Sometimes, we lose ourselves in our imagination. Some take it a step further, disassociating. Getting so lost in their own mind that they forget what's real and what isn't. But what if that line no longer existed? What if everything you thought you knew was a lie?
It's been four years since I moved into this apartment. It's not the greatest but its not the worst either. I don't exactly pay a fortune for it for the fast food job I work. I mean, so what if its half my rent. It's better than most places in town.
I live on the third floor. One apartment below me and one above. I don't hear too much from them just as I try making sure I return the favor.
Nothing ever really happens around here as it is. There might be that one person that moves in whose music is far too loud, but they usually get kicked out after a few months. It's never too bad around here. And everyone who lives here intends to keep it that way.
So, when I heard a scratching from inside my walls, I was worried. It was faint at first as I followed the sound into my bedroom. It was the wall just behind my bed. The other side of the wall led to my kitchen, so I knew there was nobody on the other side of the wall messing with me or anything.
But as I got closer, I knocked on the wall. I hoped to scare whatever creature had crawled inside. I wasn't sure how it had gotten in, since the wall was closed off from every angle. But still, it was in there nonetheless. But when I knocked on the wall, it responded with a heavier, more intense scraping.
My heart dropped in my chest as fear overtook me. It wasn't an animal stuck in there, it was a person.
I froze. What was I supposed to do about this? Was this someone I knew, one of the neighbors? Or was this someone more sinister? Someone trying to make an attempt on my life?
I heard a knocking from inside the wall, sounding like they were banging with both of their fists.
"Hey!" I yelled, trying to make myself seem tougher than I was. "I- I have a gun! Get out of there or- or I'll shoot!"
Of course, I didn't actually have a gun. But they didn't know that.
Right?
The banging came again, rattling the walls with the heavier thumps. As it banged, I could hear a muffled voice inside the wall. The voice of a man.
I raised my ear to the wall, hoping to hear it better.
"DAWN-FAN-GO-TAH" I heard the man's muffled voice shout. "DAWN-FAN-GO-TAH! DAWN-FAN-GO-TAH! DAWN-FAN-GO-TAH!" As he chanted, the banging came back full force. The guy trapped in there was getting aggravated and I was getting terrified.
I staggered back and away from the wall as the banging and loud chanting continued without relent. "DAWN-FAN-GO-TAH! DAWN-FAN-GO-TAH! DAWN-FAN-GO-TAH!"
Just then my upstairs neighbors stomped their feet hard against the ground, the booms ringing through my apartment. It was so disruptive that the people living around me could hear it. But just like magic, the chanting and banging from within the wall stopped.
I haven't heard it since. But I was terrified never the less. I moved out of my room and slept in the living room for a few night. And the first thing I did after that jarring event was calling my landlord and telling them about the horrifying thing I'd just experienced. He said they'd send the maintenance man out the next day to cut into the wall and see what's going on. I knew it wouldn't do much good, since the guy in there could be long gone by then, but I was at least curious to find out how they got in there in the first place. I mean, I was starting to think I was losing my mind and imagined the whole thing.
It's been four years since I moved into this apartment. It's not the greatest but its not the worst either. I don't exactly pay a fortune for it for the fast food job I work. I mean, so what if its half my rent. It's better than most places in town.
I live on the third floor. One apartment below me and one above. I don't hear too much from them just as I try making sure I return the favor.
Nothing ever really happens around here as it is. There might be that one person that moves in whose music is far too loud, but they usually get kicked out after a few months. It's never too bad around here. And everyone who lives here intends to keep it that way.
So, when I heard a scratching from inside my walls, I was worried. It was faint at first as I followed the sound into my bedroom. It was the wall just behind my bed. The other side of the wall led to my kitchen, so I knew there was nobody on the other side of the wall messing with me or anything.
But as I got closer, I knocked on the wall. I hoped to scare whatever creature had crawled inside. I wasn't sure how it had gotten in, since the wall was closed off from every angle. But still, it was in there nonetheless. But when I knocked on the wall, it responded with a heavier, more intense scraping.
My heart dropped in my chest as fear overtook me. It wasn't an animal stuck in there, it was a person.
I froze. What was I supposed to do about this? Was this someone I knew, one of the neighbors? Or was this someone more sinister? Someone trying to make an attempt on my life?
I heard a knocking from inside the wall, sounding like they were banging with both of their fists.
"Hey!" I yelled, trying to make myself seem tougher than I was. "I- I have a gun! Get out of there or- or I'll shoot!"
Of course, I didn't actually have a gun. But they didn't know that.
Right?
The banging came again, rattling the walls with the heavier thumps. As it banged, I could hear a muffled voice inside the wall. The voice of a man.
I raised my ear to the wall, hoping to hear it better.
"DAWN-FAN-GO-TAH" I heard the man's muffled voice shout. "DAWN-FAN-GO-TAH! DAWN-FAN-GO-TAH! DAWN-FAN-GO-TAH!" As he chanted, the banging came back full force. The guy trapped in there was getting aggravated and I was getting terrified.
I staggered back and away from the wall as the banging and loud chanting continued without relent. "DAWN-FAN-GO-TAH! DAWN-FAN-GO-TAH! DAWN-FAN-GO-TAH!"
Just then my upstairs neighbors stomped their feet hard against the ground, the booms ringing through my apartment. It was so disruptive that the people living around me could hear it. But just like magic, the chanting and banging from within the wall stopped.
I haven't heard it since. But I was terrified never the less. I moved out of my room and slept in the living room for a few night. And the first thing I did after that jarring event was calling my landlord and telling them about the horrifying thing I'd just experienced. He said they'd send the maintenance man out the next day to cut into the wall and see what's going on. I knew it wouldn't do much good, since the guy in there could be long gone by then, but I was at least curious to find out how they got in there in the first place. I mean, I was starting to think I was losing my mind and imagined the whole thing.
***
The next morning, the maintenance man arrived with a buzz saw. He cut into the drywall where I first heard the banging. He cut out a decent square in the wall and the piece fell away, revealing the pink insulation inside. Undented and still fully intact. He looked at me like I was crazy. He suggested that maybe it was another wall I might have heard it from but I insisted this was the one.
He pressed his hand into the insulation to find that the wall on the other side was too close to this wall. It would have been physically impossible for a person to fit inside. For anything to fit inside without being crushed.
With that, he patched the wall back up and I thanked him for his time. All the while, feeling like I was losing my mind.
That night, it was next to impossible to sleep. I heard banging, loud banging and shouting from upstairs. The voices were too muffled to make out what they were saying. I left my room and headed upstairs to knock on their door and ask them to quiet down. But as my hand nearly reached for the door, I heard a voice from inside. A familiar voice... "DAWN-FAN-GO-TAH!"
He pressed his hand into the insulation to find that the wall on the other side was too close to this wall. It would have been physically impossible for a person to fit inside. For anything to fit inside without being crushed.
With that, he patched the wall back up and I thanked him for his time. All the while, feeling like I was losing my mind.
That night, it was next to impossible to sleep. I heard banging, loud banging and shouting from upstairs. The voices were too muffled to make out what they were saying. I left my room and headed upstairs to knock on their door and ask them to quiet down. But as my hand nearly reached for the door, I heard a voice from inside. A familiar voice... "DAWN-FAN-GO-TAH!"
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