Chapter 9: Victims
Katherine felt a scalding blast of heat flutter over her face as she stepped into the power plant. The moment her father had disappeared she had considered using one of the weapons from his secret room. But to her rage when she had pulled the sheet away from the large shelf his various gloves, knives and other weapons of torture were gone. It appeared that he was not going to be giving her any advantage over him.
Despite trying to direct her attention towards the matter at hand, finding out who he had murdered. Her mind kept wandering to what had occurred earlier to her. How he had pinned her to that bench, ravaging her in that cruel, disgusting way. Just what the fuck was he thinking? Trying something new? He had violated her, raped her. One thing he said he would never to do her. She staggered to a stop at an intersecting corridor and held back an anguish sob, she had to push it to the back of her mind. Once she found out who he had maimed, he would erase her memory. At least he had promised her that.
She tried to take a long deep breath but felt as though her chest was being restricted. The air was too hot, unbearable. The soles of her feet were soaking with sweat as she hurriedly tottered down the sweltering passageway. Her eyers darted down each corridor quickly as she passed them, being greeted by darkness and she frowned as she slowed to a stop. Just exactly how was she going to find the bodies, they could be anywhere. Her mind began to wander, thinking back to a dream from a few nights ago, perhaps under a week ago.
A vague recollection flashed before her eyes of the corridor that she was in that night. There were two adjoining corridors at the end of passageway she was in. There was a mist blocking her from seeing him attacking his victim. But he had also stopped her from approaching them by creating those vestiges of blood, veins and arteries on the concrete ground under her feet, attaching to her flesh to keep her from venturing any further.
She slowly allowed her eyes to close, focusing her mind on trying to somehow transport her body to that place. There was no way she could waste any time meandering about her dream. For a moment she felt light-headed, taking an uneasy step backwards as her concentration began to wane. As she opened her brown eyes, she broke out into a little smile seeing that she was in a completely different corridor.
Screech…
Katherine spun around abruptly expecting to see him behind her, but the passage was empty. But still, she could feel his eyes upon her and without another thought she turned and walked briskly down the new corridor. Again, the searing heat caused her breathing to become uneven as she tried to regulate her breathing. Wiping away at the sweat on her forehead she eagerly looked around the rim of a wall and entered the next corridor. Another smile broadened across her face; she was there.
At the end of the new passage, she saw the small red-light bulb swaying lightly in the ceiling. Just around the corner was where her father had dragged that corpse. As she took a few steps forward her eyes lowered to the middle of the hallway, seeing the residues of thick muscle, veins and dried blood. To her horror it seemed that the remnants had spread across the width of the corridor, nearly blocking her path to the rest of the corridor. She held back a scowl of discontent and cautiously pressed her back against the wall to her right. There wasn't much room for her feet to maneuver by the remains, but she had to try. Her back went taut, and she raised herself onto the tips of her toes and inched slowly along the wall, placing her hands against the concrete to steady herself. Her toes brushed against the blood she grimaced in disgust and as she neared the last foot of the remains, she pushed herself from the wall and jumped. Her feet skidded along the concrete, and she collided into the far wall, with a cry.
Her hands shook as they pressed against the wall to straighten her body. After a moment of catching her breath, she staggered onwards and approached the end of the corridor. There was a steel wall and the end of a large circular steam boiler that was rusty and cracked. Lazily she began to arch her back against it but hissed from the scorching heat that radiated from the metal. Taking a step forward she pondered where to go next, then her ears became alert at the faint sound from the corridor that she had come from.
Averting her gaze to her left she took a hesitant step forward, straining to recognize the sound from amongst the pulsating rumblings of the boilers. Her eyes immediately lowered to the ground as she finally heard it. It was low, yet distinguishable. It was a low squeaking sound. She frowned as she saw something small, about a foot in length scurrying along the ground. There was a small tail visible at the back of the object and she gulped hard. It was a rat, with dark grey fur. The rodent scurried towards the vestiges and eagerly lapped and gnawed at the blood and bodily tissue.
Katherine chewed her bottom lip as the rat lifted its face towards her, the eyes were a blood red and with another high pitch squeak it dashed towards her feet. She squealed and jumped backwards as the flea infested vermin nibbled and snapped at her bare feet. From the top of the rusty boiler behind her a swarm of at least fifteen black haired, bloodied rats crawled from the darkness and leapt onto her hair and back.
Her scream echoed in the corridor as she frantically tugged and hit out at the rodents as they crawled over her hair, pecking and chewing at her hair with their sharp teeth and pointed claws. They slithered down her back, and along the back of her thighs digging into her nightdress, tearing plucks of thread from the fabric. She shrieked and her legs kicked out vehemently as she tried to discard them from her body. Suddenly, the pack of rats jumped from her frame and scampered off into the darkened corridor to her left, leaving her sobbing and breathless as she scuttled backwards.
Violent tremors wrecked her body as she raised her right hand to her heaving chest, another startled sob coming from her as she tried to gather her composure. Nervously she lifted her hands to her hair, raking her shaking fingers through her tresses to assure herself the rats were gone. Then did the same with her nightdress, running her palms over the front of her body and then around the back, along the arch of her spine and thighs. Satisfied that they were gone she carefully advanced down the corridor where the rats had disappeared to, hopeful in finding out what had lured them this direction. But she had an inkling what it was…
Her feet patted lightly on the hard concrete floor as she followed the low screeching sound of the pests as they scuttled onwards through the corridor. As she entered the next corridor, she quickly noticed there was a doorway directly ahead leading to a large room. Above was a faded sign that read – staff locker room.
Marching towards it she peered inside. It was quite large with about thirty black lockers that circled along the walls to either side of her. At the back was a table with a few broken chairs, a broken TV set and a busted radio. She noticed that a few of the locker doors were busted, hanging from its rusty hinges and she curiously walked towards them and glanced into the first three lockers noticing they were empty. Taking a step to the next locker she grasped the silver handle and yanked it opened, revealing nothing to her disappointment. It was quite a large locker, about seven feet in height and two feet in width. A substantial size for a body to be hidden in. She took a deep breath, then flung opened the next locker, again revealing nothing.
