The door creaked, and because Dillan's eyes had already adjusted to the darkness, he saw the figure of a man entering the room quietly. Dillan lowered his gaze to the man's hand and immediately noticed that he was carrying something long. The man walked toward the bed, but before he could get any closer, Dillan quickly charged at him and struck him on the head twice.
Dillan didn't know why this was happening inside the apartment. But based on how he pieced the events together, these might be the final moments that the tenant had witnessed before her death. So even if he attacked the man, he didn't need to feel guilty about it. What mattered to him was the tenant.
The man's body finally fell, but Dillan didn't let his guard down. Before the man could get back up, Dillan looked for something he could use to tie him up. He felt along the wall to find the switch and turned on the room's lights. But he sensed an ominous aura behind him.
Whoosh!
Dillan quickly dodged, and when he turned around, he saw the man already standing, glaring at him while holding a baseball bat. The man charged at him, swinging his weapon. Dillan quickly raised the lampshade to block the incoming baseball bat, and the impact completely broke it. Dillan threw the lampshade, grabbed the man by his clothes, and kneed him in the stomach.
While the man was still trying to regain his balance, Dillan quickly punched him in the face. He hadn't expected to actually use the self-defense skills he knew during his very first duty. The man dropped to his knees, and before he could recover, Dillan followed with a kick to his chest that knocked him to the floor and rendered him unconscious.
Dillan quickly looked for some cloth to restrain him and tied his hands and feet. He then opened the door and saw that the hallway was still normal. He didn't see any other bodies. He grabbed the man by the feet and dragged him out of the room. As soon as he placed him outside, Dillan noticed that his body slowly turned into smoke until it completely disappeared.
“What the hell? Is this place trying to kill me?” Dillan muttered. “They should increase my hazard pay if this is the case.”
First was the malicious ghost outside, and now someone was swinging a bat at him? He closed the door and walked straight toward the bathroom after turning on the lights again.
“Mama said I shouldn't open the door for anyone who knocks.”
Dillan stopped just as he was about to knock, remembering what Sierra had said.
“Sierra, it's Dillan. You can open the door now.”
A few seconds passed before Dillan heard the click of the doorknob, and he saw Sierra come out while still hugging her stuffed toy. He smiled at her and held her cold hand as he guided her toward the bed. Sierra quietly climbed onto the bed and lay down. Dillan covered her with a blanket and then quietly sat beside the bed.
“Big brother…” she called out to him.
“Hmm?”
“Will Papa come back?”
Dillan was silent for a while before he replied.
“No, he won't. You can go to sleep now.”
Sierra nodded and closed her eyes.
Vrrt…vrrt…vrrt…
Dillan looked at the notification on his cellphone. He saw that his visit to Room 502 had been checked off on his to-do list. Too many things had happened within just a few hours. Dillan sighed. He looked at Sierra again and saw that she was already sleeping soundly. He stood up, picked up the bedside lamp and baseball bat, then placed them to the side. He quietly left the room after turning off the light and carefully closed the door.
Several minutes after Dillan left, the room's lights turned on by themselves. The bedside lamp floated and returned to its original place, while the baseball bat completely disappeared. The mess caused by the struggle between Dillan and the man who had introduced himself as Sierra's father returned to normal.
Sierra, who had been keeping her eyes closed, moved slightly and slowly opened them. She sat up on the bed and looked at the door Dillan had left through.
***
After leaving the room, Dillan immediately walked toward the elevator. There, he saw Fernan waiting for him. Without saying anything, Fernan opened the elevator for him. Dillan stepped inside and pressed the Ground Floor. When Dillan and Fernan got out, Dillan briefly stopped in front of the guest elevator.
“There’s just something I want to check, Fernan,” he said as he opened the elevator.
He stepped inside and saw that the highest floor listed was the third floor. After confirming it, Dillan said goodbye and returned to his room. After cleaning himself up and changing clothes, he lay down on his bed. Dillan stared blankly at the ceiling for a while, thinking of all the events that happened in a span of a few hours. He had thought before that his upcoming job at Nexford Technologies would be way more complicated than the apartment, but now that he had experienced working here, he agreed that his large compensation was justifiable. His eyelids grew heavy, and he fell asleep.
Vrrt…vrrt…vrrt…
Dillan felt around for his cellphone and checked the notifications that had arrived one after another. He sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. He smiled when he saw the money in his account:
You have received V112,000.00 on your account.
He brought his palms together and bowed his head. “Even though I’ve gone through some shitty experiences, thank you for the salary.”
Dillan did a quick calculation. He saw that the amount was higher than the basic salary given to him, so he thought that the hazard pay might already be included.
“Oh?” He stopped when he noticed another message.
Hello!
This is Kian from Valcrest Motors. Please be informed that you may claim your vehicle today. You may visit us at your convenient time.
Thank you for your patronage.
“Right. I can get my salary and vehicle after my first duty as caretaker.”
He opened the budget app on his cellphone and budgeted his money. He knew he would still have plenty left even after including his student loan. He listed the things he needed to do that day on his to-do list. Now that he had a budget, he thought about buying another cellphone just for his transactions and communication regarding the apartment.
After the long and unforgettable events earlier that morning, he needed to keep himself occupied and buy the things he needed, especially since he would be starting at Nexford the following week. After getting dressed, he told Fernan that he had somewhere important to go. The first place he went was to get the vehicle he would be using as the caretaker.
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and then Add to home screen.