Chapter Twenty One – Trust and Funerals.
It was without surprise that Helyse came to the conclusion she didn't like being in a funeral… Not that she thought anyone liked it, but Kurt Locker's funeral was a bit boring… Maybe because she didn't want to be there at all. Oh, there was sorrow, make no mistakes.
She was a bit surprised at it. Kurt had been nice to him and had saved her life when she was in coma. Her feelings regarding this were of gratitude, but she considered that helping him to wake up and, later, saving his sister already had made them even so she owed him nothing at all. But even so, had had been kind… And when her brain ran through her memories, there was nothing one that involved him laughing at her expense (it wasn't that she had been wanting to find something like that, it just happened)…
Kurt had been a nice person. Their interactions hadn't been many and they hadn't been even near close, but he was nice…
He wouldn't be nice anymore.
He wouldn't talk anymore.
He wouldn't even see his little sister grow up.
He was gone…
There was sadness for his suffering in death as well, though this was tampered … Not that the coffin had been opened for the viewing and therefore giving a hint of what had happened, actually the girl thought that, if that would be the case, great part of the people would have ran away screaming… Not mentioning that Kurt probably would be beyond recognition.
She knew this…
Freddy had told her so.
With her head lowered, in the silence around, Helyse could only wish that it would all be over soon… She wouldn't even have gone to the cemetery if Jonathan had not called her and offered a ride, surprising her since Helyse had not even planned to go.
So, why was she here, seated and wearing a black, simple dress? She was sad, but she didn't think she would/could cry like Amelia, for example. At her side, the girl seemed unable to breathe, shoulders shaking with sobs she tried to hold without success?
Realizing this, Helyse felt a shadow lurking inside her and holding her organs. Wasn't she feeling friendship towards those people? What kind of friend was she, who couldn't share the exact same pain?
She couldn't cry.
Noticing Amelia was struggling to cease her shivering, Helyse took her hand out of her lap and, with the clumsily way of who is not sure of what one is doing, held her hand. The girl didn't look at her, but grabbed her hand with a touch of gratitude.
Helyse moved with discomfort on her chair. She had been wrong in coming… And after all, how long had it been since she had even put her feet on a cemetery? There was no need to think, the last time had been in the funeral of…
She pushed the thought away with disgust.
With her face still turned down, hair making a curtain around it, she espied to the white coffin… Suddenly, it seemed such a moronic thing beyond all. What was the sense in paying so much for an elegant coffin, considering it will end up under the earth anyway? Why not use a simpler thing, without those linings and made of special wood and all those things? Why would a dead person need comfort? Waste of money and not for the deceased, but for showing…
A simpler coffin of any cheap wood would work just as well.
"Or a metal one?" She thought, remembering the last night… Krueger had appeared suddenly when she had been organizing and checking some things in the storage and
He had appeared near some shelves and, distracted as she was, Helyse noticed nothing at first, still muttering the same song she had first heard on the bus accident, months ago…
"Nine, ten, never…".
"Never sleep again" He completed for her, making her turn and seeing him leaning on one of the shelves in a posture of absolute relaxation. For a moment, the idea that he could have been standing there for a while, watching her, made her a bit tense.
"Oh, it's you" She commented dryly, hoping she was not showing anything, though Krueger's little smirk seemed a proof of her failure. Had he seen Jonathan with her? And why would she even wonder such a thing? It wasn't as if they were friends or anything even close to that and he had nothing to do with her life.
She watched him closely, but there was no hostility in his posture.
Strange.
Well, it didn't matter. And in the end, he couldn't have been there for long. She was pretty sure that if he had witnessed the scene between Jonathan and her, he would surely have said something. He wasn't the type to keep his thoughts to himself and it would have been a far too good opportunity to bother her and try to make her act like she was insane.
"Who did you expected?" He came closer and observing his body language, Helyse realized that he was actually in a good mood and betted (mentally) that he probably had killed someone. One more. Oh yeah, that reminded her…
"It was Evelyn, wasn't it? Who you killed last night… Evelyn Sanderson?".
"Of course it was.". He answered as if it was a moronic question (well, it was) at the same time he looked quite proud (no surprise, he felt like this about every kill) and holding his head high, a glint in his dark eyes. Helyse merely gazed at him before tilting her head to the side.
