In total, we wound up being hidden in the broom closet for eleven minutes as we waited for Other Us to leave the apartment; the albino man had dropped that most humungous of metaphorical bombshells about three minutes into that eleven minute timeframe.

So, for the remaining eight minutes we were stuck in that dark, dank space, we three remained in an abominably awkward silence. (Well, I’m sure me and Zoe felt the awkwardness, but it was hard to tell what the albino felt about it. And that, more than anything, was what disturbed me most about him – that he could describe directly to me that he had been witness to my demise, and yet seem so emotionally disjointed. It was…eerie, to say the least.)

Eventually, I checked my watch. (Well, I got Zoe to hold up her phone to provide enough light for me to see what my watch said the time was. (Oh, and incidentally, while we were in there, I helped her correct the time on her phone so that she had it right.))

“It’s 9:46,” I said. “I think we can go up, now.”