As her feet shuffled forward, she cringed as she felt a liquid coat the soles of her feet and she lowered her petrified gaze to see blood staining the ground along the edge of the next ten lockers. But what locker it was leaking from was hard to distinguish. Taking a few steps to the left she slowly crouched onto her knees and raked her eyes along the bottom of each locker, trying to discern any sign of blood dripping from the gaps in the metal. However, the faint lighting of the room was making it difficult.
Without another thought she took a quick step forward and began to pull each locker open. The first three were empty, but as she grasped the next handle, she felt the door shudder in the frame. Becoming stuck. Her left hand joined her right one and she sneered, tugging hard at the door with both hands. The doorframe shook in its frame but did not open. As she was about to yank at the handle again, she heard a scratching sound against the metal on the other side, then faint squeaking. She tensed and withdrew her hands from the handle, and she let out a shriek as a loud thud ricocheted against the door. It was though something was propelled against the metal. Breathing deeply, she again reached for the handle and as her fingers brushed against the steel there was a sharp creak as the door abruptly wrenched opened.
A cold, naked body of a young girl toppled onto her, and she screamed as she was thrust backwards onto the ground. The limbs of the corpse were heavy as Katherine desperately tried to shove the body off her. Another scream came from her as he finally noticed the rats scampering over the corpse, munching, and biting at the dead skin. With a cry she pushed the chest of the cadaver upwards and wiggled from underneath it, staggering to her feet, and crashed into the locker behind her. Soon, the foul smell of the excreting gases from the decaying corpse filled her nostrils and she gagged, covering her mouth with a shaky hand. Her eyes scoured over the corpse, seeing that the limbs and torso were bloated, while the skin was flabby, loose. The gender of the corpse was female and with a doubtful step Katherine moved closer to the girl's remains to scrutinize her more closely. Wide blue eyes were hidden behind bloodied blond hair. The rats continued to attack her dead skin that was blackened and bruised. A sign that her body was beginning to liquify. From beneath the rats that slithered over her chest and stomach, Katherine could discern that the breasts and chest area was carved and gutted, her heart and lungs were visible under the crack ribcage. Her organs were now blacked, rotten and putrid fluids were leaking from the girls' orifices. Staining the ground. For some disturbing reason Katherine could not tear her eyes from the girl's remains. Maybe her father was right, she perhaps was fascinated by the sight of mutilated carcasses. But this was something completely different. This body was in the beginnings of decay. She had never seen anything like this before.
Katherine took another slow step towards the body and perceived that amongst the severed flesh was a mass of maggot and centipedes. Her brown eyes roamed along the rest of the body, landing on the girl's right wrist that was hacked opened. The vermin that were crawling over the girl's corpse suddenly skittered off her body, allowing her to finally see the face of the victim who looked no older than fourteen years old. Holding back a sob Katherine again moved closer to the body and unexpectedly a faint voice echoed in her subconscious, whispering a name. Her lips parted as she quickly murmured the name aloud. "Jennifer…"
The vacant eyes of the corpse suddenly blinked, and Katherine screamed as the body lurched towards her, the hands missing her by inches as she rotated away to run out of the room as fast as he could. She heard an indistinct screech and his gritty impish laughter from where the room was as she dashed down the barren, hot corridors. She abruptly came to a stop at the bottom of a stairwell and leaned against the railing catching her haggard breath. The horrid image of that corpse flaunted through her mind again and she knew that by the of the night she would be more traumatized than she already was at this present moment.
Nonetheless, she had to preserve.
It was one down, three to go.
Pushing herself away from the bottom of the steps she staggered onwards down the passageway and soon came across a heavy metal door that led into a narrow passage. Her eyes wandered to the left then the right as she crossed the boundary into the passageway. Thick metal walls stretched onwards on each side for about fifteen feet, then the metal began to curve slightly to the right around the corner disappearing into the darkness beyond. She took a few hesitant steps into the corridor and then froze, considering her options. But as she was about to turn back a metallic groan echoed as the metal door slammed shut, sealing her inside. Her teeth chewed nervously at her lips as she walked to the door and her eyebrows puckered slightly as there was no handle or lever to open the door. "Shit!" she grumbled.
Crossing her arms huffily she spun around and marched onwards down the darkened corridor, her eyes squinted in the dim light, and she jumped as a lightbulb flickered on high from the ceiling above. She shielded her eyes and titled her head discerning that the ceiling was at least thirty-five feet above her, while she could see the faint metal outline of a catwalk. Pulling her gaze back to the corridor she turned the corner and saw a dead end about ten feet ahead of her. "God damn it!"
Along the wall about fifteen from the ground she saw a ledge, about five feet in length and she took a few steps to study it more meticulously and saw that there was a square metal exit beyond the ledge covered by a thick metal grating. It was a way out. A pleased smile broke out across her face, but then it disappeared a frown appearing instead. How was she meant to climb up there? Her brown orbs scanned along the wall, looking for any pipes or grooves or holes in the walls that could be used as leverage to climb up to the ledge. But the walls were smooth, with no holes or dents to aid her.
Scowling in irritation she took a few steps back then felt a surge of water cascading around her bare feet. She swirled around and gasped as a steady stream of dirty water flowed towards her. The liquid was warm and within seconds the water had covered her ankles, rising quickly. She teetered backwards as another gush of water flowed towards her and she soon found the water above her knees. Her head flickered over towards the ledge, and she smirked, if the water were high enough, she could climb up onto the ledge. Was her father helping her? No, that wasn't his style.
She waited as the level of the water continued to rise and it was now just at her chest, and she then pushed her tiptoes against the concrete and began to float in the water. Twirling around she swam towards the ledge and reached up with her hands, her fingers straining to grip the ridge and she missed. Her body plunged into the water, and she bobbed up and down gently, deciding to wait until the level of the water was higher. But minutes went by, and she then realized that the water had stopped gushing into the corridor. "What the…ugrh!" she groaned out loud in ire. Her hands curled into fists, and she slammed them into the water in rage.
