The night he met him, Jack woke up to a loud thump on his window. Pulling off his covers, he got out of bed to investigate. Jack wasn't particularly afraid at the time; it was a fairly windy night so he assumed a bird must've gotten confused and crashed into Jack's bedroom window.
When he reached the wall opposite his bed, Jack unlatched the window and pushed out the glass. He stuck his head out into the cool night and was surprised to find neither a bird on the window sill nor on the fire escape.
For a moment, Jack stood at the window looking out over the city, resting his arms on the window sill, and just listened. Jack heard the normal sounds of the city: cars driving, sirens blaring, dogs barking, street musicians playing, people shouting. The one thing he didn't hear was what could've been the source of the thump on his window. Jack shrugged the whole thing off as his imagination. He stepped back from the window, latched it shut, and climbed back into bed.
Just as he started to doze off again, Jack heard another thump at the window, more forceful than the last. He immediately jumped out of bed, more annoyed than anything. He opened the window and looked out once again. As he scanned the area, Jack heard a third, louder thump.
At that moment, Jack realized why he wasn't able to find the source of the noise before.
He had never looked up.
Slowly, very slowly, Jack raised his head and looked above him. On the roof of the apartment building, he could barely make out the silhouette of a crouched figure in the darkness.
Leisurely, almost mockingly, the figure raised it's arm and thumped it's hand just above the window.
That night, Jack was sure his scream woke the entire apartment building.
When Jack finally calmed himself enough, he pulled himself off the floor where he'd fallen in fear of what he'd seen and back to the window. It took some time, but Jack had convinced himself he wasn't dreaming and decided to do some investigating.
A terrible decision, really.
Jack wasn't fearing for his life like he should've been at the moment. Instead, he was gripped with something far worse: curiosity. He stepped out onto the fire escape and climbed to the roof of the building. It was gradually getting brighter out as morning approached so it was easier for Jack to look for . . . well, he didn't even know what he was looking for. All he knew was that he'd seen something and he was going to find it.
It was still dark enough so Jack couldn't see clearly, but somehow he knew there was something on the roof with him. Suddenly, an especially cold breeze hit the back of his neck. It felt almost unnatural.
Jack walked to what he thought was the source of the breeze when he heard a sort of whisper come from where he was just standing.
"Anyone there?" he asked as he walked back to the spot.
So quietly that Jack almost didn't hear, a voice replied, "Over here."
The voice was soft and playful but at the same time it had a sort of omnipotent and commanding undertone.
Jack could've sworn the voice came from right next to him but when he turned, there was nothing there.
This went on and on. The voice was always behind Jack saying, "I'm here." "Just turn around." "Over here." The voice was taunting him and Jack swore he heard laughter.
As he turned 'round and 'round, it only got louder and louder until Jack's ears pounded and he felt light-headed. More and more voices seemed to join in on the assult. They spoke on top of each other. Laughter came from every dirction. Jack couldn't keep up.
