Chapter One

Room 13E, 13th Floor, Monde Hotel, Los Angeles, California, USA

July 1929

6 AM Sunday

The Monde Hotel was a 13-story red colored building with a corner entrance into the lobby. The lobby had tan ceilings and walls, black marble floor, a mahogany wood front desk, an office off to one side, and a single elevator off to another side with a black frame and doors as well as a mahogany wood ceiling, walls, and floor on the inside. And like the front desk, the building was vacant too.

Mostly vacant.

On the thirteenth floor and inside one particular room, a terrified young girl with pale white skin, messy short black hair, and tearful blue eyes and wearing a blood stained white dress hid inside of a closet. She didn't dare move, nor did she dare breathe.

Not when HE was near.

She didn't hear him. She couldn't see him, not when the lights were out through the building, but she knew he was still there. He terrified her. What he said terrified her. But what he wanted to do terrified her more. But he would never expect her to be back there in the closet.

Especially, with the keys to the entire building in her hand.

Finally, she turned the knob her broken and scarred hands had been resting on in case he pulled open the door without notice and she pushed the door open gently. No sound. No movement. She decided to take her chance.

She ran.

She reached the front door and pulled it open… Only for a pair of hands belonging to HIM to grab her around the waist. She tried to fight back but she knew this was it. She cried and screamed out for help. But no one else was in the hotel but them. No one would hear her.

Never again.

And as the unknown figure pulled her back into the room while she screamed, he kicked the door closed, leaving only the sounds of screaming to enter and fill the dark hallway of the thirteenth floor. All coming from outside of one particular room.

13E.

And outside the hotel, a single light appeared from a window belonging to that particular room on the thirteenth floor. The light slowly bled into a faint red glow that grew and grew until the only light from the hotel building illuminated in an eerie red glow. And as the sun began to rise on that one hot Sunday morning, the screaming ended…

THE EVIL DEAD RISE

Apartment 13E, 13th Floor, Monde Apartments, Los Angeles, California, USA

July 2023

9 PM Friday

The Stepfather decided the California mid summer heat was already unbearable. They were only halfway through the summer and today was the hottest day so far. He stopped typing on his laptop and wiped the sweat built up on his forehead.

Again.

He had hoped the night would bring the temperature down, hopefully even a small cool breeze, but neither happened. He picked up his cup of water, which the ice inside had already melted, and took a sip. Frustrated from the heat and writer's block, he closed his laptop, pushed his chair back away from his desk, and decided to find something else to do.

Again.

He knew he was simply making excuses but he had time. He still had time. Or so he would keep telling himself. He sighed and let his head fall back to stare up at the ceiling again.

Again.

He hadn't written a new book in almost two years and he needed more money than before. He knew he could call his parents or even his sister for help but he had already felt like a burden for most of his life. He had to do this alone.

Somewhat.

A belief that always ended up hurting him in the long run. He-

"You're frustrated again."

His new wife, Ellie, appeared standing behind him and looking down at him with a small smile. She had white skin, long blonde hair dyed completely red, and blue eyes and she wore a white long sleeve button shirt with the sleeves rolled up revealing a few tattoos and jean shorts. He then heard giggling and realized she was giggling at him. He had been staring.

Again.

He couldn't help but return her small smile before asking how she knew.

"You always make that face…" She attempted to imitate him, causing him to laugh a little. Her smile disappeared though and she bent down, resting her arms around his neck. "You'll figure something out. We just got here. If it's money-" He began to speak but she placed a single finger on his lip and smiled softly. "If it's money, we still have money saved up and I have a few clients lined up for the next few months. Stop worrying, okay?"

Reluctantly, he nodded with a small smile.

Like him, Ellie was a creative spirit. Which meant she had troubles too. All of which she shared with him when they first met. She was a tattoo artist and aspired to own her own store - Ellie's Ink - which became a reality when they moved to LA. But money was still an issue for them both when pursuing their dreams… and she, or they now, had three children to take care of… Bridget, Danny, and Kassie.

She was a good mother and they were good kids but the same couldn't be said about their father… He had only met the man once and decided to keep his opinion about him to himself. Not that that was a problem now considering he left them a few years ago.

Which was also how he became closer to the family. He had already been on friendly terms with Ellie and her children through living on the same floor and being next door neighbors. They would pass each other every now and then but after her husband, or former husband, and their father took off, he came over every now and then either to watch the kids or have dinner with them.

He found their company nice…

Which is why he eventually asked Ellie to marry him. He had no issue with her having children and enjoyed being around them already after knowing the family for two years. But with the lack of promise of pursuing their dreams, they moved to California at the beginning of the summer to start over.

"Good and…" Her smile was strained… And she swallowed… "Could you go with the kids to get pizza? My sister…" She trailed off and her smile left her face…

But he knew why.

Much like him, she rarely spoke about or to her sister, Beth, in years. He knew their relationship wasn't great but she was back.

And living with them.

He knew she was under a lot of stress like him. So he already had an answer and gave it to her. Her genuine smile was always worth it. Especially when she wrapped her arms tighter around his neck and kissed his right cheek.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You are just really sweet…" But her smile disappeared again before she lowered her eyes and bit her lip for a second… "I know I've been asking a lot out of you… But thank you… Being there for me and my dumb problems… And being there for the kids… Helping them… They love you… They just need time… But thank you…" She smiled again.

He did too.

"I'm sure they're ready now but no rush… Oh, and I already gave them enough money! Don't spoil them for approval! I know you will though…" He smiled weakly while she rolled her eyes playfully. "And thank you again!"

The sound of children arguing outside their new bedroom ended their conversation with Ellie sighing and kissing him on the lips. She winked and sighed again before leaving the bedroom to confront them.

He simply chuckled.

Edit: So I've rewritten chapter one and changed a few things. The biggest is the main character now being Ellie's new husband and the stepfather to her children. I've decided to go this direction because I felt the original draft was too similar to my M3GAN story. A neighbor character getting somewhat involved with the actual characters of a horror story. With him being the husband and stepfather, I can skip some boring stuff and jump to the actual horror. I've decided to move the setting to California and I've changed the backstory of the apartment building which will be explored later. Anyway, expect chapter two soon.

So I'm still alive. I've been struggling through issues irl. Nothing to worry about. But I haven't given up on writing, I haven't forgotten my old stories, and I plan to rewrite a lot of them. As for this story, I actually planned an Evil Dead fic even before the announcement of Evil Dead Rise that would have taken place post Evil Dead 2013 but I never got around to actually doing that and then this movie happened... And here we are. Honestly, I found it enjoyable. I think I prefer 2013 more, or really, I would have preferred a sequel to that but I'm okay with Rise. I think my biggest issue was the lack of using the setting. As someone who lives in an apartment building, I was pretty disappointed that most of the movie took place on one floor. The elevator and hallway were used pretty well but it would have been nice to see the stairways used, more tenants killed or turned into Deadites. I don't really consider this fic to be a rewrite and I don't think I can do better but those are the reasons why I wrote this. I kind of wanted to see if I could do more with the idea. And before it's said, I know the setting was California but I'm pretty sure all of them took place in Michigan so why not? And I know the building had 14 floors but irony, you know? I won't spoil what I have planned for this story but I'm going to try and make it as scary and violent as possible so be prepared for that... Also I wasn't really going to post this story because I've been doubting my writing but I don't know. I just want to write again. And I don't know how often I'll add a new chapter. Maybe every two or three days. But anyway, until the next chapter.