The story of Ashley is a fictional story of my own random musings. I will be posting at least one chapter a week until it’s done. This is a rough draft, there will probably be a few grammatial errors here and there, but do try and enjoy!

The night was dark, pitch dark. The moon was completely hidden by cloud cover, and not a thing could be seen from outside that pale white house on suburban avenue. Inside that house slept a girl, a normal girl, just a high school student, nothing special. At least that is what all appearances would lead one to believe, for many people had dedicated their lives to that image, her adoptive parents included. Her name was Ashley, Ashley Reagan. She had long blonde hair, and sea blue eyes. She was amazingly beautiful, and tomorrow would be her 19th birthday. She was quite excited, for not only was it her birthday, but she was going away to college tomorrow. Finally able to leave her house, for she had always been kept under close watch before this, and she hadn’t the faintest idea why.

“Alex!” she yelled at her best friend “wake up!” She kicked him as she yelled.

He jumped to his feet strewing blankets everywhere and knocking Ashley over. Laughing she picked herself off the floor, “It’s time, we should start driving if we want to get there early!” She was very excited and had planned this midnight getaway for a long time for she suspected her parents weren’t actually planning on letting her leave.

“It’s 3 a.m.! Are you mad? Go back to sleep,” He said with a yawn and began to get back on the couch to fall back asleep.

“I want to leave without my parents knowing, I mean honestly, do you really think they plan on letting me out of here? They do this all the time, let me think something good is gonna happen, and then at the last second take it away! Let’s go now!” She explained to him with the utmost urgency in her voice.

He looked back at her very annoyedly, knowing that she was right. They did always do that. 30 minutes before she was suppose to meet her prom date, her parents found a reason to ground her. An hour before her graduation, her parents car had broken down and all of their phones had disappeared. It was hard to believe that something mysterious wouldn’t happen today too.

“Fine, if you drive we can leave now, lemme get my stuff in the car.” And with that he stood up and grabbed the two suitcases laying by the couch and meandered towards the door.

“You’re the best!” She cried out as she wrapped her arms around his thin body.

“Yeah, you better think that, let’s hurry up, I’m going back to sleep as soon as we are in the car.” He replied with a yawn.

Ashley hurried after him with her car keys, her stuff had already been put in the car when she had this idea earlier. She helped him to sheepishly put his bags in the trunk of the blue Nissan, and they both hurried to the front of the car and got in. Ashley turned the key and the sound of the car engine split the quiet country night. The headlights came on as the only light source anywhere and she quickly threw the car in reverse and maneuvered the car around, and headed down the long drive way into the night.

Their destination was far away and both of them were quite aware of that, for that is why they had picked it, to get out of their extremely odd families. Neither of them had any idea why their families were so protective of them, but Ashley’s were always much worse.

“She already left Nate.”

“Damn. Really? I didn’t expect they would actually leave at 3 a.m. Don’t even know why I doubt you anymore.” Ashley’s father replied as he walked over to the window to watch the car speed away down the driveway.

“Are we doing the right thing not telling them?” Ashley’s mother asked him as he put his arm around her.

“I have absolutely no idea, but there will be just as many people watching over those two where they are going. I’m sure they are going to find out there place in this world quite soon though.”

“Yeah, but they don’t even suspect anything yet, its going to be quite a shock.”

“True, but I am sure Darian and Tanner will be there to help them understand. And we will too once the time is right.” Nate responded reassuringly to her.

“I guess you’re right, I just will miss always knowing what she is going through and what she is thinking.” Ashley’s mother sighed as she walked back over back to bed.

“My only worry is that they are being watched right now, this is indeed their most vulnerable moment, but we are the only ones who know where they are right now, no one should be able to predict it.” Nate said as he continued to stare out the window at the pair of headlights that was almost completely out of sight now. Out of that window, he could see for miles, that car was now a good 9 miles away, but he could still see it and his daughter and best friend in the front seats.

“Should we follow them?” Caitlin responded.

“No, we are far to easy to track on the open road, it would make them more unsafe then they already are, they are on their own.”

