About a minute and a half passed when Doug turned to Springwood High School when he noticed something to his left as he turned. There was an ambulance and what appeared to be two police cars parked at the front of the school. Doug visibly paled when he saw this and almost braked harder than he usually did, but he scolded himself to be careful.
Don't tell me this has something to do with Mandy's death.
Remembering what Faith told him earlier when it came to finding a parking spot, he drove to the right, refusing to get close to the possible commotion happening at the front of the school. What he could see was that there were cars coming in and leaving the school premises, making the area busy, all which he assumed were people coming in to pick up the high school kids and along with that, teachers and students all leaving the area.
Noticing a parking lot that was adjacent to the front of the school if he continued going straight, he continued straight and found most of the spots were empty. Deciding that this might indeed be considered the side of the school, he pulled into a spot closest to being across from the door.
The twenty-year old switched the gearshift to park then pulled out his phone from the cupholder, leaving the engine on for air-conditioning. He opened the messages app, quickly found his sister's name, then began texting.
Hey sis. I'm here. I'm parked at the side of the school, though I'm not really sure which side you'll find me at from where you are.
He sent the text then placed the phone back into the cupholder, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel anxiously. Far too much happened in a matter of barely three days, and anything on the Hypnocil at this point was long far off. He wasn't sure if it was the nagging thought of waiting for the Hypnocil or something else, but a wave of uncomfortable paranoia swam violently in his mind, causing him to shudder.
Before he realized it, he glanced down at his carved arm where Freddy's Here was written on in his earlier daydream. He stared at it for a long moment, wondering if there was a deeper meaning behind these words than being outright obvious. There were a lot of unanswered questions from what he experienced, what he researched, and what Mark told him earlier, all of them tugging at his mind.
Doug closed his eyes, then placed his hands on the top of the steering wheel, trying to even his breathing and hoped to clear his head from the overwhelming thoughts swimming violently in his head, something he always liked to do to either keep himself focused or relaxed after learning the technique from his father. He hated being stressed out in situations and since roughly fourth grade, he learned to keep his own stress under control, and he knew that when he had to fight Freddy, he had to keep himself calm and collected if he wanted to survive at all. He counted each deep breath he took in his head, hoping that when he opened his eyes, his head would be clear from the building paranoia and his inner anxieties after everything he learned and went through in the past few hours.
After fifteen slow and steady deep breaths, he opened his eyes, though his eyes were still looking downward, finally feeling calmer than he was before. His mind was more at ease and less he overwhelmed, much to his relief.
I'm thanking Dad again for that calming technique even though I've thanked him for it before. It was already helpful before when I either had a big test, a basketball game, or even before I started weights, but this'll be so helpful for when I have to fight Freddy.
He looked up; eyes now directed at the door to the school. Everything was completely silent as he continued waiting patiently for Faith to come out. He was glad that he managed to calm himself or he was sure that waiting for her would make him feel slightly anxious.
Barely a second passed when he saw the door open, half-expecting it to be Faith coming out and half-expecting for a student or an adult walking out. However, what he saw instead was a surprise to him.
There came two girls, both looking no older than ten. The first standing towards the left had curly brown hair and her eyes were innocent, yet full of despair. The second girl appeared to have straight blonde hair, but unlike the first girl, this girl's eyes were instead sunken black holes, like her eyes had been gouged out, and there was dry blood down her face to her cheek.
The young man was unnerved by the second girl to say the least. He slightly tensed, hoping the girls didn't come towards him.
"He's coming for you," said the blonde-haired girl in a distorted and demented tone as she and the brunette-haired girl slowly walked towards the truck.
Doug's first instinct was to get out of his truck and run, but at the same time, he knew Faith would come out soon. His heart began to race, and his blood ran several degrees cooler, realizing that he was more than just a little unnerved. However, he had no idea that things were about to escalate from here.
One, two, Freddy's coming for you
Three, four, better lock your door
Five, six, grab your crucifix
Seven, eight, better stay up late
Nine, ten, never sleep again
Doug turned to the other side of the truck to see the same girls jump roping as they sung the terrifying song from his daydream last night just a few feet away from the truck. With the way they were jump roping and the way the girls at the other side of the truck, the brunette-haired young man was sure that he was being taunted. Quickly thinking, he reached into the glove department, opening it to take out an old umbrella that had long since been broken, but had been used as a weapon in case he had to defend himself.
The girls stopped singing after singing the song three times, but they still managed to taunt Doug as he held the broken umbrella in a defensive position in front of him, even with how scared he felt, his expression was full of horror. Scared for himself and now realizing that he was dreaming, much to his chagrin, he tightened his grip on the umbrella, ready to use it to defend himself. Along with the fear building up inside of his core being, the adrenaline was surging through his veins as he was trying to find his inner courage to fend away the girls closing in towards the truck.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Got you where I want you, Douglas!"
