by A. Eggleston
With his gloved hand, Freddy strangled her. He then shifted his body until he was now on top of her, pinning her down. He squeezed her throat until she gagged. "You did this!" he said. He looked down and saw the Necronomicon in her left hand. Now to take back what's mine and fix this problem. He reached for the book and tried to take it from Evelyn's hand. It was a struggle to pry it from her hand. "Give it back!"
Freddy had pulled with such force, that as soon as the book slipped from Evelyn's fingers, he found himself lifting the book over his head. The powerful force from the portal was like a huge gust of wind, knocking the book from Freddy's hand and sending it hurdling inside. Freddy watched as the book was taken from him yet another time. He snarled as anger took over him. He could feel the pull from the vortex dragging him in. With his bladed hand still clasped around Evelyn's neck, Freddy got up to his feet just in time to see Ash running to them.
He had both barrels pointed at Freddy. "Give it up, Freddy." he ordered. His voice was tired, but steady. "Right now, you're playing footsie with the gatekeeper of Hell. Now, let her go before I splatter your brains all over the hood of my car."
His feet were now starting to drag along the concrete, closer toward the rift. He looked into the portal, knowing that the only way to get the book back was to go in after it. Why just get the book? he thought. Why not kill two piggies with one stone? Turning back to Ash, he smiled deviously. "If you want the girl so badly, then come and get her!" Freddy allowed himself to be completely consumed by the rift. Both of their feet lifted from the ground as their bodies were carried by the wind and into the rift.
Evelyn screamed and shouted as her body was flipped and spun above the ground. It was more disorienting and more frightful than any carnival ride. She cried out. "Ash!"
What made it worse was Freddy's knives digging into her back as he held her close to him, and looking into his menacing eyes that pierced into hers.
As soon as Freddy and Evelyn ventured further into the portal, it began to close off. The wind was steadily dying down, and the pull was weakening.
Time was running out for Ash. He only had one shot to enter the portal and chase after Freddy. Ash ran faster than he ever had before. His legs burned and throbbed as his feet slammed on the concrete. His breath shortened. Soon, he felt his feet no longer touch the ground as the powerful force of the rift sucked him in. Old memories came flooding in as his body flipped over and over again, making him dizzy. He yelped and shouted. "Whoa! Aaaaah!" His cries were distorted before being abruptly cut off as the rift closed and disappeared.
Chapter Forty
Oh yeah, it's all coming back now. Ash thought, reluctantly. Twirling around through time and space. Watching the cosmos zoom by. Feeling my lunch work its way back up my throat. Yeah, sign me up for this again. Ash floated weightlessly through the empty space, watching beams of light pass him by. Once he paused to view his surroundings, it was actually a mesmerizing sight. Light of all colors rushing past him, like a fireworks show in the night sky. And then, just as he came to appreciate the beauty and serenity of being in such a vast, empty, and quiet space, there was an explosion.
Ash felt as if he had been suddenly shot out of a cannon. All he saw was a bright pale light. Then came the sound of a deafening explosion reverberating in his eardrums. He emerged from a wall of thick, gray smoke, falling through the air. The fall was short as Ash felt the back of his head slam against a hard surface. "Argh!" he shouted as he continued to fall and stumble. Judging from the images that briefly entered his vision during the fall, and from the rough, unsteady, descent, he concluded that he was tumbling down a flight of wooden stairs.
Once his fall had ended, and there was a throbbing ache growing in the back of his head, Ash found himself lying on his back, his head inches away from the last step. The wooden beam holding the rail inadvertently blocked his chainsaw blade from slicing into his skull. Ash fought the pain that had spread to his entire body and lifted himself up. He groaned and grumbled as he regained his balance and explored what, at first glance, appeared to be an ordinary basement. He slowly trekked away from the wooden staircase and ventured further into the basement. As he studied his surroundings, he realized that it was the same basement he had used to store his weapons. He was back in the house. 1428 Elm Street. "Huh..." Ash said to himself. "Guess I'm in the right place."
