Origins (A Demonkin Novel) by Sean Hayden

the blanket had gotten more difficult every moment.
    "Stop here for a second. There's a window at the end of the hall. I'm going to switch your room. I had you in a dorm room on the other side of the hall. Unfortunately it is the side facing out. The ones on your right don't have windows as they butt up against more rooms on the east side of the building. I need to go get a key to let you in. Doc, stay with her, would you." I heard his feet as he padded away. I felt sleep overwhelm me a little, so I slunk down the wall and sat on the floor. I heard Gibbs ask if I felt okay and I told him I felt fine, just exhausted.
    I sat there in my little wool cocoon for about ten minutes until Agent Walker returned. I could hear him running down the hall as his feet struck the linoleum covered floor. "Here you go Ash. I'm unlocking the door now," he said and I heard the sound of the key enter the lock and the doorknob turn. I stood up under my own power and let them guide me into my room. I heard a light switch being flipped and the door close behind me.
    "Is it okay if I take this blanket off now?"
    "Go ahead. It's safe. Welcome to your new dorm for the next seventeen weeks," Agent Walker said.
    I lifted the blanket from my head and looked around the room. Cream painted concrete blocks formed the four walls. It had been designed for two people to share, but apparently I had been lucky enough to be the sole occupant for now. The room itself had symmetry. If someone held a mirror down the center of the room it would look exactly the same. I noticed the closet and a part desk part bed combination on one side and the exact same on the other just facing the opposite way. Hopefully I wouldn't end up with a roommate.
    "There's a bathroom down the hall. It's a community shower, so you'll need to share, and there's a commissary down on the first floor if you need to buy toiletries or snacks. The dining hall is the next building over. I'll come by a little after sunset and check on you. Classes won't start till tomorrow so don't worry about it. In the meantime, I'll have maintenance spray paint the window in the hall black in case you need to use the lavatory facilities. There's a padlock in the desk if you want to lock the closet. Get some rest and I'll see you tonight," Agent Walker said.
    "Good night, Ashlyn," Doctor Gibbs said and laughed at his own joke.
    The two of them left through my door and I watched it close behind them. I tossed my backpack in the closet and stripped out of my clothes. I tossed them in a pile by the desk and opened the top drawer and found the little combination lock. I followed the directions on how to open the thing and memorized the combination. After putting it through the locking rings and snapping it shut, I had secured my cash and clothes away for the day. I felt exhaustion creep back into my limbs, so I walked over to the bed and lay down on top of the blue coverlet. I yawned and thought about putting on a tee-shirt in case someone came in. Eek, a naked vampire! I laughed and my brain finally shut down for the day and I fell asleep, never making it to the closet for my T-shirt.

 
     
    Chapter 8
     
     
     
    Incessant knocking finally woke me several hours later. I glanced over and found a small digital clock next to the bed and saw it read after seven. I dragged my exhausted carcass from my bed and headed to the door. I caught my reflection in the full length mirror mounted on the door before I opened it, and thank gods I had. I looked at a reflection of a naked me. My fuzzy brain told me I had put clothes on last night, but obviously I had been dreaming.
    "Hold on a second!"
    I opened the closet after fumbling with the annoying little combination lock, and fished out some clean jeans and a T-shirt. It represented the last of my clean clothing. I needed to do some laundry if I didn't want to start recycling dirty clothes. I fumbled with the jeans and finally succeeded in pulling them on over my hips. The