The ghosts of Nancy, Donald T, Kristen P, Joey, and Kincaid all widened their eyes in surprise then turned to each other, as if they were talking amongst themselves. This went on for roughly fifteen seconds before it was Nancy that spoke.
"He's back? How?"
"We're not too sure," said Maggie. "A lot of the information is only pieces, not much as adding up. There were rumors among adults, but I'm thinking a teenager living in the area must've brought him back. One of my old patients actually lives in that one house with her husband and two kids, both apparently having nightmares, though I've never met the kids yet, but I will tonight, taking Neil of course."
Donald T shook his while the others seemingly stood there in stunned silence, Kincaid and Joey especially finding it hard to swallow the facts. It seemed that out of the five, Donald T, Joey, and Kincaid had the hardest time trying digest what Maggie said.
"We destroyed that motherfucker thirty years ago until he came back a year later because Kristen kept visiting his boiler room," huffed Kincaid. "What happened since then?"
"After killing you and then Joey," began Kristen P, turning to him. "He killed me and during my final moments, I had no choice. I gave my best friend Alice Johnson my power."
"I know that," said Neil quickly. "Remember what happened eight years ago? He came back and you as these ghosts helped us defeat him."
Maggie closed her eyes, trying to remember the said time. It had been about eight years since Freddy last returned before in the last decade, and she fought alongside the ghosts, Neil, Alice Johnson, Jacob Johnson, Stephanie Kimble, Ash Williams and various others as the Nightmare Warriors to defeat Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees which had ended in a success. No one among the group had died, but it didn't mean no one left unscathed.
Gosh, no wonder why we all went into hiding after all of that, thought Maggie as she tried to regain her memory of standing by the very people that helped her.
However, when Maggie was just inches away from grasping the good memories of standing by the Nightmare Warriors that she saw was within reach in her mind, when something clawed it away like how claws would rip a picture. Maggie gasped, unsure what was going on at first, but then her mind began to register that her father, who had been haunting her mind for the past few weeks, was once again trying to plague her sanity, causing a splitting headache to build up in her head. It was painful enough that she cried out in pain, just when she heard the dark, evil laughter of her father, though after she recovered, she looked around and couldn't find him anywhere.
"Hello again, Katherine," he said. "Closing your eyes just for a little something? How amusing. Definitely what that rather handsome guy Douglas did earlier- "
Maggie opened her eyes, turned to her left then jumped in fear as she came face to face with the monster that was once her father. The monster she had already encountered at least ten times in the three-week period since she learned he returned, a random adult she never got the name of who lived in the area told her. While he'd done nothing but toy with her, she tried several times to get rid of him, but he knew what was coming. She tried pulling him out of the dream world, he knew what was coming and blocked her many attempts.
It had already been obvious to her that he'd grown stronger, so strong that she was almost certain it would take multiple people to destroy him, one person alone wasn't enough. He had been since his unexpected return a few weeks ago, and she worried that he would either succeed in taking hold of her, or potentially killing her. He tried to possess her eight years ago during the formation of the Nightmare Warriors, she resisted, but that didn't mean she was completely freed from her fractured mind.
Since Freddy's return a few weeks ago, the fifty-six-year old woman was beginning to have a feeling that this encounter with Freddy was almost like her first encounter with him. Apart from having known her true identity, this encounter had taken a much more brutal turn, he was far more sadistic in trying to enter her soul and he'd become more physically brutal, something she didn't know he'd use so much. She had been able to resist, but at this point, she didn't know how much longer she could withstand this pain before he would officially break her.
Despite hearing her father's words, she said nothing, though she was frightened. The only thing she heard now was silence. She looked around and noticed that Neil and the ghosts of Nancy Thompson, Donald Thompson, Kristen Parker, Joey Crusel, and Roland Kincaid all were gone and instead, there stood Freddy Krueger beside Nancy's grave. His twisted smile was enough to send a wave of chills through Maggie's spine as she stood up then backed away from him.
Every memory of her dealing with him swam violently in her head as her directs were directed to his. From first encountering him, to learning the truth about her identity after John Doe's death, to facing her father, to blowing him up that all happened sixteen years ago. Initially, she remembered being quite happy she finally gotten rid of the monster, but as time passed, she really took considerable thought about the events, and the memories haunted her, forever fracturing her mind. She stayed in Central City after fighting him there, she needed time to really process the news on her backstory.
