Chapter 14- Neighborhood Watch

BANG! The sound echoed in my ears, urging me out of sleep.

BANG! My eyes burst open, blinking from the bright morning sun.

BANG! I rubbed my eyes, disoriented, looking around at the piles of boxes, cans, and bottles surrounding my bed. I searched for the source of the sound, realizing groggily that it was coming from outside.

BANG! I flipped my feet over the side of the bed, banging my toe on a case of canned chicken. "Not a lot of room to walk, is there?" I mumbled to myself. BANG! Pulling my jeans on I scuffled to the window, opening the door out onto the balcony. Below a man was hitting the bumper of a car with a sledgehammer. BANG! With each hit the bumper twisted outward and began curving down. "Hey, Jack! What's going on?" I called down. "Isn't it a little early on a Sunday morning to be playing Thor?" The man stopped swinging and looked up at me. His eye was swollen and black, and dried blood mottled his face. "Whoa- what happened to you?" I asked in alarm. Do you need me to call an ambulance?" He stared at me for a moment, as though processing what I had said. "No." he replied simply, and turned back to his hammer. BANG! Something about the way he looked at me was chilling. Like he was missing his soul. I closed the door and returned to my room, weaving between tall boxes of supplies and various cases of food to get to my closet. Pulling on a shirt, I looked through my bedroom door into the living room. Even larger piles of boxes were stacked everywhere. I laughed to myself. It might look like Costco had thrown up in my apartment, but it was very exciting, and this was just the first step.

a man was hitting the bumper of a car with a sledgehammer. BANG! With each hit the bumper twisted outward and began curving down. "Hey, Jack! What's going on?" I called down. "Isn't it a little early on a Sunday morning to be playing Thor?"

Pulling out of the garage, I glanced toward my neighbor's house. He was gone, his hammer leaning up against the bumper. Perhaps he went to the hospital after all. I resisted the urge to check on him and turned right. Typing "Storage" into my phone's map I watched as several pins dropped around my location. Tapping the closest one I selected "directions to here" and proceeded on my course. At a red light I texted Tracy "Checking out storage units. You okay?" and looked back at the intersection, waiting for the light. A text popped in from Tracy "Yep- renting the truck. Be there soon."

I pulled into "Safe T. Storage" and looked at the front door. Posted hours stated they didn't open for another 10 minutes, so I parked in an open slot and got out to look around. A gate made of thick steel sealed off the entrance to the storage area. It opened by a chain driven electric motor that sat out in the open. Rows and rows of storage units made long, wide alleyways, and the entire compound was almost like a massive metal maze.

A few hundred feet away I saw a man sweeping. He stopped and looked in my direction, and I gave a friendly wave. "Good morning!" I called out, trying to sound unthreatening and cheerful. "I wanted to rent one of your units!" He stared for a moment and then disappeared behind a row of units. As I waited I took a closer look at the units. No windows, sturdy doors. I reached through the bars to knock on the closest one. It felt solid and I heard a faint echo.

Behind me I heard the office door open. I turned to see an old man wearing grey striped coveralls stated at me. His name was stitched into a patch on his chest. "Hey there Lou, I've got a few questions about your storage units." Lou invited me into the office and sat down behind a small desk. He looked at me expectantly. "Well?" he grunted. I sat down and attempted to get comfortable. "That gate out there is powered by that motor, but it looks like it would be easy enough to break it. If the engine is damaged will the gate open or will it stay sealed?" Lou eyed me suspiciously and didn't respond. I could see I needed to clarify. "If I want to store my belongings here I'd like to know the place is secure. That was the first thing I noticed." he seemed satisfied with that explanation. "I'd also like to inspect the security on the units themselves. If everything checks out I'll need two of your largest units, preferably side by side, as well as several of your smaller units throughout this facility." I could feel a change in his attitude now that I seemed like a serious customer.

I climbed into the Jeep and called Tracy. "Hey, I just rented the storage units, and I'm heading back now. Where are you?" There was a momentary pause. "I'm already here, but..." I heard a BANG in the background. "Is that my neighbor Jack banging on his bumper again?" I asked. "He woke me up with that noise." Tracy sounded very nervous. "It's really creepy" she said. "He's been mindlessly hitting that car for 15 minutes. No pause, no rest, no change in the way he's swinging that hammer." I remembered last week and the banging in the closet before Lucas died. "Tracy, I'm on my way- are you safe?" I pushed on my accelerator as I drove. "I'm sitting in the truck, but I don't think he knows I'm here." Suddenly a car engine started in the background. "A neighbor is pulling out of their garage... Oh no," Tracy sounded worried. "He's stopped moving. He's just standing there with his back to me. He's turning... He's looking at me now. What happened to his face?!" I heard her scream in terror. Panic mixed with helplessness filled my veins. "Tracy, get out of there- RUN!" I yelled. All I could hear was her screams, followed by an ear-splitting crash and then the phone call dropped. "Tracy!" I called out.

I ran the light and jumped the curb, cutting into the alley behind my house. The truck was there, the driver's side window smashed to pieces. I slammed on my brakes and climbed up onto the truck, looking inside the cab. "Tracy! Tracy!!" I called out, but no reply. The passenger door was open, and I grabbed my baseball bat and ran around the opposite side of the truck. The space between the truck and the wall was very narrow, and I had to turn sideways to fit through. No room to swing my bat, I thought. As I shuffled through I felt a hand grab my calf. I looked down and saw Tracy with her finger to her lips, urging me to be quiet. I slid down until I could join her under the truck, and she pointed over to my neighbor's home. The front door opened and I saw slow footsteps approach the car. BANG! He must be hitting the bumper again. BANG! I motioned to Tracy to slowly back up. We crawled out the rear, keeping our eyes fixed ahead. BANG! We stood slowly, peering around the corner of the truck where Jack was slowly and methodically pounding his car. BANG! I pulled out my phone and began to record. BANG! The video captured his repetitive, pointless effort. BANG! I wanted to see his face. BANG! I remembered how quickly Lucas moved and the sheer strength it must have taken to break that closet door. BANG! I remembered the weight of his body as he fell on me and his dead, yellow eyes. BANG! I couldn't wait any longer. I had to know. "Jack!" I called out. Mid swing he stopped, as if frozen. "Jack, it's me. Is everything all right?" Nervous, my hand started to shake and I struggled to keep the recording steady. Without warning, Jack turned and charged toward me. I dove out of the way and he slamming into the hood of the truck violently. Tracy screamed as his body dropped to the ground with a sickening splat. I approached him slowly, cautiously, keeping my camera focused on his head. Using my foot I nudged him. His shoulder flopped but he didn't move. I flipped him over and my worst fears were confirmed. Yellow eyes.