Charlie wasn’t too particular about the new apartment he was looking for as long as it was near his place of employment at the plant. Of course it needed to be in his price range and not run down like the last place.The reasons for moving were multiple, but let’s just say that Charlie wasn’t the most tolerant tenant in the world. Earlier in the day he had passed a nice nearby duplex and it prompted his desire to relocate.Charlie thought, after work today I’ll take a drive over there and check it out. It was past five o’clock and still light out when Charlie found the place that he saw earlier. It was an attractive duplex with forest green shutters attached to the front windows that set off the all white vinyl siding. Apparently the other side of the duplex was already occupied; a light blue Ford Fiesta was parked on the concrete driveway in front of the garage door. As a matter of fact, he remembered, it was there when he rode past this street yesterday, “Maybe they are homebodies,” he thought. Charlie pulled into the right hand driveway , got out of his Dakota pickup truck and walked up to the window facing the street. There were no curtains so he could see through the glass window panes with the help of his opened hands against the glass and near the sides of his face, like horse blinders. Charlie saw that the apartment was unfurnished and looked as though it had a fresh coat of paint on the walls and ceiling. Carpeting in the living room was a scalloped, light colored green wall-to-wall design; was it chosen to match the darker green trim of the building itself? Either way it was nice, probably recently replaced. From the window he could also see part of the kitchen looking through the archway between the living room and the kitchen.Looks good to me, He said out loud. Charlie didn’t need much, he had no family living with him; one bedroom would be fine. Charlie made a mental note of the phone number displayed on the sign that was pushed into the soft ground in front of the house; he walked back to the truck and grabbed his cell phone. When he called he found that an agent named Becky was still at the rental office and answered with a polite “Hello, Adams Real Properties, Becky speaking.How may I help you?” “I am here on Delta Street looking at the little white duplex you have for rent, number 382.” “Yes, very good. What would you like to know about it?” “Well, I’m looking for a place near the plant down the road where I work and this duplex looks ideal.How much is the rent?” "It’s $725 a month with a month’s deposit and we have our renters sign a year’s lease. Does that sound good for you?” It didn’t take long for Becky and Charlie to strike a deal. It was just two days later that Charlie was completely moved in and looking forward to his first night of sleep in his new place. He was glad to leave his last apartment; the people in the unit next to his were up all night and it drove him crazy.He complained to the landlord but to no avail.One night when it got really loud next door, Charlie called the police. Not only were his neighbors talking and shouting loudly, it was also noisy and annoying in other ways. Charlie almost met the partygoers face-to-face when a terrific thud shook the pictures off of the adjoining wall and caused the lamp to topple off the bookcase.Afterward Charlie noticed a slight bulge on his side of the wall where someone had apparently slammed their body against the wall so hard it showed on Charlie’s side. It was almost 3:30 in the morning when the police left and not two minutes later there was a BANG, BANG, BANG on my door.I knew exactly who it was. “Waz the big ideeeah, bud?”Obviously the man was drunk.There were two other men behind him holding longneck bottles of beer. "I, uhhhh…”Charlie didn’t know if his life was in danger or not, his heart was pounding so hard he could feel his life slipping away as the big man pushed his way into the living room.He was about six foot four and stood over Charlie’s five ten frame looking like a Mutt and Jeff cartoon. “We was jus’ havin’ a little fun, pal.” “Well, I was just trying to get some sleep, I have to work tomorrow.You can understand that can’t you?” The giant of a man didn’t look like he was listening; he just took another swig of beer. By this time the other two guys walked into the room behind Mr. Behemoth.“Yeah, bud, why’d ya call the pol-leese?We was havin’ a great time.Hey look, guysh, more booze.”The unwelcome guest saw Charlie’s unboxed bottle of Crown Royal still out on the kitchen counter.