"It's in your blood," she remembered him saying.
The next round of memories from her second main encounter with Freddy in 2009 began to plague her mind just as violently as the ones from 2001. Freddy, hellbent on getting back his daughter, returned with greater vengeance. Maggie felt this firsthand, every time he tried, she'd remember the blinding pain in her head being so intense, it nearly left her crying. The murderer who was her father, nearly succeeded in possessing her, the way he wanted to get her back. However, she remembered the Nightmare Warriors, she couldn't do this to them. With her own willpower and her devotion to never be like her father, she resisted, aiding the warriors in finally defeating him. The memory greatly pained her mind, she hated remembering that he almost succeeded in possessing her.
The brunette woman's thoughts were interrupted when a second round of blinding pain hit her head, causing her to double over and cry out in pain and what followed was the dark, evil laughter of her father. She knew what was happening, he was trying once again to possess her, but she refused to let it happen. Springwood was already in enough danger from the deaths she heard about but having her added to Freddy's act of brutalizing torment was stepping overboard.
"I told you it's in your blood, but you wouldn't listen," sneered Freddy as he shoved Maggie against one of the graves then placed his bladed finger under her chin. "Oh, Katherine. You would've done well."
"Never!" shouted Maggie, shoving the dream demon away from her. "I'll never join your murderous game! I won't let you hurt anymore children!"
He doubled over then guffawed loudly, the sound haunting Maggie's ears. She wondered what was so funny about what she said that made Freddy laugh, but she was afraid to ask him. Remembering how he was in the past few times she encountered him, pissing him off at the wrong time was something she had no desire to do.
"You are long too late," said Freddy bluntly after he recovered from his laughing fit. "I've already taken five souls. I've already taunted the others who know about me, especially your old patient's kids."
The fifty-six-year old woman said nothing at first. Instead, she stood tall and strong, hoping she could muster the same courage she built up in the past two main encounters she had with Freddy. She was not willing to give in to Krueger because she knew it would mean Springwood would be that much closer to losing all hope.
Freddy on the other hand had never felt more alive than ever before. With already five souls collected with more to go, he found this to be the most fun he had at his job in twelve years. Especially when it came to stalling on killing two people he had grown a lust for a few days ago, but a more twisted lust, as his lust for them involved him torturing them. He had a master plan, to possess Maggie and use her to further torture the two kids, and he was now hoping for it to succeed.
"I know you did," fumed Maggie. "This will be for what you did to them."
Balling her hands into a fist, she tackled her father to the ground like she did sixteen years ago. Without hesitation, she tried to bend his hand backward, something she did without much effort the last she battled him alone. Unfortunately, Freddy laughed as he shoved her down to the ground, knowing full well he was much stronger, even his own daughter had no chance bending his rules.
"That was very foolish of you, Katherine," sneered Freddy as he stood by her, towering over her. "I thought you would've remembered from last time. Pitiful."
Maggie let out a long and loud battlecry as she charged at him again, this time with more force using as much strength as she could muster, then tackled him to the ground. She refused to let him try hurt anyone else, regardless of the fact that he was her father.
"Maggie! Maggie!"
Immediately noticing that it wasn't Freddy calling her name, it didn't take her long to snap her head back into reality as she turned to Neil who was looking at her rather worriedly. She stared at him in surprise, unsure what to do or say, given how much of a fright she was given in her dream. Shuddering, she brushed herself off then gave Neil an "I'm okay" expression, making as convincing as possible. She didn't want dwell on it right now when she was at the cemetery to pay her respect for the long-fallen Nancy Thompson and the other fallen Dream Warriors.
Neil was at first unsure, but he noticed that the woman's eyes told him that she was sure that she was okay. He decided not to press her on further on whatever was bothering her. He had noticed earlier that she had fallen into a trance when she had her eyes closed then noticed her body stiffen, only to hear her let out an agonized scream. It took him a while to shake her out of her trance and here she was, looking a little shaken.
"Are you sure you want to come back here later today?" he asked.
"I'm sure," said Maggie, turning her direction back to Nancy's grave, noticing that the ghosts she saw earlier were gone but she did not question it. "I want to pay my respect for these fallen kids. I know who killed them and I've been trying to stop him since earlier this month. It's been no use."
She did not elaborate on the subject any further. Just moments after her dream, she didn't feel comfortable mentioning it, so she kept silent. Instead, she reached out to Nancy Thompson's tomb, tracing the tip of her fingers along Nancy's name carved on the tomb.
