About a half an hour later, Scooby and the gang had decided to go check in at the hotel while the Hex Girls stayed at the park to keep rehearsing.
We're gonna put a spell on all of you!
The girls finished before throwing their puffs of smoke onto the ground.
Thorn let out a labored breath. She was more than tired.
"Let's try that one again." she said to her band mates.
"Come on, Thorn. We've rehearsed that song 4 times already." Luna complained.
"Hey, practice makes perfect."
Dusk saw how tired Thorn looked.
"Okay, seriously, you look exhausted." she said.
"I'm fine. Let's go again." Thorn insisted.
"You don't look fine to me." Dusk added.
"Yeah, girl, you look like you're about to collapse." Luna agreed.
Thorn noticed that worried looks on her friends' faces. She sighed.
"Alright. Let's take a 10 minute break." she said.
She walked over to the nearby cooler, took out a water bottle, and sat down in one of the chairs. She felt very relaxed when she sat down and took a drink of cold water.
"God" she sighed, as she held her hand to her head as if she was checking for a fever.
She put her elbow on the arm of the chair, and rested her head on her hand and shut her eyes.
These pills were keeping her asleep, but in a way, they made her want to sleep even more.
"Hey, Thorn, have you seen my drumsticks?" Luna asked.
Thorn slowly opened her eyes and looked over to the drum set.
"No, didn't you just have them? Check near the drums." she answered.
Luna bent down near the bass drum, and grabbed hold of something.
"Oh, here they are." she said.
But as she pulled back up, in her hand was not drumsticks, but a large glove with knives attached to the fingers.
Thorn jumped back awake. She had dozed off for a second there. She looked around, only a couple of seconds seemed to have passed by.
On Elm Street, near the house number 1428, Mystery Inc. stood outside the crime scene while the police still looked around the area. After checking in at the hotel, Fred and Velma had decided to take the gang over to see what had gone on.
"Does anyone have any idea what happened here?" Fred asked a rather young police officer.
"No idea. This kind of thing's been happening all the time. I heard something like this first started in 1984." the officer answered.
"And they believe this guy, Freddy Krueger had something to do with this?" Velma asked.
"Heh. I don't know what to believe." the officer says. "It sounds a little impossible."
"Why?" Daphne asked.
"Well, they say a long time ago, Krueger was a child molester and murderer. And when the kid's parent's found out, they decided to get even, so they burned him alive."
"Jinkies." Velma said.
"Like, that's pretty brutal." Shaggy said.
"Yeah." Scooby agreed.
"So, what are you thinking really happened?" Fred asked.
"Well, right now, we're going with some kind of break in. But we can't find any signs of a struggle or fingerprints, so…" the cop said.
As the officer walked away, the gang looked at each other. They had no idea what to make of this.
"What could be going on here, Freddy?" Velma asked Fred.
"I don't know. None of it makes any sense. Why would Carly keep complaining about nightmares about Krueger?" Fred said.
"Like, maybe it's because she's living in the creepy house where a lot of bad stuff happened." Shaggy suggested.
"What do you think, Velma?" Daphne asked.
"Hmm. I don't know." Velma said, puzzled.
What was Velma supposed to think? A girl dies from some kind of nightmare? Velma had heard about nightmares causing heart attacks and people dying from that, but never actual inflictions to the body. Could Carly actually have dreamed of having her throat slit, and that caused it to happen for real?
That night, back at the park, on the stage, the Hex Girls continued their rehearsal for the festival.
"Alright, girls. 'Trap of Love'". Thorn said.
Luna put her hands to the keyboard and began the song. Soon Dusk's drums, and Thorn's guitar joined the mix.
Your unfeeling heart imprisons me
Careless eyes, too blind to see
Empty words, an iron cage
Broken heart, bleeding rage
Can't wait for you and me
It's time I break free
Trap of love
Snared by desire
Trap of love
Burned by your fire
Trap of love
Snared by desire
Trap of love
Beware the trap of love
While the girls were singing, a couple of workers were on the ground, checking out the stage.
"Are you sure you tightened the bolts on the stage lights enough?" one of the workers asked. "That one looks pretty loose."
