A loud noise made him flinch.
Immediately he stood up, looking around despite not seeing much. The noise had been sudden. And as soon as it happened, it disappeared, leaving behind the monotony of the night. Takemichi tried to put sense into it.
He just wanted to sleep, man, but to even try calming down again would have been futile. Takemichi stared at the bedroom door.
The noise had sounded like something banging on wood, that much was Takemichi sure of, and the utter silence after it was deafening and equally terrifying.
"What the fuck." He started murmuring to himself, getting increasingly paranoid by his rapidly horrifying thoughts. The dread was enough to make him stop breathing for a moment, the fear of being heard by whatever caused that noise overriding any other emotions and thoughts.
Did those drunk men follow him, perhaps?
Did someone seriously infiltrate his home? That only happens in movies, right?
Takemichi gulped, and as slowly as possible, got up from his bed and carefully walked towards the door.
Out of reflex, he tried grabbing his phone to use the flashlight but became overly aware that the clump of metal might be the most useless thing in his room, and at this point, of no actual use. The other nearest phone was the corded one downstairs.
To call for any sort of help, he would have to go downstairs. Just what he needed, truly.
He was about to do what led to the death of every white person in a scary movie and go down to the kitchen. The paranoia would have eaten him alive if he stayed in his bedroom otherwise, and if there was actually a serious threat, the only exit was the house's main entrance.
While walking with delicate steps so as to not make any sounds, Takemichi leaned against the wall, still unable to see much due to the dark. There was an innate fear of turning on the lights, the nighttime somehow putting the entire house on level ground.
If an intruder breached the house, they would not know how to navigate the dark rooms and hallways. So if Takemichi was sneaky, he could go to the kitchen, call the emergency number, and think of whatever he should do next.
As he walked down the stairs, making sure to be as silent as possible, he started to notice how there were no other sounds at all. The only thing he could hear was his own breathing. Not even the outside world was making any noises.
He started doubting himself. The reason he had gotten so jumpy was that the noise did sound like his door, but maybe he had imagined it?
Perhaps it had been his overactive imagination, Takemichi tried to reason, and that he was safe and sound and there was no intruder.
Still, he marched down the stairs, his steps just a tad more confident. He was a grown man, and a bit of darkness was not going to scare him!
Yet another banging sound made him let out a screech.
Immediately, he covered his mouth, panicking because of his own stupid mistake. His hands felt sticky and gross, but that was not what got his attention. The sound had been similar to a loud thud, like something falling to the ground.
He hated feeling so paranoid and so hopeless. The situation was like some sick replay of what happened back in the present, and the eerily similar vibe of it all felt nauseating. The only thing on his mind was to run away.
Just like before, a blanket of silence fell upon the house. Takemichi strained his ears and yet could not hear anything but his heartbeat.
It could have been anything. Truly. Maybe something just fell, like a book or some other object.
