[Music] it was a chilly night in early March this happened a couple years ago now I had just gotten home from work I was working late that night so it was close to midnight by the time I walked through the door I was beyond exhausted I wanted nothing more than to crack open a freezing cold beer and throw my feet up on the couch so that's exactly what I did alcohol always tastes better after A Hard Day's Work I didn't even turn on the TV immediately I just sat there on the couch with my eyes
closed and my feet elevated trying to ignore the nagging thoughts about how stressful my life was I remember getting frustrated while flipping through the channels because nothing was catching my eye after sifting through for another few minutes I ultimately gave up and opted to enjoy my beer in silence like everything else in my life peace and quiet was apparently too much to asked for because not 10 seconds later all the lights in my house simultaneously shut off you know that slightly fuzzy popping sound that comes a split second before everything shuts off yeah there's nothing
I hate more than hearing that noise for whatever reason our house had a tendency to lose power every so often now that I think about it it still does anyway my first reaction was to step outside and see if any of the neighboring houses were affected I stepped outside and shut the door behind me trying to preserve any heat that I might not be able to get back should I fail to restore the power it was late but I remember seeing at least one house on my block with their lights on which confirmed that my
house was the problem I closed my eyes and took a deep breath knowing that this headache would definitely spoil whatever pleasure I was hoping to salvage from the night I turned back to go inside but when I turned the handle on the front door it wouldn't budge I froze confused at first I tried the handle a few more times but it was definitely locked what the hell was going on I banged on the door and called my wife's name thinking maybe she had woken up without me realizing there was no answer I tried to peer
through the glass but it was still Pitch Black in there I ran around to the back that door was locked too I started panicking my wife had a tendency to leave doors unlocked so it was weird that the back door would be locked in the first place I ran around to the side of the house to check the breaker and I froze in my tracks my hose which I knew for a fact had been coiled was laying in the grass just below the breaker box the realization hit me like a freight train someone had cut
the power intentionally without thinking I sprinted to the nearest window and desperately looked inside one more time this time I was able to make out two flashlights swinging around wildly in the dark as if two people were rumaging through my house they were I knew they were stealing [ __ ] I was infuriated the nerve of someone to do this while I was literally home I reached into my pocket to call the police only to realize that I had left my phone on the couch after cursing under my breath I told myself I just run
to the neighbor's house and borrow his phone as I started making my way to the nearest house another more Sinister thought hit me my wife was still inside she was probably asleep vulnerable to whoever was in the house I couldn't leave her there even for another minute I sprinted back to my house and frantically grabbed some loose rocks from the yard I started chucking them at our bedroom window hoping to wake her up after the Third Rock she opened the window before she had a chance to say anything I quietly told her what was happening
and instructed her to hide in our closet her head disappeared immediately she didn't ask questions I then sprinted to my neighbor's house and banged on the door I EXP explained what was going on as quickly as possible and then I used his phone to call the police I waited on his porch praying that my wife would be okay the police eventually arrived and I ran out to one of the cars explaining the situation as best I could they barged into the house but by then it was too late the back door was wide open and
whoever had broken in was Gone with too many of our valuables to count my wife was more shaken than I was and understandably so what she told me and the police made me angry at myself for not doing a better job at protecting her to this day I'll never forgive myself for leaving her in the house with potential murderers apparently mere seconds after I instructed her to hide she heard someone kick the bedroom door open the person walked into the room and cocked a gun he stood there motionlessly for a few seconds clearly listening for
anyone in the room she said she had never been more terrified in her entire life I believe The Intruders heard me throwing the rocks at the window the scariest part is that we still live in this house and we're not planning on moving out anytime soon sometimes I think about what could have happened had I not stepped outside for those brief moments I've always lived in the shadow of my older brother I'm not bitter about it but it's just been the truth he's got a successful business and I've been trying to replicate that for the
better part of 6 years now I recently moved back in with my parents to try and find some footing going back home definitely felt like a step backward but I didn't have many options I was staying in the basement to keep out of their way as much as I could it wasn't too bad down there it was almost like a mini apartment the basement had its own little kitchen bathroom office bedroom and even a TV with my old video games with all that I rarely went upstairs I could pretty much live down there on my
own and it it kept me from feeling like a total burden one night it was either Friday or Saturday there was a pretty nasty storm blustering outside rain was hammering against the windows and the wind was strong enough to Rattle the whole house I can't overstate the intensity of it it was one of the wildest storms I had ever seen at that point my parents were out of town for the weekend so I had the place to myself which was fine by me I remember it being extra cozy down there that night I love listening
