Joseph Keyes - Journal Entry #026

A heavy thud, raising my heart’s BMP count another ten. A double cylinder deadbolt, two slide bolt locks and a pin tumbler in the door handle. Wouldn’t last long. I was afraid the hinges might give way first. A 1800ml Pyrex borosilicate-glass coffee pot filled most of the way with two parts various drain cleaners, one part Chlorox bleach, brought to boiling point over a small portable stove on the floor of the bathroom. In my other hand, a long kitchen knife. Not entirely practical. Deluxe bedroom down the short hallway behind me, two king-size low profile beds with white linen on a royal blue carpet, hickory veneered furniture. Big bay windows, six stories up. La Vista Dorada - four stars, valet parking. Crack - the deadbolt fractures and gives in. The lock in the handle too, by the looks of it. One more impact and it’s over. Break the redline, turn off the gravity, come full circle. I draw back the coffee pot, shift my weight to my back foot. My head buzzes, anxious bouts of nervous, snippets of songs come and go, women smiling, the broken fridge in my apartment, god it must be horrible in there now, flickers of-
   Smash. The slide bolts don’t break, their housing rips clean out of the adjacent wall. Here’s the first spook, caught off balance, carrying too much momentum because the door offered less resistance than he expected, lucky I used cheap screws with shallow threads and are you surprised to see me, fucker?