by A. Eggleston
A drop of blood escaped from the wound on his arm. It traced down his forearm and curved downward. The drop fell from his skin, leaving yet another thin, red, ribbon on Ash's body. The blood plunged down to the ground, through one of the holes on the grated walkway, and went splat on Freddy's forehead.
Freddy defied gravity as he clung to the metal walkway. His fingers and his claws poked through the holes in the walkway, just inches from Ash's feet. Freddy's hands and feet remained secure as he crawled across the opposite face of the walkway, like a red and green striped Spiderman. Once Freddy reached the guardrail, he pulled himself up, and smiled devilishly at Ash, who had his eyes closed.
Freddy raised his left hand. "Hey, Ash!"
Ash jumped and opened his eyes wide. Before he would flee, Freddy had already
grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.
"Going down?" said Freddy. Once the words left his mouth, Freddy pulled Ash over the railing, and sent him falling down approximately ten feet before landing on a flight of metal stairs.
"Whoa!" he screamed. Ash landed on his side and began to awkwardly slide down the stairs. The chainsaw attached to his right hand clinked and banged against the rusty stairs. He wanted to scream, but the swiftness of his descent and the bumpy ride down prevented from speaking.
He had reached the end of the stairway. Ash rolled out to the middle of the floor, grunting and groaning every time his face hit the ground. "Ugh." Ash said as he tried to pick himself up.
He looked around, feeling the floor beneath his hands, surveying the tallness and the grandeur of where he was. He was now at the very heart and center of Freddy's boiler room. How far did I fall? he wondered. Considering how many times he hit his head against the stairs and how the room kept spinning as he tumbled down, it was hard to keep track. He knew that this was supposed to be the infamous boiler room, the same one he had found the Necronomicon in. But the more he looked around, he realized that it barely resembled the old, demolished, building he visited before.
Cavernous surroundings. Fire-spewing pillars made of iron. Steam that gathered around the bottom, giving the impression of fog. Pipes as far as the eye could see, bent and twisted like the branches of a dead tree. It was disturbing and awe-inspiring at the same time.
Ash tried to get up, but his legs were too weak to support him. As he tried to stand, his knees shook, and his legs felt numb. Ash fell to his knees. He groaned as they impacted against the hard ground. He lowered his weary head and tried to regain his strength. Sweat dripped from his hairline, down to his forehead, and fell to the floor in front of him. He thought that this was the end for him. That Freddy was going to kill him right then and there, and that it would be the end of the Chosen One. But, he remembered. The Necronomicon. Freddy still has it. he realized. I bet it's still in the same place where I found it. This filled him with newfound confidence and adrenaline. And then he heard the sound of approaching footsteps...and screeching metal-on-metal.
Scrreeeecchhhh!
As if my head wasn't already pounding. he complained.
Freddy slowly walked around Ash in circles. He watched him sink down to the ground, sweating and bleeding all around himself. "Don't tell me you're giving up now!" he said in an artificially surprised tone. He bragged, "I'm just gettin' started!"
Freddy stopped at Ash's side and curved his body downward to get a close look at Ash's wounds. He loved admiring his own work. He noticed Ash turning his head to look at Freddy.
Breathlessly, Ash spoke. "Hey," he said. "let me ask you somethin'."
Freddy grinned, predicting what Ash was going to say to him. "Ah," he nodded. "you want to know why I needed to get the book, what I'm using it for, and what I need from you." Freddy began pacing around him again. "You see, Ashley...The Dream Demons--the ones who gave me this job--live inside those old, wrinkled pages. And as long as I keep killing every little brat that comes my way, they allow me to live."
Freddy started to grimace. "But," he spit the words out. "every time one of those little bitches stop me, they send me back, and leave me here to rot. Not anymore!" he said with malice. "I'm tired of going away. They promised me immortality, and this time I'm going to make sure I get what I want.
"All I had to do was wait for someone to come to me. Someone stupid and weak enough to bring me my book. And now, I have the Chosen One before me, shaking and bleeding like a little pussy."
Freddy chuckled low under his breath. "Once I take your soul, nothing'll stop me."
Ash began to speak, but Freddy interrupted him once more.
