Chapter 2

"W … what did you say?" Kristen replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I said … Kincaid's dead, his mom found him this morning when she went to wake him for breakfast. You know what they are going to say, they are going to rule it an unexplained death, just like the others, or they are going to find something to blame it on …. Anything but him." Joey said bitterly.

"Maybe it's better that way, Freddy feeds on fear, the less people know, the less fear there is to go around." Kristen offered.

"Maybe you're right … Listen, I have to go, I have to get to work, we'll talk later, okay?" Joey said, his voice flat as he cut their connection.

Kristen looked at her watch and realized she was late for her first class.

"Shit!" she cursed as she piled her books into her backpack.


Nancy sat out on the deck at Neil's house on the outskirts of Springwood on the edge of the forest, deep in thought as she took a deep sip of her coffee. For the first time in a long time, she had had this horrible feeling of dread ever since she had woken up.

"Hey, everything okay?" Neil asked as he joined her with his own steaming cup of fresh coffee.

"Yeah … I'm … I just …. Have this terrible feeling I can't shake." She said as he pulled up a chair next to her.

"Freddy?" He asked, his face serious.

"Yes … and no … I don't know. I know he'll never be truly gone, he will always be there waiting in the shadows." She said, just then her phone rang.

"Hello?" Nancy said.

There was no answer from the other end of the line.

"Hello?" Nancy said again.

"N … Nancy?" Kristen's voice sounded very small.

"Kristen? What's the matter?" Nancy said.

"Nancy … Kincaid was killed last night."

Nancy almost dropped her phone.

"Killed?!" She breathed.

"Nancy, what's going on? Who was killed?" Neil said, Nancy held up a hand, asking him to wait.

"His mom found him this morning … it was him, Nancy, he's trying to get to you and I through our friends!" Kristen said as she started to hyperventilate over the phone.

"Kristen! Kristen calm down, breathe! I'm on my way." Nancy said as she hung up and rushed into the bedroom to dress.

"Nancy …! What the hell is going on?!" Neil demanded, having to dodge out of her way as she flitted about the room, trying to brush her teeth and dress at the same time.

"Neil, Kincaid's dead, his mother found him dead in his bed this morning." She said as she stopped to look at him, her beautiful blue eyes swimming with tears.

"Oh, god." He replied as she hurriedly finished dressing.

"Hold up, I'll go with you." He said as he hurried to the closet and threw a set of clothes on the bed without looking at them.

"No … you can't." She said, her words coming out unintentionally harsh, and she immediately regretted it as hurt flashed in Neil's eyes.

"I'm sorry, this is just something I have to do alone, okay?" She offered as she took him by the hands.

Neil let out a ragged sigh. "Okay, just call me when you get there." He said in earnest as he cupped her face in his hands and made her look into his eyes.

"I will, I promise." She said, giving him a goodbye kiss as she hurried out the door.


"Nancy!" Kristen said, embracing her as soon as she opened the door.

"Kristen, I'm so sorry." Nancy said as she hugged the poor girl tightly.

"He got to him somehow, Nancy, and it wasn't because of me, I've been taking hypnocil since I was discharged from Westin Hills; he's found another way. Nancy, you have to be careful, he can get to any of us whenever he wants! No one is safe!" Kristen said as she started to hyperventilate again.

"Kristen, Kristen, please! Why don't you lie down?" Nancy said as she helped the distraught girl to bed.

"Will you stay with me, in case I fall asleep?" She pleaded.

"Of course, Kristen, I'll be right here." She replied as she brushed a lock of hair out of Kristen's eyes and offered her a reassuring smile.

Kristen was sound asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, poor kid. Nancy made herself some tea and pulled up a chair next to Kristen's bed, she dug into her purse for her phone, suddenly remembering she had promised to call Neil.

She smiled to herself as he picked up on the first ring.

"Nancy!" His voice sounded relieved.

"I'm sorry I took so long to call you, Kristen was pretty distraught and it took me a while to get her settled down. She's sleeping now."

"How are you doing, Nancy. You sound exhausted." Neil said, worry was evident in his voice.

"I'm fine, I'm still feeling a little off, probably from the stress." Nancy said, unable to keep the weariness out of her voice.

"Nancy, I'm coming over." Neil said, the tone of his voice told her that protesting would be for naught, Nancy blew out a sigh.

"See you when you get here, and be careful!" She said, as she hung up, she turned her attention back to Kristen, who was still sleeping soundly, a restful look on her young face.


