Chapter Two – Nightmare

When Helyse recovered conscious (although at first she wasn't able to even realize it had happened), the first thing her mind registered was that she was lying face down on a hard and cold floor… Though still, she felt as if her brain was spinning inside her skull… She moved her hand a bit, feeling a grid floor… Slowly, she raised her head, face half hidden by the dark blonde hair… She was lying down in a metal floor and…

And what had just happened?

Helyse couldn't recognize any of her surroundings… Why was she there? Better yet, how? Didn't remember anything, but she was sure she wasn't meant to be there… And had the strong sensation that she had been hurt… Severely hurt, just some minutes ago… No… That wasn't right, it wasn't just a sensation, the ghost of the agony she had felt was still inside her, strong enough to not be forgotten.

Just some moments ago, she had been… Had been…

Where had she been?

She couldn't remember…

The girl frowned a bit. Nothing made sense…

Looking around, all Helyse could see were pipes, hallways, shadows and small bridges… She thought she had seen a small ladder, but wasn't sure, her mind still working in a weightless way, as a machine that still has to warm up… She was on a small bridge, several pipes lined on a side and a metal rail on another. At some distant point at left, Helyse could see a yellowish light waving furiously… As she watched, flames appeared for a second before going down again, as perverse children jumping on a bed.

"What is going on?" Using the rail as support, she stood up, weak legs and disordered mind, facts flowing with thoughts that Helyse tried to organize in some sequence that made sense. First, the fact that she had been hurt… There were still remains of pain inside her, but… Touching her head, fingers in search of wounds and finding nothing, her arms also showing nothing wrong… The pain was inside, but Helyse couldn't pinpoint an exact focal point, as if it was being carried in blood and inside bones. She also couldn't feel any cut from which it streamed…

"But… I… I was hurt, so how it was? How it happened?" She leaned over as if about to vomit. Well, this line of thought wasn't working, so she tried to remember another thing that had happened, feeling that the memory was somewhere inside her mind, she just couldn't bring it to light.

"C'mon, c'mon…" The remembrance seemed to slip when her conscience got close, hiding as a laughing child. "Keep focus, girl. My clothes. They're not torn up or stained… When I dressed them, again? Morning. Yes, today at morning… If was hurt, why do I seem to be fine? No, no, carry on… Today. I got dressed at morning and… Wait, today is Friday? I think so… I went to school. So… Did this happen during class? No… I don't think so, I was going home… I almost missed the bus and…".

She opened her eyes, of a dark blue.

The accident.

How could she have forgotten that? And how something like this could happen? She had had an accident… God, the blood, the cries… Maybe she had fainted or something of the sort? It seemed possible, and now she was in a place like… Like a machine or boiler room…

Well, it still didn't make any sense… Even so, all that had to have some rational explanation. Perhaps it was all in her mind? A hallucination or something alike it…

However, it all had a too real sensation… The cylindrical metal under her hands… The temperature around… The glowing of the fire, which warmth didn't reach her… It was real and the same time, it couldn't be.

If she had died, this didn't look like Heaven or Hell or any sort of "afterlife" scenario she had ever heard… Holding the rail, she looked down, seeing what seemed to be a big boiler, the fire making shadows of the grades on the floor… As she watched, the flames seemed to try to escape between them and even the door seemed to be shivering under the fire's strength.

Helyse didn't mind, it was all a trick of light and shadow. It wasn't because she was in such situation that she was about to start behaving like a scared child. She didn't know where she was, but there were no wounds, she wasn't stuck or with a weapon pointed at her head… That was enough for her not be afraid, but only due to her emotional system and not because anything alike courage.

Instead, she was just confused and intrigued. Nothing made sense, very well… She would have considered the kidnapping possibility, but even if this was the case, it didn't explain how she had no wounds or blood. And really, what kidnappers would throw their hostage in such a place?

If someone had an explanation for all this, they could come and she would hear it with all good will.

And there was also that song, which lyrics were still clear in her mind… Helyse wanted to convince herself that it had been just "something of the moment", she had hit her head, after all… But she couldn't just disregard those voices, child-like, but with a mockery of purity, malicious and cold…

"Whatever it was, it doesn't mean anything now…" She walked across the bridge, without caring in which direction. Maybe she could find something that gave a bit of reason to the circumstances… Anyway, there had to be a way out of here.

The girl walked in silence, searching and looking, but all she could see were pipes and boilers, some turned on and some turned off… Even the fire light seemed… Strange. Oh, of course it would, the whole situation was strange, so everything else seemed off as well.

