It was Archie who first suggested a game after deeming a bottle of whisky unsuitable for anyone else but himself. Pascale was picking nail polish off Robin’s thumbnail and Robin was drinking out of a green glass bottle with the label ripped off. Edgar, lounging on the couch, agreed. A deck of cards was excavated from Lara’s room, though Lara was not in attendance that evening. Once the cards were distributed among the guests (Duke’s card had to be placed on his unconscious form in the hallway), the game could begin.
First, night came. Daphne, acting as moderator due to her level-headedness and unbiased standing attributed to having slept with thirteen of sixteen attendees, held a glass of Riesling in one hand while a werewolf whispered in her ear. According to Daphne in her official account of the evening, the werewolf consulted with its conspirators about their first victim and chose insentient Duke. Daphne agreed it was a wise choice.
Here the events of the night become unclear. Bethany Elise, who maintains she had been chosen as the doctor, motioned to Daphne that she wished to rescue Duke from his certain demise. However, B.E. was simultaneously eating from a carton of tofu fried rice and it can be assumed that Daphne misunderstood her signal. When day came, Daphne announced that Duke was dead. Duke’s fiancé, Leigh, became frustrated. She had assured Duke’s role in the game even though he was too far gone, to the annoyance of the other guests. Daphne ignored Leigh’s arguments but B.E. was unable to refute the murder without making herself vulnerable to attack. According to several accounts, this is where the first confusion occurred.
The second occurred when Poppy got up to use the washroom in the middle of the night, while the werewolves were arguing about their next victim. Since Poppy had broken the rules (her forgetfulness attributed to a significant amount of hallucinogens) and was halfway into the WC, the werewolves made their selection easily. The seer did not notice Poppy was missing when he/she inquired as to whether or not Hana O’Hara was one of the exterminators.
(Hana O’Hara was a mildly famous performance artist slated to execute her next work at a very prominent institution of the arts within the next month. She would be sitting on a velvet armchair purchased from an auction of artifacts from Virginia Wolfe’s last home, and picturing her darkest sexual fantasies while patrons watched. These facts were in the opening paragraphs of her obituary when it was published three days later.)
Daphne reportedly informed the seer (unnamed) that Hana was not a werewolf.
At this point, Leigh heard whimpering from the bathroom. Approximately three to five seconds after Daphne instructed the villagers to open their eyes, there was a scream. Edgar stood up, followed by Gil (the most anxious of the guests), and went to investigate.
Three official accounts state this was when Poppy’s body was found. A fourth guest in attendance claims that Poppy was not discovered until possibly up to an hour later, when Hana O’Hara began to argue with Quin and Edgar. However, it cannot be determined when this occurred. It is agreed that Poppy was described by Archie as being covered in claw marks. He is the only guest who claims to have seen her personally.
The game paused for several minutes before the guests agreed to continue. It is unclear why no one contacted authorities at this point.
Again, night came. The werewolves confronted Daphne in hushed whispers. Instead of one victim, they wanted to take two: Archie and B.E. An argument arose when Daphne informed them this was against the rules. When day came, Daphne announced she would no longer moderate the proceedings. It is unanimous among the guests that this turn of events did not change anything.
Night came and went three or four times without a single victim. The guests became impatient, knowing the enticement of the game is the threat of murder. The resigned moderator sat on the couch, silent. Edgar opened a new bottle of whisky.
The next night involved several concrete events. It is recorded in most of the witnesses accounts that Pascale climbed onto Robin’s lap and the two began to kiss. B.E., seated next to them, got up to move farther away. One of the guests went into the kitchen, though it is uncertain whom. Without a moderator, it became confusing for the players to know when night ended and day begun. The seer (unnamed) could not sleep at this point. When each of the guests became impatient with the night and opened their eyes, all acknowledge that they saw Hana O’Hara lying on the floor in somewhat the center of the room. She was bleeding and there was a knife in her hand.
The only account recorded from an outside source is that of a neighbor: Mrs. Reichenbach, first name not given. Mrs. Reichenbach’s description of the evening begins well into the early hours of the morning when a young woman knocked on her door. The young woman was wearing a dress in a very specific babydoll style and had brown shoulder-length hair. She did not give her name but this description fits three guests: Robin, Poppy and Fiona. None of the records identify who it was.
The young woman told Mrs. Reichenbach that the people in the apartment next door were having an argument and someone was dead. Mrs. Reichenbach says the girl turned and walked down the length of the hall in the opposite direction of the apartment.
Mrs. Reichenbach contacted authorities.
M. Kavinsky and his wife Edie left the party before officials arrived, though they were noted by the majority of the guests as being very quiet the entire evening. Fourteen guests were present when the apartment was called upon. This does not explain the young woman who appeared at Mrs. Reichenbach’s door.
Several testimonies uphold the fact that the game dissolved just before police arrived. Hana O’Hara’s body remained unmoved and guests were stepping over it in order to confront each other. Michel paused midsentence to leave the room for another drink before returning to continue his argument that Daphne had orchestrated the entire event in order to get a rise out of them. Daphne remained seated on the couch. Fiona lit three candles before becoming frustrated when a fourth would not light. She threw a match onto the ground, which Quin stamped out half a minute later when flames began to creep up the edge of the carpet. Someone began to cry but the location of the sound is uncertain. One testimony identifies it as coming from the bathroom, while two others agree that it was in the kitchen.
Leigh begun practicing night and day where she sat alone on floor, frustrated that no other players would join her. Edgar put a chair over Hana O’Hara’s body and stood on it, demanding the werewolves reveal themselves as the murderers of his true love, Poppy. Daphne picked up the knife, cleaned it in the sink and put it back into the carving block on the counter. Gil made a loud statement about the Dyatlov Pass Incident and fell to the floor in tears.
When the police arrived, the gathering was in the following state: The body of mildly-famous performance artist Hana O’Hara lay in the middle of the circular living area. Fourteen guests, scattered throughout the apartment, argued loudly and drunkenly. All were undressed in various states, from fully clothed to Pascale who wore only underwear and socks. Quin attempted to leave through the window at the appearance of police. Both B.E. and Edgar state that they were the ones to answer the door. None of the three police officers who arrived on the scene searched the bathroom. The arrival of police marks the official end of the evening, at 5:38 am.
Lara never returned to the apartment.