"Well… And so?".
"And so what?" His good mood didn't imply a change in his manners.
"Aren't you going to tell me? How you killed her?" Krueger frowned. Something had appeared in her eyes for a brief second. Never mind that her leaning the head and with that curiosity was almost cute (well, as close to it as Helyse would ever get), it was not the expression someone else should have while having this conversation.
However, that curiosity wasn't the apathetic and distant one that you'd associate to the girl. It was a more genuine one. Krueger couldn't hold the laugh.
"I wonder what you little friends would say if they saw you now. Wasn't that whore Jessica a friend of hers?".
Helyse didn't answer or moved, just continued, obviously waiting for him to tell her.
However, his words had gotten to her. Indeed, what would they say? Suddenly, she remembered Jessica crying in school… And she felt absolutely disgusting.
But the curiosity remained.
"It was quite fun… To summarize, some bug's eggs hatched inside her and the pretty little ones devoured her inside out. She screamed like she probably never did when she was fucking her boyfriend" Krueger laughed, remembering how one of the tiniest eggs had been inside her eye and another inside her tongue, the bugs a bit smaller than a bee. "Oh, well, there is also the detail she wasn't in her best shape. Some operations can go so wrong." He stopped with a false expression of thoughtfulness. "What do you think, did she scream because she still had stitches and was seeing herself in a mirror, the postoperative or the thousands of bugs opening their way through her flesh?".
Then Helyse said something that broke his act. A single word, a single whisper.
"Thanks".
Krueger stared at her without saying anything for a second, his eyes cutting her up. He had learnt to not expect Helyse to behave in a "normal" way (so, he hadn't expected any shit like cries, some false words of how no one deserved this and yadda, yadda), but he hadn't expected a thanks. Soon he recovered from the surprise, ignoring the weird sensation it had given him.
"Thanks for what? Don't be fucking retarded to the point of thinking I did this for you, girl, because I didn't." No, he hadn't. But having Helyse thanking him that way… Although he had done this only because it was what he did, motivated by the pleasure of killing and bloodlust, knowing that she was pleased wasn't bad. And not like he could stop it either.
Then again, what was the harm in this?
"Of course I know it. But thank you, anyway".
Krueger rolled his eyes as he tried to think on a rude answer to that nonsense, however nothing came to his mind. Helyse turned her back to him, carrying on with her work as she took some notes.
"And why are you here?" Thinking about Jonathan and the others, she deeply wished that they had left already. The last thing she wanted or needed was for one of them to come in and catch her talking by herself… At least it was what any other person would think of, but they could have realized with whom she was having a conversation.
"Of course they would, they're not stupid, are they? And then Helyse, how would you explain such a thing?".
"I heard you, that's all".
Helyse turned her head to him, not understanding. He had heard her? Did he mean the singing? Krueger, realizing her surprise, showed an arrogant smile.
"You didn't know, did you?" And shook her head in mockery. "Oh, and here I was thinking you were calling to me.".
"I'll call you when I need nightmares or insults" The girl answered with coldness, though in the back of her mind she could remember Jonathan mentioning that this song did seem to cause nightmares as well, as part of the virus that Krueger could act as, spreading. "And who was it this time?".
"Who what?".
"Who did you kill. You're in a good mood, so you must have killed someone" And someone, she was quite sure, he have been longing to kill. Krueger, on his turn, was uncertain of how to react to her once more. It was a bit surprising that she knew him that well… Well, maybe not. He imagined it would be obvious that he got in such high moods after a killing, but even so having someone talking with him regarding that and in such a conversational way, was way different.
Lifting his head, he decided to tell her. It would be good to remind the girl of who she was truly dealing with her and he hissed.
"Kurt Locker".
He was pleased to see he had surprised the girl, as Helyse turned to him, lips half apart, still as a cat… And yes, there was surprise and a flicker of something in her eyes.
Kurt… Dead? She didn't know what to say. Something stirred in her and, as often happen, her mind didn't process the fact right away. Kurt was dead? The sentence alone didn't seem to make sense… It… It wasn't shocking, since it was a miracle they had made so far, but even so… It wasn't as if Krueger would lie about it, and she knew that saying "this can't be" wouldn't make it not real.
