His old flask was strapped onto his belt , because he was worried that the contents would leak onto his clothes . But the hunt for a replacement receptacle was not why he was really out there . He was escaping the night , and the emptiness of his flat .

Question: Why was he   escaping the night , and the emptiness of his flat ?
Answer: He escaped a sort of actual " black hole " .He had to get out because there was a criminal menacing him .He was scared of ghosts inside the flatHe did n't want to sit alone in his flat .