Innocent Demon

Ch. 1: The Gardener


A/n: This is my take on the 'origins' of Freddy for the upcoming movie from what we've learned from the script review. The appearance of Freddy here is modeled after Jackie Earle Haley (AKA: the new Freddy).


Freddy Krueger feigned ignorance to the fact that the three kids were standing behind him. He smiled to himself as he pretended to be focused on planting the flowers.

"Wanna play tag with us, Mr. Freddy? You're it!" asked Kris Hughes. Such a sweet girl, only five years old. Blonde hair. Angelic little creature…

"Tag? All right," Freddy said with a smile, turning to face Kris and her playmates. He groaned as he made to stand.

"You okay, Mr. Freddy?" asked the little brunette girl standing next to Kris. Nancy Thompson, that was her name.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'm all right. I just get stiff from being on my knees all the—TAG!" Krueger said, lighting patting Nancy on the shoulder before breaking into a slow jog so the kids could try to catch him.

"Hey! No fair!" said Nancy, running after him as Kris and a boy (Quinton Dowd) also gave chase. Freddy ran behind a tree, grinning. Nancy, Kris and Quinton tip-toed to the tree.

"Got you, Mr. Freddy!" said Nancy, reaching to tag him. Freddy was gone. "Huh? Where'd he go?" The children looked up at the sound of a voice singing.

"1, 2…Freddy's coming for you…"

Kruger jumped down from the tree branch he'd been sitting on. The children squealed with delight, tackling him as he made to stand.

"Oh no, they've got me!" the gardener said, laughing. Neither Freddy nor the children saw the young blonde woman smiling at the sight.

Oh, what a good Daddy he'll be, thought Loretta Krueger with a contented sigh as she put a hand to her slightly bulging stomach. Isn't that right, little one? Loretta chuckled as her husband finally noticed her as he tried to squirm away from the children.

"Ack! Loretta! Help!"

"All right, guys, that's enough," said Loretta. "Your parents are here to get you. I'll see you tomorrow."

The two adults were given calls of "Bye-Bye Teacher Loretta! See you tomorrow, Mr. Freddy!" as the three kids raced down the playground to meet up with their parents.

"You alive, honey?" Loretta inquired, offering her hand to help Freddy up.

"God, where the hell—excuse me—heck do kids get all that energy and where can I get some?" Freddy asked, making sure the Quinton kid didn't try to take his wallet again. Sneaky little brat… Ah, good, wallet intact. Now…let's see if he still had cash in it…

"Fred, what happened to your hand?" Loretta asked as Freddy pulled off his right glove in order to dig through his wallet. There was a long clean cut across the back of his hand, bits of lint from his glove had adhered to the now congealed blood.

"What, that? Accidently knocked my hand against the pruning shears when I had my gloves off, that's all," Freddy replied. "Bled like hell."

"Did you use the first aid kit we've got in the supply closet?"

"You had a class in the playroom at the time. I didn't want to freak'em out. Like I said, it bled like hell," Freddy replied, looking at his cut hand. Probably best to clean it out, as he worked in the dirt all day. His gloves were wearing out, too. He'd have to make a mental note to pick up a few spare sets from the hardware store on his way home.

Loretta led her husband inside the preschool, unlocking a supply closet in the main playroom and pulling out the first aid kit. Freddy sat down on a beanbag chair, smiling.

"Oooh, gonna play 'Doctor' are we?" he inquired with a smile. "I like that idea…"

Loretta shook her head, fighting not to smile as she lightly dabbed rubbing alcohol on the cut. Freddy inhaled sharply, letting out a mild grunt of pain, his fingers curling into his palm on instinct.

"That dampen your mood any?" Loretta asked as she now wrapped a gauze bandage around the cut. Freddy smiled, whispering in her ear.

"No. It only stoked the fire…" he whispered, his voice turning husky and gruff. Loretta was both uneasy and excited at the same time as Freddy ran his tongue lightly below her jaw. "I need this, Lore. You have no idea—"

Loretta lightly pushed him away. He'd often propositioned her for sex here. Normally, they'd sneak down to the boiler room in the basement. Lately though, Freddy had suggested they be a little more daring and make love in one of the classrooms. It was a suggestion that both excited and frightened her. If they got caught…but that was the least of her worries.

What worried her more was the fact that Freddy suggested it in the first place.