This chappie is dedicated to the silent readers. You know who you are!

Note: Freddy's POV.

Chapter 3: Deliberation

Seeing the auburn-haired girl dissolve into nothing due to the torrent of water that came from what I thought were dormant sprinklers, my mouth twisted into a bitter grimace. Guess things weren't as decrepit here as I thought.

Feeling my favorite red and green sweater starting to sag and having enough of being pelted by the shower overhead, I decided to change the scenery up a bit by closing my eyes and concentrating on my old abode. My rackety old ashen house dissolved into view. Taking in the familiar view in its regal nightly slumber, I leisurely stalked towards the side of my humble abode. I had a bit of time before that girl would return.

Girl? More like slut. They all are. Teenagers these days fuck as if they were trying to replenish the world's population. Newsflash, kiddies..place is filling up! Which is why my services are much needed. I smiled, letting the blades on my glove clank against each other.

Now, how shall I prey upon that little bitch? My smile turned into a nasty grin that marred my already gnarled face. Images of snipping her limbs off by making my claws into scissors, fingering her with my lovely little blades and peeling off her skin like layers of an onion sent a delightful chill down my spine. Looking at my talons, I held them up to night sky and admired the way they reflected the moonlight.

I do have a taste for beauty. Unfortunately, my experiences are such that I know that beauty is only skin deep for people. Which is why I enjoy slashing the superficial idiots to unrecognizable masses of flesh, hee hee! It's the insides that count, right?

As I mused, my gloved hand found its way to the wall and cut a long slit as I continued to walk. Finally noticing this, I was temporarily startled out of my thoughts and stitched the house back together with a bit of conscious effort.

Travelling the small length left to the backyard, I found myself in the presence of three little girls dressed in white party dresses who were quietly playing with themselves in a quaint little sandbox. When they registered my presence, all three of their tiny heads turned towards me with an inquisitive look.

I wasn't quite in the mood to play cat and mouse with them, so I motioned for them to scurry inside of the house. And scurry they did, leaving behind their sand castles and jump rope.

Ahh, the powers of a Dream Demon.

Walking up to the lone wooden swing held up overhead by a branch of an aged oak tree, I wondered whether I should perhaps sit on it to rest up a bit. With a quiet chuckle, I wondered how any of my previous victims would react to seeing Freddy Krueger, horror-monger extraordinaire, swinging his legs to get high up on a kiddie swing.

Hey, I could use that idea for a killing…perhaps prey on someone who is afraid of heights and make them swing on top of a skyscraper before letting them fall to their death or do it to humiliate someone in front of the crowd who was supposed to adore the dirt they step on. Hmm…

Settling myself comfortably on the rickety old swing and wrapping my hands around the metal chains, I tried to remember what I was thinking about before.

I was musing before, wasn't I…ah yes.

I'm powerful. I know it. I've acquired a vast majority of souls by this point.

Every town has an Elm Street…which is why I can afford to play around with my food. I grinned, smacking my lips as I thought back to the time where I put my children's souls in the 'soul pizza'. Yummy. Talk about soul food…

Too bad that bitch Alice had to go and try to kick me around back then. Hm, brings me back to that girly whose mind I'm currently fucking around with. She learned a bit too quickly about how to shape the dream world. Unconsciously, my hands gripped tighter around the metal links I was holding.

Ah, no matter. If there's anything I learned throughout these years, it is that I am ultimately infinite. I am forever.

I doubt she would even think to try and destroy me; I saw her thoughts, and she isn't the violent type. It took worming my tongue in her mouth for her to tick. I stopped to reflect back on that moment of pleasure – the pleading look in her eyes that screamed for me to stop, her slender arms trying to push me away. A growl escaped from the back of my throat before I could stop it.

And that skimpy little outfit (in my favorite colors of course) I made her wear when she dreamt up that hideous nightgown? Pure genius if I say so, myself. That frumpy shit she thought up was akin to something Loretta would wear. At that thought, a look of disgust crossed my face.

Even the best, the smartest of us fall prey to our whims. I was no different, allowing myself to succumb to my adolescent hormones and marry Loretta. It was the only way to get laid on a regular basis. In the beginning, at least.

That obviously wasn't the only reason. It would divert attention from me. I would be doing something everyone else my age was.

Normal, haha! The thought made me snort.

The bastard son of a hundred maniacs had it all – the wife, beautiful daughter, house and white picket fence, a job – but I wanted more.

I wanted to feel.

I wanted others to hurt. Hurt like I did.

I wanted others to feel pain by my hand, the claw of death.

Show others their threshold of pain, like I did on my own.

It started off with a few kids. They were cruel to my little princess, so I had to teach them a lesson. It progressed from there.

For once, I had the power. I played God. I chose whether you would live or die.

My death was a bit of an inconvenience, but afterwards…I felt power like never before. It was everything I ever wanted.

Who gives a shit about a terrible childhood, spent passed around in foster homes like a wrecked toy until placed permanently in a broken household, when I now have the utter delight in tormenting those little shits that remind me of the assholes of my youth?

Plus, it is not like I didn't get my vengeance. It was with utter pleasure that I gutted my daddy dearest. Not to mention everyone who ever dared utter a negative word about me or my daughter.

Ahh, my first human kill. A strange smile was lodged on my face as I reflected on that day.

At that moment, I felt the tingle of someone entering my dream world.

There's work to be done…