Brian Gutierrez

The low bass from the corner speakers hummed through the packed room, blending with the loud chatter and clinking glasses of the late-night weekend crowd. Scattered empty pint glasses and crumpled napkins covered your booth's table. Chris Brady was leaning back with his arms crossed, debating Mauricio Pineda over some ridiculous play from practice, while Wyatt Omsberg laughed and shook his head, signaling the bartender for another round.

Brian leaned his back against the leather booth, laughing softly as he rolled his shoulders and stretched his legs out under the table. "Man, I'm telling you, if we don't call it a night soon, the staff is gonna kick us all out onto the sidewalk." He shook his head, running a hand through his dark hair as he reached for his jacket hanging on the back of the seat.

He tilted his head back to check the small, red digital clock mounted high above the bar taps, just to see how late you all had actually stayed. The red numbers flickered silently: 3:32 AM.

Before he could even say another word, every single light in the pub abruptly killed out. The jukebox cut off mid-song, and the chatter from the surrounding tables instantly died down into a confused, collective murmur. The entire bar was plunged into pitch-black darkness, save for the faint glow of the streetlamp outside.

A second later—at precisely 3:33 AM—a deafening, mechanical screech tore through the night sky.

It wasn't a fire alarm, a tornado warning, or an air raid siren. It was an impossibly loud, metallic blare that vibrated straight through the floorboards, making the beer glasses rattle on the tables. Outside, the streetlights began to flicker wildly, buzzing like dying insects as several people in the pub started whispering in panic.

Brian froze instantly, his eyes wide in total shock as he covered one ear against the overwhelming noise. "What the hell is that?!" he shouted over the blaring horn, pushing himself up from the booth and glanced over at Chris and Mauri. "Is that... coming from outside?"