Speaker 1: I work over nights as a gas station clerk in
our small town. Our station is located off the highway
that leads out of town, and so usually most of
the cars and trucks that come by are on long
drives across the state. This makes most night shifts that
I work to be unpredictable. Sometimes there would be a
lot of cars and trucks coming through, but other times
it would be mostly empty. This night was definitely on
the slower side, but still had some cars stopping by
every once in a while. Thankfully, to keep me busy,
my boss had left me a bunch of tasks to
get done during my shift. I had to reset one
of the shelves, which meant taking everything off and repositioning
the racks, then placing everything back. It's not hard or complicated,
but just time consuming. An hour into the night, I
heard some thunder in the distance, and checking the forecast,
it said it was going to start storming soon, So
I paused what I was doing and quickly went outside
to take care of the trash bends so I wouldn't
have to do it later while I was raining. While
I was out there, I saw a car's headlights in
the dark. About a quarter mile down the road they
were parked, but there was nothing out there other than
large empty fields. It could have been nothing or a
flat tire possibly, but I went on with my work
and got back inside not too long after it started
pouring outside. I continued on working on the shelves, but
as the storm got worse, I had to actually lock
the entrance doors because the wind kept swinging them open.
Nobody had come into the store all night anyway, and
now at the storm there were barely any cars out either.
While I locked up, though, I saw that the headlights
were still out by the field and hadn't moved. This
kept my mind occupied for the next little while as
I worked, but then through the rain, I heard the
door shake louder than usual. I turned around, seeing a
guy with his face right up to the door and
staring right at me. He looked probably early forties, wearing
a hood over his head and having a very tired look.
I unlocked the door and opened it for him, making
a comment about the bad weather, but he ignored me.
The guy just stood there and looked at me as
water dripped from his face. Then he walked past me
and started walking through the aisles like a normal shopper.
Really confused by the way he was acting, I just
went around the counter and waited for him to be
done shopping. He walked around for a few minutes, glancing
over at me a couple times before walking out the door.
I don't think he stole anything either, He just walked
around and then left. Considering the weather, that was really
unusual and had me almost creeped out in a way,
wondering why he even bothered coming inside. I looked out
the window and saw the man walking past the gas
pumps and out to the road. Then he stopped on
the corner and waited. A moment later, the headlights down
the road started moving, coming toward the gas station and
stopping right next to the guy. While I walked, the
front doors started swinging open again, reminding me to go
over and lock them. I then watched from the door
as the guy started walking back toward the gas station
and the car followed, driving into the parking lot. They
parked by the front and another man got out of
the car, and then both of them came walking up
to the door. The first man pushed on it as
if expecting it to have still been unlocked, but instantly
got angry when it didn't open. I was only a
couple feet from the door, but he still banged aggressively
on it while looking right at me. This was far
beyond what any normal customer would do, so at this
point I knew there was more to this. I ran
to the desk and triggered the alarm to notify the
police station, then just watched as they both tried kicking
the door down for a minute before getting in the
car and speeding away afterward. In those minutes before police
showed up, it was just so unreal how everything felt.
With only the sound of the storm outside, there was
no doubt what was about to have happened, but it
doesn't make it any less terrifying. If it wasn't storming
that night and the wind wasn't blowing the doors open,
I probably never would have even locked them, meaning they
could have just walked in and there would have been
nothing I could do. Maybe it would have been just
a regular robbery, but there's no denying that it probably
would have been easiest for them to just take me
down and then rob the place. Unfortunately, they were never caught,
so I still find myself getting nervous on every overnight shift.
I live in a small, four story apartment complex. I
used to have a roommate, but they moved out a
few months before this, and I decided it would be
easier for me to just stay at the apartment rather
than finding a new place. The other people living in
the building were mostly older couples, but I'd never really
met any of them. We all kept to ourselves, which
I actually liked anyway. I was getting home from work
late one night, entering the complex around eleven pm. It
was quiet as I walked up the stairs to my room,
but when I rounded the corner into the hallway, a
man was standing at my door. He immediately noticed me,
and before I'd even had the chance to react, he
started apologizing and saying he'd mixed up doors. He then
turned around and went into the apartment right across from mine.
I'd never met him before or even seen him, but
seeing that he lived in the unit across from me,
I figured maybe he did actually mix up the doors,
especially if he'd just moved in. It was still really weird,
though I didn't know why he would just be standing
outside of the door if he did think it was
his or why when he saw me, he suddenly knew
that he was at the wrong door. Whatever the case,
I went inside and locked the door behind me, not
sure what to make of the scenario. It was so
late and I was really tired, so maybe I should
have been more worried than I was, but I just
didn't have the energy to think about it. I made
a quick meal, then sat on the couch for a
bit and watched some TV. About thirty or so minutes
went by until I heard something outside my door. It
was just a quiet shuffling sound, but it sounded almost
like it was up against the door. I got up
and went over, listening for a second before opening it.
