4 Disturbing TRUE Night Shift Horror Stories

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4 Disturbing TRUE Night Shift Horror Stories     #Horror #Story #Stories #Scary #Ghost # Haunted #Fright #Nightmare #Real #True #Paranormal

Transcript

00:00Okay, so I used to work night shift at a small hotel, and this happened about a year ago,

00:15but I still think about it all the time because it genuinely freaked me out so bad,

00:19and I don't know what the guy's plan was or what he was trying to do,

00:23and it honestly makes me feel sick when I remembered just how long he was there

00:26and that I didn't even realize he wasn't supposed to be there.

00:30The hotel was small, only three floors and maybe 40 rooms total.

00:34It wasn't a busy place.

00:36Usually we only had about 10 or 15 rooms filled on weeknights.

00:40I worked from 10pm to 6am.

00:43It was usually really boring and quiet, which was fine with me.

00:47I would just sit behind the desk, do some paperwork, sometimes check the cameras,

00:52sometimes watch YouTube on my phone if it was really dead.

00:55The lobby wasn't big, just the desk and some couches off to the side with the TV.

01:00And then some vending machines in the corner.

01:02Behind the desk was a little office where I had a computer and a chair and a glass window

01:06so I could see the lobby while I sat in there.

01:09At night, the front doors locked automatically, so guests had to buzz in,

01:13and I would press a button to let them through.

01:16Usually nothing happened after midnight except the occasional guest coming in late.

01:20But one night, this man came in around 11, and everything about it still makes my stomach

01:25drop when I think about it.

01:27He buzzed the door and I let him in.

01:30He looked mid-40s, tall, kind of skinny, but not too skinny, and he was wearing jeans and

01:35a baseball cap carrying a backpack.

01:38He walked up to the desk and asked if we had a room for the night.

01:41I told him yes and gave him the price, and he nodded and pulled out a card.

01:45I swiped it, it went through, and I gave him a keycard for room 214 on the second floor.

01:51I remember he looked at me for a second too long before he left.

01:55He had this kind of blank expression, and his eyes stayed on me for maybe three or four seconds

02:00after I handed him the key.

02:01Then he turned and walked off toward the elevator.

02:04Nothing about it screamed dangerous right away, but it was enough to make me notice him.

02:09After that, I sat back in the chair and played on my phone for a while.

02:12Around midnight, I looked up and he was back in the lobby.

02:17He didn't come to the desk, he just walked past me and sat down in the lounge area with

02:21the couches.

02:23The TV wasn't on, but he just sat down facing it.

02:26I figured maybe he couldn't sleep or something.

02:29Some guests hang out in the lobby sometimes, so I didn't think too much of it.

02:34But then after half an hour, I realized he was literally just sitting there doing nothing.

02:39He wasn't on his phone or reading.

02:40He wasn't even dozing off.

02:43He was just staring straight ahead at the blank screen.

02:46I got up at one point to grab water from the vending machine, and when I walked across

02:50the lobby, I felt him turn his head and watch me the whole way.

02:54I didn't look at him directly, but I could feel his eyes on me until I was back behind

02:58the desk.

03:00It gave me this really uneasy feeling.

03:03Around 1am, I was checking the reservation system on the computer because I was bored,

03:08and that's when I noticed something weird.

03:09I pulled up the occupied room list and saw that room 214 said vacant.

03:15I mumbled what the f*** under my breath and double-checked, because I literally just checked

03:19this guy in an hour earlier.

03:21I thought maybe I made a mistake, so I looked at the check-in logs, and there was nothing

03:26for him.

03:27No name, no charge, nothing.

03:29Then I went into the transaction screen to make sure his card had gone through earlier,

03:34and it showed no payment.

03:35I remember feeling confused as hell, because I swore I swiped his card and it beeped like

03:40it worked, but there was nothing in the system at all.

03:44That's when I picked up the phone and called room 214.

03:46It rang like 10 times, but no answer.

03:49Then I checked the key card entry log, which tells you if the door to that room was open

03:54that night, and it showed nothing.