Joey struggled to stay awake at his computer, he was dead on his feet, he had been up for the last sixteen hours, pulling double shifts at the paper, trying to make ends meet. He caught himself dozing again and patted his face roughly.

"Come on … Joey!" He said angrily to himself as he shook his head vigorously.

"What's the matter, Joey? Gonna miss your deadline?" a voice growled into his ear.

Joey let out a shout and whirled around in his chair, he began to panic as he saw he was no longer in his apartment.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Joey repeated over and over again, his heart was pounding so hard that it could probably be heard in the silence of wherever he was. Disembodied laughter echoed around him, Joey whirled around in an endless dizzying circle, trying to find the source.

"Ahhhh Joey … long time, no see, you look good." Joey whirled around to see Freddy standing in front of him, he opened his mouth, but no sound would come out.

"What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" He growled.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Joey bellowed, using his dream power and sending a blast of sound waves at Freddy, who shielded himself as he was blasted back.

Joey didn't wait around, he turned to run … and ran smack into Freddy.

"Your cheap little party trick isn't gonna work this time, Joey." He said as cupped the side of Joey's face with his bladed hand.

"Normally I like to play with my food before I eat it, but I have more …. Pressing matters to attend to." Freddy said as he slit poor Joey's throat from ear to ear in one cruel swipe of his blades and threw him aside like trash.


Kristen slowly opened her eyes, she sat up in bed and suddenly realized that she was alone in her apartment. She suddenly heard a familiar voice calling her name, she recognized it as Joey's.

"Joey? Is that you?" Kristen said as she slowly got out of bed.

Joey materialized in front of her, holding his hands over his neck, blood seeped through his fingers and dripped onto the floor.

"K … Kristen … it's Freddy …. He's … back." Joey choked out as his apparition dissolved before her eyes and was replaced with Freddy's. Kristen let out a shriek and jumped back, she remembered now, she had forgotten to take her hypnocil before she had passed out.

"SOMEONE PLEASE WAKE ME UP!" she screamed as she shrank away from him.

"Why don't you call on one of your little friends, Kristen?" Freddy said as he slowly advanced on her.

"Never!" She replied as she stood to face him.

"If you're going to kill me, just go ahead and do it, I am not helping you get your victims anymore!" Kristen said.

"Joke's on you, bitch, I don't need you anymore." He said as he pinned her to the bed and buried his blades in her abdomen.


"Nancy, you look exhausted, why don't you take a rest, I'll watch over Kristen." Neil said as Nancy rubbed her eyes wearily, she realized that she had been awake for over twenty hours. She opened her mouth to answer him when Kristen suddenly started to convulse in her sleep.

"Help me!" Nancy cried as they ran to her bedside.

"Kristen! Wake up!" Nancy shouted as she shook her.

Kristen's eyes suddenly opened and her hands gripped Nancy's arms painfully.

"N … Nancy … Freddy he's …. He's back. Hypnocil … doesn't work …. Found … another way… it's you … Nancy … your …" She trailed off as the last of her breath left her and she died in Nancy's arms.


Nancy watched the coroner wheel Kristen's body out on a gurney, a cup of hot tea held in her trembling hands as a detective who introduced himself as Collins approached her.

"Ma'am, I am very sorry to have to ask you at a time like this, but can you go over for us again exactly what happened?" Nancy took a deep breath, she wasn't about to tell this cop that it was Freddy Kruger that killed Kristen, so she told him the same story she had been telling the police since they arrived.

"Like I told the other cops, she just … died in her sleep." Nancy said.

"A seemingly young, healthy girl dies in her sleep." Detective Collins said, the disbelief was evident in his voice.

"I think we are finished answering any questions without a lawyer present." Neil said as he came to stand beside Nancy and put his arm protectively around her shoulders.

"Forgive me for saying so, Doctor Gordon, but it will be better for the both of you if you cooperate with us." The detective said.

"I thought that's what we were doing." Neil replied as he held the officer's gaze with a hard one of his own.

Detective Collins blew out an exasperated sigh and dug into hisinside jacket pocket.

"Here's my card, if either of you remember anything, please give me a call." He said as he and the other officers started to slowly file out of Kristen's apartment.

"Nancy, why don't we go home, there is nothing more we can do here." Neil said.

Nancy blew out a weary sigh, sadly, he was right; they were walking toward the door when the room suddenly started pitching violently. The last thing Nancy remembered before everything went black, was Neil's frantic voice calling her name.