It started a few weeks ago.
I live in an apartment. Narrow hall, tight corners. I often walk into rooms without turning on the light, as it’s small enough that light from the living room hits the other rooms evenly enough to navigate.
Anway, it happens at any hour, all over the apartment. It’s so common now that I pretty much expect it, even though I never notice it visibly. I only become aware of it when I step on it. Usually I wear socks, but sometimes I step on it barefoot. The first time this happened, I screamed so loudly that my neighbor banged on the wall. Sometimes I wonder if it’s some kind of spider. When I’ve stepped on it barefoot, it feels kind of fuzzy, though I can’t really describe the sensation fully. It’s a weird texture.
But yeah, when I step on it, it skitters away fast. That’s when I notice it with my eyes, but only briefly. It looks like a small black lump. I can’t ever really see legs of any sort, it skitters fast. It doesn’t leave any blood or residue behind even though I’ve stepped on it HARD at times. Sometimes it lets out the teeniest squeak, so maybe it’s a rodent of some sort? I’ve looked for it many, many times but I never find it. I’ve laid out traps, but nothing. I only encounter it when I step on it. Nothing that I search for brings up any relevant results. I’ve had the exterminators out twice now, and this keeps happening.
I half wonder if, whatever it is, it wants to be stepped on. Maybe it likes it. Just lays itself out in pathways, waiting eagerly for my foot to suddenly apply pressure. I couldn’t say. For sure, nobody believes me and thinks I’m becoming schizophrenic, but this is just too specific a recurrence that I can’t write it off so easily. Although I will note, nobody else has ever experienced this. Not friends, not family, not the guys I sometimes have over late at night. I guess I can see why people think I’m crazy. But I keep stepping on it. It happened again just five minutes ago.
So now I’m posting here. Because the last time I stepped on it, I felt barbs or teeth or something snag my sock. The sound it made when it skittered was very aggressive. I now wonder, was this the final straw? Have I finally gone a bridge too far in interrupting this thing that maybe just chooses very inconvenient places to rest? Maybe, whatever it is, it’s just a slow learner. I’m going to call out a different exterminator now, rather than the one my apartment keeps sending. I’ve reported it to them over and over and there’s nothing they can do. Apparently, no other units are experiencing this issue either. This is driving me crazy. I’m going to stay in a hotel for the rest of the week and maybe consider getting cats or something.