TENNA.
The hours crawled by with agonizing slowness.
I watched the numbers on my phone change with painful precision.
10:00 PM. Still light in the hallway outside my door. Voices passing occasionally.
11:00 PM. Silence settling over the estate like a blanket.
11:30 PM. Nothing but my own breathing and the distant sound of wind against windows.
Finally, mercifully, my alarm buzzed softly against my thigh.
11:45 PM.
Fifteen minutes.
I got up, grabbed a dark hoodie from the closet, and checked the bracelet on my wrist one more time. The metal was cool against my skin. Solid.
Then I unlocked my door and peered into the hallway.
Empty. Dark except for the dim emergency lighting along the baseboards.
I slipped out, closing the door silently behind me. Every sound seemed magnified.
