Freddy vs. Ash

by A. Eggleston

  Fast and swift, Freddy shot his arm out in front of him. Through his glove, he could feel the blades break through Lt. Moore's ribcage.

  CRUNCH!!!

  He felt Moore's body tense up as he forced the knives further into his ribs, feeling the gelatinous texture of his organs as he moved the blades around inside his chest.

  Moore cried out in pain. "AAAAAH!!" He clenched his teeth to prevent further screams from escaping his mouth. He could feel himself slowly slip away, but the excruciating pain of having Freddy's knives jammed inside his body was not subsiding. He felt his uniform getting wet from the blood that was gushing from the four holes in his chest. Some of his blood was building in his throat. He began choking on it, spitting up thick, red, mouthfuls that stained his chin, and dripped onto the sleeve of Freddy's sweater. His screams were replaced by wet, gargled, choking noises.

  Freddy was almost sad that the screaming had ceased. It his favorite sound. It was music to his ears. It was what he lived for. Freddy's laughed was crazed, dark, and warbled. "Aha-hahahahahahahahahaha!"

  After his demented laugh had ceased, Lt. Moore was dead. Freddy retracted his gloves from his chest and let his lifeless corpse drop beneath his feet. He watched Moore bleed out on the grass, his eyes were now empty and his face was now fixed in a permanent state of terror. Freddy felt Moore's soul escaping from his body and emerge in his own. His eyes became pale white and glowed for a moment, before returning to its original pale blue color.

  "That's what I'm talkin' about." He growled. "I already feel stronger, now." Freddy turned back to face his army of the undead. He raised his gloved hand, pointing his index blade towards the direction where he now knew Ash was hiding. "I want all of you slimy sons of bitches to get out there, and bring Ash to me! Kill the innocent, and possess the living! Go!"

  As soon as he gave them the word, the Deadites turned around and ran towards the city. Each and every one of them laughed in a demented fashion, screaming and screeching as the headed to downtown Springwood.

  Freddy watched as the last batch was slowly disappearing in the horizon. He lowered his arm, tapping his blade against the side of his leg. By the fourth tap, Freddy was immersed into a wall of flames just as he was before. The fire stood tall for a second or two before dropping back under the earth. Freddy was gone along with it. The only trace of his presence there was the dead body of Lt. Moore, lying on the top of the hill.

  Just as it did on the top of the hill on the edge of Springwood, the wall of flames appeared again, this time on the roof of a building that was a few blocks away from the S-Mart downtown. Freddy appeared in view as the fire lowered and went away.

  He walked to the edge of the building and kneeled down, overlooking all of the chaos that was unfolding. He watched as over three hundred Deadites ran through the streets, causing fires, destruction of the town, and feasting on the souls of the living as they passed by.

  Freddy trailed his gaze, following the mass of Deadites as they all gravitated towards one destination. They clogged the street as they ran past, through the parking lot, and finally reaching S-Mart. They were making progress, it seemed. The demons had the entire building surrounded. There was no escape.

  Freddy's time was coming. But, judging from how well they had boarded the place up, it would take a little more time before he was able to make his grand entrance. "I'll join them soon enough." he said to himself. Freddy stood back up and took a few steps back. "But for now,"

  A cloud of smoke and embers formed just three feet behind him. The whispers of black smoke whirled around, as if it was forming some sort of shape.

  Freddy bent his knees, as if to sit down. Once he finally lowered himself, the dark cloud of smoke went away, and was replaced by a chair. But it wasn't just a chair, it was a large and articulated throne. The throne was tall, the top extended well above Freddy's head. It had large, wide armrests which Freddy placed both hands upon. The sides were pointed and gray. The edges were made out of small, human, bones. The rest of the throne, such as the seat itself, reflected various colors, most of them pale, some darker than others. But, the interior had an odd texture to it. It wasn't leathery or wrinkled, but it was certainly rotted. The main frame of the throne appeared to have faint traces of tortured faces on it. It had been fabricated by the flesh and bones of young children.