"I'm sorry, Nancy," she whispered.
Barely a moment passed when the former psychologists stood up then turned to leave the cemetery. They were now going to head back home for the time being until the funeral later today, both though with everything swarming in their minds like angry bees. They needed time to process everything from the small conversation with the ghosts and Maggie needed time to process her latest dream, which had only furthered her determination on going to see Layla after the funeral. Neil was the one who drove as now, what was currently on their minds was that funeral they overheard about and meeting Layla Knight, her husband, and two kids.
— — — — —
"Charlene, you and Kristen mind hearing me out?" asked Reed Payne, brown eyes directing their attention to his friend Charlene Cooper.
He, Charlene, and their friend Kristen Lopez were seated at a private area in a Starbucks, the three having headed straight there after they were unexpectedly released from school. Well, Reed already had a vague idea why, but Kristen L. and Charlene had no idea why. The two girls didn't even know what went on with Mandy since they tried texting Mandy several times about meeting up at Starbucks to offer her support after Jake's untimely death, only there was no reply.
"Sure," said Charlene, pushing her straight blonde hair away from her face, her green eyes directed to him.
Kristen L. leaned forward; her brown eyes now directed their attention to Reed. She knew that at this point, she and Charlene had sent five text messages each to Mandy, asking her for a meet up. However, the fact that Mandy hadn't responded was beginning to worry Kristen L. and Charlene, and with how urgent Reed's tone was, it was best for the girls to listen.
"Do any of you girls know anything about a guy named Freddy Krueger or something?" asked Reed.
The girls froze from fear, as if they'd just heard a ghost story or had seen a ghost, but after taking a moment, they gave him a look that said, "yes we do." It was Kristen L. who spoke as she pushed her curly red hair away from her face.
"He's an ugly guy who appears in your dreams. He taunts you and hurts you. Luckily, Char and I haven't received any scars, but I've heard enough shit from Mandy and Jake that he's ruthless."
"And now with Jake dead, what the hell is left on our hands?" added Charlene. "And what about Mandy? I have a bad feeling about what is up with her."
Reed sighed sadly as he sunk back into his seat, remembering the events that happened in Spanish. He and Mandy noticed something was off with the girl next to Mandy...Faith! It looked like she was daydreaming, but there was noticeable pain in her eyes, and he could see something was haunting her. It was when he heard her cry out in sudden pain that he realized something was more than just wrong with her as the terror and the pain in her eyes growing more evident than before. Mandy was the first rush to the girl's side and tried to shake her out of her trance. After a few seconds, Faith was shaken out of her trance but was quite shaken from whatever must've happened.
Things couldn't have gotten any worse, but Reed found himself to be very wrong. He noticed that Mandy had fallen asleep, assuming she must've been tired from the movie. Things got critical when he heard a sickening crunch, followed by the glass shattering in the classroom then he took notice of Mandy slumped down in her seat. He heard the cry of "no" from Faith as he went to see what was going on. It was bad when he realized that Mandy was dead, her bloodied and broken corpse made it evident enough for him to make that conclusion.
"It's bad," he said. "Mandy was in my Spanish class...I don't know how the hell it happened, but...she's gone."
Charlene's expression was full of disbelief while Kristen P's expression was full of shock. Both found it hard to believe exactly what they just heard from their friend.
"How?" muttered Charlene, shaking her head in disbelief.
Reed shuddered, now remembering the name that Mandy told him before she died. The name that held so much significance for reasons he found it hard to believe.
"I think Freddy Krueger might have something to do with it," he answered as he sat up in his seat. "I don't know the details though."
"Shit!" gasped Kristen L. "I heard they sent everyone at the college close by on early release as well. But, oh fuck! Mandy!"
"Dammit!" hissed Charlene, still trying to digest the news of her friend's death. "I'll kill that son of a bitch! It'll be for Mandy and for Jake...same for Weston, Crystal, and Sharon."
Reed sat in stunned silence; eyes directed to the floor now deeply pondering about Freddy Krueger. He found himself becoming rather curious, especially after first hearing the name then he saw what he thought might have been a minor exorcism of Faith to Mandy's unexpected death. He already in a way concluded that this Freddy Krueger person might have played a role in Mandy's death, but now, he was beginning to think that Freddy might have played in a role in the minor exorcism of Faith. Perhaps the next time he saw Faith, he could ask her if that was what was troubling her earlier and try to help her, Kristen L, and Charlene.
