Lisa was first. She was Krueger's perverse masterpiece. It was just the three of them in the bus: Lisa, Jesse, and him. It was four if you count Kerry. Her dismembered body squirmed on the floor until vanishing forever. The rest of the teenagers were outside—their faces and bodies were pressed against the bus windows. They were pounding on the glass, screaming unintelligibly. Jesse couldn't understand why they were trying so hard to get in. Wouldn't they just want to stay out?
It began with Lisa being scalped. Her beautiful red hair fell onto the ridged floor. First the strands, and then the blood spotted the ground until becoming a black puddle. Or perhaps it was still red, but Jesse couldn't tell in the darkness. Lisa was sobbing so hard that her body shivered. Jesse was sitting in the adjacent row, but he could feel her fear. They both faced the same direction. In his peripheral vision, Jesse could see the blades cutting Lisa slowly. An ear…the tip of the nose…the tongue. Krueger's yellow teeth flashed in the slivers of light, a sinister laughter pouring through his charred lips. Jesse was too ashamed and scared to cry. He rocked back and forth in his seat. I know what's happening but I can't look…I can't look, thought Jesse.
Lisa finally took her last breath, and Jesse was both proud and devastated that she was so strong. Infuriated that he couldn't torture her anymore, Krueger slashed Lisa's face before she disappeared from the dream. It's my turn, thought Jesse, as Krueger ran his blades against the moldy upholstery. He could smell the rotten breath of him. Clumps of dust fell from the fedora. The blades were positioned underneath Jesse's chin. Jesse braced himself. He closed his eyes.
Jesse felt white light coming through his eyelids. He opened them hesitantly. He was sitting in a gazebo, and across from him was the Springwood Country Club. Jesse was puzzled at how familiar the club's interior was to him. He had only seen pictures of the building in the phone book. It was exclusively reserved for Springwood's elite. As he walked into the club, Jesse then noticed that he was wearing a tuxedo. The tables were lined with golden cloths. There were champagne glasses, and vases filled with red roses. The pleasant fragrance was overwhelming. Did I die already? wondered Jesse.
The other girls swarmed around a beautiful blonde that looked no older than fifteen. She was dressed in an ivory taffeta dress. Her hair was in French braids with lilies weaved in the rows. Her baby blue eyes shifted their gaze, and rested upon Jesse. The girls turned their attention towards Jesse as well. They parted as the blonde made her way towards Jesse. She looked directly at him, and he shifted uncomfortably under the weight of her stare.
With her hands folded in front of her, the girl almost looked like a princess. Her juvenile attire reminded Jesse of his sister.
"What?" asked Jesse, as he distanced himself from the girl.
The girl gritted her teeth, and turned her head to the side. She was obviously surprised. Jesse gave her a blank look. Her brow tightened in frustration.
He couldn't take it anymore. "All right, why am I dreaming about you?"
"'Dreaming about you'?" asked the girl.
"Yes," said Jesse, "Everything else has been tied to that maniac. I don't see how you would fit in the picture. You're older than those creepy kids."
The orchestra began playing, and the ball guests started their waltzes. One by one, the couples bumped into the girl until she fell to the ground.
Jesse pushed the dancers away, and scooped the young girl up. She smelled of jasmine.
"I don't understand," she said. She took off the dusty gloves, and threw them on a table. "We always dance to this song."
"What are you talking about?" asked Jesse.
"I've been dreaming about this…ever since I saw you playing baseball," said the young girl. "You're Jesse Walsh."
"Yes, of course," said Jesse. "I'm dreaming. Everybody would know me. All right, I'm ready to wake up. Let me wake up."
"Wait, this is my dream. Unless…oh my god," said the girl, "I thought I couldn't do it anymore." She turned her back to Jesse.
"Do what?" asked Jesse. He couldn't search her face for any visual cues. It disturbed the hell out of him.
"I…pulled you into my dream," said the girl.
"Pulled me," said a confused Jesse. "First off, that's preposterous. Secondly, why a complete stranger?"
"Stranger? You're not a stranger to me," said the girl. "We're in home economics together."
Jesse looked hard at the girl.
"Chrissie, right?" questioned Jesse.
A look of disappointment spread across her face.
"It's Kristen," said the girl. "Kristen Parker."
"Oh," said Jesse.
"So…you never noticed me then," said Kristen. Her taffeta dress snaked away, and she was left in her bedclothes. Kristen's hair was flat and shoulder-length. Her beatific face was replaced by small pimples and puffy eyes.
Jesse looked down, and noticed that he was in jeans again. Everybody in the ballroom vanished.
"So, the party's over," said Jesse weakly.
Kristen turned towards him in anger. Her hair whipped with a single motion. "I suppose you can say that."
"Look, I'm sorry," said Jesse. "I just don't understand. Why me?"
Kristen sat down on some steps. She wriggled her hands until offering an explanation.
"I thought you were cute in class," said Kristen. "I was too shy to visit you in the hospital, so I've been dreaming about you."
"Wait, I'm in the hospital?" asked Jesse.
Kristen looked confused until it dawned on her. "That's right. You've been away…in the dream."
"More like a nightmare," said Jesse. Images of Lisa's violated body flashed through his mind.
