Into The Fog
'Jesus... this place is cold.... Did it work...? Am I dead?'
Ash stirs on the cold ground, a voice calling to him causes him to take a breath, but it doesn't fill him.
"Jefe? JEFE! Ash! Wake up! I think you're dead, I'm still working on the revival, hang in there okay? In the mean time, go find Brandy!"
Fragments of a swirling green portal flicker on and off in the Hardware Store's basement wall. Pablo stands on the other side frantically flipping through the pages of the Necronomicon.
Ash grabs his head to stop it from spinning as he looks around his surroundings. He's in the basement of his Hardware store, but it's all backwards, like living in a mirror, except darker.
"Pablo buddy? I thought you said you had it down already."
"Oh yeah, just a bit of a setback," There's mild panic in his voice, "but it's okay you're right there, see?" Pablo points to Ash's corpse on the floor behind him, "I figured keeping you near the portal we were using to find Kelly was a good idea. Hopefully we can find both of them and get them out. I heard Brandy earlier, but haven't seen her yet"
"Alright... okay.... I'll get to lookin then"
He searches the mockery of the mirrored town. It feels heavy around him like too much humidity on a cold snowy day. He calls for his daughter and his friend as he travels around the place before spotting her. Not the girls, no. The Classic. He jogs over to his car and opens the door. "Oh baby am I glad to see you. Help me find Kelly and Brandy eh?" He jokes as he reaches for the spare key in the glovebox, and starts her up. He drives through the town honking the horn before realizing that it's not just the three of them in this place.
"Deadites" He curses quietly as the demons start to pour out into the streets. He slams on the gas. A quick glance between the creatures as they swarm the car, and he sees Kelly being followed by a larger figure. Ash turns towards it and yells to Kelly to get in the car. Looking back he realizes it's Dalton and quickly swerves to miss him. They both hop in his car as Ash takes off.
"Boy you're a sight for sore eyes," Kelly grins through her rapid breathing as she pats Ash on the shoulder.
"Right back at you Kelly. Did you find Brandy? When did you die Dalton?" Ash asks.
Kelly points towards the park, "I saw her just up the road, but she ran from me."
Dalton shakes his head, "The Knights of Sumeria put me here to help Kelly. I'm not dead."
"You're not dead? What are you uh... Astral Projecting or something? I wish we knew about that before we killed me," Ash shrugs a bit uneasily.
Dalton starts to reply but is cut off.
"Ash! You killed yourself?!" Kelly yells at Ash.
"What? Everyone else jumped off the bridge!" Ash defends himself.
He leans forward in his car seat to get a better view of the park. Peeking into the rear-view, the Deadites are closing in.
"We gotta find her. Fast." Ash furiously starts honking the horn again as he circles the park. It's not like they can get him yet.
"There!" He points to the other side of the swings and takes The Delta off roading. She drives like a boat and bounces over the grassy areas like choppy water. The car makes it over to Brandy and Kelly crawls up to the front passenger door to throw it open for her. The teen leaps into the car and slams the door as Deadites thud against the window behind her.
"Hey! Watch it!" Ash hollers past Brandy at the Deadites, before mashing the gas pedal once more, taking them all back to the Hardware Store.
The Deadites hadn't dispersed from the streets at all. Ash figured that maybe their absence would have deterred them if only a little. He hits a few and winces as he knows they're going to leave marks all over his paint job. It really hasn't occurred that this may not be his actual car. Ash slams the breaks and pulls the e-break while turning, causing a power-slide. He perfectly stops in front of the store and knocks a few Deadites on their asses. Ash shuts off the car and they all start to rush out, but more Deadites rush the car, forcing them back inside. Hands slap the glass on all sides as Deadites shriek and laugh, taunting them with calls of 'Join Us' and threats of being eaten. The four look at each other, each filled with dread. This was looking grim. Ash takes action and turns the key. The engine lets out a pitiful whine and the headlights flutter.
"Ah, c'mon," He tries again, then slaps the steering wheel in frustration, "They sucked out the battery!"
Kelly and Dalton exchange a glance and nod. "Cover me," Dalton says. Kelly pulls out a pistol and shoots out the window behind Dalton. He leaps out of the opening and runs away from the car, taking shots at Deadites as he can. Kelly keeps the creatures from entering the car, and the opening moves the swarm to that side, opposite the storefront.
"NOW! GO NOW!" Kelly yells.
Ash hops out of the Driver side and helps Brandy slide across the bench seat. He opens Kelly's door and pulls her out too. They all run inside and barricade the door with some siding pieces and rush to the basement.
"Okay Pablo! I found 'em! Didja figure it out yet?" Ash finds a spare 2 by 4 and barricades the basement as well.
"I did! I see you got Brandy. You found Kelly too?! Thank God!" Pablo peers through the pieces of the portal and waves at Kelly, but shakes himself into action. He reads the Kandarian words and the portal flashes to it's proper shape and size, swirling fast in front of them, Pablo on the other side.
"Okay Jefe, all you gotta do is walk through! I'll hold it from this side!"
Ash nods and leads Brandy through first. She deserves out of here more than anything. She walks through no problem and disappears. Her body comes to life on the other side in a fit of coughing and Pablo goes to her side to check on her. Ash takes a big sigh of relief that his daughter seems okay.
He turns to Kelly, "Alright, now you"
She nods and tries the portal, but it doesn't let her through. She growls and hits the portal, but it stands in her way, like a closed glass door.
"So that's what happened there... Ruby put someone else in my body, urgh! We need to get her out before I can get in again." The door starts to rumble behind them, "They're coming. Ash, you go ahead and figure out how to get my body free. I'll hold them off and go find Dalton. He might know what else to do!"
Ash starts to protest, but she's right. "Alright. Stay safe out there. We'll get you out lickety split!" He turns and runs through the portal. He disappears, but strangely so does his body.
"Jefe? ....Where did he go??? Jefe?! Ash?? ASH?!"
'Jesus... this place is cold.... Did it work...? Am I Alive?'
Ash opens his eyes and shakes the dizziness off of him. He's standing somehow and sees a campfire in the distance.
"Huh.... What is this place?"
