Leeteuk jolted awake, knocking off a couple pens which had been sitting on the lip of the drafting table where he had fallen asleep. He stared blankly ahead for a few moments as his foggy brain struggled to awaken. A half completed rough sketch of a building stared back at him quietly, the work which he was trying to complete before he accidently succumbed to his fatigue. He took off his black rimmed glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose before turning around to check out the time.

 

3:33am

 

As a budding architect, late nights were nothing new to Leeteuk. In order to make ends meet, Leeteuk would take up any projects that came his way, regardless if the commission was worth his efforts. However, completing three projects one after another was indeed beginning to take a toll on his mind. He set his glasses down against the lip of the drafting table before standing up to stretch his sore muscles. It was only then that he noticed the heavy silence in the air. Blinking in confusion, he started in the direction of his windows, cursing inwardly as he stepped on one of the fallen pens.

 

Such silence was a rare phenomenon in Rowdyton, which as its name suggest, was rowdy all around the clock. All the more so for Leeteuk, whose apartment building was situated opposite one of the most popular nightclub in town. If he had a choice, he would have chosen a more conducive neighbourhood. But a small apartment in the dingy part of town was all that he could afford with his measly pay.

 

For all the past nights over the last two years since he first moved in, the lack of the loud pounding music which shook his walls every time someone walked out of the door of the nightspot, was a first. Futilely hoping that the cursed nightclub had finally ceased operation, Leeteuk pulled up a corner of his blinds and was surprised to see the usual long queue outside the night club.

 

There were the usual college students in groups, out to seek a liquor boosted night likely to end with an overnight fling with a complete stranger. There were also the young adults where were there to relive their younger days. There was even a smaller group of older males, who were probably there in hopes of getting laid by attracting the fresh young girls with their higher spending power.

 

The one strange thing these people had in common however, was the uncharacteristic way they stared quietly at each other. Some were smiling while others had their mouth opened mid-sentence or mid-laugh, but all were seemingly frozen in time.

 

Don't be silly, Leeteuk... How can they be frozen in time? Am I still dreaming?

 

A sudden loud crash snapped him out of his thoughts. Looking around in shock, Leeteuk anxiously looked around his apartment for the source of the sound. However, before he could identify the origin, another loud crash rang out as something crashed against a wall, the impact knocking a framed wall picture off its hook. Leeteuk winced as the glass shattered, sending broken glass shards in all directions.

 

Since he did not slam anything against HIS wall, it was a safe guess that the source must be his neighbour. He carefully stepped over the broken glass and pressed his ears against the wall, listening hard for any clues which must suggest the situation in his neighbour's house.

 

There were loud shrieks which Leeteuk was unable to recognise. These were followed by sounds of glass shattering, furniture getting pushed around.  It was difficult to decipher the words being spoken due to the thickness of the wall, but it was clear that there were two voices shouting at each other. One was a sharper, higher pitched female voice, while the other is deeper and raspier.  Not wishing to poke his nose into a domestic quarrel, Leeteuk pushed himself away from the wall and bent down to pick up the pieces of broken glass.

 

His decision to mind his own business soon wavered as the frequency of the wall shaking crashes increased. The apartment building he had rented only had two apartment on each level. His unit was the first from the lift, and he never had the need to walk pass his neighbour's house. As a result, save for the fact that his neighbour was female, he did not know anything else about his neighbour.

 

She was evasive in nature, going as far back as retreating back into the apartment if they were to open their doors at the same time. In their two years of being neighbours, Leeteuk had only seen her once or twice when they took the same lift. He still remembered that his attempts at making small talks failed completely as she only nodded or shook her head in response to his words.

 

I didn’t even know that she was not living alone. I've never seen anyone except for her on our level. Wait... Did she live alone?

 

A sudden sense of foreboding filled his guards as he tried hard to recall if his neighbour was living alone or cohabiting with someone else. This played an important role in his final decision that it was only right for him to go over to his neighbour house to take a look. He did not want to live in guilt if there was indeed a break in at his neighbour’s house.

