Chapter 10: Edge of Death
A pool of blood began to form around Katherine's lacerated right wrist. Her inert body lay slumped on her side, the life slowing draining from her frail body. The scalpel was perched between her fingers and her eyes were stoic, unmoving beneath her eyelids. Her face was pale. On the other side of the doorway two sets of footsteps began to approach the room.
Nurse Casey led the way as Sandra followed her. The young nurse frowned seeing that the door was closed. She reached out to grasp the handle and turned it clockwise and tried to push the door opened. It juddered in the frame, and she glanced nervously at Sandra, "Something's wrong. I had left the door opened. I was asked to help Samantha with Mary"
Sandra felt a chill shot through her spine, and she gestured Nurse Casey to the side, and she grabbed the handle and forcefully twisted it, trying in vain to shove the door opened. But again, the door rattled in its hinges. Something was blocking the door from opening. "Katherine! Please open up!"
She strained to hear any movement from the room.
"Shit!" she muttered and turned around, instantly her gaze fell upon Max "Max, I need your help. Katherine has locked the door. She won't answer"
A flash of concern flickered over his face, and he rushed towards the door and with a strong thrust with his right leg, his foot connected with the door. It trembled and vibrated, the door cracking open a few inches. He then violently rammed his right shoulder hard into the door and it jolted forward another few inches. Max peered through the gap and saw the top of chair jammed under the handle on the other side. He slipped his left hand it and grasped the rim of the chair and managed to shove it away. They then quickly entered the room.
In the corner of the treatment room to the far left a shimmering light erupted and the mirage of Freddy appeared. He knew the instant that Katherine fell unconscious that something was wrong, horribly wrong. After reading her emotions of despair, heartache, he made the decision to propel his spirt into the waking world. Luckily the number of kills over the last few days had allowed him to perform this tricky task. His cold eyes scoured the room and landed on her comatose form mere feet from him. Since the second he visited the waking world, his connection to her unconsciousness had waned and was quickly severed.
Fuck! He was so close to erasing that memory of how he ravaged her from her mind, but that whore Sandra had woken her up. And how she had tried to take her life, again.
Freddy stood rigid, tense and for once in a very long time slightly afraid. Afraid of what would become of her, would she survive? If she were to die, then there would be no way he could be able to pacify his anger. That slut Sandra would pay! His nostrils flared in rage as Sandra and Max staggered into the room, with Nurse Casey not far behind them. His blades twitched and slinked at his side as he glared at Dr Turner. That bitch had ruined everything.
Sandra's jaw dropped open in horror at Katherine's unmoving body. "My god, Katherine!" she ran to the girl's side and inspected her body.
Freddy sneered. Lips curled upwards in a spiteful leer. "It's all your fault, you slut!"
Sandra gently pried the scalpel from Katherine's limp hand, unaware of the malevolent presence lingering behind her. Their cruel, icy blue eyes glaring daggers at her. She frowned at the amount of blood that the girl has lost. She discarded her white cardigan and tightly wrapped it around the severed flesh, then gently yet firmly pressed her two fingers from her left hand against the side of Katherine's neck, trying to detect a pulse. It was very faint. Her head swung around towards Max. "Code blue!"
He spun around and hurried to the counter and pressed a small red emergency button on the wall, then left the room. Nurse Casey held back her tears as Sandra twisted around to the young nurse. "Help me! Find out how many tablets were in that bottle and how many is left!"
Nurse Casey rushed over to the bottle on the floor and frowned, remembering it was one of the new batches of Valium she had taken from the cupboard. "This is a new bottle. 2mg per tablet" she emptied the remaining tablets into her hand and counted them. "There's 30 in a bottle. There's 14 remaining"
Sandra shook her head sadly and whispered to Katherine's listless face. "What did he do to you?"
Freddy took a step closer to Sandra and raised his blades. If only he could affect the waking world, if he enough power to kill in the waking world, he would drive his claw into that bitch, carve out her fucking heart.
If only…
Both Freddy and Sandra glared in dismay as Katherines body began to twitch, jerking and spasming. Her legs and arms tremored violently and soon a trickled of foam spewed from her blue-coloured lips. Sandra heard the rushing of feet and soon two male doctors entered from the crash/emergency response team. She clambered away from Katherine as they began to treat the girl, and one of them clambered inside their medical bag and withdrew a small silver metal bottle of liquid and fille da needle. He pierced the tip into the back of her right hand and then after a minute, her seizure began to subside.
