02 "Thumping"

 There I sat, in front of my computer as another video played. It wasn't much, just some form of entertainment to tear my mind away from the real world and all the devastation that comes with it. And then there was another thump from upstairs. In an attempt to drown it out, I turned the volume up higher on my headphones.

I was so sick of my upstairs neighbors feeling like they needed to constantly make as much noise as possible. It's like sitting in a car while some kid is sitting behind you, constantly kicking the back of your seat. For the first few times its a little annoying but you try to ignore it. But it just keeps happening and you blood starts to boil. Eventually you reach a point where you have to do something, else your heart might leap out of your chest and do it for you.

And right now, I was getting close to that tipping point. I didn't want to start any kind of beef with them, but with the constant banging, it was hard not to get irritated. I could go up there and tell them to knock it off, but I'm not that big on confrontation. I could just imagine them going off on me and slamming the door in my face if I tried. I could try banging on the ceiling. But wouldn't that make me as bad as them?

I figured the right way to go about it was to call up my landlord. I never really interacted with them much, as they live out of town. I guess they own a lot of apartment buildings around the area. I grabbed my phone and looked them up in my contacts. I heard it ring once. Twice. Then, I was greeted by a kind-sounding middle-aged woman.

I gave her my name and apartment number and all that kind of information before telling her about the noisy neighbors. I asked if there was anything she could do about it, but she cut me off mid-sentence.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but there's nobody living in that apartment upstairs from you," she said with slight concern. "It's been empty for the last 6 months."

"Then why am I hearing a bunch of banging going on up there?" I asked, feeling like I'm being lied to. "It's been going on for the past few weeks!"

"There shouldn't be any noise at all," she assured me. "Maybe it's the HVAC unit up there. We have to keep the air circulating up there to keep bugs out."

We concluded the call shortly after. Almost as soon as we did, the banging upstairs started up again. I sounded like heavy footsteps pounding against the ground as if the person upstairs was angry. There was absolutely no doubt in my mind that someone was up there. It was impossible to explain the noise otherwise. Maybe the landlord knows someone is up there that isn't supposed to be? Or maybe that's her generic response for if anyone makes a noise complaint about somebody living around them. Either way, I was going to find out what was going on for myself.

I left my apartment, locking the door behind me just in case. I jammed my keys in my pocket and walked up the stairwell. I had never been up here before. It almost felt surreal, as the landing for the next floor looked exactly like my floor, only the numbers on the doors were different.

I looked to the door to the apartment directly above mine. I took a deep breath and knocked. There was silence on the other end of the door. I knocked again a short while later. Still, silence. I pressed my ear against the door and heard absolutely nothing. I felt annoyed at this point. Were they trying to gaslight me just like the landlord? This time as I knocked I called out "I know you're in there." Still, there was silence.

I let out a sigh and let my hand drop back to my side in defeat. "I just want you to stop stomping around so much," I said finally. It felt good to let those words out.

Now, I'm not exactly sure why I did this, maybe out of frustration, maybe out of curiosity, but I tried the door knob. To my surprise, it was unlocked. I opened the door slightly and saw only darkness inside. I shouldn't be doing this, I thought. But still, for some reason, I felt compelled to press on.

I called out for someone, anyone, but was only greeted by silence. I felt along the wall for a light switch. I found it and color flooded the room. The room was bare. No furniture, not decorations, not even any curtains over the windows. The entire apartment was clean. It almost looked exactly like mine but so much cleaner. It felt weird to be in here. It felt off.

That's when I heard a light thumping sound. To my horror, the sound was coming from the apartment beneath me. Like someone was banging on the ceiling. In my apartment.

My heart dropped into my stomach and my blood ran cold. There was someone in my apartment. I left the apartment and raced down the stairs, turning the knob but it was locked. I fumbled for the keys in my pocket, my hand shaking. I unlocked the door and pushed it open.

The apartment was empty. Nobody was inside, like I had heard previously. I shut my front door and sped from room to room, carefully looking around to find the intruder. But there was no one. Just me. The apartment, every room, was exactly how I had left it. I was so confused. Where was the sound coming from?

That's when I heard the thumping sound again. Directly above me. The same thumping sound I had been hearing from upstairs for the last few weeks. I looked up. And immediately I wish I hadn't. I can't describe to you what I saw that night, but it wasn't human. If you ever hear thumping like that coming from above. Don't look up. Never look up. It doesn't like to be seen.