The clock on the wall struck thirteen and no one else seemed to notice. He looked around the room as the familiar resonating chime of the giant grandfather clock in the foyer filled the space. Then sudden silence screaming at him, and observed everyone slumped in their chairs. Some were leaning against the ornate backs of their chairs looking like they had instantly succumb to an open-eyed exhaustion in the midst of conversation, while others looked like they had tried to dive into their mashed potatoes or soup.

“What a mess.” he scoffed out loud as he stood from his place at the head of the table. “I really need to stop throwing such large parties.” He mused to no one, as he moved around the table removing valuables and identification from every party-goer seated around the table deftly as though he had done this a million times before. He quickly and precisely moved from one guest to the next before he paused about half way around the table, annoyed. He was struggling to remove a large ring from the finger of an equally large man. For a moment his mind raced to find a way to free the ring from the finger that held it captive. And just as he thought about retrieving a cleaver from the kitchen, the finger released its grip on his prize. He hesitated momentarily, considering examining his quarry and remembered the task at hand, continuing to make his way around the table.

He still had a lot of work ahead of him and precious little darkness to accomplish it under.

One by one he carried the lifeless bodies to the door depositing them into the wheel barrow and wheeling them into the woods behind the house. He had already dug neat and deep graves for each guest between the trees in the forest, all he had to do was dump them in and cover them with the excavated soil. He kept on, without a break until the last guest had been concealed. Only then did he stop to survey his work chuckling satisfied with the results in the early morning light.

He returned to the house, returning the wheel barrow to the garden, and ultimately shedding his dirt caked clothing prior to taking a hot shower. He dressed himself in bed clothes, intending to get whatever sleep he could before anyone came around with questions.

He climbed into his bed, pulling the blankest up around himself in an effort to chase away the chill in the air. As his eyes closed and his mind began to drift towards dreams; The clock on the wall struck thirteen and no one else seemed to notice.

…