You had only been living in the flat for a few months now and had gotten to know quite a few of your neighbours. Everyone was relatively friendly, and you could chat with them in the hallway or outside without feeling the urge to flee. However, there was one neighbour, your immediate neighbour next door, whom you hardly knew or ever saw. His nameplate simply read "Abbot", nothing more.

He was just someone you saw briefly for a few seconds late in the afternoon or early in the morning, if at all.

Recently, you had a conversation with an elderly neighbour from upstairs and found out that he is a doctor at the nearby PTMC. That at least explained his disappearance at certain times of the day, as he was more likely to be working night shifts.

And today was one of those days. You came back from shopping, as you prefer to go shopping early in the morning when there are relatively few people out and prepared some things for dinner later. You were cutting a few things when it suddenly happened. You slipped with a knife that had been sharpened relatively recently and cut your hand. The blood flowed so quickly that you couldn't even realise what had happened at first.

Overwhelmed, you grabbed a kitchen towel and wrapped it around your bleeding hand as best you could. A thousand thoughts raced through your mind; you were alone and didn't know what to do.

With slightly shaky legs, you stumbled into the living room to your phone. With the phone in your other hand, you wanted to dial the emergency number, but then it clicked.

Your neighbour.

It was just before 7 a.m. and you knew he would be home soon. Of course, you felt a little uncomfortable asking him for help, as he was probably tired and everything, but it was the better option than waiting for the ambulance.

With the last of the adrenaline in your body, you went to the door and into the hallway, the cloth wrapped tightly around your hand.

Not long after, you heard the front door unlock and uneven footsteps coming up the stairs.

Then he came into view. He looked relatively relaxed, but probably still tired. When he saw you standing half in your flat and half in the hallway, near his flat door, he frowned slightly.

"Hey, can I help you with something?"