He pointed at one of the lights just right above where Thorn stood.
"I'm sure, boss. It's safe." the other guy responded.
On the stage, Thorn was so tired she was actually starting to feel kind of sick. She was having hot and cold flashes, and she didn't want to sing anymore, but she knew that she had to.
Let me be, it's time we part
Set me free, un-cage my heart
Can't wait for you and me
It's time for you to see
Trap of love
Snared by desire
Trap of love
Burned by your fire
Trap of love
Snared by desire
Trap of love
Beware the trap of love
Thorn continued singing, but she just had to shut her eyes for a second. When she opened her eyes, though, across from the stage, on the grass, sat Freddy Krueger in a chair, watching her perform.
He had the most evil smile, showing his blood stained teeth as he clapped his gloved hand against his other burned one.
Little did Thorn know, that in reality that stage light the worker had said he tightened loosened and loosened even more as "Trap of Love" reached it's final verse.
Trap of love
Snared by desire
Trap of love
Burned by your fire
Trap of love
Snared by desire
Trap of love
Beware the trap of love….
As the song ended, the stage light loosened one last time before it completely came loose. Thorn, still daydreaming, didn't notice it until one of the guys yelled:
"Hey, watch out!"
She quickly came back to reality, and looked up at what was about to fall down on her. She shrieked, and instinctively fell backwards, and hit the ground just as the light shattered on the stage floor.
Dusk, Luna, and a few other workers hurried over to Thorn to see if she was alright.
"Thorn! Are you okay?" Dusk asked.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." Thorn answered sitting up.
"Would you just stop saying you're fine? Okay, you're not. That light almost took you out." Luna said.
"Maybe we should call it a night." one worker suggested.
"No, you guys. I'm okay, really." Thorn insisted.
She looked at everyone and saw the faces they gave her.
"Don't look at me like that." she stood up. "Look, I'm just gonna go for a walk."
"A walk? But it's 10 o'clock. Let's just go back to the hotel." Dusk suggested.
"It's okay, I'll be fine. I be back before you know it." Thorn said as she walked off.
"Man, what is her problem?" Luna complained.
"I guess she's just under a lot of pressure." a worker said.
"Yeah, but aren't we all?" Luna asked. "She's acting like a loose canon. She really shouldn't be alone right now."
A few minutes later, Thorn walked on the sidewalk through a neighborhood she didn't know. Already, she was regretting her decision to go on this walk. Especially at this hour. The cool breeze in the air felt kind of relaxing, though. What she really needed was some sleep, though.
As she walked along the sidewalk, she could hear something that sounded like little girls singing.
She looked across the street and saw, at least she thought, a group of little girls playing jump rope.
One, two, Freddy's coming for you
Three, four, better lock your door
Thorn wondered why those girls were singing that. She was certain she'd heard it before. But where?
"Hello, Sally." a creepy voice beckoned from behind Thorn.
She prayed it wasn't who she thought, but when she turned around, it was.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"You don't remember?" the ghoul asked.
Thorn stared at him. She knew full well who this guy was. She just didn't want to admit it.
"….Freddy." she said.
"Bingo."
"What do you want from me?"
"You're even more beautiful than the last time I saw you." Krueger said, ignoring Thorn's question.
"You don't scare me." Thorn lied.
"No?" Krueger asked. "I doubt that."
He got close to her, and sniffed her hair. She winced. It was horrifying. He then held her face with his gloved hand, and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
"Time to play, bitch." He said before shoving her to the ground. "You have till the count of 10"
He turned around, and began to count. Thorn took this opportunity to try to run away. She belted across the street as fast as she could. Wearing heels was really limiting her speed. She looked back for a second and saw the bastard running after her. She was screaming now.
She looked back again, but saw no one, she shrieked again as she ran into someone.
"Scott!" she yelled, when she realized who it was.
"Hey. Sorry, Thorn." he said.
"Yeah, no problem." she responded.
"Hey, listen. I heard what happened. Are you alright?"
"I think so." Thorn hesitated. "I don't know. Maybe they're right. I might just be losing it."
"Well, I wouldn't say you're losing it." Scott said.
"So, what are you doing here?" Thorn asked, trying to fix her ruffled hair.
