Chapter Text
“Fuck me” Alex grumbled as the dark shroud of fog swirled around her.
“Crouching behind a rock ain’t usually my style, dollface, but for you I could make an exception” Ash said with a wink. Before Alex could think of a witty reply, the fog had already whisked the two of them away.
“It’s like it was meant to be, baby” Ash laughed as you appeared next to one another in your trial’s location: Gas Heaven.
“Oh my god Ash” Alex sighed, rolling her eyes.
The pair walked together to the back of the Gas Heaven’s main building, a guaranteed generator location.
“Help me do this damn generator”
“Gotcha sweetheart” he said, kneeling beside her to start fiddling with some wires.
“Shit, you hear that Ash? A chainsaw, this generator is in a terrible spot to be dealing with a chainsaw”
“Yeah” Ash sighed “I hope it’s the fat one”.
“Bubba?”
“Right, what you said”
Alex sighed, Ash was certainly a character. She loved him to death, but he was a lot to handle sometimes.
“Shit! That’s Billy for sure” Alex muttered.
“You can tell?”
“I’m with them a lot more than you are, Ashley”
“Of course, I forgot that you’re a cold-blooded murderer too” Ash said, winking at her “no offense sweetcheeks, but I think I’m going to run”
“See you, pussy” Alex chuckled.
“Oh whatever. Catch ya on the flip flop darling” Ash scoffed just before sprinting away. In a split second she heard his screams; he had run directly into Billy since he was far more focused on getting the hell out of Dodge than actually paying attention to where Dodge was.
“Shoot” Alex muttered. At least she had finished her generator, allowing power to surge through the building and open the sliding door that was originally blocking their exit. Peeking her head out the door, she watched as David ran to get Ash off the hook. Perfect, she could find another generator to work on.
“Hey sugar” Ace all but purred as she approached a half-finished generator.
“Between you and Ash, I don’t know who’s worse with the dumb nicknames”
“Probably him, but that doesn’t mean I won’t try to take the number one spot” Ace replied as he fiddled with wires.
Another cry of pain pierced through the air. Alex recognized it as David’s voice. The noise startled Ace, who blew up the nearly completed generator.
“Fuck, sorry” Ace muttered.
“Don’t worry, we can still power through and get David before he hits the second phase” Alex replied.
The two worked in silence for another fifteen seconds before they heard Ash cry out once again.
“Finish the generator, I’ll get the other two” Alex told Ace, who nodded in agreement. Although he wouldn’t admit it, chainsaw wielding killers terrified him, especially ones who moved very, very fast.
“David!” Alex exclaimed as she grabbed him and pulled him off the rusty sacrificial hook.
“Oi” David groaned, grimacing as Alex began to heal his wounds.
“Nah, no time mate, Ash is going to die if we don’t start running there immediately” David said through gritted teeth, clenching his jaw to remain quiet despite how much pain he was in.
“If you say so” Alex answered. The terror radius was becoming louder; the killer was approaching quickly “you get Ash, I’ll distract him”
David nodded and ran towards where Ash was struggling against The Entity’s tendrils.
“Billy!” Alex called out, causing the killer to turn and look at her, confused. Slowly, he approached Alex, walking at a relaxed pace and looking relatively docile.
Something seemed to root Alex in place at that moment; fear or curiosity -- or perhaps a mix of both.
“Lex” he greeted.
“Hi Billy” Alex smiled at his nickname for her. He was unable to speak very well so he was only able to call her ‘Lex’.
“Billy” Alex continued “it’s a trial, remember? We discussed this, you have to chase me”
Billy avoided her gaze and raised his chainsaw. Alex took the cue and ran off, being closely tailed by a chainsaw-wielding maniac.
Soon Alex found herself in an area completely void of pallets; she was going to go down. It was an inevitable fact, so she decided to run as far away from the generators as she could to allow her team a few more seconds before Billy could get to them.
In a last ditch effort to escape the chase, she hid in a corner. It was futile, she was found in seconds.
She closed her eyes and grit her teeth, bracing for impact. She utterly hated being sawed, a fact well-known among the killers and survivors alike.
Nothing came. Opening her eyes, she saw him staring down at her.
“Billy, we can’t do this. You know how….she feels about you refusing to hurt me”
Swallowing thickly, Billy raised his hammer and looked away. The crunch of her bones made him wince. Alex silently thanked him for not using the chainsaw, even though she was pinned against a wall.
He was being forced to hurt the only person who ever showed him kindness; the one who knew his story and gave him a new name so that he didn’t have to be a namesake for the man that abused him.
The speed boost from the hit allowed her to run off, and he didn’t bother pursuing. He wandered off, feeling a heaviness in the pit of his stomach.
Ash was repairing another generator alone. He was almost done when Billy caught him, able to sneak up thanks to his Entity-given perks.
Wasting no time, he threw Ash on the hook and watched as The Entity’s spidery legs claimed him. The generator that he was working on roared to life; the last one.
David and Ace were at the North exit gate, but they were already almost opened. As soon as he approached, they ran to the threshold that he couldn’t cross.
“Take that you stupid freak!” David taunted, laughing.
“St-stupid?” Billy stuttered, tears threatening to fall.
“You can talk?” Ace asked, completely taken aback.
“Stupid…” Billy muttered before trudging away and sitting in front of the main building.
“What is he doing?” Ace asked
“I don’t know. Go see”
“Do you think I was born yesterday?” Ace chuckled.
“Trust me mate, nobody thinks that, but you’re a risky gambler so...go see” David shrugged.
Ace sighed and shook his head as he sauntered off to tail the killer.
He realized what was going on as soon as he heard sobbing from near the main building. Sitting with his back against the wall and crying was The Hillbilly, who Ace had only ever seen as a ruthless murderer.
Ace froze, unsure whether he should approach him, call out, or just leave. Logically, he should leave and never look back, but Ace was not a logical man, and he was at least good with words.
Cautious with each step, he approached the other.
“H-hey” Ace said with all the confidence he could muster. Billy didn’t look up, he continued to sob and mutter things under his breath.
“You okay?” Ace asked
“...stupid Billy...stupid...no...no...bad”
“Billy? Is that your name?” Ace asked, taking a few more steps towards the killer.
Finally, the killer looked towards him, nodding slowly.
“Are you okay?” Ace repeated “you seem upset”
“see…’Lex…” Billy mumbled
“Right” Ace said, since he had no idea what Billy was getting at, he figured agreeing was the best option.
“I have to go or The Entity is going to impale me. I hope you feel better” Ace said, speed walking back to the opened exit gate.
“Well?” David asked.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into him”