Turning around she quickly swam down the corridor to the metal doorway, hoping to find another way out. Her eyes roved across the wall, upwards to each side of the doorway and to the walls either side of her. Again, no sign of an exit, a grating or small hole she could squeeze through. Spinning around she swam back down the passageway again, and once more attempted to grasp the edge of the gap above her. A sudden jingling noise startled her, and she yelped, jerking her gaze above her, again she had to raise her hands to shield her eyes from the bright light of the lightbulb. Her eyes narrowed as she squinted to discern where the sound resounded from. Her eyes widened as she saw a shadow slither across the catwalk and then something was thrown over the railing.
Katherine shrieked as the dead carcass of a teenaged boy was dropped in front of her, their lifeless eyes bore into hers as she jerked away. A heavy silver chain was tightly wrung around their blue-colored neck. His chestnut brown hair was matted and wet, his dark brown eyes bulged in their sockets. The whites of their eyes were speckled with red veins, while their neck was twisted and rotated in a grotesque angle with the bones from their neck projecting through the flesh.
She scuttled backwards in the water and pressed her heaving body against the wall, glaring in horror at the boy swung back and forth in the murky water. Her body swayed slightly to the right as she saw that a piece of metal, not actually metal, but a thick fishhook was pierced into the top of his back into his spine.
Like before a name momentarily began to float into her mind she murmured quietly. "Ryan"
Not wasting another moment, she spun towards the wall and grunted as she stretched up to the ledge again with her right hand. Her body plunged into the water, and she sobbed in aggravation and again readied herself to grab the ledge. But this time she pressed her feet against the wall to use as a force to push her upwards and she felt her two fingers grip the edge and she threw her left hand upwards and managed to slam it down onto the surface of the ledge. Her legs kicked and pushed her body upwards, and she laughed in success as she hauled herself onto the gap and rolled onto her back gasping for breath. Her head slowly rolled to the right, and she gulped hard. The body was no longer suspended on the chain. Sitting up she wildly looked about the corridor and then peered over the edge to the water. If it had fallen into the water, she would have heard it splash, its body would be floating…
Ignoring the feeling of uneasiness she twisted around towards a small metal grating. It was about three feet by three feet in size. Wide enough for to fit through. Her fingers curled through the steel gaps, and she tugged at it sharply. It vibrated in the frame, and she yanked at it again. But still the grating would not budge. From below she heard a faint sloshing sound as though something was splashing in the water. Swallowing thickly, she rotated around on her knees and inched with caution a few inches to the edge and peered over, down towards the water. There was a mass of bubbles rising from below and it began to spread across the width of the passageway, growing in intensity until it abruptly ceased as an odd bubble popped and faded away.
She frowned growing confused and at the very moment that she leaned back, a body shot out of the water and a pair of cold hands grasped her shoulders to pull her headfirst into the water below. Her screams were cut short as the water invaded her opened mouth as the carcass of the victim 'Ryan' dragged her into the watery depths below. The concrete floor was now gone, with only darkness and an endless void surrounding her flailing body. Her elbows lashed out as she grappled with the corpse whose hands were tugging and yanking at her waist, hauling her deeper under water. A flurry of bubbles escaped from her mouth as she screamed, and she scratched at his pale cheek. She drew several small scratches along his flesh as she tried to wrestle her body from his hands that were now groping at her hips and thighs. Her head swung around to face the corpses face and she saw not brown eyes, but icy blue ones. Her father's eyes. She kicked out with her knee that connected sharply with his stomach and with a malicious laugh, he loosened his grip and she shrugged him off to swim quickly to the surface. She felt her chest start to tighten as she neared a thin ray of light above, and with a cry she broke through the surface and began to violently cough and splutter. Her hands gripped the edge of a salmon pink bathtub and she groaned, spitting out water as she hauled herself over the edge of the bath onto a tiled floor. Her body lay face down on the floor as she took deep breaths of air, again coughing and spluttering as she tried to clear her throat of the water. After a short rest she weakly pushed herself to her knees and looked at the bathroom she now found herself in. To her immediate right in the corner was a tall square shower enclosure. But the glass panes of the doors were shattered inwards, several shards of glass were scattered on the ground around her. The tiled walls of the room were the same as the bath, a salmon pink color. A small toilet was to her left and beyond that was a large sink with a small white cabinet above it. Nothing seemed amiss. But why was she here? Whose house was she in?
She pressed her shaking hands against the ground and scuttled to her feet, balancing herself against the metal frame of the shower enclosure. Her hands ran over her nightdress, and she saw that the wet material was now stuck to her skin, the material was flimsy and slightly see through to her consternation. Her ears soon picked up a soft dripping sound from the bath behind her and she fearfully turned towards it.
The bath was now occupied by the slumped body of a black-haired teenaged boy, of about 15 years old. His naked body was slumped to the left, his head resting limply against the top of the bath to the left of her. The soapy water was stained red, while crimson liquid steadily trickled from his severed right wrist. His eyes were clamped shut and in his left hand she could see a long thin jagged piece of glass. But she knew that her father had created the fatal wound on his right wrist. What she was seeing was just for show. Her body shivered vigorously as she took a small step towards the bath, seeing that there were a few other pieces of broken glass floating in the water. She also saw on his body that there were more lacerations and cuts marring his chest and stomach. Just like the first two victims, a name penetrated her mind and she muttered out loud. "Zach"
A wave of sorrow swept over her, and she quickly moved towards the door to her left. She grimaced as a piece of glass dug into the sole of her left foot and she hobbled forward, raising her foot to pluck out the glass from her flesh. A small cut about an inch was visible, making her curse softly.
Ignoring the stinging sensation of her wound she anxiously grabbed the gold brass handle of the door, attempting to turn it clockwise. A dissatisfied sneer crossed her face, "Not again!" she fiercely yanked and tugged at the handle. She then spun around to grumpily lean against the locked door. "Fuck!"
How was she going to get out of here?
Her brooding eyers surveyed the bathroom once more, from right to left and as they roamed along the bath a glint of light above the bath caught her eye. It was the gleam from a window. Directly above the bath, along the side. About five feet above it. It was about four feet long and two feet in width, the white frame of the window was pushed opened allowing a light breeze to flutter in from outside. She smiled and then soon a grimace traversed over her lips, she had to climb over that dead body. Why could things not be easier for her for once?
