Chapter Five
Brandy had remained mostly quiet during the car ride to school. To give her dad credit, he was trying, but to the best of his ability. She just wanted to get this whole ordeal over with and hopefully talking with Ms. Prevett would help her out.
"So, um," Ash spoke up, before clearing his throat and continuing, "I'm sorry about your mom. Yeah, ol' Candy was a hell of a gal back in the day. She had a real "can do" attitude."
"You said you barely remembered her," Brandy replied.
"Well, she just caught me by surprise is all," Ash spoke a possible lie, but she wasn't going to judge at the moment because she had other things on her mind, "Hey, cute story."
He chuckled as he spoke of the story, "On our wedding night, we were going at it in the back seat, when all that Kentucky Glory started to catch up on her, but after she sicked up on the front dash, and I mean all over the front dash, she was ready for round two. Let me tell you, not a lot of ladies have that kind of..."
He was cut off when Brandy quickly turned on the radio. That was when Humble Pie's "30 Days in a Hole" was playing and it was clear she didn't want to hear any more of the story.
"Hey, hey," Ash chuckled, "Good shit."
Brandy glanced up as they pulled up at the school. She saw that there was a vigil for Rachel with flowers, candles, and stuffed animals surrounding her picture. She saw students crying and hugging for her deceased friend as Ash turned off the car upon stopping.
Brandy looked nervous upon seeing the cops nearby talking. She knew they were going to ask her questions, but she felt she needed to talk to Ms. Prevett first before she can talk to the police, like they'd believe her over what had happened.
"Brandy...as your father," Ash spoke up, "it's probably wrong for me to suggest that you mislead the police."
"Yeah," Brandy replied, "it probably is."
"But involvement in a double homicide can turn into a platter of shit burgers, but quick," Ash suggested, "so, you might want to ixnay, about the urders-may."
Brandy sighed as she got out of the car.
"Have a nice day at school!" Ash called to his daughter as she got out of the car and closed the door. She didn't even acknowledge him yelling out "love you" as she made it to the school, past the cops and the crowd of people outside the school.
Brandy walked down the halls, trying not to make eye contact with anyone, even when others were making eye contact with her. All she could think about is what happened the night before: the possessed mascot, the blood on the floor that came from the mascot, blood oozing from the lockers, her and Rachel running in terror, her mother being decapitated.
She hurried further down the hall until she made it to the office of Ms. Rebecca Prevett, the guidance counselor. She knocked on the door, letting her know she was here before coming into the office, crying.
"Hey, Brandy," Prevett greeted the teen. She came to comfort her as she was crying, "Hey...couldn't believe it when I heard. Police asked me to reach out, but uh..."
"I know," Brandy sobbed, "I just saw them outside, but I just can't face them yet. They're going to ask me questions about my mom, and Rachel, and...you're the only friend I have left."
"Well, you can always come to me, Brandy," Prevett assured her. She broke the hug and faced Brandy, "Now, talk to me. Tell me everything."
"It was so horrible..." Brandy sobbed, "there was this...this thing in the hall, and then...and then Rachel...I know it sounds crazy, but it's like she turned into some kind of monster."
Brandy asked, speaking softly, "Do you believe me?"
"Oh, I believe in a lot of strange things happen in this town," Prevett answered.
"My mom's gone," Brandy sobbed again, "and then, I found out that Ashy Slashy is my real father."
"Really?" Prevett asked, shocked. She stood up and hugged a sobbing Brandy, "I've got you now."
Moments later, Brandy calmed down a bit and talked to Ms. Prevett a bit more.
"So," Prevett asked, "after this nightmare ended, this man, your "father", he took you to his house?"
"Yeah," Brandy answered, wiping tears away with a tissue, "I guess I'm staying there for now. He's got me sleeping in his sister's old room."
"Cheryl?"
"Yeah," Brandy answered before she asked, "she died of something, right?"
"Or something," Prevett answered. There was a pause of silence before she continued, "Ash murdered her. He shot her right in the face with his shotgun. His own sister."
Brandy shuddered, hearing this.
"Brandy," Prevett held the teens' hands with her own, "now the last thing I want to do is frighten you, but your dad killed a lot of people. At this point, your safety is my primary concern. So, do you feel safe with your father?"
Brandy just about said something before she heard a knock on the door, revealing a police officer.
"It's okay," Prevett assured Brandy, "we'll talk again soon, okay?"
Brandy had no idea that Ms. Prevett was actually the immortal demon Ruby in disguise.
-Collision-Course-
Kelly sighed as she was making her way to the camper next to the house. James arrived, taking her by surprise.
"For fuck's sake," Kelly exclaimed, "don't scare me like that!"
"Sorry," James apologized before speaking, "I just want you guys to know the Ronin Warriors and Lady Ronin Guardians are on their way here now. I estimate they should be here within 24 hours."
"That's good," Kelly smirked, "that will be more help for Ash against this evil we're facing."
