I had lived in the same neighborhood for all my life. I say had because not long ago I moved, but it wasn’t exactly by choice. The agency advised me not to go into too great a detail if I were to disclose any information about this situation, but I have to. I can’t take it anymore. The nightmares that have been plaguing me for months are too much. But I’m getting ahead of myself, I think.
It all started when I decided to go for my evening walk a little later than usual. I can’t remember at this point what caused me to leave my house at that hour. Maybe my dog being picky and not wanting her harness put on. Maybe a phone call with a friend. I don’t know.
I moved down the dark street, the only illumination being the dim streetlights. The city had needed to replace them for awhile, but of course they didn’t. My dog was padding faithfully by my side. She’d always been good about walks when we left the house. It was getting her ready for said walk that was the hard part. We’d been going a good ten minutes at this point, almost to the end of the street and about to round the corner… when all of a sudden she stopped in her tracks in front of me.
Almost tripping over her from the startling motion, I glared at her and scolded her for her action. She didn’t acknowledge that she’d heard me. She was just sitting and staring at the house we were beside, slowly drawing her teeth back in a snarl. This surprised me all the more, as she had never been the type to growl at anything or anyone. I turned to look in the direction she was, and I nearly dropped the leash out of shock.
From the window of the house I saw a man. That in itself wasn’t so odd, considering my yelling at my dog in the middle of the night could’ve easily alerted my neighbors. The thing that chilled me to my core was the fact that he was staring at me with the widest grin I had ever seen on a face. He slowly raised his hand to the window and began tapping at it. Slow, heavy motions. It was less like a tap and more like a thud that filled my ears like thunder, booming over and over again. THUD. THUD. THUD.
My fight or flight response kicked in, and I grabbed my dog and just turned and calmly walked around the corner, pretending nothing was off. That was no easy feat considering she was so big and heavy. The moment we’d gotten out of view I took off running, and she was right by my side. I sprinted down the block and past house after house, looking over my shoulder every few seconds to make sure I wasn’t being followed.
After what seemed like forever I finally rounded another corner and got back to my house, throwing the door shut and immediately locking every potential entrance to the place. I tried to calm myself down to the best of my ability. I took a shower, made myself some hot tea and settled on the couch to watch some late-night TV, and had my dog at my side. I should’ve felt completely relaxed, but that man and his grin kept coming back into my mind. I shivered and glanced at my living room window. The blinds were closed and the curtains were drawn, but for some reason I still felt like somehow he was out there. Peering with that piercing gaze and just waiting for me to open myself to his stare.
I don’t know how I fell asleep that night, but when I woke up it was to my TV lighting up the room with static. That was very strange. My TV never acted up like that. I hit the input button a few times, trying to pull up the settings to fix the issue. Eventually I gave up on the endeavor and just turned the damn thing off, deciding to go to my room and watch TV in there until I passed out again. I glanced at the floor beside my feet to nudge my dog. She wasn’t there. Had she gone to the bedroom sometime in the night? That must’ve been it.
I got up from the couch, switching off the TV and heading to my room. No dog. Weird… but not so weird that it triggered anything. Sometimes she slept in the kitchen by her food bowl. I figured the moment I got up in the morning she’d be in there waiting for her breakfast. Still… something did have me on edge. I couldn’t explain what it was. I just felt… off. I don’t know why I did what I did next, but I got out of bed and traipsed to my window, pulling up the blinds and pulling back the curtains. I was met with a blinding light. I winced and covered my eyes, trying to block it out, but it was no use. I screamed, but it was drowned out by something indescribable. My mind was hazy and getting more and more clouded with each passing moment. Before I knew it, I was unconscious.
When I awoke I felt the cold of metal against my back. I tried to get up, but found my arms and legs were strapped down. As my vision cleared I found I was in a bright, white, empty room. That emptiness was soon filled with a group of people filing in. They had a series of medical tools as well as clipboards and were scribbling down notes as they poked and prodded at me. It was painful, and tears sprung up in my eyes. What was this? Why was I here? As I asked myself these questions, the one face that had haunted my dreams loomed over me. The man from the house at the end of the street.
My memory is a bit fuzzy at this point, but I remember him ordering the other individuals to put me in some sort of chamber. Then everything went black once again. When I woke up again I was in an office on a cot with a blanket, my dog at my side. I was greeted by a member of the agency I mentioned.
“You were almost discovered,” he’d said. “You’re lucky we got you out of there before it was too late.”
I had no choice but to move house at the agent’s insistence. Now I’m in a new location trying to start over. If he hadn’t seen me on my walk that night I could’ve remained undetected longer. It’s a shame. I really liked that neighborhood.
I guess humans really aren’t ready for true contact with us.