Getting Chased

Chapter 5

I skip to my door with my wallet in hand, my other hand unoccupied for the pizza box.

Yes, I plan on eating an entire pizza.

I swing my door open, accepting the container from the delivery girl who laid claim on delivering to my house since I tip well. She gives a nod, then stalks off into the elevator.

I sink -more like bounce off- into my couch and set up to eat on it for the first time since I purchased it two years ago when I landed my job as a journalist at Zapp. I resume my movie and start to shove pizza into my face, slice after slice. I can feel the grease dripping down my chin, and it's heaven.

A loud thump sounds from outside my door, followed by a scuffle and another fall. I pause my movie when I hear multiple voices near my door.

"No! Stop pushing me, I'm not doing it! Let's go back home." Voice one says to number two.

"No. You're going in there, end of discussion." Voice two orders.

"No. She said she doesn't want to see me ever again." Voice one whines. Somebody gets shoved into my neighbor's door.

"That is not true, she said she didn't know." Voice two reprimands.

Number one scoffs. "Yeah, which is girl for 'I never want to see you again'."

Another shove.

"You don't know that. You aren't a girl." Voice two points out, very matter of fact.

"I do know. Ellie told me so." Voice number one sounds defeated.

"Well, you need to apologize for being weird and tell her you weren't being your normal self," points out number two.

Number one lets out an audible sigh. "I was being the best possible version of 'not myself'. So it clearly doesn't ma- OW!"

The sound registers to me as a punch. Someone is getting beat up outside my neighbors apartment.

I take a look out of my peephole, but all I can see is the back of a huge man's red shirt and his short, bleached blond hair. I sit back down and contemplate calling my neighbor, but if they haven't done anything about it yet then they probably don't plan to.

This isn't a big enough issue to call the cops, but maybe I could call security?

Voice number two breaks through my thought process. "I'm giving you ten seconds to knock on that door before I do."

Voice one rings out, scared. "Ian, don't."

"Ten, nine, eight."

"Ian, please, let's just leave."

"Seven, six, five, four."

"Ian, please, please stop. I'll buy dinner! For the week!"

"Three, two."

"Ian, no I'll do anything."

"One."

Voice one shouts, "NO!"

A thump sounds behind my door, then another on the ground in the hallway. Outside my door.

Then, suddenly, five knocks sound throughout my living room. From my door. They knocked on my door.

Voice one calls out in fear as the elevator dings. "No, Ian, wait! Hold the elevator! Stop!"

I open my door just a smidge, enough to see Sam pull himself off the ground and run to the closing elevator doors. He trips, falls, and pulls himself up again, taking off for the elevator once more.