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Speaker 1: I'm a twenty six year old female, and it was

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October of last year when this happened. The weather was

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getting colder and we had a few days in a

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row of constant raining. I didn't mind, as I spent

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most of my time working from home. This day, I

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had gotten up early and started work, but around one

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PM I was interrupted from my zoom meeting by the

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powers shutting off. I knew right away it was the

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power to the whole house, and not just my computer,

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because all the lights went out too. I quickly got

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my phone and held it up as a light source,

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then went over to the window to see if the

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neighbors were blacked out too. It was really dark outside

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because of the clouds and heavy rain, but all the

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houses nearby still had their lights on. Now I was

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a little worried that something was actually wrong with my house.

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I left the room and went downstairs, getting a better flashlight,

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and then heading down into the unfinished basement. I maneuvered

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around in the dark through my stacked up storage boxes

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until I got to the electrical panel. The main power

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switch was in the off position. I'm not too experienced

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with these sort of things, but I did know that

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usually the switches would just be loose and not fully

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pushed the other way. I flicked it back to the

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on position, and everything immediately lit up and seemed to

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be working. I shut the electrical panel and went back

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upstairs to my office, then waited for the internet and

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everything to get running before I rejoined the Zoom call

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and got back to work. I was at my desk

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for the rest of the afternoon, working late to prepare

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air presentation for tomorrow. I didn't finally close my computer

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until eight pm. The storm was just as bad as before,

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but it was way darker outside, which made every flash

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of lightning beam through the windows. I got up from

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my desk and opened my office door, but as I

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left the room, I heard a few bumps from downstairs.

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I didn't think it was anything more than something blowing

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into the side of the house, but as I got

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to the bottom of the stairs, the power shut off again.

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It caught me by surprise, even scaring me a bit.

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I stood there for a moment and listened for something

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that might have caused it, but it was silent aside

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from the rain and thunder. Even the bumps that I'd

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been hearing just seconds ago had stopped. I went over

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and got the flashlight again and made my way over

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to the basement door. I opened it and walked down

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to the bottom of the steps. The sound of the

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storm was way louder than I was expecting, echoing through

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the room in a way that it wasn't before. I

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shined the flashlight around and started walking through the boxes

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toward the electrical panel. But on the floor below it

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was a puddle of water. I was shocked, but I

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don't think it really set in yet as to what

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that meant. I got closer and pointed to the light

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around the floor, seeing more wet areas on the concrete

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before my light fell on a few stacked up boxes

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above it. The window well was open and water was

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flowing down the wall into the basement. Now my heart

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was racing, and when I approached it, there were muddy

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shoe prints on top of the boxes, like it had

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been used as a stool to climb in and out

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of the window well. I frantically spun around, flashing my

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light all throughout the basement, terrified that someone was hiding

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behind the boxes and watching me. Then in an instant,

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I sprinted to the stairs and ran up to the

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first floor. I grabbed my keys and locked myself in

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my car, then called the police. They arrived ten minutes later,

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clearing out the house and not finding anyone. They did

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confirm though, that someone had broken in, finding undone screws

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to the window well. They set it back in the

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place to prevent any more flooding, But after I gave

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my statement, they basically just said to update them if

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I had any new information. There was nothing else, with

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no idea who broke in or what they were trying

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to do. Even more unsettling is the fact that when

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they shut off the power earlier in the day, they

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were probably in my basement only a few feet from me,

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hiding in the dark. While I had no idea, that

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could also mean that they were in my house for hours,

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and yet I still can't find any reasons for it.

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In twenty nineteen, I had taken a trip to northern

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Wisconsin and had been staying in an airbnb. It was

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a cabin located in the woods right by the Canada

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US border and was part of a park that had

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a bunch of similar cabins that I think were owned

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by the same per I wasn't far out from town

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or anything, though. It was only ten minutes from the

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nearest store, but the immediate area around the cabin was

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very secluded. Each place had their own trail leading just

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to their cabin. The first couple days of being there,

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I mostly stayed by myself, either inside or walking on

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the trails. After that, though, I got kind of bored

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and thought I'd hang out at the park center with

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some of the others that were staying in the cabins.

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The park center was basically just this area with some

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charcoal grills, fire pits, and benches, and every time I'd

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passed it there were groups of people standing around and

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having a good time, so I decided to go check

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it out. I showed up around five and right away

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met a couple really cool guys. We shared some beers

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and sat by the fire pit just shared some casual

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campfire talk. It was just us for a while, but

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around sundown another guy showed up. Of course, we offered

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him some drinks and let him join us by the fire,

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but I immediately felt something was off about this guy.

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He wasn't talking that much and didn't look like he

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was enjoying himself. I mean, this park was for people

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vacationing at the cabins, so it was just a little

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strange that he looked so tired and unhappy. It kind

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of killed the mood for the next couple hours, but

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I don't think any of us wanted to tell him

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to leave. Eventually, though, one of the guys left, and

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then the other leaving just me and him. I stood

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up and put out the fire, then said I was

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going to head back for the night, but that it

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was nice meeting him. The guy stayed sitting, though, and

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just looked at me with a tired stare. Around and

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walked away, not saying anything else. While I started walking

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down the trail, I looked back a few times, catching

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the man still looking at me. He'd look away as

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soon as I saw him, acting like he wasn't watching me. Luckily,

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the trail to my cabin was well lit by some

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outdoor lamps, and from what I could see, I don't

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think he followed me. I made it back inside and

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took a quick shower, then sat in the living room

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for fifteen minutes before going to bed. After the few

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beers from earlier, I passed out right away. I can't

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recall what time it was that I woke up, because

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it was all kind of a blur at first, but

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I remember being confused and rolling over to look at

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the clock when I saw a man standing in the

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open doorway to the bedroom. I could only see his

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figure as there was only the moonlight coming through the window.