This time, there were no spider webs in the corners. No rust on the furnace. Not even a speck of dust on the workbench. He looked up to the small window just below the ceiling and noticed a small ray of light peeking through, illuminating on the workbench not far from where he was standing. He crept towards it, paying special attention to the shelves on the walls, which were lined with mason jars and other items. Each jar contained small body parts, preserved in dirty, green-ish water. Some contained tiny, but plump, hands.
Others held locks of hair. One even contained an eyeball. The other items strewn on the shelves were children's toys; such as dolls and wooden racecars, and pieces of ripped clothing. All of these items were stained with blood. Ash tried his best to keep from vomiting as he walked up to the bench.
He placed his hand on the bench, noticing the sheets of copper lying about. Also, tools, such has hammers, metal cutters, and rivet tools strewn across. His gaze trailed up from the dirty table and paused at the calendar pinned to the wall above. The date read "December 13th, 1968" He turned away from the bench, facing the other side of the room. "And the right time." he said. "Well, at least I know I didn't screw that part up." As soon as he turned, he was instantly met with the sight of a rack that held about a dozen of what looked like Freddy's glove. Each was different in design: Some were made with blades that were short and curled, like the claws of a ravenous animal. Others had much longer knives, while some were made of different kinds of metal. "All right," he muttered, trying to ignore the revolting images that befell every square inch of the basement. "now I just got to find out where you're hiding."
(weeping) (hiccupping) (sniveling)
Ash's ears twitched when a new sound emerged. He turned in the direction in which it was coming from. He recognized it as Evelyn's voice, crying in the far corner of the basement. "Evelyn..." he called. He quickly walked over to the other side of the room, towards the dark corner where he assumed her to be. His footing was stopped short when Evelyn emerged from the thick, black, shadow. He watched her drag her own body across the dirty ground, pulling herself by the strength of her upper body alone, while her legs remained limp. He looked at her usually black hair, now stringy and ratted from fighting Freddy.
Then to her face, which contained bruises on her cheeks and temples. But what truly made a lasting impression on Ash were the fresh slash marks that covered her entire body. Her black jacket had been ripped from her person, leaving only her purple tank top. It exposed her arms and partially her chest. To him, she looked like a red-striped zebra. Upon looking at the cuts further, he noticed a particular pattern on every area of her body that he had his blades on. In knife wounds, the words "Freddy was here" was scrawled on her body. On her arms. Her collar bone. He had even ripped the collar of her shirt so that he could write it above her chest. The words were also on her stomach, and just above the button of her jeans.
"My God, Evelyn." he said as he ran to her. Her body collapsed just as he knelt down in front of her. He lowered down to his knees and rested her head in his arms as he stared into her fluttering eyes. "I'm sorry--I--I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner. I'm sorry that...that..."
Evelyn looked into Ash's sorrowful eyes. She ceased her crying and did her best to give him a reassuring smile. "No big deal, it's just a scratch." she said, her voice cracked and broken. "Or fifty." She laughed softly under breath, which made Ash faintly smile as well.
"I'm gonna get you out of here, kid." said Ash.
Evelyn nodded. "Okay..." she agreed softly. She winced in pain from the cut on her lower stomach. She tugged on the hem of her shirt, covering the words that were scrawled ju
st below her belly button. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, feeling safe enough in Ash's arms to relax herself. Once her eyes opened, she saw a pair of worn boots walking up to them. Her gaze trailed up and she saw Freddy's face. "Ash..." she warned. "Behind you."
He turned around to see that same, ugly, striped sweater standing before him. He carefully rested Evelyn on the ground and quickly stood up. He turned around to face him, only to see something he had not expected. He looked at Freddy's face. He was not the monstrosity he had come to know. His skin was not burnt, there were no scars, blisters, or pieces of charred flesh. Instead, what he saw was pale skin, thinning blonde hair, and pale blue eyes. With the exception of a few winkles, and his signature scowl, there was nothing out of the ordinary with his face. Had Ash not paid attention to the ratty sweater and bloodied glove, Krueger would have appeared to look like a normal man.
