Daniel was certain he was being followed.

He had taken it safe and stuck to well-lit areas, and taking the train home. Even so, he still felt like he was being watched. He couldn’t see anyone when he turned his head, but he somehow knew that someone was there.

Daniel frowned as he climbed the steps to the apartment complex. There wasn’t anything he could do about it now. It would be strange to call the police over just a feeling, and the exterminator probably didn’t work after sundown.

He slipped through the security door and made sure they were locked behind him. Instead of climbing the stairs like he usually did, he took the elevator. The elevator stopped on the 25th floor and the young man walked towards number 14. It was a relatively large apartment, enough to just about fit 2 people. He’d thought about moving to a smaller one, but decided it wasn’t really worth the bother.

Daniel opened the door with a sigh, the stale air drifting past his face, carrying a mouthful of dust with it. He threw his bag over the piled-up garbage bags and onto his couch, before loosening his tie. He picked up the TV remote from the mug covered coffee table and pressed the power switch, only to be met with deafening silence. It seemed he’d forgotten to get batteries again. Daniel gingerly stepped over the used catalogues lining the floor and pressed the button on the TV, bringing the widescreen to flickering life. The glow from the TV illuminated his messy couch covered in clothes, and the white plates stacked up in his sink.

Home sweet home.

Daniel had changed and retrieved another energy pouch from his fridge when he heard the tapping sound on his front door. Mysteriously, the sound came from ankle height. Daniel ignored it, throwing himself onto the couch. The tapping continued, but he turned up the volume on the TV, pretending to not notice the sound. After a few minutes, the knocking seemed to go away. But then he heard tapping at the window.

He couldn’t help but look over, and locked eyes with it. The creature was there, in all its green and brown glory, staring at him. Neither side moved for a few seconds, before the creature slowly, and deliberately, moved its head back, stabbing towards the glass with a strong tap. It moved its body backwards as its legs stayed braced in place, ready to for a much stronger tap.

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Daniel Hurriedly got to his feet and sprung for the door. He opened it and took a rushed half step out the door before suddenly stopping himself. The creature turned to face him, and they stared at each other for a moment. Or rather, Daniel stared at it, and it stared at the pouch in his hand.

He slowly put the pouch on the ground. The creature’s eyes followed the pouch, and as he backed away into his apartment, it approached. Daniel stood in the doorway, watching with curiosity as the creature dug its needle like proboscis into the pouch and slowly began draining it. Like a mosquito sucking blood, he could see its underbelly bulging up as it drank.

The young man nodded to himself. He was sure it would be satisfied now, and that would be the last they saw of each other. But as he turned to walk back into the apartment, the creature stepped towards him. The young man stopped and watched, frowning as he wondered what it wanted now. They stood at a stand-off for a few moments, until the creature made tentative steps forward, towards his apartment. Daniel instinctively blocked its advance with his leg.

“Do you want to go in?” He asked.

It occurred to him how stupid this was, talking to something that almost certainly couldn’t understand him. But to his surprise, it nodded its head in a very humanlike way.

“You can’t go in.”

The creature seemed to become dejected. Its body sank, as if its legs could no longer hold its weight, and its proboscis pitched forward in a slumped display of sadness. It quietly turned and shuffled into the hallway, and Daniel watched it go. He had no particular reason to humor this creature, and a lot of reasons not to.

He was busy, he had no time for a pet, he had no need for one, and he didn’t want to be the staging point for an alien bug invasion. That last part was probably the most important, besides his immediate and instinctive aversion to the creature. Nonetheless, as Daniel watched the figure walk away, he couldn’t help but admit that it cut a sorry figure, as water dripped from its back onto the floor, marking a trail of tears.

Thinking for a moment, the young man reached out, and... calmly closed the door.

He had work tomorrow after all, and there was a lot to be done. It would be better to catch some sleep while he still could. As for calling the exterminator... He’d have to think about that after work.