If you thought things were getting real in the last chapter . . .
After a while, Mark finally said that he was ready to go, and the group all stood to make their way outside. Avery, Delirious, Jack, and Mark all climbed up the short staircase and through the hatch into the Killer's Shack and waited for Delirious to say it was safe. He had volunteered to be the one to check out the surroundings first, and was now peeking out through the doorway outside into Coldwind Farm. He stepped out several feet, listening for any sounds other than the wind blowing through the overgrown, dead grass, and looking for any movement that would deem alerting.
"Okay, it's good," He said, looking back at the others.
Mark, Jack, and Avery came out behind him, and the group started going around, looking for a generator, hook, or a box where they might find possible supplies. Before they left, Avery had said that they should find something to stabilize them, like food and water. It had been decided that she would be on the lookout and search for the supplies, while Mark, Jack, and Delirious would do the rest.
They walked for awhile without seeing anything, until Jack spotted the cornfield.
"Hey, isn't there always a generator in The Rotten Fields?" he asked, looking at Avery.
She stopped and looked towards the yellow stalks. "Yeah, there always is," she said.
So the group started heading for the cornfield. It was when Mark stopped suddenly that Jack walked into him.
"Mark, why are you stopping?" he asked, very confused.
"There's a hook over there." Mark pointed to the left of the group.
Avery and Delirious stopped, too. They followed Mark's gaze and saw the hook as well. Avery and Mark went to tear it down, while Jack and Delirious patrolled a small section around them, looking for anything else.
"There's that smell again," Jack said, sniffing the air as Mark helped Avery on top of the pillar so she could get at the clip and binding holding the hook up.
"What smell?" Mark asked, looking towards Jack.
"Yeah, I smell it, too," Delirious said. "Still stinks, though."
"Maybe your nose is just different?" Jack suggested.
"What on earth is that supposed to mean?" Delirious demanded.
Jack shrugged. "Just a suggestion," he said.
"Got it!" Avery exclaimed suddenly, bringing Jack's and Delirious' attention to her and Mark.
Avery had just torn the binding off the pillar and the hook fell to the ground, landing with a hard thunk.
Avery jumped off the stand and picked up the hook. "So," she said. "we keep looking for the generator?"
"I guess so," Mark said.
Mark and Avery rejoined Jack and Delirious and kept going towards The Rotten Fields. Delirious was making weird noises as the smell grew stronger. Jack's mouth was watering again at the delicious smell of cooked meat, though.
"What is that smell? Is that what you're complaining about, Delirious?" Avery asked, turning around and walking backwards.
"Yes!" Delirious exclaimed, lifting his mask up and covering his mouth and nose again.
"I don't see what you're complaining about, Delirious. It's not that bad, actually," Avery stated.
"Does it smell like cooked meat to you?" Jack asked.
Avery nodded.
"I don't smell anything," Mark said.
Delirious, Avery, and Jack all stopped and stared at him.
"How are you not smelling that?" Delirious said beneath his hands.
"I don't know, I just don't," Mark explained awkwardly.
They kept walking until they came to the edge of the cornfield, where they stopped to look around.
"I think I'll wander around the cornfield in search of a box," Avery said. "You guys can look for the generator."
"You better keep that hook with you then, since you'll be alone," Delirious said. Avery nodded before she disappeared into the tall, yellow stalks of corn. "Let's go find that machine." Delirious started heading in the opposite direction.
Mark and Jack followed after him, and it wasn't long before they finally found the generator. They quickly got to work repairing it, pausing every now and then to listen out for any sounds indicating that The Hillbilly was nearby or that Avery was coming towards them again.
The generator gradually grew louder as Mark, Jack, and Delirious made more progress, and it eventually grew so loud that they barely heard the chainsaw nearby. Delirious was the first to realize what it was and he shot straight upward, somewhat startling Jack and Mark.
"It's here!" Delirious exclaimed, looking around wildly.
Mark and Jack stopped and looked around, too. The whirring was heard again, and then it grew louder. The Hillbilly suddenly burst out of the cornstalks, scaring the three half to death. Jack and Mark ran off in one direction, but as Delirious tried to follow, The Hillbilly blocked his path.
"Delirious!" Mark cried over to him.
"GO! I'll be fine!" Delirious called back, running in the opposite direction.
Mark and Jack were still for a moment before they finally remembered how to move and took off after Delirious and The Hillbilly. Delirious was trying to figure out how to lose the beast pursuing him, and it wasn't going well. The chainsaw suddenly whirred even louder, and the sound of it got far too close for comfort. Delirious jumped to one side, narrowly avoiding getting split in half by the deadly tool.
Delirious got to his feet again quickly, but The Hillbilly had recovered already and grabbed his hood, pulling him backward and throwing him back onto the ground. Delirious scrambled over the ground away from The Hillbilly as it stood over him, raising its hammer high above its head.
Delirious braced himself for an impact, but there wasn't any. He opened his eyes again and saw that Mark and Jack had appeared and were distracting The Hillbilly, giving Delirious the time to stand up again.
The Hillbilly roared in fury, and then it slipped its hammer into a belt around its waist and reached out with the now free hand. Its long fingers closed on the back of Mark's head and it threw him forward. The impact to the ground left Mark stunned momentarily, and he went still.
"Mark!" Jack cried, racing forward to get Mark out of danger.
The Hillbilly turned on Jack as he reached Mark, but Delirious ran up and leaped onto the monster's shoulders. The Hillbilly roared in confusion and fury, swinging around madly. Eventually, Delirious was knocked off and he fell onto the ground. The air was knocked out of him, and in the moment that it took for him to recover, The Hillbilly had pulled its hammer out again.
