Chapter 2

"Oh, god, Lily, are you okay?" Crista Lily's best friend said.

Lily was in the back of an ambulance with a blanket hugging her. She was curled up in a ball, with tears streaming down her face.

"No, I'm not someone came to my house and killed my parents while I slept!" Crista tried to comfort her friend, but she didn't know how so she just padded her back. And then a cop came to them, Lily knew that she was a cop because the blonde blue eyed woman that was walking towards them was wearing the uniform and said "Lily Apstein?"

"That's me."

"Would you mind coming with us?"

"Is that a request or are you arresting me?"

"Not unless you've done something wrong."

Lily smirked at the quick remark the officer said, it was probably said a lot but she was tired, but when she had seizures they would keep her up (all that moving.)

All that talking then Crista chimed in a pleading manner,

"Please don't take her, she didn't do anything!"

"Calm down, miss we aren't questioning her we're trying to get her into the system."

"Look, I'll save you a lot of trouble okay? She's aminsicpaded from her parents! And I want her to stay at my house." Crista said with pleading eyes, she couldn't stand to have her best friend to be in this much pain. Crista was like a big sister and a mother figure to Lily. Since her parents treated her like an animal, no worse than that, worse than anything that Crista has ever seen. Crista was there when her parents fought so bad that she almost committed suicide, it was Crista that saved her, not her parents. And when the abuse moved to little Lily, well that when Lily changed, Crista couldn't put her finger on it, but something happened to Lily, it's like she became a different person.

"Please! Look the last thing she needs now is a thing like this."

The officer gave in. "Look okay, kid, but you get her together, and make sure your parents are okay with this."

The blonde walked away and the chief whispered, "I think the kid did it. I mean look at her she's crazy."

The blonde officer looked him as if he were an alien. "What? How can you tell she's crazy, according to the history of this place it was the parents who were crazy. The police have been to the house more times than they actually parented the kid. Poor kid."

"Ah, she's guilty, I know it."

"Chief you say that all the time, and plus she's been tortured by her parents,"

"And so she killed them,"

"No, she wanted them to be a family again."

"How do you know?"

"Because I was her."

Crista walked Lily to her house, slightly hugging her. Hoping against hope that she wasn't to terrified, Lily could sleep through anything, she was a heavy sleeper, but to think that she slept through her parent's murder, the guilt she must feel. It made Crista shiver; she couldn't imagine what her dear friend was feeling.

Lily said in a quiet voice, "I want to go, please, I want to go."

'God she still looks and sounds like she did when she was a kid.' Crista thought to herself, she always joked that the only thing that changed about Lily were her boobs. She wanted to say something funny, something to make her friend feel better, but she didn't think that works would fix things, now, not tonight anyway. They were at the front door of Crista's house, and she opened the door with her keys, and yelled.

"Mom, dad Lily is going to stay with us for a couple of days, is it okay if I sleep on the couch tonight?"

A loud female voice replied. "Why the couch, you can use the guest bedroom or she can, whatever. Lily I'm sorry for what happened to you're parents, you can stay here as long as you want to."

"Mom, we want her to stay here, don't scare her away like you did my other friends, and ma you know what that mattress does to my back."

"Fine take the couch, Lily, this is Crista's room right upstairs and to the left, okay, and remember to take your meds."

"Mom, she doesn't need you to remind her about that."

"I'm trying to help."

When Lily went upstairs, it was like everything went in slow motion, it was like she was an inmate on death row about to met his maker, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep at all tonight, not after that. It was like an unseen force was keeping her from doing it, but it had always been this way. When she had a seizure and a dream, something stopped her from going to sleep. It wasn't that she didn't want to go to sleep, and she could still close her eyes, but nothing would happen. And she knew that nothing would happen this night. She would just stare at the ceiling. Maybe another shower would help her, ease into a dreamless sleep? Or maybe, just maybe it was her medication that was keeping her from falling asleep? Well, there was only one way to find out, not take her meds. She knew it was risky, but so was sleeping through her parent's murder, she knew how it would look to some people, and she was the only person there so she had to have done it? But they were so wrong, she was a heavy sleeper, and her friends knew that. And she knew who really did it, she was surprised that he didn't try and frame her, like he did all the others; he probably had other plans for her.

Lily went downstairs, trying to fully comprehend what truly happened, so she took her meds and threw them away, she didn't want to have seizures again, but if that meant not dreaming, then that was a risk she was willing to take. She closed her eyes again, she didn't want to see him again, not now, and it was way too soon. Lily had a secrets that she only told to Crista, but she also had a secret that trumped all of them, it was bigger than her going to an insane asylum, it was bigger than her being treated like crap by her boyfriends and girlfriends because that's all she knew from her parents. It was bigger than, that…had he known all along, or was she just being paranoid again. Either way Freddy was back, and she knew that the people around her were in trouble, he made that abundantly clear when he killed her parents, although somewhat relived, she knew that it wasn't over, not by a long shot.

How she knew that, was something she couldn't quite explain, nothing made sense to her these last couple of years. Lily sat down on the bed, and stared at the floor, hoping, pleading to some unknown force to just go to sleep.

And no sooner did she close her eyes did he appear in the door way. Smiling like he always did, and used the same pick up line and her same pet name that never failed to make her feel at ease.

"Hey, Lilith flower," He suddenly appeared behind Lily with him so close to her she could hear his heart beat. And whispered in her ear as he did so many times before, but she loved it when he did it. It made her feel like he was still alive.

