Now I lay me down to sleep/Unchain me sister/ A whole new Nightmare By Kelly Sheffield

Disclaimer: I do not own the Lost Boys and I would not want to own Freddy! This is just my writing fan-fiction and done in good clean fun. I hope you enjoy my attempts!

Star and Laddie pt.1

Somewhere on Elm Street, Springfield Ohio, Early Summer, 1983, 6:00 PM.

"Now Star, make sure that Laddie is in bed before 9 pm please, I don't want him to stay up late." Mrs. Thompson instructed gently. " I don't know what's gotten into him lately, he has been quite adamant about staying up past his bedtime!" Laddie's mother was about to continue with her tirade when she was interrupted by the voice of her husband. "Now Vera, don't trouble the girl with all this. Laddie is just going through a faze, He'll be fine." Henry Thompson patted Star's shoulder reassuringly " Just work with him, watch a little TV together, read to him a bit, you know, the usual." Henry gave Star a wink before continuing, only to get a playful elbow to the ribs from his wife, Vera."Now Henry, you know full well that Laddie needs his sleep and not a spoiling!" Vera shook her head wistfully at her husband, then turned her attention back to the baby-sitter."Please get him in bed before nine Star, promise?"

"Yes Ma'am, I will." Star promised. Vera smiled then continued downstairs with her husband. "We should be back before eleven." Henry stated as he helped Vera into her coat and handed her her purse. Retrieving a notepad from the side pocket in his coat, Mr. Thompson quickly wrote down the numbers where they were going for the evening, handing them to the dark haired girl. "After the seminar, there is to be a dinner and awards ceremony. Here are the numbers Star, If you need anything or if anything happens, don't hesitate to call." Star took the note and placed it in her jeans pocket for safe keeping. "Don't worry I will, Mr. Thompson." Star said with a smile.

Taking an appreciative moment, Henry Thompson looked at the girl and smiled. Star was a clean cut, exceptionally bright, 15 year old girl. According to what he'd heard, Star and her family were new in Springfield and were adjusting quite well into the community. Star did well in school, and took odd jobs for extra money for herself. Within a few months, Star's reputation as a responsible baby-sitter had grown and soon they had asked her to baby-sit their son Laddie on occasion. An only child, Laddie took to Star right away, which was a great relief to the Thompson's, who were native to Springfield all their lives. It was good to see their son not be so lonely and to laugh and play like a little boy should. Laddie always wanted a sister and since Vera's recent miscarriages, they had all but given up hope on having any more children. Star was good for Laddie, and Henry for one hoped Star's family would stay in Springfield to settle there. Although both he and Vera tried to explain to their son about the losses. Laddie continued to blame himself for having no siblings. That was a big load for a five year old to take upon himself, and having Star around made the whole house seem lighter for not just Laddie, but for He and Vera as well. Maybe his reasons were selfish, but he hoped that Star and her family would stay despite the towns wild stories of long ago.

His thoughts were broken by Vera's voice. "Henry, we'll be late if we don't get a move on, dear." She stated flatly. "There's some Tea and Koolaid in the icebox, and some leftovers from supper in case you two get hungry. And remember, don't give him sweets before bed!" Chuckling to himself, Henry led Vera out the front door nonchalantly. "Have a good evening Star, we'll be back before eleven." With that said, the pair made their way to the car, shutting the door lightly behind them.

Later that evening: Between 7:00 and 8:00 PM

The evening went on as usual with Star looking after Laddie, getting him fed and keeping him entertained. The early evening was fine, but as bedtime got closer and closer, Laddie became more and more fearful. He clung to Star woefully crying and holding on to her tightly, as if she were life itself.

"Star, please I don't want to go to bed, please don't make me!" Laddie stated through his tears.

Star held him close, rocking him soothingly in an attempt to calm the frightened boy. "Laddie it's ok, I will be here to look out after you, and the house is locked up tight, cause you and me checked it, remember?"

Laddie looked up at her, wiping his tears and nodding. "He'll still get in though, He said he'd come to take me Star!"

Star looked at the little guy and tilted her head curiously." Who said they'd take you, Laddie?"

