I sat on my bed in silence, listening to the usual sounds of the people in Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital. Phillip was running around, looking for something to do, the others were probably loitering about... all of us trying to keep ourselves awake in some way.
The familiar sound of the squeaking wheel of Max's cart was getting closer along with a newscaster's voice. "In local news, two more teenage deaths have occurred..." it was saying, "both suicide. County health officials are at a loss to explain this alarming trend..." The radio was switched off as Max paused outside my door, a small worried glance sent my way as he did.
"Nothing like a little cheery news to start the day," Dr Goldman commented as he paused too.
"Say listen, Doc," Max turned to him, "I got a new theory about all these suicides."
"Don't hold back," Goldman smirked, "We need all the help we can get." I turned my head and listened closely to what he had to say.
"Fucked up chromosomes," Max replied, "Think about it, their parents all dropped acid in the sixties." My eyes rolled on their own accord and I turned back to staring at the wall.
"It beats Dr Simms' theory," Goldman commented, "She thinks it's nothing but sex, drugs and rock and roll."
"Shit, that's what keeps people alive," Max laughed before he rolled his cart into my room, handing me some pills. Frowning slightly I looked up at him and shook my head. "C'mon Cassidy, we're not having this argument again."
"I know," I replied, "Because like every other day I'm not taking them." I arched a challenging eyebrow, "There's nothing wrong with me."
"Your mom begs to differ after she found you on your bathroom floor after that overdose," Max commented making me roll my eyes again and turn away from him, stubbornly refusing to take the pills again. "I'll just leave them here then." With that he put them on the bedside table and left the room.
It was around an hour later, after I'd flushed my pills down the toilet like usual, that I emerged from my room, looking around in apathy as Jennifer passed me to go to the TV room, a small smile sent in my direction, which I returned before I headed down the hall to Phillip and Kincaid's room. "Ah, the Princess finally graces us with her presence?" Phillip commented as I dropped myself onto his bed, watching him as he made his puppets.
"Whatever Walker," I muttered quietly as I sat against his headboard, turning to Kincaid who was reading a comic, "How's it going Bruiser?"
"Bored as hell," he replied honestly making me nod in understanding, "Only just got out of the quiet room." This caused me to laugh slightly and shake my head, a small smirk in place on my lips.
"You hear we've got a new shrink?" Phil commented making me turn to him and arch an eyebrow, "Yeah, fresh outta grad school."
"Damn," I grumbled, "Another person who's gonna wanna hear the fucked up story of my life... great."
"This is Phillip," Max's voice suddenly announced from the doorway making me turn and lock gazes with a very familiar person who hadn't recognised me yet. My hood was up, so I'd let her off. "We call him the Walker."
"Why is that?" Nancy asked curiously.
"Cause I sleepwalk," Phillip replied, "A perfectly normal event that our illustrious staff loved to theorise about endlessly."
"Phillip this is Nancy," Max introduced as I gave her a once over, she looked older... but I guess three years would do that to you.
"Hi," Phil smirked, "Welcome to the Snake Pit, as Princess calls it." He nodded at me and Nancy smiled.
"Thanks," she told him before glancing at me and moving to Phil's puppets. "Nice work."
"They ought to be carved out of wood," I smirked slightly, "But they won't let any of us have knives because we might..." I mimed slitting my wrist with a smirk making her turn to me, I arched an eyebrow.
"This here's Cassidy," Max told her making Nancy's eyes widen and my smirk, grow wider.
"How the mighty have fallen, right?" I commented sarcastically as she gave me a soft look, "Not everyone got over it as well as you did." Nancy didn't say anything, just gave me a sorrowful look until I pushed myself off the bed and walked out of the room irritably. My irritation only growing as I watched Joey helping Marcie pick up some dropped towels from the laundry cart.
He paused as I passed, watching me storm down the corridor and back into my room, slamming the door as I went. I was doing fine pretending I was getting over what had happened in Elm Street, I was doing fine pretending that I was getting enough sleep... and I knew I was close to getting out of this damned place! And she had to turn up, throwing me for a loop and making me snap in front of Max who would obviously tell Doc Goldman.
