11:35 pm

Harry Mathews was typing away at his desk, figuring out the next article to publish. The wind howled outside his house as he crumpled up his half-written article and threw it in the dustbin, where it joined an already existing pile of crumpled paper balls. At 11:35, lightning flashed as he stared out of his window, startled and worried, looking at the impending storm.

Akira was lying on her bed, facing the ceiling as she thought about what she saw at the party. All her doors and windows were locked, she had checked twice. At 11:35 pm, lightning flashed as she sat up in her bed, as fear clutched her heart. The rain sounded like a thousand fingers tapping on the windowsill.

Jose was still at the library, for some reason, he had no will to go home. Surrounded by the books, he felt a bit of comfort that only Antonio and a good drink could give him. At 11:35 pm, lightning flashed as he passed the criminal records room and a queasy feeling seeped its way into his stomach, the dark hallway playing tricks on his mind.

Akeno was cooped up at The Ant's Nest, waiting for either the day to break or the rain to stop, whichever happened first. At 11:35 pm, lightning flashed as he passed room 237. A vague silhouette stared back at him at the end of the corridor, nearly making him run in fright. Not for the first time that night, he wished he had Erin by his side.

Yusuf was buried under a pile of maps, manuscripts, and textbooks, asleep, at his desk. The first in the pile was titled "Eadochas: A Comprehensive History". At 11:35 pm, lightning flashed as his dog came running into the room, yelping, tail tucked between his legs and jumped into his lap, waking him up. A look of concern passed his face for his dog had never been afraid of lightning before.

Drew was writing in her journal in bed, eating the box of doughnuts that Yusuf had sent over. At 11:35 pm, lightning flashed as Drew took the first bite of the doughnut which instantly turned to bitter dust in her mouth. She watched it crumble in her hands as the rain raged on outside, sounding more and more like a siren's scream.

Klaudia was busy playing the piano in the ballroom of the Kabot Mansion. At 11:35 pm, lightning flashed as the tunes she played turned melancholic and the howling wind suddenly disappeared for a second, creating a moment of silence before unleashing in full force. In that moment, all Klaudia could think of was Antonio.

June was baking a fresh batch of choco-chip cookies to be distributed among the school children tomorrow, she thought it was a good way to cheer them up. The gloomy spirits of their parents had begun to affect them. At 11:35 pm, lightning flashed as the oven dinged, startling June, who took a step back. When she opened the oven, the cookies were all burnt to a crisp though the timer was correct.

Erin had gone to sleep quite early that day. She had returned home after a hard day of work at the garage. Once at home, he had found a note from Akeno saying that he had gone to The Ant's Nest, which is why she decided after a quick dinner that it was time to sleep. However, at 12:12 am, as Antonio fell to his death, Erin awoke, a single tear falling from her eye.