Age of Demons

Chapter 15 - Ashlyn

The sun burned the days away into crisps. Ironic—as if the burning of the safe house lit the sun again. After weeks of debilitating storms.

"Climate change," I recalled my mother telling me. We were in the car, behind a truck belching black smoke. Watching the truck, I believed my mother. I understood the danger when I traced the trail of smoke eclipsing the sun.

That was when weather reports became frantic. Stay inside, we're expecting a week-long storm that could possibly spawn tornadoes. / Remember to stock up on sunscreen this summer—we'll be hitting record highs! / The driest season we've seen in the past fifty years. California will be on a fire watch for the next couple months. And in our state, Michigan is expected to receive more tornadoes in one year than it ever has before!

We lived in a world of aftereffects.

I walked beside Leyla. Jace and Warren were a couple of steps in front, talking in hushed voices. Jace had told me they had scavenged together. He said he could hardly imagine that Warren was on their side. But why would that matter if we all ended up dead the next day?

I was simply the observer. I watched them devise plans and hypotheses. Carter acting strong, chest puffed out, back ram-rod straight as he kept track of Ley, never shifting. Ley was almost a copy of him, her back perfectly straight, her head tilted up, as if prepared for some kind of confrontation. Sometimes it still shocked me how similar the two were: stubborn and resilient, fighters.

I watched the woman that stayed—I found out her name was Malorie. She remained glued to Warren's shadow, her eyes skirting the horizon, or scouring under roots and broken segments of wood from destroyed houses. Finally, Des surveyed everyone. He crept behind us, a shadow to the assembly. I had never met Des before the ceremony. I had seen glimpses of him before. No one could forget the shocking red of his hair. But I had never known who he was. It was surprising, really, how many times I'd seen him in the cafeteria or passed by him in the hallway, never realizing that he was also possessed. And then I had heard Jace yelling at him about letting the demon in. I glanced over my shoulder at Des. His eyes caught mine, and I quickly looked back ahead.

We had been following a river since yesterday. It was narrow, a strip of gurgling water. Warren and Malorie had actually caught a couple fish by spearing them with cracked wood from destroyed houses. Ley and Carter were as shocked as I when Warren came up to us, a smile lighting his scruffy face, a small fish squirming in his grip. Carter made the fire, proud to show off some of his Boy Scout skills from a past life.

We had proceeded past suburbia, nearing Detroit as Warren promised. The houses were dark and empty, a couple falling in on themselves, their banisters broken in half.

The second day was waning, the sun drooping like a wilting flower. I was so glad the storms hadn't come.

The river gushed beside us, and on our right, identical houses like a wall. We followed along a bike path, potholes cracking its surface. I stepped over a fallen bike, its front wheel missing.

Carter whistled deep and long. Only a couple feet away, a car wrapped around a tree. While the front of the car was completely demolished, the tree prevailed, as tall as ever.

"Possessed while driving?" Carter asked.

Leyla shook her head. "I'd rather not think about it."

"Ley, don't worry, I won't let any demons get to you."

Her nostrils flared. "I can look after myself."