"How many tablets did she consume?" one of the doctors asked.
"16. Valium 2mg"
He looked up at Sandra, "Help us get her onto the bed"
She rose to her feet and assisted in lifting Katherine onto a nearby bed. The dark-haired doctor then checked Katherine's pulse and lowered his ear over her blue lips, "She's not breathing. Get the defibrillator!"
Sandra took a few steps back and watched in shock as they began to cut down the middle of Katherine's nightdress and start to attach several white circular heart monitor pads on her chest, particularly around her heart area. Thin red wires extended from each one to a large great defibrillator that was perched on a nearby table. The black screen beeped and two thin lines – red and blue appeared with a number above in white, indicating heart rate that was currently zero.
Freddy shook his head in apprehension. "Don't you do this to me baby girl. Don't you die on me!"
The doctor stepped up to the bed and interlocked his hands. He pressed them down in the middle of her chest, above her heart and pushed them down hard. One, two, three, four times…
He checked her breathing then locked his lips over hers, breathing heard into her chest three times. Then again proceeded to compress her chest once more. He lowered his ear to her mouth to check for any sign of breathing. But still nothing. He twisted around sharply to grab the large grey defibrillator charging pads and shouted. "Clear!"
They gave him space and he connected the metal base of the pads to Katherine's chest and a jolt of electricity shot through the pads into her chest. Her body jerked, back arching violently and then settled back onto the mattress.
Sandra hopefully looked at the heart monitor and frowned, the red line indicating Katherine's heartbeat was still flat.
Freddy took a step closer to the bed and peered over at the heart monitor screen, perceiving that the line was horizontal. His blades contracted sharply at his side. "C'mon baby girl. Fight!"
The doctor once again shouted clear and applied the charging pads to her chest once more. Another shock electricity lurched into her body and her body arched upwards again. Sandra shakily shook her head and took a step forward, unaware of the piercing callous gaze glowering at her just inches behind her back.
Freddy growled lowly as another shock was applied but at a higher charge. Again, there was no response from her heartbeat. This couldn't happen, not to his little girl. It was too soon. He had plans for her, for them both. The possibility of bringing her into the dream world with him was one of them.
Now, it was lost. His little baby was going to die…
The index blade of his claw curled inwards and stabbed into his thigh, drawing blood. His eyes darted down momentarily wishing it was Sandra's blood. And it would be soon.
He continued to watch as another shock was given to Katherine's chest. His eyes averted to the heart monitor. The red line was straight, going on and on. Until there was a movement, a small spike, then followed by a sound. A beep.
Then another spike, then another…
There was a collective sigh of relief from the male doctor. "We got her back"
Sandra held back a little sob and heard the doctor speak to his colleague. "Dr Porter please notify ICU to arrange for a room to be prepared for Miss Krueger. We'll have to perform a gastric lavage on her"
Freddy let out a long deep sigh of reprieve. Grateful that she had survived, but still was alarmed at how low her heart rate was. 30-40 beats per minute. Too low for his liking.
It wasn't long after when they transported her to the main IUC ward on the 3rd floor of the building. Dr Nugent was the head doctor in charge of this facility, a tall man in his late 50s. Sandra assisted in helping Dr Nugent and another doctor in settling Katherine into her room. She also wanted to be present when they undressed her, particularly wishing to examine her body for any signs of wounds or bruises that the girl may have kept hidden from her. Sandra's eyes had roamed her thighs, legs, stomach area, chest looking for any abrasion, any cut.
Krueger had loomed behind her, knowing as she guardedly examined his daughter's body what shew as doing. Looking for injuries. Oh, there was bruises there on her lovely thighs, from when he forcefully yet consensually took her form the other night. But due to his increased powers he had manipulated Sandra and the other medical staff minds, making them believe that there no bruises on her thighs. He had accomplished this through focusing his power on the occipital lobe part of their brains that dealt with vision and perception.
And as he did so, he noticed the bewilderment that flashed across Sandra's mind. That bitch was expecting there to be some wounds on her. But he had to keep all those fuckers fooled, to keep his façade in place until the time was right.
