Some guy made me fear for my life

[URA]

I was walking down the sidewalk, heading back to my dorm, passing a low-income apartment building. A couple maintenance guys were walking around the building, seemingly headed to the main doorway.

One of them stopped & stared at me.

I just said a friendly "Hello", and kept walking, hoping he'd just keep going into the building.

Instead, face completely blank, he walks towards me. The way he was walking, I initially thought he was drunk, but he wasn't struggling to keep his balance; his legs were just moving in strange ways.

I keep walking, keeping the same pace I was walking with before seeing this guy, avoiding eye contact, still hoping he'd just leave.

While walking towards me, he says, "Hey, [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse], where you goin'?"

I say, "What?", thinking I misheard him, but keep walking.

"Hey, [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse], where you goin'?" Now he's walking close enough to me that I can feel him on my right shoulder. And this is a rather large guy, a few inches taller than me, carrying a case of about a dozen wrenches over his right shoulder.

"To my dorm," I uncertainly replied.

"Why you goin' there?" His face is still completely blank, and I'm walking at a fairly quick pace, and he's still right on my shoulder. This is in broad daylight, right alongside a highway, about 5:30 in the afternoon.

"Because I live there," feeling less safe every second. I've felt a little unsafe around people before, but this was the first time I was actually reaching for my knife--which wasn't in my pocket.

"What are you gonna do when you get there?"

At this point, I'm just trying to give simple answers that don't give too much away; I realized I probably shouldn't have even told him I was going to my dorm, and just referred to it as my house, but this is a college town, right across the street from campus, so that probably didn't give anything away. "I'll drop off my trumpet [I was carrying it at the time], maybe do some homework, and go to supper."

At this point, the other maintenance guy he was with, standing in the doorway of the apartment building, is kind of laughing, saying, "Alright, cut it out, get over here."

At this point, I got a little relieved, because I figured I was just part of some really bad practical joke, but the guy who was following me still had a completely flat face, wrenches over his shoulder, just stared at me for a second before going back to the apartments.

I'm pretty sure he was on some kind of drug; the way he was walking was not natural at all, and his flat face was likely some mood-altering effect. Whatever it was, I was honestly scared that he was going to slam the wrenches over my head at any second, which would basically disable me for awhile, where he could strike a fatal blow. I honestly thought I was 2 hits away from death, at the hands of some druggie that really shouldn't be doing maintenance work.

This was Friday, today is Sunday, and I'm still shaken by it. I don't have anxiety, or I didn't, but I feel really uneasy, and I think I'm having nightmares about it. I just wake up, and have this image of the maintenance guy staring at me, blank face, and wrenches over his shoulder. It doesn't wake me up, or make me scream, but it makes me feel very uneasy. Of course, because this happened on a Friday after my classes were over, I can't talk to any of my psych professors who are trained as counselors about this until I see them again, which will be Tuesday.

Still, being a psych major, I know a certain amount about counseling & overcoming bad associations, so I've made sure to tell people about this, and walk past the apartments a few times, to remind myself that creepy druggies won't be there every time, and that's helped.

I don't know why my reflex was to fight; I'm built like a runner, and my years of playing tennis have made me a pretty good sprinter, especially considering the amount of adrenaline in my system.

Trying to work through this is hard; the time I've taken to type this has brought back adrenaline, and I kind of want to barf now, and my fingers feel funny as I try to type, but I know I need a huge amount of God right now, so I want to tell this story & ask for prayers.

All of this happened after I spent some prayer time on a bench behind my church, right across the street from these apartments. It's my usual prayer spot, and I go there at least once a day. But this time, I felt like it was time to go after only about a minute sitting there; I normally try to spend a significant amount of time there. But I sincerely believed God wanted me to go, so I walked away from there, about to take my usual route back to my dorm, but I felt very strongly that I should go alongside the apartment building. So, after brief contemplation, I took that route instead, which led me into this scary situation. But the whole time I was being followed, feeling very uneasy, there was some underlying sense of peace; something in me knew that nothing bad would happen. After the guy left, I was reminded of the psalm that goes something like, "I will walk through dangerous valleys & won't fear."

