I met a predator in my apartment building

I’ve lived in the same apartment for nearly 7 years now. I love it, I love the people I’ve met in the building and I’ve always felt safe here.<br><br>My apartment is a corner unit on the 8th floor, with a patio facing south. The patio looks out over the city and it’s been a great place to watch the sunrise in the morning.<br><br>I recently purchased a small outdoor heater to put out on the patio. You can only use it in the winter, but I love sitting outside when it’s chilly and I figured this would help make it a bit warmer.<br><br>Well, the other night I was sitting out there, heater cranked and a blanket draped over my shoulders. It was very peaceful. I had the radio playing pretty loudly and I was completely engrossed in my book.<br><br>At about 11pm, the heater cut out. I assumed it had simply timed out, but when I went to turn it on again, nothing happened.<br><br>I went inside for a minute to check the electrical outlet, but everything seemed to be in good order. I went back outside, hoping the heater would work again.<br><br>About 10 minutes later, I heard the elevator stop on my floor. The light above it turned, and I knew someone was coming up.<br><br>The building I live in is fairly old. The elevator is one of those original “press button” kinds, not the touchscreen variety. It creaked and groaned as it came to a stop on my floor.<br><br>I was still sitting on my patio, heater in front of me, book in my lap. I thought it was the super, coming to check something out. I had a bit of an issue with the heating system a few days before, but he said he was going to send someone to check it out.<br><br>As the elevator door opened, I saw the shadow of two people standing just beyond the threshold. I looked up to see who it was and my heart sank.<br><br>Two men. One was standing behind the other, slightly off to the side. I couldn’t make out any facial features in the darkness of the hallway.<br><br>I didn’t have a chance to react before the first man started walking down the hall towards me.<br><br>He was moving slowly and quietly, keeping his hands in his pockets. The other guy was still standing by the elevator, just watching me.<br><br>I froze. I couldn’t even move. Both men were staring at me with a sort of blank, menacing glare. The man walking down the hall was about 10 feet away from me now.<br><br>I could see that he had something in his pocket. It looked like a knife or gun, but it was still hidden from view.<br><br>As soon as I realized he had a weapon, I stood up, grabbed the heater, and swung it at him.<br><br>It was lightweight and made of cheap plastic, but thankfully it did not break apart. I just kind of …wielded it, really. I held it in front of me and swung it back and forth, back and forth.<br><br>The men were both startled by this, and I think the guy with the weapon took off running when I started swinging the heater at them. The other guy just kind of stood there, looking at me for a moment before taking off after his friend.<br><br>I didn’t stop swinging that heater until they were both gone. I didn’t realize how loud the radio had been until the men were gone and it was quiet.<br><br>Shaken, I went inside and called 911. I was sitting on my couch, heater still in my hands, when the police arrived.<br><br>They searched the rest of the building but didn’t find anyone else. The super came down to my apartment to check the heater and said that the electrical outlet was working fine. He also told me that the building manager had received a report of two men acting strangely in the building, but he didn’t think much of it.<br><br>When the police asked to speak with the building manager, the super said he would call him the next day to let him know what happened.<br><br>After the police left, I went back out to my patio to make sure nobody else was out there. I was expecting to find something - a dropped wallet, a piece of cloth, something.<br><br>But there was nothing. Just my heater, still warm from when I’d been sitting out there.<br><br>I sat on the couch for a few hours, heater still in my hands. Eventually, I fell asleep.<br><br>When I woke up in the morning, I looked at the heater. It still had streaks of paint on it from when I was swinging it the night before.<br><br>I looked out my balcony, and I saw something I hadn’t noticed the night before. There was paint on my railing, too, and the wall below. Someone had jumped from my balcony the previous night. It explains why the heater just stopped working, but it also creeps me the fuck out.<br><br>I’m glad nothing worse happened. I’m glad I was able to defend myself and that the police came so quickly. But that whole experience still gives me the chills.<br><br>[EDIT]: Wow, this blew up faster than I could’ve ever predicted. First time I've really gone viral on anything and I'm still not sure how it happened.<br><br>I did not post this. I'm not sure where it's coming from, but the story itself is something that actually happened to me.<br><br>I've gotten a few requests for an update and I'm sorry but I won't be doing any. I've shared this once with a handful of people and it's really not fun to think about.