"I've had those too," said Kristen, as she wrapped her arms around her legs.
"Of him?" asked Jesse, concerned.
"Yeah…" said Kristen. Jesse felt pity for the young girl. How could she possibly fight Freddy Krueger alone. Look how difficult it was for him.
"…I see the drunk driver that killed my father," said Kristen. "And I'm at my dad's grave, but his plot is empty. And I can't find him."
"I'm sorry about your father…and the nightmares," said Jesse. "But I'm talking about something way different."
"Tell me about it," said Kristen. As they walked into another room, the country club changed into a house. It was more like a mansion. The living room alone was bigger than the first floor of Jesse's house. There were priceless antiques throughout the place.
"Wow. I can see why you dream this place," said Jesse.
"Actually…this is my house in real-life," said Kristen.
"You don't say," said a surprised Jesse.
"My dad was an investor," said Kristen, "He used to travel all around the world. We inherited the house."
"You and…?" asked Jesse.
"My mother," said Kristen.
"It must get lonely," said Jesse. He missed his family so much, even though his dad annoyed him. Perhaps they weren't so bad after all.
"It does…but then I have my friends," said Kristen, "Alice is my favorite. The rest of my friends are stuck-up snobs. They make fun of Alice because she's poor, but I don't pay attention to them."
Jesse smiled. She reached into the living room bar and pulled out an ice-cold cranberry juice.
"You have the bar to yourself, and you chose cranberry juice?" said Jesse.
"I don't want to end up like my mother," said Kristen, "Alcohol for her leads to other vices."
"Well, it's all right, you're just a freshman," said Jesse.
"Hey, I do…things," said Kristen.
"Like what?" said Jesse. He couldn't believe that Kristen barely reached his chest.
"I…sometimes smoke my mother's old cigarettes," said Kristen.
"Okay, that's a little gross," said Jesse, making an exaggerated face. They both erupt in laughter.
"So, Kristen, what happens to me when you wake up?" asked Jesse.
"Thanks for getting the name right this time," said Kristen. She smiled flirtatiously. "I don't know what happens. Maybe you'll wake up beside me."
"If it's in this house," Jesse looked around him, "I'll feel like royalty."
"Come on," said Kristen, "Let me show you the stupid tutu that I have to wear. My mom wanted me to do ballet instead of gymnastics."
Kristen ran up the stairs. Jesse could hear her footsteps echoing in the distance.
It was as if the very floor was moving underneath him. Jesse grabbed desperately for the stair railing. He was grabbing so hard that his fingernails raked against the brass.
And then Jesse could hear the steam engines. He looked around him, and found himself in a power plant. He stumbled through the darkness, feeling the walls until he felt something cloth-like. Jesse ran his hands against the material until he touched something sticky and warm. Nervously, Jesse kept feeling until his fingers grazed an empty eye-socket. He screamed, and fell back. Then, Jesse could see all of them. The teenagers that were banging the bus windows, suspended in mid-air. Freddy Krueger hanged all of them. Why didn't they disappear? thought Jesse Like Lisa and Kerry.
The blades torn into his skin so quickly. One…two…thirty times. Jesse was slumped on the floor again. Freddy leered down at Jesse, scraping his finger knives together.
"Why…not the others?" sputtered Jesse, as the blood filled his lungs.
Freddy picked up Jesse effortlessly. He lifted his ragged sweater, and pressed Jesse against his stomach. The burned flesh opened up, and began swallowing Jesse. He quivered like a helpless mouse being eaten by a snake. He keeps us because he can feed off our energy said the voices We're the strongest. Jesse asked himself Or is it because we're the weakest? It didn't matter. Jesse took his place among the collected souls.
After Jesse died in the ICU, Kristen would walk by his house. She used to see his family, trying to carry on without their lost member. And then, one day, they were all gone. With them went the spirit of the house and what was left of Jesse for Kristen. She didn't tell anybody about the dream she had with him in it. Who would believe her? Kristen could tell Alice. She might understand, but why burden Alice thought Kristen, she already has her own problems.
First, Kristen withdrew of a broken heart. And then, she withdrew for an entirely different reason. There was a man haunting her dreams. The worst part…she was always visiting 1428 Elm Street. But it wasn't as if Jesse was there with open arms. It was someone entirely different. Kristen feared dreaming.
Jesse could see through Freddy's eyes—just like all the other tortured souls. He was looking out of the window of 1428 Elm Street. He could see Kristen, wrapped in the arms of a boy. He was relieved to see that she survived Westin Hills. But judging by her worried expression, Jesse knew that Kristen had little time left. When the time does come, Jesse would try to fight against Freddy's will. But he knew it wouldn't do any good. He tried screaming to warn Nancy of Freddy's trick, but she couldn't hear him. The same will probably happen to Kristen.
Before the group of kids took off, a young girl with reddish hair stared up at the window. For a moment, Jesse thought that she was looking directly at him—or Freddy. She's the one, echoed throughout Jesse's spirit. It was evident. Freddy had plans for the redhead. A pity, thought Jesse, she reminds me of Lisa. I wonder if that's Alice. Jesse kept his thoughts to himself. What else could he do? He was entombed forever in a sepulcher made of charred flesh.