Since It's been years since I've updated, it's becoming more and more obvious that I'm not going to finish this story. Here's the rest I've written. At the end I'll give a synopsis of where the story was going.
"Hello? Sir? Wake up!"
"Ahh!" Ash had nearly fallen out of his rolling chair. Technically it, the desk his feet were on and the office belonged to the manager but with him gone due to...complications, Ash took his seat. As was his right being the coveted, "Assistant Manager". Ash regained his balance, "What are you-" he cut himself off when he saw a woman in her late twenties with red hair and dressed in a formal outfit. "Well, who do we have here?"
"Ms. Wendy Stratton. I'm the replacement."
"Oh yeah, Ted's gone ain't he? That makes you..."
"Your new boss."
"Right, right."
"If you don't mind, could you show me around?"
"Alright, just don't expect me to be thorough, sweetheart."
"And why not?"
"Managers don't tend to last long."
"Yes, we are aware of the...rumors."
"Rumors, eh?" Ash scoffed. "Sister, you ain't seen nothing."
Ash gave a lazy tour through the back and the aisles, often mentioning the sporting goods section and oddly focusing on the gun cases. Mainly for the use of them in case of emergencies which were vaguely mentioned. When they were halfway down cosmetics, a Mexican man in a mustache and an S-Mart vest rushed down the aisle.
"Yo, Jorge. Where's the fire?" Through breathless sighs, he made out a few words. "Ash, it, it's happening, huff, again." Thunder boomed from nowhere and wind started whistling as dark clouds gathered over the store. Ash hung his head and groaned. "Dammit. Alright, you know what to do." Ash tossed the employee a group of keys and he dashed to the sporting goods section. Meanwhile, Ash grabbed Wendy by the wrist and ran towards the back. "What the hell is going on?!" The new manager demanded.
"Piece of advice, sweetheart: keep your head down and if you had a big lunch, may God have mercy on your gag reflex." The two ducked into the manager's office when the intercom came on. "Attention S-Mart shoppers, we are in the midst of another demon invasion. For those of you who have been with us and survived, please help your fellow patrons into the safe spot in the back. If you see someone lying on the ground, don't touch them as it is most likely a trap. We thank you for choosing S-Mart and we hope you'll survive to shop with us again."
"Ash!" Jorge and another employee armed with a gun and axe along with a group of customers were standing outside the door. "Good." Ash walked out as the people were corralled in the office. "Did you bring my gear?"
"Right here," the other man handed him a sawed-off shotgun and chainsaw. Ash smirked. "Perfect. Where's everyone else?"
"Jackie and Mike went out for lunch break. Stu's checking out the back."
"And Phil?" Jorge shrugged. "Damn, he owed me forty bucks, too. Ok, you know the drill, you see something weird, blow it to Hell." Jorge and the other man got inside and locked the door while Ash set out for shipping.
The hunter kicked the double doors open, boomstick in hand. The room was vast, cold and bleak, populated by metal shelves and various boxes. After a few footsteps, a chilling voice echoed, "Aaashleyyyy." Ash kept a straight face as if he expected it to happen. Cautiously, he stepped down an aisle, eyes drifting from left to right. Without warning, a man with brown hair, a beastial face and sharp teeth in an S-Mart uniform dove down from the ceiling, a piercing screech heralding his strike. Rather than turn around, Ash aimed above his shoulder and fired, the buckshot swatting the demon from the air. Before the deadite could get off the ground, Ash spun around and blasted him, quickly refilling his gun and firing another round. Ash approached the creature and stepped on the bloody pulp that was its chest. Despite the apparent amount of pain someone should be in, the monster looked up at Ash and laughed.
"What's so funny, Phil?" The monster formerly known as Phil continued, making no effort to answer his conqueror. Ash turn his head before shooting his coworker in the face, blood unfortunately splattering on the side of Ash's face. "Ugh," the S-Mart employee groaned as he tried to wipe off his cheek. "Never gonna get used to that." He then strolled out, spattered in blood but confident nonetheless.
As Ash left the back, he heard gunshots and screaming. "Oh, shit." He ran as fast as his legs could carry him to the source: the manager's office. The screams only got worse as the sound of hacking flesh started to mix in. When he got to the door, he jiggled the handle. Locked. "Oh, I hate doing this." With some shaking of his head to get psyched, Ash rammed the door with his shoulder. After three unsuccessful tries, he groaned, "Gonna feel that tomorrow." He backed up for one major push. When he was just about to dash, the lock clicked open. From it, the horde of patrons came out, running for their lives. After the last left, Ash walked in. In one corner of the room was the decapitated corpse of the second man. Standing atop it was Wendy, panting while using his axe to hold her up. "Oh thank God! Ash!" Jorge seemed to appear from nowhere in front of Ash. "Linus, he, he-"
"Turned?"