Doug gasped in horror, wondering where the all-too-familiar dark voice was coming from. He now had to consider his options and he had to do it quickly. He quickly turned to his right, seeing the girls who were jump roping earlier were now also walking towards the truck. Tensing his muscles as the girls walk closer to him, he tried to think hard, as he didn't want to do anything suicidal nor anything that would break his truck.
"Geez, I'm not going to kill you yet, Doug," came the voice of Freddy Krueger again. "However, that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun."
Doug said nothing, still holding the broken umbrella in front of him in a defensive position. He would have said something to bite back at the dream demon, wherever he was, but the young man was not willing to put his life at even greater risk than it already was. Pissing off Freddy was the last thing he wanted to think about doing.
Before the twenty-year old could do anything else, much to his horror, he saw the girls who were now just barely touching distance from the truck, completely vanished into dust, and then ash. What followed was dark laughter and Doug shivered from the building fear he had tried to keep under control. Then he began to wonder something, something that might explain why he was saw what he was seeing, and the realization hit him harder than any hit of damage Freddy had ever done to him.
Did that little calming exercise I did cause me to dream? Oh god! No! Why is this happening? I was trying to calm myself while waiting for Faith to come out! This can't be happening!
Doug had no time to ponder anything else, as he heard glass shatter from what he was sure was the passenger side of the truck, some of the glass having landed either on the passenger seat or the floor of the car, and he assumed the rest of the glass landed on the pavement. He turned to see the familiar clawed hands that somehow managed to break the window, causing him to scream in terror. With his heart beating extra fast and knowing that staying in the truck would be suicide, he quickly shut off the engine then opened the driver's side door, desperate to get out. Knowing he had no time to get out of the truck normally, he rolled out of the way, knees hit first onto the pavement of the parking lot, gasping at the slight pain from the fall, but it was better that than staying in the truck. He kept the umbrella in hand in case he had to use it to defend himself.
His mouth hung open in horror and his eyes widened when he saw the same figure behind the bladed glove standing barely a foot away from him. Freddy Krueger sauntered towards the younger man, laughing as he did. Even though he had no intentions of killing the good-looking young man at the moment, he still wanted to have some fun with him and taunt him.
"You're smart in an amusing away," chuckled Freddy as he kicked the brunette on the side hard, causing the latter to roll onto his back, clutching his side in pain with his free hand.
Doug only gave himself a moment to recover before he got back on his feet, holding the broken umbrella in position to hit the dream demon. He tightened his muscles and tightened his grip on the umbrella, now rushing towards Freddy, hitting him in the face repeatedly, that being until Freddy caught his umbrella-held hand, snatching the umbrella out of his grip then tossed it against the side of the truck, the impact was hard enough that the umbrella completely broke to the point that it was even useless as a weapon.
Doug gasped in horror that he had lost his weapon, now forced to think hard and fast on what options he had. Unfortunately, he didn't think fast enough, as he was grabbed by the throat by Freddy. He found himself gasping for air as Freddy tightened his grip by a sliver then brought him closer to him, inches from his face as Doug struggled to break free.
"Don't go around thinking you'll stand a chance against me," sneered Freddy, his face contorted into a horrific snarl. "Just because you're six-foot-five and buff doesn't mean you'll win against me, Douglas!"
Doug knew this. He opened his mouth, trying to speak, but Krueger's grip on his throat was making it difficult for him to breathe, let alone speak. At that moment, Doug was sure that he would die, right in the middle of the Springwood High School parking lot, who knew how long since Mandy's death, he wasn't sure, but he was almost certain his own death would occur.
However, instead of tightening his grip, Freddy loosened his grip on the young man, changing his snarl into a twisted smile. Doug could see the demon's crooked teeth and the scent of his hot, rotten-fleshed, metallic breath caused an overwhelming wave of sickness in his stomach. He didn't even remember getting close to the dream demon enough that he could smell his breath.
"Aww, don't worry," chortled Freddy. "I'm sparing you for now."
He paused as he further loosened his grip around the young man's throat, his smile turning into a slyer one. He had an idea, one he remembered doing to young man the night before and one that greatly entertained him. The thought amused him, and he was going to enjoy it in substitute of killing him.
"On that note," he continued. "I think you're growing on me."
Doug almost gagged when he heard this, repulsed by the words, though he still struggled to break free from Freddy's grasp. He already figured out that Freddy meant those words in the sickest way possible. The thought made his stomach turn more violently, and he was worried he would end up vomiting on Freddy's hand, further pissing the latter off.