“Should we go see Jerald, I think I’m going to worry to much, especially if you are going to keep worrying.” She said now sitting back up in bed and looking at him longingly with those same beautiful blue eyes she had given her daughter, her long blonde hair draping over her thin shoulders.

“No, let’s go back to sleep, I’ll put my mind to ease and you can feed off of that emotion, it’ll be better than way, besides Jackson is probably fast asleep anyway. We shouldn’t wake him up with nonsense.” He said reassuringly as he climbed back into bed and put an arm around his wife of 23 years. They were both 43, but neither of them looked a day over 25. They knew why, and it had nothing to do with surgery or makeup. Ashley had always hoped she would inherit that trait of theirs, and unbeknownst to her, she most definitely had inherited every ounce of the family tree in that respect.

The two of them drifted back to sleep together letting the worries of their daughter’s safety drift away into the pale dark night.

Meanwhile Ashley was now starting to worry about what her parents would do when they found out she had disappeared in the middle of the night, she was starting to wonder whether or not she should call them, or if she should just let it go. She did really care about her parents even for all of the things they had done to her that she hated and had no way to understand why. That fact most of all completely confused Alex, he always said to her that her parents were crazy, but it was like without them every saying it, she knew the crazy things they did to her were in her best interest. And they most definetly were.

Alex sound asleep in the car was beginning to snore, and Ashley was beginning to grow weary, which was odd for she had a full night of sleep already before this crazed adventure had begun. Ashley couldn’t understand why it always seemed to be that whenever other people around her felt a certain way, whether it be tired, angry, sad, or even happy, that she would begin to feel the same way for no reason, whether she desired it or not. And she always noticed that when this happened, it was like it was magnified within her, she could become euporhicly happy simply because a friend had gotten a new boyfriend, or so mad she wanted to kill someone simply because a friend had been made fun of. She always thought it was just because she was really empathetic, but the part she could not explain, was did she also get tired around sleeping people, or groggy around people who had just woken up. She never shared this with anyone out of teenage insecurity however, she figured no one would understand.

With this all in mind she knew she needed to pull over and rest, or she would surely fall asleep behind the wheel. So she did, she pulled off the first exit she found. Off of the empty interstate she took them, into a small town with pastures all around, she slowly drove until she found a small gas station and parked there, ready to sleep. Once she parked the car however, she suddenly had this uncontrollable urge to get out of the car and start walking into the pitch black night. She hadn’t the faintest idea, but the thought in her head began to pulsate, with her heartbeat until her thoughts were screaming at her to get out of the car and walk into the night.

So she did, it was odd, she had usually been afraid of the dark, with good reason. She was a petite beautiful blonde girl, the pitch black night was not really something she spend much time in, especially when her parents had always stressed how important it was that she never be hurt.

But for some reason, she wasn’t afraid in the slightest and she walked into a forest so dark she couldn’t even see the trees 3 feet from her face. Suddenly she heard a voice in her head.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize how dark it was.” And suddenly the world was illuminated as if it were a summer’s day. Ashley now decided she was dreaming, but figured why not continue on. So she did. It seemed as if she knew exactly where she was going and it was toward a tent in the middle of the forest. Candle’s were lit and there was a black man who looked about 22 sitting in front of the large brown tent.

“Ashley!” The man yelled to her as she approached, and as quickly as the light had appeared, it vanished, and it was pitch dark again, but now the man’s candles were enough light that she was able to mauever over to his tent.

“Hello, do I know you?” She asked very hesitantly, still completely convinced none of this could be real.

“I’m a friend of your father’s, my name is Jackson, and I am the reason you are here. You see I led you hear, because your parents, though great, are far to overprotective.” The man recited calmly as she came close enough to see his face in the now pitch dark night.

He was about 6’1”. He was rather muscular, and had a moon shaped scar on his forhead which stretched onto his bald head. There was a crystal ball looking shape sittingin front of him on a chopped down tree. Behind him sat the brown tent, and the candles were hanging from a tree producing the only light.