"You're bleedin'," Indeed she was bleeding, her monthly friend came to visit, and that meant only one thing; cramps.

"Son of a bitch!" Lily turned the light on, and tried to see if she bleed through the sleep covers. It wasn't too bad, but the pain was almost unbearable. She found Crista's stash of pads. Lily thought she would ask, well rather tell Crista that she was having her period, and Crista would understand. Crista was a kind and beautiful girl, with a generous heart, and she liked everyone she met, even if you gave her every reason not to. Crista was Lily's only true friend, all the others in her high school, were just there. Stacy one of Crista's friends is just using her, just like her "boyfriend" Garret. They were all fake, and one way in another they all didn't deserve her love and kindness. But they all had a running joke about Lily's period, "I may be a bitch now, but good thing that it only lasts for three days." It was funny for one time, but it never made the pain go away, and bad very bad things tended to happen when Lily's period happened. The death of Lily's grandmother, the only person in her family who wasn't abusive towards her, her mom and dad's divorce, her brother's suicide, and her diagnoses. Three days, three days is all it took to ruin her life, and she would never forget, because the scars on her body would never let her forget.

As she went back to bed, she wanted to take something anything to ease her pain, but she knew that nothing would. So she curled up and crawled into bed, and rocked herself to sleep, knowing and hoping against hope that her friends would not fall victim to him one by one these past three days. The bad luck didn't start as the cramps did, oh no that was only preparation for what was to come.

And what was coming was a challenge indeed, for both her physically and mentally, for Lily had a secret that few people knew, except for maybe her parents, if they paid any attention to her, they would've known that they're dear daughter, had a much darker side to her. And that side was so big that it was like a whole another person. Lily could control her more when she was on her medication, but this would be a lot harder than anything in her life, that and trying to control her seizures. Lily closed her eyes, and tried to think of a place where she was happy and free.

Lily and Stacy are running from an unknown attacker, in a strange house. They've been running long and hard because there breathing was shallow.

Stacy was holding onto little Lily, but she went down onto the floor.

"Stacy we have to get up or he'll kill us." Just like that, right on cue a deep male cackle, they knew who it was, and he was close.

"I'm fine, just go and get help." Stacy put her back against a wall, she was clearly exhausted.

"Stacy if I leave you here you'll die."

"I'm fine, just go." Stacy barely spat out the words. Lily ran as fast as she could, but she saw his shadow and Stacy scream.

"Stacy!" She went to turn around to go and try to save her friend, but he was there.

"Why are you runnin' from me little flower, I found you a long time ago." He smacked her with his gloved hand, and she woke up with her hands chained to the ceiling and her feet chained to the floor. She heard Stacy's voice up a little bit of stairs, she was going to say something, but when she saw his shadow, she gulped her words.

It sounded like a struggle, and then Stacy's last sounds were a horrendous scream, then Lily heard footprints coming towards her. She looked around the room and realized that as long as she was chained up like this she could do nothing so she played dead, or sleep, but it didn't fool him, because he smiled and giggled and grabbed the back of her head and leaned it forward to his lips and whispered.

"I know you're awake." She opened her eyes and breathed, and he slashed the chains above her, as her body slammed down to the concrete floor.

"Ouch, that hurt!"

"Last time was you're fault."

"True. But you still could've been a little gentler."

He turned his head and smiled at her. And he moved her long flowing hair and whispered into her ear, "So, when is my Lilith flower going to bloom?"

"When they are all dead."

"Even you're little friend there?" She smiled at him, but an insane one. She grabbed his arms and put them across hers and smiled gleeful, like she was in love.

"You're my only friend." He turned her around,

"And you're sure they'll follow you through the rabbit hole?"

"They'll dive head first, except one, no I'll fix him myself, the rest, I'll leave them to you. Then we can be together again. His grin turned into a huge smile and kissed her softly on the lips.

Lily woke up in a cold hard sweat, and the main light on. Crista was in the doorway. Lily spoke in a groggy voice, the voice that if a zombie had one would sound a lot like.

"What's going on?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up, but there are police officers at Stacy's house. I hope she's okay, I hope it's not another attack."

Lily didn't know what to say, weather to comfort her friend, or say that everything was going to be okay. But she knew that it wasn't, could she say a boldface lie to her friend? She's done it to other people, but they didn't deserve her trust, and this was her only and true friend. She had to convince him to just not kill her friend, but then she would know her horrible secret. But the thing about secrets is that like it or not, they come out one way or another.

"What do you think happened?"

"I don't know, but something weird has been happening."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, I keep dreaming of this man, he's burnt and wearing a red and green sweater, and a hat. I know he wants me to do to remember something, but I'm not sure what to do. Do you see him? That man." Crista was staring Lily right in her eyes, but she couldn't lie to her friend after all.

"Yes, I do…and I think he killed my parents. He's never attacked me, but it's like he's trying to make me remember or…I don't know. Look, we have to get some rest so we can go to school tomorrow."

"Yeah, but"

"Look, who is going to believe us, no one will. We can control our dreams if we want to."

"How can we do that?"

"I can protect you, for some reason he hasn't tried to attack me yet, so you're safe with me." As Lily walked back in the bedroom, and tired to fall back asleep, to dream and try to protect her for awhile, but she couldn't do it. That was good, because neither did Crista. And Lily felt at ease for a while. She knew that her secret that was lurking in the dark would soon come out to play. And when it did, Lily would be no more.