MYSTERY OF THE TEXAS TWOSTEP

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FOUR:

TERROR IN THE NIGHT

Written by Rick Archer 

LIMBO MONTH TWENTY EIGHT
OCTOBER 1981

IN THE MURK AND GLOOM
 

Towards the end of the Halloween Party from Hell, I passed out on a couch some time around Midnight.  I awoke in the dead of night at 4 am.  Thanks to Bob Job's Wicked Wizard Punch, I was so groggy I did not know where I was.  It was so dark I could barely see.

However, the music gave it away.  At some point late in the evening I had restarted my music tape, so it was blasting away in Room One where the dancing had taken place. 

The loud music gave me a headache, so I wanted to turn it off.  However, with my head spinning from alcohol abuse, I simply could not force myself to move.

To make better sense of this story, I need to explain just how dark the studio was with the lights out.  In addition, a description of how the studio was laid out is important. 

There were two hallways.  The one we called the 'Couch Hallway' ran east and west.  The 'Long Hallway' ran north and south.  It connected the Couch Hallway to the entrance of the building. 

There were no windows anywhere in the studio.  There was an emergency light over the Exit Door to the Couch Hallway, but that door was 80 feet away from where I passed out.  It had a dim glow, but that did not help much.  Since someone had turned out the lights to both hallways, the only light I had to go by came from a nearby coke machine.  Thank goodness for that.  Otherwise I would have awakened in total darkness. 

My couch was located in the Couch Hallway about five feet from the door to Room One.  The lights in the Big Room were turned off, so it was pitch-black in there.  However I could hear the music loud and clear.  It was driving me crazy.  As for the Couch Hallway, the red glow from the nearby Coke machine cast off just enough light to see about ten feet in the gloom.   I didn't see anyone, so I assumed I was alone.  However, at the moment I was too exhausted to turn on the lights and check for sure. 

Angry at myself for drinking too much, I lay there unmoving for several minutes.  Finally I summoned enough strength to at least sit up.  I felt horrible!  I was stiff, sore, and my head throbbed.  What did Bob put in that punch?  Last night I started drinking when Bob set up the Wicked Wizard Cauldron at 9 pm.  I did not stop for three hours.  Sometime close to Midnight, I paid the price for my excess and passed out. 

I wondered what happened to Elizabeth.  I assumed she took a disgusted look at me and went home.  So much for my wild night of passion with the enticing gypsy girl.  The thought of losing this golden opportunity made me sick to my stomach.  But at least I would not have to lie to Victoria when she asked if I behaved during the party.  As consolation prizes go, that hardly matched the painful loss of the beautiful Elizabeth.

PARANOIA
 

Feeling weak and overwhelmed, I stayed glued to my couch.  It was weird to know I was the last person to wake up.   The realization that I had been abandoned hit like a ton of bricks.  I was so ashamed of myself.  One by one everyone had seen me passed out on that couch as they left the building.  I assumed they blamed me for ruining the party, so I cringed at the awful things they thought on their way out.

Good grief, it was so creepy to be in this huge dark studio all by myself!  Right now the building had the same effect as a haunted house.  Ordinarily I am not a scaredy cat, but for some reason being alone in this dark, giant building on Halloween Night really got to me.  I suppose the combination of my weakened state plus a lifetime of gruesome horror film memories contributed to my paranoia. 

The one thing I hated about Halloween movies was the utter stupidity of the victims.  Invariably they would hear something suspicious.  They invariably would call out "Who's there?" and give their presence away to the monster.  In this darkness someone could be sneaking up on me at this very moment and I would never know.  The music was my enemy.  It would drown out their approach.  That thought really upset me.  However, I was too weak to take action just yet. 

If there is one thing in the world I hate the most, it is being out of control.  Tonight I had been totally out of control.  Since none of my guests had a key, the door had been unlocked the entire time I was unconscious.  I hated the thought that I had been completely vulnerable in this creepy darkness. 

Oh geez, anybody could have walked in!