"You really think all your years of killing rotten, little Deadites is gonna be enough to kill me?" Freddy crouched down until he was at eye-level with Ash. "Face it Ash, the Book of the Dead isn't the only thing that's old and wrinkled now, hmm? That answer your question?"
Ash lifted his head, looking at him, tough and unfazed. He stood up tall. "No." he answered. "I already knew all that. Minus your lame, little, deal with a couple of dream spirits." He waited until Freddy stood up in front of him to speak again. Even though Ash as a bit beaten, he still stood a few inches higher than Freddy. "What I wanted to know was, with all this dark, magical, voodoo power you have, why are you still running around in Bing Crosby's holiday sweater from Hell? Seems kinda fruity, if you ask me." Ash smiled, knowing that he had pissed him off. "What, do you only go after little girls 'cause women think you're a--oh, what was the word you used?--pussy? Me, I never had that problem."
His nostrils flared and his blue eyes glowed in anger. He scowled, partially exposing his rotten, jagged teeth. "Keep joking." he told him. "It'll distract you when I rip out your soul and kill--"
SMACK!!!
Ash punched Freddy square in the face. He watched as Freddy fell on his back, groaning and grasping his nose. "Boy, I get tired of hearing that."
His anger began to rise. The prick actually punched me while I was monologuing! He thought. I don't tolerate insolent mortals in my realm. Especially jarheads like him! Freddy leapt up and lowered his upper body like a charging bull. He ran towards Ash, grabbing him and knocking him off his feet. Freddy continued to run, he then pushed Ash, and threw him against one of the large boilers that was behind him.
Ash was thrown against the boiler. The impact of his body against the thick steel rung loudly. Painful vibrations ran all through his body, especially around the back of his head and his spine.
Ash slid down to the floor, his body broken. While his head was still buzzing, he looked up to see Freddy pointing his bladed glove down at him, ready to execute the final blow. He quickly rolled away just in time. Freddy's steel blades instead launched into the boiler, making a sharp ping! sound as he did so.
Freddy looked over to see Ash standing up and backing away from him.
Scrreeeecchhhh!
Freddy scraped his knives along the boiler as he turned around to meet him. He shuffled toward Ash, raising his glove and preparing to slice him in two.
Ash hastily revved his chainsaw and raised it up in the air, countering Freddy. The mechanical roar of the chainsaw echoed throughout the boiler room. Ash saw Freddy swiftly lowering the glove, preparing to slash him, so he blocked him with the chainsaw. Ash's chain spinning, cutting against Freddy's knives, produced a high-pitched screech.
SCRREEEECCHHHH!!!
It sent bright sparks flying everywhere, in front of them, momentarily blinding the two.
Freddy retracted his blades, as did Ash with his chainsaw.
The chainsaw was still revved up, and Ash was ready to slice-and-dice the undead dream killer. Once the sparks fell to the ground, Ash charged towards the burnt bastard and sliced him from right to left, cutting him in half. Ash couldn't help but let a crazed laugh escape from his mouth as Freddy's blood splattered across his face. "Ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Once Ash had shredded him completely, he removed the chainsaw from Freddy's abdomen and watched as both halves of his body dropped to the ground.
Ash chuckled. "Timber."
&nbs
p; Freddy laid flat on his back, choking on his own blood. He propped himself up with his elbows, staring at the gap in his upper body. "You asshole!" he yelled angrily. "You cut me in fucking half! You're gonna pay for this!"
Ash lowered the chainsaw and smiled arrogantly at Freddy, mocking him. "Oh yeah, what are you gonna do? Flail your limbs at me?"
"No." Freddy said. He smiled mischievously and slid his upper half towards the lower.
As soon as the two halves came in contact, Freddy's bones, muscle tissue, and skin began to reconnect. Even the threads from his ratty sweater started to weave back together. Swiftly, Freddy kicked his feet in the air and jumped up, standing straight. Freddy chuckled at Ash, and shot his middle finger at him, flipping him off.
"Oh yeah?" Ash countered. "There's more where that came from!" He raised his chainsaw, ready to slice him again. Unfortunately for him, his chainsaw cut off right then and there. "You gotta be kidding me!" said Ash. How do you run out of fuel in a dream? he thought. Never mind. I don't wanna think about that, it makes my brain hurt. "Guess it's time to bring out the Boomstick." Ash unlatched the chainsaw from his wrist and let it drop to the floor. It was dead weight now. He then reached for his shotgun just as Freddy began to launch at him. Ash pulled the front trigger and shot Freddy in the chest.
