Ashley's Asylum (3)

03| Ashleys Asylum

In the back room of a police station a young, exhausted boy sat slouched in a seat. His fingers tapped repetitively on the table in front of him as he waited patiently for someone to come in or let him out.

Hours had passed and he was still here, having the same questions rephrased and asked over and over again. His answers didn't change. He'd told them everything he knew.

He rubbed his face roughly with both hands and changed positions in his seat. So much had gone wrong since she'd been snatched away. He relived the moment in his memories, the moment she was forced into the backseat of a car, the very second he lost sight of her as she was stolen away.

He'd barely slept, none of them had.

Everyone who worked at the Asylum found themselves in the police station that day. They were rounded up like cattle by the police. They were all treated like suspects. The majority had been released by now but the important few remained behind. Himself and his colleagues, Adrian, Timothy and Jaimie were all still here. His girlfriend Ashley was missing and Melissa...

The only door in the room opened. A constable poked her head in. He was being let out. Finally.

Once outside he was escorted down to a cafeteria area which was situated right next to a large collection of offices. The others were there with the exception of Timothy. They looked up when he arrived and they all shared weary smiles. Dark circles surrounded all of their tired eyes.

They sat at a table near the offices and hustled down. The police were convinced one of them knew something, but what was there to know? Two serial killers had escaped from a secure asylum that obviously wasn't secure enough. According to the system they weren't even supposed to be at the Asylum, paper work was both missing and incorrect and things didn't add up all over the place.

Somewhere along the line, someone had messed up. They, being the police, were currently looking for people to blame but they were all to blame. What kind of governmental system allowed for this kind of thing to happen.

"Karl, if they ask me one more time whether I know the whereabouts of Ashley or David I'm going to go insane," Adrian muttered over a cup of tea.

Karl nodded meekly in agreement. That was right, David was missing too. No one had seen or heard from him in the past five days. Karl ran a hand through his hair. Five days of nothing but interviews.

"They're wasting time." He murmured. "All of this is wasting time. Taking finger prints, these interviews, processing shit. They've had five days. A five-day head start, tomorrow it'll be six. Who knows where they could be now!"

Adrian frowned as Jaimie landed a hand on Karl's shoulder. "Look, Karl, they've got to process the crime scene. Melissa..."

"-is dead." Karl snapped. "She's dead. We know who did it, they're now driving around with my girlfriend locked in their trunk. Ashley is still alive as far as we know. We should be out there looking for her!"

They fell into a silence. Karl simmered angrily in his seat. A throat cleared behind them all. They all turned to see a man in his police gear.

"We've got news."

Was it safe? Ashley felt warm, being safe meant being warm didn't it?

She tried to get up but found it was harder than usual. Her left wrist and both legs were asleep. She winced as pins and needles assaulted her limbs. Her eyes opened with difficulty. She tried to pull her wrist into her chest to give it a rub but it stuck fast. Leaning up Ashley looked around in confusion.

She was in a bed, and the quilt was twisted. Her feet poked out of the bottom from where the covers had been pulled up too far. She went to flatten them down so she could see better but one of her wrists wasn't working properly. Glancing up her eyebrows furrowed. Was that rope?