Resentment of Evil Neighbors

It was late at night, and the baby in 404 wouldn't stop crying. Our building's group chat was blowing up. Then, a message from the owner of 404 popped up:

I'll strangle him right away. Promise it won't bother you guys anymore.

...

Silence. Dead silence. And then, just as suddenly, the crying stopped.

A few minutes later, hesitant messages trickled in.

302: "Dude, seriously? Don't joke about stuff like that, it's creepy AF."

504: "Yeah, just soothe the baby, no need to get all worked up."

601, concerned: "@404, you okay, neighbor? Need any help?"

402, sounding panicked: "It really did just go quiet. I can't hear anything. Did something actually happen? How can a baby just stop crying like that?"

More silence. My heart was pounding. I lived in 401, right next door to 404.

I vaguely remembered the family in 404 D a weird trio. The dad was this tall, skinny, quiet guy. Even when he politely said hi and mentioned his wife and baby, it felt forced and awkward. Id never seen the mom. Maybe she was just constantly busy with the baby.

It was a strange family, and thinking about it, the dad could be capable of something extreme

Thankfully, 504 broke the silence:

"@404, don't scare us like that and then go to sleep! Explain yourself or I'm calling the cops."

404 finally replied:

"Just kidding. Wife got up to feed and soothe him. He's quiet now."

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. But the group remained silent. Everyone was probably still freaked out.

Just as I was about to put my phone down, a notification popped up from another group chat D the one we used to organize a furniture group buy when we all moved in. 404 wasn't in this group. It was 504 again:

"Guys, something's not right with 404."

402: "What do you mean?"

504 fired off several messages:

"The baby cried for half an hour, and the mom didn't feed him?

Babies don't just stop crying abruptly like that. They usually quiet down gradually, even when theyre eating.

Something feels off."

There were only eight of us in the group buy chat. Our building was fairly new, and not many units were occupied yet. Six floors, four apartments each, and only ten families had moved in so far, mostly single guys. Three of us were on the fourth floor: me in 401, the mysterious family in 404, and 402, a regular single guy.

After 504's message, 402 replied:

"Don't be crazy. You think he actually, you know killed his own son?"

601 chimed in:

"You never know... A few days ago, I saw the guy from 404 kill a cat."

402 seemed shocked: "Dude, stop messing with me!"

302 countered: "So what if he killed a cat? That doesn't mean he'd kill a person! And it's his own son!"

601 quickly explained:

"First, that's not what I meant. I'm saying he might have violent tendencies.

Second, his relationship with his wife seemsstrained. Ive never seen them together.

And finally, has anyone actually seen his wife?"

That got everyone thinking. I racked my brain, and even as a neighbor on the same floor, Id never seen her. 504, 402, and 302 all confirmed they hadn't either. Everyone agreed it was weird.

Finally, 302 suggested: "Should we call the police?"

But 504 hesitated: "What if it's nothing? Isn't that wasting police resources?"

I thought he was the one most concerned about the situation.

As everyone debated, 402 said: "This is ridiculous. They live right next to me. I'll just go ask."

504: "Okay, be careful. And see if you can figure out what's going on."

601 and 302 told him to be polite and just express concern, not accuse anyone of anything.

I was wide awake now. I jumped out of bed and tiptoed to the front door. Because of the fire escape landing, our peepholes didn't face each other's doors. I didn't open the door, I just pressed my ear against it.

I heard a door close. That had to be 402. He was polite enough to knock gently instead of ringing the doorbell.

Then, something strange happened. There was no conversation. I didnt hear 404s door open, but I distinctly heard it close again.

I was baffled. That was it? Were they whispering? Or was something else going on?

Then, a new message popped up in the group chat.

402: "Everything's fine. We were worried for nothing. Go to sleep, everyone."

I stared at the screen, frozen. I hadn't heard 402 come back and open his own door. Hed definitely closed it when he left. How could he be back inside without opening it?

Unlesshe was inside 404? My stomach dropped.

On the screen, 601 and 302 said "Good to hear, night night." Only 504 remained silent. Then I noticed a private message from him:

"Dude, you're not asleep, are you? Fellow night owls, unite. I know you're not asleepSaw the messages, right?"

I hesitated, but it made sense. 504 and I were both night owls; we'd game together sometimes. So I replied:

"Half-asleep, so I didn't chime in, but yeah, I saw everything. Isn't it over now?"

I didn't mention what I'd just heard. I was more concerned about why he'd messaged me privately.

504 replied quickly, clearly on edge:

"Dude, something's really not right."

I knew that, but I still hesitated to tell him everything, afraid of making things worse. So I just typed:

"What do you mean?"

His message came back fast:

"402, your neighbor. His last messageit's off. Don't you notice his little typing quirk?"

Typing quirk? I scrolled up through the chat history, focusing on 402's messages. Then I saw it. He almost always ended his sentences with "lol" or "haha."

But his last message, the one telling everyone to go to sleep, didn't have it. It wasserious. Did that mean? I didnt want to think about it.

I typed back to 504: "The 'lol' thing? You think someone else sent that message?"

Just then, I heard a faint noise outside my door. Like muffled footsteps. I couldn't resist peeking through the peephole

And my blood ran cold.

Staring back at me through the peephole was the creepy face of the dad from 404.

My legs went weak. I almost stumbled back. But I knew I couldnt make a sound. God knows what hed done to 402, God knows what he'd do to me.

Then I remembered D the peephole was one-way. He couldnt see me, even if he was looking through it from the other side. I breathed a sigh of relief. But I still didnt understand what was happening.

I cautiously peered through the peephole again. And he was gone. Vanished. Justgone. How could he have moved so fast?

Everything seemed quiet again, but something was terribly wrong. I was too scared to think straight. I grabbed my phone. 504 had sent several more messages:

"Yeah, I don't think that was 402. I think it was the 404 guy.

But we can't be sure. What do we do? It's the middle of the night.

Should I try calling 402?"

I quickly replied: "Don't call him! Have you called him yet?"

Honestly, I was mostly worried about myself. If 404 had 402's phone, calling him would expose us. Especially after what just happened at my door. 404 must have suspected something. But I hadnt posted in the group, hadnt made a sound. Maybe thats why he hadnt tried to get in.

But if he knew I was closest to him. Id be the easiest target. Id just moved in, and I had no idea how secure my door really was.

Thankfully, 504 replied:

"No, I haven't called yet. Why? Wouldn't that be the quickest way to confirm if it's really him?

Besides, hes definitely still awake. I can't sleep until I know who sent that message."

I breathed a sigh of relief. Good. He hadnt called yet. I was about to call the cops myself. But I needed to warn 504 first

Typing out what happened took a few minutes. 504's response was immediate:

"Holy crap! That's terrifying! I knew that wasn't 402!"

I typed back: "I'm calling the police. Don't do anything, especially don't call 402. Let the police handle it."

But 504's next message shocked me:

"I already called them. Don't go anywhere, and whatever you do, don't go knocking on 404s door like 402 did.

They'll contact me when they get here. Don't leave your apartment. Wait for my message, and well talk to the police together.

"Okay," I replied, finally feeling a sense of relief. Once the police arrived, everything would be okay.

But 504s repeated warnings not to leave my apartment suddenly made something click. I finally realized what had been bothering me.

Id heard the door of 404 close. But when I looked through the peephole, I saw the dad from 404 outside my door.