Freddy laughed as he lifted the younger man's shirt with one blade then with one swift motion, used two blades to slash the upper right-hand corner of the younger man's stomach, not enough to kill him, but enough to cause him pain. He laughed again, taking enjoyment in Doug's pain before tossing him against the truck, Doug hitting back first before landing on the pavement.
Doug instinctively covered his wound with his hand as he was left coughing, gasping, and heaving for air. He did so for several seconds, unaware that Freddy was now circling around him due to him trying to catch his breath after being held in the dream demon's grip for what felt like an eternity. His stomach was still churning after the disgusting scent of Freddy's breath hit his nostrils, but he knew that Freddy was going to play with him more, so he had to be ready.
He looked up to see Freddy had knelt beside him, the smile clearly evident on his face. The former shuddered at the smile as he got back on his feet, his hand still covering his wound.
"Wanna see something interesting?" asked Freddy.
He didn't give Doug a chance to answer as he lifted his shirt, revealing more of his blistered skin, however with several parts of his skin appeared to have faces that opened then closed, like they were speaking. The sight made Doug's stomach churn even more, but he swallowed hard, trying to prevent himself from vomiting in front of the dream demon, however, it was getting harder every second. The sight scared him, not knowing what it was nor anything, at least from the research he picked up earlier.
"These are the souls of my children," explained Freddy as he gestured to his blistered skin. "However, I got one more thing to show."
He picked an empty area right by his chest. He swiftly slashed it and green slime and maggots came out of it, spilling down from his skin. He laughed as he did so, now wondering what Doug's reaction would be.
The sickening sight caused Doug's stomach to lurch up and at that point, he couldn't hold it in any longer. Against his own will, he vomited on the pavement nearby the rear tire of the truck as he could hear Freddy's laughter in the background, ringing in his ears. About fifteen seconds later, he had nothing left. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand then stood up, eyes directed at the dream demon, though he could feel himself shiver slightly from the fear. He still had his hand covering his wound, the wet sensation of the blood made him shudder.
"Too much for you?" taunted Freddy. "Too bad, asshole! That's was funny!"
"It wasn't," snapped Doug. "How the heck did you even come back? You said you were forgotten for twelve years!"
Freddy laughed as he picked up Doug by the collar of his shirt then tossed him in the truck, Doug hitting back first against the dashboard before he landed on the floor. Despite the pain, he tried to get out quickly, but Krueger caught him by the arm...his carved written arm.
"You know what?" chortled Freddy as he turned the carved written part of Doug's arm, making it face up. "The internet is a blessing for me, Douglas."
He didn't give Doug a chance to react as he booted him down on the driver's seat, keeping the younger man down with his boot on his stomach. Doug tried to kick the dream demon away and to break free, but Freddy was stronger in keeping him down.
"I think I should make myself clearer," said Freddy at last.
Before he could make a move...
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
Doug heard the knocking, now sure that it was Faith who had knocked on the truck.
Freddy stood there, dumbfounded as he watched the younger man disappear from the dream world, causing him to fall on his butt on the pavement. He stood up, now trying to process everything that happen, which didn't take him long to do. He knew what happened. He was so close...that close! He was almost certain that an outside force managed to steal Doug away from him, and he was fuming.
"God fucking damn it!" he yelled, kicking the pavement. "I could've played with that fucker more! Must've been that could-be Young Goodman Brown's bitch!"
— — — — —
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
Doug was snapped out of his daydream when he heard a knock on the car, though he found it a welcoming interruption after spending more than enough time wrapped in his paranoia. He turned to the passenger side, noticing that the glass on the window was still intact, as if it had never been broken in the first place, he sighed in relief. Looking beyond the intact glass, he could see Faith standing there patiently outside of the truck. He immediately unlocked the truck to allow her to open the door to get in.
She opened the door, tossed her backpack to the floor of the truck, then got in, all the while noticing a scarring mark on his arm. Her eyes widened only slightly, but she got settled in her seat then quickly grabbed his arm, seeing the carved words clearly, Freddy's Here. She cringed at the sight in concern.
"Bro, that looks bad," she said at last, gesturing to his carved arm. "Also, did Freddy do this?"
The twenty-year old nodded, though was somewhat surprised that she guessed who had been responsible for carving the words on his arm, though he didn't bother questioning her because he remembered the dilemma the two of them were in. Yes, he agreed that the wound looked bad and needed to be patched up.
"Had two pretty unsettling daydreams," he said, shuddering.
"Oh god!" gasped Faith as she turned to the glove department to grab the first-aid kit from it then placed it on her lap. "That douche hole is clearly having a field day."
"I'm afraid you're right," said Doug, suddenly remembering the most recent wound he received by Krueger.
He instinctively placed his hand on the upper right-hand corner of his stomach, skin to skin, feeling the wet and sticky sensation which he already knew was his blood. He shuddered, the memory of the dream now playing vividly in his mind.
