THE LAST TIME?
Longer and Better
Louise's breathing was heavy. She was covered in sweat and in complete darkness. Although she didn't suffer from claustrophobia, she imagined the feelings she was had right then were exactly that. She had long given up kicking. Occasionally, she tried moving her hands but they were bound tightly above her. The tape around her mouth was tight and the muffled groans that she made had just made her throat sore. She wished she knew where she was. All she knew is that wherever she was, it was narrow and it was hot. Then, she began to hear movement outside.
She could hear movement outside. Someone was close by. She heard a clicking noise and then a new wave of musty air hit her as the door of the locker flung open.
"Wakey, wakey!", a loud male voice yells at her!
Louise's eyes take a little to adjust to the light. They try to scan around her surroundings and her captor.
'It's... Kathryn's dad... What?... Why?', are the thoughts that rush around in her head.
Fred grinned as his prey finally came around, "Ah, a little uncomfortable? But I ain't totally heartless."
He leans over and rips the tape from her mouth. Louise's lips nearly get pulled from her face.
'Ugh! Wah!', she puts her tongue over lips as she tries to rid herself of the taste of the tape.
'It's all a part of the game we've been like games, don't you?'
Louise trembles, too terrified and confused to answer.
Fred takes his hand and pulls Louise out of the locker. The boiler room echoes loudly as Fred slams the door behind her.
"Here's the game, little slut hide and Seek'. Anywhere in this room is in-bounds. But if you try to leave, you're... disqualified. Okay?" Continued Fred as he untied her hands.
Louise rubbed her wrists as she was let go. She was too terrified to argue with this man. She quickly looked around the boiler room before asking, "What do I get if I win?"
"See those doors up there?'' Fred pointed in the direction of the main set of doors at the head of the catwalk. Louise registers.
"They're locked now, but if you can go stay away from me for thirty minutes, I'll let you through them. Kathryn is waiting outside."
'FUCK Kathryn! I want my parents!', shrieked Louise.
Fred's face went ashen and emotionless. Those words seemed to trigger something inside him. Fred lowered his head and said slowly... "Better get going, Louise. Your time's started."
Louise's expression goes pale and she starts to take a few steps backwards, as she realises the severity of the situation. Fred goes over to an ugly looking dark green linen bag that is covered in what appeared to Louise to be oil stains. Fred doesn't take his eyes off of Louise as he gets down on one knee to open the bag and reveal his weapon of choice. The shine of a metal bladed glove catches Louise's vision as he takes it out of the bag and lays it on the grate before him. he takes a few seconds to give it a final inspection before smiling and sliding his hand into the glove.
As he stands back up, he glares at Louise with a sinister smile,
and violently flexes his glove in front of Louise.
Louise takes one look at the glove screams and runsaway
Fred steps out of the back room. Studies his surroundings: venting boilers, rattling catwalks. No sign of his prey.
He HUMS A INNOCENT TUNE.
KRUEGER RESIDENCE
'But I don't want to go among mad people,' said Alice.
'Oh, you can't help that,' said the cat. 'We're all mad here.'
Kathryn exhaled deeply, as she closed 'Alice's Adventures In Wonderland'.
'Hey, what's wrong?', asked Emillai Sue, Emily for short who was sitting in an armchair at a very awkward angle. Her back was leaning on the armrest, with her legs draped over the other. Emily was chewing gum, whilst flicking through the Krueger's television set. She finally found a channel showing, 'The Thing', and settled on it. Emily had been a regular visitor to the Krueger household over the years and was Kathryn's best friend. She lived alone with her grandmother. Her grandmother wasn't that elderly, but didn't seem to take any notice of Emily's frequent absences at the household. Emily had only moved to Springwood a few years previous. She found solace though and a good friend in Kathryn. Tonight, Kathryn had invited her over but she had been strangely subdued all evening.
'Oh, it's nothing', lied Kathryn as she noticed the picture of that day at the funfair was still inside her book. It took her by surprise to see the picture still there. It brought about thoughts of what her daddy is doing right now. He should have been home ages ago.
Emily looked away from the TV set and put her fingers through her red hair. She lowered her glasses onto her nose and saw Kathryn looking sadly at her book. 'You know, that is what your problem is... Too much studying. What is that shit anyway?'
Kathryn didn't answer.
'Kathryn?! Hello?', asked Emily mockingly.
Still no answer.