At that thought I shuddered in fear.  I was horrified to realize the front door had been unlocked for four hours on the night when psychos and perverts go looking for victims.  I had seen enough horror movies to know any night crawler could have wandered into the building while I was passed out.

In particular there was a bus stop in front of the studio.  Homeless people waited not far from my door at all hours of the night.  Sometimes these street people would wander into the studio asking to use the restroom.  What would have happened if a street person had wandered in while I was passed out?  For that matter a crook could have cased the strip center where the studio was located along with nine other businesses.  He could have door to door to see if one was unlocked. 

Any psycho or burglar could have wandered in here and murdered me in my sleep! 

Alone in the dark on the scariest night of the year I could barely control my panic.

Where was Bobby Wizard?  Bob Job was nowhere to be seen and I felt deserted.  Fine friend he was!  That creep had promised to stay and help clean up.  Damn him anyway for getting me so drunk.  I shook my head in disgust.  Here I was alone in this dark, spooky studio with that awful loud music bouncing off the walls.  This place was so eerie it felt exactly like the scene from a horror movie.  With 'Light my Fire' blaring in the Big Room, I could just see Norman Bates from Psycho or Michael Myers from Halloween ready to explode through the door with knife raised.

My mother always said I had too vivid an imagination for my own good.  Haunted by dangerous possibilities, I could see what she meant.  I had been careful to lock the front door the moment we began cleaning up at my three previous Halloween Parties.  Everyone who came to our parties was always friendly and appreciative, but I always knew there was an element of danger.  After all, everyone knew we had a considerable amount of cash laying around from the party.  What if an unscrupulous guest had stayed behind tonight to rob me?  I was easy pickings.

I could not believe how dark it was here in the hallway.   I thought I was the only person left, but I wasn't sure.  Since I could not see to the other end of the hallway, maybe someone was asleep on one of the other couches. 

Feeling spooked, my sudden fear proved useful.  It gave me the incentive I needed to get up and go turn on the hallway light switch. 

After turning on the lights in the Couch Hallway, I was able to confirm I was the only person in the building.  Or at least the hallway.  I could not help but notice the trash strewn everywhere.  There were close to a hundred plastic cups on the two tables.  I assumed everyone took one last swig on their way out, then left the cup behind.  I was still worried about someone walking in on me, so I went down the Long Hallway and locked the front door for safety.  On my way back, I wondered how much trash was in the Drink Room and the Big Room.  No doubt there was enough to fill a dump truck.  I groaned mightily at the monumental task ahead of me. 

Profoundly angered by the sight of all this garbage in the hallway, I reflexively turned the Couch Hallway lights back off.  Given my horrible bad mood, I preferred the gloom.  Well aware I needed to start cleaning up, I was still too tired to face my dilemma just yet.  So I went back to my couch and resumed my pity party.  I was so wasted, it was difficult to get a grip on my dilemma.  I knew for a fact that Glen had a rehearsal scheduled for this morning.  If he arrived early at 8 am, I was a dead man.  If he came at 9 am, it would be close.  How was I ever going to clean up all this mess by myself? 

As I lay there in the gloom, the Doors song 'Riders on the Storm' began playing in the background.  With a groan, I remembered getting teased for playing several of my favorite songs by the Doors.  "Hey, Rick, what kind of dance music is that??  What do I dance to it?"  I told the guy to try a Polka.  That worked.  Fortunately everyone was so drunk they danced to it anyway.  With a faint smile, I suppose everyone was so drunk they would have danced to practically any song, maybe even 'Inna Gadda da Vida'. 

My mind returned to the tragedy of losing Liz.  What a woman!  It made me sick to realize I had missed out on what could have very well been the girl of my dreams.  Oh well, maybe it wasn't too late.  Maybe I would get a second chance.  However, the realization that I did not even have her phone number deepened my despair.  Meanwhile the dance music was blaring full blast.  I wished whoever turned out the lights in the Big Room had been kind enough to turn off the music too.  Right now the loud rock music was hard to take.  How did I ever sleep so long with that music blasting in the room next to me? 