As much as she walked, Helyse couldn't find anything that looked like a way out or even a door. When she reached a wall and tried to follow it, it soon ended in hallways (some with walls formed by pipes), a boiler or a stair… That was ridiculous, right? All places had a way in and out, even if it was a sealed door, it didn't mean it didn't exist

"Not that a sealed door would help me. Keep it together, you moron…" She had not suffered anything, but walking adrift and never finding the end of this place…

Place which was just bizarre… Even areas that should be warm felt twisted. It wasn't an unbearable heat, but it wasn't the pleasant feeling of a fireplace or summer sun either… And areas with lower temperature weren't any better.

"What is the size of this room? It even…" Her thoughts were interrupted when she noticed another pipe-formed hallway. Helyse stopped without knowing why, staring at it for some seconds… She had no reasons to take this way, after all, it didn't look like it was going to end in the exit…

Well, if it was like this, why had she even stopped?

Something had called her attention, but what? The girl inclined her head a little forward, not comfortable in getting closer than this.

"Stop acting like a child..." Helyse ignored the thought, still looking at the dark way… Nothing surprising. Just a hallway like many others she had seen… Yes, it was true that it didn't get darker step by step, but in an abrupt way, almost violent… So what? It meant nothing!

For a moment, she thought she had seen something.

She recoiled instinctively, reasoning at the same moment that it had been just her imagination, she had been staring at the dark as if in search of something and, since there was nothing there, her mind had made her see something… Optical illusion, only that.

Her body shivered. Slowly, Helyse leaned forward again, muscles tenses and naturally ready to jump… An odor filled her nostrils by force. The smell one would sense should he dig a rose flowerbed and find a corpse in advanced stage of decomposition.

The darkness seemed to throb… She felt it. As a huge organ, on and on, on and on, until it seemed to be pulsating in her eyes and opening itself in an invitation. "Come here, honey. You can come in. There is nothing here to be afraid of, only shadows in a hallway, what harm can it do? Come here, honey…".

"This place must be affecting my head." Even so, it was better to avoid places like that anyway. Not being the exit, there was no reason to bother…

The young woman shook her head as to get free of something and resumed her walking, not looking back… At some point, deep inside, she felt she should look, make sure that wasn't following her… But… Oh, what nonsense, what would be following her? There was nothing there, nothing there, no way…

The pulsating darkness… Like a heart…

Something moving…

No, bullshit. Optical illusions and uneasiness, just that! There was nothing there and there was nothing following her. She had to keep calm, whatever that was happening was already abnormal enough, she had no need to start acting as a baby seeing monsters in the shadows… But for the first time, the girl noticed her hands were cold.

Helyse didn't know anymore if she was walking in circles or not… Even so, she held tight to the idea of a way out, even if this was a labyrinth, they also had a way out. They had to. Every place had!

She realized she was taking deep breathes, her lungs making an effort, so she stopped halfway a bridge. Despite the growing nervousness, the girl admitted that walking around like this had already bored her… And though she tried to calm down, the uneasiness that had grabbed her insides remained still… And it hurt.

There was no way of knowing how many floors that place had, but maybe she could keep going down (had she gone up or down some stairs? Sure yes, but how many, she did not know anymore)… Not that it mattered much, Helyse was starting to believe that she had, somehow, gone insane. Maybe all this was a hallucination after all… It was an explanation anyway and a good one to be honest… Not that the girl had any reaction to this possibility. It was just something she needed to face, there was this chance and she was already…

She heard something.

There was something… Or someone… There with her.

Something dragging (or scrapping) against pipes and, in that oppressive silence, the sound shuddered as it cut the air, making her skin shiver… There was the cry of something sharp against metal…

"Look what I found." Helyse turned and bit her lower lip to hold a brief exclamation of shock… The man who had spoken was in such condition that was impossible to believe he was even alive… His skin was all burned, several areas of the face showed raw meat, as cracks or holes…

"Are you lost, little girl?" He asked mocking, his voice sounding raspy. Helyse noticed he used an old-looking sweater, stripped in red and green and a dark hat.

"Who are you?" She asked in an inexpressive tone, thought now terror, pure and instinctive, had carved itself in her. Slowly, she leaned her weight on one leg and in the other, testing if she would be able to run (God, her legs shivered and she couldn't control herself!), hoping he wouldn't notice… But judging from his smile and the shine in his black eyes, the girl was sure he knew what she was doing.

"This really matters, bitch?" He lifted his right hand, which wore a glove with blades in the fingers, shining as silver. She couldn't look away, like a person who has a gun pointed to her is unable to look at any other direction.

A series of thoughts ran in her mind. They were in the middle of a bridge, she could just run to the other side, but if she did so, he would just chase her and didn't seem as if he would need much effort to catch up… And even if she managed to escape, the man would just keep chasing and, she was sure, he knew this place… When taking those facts in account, the most logic conclusion was that there was no escape.