Her pensive eyes scanned the bath, seeing that at the bottom of the wall above the bath was a small ledge, about two or three inches in width. Hopefully, it would be enough space for her feet to rest upon. If she could just propel herself onto the frame of the window, she could slither through the gap and outside.
Taking a few deep regulating breaths, she composed herself and moved towards the bottom of the bath, away from the head of the body. Her fingers gripped around the edge of the wall, and she placed he right foot on the far edge of the bath and pushed herself upwards. She took a fleeting glance at the body, which was submerged in the red stained water.
God, how was she going to do this?
Her legs began to tremble as she painstakingly turned the front of her body against the wall and stretched her left hand against the wall, trying to grip the grooves of the tiles as she crept along the bottom ledge to the corner and then froze. Again taking a few quick breaths. Then she turned her body slightly to the left and reached her left foot over to the other ledge, making sure she had enough space under her sole of her foot to enable her to move along that wall. Feeling that she had enough room she dragged her other foot along the edge and brought it over to the other ridge. Her hands again tried to clasp any indentation on the tiles to steady herself, then moved along the edge a few feet to position herself under the middle of the window. Without another moment's hesitation looked up at the window above, and slowly raised her right hand to towards the edge of the wooden frame. Her fingers tightly gripped around the wood, and she threw her other hand upwards, her fingers again clenching around the timber and slowly began to drag her body upwards. Her chest was pressed against the cool tiles, and she grunted, straining with all her might to pull herself upwards.
From the bath, the carcass began to stir. A deep groan deriving from their throat as their head twisted to the left, their eyes rolling open to stare up at her.
Katherine froze her movements and gnawed at her lips with trepidation, then tilted her head down towards the corpse's face and she saw the vicious rotten smile as he leered up at her. She swung her head back towards the window and hurriedly began to clamber up, but she screamed as she felt a bloodied hand clutch her left ankle. The corpse yanked her foot down and she squealed in disgust at the sensation of a thick blistered tongue gliding along her injured foot, slithering over to lap at her blood. Then upwards, along the back of her calf.
Her right leg viciously kicked out at him, missing his face. But he quickly snatched her other foot and with an insane laugh yanked her hard down into the watery bath. Her back connected with the hard plastic, and she cried out, feeling as though a bone in her back of her ribs was cracked by the force. As her body sunk into the water he pounced upon her, the nails of his hands digging into her shoulders as he held her under the water.
Her arms thrashed and slapped against his chest as she screamed under the water, again her lungs slowly being clogged and flooded with liquid. Her vision soon became blurry and before she thought she would lose consciousness, she felt him pull her upwards out of the water and she gasped, coughing and wheezing. Taking the opportunity, she quickly clenched her right hand into a fist and aimed it at his face, hitting him hard across his left jaw. His head whipped to the right, and she saw the wayward smile on his face. He was relishing this.
He once again thrust her back under the water and she again began to slap and aim punches at his body, missing by inches. Her left palm pressed against the base of the bath and felt something sharp brush her fingers. She grappled for the object and curled her fingers around a long thin piece of shrapnel from the shower. Then with a powerful thrust of her left arm, she propelled her weapon upwards into the side of his neck, impaling his flesh. Finding that his grip on her shoulders had slackened, she ferociously pushed him off her and shrieked, hacking, and spluttering as she scrambled out of the bath. As her body fell forward onto the tiled floor, she heard his laughter echoing all around as he lunged onto her back, shoving her face first into the ground.
Her screams were muffled against the cold floor as she wildly grasped at the tiled floor, searching for the remains of the shattered shower and she quicky gripped a small half crescent mood shaped glass in her hand and with a sob swung it backwards and she felt a spray of liquid squirt over the back of hair. His body shuffled and his bare knees crushed against her legs, and she hissed, twisting around to aim the glass against his chest as he leaned over her. It impaled into his skin, and she yanked it out, before driving it in again. Deeper than before. The corpse simply titled his head to the side, giving her a crooked smile and then Freddy's presence soon left the carcass, and it went limp, toppling on top of her.
She sobbed and whimpered, before finally gathering her strength to roll the body from her quivering frame. Her hands trembled as she pushed herself to a sitting position and with one last wary look at the cadaver she tottered forward into the bath and climbed up towards the window. She meekly wiped at her face and gripped the window frame and with a silent sob she hauled her body onto the ledge and lifted her left leg through the window. She then threw herself to the side and fell threw the air, screaming and then landed with a thud onto a large grassy slope. Her body rolled down about ten feet until she came to a stop at a bottom of a large gravel path.
The grass beneath her stomach was wet, muddy. Her face was smeared with grass and mud, but she just wanted some rest. Whatever else he had planned for her throughout the rest of this fucked up dream, she had to gather whatever energy she could muster. It was ten minutes before she finally lifted her grubby face and guardedly looked about at her new surroundings. There was a long wide gravel path ahead of her, stretching down as far as she could see. On each side were a large mass of trees, which loomed high above her. To her left she saw a thick metal pole and attached at a top was a sign, square in shape with the name of the area she was now in. But she did not have to read it to know where she was. She had spent many summer days and nights here with Michael and her friends in Central City.
It was the Nature Reserve.
Just why did her bring her here?
Her eyes wandered to the sky above seeing that the color of the clouds was a hazy orange, signalling the sun was starting to set. She pushed herself to her feet, wincing sharply at the intense pain from her wounded foot. She would have to take it easy, otherwise she wouldn't be able to walk never mind run. It did not help matters that the path mainly consisted of small stones and pebbles. Not exactly good for her injured foot, was it? Her thoughts soon ventured towards the reason she was here. Had he reached out of Springwood to kill someone? A disturbing notion entered her mind, had he somehow managed to enter one of her friend's dreams?
Freddy's gravelly voice soon rebounded from all around, making her spin slowly around expecting to see him. "So, is my little princess enjoying herself?" he chuckled wickedly.
"No!" she snapped and shook her head, "I'm not!"