He was dead…
Kurt…
"Did he suffer?" Her tone was indecipherable.
"Yep, he suffered a lot" He spoke as if the subject was of the possibility of rain later. Helyse remained quiet. It was sad that Kurt had suffered… She knew no one could choose such things, but at least he could have died quickly and painless… But then again, it was never Krueger's style.
Her feelings didn't matter, right? It didn't matter how sad she felt, she couldn't go back in time or change what had happened…
But her heart was still in pain.
Kurt had been a nice person… He had been kind…
"He wanting to protect his little bitch of a sister, stop her from falling asleep and in the end, he was the one who slept" Krueger laughed. "It's even ironic, don't you think? But I think he would have gone sooner or later, with all the pills he was taking. No one ever taught the fucker about overdoses?".
Helyse was assaulted by the image of Jessica commenting that she had taken pills… Mark indulging the idea of injecting something that his mother used on animals… The others had even sounded interested! Well, she knew they were frightened… With a nervousness that she didn't share until now… Even so, the memory caused the coldest of shivers.
"He suffered" Without her noticing, Kruger had come closer from behind and his harsh voice whispered against her ear. "It was also so fun. The temperature of the room was just increasing… He could barely run in the end!".
Helyse, as if cornered by a panther, didn't move. Every time Krueger got too close (not often, thankfully), she felt like that and knew a wrong movement would be cause for pain and/or death.
"He can't kill her, he can't kill here…" She reminded herself as his voice still caressed her skin.
"The sole of his shoes was melting… I did even ask if he wouldn't rather be just burnt at once, I mean, it's a motherfucking pain, but it would certainly be quicker than melting bit… By… Bit" He continued whispering in a voice that pretended lament. Helyse merely closed her eyes, knowing he meant to provoke her and refusing to give a reaction.
"Of course you know how much it hurts, that's how you died. Oh, Kurt…" How painful it had been? And the fear? Her feelings for Kurt as a friend were still starting to develop and she hadn't reached the dark despair of those how lost someone dear to them, but still she was sorry for him… But she considered it was less than she should be feeling.
"Damn, what kind of person am I?".
"Just that it started to get really boring." He dragged the word as he touched her face, mouth against her ear so she could feel his burnt flesh as the poison of his voice teased her nerves. "He had been running from some time and hey, show's gotta go on, right? I decided to end it all" His hands touched her shoulders, pressing them until he held her close. There was no pain, even in his claws, but she knew a sudden movement would cut her.
"So, I just threw him in an iron coffin. Stainless steel. He could barely scream!" The Dream Demon laughed with glee. "I thought about leaving him to die locked there, but that fucker pissed me off too much".
"Just go and say what you did" The girl hissed. Yet, Krueger merely smiled and eve if she sounded as if he was making suspense to tell a boring story, it was still a reaction and there was the chance this had affected her more than she cared to show. It was a sign he had disturbed her… Not thinking straight, wanting just to test if the credit was due just to the narrative or something more (also testing his limits), he started to massage her shoulders. As he knew where to press to affect the nerves and cause pain, the same nerves could be stirred into pleasure.
Helyse noticed it.
"I do think he tried to stand… Not that he did. And the coffin was so hot… Maybe now he knows how a pork feels?" Her uniform had a blouse of short sleeves and, pressing his chest against her back, it was easy to touch her skin.
Helyse bit her lower lip. As when Jonathan had touched her, she felt disturbed, unused to feel someone else so close, her body had forgot the sensation… She could say for sure that it made her pretty uncomfortable with touches, but the way Krueger was doing now, it was a bit different…
The girl was not stupid and knew he was manipulating the sensitive points of her flesh to cause sensations her body could not control. Yet, the "different" wasn't merely this and, ignorant as she was in this subject, the girl couldn't pinpoint what was so different then, let alone define it verbally.
"Oh, you should have seen him face when I showed some acid to him!" He assumed a thoughtful expression as if Helyse had asked something. "It is a bit alike being burned, but the brain remains active for longer".