  Freddy sat back comfortably on his demonic throne. "I think I'll enjoy the show." He lifted his feet up until another cloud of black smoke appeared, this time forming a footrest made entirely out of bones. He planted his dirty work boots on it. He laughed softly to himself. "Ha ha ha ha ha...That's right my little piggies, do the work for Uncle Freddy."

  Chapter Thirty One

  The walls seemed to close in as they ascended up the stairs toward the roof. The stairway was so narrow that the four of them had to move in a single file line. Ash led the way, while Evelyn, Faith, and Steven followed. They each moved at a slow pace, barely lifting their feet to reach the first step, and clutching their weapons so tightly that the palms of their hands began to sweat.

  Only a faint light came forth from the single bulb that was suspended from the ceiling. The light bulb hung from a thin rope. It swung from side to side, like a pendulum. The white light was growing dim, the bulb was about to give out, each brief flicker was longer than the one that came before it. It was usually standard policy to make sure that all of the exits were well lit, but no one had ever needed to come up to the roof until now. Plus, Ash was too preoccupied with hunting Deadites, and figuring out how to get rid of Krueger, to make sure that all of the exits were up to code.

  As the dim light flickered and swung, it caused the four of them to fall victim to the blinding darkness every few seconds. The preparation speech that Ash had given them a few minutes before had given them confidence, but that adrenaline was slowly waning the further they walked up the stairs. They had seen the horrible creatures on the roof, looking at them from through the glass. The closer they approached the door, the more their fear had escalated.

  Ash clutched his ten foot long chain tightly in his left hand. He stared at the door as he slowly crept closer toward it. The further he walked, he more clearly he could hear the howls and screeches coming from the mouths of the wretched Deadites behind the door. He felt his hand start to shake, making the chain rattle and clink as he dragged it along the steps. His ears twitched as he could faintly hear the kids whispering behind him.

  He could hear Faith's voice. "I'm scared out of my mind right now."

  And Evelyn's hushed tone. "So am I. My hands are shaking."

  Faith whispered again. "Promise you won't let those things get to me."

  Ash assumed she was talking to Steven, as he was the next one to speak. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."

  And then Faith. "Me neither."

  He couldn't help but let his anxiety come to the surface. Ash had never gone against so many Deadites before. And not only that, he didn't have much of an army to back him up this time. It was the four of them against the entire population of Springwood.

  Ash was just one step away from the roof entrance. He placed his hand on his door handle, but stopped himself. He couldn't bring himself to open the door. Over the course of the long, treacherous night, Ash had grown fond of these kids. He realized that they weren't the obnoxious, air-headed brats that he thought they were.

  These kids, they were barely eighteen, and they were ready to go to battle without a second thought. They were willing to risk their lives, their immortal souls, to make sure that Freddy goes back to Hell where he belongs. In a way, Ash was proud of them and admired their bravery. He was their age when he unwittingly unleashed the damn things in the first place. And now, almost thirty years later, he's created a new generation of demon slayers. But these kids weren't as experienced as he was. I've had my whole life to be ready for this. How long have they had? A few hours? I don't know if I could live with myself if I just sent them out there to die.

  He re
membered the unfortunate perks that came with being the Chosen One. All of the people that Ash was close to. Everyone that he ever cared for, loved, or tried to protect, eventually fell victim to the dark spirits. I tried to save my friends. I tried to save Linda...and Sheila...but the damned things took them, too. I don't know if I'll even be able to save myself this time.

  After returning from the slideshow of memories that went by in his mind, Ash looked down and realized that his hand had been shaking from squeezing the door handle so tightly. He wasn't going to send them out just yet. Ash let out a frustrated sigh, and let go of the door handle.

  Evelyn looked over his shoulder, noticing the worried look on Ash's face as he whipped around to face the three of them. She looked up into his eyes, still anxiously gripping the revolver in her right hand and the axe in her left. "Ash, is something wrong?" she asked. "I thought we were going to go out there and kill those things."

  "Are you guys positive about heading out there?"

  Evelyn squinted her eyes, and almost looked offended by Ash's question. "Well, we're not 'positive' about it, but we're ready."

