Jordan felt something tickling her arm. She tried to push it away so she could go back to sleep. Two things happened in that instant- first, there was a squeak of irritation and second, there was a flash of pain as she became fully awake and remembered where she was.

Christine had had her thrown into the basement. To the rats.

She must’ve passed out. Jordan wanted to scream and cry at the same time. It wasn’t fair. All she wanted was some food. Now she was in the dark, alone, her entire body was some combination of cold, stiff, or painful, and to top it off she was still hungry.

This was the worst night ever.

Jordan curled into a ball trying to shut out everything that had happened tonight. Sniffling in the dark, she was surprised to feel the warmth of the strange lighter bleeding through her jeans.

Carefully, she eased the smooth, steel case out of her pocket and snapped it open. Flame instantly appeared and she blinked in pain. It hurt, but at least she had light now, and with light came opportunity.