Chapter 3-Death Returns

Michael's trip ended shortly after his driver crossed the Brisbane city limits. Rex looked over at his passenger, a slight twitch as he pulled the car over. "Okay, we're here. Now what do you want to do?"

Michael continued staring ahead a moment before turning to face Rex.

"What… no! I can be useful!" He said, his hands clenching the wheel.

Michael spared no time or effort in ending his former driver's life. After grabbing the back of his head he slammed it down repeatedly into the steering wheel, the padded metal at first providing cushion, but after the fifth sharp blow it had split open the terrier's head. Rex squirmed, trying to get free, but was unsuccessful, Michael continuing to mash his head and face into the wheel until he was still, blood seeping from his bruised and mangled face. Michael pulled a knife from the floor and slit the dog's throat before getting out of the car, determined now more than ever to finish what had started twenty years prior.

***Across Town, Later***

"Alright, I've got to get going. Bluey's expecting me." Bingo hugged her parents on the front porch.

"Alright, just be safe, okay?" Chilli said, tenderly rubbing her daughter's forehead.

"Don't worry mum, nothing'll happen. We're just gonna have a few drinks and hang out. Lila's gonna pick me up later so I won't be driving."

"Tell your sister we'll see her soon." Bandit said, kissing his daughter's forehead.

"I will. Love you!"

"Love you too!" Bandit and Chilli replied, waving as Bingo pulled out of their driveway and headed toward her sister's apartment. The ride over was uneventful, as usual, aside from some asshole that kept flashing his high-beams every time he got the chance. Eventually Bingo lost him and got to Bluey's apartment without much issue.

She shut the car and walked down the hall to her sister's apartment. There was loud music from the videogame audible from the hall, and no one answered when she knocked or rang. Every time… Bingo shook her head before taking the key in the fake plant by the door and letting herself in.

"Hey Bingo! Didn't hear you knock!" Mackenzie slurred slightly, already clearly working his way from tipsy to sloshed.

"Who could over all this racket?" Bingo quipped before sitting next to Winnie, who was pacing herself with a wine cooler.

"How was your visit?" The lab asked.

"Good, my mum and dad are the same as always. With my masters and Lila and everything I barely have time to see them, so it was nice."

"Yeah, I get you. It can be crazy sometimes. At least you don't have to navigate your parents being weird." Winnie remarked before taking a sip, "With my mum's latest boyfriend being only three years older than me, it's definitely awkward at times."

"I'd imagine." Bingo smirked, "At least your dad's husband is nice."

"Oh yeah, Ted's great." Winnie said, smiling fondly at the thought of her stepdad.

Bluey walked in a moment later carrying a tray of snacks. She smiled at her sister's arrival. "Hey Bingo! How were mum and dad?"

"Good, but you need to go visit, half the time was spent talking about how much they miss you." Bingo said, snagging a tim tam.

"I'll see them soon." Bluey defended, somewhat embarrassed by how long it had been. "Things have just been complicated with Jack and I."

"Where is he, anyway?" Bingo asked, "He never misses game night."

"He got called in." Bluey replied, "But I guess that's one of the hazards of being with an ER nurse."

The evening continued pleasantly, the four playing a number of different coop games for the next half hour or so before the power suddenly cut out.

"God damnit…" Mackenzie muttered, his winning streak interrupted by the power cutting out.

"Mate, chill out. We probably just tripped the breaker." Bingo said, looking up from her beer.

"Yeah, why don't you do what men do best and go fix something?" Bluey smirked.

He rolled his eyes, knowing it was slight payback for his trash-talk earlier in the evening. "Fine. Where's the breaker?"

"In the hall. Next to the stairwell." Bluey gestured to the door.

"Alright, back in a minute." He replied, opening the door before walking into the apartment's hallway.

He walked down the hall and approached the breaker, the panel was forced open and it was sparking. It looked as if someone had smashed it. Mackenzie looked at the panel a moment before he heard a raspy sound behind him.

