CHAPTER FOUR

Murderer

Glen was wheeled out in a body bag, Carla sobbing the entire.

"Glen...Glen, please no...don't leave me..." She was eventually sedated.

Harper simply sat on the front porch and watched. She didn't cry, and she didn't smile, feeling as if she was still in a dream.

"How is this possible?" She asked herself, fiddling with her bandaged hand.

When Harper had heard her mother scream, she'd quickly run into the bathroom, and locked the door. She promptly cleaned every cut, and dug Glen's flesh out from under her nails. When she was certain every bit of evidence was gone from her person, she raced back to her room and threw on a t-shirt, trying to think of a way to get rid of the scratch marks on the mirror without drawing unwanted attention to herself. After finally coming up with a rough plan, Harper left her room. Despite knowing what had happened to Glen, Harper couldn't help the feeling of horror and guilt when she saw her mother huddled against the wall in the hallway, covered in blood, sobbing.

"He's dead. He's dead. Oh god...Glen..."

Taking a deep breath, Harper peaked into her mother's bedroom, and saw the mess of what used to be Glen. Feigning terror, Harper screamed, and raced back to her room. She 'tripped' and grabbed hold of her vanity for support. The whole thing tipped over, the mirror falling and smashing on the ground. Harper landed also, and not according to plan, sliced open her hand on a piece of glass. She hissed, but felt accomplished. The mirror was in a million pieces, and the claw marks were indistinguishable.

As Harper saw her sedated mother being driven away in an ambulance, she reflected on her life with Glen, and her guilt slowly left her, to be replaced with something that terrified her.

She felt overwhelming happiness.

He was dead. The man who her mother had met four years ago in Texas, who had beaten Harper since the third month she'd known him, the man who had given Harper the fear of being touched...was gone. He could never hurt her again.

And that was when the smile came. A true, genuine smile, that lightened up her features. The tired eyes, the sallow skin, the bags under her eyes, the seemingly permanent, haunted look in her face, disappeared the moment her lips curved.

"Ms. Carbon?" A female voice said next to her. "Are you alright?" Harper almost giggled, and bowed her head, trying to hide her smile.

"Yes." She answered, a slight quiver to her voice. A hand was placed on her shoulders, and Harper covered her mouth, knowing it was only a matter of time before she erupted in full out laughter.

"Do you have a place to stay until your house is no longer under investigation?" The cop asked, rubbing Harper's back in what was supposed to be comforting, but was only resulting in Harper wanting to laugh more. Not trusting herself to talk, Harper only nodded.

"Do you need a ride there?" The cop's voice was laced with pity.

Harper jerkily shook her head, and pulled away, running to her motorcycle. She grabbed the keys from their place on top of the back tire, and took off, ignoring the cries of "Your helmet!"

Finally out of ear shot, Harper let the laughter come. She sped through the streets, cackling like a lunatic, drawing a number of frightened stares. When she eventually reached her destination, she was still laughing.

"Carbon..." Deryk said, giving her a strange look. "What's so funny?"
Harper had tears running down her face as she gasped out, "Gle-Gle-, Glen's de-dead!"

D gave her a frightened look. "Harp, Harp, come on, you're scaring me. Snap out of it."

She didn't. Harper continued to laugh, holding her sides, her face soaked with tears. Deryk attempted calming her down for fifteen minutes before he finally had enough.

"Harper!" He yelled, slapping her across the face. "Stop it!"

She stared back at him, wide eyed. Then her face crumpled.

"I...I killed him Deryk...I brought Freddy to him. I didn't think it was real, I didn't think anything would actually happen..." She drifted off, biting her lip.

"Wait...Freddy..as in, Freddy Krueger? Oh girl, don't tell me Jim's story got to ya. We don't need another Terence, aiight?"

Harper gave him a desperate look. "It's not a story D! It's real! Freddy told me to bring him to someone last night in their dreams, so I brought him to Glen, and he killed him! I didn't think it was real, but this morning I woke up, and...and Glen..." Harper closed her eyes, and whispered, "Glen was dead."

Deryk shook his head. "Harper, look, you're upset. This is a shock to you. You're not thinking straight. Just breathe, and relax. Breathe, and relax."

Harper swallowed hard, and shook her head. She didn't blame Deryk for not believing her. It was a stretch. Hell, she didn't believe it when she first heard the story.