Emily let out a frustrated sigh, before shifting uncomfortably to get herself out of the armchair. She marched over to Kathryn and plonked herself down aggressively beside her. She made silly face right beside Kathryn's to emphasise her faux disgust. Still getting no reaction, Emily pulled the book from Kathryn's hand.
'Hey! Give it back!', said Kathryn as she sprung to life.
'No way!', teased Emily as she got up and held it above her head.
'Please Emily! Give it to me!' said Kathryn as she put up her hand trying to reach it.
'Oh, it MUST be good if you are trying to protect me from seeing something!', Emily was enjoying every second of this and pulled the book close to her chest as Kathryn tried to get a hand to it!
'Errrgh! Let go!'
'No way! You let go!'
Emily managed to get her back to Kathryn and shielded the book from her. Kathryn desperately tried to get her hands around Emily's waist and onto the book. Kathryn made one last ditch effort to get the book and struck it with her fist down to the floor. Emily quickly got down on all fours and surrounded the book, as Kathryn fell off behind her.
'Mine!', said Emily happily as she got to her knees holding the book. She looked behind and saw Kathryn down on the floor with her back propped up against the wall looking sad.
Emily took a few breaths before tossing her the book. 'I was only teasing you. Here, take the damn book. Don't take it so seriously.'
The book bounced off the floor in front of Kathryn. The book landed with its pages ruffling off the carpet floor, looking like an upturned airplane. 'Thanks', said Kathryn to herself. 'Way to ruin a book.'
Emily turned back around with her back to Kathryn. As she did so, she saw something on the carpet...
BOILER ROOM
'Oh God! Oh please Lord, help me!', are the only things going through Louise's mind as she tries to navigate her way through a complicated maze of boilers and steel girders. The darkness doesn't help at all. She struggles to remember to keep ducking her head as she goes from passage to passage. They all look the same to her. Nothing but steam and metal.
'LOUISE! LOUISE! Come out, come out, wherever you are!'
She shivers as she hears Fred's taunts. She can't see him but she knows he is getting closer. She takes a few steps back before experiencing a new sensation. Fresh air. There is fresh air somewhere. Louise puts her hand above her and tries to find out where it's coming from. She shakily continues to where the fresh air is coming. She pinpoints it in a narrow space between two boilers. She ducks down between them and looks up. She can't see anything above her. It's too dark, but it's her best hope so far. She tries to get a foothold of the boiler on her left and places her hand on the left one and tries to climb up between them in that narrow dark space.
Fred takes his time as he makes his way around the room. 'She's close... I know when they are close', he thinks to himself. He extends his right hand with the blades at full length, before scrawling them down on one of the boilers, like fingernails on a chalkboard. Except fingernails never produced sparks.
Louise grimaces in shock! She didn't think he was so close. She feels the vibrations on her hand as Fred scrawls the opposite side of the boiler she climbs! She holds her breath and freezes, trying not to even breathe. She holds her position until something falls on her face. It was a drop...
'A raindrop?', she thinks to herself. 'Or perhaps a drop of water from the boilers?'
She keeps still until another drop hits her... Followed by another... And another...
Finally, she is compelled to wipe the drops from her face. Those drops are not water. Those drops are RED! Those drops are BLOOD!
She starts to breathe heavily and panic! 'Oh no! Oh no! Please God no!' She can't help it as the tears mix with the blood down her cheek as she starts to cry.
'HAAAAAAA!' Freddy bursts into view and he gazes at her as she is frozen between the two boilers.
Her eyes grow wide as he smiles back at her. He stretches out his right hand and the blades shine off the light and Freddy redirects it into Louise's face.
She grimaces as she expects it all to end now but instead, Freddy puts his hand behind him, as if to point at something. Louise looks where he is pointing. His blades are in the direction of a piece of cable.
His eyes light up...
He stretches back his hand and says,
'Hey Louise! Say 'HI' to your mom from me!'
And cuts the cable!
Louise screams as two dead bodies fall from up above her. She has no time to react. They strike her violently in the back and she is thrown to the steel floor from her foothold. Her face hits the steel floor, as the bodies of her parents flatten her underneath them.
Fred comes over and gets down on one knee beside her.
'Oh Louise, you always were a crushing disappointment to them.'
KRUEGER RESIDENCE
Kathryn looked over at her crumpled book. Picking it up, she turned it upside down and saw that a few pages had come loose.
'Oh, Emily! You ruined it!', she whined.
