** Well hello… back for more? You're so nice *hands you, the reader, a cookie*… anyway, same old message; I don't own Freddy, don't own the house on Elm Street, Saphy and TJ are (loosely) based on people I actually know and Mei and Ginny belong to me w00t!
Ginny woke up, suddenly.
Sun light, streaming in through the white curtains of the windows, flooded the room. The bright, neon green numbers on the portable clock a crossed the room from Ginny's bunk read 8:15 a.m.
Sapphire Jasmine was right above Ginny… her face so close that their lips were almost touching… as if Saphy was going to kiss her.
Saphy didn't look at all shocked until Ginny bolted sitting up straight against her headboard… then Saphy's sapphire eyes widened until they were perfect circles. It was obvious she had already been up a while… she was dressed (in loose-fitting black jeans and a crisp white tank-top) and her light brown hair was already hardened with hairspray into her custom spikes.
"What were you doing?" Ginny blurted out.
"Huh?" Saphy seemed taken by total surprise before slowly fading into her mind. "Oh… I. You were muttering something in your sleep… I wanted to hear you better so I got closer… sorry if I startled you."
There was a long pause before a sly smile took Saphy's face by storm. "You know, Ginny, you were saying something about Freddy… is there a secret lover-boy back home that you're not telling us about?"
Ginny blinked several times. Freddy? "No, Sapphire… he's not my boyfriend. He's…"
"He's what?" Saphy asked after Ginny hadn't said anything for the longest time.
"I don't know," Ginny thought hard. She couldn't tell Sapphire who Freddy really was… then again; she didn't really know what he was. She had to come up with something… quick! "An old friend, you might say."
There! That works.
"Oooooh," Sapphire continued slyly. "So he's an X-boyfriend. I see."
"No, Saph-"
"Give it up, Ginny. You can't fool me."
Ginny sighed. Whatever… let her believe whatever she wants to believe. "Yeah, Sapphire… can't fool you."
Saphy smiled triumphantly.
"Hey, Saphy," she seemed started as Ginny picked up conversation again after a pause between the two. "Who's been here in Springwood the longest?"
"Out of us girl?" Sapphire didn't wait for an answer. "Mei… Mei Rosenberg has lived in the town of Springwood since she was seven… her parents just died two years ago… right after they opened this place up."
"Thanks," Ginny said numbly and she got up.
"Is that all?" Sapphire asked, already turning and heading for the door.
"Yeah, thanks." Ginny repeated.
I'm definitely gonna have to have to talk with Mei today…
All the other girls were already awake.
… But breakfast wouldn't be served until they were, one and all, all downstairs.
Ginny hated to keep them waiting. She usually didn't eat breakfast, anyway. So she quickly dressed in a black toob top and a pair of black short shorts with zipper and button entry and side and back pockets, and then quickly padded from the room…
Once down stairs; she swung through the living room, into the kitchen, where they all seemed to be waiting for her. Mei, dressed in lime green button up shirt and an olive green mini skirt, greeted her with a wide smile. TJ Weaver, dressed in a baby blue Sponge bob Square pants T-shirt and faded jeans, gave her a little wave and then turned back to Mei and Sapphire… Saphy; who was just starring at her blankly.
Mrs. Dana stood at the stove, frying up some eggs. "Hillo, Ginny!" she declared.
"H-hi," Ginny said strangely, fidgeting.
"So nice to see you have decided to be joining us." Dana went on.
Ginny just ignored it and stepped past her to the table, sitting right next to Mei. As Saphy and TJ chatted away, laughing about something that happened on last nights rerun of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Ginny tried to whisper to Mei without them noticing… and succeeded.
"I need to talk to you later… it's about Fred Kruger."
Mei's eyes grew wide… it was really strange. All the color drained from her face – even her lips – and she seemed as if she wanted to say something but couldn't so she just nodded.
Strange…, Ginny thought, but just shrugged it off.
Minutes later; Miss Dana placed plates all around and shoved uber greasy eggs fried in way too much butter onto them; spreading the heart failure all around... The girls all smiled thankfully but it was obvious to tell that ever last one was a fake.
So breakfast proceeded that way… Ginny; mutilating her "food" to the point of where it was just chunks and strips for the rearrangement made it look like she had eaten a lot when, really, she had only taken one or two bites.
She wondered if the others were doing that, too, but dare not look up to find out… and when breakfast was over they all seemed to rise at the same time and head for disposal.
After breakfast, Ginny caught up with Mei… who seemed shaky and nervous, now… as if something was deeply troubling her.
Ginny got up to her side, grabbed her arm (which caused Mei to nearly jump out of her skin) and led her away while TJ and Saphy went to the living room to watch TV and Dana went to hang laundry.
Once in a safe place, "I need to talk to you about Fred Kruger."
Mei didn't say anything.
"I had a dream about him last night… except… it was weird. You see, he… his skin. His skin was all burnt up… it was weird… and he had knives instead of finger nails… and…"
Much to Ginny's surprise (infact, so much, it sent her into a state of frozen shock after wards), Mei didn't say a word… didn't answer… didn't even let her finish… Mei haled back and slapped her right a crossed the face.
"How dare you!" she declared… it wasn't a question at all. "That's such a sick, sick joke! And after all I did was try and be friends with you! You pull something like that… well you messed up, Ginny! You couldn't have dreamed of Freddy; because if you had; we all would have dreamt of him!"