However, the look of pure evil in his eyes was the one trait that remained constant, burned alive or not. "Surprised to see me, Ash?" said Freddy. Ash's was surprised when he listened to his voice. There was nothing warbled or distorted in his tone. His voice was not as deep or as booming as Ash had come to recognize it. He simply sounded average. "Now that I've been robbed of my souls and sent back to this...hellhole...I look a little different now, don't I?"
"Well, it is an improvement." He smirked. "But face it," Ash ran his fingers along the slight scruff that had accumulated on the side of his face. "nobody even comes close to a handsome devil like me."
Freddy stifled a laugh as he readied his glove. "I see you've been hit in the head a few times too many." He twiddled his blades back and forth. "Powers or not, I'll have you fall by my blades again in no time."
"'Cause it worked so well last time?" Ash smiled confidently as he saw Freddy's snarl at him. "Maybe I need to remind you, buddy. I'm the guy with the gun." Ash grabbed his shotgun and brought it out from the holster, aiming it at Freddy. He had his finger on the trigger when Freddy tackled him to the ground. The back of his head slammed against the basement floor. The next thing he felt was Freddy's knuckles crashing against his face again and again. He then saw Freddy raise his bladed glove, ready to strike him. Before he could fall unconscious from the punches, he revved his chainsaw and swung it towards Freddy's neck.
Freddy's ears caught the whirring of his chainsaw and quickly ducked out of the way. He rolled onto the ground, off of Ash while the moving blade scraped against the floor.
Ash rolled over and got up to his feet before Freddy did, allowing him to attack. He swung the chainsaw from right to left. When Freddy ducked out of the way, Ash felt the weight of the chainsaw take over, causing him to nearly fall.
Although he was not eviscerated, the blade did not completely miss him. The very tip of the saw managed to slice Freddy's left side, near his ribcage. Blood sprayed from the large slash mark on his side, dripping down to his pant leg. "Aaaagh!" screamed Freddy as he covered the wound with his glove to stop the bleeding. When he looked up from his wound to see two shotgun barrels pointed at him. When they touched his forehead, he heard Ash's voice.
"Say 'Goodnight', Freddy." said Ash. "'Cause now, you're the one who's going to sleep." He prepared to pull the trigger.
Freddy gripped both shotgun barrels and shoved them away from him just as Ash pulled the trigger. Instead of having his brains splattered on the wall, the thunderous blast merely left a ringing sensation in his ear from being so close. With the barrels still hot from the blast, Freddy pushed them forward, causing Ash to be hit in the face with the butt of the shotgun.
"Oof!" yelled Ash as his head tilted back from the impact. He fluttered his eyes, and once he regained balance, he saw Freddy running towards him. To prevent him from attacking again, Ash kicked him in the stomach, sending Freddy stumbling far across the room.
His fall was halted when his back slammed against the wall, knocking over three of the shelves that contained souvenirs from his past victims. The toys and mason jars crashed onto the floor. The sound of broken glass echoed throughout the basement.
Ash ran to the other side of the room to Freddy. He raised his chainsaw up to his face. Once he was a few feet away from him, Ash cornered Freddy and threatened him with his chainsaw. The whirring blade was brought a foot away from his neck. The gray smoke that emitted from the chainsaw hovered around them, clouding their visions and filling their lungs.
Despite the hum coming from the chainsaw, another sound entered their ears. One that came from upstairs, outside of the basement. It was the sound of a baby crying. It was strange that such a pure and innocent sound made its way into the chaos that was happening below.
Freddy smiled evilly. Even though the features that had made him frightening were gone, the look of mischievousness and pure evil could not be taken away. "You might wanna keep it down." he said. "My daughter's trying to sleep."
'My daughter...' To Ash, hearing him say those words made him cringe down to the very core of his being. He knew that Freddy had a child, but hearing him say it, and with such a devious tone, filled him with a rage he didn't even know that he had. I'll be doing the kid a favor by killing this bastard. he thought. Ash leaned in, pushing the saw blade closer to his neck, ready to decapitate the son of a bitch.