BOOM!!!
Freddy was taken aback from the impact of the shell. He stopped, trying to regain balance.
Ash then pulled the back trigger, this time aiming between Freddy's legs.
BOOM!!!
Freddy stared down at the damage Ash had caused. The front of his body was wet with fresh blood. He lifted his head and stared at Ash in disbelief.
Ash rested the twin barrels on his left shoulder as he mocked Freddy. "You gotta give me credit for that one." he said. "I've never hit a target that small before."
Freddy was growing tired of Ash's taunts. Sure, it was fun when he did it, but having someone doing the same to him was, as he thought, fucking annoying. Freddy used his powers once again to quickly heal himself. The wounds disappeared and the blood had dried in a matter of seconds. "Shooting me in the dick?" he questioned Ash. "That's low."
Ash scrunched his eyebrows together. "No pun intended?" he assumed.
"No more bullshit." he said. This air-headed stock boy's going down. Freddy ran towards Ash and raised his glove.
Ash acted quickly and hit Freddy in the face with the butt of his shotgun. The impact was so powerful that it knocked Freddy's head back, nearly snapping his neck. He immediately clenched his left hand into a fist and prepared to punch him square in the face just as Ash did to him.
Without a second thought, Ash grabbed Freddy's fist and pulled his arm toward the ground. Ash bent is right arm and hit Freddy in the face with his elbow. As Freddy shouted in pain, Ash backed away and used the time he had to reload his gun. But once he reached into his shirt pocket, where he always stored extra bullets, he had none. His eyebrows lifted in surprise and he felt his heart sink. Where the hell are they? Come on!
"Ha ha ha ha..." Freddy laughed mockingly at Ash as he fumbled for his precious bullets.
Ash looked at him, and saw Freddy carrying a hand full of shotgun shells in his left hand. He waved them in front of his face, like he was dangling treats in front of a hungry puppy. "Looking for these?"
"How the hell did you do that?" he asked. Ash didn't feel Freddy digging around in his shirt pocket while they were fighting. But then again, it all happened so quick, he wouldn't have been able to tell.
"You keep forgetting that I'm in control here." Freddy held out his gloved hand, his palm in front of Ash.
Ash felt his shotgun moving on his own. It was moving away from Ash's hand and started to slip away. It was like the shotgun was being magnetically pulled towards Freddy. His shotgun flew from his hand and into Freddy's.
Shit. This isn't gonna go well for me. Ash thought.
"Now," Freddy loaded the shotgun and closed the chamber, cocking it. "dance for me, bitch!" He unloaded the rounds near Ash's feet.
BOOM!!!
BOOM!!!
The shells pinged against the floor, dangerously near Ash's feet. It forced him to shuffle his feet in hopes to miss the bullets.
He just kept shooting at him. Once the rounds were empty, Freddy quickly reloaded, giving Ash no relief.
BOOM!!! BOOM!!!
BOOM!!! BOOM!!!
BOOM!!! BOOM!!!
Freddy was now out of bullets. Without any further use for it, he discarded the shotgun, throwing it on the ground. He kept his eyes locked on Ash, who was running in the opposite direction. He lifted his bladed index finger and waved it from left to right, expressing his disapproval. "Uh uh uuh." he said coyly.
He directed his powers towards the large boiler and mess of pipes that was a few yards in front of Ash. Freddy noticed the boiler begin to shake and come off of its hinges. He thrust his hands downward, causing the boiler and pipes to come crashing down right in front of Ash, blocking his path.
Ash stopped in his tracks and searched for another place to turn to, but there was none. He was trapped. It was just him and Freddy. Ash turned around to see Freddy standing just ten feet away from him.
"You know what they say," Freddy began. "if you love someone, set them free." He snarled. "If someone pisses you off, cripple him so he can't fucking move!" Freddy raised his hands, directing his power toward the large pipe hanging far above Ash's head.
"I don't think that's how it--"
THWACK!