"What the hell?" Mackenzie turned toward the sound before he felt a sharp pain in his back. He twisted to see a dog wearing a mangy flesh mask pulling a bloody dagger out of his back. He coughed, blood coming up with flecks of saliva, the knife clearly having pierced his lung. He turned to try and defend himself but before he could a second stab caught his arm, slicing it across the side and causing blood to start pouring out onto the tiled floor.

"What the fuck?!" He shouted, trying to get away. He quickly started hobbling toward the door, holding his arm before a third stab caught his leg. With it he was brought to the ground. "Wait, no, please!" He begged. Michael picked him up and held the collie by his throat; Mackenzie could feel himself getting light headed. Whether it was from blood loss or the strangulation he wasn't sure. He thrashed, trying to get free, his body sending adrenaline coursing through his veins in the vain hope that he might escape. He managed to kick Michael once in the chest, but the blonde dog didn't react. Instead he simply trod down the hall, holding Mackenzie aloft like one holds a jacket on a hanger, then slammed him into the breaker panel. Sparks shot out as the collie juttered, his body decimated by the powerful current.

A moment later he fell to the ground, smoldering. He corpse was surrounded by bits of smoking hair and blood. Not that Michael cared, he simply turned and headed toward the apartment door.

Winnie turned toward the door, "Hey, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Bingo asked.

"It sounded like Mackenzie was screaming in the hall."

"Look, it's just probably Jack and Mackenzie messing with us. After all, it's nearly Halloween." Bluey said, "And you know how they are. I'll go and 'get scared' and it'll be over." She stood up before walking out to the hallway.

"Alright, be careful." Winnie said.

"If they got Rusty in on it, kick 'im in the balls!" Bingo cheered.

"Bingo!" Bluey scolded.

"What? He's used to it." Bingo smiled cheekily.

Bluey shook her head. Bingo had dated Rusty in the past and between hearing about him from her sister and her best friend, she knew too much of the man's personal preferences in the bedroom. "Gonna pretend I didn't hear that!" She called back as she left the apartment.

In the hall she saw the blood and Mackenzie lying on the ground facing away from her. "Oh no… I hope no one is out to get me and my friends…" She deadpanned. "I sure would be frightened if someone jumped out right now." The hall remained silent as she stood. She scoffed, walking over to Mackenzie.

"Alright Kenz, come on." She nudged him with her foot, he was warm and she smelled burnt hair. "Kenz?" She used her leg to roll him over to his chest, revealing the injuries he'd sustained. She quickly knelt down and checked for a pulse. There wasn't one.

"Oh my God…" She stood up, backing into something solid and gently breathing.

Winnie and Bingo heard Bluey's scream from the hall. They sat bolt upright, Bingo charging toward the door to check on her sister. "Bluey?!" She screamed, panicking to make sure her sister was okay. As she reached the door Bluey appeared, a deep cut in her abdomen.

"Oh my God. Oh my God." Winnie muttered, stunned at the scene in front of her.

Bingo quickly helped her sister into the apartment and closed and locked the door behind her. As soon as she did there was a loud smashing sound as the dog outside started pounding on the door. It was clear the lock wasn't going to hold for long.

"Oh my God! Bluey!" Bingo ran to the bedroom and grabbed a sheet, wrapping it around her sister's middle. She was quickly bleeding through the fabric. "Come on, we need to get you lying down." She led her to the bed. Bluey moaned, but complied.

"He's back… Muffin was right." Bluey groaned.

"Yes, we all know she was right." Bingo said, "Winnie, call 000. I'm calling my mum and dad. We need to get Bluey help!"

Winnie nodded, standing in the living room as the thuds continued. She quickly dialed and paced as she spoke to the operator.

