Chapter 15.3

Take It Back, Part III

Am… am I dead? Is… is this heaven or… or hell… or…

The Stranger looked around him slowly, and was startled to see only the color of white surrounding him. He tried to move his body, seeing how he was lying on the floor, but was only able to wiggle around in his place. He cringed and gritted his teeth as he used all of his strength to move, but was proved futile.

He stopped moving and relaxed for the moment, breathing in heavily after trying to break free from the invisible barrier. Seeing how he wasn't going anywhere, the Stranger closed his eyes and started to speak to himself silently.

What happened? There was an explosion and… and there was Flippy and Flaky and me and… and Evil was there… wait… did Evil kill us? Did we… fail to make it to the end?

The Stranger could not answer his own question, but couldn't help but slowly begin to leave a trail of tears on his face while he laid on the floor. He felt completely helpless and weak, and was slowly beginning to lose the feeling of hope.

All of that work… all of that fighting… and I… and I…

"Are you really serious, Stranger?! Like really, this is fucking it for you?!"

The sudden sound of the mad man's voice woke the Stranger up from his thoughts, but something was different. Instead of seeing the white light, he was unable to open his eyes. In fact, they felt incredibly heavy, as if something was forcing them shut.

"You come all this way, up to my fucking front door, with your stupid ass army, fight through all my minions, and you just sit and stop because of a few explosives. REALLY?! That's what's going to stop you from trying to kill me?! Stranger, you are more pathetic than I could ever take you for."

The Stranger gritted his teeth in anger as he slowly began to open his eyes. He could feel strength building back up in his body as he rocked back in forth to sit up straight.

"Stranger, you say you're a hero, right? Well I can't say I agree with you if you're just going to sit on your ass all day. You want to prove that you can still fight, that you think you have the absolute guts to take me on?! WELL WHY DON'T YOU SHOW ME?!"

The Stranger's eyes were beginning to open, and his arms and legs began to regain strength. As his vision restored clarity, he could see he was no longer in the white room, but rather… outside…

"That's right, Stranger, you get your ass up here! I did not sit all this time just to watch you squirm in front of me. I want to fight the real deal, to have a real meeting with this 'heroic' figure you tout yourself to be. I'm waiting, Stranger, and you better not keep your sweet ass time getting up here. Let's finish this fight today, Stranger, you and me!"

The voice of the mad man left the Stranger, and, with all of his remaining strength, opened his eyes and lifted himself upwards, and was shocked to see where he was.

While smoke covered around his entire proximity, the Stranger noticed through his blurred vision that he was laying in front of the gates of the tower, still on top of the hill in the center of the No Man's Land.

The Stranger grabbed onto his sides as he looked down and noticed that the shockwave from the grenade did serious damage to his vest, completely shredding it apart, along with his other clothes receiving major damage. His own body was also affected, especially his back, which felt like it was completely broken.

He cringed in pain as he breathed heavily, trying to stay alive after cheating death once more. The Stranger, slowly getting his vision back, looked around him through the thick smoke and heavy rain, trying to see anything, or anyone else, was around.

He then remembered two important figures, and swiftly turned his head left, only to see a blank space of land in front of him.

"Flippy…"

The Stranger could not explain were the body of Flippy went as he spoke quietly, and was worried if something bad might have happened to him. He then opened his eyes widely as a name of an even more significant person came to mind.

"Flaky!"

He turned his head right and was instantly greeted with the sight of a red porcupine, laying on her backside with her head facing left, directly towards the Stranger.

The Stranger breathed rapidly as he stared at the cold face of Flaky. He didn't notice any sign of breathing, and her body looked completely limp. Her eyes were closed and her body laid open in the rain, not reacting to the heavy drops.

"N-No… no…"

The Stranger began to drop a tear from his eye as he saw his closest friend lie dead next to him. He started to whimper slowly, and closed his eyes in sheer sadness.

Everything then stopped as the Stranger perked his ears up from the sound of a heavy footstep coming from nearby. He opened his eyes instantly and looked in front of him, towards the open gates of the tower. The Stranger still could only see thick grey smoke surrounding him, but upon closer inspection, his heart began to pound out of his chest and he gasped in horror.

Through the thick and dense smoke, the Stranger could see the horrific sight of Evil's emerald eyes, glowing straight through the smoke like a pair of headlights. As the Stranger sat still, he noticed Evil walking ever so closer to his position, and could tell he was looking directly at him.