03:57No one had entered the room.

03:59That's when I realized he never even went to the room after I gave him the card.

04:02I looked over into the lounge, and there he was, still sitting there, staring at the TV

04:08that wasn't even on.

04:10I started to get this awful feeling in my chest.

04:13I sat there, debating what to do.

04:16Part of me thought maybe the system just glitched, but the fact that the room had no entry log

04:20and no charge made it pretty clear he wasn't even checked in.

04:24I waited another 15 minutes just watching him.

04:28Around 1.30, I walked over and asked if everything was okay.

04:31He turned his head and looked at me with no expression, and he told me he just couldn't

04:36sleep.

04:37Then he turned back toward the TV.

04:39I nodded and went back behind my desk, but my hands were shaking.

04:44Around 2, I noticed he wasn't sitting in the lounge anymore.

04:47My stomach dropped right away because I didn't see him in the lobby at all.

04:51I scanned the area, and then I spotted him standing at the end of the hallway by the bathrooms,

04:56half hidden in the dark.

04:58He was just standing still.

04:59I kept glancing up at him, pretending to be on the computer.

05:04He stood there for a while, and then slowly walked back and sat in the lounge again like

05:08nothing happened.

05:10I called my manager at home and explained what was going on.

05:14She sounded tired and told me to just keep an eye on him and call the police if he did

05:17anything threatening.

05:18I remember hanging up and thinking that it already felt threatening, but I didn't know

05:23what else to do.

05:24I checked the security cameras after that.

05:26I saw him on the first floor hallway camera.

05:30He walked all the way down the hall, stopped at the end, stood there for several minutes,

05:35then walked back.

05:37Later, he went into the stairwell and stayed in there for about 10 minutes.

05:41I don't know what he was doing in there.

05:43Every time I looked up from the computer, he was somewhere else, near the vending machines

05:47or by the elevators, once just standing near the corner of the lobby where the light didn't

05:52hit well.

05:53He was always staring.

05:55By 3.30, I couldn't take it anymore, so I called the non-emergency police line and

06:00explained that there was a man in the hotel who I didn't think was a guest.

06:03They said they'd send someone.

06:06While I was waiting, I noticed he moved again, this time closer to the desk.

06:11He was standing maybe 15 feet away, just watching me.

06:14He didn't blink much, and he definitely didn't speak.

06:18He just stared like he had a staring problem.

06:21I pretended to type something on the computer, but I was so scared I could hardly breathe.

06:26At around 3.50, the buzzer went off, and I thought maybe it was the cops already, but

06:31it was just another guest coming back late.

06:34I let him in quickly, and the man turned his head and watched the guest walk past.

06:37I noticed his eyes follow him the whole way across the lobby.

06:42That scared me even more, because it was like he was studying him.

06:45A few minutes later, the man disappeared again.

06:49I checked the cameras and saw him standing outside one of the guest room doors on the

06:53first floor, like he was literally just standing there.

06:56So that's when I called actual 911.

06:59I told them he was outside a guest's room, and I didn't know what he was trying to do.

07:03They said officers were on the way.

07:04I kept my eyes glued on the camera feed, and he just stood at the door for about three

07:10minutes, then slowly walked back to the lobby.

07:13When he came back, he walked right up to the desk this time and leaned over the counter.

07:18He looked at me and asked if there was any food.

07:21His voice was so low it was disturbing.

07:24I told him there were vending machines on the corner.

07:27He gave a small smile, then walked away.

07:29I just sat there, staring at the clock, begging the cops to get there.

07:34Finally, around 4.10, two officers showed up.

07:38I let them in and pointed right at him.

07:41He was back in the lounge, sitting down.

07:43They walked over and talked to him for a few minutes.

07:46They asked for his ID and asked him questions I couldn't hear.

07:50Then they walked him out.

07:51One of the officers came back and explained that the guy wasn't a guest at all.

07:55The credit card he gave me was stolen, and he had no bags or reservation.