Faith went to work in patching up her brother's arm, hoping it would be enough to heal it. She hated that this was happening to him, though she knew as long as the waiting game for the Hypnocil continued and they kept dreaming, the chances of them coming out unscathed got lower and lower. Seeing the carved words made her remember of the same thing happening to her, Freddy carved Freddy's Perra on her arm, though she said nothing about it at the moment.
That was the case until when Doug was about to ask her something when he noticed the words Freddy's Perra on his sister's arm. His eyes widened with horror when he saw this, and his mind began to race, now certain that somehow, she dreamed and got a similar wound.
"Oh shit, Faith," he said, the shock clear in his tone. "Your arm."
She glanced down briefly at the carved words on her arm, now knowing that he noticed, and she was not going to lie. She always hated lying unless she absolutely had to. Well, she didn't have to lie since she knew about the situation they were both in.
"Freddy did this to me in a daydream before Spanish," she said, the memory made her shudder. "Before Mandy died."
"How'd you know she died?" Doug wanted to know.
"She's in my Spanish class," answered Faith as she was finishing up on patching up Doug's arm. "She fell asleep and then she was gutted to death. That's why they released us early. I didn't want to see the commotion of them taking her body out of the classroom. I don't want to relive that horror and pain."
Doug shuddered then after his arm was completely patched up, he placed a hand on his sister's shoulder, feeling bad for her. He couldn't imagine her watching one of her potential friends close to her own age die in front of her, well it had been her second potential friend since Jake died the day before, but this was on a whole new level of pain he couldn't imagine what she was forced to carry. To top it off, he knew how Mandy died, she was gutted to death by Freddy Krueger. Truthfully, Doug felt more saddened for Faith than angry with Freddy at the moment.
"Gosh," he said, his tone was etched with sorrow. "I'm so sorry, sis. First your arm, now this. If I was able to do so right now, I would kill that asshole."
"I'm with you there," agreed Faith in a solemn tone. "But, from what we know and how we faired, we don't stand a chance with trying to kill him."
She darted her eyes down but stopped midway when she saw the way Doug's hand seemed to have disappeared in his shirt. Then her mind raced, having forgotten the solemn moment.
"Dude?" she said, her tone now etched with concern. "Are you- "
He lifted his shirt then took his hand away from the wounded area of his stomach as she got a closer glimpse of the two slash marks on it. The blood on his hand was even more proof that the bastard had further injured him.
"Oh hell no," groaned Faith. "More of that douche's doing?"
Her brother nodded.
"He did it when I ended up daydreaming before you knocked on the window," he explained.
Faith wasted no time as she grabbed a wet handwipe from a small package her brother had in the glove department then handed it to him, gesturing for him to clean the blood off his hand. He did without question and the task wasn't very hard, though he noticed that Faith was once again ready for another round of patch-up even though she needed patching up from the words on her arm.
"What about your arm?" he began.
"These slash marks look bad," said Faith in a stern tone as she began to clean the wounded area. "Better to patch them up sooner than later. When I go to sleep tonight, I'm gonna give that ratchet arsehole a stern talk for hurting you like this. He may have me as a favorite target, but it won't be long before you'll be his number one target too. Did he tell you anything else?"
Doug didn't hesitate to answer, as he was vividly remembering his dream.
"I asked him how he came back. He said the internet is a blessing, but he wouldn't divulge anything else. Before that, he showed me something pretty freaky that's on his chest and his stomach. He said it was the souls of his children or something like that."
Faith stopped what she was doing then pondered for a moment, trying to process what her older brother said and from what seemed to be on with Freddy. After a few seconds, she came up with a few theories.
"Sounds like the internet might be a clue to how he returned," she said at last as she continued to begin patching up Doug's wound. "However, like we said before, no way in hell would he return on his own."
"I was saying the same thing to Mark earlier," said Doug. "I'm starting to think he used one of the kids and then allowed Freddy's presence to spread like that."
Faith's mind began to race, the memory of what Jake told her at CVS was running vividly in her head.
"Now you mentioned that Freddy might have used one of the kids to spread his influence," she began. "That brings me back to what Jake said to me yesterday. He said that he was told about Freddy from two friends who were told by Weston. He didn't mention anything about Weston being told about Freddy, so that would mean that Freddy must've used Weston or something. Jake said Weston told two of his friends, Charlene and Kristen, who I hadn't even met and then, the whole thing seemed to spread. That might've caused some hysteria among the adults."
"That actually does sound like a good explanation for how the rumors must've started," concluded Doug. "That even adds up to what we found in our research yesterday. You have a good point. If only we could destroy that douchebag and get the damn Hypnocil in the same time frame as we're finding out the info on Freddy."
"As you said, if only we could Captain America and Iron Man Freddy's ass," pointed out Faith as she finished up patching up her brother's wound, then gave him a nod once she finished.
