Several months ago, I moved into a 9th-floor apartment in a relatively nice urban neighborhood. This was the first place I had ever independently owned, and I spent months of savings on the down payment. Even this, however, was still a steal since the place was selling for far cheaper than anywhere else within a dozen blocks. The apartment wasn't in fantastic shape-the paint was peeling off the walls in some areas and the windows were old, brittle and difficult to push open- but the costs of correcting these items were far less than the amount I saved versus buying any other property. I remember being so excited to move in, and could barely believe my luck in finding what I envisioned as my ideal place for years to come.

I wasn't even upset when the construction noises began next door about a week after I moved in. I figured that my next door neighbor might also be a new tenant, and be fixing up small apartment problems I was procrastinating about. Whenever I would come into my apartment during weekdays, there would be loud drilling noises next door. They were definitely loud enough to be intrusive, but I figured I would just let it slide since I was at work most weekdays anyways. I was surprised by how consistent they were, however, and it seemed that virtually any time I would be at home during the day there would be a power tool blasting next door.

One day I went home in the early afternoon after finishing a big project and was greeted, as expected, by the intermittent sound of a power drill going off. This was very annoying since I had been planning on taking a nap to catch up on sleep. I got into bed and tried to fall asleep, but every time I began to drift off the sounds started coming on so loud that the fillings in my teeth rattled. I began to get frustrated because I'd been counting on this afternoon to recover after several extremely stressful days at work. Eventually I popped an Ambien and collapsed unnaturally into artificial sleep, still hearing the drill blasting the entire time.

I began to have a dream in which I was working construction in an empty apartment that looked very similar to mine. I had a tool belt full of equipment that I seemed to be using competently despite not knowing what it was or how it was used. In my dream, I began to use a power drill that I'm sure was just my brain repurposing the ambient noise from the construction next door. As I began to drill screws into a white wall, the room began to develop a bluish tint. With every screw I put into the wall, the tint became stronger and stronger. By the time I had finished the row I had been working on, the room was completely blue. The air was completely blue, but it was transparent as well. It could most closely be described as being in complete darkness, yet still somehow being able to see.

I was just about to start drilling another row of screws when there was a knock at the front door. I groaned as I straightened up from my work and walked over to open it. As I swung open the door in the thick blueness, I was greeted by the type of grotesque monster only possible in nightmares. Standing in my doorway was a stick-thin figure, with a completely bald head shaped like a trapezoid rounded at the top and bottom. It had razor-sharp teeth and flaming red eyes which burned in the blue dusk like two tear-shaped orbs. I ran from it as quickly as I could but it tackled me before I could make two steps. Thinking quickly, I turned on the power drill and went straight for its face. It shrieked and gagged and blood splattered everywhere. I felt its body go still and the warmth and viscous texture of blood hit my hands, forearms, and face. I pulled away and its body limply fell onto the floor.

Then, suddenly, the blue illumination over everything cleared. I stood covered in blood in a white-walled apartment with blood splattered all over myself and the floor. There was a lifeless, blood-covered, disfigured body on the floor but it did not at all resemble the monster that had just attacked me. I cautiously approached it. It appeared to be human. I continued to inspect it and it seemed to be a woman in her early thirties wearing a pinstriped blazer. With a typical dreamlike lack of concern, I flipped the bloodied body over. I screamed when I saw an absolutely mangled face, with a mess of tons of blood, detached eyes, and holes in several places. The image was seared into my brain as I felt violent pangs of confusion and remorse. Just as I was about to explode into tears, I woke up.

And I was back in my apartment in the late afternoon, now completely silent and calm. I was covered in sweat and I still had my work clothes on. I got a cold soda out of the fridge and watched a comedy show on my computer, recovering from the whirlwind of emotions the nightmare had just given me. After about half an hour, I decided to go for a walk outside to continue to clear my head.

As I was leaving my apartment, I decided to ask the doorman about the construction going on next door.

"Hey man," I addressed him, "do you know how long the construction on the 9th floor is going to be going on for?"

He looked at me confused for a second. Then he looked irritated. "Funny.", he replied.

"What?", I said, confused.

"You know man, since that construction fucker snapped and killed that lady with a power drill on the 9th floor last year."