The Stranger patted his vest and pockets for his knife and gun, but could not grip on either one. He then looked up and noticed he dropped his gun just a few feet away from him, still loaded with a fresh magazine and ready to fire. He just had to get up and grab it and he would be home free.

But when the Stranger tried to run and get up, his legs were still incredibly weak from the explosion, and did not have the strength to stand up. He tripped over onto his stomach, and looked up to see Evil walking towards him faster, now possible to see the outline of his dark figure.

The Stranger breathed heavily and stared at the run lying in front of him, and balled up his hands into fists as he slowly crawled across the muddy ground. He stretched out his right arm as far as he could, and used all of his upper body strength to pull himself up. He repeated the motion with his left arm, then his right again, and continued with each motion while getting ever so closer to his weapon.

Now just in arms reach away, the Stranger reached out his right hand and dropped it on the handle of the pistol, grasping it tightly and readying himself to pull the trigger.

He then closed his eyes and cried in pain as Evil stomped on his right hand over the pistol, nearly crushing the bones of his fingers as his heavy boots were grinding against him slowly. Tears ran down the face of the Stranger as he pounded his left hand on Evil's foot, but was helpless overall.

Evil lightly pushed the Stranger away from him with his other foot, kicking him away from the pistol and onto his backside. Evil laughed at his foe be so easily pushed away, not even putting up a worthy fight. As he laid cringing on his back, Evil looked down and noticed the loaded handgun beneath him. A rare weapon he never gets to use, he observed at it curiously as he bent over to pick it up.

The Stranger wiped his face as he looked up to see Evil picking up the handgun with his right hand, and looking down the sights of it like it were a toy. The Stranger started to breath heavily in fear as he watched Evil happily enjoy the handgun be held in his hand, almost like it was a new gift he had just open.

He then gasped as Evil stood perfectly still and slowly lowered his head to face a scared Stranger. Evil shook his head while making a 'tsk' noise with his mouth. The Stranger kept his eyes on the handgun, now in the hands of a deadly monster, which Evil happened to notice. Evil looked back at his new weapon again and arranged his razor teeth to form an evil smile that sent the Stranger into complete shock.

The Stranger lied perfectly still when Evil brought the handgun up and aimed the barrel straight at the Stranger's head. Evil brought his right index finger away from the trigger guard and lay gently on the trigger itself, enough to not fire off the round.

The Stranger had no idea how to react now. He had nothing to defend himself with, and Evil was the one with the gun now. There was no way he was going to win this. So, instead of facing death cowardly and closing his eyes to accept it, he stared only into the emerald gold eyes of Evil.

He gritted his teeth and spoke angrily through his teeth. "That's it, kill me… pull the fucking trigger and kill me… do it… DO IT!"

The Stranger yelled loudly as he pushed himself up while still sitting, not taking his eyes away from Evil. Evil chuckled lightly at the Stranger's acceptance of death and willing to face it head on, which mad him enjoy killing him even more.

Evil slowly began to pull the trigger while aiming the barrel at the Stranger's head, who sat only five feet from him. The Stranger dare not to blink or look away, and watched Evil prepare to end his life.

Evil then brought his finger away from the trigger, and the Stranger was brought to attention as the two both heard a sudden sound out of nowhere. They both stayed in their positions, looking around them to see where the sound was coming from.

The sound occurred a second time, and the two could easily identify it. It was the sound of someone coughing, and it sounded heavy and sickly as well. Evil, while keeping his pistol on the Stranger, looked around all over him, yet was unable to find the source of the coughing.

The Stranger then looked behind the standing body of Evil and noticed the body of Flaky still lying flat on the ground. He stared quietly at her body, completely curious about where the coughing was also coming from.

He dropped his jaw as he saw Flaky cough once more and was slowly twitching her eyes and nose. The Stranger then noticed her stomach was moving up and down in a steady motion, showing she was still alive and breathing.

He was smiling widely in his mind to see his friend still okay, surviving the explosion along with him. But then he looked up to see Evil staring at him, the gun still aimed at his head. Evil looked a little curious as to what the Stranger was possibly looking at, and decided to turn around and notice for himself the weak red body of Flaky.

The Stranger did not know what was going on as Evil only watched Flaky rest on the ground, coughing once more and twitching her body as she was beginning to wake up. He then watched Evil slowly turn around and face the Stranger, with no expression being made; just a silent glare.