"Damn it..." She breathed, leaning forward, placing her head in her hands.

"You need to get your mind off it girl. I don't know what happened, but obviously you're freaked. Let's talk about something else, huh?"

Harper nodded, but did not raise her head.

"Well, Mr. Walsh had been absent for a few days now. Actually, he stopped coming two days after you were suspended."

This grabbed Harper's attention.

"Where did he go?" She asked, her breaths coming deeply.

"No one knows. Haven't heard any word from him or is wife in a couple of days. They call in sick to work, and that's it."

Harper bit her lip. Mr. Walsh stopped coming in it would seem after that dream she had had of him.

Or, so it would seem, since she entered his dream.

She felt a spark of hope. He told her she had to get out, that she wasn't safe; that he would get her. He could have only been referring to Freddy.

"I gotta go." She said, standing up and walking out the door.

"What? Why? Where are you going?"

"I'll be back! I just have to go talk to someone." Harper answered, before starting up her motorcycle and driving to Mr. Walsh's house.

When she arrived, she was surprised at the state of the house. It was surrounded by a large garden, that would have been spectacular had it not been for the brown tinge to all the plants. It looked as if they hadn't received any water for days. In California, it was dangerous not to water your plants.

She walked up to the front door and knocked, not exactly sure what sort of greeting to expect.

The sallow, aged face of his wife was not what she expected.

"Oh...s'up, Mrs. Walsh? I was wondering if I could speak to Mr. Walsh. It's very important."

Mrs. Walsh shook her head. "Mr. Walsh isn't well. Neither of us are. It will have to wait." She started to close the door, and Harper panicked. She had to speak to him

"Mrs. Walsh, it's about Freddy." She grimaced as she saw Mrs. Walsh's face turn a sickly shade of yellow.

"Wha-what about him?" She asked, her voice small.

Harper bit her lip. "He's been appearing in my dreams. He's already killed two people. I don't know what to do."

Mrs. Walsh looked like she was about to cry. "Alright. Come in."

To say Mr. Walsh was surprised to see her would have been an understatement.

"Harper?" He said, his voice incredulous. She nodded warily, not sure if smiling was a good idea.

"Mr. Walsh." She started, her voice small. "I need your help." her teacher stared at her like she had grown horns.

"If I recall correctly," Mr. Walsh said. "last time we spoke, you were hung over, and acting as though you were the queen of Sheba. I suspended you."

Harper pursed her lips. " I know sir, and I'm sorry, but we have more important stuff to talk about. I came here be-"

"Ah yes, that's another thing." He interrupted, his eyes narrowing. "How do you know where I live?" This question made Harper flush. "Small town sir." She answered, not wanting to reveal that the egging his house had received a week prior had been committed by her and Deryk.

"And you thought that you would just waltz in here and-"

"Jesse, please!" His wife cried. "It's about him."

Jesse froze, his anger dissolving into pure horror. He gulped, and croaked out, "Him, Lisa? Who do you mean?"

Harper gave an exasperated sigh. "You know who sir. Freddy Krueger. You're the one who warned me away in your dream." The declaration seemed to hang in the air like a foul stench. Harper took the silence as a sign to continue.

"I've seen him. He's killed two people already; my mother's boyfriend being one of them." Harper walked towards her teacher, slightly shaking. "You lived through it sir. You know what he's capable of. Please Mr. Walsh...I need to know what I'm up against."

Mr. Walsh looked at her for a minute. "Why are you planning on going against him? Why don't you just leave before he can get you?"

Squeezing her eyes shut, Harper took a deep breath before answering. "Because he's already found me. I'm the reason he's started killing again." Her teacher, to her befuddlement, was not surprised, and only nodded. "Sit down." He said, gesturing to a seat. "This will take a while."

"So, you're telling me, that somehow Freddy was able to inhabit your body, and kill people with it?" Harper's eyes were wide.

"Kind of." Jesse clicked his tongue. "My body, when I was in control, was more like a shell. When Freddy took over, my skin was shed, and his features came out. The exoskeleton, if you will, dissolved after about ten minutes of being shed. When Freddy finished what he wanted to do, I would come back out and his shell dissolved. Even now, I'm completely sure how it all worked, but...he had used some sort of dark magic."

