The day I came close to death at the hands of an intruder.

This happened to me about 6 years ago now when I was a junior in highschool. I was 17 years old and lived with my parents in a two story apartment complex with two staircases and an elevator. <br><br>The night it happened I was home alone. My parents went out to eat and then my dad had a work party, and my mom had a friend she wanted to hang out with for the night. So I was home alone, and it was pretty late and I had already gone to bed. <br><br>Well, I woke up to hear this really loud noise coming from downstairs. It sounded like someone was stomping around and it was loud enough that I could hear it all the way from my bedroom upstairs. I was a bit scared but I wasn’t really thinking it was an intruder, because my apartment complex had security guards and cameras everywhere. <br><br>So I decided to make sure before calling the cops. I grabbed my phone and my parents' spare guns, one a shotgun and one a pistol, and I crept downstairs. It was so quiet, you could hear the clock ticking. <br><br>I got downstairs and I saw that there was a door that leads to the hallway of the apartment complex that was wide open. I looked in the living room and that was also wide open. It was then that I saw blood on the carpet. I immediately got really scared because I had heard of people being overpowered by intruders and getting stabbed. So I knew something wasn’t right. <br><br>I knew I had to get out of there immediately so I ran up to my room and locked the door. I called 911, hopped in bed and waited. I was shaking with fear, and I didn’t know what to do. <br><br>After about five minutes of being on the phone with the cops, the guy who had been stabbing my neighbor came up the stairs. I was shaking so much that I don’t remember much of anything. <br><br>He came to my door and knocked. I didn’t answer. He knocked again. Still, I didn’t answer. This third time, he tried to open my door. Luckily, it was locked and he gave up and left. <br><br>The cops came and arrested him soon after. My neighbor had been stabbed to death, but thankfully I was okay. I didn’t even know my neighbor very well. He was a nice guy and kept to himself. I would say hello once in a while but that’s about it. <br><br>He had lived on the first floor of my apartment, and he was home at the time the guy came in. He had been stabbed to death and my neighbor’s wife was found tied up in the bedroom, and she was okay. <br><br>I never knew what led up to it, or how he knew which apartment to target. All I know is that it could have easily been me. Thankfully, I was okay and alive, and it was a learning experience for me. I’m just glad that I was able to escape death, and the fact that I didn’t let my fear consume me. <br><br>I still think about that night every once in a while, especially in times of fear and uncertainty. But I am glad that I’m okay and alive, and that I learned an important lesson. I also learned to be more cautious and not take anything for granted, and to never think that something like this couldn’t happen to me. <br><br>To this day, I still have trouble sleeping, especially at night. But I have learned to cope with my PTSD. I still have flashbacks from time to time, especially during scary movies. But I am okay now, and I am safe, and I am grateful for that.