The thought of laying there defenseless for all those hours upset me no end.  Spooked by the darkness, one gruesome nightmare after another flashed across my mind's eye.  Unable to get my feverish mind to shut up, my anxiety was over the top. 

This was easily the most drunk I had ever been in my life.  Shaking my head in disgust, I could not believe I had ever let my guard down quite like this.  It would only take one weirdo to hide in the shadows while everyone left.   Although the studio had never been robbed, at least one or two cars per year were broken into.  What if a criminal had been in the parking lot waiting for people to leave tonight?  I could not get it out of my mind that after the guests had left, the front door had been unlocked.  Talk about paranoid!  Any stalker, criminal, or psychopath could have walked in while I slept.  

The way I saw it, this deserted situation was playing out just like a scene from a slasher movie.  I was afraid someone like Michael Myers was coming to attack me with his giant knife.  I could not see.  I could not hear.  I was weak.  I was intimidated by dire fantasies.  Bob had left me.  Liz had left me.  My friends had left me.  My head throbbed from all the booze.  I ached everywhere and I had an upset stomach.  Most of all I was furious at myself for losing control.  How stupid could I get?  With fear running rampant in my mind, this was beyond a doubt the most scared I had ever felt in my life.  

I remained lost in my fear for some time when suddenly a new thought crossed my mind.  Wasn't I forgetting something?  If Freddy Krueger or some other Boogie Man didn't kill me first, Glen would definitely kill me if I didn't get this trash picked up.

Having wasted over half an hour dealing with fear, depression and pain, it was time to get it going.  I had at most four hours to straighten this place up before the dancers arrived.  But where was I going to find the strength to clean the studio in the state I was in?  I was too exhausted to move from this couch.  My head throbbed, I was weak, and I wanted to throw up.  Most of all I was too depressed to face my problem.  Feeling sorry for myself, all I wanted to do was lay down and go back to sleep.  But I did not dare risk that.  If I fell asleep again, I would not wake up in time.  It was now or never.  I groaned at the colossal jam I had created by falling asleep.  Normally my friends would stay and help clean up.  Not this time.  There was no one here but me!!  Steeling myself to the inevitable, I slowly rose from the couch and stared at the door to Room One, aka the Big Room. 

Room One was a vast open space, 2,400 square feet.  It was half the size of a basketball court.  There was only one way in or out, a solitary door which for some reason was closed at the moment.  I could tell by the absence of light under the door that since someone had turned out the lights.  Why?  Was someone in there?  Now a new fear overcame me. 

What if someone was waiting for me on the other side of the door?

Telling myself I was frightened about nothing, I forced myself to open the door and walk in.  The light switch was right next to the doorway.  When I turned on the lights, the pain to my eyes from the bright light was terrible.  I covered my eyes with my hands till they adjusted.  Peeking out between my fingers, I was relieved to see the room empty of strangers and monsters.  However I paled at the mountain of garbage.  There were at least a hundred or so drink cups, some empty, some half-full.  Some were on the tables, some were on the floor.  There were paper plates, dirty napkins, and used plastic silverware wherever I looked.  There was food and spilled drinks on the floor.  The trash cans were overflowing.

I was amazed at the countless costume accessories strewn about.   Tiaras, boas, plastic guns, plastic swords, capes, fake beards, cheap plastic jewelry, paper hats, whatever.  Obviously people were too drunk to bother retrieving this junk.  Some were discarded, but more likely they were overlooked due to alcoholic stupor.  Some idiot had come as the Scarecrow from Wizard of Oz.  There was loose straw all over the floor.  Remind me to strangle the guy if I ever got the chance.  Groaning, I assumed the Drink Room was just as bad or worse.  However, right now I was too tired to check.

Several places on the floor were sticky with spilled punch.  They would need mopping.  The debris on the floor would need sweeping.  It was a giant task.  Since I was a one-man band, my chances of finishing by 9 am were remote.  I wanted to kick myself.  The irony was overwhelming.  Not long ago I had complimented myself for not making a single mistake all year long.  Famous last words.  Getting drunk had been a costly mistake indeed.   