“He never mentioned you,” she said as she sat down, she felt completely safe, for she knew none of this could possibly be real.

“I’m sure he hadn’t, but he almost traveled here earlier as he watched your car leave.” He said smiling at her.

“He watched my car leave? That’s impossible, he would have surely stopped me.”

“You are so young Ashley, your parents are far more amazing than you could ever imagine at the moment. And, so are you!”

“How do you know all of this? How do you know that they know I am gone? And how did you lead me here exactly?”

“Many questions for such a young one, but that is in fact why I lead you here. This world is far to dangerous for you to have no idea to its dangers. I am sure that you are so secure right now because you have convinced yourself this is a dream, but I must inform you before I begin, this is most definitely reality. Pinch yourself if you do not believe me, I believe mortals believe thats a good way to get out of dreams.”

She did, she pinched herself as hard as she could, but it simply hurt, nothing changed, she didn’t wake up beside Alex like she expected, she simply remained sitting on a log in the middle of the woods.

“If this is real, than how did the forest illuminate itself earlier? That’s impossible, and how did you lead me here? My thoughts lead me here, I had this screaming inside of my head telling me to start walking through the forest to stumble upon a hermit?”

“That would be the sum of it from your point of view. From mine it simply is that I wanted you to come here, and decided it was best for you, so I lead you here. It was very dark and you were stumbling, so I lit the way for you.”

“Are you god or something then?”

Jackson chuckled, “Far from it, but you are in need of answers, and I am someone who can give them to you. I’ll start with how I lead you here. I’m a psychic with the ability to plan ideas inside someone’s head, the light, that was a trick performed by my companion in these woods, Solis. He’s around somewhere, he has the ability to make people see things, he made you see the forest on a bright summer’s day.”

“What? Now I know I am dreaming there is no way that’s true. Someone who can plant ideas in someone’s head? And someone who can make you see things? Next you are going to tell me I’m superwoman or something.” She said as her doubts of this man started to skyrocket.

“Well actually, something along those lines, but no superwoman would be completely ridiculous you are right. Actually, you are the combination of your parents, two of the greatest of us who have ever lived. You are not only the most powerful empath this world has ever seen, but you are also the most powerful hypersensic this world has ever seen. Before you, your parents held those two titles respectively, but you as their eldest daughter gained their power, plus your own.”

“An empath? A hyperwhat?”

“Have you ever noticed that you hear things no one else does? That you can see things in the distance clearly that most people can’t see at all? Have you ever noticed that you can feed off the emotions of others?”

“Well…actually, I have always noticed that like when my friends are happy or sad, or angry or anything of the sort, I get the feelings too whether I want them or not.”

“Yes! I was hoping I wouldn’t need to convince you to much. You see Ashley, the reason your parents are so protective of you is that you are going to save the world one day, and there are many people who know this, many powerful elders have seen it, myself included. And many of those elders do not wish for you to do so, for it will cause them to lose their thrones.”

“What does seeing things and hearing stuff that other people can’t, and being able to feel the same way as others have to do with saving the world. I don’t think I understand.”

“Your powers are going to grow, soon it won’t just be emotions you tap into, soon you will start tapping into the powers of others, your first will be your friend Alex’s. And with that you will not only grow to realize how dangerous and great you are, but just how your friend is too. Because like you, your friend Alex is very powerful as well. He’s a pyro, a very rare breed that is almost instinct simply because they are so dangerous to be around empaths like yourself.”

“What’s a pyro?” She asked him now abandoning her skepticism for pure curiosity.

“Your friend has the ability to bend the element of fire, and because he is a pure blood pyro, he is actually able to generate it himself, which is rare even among the rare breed. I nicknamed his kind fire starters, and they are very dangerous, very very dangerous indeed.”

“If all of this is true, why did my parents never tell me?”

“They wanted you to live a normal childhood before they introduced you into this crazy world, but I have forseen that today will be your last day of normalcy, whether it be because I did this, or because of what I saw, I do not know, but I simply can not risk any harm coming to our golden child.”

“Your golden child?”

