January 23, 2021: Blasvader

Syn's gut instinct was telling her that there was danger looming right outside of her apartment unit. Being the anxious person that she was, her mind instantly formulated a lot of assumptions.

'Is it the landlady? No, it can't be. I didn't see her car in the parking. I do not think that it's a neighbor who had mistaken my room for theirs. This unit is at the end of the corridor, far from the others.'

While her head frantically searched for answers, her eyes darted back and forth around the small bathroom to find an item to utilize as a weapon.

'If it was Tristan on the other side of the door, he would have called to inform me of his arrival. My mom doesn't know where I live, and the only relative that I have in the city is my uncle, though He should be at the cafe by now. Close acquaintances knew better than to irk me with this kind of prank.'

The lady finally sighted a pair of hair-cutting shears on the sink. Syn first made sure that the door was locked before she abandoned her spot to pick up the scissors, and also her phone.

'Speaking of pranks, anyone can enter this building, so some bored bastard might have suddenly decided to mess around. There is a possibility that a burglar took an interest in my home. After all, it's easy to rob an area with virtually no security. But that doesn't sit well with me.'

She went back to the door and leaned her left ear on it. She processed every sound that she could hear coming from the main entrance.

Syn opted to remain within the narrow walls of the bathroom instead of confronting the guest in a wide area, even though it posed a lot more risk. She felt safer with the additional layer of defence between her and the potential invader.

'If anything, stalkers and demented previous clients who cannot seem to let me go are the ones likely to do this. Wait-'

That was the moment when the most feasible conclusion dawned on Syn. Although minuscule in detail, she noticed a few strange things in the two days she was not in her apartment.

'Come to think of it, I forgot to unplug the heater when I departed for the hospital. I never unlatched any of my windows this past month. Why is the one in the corner ajar? The clamp worked just fine when I closed it. Also, I remember leaving the kettle on the stove the other day. The water bottles that I placed on my nightstand were not there. And this pair of shears...'

Without a warning, the click sound of a knob that had been unlocked echoed within Syn's mind. As the main door swung free, the creaking of the hinges managed to instill a bit of panic in Syn's consciousness.

'It was in my dresser!'

"Syn, I'm home! I brought you breakfast. Let's eat."

The voice of a man, leisurely walking inside her abode, validated Syn's anxiety. She dared not to move an inch lest giving away that she was inside.

'I don't recognize this voice. Who the hell is this?!' Syn thought to herself, panic slowly eating her. 

"It's no use hiding! I saw you come in. You see, I am always following you."

'F*ck this, I should've informed the emergency service in the beginning.'

The problem was Syn kept on hesitating in ringing up the police. Since the potentiality was high that the suspect was a former client, the agency would be forced to cooperate in an investigation.

The escorting agency was in a zone where, if it showed itself on the radar of the authorities, they would come biting, hard.

'I'm not strong enough to confront a grown-ass man. I have no choice but to trouble Tristan for the cover-up.'

"Syn, I know you're in the bathroom. I can see your shadow in the gap. Come on out."

The man started to rattle the knob in an attempt to open the door to the bathroom. His tone was reminiscent of a parent trying to coddle their toddlers. But the aura that Syn felt from beyond the wooden divider gave away that his intentions were solely sinister.

'Oh sh*t oh sh*t, what to do? Do I keep my silence? Do I go along with his scenario? What if he claims that I welcomed him in my house because of that? At any rate, I simply need to buy time before Tristan and the police turn up.'

Syn had a bad habit of overthinking the situation, which in most cases rendered her actionless, whenever she was stressed out. Whether it would be of aid or prove to be counterproductive in this crisis was going to be answered soon.

"What's the problem, Syn? Are you not feeling well?"

She decided to ignore all the advances of the unknown intruder. Syn focused on sending a text to Tristan detailing her current dilemma ahead of dialing the number of the emergency service.

{{ "911, what's your emergency?" }}

"Unit 306, apartment 2, 8th street, a man I don't recognize has invaded my apartment."

{{ "I'm sorry. What is the apartment name again?" }}

"Apartment 2, 8th street."

{{ "Your name?" }}

"Syn Rosenfeldt."

{{ "Syn Roza- Can you repeat that?" }}

"Syn Rosenfeldt, R-O-S-E-N-F-E-L-D-T."

It was understandable that the operator was having a difficult time processing Syn's responses, since the young lady's voice, combined with whispering, was nearly inaudible.

{{ "And you're saying that a man invaded your apartment?" }}

"Yes."

{{ "Are you inside the room?" }}

"Yes, I locked myself in the bathroom."

{{ "Can you describe his appearance?" }}

"No, I was in the bathroom when he entered."