Helyse turned her face to him, ignoring the contact of his face on hers as she gazed up to look him in the eyes. Though he wasn't a tall man, he was still taller than she was.
So, he meant that he had used such method just to make the pain last longer?
No surprise.
He looked to her in the eyes, so close that Helyse could see each burn marking his flesh. Krueger reflected how she managed to keep her control and look calm and, not for the first time, he felt annoyed not with her (though her serenity was annoying to say the least), but with the fact that he could no longer bring himself to complete hate her and reprehended himself for the seed of admiration he had grown for her.
Oh, he had admired some worthy prey before, no matter how begrudgingly, like Nancy Thompson. But this was not the same and the Dream Demon knew it.
"You know what was the most interesting?" He continued. "He even cried that he would do everything if I didn't kill him. As then merciful guy that I am, I indulged him and asked if he meant a trade. And you know. What. Else?".
"What?" She growled without a drop of curiosity, just wishing that he would finish that blabbering and get away from her. As if he knew what was going on in her mind and, just to tease her further, Krueger leaned more to her. By instinct, Helyse turned her face, but it was a mistake… He was back to her talking to her ear, holding her in place, his chest on her back. She could feel how still he was… Of course, since he didn't breath.
"He agreed! Isn't that hilarious? I think he thought that you must have done something to… Be spared, let's say?" Helyse did her best to not show reaction. This was too much like what Mark had just implied. "I asked if he would bring someone else to replace him… And he agreed, just like that. He even said he would make whoever I chose to sleep… As some of his friends… You… Even his little sister…" He spoke slowly, his claws pressing her shoulders on a weird mockery of caress.
Helyse was not surprised, given the situation in which Kurt was… The threat had been ferocious enough, who would say anything different? And besides, what mattered what he had said before… Before that?
"And you didn't accept and filled his coffin with acid anyway" She replied with a tone of boredom and feeling, his shake his head, his mouth going from her ear to her neck.
"Wrong. Just half of it" He chuckled.
"To prolong the suffering…" The girl concluded mentally and holding a sigh. Krueger applied more pressure to her shoulders before suddenly letting her go, without backing away. The proximity, only now, made him remember her dream of last night, in which he had been so close to Helyse before Amelia had appeared.
"Don't you think it's shocking? That a friend would be willing to sacrifice whoever it is just for his own survival?".
Helyse denied with her head and, before she could react, Krueger held her face and pulled it closer to his in a way they were almost touching.
"Good! You know why? Maybe you shouldn't trust them very much… Can you say, without a doubt, that they are really your friends?".
XxX
To not trust them… And had Kurt thought that she had really done something to not be killed? Or had he just said it, lost in the pain? Well, and why not? Mark had really insinuated that she must have done something, something of sexual nature above all…
"And what if I had? Who would censure me?" She didn't blame Kurt for what he had said, no matter if it had been truth or not, though her impression was that the others wouldn't agree on that, maybe they would think he had been cruel and had betrayed them, not thinking of the pain he had been in…
"No, probably not… They have been friends for long, certainly they would understand. And in times of despair, people will always say anything at all". But it didn't matter in the end, after all, did it? He was dead…
It was over…
Helyse felt a touch on her shoulder and faced Jonathan Mears. Last night, he was in a bad shape, but today was worse… And the pain didn't improve his appearance.
"And if you understand that Kurt was desperate, shouldn't you understand the reason for them to be so desperate with the idea of sleeping?" Only that they needed sleep. For how long would they endure before they ended up fainting? And what if one of they fell asleep in a bus or even home and the parents didn't wake them up if wounds started to appear?
They were already so tired that no one could guarantee they would even be able to wake up.
Sitting at her side, Amelia was standing as well. She no longer cried, but her eyes were dull and full of pain. Mark and Jessica were near the coffin and, when they approached, Helyse noticed a known figure.
Amanda was there as well, wearing a small black little dress and shoes of the same color. Her dark hair, so alike that of her brother, was braided and she had dark bags under her eyes… Helyse avoided looking at her, the last time they had, Amanda had been crying in a nightmare… Instead, her eyes went to coffin again. How would Kurt be looking like?