08:00He had just been pretending so he could get access to the building.

08:03They charged him with trespassing and the stolen card.

08:07After they left, I sat there shaking until my shift was over.

08:11Every time I looked at the cameras, I expected to see him again.

08:15The part that messed me up the most was realizing he had been inside the hotel for hours, wandering

08:20around and standing outside guest rooms, watching me from different spots.

08:25And he was never even supposed to be there.

08:27I have no idea what his plan was, but I know it wasn't good.

08:32That was the scariest night of my life.

08:34My name is Meredith.

08:46I'm 24, and I work the night shift at a tiny gas station off County Road 11.

08:51It's the kind of place most people don't even notice unless they're out of gas or completely

08:56lost.

08:57I took the job because it was quiet and predictable.

08:59I liked that.

09:01Or at least I used to.

09:02It started on a Thursday night around 1 a.m.

09:06The air outside was wet and still, and the hum of the overhead lights had been getting

09:10under my skin all shift.

09:13I was just about to microwave a cinnamon roll I didn't even really want when the door

09:17chimed.

09:18A man walked in, mid-40s, maybe older.

09:22He had a green coat, messy hair, and dry lips like he hadn't smiled in years.

09:26He didn't head for the coffee or chips like most people.

09:30He just stood near the counter, staring at me with a strange kind of familiarity.

09:35Hi, I said, forcing a polite smile.

09:38Then the man said, you always work this late?

09:42I blinked and said, um, yeah, mostly.

09:45He smiled.

09:46Then he said, I figured.

09:48I've passed through a few times.

09:50Noticed it's always you.

09:52That unsettled me more than I let show.

09:55Oh yeah, right, small town, I said.

09:58He didn't leave.

10:00Meredith, right?

10:01I froze.

10:02I wasn't wearing a name tag.

10:04I was about to ask him how he knew, but he followed it with saying that I have nice

10:08handwriting, and he motioned to the whiteboard where I had written cinnamon coffee is back.

10:12Most people dot their eyes like circles.

10:15You use little slashes.

10:17It's very specific.

10:19Thoughtful.

10:20I didn't respond.

10:22He didn't buy anything.

10:24Just stood there for another minute, watching me, like he was studying my reactions.

10:29Then he finally nodded.

10:31I'm Paul, he said.

10:33Just curious, that's all.

10:35And then he walked out into the fog.

10:37After that, he started showing up randomly.

10:40Not every night, not enough to scream stalker out loud, but often enough that I stopped

10:45assuming it was a coincidence.

10:48Sometimes he'd come inside, sometimes he'd just sit in his car near the edge of the lot

10:52with his headlights off.

10:54One night, I tried to ignore him.

10:56He came in, bought a bottle of water, and lingered like always.

11:00You're quieter tonight, he said.

11:03Long shift, I muttered.

11:05He slowly looked around the store, like he was taking inventory of everything.

11:11It must get lonely.

11:12Just you out here in the dark.

11:13No one else for miles, he said.

11:16I'm fine, I replied.

11:18He leaned on the counter.

11:20You ever get scared, being a woman alone at night?

11:23His voice wasn't threatening.

11:25That's what made it worse.

11:27It was curious.

11:28Like, neutral.

11:29Like he was asking about the weather.

11:31I stepped back, and I asked, do you need anything else?

11:36He tilted his head.

11:38You always keep the door to the back room locked.

11:40Smart.

11:41I noticed you check at around 2am almost every night.

11:45My stomach turned.

11:46I didn't answer.

11:48I'll let you get back to it, he said, with a soft, almost apologetic smile.

11:53Didn't mean to make you uncomfortable.

11:55Then he walked out again.

11:57After that night, I started walking to my car with my keys between my fingers.

12:02I kept a tire iron under the counter.

12:05I changed the curtains in my apartment.

12:07Started showering with the bathroom door locked, even when no one else was home.

12:11There were nights he didn't come.

12:13Sometimes I'd go a whole week without seeing him.

12:15But it didn't help.