He smiled, thanking her for patching him up before gesturing her to give him her arm. She did so without question, though the sight of reading Freddy's Perra on her arm still made her shudder. She only hoped that none of her new friends who were alive had gotten this kind of carved torture in the way that she and Doug did.
"The fact that he tried to say you're his bitch," shuddered Doug as he began to patch his sister's arm up. "Oh god, Faith. Looks like we'll have a lot to discuss at Crave Inn with Donald."
"Yep," agreed Faith. "Not only that, but we can only hope the others who know about Freddy don't spread his presence any further. It's already been spreading rapidly enough, and just before I had a daydream, Mandy told someone else about Freddy."
Doug stopped what he was doing then widened his eyes in shock. He hadn't expected to hear this at all, and that now, he already had a feeling that his sister was blaming herself, and the thought saddened him. However, he wondered who now learned about Freddy.
"Who'd she tell?" he asked.
"She told a guy in my Spanish class," replied Faith. "It seemed to me that she was friends with this guy, whose name is Reed. As much as I want him to forget about Freddy's name, I doubt it'll be that easy. However, he did talk to me, but he didn't ask me about Freddy. I just hope he forgot about what Mandy told him."
Doug could tell when she said she hoped this Reed person would forget about Freddy; he could tell that she didn't sound very hopeful. He couldn't blame her, given the events that happened ever since the siblings moved to Springwood.
"What if this guy knows about Freddy?" wondered Doug. "Would you tell him to not tell anyone else, which sounds like the only feasible option."
Silence fell upon the siblings as Faith took a moment to ponder on this, which didn't take her very long at all to come up with an answer.
"I guess you're right," she said at last. "We don't want this spreading any further than it already has been."
She paused for a moment, thinking harder now as she watched her brother continue to patch her arm up. Even though she was quite overwhelmed, it didn't take her to the point of a headache, but she still pondered hard about the situation on Freddy's unexpected return.
"You know," she said. "Despite the rumors going insane among the adults, they're definitely doing a good job of keeping any other kids from knowing about Freddy's presence, and I don't blame them."
"Indeed," agreed Doug as he finished patching up Faith's arm. "Enough lives are at stake and putting any more lives in danger is not an option. Hopefully no one spreads this any further, especially since by how you're putting it, I guess there's not much telling on if this Reed guy actually forgot about Freddy or not."
The black-haired teen wasn't hopeful at all. After she was given the all clear from Doug, she brought her knees close to her then wrapped her arms around her legs, still blaming herself for not intervening soon enough to stop Mandy from telling Reed about Freddy.
I should've stopped her sooner, she thought. I'm an idiot for not thinking of doing it.
"I didn't intervene on Reed and Mandy's conversation sooner," she said suddenly. "I could've tried to spare Reed from Freddy's influence. Could've, but darn that daydream."
At that point, she was almost certain that Doug would give her more than just a stern talk, even though he was never the type to do such a thing despite him being the oldest of the two siblings. She only thought this because the situation was much graver than usual.
Doug, upon hearing the words from the teen, could see the pain was evident in her eyes and it was obvious that she was once again blaming herself. He placed a hand on her shoulder, hoping it would be enough to comfort her, but noticing that she didn't look completely convinced, he decided on a different course to further elaborate on his reassurance.
"Faith," he began in a gentle tone. "Don't blame yourself and I'm not angry with you. We just have to let people having these nightmares to not tell anyone else."
Faith looked up at him then nodded, now feeling better. She though wasn't sure what reassured her more, the words or Doug's gentle tone. Doug was usually a very gentle and kind young man who was rarely angry with very few exceptions.
After a moment, Doug took his hand away from Faith's shoulder then changed the gear shift to drive. The two still had a mission to take care of before Crave Inn.
"Next, to CVS," said Doug as he drove away from Springwood High School, not even daring to look at the front of the school, unknown to him that the commotion of police cars and an ambulance were still parked at the front.
— — — — —
"Are you sure you want to visit her again?" asked Maggie who was driving to the cemetery with Neil sitting shotgun.
"I have to," replied Neil sadly. "If these rumors are really going around like this, I need to talk to her, ask her for help and then I can help you and whoever else to end this."
Maggie understood, she knew at least from what Neil told her, it had been thirty years since the death of Nancy Thompson and former police lieutenant Donald Thompson.
Neil on the other hand was anxious to talk to Nancy again, having been in the middle of grieving in front of her grave until he was interrupted by Maggie through a phone call. He hated having to leave the Thompsons, but he swore that he would come again later in the day to talk to Nancy.
I still can't wrap my head around this, he thought in disbelief. Thirty goddamn years!
"It won't be long before I heard four families may show up," said Maggie, breaking the silence.