"Aw" he feigned disappointment. "That is a shame. But the night isn't over yet!"
She licked her lips smartly. Knowing this wasn't good. "Where's the last victim?"
"All in good time, baby girl" his voice hissed, "First I want to give you a little challenge!"
Katherine scowled and huffily crossed her arms against her damp nightdress, looking up and down the pathway. "What sort of challenge?"
"There is a little brat sleeping. I have been paying them some visits over the last few nights. They are here…." He began, chortling at her expression of abject horror. "You will have to find them. Because you know what will happen if I get to them first!"
She snarled in rage, "This is not fair! You have an advantage over me! You have your damn powers!"
"Well…." He mused for a moment, "I will let you find them first. Then the fun can begin!"
Grumbling quietly, she gave a curt nod and then marched down the gravel path. But she knew she had to try to lean most of her weight on her right foot to avoid putting anymore unnecessary pressure of discomfort on her aching foot. Her eyes darted to the trail that weaved in between the large forest on either side of her and she glimpsed at the trees that towered above her such as Elm trees, Oak, Sycamore, and pine trees. She took a sharp left along another small trail that intertwined amid the trees, leading down to the lake. As her bare feet crunched over the broken twigs, branches and leaves she winched and sobbed at the searing pain from her left foot. Ignoring the intense pain, she continued and peered through the vast thick trees to the shore about fifty feet ahead of her. The faint lapping of the waves greeted her ears, and she could also hear the repetitive sound of crickets and birds in the trees above.
Her gaze vigilantly combed the area looking for any sign of anyone. It was only her for the time being. As she passed another row of trees she broke through the edge of the forest and now stood at the start of periphery of the pebbled beach. The width of it was about twenty feet and to her right it extended for about two miles, while to her left it meandered on for another two miles. Lowering her eyes to the ground, she groaned out loud at the mass of shells, stones, and pebbles along the beach. There was no way she could walk on it, she had to wrap up her wounded foot before she could even contemplate finding out who her father was after. She slumped down onto her backside and rummaged through the various shells until she got a cracked circular shell that had a curved tip. Her hands shook as she grasped it and brought the tip to the bottom of her nightdress and tore into the fabric about an inch above the edge and dug it in sharply yanking it down. Then she brought it back to the torn fabric and teared along the material for a few inches, perhaps seven inches and then twisted the tip of the shell down to finally tear it away. She threw the shell away and raised her left foot in the air, weaving the material around the bottom of her sole and around the front of her foot. She tied it quickly and slowly rose to her feet, pressing the foot lightly on the ground. There was a still dull ache, but at least it wasn't as excruciating than it was.
Looking quicky about the beach she decided to turn left and hobbled down towards the edge of the water, where she knew was a thin stirp of sand. Her feet were submerged under the water as the waves lapped onto the shore, splashing over her ankles. As she strolled along the beach, she kept an observant glance towards the trees to her left. She averted her head straight ahead and saw a long wooden peer stretching out about fifteen feet into the lake and a few picnic benches on the shore.
A sad smile slowly crept over her fatigued face; this was a place of many happy memories for her. Where she had spent many happy days and nights with her friends and Michael. She shook those joyous recollections to the back of her mind and marched onwards. She slowed as she came to the pier and peeked underneath half expecting to see someone hiding underneath. She frowned in disappointment then heard soft crying.
Her head whipped to the left toward the large picnic table, and she approached it, crouching to look underneath. A shadow shifted and she gasped at the sight of a little boy, aged no more than six years old with blond hair. She gave a friendly smile as she stopped to kneel before him. He avoided her gaze and tucked his knees under his shaking arms, choking back a sob.
Katherine pouted and moved forward slightly. "Hi there"
He glanced at her with doubt, and she sighed, then tried to reassure him. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you"
The softness of her voice and the warmth of her smile began to soothe his nerves as he shifted around onto his knees, crawling forward a few feet to the edge of the table. She finally noticed that he was addressed in a pair of colored Star Wars pyjamas. She continued to allay his anxiety as she asked, "You like Star Wars? Yeah?"
He nodded slowly.
"I like it too" she grinned sincerely. "My name is Katherine. What is your name?"
"Timmy" he replied softly and finally crawled out from under his hiding place. He sat before her and glanced along the beach with trepidation. "Is the bad man after you too?"
She sighed sadly and nodded. "You'll be safe with me, okay?" Katherine held out her hands to him.
He gave a shy nod and climbed into her arms, and she rose to her feet, rubbing his back lightly as he wrapped his legs around her waist. She looked wearily about the shore and then turned to her left, venturing along the edge of the shore. "So, Timmy, who do you like in Star Wars?" she asked. An attempt to keep his mind occupied, free from worry. Anything to distract his mind and hers.
"Luke" Timmy replied softly.
"Yeah, he's cool, isn't he?" Katherine agreed. Then looked to her right and bit hard on her lip, she swore she had seen a movement within the trees. She continued to take fleeting glances at the tree line and then felt the little boy's arms tighten around her neck, tugging at her nightdress.
She suddenly stopped and whispered, "What is it?" her eyes roamed towards his petrified face as he pointed behind them.
"Look!"
Katherine tensed and twisted around to face at what he was pointing. A deep, hungry growl resounded from a large black rottweiler that loomed about ten feet from them both. The fangs of the dog dripped with drool; the lips curled backwards showing deep red gums that were smeared in blood. Its eyes were a deep red color, glowing brightly as it glowered hungrily at them.
"Oh, no" Katherine gulped.
"I hate dogs" Timmy whimpered.
She took a tentative step back, constricting her arms more tightly around his body and then spun to run along the shore. There was a resonant growl as the rottweiler charged after them both. Katherine sobbed, her breathing becoming heavy and short as she darted to her right into the trees. Timmy's hands gripped firmly around her neck making her breathe more difficult. The leaves and twigs crunched under her bare feet and the tip of her toes suddenly got caught in a thick vine that was protruding out in the gravel ahead of her. They both screamed as she fell forward, losing her grip on the boy as he tumbled forward with a cry of anguish. She looked up at him as he raised his bleeding head from the ground. "Run! Go!" she pointed to the trees. "Climb up!"