“Yes, your powers will save us all one day, and if they don’t we will all be doomed, so its very important that you are watched over. That is why your parents finally took my advice on letting you go to college, because it is there that you will meet some of the most important people in your growth as a young special girl.”

“I don’t think I really grasp this.”

“You don’t need to my child, all you need to understand is that there are many people who are going to want to harm you, and that is why I want to try to teach you something, something that only I an elder can teach you. I want to teach you how to leach powers, something that only you and your mother can do. It is by far the most valuable power in existence, for it is every power in existence.”

“The way you talk, you talk as if there are others , other ‘powers’”

“There are, thousands, to many to keep track of, and you will meet many, some good, some bad, some terrible beyond imagination, and some more beautiful than you could ever dream. But you will be able to absorb and master each of them individually. And that is why you are so special, because not only can you do that like your mother, but you will have the ability with your father’s power to magnify those powers far beyond that of the original.”

“So if what you are saying is true, I’m a superhero, and so are my parents? That’s kinda cool.”

“Essentially yes, in laments terms, one could put it that way. But our time is short, I need you to listen to me and follow me without question, for we are about to be in umsurmountable danger.”

“Okay,” she said Jackson stood up.

“You will only have one chance to do this, go inside that tent, and when you hear other voices I want you to open your mind to them, let their sound flow through your ears and let it take over you. Let their emotions become your own.”

With a loud crack in the distance a bright light was shown and large shadowy figure started to come towards them.

“GO! Now!” Jackson yelled at her as he brushed open the tent.

Quickly she scuttled in trying to get a glimpse of the dark figure.

She sat down now terrified and tried to listen to what was going outside, she could hear no footsteps, which was odd. She had seen the creature in the flash, it was massive, it had to be 14 feet tall and 5 feet why with massive wings.

“You shouldn’t have come.”

A voice began to speak, it was deep, and almost demonic sounding “Jackson, where is she, I sensed you trying to communicate with her.

“You know I wouldn’t be foolish enough to bring her here, what kind of an elder do you think I am, of course I knew you were going to show up.”

“Fool, I can smell her, she is in the tent isn’t she?”

Jackson smiled. “Yes she is.”

“You fool, I will kill both of you, and this whole overthrowing Andriea buisness will be over.

Ashley heard all of this and was tyring nothing more than to do what Jackson had asked her to do. But she didn’t understand what he meant and how it could help. She was terrified now, the voice was most definetly the scariest thing she could ever imagine, but she did her best to let the voice flow over her, to let it take her over.

“Now stand aside puny psychic, and let me rip her head off and be on my way.”

The massive creature began to walk towards the tent and he brushed it open, but all he found inside was emptiness.

“Solis! Show yourself, I will kill you too while I am here.”

“This is where you die Brandon, I have seen it.”

“Fool, you and your seer friend can’t hope to kill me, only a fellow Baron can stand to Baron.”

And instantly Ashley understood her purpose in this matter as she let those words flow over her. There was a bright light and Ashley knew that she needed to emerge from the tent and show herself to the great beast.

Her eyes handn’t mistaken her, the Baron, as he called himself, stood at least 15 feet tall with massive wings. It was gray, and the ugliest thing she had ever seen.

“Ashley, I knew you could do it.” Jackson said to her reassuringly as she stepped out.

“IMPOSSSIBLE! She is a mere girl, there is no possible way she could have stolen my power.” The creature bellowed as he stared at Ashley who stood just as tall as him only as a giant beautiful with massive pearly white wings.

“Are you willing to take that bet Brandon? Leave this place and let Andriea know that Ashley is well on her way to being who she fears.”

The creature walked closer to Ashley. With a growl it spoke to her, “We will meet again, and next time you won’t have your elder friends to protect you, mark my word.”

And just as suddenly as the massive beast had appeared, it was gone. The 3 ton ogre looking bird thing just disappeared into thin air.

“You performed very well Ashley, you are most definitely your father’s daughter. How did you know what I wanted you to do?”