"Exactly," James nodded before heading back to his house, next door to Ash's.
"Hmmm," Kelly stated, "he lives next door. I wonder how these Ronins and Guardians will handle the Deadites."
Moments later, Kelly walked into the camper to find Pablo standing there, "Oh, sorry, Dalton left his beard trimmer in..."
Pablo turned around, startled, "What?"
"Hey, are you okay?" Kelly asked.
Pablo hesitated before answering, "There was a naked lady, right there."
He noticed Dalton entering the camper as he said, "But...but that's normal for this place. Yeah."
Dalton saw the markings all over Pablo, "Those marks on your arms. That's Sumerian writing."
"Yeah, and what?" Pablo replied.
"You've been marked by evil," Dalton answered.
"Yeah, well," Pablo scoffed as he got a jacket on, "I already know that. I should probably get to work, and not fight evil right now."
Kelly sighed, and Dalton watched as Pablo drove off.
"What was that?" Kelly asked.
"Those marks mean your little buddy's soul is in mortal danger," Dalton answered.
"It's not like he asked for those Sumerian tats, okay?" Kelly replied, "they're battle scars, and his soul won that battle."
"But he's been touched by evil," Dalton assured her, more or less warned her, "The legends warn about this. Sooner or later, he's going to go demon, and then he'll be out for blood."
"It's not going to happen, Dalton," Kelly turned in response, "okay, you got to trust me on this one, because this is Pablo we're talking about. He's like my little brother, he's my best friend."
"Kelly, I know you don't want to hear it," Dalton said in insistence, "but if I'm right this goes one of two ways: he kills us, or we kill him."
-Collision-Course-
Richie looked out the window. He noticed the sign which said, WELCOME TO MICHIGAN.
"Great," he sighed, "we're finally here."
"I have a strange feeling," Methos spoke up.
"What do you mean?" Amanda asked.
"I have this strange feeling we're going to find some pre-immortals during this mission," Methos answered, "if not actual immortals."
"If it's a Deadite threat," Joe replied, "finding a pre-immortal or immortal might be rare, if there is any at all."
"But it shouldn't be ruled out," Methos nodded.
"You're right," Duncan replied, "with a threat like this that is involving us, anything can happen."
"Just like what happened in Sunnydale a few years ago," Richie nodded in agreement.
"I think," Duncan stated, "we need to prepare for anything and everything when we arrive in Elk Grove."
"That's exactly what is on the agenda," Joe replied.
"If we do find any pre-immortals," Richie asked, "how do you think they're going to react?"
"I'm not sure," Methos answered, "it depends on who it is, and how they handle their first death."
"This is going to be one hell of an adventure," Amanda stated.
"Just a couple more cities," Duncan declared, "and we will be in Elk Grove."
-Collision-Course-
James sighed as he and Twyla made their way to the hardware store. They saw Kelly and Pablo talking to one another.
"It's those tats, Pablo," they overheard Kelly say. This brought the couple's attention as they made it to their side.
"Tats?" Twyla asked, "you mean the one we saw when we first met him and Ash?"
"Yeah," Pablo answered, "those exact ones."
"Dalton thinks that..." Kelly started to say.
"They're cool?" Pablo asked.
"That it means this evil shit is still inside you," Kelly answered, "but you're feeling good, right? I mean, nothing weird, or anything?"
Pablo scoffed, "Yeah. It's nothing more than usual. I'm good."
Ash suddenly arrived at the area, with his pants messy with something James rather not describe.
"Business is booming, I see," Ash said as he arrived at the scene.
"What the fuck happened to you?" Kelly asked.
Ash looked down at the mess before answering, "That is a long sad, story."
"I won't even ask to go further," Twyla replied.
"One thing is clear," Ash stated, "evil is after my offspring. The born, and the unborn."
"Why?" Pablo asked.
"I wish I knew Pablo," Ash answered, "but I'll tell you this, from now on, proptecting Brandy is job one. I may suck balls as a father, but I will not let evil take that away."
Ash looked over as Kelly nodded, "Brandy, I meant, or my balls."
"Yeck," Twyla cringed.
"We got it," Kelly spoke up.
"And the Ronin Warriors and Lady Ronin Guardians will be here tomorrow," James announced, "meaning, the threat has a bigger disadvantage."
"And a bigger advantage with help protecting Brandy," Ash stated.
"And you," Twyla crossed her arms, "the evil's main target is you, and we believe its using Brandy as a pawn in its game."
"Oh, and Kelly," James warned the young woman, "you might wanna watch out with the swearing. Amaya, Lady Torrent, she is Catholic, and she does not like hearing curse words, or when someone says the Lord's name in vain."
The Ghost Beaters groaned, not looking forward to what they're hearing.
Moments later, Ash grabbed a napkin to clean the mess before him, causing the others to groan in disgust.
"Oh my God," Kelly groaned.