The two only looked at each other in silence, trying to read each other's minds. Evil then lowered the handgun and aimed the barrel away from the Stranger. He kept eye contact on him, still only giving him a silent glare.

The Stranger watched how Evil brought his left hand into his dark chest to summon out a sharp and dark blade, oozing with the blood of thousands of innocent souls. The Stranger's heart began to pump blood at a faster rate and his eyes started to dart around, the worst of his fears clogging his minds.

He brought his eyes back to Flaky, then back to Evil, and repeated this motion a few more time before stopping at Evil, who was now forming a terrifying smile at him. The Stranger shook his head violently and whimpered quietly while staring at Evil, who slowly began to twist his feet sideways.

"N-No… p-p-please, no… k-kill me, just KILL ME! PLEASE, JUST KILL…"

Evil nodded his head towards the Stranger, and made an about face to start walking towards the limp body of Flaky.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"

The Stranger jumped up to his feet and collapsed instantly after the first step, falling hard onto the ground. He landed face-first, and pushed himself up instantly onto his hands and knees. The Stranger frantically looked up to see Evil slowly march over to Flaky, who was innocently laying on the ground without knowing either of their presences.

The Stranger crawled on his hands and knees as fast as he could, getting up a few times before collapsing onto the muddy floor again. He inhaled a large sum of oxygen and burst out in anger and fear.

"DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HER, YOU BASTARD! DON'T-"

Evil, annoyed by the Stranger's outburst, turned around and kicked him in the jaw with his right foot, knocking him down onto the ground hard. The Stranger grabbed onto his jaw, almost shattered from the heavy kick from Evil's sturdy boots. He could feel blood dripping out of his mouth, and pushed himself up as fast as he could.

He looked over and notice Evil was almost directly over Flaky. Hoping there was still a chance, the Stranger yelled loudly to Flaky's limp body. "FLAKY, RUN! Flaky, run, now!"

Flaky slowly opened her eyes at the sound of the Stranger calling her name. She was a little shock to see the Stranger heavily wounded and lying on the ground away from her, and why she was lying on the muddy ground, still pulling a blank after the explosion.

Flaky shrieked in horror, though, when she looked up to see the haunting face of Evil, looking down at her with his emerald eyes and sharp teeth. She instantly attempted to crawl away, but was grabbed by the top of her head after Evil placed the handgun in his pocket. Evil hoisted Flaky up with a tight grip on her head, and squeezed her skull with immense force, almost cracking the hard bone that protected her brain.

The Stranger stared helplessly as Evil brutally harmed Flaky by crushing her skull with his hand, and throwing her hard onto the dirty ground, making her scream in pain and horror. Flaky cried loudly as Evil kicked her in the abdomen repeatedly, and multiple times picking her up again and jabbing her in the face with his free fist, sending her down onto the ground once more.

Still crawling slowly to her, the Stranger yelled as loud as he could in a fit of rage. "STOP IT! PLEASE, JUST STOP HURTING HER!"

Evil, after hearing the Stranger's command, dropped Flaky to the ground once more, her body and voice now lying completely silent on the cold and wet ground. The dark shadow imitation of Evil stood over Flaky like prey, and chuckled lightly as he heard the Stranger continued to crawl forward towards him.

The Stranger paused in his movements as he watched Evil pick up Flaky once more, who was no longer making a single sound as her body was practically dead from all the heavy beatings she'd received. Evil raised her up and laid her heavily on her knees, making her face forward at the horrific sight of a scared and helpless Stranger.

The Stranger shook his head violently as Evil slowly brought his knife behind the back of Flaky, keep his eyes on the Stranger with every move he got closer to her. Flaky's eyes were closed and her body limp, not moving a single inch as Evil's knife began to touch her back.

The Stranger reached his hand out and whimpered in fear. "N-N-No… please… p-please, no…"

The Stranger's heart stop as he saw Flaky's eyes open slowly, the slits barely opened enough to show the crimson color of her eyes. She stared at the Stranger, who was reaching her hand out to her. If she reached out her own, their fingertips would meet each other's.

She lacked any strength whatsoever to move her body in any form. Flaky, however, did have enough strength to do one last thing she wanted to do for him, before any of this ever occurred.

Flaky slowly formed a smile on her face, and spoke softly in a weak and quiet voice.

"Thank… you…"

And with her final words said, Evil jammed his knife into Flaky's back, piercing her heart and ripping it open, killing her in an instant.