"You know, I can help you two and someone else," he offered as he looked up at the girls, a more hopeful tone to his voice. "Especially with that Freddy guy."
The girls looked at him, raising their eyebrows in surprise for a moment, then lowered them as they smiled at him. There was that stash of hope they were longing for since earlier this month.
"Thanks Reed," smiled Charlene.
Reed gave her an "no problem" wink, causing her and her best friend to laugh at him. Instead of the negative energy, there was a more hopeful energy that channeled through them and now, they hoped it would last.
"Who's that someone else you said you can help with Freddy?" wondered Kristen L.
"One of my Spanish classmates," replied Reed. "Earlier in that class, I heard her scream and it seemed like she was having a minor exorcism and I think this Freddy Krueger guy might have something to do with it. I want to help her too. I think she said her name is Faith. I last talked to her after we were released from class and she seemed frightened, like something was haunting her, which now I'm guessing it's Freddy. She didn't say though, and she looked like she didn't want to elaborate further on it. I didn't ask her to at first, but now, maybe I should the next time I see her."
Kristen L shook her head in disagreement.
"Reed," she began. "The way you're putting it, maybe she has a reason why she won't tell you. I've never met her, but I don't think you should push her into answering."
"I'm with Kristen on this one," agreed Charlene.
Reed sighed then slumped back into his seat. He was hoping that with the new knowledge on his belt, he could try to have his classmate open up about what was troubling her the next time he saw her. He wondered how he could approach her without making it look like he was trying to scare her, at first glance, she seemed like a nice person. He just wanted answers from her so that he could help her.
"Dammit," he hissed. "All I wanted to do was help her. We damn sure aren't alone in this shit and neither will she."
He took a sip of his iced coffee then looked down at the table, now pondering deeply. Kristen L and Charlene gave each other troubled expressions, knowing that Reed was now on the borderline of being quite pushy. They knew he was often notorious for being a little pushy, and this situation was no exception.
The best friends were still deeply troubled and saddened by the news of Mandy's death, but they mouthed to each other that if either of them were to go to sleep, they would "kill the bastard" themselves. However, they had no idea on how much worse Krueger had become with tormenting his victims since their friend Sharon Mights's death, and at least one of them was bound to find out sooner than later.
— — — — —
As he watched the body of Mandy Ross being rolled away in a gurney, Detective Chuck Bennet shuddered, knowing the culprit behind yet another unexpected death, but knowing spilling it would be greater trouble. He kept the details disclosed in his mind, though the entire situation scared him. It wasn't just that he had been there the four times before this and seeing the bloodied bodies, but also knowing that there was one person living here who was currently suffering from the dreams, a family member.
Oh god, Donald...
The thought of his little cousin currently stuck in these nightmares scared him, so much that he tensed his muscles then ran his hand through his dark brown hair, frustrated that it seemed that he and his team couldn't do much about the threat taking these lives. While he knew no one at Donald Quin's age so far had been killed by the monster, he knew that these college kids affected by the dreams would soon be killed off.
He remembered first learning about Freddy Krueger's existence through a frantic seventeen-year old Jacob Anderson who pulled Chuck aside to tell him what was going on, just days before Weston Heights's death. Chuck himself wasn't superstitious, but he remembered overhearing rumors before, which was enough for him to connect the dots on everything.
However, he was gravely shaken from the news when he learned his little cousin Donald Q was then having these dreams of a burnt man with blades for nails. He felt so bad for the younger man stuck in his dilemma and Chuck himself was scared that these rumors managed to reach to the twenty-year old and now, the twenty-six-year old police detective was beyond frightened. He was terrified.
He shuddered again as he wrapped his arms around his average frame, the bloodied and broken body of Mandy Ross still fresh in his mind from when he and the team first entered the classroom. It scared him to think that the one name he heard rumors among adults go off on was planted at the core of his mind.
"Hey, are you okay, Chuck?"
The man relaxed his arms then turned to see it was his teammate and fiancée, Camilla Castillo who was looking at him worriedly. He sighed then shook his head. Truthfully, he wasn't, he'd been too wrapped up in his thoughts to see a brighter side in this situation, which he supposed was justifiable.
