Chapter 13

If Nightmares Were Torture…

Just as glares and half-hearted laughs were about to disperse throughout the car, the driver's and left back door opened up to reveal Ash and Jill, both with anxious smiles on their faces, and a light bit of sweat on their foreheads. They both nonchalantly got into their respective seats, Jill leaning up to give Ash a light kiss on the neck and a whisper of "…thanks."

But just as Ash was turning the key to the Delta, the ground underneath them started to rumble and shake, the occupants of the car near to being thrown around wildly by the sudden tremor.
"Dear God…what the hell's going on!" Ash's yell through the now-violently trembling car shook everyone to the core more than the quake was doing. With very careful skill, Jill carefully looked out the window to see the street, a light brown patch on it now, was growing smaller and smaller. A split-second later, Jill realized that the car was being lifted up into the air. "Buckle up! We're going for a ride!" This yell was followed by everyone buckling up as tightly as they could, as 2 knives the size of steel girders bashed through the front windshield of the Delta.

It was only then that they could hear the insane laughter that sent a sheer heart attack of insanity through the car, and they knew that they just might be meeting the end. All of this flashed through their minds, as the car was thrown up at least a few thousand feet into the air from the ground.

Faces pressed into the windows, scared looks on their faces, none of them believing. Thankfully, stock was taken and Leon gave a rough shout through the car, barking out orders that were taken in shocked stride. "As soon as the car begins to fall, everybody roll down the windows and jum!"
"Leon, do you have any idea what you're thinking?", Rebecca shouted at him as the car began to ascend slower and slower. Leon looked Rebecca as square in the eye as he could, responding, "When the car lands, odds are there won't be much left for people to know this was a car. As long as we're out of it, we might have a chance."

"He's right", Ash and Jacob, incredibly, said at the exact same time, which was met by a hard, tough stare between the 2. It was as if they couldn't believe they found something to agree on…like they'd finally found a common niche that seemed to hammer down on them…just as the car began to do to the wasted ground below. "EVERYBODY, JUMP!"

Windows were rolled down, doors were opened, and the 6 human forms were throwing themselves out of the car, waiting for the free fall to end. In what, no one knew…just like no one knew of the other 2 human forms and the car that were falling above and beside them.

The freewheeling feeling of the fall soared through those who were falling, but amazingly, they hit the ground with not-quite-lethal force.

Ash hit the ground on his hands and feet, rolling onto his back. Leon, Jacob, and Rebecca feel to the ground with their feet, then fell to their sides with the uncontrollable momentum they had. Angela and Jill, on the other hand, actually tried to land as agile as they could, with dirty and painful results.

As soon as Ash hit the ground, he immediately shifted gracelessly to his feet, his boomstick now ready to blast at whoever – or whatever – might be waiting for them. When he saw nothing but his 5 comrades, his Delta, and an open stretch of road, he slid his shotgun back into his holster. But it was only then that he noticed the shadow that was slowly becoming thicker and darker around the huddled forms of Jill and Angela.

When he looked up, he saw another car plowing through the air with all the force of an atom bomb, ready to crush the two women underneath all of its metal fury. "Damn it, isn't one car enough!", Ash half-grumbled, half-yelled as he ran toward the two young women, a gut instinct telling him that he wouldn't be able to get to them in time. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Leon, sans bomber jacket, sprinting at top speed toward Ash's own destination.

Just as he got into the border of the shadow that rained down on Angela and Jill, out of sheer unnerved instinct, he threw both of his arms to the sky in an attempt to catch the one-car rainfall.

But what came next was the most surprising sight that any of them could comprehend…unless you count what that merciless dream demon Freddy could do.

Rebecca had just gotten to her feet before hefting Jacob back onto his, just now starting to calm down after the insane adrenalin rush. But just when she thought it was all over for now, the next thing she heard was a piercing creaking of metal and groans of effort and pain alike. She turned to face where Jill and Angela had landed, but what she saw she almost couldn't believe.

Ash was holding up what looked like a Dodge Charger vehicle with nothing but his bare flesh-and-metal hands, with the 2 women and Leon barely scrambling out from under it as Ash tried to gently set it down.

"Okay, um…how'd you do that?" Jill asked incredulously as 2 more human forms crawled out of the car. Ash looked back at Jill with a face full of sweat, heat, and effort as he answered, "Just a little magic trick I picked up in Dearborn awhile back. Speaking of which, how'd Jack and Jill get here?" At the last, he shot an apprehensive look toward the two new people, who turned out to be Claire Redfield and Steve Burnside.

"Save it, Little Boy Blue", Claire fired back, supporting Steve's shaky form as she finished, "Maybe you should blow your horn again; the cow's gotten loose." This garnered a slightly muffled snicker from Steve and a wise-cracking smile from Ash, as everyone else gathered around the 3. But it was only after they'd gotten together in one place by Steve's Charger and Ash's Olds that they heard a familiar song…

biOne…two…Freddy's coming for you…/i

"Perfect timing, Freddy", Rebecca heard Jacob mutter under his breath as she drew her Beretta from her hip holster. From behind her, she saw Claire pull out a fully-loaded Glock 17 and Steve with a pair of what looked like gold-plated Lugers.

biThree…four…better lock your door…/i

Leon pulled out his Kendo-customized 9mm pistol from his holster as Angela readied her MP5 machine gun, both getting themselves into an almost classical style battle pose: they each wrapped one arm around each others' waists, their guns hanging in their outside hands at their sides. Meanwhile, Ash was slowly removing his gauntlet hand, readying his chainsaw for his right wrist.

biFive…six…grab your crucifix…/i

Jacob looked around in all directions that he could, hoping that he could at least sense a glimpse of Krueger, but what he seemed to be looking for, he didn't find. But then the 8 warriors all heard the same thing, sensed it almost outside their body and soul…what sounded 4 giant claws ripping across the sky above and to the right of them, moving fast.

biSeven…eight…gonna stay up late…nine…ten…/i

The same instinct took all of them almost at once, and they moved their heads to follow the direction the noise was going in, but this instinct was stopped by the one common sight that now beheld them all: a decrepit, rusted road sign that was still barely legible…uRACCOON CITY/POPULATION: 100,000/u

As if to only compound the horror that swept through them, they could hear Freddy's ghostly voice whisper through their very souls…

bi…your nightmare's back again./i