to a raging Storm from the comfort of a warm bed especially when it's late at night there's something about hunkering down inside during a chaotic storm that really eases my mind I was about to fall asleep to the soothing pattering of rain when the power suddenly went out everything clicked off at once and I was left in total darkness I groaned annoyed at the inconvenience I figured the storm must have knocked out the power and for a second I thought about going to check the breaker but I didn't feel like dealing with it not with
the storm raging outside besides I was about to go to bed anyway and I didn't really know where the breaker was to begin with I figured I'd just wait it out and deal with it in the morning as I lay there trying to get comfortable again I heard something a loud unnatural thud against one of the basement windows it sounded heavy like something had hit it hard my first thought was that maybe a branch had come loose in the wind or a tree had fallen but but the sound was sharp and deliberate not like anything
I'd heard before as lazy as I wanted to be I couldn't ignore a fallen tree that was a bit of a step up from a simple power outage reluctantly I got out of bed and grabbed my phone using the flashlight to make my way over to the window the basement was Pitch Black and the only sounds were the rain pelting the glass and the low Rumble of the thunder outside I remember rubbing fuzzies out of my eyes to try and wake myself up a littleit bit I held my phone up to the window squinting through
the glass and nearly died from my heart stopping right there there was a man's face pressed up against the window and he was staring in at me his eyes were wide his skin pale and drenched and for a split second he made direct eye contact with me as soon as he saw me looking he moved away from the window I stumbled back almost dropping my phone in shock what the had I just seen I felt my heart starting to race I could barely breathe but I didn't have much time to process it because a few
seconds later I started hearing another sound the sound of footsteps I listened closely the floorboards above my head were creaking gently there were people in the house between what I had just seen and what I was hearing I was on the verge of losing it I was home alone and my house was literally getting broken into on top of everything one of them knew I was in the basement I couldn't couldn't think clearly with how severe the situation was everything was happening so fast but I had no choice but to act I quickly checked my
phone ready to call the police but then I remembered that power outage had knocked out the Wi-Fi and with no cell service in the basement I was trapped down there totally cut off I knew I couldn't just sit around and wait for these people to do whatever they'd come to do I tried to calm myself thinking through my options I couldn't let those strangers just roam around my house but I definitely didn't want to confront them head on I was literally stuck in a lose lose situation I decided I'd try to sneak upstairs skip out
the front door quietly and then call the police once I was outside I didn't have another Choice keeping my footsteps as quiet as possible I made my way up to the basement stairs I still remember the pure fear of that moment you never know how your body is going to react to something traumatic until it happens when I reached the top I peered around the stairwell my heart sank because I saw three figures with flashlights moving around my pitch black house I watched them for a few seconds literally petrified one of their flashlights panned across
their body just long enough for me to make out what one of them was carrying it was a gun I froze every muscle in my body was tense I didn't move I just watched as they murmured to each other in low voices that's when I heard heard one of them say something that escalated the situation even further if that was even possible in a calm almost casual voice one of them said Alex is in the basement go find him I can't describe the terror I was feeling how the [ __ ] did he know my
name I backed down the stairs as quietly as I could trying to keep my breathing steady but inside I was losing my [ __ ] entirely I knew I didn't have much time they were coming for me and I had no idea what was going to happen once they found me I looked around frantically considering potential hiding spots there wasn't time I needed to get the hell out of there in the next minute or I was going to die the only possible way out was through one of the basement windows but they were all sealed
from the inside I had no other choice I grabbed a nearby stool climbed up one of the window wells and smashed the glass with my elbow shards of glass flew everywhere but I didn't care I scrambled through the broken window pulling myself out into the rain I felt the cuts all over my body but I didn't have time to register the pain with the adrenaline and fear coursing through my veins the downpour soaked me instantly and I ran through the mud trying not to slip once I was a safe distance from the house I finally
got a signal and called the police I remember my hands shaking so hard I could barely hold the phone by the time the police searched the house whoever had been in there was long gone so much stuff had been stolen I'm not even going to bother listing everything that was taken the power outage had been intentional no surprise there my parents were livid and threatened to kick me out of the house I basically had to beg them not to insisting that there was nothing else I could have done they eventually calmed down but I'm still
pretty shaken by the whole ordeal I still have no idea who those people were or how they knew my name I hate thinking about what might have happened had they found me I live in a quiet suburban area but there are a lot of more densely populated towns within driving distance of me a few months ago I picked up a night shift security job at a warehouse a few Towns over it was situated in this industrial space that stretched on for Miles the building itself was isolated with rows and rows of tall metal shelves and
