 I recently came to the Midwest at the behest of my wife who was absolutely enthralled by the people and scenery of the region she grew up in. It was the one place she wanted to start her career with the community she cared about the most. Personally, I'm a California kid and see nothing interesting about it which is probably why she's made a habit of calling me a coastie as she rolls her eyes. I agreed to the move as it was likely that my career would be the more demanding one and she would have to follow me more than I would have to follow her. So I found a place at the local research facility and we were able to secure an apartment for a decent price just across the street. The facility treated patients and always had the latest and greatest clinical trials to enroll them in. I was more of a basic scientist myself but I thought it was a nice change of pace to see the immediate implications of my research. There was even a lot of upward mobility and if I did well enough they would clear me to work on increasingly secretive projects. I'd be lying if I said I didn't love the idea of being a scientist in some super secret style facility like in all those narrations I listened to that constantly unnerved my wife. Our apartment was nothing fancy quite modest if I'm being honest but it was a longer river and running trail that led to a nearby park. I quite fancied the idea of kayaking and running during the summer but not so much the feeling of freezing my ass off in the winter, a minor sacrifice, happy wife, happy life, right? Our complex was about three stories tall and we lived in the bottom downstairs unit. We only had to share one wall with a neighbor which was nice. Most people in our complex were friendly and the others kept mostly to themselves giving a slight smile or nod as they groggily made their way to work or class. Our upstairs neighbors were a perky pair of college students who had moved in shortly after us. One of them wore her hair in a short blonde bob and her roommate had grown her jet black hair Rapunzel style. They moved in with a beefy and friendly dog who looked up at them like they were his whole world and at me like a potential new friend. I first met them on my way back from work as they were struggling to lug a large sofa upstairs. Their uncle stood outside with his hands on his hips seemingly contemplating if helping his niece was worth the damage to his back. Their aunt looked equally worried peering around in her sun hat and dark shades. Need any help? I asked as I unlocked the building door. Their uncle looked over toward me thankfully. Oh, absolutely. I had no idea what I was going to do with this damn thing. I grabbed one end of the couch. Let's lift on three, okay? I feared for my own back as it wasn't in the best condition either. We had moved a lot growing up and I had thrown it out more than a few times. After getting it upstairs their aunt thanked me profusely and even brought me a few chocolate chip cookies. How she knew I had a voracious sweet tooth. I didn't know, but I made sure not to leave a trace to avoid a lecture from my wife. What can I say? We all have our vices. Not long after we settled in, a pandemic had hit our small city. We stocked up on food and essentials predicting that everyone's panic would make simple household items limited. I never had to buy the 36 rolls of toilet paper, but here we were. I welcomed the time as my job had begun ramping down and only the personnel who worked on the lower levels could come in for work. They still had patience to care for and all two important experiments to run. Many, they claimed, were too important for understanding the current outbreak. Our research group met sparingly over Zoom, mostly to check in. I had great colleagues and we hung out often after the calls. I'd say I was closest to Claire as we worked back to back when she wasn't held up in the dungeon for work. The labs we currently worked in had high windows with limited sun exposure, but further down below, I heard there was absolutely no indication of what time of day it was outside of digital clocks that hung sparingly along the walls. She often told me to enjoy my vacation after every meeting. I'll tell you the sun said hello, I'd retort. My wife spent her time catching up on Netflix and talking to family and acquaintance had even provided us with homemade masks so we could still go out and about when needed. One month into the lockdown, things started to get weird. One day around noon, I went downstairs into the basement of our complex to wash the next two loads of clothes when I ran into our neighbor with a black hair. She was sitting by the window next to one of the dryers and looked up at me face gaunt and I sunken. I think I caught that stupid bug that's going around. She tried to stifle a small cough. I kept my distance as I loaded the clothes into the washer and did a quick check to make sure my mask was secure. That sucks. Could you really be down here washing clothes then? I'm pretty sure you're supposed to stay in bed and away from people. She chuckled and swayed back and forth to a song only she could hear. I needed a break from my roommate. She kicked her legs back and forth hitting the wall beneath her. She kept telling me I wasn't being careful