Ashley's Asylum (3)

34 | Ashleys Asylum

Ashley naturally rushed to get dressed; her mind reeled as to who had knocked. She jumped to the obvious conclusion, law enforcement planned to sweep the fair, and this was their heads up to leave. Even as she thought it, Michael and Sam appeared appropriately apprehensive but strangely in no great hurry.

Once suitably clothed in her jeans and a thin jumper, Michael opened the door to reveal a man. Ashley peered out from behind Michael cautiously taking in the bearded stranger. He had dark hair heavily flecked with grey, and deep frown lines surrounded his forehead and eyes. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Michael once he'd exited the trailer to greet him.

Michael beckoned for Ashley to join him, his expression unhelpfully neutral. Once outside she appreciated the true size of the man, whether it was due to the tightness of his t-shirt or the way he held himself, he appeared stockier than Michael and for the moment far more intimidating. He owned a pair of piercing blue eyes, and they beheld her with a gruffness.

He said nothing to her, but his gaze returned to Michael with a spark of severity.

"She wants to see you," he spoke lowly.

Michael nodded and only when the mans back turned did he shoot Sam a wary glance.

"Busted" Sam hissed under his breath as he came to stand behind Ashley, planting doubt in her mind.

They walked in silence. Dew from the grass seeped through her canvas trainers making her toes damp, and the air itself felt wet. A few workers were already up, making dark shapes through the foggy morning as they went about their business. The Fair felt spooky compared to the raucous atmosphere last night and set Ashley's nerves even more on edge.

After meandering through lines of camper vans and RVs, they approached what, at first glance, looked like a cross between a lorry and a double-decker bus. All dark, it towered up, a large ugly vehicle with wide blacked out windows. A suited man stood guard by the entrance; a cookie cut out of a bouncer. 

It became quickly apparent to Ashley the person they were about to meet had a controlling hand in the Fair. Had Sam and Michael done something to upset the rules?

Their escort and the guard shared a brief nod before he stepped forth to pat the three of them down. He removed a corkscrew from Michael's back pocket and a flick knife from one of Sam's cargo short pockets. Ashley received twice the caution and, after two pat downs, was forced to lift her top to reveal whether thee cups of her bra held anything other than breast. Her jaw tightened at the hidden weapons, partly thankful for the searches and concerned over who they were meant for, her or the person they were about to face.

Once satisfied, security led the three of them into the vehicle. As soon as the doors opened, Ashley knew the interior contrasted dramatically with its shell. She climbed the steps after Michael, the wet soles of her shoes squeaking against a highly polished marble floor which reflected skylights in the ceiling.

Her gaze flicked over the interior, surprised to see a sleekly furnished office. A metal, spiralling staircase situated midway down the vehicle presumably led to a second floor but Michael continued past it, and she dutifully followed him.

Reclined comfortably back in a chair, a young woman sat at an antique executive desk. She watched them come to a standstill and made no move to beckon them closer or offer them a seat in one of the few chairs available. 

Ashley could taste the incense burning on the side and felt the overwhelming scent contributed to a clustering pain in her temple.

The woman sat forward after a minute or so of unbroken silence and stroked a coiled lock of white-blonde hair over her shoulder. The action oddly drew Ashley's attention to how small and slender her pale hands were, and she followed those hands to their folded position on the desk where, one of those pretty fingers, nail glazed in plum, tapped, tapped, tapped on the wood.