As they had undressed Katherine and changed her into a plain blue hospital gown, his perverse eyes had lingered upon her thighs. Particularly along her beautiful bruises. Now, he was watching with interest as they proceeded in the gastric lavage procedure. Dr Nugent gently parted her mouth and used a thin tube to slide into her throat a few inches and squirted numbing liquid into her throat. Then he was handed a long white lubricated tube into her throat, pushing it downwards into her stomach. At the end of the tube, they poured in saline solution, hoping to flush out any remains from the Valium she had consumed. He turned around to another doctor as he presented a suction tube and then slithered it into the other tube. There was a small red suction machine, and he pressed the on button. There was a soft whir and then slowly a thin flow of liquid began to drain from her stomach and pooled in a small plastic container. After five minutes he pressed a small black off button and the whirring noise ceased. He then slowly began to remove the tubes from her throat.
For the next few minutes, he was assisted by Sandra and another doctor as they attached an IV drip, EEG electrodes to monitor her brain activity, new heart monitor pads to her chest beneath her nightgown. Then he attached a small pulse oximeter to measure her oxygen on her right index finger. The IV drip had two long thing tubes, one that was administering her blood from a blood bag into her body and the other was clear liquid to maintain her body fluids. Both tubes were attached to two thin needles pierced into the back of her left hand. A new breathing tube was inserted into her throat, enabling her to breathe.
"We'll be administering her the blood transfusion for the next half an hour. We'll have to monitor her breathing as her heart rate is quite low" Dr Nugent stood at the of the bed with Sandra at his side. "We'll run some blood tests in the morning to see if there is any Valium left in her system. Her brain activity must be monitored too. As you know Dr Turner, due to cardiac arrest there may be some damage to her brain"
Freddy sneered from the corner of the room. If her brain was damaged, then there could the chance that she would not be able to dream anymore.
He heard another set of footsteps approach the room and turned towards the doorway, seeing a female doctor with short grey hair entering. He instantly knew that this was Dr Sims from Katherine's memories.
Dr Sims looked sullenly at the bed where Katherine. "I just heard what happened. Is she stable?"
"She's in a critical condition. The next twenty-four hours will be crucial" Dr Nugent replied.
"Did Nurse Casey leave her unattended?" Dr Sims looked towards Sandra.
"Yes. The poor girl is devastated" Sandra responded. "We had to send her home. We can speak to her tomorrow"
Dr Nugent looked curiously at the file under Dr Sims left arm. "May I ask what that is?"
"It's Katherine file regarding her medications"
"Medications?" Sandra took a step forward.
Dr Nugent also walked forward and held out his hand. "I need to see it"
Sims hesitantly held it out. Knowing that Dr Nugent had authority over her in this type of situation, especially when it came to patients in his care in the ICU ward. He looked down at the file and read the notes. "You've been prescribing her fluphenazine? An anti-psychotic?"
Sandra seethed silently and glowered at the woman. Disgusted at this revelation. "How are you administering it to her? She has never once told me she was being given any medication!"
"She's been receiving it covertly in her food at mealtimes. Twice a day. It has been common practice for the facility to covertly dispense drugs to patients who we feel may not be fully co-operating"
"What the hell?" Sandra snapped. "How dare you! You should have told me!"
Freddy's jaw clenched in fury at this admission. He walked over to his daughter's bed and reached down with his burnt hand to stroke her hair, but his fingers wavered over her tresses. Unable to touch her like they both were a mirage. He frowned, then swung back towards Sandra, Dr Nugent and Dr Simms. That bitch Simms had been secretively drugging his own daughter, well he would be paying that bitch a visit in her dreams too.
"I believed it was in her best interests" Dr Sims explained.
"But you failed to discuss this with me!" Sandra sneered. "Did you not understand that there would be side-effects?"
"From what I could discern from the last few nights, Miss Krueger had been responding well to the tablets. Sleeping each night and from what you told me she seemed to be coming around to the idea that her dreams aren't real"
Sandra scoffed. "But there could be other side-effects, mood swings. For all we know the fluphenazine may be linked to why she tried to kill herself! I'm going to talk to Dr Carver about this when his meeting is over!"
"I believe our main priority is Miss Krueger's condition if she wakes up-"
"You mean when!" Sandra tersely snapped.
