by A. Eggleston
Evelyn wasted no time jumping over the fridge and running towards the Deadite. While the demon was taken aback, Evelyn pounced on her, knocking her to the ground. The back of the demon's head was slammed hard on the ground, making her grunt. Evelyn pinned the Deadite's arms down to keep her from attacking. I don't know where to go from here. How am I supposed to kill her like this?
Before she could think of an answer, she felt a powerful force hurling her to the ground. Evelyn's back was now on the floor, and the grinning Deadite was on top of her, restraining her. She felt the hideous monstrosity let go of her wrists and raise her hands up.
The demon opened her palms, revealing her long, dirty fingernails. "I'll ruin that pretty face of yours!" Before Evelyn could react, she felt her face sting from small scratches from the demon's nails. The let out a high-pitched laugh "Ha ha ha ha ha!" as she slashed away at Evelyn's smooth skin, her neck, and her collar bone.
Evelyn screamed in pain. "Aaaah!" But she repressed her pain, knowing that her screams would only attract more of the foul things. She felt her face throb and burn in agony. Her face and neck were damp with her blood.
She looked into the blank, soulless eyes of her attacker. She looked at the blood that ringed around them. In that brief moment, she was reminded that she promised to fight. She promised not to become one of them. She promised not to be a victim.
Evelyn's face contorted in anger. She did the first thing that came to mind. Evelyn balled her right hand into a fist and punched the demon in the cheek. She punched with all of the strength that she could bring out, and it worked.
Her neck whipped in the direction of Evelyn's punch. She retreated her vein-y, rotting hands to touch the side of her face.
Evelyn pushed the demon off of her. The Deadite rolled to the ground. Evelyn got up as quickly as she could, and ran far enough to find something...anything...that could be used as a weapon. She didn't have to look far. Just a few feet from where she was standing, there were a display of window panes that had been dropped to the floor. I could use the glass to stab her. They were still intact and unbroken. Not for long. Evelyn smiled as she turned one hundred and eighty degrees to see the she-demon standing in front of her, this time with a fresh purple bruise on her left cheek.
Evelyn didn't want a repeat from last time, so she launched her knee into the demon's stomach, causing her to double over. She then grabbed her by the nape of her neck and brought the demon down to her knees. Her head was only a foot or so away from the window pane. Evelyn hunched down, grabbed the Deadite by the back of her blonde hair with her left hand, and the back of her jeans with her right hand and shoved her into the glass with all of her strength. The glass shattered.
CRASH!
Dozens of large shards fell out of the front of the window pane. One in particular caught Evelyn's eye. It was a large, jagged shard, at least seven inches in length. It almost looked like a knife blade.
The demon was still on her knees, choking on her own blood, feeling pointed glass poke through her skull and her neck. She felt warm blood escape from her veins and run across her pale skin like a river.
Evelyn walked to the other side to grab the shard. She gripped the edged glass with her right hand, not minding that the sides were slicing her palm and fingers. She walked back to the other side, now standing at the demon's right side. She grabbed the wooden frame of the pane, and violently yanked it away. The demon was now free of the glass pillory. Now streaming with blood, the she-demon stood up to face Evelyn, still determined to devour her soul. She grinned evilly and hissed.
Evelyn's face was cold. Unlike the demon, she showed no sign of joy in what she was about to do. Her eyebrows narrowed and her lips frowned. She lifted up the glass shard, preparing to launch in straight into the demon's head. Her arm shot straight out at the demon's face.
The thin glass sliced through the demon's skull like a knife through butter. In between her eyes was a long, jagged, bloody piece of glass. Blood of varying colors poured down her face. First it was the standard red color, but then it changed to black, and then green, and then red again.
The demon's mouth gaped open, trying to form words, but words never came. The only thing that escaped the Deadite's wretched mouth her audible, incoherent, moans. "...Ah...Ah--Aaah...Uhhh..." The demons dropped to her knees. Her upper body then fell forward. Her head was unable to touch the ground at first, as the glass shard held her head up like a tee holding up a golf ball, then quickly slice through her brains and poked out of the other side. The clear glass was now red.