Harper bit her lip. "You had no control over what he did?"

Her teacher shook his head. "Once he gets in your head, it's almost impossible to get him out. The only way is to kill him."

Swearing, Harper roughly ran a hand through her hair. Mr. Walsh looked at her, his gaze sad. "What happened Harper? How are you involved?" Harper shook her head, swallowing hard. "I went to a party a few days ago. The guy hosting it told me the story of Freddy. Another girl became anxious and left. But it made her think of Freddy, and scared her enough so he was able to come back. At least, that's what I've concluded."

She shifted uncomfortably, and carried on.

"I accidentally walked in on the dream. I didn't think it was real...until he came to me-"

"Wait..." Mr. Walsh interrupted. "You entered her dream? How?"

"I don't really know how it works." Harper answered honestly. "I have this gift...all I have to do I think of a person, and as long as they're sleeping, I can enter their dream."

Jesse's eyes widened. "So it really was you that one time, the other night, in my dream." Harper nodded.

"You...uh, had just suspended me, so you were definitely on my mind." She said, giving a nervous laugh. "And Jenny...well, her reaction stuck in my mind, so when I went to sleep that night..." Harper shook her head. "Anyway, the next night, he came to me. I still didn't believe in him. So when he told me to bring him to someone else, I didn't think anything would actually happen to them. I brought him to my mother's boyfriend." Mr. Walsh raised his eyebrows.

"You must have really hated this guy, if you wanted him to die, even if it was 'just a dream.'"

Harper grimaced. "Ya, well, we never exactly saw eye to eye; more belt to skin." Mr. Walsh's gaze turned confused, and Harper quickly continued, not wanting him to pry. "So anyway, Freddy killed him, and..." Harper hesitated uncertainly, before whispering. "And then I woke up and hear my mom's screams. And it was then that I knew he was real."

Jesse looked at her, concern apparent in his eyes. "This happened this morning?" Harper nodded. "I haven't slept since. I...didn't want to face him without knowing what to expect. Without knowing what he's capable of."

Her teacher nodded in understanding. His wife, who up to that point had been completely silent, finally spoke, reminding Harper that she was still in the room.

"Well, you need to sleep, there's no question about that. What will happen if you refuse to bring him to anyone?" Harper stared at her.

"Um...he'll kill me." She said, wondering how high her teacher's wife's IQ was.

"Well, we have to do something." Mr. Walsh said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You can't sleep until we do."

"How did you defeat him last time?" Harper asked, not even positive that was what she wanted to do.

"I didn't." He said simply.

Harper gave him a sharp look. "Who did then?" Jesse looked at his wife.

"I did." Lisa said quietly. "But Jesse did help. It was his emotions that made it happen." Harper gave her a blank look. Lisa sighed.

"I loved Jesse. And he loved me. Freddy had taken over Jesse's body, and tried to kill me. I told him I loved him, and told him to fight. That gave Jesse the strength to gain control, forcing Freddy out. That ended up killing him."

Harper gave a loud sigh. "Well, that won't work for me. There's nobody that mean shit to me. I stopped caring about anything a long time ago." Harper stood up and nodded to the couple. "Thanks for everything. But it's getting late, and I better split."

"Harper, wait!" Jesse quickly stood and grabbed her arm. "Don't fall asleep; not until we can find out what to d about this. We beat him before, and we can beat him again."

Harper shrugged his hand off her arm, trying not to flinch at the contact. "Alright sir. Will do." When she left, Jesse closed the door, and stared at it. Lisa placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What are we going to do Jesse?" She asked. "We have to help that poor girl." Jesse shook his head. "No, we can't." He turned around, and headed towards to phone. He grabbed it and started dialing.

"Jesse, who are you calling?"

"The only person who can help."

The line rang a few times before it was finally picked up.

"Hello? Oh, sorry- Dan! Don't do that! Jacob, you need to control your son better. I certainly raised you more efficiently." The feminine voice was old and weathered, yet still held a strength in it.

"I'm sorry about that. Who's calling?"

"It's Jesse."

"Oh Jesse! How are you? How are the nightmares?"

"Bad. They've taken a turn for the worst."

"What?" The woman asked, fear creeping into her voice. "What do you mean?

Jesse sighed. "You're gonna wanna sit down for this Alice."