Ashes of Our Flame
Episode 19: "Enter the Asylum"
Two nights later, the city trembled under heavy rain.
Thunder rolled across the skies like a war drum.
Kara stood before the gates of Blackridge Asylum—now officially abandoned, but privately owned by the Vale empire. From the outside, it looked like a rotting relic of a forgotten era, swallowed by ivy and shadow. But inside… it held secrets worth killing for.
"This place is cursed," Ronan muttered, shifting his rifle.
"Good," Kara said, tying her hair back. "So am I."
Adrian remained silent. He hadn't spoken much since Kara found the blueprint. Maybe he was protecting her. Or maybe he was hiding something.
The key Kara found in the garden trembled slightly in her palm, like it could sense they were close.
"We go in quiet," she ordered. "No noise, no lights."
Tessa hacked the outer locks with her custom device. "We'll have five minutes before the silent alarm resets."
The iron doors groaned open.
They entered the asylum.
---
Inside, the air was thick with mildew and memory.
Peeling wallpaper. Broken gurneys. Scratched walls that still whispered pain.
They moved through the first floor quickly, heading to the far-left stairwell as marked in the blueprint.
The hidden floor was beneath the basement.
A place not even on public record.
As they descended into the dark, Kara's hand brushed Adrian's.
He didn't pull away.
But neither of them looked at each other.
When they reached the basement, Tessa disabled the camera feed. Ronan kept watch by the elevator shaft.
Kara inserted the golden key into an ancient steel door tucked behind rusted supply shelves.
Click.
The door creaked open… revealing a narrow stone staircase that spiraled down into pitch black.
"Ready?" Adrian asked.
"No," Kara whispered. "Let's go anyway."
---
The air grew colder with every step.
Beneath Blackridge was a level untouched by time.
The floor was tiled with marble, cracked and bloodstained.
They entered a chamber lined with filing cabinets and glass cases.
"This is it," Kara breathed. "The ledger… the truth."
She ran to the largest cabinet, yanked it open—and there it was:
The Black Ledger.
Handwritten. Bound in leather. Pages yellowed with age.
She flipped through it.
Names. Transactions. Births. Deaths. Experiments.
Government officials. CEOs. Police captains.
All tied to Marcus Vale.
And her family's name—VOSS.
Her mother.
Her father.
Listed as assets.
Labeled: Disposable Test Subjects.
Kara's knees buckled.
Adrian caught her.
Her voice broke. "They experimented on them… Like lab rats…"
He held her tighter. "I didn't know. I swear to God, Kara, I never knew."
She wanted to believe him.
But tears made it hard to see anything clearly.
Tessa scanned the pages quickly. "This ledger… If it goes public, the entire city burns."
Ronan snapped a photo of a file showing Marcus ordering a political assassination.
Suddenly—
Gunfire.
The door above slammed shut.
Adrian pulled Kara behind a column. "They found us!"
From the upper level, masked Vale agents poured in.
They were armed.
Fast.
Merciless.
"We're boxed in!" Ronan shouted, returning fire.
Kara shoved the ledger into her backpack and ducked behind the file cabinets. Bullets tore through the air like curses.
Tessa was pinned, her hand bleeding.
Adrian shot two agents before diving toward her. "Tessa's hit!"
Kara's breath was ragged. "We need an exit!"
Adrian's voice was steel. "There's a tunnel—old patient transport route under the far wall. Used to lead to the river."
He blasted open the wall with a stolen grenade.
Stone and dust exploded.
Light filtered in through an old drainage tunnel.
"Move!" Kara screamed.
They ran.
Dragging the ledger.
Dragging the truth.
Bloodied but alive.
---
The next morning, Kara sat by the riverbank, wrapped in a blanket, the ledger clutched to her chest.
Tessa rested beside her, patched up but weak.
Ronan smoked in silence.
And Adrian stood apart—watching the city burn slowly in the horizon.
Kara finally approached him.
"You helped me find the truth."
He nodded. "And now you know what my family really is."
She stared at him. "You're not your father."
"But I carry his blood."
"Then burn it," she whispered. "Let the ashes be yours, not his."
Adrian looked at her like she was both salvation and damnation.
"You're dangerous, Kara."
She smiled faintly. "So are y
ou."
Their hands brushed.
Then gripped.
No kiss.
Not yet.
Just fire.
Waiting to ignite.
---
To be continued in Episode 20…
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