Kiku had it all figured out. For 15 minutes one should move quietly along the walls and avoid doorways and windows, using only previously closed doors to move about. Then for 5 minutes one should rest, maybe sit down in a quiet corner. This plan was working for Kiku and he was quite content with himself; in fact, he was sure he would make it until 3:33 without any encounters. He wasn't pleased with one thing though - he was getting lonely and the monotone routine made him sleepy. Not to mention the fact that he had had a pretty busy and noisy day, which were two factors known to tire him. He was currently walking along a short hallway when he heard some weird noises. Curiosity beckoning him, he decided to check it out. Suddenly fully awake, Kiku could sense everything around him: his sight and hearing were exceptionally sharp at that moment, since he always got like that when he was nervous. That meant he was ready to look for the best escape route also. When he reached the door which led to the room full of strange sounds, he stopped. His palms a little sweaty, Kiku opened the door ever so slightly to peek inside. Immediately the weird sound had stopped and with a sigh, Kiku stepped in.
"Antonio, already?" Antonio nodded, his face striped from crying. "He was bawling, that's what the sound was," Kiku thought to himself and stepped towards Antonio, who was sitting on the ground and hugging his knees inside a circle of salt. "The moment I saw him," he managed to croak out, "I knew I've had enough." Kiku patted him emphatically and checked his wristwatch. 01:03. It was high time he took a little break. He pulled a padded little stool beside his friend and sat down. "So... what happened? Did your candle go out too?" he asked quietly, wanting to know more. Antonio suddenly stopped sobbing and sat up straight, slightly surprising Kiku. "It... didn't," he managed to say and suddenly got very angry. He started to curse in Spanish and punch the floor while the Japanese man nervously tried to keep him at bay. "Calm down, Antonio! It'll hear us!" "LIKE HELL IT WILL!" Antonio only screamed, a vein furiously throbbing on his forehead. "It was Gilbert! I KNOW IT!" he hissed and and started to get out of his circle when Kiku stopped him. "Don't!" he sharply said and Antonio stopped mid-step. He stood in the middle of the circle with a questioning look. Kiku sighed. "It doesn't matter whether it was Gilbert or the real thing before, but one thing is certain," he said. "You used your salt. If you leave the circle and try to return to it in case of emergency, the circle wouldn't "work" like it should anymore. And even if you collect all the salt back to its container, it wouldn't be the pure salt you had at the beginning and wouldn't work either when you pour it out once again." Antonio was devastated. He sat down again and rubbed his left temple, trying to soothe the headache he had. "So what, I have to sit here until 3:33?" he asked and looked around the small cabinet they were in. "I guess," Kiku only said and looked at his watch. "It's not like you have any other options, right?" Antonio nodded and shuddered in the slight cold. Kiku thought it would be best if he'd return to walking, so with a slightly broken heart he bid his farewells to Antonio and set off once again.
Antonio wasn't amused. "I'm probably the first one to lose the game within the five of us," he thought to himself and looked around the room. It was actually probably the best he had sat himself inside the circle, because his candle was starting to get dangerously little. They couldn't find five of the same type of candles, so one had to take a smaller one and from playing rock-paper-scissors it was sure that Antonio had to take the candles due to his losses. He checked his clock and it showed 01:16. He sighed and closed his eyes, trying to rest his tired eyes, but the sound of his candle burning out with a small hiss made him open them to complete darkness. "Why does it have to be so dark here?" he thought, desperately trying to find his lighter. Having found it and lit his candle, he shrieked. The Midnight Man was hastily pacing around the line of his circle, desperately trying to find a little hole or a clean stripe in the midst of all the salt to intrude the ring. It looked as though he was constantly walking at an invisible wall. Sometimes it would take a few steps backwards and charge at the circle at full speed (which was terrifyingly fast), only to bounce back and continue to walk around the ring. Antonio whimpered and tried hard not to mind the intruder and his crackling voices when he checked the salt lines himself. Everything seemed to withhold nicely so he decided it would be best to cover his ears and close his eyes. "It'll pass, it'll pass, it'll pass..." he kept repeating to himself, trying to calm his shaking body. Even though he could see nor hear it anymore, he could still feel it running around the small circle he was sitting in. He started to cry from sheer fright - he didn't understand why, but there was something of this complete feeling of helplessness that scared him. And the darkness, the cold, and not to mention something unreal swallowing after his life. He wanted to position his hands so that they would cover his head too when he suddenly heard a clatter from somewhere beyond the door which led to the hallway. He dared look up and saw that the Midnight Man was slowly walking towards the door, swaying from left to right in an eerie manner. Antonio wiped the tears from his eyes and watched it leave the room. When it was gone, the atmosphere in the room suddenly changed. It was much warmer and the tension was also gone. Antonio sighed thankfully and tried to regain himself. He looked at his watch and rejoiced for a moment, before being heavily disturbed. It was 01:58, which meant the Midnight Man had spent over 40 minutes trying to get to him.