I have recently moved into a new apartment. It’s been completely refurbished, but there’s a loose floor board in the bedroom. I peeked under it and found a diary wedged in the gap. It looks old, unsurprisingly, as the apartment has been vacant for ages.
The diary is weird though, I’ll recreate it here as best I can, but the handwriting gets hard to read towards the end.
20/02 So happy I’ve found a place to live. It needs doing up of course, and it’ll be a lot of work but I’m excited to do it. I need something to focus on right now. Take my mind off things and stop living in the past. This is my fresh new start.
24/02 Redecorating is coming along well. I’ve managed to get the walls painted and hung up a few pictures. I need to have a chat with the landlord though, I think I must have hit a stud in the wall or something. It definitely sounded like something came loose.
01/03 Every night for the past week, I have been woken up by scratching noises in the walls. A mild inconvenience, I know, but I like my sleep. To be honest, I’ve mostly been ignoring it. The landlord said when he showed me the flat that they’d had birds living in the roof before. I’ve also seen rats in the alley by the side of the building. It’s been bloody cold recently so they’re probably just hiding in the building, right? I’ll have to call in sick to work tomorrow, I’m exhausted.
03/03 The scratching woke me up again last night. I swear if I don’t get a full night’s sleep soon, I’m going to lose my marbles. It’s the same time every night as well: 3:24am. Who would have thought pests could be so punctual? Do the rats have little watches on to make sure they’re not late? What an image, maybe I’ve gone mad already. Thank God the noise never lasts too long, just wish it wasn’t happening at all.
I MUST call the exterminator today.
05/03 Bloody vermin! Woken up again. I’m only writing this now because it lasted long enough that I couldn’t get back to sleep. I’m bloody furious, the landlord never even hinted that this could be a problem.
05/03 I’ve calmed down. Last night was horrendous. Mad scrabbling in the corner right next to my bed for hours. And it sounded like something was knocking. I know for a fact that the other flats in this block are empty, so God only knows what that was. I ended up not going back to sleep, but I have called the exterminator.
10/03 Exterminator came today. He checked the alley and the courtyard out the back – he even had a look in the wall cavity. Apparently, there’s no sign of rats whatsoever. Great. He’s left some traps down just in case. I’ve tried calling the landlord to demand an explanation, but I can’t get through. The git probably knew that there was a problem with the flat, so he’s ignoring my calls. I know there’s something there. I heard the knocking again last night.
11/03 You know, I wouldn’t mind this situation so much if the noise wasn’t so persistent. Every night now, there’s knocking and scratching right by behind my headboard. It lasts just long enough to ensure I won’t get back to sleep and then it stops. Unless I manage to doze off and then it’s back. If it is rats, they’re bloody clever little beasts. They know how to drive me crazy. My boss called. I’ve been sacked for calling in sick too much.
12/03 No sleep. All night the thing in the walls (or is it in my head) tries to get in (or out). My head feels like it’s going to explode. I must have passed out earlier or gone into some sort of daze. I came to in my bedroom, arm raised and ready to knock back. I cannot let that happen.
13/03 Knock. Knock. Knock. I suppose the fact the scratching has stopped is a bonus. Knock. Knock. Knock. The rat traps were all triggered this morning. Knock. Knock. Knock. They were empty. Knock. Knock. Knock.
Let me sleep.
15/03 Constant knocking. Three knocks. Pause. Three knocks. Pause. Something wants to come in. I don’t know if it’s the lack of sleep. but I heard it. Whispering, right on the edge of my hearing. And knocking.
20/03 It knows I’m here. It wants in. It knocks all day. The urge to knock back grips me. I must resist. I won’t let it in. I can’t.
21/03 It’s in my head. The scratching. I can feel it on the inside of my skull. The whispering is in my ears. Or is it in the walls. I feel it behind my eyes and in my mouth. The knocking is deafening. Shaking me from the inside out. All day. All night.
23/03 Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock.
24/03 I knocked back.
The diary ends here.
I’m sure I heard scratching in the walls last night.