"When Miss Krueger wakes up, she will have to go on suicide watch for the foreseeable future and remain in a more secure unit" Simms crossed her arms. "And we have to start nightly sedation"
For a moment Sandra's face tensed in dread at this statement. This was all that Katherine needed.
Freddy smirked upon hearing this and craned his head towards Katherine. At least one good thing would come out of all this. This suited him.
Dr Nugent took a step forward, "Look, we must be realistic. The chances of her waking up are slim. As I said there may be brain damage. Dr Vickers the head neurologist will be up within the next hour or so to assess the situation"
"I want to stay here" Sandra grabbed a chair and pulled it up beside Katherine's bed. "I'm not leaving her side"
"Dr Turner, you need some rest. It's been a stressful morning for you. You can come back later" Dr Nugent suggested.
She shook her head and gently clasped her right hand over Katherine's.
Freddy towered over her, sneering at her with venom. Why wouldn't that bitch just leave? Katherine was of no concern to her. His eyes flicked towards Katherine's pale face, and he suddenly grew unsettled, if there was any sign of brain damage then he would not be able to sense her mind. He had to test this out, but not here. His blue eyes snapped shut and his mirage faded from the room back into the dreamscape.
As his eyes opened Freddy glanced around the darkened ICU room and snarled, seeing that the bed that Katherine was laying on moments before was empty. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, thinking over and over of her, but to his disgust he was powerless to connect to her subconscious.
"Fuck!" he snarled, "I can't sense her mind"
The demons lingered in the darkness behind them, and soon one of them spoke.
She's in limbo.
"What?" Krueger snapped.
Her mind is untraceable. What she did has greatly affected her mind. You will not be able to reach her, not at this moment.
Freddy gritted his teeth in rage. "When then?"
It may be hours, even days…
A flash of red gleamed in his eyes. His bladed jerked and twitched vehemently at his side and the spun around towards the door. It was time to release some of this rage. There had to be some fucking brat sleeping, anyone would do. Some little piggy was going to help him satisfy and relieve this anger…
12.15pm…
Sandra had finished revealing her objections to Dr Carver and they came to an agreement that there would be no more covert administering of fluphenazine or any of drugs to Katherine unless all doctors involved in her treatment agreed. She had argued that Katherine was at the time of sound mind, was progressing well with her therapy session with her. Though, Sandra had to agree that the girl would be kept under a strict suicide watch. She had tried to argue against the sedation policy, but Dr Carver had overruled her. Now, she had to phone Michael and disclose the unpleasant news of Katherine's condition. She knew that he would be distraught and would immediately rush down to try and see her.
She entered her small office and lifted her phone, dialling the motel number and asked to be put through to motel room number 14. There were three rings and then it was answered. "Hello? Michael?"
"Hi, mom"
"Michael, something has happened" Sandra said softly.
"What is it?" her son's voice grew concerned.
"Katherine tried to kill herself" Sandra murmured, "She's in a coma in the ICU ward. Can you meet me in the foyer in half an hour?"
His voice stammered and she swore she hear him stifle back a sob, but his voice went into a snarl as he replied. "He did something to her, didn't he?"
"I think so yes" she sighed. "Just come down as soon as you can"
They muttered their goodbyes and then there was a click as Michael hung up.
It was under twenty minutes when Sandra saw her son enter the reception area, followed by Nancy and her father. Michael ran towards his mother, and she gestured for them to follow her to a small, secluded seating area away from the reception desk. "What happened?" Michael demanded. "Can I see her?"
"Michael, you can't" Sandra sat at her sons' side. "She's in a bad state. I found her sleeping this morning. I woke her up and she was furious at me! She kept saying that she needed five more minutes!"
"Why?" Michael shook his head in bemusement.
"I'm not sure. She was brought to the treatment room. The nurse left her for a few minutes, and she shut the door, locked it" Sandra grabbed her son's shaking hands. "She took about 16 Valium tablets and slit her wrist. We lost her for a few minutes"
"Lost her?" Nancy's lips trembled.