"FLAKY!"

Evil twisted his knife inside the back of Flaky, cutting up the internal organs and cracking her spine, making sure her death was both painful and confirmed. He held his knife forward, and with the use of gravity, let her body slide off his knife, and falling onto her side on the ground beneath him.

Evil laughed at his easy kill, and brought the knife up to his tongue to lick the fresh and warm blood that was stuck again the cold dark blade. Seeing him perform such a twisted, the Stranger instantly gained the strength to get back up onto his feet and stood strong in front of Evil.

"You twisted, motherfucking piece of-"

Seeing that the Stranger was still alive, Evil placed his blade away and pulled out the pistol from earlier, aiming it downrange at the Stranger once more.

The Stranger stood perfectly still, staring at the eyes of Evil without fear. "DO IT! KILL ME NOW AND END IT! FUCKING PULL THE TRIGGER!"

Evil smiled and shrugged his shoulders with a laugh, and aimed the barrel over the Stranger's head. He slowly pulled the trigger, and a round was shot out, hitting the Stranger and sending him down to the ground.

His body went limp, sound was absent, and his mind completely dead of activity. The Stranger hit the muddy ground with a heavy thud, landing hard against his left right side before rolling onto his back. His eyes stayed wide open as they looked towards the dark clouds rolling above him, and lied silently as the rain felled onto him.

The Stranger blinked slowly, his eyes heavy and they slowly looked around the sky above him. The sound in his ears was nothing but a loud ringing noise, piercing the inside of his skull and making him cringe in agonizing pain. He felt cold for a brief moment before noticing his body heat rising up again.

He then felt something running down the right side of his head, and brought his hand up to examine what was there. The Stranger was confused as he felt a gaping hole where his right ear used to be, along with large sums of sticky blood oozing out of the open wound.

The Stranger finally realized that, after noticing sound was not picking up from his right side, the bullet from the handgun only shot off his right ear, just grazing him from his forehead. Miraculously, the Stranger literally dodged a bullet and survived, though now laying in pain with blood running from his head.

He was baffled by how he could possibly have survived. Evil was right up to his face, the handgun close enough to blow the top of his skull clean off. How could Evil possibly miss such a shot? The Stranger, still wondering what happened, pushed himself upwards to see a shocking sight.

Evil was struggling with the handgun as he was locked in a hold with Flippy, the two bears fighting each other fearlessly to the death. Evil tried to aim the gun at Flippy, shooting off a few rounds in the air but missing each one, while Flippy constantly kept him in a choke hold, forcing Evil to drop the gun onto the ground.

Doing his best to snap the neck of his enemy, Flippy's face was met with the left elbow of Evil, smashing his nose and breaking the hold between them. Evil swiftly turned around and grabbed hold onto Flippy's neck, preparing to send him into the same hold. Flippy countered by bringing his hands back to Evil's neck, and the two struggled until they rolled onto the ground, ignoring everything else and taking the fight far away from the Stranger.

The Stranger kept his right hand on his ear, covering the open wound and holding in as much blood as possible. He sat himself up straight as noise slowly picked up in clarity in his intact left ear, and slowly shook his head due to his mind thumping hard from the massive impact falling onto the ground.

Rubbing his forehead, he looked down to see the handgun just in front of his feet, and quickly reached over to grasp in his right hand. He held it tightly, and examined the barrel to still see a small trail of smoke emitting out after firing the bullet. The Stranger placed the gun back into his holster, and sat still briefly in a blank state of thought.

His eyes widen and gasped as he remembered what happened before the gun was fired. The Stranger did not want to look up and see the sight; he did not want to admit it was true or that it actually happened; he did not want to accept it as reality. He closed his eyes tightly, shedding a small tear down his face, before looking up to see the body that laid before him.

The lifeless body of Flaky.

"Flaky… FLAKY!"

The Stranger got on his hands and knees and crawled over to the body of Flaky. He stood over her body, his hands shaking violently as he breathed rapidly. His eyes darted around as he examined her body. There was no sign of breathing, and the giant hole on her back was gushing out blood, and was easily shown that it was deep inside her.

"No… no, no, no, no, no…"

He brought his hands down to her body, still shaking violently to the point that they could break. The Stranger placed his right hand over her shoulder, and, with his left hand covering her back side, leaned her over so she could lay onto his hand and look directly him…

But it was hopeless. Flaky's eyes were shut tight, her mouth slightly hanging, and her stomach lying flat. The rain felled onto her, but her body never moved an inch. Her body was slowly turning cold in his hands, and her arms hanged as the Stranger held her up.

