Kenny Meets The Neighbors

You're gonna die tonight

The message made Kenny's heart sink. He'd been posting stuff online for years, long enough for death threats to become a sad inevitability.

It was typically some angry illiterate incel, making themselves feel better by making someone else feel worse. Kenny told himself it wasn't personal.

His cursor hovered on the Report button. Something was off about this guy...

The username was Nemesis#2371408. The profile was new, of course. No Followers, only one Following: Kenny.

The profile picture was a selfie in a hoodie, face in shadow. But the fingernails holding the phone were painted. Manicured. A woman. That was unusual...

He posted the pic on a writers' Discord. No one recognized her, but he got a bunch of supportive replies, and one observation:

OG Nemesis was a woman ofc, Greek goddess of revenge

Kenny stopped short. Revenge? Why? Why was this woman taking against him?

Suddenly his window exploded. Shards of glass lacerated the drapes and a brick skidded across the floor. Kenny leapt out of his seat, horrified.

A note was wrapped around the brick:

Your neighbors think you're 'a Democrat'

His world inverted. His insides felt like they wanted out.

What is this? Who is doing this?

He heard more smashes elsewhere in the building. He scrambled to his feet. As he stepped into the hall, others were coming out of their apartments too, holding bricks and notes just like his.

Kenny looked at them, terrified.

They looked back at him, furious.

A neighbor down the hall ushered his kids back into their apartment, then picked up a baseball bat.

"Is this you?" he roared at Kenny, holding up a note.

"It's not true!" Kenny cried. "Someone's doing this! I don't know why!"

The man came towards him.

"Why would someone say this if it wasn't true?"

Kenny panicked and pushed his door – but the door pushed back. It slammed shut in his face.

Someone was inside his room, locking and bolting his door.

Whathefuckwhatthefuckwhatthefuck.

Then the man was on him, shoving him against the locked door.

"Do you ever 'vote Democrat'? Do you?"

The man's arm pressed against his throat. He couldn't breathe or reply.

Then a thunder of footfalls came up the stairwell and an entire SWAT team entered, barrels raised.

"POLICE!! We're looking for Kenny!" yelled the lead officer.

The neighbor immediately dropped his bat and stepped off Kenny, who slid down the wall gasping.

"He's here, it's him!" said the neighbor pointing at Kenny.

Kenny was blinded by the SWAT officer's flashlight.

"We've got a few questions for ya, Kenny."

The officer pushed him over, planted his boot on his spine and cuffed him, then a pair of them carried him by his arms to the stairwell.

Kenny wracked his memory. Had he pissed anyone off recently? Posted something risky? Left a negative comment?

They took him out to the parking lot and dropped him face down. Kenny looked around desperately. There was no SWAT van, no police vehicles. He realised their 'body armour' and T-shirts were dollar store knock-offs.

Then two gunshots rang out and the streetlights went out. But the guns were real. Kenny panicked.

In the shadows, he could just make out some people from his neighborhood: a store owner, a barista, a concierge... And a homeless girl he'd seen sleeping in the parking lot for weeks. He'd never thought twice about her.

She was filming him on her phone, holding it in her neatly manicured fingers...

"Kenny, Kenny, Kenny..." she said. "I watch you sit inside all day at your computer, doing who knows what? Don't you think it's time you met your neighbors?"

He saw the shadow of the baseball bat rise up. Then he closed his eyes against the rain of beatings, and the blood pouring from his head wounds. Soon the pain became too much and the only thing Kenny could feel was terror.

Written for Kenny Penn's Frighten Me! Please? Challenge

Many thanks to Kenny for running this challenge 🙏🙏🙏

I hope this story terrified you – as requested!