Thursday, January 05, 2006

I Had a Bad Night but Someone Else had a Worse Night

Last night I was in bed; I had just put my book away and was sliding into sleep. Suddenly at around 12:20am I was woken up by this horrible screaming. I sat bolt upright in bed. I heard a woman screaming, two long screams and a short scream that was abruptly cut off. It sounded like screams you would hear in a horror film.

I live on the first floor, in the front apartment. I have a large window that faces the street and my bed is up against the window. I was scared. I pulled back the corner of the curtain, but I didn't see anything. Besides, the screams sounded like they were coming from inside the building next door to me. Should I report this? Can you report random screaming when you have no idea where it is coming from? Should I call 911?

The screams were literally echoing in my head, I couldn't not do anything. I started calling friends I thought might be up at that hour. Timmy, I called you first incase you have a message on your phone and are wondering, "When the hell did Cupcake call?". I called KateBklyn whom I had left at a bar with the other Happy Hour kids about an hour ago. Kate consulted with Candicissima and told me I should report it becuase my call could be used for coroboration and that I should probably call our local police station directly. I called 411 and got the number for the 77th Precinct.

I called the police and reported what I heard and guesses at the time and location where the screams were coming from. I wanted them to understand that this wasn't normal city noise, like kids screaming on the street. "It sounded like a woman being attacked." I had two drinks at the bar earlier and was glad I didn't have that extra martini I was thinking about. If I had been drunk, I know no one would have taken me seriously. As it was, I didn't know if anyone would take my call seriously. I gave my apartment address to the dispatcher.

It was around 12:30am and I was still trembling. Now, the smallest noise made me nervous. I thought the bubles in my humidifier was the sound of someone tapping on my window. I guessed that the police were coming to take a statement from me. I put on some clothes. I left my apartment and saw that my neighbor accross the hall still had his light on. I knocked on the door, but he didn't answer. I went back to my apartment and called his cell phone; he didn't pick up. I started to wonder if I was making the whole thing up. Was I dreaming? But I knew the screams I heard were real and I knew that if I ever made a noise like that I would want someone to do something.

I lay down in my clothes on top of my bed with the lights on and fell into a light sleep again. My buzzer, itself a horrible sound, woke me. I was nearly certain it was the police, but still frightened in the irrational part of my brain. I asked who it was. "Police!" I looked out my peephole and saw the shoulder patch of the NYPD on a blue jacket. I opened the door and saw two cops, a younger one and an older one who did the talking. "Is everything okay here, Ma'am?"

I wondered how much communication the dispatcher and patrol cops had. I described the screaming I heard. They asked where it came from. The street? This building? A neighboring building? Which side? From above me or below me? I did the best I could, but knew I wasn't able to give really detailed accurate information. I felt like I was in an epidsode of Law and Order. Then we went over the timing. "About 12:15," I said.

"An hour ago? " asked the young cop.

"I don't know. What time is it now," I asked.

"Quarter past one."

"Yeah, I guess so." The younger cop looked skeptical, but the older cop assured me that they would check it out. I actually felt better after I spoke with the police, but I still couldn't bring myself to turn out the light.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

You did the right thing Nanc. I called 911 from my cell when I heard someone screaming outside a school on 23rd street. Better to call than not to.

We should hang out soon, yes?

-MuppetLover

Anonymous said...

In the Slope, the sounds of screaming are muffled by baby cries and dogs barking. That's why we don't hear any.

Anonymous said...

Wow I'm sorry for your shitty night cupcake. I can really relate to that fear of every noise and needing the light on. I had a break-in at the first place I lived in DC and although I was supposed to be home alone, Erich happened to be staying that night and SAW the guy running down the stairs through the house and out the back door. After that, I had the TV on 24-7, lights galore, a baseball bat, and a can of mace. sorry for the sob story. I just meant that that kind of situation can really shake you up.

On a side note: have you had any square muscial packages arrive in your mailbox in the last couple weeks? I have had ZERO luck with the post office recently so I don't trust that anything I send ever gets where it's going.

Anonymous said...

tn-
you just set the stage for the first portrayal of a non-guido grunting italian american on law and order. with any luck, some tragedy happened that L&O will rip from the headlines and insert a stunning, intelligent redhead italian american woman whose phone call to the 77 led to the rescue of a damsel in harms way just before she was to meet with her maker. ;)
ps...thanks for the shoutout of a returning character (im just catching up from being away)...i think id win the vote for returning character who most people asked, "mondo? who's mondo?"
xox

J said...

The other morning Evonne's cat was crying and it sounded like it was saying "hello." Freaked the bejesus out of me.

Cupcake said...

Beta- no square musical love for me, but now my interest is piqued.

Mondo- are you out of law school yet? I'm tired of never seeing you. The new German of the Month, the one you speculated looked like Emilio Estaveez is here. He doesn't look like Coach Bombay, but he's still pretty cute.

JP- What did I tell you about cats? Clearly the beast was channeling Satan; I for one am not surprised.