Neil turned to her, somewhat surprised. He had only heard little bits of what was happening, never the full story about the return of that horrible man...the one that killed Nancy and her father. He long thought it was all over, that the demon would no longer lurk into the minds of many children, including the remaining Dream Warriors, Kristen Parker, Roland Kincaid, and Joey Crusel.
He almost turned away to think and wonder about the remaining three, but at the same time, he was surprised to hear Maggie say that there were four families arriving here, possibly an indicator that there would be a funeral. It seemed that Springwood was once again causing trouble among children, that haunted him greatly.
"Four kids died from what Layla told me," said Maggie, taking notice of Neil's confused expression.
"And with the rumors running high," muttered Neil nervously.
"It is," replied the brunette-haired woman, a slight quiver in her voice.
Even though she never specified what she meant, Neil knew exactly what, or rather who she meant. He remembered the bit of history Nancy divulged about him. He also remembered exactly what happened there. It was too much to think about.
"It's a good thing you're doing this," assured Maggie. "I want to stop him as much as my old client does as well as many others, but..."
She paused, as she turned to the cemetery, her mind wavering on her whole situation with Freddy. From finding out he was her father, to blowing him up, and then reencountering him again not even ten years after she blew him up, and then reencountering him a third time. With him having grown more powerful since his unexpected return earlier this month, she wasn't even sure if she stood a chance on her own, which she figured getting to see Layla again and meeting her kids who were experiencing the same nightmares was enough for her to decide that perhaps killing the phantom on her dreams whether in the dream world or the real world with help was going to increase her chances of survival.
However, even with the thought that she'd get some help on killing Freddy, it was a scary thought. She remembered moving back to Springwood on her own terms, wanting to live a quiet life for the time being. It hadn't been so quiet since Freddy invaded her dreams again and she had no idea who the culprit was, though she suspected it had to be a teenager living here. She though was never told anything else, as far as clues.
"You're afraid, aren't you?" wondered Neil, noticing Maggie's worried expression.
She nodded slowly before pulling into an empty parking space. The past two encounters she had with the dream demon were still so fresh in her mind. Perhaps one of the most terrifying experiences she had was when she was almost possessed by Freddy, however, was able to resist it, but that still left a scar on her mind.
After checking to see if she was good with staying in between the lines of the parking space, she shut off the engine to her car. She opened the door to the car to get out, as did Neil and after they both shut the doors and Maggie locked the car, the two were headed for the grave of Nancy Thompson.
— — — — —
"The stuff better be here, or we'll be bound for trouble," muttered Doug as he pulled into the CVS parking lot, which appeared to be quite busy.
"Yeah, don't want to walk out of here feeling like we've been tortured by Cad Bane to the point it makes us fall asleep and dream," shuddered Faith.
Doug quietly agreed, especially with the little comparison to one of his favorite shows when he was younger, though he wasn't getting his hopes up at this point. With how much stuff he and his sister went through in the past few hours and even beforehand, any sign of hope seemed to be slipping further and further away from his fingertips. He hated feeling this hopeless over finding pills that he felt quite uneasy about in the first place, but he knew that it was better that or fail to stay awake tonight.
He shut off the engine then got out of the car; Faith also got out of the car. The two headed inside, barely paying attention anything else, their mission was right at the front of their minds.
Remembering where they found the label of the pills last time, they immediately headed for the aisle, then began to look. Barely a minute later, it was Doug who found where the pills were supposed to be, this time, the little aisle of where the pills were supposed to be was full, the pills were finally here.
"Jackpot!" he smiled.
He grabbed the bottle behind the one in front, something his parents taught him to avoid unwanted germs from the one in the front as well as staying away from the ones in front because he learned some people could sample it then put it back. After taking the bottle out, he turned to his sister, showing her that he found it. She smiled then mouthed a silent "thanks" to him before they headed to the cash register.
The cashier didn't comment on the siblings'-tired appearances, the many bandages they were sporting nor why were they purchasing a small bottle of pills to help one stay awake, but he was polite. The purchase went smoothly, much to the relief of the siblings, then they headed out of CVS, now heading for the truck.
After both getting settled in, Faith turned to Doug, a more hopeful expression shown on her face. He gave her a tiny smile, almost as hopeful as she was.
"Thank gosh for that," she said at last, once again propping her feet on the dash. "And, thanks for finally finding it."
"You're welcome, sis," he replied in a gentle tone. "I know it's been hard for us, but we'll get through this together."
His little sister smiled a slightly bigger smile, placing her hand on his arm. Even though they were both struggling to wrap their heads around their own dreams and other situations which they had yet to tell each other, they felt a little better.
"Remember that thing we did in our dream before we were interrupted by Freddy?" asked Doug as he turned on the engine.