No one was there. I then stepped into the hallway
and looked down, not seeing anyone, but heard footsteps going
down the stairs. I went back in and closed the door.
Maybe I was overthinking it now, but I started thinking
that the man could have leaned against my door to
listen into my apartment. It would explain the shuffling sound
I heard, and how they knew to leave as soon
as I started walking up again. I could have just
been imagining the worst case scenario, but I was definitely
more shaken for the rest of the night. I didn't
get in bed until one am, but I fell asleep
soon after. Nothing else that I know of happened that
night or in the morning. I went to work and
again got back to the apartment to a round eleven.
Walking in, I was a bit more cautious than the
night before. I walked up the stairs and looked down
the hallway, but no one was at the door still.
For some reason, I got a strange feeling seeing the
hallway empty, and I didn't know why. I quickly went
inside and locked the door behind me, only to turn
around and be face to face with the man from
last night. He was standing in the doorway to my
bedroom and immediately started telling me to be quiet and
do as he says, trying to direct me into the
living room. I took my chances, turning back around and
trying to get the door open, but the man grabbed
my arm and started to pull me back. Just when
I got it open. He yelled as loud as I
could as he tried covering my mouth, but being unsuccessful,
he let me go. As I ran down the stairs,
I heard him leaving as well. I went straight to
my car, driving away and calling the police. When they
got there, the man was gone. Of course, I told
them that he lived in the room across from mine,
but it turned out to be a vacant unit. The man,
whoever he was, didn't even live in the building. I
don't know how he got into the building, or into
both mine and the vacant room, but clearly he had
access that he shouldn't have. What he wanted to do
by breaking into my apartment and waiting for me is
something I hope to never find out firsthand. With him
still being out there, though, all I can do is
pray he wasn't targeting me in particular. This happened a
few months ago. I'm thirty two and live in a
small house alone. It was one of my days off
of work, so I was at home trying to relax
and enjoy the day. It was about four pm and
I had just started cooking dinner when a knock came
from the front door. I put everything down and went
up to the front. There was a man standing on
my porch and behind him was a small gray van
parked on the curb. I opened the door. How can
I help you? The man had a delayed reaction, but
then said he was doing free home inspect in the
neighborhood and wanted to offer me a free inspection from
my house. The whole time he was speaking, though, it
wasn't even like a typical salesperson. He said it all
in a monotone voice and with just a blank expression.
Even if he was normal, though, it seemed kind of sketchy.
So I said I was okay and closed the door.
I went back to the kitchen and continued cooking, But
after a few minutes I started getting a really weird
feeling about that man that came to my door and
what he was up to. I walked back up to
the front to make sure he'd driven away, but when
I looked out the peephole, the man was still on
my porch. He looked spaced out, staring at the door
and not moving. By now I was sure there was
something wrong with him. Maybe he was drunk or high
or just not mentally there. But what he was actually
doing at my house I still didn't know. Not wanting
to take any risks, I went back to the kitchen
and called the police to report the strange man staying
outside my house. They said an officer would arrive in
a few minutes, so I went back and kept watching
the man. About a minute later, though, he walked off
my porch and into his van, then drove away just
before the officer made it. The timing of that was unfortunate,
but at the end of the day, I was just
happy he was gone. I gave a description to the
officer just in case, then went back to trying to
enjoy the rest of my night. At least a couple
hours passed with no more conflict. It was eight or
nine pm and I was resting in my bed on
my phone, but through the open window I heard the
rattling sound of an old vehicle pulling up and parking
outside my house. Once I heard someone getting out, I
quickly went out to the window. It was that same
old van, but I didn't see the man anywhere. He
must have rushed away as soon as he got out again.
I quickly got my phone and called nine one one.
But after reporting it, and just as I hung up,
there was a loud thump downstairs. It felt like I
could almost feel the walls shake a little, so I
knew the man was likely trying to break in. I
opened my bedroom door and went out into the hallway,
then looked down the staircase and tried to listen. It
was now eerily quiet. I walked down a few steps
and looked around. All of the lights were off, but
I saw the curtains by one of the windows slightly
swaying in the wind. I looked closer, seeing the window
had been forced open. My whole body tend stup as
I tried to control myself. Knowing the man was likely
somewhere in my house right now, I carefully and quietly
went back up the steps, then hid in the bedroom closet.
I didn't hear anything until a few minutes later, when
two officers knocked on the front door. I ran down
and let them in, But still we didn't hear anyone
trying to run away or anything. It only took a
few seconds for the officers to find the man hiding
behind the kitchen counter. He gave up without a fight. Disturbingly, though,
he was holding a large hammer, which he'd used to
force open the window. Apparently, when they tested him at
the station, he wasn't high or drunk, but he still
had that eerily vacant personality. He never said his intentions,
almost like he didn't even remember that anything had happened.
It's hard for me not to think about the other
ways this could have gone, though. If I'd gone to
sleep and not heard him get in, I might have
come to a horrible fate in the morning, or possibly
not even been given the luxury of waking up.