Part 3

Jordan walked down the dark streets, humming a song to herself, when she heard something drop sharply to the pavement. She turned around sharply, but only saw complete darkness (except a broken street lamp), and continued to walk. Suddenly, a tall figure in dark clothing stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

"Got the time?" 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. Jordan 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 ran 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 back first. She tried to break free, but her hands were pinned down.

The first figure looked into her nervous eyes and said, "If you try to move or scream, you'll really regret it."

(3 Days later...)

Clay sat down on the ratted couch and stared up at the ceiling, which were peeling and rotting from the last coat of paint. He didn't know how else to help Jordan cope with the strange aftermath of being attacked. He had never gotten attacked before, but he had lost someone close to him who died too soon: his fiancée, Jocelyn.

"The light of my life," Clay muttered as he rubbed his eyes, "You were taken from me too soon."

They would have been married almost four years ago to the day, but she had been mugged and beaten to death by another group of people who had also left the same cuts on her arms, including some small puncture wounds near her wrists and neck. He and his friend Joey were wondering as to whether Jordan's attackers were the same ones who killed Jocelyn.

"Hi."
Clay looked up and saw Jordan 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," Jordan said, referring to the sweats that she was wearing.
"It's fine. Just make sure you put them back when you're done," he replied, straightening up in his seat and lightly smiling at her. Jordan smiled back and leaned against the door in the living room hallway, letting another moment of silence surround them again while she fumbled with the sleeves of the sweatshirt she borrowed.

"You look nervous," Clay said as he continued to stare at her.
Jordan shrugged and replied, "First few days that I've been around people I don't know. Preferably guys, for that matter."
"You think my friend and I are intimidating?"
"I dunno. Are you?"

He shrugged and replied, "I haven't gotten any complaints. So I guess not."
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Part 4

Jordan sat up from the bed in silence, listening to the thunder from outside. It had been raining off and on for days, and it seemed that the weather was unchangeable. She slowly walked out of the room and entered the hallway, searching for the bathroom.

She then spotted a door that was half open, letting a line of light reflect the wooden floor. Jordan peered through the door and spotted Joey, who was flipping through a huge book and typing avidly on his laptop computer. She had met Joey only once since her stay, and she could tell that he didn't appreciate her presence at his home.

He suddenly looked in her direction and she quickly slid into the bathroom, silently closing the door behind her. Before she could breathe a sigh of relief, she heard something drop from outside, which caused Jordan to drop to the floor and cover her head, letting the flashbacks start up again.

She remembered being thrown to the pavement and seeing the flash of a pocket razor as the group held her down hard, taunting and sneering at her. As she tried to struggle, she saw the whites of their eyes change to a yellow color and tried to scream.

The lights suddenly went out, causing Jordan to look around and tremble in fear once again. She heard footsteps from the hallway and slowly opened the door, poking her head out and looking around in the dark for anyone familiar. She slowly walked out into the hallway and jumped as the thunder erupted from outside and the lightning flashed.

As she walked further, she spotted a dark figure that held a knife in a gloved hand. She quickly ran down the hall and tripped down the stairs, causing her to black out once again.

"Power's out," Joey said, searching for a flashlight.
"Yeah, no kidding," Clay said, opening a drawer and turning on a portable lantern that was supposed to be used for camping. He then turned on a flashlight and handed it to Joey, who almost dropped it without thinking twice.

They suddenly heard a thud and stopped short, wondering what the sound was. Holding up their flashlights, they looked around the room and spotted Jordan at the bottom of the steps.

"Oh no," Clay said, walking over to her side and touching her face, "Jordan?"
"What happened?" Joey asked.
"What do you think happened? She probably fell down the frigging stairs trying to find us," he answered, trying to focus in on Jordan.
"Maybe just you, bro. And why is she wearing my NYU sweatshirt?"

Jordan's eyes slowly opened, causing her to get nervous once again as she tried to stand up.

"Jordan, it's OK. Just take it easy, alright? Relax," Clay said, placing his hands on her shoulders.
"I can't! Someone's in the house!" Jordan yelled.
"What?"
"I'm not kidding! There's someone up there!"

(To be continued...)