{{ "How can you be so sure that you don't know him?" }}

"He opened the door with a key when I have not given it to anyone. "

Considering that Syn was absorbed in the call, she only witnessed that the doorknob stopped from moving. What she did not notice was that the man carried on to make one roundtrip after searching for something.

{{ "Is there any way you can confirm his identity?" }}

"No. Just please, please inform the police now. I ca- f*ck."

She swiftly covered her mouth with her free hand upon letting out a subdued cuss. It was for the reason that the abhorrent chappie banged the door to the bathroom using his whole body. Syn quickly leaned her back on the door to abate some of the impacts.

"I heard you, Syn! Come on out!"

He slammed the door again,

"It's been a long time since we have seen each other. Don't you miss me?"

And again,

"Why are you so cold to me?"

And again.

"Don't play coy on me. I'm your lover, right?"

'What lover is he talking about?! I never had one. This f*cker is delusional!' Syn screamed inside her head, feeling the muscles in her shoulders and arms twist.

{{ "Ma'am, what is happening?" }}

"He's forcing his way in! Where is the police?!"

{{ "They already hit the road, ma'am. Do you have anything that you can use to arm yourself?" }}

"I have a pair of shears."

Even though her limbs were beginning to strain for the reason that it was a task beyond her capacity, Syn prevented the door from being broken down with all her might.

Thankfully, the ramming ceased in a moment. However, Syn didn't even finish one sigh prior to another attack from the perpetrator This time, the bloke targeted the doorknob. He began to repeatedly beat it with a somewhat heavy object.

"Wait for me, Syn. I'm almost done with this snag."

'D*mn it, what do I do?!'

{{ "Hang in there for a bit, Ma'am. Just don't drop the call. Tell me everything that's happening." }}

The operator did their best in contributing nothing to Syn's panic. Howbeit, the reality was that the thick build-up of snow on the roads added several minutes to the travel time of the police.

'It's really at a point where I have to fight. There's no other way but to go all out.'

"Please send an ambulance to my address. I'm planning to intercept them."

{{ "Ma'am, if possible, can you run away from the assailant and ask for help from your neighbors?" }}

"For that to happen, I have to knock him out first."

Syn threw away any inhibitions left in her system, empowering her weak physique with courage. She then shifted away from the door, as far as the space could allow.

She placed the phone in the corner of the tub in order to hold the shears with both of her hands. The woman watched on alert as the doorknob slowly break out of the hole it was fixed in.

"Syn! Here I am."

The coaxing manner that the besieger presented sickened Syn to her stomach. Although, she persisted in staying silent to not feed the ego of the criminal.

"You're not gonna leave me again, right, right?! That's why I'm here to get you! Come to me! Come to me!"

'This f*cker is insane!'

The instant that the last strike needed to completely take down the knob was inflicted, the door revealed a man that could easily pass off as a beggar. His bloodshot eyes, which were deep in their sockets, landed on Syn. The smell that emanated from him was similar to the odor of rotten fish innards.

Regardless of how disgusting the man's appearance was, Syn was unfazed by it. The thing that deserved her concern was the boulder, the size of an adult human head, in his grip.

"At last, we meet. I missed you so much! You stopped coming to see me! I was so, so sad."

He took one step towards Syn.

"You didn't visit me for 42 days and 13 hours!"

Two steps.

"Didn't you miss me too?"

Three steps.

"I'm asking you, didn't you miss me too?"

Now, only a meter of slippery tiles separated the two individuals. 

'I can vaguely recall that this man was among my pool of standard clients. He's scrawnier than the last time I saw him. I am guessing that it's taking a toll on him just lifting that rock.'

"Why won't you talk to me? Do you hate me now? Or..." He started to shake uncontrollably of anger that was also showing on his face, "Are you dating someone else?!"

'Chance!'

Syn hoisted the laundry basket and catapulted it towards the invader. That caused the latter to fall on his back, dropping the stone by his feet. At that point, the young lady made a run for it.

'I assume that the reason why the police are taking too long is that they're stuck on the road. I must go to a crowded area where someone could help me immediately.'

Once her right foot reached past the confines of the bathroom, the left unfortunately got caught in the man's hold. She clutched both sides of the door frame and pulled her foot away from the man's grimy hand. Gratefully, she was able to release it without much struggle since the grip was not that tight.

"You cannot escape me! HAHAHA!"

Syn was taken aback when the bastard launched a maniacal laugh. It was sonorous to a degree that made her head ache. She diverted her attention to the main door to take her leave as soon as possible whilst the man labored to stand up.

She dashed the short distance, then grappled the door handle. As she was about to open the door, the man spoke once again.

"Syn! You cannot escape me! You will not escape from here! I am not alone! Hahahaha!"

Her eyes widened at the sight of another uninvited man.

"You, You're the one I saw at the bar," Syn muttered in utter bewilderment.