10 AUG 1995

"In not sure I good muster up the courage to return," she laughs. "I'd rather just finish cataloging this then we can figure out what's the deal."

"Well, we know something is afoot. Let's continue, but call out when things get weird. No rush, pause at every appropriate juncture."

The Agents press on cataloging.

"Perhaps this is a good time to check that 3rd floor" about what time of day is it now? 1-2 am?

"Let's finish up tonight. And then breakfast when the sun rises. Then third floor." King responded to Kirby.

Every now and again, Karl scowls and covers one of his ears with one hand, giving a hesitant look around the room. He goes back to trying to catalog the apartment, but it's obvious he's distracted by something. After a while, he shakes his head and stalks over to the apartment door, opening it and looking out into the hallway.

"Dude. You okay? You hear something?" Kylie moves over to his side, trying to listen even though every part of her psyche screams to ignore it.

"The fuck..." mutters Karl to the completely empty hallway. If he's noticed Kylie coming up beside him, he gives no immediate indication.

He turns as though to go back into the apartment, and he just about jumps out of his skin when he sees her. After a few moments to catch his breath and calm his pounding heart, he says, "You don't hear it? The voices? They're laughing... or crying. You know how it's kinda hard to tell the difference sometimes, if you can't hear it very well?"

He looks, of all places, at the wall the door is in. "I thought they were coming from out here, but..." he gestures -- a little wildly -- at the complete lack of voiceless entities present in the hall. "Nothing here! I can still hear them though."

He puts a hand on the wall in question, then slaps his open palm against it, hard.

Kylie shivers. She wants to reach out and touch his arm, to reassure him. But instead she crosses her arms defensively. It's nothing. It's one more thing. No, it's nothing.

"I suspect it won't help you, but no, I don't hear that. Maybe it's like a song stuck in your head."

"Just rationalise it for now. We know there are strange goings-on, voices we can't place, movement we can't detect, people we can't find. Call it out. Every time someone thinks he sees something, hears something, call it out. One of us will double check and confirm it." King followed Karl to where he was, and tried to listen as well.

King followed through by opening the door to see if there was anyone outside in the hallway.

"Nothing outside, naturally." King observed, a flash of annoyance across his face.

Only a couple hours til sunrise now, and the end of the agents' all-nighter. Everyone can feel their brains starting to get sluggish and their eyelids heavy with encroaching fatigue.

Karl rubs his hands through his short hair. Given the long hours and the lack of shower, this results in his hair standing up a little bit, giving him an even more crazed look. He looks at Kylie and nods, seeming to understand her internal conflict. "Yeah. An earworm. That's all it is. Thanks."

He takes a long, slow, deep breath and lets it out equally slowly. "Back to work, yeah?"