a couple of big loading docks the work was easy routine checks basic security making sure everything stayed locked up it was quiet usually too quiet but I didn't mind I like the Solitude and most nights I could finish my shift without much happening it was a Thursday night and it was pouring out I was checking my phone every so often for updates on the Storm as I wasn't too keen on having to drive home in those conditions luckily there wasn't much for me to do that night so so I at least had that going for
me the power in the warehouse flickered a few times but held steady so I wasn't too worried but about an hour in the power finally gave out plunging the whole Warehouse into pitch black darkness I was pissed I was the only employee there that night so the responsibility for restoring the power was mine I had obviously been prepped for a situation like this but I never thought I'd ever have to actually deal with it I stepped out of my little security room to begin the process they had instructed me to unplug some of the massive
machines before checking the breakers so that's what I went to do my flashlight was the only source of light in the whole place it was honestly creepy as hell the silence felt thicker in the dark and every Creek of the building seemed louder without the hum of the lights my footsteps echoed like a 100 times louder too which was definitely an odd feeling as I was patrolling one of the aisles I heard a loud metallic clattering echoing from somewhere deeper in the warehouse it startled me but I brushed it off as the storm rattling the
roof or the metal shutters still I decided to check it out aisle by aisle when I rounded one corner I froze a faint beam of light was moving along the shelves up ahead it looked just like my own flashlight it clicked off as quickly as I had seen it but I had definitely seen it no one should have been there until the morning though I felt my heart start to race why the hell would someone else be in here I debated calling out but ultimately decided against it when I reached the spot where I had
seen the light it was gone the aisle was empty just rows of crates and shelves stacked high with inventory I started freaking out knowing I wasn't going crazy I knew what I saw I had a job to do though I debated calling the police but wasn't sure if what I had seen would be enough I guess there was a slight chance I could have imagined it in hindsight had the company not equipped me with a taser I probably would have just called the police right there as I continued my patrol a strange smell hit me
a musty metallic odor like rusted metal or stagnant water the smell was coming from one of the loading Bays a darker part of the warehouse where crates were stacked up floor to ceiling I followed the smell with my flashlight and that's when I noticed something odd my beam reflected off the polished concrete floor revealing two sets of wet Footprints leading into one of the storage aisles in that moment I wanted to run in the opposite direction and call the police but I couldn't just yet if anyone was poking around it was on me that was
literally my job curiosity got the better of me and I decided to follow the trail I kept my flashlight low not wanting to make it obvious where I was as I got closer I started hearing faint Whispers just barely audible like two people having a conversation a few miles away I couldn't make out the words but something about the tone sounded tense almost urgent I clicked off my flashlight and held my breath trying not to make any noise I gripped my Taser and crept closer to the whispering as I turned the corner I raised my
flashlight to confront whoever was there but there was honest to God no one in front of me the whispering had also stuck Ops which was pure Insanity they had literally been right in front of me how the hell had they disappeared so quickly the whole situation had me rattled I decided that I wasn't getting paid enough for this so I decided to just make a be line for the circuit room and get the power on without worrying about my other tasks I made it there and started fumbling around with the breakers in the dark as
I was doing that I heard something scrape across the floor [Music] nearby I swung my flashlight around and spotted the edge of a metal tool lying just a few feet away a crowbar it hadn't been there before this was serious now whoever was in there with me had potentially malicious intentions I yelled out that I was arms which was kind of a half Bluff considering the taser I needed to get out of there as fast as possible my nerves were shot at that point but I knew my life was more valuable than whatever consequences I'd
face for leaving as I was heading for the door a loud metallic crash echoed from the far end of the building followed by the unmistakable sound of rushing footsteps I felt a surge of adrenaline and started running toward the noise I turned the corner and there they were standing in the middle of the aisle were two figures dressed all in black one of them was holding a crowbar identical to the one I had just walked past they looked at me for a split second and then without warning started sprinting directly towards me I I didn't
think I just turned and ran all the confidence I had just mustered up was gone I could hear their footsteps pounding behind me but I didn't dare look back I weaved through the aisles praying that I'd be able to navigate this place better than they could after what felt like an eternity the footsteps faded I paused catching my breath and realized they weren't chasing me anymore eventually I made my way toward the exit door and stepped outside I immediately called the police and begged them to come as quickly as possible they actually arrived pretty quickly
which I was thankful for of course those two strangers were long gone by then but the officers were really helpful and even helped me get my power back up my boss was not as sympathetic though he gave me [ __ ] for running and I almost lost my job over the whole incident I still can't get over how strange the whole encounter was like it was clear that those people were messing with me but they still chased me me with a weapon the worst part is I still work nights in that warehouse although my boss
did start putting at least two people on the shift every night I still don't know what to make of the whole thing I'm just glad those guys didn't catch up to me