Today, I felt that I needed to go to the bench behind church again, but I was very scared to go there. I didn't want to go back to what led into being followed by this guy. On the way, I realized another dimension to what had happened; Satan can't get me to stay away from church by laziness or doubt anymore, so the enemy was trying to use fear to keep me back. After I prayed from the bench for awhile, I could see my reflection in the windows that aren't stained-glass; on one hand, I felt scared, saying "I don't want to go past there anymore! God, keep me away from there!", but on the other hand, a strong look, and "I trust You." I realized in that moment, looking at myself side with the side of strength & trust, that I've really been strengthened by this experience.

I need to go do something else now; this has taken awhile to write, and I want to think about something different.

Thank you for reading my long post.

Please pray for me, and more for the guy.

 

[Monk Brendan]

I was walking down the sidewalk, heading back to my dorm, passing a low-income apartment building. A couple maintenance guys were walking around the building, seemingly headed to the main doorway.

One of them stopped & stared at me.

I just said a friendly "Hello", and kept walking, hoping he'd just keep going into the building.

Instead, face completely blank, he walks towards me. The way he was walking, I initially thought he was drunk, but he wasn't struggling to keep his balance; his legs were just moving in strange ways.

I keep walking, keeping the same pace I was walking with before seeing this guy, avoiding eye contact, still hoping he'd just leave.

While walking towards me, he says, "Hey, [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse], where you goin'?"

I say, "What?", thinking I misheard him, but keep walking.

"Hey, [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse], where you goin'?" Now he's walking close enough to me that I can feel him on my right shoulder. And this is a rather large guy, a few inches taller than me, carrying a case of about a dozen wrenches over his right shoulder.

"To my dorm," I uncertainly replied.

"Why you goin' there?" His face is still completely blank, and I'm walking at a fairly quick pace, and he's still right on my shoulder. This is in broad daylight, right alongside a highway, about 5:30 in the afternoon.

"Because I live there," feeling less safe every second. I've felt a little unsafe around people before, but this was the first time I was actually reaching for my knife--which wasn't in my pocket.

"What are you gonna do when you get there?"

At this point, I'm just trying to give simple answers that don't give too much away; I realized I probably shouldn't have even told him I was going to my dorm, and just referred to it as my house, but this is a college town, right across the street from campus, so that probably didn't give anything away. "I'll drop off my trumpet [I was carrying it at the time], maybe do some homework, and go to supper."

At this point, the other maintenance guy he was with, standing in the doorway of the apartment building, is kind of laughing, saying, "Alright, cut it out, get over here."

At this point, I got a little relieved, because I figured I was just part of some really bad practical joke, but the guy who was following me still had a completely flat face, wrenches over his shoulder, just stared at me for a second before going back to the apartments.

I'm pretty sure he was on some kind of drug; the way he was walking was not natural at all, and his flat face was likely some mood-altering effect. Whatever it was, I was honestly scared that he was going to slam the wrenches over my head at any second, which would basically disable me for awhile, where he could strike a fatal blow. I honestly thought I was 2 hits away from death, at the hands of some druggie that really shouldn't be doing maintenance work.

This was Friday, today is Sunday, and I'm still shaken by it. I don't have anxiety, or I didn't, but I feel really uneasy, and I think I'm having nightmares about it. I just wake up, and have this image of the maintenance guy staring at me, blank face, and wrenches over his shoulder. It doesn't wake me up, or make me scream, but it makes me feel very uneasy. Of course, because this happened on a Friday after my classes were over, I can't talk to any of my psych professors who are trained as counselors about this until I see them again, which will be Tuesday.

Still, being a psych major, I know a certain amount about counseling & overcoming bad associations, so I've made sure to tell people about this, and walk past the apartments a few times, to remind myself that creepy druggies won't be there every time, and that's helped.

I don't know why my reflex was to fight; I'm built like a runner, and my years of playing tennis have made me a pretty good sprinter, especially considering the amount of adrenaline in my system.

Trying to work through this is hard; the time I've taken to type this has brought back adrenaline, and I kind of want to barf now, and my fingers feel funny as I try to type, but I know I need a huge amount of God right now, so I want to tell this story & ask for prayers.

