Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash

The Puppet Master

It was dark by the time the police had let them go. The store had been shut down and cordoned off, and Ash had briefly been questioned by police, but a few survivors (which, aside from Carrie, David, Raoul, and Jarvis, there weren't many) had testified that Ash had been instrumental in doing what he could to save them. For their part, Carrie, David, Raoul, and Jarvis each filled out statements about the incident before the six of them (Jake included) were let go.

Now, they were all back at Carrie and David's apartment. Ash was throwing logs into the fireplace while Jake sat nearby and stared blankly into the flames. The shirt he was wearing was somewhat wet; he'd just finished showering off and was so out of it that he had clothed himself before he was completely dry.

"Alright, let's go over this one more time," David spoke up. "You think Jason Voorhees is some kind of Deadite vengeance demon?"

"I know it sounds farfetched," Ash replied. "But it honestly makes perfect sense. One: it explains how and why Jason Voorhees keeps coming back over and over again. If someone read him a passage from the book when he was a kid, turned him into a Deadite, it explains why he can't be killed! Because everything we threw at him tonight would have killed a normal human being!

"Two: if Jason Voorhees is a Deadite, it explains why he was going after the book! Deadites and the Necronomicon go together like white on rice!"

"But why would Jason go looking for the Necronomicon now?" Jarvis asked. "According to the legend, dude can't even read 'Sam, I Am', let alone some old-ass book that's written in a language that's deader than he is!" He punctuated his sentence with a swig of Bud Lime.

"Maybe someone is pulling Jason's strings, ya' know?" Raoul said as he took a hit off his joint. "Like a Puppet Master who made Jason his bitch."

"But who has the power to do that?" Jake spoke for the first time.

"I don't know," Ash said. "Hell, after all I've been through, I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out the book was doing this all on its own. But one thing is damned sure: we need to get that book back and destroy it and Jason!"

"So what's the plan?" David asked.

Ash looked around at the kids; they all looked exhausted, beaten, bruised. "For now, the plan is we rest up. We're all exhausted, beat. Catch a few hours of sleep, then we get back to it." Ash then felt a rumble in his gut and realized that he hadn't eaten anything all day. "And a sandwich probably wouldn't kill anyone, either."

Carrie returned from the kitchen with a bottle of champagne in her hands and handed it to Jake. For a moment, he tried to open the bottle, but failed miserably. Ash, taking pity on the kid, took the bottle and popped the cork stopper with ease.

"Thanks," Jake said as he took the bottle back and began chugging it.

"Sorry about your girl, kid," Ash said apologetically as he went back to his ham sandwich. "I know how it feels, losing someone you love."

Jake didn't respond, except by taking another swig of the champagne.

"Tell me about her," Ash encouraged. "What was her name, what was she like?"

"Sandy," Jake finally said. "Sandy Collins. I've known her since preschool, dated since sixth grade. Absolutely stunning, Ash! In the summer sun, when the wind caught it, her red hair looked like fire!"

Jake smiled brightly at the memory before adding, "I was going to ask her to marry me. Tonight. We were going to have a little Christmas party after work, and I was going to ask her then. Had a ring and everything, too." The smile disappeared from his face, "I lost it when Jason attacked us. I didn't realize it until after I had already gone. I didn't think; I just left her there to die!" Jake sobbed.