"But you're free now… There won't be any pain, never again… It's terrible that it was the way it was, that you had so much things to do in life… But you're still free. Free from this all".
They stayed in silence for a time before Mark sighed.
"Well… You… Do you want to go and eat something? I know it's not…" His eyes stopped in a small thing and he slowly stopped talking. Amanda had walked away from her parents and came near them… Once again, silence prevailed as if no one knew what to say or, knowing who had been the responsible for Kur being in that coffin, they were too embarrassed to say anything.
The little girl stared at Helyse. To someone so young, her eyes were far too intense.
"You're the girl who helped me before" It was not a question. Feeling disturbed, as if having helped Amanda was more reason to shame than pride, Helyse nodded.
Amanda's face contorted in an expression in which pain, sorrow and (was it possible?) deep revolt mixed in one.
"Why didn't you help my brother too?! You could help me, why not him? Why it had to be my brother?".
Helyse was dumbfounded by those words, some answers (few adequate or polite) passed by her mind, even if not thinking there was any excuse to tell them to a girl who wasn't fully aware of what she was saying and just taking her frustration and pain in someone else… But even knowing it, aware that Amanda had better excuses and reasons, Helyse was still bothered. First Jessica, in the last day, then Mark and now Amanda.
"C'mon" Jonathan whispered, almost dragging her away along with Mark, Amelia and Jessica, accepting the suggestion of the redhead, taking a path to a snack bar nearby. They picked a round table and empty by a window. They didn't mind the view, none of the windows had it to the cemetery, which was expected.
They did order some food, even if no one was truly anxious for it or talk, though Helyse could notice, by the atmosphere around and the way they kept looking at each other (almost as if begging someone to say something) that they had a topic to discuss and it wouldn't be pleasant.
"And what would it be, if not Krueger? It's the only damn subject we have, actually" Once more, Krueger's words haunted her mind, warning her to not trust them and questioning if Helyse really could call them friends… Right, she didn't know them for long, but she didn't despise them… Even with what Jessica had told her, if she didn't care, she wouldn't have feel… Well, hurt.
And Kurt's death wouldn't have had any effect on her.
"Don't worry about it" She took a fright with the whisper and went to the point of thinking if Amelia had heard her talking to Krueger last night. "Amanda was just nervous and sad…".
Oh, of course.
Amelia would have already said something if she had noticed anything weird last night. She thought Helyse was like this due to Amanda's words. Yeah, as if.
"Well… Yes… I know".
Amelia smiled, the gesture just a movement of stiff muscles of her face as she held Helyse's hand in an attempt of comfort. The touch, somehow, was not the same of the night they had slept on Jonathan's house. Helyse could remember, back then it had been something suave and spontaneous… Now, the touch of Amelia holding her hand felt… A bit automatic?
"So? How could it be anything else? Look at her, she is crushed!".
"And we're also going to make him pay for it" Mark sounded truly threatening, his voice escaping between his teeth, dripping poison. Helyse had never seen such a violent shine in his eyes. "Having those abilities and doing nothing is bullshit. We have to attack him. Kill him once and for all".
The others exchanged looks, aware that it had to be done, it must be done, but there was something chaining them down: Fear. Not of killing, not anymore, but of being killed. It was not fair, Krueger knew the world of nightmares, knew tricks and details of the environment of other's dreams, he had been doing this for far too long…
"I think…" Jessica's voice was weak, but after she coughed to clean her throat, the girl seemed to find some confidence somewhere. "I read that is always best to know our adversaries. I did some research actually…" She took some papers from her bag.
"Oh, for the love of God, Jessica, we're eating".
Jessica ignored the comment, casting to Jonathan just a cold and hard glance. Even so, when she exhibited the papers on the table, he also leant forward to read them, curiosity taking the best of him. They were prints of old newspapers and other informations, obviously taken from sites and probably the local library. The first sheet announced "Springwood Slasher still at Large".
Helyse felt her body relaxing. She didn't think there would be anything in any of those papers that Krueger had not already told her in summarized form. The others kept staring hungrily at the papers, as if they contained some sort of help or proof while she observed casually and without much interest.
