Fan Fiction ❯ Aspen Falls ❯ Introducing Whei ( Chapter 1 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

A car, blurred by shadow, moved slowly through the fog-enveloped streets,
headlights beaming through the dark. A partially intoxicated woman sat behind the wheel,
her eldest daughter in the passenger seat. The woman mumbled incoherently, as she lifted
the glass bottle to her lips again. Her eyes began to swagger, and she began to slowly lose
her coordination. Her daughter shrieked violently, pulling at the steering wheel, to avoid
collision with a brick wall. Tires screeched against dampened concrete, and the passenger
evacuated the car calmly, looking down at her impudent guardian. A muffled grunt flew
off her lips, and she charged into a nearby building; carrying a key in her left hand, and a
small bag in her right...

"Ash...ley..." Cried her mother, soon passing out at the helm of the vehicle..


Rain began to glimmer from the ashen clouds, lightning darting around chaotically,
as the thunder called for surrender. Ashley's mother stood, her hair stuck to the deep
wrinkles in her face. Beyond her, sat an ancient building, with chipped bricks, and a
leaning structure. Atop the landmark, lurked the outline of a woman, her eyes deep in
hue, the color hardly traceable. She furrowed her brow, and held her position, watching
on with blunt curiousity. Her neck jerked back as she watched the elder woman fall face
first to the ground, her body frozen against the cold street. There was a glimmer of
disgust in the mystical eyes, which turned to intrigue as the drunken lady's daughter came
sprinting out the apartment door.

"Mom.. why do you do this to me?" She moaned, helping her sickly mother to her
feet. High heels dragged against the pavement, the stench of alcohol high on the air.
Suddenly, Ash felt a presence beyond her, eyes boring into her back. She slowly turned
back, but saw nothing but darkness. Every inch of this town was molded by shadow, by
deception and lies. Breathing out an intimidated sigh, the teenager pulled the extra
bodyweight back into the building.


Again the eyes emerged, seemingly fixated on these two new arrivals...




Their small apartment space was hardly comparable to what they had been
promised. The refrigerator that had been left behind, would constantly spit water from it's
once convienient ice-cube dispenser; which would gain attention of the tenants downstairs.
Unfortunately for Ash, her neighbors weren't at all ready to listen to her excuses. After a
day of arguing with the fellow residents, she sat in her room, where she slept on an old
love seat her mother had brought along. The cushions reeked of spoiled milk and vomit,
as the springs pushed upward into Ash's back. It was a severe inconvienience, but she
dealt with it.

The only money her mother would bring home, was from selling drugs and
prostituting. As much as Ash despised her mother's job ethics, she had no say in the
matter. It'd been several years since her younger sister, Rhyanna; apple of her mother's
eye, was slain. Ash loved her younger sister, though at times, she got jealous of all the
attention being wasted on the subordinate sibling. In turn, this jealousy turned into rage
against her own parent, who had caused the problem in the first place.


"Ashley - mommy's home..." Mumbled Ash's mother. After the slam of the door,
there was a sharp thud! that followed. Figuring her mother had come back drunk again,
Ashley just ignored it. She folded her arms behind her head, and closed her eyes.








When she awoke, there was a large sum of weight lying across her. Her eyes shot
open, to see a man there, his hands stroking her bare legs. The feeling of the hands were
rough, and cold; wrinkles adorned these hands as they folded over the curves of the girls
skin. Ash shrieked wildly, kicking the man repeatedly, in the chest, and in the neck. She
watched him tumble backward, and saw her mother slide into the picture.

"Who the hell is he?!" Ash screamed, jumping up from the makeshift bed. The
disoriented male brushed back his graying hair, narrowed his emerald eyes and slowly
pulled himself from the floor.

"Oh.. honey - he's just a friend of mommy's..." Her drunken mother slurred. Ash
clenched her eyes shut, grabbed her coat that was tossed aside on the floor, and hustled
out of the room.

