11:43 pm, 7 hours and 17 minutes until the end of The Annual Purge.

"Wow! That Ferris wheel is AMAZING!!" Kelsey gasped as we pulled towards the Pier.

"I can't say I've ever ridden it," I admitted. "Not a fan of hights."

"What?! That's terrible!"

"I've always been that way since I was young."

I then stopped the truck and turned the engine off.

"Ok, here's my plan," I explained. "I'm going to scout the pier and look for any signs of a safe house while you stay here and guard the truck."

"But what about me being taken...?" she asked with fear.

"Just scream if you're in trouble," I replied. She still looked scared shitless.

"Look... do you have a cell phone?" I finally asked. She then nodded and reached into her pocket. She then revealed a pink cell phone with a lit screen.

"Okay, I'll give you my number so you can call me if there's trouble," I explained. "Okay?"

"Alright..." she said with a nod.

So I gave her my cell number, and she gave me hers so I would know if it was her calling me.

"What if you find the safe house?" she asked. "Then what?"

"That ultimately depends on you."

"What do you mean?"

"I know this is going to sound crazy," I said calmly, "but would you be comfortable Purging?"

Her eyes widened as she let out a giant gasp.

"James...!" She said with shock.

"That's a no, then?" I asked.

She quickly nodded really fast.

"Alright, then...I guess that means I'll have to go with Plan B."

"Which is...?"

"You stay in the truck and wait for me with a risk of getting caught."

She paused in thought. I didn't want to force her to commit crime if she didn't want to. However, she then gave me an unexpected response.

"Ok. I'll help you kill him."

I stared surprised at her.

"Are you serious?" I asked.

"Yes," she replied calmly. "After all, isn't the whole point of The Purge to release your anger and all that?"

"Well, yeah..."

"And I'm still feeling anger for what that man did to me and my parents," she continued. "Since I can't take it out on him, I can still take out my rage on the guys helping this Mark guy."

"Are you sure...?"

"I don't have any family left," she replied with a cold tone. "As much as I want to live, I honestly wouldn't mind if I died tonight. The quicker I do that, the quicker I can be with my parents again."

I was truly shocked at what I was hearing. Just a few seconds ago she was scared at the THOUGHT of killing someone, but now she seems to want nothing but to do just that! But she was right; The Purge was created to allow people to unleash their inner rage on whatever, or whoever, they wanted. After all, that's exactly why I was in Chicago in the first place!

"OK," I finally told her. "Just be careful. And bring lots of protection."

"I'm surrounded by nothing but protection!" She said with a smile as she pointed to the weapons inside the truck. I then smiled back.

"Stay here until I find the safe house," I told her. "I'll call you if I do.

"Ok," she replied.

"And if you're in trouble, you call me instantly. Got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

I then grabbed my pistol, as well as some ammo, got out of the truck, and walked through the giant red gates. I honestly hadn't been to Navy Pier in a few years, so I wasn't 100% sure where everything was. I saw the restaurants and other buildings to the left and the actual pier to the right. There were boats all over the docks, which I assumed was a sign people were around. I kept walking forward and eventually saw a building that was unlike the others. In the water at the end of the pier was a giant, floating metal building a few yards away from the pier. The entire building was a giant cube about 200 feet long on each side. It was definitely suspicious and seemed like a good place to hide. On the other hand, it seemed TOO obvious, as in it smelled like a trap. Either way, it was worth inspecting. I pulled out my phone and called Kelsey.

"Did you find the safe house?!" she asked excitedly.

"I'm not sure," I replied. "Is anyone near you?"

"It doesn't look like it."

"Ok, then grab a weapon, get out, and run to the end of the pier."

"Roger that! Hey, quick question."

"...Yes?"

"Would you recommend me using this rocket launcher or these hand grenades?"

"Kelsey! We don't want anything too drastic!"

"Fine... how about this machine gun?"

"That'll do. Now get over here!"

Suddenly, I heard a gunshot, glass shattering, and Kelsey screaming all at once!

"Kelsey!" I shouted at the phone. All I could hear on the other end was the sound of her phone dropping or something while she shrieked very loudly.

"KELSEY!!!" I shouted very loudly. No response. I then groaned. I knew full well she was in trouble, but I didn't know what kind it was. I looked back at the metal cube and sighed. I had no idea if Mark was in there, and if he was, I had no way of getting in alive by myself. I then ran back towards the car to help Kelsey. The Emergency Broadcast System told us 'May God be with you all'. I was really hoping He was with Kelsey right now.