"He was a child murderer. He killed at least twenty that we know about. Many think he killed even more and the bodies were never found" Jessica showed one paper that was a list of the names of the dead children and the places they had been found. At the side, there were also small photos and in the bottom of the page, a photo of a house that had been probably Krueger's when he was alive. She had seen it before and knew there were several rumors about it, but she had never got why or the details.
"That was Krueger's house. I found a lot of stories on the sites about how there may still be bodies hidden there, how it is haunted… A lot of things" Jessica confirmed her thoughts.
"It would be nice" Jonathan muttered dryly looking at it. "If it was really the house. If that bastard was stuck there or something, it would be easier." He stopped, giving attention to a particular thought. "We could still try to set it on fire. If there is a connection between he and the local where he lived…"
It was a common detail on ghost and haunting stories. The way he spoke about it was as if it was a simple thing to do. Helyse and Mark shook their heads, apparently the boy agreed that it couldn't be that easy. Meanwhile, Jessica kept on her report without bothering to answer.
"For what I got, he was arrested, but released".
"Just another fine example of our judiciary system, don't you think?" Mark asked with a growl, his voice almost failing and once more, Helyse saw how bad he looked. Almost as if he was drunk, but it wasn't quite that… It was worse.
"Wait, you don't arrest someone for such a crime without evidence of sorts… At least some! How was he even released?" Amelia seemed almost revolted with the idea, not that any of them didn't agree. Jessica moved some papers in search, before picking one that screamed. "Springwood Slasher Released!". And pointed a line she had outlined with a bright pen.
"It was a huge case, the thing is that apparently, the warrant was not signed or something. And this invalidates the evidence, at least is what I learned in TV. The point is, he slipped away. The rest you guys know, he went home, people hunted him down and killed him". Another paper showed old burnt bones. "The body was found just years ago. A psychologist and an ex-cop found him".
"Right, he deserved that shit, but how will all that help us?" Mark asked impatiently, almost with violence while picking some papers and taking a look. Jessica shrugged, a bit awkwardly.
"Well, he may be a supernatural being, but he was human once. I got some details about his life, I thought that if we knew more about him, it would be better. It's with the human element we're dealing with, no matter how many powers he has now".
Indeed, one of the papers had information about Krueger's wife, who he had killed, and his daughter. Helyse was quite surprised, she would have never even imagined Krueger marrying whoever it was. For a second, she wondered if he had merely used the marriage as a cover to appear as a normal member of society or if there had been any love in that relationship from his part.
"I don't know if he can be considered human".
"Or if he ever could" Mark muttered and let a paper fall back in the table with an expression of disgust for emphasis. The paper in question was the copy of a site and, on the top, in large black letters, there were the words "Do We Know Everything?". Frowning, Helyse ran her eyes by the article that ended up being about other details (or rumors) about Krueger. If what was written there was true, his mother had been a nun who had been locked in by accident in an asylum during the weekend. Raped by more than a hundred maniacs, she had ended up pregnant with Krueger, who she had given up for adoption.
"I found that a bit after finding a site that called him the bastard son of a hundred maniacs" Jessica seemed disgusted with his origins. "But I think it explains quite a bit about him. And it seems it was also how people called him when he was a child.".
For a moment, Helyse believed she had heard it wrong.
"Come again?".
"That's how he was called when he was a child." Jessica repeated with a mist of annoyance and facing Helyse as if thinking she was trying to be funny. The girl's eyes went back to the paper, feeling a bit tense and not wanting to discuss the subject. It wasn't as if it excused anything or that being called by a name would make everyone a killer, but it didn't make it okay either.
"Since small he was a freak then" Mark sighed. "Fuck, I wish someone had killed this asshole when he was a child, then we wouldn't be here". Despite how wicked that sounded, no one could help but to agree.
Seeing the eyes of Jessica hovering over her, Helyse felt suddenly sure that the subject of last night hadn't been forgotten. As the girl spoke, it was to Helyse she looked at.
"C'mon Helyse, even being who he is, he was human once… All people have a weakness. Some point of personality that may give us a breach… Something that we may explore, in some way".
Helyse was about to say that calling him "bastard son of a hundred maniacs" surely wasn't in the list of "helpful things" and that she had no idea of any weak point Krueger might have when Amelia leaned towards her almost mechanically.
