3:56 am, 3 hours and 4 minutes until the end of The Annual Purge.

I just sat there in total silence. It was honestly the first time I'd ever told anybody exactly what happened that morning. I turned to Kelsey and saw her sitting there in silence, as well. My eyes had gotten adjusted to the dark now, so I could see her perfectly. I could also see a tear going down her cheek.

"I..." she whispered. "I... I'm so sorry..."

I just scoffed.

"That won't bring them back..." I mumbled.

"I know... But still. I don't know what to say."

"Then don't say anything, please."

More silence. I swore that was ultimately our relationship: silence.

"Have you ever told anyone else?"

I deeply sighed.

"No..."

"Why?"

"Because...I know what I would get as a response..."

"What's that?"

"It would be, 'Oh, but it happened during The Purge' and 'their deaths helped make the country better' and even 'Mark was just releasing his anger'! Well, I didn't want to bother with that."

"But... That's all true."

"I know...I just didn't want to be reminded. I've never liked The Purge. Never. But when Mark did what he did...I hated it even more."

"So why are you Purging this year?"

"Because...I honestly don't care if I die at this point. I don't. If I kill Mark and survive, I'm OK with that. But I'm also okay with dying without getting Mark tonight."

Even more silence.

"I know how you feel," she finally said in a shaky voice. "My parents died tonight, remember? They're gone for good... Now I have nothing left, either..."

"You still have your house," I pointed out.

"I hated that house!" She snapped. "It was too small and cramped. I wanted a new place to live. I just wanted to get away from that house for good! But this isn't how I imagined it would happen..."

"God, I'd hope not..."

"Even if I'm alive when this night ends I would never go back home. I would hate to see everything broken and destroyed and dead..."

"What about some of your clothes and toys and stuff?"

She just shrugged.

"We weren't very rich," she admitted. "My dad said we were lucky we managed to survive every year with the limited protection we had... If only he knew...Anyway, I didn't have many good stuff I really LOVED. I'm fine with never having that stuff again."

"Most kids would want at least ONE memento of their old life."

"My memories are all I need..."

Silence. Again.

"Do you think we'll survive tonight, James?"

"Well, The Purge is almost over. But I know firsthand that anything can happen at the last second."

"So...?"

"It's hard to tell."

"Oh..."

We were stuck in the middle of a lake, still miles away from shore, and have no entertainment except our conversations. At the end of it all, we may or may not be killed. Only God knew for sure if we'd make it out alive.