enough. Kind of a bitch about it. So now I'm sick and she's constantly making passive aggressive comments. I thought I might as well get something done and get some air. She thumbed to the open window behind her. Even the damn dog is acting strange around me. I didn't want to stay down there long with her, afraid I'd catch whatever she had myself. My wife and I were already nervous about what was going around. Well, here's to you getting better. Drink plenty of tea and make sure to get some rest. I'm sure you guys will make up soon. I closed the machine and gave her a nod. She smiled back and I quickly walked back upstairs. I started going downstairs to do laundry at night when it was less occupied. But I always felt on edge. You ever felt like someone was watching you, but no matter how fast you turned around or where you looked, you couldn't find them. Because of this, I always rushed back upstairs to the apartment. It had been about a month and we hadn't seen much of our new neighbors, which was expected. But as time continued, we heard less movement upstairs during the day. Eventually, it stopped completely, only to pick up at around midnight when you could hear our neighbors clamoring around and speaking frantically and hushed tones until morning. And on earth are they even doing up there? It sounds like a whole adult football team is stomping around. My wife lamented as she set down her book. We could hear more stomping. I assume their dog was also running around, though tonight he sounded especially rambunctious as he barked and ran around above us. Fortunately, my wife was a heavy sleeper and the awkward stomping blended into the natural nighttime noise that flowed in from our open window. I was awoken early in the morning by the frantic vibrating of my phone. I quickly realized the work number on the bright screen blinded me. Hello? Hey Marcus, it's Claire. Just checking in. Uh, have you noticed anything strange lately? You mean besides my noisy neighbors pacing back and forth all night with their dog? No. Really? And you've been wearing your mask every day outside. No symptoms or discomfort. Of course. What's all this about? I really hope you didn't wake me up to lecture me on public safety. I said flatly. I hated not getting enough sleep. It did terrible things to my mood. No, no. It's just we've seen some weird symptoms and some of the patients here. Some people are more susceptible. But a small number are odd. How odd? I responded. Well, some patients down here have an unusual tightening in their skin, especially around their joints and their spines just look wrong like some weird form of scoliosis. We don't know what's causing it yet or how to tell who's vulnerable. Her voice began to lower as if she were afraid someone would hear her. They're trying to keep this under wraps until they figure it out, but I need you to be careful. Huh? Wait, keep what? Which patients and wha- Alright Marcus, don't worry, I'll handle your cell culture stuff. Though I don't know why you're worried, the conference is probably cancelled. I gotta go. What the hell? I don't know what's going on, but I wasn't dumb enough to call back. She was obviously covering for something. Plus, what was she saying about being susceptible? I heard the noises coming from upstairs again. This time the sound seemed to stop above the living room as I lost my fight with the Sandman. A few hours, two large cups of coffee and a big veggie omelette later. I was perky and ready to take on the day. What Claire told me earlier that morning worried me and I tried to call back under the guise of checking on my experiments. She was apparently busy with patients who were receiving experimental treatments and that they would leave a message for her to return whenever she was done with her duties. My wife stood glancing up at the ceiling. It's pretty quiet up there now. You know, I haven't seen them in a while and neither have the other neighbors. Do you think they're okay? Uh, from the sound of it they are. Hell, maybe they left without anyone noticing and it's sublet. Just grown men thrown the old medicine ball around. Haha, very funny. Well if you get a chance you should just knock and check. You've barely spoken to anyone since we've lived here anyway and you've met them already. Fine. Fine. I'll do it later today after running errands. Gotta get everything done so we don't have to leave multiple times this week. I spent the better part of the day getting curbside groceries, prescriptions, and take out on the way home. To be honest I probably spent a little too much time playing video games when I got back and had almost completely forgotten about the sports team upstairs until around midnight. I heard stomping, pattering, there was a crack. It sounded as if there were an odd number of legs clamoring around, even if all three occupants were moving. And why the hell were they all moving at the same time? Did they all wake up together and decide to do the longest apartment relay known to man? My wife sighed, closing her laptop. Okay, this is ridiculous, I'm going up there. That last noise did not sound okay and either way they need to turn down. Don't worry, I already said I'll do it. Just go back to work. I threw on my jeans and a t-shirt, slipped