Benny was tired. Maybe it had been all of the long office hours he'd been keeping that were finally catching up to him. To be quite frank, it was probably the extra stress he'd been carrying around, trying to finish things up in time for the new year. And with the endless phone calls from Joanne's company, from the tenants complaining about a lack of heat, lack of electricity, each with their own excuses of why they couldn't pay rent on time, or at all.

Throwing people out of apartments was a tiring job.

He could hear his employees cleaning up outside of his office, the door left open a tiny crack as he began closing up his own shop. He was distracted, however, by another knock at the door. What was with people today? No one ever came to visit. Before he could answer the knock, the door creaked open and a beautiful woman stepped in, a smile on her face. One by one, she tugged her gloves off each finger and moved a hand back through her big, thick chocolate curls and he couldn't help but be reminded of a certain ex-roommate of his. Realizing he was gaping, he shut his mouth quickly and cleared his throat.

"Yes?"

"Mr. Coffin? I'm Helen Anders, from Friends in Deed," she explained, smoothing out her blouse before handing a pamphlet over to him. "I just wanted to drop by and ask humbly for a contribution as it is the holidays and the time for giving."

Benny's face remained void of any emotion as he took the flyer, unimpressed and truth be told, he didn't really care what she had to say. "What is this?"

"Friends in Deed is a support group for those living with HIV and AIDS. We were hoping you might lend a hand to those in need at this time, as it gets colder and less and less people have the finances to pay for antibiotics and other medication." Her kind smile never faltered as her soft voice explained everything to the crabby man behind the desk and when he didn't speak, she assumed he was thinking over the amount he would give. "So what shall I put you down for?"

"Nothing," he muttered, tossing it back at her, brown eyes fixed on the desk in front of him.

"You… wish to remain anonymous?" she questioned, holding her folder of information in her arms.

"I wish to be left alone!" he quipped, temper slipping out and coloring his words.

"But sir," Helen protested, pretty face twisting into a frown. "We rely on donations from good people such as yourselves who are more fortunate than others. Without medication and support, these people will die."

"Well, if they're going to die," he started, gritting his teeth as he stared back at her. "They better do it and decrease the surplus population."

"Oh, dear," she mumbled softly, eyes falling towards the floor. "I see we're not going to agree. I apologize for wasting your time, sir. Happy Christmas and God Bless."

"Bah, humbug!" he called after her, watching her hurry out of the office. What the hell was with people today? He couldn't stand it - there was no way he'd get any more work done tonight so he stood and started throwing everything into his briefcase, hoping he'd be able to work from home tomorrow. There was a lot of accounting to go over, and he wanted to start out fresh in January. He heard the last of the workers shuffle out and when he deemed it safe, he slipped from his office, bundled up in a trench coat, leather gloves and an expensive designer scarf, headed home.

Home of course was a large apartment uptown quite a ways, filled with every luxury life could offer. The minute the latest gadget came out, it was on it's way to his doorstep. Large glass windows lined the walls, and the place was much too big for just one person. But it was what he wanted. Upon approaching the door, he fumbled around for his keys, forgetting which pocket they were in, the sun setting gently behind the complex. "Damn keys," he grumbled softly, finally locating them and moving towards the door.

"Benjamin…"

His head snapped up, glancing back over his shoulder. "Who's there?" he called out, jamming the keys into the door with a trembling hand. "What do you want?"

When no one answered, he sighed and shook his head. He'd definitely been working himself too hard. His eyes moved back toward the door as he tried to shake the feeling of paranoia, but to his surprise, a familiar face was staring back, replacing the doorknob.

"BENJAMIN!"

A loud yelp fell from Benny's lips as he stumbled backward, tripping on the cement stoop and falling onto his rear, whole body trembling as he squeezed his eyes shut.

"Hey, buddy. You alright?"

He jumped upon feeling a hand against his shoulder and quickly skittered away. "Don't touch me!" he shouted, scowling at the scraggly man in front of him, cowering on the stoop of his apartment.

"Alright, jeez, mister," the man grumbled, shuffling on down the road.

Swallowing hard, Benny clutched at his chest and tried to calm himself. It was stress, stress was making him hallucinate. Cautiously, he dared a glance over his shoulder to find the doorknob was… just a doorknob. Oh, what an ass he'd made of himself. Chuckling softly, he stood up and brushed himself off before hurrying inside, ready for a long hot shower.

Later that evening, he found himself settled in his big velvet armchair, a bottle of beer in one hand and the football game blasting out of the speakers of his huge television set. Giants vs. Patriots, a rerun from Sunday's game, and the Giants were getting their ass handed to them. Not worth watching… so it hadn't taken long for the young man to doze off, barely even nine o clock. The slumber, as needed as it was, wasn't a peaceful one. Dark, daunting dreams haunted his sleep and at the toll of the grandfather clock in the corner, Benny woke with a start, gasping for breath, face dripping with sweat.

"Fucking Christ," he muttered softly, leaning back and covering his face with his hand. "I need a sedative."

A cool breeze rushed over his face upon his completion of the sentence and he frowned, opening his eyes again. Had he left a window open? Standing slowly, stretching his back, he clicked off the tv and peered around. Everything seemed to be closed. "Yeah, it's definitely time for bed," he muttered, shaking his head. Reaching over, he stuck his hand up under the lamp shade and felt around for the knob. However, what he felt wasn't a knob at all - it was cold and slimy, and he quickly pulled his hand back, knocking the entire stand over, light bulb smashing on the ground.

An eerie chuckle rumbled in the darkness, making the young man's heart race as he whipped his head from side to side. "Stop it!" he demanded, clutching the remote to his chest. "Get out of my house!"

The chuckle echoed again, followed by the sound of a match being struck and as he peered into the darkness, spotting the small circle of light, the same haunting face from before appeared, grinning a toothy grin. He stumbled backwards, only to land in his armchair once again, jaw moving soundlessly. The figure continued to smile as it moved yet closer, now a mere three feet from the businessman.

"Hello, Benjamin."