He nodded in understanding, and she saw him scamper away.
She staggered to her feet and snatched a long thick branch laying close to her and swung around to the ferocious dog as it slowed to a stop several feet from her. It looked beyond her to the boy as he ran amongst the trees then back to her. A deep voracious growl erupted from its throat, and she took a hesitant step back raising the branch, poised to strike out at the canine. She had to protect that little boy; he was innocent in all of this. He and his parents had nothing to do with the fire.
Her feet shuffled back a little and she saw the back legs of the dog bend slightly, preparing to lunge at her. Holding her breath, she watched as the dog sprang forward, baring its sharp bloodied teeth as it aimed their mouth towards her chest. She screamed and swung the branch down hard against the side of the dog's body. The hound yelped and was propelled to the left hitting the thick bark of a large oak tree nearby. She gasped and smiled in disbelief, surprised at her actions. She waited for a moment and took a slow step forward towards the motionless dog. Then with one last cautious glance amongst the trees she turned and ran in the direction Timmy had scampered to.
"Timmy! Where are you?"
"Over here!" his voice called from above to her left and she swirled around to see him perched on a large thick branch about ten feet from the ground. She smiled and tottered over to him and threw the branch behind her. Her fingers gripped the brown bark, and she positioned her right foot on a small broken branch that was about half a foot in length about three feet off the ground. The palms of her hands pressed against the bark of the tree, and she lifted her gaze up to where Timmy sat against the thick trunk of the tree on the branch directly above. He looked down at her expectantly.
"Stay where you are. I'm coming up" Katherine said with a little smile of reassurance. She stretched out her arms upwards and grappled at the end of the branch, straining to curl her fingers around the edge and she suddenly felt a pair of small hands grip her wrist to tug her upwards. She forcefully pushed her feet against the broken branch and hauled herself onto the branch beside Timmy. Her body rolled over, and she firmly pressed the front of her body to the bough of the tree. She took a few seconds to gather herself then raised her gaze towards the little boy as he huddled against the bark.
"Are you hurt or anything?" Katherine asked and balanced herself on her knees on the wood, taking a glimpse at the large thick branches to her right and left. Her eyes then roamed over Timmy's little frame not noticing any cuts or tears to his flesh or nightwear.
"No" Timmy shook his head, "I'm just scared"
She gave a despondent nod. "I know. Me too" Katherine dropped her gaze towards the ground, surveying around the area quickly for any sign of more rabid dogs. The coast was clear, for now.
"What do we do now?" Timmy asked fretfully.
"I need to wake you up" Katherine answered.
A familiar menacing chortle boomed from her right, and she shrieked, whipping her head to the right to face Freddy as he stood perfectly balanced on the next branch. He raised his blades and waved at them flashing them a malevolent smile. "Hello, piggies!"
He abruptly flicked his index blade at her and an energetic force thrust her backwards off the branch and she screamed, landing hard on the broken branches and uneven ground below. Her back arched upwards as a pain tore through her spine and she groaned out loud. Blinking wildly, she heard a small thud as though someone had jumped from the tree, and she saw little Timmy scamper past her. She twisted onto her stomach and urged him. "Run! Go!"
The little boy hesitated then glanced behind him with horror as Freddy dropped to the ground spraying his blades as he approached. Timmy whimpered and broke out into a run, his little legs carrying him as fast as they could. Katherine lethargically pushed herself to her knees and heard her father casually walk past her. She lifted her eyes towards his face and saw his cruel grin as he perused his prey. Timmy.
She groaned loudly as she staggered to her feet, then collapsed once more. The pain in her back, particularly her ribs was agonizing. Had she broken another rib? Her right hand pressed against the ground as she rose to her feet and saw through the trees Freddy stalking the boy. "No….no" she whispered.
Her legs trembled as she hobbled forward through the trees, stumbling, and lurching uneasily over the vines and twigs. She whimpered and shook her head in panic as she saw the gap between her father and Timmy slowly diminish. Holding back a groan of pain she picked up her pace as she ran onto the shore, again nearly tripping over thick vines and more broken branches. As she advanced towards Freddy, she saw that he was approaching the picnic table as Timmy crawled underneath. Freddy began to crouch ready to lunge for the body and she took the opportunity, ready to tackle him. "No!"
Freddy anticipated her attack and spun around, thrusting his scarred hand out to grasp the scruff of her nightdress and drew her close. "Hi, baby girl" he murmured and gave a vicious smirk.
Katherine glowered at him. "Leave him alone! If you want to hurt someone, hurt me!"
Freddy cocked his head to the side as he mused over her words. Once more, he pulled her closer, his chest pressed firmly against hers and he raised the tips of his claw up to the temple of her head, "Oh so you want me to hurt you Kitty Kat? Would you like that?" he teasingly pressed a blade into her skin, tugging it along her left cheek. She felt a slick trail of blood flow from her flesh, and she winced, trying to yank backwards from him. He chuckled at her resistance and slanted his head to the right, leaning forward as he grinned depravingly at her.
Katherine winced again, a little more loudly, as he nudged his blade deeper into her skin as it dragged along the side of her jaw…
Suddenly, he flinched, stopping his actions at the abrupt sensation of something being thrown at him, at his head. His head whipped to the right and soon Katherine followed his gaze, noticing too that something like a stone had been thrown at him. Both their eyes landed upon little Timmy as he stood several feet from them. in his opened left hand was a bundle of stones, while he held another stone in his right hand. Ready to fire. "Stop hurting her!" Timmy shouted.
Katherine's jaw dropped opened in astonishment at the bravery of the little boy. She slowly drew her eyes over towards her father and saw the look of pure ire that gleamed in his eyes. He was fucking furious at the gall of the boy. She felt his grip tighten on her garment and with a snarl she was shoved away from him with such ferocity her head smashed against a small boulder. Her eyes fluttered violently as her vision went fuzzy, nearly blanking out. She hissed and moaned quietly, turning onto her side as she woozily stared at the spot where Timmy was. Her eyes focused, the beach blurring in and out as she regained her concentration. A piercing pain tore through her temple as she rolled onto her knees and gasped, seeing that the beach was empty. "Timmy…" she tried to shout, but her voice was hoarse.