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I was absolutely horrified and frozen staring back at this man.

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But then he spoke and I recognized his voice as

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the guy from the fire pit. I need to stay here,

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he said, in a broken and harsh voice. I didn't

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know what he meant, and I tried to ask, but

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only stuttered out a few syllables before he repeated himself,

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I need to stay here. He spoke even more harsh

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this time, so I quickly replied, saying okay, but still

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had no clue what was going on or what he

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even meant. At this point, I thought he was psycho

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or something, which also meant he was unpredictable. I slowly

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got up from my bed, careful not to make any

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sudden moves. Now, with my eyes adjusting and being face

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to face, I could see him more clearly. His tired

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look from earlier was accentuated, and sweat was dripping from

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his face. We looked each other in the eyes for

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a few moments, then he stepped back into the hallway.

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He stood with his back against the wall, as if

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giving me space to leave, but I noticed his left

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hand was stiffly held to his side, like he was

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keeping something out of my sight. After a few more moments,

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I quickly walked past him, and as I got around

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the corner, I saw him still standing in the hallway,

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just watching me leave. Once I was outside, I ran

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down the trail and by chance, a group was at

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the park center having drinks by a fire pit. I

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got them to call nine one one for me. In

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minutes later, they came and searched the cabin, finding the

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man standing in the hallway still and holding a knife

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in his left hand. When they got him down to

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the station, they questioned him, but his answers didn't make sense,

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and the man seemed really unstable, so it was all

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counted under insanity. I don't even know what else to

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really say about what happened, but I'm just thankful that

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in that moment, something told the man to let me

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go before anything else happened. I live in a duplex

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in a small community. I'd been there for over a

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year and hadn't found anything to really complain about. The

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neighbors that were sharing a wall with me had moved

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out only a month after I moved in, and nobody

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had bought or rented it since, so it didn't really

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feel like a duplex at all because the other side

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was just empty. Anyway, this was a pretty normal night.

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I had just gotten off of work at ten and

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picked up some fast food before going home. I turned

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on the TV and ate my dinner on the couch.

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While I was eating, though, a quiet thud came from

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behind me. I turned around and looked at the wall

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that connected my duplex to the other, and the thud

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happened again. I muted the TV and went up to

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the window, looking out at the driveway. There were no

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cars or moving trucks outside, and it didn't look like

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the lights were on in the other duplex either. I

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went back to the wall and leaned my ear against it.

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The sound was very muffled, but I could hear soft

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footsteps walking around in doors opening and closing. It was

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like they were inspecting the place or looking for something. Again.

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That duplex unit had been empty for over a year,

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and I'd never seen anyone enter or leave it, and

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it being almost eleven pm only made it more unusual.

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After a few minutes, I knew there wasn't much else

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to really do, so I went back to the couch

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and continued watching TV. I stayed up for a while,

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probably one am, before getting in bed. As I tossed

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around and tried to fall asleep, I suddenly heard that

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same noise. I sat up, looking at the wall, but

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when the thud sounded again, it was a lot louder.

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I tiredly got up and walked over to the bedroom door,

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but before I opened it, I heard another sound, soft

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footsteps slowly walking across the floor downstairs. A chill instantly

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ran through my body. I stepped away from the door

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and quietly got my phone from the nightstand. I turned

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the volume down as low as possible and called the police,

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whispering my address to the operator. I tried to explain

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my situation, but as I did, a shadow appeared under

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the door. I immediately stopped talking and anxiously stared across

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at the door while the person on the other side

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slowly walked around. They were very cautious with each step

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they took, almost not making any noise, but their shadow

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showed that they weren't going very far. They were just

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walking back and forth in the hallway. By now, I

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was sure that they knew I was in this room,

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but I still remained quiet and hoped that somehow police

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would come quick enough to help me. A grueling few

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minutes went by until a sudden, loud footstep rang through

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the hallway, followed by another and another. For some reason,

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whoever was out there no longer cared to be quiet,

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moving through the hallway quickly and beginning to open doors

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to the other rooms. When he came back to my room,

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he twisted the handle and tried a few times to

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force it open, but moved on from it without too

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much of a fight. Then he went back downstairs and

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did the same before leaving the unit. Police came a

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while later, but I think the person that broke in

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had figured out that I'd likely contacted the police, and

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that's why they started rushing. Whatever it was they were

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trying to do. A few things had been stolen, but

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not enough to really justify breaking into a place, and

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from their behavior, they seemed to know that I was

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in the house. A few weeks later, though, I found

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a small camera hiding under one of the night stands

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in the spare bedroom. I took it into the police,

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but there was no way to trace it or see

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what kind of information was on it. Whether they were

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just trying to spy on me or had other intentions

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that we don't know. There's really no way for us

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to get an answer. It's been months since this happened

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and there's been no signs of them coming back. But

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it's possible that I wouldn't even know if they did,

243
00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:45,399
at least not until it's too late.