Delirious let out a cry of pain when the hard end of the hammer was slammed onto his left arm. He clutched it with his other hand and tried to stand once more, but when he rolled over, The Hillbilly placed one foot on his back, holding him against the ground.
Jack had just gotten Mark to a safer location, a little distance away from where The Hillbilly and Delirious were, and now he was running back to assist Delirious with the monster. What he found almost made him scream, but he held it in.
The Hillbilly had set down its chainsaw, but it was too heavy for Jack to pick up, so he didn't even try. Besides, it was too close to The Hillbilly anyways. The Hillbilly had set its chainsaw down and picked up Delirious by the back of his sweater, and it had grabbed his shirt underneath as well, making it harder for Delirious to escape. The Hillbilly twisted its wrist around so that Delirious was forced to look into its ugly face. The monster raised its hammer high above its head again, and Delirious knew that he could be killed if it was aimed at his head.
Delirious swung a bit and kicked his leg up, the bottom of his shoe landing flat in The Hillbilly's face.
"H2O, catch!" Jack yelled suddenly.
Delirious looked in Jack's direction in time to see a hook flying towards him and reached out and caught it in his hand. Jack must have spotted it nearby and quickly dismantled it for a weapon.
The Hillbilly was about to try swinging at Delirious again, but Delirious made his move first. He raised the hook and quickly brought it down, the pointed end of it sinking into the top of The Hillbilly's head. The monster paused, as though it hadn't yet registered what had just happened. Delirious started kicking at The Hillbilly's chest, pulling on the hook at the same time. There was a horrible ripping noise as The Hillbilly's head was torn off.
Delirious was dropped to ground and the hook landing next to him, the head still on it. The Hillbilly's mangled corpse landed with a loud thud and was still. Jack stared in shock at the limp form of the killer, and then looked at Delirious, who was just as shocked.
Then, to their utter bewilderment, The Hillbilly's corpse began to melt. It turned into what looked to be thick, black oil before seeping into the ground. The spot where the body had been just seconds before was left spotless, clean, as though nothing had ever happened.
"What the hell was that?!" Jack and Delirious looked over to see Mark had managed to stand up, and he was staring at the now clear area with wide eyes.
"Mark, are you okay?" Jack asked out of concern.
Delirious stood up, grabbed the now-headless hook, and walked over to Jack and Mark. He saw now that Mark's forehead had a bloody gash, the red liquid was staining the side of his face.
"Yeah, I'm fine. But what just happened?" Mark asked, looking between Jack and Delirious.
"There you guys are." Avery suddenly appeared out of the cornstalks, making Jack, Mark, and Delirious jump. "Oh, sorry, didn't mean to startle you." She apologized. Then Avery noticed that Mark was bleeding, and that Delirious was holding his left arm. "What happened to you guys?" she asked.
"We were attacked by The Hillbilly." Jack explained. "Mark got hurt, and H2O managed to kill it."
Avery looked at Delirious with a shocked expression. "Wait, you what?!" she gasped.
"Killed the fucking killer," Delirious said, crossing his arms triumphantly.
"Wow, I didn't realize we could do that." Avery seemed unable to comprehend what she was hearing.
"What's in the bag, Avery?" Mark asked, motioning to the backpack over Avery's shoulders.
"Oh, I found some stuff we need. Did you guys find a generator?" Avery asked.
"Yeah, but we never finished it. The Hillbilly showed up and we had that epic showdown," Delirious explained.
"Oh, well, let's get back to the hideout for now," Avery said.
Mark, Jack, and Delirious followed Avery back to the Killer's Shack and through the hatch into the hideout, where Avery split up the food and water rations that had been inside the bag she'd found. There had also been a first-aid kit with it all, so Avery patched Mark's head up, too.
"So, I'm going to take a wild stab in the dark here and guess that The Hillbilly won't be gone forever and leaving us with freerun of the entire map." Avery said.
"That would be nice, though. Wouldn't have to worry about getting killed or anything like that." Jack put in.
"Yeah, but then this would all be too easy." Avery sighed. "Mark, stop picking at it!" she exclaimed suddenly.
Jack and Delirious looked over to Mark, where he was rubbing the patch over his head wound.
"But it's so bothersome. . . It itches!" Mark complained.
"They always are at first, but you'll get used to it after a while." Avery explained.
"How do you know all this?" Jack asked.
"I got hurt a lot when I was younger, and my mom is also a doctor, so I know a lot of first-aid stuff, too," Avery said. "So, I'm the one to come to if any of you get hurt."
"Oh, that's very helpful," Jack said enthusiastically, glad that there was something to count on.
"So, what are we going to do now?" Delirious asked.
They had already eaten a small portion of their rations of food, so at least they had some extra energy, now.
"Well, I don't know how long The Hillbilly might be out of commission, so let's try to fix as many generators as possible in a short amount of time." Avery suggested.
"Sounds like a plan," Delirious said.
"Just ta be sure," Jack started. Avery and Delirious looked at him, while Mark slipped his hands underneath him so that he wouldn't start picking at the patch on his forehead again. "Let's take a hook or two with us this time so that if The Hillbilly does reappear, we'll be able to defend ourselves."
"Good idea," Avery said.
"Can we go, then? Because my own hands are driving me crazy, now," Mark said.
Avery stood up, and Delirious followed, and soon Mark and Jack were going after them through the hatch.