12:16It actually made it worse, because I never knew when he'd reappear.

12:20Like the time I came back from my 10-minute break to find a Polaroid on the counter.

12:24It was me, refilling the windshield washer bin behind the station.

12:29It was taken from that night, close up.

12:32Way too close.

12:34There was no note along with it, but the slash dot on the word I and the word windshield

12:38on the bin label had been circled in red ink.

12:41The next time he came in, I told him to leave.

12:44I told him if he stayed, I'd call the police.

12:47Paul just nodded.

12:48I get it.

12:49I've been too forward.

12:50You've been following me, I said, with my voice cracking, and I hated that it did.

12:56I just think you're the kind of person who's used to being misunderstood.

12:59I thought maybe you'd appreciate someone who pays attention, he said.

13:03That's not paying attention.

13:05That's obsession, I replied.

13:07He didn't flinch.

13:09Would it be easier if I wore a smile and brought a soda every night?

13:12Would I be more normal if I just talked about sports and pretended I didn't notice the way

13:16your shoes are always a half size too big, or how your left eyelid twitches when you're

13:20tired?

13:22By this point, I was already dialing 911.

13:25He didn't stop me.

13:27The police came quickly, and he didn't resist.

13:29He just stood there, arms at his sides, waiting.

13:33They searched his car and found a notepad filled with dates and times.

13:37It was my schedule.

13:39Notes about my walk, my clothes, my groceries.

13:41One page just had my name written over and over again in tighter and tighter loops until

13:47it turned into scribbles.

13:49He kept telling the cops the same thing.

13:51I just noticed things.

13:53I'm just a curious guy.

13:55The restraining order went through that week.

13:58Now I don't work nights anymore.

14:00I don't even live in the same town.

14:02The company transferred me to another station two hours away.

14:05But even now, when I drive home and see headlights behind me for too long, I feel the back of my

14:10neck tingle.

14:12And sometimes, I still think about the way he said my name.

14:15Like he already knew what it would sound like in his mouth.

14:18Like he'd been practicing it.

14:29I want to start this off by saying at the time I'm writing this, this happened to me just

14:34last night.

14:35I worked the overnight shift at a 24-hour gas station.

14:38I'm a 22-year-old female, and I've been working there just shy of two months.

14:43I worked the weekend shifts, which is Thursday through Saturday, while another co-worker,

14:47who I'll call Max for privacy reasons, works the weekdays of Sunday through Wednesday.

14:53My co-worker Max and a friend of his I'll call Ben had come into the station at about

14:572.30 a.m. to get some coffee and say hi.

15:00Max and his friend had taken some magic mushrooms a couple hours before they came in, so when I

15:05saw them, they were all giggly and shit.

15:07Honestly, it was pure entertainment for me.

15:10As we were talking about random stuff, Ben had made the comments about how there was a

15:14car parked in the parking lot with its lights off but running, with someone inside that

15:18had been there before they pulled in.

15:20He said when he questioned the guy, the guy said he was waiting for a DoorDash order.

15:25Normally, that wasn't out of the ordinary for DoorDashers to wait in their car while we

15:28packed an order up.

15:29What was odd was I hadn't received an order in almost two hours.

15:34I spent most of the night in the back of the store cleaning, away from the tills and

15:38the front doors, so I couldn't even see the parking lot.

15:42We waved it off as nothing, and the two guys went outside to smoke a cigar and play with

15:46Max's dog who they'd brought along.

15:48At first, I didn't think much of it, but once I was alone, I thought it was a little

15:53weird considering I didn't know how long they'd been out there before my co-worker

15:56came in.

15:57Fast forward about an hour, and they came back in to get more coffee.

16:01It was at that point Max told me more about how the car had been out there parked in a

16:05spot that even when I went to the register, I couldn't see it due to the wall.

16:09He told me that the entire hour they were out there playing with his dog and smoking in

16:13the parking lot, the man in the car had switched between watching them and looking like he was

16:17texting someone on his phone.