There was no denying it now. He had to accept the sad reality of what laid before him, what lied directly in his hands.

Flaky was dead.

"No… no, please Flaky, don't do this to me… don't do this to me now, not when we're so close… we're so close to home now, Flaky… please… PLEASE, don't… don't…"

The Stranger cried softly as he stared at the lifeless face of Flaky. He slowly brought her body up to him as he wrapped his arms around her body, holding her tightly against his shaking body. His head laid gently against hers, and his tears ran down his face to fall onto her body and the ground beneath them.

The Stranger shook his head and rock back and forth, holding Flaky's body next to him to feel the remaining warmth of her, and was crying loudly, his tears dropping down his face like a river.

"I promised I'd protect you, Flaky! I-I promised that I would not let anything hurt you! You and I were supposed to make it out together, because I was always going to protect you…"

The thought of him not keeping his promise to Flaky was killing his heart. He felt weak, hopeless, and without purpose. He felt lost, empty…

Alone.

He did everything he could do to protect her.

And he failed.

I will do everything in my power to get you and everyone else home

The Stranger's own voice rang in his head. The day at the park, he solemnly promised to Flaky he would do everything he could to protect her and everyone in Happy Tree Town. That was the first part of his promise.

He realized, though, he also promised to get everyone home, away from the hellish world they currently reside in and back to their original lives, just as it was always meant to be.

The Stranger looked upward, still holding onto Flaky tightly, and wiped the tears away from his eyes with his right shoulder to see the smoke had finally cleared, and revealed that the gates to the tower were still open. The bright light from the inside was still shining, and access was still granted to any survivor that could step on its metallic floors.

He looked around him, then at his own body, to see he was still alive. He still had the strength to get up and move.

He still had the strength to fight.

"There's… there's still a chance… a chance to…"

The Stranger stared at the light of the tower for a short time before giving a slow nod to himself, and looked back to the quiet body of Flaky. Hugging her tightly one last time, he gently laid her body on the ground, keeping her backside straight while placing both her hands over her chest. He shed one single tear before wiping it away with his right hand.

The Stranger then got on his right foot while sitting on his left knee, and gave a determined nod to Flaky's body. "Just hold on for a little longer, Flaky okay? Just hold on for me, Flaky… I'm taking you home…" He slowly stood back up to his feet and brought out his pistol, gipping it tightly in his hand as he looked towards the open gates of the tower.

"We're all going home."

Taking a deep breath, the Stranger took a step forward, almost losing his balance completely as he dropped to his left knee again. Cringing and breathing heavily, he pushed himself once more and limped slowly towards the bright light.

His steps were small, and still on occasion would drop to his knees from his weakening strength. But his will to fight, to end it all, was pushing him forward, and he kept his eyes on the open gates as he got back up to his feet.

The Stranger limped forward again, and was on the equal level of ground between the outside and the entrance of the tower. He could feel the cold air blowing out from inside the building, and kept his left hand up to shield his eyes from the blinding light.

He took one step forward, and noticed that the sound he heard from his left ear was the sound of feet hitting against metal, not the crunching sound of grass.

The Stranger made it inside.

"I… I-"

The Stranger was pushed straight forward felled and onto his stomach hard onto the metal floor, his arms stretched far out and dropping his pistol away from him. He hit the bottom of his jaw upon hitting the floor, bruising it significantly. He gritted his teeth in pain as he felt something heavy pressing on top of his back. The Stranger swiftly turned his head and stared in anger at the monster on top of him.

Evil, completely stained in blood from head to toe, his black body replaced with the crimson red blood, was laying on top of the Stranger growling in a fit of rage and showing his sharp teeth, stained and rotted from tearing into the flesh of his kills. His emerald eyes glowed as he neared his face towards the Stranger, and used his right arm to slowly crush his body.

The Stranger could feel his bones beginning to crack from the massive force being placed onto his body, with any addition force proving to be fatal. Knowing he had to get Evil off of him, the Stranger used his left elbow to smash into Evil's face, forcing him off his back. The Stranger rolled onto his back and used his feet to kick Evil away from him, giving him the free space between them.