After I turned off the music, at least I could hear myself think again.  Glen's studio did not have an adequate sound system, but I did courtesy of profits from the biggest year in studio history.  I groaned at the ordeal of loading two giant speakers into my car to take home.  Plus there was a receiver, a sub-woofer, a tape deck, wires and other equipment.  I did not dare store this expensive equipment at Dance Arts.  It would not be safe from theft.  Ordinarily my students helped me carry these heavy items to the car at the end of the party, but tonight I would have to carry the equipment by myself.  Add another burden to the list. 

I buried my head in my hands.  Woozy and boozy, the thought of cleaning this place and loading the equipment was more than I could bear.  I desperately wanted to lay back down, but my conscience would not stop nagging me.  Glen's dancers were scheduled for a rehearsal.  Recalling last year's Dance Wax fiasco, I was a dead man if I did not get this down.  There was simply no way I could put this Herculean task off any longer.  Unfortunately, my pep talk did not work.  With my weakened body unable to respond to the threat, I slunk back down on the couch.  In the state I was in, my predicament was just too much for me.  Unable to cope, it would be so easy to fall back asleep right now.  The door was locked, the music was off, and the hallway couch was oh so inviting.  I was nauseous, my head hurt, I was grouchy, and I was drowning in an ocean of self-pity.  Where was I going to get the strength?  And so I laid down to get more comfortable... which of course was the absolute worst thing I could do. 

In Hindsight, I probably would have gone back to sleep, thereby sacrificing any chance of cleaning up the mess before Glen appeared at 9 am.  However, just then my night suddenly took a turn for the worse.

TRAPPED!!

On the verge of passing out as I lay on the couch, the weirdest thing happened.  I heard a strange moan coming from some place in the building.  

Woooooooooh! 

Holy cow, what the hell was that!?! 

Terrified, I instantly snapped to attention.  Considering I was already in a fearful state of mind, that weird sound sent me over the edge.  I was scared out of my wits!  Amazing what fear and adrenaline can do.  I jumped off that couch faster than you can say 'Frankenstein'.  One moment I was too paralyzed to move, now I was worried I might have to fight for my life. 

Was this my imagination?  No!  I had definitely heard something and I was panic-stricken!!  Unwilling to sit on that couch and think it over, my thought was to hide.  So I ducked back into nearby Room One, closed the door and turned out the lights.  Then I put my ear to the door and listened for sounds. 

Hearing nothing, I made way slowly over to the corner.  Unable to see a thing in this pitch black room, I traced the wall with my fingers.  Fear kept me moving.  What was that sound?  Where did it come from!?!  I listened carefully, but the sound was not repeated.  This prevented me from guessing its origin or location.  Due to the darkness, it took quite a while to reach the corner.  Ironically, this was the same corner where our Group Photo had been taken a lifetime ago. 

Once I was there, I realized what a stupid mistake it had been to move here.  I should have stayed and guarded the door, but too late now.  Enveloped by total darkness and frantic with terror, I stood there shaking.  I expected to hear another sound, but there was nothing but silence.  In the absence of further clues, I was completely baffled.  Every hair on my body stood on edge.  Goosebumps all over my arms.  Trembling, sweating, I asked myself over and over if this had been my imagination.  Unfortunately I was certain I had heard something.  Whatever that moaning sound had been, it had caused spine-tingling terror.

My instincts warned me this was the Real Thing.  This was not some rat scurrying in the night or some box shifting in the storage room.  This had been a verbal sound that felt 'human' in origin.  I was certain either a burglar was robbing the studio or more likely someone who had stuck around to play a malevolent prank.  Knowing there was danger present, my heart went thump thump thump.  What should I do?  My mind raced through the possibilities.  Had a street person wandered in during the night?  Was it a burglar?  Had some party guest stuck around to play a sick joke on me?  Or was it Supernatural in origin, something like a ghost or demon?  How much danger was I in?  What should I do?  Earlier my imagination had visualized scenes from a horror movie, but this was not a dream, this was Reality.  I was alone in the dark and someone had just moaned like a ghost in a haunted house.  