on some flip flops and headed out the door. I was immediately hit with an odd smell. Jesus, did someone let their garbage overflow again? I muttered as I climbed the stairs, but as I reached the top, the distinct taste of copper settled on the back of my tongue. The taste and smell got stronger as I slowly walked up to our neighbor's door, now more and more nervous at the possibility that someone might be hurt or even worse. Everything was fine and they'd think I was a weirdo. I'm an awkward introvert, so sue me. I heard a soft whisper behind the door followed by what sounded like teeth chattering. I called out in a low voice as I rapped on the door. Hey, this is your downstairs neighbor. I just wanted to check on you. Sounds like you're playing tennis in there. Is everything all right? Silence followed by a soft whine and further chattering. Hey, are you okay in there? Do you need help? I knocked again slightly harder than before. No answer. I tried the handle and was able to slowly push the door open. The distinct smell of blood and rot hit me like a truck as I stepped inside. I don't think I'll ever have a full night's sleep again. My mind is forever twisted. The entire apartment was covered in viscera, a sloppy trail leading to the faint remains of what was once their dog strewn across the kitchen floor. I heard pattering a crack and a crunch. My attention snapped to my left and in the living room illuminated by the moonlight, I saw a face covered with distinctive long black flowing hair attached to a ragged spine. I could see each individual vertebrae as they led down to a fleshy oblong torso that seems segmented like a praying manus attached to it were two sets of limbs and what would have been a third, but looked like someone or something had torn one of them off in a struggle with their teeth. At the end of each limb were flat elongated hands that it raised up and down on the floor in an alternating pattern. That was the patter sound I'd been hearing. Long bony arms closer to the base of its neck held a rag doll up to its face. It was the blonde roommate. It was taking messy bites out of her skull as easily as you would an apple. It was halfway down the poor girl's skull still biting still crunching its head swaying too and fro in a rhythmic pattern with its tapping as if it were savoring every bite. I always imagine that in a dangerous situation I would instinctively know what to do that my fight or flight would kick in and I'd act arrogantly thinking that even in an unbelievable supernatural situation my love of horror movies would give me the ability to fight and outwit any creature. But there I said, frozen until I let out a short but heavy breath. The creature slowly turned toward me, its face reminiscent of the roommate I had helped those months ago. Her descended jaw closing into a wide toothy smile, her teeth so unbelievably sharp they might glisten in the moonlight if they weren't so yellow. She motioned the corpse of her former roommate toward me as an offering of her meal. Petrified I shook my head slowly and she brought a long gnarled finger to her lips. My screams were choked in my throat as she turned back and took another bite that snapped off in her mouth like the end of an ice cream cone. Breaking from my shock I backed out of the room. I quickly and deftly shut the door and made a steady pace downstairs, afraid any sign of fear would cause the creature to come after me next. My wife was back to work on her laptop in the living room when I rushed in and grabbed her arm. No questions, let's go now. Fortunately for me, though my wife was confused, she generally trusted my decisions and seeing the pure terror and determination in my eyes. She got up. I grabbed my work badge and a pair of masks and we ran across the street to the front doors of the medical facility. As I looked back, I could see piercing eyes behind a cloak of black hair and a bloody disgusting hand pressed against the window, still swaying back and forth in amusement. I marched right past the front desk and the usual night nurse called after me. One of our neighbors is exhibiting symptoms. I said, recalling what Claire had told me on the phone earlier. She turned around in her seat and picked up the building phone. Well, do you want us to call for a doctor? We can send a couple paramedics over right now since you're right across the street to odd symptoms. Things that Claire might have noticed in the work she's been doing in the basement. I interrupted. The nurses expression changed to a grim look. She punched some numbers into the phone and within minutes my wife and I were taken into an elevator that opened into a hallway where Claire was anxiously waiting. She led us to a room for decontamination. Then we were swarmed by other scientists and doctors as we had every kind of fluid imaginable taken for testing. Past the medical team attending to us, I saw groups of men and women in armored black clothes with automatic weapons running past our room. People I'd never noticed before, but then again I hadn't been cleared for work in this part of the building. After a physical examination and expedient lab results, Claire walked back into our room. She looked at us with a solemn expression. Well, I did tell you to wear a mask.