Evelyn's voice was steady and low. "Try to swallow my soul now, bitch."
She stared at the lifeless corpse for a moment before venturing forward. She wanted to be absolutely sure that it was dead. She was finally able to breathe normally. Her gaze lifted from the Deadite and across the store. Where's everybody else? Her plan was to quietly search around the store until she found Faith, Steven, or Ash without being spotted by another Deadite. As she looked onward, she saw another three making eye contact with her.
It was three males. One pointed at her, looking behind to his Deadite brethren, and back to her. Evelyn could hear him shouting. "There! In the back! Kill the mortal!"
That plan was shot down quickly. she thought. Evelyn jumped over the Deadite corpse and ran in the opposite direction of the other three demons.
As Evelyn was doing her best to run from the Deadite’s on the left side of the store, on the other side, Steven had finally gathered the strength to pick himself up and walk around. His bones and muscles ached, especially his back. Landing on a folding table from twenty feet in the air does not do the body well.
Steven brushed his dark, choppy hair out of his face as he cautiously trekked through the ruins of S-Mart. Fallen merchandise had formed into piles across the floor. Some were so tall that they resembled small hills. Aside from his concern over his friends' well-being, the danger surrounding Freddy and his Deadite army, and his own aching body, Steven was amazed at how different the store had looked now because of the damage.
He wandered around aimlessly. He was careful not to step on anything that would break, or cause any sort of noise, as he was afraid that a lone Deadite or a crowd of them would be able to find and kill him.
His walk had sparked something in his brain. He remembered something that made his stomach churn and his hands shake. Steven's eyes widened and he nervously, but quietly, said to himself, "The book!" he said. "I lost the book!"
Steven whipped around and retraced his steps to the original spot where he fell. He jumped over the rubble to go back to the tipped over table surrounded by merchandise where he had landed. "Oh God, oh God, oh God..." he kept repeating to himself. He started crawling on his hands and knees, hoping that the book slid somewhere on the floor. "I had one job, and I screwed it up!"
Steven then got the idea to return to the exact spot where he fell and guess where the book had gone away to. He crawled back to the same spot on the cold hard floor. He laid down in the exact position he was in before. He lifted up his hand to the ceiling and drew an imaginary line with his index finger where he flew. "Let's see." he muttered. "If I fell like this, then the book probably slipped away right before I landed...I think." He traced his finger further ahead, past where he landed. Steven flipped over on his stomach. "That means the book should be somewhere over..." Steven took a guess, hoping that he picked the right area. He pointed just a few yards behind him, near the cutlery aisle. "...There."
Just then, Steven could faintly hear the demonic laughter of the Deadites coming from the distance. "I gotta hurry." he said as he pushed himself up and sprinted towards the area where he hoped the book would be.
He looked down at the floor as he walked, keeping a close eye for the leathery face of the Necronomicon. So far, the only things his eyes detected were broken merchandise. "Come on..." Steven found himself on the top of a small hill of busted merchandise that gathered on top of each other during the mayhem.
Ste
ven dropped to his hands and knees and started taking items away one by one, trying to reach the bottom. "Come on, damn it! Where are you?" The more he removed items out of his way, the more desperate he became.
Finally, as he brushed away crumpled air conditioning filter, he noticed something peeking through the rubble. It was the corner edge of something dark and dry in appearance. There were wrinkled pages between them. Steven felt his heart race as he quickly brushed items out of the way and pulled it out. At last, the evil face of the Necronomicon was staring back at him, and was secure in his arms again.
Steven never thought he would be glad to see that face again, or touch its fleshy cover, but he was. He held his close to him and jumped back on the ground. He looked onward, his eyes locked on the cutlery aisle just a few yards away. I bet I could find a knife or something to use. Right now, it would be kind of stupid to walk around in this place unarmed. Steven quietly walked towards the aisle, keeping a watchful eye on Deadites as he did so.