He didn't have to explain further. Faith nodded, remembering that intimate sibling moment they had to wish each other good luck or be careful.
"Yes," she answered. "Why'd you ask?"
He switched the gear shift to reverse before answering.
"Don't be surprised if I do it tonight," he replied. "I want you to be careful tonight, if possible."
She nodded then smirked, completely understanding what her big brother said, especially considering that she was going to sleep tonight while he was staying up to look out for her. Although she would try her hardest not to get hurt, she had a feeling that there was no guarantee that she would wake up unscathed in the end. Bar one dream, she had always woken up with an injury, much to Doug's chagrin, he didn't like to see his little sister injured.
After backing up, Doug turned to leave CVS, the two now on their way home since it was still kind of on the early side to head to Crave Inn. They figured they'd drop off the pills and their backpacks at the house and depending on the time, would wait until it felt right to leave or leave soon after.
— — — — —
The walk to Nancy's grave wasn't far nor long for Neil and Maggie, who were heading there because Neil wanted a little more time to visit Nancy. The weight of the grief he carried for thirty years was still there, raw and thrash.
Neil passed by a few graves of people who he didn't know, Maggie keeping close behind him. He stopped for a moment, noticing that he wasn't far from Nancy's tomb. The summer air resonated around him, though it didn't take away the somber feelings that were slowly creeping up on him.
Maggie could see the pain in Neil's eyes after she caught up with him. She placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him and to tell him that while he was visiting Nancy, she would be right beside him.
"I wish she was here," said Neil at last, staring at Nancy's tomb and the sadness was evident in his voice. "I know she saved lives, but...why did she have to die?"
"She's here in spirit," replied Maggie quietly.
Neil nodded sadly as he continued, finally stopping in front of Nancy's grave. He knelt, the grief growing rawer as he looked at Nancy's tomb.
This was not where she was supposed to be. She's supposed to be here and alive, and who knows, still working at Westin Hills? God, I miss you, Nancy.
Maggie knelt beside the grieving man, placing a hand on his shoulder again, trying to offer him some support. She figured he would break down soon, so she offered him her comfort.
"Hi again, Nancy," said Neil quietly, trying to fight tears. "I just...I wanted to talk to you again. It's been thirty years, and I miss you. I- "
A sudden aching wave of sorrow and grief washed through him, threatening to pull him under that he was unable to force back tears and incoming sobs building up in his throat. He didn't think it would hit this bad, even after thirty years. The grief was much too raw and thrash, too painful for him that he doubled over a bit over Nancy's grave. Even with the rumors that had been going around, he wished she was alive to help any kids from the nightmares, the fact that she wasn't was immensely painful.
Maggie could see him losing it and could hear his grief-stricken sobs, so she rubbed his back, trying to comfort him as he was loudly mourning over Nancy's grave. She already knew that he dearly missed Nancy, knowing that trying to take away his pain and grief away wasn't an option. He needed the time to grieve.
After the grief-stricken breakdown, Neil looked up at Nancy's tomb, hoping he wouldn't break down again when talking to Nancy's grave.
"I need your help, Nancy," he said at last, once again, the pain was evident in his voice. "He's back...the rumors. I don't even know how it all started."
He looked at his surroundings for a moment, secretly hoping Nancy would return as a ghost to talk to him. Nancy didn't show up, but the next thing he saw left him in complete horror.
In front of Nancy's grave, there he saw the graves of Joey Crusel, Roland Kincaid, and Kristen Parker. The remaining Dream Warriors were dead, something he never knew about but now after finding their graves, he wished he hadn't known about. The breakdown he had earlier cued up again, the tears pouring down his eyes and his sobs sounded so full of anguish.
Not Kristen, not Joey, not Kincaid! No! Why are they here, in graves? They should be alive! Not buried in the ground! No!
Maggie continued rubbing the older man's back as he audibly mourned for Nancy, Kristen, Joey, and Kincaid, the sound of his sobs pained her greatly. It reminded her of her old sessions with Layla, the latter sounding so scared over her nightmares she had to explain to the older woman. In the back of her mind, Maggie knew that Layla was likely so worried and scared about her children who the fifty-six-year old had yet to meet.
Neil though still mourned for the fallen Dream Warriors, the weight of the thought crushing his chest and lungs with each sob he let out. At the same time, the struck of disbelief was aching his core and pounding in his mind. He wasn't sure what felt stronger, the grief of the disbelief.
"Neil, we'll always be with you."
The man in question stopped crying, eyes widening in surprise, given the voice didn't come from Maggie. He wiped the tears from his eyes then looked up, eyes widening more, and he gave a sad smile when he saw what looked to be a translucent-like figure of Nancy Thompson, standing behind her tombstone. The gray strand of hair buried in her curly brown hair was impossible to miss.