This was House on Haunted Hill.  Or was it Psycho?  Or was it the Shining?  What kind of Bogeyman was I dealing with?  Furthermore, what was I doing here in this corner?  And why did I close the door?  Pressure and panic does crazy things to people.  I cursed myself for making really bad decisions.  It was a serious mistake to close the Hallway door.  If I were to do it over, after turning out the lights, I would have left the door slightly ajar so I could peek down the dimly-lit Couch Hallway.  That way I would have remained invisible while giving me a vantage point to see if anyone approached the Big Room from the hall. 

I had a rueful chuckle at my own expense.  Typically in a horror movie, I always rolled my eyes at the stupidity of the teenage victims.  Rather than hide and keep their mouth shut, they invariably just stood there in plain sight while calling out, "Is anybody home?  Is anybody here?"  Due to my own ill-advised decisions, I had just learned first-hand that panic has a way of dulling the mind.  A hero might be clever enough to think fast in the movies, but not me. 

Closing the door was dumb enough, but moving 20 feet over here to this useless corner was even dumber.  To be frank, there was not a single hiding place in this empty big room.  No nooks, no crannies, nothing to hide behind or under.  The moment the lights came on, I would be visible from anywhere in the room.  So why bother moving to the corner?  Duh!  I should have just stayed by the door.  I was standing in total darkness.  Since Room One had no windows, once the Hallway door was closed, it was pitch-black.  The darkness made me feel like I was trapped in an underground cave like Tom Sawyer with no candles left.  I was afraid of the dark, but I was even more afraid of whatever was on the other side of that door.  Consequently I refused to budge.  Instead I stood still and tried to think things through.

Nothing made sense.  A burglar was a likely possibility.  But what kind of criminal announces his presence with a moan?  Hmm.  Perhaps they moaned because they did not know I was here.  Considering I had not seen who made the sound, then probably they had not seen me either.  Perhaps the intruder had no idea anyone was in the building.  With my poor little heart thumping wildly, I fervently wanted to reopen that door just enough to peek into the hallway.  However, I did not dare make another error.  If someone was in the Hallway, opening the door would surely make a sound or they might notice the movement.  I decided the percentage move was to leave the door closed.  I was very frustrated at my lack of options.  Totally defenseless, I was trapped in a weak position with no choice but to wait for developments.  The worst part was being blind.  My blindness ratcheted up my fear to the nth degree.

THE PARANOIA INCREASES
 

So perhaps my Readers assume I exaggerate the degree of my terror.  Not so.  I am retelling the story accurately due to my vivid (and quite disturbing) memory of the night.

My ordeal had lasted ten minutes at this point.  Any moment now, there was a real possibility I might be forced to fight for my life.  The door might swing open, the lights might come on and I might be facing a knife, a gun or a psychotic ready to kill me with his bare hands.  Or was I facing a Supernatural demon?  I admit I am superstitious by nature, but the thought of a monster or demon as portrayed in the horror films was too far-fetched even for me.  Nevertheless, the thought did cross my mind.

What should I do?  I was miserable being stuck over here in this corner.  To begin with, a mere flip of the light switch was all that was necessary to reveal my presence.   However, I was certain no one else was in this room, so I used this time to think.  Whoever it was, there had to be someone out there beyond the door!  Nothing makes a sound like that but a human.  But I doubted he or she or 'it' knew I was in the building.  Otherwise the intruder would have come looking for me by now.  One question kept running through my mind, "Why would a burglar moan and warn me of his presence?"  Unfortunately I kept coming up empty with answers.  Although I was completely baffled, in an odd way that question offered a small source of comfort.  In the movies, bad guys don't moan before an attack, they sneak up.  Where was my enemy?  Why didn't he come for me?  As I stood there shaking, I could not believe how pathetic my situation was.  Due to the stupidity of closing the door, I had no way to monitor the situation other than sound... of which there was none at the moment.

I was blind. 
I was trapped.
I had no place to hide.
I had no way to escape.
I had no weapon.
I did not know the nature of my assailant.
I was a sitting duck!!