"Hell, did he stop you from talking? Did you find out something and he found a way of making you be quiet?".
The other shook her head, not liking the way of that conversation. Maybe it was how everyone's eyes were over her, drowning her, but she felt like being interrogated.
"I've told you, I don't know anything…" The cliché escaped her mouth by its own, no mattering how truth it was.
Jonathan held her hand, squeezing it slightly in a gesture that meant to give her strength. Helyse didn't understand the reason for it, hadn't they talked about it last night anyway? Just because she had spent some time caged in that nightmare, it didn't mean she knew everything about Krueger.
No… She did know him she realized. She knew where she stood with him when dealing with him and knew what to expect of him. In a strange, twisted way, there was some trust she had on him regarding some things (even if she didn't want to)… Hadn't he told her, in the same night he had killed Sanderson, that she could go to sleep in peace that time? And he had kept his word. She had slept, had even ended up in the boiler room for Pete's sake and even so, he hadn't done a thing.
Actually, it wasn't due to that that Helyse was not suffering as much as the others? Oh, she had spent some nights up, but not as many as them and she wasn't in need of medicine in excess with that fear that day by day grew closer to despair.
"C'mon Hell, that's impossible! You spent a long time there, you saw him acting, there must be something you know" Amelia insisted. "I know it is not easy to remember, but think how this can help get him. Wouldn't that be nice?".
"Isn't that what you tell to rape and violence victims?" Looking around, she saw that the others still watched with almost hunger on their eyes. What was truly happening here?
"If we manage to attack him, we'll be avenging everyone. Not just Scott and… Kurt and Taýra… And… You know…" Mark's voice slipped a bit in the names of his friends, but he grasped the self control beck. "And you too! He'll pay for all he did to you, you can trust us on that.".
Helyse realized that, despite the talk, Mark still believed that she had been either raped or had offered herself for her life. Though there was no wish to, she couldn't help but to notice a strange tone in the way he spoke it… The words… Somehow felt too benign… Too… Too correct…
It was as if hearing a song out of tune in the radio… There was something there… Something wrong…
"Or he put some spell on you?" Helyse stared at Jessica mouth half-open, the words sending a shock to her and for a moment, she believed it had been a stupid joke, but seeing the stone eyes of the other girl, she saw it wasn't such. "Since in dreams he can do whatever he pleases… Was that it, Hell? Did he put a spell on you or something like that?".
Unable to react, Helyse just sat there, her whole being frozen without a reaction. That was so absurd, so absurd…
"Helyse, is there anything you're trying to hide from us? Did he force you to do something besides… You know?".
Even Jonathan? Why couldn't they just believe in her? She hadn't done a thing!
"Nothing of this sort, you mean…" A cruel little voice whispered in her mind, pulling the memory's thread of Scott Russo's death… Hadn't she admitted to herself and without a regret that she had taken part on it? Hadn't she admitted she had even had some fun on it?
"Helyse, if he forced you into anything, it wasn't your fault…".
Maybe they meant to comfort her, but that wasn't how it felt. The tone wasn't like that, the words too empty of emotions or warmth… Why did they insist, in that way that edged the impatience? Did they want her to speak about Krueger that much? As vultures gathering near a carcass still being devoured by the animal that killed it…
She looked at them, but found no comfort let alone mercy in their eyes. She thought that she saw something not unlike pity in Amelia's eyes, but pity and mercy were different things. Jonathan's eyes were indecipherable. Mark also had an expression she couldn't define and Jessica was leaning to her with her eyes full of… Anxiety?
And she wished, not for the first time, that she had stayed in her house.
She had never felt like this… She was sad and confused, a mist holding her thoughts…
She stood, a shiver going wild under her skin.
"I've told you already that I don't know! And I already said, nothing happened!" For a moment, that secret burned her throat and she almost confessed being who had denounced Scott's escape, leading to his death, just so they would shut up and leave her be.
"Helyse, if he raped you…".
"He didn't do it! He wouldn't ever do that" She hadn't even realized what she had just said, starting to feel ill and the few bites she had taken were agitated in her stomach in the heat that comes before vomiting.
