A rustling in the attic area rendered me fearful of that moment when whatever it was found the largest hole – the manhole – with the goal of escape (or torment). Scratch, scratch, scratch…a rat? Certainly not a gecho, too big sounding for a mouse, a dog maybe, a lion? The sounds coming from that upper room were frantic-like, not stealth-like so I ruled out the lion. While sleep evaded me when the scratching and clawing went on, I sat bolt upright when I heard whatever it was finally drop through that manhole.
The sound wasn’t actually a scurry as with a mouse or a rat as much as it was a fast, clawed tromp and swoop. Wait, this did not sound like a rat…it sounded more like a big dog failing to gain purchase on the tile floor. Sleep never came as I pressed myself deep into my mattress trying to avoid being a large target for whatever would eat me that night and hoping it would not crawl all over me while I laid there. Gabriel came in the morning and put the screens back on the window vents and covered up the manhole, mostly.
Horrified of sleep the following night, I was justified when the scratching sounds enabled the creature(s) to maneuver through the layers of manhole cover AND to claw its way under my closed bedroom door in an attempt to reach the now covered window vent. I actually saw the thing fly at me this time. A bat. Yep, he flew from under my doorway, ran into my mosquito net, and bounced off the vent screen, and back into my mosquito net.
Scream I did. Great, now he was trapped inside my bedroom. G-A-B-R-I-E-L!!! Luckily, Gabriel has the keys to my house. He had to come rescue me and get me out of this place. No power, no lights = I’m staying under the net. Of course by the time he came and made all kinds of noise the creature was nowhere to be found. No matter, I’m not staying here. Thanks to Andy and Lauren for use of their sofa in the middle of the night where I heard every tiny little creeping noise possible.
The next morning, after fearfully returning home, one nasty looking creature was found hovered over the drain to the sink. No breakfast for me along with no sleep for two nights. Lethal powders and liquids of various kinds were distributed throughout the attic area in an attempt to rid the house of any remaining bat friends. Luckily the house didn’t blow up when we turned the main breaker back on. A half sleep came the next night, still fearing something would get in, but all was relatively quiet.