"She flat lined" she said sadly. "But we got her back"
Michael growled and shook his head in rage. "That fucker must have done something to her"
"Her blood pressure and heart rate are low. We are providing her with oxygen to help her breathe. She needed a blood transfusion, and we have a specialist coming in soon to check her brain activity. There is a possibility that there may be brain damage" Sandra explained. "I checked her body for any injuries and there are none. But whatever he did to her in the dream has pushed her over the edge"
"But why is she not telling us what's going on in her dreams?" Michael seethed. "She has to understand that we are trying to help her!"
"Michael" Sandra tugged her son around to face her. "You need to understand. She is developing a personality disorder. Or we may have to face the likelihood that she already has one!"
"What? What do you mean?" he felt a tug of fear pull at his heart.
"I'll tell you more soon, I promise. She needs to wake up" she rubbed his arms lightly. "I also found out that Dr Simms had been administering Katherine anti-psychotic drugs in her food"
Nancy glanced between Sandra and her father, "Can she do that?"
Donald looked over towards Sandra as she elucidated. "Only if the patient has lost the capability to make their own lucid decisions. But Katherine is not like that. Dr Simms took this stupid fucking decision on her own. She never discussed it with any of the other doctors. Never mind Katherine!"
"When can I see her mom?" Michael asked.
"I'm not sure Michael" she saw the look of disappointment in his eyes. "Look, I'm going to stay at the hospital tonight"
"You said that she is in a coma? Do you think she'll dream?" Nancy questioned.
"At the moment we are unsure. I will know more later" she looked at her son then at Nancy with a stern gaze. "I want everyone to stay awake tonight. I know you said that Krueger has lost his powers, but something has happened to Katherine. We can't risk anyone being put in danger!"
Nancy gave a quick nod, then looked at Michael. His stare was directed at his hands that were tightly clasped together. His knuckles turning white. She could sense he was furious.
"How long do you think she'll be in a coma?" Donald spoke.
"We are not sure. I will find out more later. I'm hoping by sitting at her side and speaking to her might help her recovery. I will let you know the moment her condition changes" she tightly embraced her son and then gave Nancy a hug.
Donald looked over to his daughter. "I'll be out soon. I just want to speak to Sandra for a few more minutes"
Both teenagers nodded and quietly left the foyer out into the autumn sunshine. Once out of sight Donald turned towards Sandra, "You said that Katherine is developing a personality disorder?"
"Yes, that probably why she is hiding things from us. I've been reading up on this over the last few nights and I've concluded that she does have one. Despite everything that bastard has done to her since her childhood and even now, she has trouble disconnecting from him. She continues to desire the nurturing and accepting love he gave her when she was a little girl" Sandra leaned back in her chair and sighed despondently. "From when I spoke to her two years ago and even in her counselling notes, she had repeatedly said that there were happy times with him. Good times. So, in her mind she still remembers this and craves this from him"
Donald grew curious and sat back in his seat, listening with interest as she continued her conclusions.
"There are some cases where the child views the violence, the abuse as normal. That is what Katherine felt as a child. She had said that he only whipped her once with the belt. He may have threatened her with violence, but the abuse wasn't violent. As you know it was psychological, emotional and sexual abuse. In her mind as a child, it became normal for her, she became accustomed to it" she sorrowfully shook her head. "And now it is starting again. From the moment she began to dream of him, her mind had begun to change. She has developed traumatic bonding"
"What is that?"
"It's where the child experiences of periods of positive events alternating with periods of abuse. In Katherine's case her father, the child can become almost co-dependent" Sandra rubbed her weary eyes. "Although for many of us the idea of a child bonding with the abuser may be hard to fathom, the way that care giving combined with abuse makes separating oneself from the adult very difficult"
Donald slowly nodded, comprehending her words. "So, in a way, because Freddy had cared for her and loved her in a normal fatherly way when he was alive, combined with the abuse has made her feel conflicted? She doesn't want to leave him, turn against him?"
She nodded. "Yes. It's going to be difficult for me to explain this to Michael. But he must realise that Katherine has this disorder because of the abuse as a child. It will be very hard for her to break away from her father. There are individuals who have bonded with their abuser that exhibit certain emotional and behavioural signs that are important for all of us to recognise" Sandra slipped her right hand into her front jean pocket and pulled out a folded-up piece of paper. "I wrote this last night. It's notes of some of the behaviours"
Donald took it off her and began to read.