Camilla walked up to him then placed hand on his shoulder, hoping what she was doing was enough to comfort him. She knew how troubled he was, especially with the unexpected deaths and his worries for his younger cousin. While she didn't know the details like he did because he refused to tell her out of worry for her, she understood enough of why he'd become so troubled and scared even when on the job.
"It'll be okay," she said soothingly, now rubbing circles on his back, trying to alleviate his worries. "I know how worried you've been, but we'll get through this."
Chuck nodded, but in the back of his mind, he wasn't so sure. He had a bad feeling that things would escalate quickly and not in a good way. The thought sent a strong nervous and anxious feeling at the pit of his stomach, a strong kind of worry that he wasn't sure if he was able to stomach or not.
Yes, he knew his job required handling quite alarming cases, but for reasons he couldn't put his finger on, this one hit closer to home. He pitted that on his cousin having these nightmares and the anxiety seemed to resonate deep into his chest.
"It's a lot to take in," he admitted, gazing down at the pavement. "I've done many strange cases since I first got here, but this is the strangest of them all. Another team already shut down other facilities in close proximity, one of them being Springwood College. This is too big of an unexpected murder case to just close off the high school. Cam, I've never been so scared about a case in my life."
He shuddered again, now deep in thought about what could come next, which he hoped wouldn't be for the worst. He could barely fathom how quickly the entire situation was escalating while trying to contain the information had been incredibly difficult. Shortly after Chief Byron Jones sent out the alert yesterday, many policemen and policewomen in Springwood were bombarded with questions, mostly among people who didn't know the real reason behind the mysterious deaths in the teenage population.
Chuck had to keep the information behind the deaths behind closed doors, but instead told them about an "unknown serial killer" who seemed to have a fetish for teens. The thought sounded incredibly morbid and downright unnerving, but as long as he and the squad could protect other citizens from the true events, the better. However, that still didn't alleviate his fears and anxieties.
Camilla stopped rubbing circles on her troubled fiancé's back then wrapped her arms around him in a comforting embrace. She completely understood how deeply troubled he was, but she knew she couldn't just outright tell him that his little cousin would be fine. Chuck's acute worrying wouldn't let him lessen his fears. All she could do now was to be right by him and understand him if he chose to finally get a chance to visit the twenty-year old.
"Detective Bennett! You might want to come back into the room. There's something else here!"
Chuck was startled out of his trance by his fellow teammate, Bill Calloway, who was directing him back inside the building. Surprised, Chuck signaled to Camilla that he would be back shortly then followed Bill to the building.
"Chuck, you might want to check something else out," said Bill as he entered the building, leaving it open for Chuck to come in. "Whatever the hell happened in that classroom, there's a very friendly note waiting for us, seems like it's from that Freddy Krueger guy."
Chuck shuddered, but he said nothing, instead following him down the hall of the building, his heart hammering in his chest from what Bill told him. After noticing the very serious tone in Bill's voice, he made one major conclusion in his head.
This isn't good at all.
...
Hey again guys! So, after taking a good amount of time thinking, I think it'll be best for me to edit the earlier chapters, the ones in first person POV. As I mentioned before, the main plot points will still be the same, but the scenes will be extended and possibly some scenes will be added, overall, the scenes will go through a lot of changes, but it won't affect the main plot points.
Before you ask, yes, we'll learn some more about Chuck later on and I've pretty much locked a sizable role for him in the story. I decided to maybe have someone in the police who isn't incompetent (like they usually are in horror movies, lmfao) have a good role in the story. Chuck ended up being the character I would focus on, though we will also learn a little more on Camilla as well.
I'm sorry for the bunch load of subplots that seems to be building up in the story. Half of the stuff here happened to be thought of pretty soon before I put it on paper, as in it's added days before I publish the chapter. Like here with adding police detective Chuck Bennett was just a recent idea.
Okay, I usually don't do public service announcements on here or anything, but with the whole situation going on in the world concerning the coronavirus, please be careful! Wash your hands, stay home if you're sick, take any precautions necessary to protect yourself against this virus! Unfortunately, some handlings of the coronavirus leave us much left to be desired, one of them being how the U.S. is handling the situation and since I'm in the U.S., it's pretty bad. However, hopefully it'll all be resolved in the end, maybe sooner than later, but's that's wishful thinking, LOL.
Anyway, strap in for the next chapter, whenever it'll be coming!
-ReconditeAgony