"Yeah, yeah! I tried to shoot him but he kicked the gun out of my hand! He almost got us all if she didn't jump in." Ash raised an eyebrow. "Really? The pencil pusher?"
"Yeah, she took the gun from the floor and shot the axe away and, man you just had to be here!" Ash walked to the tired woman and smirked. "Congratulations, you survived the first day. You gonna try for a second or should I show you the door?"
"Turns out, she stayed. Not only that, she kept taking down those demons better than me! Me! Can you believe that?! So I did what any sensible man would do, I put a ring on it. We haven't had time for a reception, but we're gettin' there." Sebastian stared at Ash dumbfounded before shaking his head. "You know," he took a swig of his beer. "If you told me that story yesterday, I'd have you committed. Now..." Ash put a hand on the detective's back. "Yeah, that's life. So, I spilled my guts, what about you, chief?" At that moment, Joseph walked in while jotting notes. Upon his entry, his partner stood up. "Are you feeling better?" Joseph nodded.
"Yeah. I got a better look at the writings. They seem to detail some traps and passages so I got all I could." Sebastian patted his shoulder, "Good work. Let's get moving."
"Hey! Hey!" Ash butted in. "What about our pow-wow? Tell me about your lady!" Despite the protests, Sebastian was walking out. "I'll tell you later."
"Later? Buddy, I've been through this enough times to know that later doesn't get a chance to come around." The two detectives ignored the hunter who sighed and reluctantly followed.
After walking a bit to the right, they found the beginnings of a cross between a labyrinth and graveyard. In the distance, a large church overlooked the twisting maze. Joseph pointed, "Look!" Going up the stairs was Kidman leading Leslie along by the hand. At that moment, the world darkened around Ash, changing from day to night in an instant. "Uh, guys?"
"Yeah?" Once Joseph had responded, the scene brightened to that of sunrise or sunset. "What's wrong, Williams?"
"Uh, didn't you guys see the lights go out?"
"What lights?" Joseph asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You didn't... You know what? Never mind."
"At any rate," Sebastian cut in. "We need to get across this mess if we want to catch up."
"How about this?" Joseph made for a mausoleum next to them and climbed a rusty ladder attached to it. As he reached the top rung, the ladder broke. Ash threw his hands up. "Come on!"
"Sorry, but look," the bespectacled detective pulled out a rifle. "I'll cover you guys from up top."
"Good, Sebastian stated. "Let's go."
Turning around, the duo found a murky patch of mud easily three feet deep. "C'mon."
"Ugh," Ash made his displeasure extremely lucid.
Sebastian and his new partner waded through the muck until they reached the other side, Joseph jumping across the mausoleums to keep up. A hiss drew their attention forward to a haunted in a mask. Rather than attacking, the creature turned and bolted. "Hah," Ash gloated, "Look at 'em. Guess they know who to be afraid of." His bravado faded when the haunted put its hand on a lever and threw it. A stone door next to it shunted open, revealing a chained, malformed giant about twelve feet tall. The beast roared as it ripped its bindings before grabbing the haunted and slammed it into the ground. A stain was the only thing left of it.
Sebastian, Ash and Joseph defeat Neun and Zeun and then the dog guardian but are separated at the church. Remembering the doctor's words, Ash calls out his name and discovers Doctor Jimenez who reveals that Ash must somehow have the power to control what happens inside STEM. He assigns him the task of finding Leslie with the promise of freedom.
As he tries to rescue Leslie from his own demons, Ruvik tries to probe his mind for answers, revealing that Ash's control stems from his being possessed at the end of Evil Dead. Ruvik fights Ash but is repelled by Ash's immunity; he delivers Leslie to Jimenez but they're separated when he hears Sebastian in trouble.
Ash finds himself in the ruins of Krimson City where he, Sebastian, Joseph and Kidman reunite and are chased by the spider monster. With one round of the sniper rifle, Ash destroys the monster. Unfortunately, he cannot stop Ruvik from causing the bus to crash. Ash makes it through the building and tries to stop Kidman from killing Leslie. They reunite at the main Beacon building and as Leslie disappears into Ruvik's brain juice, Ash charges in, getting swallowed up. He manages to catch a falling Leslie and uses his memories of Wendy to create a path out. After one last fight with Ruvik which shift between Sebastian's and Kidman's fights, he wakes up in his car, Leslie sitting shotgun. He tries to touch him but his hand fades through. He realizes that Leslie is in his mind. Ash looks back at Beacon to see Sebastian standing in the rain.
And that was how Rusty Metal was supposed to end. I'm sorry for my laziness but thank you for those who supported my first fic from the beginning.