Overidentifying with the abuser: Some individuals who have endured long-term abuse often find themselves harbouring conflicting emotions. There are times when the abused individual may hate the abuser one minute and the next minute make statements or do things that makes the relationship appear better than it is.
Feeling indebted to the abuser: Some abused individuals may develop a sense of gratitude for something that the abusive individual may have done for them. Some abused individuals develop an emotional bond to the abuser that makes them feel they sometimes owe the abuser something. so emotionally protective over the abuser that they will endure the abuse in order to please the abuser.
Explaining almost everything away: A very typical behaviour of some abused individuals is to make excuses for the abuse.
Protecting the abuser: Most of us would run away from someone who is abusing us. We don't want to experience pain and we don't want to feel the shame of being abused. But sometimes because the abuser is often mentally or emotionally disturbed and is the product of a dysfunctional environment, the abused individual can develop such a bond that they feel the need to protect the abuser.
Allowing the abuse to continue to "please" the abuser: Some individuals, primarily those who are being sexually abused and manipulated, will permit the abuse to continue to "keep problems down" or "please him/her." The victim becomes so overwhelmed by a failure to protect or stand up for themselves that they give in.
Covering negative emotions in the presence of the abuser: If you are sad and the abuser is happy, you cover your sadness. If you are happy and the abuser is depressed, you cover your elation. If you are feeling hopeless and suicidal but the abuser is walking around the house singing and playing music, you will most likely cover your emotions and go along to get along. The abused child believes that they are not allowed to feel any emotion, to think for themselves. To share their thoughts. They keep themselves emotionless.
Desiring love and affection despite being hurt: Most individuals who are the victims of abuse desire love and affection, sometimes only the love and affection of the abuser. It's almost as if the person desires the love and affection of the abuser so much that they will do anything to achieve it.
Donald's jaw dropped. "This is just like Katherine"
"Yes. Everything that has happened to her since she was five years old. I want to speak to Michael about this in the next day or so. He needs to know that Katherine has this strong attachment to Freddy, despite all the sick and twisted things he has done to her"
He shook his head confusedly. "But she tried to kill herself?"
"She's at breaking point. Whatever that bastard did to her has pushed her too far" Sandra seethed silently.
"Is there anything that we can do?" Donald sat forward.
"We have to get her out of Springwood. Away from him"
"How?"
"I'm going to contact Dr Murray" she took the paper from him and folded it into her pocket. "I'm going to try and get her transferred to a facility in Central City. It may take weeks though. But because of the situation she is in now it will become more difficult. Would it be okay if Michael stays over with you tonight? I'm afraid he'll do something stupid on his own. Like confronting Freddy"
"Yes, of course" he smiled.
"Thank you"
x x x
Back in the ICU ward Sandra was greeted by the neurologist Dr Vickers, a short stout man with greying hair. Accompanying him was Dr Carver who had conveyed to Sandra that Dr Simms would be temporarily on leave for the next few days due to her clandestine behaviour of dispensing the drugs to Katherine without discussing this with her Sandra or even himself. This had pleased Sandra, thankful that the woman was out of the picture even though for a short period of time.
She had now settled in a chair beside Katherine, taking her hands in hers again and having been encouraged by Dr Vickers was speaking quietly to the girl on the bed. Dr Vickers stood behind her staring keenly at the EEG monitor, particularly at the various coloured lines on the screen. Each line indicating various parts of the girl's brain. The lines perked, spiking slightly. He noted down a few sentences on a clipboard. "There is some low level of activity" he looked at the last line, seeing that it was flat." There seems to be no indication of REM sleep. Though that may change if her condition improves"
. . .
In the dreamworld Krueger visualized at the bottom of the bed, having finished paying a dreamer a visit. It was a teenaged girl no older than 13 years old, with the same facial features of Sandra. The kill had been quick and bloody. His lips had curled into a little smirk, as he noticed Katherine's body on the bed displayed in the same manner as it was in the waking world. Tubes, ventilator, breathing tube, IV drip all attached to her frail body. His eyes narrowed slightly as he began to focus on her mind, at last he could sense some part of it. But not all. She was still not able to dream to his disgust. Where had she gone to…?
He walked over to her side and reached down with his blades, stroking her matted, messy hair lightly and began to murmured words to her. Trying to lure her back to him in the dreamworld.