Evil, though, quickly recovered and jumped back onto the Stranger, this time looking eye to eye. Evil grabbed onto his prey's forehead and whacked it against the metal floor beneath him, causing severe brain trauma to the Stranger. After playing with his kill, Evil brought his hands away from the Stranger and laughed evilly how he was practically dead from the brutal beating.

The Stranger's eyes were half-shut, his brain thumping hard against his skull, and watched Evil quickly reached into his body to pull out his signature dark blade. Evil gave a dark smirk as he licked his knife, still stained with Flaky's blood. Seeing the weapon in his hand, knowing it was the same weapon used to kill his best friend, sent the Stranger into a state of pure anger and hatred, and wanted to use that same knife to gut open Evil.

Evil, though, planned to do the same with the Stranger, and flipped his knife in his right hand to be held in a backhand method. With one forceful swing, Evil drove his knife high in the air and down onto the Stranger, aiming for the soft flesh of his neck.

The Stranger caught Evil's hand as it was merely an inch over his neck, and brought both hands to prevent the knife from driving into his body. Evil brought his left hand to his right, and used all of his strength to kill the Stranger. The two stared into each other's eyes angrily, knowing only one of them was going to make it out of this struggle alive.

Evil already felt victorious, though, as he could see the weakness in the Stranger revealing itself, the Stranger's grasp slowly slipping away. The Stranger knew for certain he lacked the strength to struggle with Evil; there was no way he was going to break from this hold.

Trying to think of a plan, the Stranger looked around his spot, noticing his pistol was out of reach, and his knife still laying somewhere outside. He had nothing to defend himself with, nothing he could use as a weapon to kill Evil. He looked back at Evil, now beginning to look scared, and watched Evil laugh loudly and menacingly as he was close to successfully killing him.

The Stranger's eyes stared at the pointy edge of the blade just hovering over his body, and was scared beyond belief of how he will make it out of this without no one to support him or anything to use. It was hopeless, and was beginning to weaken his grip and let his death come quickly.

His eyes then noticed something on his left arm. With his shirt all tattered and open, the Stranger could see something familiar on his arm.

It was an old scar, a once tiny hole that was caused by a certain red porcupine's quills that were jammed into his body after picking up the body. The Stranger recalled its painful impact into his arm, how it almost broke the bones inside him, cutting deep into the tough skin and flesh of his body. It was indeed a dangerous object.

The Stranger opened his eyes widely and yelled loudly in his head.

"THE QUILL!"

Looking at Evil once more, Evil's face turned into confusion as the Stranger made a small grin on his face while staring straight into his terrifying golden emerald eyes. He was too slow to notice the Stranger had brought his left hand to search his left pocket, and grab hold onto the small yet sharp quill he kept all this time on him.

With as much strength he could place in his arm, the Stranger jammed the red quill into Evil's stomach, making him gasp in and yell in pain as he felt the sharp object pierce his internal organs. Evil dropped the knife away from the Stranger as he felt the quill dive deeper into his body, poking every organ in its path.

The Stranger's rage, though, told him not to stop. He pulled the quill out of Evil's stomach and jammed it once more into him, making him gasp for air and cry out louder. The Stranger did it a third time, then fourth, then fifth, and to the point that he could not stand having Evil lay over him. He pushed Evil forward and off of him, back onto the grassy ground outside the tower.

Feeling like his punishment still was not enough, the Stranger jumped onto a near dead Evil and jammed the red quill all across the torso and neck of Evil. Over and over again, the Stranger shoved the quill deep across Evil's body, piercing every organ and breaking every bone in his body.

As he stabbed the body of Evil, the Stranger was crying in pure anger, screaming loudly as blood was splattering onto his body with every jab with the quill. After fifteen seconds of non-stop beating, the Stranger stabbed Evil one last time in the chest before bringing the quill out, splattering a large sum of blood onto his face.

The Stranger sat up and looked down at the body of Evil. Puncture wounds across his entire body were noticeable, and his body lied limp in the rain. The Stranger agreed to himself that Evil was dead, and was no longer a threat.

The Stranger placed the quill back into his left pocket as he spit on the face of Evil. "That's for Flaky, you little cunt."

Seeing he was now dead, the Stranger stood up and walked away from the body of Evil and went back inside the tower, now standing dry underneath the metallic structure. He looked down and noticed his pistol, and went down to pick it up and place it back in his hands once more.

He ejected the magazine, noticing that there was only one round remaining in the magazine. Wanting to keep a fully loaded weapon, the Stranger swapped it out for a fresh magazine, and loaded the pistol with additional rounds.