Emily was taking no notice as she knelt on the ground. She picked up the photograph of a rather handsome man and a little girl. It was a very young Kathryn with her dad.
A devious expression came over Emily's face. 'You know, some people would carry around a bookmark with their favorite band on it, like Michael Jackson or Cyndi Lauper. It seems a bit strange to carry around one of your dad!'
Kathryn panicked, 'Hey! Give that back!'
Emily's smile grew. 'Not a chance!' She got to her feet and scrambled over to the other side of the room, with Kathryn in quick pursuit!
'Give... it... BACK!', shouted Kathryn as she tried to jump onto Emily's back.
'Stop! You will ruin my shirt!', returned Emily as she tried to bend down, holding the picture close to her. 'Ouch!' She yelled as Kathryn poked her in the eye one half of her vision became obscured. But she could make out what looked like a car approaching the drive. 'Kathryn! It's your Father! He's home!' Yet, Kathryn continued to try and claw and grasp at Emily in vain.
'You're bluffing!', said Kathryn. Her thought was interrupted by her front door slamming hard.
Fred took no notice of the girls as he hung his coat and fedora on the coat stand in the hall. He threw his bag to the ground and slid it with his foot under the hall table. He stood in the darkness for a few moments, just enough time to see Kathryn sliding off of Emily's back...
'Hello, . How do you do?', asked Emily innocently, as she re-adjusted her shirt.
'I am very well, thank you', replied Fred silently, as he remained in the hall. A few moments passed...
'And you?'
'I am doing great, sir. Me and Kathryn were just playing... ummmm', said Emily, as she searched her mind for an excuse.
'Hide and seek, perhaps?', interrupted Fred.
'Yes!... Hide and seek', laughed Emily.
Fred smiled and entered the room. The lamp lit up his distinctive features. The light hit the side of his face and cast shadows onto his pronounced brow. Emily smiled nervously and bit her lower lip.
'Well, I had a great night, Emily. But now, I am really tired. I better get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow, Emily. Show her out dad.' Kathryn motioned towards her father before pecking him on the cheek and heading upstairs.
'Goodnight Princess', said Fred smiling, as his eyes followed her out of the room and up the staircase. He put his hands in his pockets and walked further into the room. 'So, did you have a nice evening?'
Emily nodded, 'Yes sir'.
'Oh please, you know me better than that, Emily. After all these years? It's Fred. I think you are mature enough to handle it', said Fred, with a twinkle in his eye.
'Yes, Fred', said Emily, quietly as Fred advanced closer.
'And that's not the only thing that you are mature for...' Fred's hands left his pockets and in a swift motion, placed them behind Emily's ears and pulled her face towards him. He bent down his head and passionately embraced her.
It was all so sudden for Emily. In all sensibility, she should have tried to resist, but this was the moment she had waited for. At first, her arms went up defensively, but as Fred's lips encased hers, she found herself accepting and giving in. Her arms went around Fred's back as her mouth tasted the intense pleasure. Her lips were firmly locked on his as Fred's arms left her neck and down her back. Emily felt herself being pushed backwards and they fell onto the couch.
BANG! 'Ouch!', yelped Emily, as she backed her heel against the couch. She was jerked back into reality from her daydream. She blinked her eyes a few times as she emerged from her trance-like state. Kathryn was staring at her and she looked ahead, only to see Fred's shadow in the hallway. He had never even entered the room.
'Are you alright?', asked Kathryn, with a puzzled look.
Emily blinked again. 'Huh?... Ummm... Yeah, I'm fine.'
Kathryn shook her head nonchalantly.
'I am just a little sleepy. That's all.'
'Well, it's late, Emily. Maybe, you should head on home before your Grandmother gets worried.', called Fred, from the hallway.
'Oh, yes sir! She does tend to worry. I'll be on my way.' She turned to Kathryn. 'So, I will see you tomorrow?'
'Uh, yeah, sure.', said Kathryn.
'Thanks for keeping my daughter company tonight', said Fred, as Emily passed by in the darkness on her way to the porch.
'You're most welcome, sir', replied Emily, stopping on the way to smile at Fred.
'Come on, Emily!', interrupted Kathryn. She just wanted Emily out now and tugged her arm to go to the front door with her.
Fred turned away and made sure the door was closed behind him before he grabbed his bag and heading for the basement.
On the other side of the door, a little argument had begun between Emily and Kathryn.