The girl walked back, trying to force her body to move, to run, but shock and fear (filling her completely now) kept her still. Only her heart beat in intense velocity and, unused to this reaction, she felt ill…

The man came closer, the glove lifted… The sound of blades agitating one against the other…

This couldn't be real… It just couldn't… Forget the place, a person couldn't be alive after those burns… Even with the reality of all, she couldn't move, just one thing inside her shivered and she didn't realize… Helyse almost laughed, it was all so insane, so lacking in meaning that the only automatic and possible answer of the body, was laughter…

Someone came running out of nowhere, pushing the man aside, almost throwing him to the ground and grabbing Helyse's hand.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, IDIOT? RUN!" With that, Helyse was pulled, forced to run. All she had time to realize was that the person helping was a boy. Once freed of her paralysis, the girl focused everything in her legs, running as fast as she could.

Behind them, the man laughed.

"And here is the knight saving the little princess. How long will they last?".

XxX

The boy leaded Helyse through hallways and passages as if he knew some paths, until they stopped near a turned off boiler in a corner and sat, panting. Helyse leaned, her hands on her knees, tired and shivering and scared.

She tried to say something, but barely managed to lift her head. Her blood ran cold with the feeling that comes before throwing up. Her stomach burned, she could count each bone and her heart still hurt with an intense and irregular beating…

"I think… We got some time… I hope" She heard the boy say, but still took some breaths before felt like she could answer. Her body wasn't physically used to that stress or to the body chemicals produced in such situations. Helyse tried to look at him, knowing she should thank him, but was surprised once more.

"Locker?" Of everything that had happened until now, maybe this was the most unexpected one: Kurt Locker was in that place and, though they had never spoken to each other, he had just helped her. This was not something she could comprehend.

Meanwhile, Locker just tried to smile and even with the sweat drops in his face and the clear signs of tiredness, it was clear why so many girls at school thought him handsome, with a bluish black hair and dark eyes.

"Ah… You're that girl from class, right? Eh… Blay… Something, right?".

At that moment, Helyse couldn't care less about introductions. What she wanted were answers. She sat in front of Locker, her fear slowly fading away now that they were away from that man and safe… At least until they were found.

"Listen, Locker…".

"Call me Kurt, okay?" He still smiled in a careful way. Helyse only sighed, was that really the time? Or maybe he was just trying to be polite? She didn't know how to act in this situation, so opted for accepting and not wasting time.

"Okay, Kurt…" The girl stopped for a second, realizing he was looking at her as if waiting. "I'm Blake… Helyse Blake… Listen, do you know what is going on here?"

The boy's eyes had something that resembled pity… And it was what he felt. It was true that he had never talked with the girl before… What now even seemed strange, when he thought about it: He had sat at her side in school for months, had had other classes with her in other years, however…

Well, it didn't matter and as far as he knew, few people did speak to her anyway… She was just a strange girl, but not in any moment Kurt believed she deserved to be dragged to that nightmare…

No one deserved it.

"Listen well, because we don't have much time…" He moved a bit, uncomfortable. Damn it, how could he explain everything? After seeing Freddy Krueger with her own eyes, he hoped she would juts believe, but what if she didn't? "Well… The best thing to do is to try and wake up and…".

"Wake up?" The lack of emotion in her voice made it hard to say if she was being sarcastic, tense or if she hadn't understand. "In a place like this, you're speaking of waking up?".

"I meant it literally. You must be asleep…" Maybe her parents could wake her up (this had happened with him some weeks ago, when his mother had caught him sleeping, head on his English' book), but Kurt had already learnt that when it came down to nightmares, it was better to not wait for external help and find a way to wake up on your own.

"I was going home by bus and… And…" Helyse stopped talking slowly, an idea forming in her mind… An idea that could be translated in simple words, but which colorations harbored dark tones of poison. "I think I'm unconscious… There was an accident and I hit my head… I heard a song and when I opened my eyes, I was here…".

Kurt bit his tongue, knowing very well how a person hitting her head could be dangerous. He, he had fell asleep while doing his homework (and he had been drinking coffee, wasn't that a bit of ironic?)… But a concussion could have more grave consequences. In anyway, the faster he explained things to Blake, the better.

"Okay, don't interrupt… You're unconscious, asleep, whatever, doesn't matter. You are… Well, we… We don't know exactly where here is or even what it is, but we call it "dream" or "Dream World", if it can be called that…" He got no reaction from her, not even a blink or a frown. "And that man is Freddy Krueger… And believe me, it's better for you to RUN from him and NOT stand still waiting him to KILL you! You saw those knives, want to feel them cutting you?".

Even as he lectured her, Helyse didn't react or moved. Kurt took a deep breath, closing his eyes, it wasn't time to act like that and he knew it, but the girl's lack of response wasn't pleasant… Though he imagined it had to be shock, it was too much to assimilate at once. The first time he dreamt with Krueger, he had been terrified upon waking up with an excruciating pain in his arm and see blood flowing from the wounds he had suffered in a dream.