Katherine staggered to her feet, swaying waveringly as she ran to the table and peered underneath. She saw no sign of the little boy and shook her head in consternation. "God please no! TIMMY!" she twisted around to the shoreline.
She sobbed and scurried to the water, looking frenziedly over the lake. "Timmy!"
A wave of water splashed over her feet, and she felt a piece of cloth brush over her right foot, and she titled her head downwards. She gulped and knelt to pick up the cloth, running her hands over the colored letters.
s..t..a..r…
It was part of Timmy's Star Wars pjyamas. Her eyes widened as she jerked to her feet and scanned the lake. "TIMMY!" she screamed.
A soft sloshing sound echoed from the lake, and she whirled to her right seeing a body thrashing under the murkiness of the water, about twenty feet away. The little figure of Timmy bobbed to the surface and a piercing scream came from this body as a bladed claw burst from the depths and clamped onto his hair shoving him under. Katherine ran into the water and swam towards him as he disappeared. "NO! TIMMY!"
She swirled around in the water and was above to dive under, when four blades quickly wrapped around her right ankle with an aggressive tug she was yanked under the water. Katherine's mouth clamped together to avoid the water rushing into her lungs and she wildly looked about in the fogginess of the water. Her head whipped around as she felt herself being dragged about twenty feet under the water and suddenly his claw uncurled itself from her skin and she began to kick her feet and twist her body to judiciously look for any sign of Timmy. About ten feet to her left she saw two shadows spinning as though a body was thrashing against a larger assailant. Katherine shook her head and swam towards the figures, seeing Freddy holding Timmy's little frame with his left hand while his talons tore and slashed at this stomach and chest. The boy screamed, his arms clouting weakly at him.
Katherine drew closer and as she touched the boy's waist, Freddy quickly let him go having done enough damage to the little boy. She watched as her father floated away into the darkness below and she wrapped her slim arms around his waist. Her legs violently kicked as she swam to the surface, breaking through the water with a thunderous scream. Katherine gasped, discovering she was now back in the metal narrow passageway where she had found that victim Ryan.
She spat out dirty water and yanked the little boy of Timmy out of the water, laying him in her arms as she wept. Her brown eyes ran over his mutilated chest and face. "No…" she hissed through her tears. "Wake up"
His blood began to swell from his wounds, soaking into her nightdress and arms. "I'm sorry…" she whispered to his face and cuddled him close. "I'm so sorry"
Katherine jerked at the sudden white glow that coursed through his little frame and she sobbed as she watched in horror as a mist swelled from his body, swirling upwards and disappearing through a metal wall. His soul was now claimed by her father. Her hands shook as they held the torn remains of his nightwear. Letting them fall into the water she swam towards the sound of a metal door being pulled opened behind her. Her head looked up to the ledge from earlier and she noticed it was only two feet from her, far easier to climb up onto than earlier.
She grappled the edge of the metal and hauled herself onto the ledge, then crawled through the metal grating and she then felt wooden floor under her body. Her lips curled downwards in confusion, and she wearily looked at the new hallway she was in. To her right was the top of a set of stairs, while a long wooden landing was in front of her. There were five doorways, two to her left and three to her right. A single lightbulb under a navy lampshade illuminated the landing that she was now in.
The wallpaper was a light grey, with various decorative pictures and art canvases aligned the walls. She slowly rose to her feet and hobbled down the landing, peering into a large bathroom then into another small bedroom. For some reason she ignored the small bedroom, being lured down towards the next opened doorway. Stopping at the door frame she curiously looked inside and saw the furnishings of a nursery. She entered quickly and took a few abrupt steps into the room, her eyes roaming over the furniture – a large chest of drawers was to her right with various little teddy bears, a few lettered building blocks, and a small musical box. There was also a large wooden rocking chair and a small changing bed next to it. Her gaze soon turned towards a large white wooden cot tucked in the far left of the room, in the corner. It had an ivory canopy draped over the top, shielding whoever was laying inside. Slowly, she began to approach it, a sense of nausea overwhelming her as she saw a liquid dripping from underneath the cot. Her eyes broadened in dread as she peered into the cot. Laying on the soft mattress under a lilac cotton blanket was a little body, motionless and covered in their own blood.
Katherine let out a little cry of dismay and she stumbled back, her body colliding into Freddy as he loomed behind her. She shrieked and spun around, again staggering backwards from him as he gave her a vicious smile. She glimpsed briefly at his claw noticing Timmy's blood was still wet and dripping from his blades. Her eyes darted towards the cot once again and she muttered a name. "Hayley"
Her head shook in disgust, "Why? She's just a little baby!"
Freddy nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders, his voice cold and uncaring as he replied. "And?"
She glowered at him in repulsion. How could he be so callous. "How could you?"
He stalked towards her, and she defensively backed away until she was cornered against the wall. Freddy towered over her as she avoided his cruel smile, "You of all people should know what I am" he gently clutched her chin with his scarred hand and titled her face up to his, "Now, you know who the little piglets were"
Katherine sniffled softly and nodded.
The gap between them grew closer and he lightly trailed his claw along the side of her body where it rested on her left hip, "I really enjoyed tonight princess. How you fought against me. It is good that you still have some fight in you" he grinned at her. "But you should know that you won't be able to save anyone. No matter how hard you try"
"Why won't you stop Daddy?" Katherine mumbled, "You know I won't leave Springwood"
His fingers dug into her flesh as he admonished her. "I will never stop Katherine. Never!"
She gulped harshly.
Freddy tapped his blades lightly at her side. "Now, do you still want me to make you forget what happened earlier? Mmm?"
"Of course, I do!" she snapped, "I told you"
He nodded thoughtfully and brought his blades from her hip to the side of her temple. Two blades were pointed at the side of her head, while his hand held her face still. "Now, this may hurt"
Katherine gave a meek nod and shut her eyes. Bracing herself for the pain. After a moment she felt something tingling, but not along her head but against her arm. Like someone was gripping her arms. She opened her eyes and frowned, hearing a female voice lingering in the distance. Saying her name…
Her gaze shot up towards her father and she shook her head in alarm as he began to fade. But not just him, the whole room. Freddy snarled and tried to tighten his grip on her face, but her body suddenly dematerialized in front of him, vanishing from the dream to his rage as he roared. "No!"