'What? What? What?', said a confused Emily. 'I was only being polite!'
'You were acting like a suck up!'
'It's called politeness.', said Emily, rolling her eyes. 'And what is with you anyways? I was only trying to have fun.'
Kathryn shrugged. 'I don't know. I just haven't been sleeping well lately.'
'Oh, well, if something was wrong, you could have just said.'
'It's nothing. I am fine', sighed Kathryn.
'Nothing sounds like something', said Emily, purposefully.
'It's nothing you could help with.', sulked Kathryn.
'Fine, then', Emily knew it had to be big. Kathryn was always ready to talk to her and was one of the most open people she could ever meet, but tonight, just felt different.
Emily held a concerned stare at her until Kathryn finally spoke. 'Look, I am really tired, Emily. I'll tell you everything later. I am just too tired now. You better get going. It's late.'
Emily looked around. 'Yeah, sure.'
'I'll see you tomorrow, Emily' said Kathryn as she disappeared inside the home.
Emily spun around and reached into her pocket and produced the picture of Fred and Kathryn from the funfair. 'Yeah, I certainly hope so.'
Kathryn closed the door after her and looked down. She could see a faint light coming from the basement. She got a shiver as she thought of her daddy's 'special work'. She stood there and then felt a yawn coming on. She trudged upstairs and headed straight to for her bedroom without washing or brushing her teeth. In her bedroom, she wasted no time in changing out of her clothes and into her night dress.
A few minutes passed and she was just about to fall fast asleep when she heard movement across the hall.
'Oh, daddy', she thought to herself as she heard water running in the shower. A few more minutes of silence passed. She propped herself over on her side, resting her head on her right hand, when she noticed the door of her bedroom open slowly.
She raised her head from the pillow. 'Daddy?', she quietly asks. Her face is confused and concerned. Maybe, even frightened.
Her fear turns to relief as Fred pokes his head around the door. 'Sorry for waking you, sweetheart. I was hoping you wouldn't hear me.'
'Come in, daddy. What's wrong?'
Fred stepped into the room. 'Nothing's wrong, kitten. You just left your book downstairs and I wanted to return it. You usually can't sleep without it.'
'Oh, OK. Just put it over there on the dresser, daddy.', said Kathryn, pointing it out to Fred. He walked over briskly, but as he went to put the book down, a few pages fell to the floor.
Fred gasped, 'Sorry, princess.' Fred was puzzled at how he managed to rip the book. He quickly got down to pick up the pages.
'It's OK, daddy. You didn't ruin it. Emily did.'
There was a slight silence and Fred paused before asking, 'Emily ripped your book?'
'Yes daddy, but it was an accident. She just wasn't being careful. That's all.'
Kathryn pretended not to notice how tightly he was holding the ruffled paper.
Fred swallowed hard and put the pages to one side. He made his way over to the bed and sat down on it next to Kathryn.
Kathryn rested her head on the pillow.
Fred took a deep breath, and looked at his daughter, before smiling. 'You know, this may surprise you, but I am a firm believer in fate. My fate is to protect you Kathryn. Do you understand?'
'Yes daddy', replied Kathryn softly.
Fred took some stray hair from Kathryn's forehead, before gently placing a kiss on it.
'Nothing will ever happen to you as long as I am here.'
'Promise, daddy?'
'I promise, Kathryn. I love you. Princess Don't forget that'
'I love you more, daddy.' The words coming from Kathryn were whispered as she fell asleep. Fred couldn't help but smile as he looked at his little girl as she slept.
His little girl. He knew that she was different and special. He had wanted to protect her from his 'special work', but it had finally caught up with him. He took another deep breath as he got up and left the room quietly. As he left, he began to ponder that maybe he should give up his special work. After all, now that she knows, it has become infinitely more dangerous for her. He quickly counter thought that nonsense with a different thought; Now that she knows she is in danger , then it's all the more reason for him to protect her!
Maybe he could try and stop for Kathryn. He doubt it but maybe. But maybe NOT
DTO CHECK IT OUT ALSO MASSSSSSIIIIIIVVVVEEEEEE TTTTHHHHHHAAAAANNNNKKKKK YYYYYYOOOOUUUUU! TO LETME BE YOUR JULIET WITHOUT HER THIS WOULDN'T BE POSSIBLE AND MORE TO COME UNTIL THEN LOVE TO YOU ALL
XOXO
BUFFY KRUEGER