“Hey, letsch have that bottle of booze over there and we’ll call it a night, okay pally?” “Yeah sure,” Charlie said, “take it and try to keep it quiet over there.” The unruly group finally left and Charlie was thankful that they left him alone and intact.Needless to say he didn’t get much sleep that night and not for many nights afterward.So, Charlie was glad he found this place on a quiet street near work.Heck, he even thought about buying a bicycle to ride to work, that is, if the weather permitted.Yep, this was going to be a great little homestead. As the sun left the sky to make way for the evening darkness, Charlie heard the red Fiesta leave from next door. He undressed and stepped into the warm, soothing shower. Even the shower head is better here, it actually sprays evenly, he thought.Then his mind went a little crazy as he stood motionless as the water rained upon his head and down his body. He thought about the neighbor, Maybe the guy next door works the night shift. Yeah, that’s it, whoever lives there has been awfully quiet during the last couple of days while I’ve been moving in.And now they’ve gone out under the guise of darkness.Maybe a family of vampires lives over there.Ha!That would work, too! Enough of this, man, I’ve got to get some sleep.Charlie dried himself off, put on a clean pair of shorts and a tee shirt.He watched TV for an hour before he went to bed.While waiting for sleep to come, Charlie thought about all the work he had to do at the plant tomorrow and the two projects the boss wanted him to do for rest of the week.This was a busier than usual time at the plant so everyone was busy and a little on edge.It was okay with Charlie though; his fifteen years at the plant taught him to take it all in stride. Charlie was sleeping for a long while but for some reason, he was awakened by a car door slamming. He put it aside thinking that it was just the neighbor coming home. I wonder what time it is, it’s still dark, he thought.Finally Charlie drifted off to sleep.Again, he was suddenly awakened when he heard some loud talking through the adjoining wall. Charlie could hear the arguing through the thin wall dividing the two apartments. “Well, you didn’t try very hard, no wonder you’re still hungry.”The man said in a loud and deep voice.Charlie couldn’t place the accent and he wasn’t sure what he was saying anyway.Hoping it would soon become quiet; he turned over facing the opposite wall. “You didn’t take me where I wanted to go, Roger.”This time it was a young woman’s voice, no accent though.Charlie was getting a little annoyed that conversations, or at least muffled conversations, could be heard through the wall.It reminded him of the place he just left.Charlie once thought that maybe he should be looking for a house of his own to buy.A few months ago, he tried looking for a house, but there weren’t many homes he could afford on his salary that was near his work. Maybe he would call Becky tomorrow and see what she could find.Maybe things have ch……… A loud series of fist pounding knocks on the front door interrupted Charlie’s mindless muse and startled him to an upright position.Now who could that be in the middle of the night…or this early in the morning…or whatever?Charlie waited.Maybe whoever it is would go away if no one answered. RAP, RAP, RAP!It seemed louder.I guess they are not going away, Charlie told himself as he threw the covers back and slid on the pants he put out for tomorrow’s work day.A long sleeved shirt was perched on the corner of his opened bedroom door; he put his arms through the sleeves as he walked toward the front door. RAP, RAP, RAP!The annoying noise was still louder than last time.“Okay, okay, hold your horses, I’m coming.”Charlie thought that maybe the intrusion would be less irritating and disruptive if it was an actual emergency. Charlie turned the knob and unlocked the dead bolt.He opened the door wide and stood there without saying anything, just staring.He was looking at a tall man with a somewhat pale complexion and petite woman with similar facial characteristics.They were both dressed in semi-formal black suits with high collars.The man smiled and as he did so, his perfectly aligned teeth gleamed bright from the light of the full moon.Both of his incisors gleamed brightest of all and Charlie, with mouth agape, could almost see a wetness drip from them.The young woman smiled, too, as though she was anticipating a great joy.She looked up at her partner and he, in return, looked down and into her eyes. Both of their mouths curled up with a slight smile; it was as though they were both in complete agreement and happy about their choice. We have come for dinner,” the tall darkness pronounced as he and she shoved their way past Charlie and closed the door behind them. “Oh my,” was all Charlie could utter.“Where are my drunken friends when I need them?”