"I sort of followed you. You were spazzing out a bit a second ago."
Thorn felt embarrassed. Had she really fallen asleep while she was walking? This was getting way out of hand.
"Sorry." she said, meekly.
"Hey, it's cool. I'm just wondering if you're alright."
"…..Yeah. I'm good. I just need some sleep, I guess."
"Come on, I'll walk you back."
They walked back along the sidewalk, heading for the park. Just when they got back, Scott decided to speak.
"Hey, uh, listen, Thorn. I've been thinking, and I was kind of wondering, if you'd, uh…Like to go out with me sometime." he shyly said.
Thorn was caught a little off guard by this. The last thing that had been on her mind at the moment was dating. She sighed, as she was used to guys asking her out.
"Look, Scott, you're a nice guy and everything." she said.
"But?" Scott asked.
"But…I don't really have time for boys right now. You know, with the band and stuff."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
Scott felt a little silly now. He couldn't believe he asked her in the first place.
"You, know what, just forget I said it." he said.
"I'm sorry."
"No, don't be. Totally not your fault. I guess, I'll just see you later, then."
With that, he left, leaving Thorn feeling kind of guilty for not taking Scott up on his offer.
That night, at the Four Seasons, the gang had coincidentally gotten a room that connected with the Hex Girls'.
In their room, they were all, sound asleep. Scooby and Shaggy both snored simultaneously, and slept peacefully with the rest of the gang. In the Hex Girls' room, however, while Dusk and Luna were getting plenty of rest, Thorn was having a terrible nightmare.
"Sally…..Sally…." she could hear in her dream. It was the voice of Freddy Krueger.
Thorn couldn't take these dreams anymore. She woke up, in a cold sweat, and screamed loud enough to wake up the dead. Everyone in the room jerked awake. Dusk turned on the light.
"What? What's wrong?" Luna asked.
Thorn was literally shaking with fear.
"I-I'm sorry. Just a bad dream." she said.
There was a knock on the connecting door to the room. Dusk got up and opened it. It was Fred, Shaggy, and the rest of them.
"What's going on, guys? We heard screaming." Fred said.
They looked over to the bed, and saw how scared Thorn looked.
Velma walked over and placed her hands on Thorn's shoulders to comfort her.
"Thorn, what's wrong?" she asked.
"N-nothing. I'm f-f-fine." Thorn trembled.
"She had a nightmare." Luna said.
"You look pretty spooked for it to just be a regular nightmare." Daphne said.
"It was….Freddy Krueger." Thorn admitted.
Mystery Inc. gasped.
"Like, that same guy that Carly girl was dreaming about?" Shaggy asked.
"Yeah." Scooby barked.
Thorn nodded.
"I keep dreaming about him and I don't know why." she said.
"Maybe it's because of what Scott said." Luna suggested.
"No. I've been having these nightmares for days. I couldn't stand them, so…" Thorn took her capsule of pills out. "I've been taking these to stay awake."
"You've been taking Desoxyn?" Velma asked in shock.
"What the heck is that?" Shaggy asked.
"It's a sort of amphetamine. It keeps you awake for hours, but it's extremely addictive if it's used improperly." Velma explained. "How often have you been taking them?"
"I don't know. As soon as one wears off." Thorn answered.
"You need to stop taking those pills, Thorn. They're doing more harm than good." Velma cautioned.
"No, I need them. Please don't make me sleep." Thorn pleaded as she started to cry. "I can't have another nightmare, I just can't."
"Thorn, calm down. You'll be fine." Luna said. "Just go to sleep, now, and tomorrow, you'll feel a lot better. It's not sleeping that's caused these nightmares to happen."
"I think Luna's right, Thorn. You need some rest." Fred said.
"But, what if I see him again?" Thorn asked.
"You won't. I promise." Luna assured her.
"….Okay. I'll try." Thorn said.
"Good. Get some rest, we have a performance tomorrow." Luna said, getting back into bed.
"Goodnight, girls." Fred said before he and the others went back into their own room.
Dusk turned the lights back off, and before anyone knew it, she and Luna were back asleep. But Thorn wasn't. She didn't get anymore sleep that night.