…
A lone figure ventured across a vast, desolate landscape. The sky above was blood red and various glistening red crackles of lightening sparked across the sky. The ground was covered in gravel, dark red dust. To each side of the person about ten feet in each direction were deep, large cannons. Amongst the gravel and dust were the skeletal remains of bodies, of various sizes.
Katherine didn't know how she got here. The last thing she remembered was her eyes fluttering closed in the treatment room, then blackness. A dark void. Then after what seemed like an eternity her eyes had snapped opened, and she found herself on this barren wasteland. Since then, she had just been walking aimlessly across the landscape having no idea of where she was heading to. At first, she thought that she was dead, destined to remain here. But a little part of her knew that she wasn't dead.
She slowed to a stop beside a clutter of dead carcasses and looked down at her right hand again, seeing the blood still oozing from her hacked flesh on her wrist. Maybe she should have slit her throat instead of her wrist. Then she really would be dead.
Pushing that thought away she continued onwards and saw the edge of a cliff about twenty feet ahead of her and she broke out into a little jog, nearing it. Soon, screams and cries of help resounded from below, deep in the fiery pit. Her bare feet stopped a few feet from the gravelly edge of the precipice, and she peered over. Her mouth parted in horror.
There was a mass of swarming, naked, bloodied bodies. They rolled and crawled over each other as the hot, vibrant flames scorched their bodies. There was perhaps, hundreds. No, thousands of them. Men, women, children, of all ages. Different races and nationalities. "What is this place?" she whispered.
"That's hell down there"
She spun around to face her little apparition. Again, dressed in the same attire as herself, with the same inflicted wounds. "Hell?"
Little Katherine nodded. "Yeah"
"Who are they? The bodies?" she nodded into the pit.
"Lost souls" the little girl replied. "The people who are sent to hell for their crimes. People who have lost their faith. They can't go to heaven, so they go here. To hell"
Katherine stared thoughtfully at the swarming bodies beneath them. "It's not what I expected"
"There's many different types of hell"
Katherine nodded quietly and then took a step closer to the edge. Maybe this was why she was here. She was meant to go to hell. Maybe heaven wouldn't accept her. Not after everything she did as a child. Keeping all those dark secrets for her father about how he killed her mother, killing the children, how she asked him to give Billy, Lucy and Melanie their 'medicine'. This was her fate. To go to hell. She took another step forward.
"What are you doing?" little Katherine gasped.
"This is where I must go. It's the only way" Katherine murmured.
"Why?"
"I'd rather be in hell, that to be with him. Not after what he did to me…" she looked forlornly at her little spirit. "To us"
Little Katherine shook her head. "But daddy…"
"He doesn't care about us! He raped…" Katherine choked back a sob. "he said he would never do that to me. But he did. This…" she looked at the sizzling flamed pit below and held out her right hand for her. "Is the only way to be free of him"
Little Katherine fought back her tears and took a hesitant step forward.
"It's okay. I'll be with you" Katherine reassured and gently clasped her hands around little Katherine's and they both edged closer to the pit.
From the sky above a faint voice began to break through the clouds, a whisper...
Katherine shook her head and without another thought she jumped, pulling the little girl with her into the flames and crawling bodies below. Hot air flowed around her face, fanning her hair away from her face as she fell downwards into the cannon. Though their bodies did not collide with the flames or the bodies. They drifted onwards, falling deeper into the pit and soon the red flames dissipated leaving a dark void around them. Katherine glanced to her left and saw that she was no longer holding her little spirit's hand. She was alone and to her puzzlement the whisper grew louder, its tone gravelly and all too familiar. She sneered and shouted out. "No!"
….
In the waking world Sandra jumped from her seat as she heard a computerised beep from the EEG monitor and swung around to the screen. The bottom line that indicated REM sleep began to twitch, spiking sharply and then it repeatedly spiked every few seconds. "Shit" she whispered. Katherine had started to dream…
Katherine's brown eyes jolted opened and she instantly gagged, grasping madly at the white tube inserted in her throat. She yanked it out, choking and wheezing for air. Her gaze was fuzzy, the room blurring in and out as she grabbed the IV tubes and pulled them from her flesh. With another few sharp hard coughs, she rolled to her left off the bed and onto the floor with a dull thud. Her breath was low, wheezing as she gathered her bearings. She knelt on the ground and then lifted her face towards the end of the bed, seeing Freddy looming before her. His face was vacant, but soon a pleased smirk grew across his face, and he began to approach her.