Freddy slid down to the ground, missing the blade. The dark basement was now briefly illuminated from the sparks coming from the saw as it scraped against the brick wall. He got up to his feet and ran as far from Ash as he could manage. As Freddy neared the stairs, he was suddenly met with Evelyn's scolding face looking up at him, and the harsh impact of four blades piercing through his stomach. He gulped as he felt the blood trickle down to his legs. He looked down and saw that he had been stabbed with his own glove, one of the many that was displayed on a rack not far from where he was standing. Freddy gasped as Evelyn quickly pulled the blades from his body. Before he had the chance to speak, Evelyn launched her elbow at Freddy's chin. "Argh!" he screamed as he stumbled backward. He looked down at her with blood dripping down the corner of his mouth. "You cu--"
Before he could complete his remark, he felt Evelyn's arms touching his shoulders. She smiled as she spun his around, facing away from her. The next thing he saw was Ash. He had both weapons raised at shoulder-level. He had one arm over the other, with his chainsaw at the bottom and his shotgun at the top.
Without pause, Ash rammed the chainsaw through Freddy's stomach and out from his back. His blood sprayed wildly, like a geyser. Both Ash and Evelyn were being sprinkled with stray droplets of his blood. Freddy's screams of pure, unbridled agony were overpowered by the roar of Ash's chainsaw. Soon his legs gave out, and he found himself slowly lowering down to the ground. Ash forced this, pushing him down until he laid flat on the ground. Ash shut off his chainsaw and aimed both barrels of his shotgun between Freddy's eyes.
Part of his ribs had been obliterated. His intestines were scrambled. Most of his vital organs had been shredded by Ash's chainsaw. He felt a pool of warm blood surrounding his body. Freddy looked up, seeing both Ash and Evelyn's blood-splattered faces. He paid most of his attention to Ash's smug, arrogant eyes staring down at him. His powers, his strength, his chances of returning from the dead, were gone. He had been defeated. Again. Once again, by some bitch who was too clever for her own good. And also, some aging smartass with a knack for slaying the undead. But what made it different this time, was that now, all of his work, all of the bloodshed, all of the nightmares, would never have existed. With one shot, the legend of Freddy Krueger would be erased from existence. So many souls would be spared. So many children would go on to live long and happy lives, and dream in peace. Freddy coughed up a mouthful of blood, spilling it onto his chin.
Ash cocked his eyebrows. "Get ready to have everything you've done over the past thirty years go right down the drain, Krueger." he said. "Once I pull this trigger, you and all your nightmares won't exist."
Freddy leered at Ash, fighting the pain to convey a look of extreme rage and malice. "I'll see
you in Hell."
Ash smirked. "Tell 'em Ash sent ya!" He pulled the trigger.
BOOM!!!
Bight sparks flew in all directions as the shell exploded from the barrel. Freddy's skull was shattered into dozens of tiny pieces. His brains spread out across the, now bloody, floor, covering the area with pinkish dots. His blood streaked across the floor approximately four feet from where his head used to be. All that was left now was a jagged line marking the separation of his head from his neck, as well as the bloodied remains. He didn't re-animate. He didn't twitch. There were no dream demons roaming his body to bring him back to life. Freddy Krueger was dead.
Ash stood up tall. His voice was cool and confident. "Long live the king, baby."
He casually blew away the smoke that rose from the shotgun. He placed it back in the holster. He continued to stare at Freddy's desecrated corpse, finally feeling relaxed to know that he was truly dead. Ash then stepped away from the corpse. He went over to the workbench that harbored his tools.
He sifted through the tools and metal shavings to find the Necronomicon, hiding in the corner of the bench, engulfed in shadow. He heard faint, sloshing footsteps growing louder as they came closer to him.
He turned to see Evelyn standing behind him. He scanned her up and down, looking at the cuts and bloodstains that covered her body.
The strength in her voice was slowly returning. "Can we go home now?" she said with a faint smile.
Ash returned her smile. "Sure." he handed the book to her. She held it carefully in her hands, never breaking eye-contact with Ash. "You better handle it, I don't have the best luck when it comes to reading from this thing."
The corners of her lips curled into a full smile. She opened the book and flipped through the pages to find the passage to send them back. "Yeah, I know." she teased. She could feel Ash's eyes on her as she placed her finger at the beginning of the page, and began reading.
