Proceed with caution...


CHAPTER 6
Jade's POV

I honestly wasn't in the mood to go anywhere for my Saturday, or weekend in general, but since I had finished up my homework early and Dad was just moping around the house (like he did practically every day), I didn't really have anything to do or anyone to hang with.

But then Cat called and she sounded really desperate so I agreed. Oh well, at least I could keep an eye on her and ask her some questions form the past few days, since she obviously didn't want to say a whole lot in front of Tori and André.

I arrived at the dump of her apartment (yeah, that's exactly what I thought of it) and was met in the lobby by a well-dressed man with a fluffy, crazed Afro, his feet up on the main desk, showing off the bottoms of his polished black shoes.

"Wat'chu doing here, young lady?" the man asked in a voice that completely changed my opinion on him. And it wasn't for the better.

"Just going up to visit my friend," I replied, slowly inching towards the elevator room in the corner, my eyes never leaving his narrow, shaven face.

"Well then, you gotta sign in, sweetie," he continued, appearing to be chewing on some sort of gum, his lips smacking loudly against each other. I clenched my fists in frustration as he held out a chipped clipboard, pen dangling off the metal top by a thin yellow string. "It's for the safety purposes of our residents, you know?"

Rolling my eyes, I got a lot closer to the man than I really wanted to. I took the board from his filthy hand and scribbled my first name, apartment number, date and time on the next empty line. I wasn't about to put any more personal info.

"See, darlin'? Don't gimme that look. It wasn't as hard as you think was it?" the man slurred, taking the board back and examining it closely.

"Byee," I mumbled, before he said anything else and practically running towards the elevators.

"Yay! You're here, Jadey!" Cat greeted as she opened the door wide and pulled me in. "I thought you weren't going to come anymore."

"Well I had to meet up with that wretched doorman or yours," I replied, throwing my stuff onto the brown couch like I owned the place. "What was it exactly that you wanted to show me, anyway?"

"Come here!" She grabbed my arm again, pulling me into her bedroom. It seemed to be divided down the middle with a row of colorful sock balls. I could easily tell which half was Raz's because of the darker, more masculine colors and the fact that everything seemed to be just thrown around like he didn't give a care or had no sense of style.

Cat's half was neater, with pink covers that matched the ones she used to have, and giant stuffed animal pillows adorning the bed and floor, making it look like we had entered some sort of taxidermy zoo.

"Look what my dad bought me," she said, reaching over and pulling a set of sparkly clothing out of one of the bags by her bed.

"Oh, that's nice," I said, sitting down on the floor, still looking around. "Where's your brother, again?"

"Um, I think he's in the kitchen, making a sandwich," she said, sitting on the bed, now a few feet taller than me. "Did you know that this room is completely soundproof?" she said suddenly.

I shook my head, staring at her weirdly.

"Yeah. My dad said it was done for the privacy of some guests, but I'm not really sure what he meant by—"

"Do you like this place, Cat?" I couldn't stop the question from my lips.

"I guess, but it'll never be the same like the old one," she sniffed, her mood turning gray, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. I uncrossed my legs, standing up and resting next to her, putting my arm around her shoulder.

"It's over, okay Cat? You're alive and safe now, and there are a lot of good people out there looking for you attacker," I told her softly. "Me included."

"You're right," she said, determined and adjusting her posture.

"I always am."

So I sat there on her oddly lumpy bed, Cat disappearing into the closet to try on the clothes and coming back out, modeling like she was in some fashion show. I played along with her just because, and after she finished the last pair of matching clothes; she lay down on the bed right next to me.

"You're such an awesome friend, Jade," she said, looking me straight in the eye.

I smiled back; a genuine, adorable, full-of-meaning one.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Both of our heads snapped up suddenly to the masked figure standing in the doorway of Cat's bedroom.


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Cat grabbed my arm so hard I almost jumped right off of the bed. There was a sinking feeling in my gut as Cat pressed her mouth into my shoulder to muffle her scream.

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.

"It's him, it's him!" Cat whispered frantically.

I stood up, all of my fear forgotten as Cat grabbed onto me desperately, her body shaking and shaking. "Get the heck out of here," I snarled, my loose hands becoming tight fists. My phone was not in the room, dangit, and I knew that these rooms were soundproof.

"Raz!" Cat cried hoarsely as the door shut, but the man only laughed with a raspy, throaty voice.

"Oh, that boy I knocked out? Don't worry, dear, he won't be coming to help you kids anytime soon." He shook his head, bringing his gloved hands and rubbing them gleefully.

"How did you find us?" I asked. "And what do you want from us?"

"Us? Oh no, my dear. It's only her I'm looking for," the person said, with each word taking a bold step towards us. Cat had become a quivering mass behind me, and her hand held mine in a death grip.

"You're not going to touch her," I growled.

"Well said words, Miss. Let's see if you can keep them."

And all of a sudden, he sprang towards me, sending me sprawling backwards and knocking Cat over. I fell onto the carpet, blinking to try and clear the blurs in my vision.