While she frantically called the authorities Bingo called her mum. "Mum! You've gotta get to Bluey's apartment… It's Michael! He's here!" Bingo sobbed. "Please! He got Bluey and he's got in and we're in the bedroom and he's breaking…" There was a sound of wood crunching in the background. "Please! Help!" The call cut out before Chilli could respond.

Michael had broken down the door.

Winnie screamed as he stabbed her in the neck, pulling out the knife then jabbing it her in eye. He pulled it out, leaving the lab to cough and choke a moment on the ground before her body seized and the pool of blood enlarged. She gasped as she tried to go help her friends, but collapsed dead before she managed to move any closer. Bingo's eyes widened as she ran, she managed to get to Bluey's door, but was grabbed by the tail.

"NO! PLEASE!" She screamed as Michael yanked her back. He lifted her into the air and slammed her against the wall, pinning her in place with a knife through her shoulder. Bingo screamed as the metal tore through her. The knife connected with a stud, holding the woman in her elevated position as he entered the bedroom.

Bluey was crying as he entered. She could smell the rotting flesh and burnt hair from him as he neared. This is it. We're all fucking dying. He stopped in front of the bed and stared at her. Bingo was still screaming in the other room, struggling to get free. Michael tilted his head, looking deep into Bluey's eyes before he turned and left.

The Heeler 4x4 skidded to a stop on the lawn beside the apartments, Bandit and Chilli running across the sidewalk to their daughter's building. There were no words said as they rounded the corner and saw the corpse of their daughter's best friend in the hall. None said as they entered the smashed door. None as they found a dead lab on the floor.

"Dad…" Bingo said weakly as Bandit arrived in the room.

"Oh thank God, you're alive!" Bandit ran to his daughter.

"Bluey's… in the bedroom." Bingo coughed.

Chilli quickly nodded at her husband. "Bluey!" Chilli shouted, running to her eldest's room. The younger blue heeler was on her bed. She had a blood-soaked sheet wrapped around her waist. The mother ran over and cradled her head, Bluey blinked weakly as she looked up.

"Mum?"

"I'm here. It's gonna be alright. Your dad's with Bingo. She's alive. You're gonna be okay. There's an ambulance on the way…" Chilli said, trying to comfort her daughter.

"Mum… he killed her." Bluey shook her head slowly, tears pouring down her face.

"No." Chilli shook her head. "No, Bingo's okay. Where she got stabbed, she got hurt, but it hit the bone, she's not bleeding too much."

"No. He killed Sara."

Chilli frowned, "Sara?"

"My baby."

Chilli's eyes widened. "Wait… You, you're pregnant?"

Bluey coughed. "Surprise!" She weakly laughed. "I was gonna tell you, but I wanted to wait until Jack and I were ready…"

Chilli stood shocked for a minute. "It'll be okay. I lost your brother. You'll be able to try again." She cradled her daughter's face.

"No mum… I-" Bluey coughed, "I can feel it. It hurts. Really hurts."

"We'll get you to a doctor. You'll be okay."

Bluey coughed, blood seeping out with the spittle. "Mum. I love you."

"Bluey Christine Heeler. No, don't you say that! Come on, the ambulance is gonna be here any minute. You're gonna be alright!"

"Mum I don't wanna go." Bluey said, looking up, her eyes hurting as she tried to focus on the woman that raised her.

"Don't! Stay with me, Bluey!" Tears streaked down Chilli's muzzle.

Bluey's eyes felt heavy as she felt her chest barely moving. It was getting hard to breathe. "Goodbye mum. I love you, for real life."

And with that Bluey went still.

***Twenty minutes later***

Bluey was pronounced deceased by the arriving medical team, and Bingo was carefully moved and stabilized. Bandit stood in shock, the sights and sounds passing him by as he watched his daughter's body being loaded into a black plastic sheath along with two others.

Chilli left with Bingo in the ambulance, leaving the father alone. Hot tears ran down his face as he looked down at his phone. He growled as he punched in a familiar number, This motherfucker is going to die.