This is a true story from a few months ago. Names have been changed for anonymity.
I work as a night shift dispatcher at a University from 12pm to 9pm. My department works off campus in a gated group of trailers about a mile away from the main campus, and everyone but me leaves for the day around 4pm. The University isn’t in the safest neighborhood, and working the night shift can get a little crazy. For context, I am the person you call late at night when your plumbing, electricity, and AC go out, which isn’t the most glamorous job, but I digress. Usually my shift is pretty tame, but every once in a while, something strange happens. This particular night, I didn’t know what to do.
It was 4pm on a Friday in mid-June. Everyone was fleeing the office, excited to enjoy their summer weekend while I just sat like a goober watching everyone trickle out the door. My boss was the last to leave, letting me know that the front gate was still under maintenance and wouldn’t be locking at 7pm like usual. That worried me a little bit, but I didn’t think much of it since we have campus security. I went through my shift, heating up tea, dispatching requests and listening to some random true crime podcast, the usual. Around 6:45, a pair of headlights flashed through the window of the trailers. Typically no one comes into our trailers at this time, other than technicians asking for the PCard or picking up some paperwork. I peaked out the blinds to see who it was, and saw a beat up, dark blue chevy, parked in the lot facing away from the trailers. The car was close enough that I was able to see the bumper was missing, and duct tape covered up what seemed to be holes in the body of the car. A little confused, I waited to see if anyone would get out of the car, but after about 15 minutes …. nothing. It just sat there, idling in the parking lot with the hazard lights on. I thought maybe it’s just one of the residents from the apartments next door (they are not allowed to park in our parking lot btw). It was past 7pm now and I figured I should call campus security to let them know of the person in our lot and ask them to patrol the area since our gate wouldn’t close.
“Public safety, this is Lisa.”
“Hey Lisa, it’s Alana. Could you have one of the guards come patrol by the trailers? Our gate isn’t closing and some dude just decided to post up in the lot.” I kept peaking out from my desk to the window, to see if the car was going to leave, but it was still there running like a sad tractor, hazard lights and all.
“Oh, for sure! Did you get the license plate number? I’ll make a report of it just in case.”
“Uuuuummmm … I don’t see one, the whole bumper is missing.” I squint to see if maybe they had a paper in the back window, but they didn’t have that either. I started to get a bit nervous, seeing as this area is notorious for having drug dealers, addicts, and ladies of the night all over the place. Maybe they were waiting on a tow and saw our parking lot. But I wasn’t about to go out there and ask. Lisa told me they could have a guard there in about 10 - 15 minutes, which felt a little slow to me, but I wasn’t going to complain. After Lisa and I hung up, I checked to see if the car was still there, but when I checked, the car was now facing the side and closer to the trailers, hazard lights still blinking. I don’t know why the lights made me so uncomfortable. Maybe because it was usually a signal for help, or maybe because I was alone and it would be obvious to the person in that car just by looking at the empty parking lot. The minutes felt like hours, before finally one of the squad cars pulled into the lot.
“Oh thank God.” Sighing with relief I took a sip of my now uncomfortably cold tea, watching as the guard walked up to the car and asked the person to leave. I could hear the conversation just enough to know, the driver was male, and he “just wanted to take a short nap”. In my mind I thought it was strange to reposition a car in the middle of a nap, but whatever. I watched as the car slowly pulled out of the lot and the guard got back in his car to leave. By now it was 8:20 and I was just waiting for the shift to be over so I could get back home quick. The rest of the shift was smooth, minus all of the clogged toilet calls and I finally clocked off for the night. I got all my stuff together and headed out the door, jumping into my car since I didn’t want to run into that strange car. I started to head out the gate when out the corner of my eye I see flashing lights rounding the corner just up the road.
“Goddamn it I hope that’s not the same car. Pleeeaaase don’t be the same car.” I pleaded. The car inched closer, and I saw that it was the same blue chevy, hazard lights and all. I should’ve called the guards again or anybody at this point, because as I was pulling out the lot, the car went full speed and stopped right in front of the entrance. My heart was racing at this point, hands shaking and my mind drawing a blank. My only way out was blocked and I had nowhere else to go. The only thing I could do was sit there or put the car in reverse. I couldn’t see the driver, since he had a hoodie on and what looked to be some workers gloves, the kind that construction workers usually have. I put the car in reverse and slowly backed up into the parking lot, but just enough that he wouldn’t be able to drive in. I parked the car, locked it and started to dial public safety again, they would respond faster than the police at this point. My eyes stared straight at the car the whole time, locked onto the man in the hoodie. He wasn’t looking in my direction, but he slowly started to reverse his car and position it facing mine. I could then see his face, an older man, maybe late 40s and very sunken face, like he hadn’t eaten in weeks. My mind was running through all the worst things that could happen. Was he going to shoot me? Was he going to rob me? Kidnap? Torture? Rape? Suddenly a familiar voice snapped me out of it.
“Public safety, this is Lisa. How may I help you?”
“Lisa …. do you have anyone patrolling nearby?”
“Alana? Oh yeah I asked someone to patrol the gate over there a while ago, are you ok?”
“That guy is back and I can’t leave… He blocked me in the parking lot.”
Lisa paused, and I heard a slow breath on the other line.
“Lock your doors, stay in park, and don’t make it obvious that you are on the phone ok?”
I stayed silent, and could hear Lisa on the other end making a call to the officer that was supposed to patrol the area. Apparently during his rounds he got a flat tire and was broken down on the other side of the block, so he wouldn’t be able to get there anytime soon. My chest felt heavy, my hands and feet were numb, frozen like a statue. The man began to open his car door and stepped out slowly. He hobbled as if one leg were shorter than the other and I could see he was around my height (5’6). The hazard lights kept flashing, illuminating his hunched figure every few seconds. I think he could tell I was afraid, because he began to grin and his eyes had a glint of something I had never seen before. Did he get off on this? Was he just some sicko that liked freaking people out? Disgust welled up inside me as he walked towards my passenger side door and stared into the car, grinning. To my horror, I heard the handle jiggle as he tried to open the door to get in my car. The doors were locked so he couldn’t get in and the more they wouldn’t open the angrier he got. Pulling the handle harder and harder, getting audibly upset and calling me every name in the book for not letting him in. All I could do was watch as this man beat his fists on my car and kick the sides.
“Alana, they should be there any second now just hold on.”
I faintly heard Lisa on the other side of the phone, I had almost forgotten she was still there. Just as she finished her sentence, a squad car pulled up and 2 security guards jumped out of their seats yelling at the man to stop hitting the car or else he would be tazed. The man did not comply, flying into a frenzy and stomping his feet as if he was a 5 year old having a tantrum. The security guard instantly pulled out his tazer and zapped the guy, making him crumble to the ground. The other officer was already on the phone with official police to make an arrest and remove the car that blocked my only way home.
The man was taken into custody on counts of trespassing, theft, and driving under the influence of illegal substances. Apparently this guy was known by local police to squat in different places nearby, like abandoned houses and old warehouses. The car had also been reported stolen, just another thing he decided to squat in I guess. It took 2 whole hours to have the car towed from the gate entrance, the hazard lights flashed the entire time. Since then I have still worked the night shift, but we have now installed security cameras and a new Gate locking mechanism. This is not the only strange thing to happen on the night shift. Maybe I will post another one someday.