All of this happened after I spent some prayer time on a bench behind my church, right across the street from these apartments. It's my usual prayer spot, and I go there at least once a day. But this time, I felt like it was time to go after only about a minute sitting there; I normally try to spend a significant amount of time there. But I sincerely believed God wanted me to go, so I walked away from there, about to take my usual route back to my dorm, but I felt very strongly that I should go alongside the apartment building. So, after brief contemplation, I took that route instead, which led me into this scary situation. But the whole time I was being followed, feeling very uneasy, there was some underlying sense of peace; something in me knew that nothing bad would happen. After the guy left, I was reminded of the psalm that goes something like, "I will walk through dangerous valleys & won't fear."

Today, I felt that I needed to go to the bench behind church again, but I was very scared to go there. I didn't want to go back to what led into being followed by this guy. On the way, I realized another dimension to what had happened; Satan can't get me to stay away from church by laziness or doubt anymore, so the enemy was trying to use fear to keep me back. After I prayed from the bench for awhile, I could see my reflection in the windows that aren't stained-glass; on one hand, I felt scared, saying "I don't want to go past there anymore! God, keep me away from there!", but on the other hand, a strong look, and "I trust You." I realized in that moment, looking at myself side with the side of strength & trust, that I've really been strengthened by this experience.

I need to go do something else now; this has taken awhile to write, and I want to think about something different.

Thank you for reading my long post.

Please pray for me, and more for the guy.

Dear soul, you've been badly frightened.

Your reaction is normal for your experience, but should pass, and you'll be your old self again.

If not, try your college's counselling service.

 

[royal priest]

You might want to report him to the police or to campus security in case he has a history of harassing people.

 

[Southernscotty]

This is why I carry a 9mm inside of a waistband holster, God forbid I ever have to use it, But I do have it, Just in case.
There are people who are intent on evil in the world. Sad but true.

 

[ImAllLikeOkWaitWat]

Given what you said about feeling God led you to the location in which this happened I think the only conclusion that can be made is you went through this to build strength. You feel pain and fear, but that pain will lead you to greater strength so the next time you are in this situation you don't feel afraid. It's very possible to have this situation come up again and not have it effect you like it has. And I think since it did effect you this way theres more personal growth for you to make in this area. So i'd look at it as a learning experience.

 

[A_Thinker]

I need to go do something else now; this has taken awhile to write, and I want to think about something different.

Yup ... you had an encounter with evil.

Seems like its happening more often these days.

Take care of yourself ... I don't think that God requires that we repeat dangerous encounters.

Your anxiety will fade as time goes by.

I'll be praying for you ...

 

[Hazelelponi]

I will keep you in my prayers.. just remember God is always with you, and that nothing can add or take away from the days of your life - they are in God's hand.

Therefore, have no fear but trust in the Lord who created you.

 

[Mountainmanbob]

This is why I carry a 9mm inside of a waistband holster, God forbid I ever have to use it, But I do have it, Just in case.
There are people who are intent on evil in the world. Sad but true.

I would share that with no one nowhere not even here.
M-Bob

 

[Southernscotty]

I would share that with no one nowhere not even here.
M-Bob

Ok I will keep it quite .

 

[Southernscotty]

I would share that with no one nowhere not even here.
M-Bob

To be honest I am a proud 2nd amendment keeper and around here, If you don't have one something is very wrong. Everyone has one or two or twenty as it is a way of life in these woods

 

[jacks]

It's always unsettling when someone gets in your face like that. Don't feel bad that it is upsetting you, as someone else mentioned that feeling will pass. Also don't read too much into it, it probably was just a bad stunt/joke on their part. It sounds like you did just the right thing, there is no great movie type response to that sort of encounter. Praying for you.

 

[Solomon Smith]

I would report it to campus security.

 

[Serving Zion]

He's a bully. Yeah report him to police and you will feel better about it. Also keep in mind that God loves justice too, so there'll be that stroke against his conscience when his memory serves to remind him - and you never know how serious that could be for him when it pays. It's interesting to observe your response!

 

[maintenance man]

At this point, I got a little relieved, because I figured I was just part of some really bad practical joke, but the guy who was following me still had a completely flat face, wrenches over his shoulder, just stared at me for a second before going back to the apartments.