"The man in the furnace." Laddie said in a soft, scared whisper. " He took my two sisters, and my best friend Stevie, now I'm next!" He curled around Star and held her tightly. He hadn't told that to anyone but her, not his parents, or his doctors. They didn't believe in the man in the furnace, but Laddie knew the man was real. " I'm not fibbing, Star!" He stated in-between sobs. " I've seen him!" Laddie then broke down into tears once more.

Star held him close and let him cry. " Baby, your friend Stevie died of a heart trauma from having a birth defect that they didn't detect early on, and your sisters-" Star stopped herself short. Vera had miscarried twice before they were able to detect gender on either of the lost children, yet Laddie sounded so sure. "Laddie, how'd you know you had sisters, hun?" She asked.

" I saw the man in the furnace take them, Star." He answered matter-of-factly. " They were crying and he took them and ate them!" Laddie was panting and panicked as he remembered the awful details. " I saw when he took Stevie too, I told Stevie to run and hide, but he didn't listen and the man got him too!"

That was enough for Star. It was obvious the boy had night terrors and was not about to sleep in his own room alone, so they compromised. Star placed him with her down on the sofa, covered, with the lamp lights on and the TV on a happy station to sit out the evening and wait for his parents to get home. She would tell his parents about what he had said to her in the morning, after Laddie went to school. Re-runs of I Love Lucy and episodes of The Honeymooner's were the last things the pair remembered as they both slipped off into a peaceful sleep with her and Laddie cuddled up, safe and sound under a Navajo blanket on the couch as the TV blared in the background.

Later that evening, or so it seems: Time unknown. The Dream Realm

Star awoke with a start, alone on the sofa in the living room. Raising up on an arm, she looked around the darkened living room with wide, fearful eyes. Something was terribly wrong and she could feel it. She had left the lights and TV on earlier, now they were deathly silent and dark. She tried to turn them on and nothing worked, She then picked up the phone and found it was dead also. Rising abruptly and crossing the room to the window, Star peered out them only to see an overcast sky with no light whatsoever. A storm perhaps? No lights, no sounds, and, to her anguish, no Laddie either. Without hesitation, Star left the living room and searched the house for the boy. Nothing in the upstairs rooms at all. As she made her way downstairs and to the kitchen she heard a creak coming from the basement door. Star took note of Mr. Thompson's tool box in the kitchen under the sink. Reaching in it as quietly as possible, she retrieved the biggest tool in there, a large monkey wrench, and proceeded down the basement steps, still looking for Laddie. As she opened the door to the basement and ascended the stairs, it seemed to take forever to get down them. She didn't remember them spiraling either, but now they did. At first the only sound she could hear was the pounding of her own heart as she crept through the shadows as she reached the bottom of the long stairwell. Soon she heard voices, and then crying. She made one voice out to be Laddie's unmistakably. The other voice was that of a gruff voiced man. Inching closer to them weapon ready to strike, Star stayed in the shadows, straining her ears to hear what they were saying...

"Did you think I'd forgotten you, Laddie, my boy?" came the voice from the dark.

As Star approached the scene She could make them out clearly. One figure was Laddie, on his knees and shivering, clad only in his thin pajamas, terrified before the figure in shadow that stood before the large, open furnace door with hellish flames at his back clad in a filthy red and green sweater, heavy leather pants, leather work boots, and a beaten fedora hat. All around her Star could hear the singing voices of disembodied children and the strange nursery rhyme that ensued:

One, Two, Freddy's coming for you.

Three, Four, Better bolt your door.

Five, Six, Grab your Crucifix.

Seven, Eight, Gonna' stay up late.

Nine, Ten, Never sleep again..

As the children's voices sang over and over, The man in the furnace circled Laddie, like a predator would circle its prey, an insane grin crossed over his horridly burnt features as he laced his special glove onto his right arm. Made of heavy, stained, leather, it sported five long, menacing, and well-oiled razors that glinted evilly in the half-light as he continued to circle the boy, taunting him as he did so.

" You were wise to give your self to me Laddie, I would have kept taking them all like I did your sisters and your friend Stevie if you continued to be stubborn." Evil dripped off the mans words as he continued to speak to the terrified boy. " It's better for you this way, Laddie, I promise you!" Krueger hissed.