Faith walked her way through the cutlery aisle. She was amazed that this, among maybe two others next to it, was the only aisle that had not been destroyed. Considering that she fell into an aisle filled with forks and butcher knives, she was thankful for that. Occasionally, she would see a knife or two on the tile floor, but comparing it to the damage that had been done to the rest of the store, it wasn't so bad.
As Faith neared the end of the aisle, she could see two Deadites across the way. They had not seen her, as they were facing the opposite direction. But still, she was unarmed. She couldn't go against them without some kind of weapon.
She felt her eyes trail away from the Deadites and to the shelf next to her, which carried a vast array of kitchen knives. Without pause, her arm extended to the shelf second to the top. She reached out and grabbed the largest knife on the shelf. The blade was roughly ten inches long with a thin, wooden handle. She gripped it tightly in her hand as she eyed the Deadites that were, thankfully, still far away. It's not a rifle, but it'll do I
guess.
Faith then exited the aisle and found herself in the Sporting Goods department. Most of that area of the store was still intact. Aisles lined with bicycles, heavy bags, boxing gloves, footballs, baseballs, and bats were unharmed. But, as Faith slowly walked through each aisle, searching for somewhere safe to hide, she noticed something. Something that chilled her bones and pissed her off at the same time. "Where are all the guns?" she said, louder than she intended.
As Faith looked over to the aisle that originally held all of the guns and ammunition in S-Mart, she soon discovered that it had been destroyed. Shelves had been knocked over, and merchandise had either been broken or thrown to different areas of the building, just like everything else in the store. Faith slammed her fist against the shelf she had been leaning against. "Damn it!" she hissed.
When Faith had punched the side of the shelf, it caused something to fall and roll onto the floor, making itself visible to her. She looked down and saw that it was an aluminum baseball bat. Faith bent her knees and picked it up. She examined it, holding the handle and the kitchen knife in her left hand. At that moment, Faith had an epiphany. Well, I can't blow their brains out...but maybe I can crush their bones and slice their guts. Faith stood up and smiled. I just need something to hold them together.
She looked behind her to see a rack holding a dozen rolls of duct tape. "Huh..." Faith said to herself. "how serendipitous." Faith took one step forward and grabbed a roll of tape.
She sat on the floor, leaning against the shelf as she took the tape out of the packaging. Once she finally got it open, Faith took her knife and connected it to the end of her bat. Taking a strip of tape, Faith wrapped the tape around the bat about five times before cutting the tape. She threw the roll away and made sure that the knife was held securely. Proud of her creation, Faith smiled and almost chuckled. "Ha ha ha..."
CRASH!
Faith heard items knocking over on the shelf she was leaning against. Before she could even look to see where the noise was coming from, she felt a pair of rotted hands grip her neck tighter and tighter.
Faith couldn't breathe. She could only gulp and choke. "(gasp) (gurgle) Eck!" She flailed her arms and legs, but it only caused the Deadite behind her to grasp tighter. She moved her torso forward as she tried to unclasp the fingers around her neck. Only caused more pain to her throat.
She could hear the demon's crazed laugh. "Ha ha ha ha ha!" And then his chant. "Join us, Faith! Join us!"
By now, she had come to loathe the sound of their warbled voices. It made her go blind with rage. As the demon began to pull her in through the other side, Faith gripped the bat with both hands and launched the knife end through the other side of the shelf.
She heard the cracking noise, which she assumed meant that she had pierced the skull. She felt the demon's grip loosen around her neck. Still gripping the bat, Faith slid out from the shelf and brushed the merchandise aside to see the face of the Deadite. She indeed had struck the bladed end into the demon's skull, killing it. Blood still dripped from the knife would. She gazed at his open-mouthed stare, blank and listless. "Don't you get it?" she said to the corpse. "'No' means 'No'!" Faith yanked the knife out, causing more blood the pour. The demon fell on his side, never to get back up.
"I swear, if I have to hear 'Join us' one more time, I'm going to flip shit." Faith got back up on her feet. The muscles in her throat were still sore from the Deadite's grip. She had already forgotten how strong they were.
SMACK!
Another demon came up from behind her and hit her in the back of the head. "Ugh!" Faith groaned as she fell on her hands and knees on the cold floor. She heard the demon hiss from behind her. She instantly flipped over to look at it.