She decided to leave. Suddenly, she needed to be alone.
Without casting a glance behind, she walked out with fast steps, blinking under the sun that was now too strong to her. She felt as if a gruesome mass was inside her and her thoughts were broken, the shards falling all over her mind.
"Helyse… Helyse, wait!" She meant to ignore the call, but Jonathan ran to her. He seemed quite embarrassed. Helyse didn't care. She didn't want any conversation. For the first time in long, she was angered. Not upset or annoyed, but really angry… Only the feeling had its strength stolen for the sensation of hurt… And it were just two feelings that composed that mass that had taken her over, a disgusting mixture with other emotions seasoning it, that she had not even an idea of what they were.
Jonathan gave her a weak smile.
"Doesn't it seem like déjà vu? You walking away and I after you?" He meant to chuckle, but stopped upon seeing that Helyse didn't find it remotely funny. Not even the girl was 100% sure of her reasons to feel as such… Logically, they had reasons to think that Krueger had done something to her and that she had to know something helpful. They only wanted to survive…
"It may be so, but it doesn't help me to control myself!" And why was she hurt? Yes, they didn't believe her, but it hadn't been just that… It had been another sensation besides that. Being suffocated by those looks was almost as being surrounded by… What? She didn't know. There was something wrong there… Something bad.
"C'mon Helyse" Jonathan took her hand, again pressing it in a way meant to be a caress. Helyse stared at him.
"What are you talking about?" She knew she sounded harsh and couldn't care less.
"Well, I brought you here, I'll take you home".
Helyse thought about denying, but ended up accepting it. It wasn't as if she would have to walk just a street to get home, with a ride it would be faster (and the sooner she was home, the better).
During the way back, Jonathan tried to explain that they had realized they had overdone it and that they were all too sad and shocked with Kurt's death and how they hoped so much to be able to destroy Krueger as soon as possible and the only one with some experience in survival (in that situation) was her. Deep inside, Helyse was almost as a symbol that they could get out of that mess alive. He made it clear that he knew Krueger had hurt her and wanted to give him what he deserved for it, for he cared for her.
It was pretty speech.
But Helyse couldn't erase from her mind the way he and the others had stared at her.
Ana: And things keep going. And not in a good way.
Helyse: For once, I agree. What the devil was all that?
Ana: Well, your friends are getting quite nervous.
Krueger: Can't I just kill them now and be done with it?
Ana: You just killed Kurt! Really, you're addicted!
Krueger: You just realized it now?
Ana: ... Point taken.
Guest: No one knows. But as Helyse thought, one thing we can agree, is that people WILL say anything to get away from a situation like that.
Krueger: I think he would have done it.
Helyse: I don't think he would.
Ana: Well, we'll never know now...
Helyse: And I'm the insensible one?
Freddy Fan: As I said, I won't say if this will be Freddy/Oc or Oc/Oc. But I love to see different opinions from the readers!
Krueger: Oh, please, as if that ass feels anything for her! They're just too scared of dying and seeking some stupid solace in one another.
Ana: Jealous?
Krueger: Merely pointing a fact. This story already sucks, I'm not getting pain and if I have to put up with those two idiots playing house, I'm going to be sick!
Ana: You know, having to put up with your complains is what makes me sick. Anyway! Let's wait and see what happens, right?
DarkThornFell: Really? The best? Aww, I feel so great! Thanks so much!
Helyse: Don't flatter her, we're the ones who have to put up with her!
Krueger: What's up with people shipping us?
Ana: You did enjoy being practically glued to her earlier...
Krueger: It was just to tease her!
Ana: Was it?
SethadoreVGC: Hi there! Thanks, I was going to just burn him, but I read that acid would make it more painful, so...
Helyse: You know you sound sick, don't you?
Ana: Well, I wanted to make a really good death?
Krueger: I still think this sucks.
Ana: I still don't care.
Krueger: STOP THIS SONG RIGHT NOW!
Helyse: So mature...
Ana: Again, you two alone and glued as you were before won't help people stop singing... K-i-s-s...
Krueger: Finish that line and you're going to use your entrails as a necklace...
Ana: Got it... Got it...