It sounds like you're probably right, this was just a guy trying to get a reaction out of you. Since nothing really happened he likely won't ever do it again.

People who act strange are hard to read especially if they're on drugs. It can be scary.

I'm praying you never see him again.

 

[URA]

Thank you all for your support. I've had to force myself to think about other things, because I kept coming back to that, but talking with friends about other topics helped get my mind off of things. I feel much better now, but still a little uneasy, which I suppose is to be expected. I'll have classes to worry about tomorrow, but also long quiet times when I'm doing my on-campus janitor job, so I should have a better idea about how I'm feeling tomorrow.

Someone sent me a PM saying that he was just trying to scare me, and others here have said similar things; considering drugs were likely involved, his motives are pretty well unknown, even to him. I can talk to some Criminal Justice professors about it tomorrow; reporting would be difficult, considering I can't give more than a general description of the man, and he may have been from a maintenance company a county away, but I'll talk to the people who know what they're doing & go from there.

Thank you all for your help.

 

[Phil 1:21]

To be honest I am a proud 2nd amendment keeper and around here, If you don't have one something is very wrong. Everyone has one or two or twenty as it is a way of life in these woods

Seeing as he's a college student living in a dorm, I'm guessing that's not an option (although perhaps pepper spray would be acceptable).

That being said, I'm also a CCL holder. But I am anything but "tacti-cool." I don't wear anything gun related (no Glock hats, Ruger shirts etc.). There are no gun stickers on my vehicle -- not even an NRA one -- and by appearances I'm probably the last guy most would ever expect to have a single stack 45 behind his right hip. I don't see any issues with discussing concealed carry here or anywhere else, but I don't advertise it when I walk out the door, if that makes any sense.

 

[Southernscotty]

Seeing as he's a college student living in a dorm, I'm guessing that's not an option (although perhaps pepper spray would be acceptable).

That being said, I'm also a CCL holder. But I am anything but "tacti-cool." I don't wear anything gun related (no Glock hats, Ruger shirts etc.). There are no gun stickers on my vehicle -- not even an NRA one -- and by appearances I'm probably the last guy most would ever expect to have a single stack 45 behind his right hip. I don't see any issues with discussing concealed carry here or anywhere else, but I don't advertise it when I walk out the door, if that makes any sense.

Oh yes, and neither do I, However around here everyone has one on them somewhere. It is expected lol
Our grocery stores have people walking around with 1911 45's hanging off their hips but I conceal mine and keep quiet until it is needed.
BUT with that said I do strongly support our 2nd amendment rights and will happily show my support here or anywhere else.
I see the OP's problem and this is sad because everyone should have the right to decide on whether to carry or not. It is a citizen's right, Not the government's

 

[Phil 1:21]

Oh yes, and neither do I, However around here everyone has one on them somewhere. It is expected lol
Our grocery stores have people walking around with 1911 45's hanging off their hips but I conceal mine and keep quiet until it is needed.
BUT with that said I do strongly support our 2nd amendment rights and will happily show my support here or anywhere else.
I see the OP's problem and this is sad because everyone should have the right to decide on whether to carry or not. It is a citizen's right, Not the government's

I remember the first time I traveled to an area that had open carry. People walking around with sidearms and no one seemed to bat an eye. Where I live, if I walked into a store with a Kimber in plain view they'd probably call in the SWAT team.

 

[Southernscotty]

I remember the first time I traveled to an area that had open carry. People walking around with sidearms and no one seemed to bat an eye. Where I live, if I walked into a store with a Kimber in plain view they'd probably call in the SWAT team.

I posted somewhere on here before about the bank giving me back my 22 bullets.
I had taken a jar of change down there and dropped it off and told them to put whatever was in there in my account. They did and then when I was down there again, They gave me back about 10 or so 22 bullets that had been in the change jar from my pants pockets lol

 

[Southernscotty]

I remember the first time I traveled to an area that had open carry. People walking around with sidearms and no one seemed to bat an eye. Where I live, if I walked into a store with a Kimber in plain view they'd probably call in the SWAT team.

Although if you had a Kimber in plain view then you would be stopped and everybody would want to hold it and love on it. They are nice