Laddie continued to kneel unmoving before the dark figure that circled him. He swallowed his fear long enough to find his voice to ask a question. " Why?"

Krueger stopped circling and looked down at the boy, raising an eyebrow at Laddie. It became apparent to the madman that the little boy had no idea why he was being hunted. Only being five years of age, they would not have told him yet. The fiend shrugged inwardly, It wouldn't hurt to oblige the boy first, Krueger thought to himself. He would be just kind enough to tell the boy why before he tortured him and devoured his soul. It would be so much sweeter that way!

Krueger, in a flourished fashion, knelt down in front of the boy their eyes locked, nose to nose with the boy as he readied to answer Laddie's inquiry " You carry the bloodline in you, boy." Krueger said with mock tenderness. " Those who wronged me are related to you, and they must be made to suffer as I have suffered, made to pay for what they did to me!" Grabbing Laddie by the collar he rose, picking the squirming boy off the ground in a rage. " Don't worry though, I promise I will make it hurt as much as I can!"

Before Krueger can go any further with his threat, he felt the double-handed swat of a monkey wrench across his back several times, causing him to drop Laddie back to the ground in an unceremonious manner. With no more than an irritated grunt, Krueger turned his attention to his assailant, who made her way into the light as she continued to swing and strike at him with her weapon. "Leave Laddie alone, you sick bastard!" Star said menacingly through clenched teeth.

" Star!" Laddie cried as he saw her fending off Krueger. " No Star, stay away from him!"

Desperate and flailing at Krueger with all her strength, Star looked to Laddie as she continued to swing at him, making a small entry space past Krueger for the boy to escape through. " Run Laddie! Run upstairs, now!" She cried.

Without hesitation, Laddie ran past the pair and up the stairs to hide. With the boy out of the way, Star continued to struggle with Krueger, who started to get the upper hand. Although young, the girl showed no fear for herself, a fact Krueger planned to change to his advantage. With his un-gloved hand, he hit Star hard across the face, sending her and her weapon sprawling across the room. Star was barely conscious when Krueger pinned her to the ground. His knees painfully on both of her arms, he began teasingly raking his clawed hand across her stomach and her lower ribcage, nicking her here and there to let her know just how real it all was, Star writhed and screamed angrily, only to be met with laughter from her assailant. A sick poem rang from his lips as he continued to torture her slowly.

I didn't want you, little Star;

But now I see how strong you are.
.
Beneath me now, you wail and cry;

to no avail, and soon you'll die~

The twisted rhyme was cut short with a double-handed strike to Krueger's head with the monkeywrench by Laddie this time as he rose up to laugh at Star. The force of the hit rolled his head completely backwards on his shoulders. He rolled off of Star growling, attempting to turn his head back around, flailing all over the basement knocking into things as Laddie and Star got up and raced out of the basement, bolting the door behind them. In his struggles, Krueger slashed the gas pipes that were underneath the house with his clawed hand. The stink of it began to fill the house, and before too long it would reach the open furnace on the water heater...

In the real world, at 10:30 PM

Star and Laddie woke abruptly, both of them still on the sofa in the living room, coughing and gagging to the unmistakable smell of the gas that had permeated the house. There was no time to lose as Star wrapped the barely conscious Laddie up in the Navajo blanket and carried him to the front door to leave the house. The door wouldn't budge. In a blind rage, Star grabbed a ceramic bust off of the piano and totally obliterated the glass windows in the living room with it, climbing through the window shards to freedom. Star ran as fast as she could away from the house, carrying Laddie with her just seconds before the whole house was blown sky high in a hellish conflagration. As Star looked incredulously back at the inferno, what she saw in it nearly made her lose her mind in fear. Standing unaffected in the rolling flames was a giant image of Krueger himself, laughing maniacally. She could hear his voice echoing painfully in her mind as he recited yet another poem.

Star Light, Star Bright;

First time to deal with Star tonight.

Run you may girl, run you might;

But you'll always be in my sight!

Now you know me, yes that's true;
.
And in due time, I'll kill you too!

End, part one.