Considering my only exit was that door to the hallway, it had been a huge mistake to come to this corner.  If there was indeed an attacker, he had control over the entrance to the room plus the light switch.  My confusion was driving me crazy.  It is frightening enough to deal with the unknown, but the unknown plus total darkness was maddening.  I clung to the hope that my nemesis did not know I was in here and would eventually leave the building.  However, a terrible thought crossed my mind.  I had locked the front door!  This meant the intruder COULD NOT LEAVE THE BUILDING! 

Actually that was not completely true.  There was an emergency exit at the farthest end of the hallway in addition to the front door we used as entrance to the building.  The door at the end of the Couch Hallway led to a large storage room where the giant air-conditioner unit was located.  That led to a different door which led to the back alley.  This metal door could only be opened from the inside. 

It crossed my mind that someone at the party could have opened the door during the party, then left with plans to return in the dead of the night.  This possibility raised my paranoia even further.  It meant the bad guy could come or go as they pleased.  It was also the best explanation for my dilemma because it gave the bad guy access in spite of the locked front door. 

Oddly enough, I was slightly relieved by this new possibility.  I had finally had a 'Realistic' explanation (as opposed to Supernatural) for the presence of a stranger.  It seemed unlikely that someone had remained in the building during the four hours I was unconscious.  Whatever their reason for being in the building... robbery for example... why wait four hours Midnight to 4 am?  Just get it over with and leave.  More likely they left the party shortly after the Jungle Fever performance with plans to return at 4:30 am.  This meant two things.  First, they assumed the front door would be locked, so they had opened the door to the AC room and the emergency exit ahead of time.  It also meant they had no idea that I had passed out and was still in the building.  Finally something made sense.  I was probably dealing with a burglary AND so far they did not know I was hiding in Room One.  In that case, I was in serious danger. 

But what about the moan?  I had no reasonable explanation for that.  Maybe someone had moaned just for the heck of it.  Maybe they were just being silly on Halloween Night. 

Then I had another discouraging thought.  What was there to rob?  My music equipment?  Maybe, but I usually took it home with me at the end of the party.  The cash from the party?  Maybe, but that made no sense because I always took it home with me. 

My mind went back to the moan.  Maybe it was some local teenagers.  Maybe someone at my Halloween party had opened the two back doors with plans to return at some point.  They had gone to another party that had just ended, so now they came to the studio to smoke pot or get drunk with some buddies.  Or maybe two teenagers... or adults for that matter... were here to have sex.  Hmm.  That made sense.  In that case, the moan could have been done in jest as a nod to Halloween night.  That was a comforting thought.  Maybe I wasn't in so much danger after all. 

Just when I was feeling better, suddenly I heard the moan for the second time.   Woooooh!!

I totally freaked out!!  What was that sound?  Since the moan was barely audible, I was certain it did not originate in Room One.  It had come from somewhere else in the building, maybe the Wizard Drink Room on the other side of the wall from where I was standing.   Who was making it?  What were they doing in there?  Was this a practical joke?  Why had there been a ten minute gap between moans?  The latest sound really pushed me over the edge because it proved beyond doubt the first sound could not have been my imagination.  Trembling badly, my anxiety was killing me.  I laughed grimly at my predicament.  Ten minutes ago I had been barely alive as I laid upon the couch.  Now I was alert and wide awake.  Fear does that sort of thing to you.  Think, Rick, think harder!  My mind was racing.  I cursed the darkness!  I was going crazy because I could not see.  What if someone were creeping up on me at this very moment?  Beads of sweat rolled down my face.  This was the most terror I had ever felt in my life.

People say I think too much.  No argument from me.  It is my nature.  I wracked my brains for the most logical explanation.  Although I believe in ghosts, the Supernatural was the least of my fears.  I was way more afraid of humans than the Headless Horseman.  For the first time I wondered if this was a prank.  Was this ordeal organized as a practical joke by someone who decided my drunken stupor was too good an opportunity to pass up?  That made more sense than burglars who announce their presence with two moans.  But I discarded that idea because it made little sense.

