Ash slammed the door shut, locking it behind him. After leaning against the door a moment, he realized that he'd probably just done something stupid... Now he had a Demon in the basement AND outside, but he didn't care anymore... Almost like a robot, he went into the kitchen and filled a glass with water, drinking some of it quickly. He hadn't realized how damn thirsty he was until now... Scotty probably was too. He went back to the main room, with a refilled glass, and sat next to Scott on the couch.
"Here, drink this, Scotty." Ash said, lifting the glass to his friend's face. "You'll need some fluids for strength..." He added, but Scott didn't move, his head was leaned back against the wall behind the couch, his eyes closed. "We'll be getting out of here in a few hours... Wouldn't you like that? To be going home?" Ash asked, refusing to accept what was happening. "I bet you would... You, me, Cheryl, Linda and Shelly... Well..." Ash paused, frowning. "No, not Shelly, she..." He trailed off, looking at his friend again, and at the water just running down the front of his face. "Scott?"
There was no answer, and never would be again.
Ash let the glass slip from his hand, and it fell onto Scott's shirt. He looked away from his dead friend and let his head fall into his palms as he felt like he was going to throw up until he died... But for some reason, he didn't. He got up and paced around the room, and when he passed in front of the hall door, he looked back and saw that the back door was still wide open from when he'd encountered Scott...
Shit.
He spun around to get the Shotgun, but Linda rushed at him from the bedroom door, wielding the ancient dagger in her hand. She slashed downward with it and Ash jumped back just in time to avoid it stabbing him in the face, but it ripped a jagged cut down the side of his arm, and he cried out in pain, kicking her in the chest to knock her away.
Ash cradled the wound and Linda hit the wall by the couch, bouncing Scott forward onto the floor in a heap. Linda giggled and Cheryl pounded the cellar door in a bloodlust as Linda charged again. Ash grabbed Linda's wrists, stopping her from attacking him with the knife, but she still tried to bite his face. Ash wrestled with her, shocked at her strength considering her size. Ash groaned as she pulled her empty hand free to dig into his arm wound, and he spun her around to try and brace himself against the wall, but ended up too near the cellar door. Cheryl's hand shot out, clawing mercilessly down the back of his leg, ripping his pant cuff and the flesh beneath to bloody shreds.
Ash screamed, bringing his knee up into Linda's stomach and then stepped back, stomping down on the cellar door with all his weight, pinning Cheryl's forearm in it. He heard something crack, but he didn't move, driven by a survival instinct now. He charged forward and tackled Linda to the floor, knocking the dagger from her grip in the process, so he reached over and grabbed it. He raised it up and shouted a battle cry like some kind of warrior and plunged the dagger down into her sternum, burying it inside her to the hilt.
Linda's body shuddered violently and Cheryl was still banging the cellar door behind Ash, but he ignored it, keeping the knife in place even as Linda spurted white, red and black liquids from her mouth, splattering them all over Ash's face. He shut his eyes, but held fast until she stopped moving completely. He panted hard, then got to his feet, pulling the dagger out and tossing it aside. He looked back, but found Cheryl had retreated down into the cellar again.
He knew Linda wasn't all the way dead... He'd heard Knowby's tape, he saw what stopped Shelly... He had to finish it.
...
The workshed door swung open, the light bulb flicked on, Linda's body was placed down on the work bench, chains were wrapped across her and tightened. Ash looked down at her a moment, trying to preserve her normal face in his mind as long as possible... Then he reached up and grabbed the Chainsaw from the hooks.
Ash yanked the ripcord and it fired right up. He revved the saw a few times, letting the noise give him some courage as he slowly lowered it towards Linda's body, but just before the whirling chain came in contact with her soft, undamaged flesh, he stopped. The necklace. He saw the necklace he'd given her, still around her neck, and couldn't bring himself to do it. "Oh God, Linda..." Ash said, tears forming in his eyes.
He put the chainsaw back up on the hooks, and fell across her, hugging her a moment, but she was cold, and he felt empty inside. Outside it was cold too, and Ash saw Shelly's grave marker still in place, confirming his hopes that this really did work. He set Linda down on the dirt and picked up the shovel from where he'd stuck it earlier.
...
The thing in the woods had grown impatient with trying to make the last man go insane, it commanded, and Cheryl's body responded. She started pounding against the cellar door with all her might, grunting with each hit. The thing in the cellar wanted the soul of the last one... and it would have him.
...
Ash gave up after only 4 feet... Stepping out of the hole and sticking the shovel back in the dirt. He made his way over to Linda, pausing a moment, wondering if he saw her eyes move... He waited, but decided he'd imagined it, instead picking up the body and placing it in the shallow grave. He then proceeded to shovel the dirt in on top of her, feeling like he was having a hard time breathing from the grief.
...
Cheryl grunted and groaned louder, like an animal fighting for freedom. She felt the wood around the chain brackets cracking apart now, and the thing in the woods urged her on even more, growling with anticipation.
...
Finally having covered her up, Ash tossed the shovel aside, picking up the sticks he'd made into a cross like on Shelly's grave. Ash looked down at the necklace he'd taken off Linda, placing it in his pocket for safe keeping, and then turned to head inside.
Suddenly, Linda's hand burst up from the grave, snatching Ash's ankle violently. Already torn up by Cheryl from earlier, agonizing pain shot up his entire leg and he cried out, toppling forward and rolling down the hill. When he hit the bottom, his whole body ached, and Ash rolled onto his back, unable to get up. He watched as Linda pulled herself up from the grave, horrific liquid dribbling from her lips and he desperately searched around for something to defend himself with.
Linda giggled, her throat gurgling from the fluids seeping out of her, and leapt into the air, plummeting towards Ash down the hill and screeching like a banshee all the way down. Suddenly, Ash's hands closed around something heavy above and to the right of him, and he swung with all his might. The shovel Scotty had used to bury Shelly was what he'd found, and he felt the tool jerk as the blade hacked through Linda's neck, snapping the bone and sending the head tumbling down the hill, where it landed next to Ash.
Linda's body landed right on him, knocking the wind out of Ash and more of the noxious fluid spurted from Linda's neck hole. Her head cackled next to him and her body grabbed hold, spewing more bile onto him as her hips grinded against him, thrusting over and over. Ash screamed in disgust, feeling like he might vomit, but fought it back, shoving with all his might and throwing Linda's body off him. He dragged the body up the hill, and tossed it back in the grave.
The pain in his ankle was too much for him by this point though, and he stumbled down the hill back towards the cabin.
Inside, the cellar door stood wide open, and Cheryl was nowhere to be found.