It was something that defied all laws of physics and logic… That time, he had almost believed he was insane and just the sensation of his blood running down his skin kept him from believing it completely.

Even today, Kurt wondered if insanity wouldn't be preferable.

"He was a murderer when he was alive and he still is. I know this sounds crazy, but it's true…"

Helyse blinked, still terribly expressionless.

"So, this isn't real… It's all some sort of nightmare, hallucination…"

"Do not kid yourself!" He interrupted with urgency. "It IS real! Blake… It's a nightmare, yes, but if that guy hurts you here, you'll be hurt in the Real World too… If he kills you here…" He didn't need to finish it.

Kurt had said that he knew this sounded crazy. And it did. The most insane thing Helyse had ever heard. Dream World? Real World? He wasn't helping his cause when using such ridiculous terms…

Yet, Helyse remembered the feeling of horror. The song… The darkness… Those blades shining. This, more than anything, gave reality tones… The shine of those blades.

And Kurt and his friends, with those tired aspects… Even today, Kurt had fallen asleep… The murders… The murders in which no one knew how to killer got to his victims and some killed in such bizarre ways…

"If you stop to think about it, it makes sense, doesn't it?" Helyse only nodded, how something like that could ever make sense was beyond her, but it did and that was enough. The girl had no more rational barriers to still afford the belief that it was all an illusion or even that she had died… Now, she had something bigger to worry about. If she was lucky, she had fainted and would now be in an ambulance or hospital… And who would wake her up? What if she was sedated?

And this was if she was unconscious… The word that summarized the alternative floated in her brain, the meanings it embodied sliding as black oil inside her.

"No one is going to wake you up, deal with this yourself, girl and you better do it soon. Question is, what are you going to do?".

She opened her mouth to speak when she felt something behind her and in the following moment, coldness ran through her back, making her howl and stand up, warmth and pain spreading as her own blood washed her flesh. Kurt jumped.

Freddy smiled and showed his claws, stained with Helyse's dripping blood. The pain was burning and the girl barely could keep herself straight, her back throbbing.

The man looked from Helyse to Kurt, as if deciding who to kill first as he scrapped his knives one against the others, teasing, the sound mixing with a blow followed by the crackling of flames when the boiler behind them suddenly turned on.

"Let's end this Cat and Mouse bullshit, yes?" Oh, of course, the game of letting his prey run a bit was very fun, but this, oh, this was the best part. And since he had no hurry in killing them, this could last a long time.

Kurt and Helyse had nowhere to run. The walls seemed to have closed around them when the boiler's door opened with a roar, spitting flames and cries. When they looked, they were both hit by hot air and had the impression they could see people among the fire, eternally burning.

There was a clear message here: They could die either by Krueger's claws or by the fire.

Surprising her once more, Kurt pulled Helyse, forcing her to stay behind him as Krueger stared at them with a scorn. The girl only blinked, unable to comprehend what Kurt had just done… The boy was trying to protect her? They didn't even know each other, why would he do that?

Her inability to understand, however, didn't stop her from being grateful.

"How sweet! Trying to protect your girlfriend?" Krueger hissed and before Kurt could answer, he rushed forward, claws tearing his skin and flesh apart, splitting his veins… The young man walked back with a yell, leaving red drops in the air as the chest of his white shirt became red.

The boy tripped and Helyse held him, putting him before her. In that situation, guided by instinct and holding him by his shoulders, she shocked her head against his with all her strength. For a moment, they both saw a ray of pain. Bit by bit, Kurt disappeared, as if he was evaporating…

Nothing happened to Helyse.

"Oh, great…" She thought sarcastically, but deep scared. Apparently, her idea of the severity of her situation was correct…

She turned her eyes to Krueger, who stared at her with mortal hate.

At that moment, Helyse knew she would die.

This wasn't just a nightmare…

She wasn't just unconscious…

Chances were, she was in coma.


Ana: And here's another chapter. Nothing much to say, really, except the usual... I don't own anything, I hope there's no grammar mistakes (if there is, please warn me) and, of course, I hope you guys have liked it!

Freddy: I think it still sucks.

Ana: You think everything sucks.

Freddy: Please, this story is...

Ana: I know pretty well how you dislike this, thank you.

Freddy: I'm not even getting paid!

Ana: This is for fun, not for getting money, stop being such a jerk. Anyway guys, like always, reviews will be answered in this space after the chapters and if someone would rather have me answering through a PM and not publishing the answer here, just tell me.

Darth's Daughter: Hi! I'm glad to be back as well! Hope you're fine and hope you're liking the chapters!

Freddy: You're still posting the same ones! And... Hi. I guess.

Ana: I know, I know...

Helyse: We can't say we're really happy, but hello!

Ana: At least she can be polite.

Helyse: Of course, I just dislike YOU, not the readers.

Ana: I'm happy you're excited for the new chapters! I can't wait to post the new ones!