  Ash stumbled on his own words. "I--I just--don't know if it'd be right to send you out there. I've seen this kind of thing before, and it's no picnic, believe me."

  Evelyn was dead serious and the look on her face conveyed it. She took a wide step toward Ash, leaving only inches between them. She looked up at his scarred face. Her tone in her voice was calm and relaxed. "Ash, you've prepared us well enough for this. I understand that you feel a little odd about sending us to fight with you..." By then, her tone had altered, becoming almost demanding. "...but you are not going out there alone. We aren't letting you."

  Steven stared at the ground as he muttered to himself. He kept his voice quiet, so he assumed they wouldn't hear him. "I don't know, I wouldn't mind hanging back in the break room for a few minutes while Ash does his thing."

  To Steven's surprise, Evelyn heard every word. He saw the look of scorn on her face as she quickly turned around to face him, her black hair swung in front of her face. "Shut up, Steven!" she sniped.

  Steven looked at her and shook his head in confusion. It was just a joke, what's the big deal? he thought. "Jeez, Evelyn. When did you grow balls all of a sudden?"

  Evelyn ignored his comment and slowly turned her head back to face Ash. She lowered her voice back to a steady tone again. "This is our fight, too." she said. "We've all lost someone close to us because of Freddy...so, you can understand why we're not going just sit this out, can't you?"

  Ash couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth into a smile. He admired Evelyn's confidence. "Yeah." he answered. "I guess I underestimated you, kid."

  She had grown tired of Ash constantly calling her "kid". Evelyn smiled back at him, her eyes where steady and exuded bravery. "Again. My name is Evelyn."

  They stared into each other's eyes for a while. Evelyn felt like it was too long. She couldn't help but notice the way Ash was staring at her. She couldn't quite figure out what he was thinking behind those brown eyes of his. Ash just continued to look into her eyes, smiling the entire time. Was he being derisive, like he usually is? Was he distracted by other thoughts, and he was just looking through me? Or was he looking at me in a different way?

  Evelyn leered at him, and chuckled softly at how Ash never broke eye contact with her. The awkwardness from their prolonged stare almost made her forget about the Deadites, scratching and howling on the other side of the door. "Um, Ash?" she asked.

  Ash shook his head and cleared his throat in an attempt to appear nonchalant. "What's that?" he asked. He didn't know what had come over him. Although it was just for a few seconds, his mind was completely taken away from Freddy, the Deadites, everything. Over the past few days, that was the only thing he had been thinking about. Ash had been completely intoxicated by Evelyn, staring deep into her dark green eyes.

  Was it because of the way she returned his smile back at him? Was it because of the transformation she had undergone in that time? When he first met her, she was meek and quiet. And now, she was standing before him, stained in blood, with an axe in one hand and a gun in the other, ready to fight alongside him. He realized that the reason he had become so beguiled with Evelyn, was because she was becoming more like him.

  Evelyn held her voice steady as she ordered him. "Open the door already." she said.

  Ash lifted his scarred chin and nodded. "Gotcha." He turned his back to her and placed his left hand on the door handle. He pushed on the handle, but it wouldn't budge. No one had come up to the rooftop in so long that the hinges had rusted.

  He turned to his side and leaned his right shoulder against the door, while still gripping the handle. Ash pulled back, leaving twelve inches between him and the door. He slammed into it.

  BANG!

  The hinges on the corners started to creak and break off of the door. Ash slammed into it again.

  BANG!

  Ash leaned back even further, putting his full weight into the last budge. He grunted as he slammed his body against the door. "Argh!" This time, the rusted hinges broke free.

  BANG!

  The door flew wide open, and the force that Ash put into breaking the door down had caused him to side-step several feet outside, putting him in the midst of all of the Deadite horror. Ash heard shuffling footsteps approaching from behind him. As he straightened his back, he looked to see that Evelyn, Faith, and Steven had run outside the door to join him.