"Nancy!" he smiled.
The woman smiled at him, just when he saw four other translucent-like figures walking forward, stopping beside her, all familiar to Neil. The first figure next to Nancy was a tall, average built man who looked to be no older than forty with brown hair, the police badge he wore that bore his name Lt. Donald Thompson was impossible to miss. The other three figures were much younger, teenagers, the first teenager was standing next to Donald, pushing his long brown hair away from his face, revealing the face of Joey Crusel. The second teenager, a blonde-haired teenager who was standing on the other side of Nancy turned to her, as if wanting to ask her something. After a moment passed, the teenager turned to Neil, her kind smile was evident then she turned to the teenager beside her, a dark-skinned teenager with black hair, gesturing for him to say hello to Neil.
"Joey, Kristen, Kincaid," said Neil happily, yet sounding pained at the same time on account over how greatly saddened that the remaining Dream Warriors had died, and he found out today. "Gosh, I missed you all."
The five smiled at Neil and Maggie despite the unexpected reunion between two very alive people and five ghosts.
After a few seconds, Neil dropped his smile, replacing it with a look of sorrow and despair. The pain was evident in his eyes and Maggie, taking notice of the older man's expression, rubbed his back to comfort him.
"You have to listen to me," he began, his voice drenched with despair. "He's back."
...
Hey guys! Sorry I was a little slow with this chapter, as I was with the previous chapter! Not only did I start yet another semester at college, I was also a little sidetracked with playing and recording Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order! FALLEN ORDER! It's an awesome game! But holy freaking cow, this chapter ended up being a lot longer than I thought it would be originally. As much as I love writing this story and want to get chapters out as soon as possible, I don't want to make it into what I guess would be a type-written version of "chicken scratch" with barely any effort in editing like with my earlier chapters, but I'm kinda considering on heavily editing the earlier chapters and then reposting them, at least the ones I wrote in first person POV. I mean, the main ideas of the chapters would still be the same (including Layla telling Doug and Faith about Freddy, the siblings' first encounters, etc.), but I would try to edit and revise the grammar and stuff, possibly extending scenes and even adding some scenes, as well as changing the point of view to third person, making the writing itself look cleaner. Don't know if I should or not, still debating, but if you'd like to give your input on that, I would very much appreciate it. :)
I'm gonna be real honest, the Maggie and Neil scenes were pretty challenging for me to write, mostly on account on their characters. It's still sad that we never learn what happened to Neil in later movies after Dream Warriors. He's honestly an underrated character!
By the way, I also have a sliver bit of references from some of the comics with a few slight AUs, just to clarify a few things, considering how I added Neil and Maggie to the story. I probably should've cleared that up sooner, but better late than never.
I thought it would be fun to have not only the ghosts of Nancy and Kristen in, but also of Donald Thompson, Roland Kincaid, and Joey Crusel (I had to check the wiki to see if I spelled his last name right, LOL). To be honest, I'll consider having them in future chapters. Before y'all ask me, Patricia Arquette is the best Kristen! I don't make up the rules! I don't hate Tuesday Knight as Kristen, but Patricia really is the better Kristen. In fact, if Kristen Parker appears in any future chapters or any future ANOES fanfics, I'll always imagine Patricia as Kristen. Anyway, if y'all are curious if any other old characters will appear in this story, I cannot say because it'll spoil things if I say anything. And if I do, I want to be able to do so in a way that'll work with the story, especially for the OCs because if I do add them, there is a good chance they'll end up interacting with the OCs in some way, at least with how I'm planning to take this story.
Along with the Maggie and Neil scenes being rather challenging to write, writing Doug's daydream was also pretty challenging. I'm sorry I couldn't let him be safe after having a daydream just barely two hours earlier! Poor Doug, LOL! I know I mentioned that out of all the OCs, Doug is probably my favorite one to write. I originally wasn't going to have him have dream at all, but after a bit, I decided that having a long moment of reflection would get really boring, so I added the dream sequence to hopefully spice it up. But yeah, poor Doug! And speaking of the daydream scene, when I originally wasn't going to have a dream sequence at all, and the interaction between Doug and Faith afterward was going to be a bit different. However, once I decided to add the dream sequence, I in turn had to change the siblings' interaction scene to try to make it fit the situation. I guess it was a somewhat pain in the butt, but worth it. XD
Also, should Donald Thompson make future appearances, I may end up referring to him as Donald T in the narration, and possibly the same for Kristen Parker as Kristen P. This is to prevent any confusion between the NOES characters Donald and Kristen and my OCs of Donald and Kristen. Should any old characters return later with the same names as my OCs, I may have to do that. Just wanted to clear that up.
Pardon the kinda long author's note, lol! Until next time, see you guys in the next chapter! :)
-ReconditeAgony