“When I heard him mention Solis I realized Solis was playing mind tricks on him, so I figured out instantly that you just wanted me to pretend to be able to steal his power and that Solis would make him believe that I did.”

“Yes, I wish I would have had time to explain it, but he showed up much earlier than I had predicted, future predictions aren’t always spot on time wise, you must excuse me on that.”

At this point another man emerged from the darkness, this one was a beautiful redheaded woman. She was no taller than Ashley, and had beautiful honey colored eyes, and she too didn’t look a day over 25. Her red hair was blowing in the night breeze, Ashley was taken back a bit by how beautiful this woman was.

“This as you may suspect is Solis, my wife. Together we are known as the elders of the mind. We are the two most powerful physics known to walk to this planet, we devoted our life to that moment pretty much. The moment where you went from a misunderstood teenager to a young adult coming into her powers. It is at this time that we must part ways, what I told you to do in there was not only key to make you figure out our plan, but it is how you in the future will take the powers of others. However, a Baron’s power is almost impossible to take, and it will be well into the future before you can face one. Baron’s are simply people with a very strange power called golemism, its a power that they can’t conceal, they simply look like that, but their strength is immense, and they are immortal. The only way to kill one pretty much is with another one. That one is one of Andriea’s right hand, you’ll meet her in due time, just know that she is not a good person, she wants nothing more than to enslave the entire world just as she enslaved many of the immortal community.”

And as Jackson stopped speaking the world started to fade and she found herself sitting in her car. It was dawn now, and she was waking up in the driver’s seat, she was now covered in mud from her trek through the woods, and was immensely tired. The mud all over her and the scratches from the forest proved to her through everything she had seen was most definitely real.

“You look like hell,” Alex said to her as she started the car, “Where’d you go? I woke up and you weren’t here, I yelled a couple of times but nothing.”

“You would not believe me if I told you.” She said with a serious facade.

“Try me.”

“Maybe another day, let’s just get on the road, we are almost to Radford.”

“You did what?” Nate angrily asked.

“I told her what you should have told her a long time ago Nate, that girl is in more danger than she can imagine, and we all decided to throw her to the lions with a pack of gazel guarding her. She deserves to at least know that she is a tiger. What would have happened if Brandon had gotten to her and I and Solis were not there? She would have gotten murdered that’s what! You have to let her grow up, the girl is 19 now, she going to start sprouting powers everywhere soon, she needed to know.”

“I still wish you had asked me first before you told her everything.”

“You would not have let me, and you know it, you have said it yourself Nate, it is always better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission.”

“I guess you do have me there, how’d she take it?”

“Pretty well, we couldn’t have gotten rid of Brandon so easily without her, he was quite frightened by the idea that she can become a Baron at will, so he probably won’t bother her for a while.”

“Well that’s good, but if she knows, I want to be there with her at that college, if Brandon knows she is away, he will try extra hard to find her. He may not be so easily fooled next time. Caitlin and I should be there, besides, I owe that guy a few punches anyway for killing Jerald.”

“I would advise against it, Solis and I are headed there to watch over her. I notified Darian and Tanner, as well as Sarah. I told Sarah to be on the lookout for Brandon, she most definitely can handle him if he pops up, besides if anyone is to kill Brandon, it should be her.”

“You’re right, if I was in her shoes I would want to be the one to cut his wings too.”

“So it’s settled, you will leave her to the elders and go back to your goals?”

“Yes, She is yours Jackson, you better not let any harm come to her.”

“I will not, I will protect her as if she were my own.”

“I’m going to hold you to that, Caitlin and I will be around to check up on you.”

Jackson smiled and took Solis’ hand and they disappeared into the shadows of the night.

“Are we really just going to let go?” Caitlin asked as she put her arms around Nate, resting her head on his shoulders.

“We don’t have a choice, Jackson and Solis pretty much control Ashley’s destiny, she is simply our daughter, besides, our jobs can’t be done by anyone else. And without us doing what we do, she would be in even more danger.”

“You’re right, I guess, it’s just hard to just let her go.”

“Yeah I know, but we have to, her powers can’t mature if she doesn’t as well.”