This story takes place when I was 22 years old.
I had just gotten home from a long night of stocking shelves at my local grocery store. I worked the closing shift, so I usually got home around midnight. I shared a cheap apartment with my roommate, Mark. We weren’t in the best of neighborhoods, but I just felt lucky to have a place to live that wasn’t my parents basement.
I threw my jacket on the coat rack next to the front door and walked into the kitchen to rummage through the fridge for something to eat. I had just pulled a frozen burrito out of the freezer when I noticed something weird. My bedroom door had been slightly open when I walked by the hallway.
I know this doesn’t sound strange at first, but I specifically remembered closing it that morning when I left for work. I like my privacy, so I always remember to shut my door when I leave for the day.
I stepped back into the living room and looked down the hall.
“Hello?” I called.
There was just dead silence. Not wanting to let the fear get the better of me, I walked across the living room and flicked on the hallway light switch.
“Mark? Is that you?” I asked. Mark had always been a bit of an odd guy, so I couldn’t help but think that maybe he was trying to play some sort of weird prank on me.
Maybe waiting to jump out of my closet or something when I entered my room.
When I finally got to the bedroom door, I gently pushed it open. The light from the hallway illuminated a large portion of the room.
I looked around, definitely feeling the creepy vibes. There was no one there, and nothing looked out of the ordinary. Just the usual, my twin bed, with my nightstand just to the left. I closed the door shut and walked back into the kitchen.
I popped my dinner in the microwave and pressed the start button. While that was cooking, I turned on the television, ready to put on a scary movie to watch and relax.
Suddenly I heard a muffled thump coming from down the hall. At first I thought it was the neighbors or something, they can be pretty loud sometimes and it’s not unusual to hear a loud bump in the night.
But then it happened again, and this time I could tell for sure it was coming from down the hall.
“Mark?” I called once more. The microwave beeped just then and I nearly had a heart attack.
“Yeah, sorry. Dropped something.” I could hear him say through the door. I’ll admit, I felt a little better knowing that Mark was home.
I walked back into the kitchen to get my food. and that’s when my phone vibrated in my pocket. It was a text message.
From Mark.
“Hey dude, running a little late here at work, could you please leave the door unlocked for me?”
My stomach dropped to the floor and a chill ran down my spine. I texted back:
“Wait, you’re still at work?
He responded only a few seconds later.
“Yeah, why?”
At that moment there was another noise from the hall and I looked up. The silhouette of a large man was standing there, holding what appeared to be a butcher’s knife.
I turned and ran towards the front door, hearing the heavy clunk of the man’s boots behind me. He wasn’t running, instead it sounded like he was slowly walking, taking his time. I didn’t stop to look back, I ran down the emergency staircase and out into the parking lot where I called the cops.
The cops showed up just a few minutes later. They went upstairs and searched my apartment, but they said they didn’t find anyone. What they did find still terrifies me to this day. As they were searching the apartment, the cops found a note left on the kitchen table, held under a salt shaker. On that note only one word was written:
Soon.