AFTERMATH [until dawn]

Chapter One

ONE YEAR LATER

ASHLEY

"C'mon, Ashley!" Chris yelled up the stairs. "We're going to be late!"

"Okay!" Ashley yelled through the door of the bedroom back at him, grinning a little. She checked through the contents of her backpack once more—phone, emergency phone, wallet, keys... Everything important seemed to be there. Except...

With a sigh, Ashley opened her drawer and picked up a lighter. You can't be too careful, she thought to herself. She put it into her bag, zipped it up, and heaved it over her shoulder.

"Ash!" Chris yelled again, sounding a little impatient.

"Coming! Jeez!" Ashley said, as she raced down the stairs. Chris was standing at the door, holding it open for her like the gentleman he was. He was dressed in a dark grey jacket, with jeans and casual sneakers. Chris smiled when he saw her—a genuine, happy smile that lit up all his features. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she pushed his chest playfully.

"You have no patience, Chris. Like, ZERO." She joked, as she walked out the door towards their car. Once outside, she turned to face the house—their house—as she waited for him to exit as well. The warm yellow lights shining through the windows filled her with warmth and happiness as the man she loved walked out the door, before locking it after him securely.

They had a small house in the middle of a city—nothing particularly expensive or fancy, but it was in the middle of a busy city where they felt safe surrounded by people. The house had two floors, with two separate bathrooms and a bedroom. Neither Ashley nor Chris wanted to sleep on their own after—after last year. It was strange for them to move in together after such a short time of being together, but they had agreed that neither of them wanted to live on their own ever again. It was dark out, but the house was brightly illuminated by lights at every corner—a waste of electricity, but she couldn't help it. The lights helped chase away Ashley's nightmares every night she slept. She's always hated darkness, and last year made her fear it even more.

Chris unlocked the door to their car and opened it for her.

"I know, I know... I just don't want us to be late. It's a reunion, after all." Chris smiled as she got in the car, then walked around to the driver's seat.

Ashley's lips pursed as she contemplated the upcoming reunion. She tried her best to not think about the events of the last two years—she preferred to pretend they never happened. The seven survivors have not talked to each other after the police had completed their interrogations and let them go. Except her and Chris, and maybe other couples or friends... But never all together at once. Meeting everyone at once reminded her of the terrors at the lodge, and she couldn't handle it. Neither could the others, apparently.

Chris helped sometimes, but both of them were equally terrorized by everything they had seen. Chris tried to joke it off most of the time, but when they were alone in their houses in the middle of the night, she could see the pain in his eyes when he sat on the bed, lost in thought. He misses Josh, she thought to herself. He was his best friend, after all... He stays strong for my sake but deep down, he's just as hurt and scared as I am.

Chris reached over and snapped his fingers before her face.

"What're you thinking about, Ash?" He asked her with a sympathetic smile, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking, and that he was thinking the same thing as well.

Ashley shook her head.

"Nothing, really. I'm just... It's been so long since we've seen the others..." She sighed and looked out the window. Ashley had tried her best to not think about all the others. She hadn't asked about them, either. Was Emily still angry at her for the whole Mike-trying-to-shoot-her fiasco? Did Matt and Emily make up? Where was Sam? And Mike? Now that she allowed herself to wonder, she had so many questions.

"Yeah. It's weird. It's been a while, hasn't it?" He laughed humorously and paused, before sighing and suddenly continuing. "I wonder... who are we going tolose this year?"

Silence.

"What?" Ashley turned to look at her boyfriend, who also seemed to just realize what he had said.

"I-I was kidding, Ash." Chris said quickly, looking surprised at himself. "I meant...You know, first Hannah and Beth, and J-Josh, and... It's been another year, and..." His voice trailed off as he looked at her, pleading for her to understand the accidental slip that he evidently didn't mean.

Ashley stayed silent. She didn't blame him—she knew that the night at Blackwood had changed everyone. She became much more paranoid and relied on Chris for almost everything. Chris lost a lot of his playfulness and became more serious when talking to her. I guess it's a side effect of being chased and almost killed by a Wen—a monster, she thought to herself. And losing your best friend.

"Ashley..." Chris implored, reaching over and putting her hands in his. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. I just..." His voice cracked a little. "I don't want to lose you, Ashley. I can't." His eyes were downcast as he mumbled the last couple of words, a little desperately.

Ashley sighed and looked up at the broken, sad blue eyes. He's suffered too much already, She thought. I'm—I hate this, but I'm all he has. She forced herself to smile.

"Don't be ridiculous, Christopher Hartley." She said lightly. "The past is in the past. Last year was last year. The lodge got destroyed, remember? We aren't on Mount Washington anymore. We've got a whole future ahead of us, geez. Everything's going to be fine." Ashley forced herself to grin. "I thought I was the one who was worried about tonight. What happened to that?"

Chris gave her an appraising look, before smiling as well.

"I guess, yeah. Sorry, Ash. I don't know why I said that at all." He shook his head, before he started the car. "Let's go, yeah? It's going to be great, catching up with the others again."

Ashley smiled at him reassuringly, and Chris started the car, humming while entering an address into Google Maps. However, her mind continued to worry. It's just a reunion, she thought. What could possibly go wrong?

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hi, thank you so much for reading! I hope that you've enjoyed the story so far, I promise more exciting parts are coming up :)

Please don't be shy and feel free to comment anything--from suggestions, questions, to opinions, even! I read every single comment (and I usually respond!) and I really appreciate them more than you can imagine. If you want, please vote for a particular chapter that you like too, and I will use that to improve my story in the future.

Thank you so much, again, for reading. It means the world to me, and I hope you'll enjoy Aftermath as much as I enjoy writing it.