreadsheet all week. My password was changed just yesterday morning! Someone accessed my account!”

He just stared, eyes unblinking, his expression a mask I’d never seen. Suddenly, a violent spark erupted from the wall outlet behind him, followed by a sickening thud that vibrated through the floorboards. The overhead fluorescent lights buzzed one last time, then the entire building plunged into absolute, deafening darkness.

From the pitch-black hallway, I heard a quiet, unsettling giggle, then a camera snap.

👇 Full story continued in the comments…The darkness was a physical weight, pressing down on me, amplifying the rapid thudding of my own pulse. I scrambled backward, tripping over the low-slung chair and sprawling onto the cold linoleum. Mark remained silent, his form just a darker shadow within the impenetrable blackness.

“Mark?” I called out, my voice a shaky whisper. “Are you okay?”

A long silence followed, punctuated only by the frantic hammering of my heart and the distant, unsettling drip of water. Then, a low groan, and the scraping of a chair.

“Stay… there,” Mark’s voice, raspy and strained, cut through the gloom. It was clear he was closer now, his form beginning to materialize as my eyes slowly adjusted. He stumbled, reaching out, his hand brushing against my arm.

“What happened?” I stammered, fear still gripping me.

He took a deep breath, then another. “I… I don’t know. The power, it just… blew. Someone… hacked in, they’ve got control of the system.”

He felt for his phone in his pocket and fumbled for his phone’s flashlight, before turning the light onto himself. His face was a mask of confusion and growing fear. The light beam danced around his face, revealing a deep gash across his forehead, blood already beginning to pool.

Suddenly, the flashlight beam flickered, then died.

“Damn it,” he muttered, fumbling for something else.

From the hallway, a new sound: the crunch of footsteps and a low, rhythmic humming. It grew closer, the sound echoing eerily in the confined space.

“Hide,” Mark hissed, his voice tight with panic. “Get under the desk, now!”

I didn’t need to be told twice. I crawled behind the desk, my body pressed against the cold metal, trying to make myself as small as possible. The humming grew louder, more distinct, morphing into a chilling melody, like a lullaby sung by a ghost.

A sliver of light appeared under the door of the office and the doorknob slowly turned. It was pushed open just enough for a pair of shiny black boots to be seen.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

“It’s not her,” a female voice whispered, the one I heard earlier. “Just the boss.”

The boots moved, and a form entered the room. I held my breath. Then, a second giggle.

“He’s out cold,” the voice said. “Let’s finish what we started.”

There was a sound of movement, then a gasp and a wet *thwack*.

The room fell silent again. Then, the lights flickered back on, bathing the office in a harsh, unforgiving glare.

Mark was slumped in his chair, a crimson stain blooming across his chest. Standing over him was a woman, her face obscured by shadow, a long, silver scalpel glinting in her hand. Behind her, leaning against the doorframe, a young woman with dark, smiling eyes held up a phone, the camera still running. The spreadsheet on the now-functioning computer screen, displayed a single, green word: “CLEARED”.

“Fraud, cleared.” the first woman said with a smile. “Now we can get to work.”