Scratch... clang... I drag myself from the realms of sleep.
Crash!
I force my eyes open, compel my ears to hearing.
Clatter... scuffle... scrape...
I sit bolt upright... reality sinks in. Heart pounds. Ears are alert. I stare into the night.
The sounds are coming from behind me.
Mind races... The possibilities... A cat... a rat... or... An intruder - setting up a ladder.
The sounds move up the wall...
The neighbours - they had a break in just a few weeks ago... roof tiles were lifted for access...
Thump-thump-thump. My heart is in my throat - constricting my breathing.
Scrape...
Oh my god!
The noises are above me - in the roof. Every fibre of my being is tensed.
I reach for the pepper spray. The rungu is beside me... but that's all the weaponry I have.
I sit, not breathing... utterly still... listening... waiting...
Should I hit the panic button - summon the security company's armed response?
Maybe it's nothing... Let it be nothing. Please - let it be nothing.
I am frozen. Unable to move.
Twang!
I jump!
Scrape... shuffle...
Thump-thump-thump...
Scitter...
Scitter?
I look up.
Scitter.
Fucking rats!
To understand the full impact of this story you need to appreciate the nature of the society in which I live. It is riddled with violent crime. No, I don't live in an inner city gangland - there it is even worse. I'm talking about lush, neatly neatly manicured suburbia...
A few weeks ago three of my neighbours were burgled - robberies are always armed. The week before the family down the road was robbed at gunpoint and a woman narrowly avoided rape while out for her morning jog. Another man was less fortunate. Surprised by armed gangsters while watching TV, he was shot - fatally - in front of his family.
And this is just the suburbs.
In shantytowns and impoverished communities where crystal meth and alcohol abuse is rife, it's worse - beyond your comprehension - beyond mine. Children go missing every day. Murder, rape and violence are so common, incidents only get reported if the victim is well known. Theft is the new form of retail therapy. Car hijackings are commonplace - day and night. I haven't driven at night for six years. And no, public transport is not an option - not if you can afford a car - and not unless you particularly want a warrant for robbery, rape... death. Vigilantism is increasing, neighbourhood watches, armed security services are the norm. We live behind high walls with automated gates, security gates, burglar bars, alarms systems. We live in a constant state of stress - I don't think we even begin to imagine the cost to our psyches... And no, this is not paranoia.
You have no idea how relieved I was that my intruders were only rats or mice or some other four-legged critter...
(Image duly nicked off the internet, thanks to the creator of this evil rat!)
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