A thick, heavy pipe crash landed on top of Ash. He fell to the ground and groaned in agony. Freddy had almost killed him. A throbbing, excruciating pain raced up and down Ash's spine.
He couldn't move. But he didn't need to, Freddy had grabbed the back of Ash's shirt and dragged him across the boiler room. Freddy dragged the 170 pound bag of dead weight with him across the boiler room floor, and closer to the massive furnace just thirty feet north of where they were now.
Ash felt the temperature rising. It was already hot enough to begin within that godforsaken boiler room, but now it was sweltering. His entire body warmed more and more by the second. Not long after that, his head was now drenching with sweat. When Ash thought there was nothing that could revive him, nothing that could bring him to move, he was suddenly sobered with the putrid smell of smoke, burning coal, and...freshly charred flesh.
Fighting the pain, Ash lifted his head and saw himself being brought to a rusted furnace. As soon as he came to realize what was going on, he was then lifted from the ground and brought to his feet. Before Ash, was the furnace, a few feet taller than him, and the gate was wide open. Ash was hit in the face by a burning cloud from the fire. His eyes began to sting and his hair was matted with sweat.
Before Ash could protest, Freddy grabbed the back of his head and pushed him into the fire.
Ash placed his hands outside the furnace wall, pushing back and preventing Freddy from throwing Ash into the bright, yellow flames. He fought the incredible, burning, pain on his palms coming from the furnace wall.
Freddy grunted and pushed harder. He could see Ash's arms start to shake weakly. He was losing his grip. Freddy grinned. "Time to live up to your name, Ash!"
Ash shouted, "Noooo!" His arms were numbing. He couldn't hold on much longer. He knew he needed to think of something...anything...and do it quick. Or else, there would be no more Ash, there would only be...ash.
The windows on the front side of the S-Mart building were mostly boarded up by now. Evelyn and Steven intended to use up all of the wood from the lumber aisle. A stack, consisting of only three planks of wood, remained.
Evelyn and Steven stood on opposite ends of the front entrance, making sure that their side was securely boarded and blocked from any Deadite intrusion.
Her wrists had grown strained from the constant hammering. It was a rhythmic process: grab a nail, hammer it steadily in place...
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
...repeat the process five or
six times, depending on the size of the plank. Move on to the next. Repeat.
At this point, unenthused, Evelyn hung yet another board in front of the window. After reaching for another nail from the box beside her feet, she realized she was out. Evelyn set the hammer down and moved her wrists around, un-tightening them. She let out a sigh of exhaustion. She was determined to keep the Deadites outside, but at the same time, she couldn't help but relish the thought of sitting down and taking a five-minute break.
Evelyn turned her head and looked at Steven, who was finishing up his side of the window. "Hey, Steven." she called.
He looked at her briefly before resuming his work. He kept a couple of nails stored in the corner of his mouth, with the sharp end facing away from him. "Yeah?" he said, muffled.
"Could you hand me another box?"
Without saying anything, Steven bent over to grab a new box of nails and threw it across the other side, where Evelyn was standing. He took one of the nails out of his mouth and securely boarded up the last window.
Evelyn caught it with both hands. Before opening the box, she took a couple of steps back to survey their work.
Steven joined her. He stood at arm's length next to her. "Looks pretty good to me." he said. He turned to her. "What do you think?"
She looked at him and smiled out of embarrassment. "Honestly, I'm just tired of boarding the windows."
"Yeah, I know what you mean." Steven walked to the center, where the automatic doors where supposed to be, before he and Evelyn had blocked them. "Let me just check this one, it looks a little loose." Steven knelt down touched the tilted plank. He pushed it back and forth, checking to see if it would break easily. The board was nailed tightly and wasn't going anywhere. "No, it's fine." he assured.
SNAP!
Just inches from Steven's face, on his right side, a pale and scabbed hand broke through the boards. Another hand followed immediately after, breaking the makeshift wall above Steven's head, trying to grab onto to him.
His figurative nerves exploded with shock. His heart pounded. As he leaped back and crawled away, Steven screamed a throaty scream and yelled the first thing that came to his mind. "Aaaah! 'Day of the Dead'!" He didn't know why, but the first thing that he thought of was the scene in "Day of the Dead" when a group of zombie hands burst through the wall.