Part 3
Marlie walked down the dark streets, humming an old song to herself, when she heard something drop sharply to the pavement. She turned around and only saw complete darkness, and continued to walk. Suddenly, a tall figure in a weird uniform stepped in front of her, blocking her path.
"Got the time, miss?" he asked.
"I don't have a watch on me. Sorry," she said, trying to get by. As she walked past him, two other figures stepped in front of her, sneering and laughing at her. Marlie turned around and started to walk the other way, but four more figures stepped in, and started to get extremely close to her.
She suddenly ducked under them and broke out into a run, running through the dark alley, trying to find a way out.
She faced a tall fence, and tried to climb it, but kept slipping along the way. When she tried again, she felt her body being thrown to the ground. She tried to break free, but her hands were pinned down. The lead figure looked into her nervous eyes and said, "You make any movements or speak a word, you'll never see the light of day."
(3 Days later...)
Jim sat down on the ratted couch and stared at the pale off white walls, which were peeling and rotting from the last coat of paint. He didn't know how else to help Marlie cope with the strange aftermath of being attacked. He had never gotten attacked before, but had been close to death almost twice...aside from being in a coma and getting shot in the gut.
But things weren't the same between him and her anymore. Selena seemed to get more arrogant by the day and it bugged him that she was acting this way. It was if she didn't want to deal with him any longer.
"So this is how it feels to be neglected," Jim thought as he dug his nails into the arm of the velvet couch.
"Hi."
Jim looked up and saw Marlie standing nervously in the doorway with dripping wet hair and baggy clothes that were clinging to her skin.
"I...um...found these in the hamper. I don't know if that's OK or not," Marlie said, referring to the sweats that she was wearing.
"It's fine. Not a problem at all," Jim replied, straightening up in his seat and lightly smiling at her. Marlie smiled back and leaned against the door in the living room hallway, letting another moment of silence surround them again.
"Something you want?" He asked.
Marlie shook her head and started to stare down at the wooden floors.
"You look nervous."
Marlie shrugged and replied, "First few days that I've been around people I don't know."
Jim nodded.
"It takes getting used to," Jim said, "I know how that feels."
"How what feels?"
Selena stepped in next to Marlie and held two bulky plastic bags in both of her hands while she stared at him suspiciously.
"I was...just tellin' Marlie how it feels to be confused and nervous in a new environment," Jim stammered. Selena nodded and entered the living room, where she dumped the bags in the center of the floor, spilling out many canned contents and necessities much to Marlie's dismay.
(To be continued...)
