Kelly Maxwell brought the chainsaw down into the deadite at her feet and felt it slice through easily with little effort. It was a satisfying feeling that made Kelly smile although she had to turn her head to avoid getting a wave of gore to the face. There were only so many times that one could have that happen before figuring out when to turn your head and close your eyes. She idly wondered if she should not get a plastic face mask or something to protect her. It was not a horrible idea if she could maintain her vision and edge in battle.
She looked over to check on Brandy Barr who was busy bringing an axe down in an overhead swing and burying it in a deadite’s skull. She watched as Brandy raised the axe and brought it down again into the deadite, sending its head bouncing across the floor. Kelly actually felt a bit of pride watching the girl releasing the beast on her target. She walked over and put a hand on Brandy’s arm.
“Relax, Brandy,” Kelly said. “I think you got that one. I think we got them all.”
The two of them looked around at the gore-splattered Club Ruby with satisfaction. The place had been lively when they walked in, full of dancers, customers, and loud music. It felt like Kelly and Brandy’s arrival had triggered a rapid transformation of everybody into deadites. It was very sudden but the ladies had been ready to fight.
Brandy smiled. “This strip club is clean,” she said and looked around. “Well, in a spiritual sense, I guess. It was never clean physically.”
“True that,” Kelly said. “You did really well in the fight, by the way. Special thanks for shooting the DJ station first. I couldn’t hear myself think.”
“Same,” Brandy said. “Not that deadite screaming is any better but we made it work.”
“You really do have some of your dad’s fighting intuition but without the boneheadedness,” Kelly said. “No offense.”
“No that’s alright,” Brandy said with a smile. “I’ll take that compliment. I know who my dad was.”
“Who he is,” Kelly said. “There’s still a chance that we could get him back.”
“I mean, he’s been missing since the battle with Kandar but you’re right,” Brandy said. “He’s come back from bad stuff before.”
“Yeah, I’ve read his diaries too,” Kelly said.
“Journals,” Brandy said in the same tone that Ash would have. “Whatever. That chainsaw is really working for you. I’m so jealous.”
“Oh? Yeah, it’s great. It’s got a hardcore engine, sturdy steel frame, and diamond chains,” Kelly said, holding up the chainsaw. “We’ll have to get you one too. It’s a custom job but I think we can swing it.”
“Cool!” Brandy said. “Chainsaw sisters.”
“Exactly,” Kelly said with a smile. It felt good hanging out with Brandy. Her own family was long dead and Ash was gone. She had Pablo but relying on one person was never a solid plan. Training and partnering with Brandy felt a little like family. “Shall we grab our guest of honor and do what we came here to do?”
“Yeah, let’s do that,” Brandy said. “I need a shower.”
They walked back out to their truck and opened up the back. There was a safe bolted to the bed of the pickup truck. Kelly jumped up into the truck bed and manipulated the two combination dials on it and opened the door. She reached in and grabbed two lockboxes. She handed the heavier yet smaller one to Brandy and they walked back inside.
Kelly set her lockbox down on a table and pulled out a key and unlocked the box. She pulled out a stuffed puppet that had obviously been destroyed and put back together with duct tape and staples. It still looked quite a bit like Ashley Williams complete with a little stuffed chainsaw. The puppet looked around slowly and settled its beady eyes on Kelly.
“Finally!” the thing said as it started to move around. Thankfully, it was restrained by a strong steel cable. “You could at least put me in a bigger box!”
“Quiet, Ashy,” Brandy said.
“Yeah, you’re lucky I put you back together at all,” Kelly said. “You tried to kill Pablo and me. I guess you also indirectly tried to destroy the world.”
“I had my orders,” Ashy Slashy said. “I liked Ash but a puppet’s gotta do what a puppet’s gotta do.”
“Not exactly a winning defense,” Kelly said. “You know the drill. Do your thing and you get a little beer and maybe a buffalo wing.”
“Mmm,” Ashy said. “Deal. It’s over there in that guy’s right pocket. The one bent over the bar.”
“Gross,” Brandy said. “I’ll get it.” She walked over and slowly put her hand in the dead man’s pocket. His jeans were soaked with blood so it was not at all a pleasant experience. “There’s nothing here!”
Ashy laughed uproariously. “My bad,” it said. “It’s in a case behind the bar. The taxidermied finch is perched on it.”
“That trick just lost you a buffalo wing,” Kelly said.
“Aww man,” Ashy said and he slumped a bit in his bindings.
Brandy broke the glass of the case in question and extracted the finch’s perch. It was a bit of bone that Brandy handled carefully.
“It’s here!” she called out.
Kelly put Ashy back in his lockbox and cracked open a beer. She poured the entire beer onto Ashy and got most of it into the puppet’s mouth. She slammed the lid shut and locked it. Only after the puppet was safely locked away did Brandy come over and unlock the other lockbox. She dropped the piece of bone in and she and Kelly watched it animate and attach itself to what was approximately half of the Kandarian dagger. Satisfied, Brandy closed the lockbox and locked it again.
“Another piece down,” Kelly said. “I think we definitely earned hot showers and room service.”
Wolf of Words 