"Wha… Mei..?"
"You wonna know who Freddy is? Huh? Huh?! He's DEAD!" Mei shrieked. "Freddy… Kruger… is… dead! He was a child killer… he killed a bunch of kids here in Springwood… eventually; he was caught… but there was a mistake… with the papers or with the search warrant or something… and Freddy got off Scott free!"
"So what…"
"What happened to him?" Mei's face was a twist of rage. "What HAPPENED to him… you really wonna know, Ginny? Really? He was murdered… by the parents of those dead kids! By the parents of the kids he killed… and some others. They tracked him down… to his boiler room place where he used to take the kids before he killed them… and they burned him… alive!"
Ginny shivered. "T-then…"
"Yes! Then… then… it took a while, after they burned him… and, at first, they thought the girl was CRAZY! A girl named Nancy Thompson… she saw Freddy… in her dreams! She knew he was killing her friends… one by one! Beginning with her best friend Tina… and moving on to Tina's boyfriend, Rod… and even her own boyfriend, Glenn!!"
Ginny watched her with wide eyes. "And then?"
"Yeah…" Mei's eyes seemed foggy and clouded over; as if she wasn't even there at all. "And then… he just kept coming back… over and over and over and over again… and you know what? It always… kept… coming… down… to this… house."
"What?!?"
"That's right! Nancy Thompson lived in this house! 1428 Elm Street! He kept coming back to children right here on 1428 Elm Street! Over and over and over again…"
Over and over and over again…
Fred Kruger wandered the halls of his playground…
Okay, so a boiler room – in MOST people's opinions – isn't much of a playground… but to him it was. To him; it was where all the fun happened.
She had triggered it… the girl, Ginny. She had triggered the others to remember him… so he was back. Back to his good old playground; rather then just sitting around, doing little shy of nothing, back in Hell.
… It was good to be home.
But being home wasn't much of a hot topic on his mind, that night… she was. The girl… Ginny Jenks.
Who decided to name the One 'Ginny'?
He didn't expect it… he had no idea that he'd meet the One that night… infact; he never knew if he'd even really ever meet the one... or if she… it… ever really even existed.
He leaned against one of the metal banisters. Who would have ever though the One would come in the form of one of his children? By God! He could have killed her! He could have killed her, thinking she was just another teenager, and never have known who she really was…
But then again; how did he really know for sure? The One was just something Satan told him about, once upon a time… almost like a myth.
He didn't know for sure.
He'd have to choose his course of actions carefully… from now on. I doubt that's something he's ever done before… be cautious.
No, no… probably not.
He jumped. The clock rung out as it struck midnight. She would fall sleep soon… and then…
The real fun would begin.
Ginny looked at the clock.
Half past midnight…
The others were all already asleep.
But not Ginny… Ginny felt fearful of sleep. She feared the X-child killer Freddy Kruger had singled her out, now… and set out to kill her in her dreams as he had done to so many others. She couldn't let that happened… she didn't know what to do.
Sitting straight up, gray eyes piercing through the black darkness of night, she tried to focus on the light the clock offered.
Don't fall asleep…
The light…
Don't fall asleep…
… The light of the clock numbers…
Don't fall asleep…
… They hadn't changed in more then a minutes!
"Don't fall asleep," Ginny whispered, slowly, to herself.
"Why not?" A voice boomed in her ear. Strong hands clamped down on her shoulders. A face right next to hers.
Ginny jumped and jerked away, falling straight out of bed, two of the finger nail knives caught on her shoulder leaving two twin gashes proceeding down her shoulder blade before Freddy pulled them away.
She landed face first, then flipped over onto her back and lifted herself up to her elbows in a fright.
"Kruger!" She gasped.
He tipped his hat in a mock cowboy greeting, still crouched on her bed.
"But how? You can't be here if I'm not asleep!"
Freddy gave her a look that seemed to say – okay, that seemed to crudely demand – "don't be stupid".
Ginny paused for a long moment. "I… I am asleep, aren't I?"
Kruger nodded, slowly. "Yes, Gabrielle, you are."
Ginny's mouth fell open in shock. Gabrielle was her first name. No one had called her by it since…
… Since the accident.
"How did you know?" she was finally able to stutter out.
"I looked inside your mind," Freddy answered, as if it was nothing. "… I can do that, you know."
"Do you do that to all your victims?" Ginny's voice broke when she said the word 'victim'.
"Victim?" Freddy seemed shocked by the statement. "You're not a victim, Gabrielle… no, no, you're so much more."
"Don't call me that…"
"Well I'm certainly not calling you Ginny…"
"Well, then, call me something else! I don't care if you call me Bertha; just don't call me that!"
"Alright… how 'bout Gabe?"
Doesn't this seem a little too much like idle chit-chat for the King of Nightmares? "Whatever..."
"Where'd you get a nickname like 'Ginny', anyway?"
Ginny blinked several times. "… I like ginny pigs…"
Now it was Freddy's turn to blink, blink. "… Ginny pigs?"
"Yea-" Ginny stopped. The strangest look took over Kruger's face as he looked away… it seemed like sensing for… something… and then, a slow, devious smile spread out wide.
"Guess what, Archangel," he said softly; his smile continuing to grow. "We have a visitor in my playground…
"What do ya say we go see who it is?"