The Secret Manuscript (Complete)

Chapter Five

Ben left the grocery store with a few snacks and a large drink. 

He contemplated calling the woman he met on the bus for a place to sleep and a warm meal, but did not even have the money to use a pay phone. His plan was to keep moving for as long as possible to stay warm. When he became tired, he figured he would find a park bench to sleep on, or curl up on somebody's patio furniture.  

The town was so small that it only took a couple hours to walk from one end to the other. It was now eleven o'clock at night and Ben had been walking for hours. He was exhausted and desperately needed a place to rest. He decided to head to a park in his old neighbourhood. It would provide him privacy and also the peace of mind of being in a familiar setting. 

On the way to the park, Ben walked by the remnants of his old apartment building. He looked across at the destruction. The fire had ripped through the upper levels, leaving the building in shambles. He spotted the exterior of his suite, which was one of the units that was hit the worst. The windows were blown out and the walls were black with soot. However, from his vantage point he could not properly assess the extent of the damage. 

Standing under the soft glow of a streetlight, Ben tried to ignore a persistent thought that kept creeping into his mind. It was as if there was a devil on his shoulder, whispering in his ear. It was telling him to sneak into his apartment and see for himself what was left. With a little luck, there would be something he could salvage. At the very least, there may be something to eat in the refrigerator. Perhaps it was a lack of sleep or nutrients, but the suggestion resonated with him. In the absence of any competing thoughts, the voice permeated his conscience and convinced him to take action. 

Ben did a couple passes of the premises to scope out the scene. The building was entirely fenced off with a seven-foot-high steel fence - the kind used around construction sites. Getting past that would not pose too much of a problem. The main issue would be avoiding detection by the onsite security guard. As far as Ben could tell, there was only one guard watching the entire property - an middle-aged man who had fallen asleep in his car. Ben's eyes were getting heavy as well, so he decided to act quickly.

Emerging from the bushes, Ben darted across the street and stopped at a small gap in the fence. As a customary precaution, he looked around even though he knew the likelihood of someone watching him would be low. He wasted no time prying the fence open just enough for his slender body to squeeze through. The clouds overhead blocked the moonlight, providing the perfect veil of cover. However, without a light source, navigating the rubble would not only be difficult, but also dangerous. The only light was from the street lamp, which was not much, but it would have to do. While staying low, Ben quietly ran toward the west side of his old apartment building. The whole time, he kept a watchful eye on the security guard.  

Getting into the apartment was easy since most of the windows were either opened or unlocked. Ben chose the nearest apartment on the ground floor and crawled through the window. Once inside, he no longer feared detection, so he took his time. Many of the apartments on the first floor were relatively unscathed. Aside from the smell of ash and damp wood, the apartment was much like it was before the fire, only it looked like a disaster zone. Most of the tenants probably thought they were about to lose everything they owned and tore through their apartments searching for items they could not live without. Fortunately for Ben, a flashlight was not one of those items. That was one of the first things he discovered when he opened a drawer in the kitchen. He grabbed the flashlight and turned it on, but kept the beam pointed toward the floor to avoid creating shadows that could be seen from the outside.  

With a ferociously growling belly, Ben could not help but take a quick peek into the fridge and see if there was anything to snack on. His plan was not to rob the place, but he was willing to take some food in order to survive. He found a stack of cold cuts and cheese, and wasted no time scarfing them down. He justified the theft, considering the electricity to the building had been cut and without proper refrigeration the items would soon perish anyway. 

After satisfying his hunger, he exited the apartment and entered the hallway. The door to the unit across the hall was tempting him. He stared at it a moment, contemplating whether or not to go in. He told himself if it was locked, he would carry on with his original plan, which was to go upstairs to his apartment, but if it was open, he would go inside and see what he could find. He casually tried to open the door and to his surprise it was unlocked. 

For a moment, Ben hesitated on what he was about to do. So far the stuff he had taken was nothing of value; nothing people would even notice was missing. He could go upstairs, get what he came for, and leave without causing any more harm. But he was desperate, tired, and not thinking clearly.  

With no one around to keep him honest, Ben wilted under the incredible temptation to go into the second apartment. The door swung open and Ben aimed his flashlight inside. The circular glow hit a faux flower decoration hanging on the wall in the foyer. Ben stepped inside and closed the door behind him. The apartment layout was much like his own, so it was easy to navigate. He crept through the entrance and down the dark hallway until he reached the bedroom. On the dresser was an expensive-looking men's watch next to a jewellery box. His hands shook nervously as he lifted the watch and fastened it to his wrist. He then opened the lid of the jewellery box and reached in with both hands, grabbing as much as he could. 

He spent the next fifteen minutes in the apartment, checking all the hiding spots he could think of. Figuring people were likely to hide their valuables in their sock drawers, that was the first place he looked. Among the treasures he found were money, jewellery, and credit cards. He took the money and the gold, but left everything else. Next, he entered the closet and found some clothing he wanted, and took those as well. He quickly moved throughout the apartment, gathering everything in a pile by the front door. When he looked in the resident's storage space, he found several pieces of luggage in varying sizes. He then came up with the bright idea to fill up a suitcase with all his newly acquire loot. 

By now, greed had completely clouded Ben's judgement. Just as he had done with the previous apartment, he decided to move onto the neighbour's place and grab as much as he could. He hurried throughout the different rooms, taking various items and placing them by the front door. When he had enough stuff to fill the suitcase, he dragged it across the hall and into the first apartment he had crawled into earlier. He had deviated so far from his plan, he almost forgot why he was there in the first place. 

On his third trip, Ben casually brought another haul into the first apartment and added it with the rest of the stuff by the window. He had not begun the extraction yet, but so far he had a decent-sized stash of goodies, including a down jacket, some designer clothes, a suitcase, and a backpack. He realized that by having nothing left to lose, he actually had a lot to gain. By looting the abandoned properties, starting over would be easier than he thought. He kicked himself for not coming up with the idea sooner.  

It was now well into the early hours of the morning, but Ben was oblivious to the time. The thrill of the heist invigorated him. He was on such a natural high from the adrenaline that he hardly felt tired at all. After looting the entire first floor, Ben stopped for the first time to take a break. He entered the kitchen of one of the apartments and made himself a sandwich. In between bites, he checked the time on his new watch and was shocked to see it was nearly 5:00 a.m. That meant the sun would be up soon. He quickly ate the rest of the sandwich and chugged a glass of warm juice. He figured he had enough stuff and decided to go upstairs.  

Leaving everything behind, Ben entered the hallway with his flashlight in hand and headed toward the stairwell. This time, something was different. Within a few steps, Ben had an uneasy feeling consume him; it was as if he was being watched. Suddenly, a voice yelled out from the other end of the hallway. 

"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" a man shouted, causing Ben to nearly have a heart attack.