 

Opening his door slowly, Leeteuk started in the direction of his neighbour’s house. The night’s air was still unnaturally still. The heavy silence outside only served to amplify the thuds and crashes still coming from the house next door. It only took a couple of hesitant steps before Leeteuk found himself standing in front of his neighbour’s house. A deep breath stilled his nervous heartbeats and steadied his voice.

 

“He-Hello? Anyone?”
 

Silence.                                                                                               

 

"Hey! Is everything all right in there? Hello?"

 

Leeteuk knocked again as muffled crashes continued behind the closed oak door. He nervously eyed the strange symbols craved along the door frame as he waited for a reply. Moments passed and he received no response. Frowning, Leeteuk tried the doorknob. As expected, it jiggled but did not open the door.

 

"Hello? Miss? Are you all right? Answer me!"

 

Worried that his neighbour could be involved in some serious altercation, Leeteuk tried the door again. When he still got no answers, he hesitantly pressed both of his hands to the door to support his weight as he leaned in to place his ears against it. What he heard next threw him into an all new level of frenzy.

 

A loud vicious snarl that sounded more beast than human.

 

"Hey! If you're not going to answer, I'mma knock this door down!"

 

Leeteuk retreated a couple of steps hurriedly before throwing himself against the door in an attempt to knock it down. He winced as his body came into contact with the heavy wood, instantly sending a jolt of pain down his right shoulders.

 

How do those guys on dramas managed to kick down doors? These things are SOLID!

 

Cursing inwardly, Leeteuk prepared himself for another shot at kicking the door open. Just then, he finally heard some muffled words from the other side of the door.

 

"Who are you? What are you doing?!"

 

"My name is Leeteuk. I live next door. What’s going on in there?"

 

"Everything is fine! Please le-"

 

The muffled voice cut off abruptly, replaced by another crash and that inhuman shriek again.

 

"Hey! Open this door! Do you need the police or something?"

 

"NO! Don't call anyone! Ju-Just go! Everything is perfectly fine!"

 

"Ar-Are you sure? You really sound like you need help…"

 

"Yes! Yes, I'm sure! Just go back to your apartment an-"

 

His neighbour sentence was cut off by another huge crash which sounded like glass breaking. The crash was followed closely by a series of loud pops which sounded like gunshots. Now genuinely frantic, Leeteuk looked around for anything that he could use to break the door down. It wasn't long before he spotted the fire extinguisher hanging by the fire exit a small distance away. He quickly retrieved the tool and began smashing down hard on the doorknob in an attempt to break it off. His efforts soon paid off as the metal sphere finally gave in to his relentless knocks and fell off.

 

He smashed the metal body of the extinguisher a couple more times against the door to make a bigger hole. Throwing the extinguisher down onto the floor once the hole was big enough for him to reach through to get to the door latch, Leeteuk let himself into his neighbour house. There was complete silence in the house, a stark contrast to the huge commotion just mere moments ago.

 

The whole house was thrashed, with the sofa lying on its back and the wooden coffee table smashed in. The bookshelf was toppled over and books were strewn all over the living room. There were large greasy black stains on the walls and small splotches of red liquid, presumably blood, all over the floor. The windows sustained the most damage, with the torn curtains hanging limply on the broken curtain rail, and a gigantic ragged hole where the window glass used to be.

 

Convinced that his neighbour and her assailant must have fallen through the window and plumaged eight storeys down the building as they were nowhere to be found in the apartment, Leeteuk cautiously approached the broken window. He peered over the broken glass and was surprised to find the pavement empty.

 

His surprise soon turned into shock as a huge dark shadow suddenly zoomed past the windows with a shriek, heading skyward. The same inhuman shriek that he heard moments before. However, Leeteuk did not have any time to ponder as he was suddenly knocked back as the dark shadow suddenly came crashing through the window again. The force was so huge that it sent him flying into the partially opened door some distance away, slamming the door shut at the same time. It took him a few seconds to get back onto his feet again, wincing in pain.

 

His pain was soon forgotten as he laid eyes on the creature in front of him. A creature which did not seemed like it was from this world. A large winged figure with its back facing him and black oily goo dripping from its body. It was so close that Leeteuk could hear its loud breathing as it slowly moved its head from left to right, seemingly looking for something. Almost a whole minute passed before Leeteuk finally regained control of his limbs.

 

"Do. Not. Move,"