"Why do I even have to ask you these questions?! You're never serious about
anything!" The girl shrieked, running out of the adjoined hallway in a rush. She hastily
pulled her boots on her tight feet, and turned back to see her mother clawing along the
wall. "I'm going to attempt to make something of myself, and not be introducted into the
family tradition."



A click signaled the opening of the apartment door, and a slam followed it up.
Sick of her mother's disgusting habits, and her unwanted company, Ash left the building,
heading out on the dangerous streets; alone.


"I can't even believe her..." The lone girl muttered, as frost passed from her lips.
An atmosphere of almost unbearable coldness, assisted by blasting downpours, wasn't the
best kind of travel weather. As much as she hated these conditions, there was no sense in
staying with her immature parent. Her head lowered, and her mind tainted, Ash continued
forward; not dubbing enough courtesy to the blind path before her. Within seconds, she
abruptly collided with another body; her eyes scanning across the ground to see this
character was drenched in black from her shoes on up. She became interested in this
human, and captured the entire figure in her mind.

It was a girl, not much younger than herself, with wily black hair; its tips drenched
in red, tied back into two separate pony-tails. Her bangs fell across her forehead at a
sharp left angle, her eyes forcefully glaring at Ash. They had a distinct color, a pearly
green, with sparks of lighter peridot twinkling inside. In her pale lips, she held a cigarette
- still fuming at the tip. When her hand pulled up to detach it from her mouth, her skin
was cut, her nails bit down low.

"Sorry about that..." Ash apologized. The other girl simply grunted in
acknowledgement, still staring at her assailant.

"You're new here, aren't you?" She growled, her voice sullen. Ash looked at her,
gave a nod, and smiled modestly.

"Yea, my name's Ash." Her voice beamed with delight, as she held her hand out to
the stranger, who simply gave a denouncing glare. She then proceeded in pointing to
herself, and gave a rather crooked grin.

"Whei." She announced, rejecting Ash's handshake. Knowing that she wouldn't be
receiving a friendly recognition, Ash pulled her hand back, and slapped it against her hip.

"So.. you go to school, or anything?" Ash wondered, unsure of what kind of
subject to bring up. Whei gave a stifled chuckle, strapped the cigarette back into her lips,
and gave the new girl another stiff gaze.

"On occasion..." Whei muttered, eyes fixated ahead of her now.

"Where is it?"

"Hn?" Whei grunted, sticking her hand out forward. Her index finger guided to a
decapitated building seated calmly across from her. As Ash was guided to the building,
she shuddered with dissatisfaction. "...what? Doesn't live up to your expectations?"

"Well I kind of did have something else in mind..."

"Hahah." Whei laughed, tossing the now fizzled cigarette butt from her mouth.
Again, she turned to Ash, this time, eyes narrowed, arms crossed. "You move to Aspen
Falls, and of all things, you expect a decent high school?"

"Why? Am I so unreasonable?" Ash stated, standing up for her own defense.
Whei waved her hands in apology, and bowed her head with respect.

"Listen, Ash, if I were you, I'd go back to the gated community you came from,
and stay there..." Whei mocked, winking with spite. "...you were better off."

She then turned away from her former conversation buddy, but faced an uproar
from her anyway.

"Excuse me, but it isn't very considerate to judge me like that." Ash charged, her
eyebrows furrowed as she pointed aggressively at Whei. The somewhat pessimistic girl
turned around, and faced her confronter head-on.

"Look, I'm not what you a socialite, and I'm not what you would call a considerate
person..." Whei sneered, "...so pardon me if I don't take an instant liking to your
oh-so-predictable personality. You shouldn't really be expecting to make many friends
here anyway, and trying to start with me is the worst idea." Again, Whei turned her back,
this time; untouched by Ash's words. It was better to leave well enough alone, and the
goth chick didn't seem to have a strong suit for kindness.

So, Ash was alone again. Instead of making a new companion, she had made a
new enemy, and that was something she would have to change.