16:19When Ben had noticed this, in his high as hell state, he walked over to the car and asked,

16:24what's up, why are you looking at us?

16:27At that point, the man had tried to pretend he didn't speak any English.

16:31When that didn't work, he switched to English and started saying he must have had the wrong

16:35address before hightailing it out of the parking lot.

16:38He was definitely higher than Max at that point.

16:40But what made it really creepy was Max said that the car looked brand new and had no license

16:45plate.

16:46He also noticed there was a pile of blankets in the back, enough to hide someone under.

16:50And when the man was confronted, another car had just pulled into the lot with its lights

16:55off, a car that also looked brand new and had no license plates.

16:59And as soon as the first car had started driving away, the car that had just pulled in immediately

17:03followed them out.

17:05Max had stayed another 15 minutes before they headed out and told me to be careful and to

17:09keep an eye out.

17:11At about 6am, he came back in for more coffee, and he was definitely sober.

17:16So we talked more about it.

17:18He said the guy was acting super suspicious the entire time they were out there, constantly

17:23checking his phone and watching them along with the entrance to the parking lot and the

17:27doors to the store.

17:28Even he admitted that he was freaked out, and once he came down from his high, he wanted

17:32to check on me to make sure I was alright.

17:35We both decided that had they not been there, this whole scenario could have gone one of several

17:40ways.

17:40I don't know if it was a pure coincidence, or if those two cars were planning on doing

17:45something to me as soon as Max and Ben had left and I was alone.

17:49I may carry a knife on my person for protection, but my gut tells me that from what they described,

17:54that if there were multiple people, it might not have been any good.

17:57And if they hadn't been there, just playing like kids in the parking lot, something terrible

18:01just might have happened to me.

18:03I work again tonight, and I'll update if anything happens during my shift.

18:07I really wish I didn't have an update for you, but I do.

18:13The car came back again during my shift.

18:16This is how it happened.

18:18It was about 3am, and I was mopping the floors, when four guys came in to get coffee and some

18:23snacks.

18:24I was ringing them up when one of them asked if I knew anything about the car that was

18:28at the far end of the parking lot, running with its lights off.

18:31I looked at the man and asked what car.

18:33He then went on to tell me there was what looked like a brand new Subaru, with no license

18:38plates, running, with what looked like two guys arguing in the front seats.

18:42I could feel my heart drop into my stomach when he said this.

18:46I told the group that a car with that same description had been sitting in the parking

18:49lot the night before, but there was only one guy in it.

18:52Who, I assumed to be the leader of this group, told me as they were pumping gas, they noticed

18:57the car as it had been there when they pulled in, and how it just sat there as they filled

19:00up their truck.

19:02He told me as they were walking to the doors they passed the car, since they were at the

19:06pump farthest from the doors.

19:08He said that as they passed, they could hear a guy not quite yelling, but talking pretty

19:12loud and pointing towards the doors of the store.

19:15As they passed, one of the guys started to walk towards the car to ask if everything was

19:19okay.

19:20When the guys in the car finally noticed them, they proceeded to put the car in reverse and

19:24drive away.

19:25I told them that I believed that was the same car from the night before that had been acting

19:29suspicious when there were others in the parking lot, and when confronted, he seemed

19:33panicked before leaving with another car following him out.

19:37They seemed alarmed and offered to stay with me for a bit to make sure they didn't come

19:40back.

19:41I asked if they were sure, and when they told me it was no problem, they hung around for

19:45about 20 minutes before we all decided I was probably in the clear.

19:49I thanked them again and let them top off their coffee for free before they headed out

19:53and I was left alone.

19:55Nothing else happened the rest of my shift, but I sure as hell kept an eye out when I

19:59eventually had to go outside to change the trash at the gas pumps.

20:03What's scariest to me is not once did I see this car, but had multiple people warn me about

20:08it.

20:09At first, I was hoping I was just paranoid and it was really nothing, but to have the

20:14same car come two nights in a row at almost the same time and park in a spot that couldn't

20:19be seen from the register or the front windows makes me wonder if my paranoia

20:23is justified.

