THE KNOCK

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If I had known what would have happened that night, I would have stayed home and read the Bible cover to cover. But I didn't stay home. I had gone to visit Caleb, my course mate. I needed to get some fresh air after being cooped up in my lodge all day.

Caleb's lodge was located in one of the roughest neighborhoods, theft and armed robbery was a norm. Walking about at night could be dangerous. So I went in the afternoon when all was calm and relativity safe.
His lodge was a two storey building, painted in deep ox blood paint. The interior was dark and the passage was narrow. I made my way to the top floor, turning on the flashlight feature on my phone to guide my path. I found Caleb in his room, on his bed as usual fiddling with his phone. As we exchanged pleasentries, I sat on the bed beside him. His room was comfy. The floor was covered in a red rug, the door to the kitchen was open to let in more air. And a music box was playing some good foreign jam.

So we chatted, talking about everything and nothing when suddenly we heard the loud knock on the door, we both froze. The way of the knock, the ferocity of it could not have come from a friend. Caleb got up from the bed and looked through the peephole in the door. He shook his head at me, he didn't know them. Already street wise, he quickly took our phones and his laptop, and hid them in a box up on the wardrobe, while turning down the volume of the music box. They kept pounding the door. Soon he eventually opened the door.

"Who's Caleb?" That was the first thing one of them asked, the other shoved him aside and barged into the room.

"Where is she?"

"Where is who?" Caleb replied.
The guy inside, went to the kitchen and then to the bathroom, "Why is she not here?" "Where the hell is she?"
He stopped before me, "Where's Caleb?" He asked

I raised my eyebrow. "Who's Caleb?" I replied, I was about to ask him who the hell he thought he was to come in here and question us. I shut up though, the moment he raised his shirt and I saw a pistol tucked into his waistband

"Oh Jesus!" My hands flew up, "I don't know anybody o, I just came here to see my friend! I don't know anybody!"
While I cried and swore for the guy inside, the other one outside was grilling my course mate.

"Yea I'm Caleb"

"Ehh.." He muttered, then pulled out his own gun and pointed it in Caleb's face. "Who are you?".

"What?" Caleb gasped, obviously shocked.

"I said, who are you?

Caleb raised his hands in surrender "I'm nobody, I just stay in this lodge, I'm in the department of...." Unable to go on, he stopped talking. The guy shoved the nuzzle of the gun against his face, using it to push his head abruptly as he contemplated on killing him.

Time stretched into seconds... Almost half a minute.

The guy let his hands drop.

"Come on" he called his friend "let's go"

The guy that had been inside turned to leave. On his way out, he made away with the music box still playing on the table.

"Go inside now and lock your door" they ordered my friend.
He didn't need to be told twice, he slammed the door shut and slide the bolt home.

Silence fell in the room as we stared at each other, trying to understand what the hell had just happened. Neither of us could make head or tail of this event and we were simply baffled.
Was it a wrong information? But they had gotten his name and location right. Was it a scare tactic? Did someone have it in for Caleb? This was the thought going through my head.

I needed to clear it, I needed to think, somewhere that was not here.

I didn't, stay long after that.

I ran back to my lodge as fast as my feet could carry me.