THE ASHLAN

 

"From dawn to dusk. You can set whatever 8 hour shift you want in that time period. You can even break up the shift if you'd like. But you cannot stay after it gets dark." His voice became serious in tone rather quickly which peaked my curiosity. "Forgive me for asking, but is there a particular reason why I wouldn't be able to stay after dark? Or is that just normal hours to keep? I only ask because your tone changed rather quickly so I was just curious..."  I immediately felt stupid for asking. Obviously, every business' hours were different. 

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His tone changed back to the lighthearted one when we initially started chatting and he chuckled at my question, "You are very perceptive, Miss Curtis. Do you not know what The Ashlan is, or rather, was?"

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It did sound so familiar. I just couldn't place my finger on where I heard the name.

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"I would think no one would want to stay at an abandoned psychiatric hospital past dark, wouldn't you?" He mused as my breath caught in my throat.

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It finally clicked. The Ashlan was a massive, decrepit old asylum that housed the criminally insane... And I had just agreed to be it's caretaker.