There was a gentle knock on my door as I lay on my bed, frowning at the ceiling, and as I sat up the door opened slowly to reveal a sheepish looking Joey who smiled weakly. "I'm fine," I replied to the unspoken question making him arch an eyebrow before he closed the door and walked over to me, sitting on the bed next to me and draping his arm around my shoulders. "Okay... I'm not fine, but I'm pretty damn close."
I could feel his chest rumble in silent laughter as I leant my head on his shoulder, "You know, I've got a feeling you have a sexy as hell voice," I commented as I looked up at him, he smirked slightly... "But it's a good think I like the strong silent types huh?"
His smirk widened slightly as his eyebrow arched questioningly before I leant in and pressed my lips softly on his, my hand resting softly on his chest. After breaking the kiss he leant his forehead against mine, giving me a soft smile as I bit at my lip, stroking my thumb against the teardrop drawing on his cheek. "You're gonna end up with ink poisoning or something," I smirked slightly as I locked my gaze on his again.
He just shrugged, staying silent like always but I could see it in his eyes, I'd rather die from ink poison than from the psycho in our dreams.
"Lights out," my door opened to reveal a frowning Max, "I've told you two before, when you're alone in a room the door stays open."
"Sorry Max," I smiled slightly as Joey pressed a quick kiss to my cheek and left the room to go to his own.
"Finally got you a roommate," Max commented, "Meet Kristen." I arched an eyebrow at the blond girl that walked from behind Max, bandages wrapped around her wrist from where she had slit them.
"I like the irony, now tell me again why she's not sharing with Jennifer or Taryn," I replied dryly as the girl gave me a sceptical look.
"Dr Simms suggested she stay with you," Max replied, "Thinks it'll be good for the both of you."
"Whatever," I muttered before grabbing my sketch pad and ignoring the two of them as they got her settled in. Once he'd left however I looked up at Kristen and gave her a sad look. "So let me guess, burnt face, brown fedora and a green and red striped sweater."
"How did you...?" she started.
"And he used your dream to slit your wrist," I finished as I cut her off, she nodded. "We all dream about him, Doc Simms thinks it is a group psychosis, never mind the fact that we all dreamt about him before we came here... It's Cassie by the way."
Kristen seemed even more nervous thanks to what I was saying, but she still settled down to sleep, my pencil flying across my paper as I once again drew a picture of Nancy's house, the house that Freddy seemed to be obsessed with lately. It wasn't long after Kristen fell asleep that I heard her scream in my mind, my head suddenly spinning before I fell back onto my pillows.
I felt myself crash through the ceiling before I landed heavily on the floor in the living room of Elm Street house, next to me an ornate mirror exploded and Nancy burst through is with a look of utter disbelief. Following her gaze mine landed on a horrid snake with the face of Freddy, slowly swallowing Kristen whole.
"Kristen," I shouted before launching myself off the ground, grabbing a shard from the mirror in the process before I plunged it into Freddy's eye. He dropped her as he reeled back, letting me pull her out of the way as he roared.
His gaze locked on me before travelling to Nancy who had wrapped her arms around Kristen in comfort, "You two!" he yelled in a total rage before he lunged at us making me grab the two other girls and pull them from the room, slamming the door behind me in the process.
"You pulled us in somehow, didn't you?" Nancy asked Kristen.
"I-I think so," she stuttered her reply. I strained against the door as best as I could but I was slowly draining of strength.
"Get us out of here!" I yelled as the door caved in making me jump out of the way.
I sat up quick in my bed at the Hospital, gasping as pain erupted up my arm from my hand, glancing down I noticed that I had slit my palm open with the glass from the dream. "I'm so sorry..." Kristen started, "I didn't mean to..."
"It's okay," I told her gently as I wrapped my hand up, "I'm fine... and so is Nancy."