  Evelyn stood by Ash's left side, while Faith and Steven took the right side. Evelyn gripped her axe tightly in her hand, her eyes widened in caution and her hands shook, but the rest of her body was still.

  Steven stood just a few feet beside Ash. He held the Necronomicon tightly, clutching it by his chest with his left hand. He too had an axe, which he slowly raised up to his head in defense. His breathing became erratic as he eyed all thirteen Deadites staring at them in hunger.

  Faith stood next to Steven, at the furthest corner of the rooftop. She wiped the sweat from her left hand onto her black jeans as she held the stock with of her rifle with her right hand. She positioned her rifle, placing the stock against her right shoulder, her finger barely touching the trigger. Faith pulled the hammer back until it clicked, insuring that her weapon was locked and loaded. She tried to remember what Ash had told her about proper stance. She briefly looked down to the ground to make sure that her left leg was in front of her, with her foot pointing straight, and that she put most of her balance on her right leg, with her right foot pointed to her right. After mentally checking off everything on her list, Faith closed her left eye, keeping her sight locked on her target, which was the winged Deadite closest to her. It looked at her intently, with its slimy tongue hanging out, rasping at hissing at her.

  Ash stood in the middle of them. His chiseled face was still, and his dark brown eyes surveyed the mess of Deadites from left to right to left again. All thirteen of them paused, their inhuman bodies were completely still.

  They stared at them, their elongated mouth hung open, allowing bloody saliva to drip from down to the ground in long ribbons. Their teeth were visible under the red night sky. The gums attached to their fanged teeth were rotted black. The winged creatures hissed and growled just audible enough to send chills down the their spines.

  The cool breeze came forth through the night air, causing Ash's dark, matted, hair to dry, and the sweat on his brow to disappear. He lifted his chainsaw arm, causing the pull rope to swing and catch on the holster straps that crossed his chest. Ash then dropped his arm down, causing his chainsaw to roar.

  RRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRR!!!

  Ash laughed under his breath, taking joy in the fact that the oversized bats were already fearing him. He cocked his thick eyebrow, smiled, and parted his lips to speak. "Come get some, you mangy bags of flesh!"

  As the words left his mouth, one of the Deadites shrieked like a banshee, piercing Ash and the kids' ears. The bat-lik
e monstrosity ran towards Ash on all fours, like an animal. It began to flap its large wings, lifting its body off the ground. The demon let out a high-pitched squeal as it leapt toward Ash.

  Ash put one foot behind him and tensed his knees, steadying himself. His chainsaw still humming, Ash lifted his right arm and shot it through the Deadite's chest, and out its back.

  The chainsaw roared from inside the Deadite's body. The demon convulsed violently as the blades speedily cut through its organs, slicing them away. Blood sprayed both from the demon's back and through its chest. The sound of bones breaking and sawing were heard above the hum of Ash's chainsaw. The Deadite lowered its wings, as it was on the brink of death.

  Ash then dropped his barbed chain to the ground and reached behind his back for his trusty Boomstick. He grabbed his shotgun by the stock and slipped his finger through the trigger and brought it out. He aimed the double-barrels in front of the Deadite's dark, leathery face. Ash pulled the trigger.

  BOOM!!!

  The shotgun shell exploded in the Deadite's face. It's skull was littered with shrapnel. Speckles of blood, and gray matter shot in Ash's face as the Deadites head was blown clean off of its shoulders.

  Ash lifted his left leg and placed it against the lifeless Deadite's body. He pushed, causing the creature to slip out of Ash's chainsaw and fall limp to the ground. He spun his shotgun around once, suspending it with his thumb, before placing it back in his holster.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Ash spotted another foul creature charging at him at a quickening pace. An ungodly screech left the demon's mouth as it ran to Ash, raising its talons up to the sky, preparing to rip his skin.

  Ash bent down to quickly pick up his barbed chain. He grabbed the end and rotated his wrist, wrapping the chain around his hand. Ash stood up and lifted the chain high above his head.

  Evelyn noticed the spiked chain swinging dangerously close to her face. She widened her eyes in surprise, and quickly stepped out of the way.