When the two intruders hovered over him and woke him from his sleep, they weren't prepared for what was about to happen. He was. He had fallen asleep in nervous anticipation of their arrival, of someone's arrival.
He knew that an intruder had been in his apartment that day. He found evidence when he arrived home from work. There was a smashed cookie on a table in his living room. He had called his landlord, and the maintenance men had not been in his apt. He had talked to his neighbor, and she had not seen anything. And, when he transferred pictures from his digital camera to his computer that night, he had found two unidentified pictures. One was of the intruder's foot. The other was a close-up photograph of the intruder's hairy testicles.
Seeing the pictures creeped him out. Knowing that someone had been there was one thing. That in itself was reason enough for alarm. It was unsettling enough to spark his imagination to fury. But, to actually confirm his imagination with a photograph; to know that the intruder had made himself welcome enough to grab his camera and snap a couple of photographs; to know that he was at ease enough to snap a gag photo of his nuts; to know that he was calm enough to eat his cookies and that he had taken the care to put the newly-opened box of cookies in the refrigerator; to know that he had sat in his chair; to know that it was a he; and not just a "he"... it was this mother fucker right here in these photos; to have a real person to vent his fury on was almost too much.
He figured that the intruder might return. He had thought about how and why the intruder might return. There were no signs of forced entry for the intruder's first visit. So, he figured there was a key involved. Most apartment buildings didn't change locks after a resident moved out. And, nothing was to stop a resident from making copy of his or her key during their tenure in the apartment. Thus, he could not rely on the intruder making any loud noises on his own accord.
As for why the intruder would return, it was hard to tell. His apartment was not in a good neighborhood, and he didn't have a lot of pricey possessions. And, his bank account was very modest. But, he is aware that motives are not always clear in crimes. He'd heard stories about young men raping elderly women; and it was difficult for him to imagine a clear motive for something like that, as well as many other crimes, both big and small.
So, he didn't care why, so much. He just thought about who might come. There were no signs of multiple people in the photographs on his camera. But, his apartment was very clearly a man's apartment. And, an intruder would be foolish to come back alone if he were to come while the apartment was manned.
And, so he laid his head down on his pillow that night and thought about what the two intruders might look like; How they might enter his apartment; How they might open a closet and turn on the closet light to illuminate the apartment enough for manuevering; and where they might position themselves when they entered his bedroom. He assumed they would be smart enough to either bring some sort of weaponry, or to at least grab one of the baseball bats he had in the apartment; or that they'd be too close for him to have time to grab one. So, he had stuffed a knife into his pillow case. It was a big knife, designed to cut a open deer's hide and remove its organs. He unbuttoned the sheath and positioned the knife to come out quickly and easily. And, he laid on his back with his right hand tucked into his pillowcase slightly, his fingers resting on the handle of the knife.
And, he thought about what he would do if he were awoken by two strangers. Which one would have a bat? He assumed there was no gun involved. If there was a gun involved, he would have to bide his time and hope an opportunity arose that would allow him to either escape or take over. So, he thought about one of them having a bat, and one of them having nothing at all. And, he thought about who he'd cut first.
It was not pleasant thinking. And, he did not relish it. But, he considered it necessary. And, he thought about it time and time again. He played the whole scenario out in his head, from the silent entry, to the light switch, to the baseball bat, over and over.
And when one of the intruders turned to the other and nodded before waking him, it was as if he had been watching their every movement on a video camera. And, when he opened his eyes to the pair of them in the dim light, he knew exactly what to do next.