"Alright, now all I have to do is… is…"

The Stranger turned around as he heard the sound of groaning behind him. Confused on who is could be, he noticed that Evil's body was wiggling back and forth, and slowly began to rise back up onto his feet.

He could not believe his eyes. Despite all the damage he took, Evil was standing up tall once more, organs hanging out of his stomach and blood dripping everywhere. His appearance could be something comparable to a zombie, but one that was more dangerous than any creature.

As Evil breathed heavily with his emerald eyes glowing in the dark, the Stranger gritted his teeth and yelled in anger. "WHY DON'T YOU JUST FUCKING STAY DEAD?!"

Evil did not respond with words, and instead went into a pouncing position. The Stranger shook his head as he took a few steps back into the building, preparing himself for any incoming attack. He brought his gun up, readied to be fired, as Evil lunged forward at the Stranger.

The Stranger jumped back in shock as, out of nowhere, the open gates of the tower slammed shut, crushing Evil's lower body between the two sliding doors. He gurgled in blood as his body slowly slid downward onto the metal floor, his legs hanging outside in the rain and his remaining body inside, completely immobilized by the heavy steel doors.

Breathing rapidly out of shock, the Stranger watched Evil lay in a puddle of blood and smashed organs in front of him. He then felt an internal flame lit up inside his mind as he noticed Evil was still twitching and moving, his body still active and alive even from being crushed.

Evil struggled to push open the doors that kept him stuck, and was pushing himself forward despite the fact he was only ripping himself in half. He stopped moving as he heard the sound of footsteps walking towards him, and turned around to see the tall body of the Stranger standing over him.

Evil noticed his body was completely ruined and covered in blood, and watched how the Stranger's own eyes were squinted, staring straight into him. He could see the rage and anger within the Stranger, and noticed how his breathing was picking up rapidly and heavily, his body tensing up and looking completely intimidating with his stature over him.

Evil then felt something that he never knew was possible with him. Something that was shown even on his face as he watched the Stranger raise his right boot over him.

Fear.

The Stranger slammed his boot on top of Evil's face, crushing his skull and other facial bones instantly. Blood was splattered everywhere, especially onto the Stranger's boots, and Evil laid lifeless on the metal floor.

But the Stranger's rage shrouded his mind, and, instead of stopping, continued to smash Evil's skull with his boots, jumping up and down over and over again on his head. With every stomp, the Stranger could hear the sound of bones cracking and breaking, and saw Evil's face slowly deform from the brutal beating.

"FUCK. YOU. YOU. LITTLE. PIECE. OF. FUCKING. SHIT. FUCK!"

The Stranger stopped briefly, taking in multiple breaths of air before building up the remaining strength in his right leg to slam onto Evil's head. The final hit was strong enough to completely crush open Evil's skull, sending brain matter and blood everywhere as if it were a tomato.

The Stranger twisted his boots over the smashed brain pieces of Evil, and breathed deeply as he stared at its dead body. After seeing his own friend be killed in front of his eyes, the Stranger felt it was justified for what he did. He did not feel remorse or regret, and felt at peace knowing another piece of evil was now ridden from existence.

He slowly looked up and noticed the metal gates once more, now more concerned than curious from their random appearance. The Stranger brought his hands up to the door and used his strength to pry it open, but was finding no luck in doing so. Looking around, he saw no control panel or anything that managed the security of the door. He was locked inside.

A little worried, the Stranger grabbed his radio and activated the speaker. "Flippy, I made it inside the tower, but the door is shut and I have no way of opening it. Do you have any way of opening it on your end?"

The Stranger received no response, not even static. It was dead silent.

"Flippy? Flippy, are you there?!"

Silence.

The Stranger, out of anger, threw the radio at the wall, breaking it into many pieces. "FUCK!"

The Stranger shook his head and stood in place for a moment, recollecting his thoughts. He realized now what kind of situation he was in. He was trapped in the tower, with no ability to escape. He had only his pistol and wits now to defend and attack.

And he was the only one to make it inside.

The Stranger looked forward and noticed a large and empty room in the center of the tower, completely white with nothing else shown. He looked back down on his right arm to see he was still holding his pistol, gripped tightly in his hands.

"Alright you son of a bitch,"

He pulled back the pistol to insert a fresh round, and stepped forward into the room.

"Let's finish this."