Night always was nerve-wracking. There were a number of theories as to why the night was more dangerous and magical than the day. They were splashed all over TV as the 'research' into the Emergence progressed. Emergents weren't a part of that conversation, they were trying to hide from being interned in federal camps or having the neighbors show up with pitchforks and torches.

What it boiled down to was the constant awareness that the night was the other time, a constant reminder that Humanity no longer had control. Of course, it was hard to hold a conversation with that looming out there, and he knew, by the way the texts went off on the phone, that family was worrying. His sister was especially annoying with her 'praying 4 every1' text and macros of scripture. Maybe she thought it was reassuring. 

The rub of it was that TV was generally following the trend of not talking about certain things after dark. It was light comedy fare. Fantasy and things involving magic were deeply unpopular now due to protests by people like his sister. Perhaps that was why the conversation the night through was kept to the past. That was a popular topic these days, harkening back to an era when there wasn't an evident magical presence in everyday life. It didn't always work to shut down at night. There were stories. It was also when people got attacked by other people on the suspicion of practicing magic.

Tim was out or they'd probably have a deep conversation about such things. He'd go on with the sermon, as annoying as his sister in a way. But toward dawn, Brian felt ready to have that conversation, "I don't know if I want to eat too much breakfast with whatever was screaming out there last night. The sun is going to be up and we're going to find out what went on." And he intended to go out and see. 

That was grim stuff for the morning, but that was the way of it. Lock yourself in for the night and clean up the mess the next morning.\

[@carsgovroom]