Age of Demons

Chapter 19 - Ashlyn

***AN: Hi, everyone! I hope you've been enjoying the story! I've had this go through tons of edits, so I'm hoping that this is one of the last drafts I have to do to it. At this point, the team has found a new safe house—a much larger one, too, one they didn't know existed. There's a lot of change going on here, and so much is going to happen! I'm excited to bring you along on this journey!

Please vote and/or leave a comment letting me know what you think. Thank you!***

Detroit Safe House

The room was yellow with sunlight by the time the knock came at the door. It startled me, and I jolted up in bed. Ley groaned next to me and turned over. I sat still for a couple seconds until the knock came again. Finally, I disentangled myself out of the twisted blankets and gingerly crept toward the door. I grasped the handle and slowly pulled it open to reveal a man standing before the doorway.

"Hello, are you Ley? Ash?" he asked. I was shocked by his voice—there was an unknown man standing there, who knew who we were, in this foreign place, with all that baby blue paint on the wall behind him.

He was tall, much taller than both Ley and me. He had olive skin, curly thick brown hair, and light hazel eyes.

I glanced back at Ley. She sat up in bed, her hair a mess, confusion scrunching her face.

"Uh, yes—I mean, I'm Ash," I answered uncertainly.

"My name is Niko. I'm your tour guide for the day," he said. "You guys can change before we start—I believe there should be some clothes in the dresser. I'll wait out here, and when you're ready, I can take the two of you down to breakfast."

He shut the door carefully. Once it clicked, I spun around to Ley. She was on her feet, stretching with her arms up above her head. She yawned on her way to the dresser.

Her eyes were puffy from last night, rimmed with red. I was certain I was a similar reflection.

In the dresser were a couple pairs of jeans, shirts, underwear, and bras.

Ley changed into skinny jeans with a purple tank top and took the black jacket from the closet. I snatched a pair of black jeans that were a little roomier and threw on a gray t-shirt. Ley took the only black jacket, so I was left with a dark green one. It was warm and slightly long, but comfortable.

Niko was waiting when we exited the room.

"Okay, we'll head to the main building first—that's where all the shops, food, and recreational rooms are," Niko said. His acting skills were decent, seeming to ignore our red puffy eyes and crestfallen faces.

"Shops? Recreational rooms?" Ley asked, her voice scratchy.

I was confused too. How big was this place? And how many people lived there? We never had any shops or places for activities in Deliverance.

We trailed after our guide to a stairway at the end of the hall. Then three flights down. We entered a large room. It was spacious, with tall windows revealing the rising world. There were some people sitting at tables, reading. Bookshelves lined the interior, and they were all packed with books.

We passed in front of a reception-looking area before stepping deeper into the room.

"What is this place?" Ley asked.

"Well," Niko quipped with a cheery attitude, "it used to be an asylum."

"Wait, what?" I nearly stopped in my tracks. An asylum? The blood in my body pumped fast; a sense of dread turned my stomach.