20:25If it is, I'm just glad I had another group of people show up so I wasn't alone if those

20:29guys in the car had decided to come in.

20:31Thankfully, I don't work for the next few days, and I can only hope when I work again

20:35the car doesn't show up.

20:37My name is Daniel.

20:47I'm 29, and I work the overnight shift at a small rural motel.

20:51It's not a chain, just a family-owned place with two floors and maybe 25 rooms in total.

20:57I usually work from 10pm to 6am.

21:00The motel doesn't get much traffic at night, maybe a couple check-ins after midnight if someone

21:04is traveling through, but most of the time it's dead quiet.

21:08That's why I took the job.

21:10I'm not really a people person, so sitting in an empty building most nights works for

21:14me.

21:15The way it's set up is there's a main office with the front desk, some chairs, a coffee

21:19machine, and a little rack of brochures.

21:22Behind the desk is a hallway that leads to a back office.

21:25That back office is kind of like a lounge.

21:28It has another desk, a couch, a mini-fridge, and a TV mounted on the wall.

21:33The cool thing is that there's a little speaker back there that dings whenever someone rings

21:37the bell at the front desk.

21:39So normally I just sit in the back, watch something on my laptop, maybe nap on the couch, and then

21:44when I hear the bell, I get up and walk to the front.

21:47I've worked there long enough to know the regular rhythm of the place.

21:51The building creaks sometimes, the heater makes a clicking noise, and the front door buzzes

21:55when a guest uses their keycard after hours.

21:58Those are all normal sounds.

22:00But the thing about working the night shift is even the normal stuff can get under your

22:04skin if you think too much about it.

22:06And sometimes, the things that seem normal at first turn out not to be.

22:10This happened on a Tuesday night back in fall.

22:14It was cold outside, maybe in the 40s, and the parking lot was empty except for four or

22:19five cars belonging to guests.

22:21It was about 2am when I first heard the bell.

22:24I stood up from the couch in the back and went into the main office.

22:28When I got there, nobody was standing at the desk.

22:31The lobby was empty.

22:33I looked outside through the glass doors, but the road was dark and seemingly empty as well.

22:38There were no cars pulling in or headlights or anything.

22:41I thought maybe I had imagined it, but the bell is loud and clear, so I knew I hadn't.

22:48I stood there for a minute, waiting to see if anyone came in late, but no one did.

22:52So I went back to the lounge.

22:55I sat on the couch, pulled out my phone, and scrolled for a while.

22:59Not even ten minutes later, the bell rang again.

23:03I jumped up and walked quickly into the main office, but once again it was empty.

23:08The hair on the back of my neck stood up this time.

23:12I went to the doors and stepped outside.

23:14The parking lot looked the same as before.

23:17The cars were all parked with their lights off, and there was no movement anywhere.

23:21The road was completely empty too.

23:23I walked to the edge of the sidewalk and looked both ways, but there wasn't a single sign of

23:29life out there.

23:30I went back inside and sat behind the front desk this time instead of going to the back.

23:35I figured maybe some drunk person was messing with me, a ding-dong ditch of sorts.

23:40Maybe a guest's kid thought it was funny, but after sitting there for fifteen minutes with

23:44nothing happening, I started to relax again.

23:47I leaned back in the chair, opened my laptop, and figured it was just one of those weird

23:52things I'd laugh about later.

23:54Then the bell rang again.

23:56I snapped my head up so fast that it hurt.

23:59The lobby was still empty, nobody in sight.

24:03My skin started to crawl.

24:05I stood up and walked around the front desk to make sure nobody was hiding, but there was

24:09no one.

24:10I checked the bathrooms of the lobby.

24:13I even stepped outside again, nothing.

24:14I walked the lot a little, shining my phone flashlight, but it was just dead quiet.

24:20I went back inside, and that's when I decided to try something different.

24:24Instead of going back to the lounge, I sat down in the chair right behind the front desk.