For starters, that sound had been made by someone already in the building.  I had locked the front door 20 minutes ago.  That meant whoever was behind this may have waited four hours inside the studio for me to wake up.  Don't be ridiculous.  Seriously, what person in their right mind would bother waiting two, three, maybe even four hours for me to wake up??  Why not just scare me out my sleep and get it over with? 

Maybe it was a latecomer, someone who had a key.  Had a key?  Hmm.  Someone with a key.  That was one possibility I had not thought of.  Was Glen playing an unbelievable trick on me?  No way.  He was not known for his sense of humor.  Had one of Glen's dancers returned to find a missing pocketbook?  I would have been okay with that scenario, but I doubted it.  No woman in her right mind would enter this building alone.  And even if she did, she would turn on every light switch as she came down the hall.  Using that crack at the bottom of the door, I could tell the hallway lights were still turned off.  And why come now?  Why not wait till rehearsal in the morning?

I suppose someone Glen trusted enough with a key might come in the building in the wee hours for a romantic tryst.  That was a possibility, but it did not explain the two moans.  Those moans were not sexual, but rather sounds someone might make who was trying to scare me.  My mind returned to the possibility it was a prank played by someone who had stuck around after the party.  I was skeptical.  Yes, people who had been at the party would know I was still in here, but we are talking about adults who have better things to do.  Why would anyone stick around four hours while I slept just to play a practical joke on me?  How stupid was that?  If they wanted to play a prank, why not do it at 12:30 am and get it over with?

Having eliminated this possibility, I returned to the Burglar Theory.  That did not make sense either.  Why would a predator moan twice and reveal its presence?   I had no answer for that riddle.  Why warn me?  Why put me on guard?  Why not simply attack me before I could take defensive measures?  My inability to find an explanation bothered me no end.  Worst of all, being totally blind in the dark was really getting to me.  Blindness intensified my fear so much that I could barely think straight.  Unable to come up with the slightest reasonable explanation for the two moans, my mind turned to thoughts of escape.  I hated the fact that I had locked the front door.  This meant I could no longer make a run for it.  Even if I could get past the monster in the hallway and run all the way to the front door, I would waste precious time getting the key in the lock.  Surely in my haste I would fumble a little bit.  By the time my key opened the door, the predator would surely catch me from behind.  I would be trapped and that would be the end for me.

Or I could use the emergency exit to the back alley.  Unfortunately there was no way I could escape detection.  For that matter, if someone was hiding from me, that Air Conditioner room was the ideal location.  I would enter straight into a trap.

Entering that storage area was such a bad idea I decided trying to escape was out of the question.  Front door or back door, a confrontation was inevitable.  This left me with only two choices... stand here in the dark for four hours until Glen arrived or prepare to fight back.

Ultimately I decided remaining in this corner was useless.  I doubted whoever was in the building knew I was here.  Otherwise they would have come for me by now.  That said, at any moment now someone would enter the room, throw on the light switch and see me quivering in the corner.  In order to fight back, I would have a much stronger position standing by the door.  That would at least give me the element of surprise to help subdue the intruder. 

I could not stand here passively in the corner any longer.  I would rather take my chances with a fight.  That meant I needed to get back to that door twenty feet away.  Yet again I cursed my stupidity for closing the hallway door.  Standing in this corner was even worse.  I was already scared out of my wits due to the moans, but that fear had been drastically escalated due waiting for my doom in this maddening darkness.  I kept straining my eyes to see something, but it was no use. 

I had every right to be afraid.  This was Halloween, the night when Evil walks the planet.  On the spookiest night of the year, something was very wrong and the fear of the unknown was driving me mad.  The darkness, my alcohol-induced daze, my worthless defensive position, and the lack of any rational explanation for those bizarre moans left me confused and scared.  Worst of all, I was trapped. 

Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide
So much to fear, danger is near.
I am blind crazed out of my mind
Trapped in the Heart of Darkness

Escape was impossible.  Sooner or later I would be forced to confront the source of those moans.  What was I going to do?