She scampered backwards. "Keep away from me!"
"It's okay princess" he endeavoured to reassure her
Katherine backed away on her knees and snapped harshly. "Get away from me!"
He growled quietly at her dismissive stance towards her, and he reached for her. Katherine glanced at his bloodied claw and unexpectantly grabbed his arm, shoving the blades forward trying to dig the pointed knives into her chest. "Come on! Kill me!" she screamed and glared at him, "That's what your good at isn't it? Killing people? Well, c'mon, finish me off!"
The scars on his face twitched, tightening in shock at her lack of conviction and he felt her pull his glove forward, trying to pierce her skin with his blades. He quickly shook his head and drew his right arm back. But she tightened her grip and again goaded. "Unlike you I keep my promises! Now do it! KILL ME!"
He snarled and swiped his arm away from her. It was apparent he had pushed her too far this time. Katherine dove for his glove trying to pry it from his hand, but he again hauled it away from her hands and in a blink of an eye he made the glove disappear. Her lips curled into a leer. "You COWARD!"
Freddy knelt before her and hushed her. "Sshh baby girl"
She wildly looked about for anything to aid her in ending her life and saw the tip of the needle from her IV tube and leapt for it. But Freddy snatched her back, curling his bare right scarred hand around her chest and gently grasped her throat with his left hand, pinning her back against his chest. "Come here baby girl"
"Why won't you kill me?" she shrieked and gripped his hand that was around her throat, trying to force his fingers tighter around her neck. "Come on do it! Choke me like you did mom!"
He withdrew his hand form her throat and shifted her around, so he was sitting on the ground behind her. She squirmed in his grip as his left hand pinned her thrashing arms against her sides. "Ssshh" he cooed.
She bared her teeth and continued to struggle against him. "Kill me!"
He shook his head.
Katherine twisted her head to the right and glowered at him in disdain. "Oh, but you'll rape me, huh? You'll happily do that! Just let me die! I want to die! KILL ME!"
"No baby girl. I won't" he tightened his grip around her arms and whipped his right leg over hers, trying to still her movements. But she twisted and turned in his grip, trying to break free. He raised his right hand and clamped it around the side of her temple. She shrieked and snarled. Knowing what he was trying to do. "NO! You had your chance!"
Freddy gritted his teeth, beginning to lose his cool. "That bitch Sandra woke you up before I had the chance to erase your memory!"
"You had the chance at the start! After you raped me!" she shot back. "But you just let me suffer. I kept remembering what you did when I was finding those bodies! You don't care, you never have!"
He growled and looked down at her limbs, then with a jolt of energy they went limp. Held down by his powers. She sobbed and screamed as his fingertips dug into the side of her temple. "No!"
A hot, piercing pain erupted through her front lobe area of her brain. She hissed and screamed as the pain deepened as Freddy focused on her memories. He found the ones he was looking for. How he raped her against the bench, the incident of her waking up and killing herself in that medical room. In another blinding sharp blast of pain that tore through her mind, he erased them, and she blacked out, her head falling forward.
Freddy sighed in aggravation at the turns of events. Despite killing that brat a few hours before he still was pissed off at Sandra. The first moment she fell asleep he was going to make her pay with her own blood. But his main concern was Katherine. He looked down at her unconscious form and lightly kissed the back of her head. She was right though. He could have easily erased that memory of him raping her minutes after doing that deed. But it was over now. He would learn from his mistakes.
He moved backwards and leaned against the wall to the left, allowing her body to droop backwards against his chest. His eyes fell to her right wrist, and he tenderly ran his right burnt fingers over the rutted lacerations. Another beauty mark on her skin. He gave a little dark smirk at this. He loosened his grip on her arms and titled her head backwards, allowing it to lay on his left arm. He gazed at her ashen face and frowned a trickle of blood oozed from her right nostril. With a flick of his fingers, he brushed it away and slanted her head backwards a little more. He wasn't sure how long she would be in this cataleptic state. But he wasn't going to be leaving her side.