24:29If someone was sneaking around and ringing the bell just to mess with me, I wanted to

24:33be there to catch them.

24:36I turned the lobby lights down a little so the room was dim, and I just sat there listening.

24:41It was so quiet that every little sound made me twitch.

24:44The clock ticking on the wall sounded louder than usual.

24:48The fridge in the back office clicked on and hummed.

24:51Every couple of minutes, the building creaked as it settled.

24:54I sat there with my arms crossed, staring at the bell on the counter.

24:59Fifteen minutes passed, then twenty.

25:02My eyes started to get heavy, and I thought maybe the person had given up.

25:05I even started thinking I'd just imagine the whole thing.

25:09Just as I was letting myself relax and doze off, it happened.

25:14The bell rang.

25:16Only this time, I saw what was doing it.

25:19A pale hand came up from under the front desk, reaching over the counter and pressing the

25:23bell right in front of me.

25:25I jumped up so fast I'm sure the chair almost fell over, and I bolted down the hall into the

25:30back office.

25:30I slammed the door and locked it, and I stood there in the dark, my chest pounding.

25:36My mind was racing, trying to figure out how someone could even be under there.

25:41The desk doesn't have much space underneath, but it's enough for someone to crouch if they

25:45squeezed in.

25:46That meant they'd been hiding just a few feet away from me, waiting.

25:49I forced myself to look at the security monitors.

25:54There were four cameras, one on the lobby, one on the hallway, and two on the parking lot.

25:59On the lobby feed, I saw the chair I'd apparently tipped over in my rush.

26:04The counter looked empty.

26:06Then, in the bottom corner of the frame, I saw movement.

26:10My head poked out from behind the desk.

26:12I couldn't make out details, just the outline and the glint of eyes staring straight into the

26:17camera.

26:17I backed away from the monitor.

26:20I couldn't look at it.

26:22I grabbed my phone and dialed 911 with shaking hands.

26:25I whispered to the dispatcher that someone had broken in and was hiding in the lobby.

26:30She told me to stay where I was and that officers were on the way.

26:34While I was on the phone, I watched the monitor.

26:37The person's head disappeared, and then I saw the person crawl out from behind the desk

26:41on hands and knees.

26:43He crawled to the door and then stood up.

26:45He was tall and wearing a hoodie with the hood pulled tight, and his posture was hunched

26:50over.

26:51Then he turned around and started walking around the lobby like he was looking for something,

26:56and then he turned and walked out of the camera frame toward the hallway that led to the back

26:59office.

27:00I pressed my back against the locked door.

27:04A moment later, the knob rattled.

27:07Just once.

27:08A very slow rattle, and then nothing.

27:12The dispatcher kept asking if I was safe, but I couldn't even answer for a few seconds because

27:16my throat felt like it was closing up.

27:19After what felt like forever, I heard slow footsteps moving away.

27:22I rushed back to the monitor.

27:25The man was pacing around the lobby again.

27:27At one point, he stood in front of the glass doors and just stared outside like he was waiting

27:32for someone.

27:33Then he walked over to the brochure rack and started flipping through the papers, as if

27:37he were sarcastically killing time.

27:40Minutes dragged by.

27:42Finally, I saw flashing blue and red lights through the parking lot cameras.

27:47The cops pulled up.

27:48Two cars.

27:50The man must have seen it too, because he suddenly bolted out of frame.

27:54A second later, I heard the front doors open.

27:57When the officers cleared the building, they found a large rock near the front door that

28:01was presumably used to prop the front door open, but they didn't find him inside.

28:05He was gone.

28:06They searched the lot, checked the road, and the officer told me whoever it was must have

28:11slipped out as soon as they pulled up.

28:13I kept replaying it in my head after.

28:15The way that hand just came up from under the desk and pressed the bell, calm as anything.

28:20Now every time I hear that bell at night, I think of that night and experience.

28:25I don't think I'll ever look at that desk the same way again.

28:28THE END

28:40THE END

28:41THE END

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