Scrambling to my feet, I saw the man picking Cat up by the throat, his arms in a constricting fashion around her tiny body. She wasn't even fighting back, too terrified at what would happen next.

"NO!" I shouted, running forward. But he stuck a hand out before I could get close enough to do any damage, grabbing my face and throwing me to the floor again before he began dragging Cat towards the exit violently. He had his back turned to me for a brief moment, and that was when I took my opportunity.

I got up and leaped onto him, putting my arms around his neck and trying to choke him. He roared angrily, dropping Cat, and as she crawled away, tears sliding down her face.

"Cat, run!" I screamed as the clothed fingers dug into my face, and despite the fabric, I felt the sharp sting of the stabbing nails.

But she was paralyzed in complete fear, sitting on her butt and staring up at us, her eyes glazed with tears.

I was distracted watching her, and the attacker took advantage, grabbing my shoulders and flipping me over his head. My back collided painfully with the ground, and the blow took the breath out of me. Before I could react, my vision suddenly became engulfed with the bottom of a heavy black combat boot.

CRUNCH.

I howled in pain, grasping my broken nose, blood pouring through my fingers and spattering my face as I rolled to one side. Cat had curled up into a ball, her arms wrapped around her knees as the man went back for her.

With watery eyes, I tried to sit up, my face slowly becoming numb. But just then the man ran by me, Cat in his arms, and he sent me spinning away, the crimson liquid spraying onto the carpet and Cat's bed.

The door closed behind the pair, and I could already hear the noises of extreme roughness. Putting one hand in front of the other, I tortuously inched my way to it. I needed to get to the phone.

The kitchen and family room seemed empty as far as I could see. Raz's motionless body was sprawled by the stove, items of food used to make a sandwich scattered across the counter.

The racket was gone, and that worried me only slightly. I dug my fingers into the carpet and shuffled to the couch, skimming the edge of my black purse, trying to find a good hold to drag it down with. But just then, someone grabbed the back of my hair, hauling me upwards.

"What do you think you're doing?" I looked up into the hollow parts of the man's mask, where his eyes would be.

"Le' Ca' go," I mumbled.

"Not a chance, kiddo." He dropped me, slamming my head hard against the ground, his legs pinning me down. Using one hand to hold me so I couldn't wiggle away, he used the other to fumble around by his beltline. Holy crap, is he going to do what I think he's going to?

But instead of removing the strip of clothing, his hand appeared with a silver knife, jagged at one end. The blade looked almost greasy with some sort of clear liquid, and some of it dripped off the end onto my shirt.

He brought the weapon back behind his head, and my heart started to race. I am going to die, I am going to die. But as he wielded it towards my head, I jerked to the opposite side, and he missed completely. Feeling a new surge of confidence, I struggled underneath him, throwing my palms up against his chance and he backed off.

Rolling onto my stomach, I assessed my surroundings as fast as I could.

But I wasn't fast enough.

There was a loud smacking noise, and I suddenly felt the terrible pain throbbing in the back of my head. I slumped forward, head smashing against the hardwood flooring with a dull thud.

"Nighty night, kid," the man's voice came again.

I could vaguely hear Cat screaming for him to stop, but then the pain shot through my head again, and I could feel the wetness of blood as it seeped through my scalp.

The last thing I remember seeing was the man dragging Cat by the hair back into the bedroom.


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Cat's POV

More tears fell from my eyes as the man roughly brought me back into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him. The image of Jade lying on the floor, blood trickling out of her nose and mouth scared me half to death. She could drown in it if she didn't get up.

When I realized that this man was the same one who had attacked me those weeks ago, I almost had a heart attack. I tried to warn Jade, and I think she got the message, but now she was just a bloody mess in the kitchen, unable to do anything but fight to stay alive.

The door shut with a loud bang, and I moved towards my bedpost, hugging it for support and staring at the man with terrified eyes.

"You should've been dead the first time," the man snarled, twirling the slick knife in between his fingers teasingly. "So now I'll finish what I started."

"Why, why do you want to kill me?" I cried, more tears welling up in my eyes.

"I can't control the desire," the man slurred, coming closer and closer to me with his weapon. "As a matter of fact, I can't control much. Sorry about that."

And then he lashed out with the knife. I felt the burning pain as it cut across my cheek, and I fell forward, grabbing the hurt spot and shutting my eyes. It started to go numb but then I felt another sick pain right in my stomach. I screamed, thrashing with my arms and legs.

My hand found the top of the attacker's head as I tried to get him to stop. I could feel the hair underneath as I started to yank and pull.

There's no mistaking that soft feeling; something I've felt hundreds of times before.

Just in the shock of knowing that he would hurt me sent me reeling backwards, banging my head on the wooden board used to support the beds. Why would you do this? I thought.

The knife was ripped viciously out of my body and I doubled over, gagging and blood dripping from my bottom lip. There was a torrent of tears falling from my eyes in the horrible pain.

I wanted to fight back. I had to fight back.

But I couldn't.

Knowing the person who was doing this just killed me on the inside.

And now he was going to kill me for real.


Thanks for reading!