Another male Deadite was charging at her at lightning speed. Before she could react, he jumped in the air, trying to jump on top of her. Faith's body reacted before her mind could even process what was happening. Her legs bent, and her knees were brought to her stomach.
As the demon jumped on top of her, Faith kicked him in the chest. She shot her legs out with all of the strength that she had, pushing the demon away. She grunted. "Ugh!" Faith stood up and grabbed her bat before the demon could have a chance to attack her again. She ran to the Deadite.
Faith hit the demon in the stomach yet again, this time with the knife end of her bat. She felt the steel blade burst through the meat, bones, and vital organs. Out of pure sadistic pleasure, Faith twisted the bat around, causing an even bigger hole in the Deadite's stomach. The demon cried out in pain. "Aaaaah!" Faith yanked the knife away. The demon had bent over, putting his hands over his stomach in an attempt to keep his intestines from falling out.
As soon as the demon lifted his head, he was met with the sight of Faith swinging her bladed bat at his head, as if he was nothing but a fleshy baseball. The bat impacted against his forehead. His skull cracked. The demon fell on his back to the tile floor. When the demon opened his eyes, he saw Faith standing over him, with the bat over her head. She lowered it once more, swinging at his face, pulverizing his skull.
She held her bat differently this time. She kept the bladed end pointing down to the ground. She gripped the handle, with one hand over the other. As hard and as fast as she could, Faith plunged the knife into the Deadite's skull. And his eyes. And his chest. And his bleeding stomach. Over. And over again.
Once a pool of blood formed around the corpse, Faith realized it was time to stop. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Phew..." She relaxed her arms. Looking down at them, she realized that speckles of blood had sprayed on her body. She felt her cheek, it too was wet with blood. I got a little carried away, didn't I?
She felt it was time to get out of this department and start looking for her friends. There's gonna be Deadites everywhere, but at least we'll be together. Safety in numbers, right?
Faith held the bat up as she walked to the edge of the aisle. She wasn't certain that there were Deadites around every corner, but the last t
hing she wanted to do was risk getting attacked again. Faith neared the end of the aisle. From the other side, she could hear rasped, heavy breathing. Oh, come on! More? she thought. She got ready to slay another Deadite. Faith turned to the corner and swung her bat blindly. It made contact.
She immediately heard Steven's voice as he cried out in pain. "Ow!" Steven doubled over, clutching his stomach as he whimpered.
Once she heard his tortured cry, Faith lowered her bat to the ground and put her hand on Steven's back. Her voice cracked. Her eyes glistened in regret and embarrassment. "Oh, Steven! I'm so sorry!"
Still bent over and looking down at the ground, Steven finally spoke. His voice was loud enough to hear, but it was strained. When he spoke to Faith, it almost sounded like a wheeze. "I'm fine." he lied. "I forgot how good you are with a bat."
She helped Steven stand up straight. She patted his back and playfully tousled his hair. She chuckled, trying to break the tension. "I guess those two years of softball actually came in handy, huh?"
Steven smiled faintly and nodded in agreement. "Mmm hmm." His eyes trailed down Faith's arm to take a look at the bat. His gaze descended from the handle and stopped once he noticed the large kitchen knife duct taped to the end of the bat. His eyes widened in shock and he felt ice down his spine. He jumped back and pointed at the knife. "Oh crap, what the hell?!"
Faith leered at him for shouting so loudly. "What?" She looked down to where he was pointing. She raised her bat, pointing the bladed end to the ceiling. "You mean this? It's just a knife."
Steven rolled his eyes. "I know it's a knife, Faith. It's just--"
Before he could finish his thought, Faith waved the knifed end of the bat proudly in his face, like a pendulum swinging from left to right. "Yeah, I made it into a bayonet."
She smiled proudly. "Do you like it?"
Steven was baffled at that moment. He searched for the right words to speak next, but at first, he fumbled around his words. When he did speak, he raised his voice and his words seemed to run together. "You almost killed me! You could've eviscerated me with that thing!"