Katherine jolted awake and her brown eyes glowered in rage up at Sandra who was sat at her side. Her hands gripped her arms shaking her awake. "Katherine! You must stay awake!"
The girl shook her head vehemently in disgust. Then shrugged the woman's hands from her body. She staggered off the bed and backed away into the corner of the room beside the window and lightly touched her cheek, thankfully there was no cut on her skin. "Why did you wake me up?!"
Sandra frowned and went around the bed towards her, "Katherine, you know you can't sleep. He will end up hurting you"
"You don't understand!" Katherine hissed sharply and suddenly the memory of how he had forced himself upon her as she was restrained against that table rushed through her mind. She could even feel his rough hands as he groped her, his fingers pushing into her and then the sensation of HIM as he entered her other passage. She squeezed her eyes shut and seethed, sobbing quietly. "No…no!"
"Katherine what is it?" Sandra demanded and neared her side "What happened to you?"
Katherine swirled around to her and growled, "Five minutes! All I needed was five more fucking minutes!"
"He did something to you. What is it?" Sandra asked again.
She disregarded the question and turned away, her eyes brimming with years, and she furiously shook her head muttering incoherently to herself. Sandra frowned sullenly and took a small step towards her, gently touching her shoulders that were quivering uncontrollably. "You need to tell me what that fucker did to you. I know he has done something Katherine"
There was a sudden knock at the door and Sandra cursed quietly, turning to face Nurse Casey as she lingered in the doorway. "Dr Turner. I've to take Katherine to the medical treatment room to have her wounds changed. Dr Simms is looking for you"
Sandra nodded once then turned back to Katherine, lowering her voice. "I will be back to see you when I'm finished with Dr Simms. Then we are going to talk about what happened. You are telling me everything Katherine"
Katherine's facial expression was vacant, cold. There and then all hope, all fight in her was gone. Vanished. She heard Sandra walk across the room towards the nurse and the faint whisper as she said to Casey. "Look after her please"
The young nurse nodded with a smile and stepped to the side, allowing Sandra to leave the room. Turning towards Katherine she saw the young woman staring indolently out the window, unmoving. She sighed and walked over to her, "Come on Katherine. This should not take long. Then I will bring you to the canteen for breakfast" her right hand reached out to grasp Katherine's arm but flinched as the girl jerked back in alarm.
"I'm sorry" Nurse Casey took a hesitant step back.
Katherine twisted around and lowered her head, following the nurse out of the room. Her disposition was dejection, feeling lost. Her head glanced up as she saw the treatment room ahead of her. If she were to get an opportunity, she would try and gain access to any medication such as valium or sleeping tablets, or even have the chance to grab a medical instrument such as a scalpel or a pair of scissors.
They both entered and Nurse Casey closed the door behind them. Katherine took a quick look at the beds, noticing that they were the only occupants of the room. Good. Now, if she could only get Nurse Casey to be distracted for a few minutes. She pulled her gaze towards the counter and saw a small clutter of small bottles against the wall, plus a small tray of medical instruments, a pair of silver scissors, a thin scalpel, and a few rolls of fresh clean dressings. Katherine glimpsed at Nurse Casey as she gently led her to the bed facing the counter. "We'll start on your arm"
She hopped onto the bed and watched in silence as the nurse unwrapped the bandage from her left arm. Katherine licked her dry lips and asked. "May I have some water, please?"
Casey smiled and went over to the water dispenser, pouring out a cup for her. She faked a smile as she took the cup of her and took a tentative sip. The nurse went towards the counter, ready to lift a roll of bandages when a sharp knock to the door caught both their attention. She heaved a deep sigh and threw Katherine an apologetic glance as she went to the door, opening it to peer into the corridor. There was a hushed conversation then Nurse Casey looked over to the girl, "I'll be back in five minutes, okay?"
Katherine gave another strained smile as she saw the nurse disappear out of the room. Taking her chance Katherine jumped off the bed and rushed to the door, slowly easing it shut and then grabbed a nearby chair with her free hand, placing the top of the chair under the silver doorhandle. Hopefully preventing anyone from entering the room. She slowly began to hyperventilate out of anxiety, of dread of what she was going to do. But she had to do it.
Moving towards the counter she snatched a nearby bottle and read the label – Valium. She unscrewed the top and shook out five tablets, shoving them into her mouth and washed them down with water, then swallowed five more. She felt fresh tears began to form in her ears and allowed them to fall down her face. Consumed by disgust and suffering. She then used the tips of her right fingers to tear through the stitches, wincing and sobbing as blood began to erupt from the wounds. Katherine then looked to the metal tray and grabbed the small scalpel and then dug the tip into her wounds, yanking even more stitches – both old and new. Again, she reached for the bottle and slithered down onto her knees yet again that memory of her father raping her played over in her mind. She felt so dirty, used, like a fucking whore. Was this how the little girls felt when he had used them too? But they were so young, they had no notion what was happening to them.
But she knew.
It was a depraved and twisted way at how he got his pleasure, he only cared about himself when he was doing that to the girls and when he did that to her. He spared no thought about her, did he? Oh, she could cope with the physical abuse, the beatings, the emotional and psychological abuse. It had become the norm for her. But to rape her? There would be no way she could be able to recover from this. She had to do this.
She tipped the bottle to her opened mouth and shook a few more tablets into her throat, drying swallowing and then drained the rest of the water. Throwing a little glance at the door she raised the scalpel in her left hand and tipped it towards her right wrist. Drawing it quicky across the flesh, not once but twice. She sobbed and watched through her tears as the blood squirted from the cut artery, splashing onto the white tiled floor. Weakly she cut across her veins, drawing more blood that trickled onto the ground and her nightdress. Her breathing began to quicken, and she let out a little sob, feeling her eyes flutter violently. Then with a thud her body collapsed to the floor, her eyes rolling back into her head…