**It's me, Lain, again... with the same old message that everybody hates... I no own Kruger, Elm Street, ectiness. TJ and Saphy and Kris are weakly based on other people but I say they belong to me because... I'm the author and that makes me God... I *do* own Ginny... duh.
Ginny looked up at Sapphire.
Saphy, who sat a crossed the table from her... she had been watching her... watching her with those scornful sapphire eyes... what did she want? Was she looking for a sign? A confession?
Ginny forced herself not to sneer like she wanted to and took another long drag of her cigarette.
It had been four days since she'd met Kris Carrigan... throughout that time; she had made a solid friend... outside of the household, I mean, of course... she still had TJ and Saphy... though they were starting to act a little strange... ever since Mei's death... they didn't know. They didn't know that Freddy was awake again... they had no idea.
But what did they think?
Ginny shot a glance up at the clock... 4:59 p.m; time to go. She stood up, slowly, her chair making a long, loud, deep sound as it dragged against the aluminum floor away from the table. Everyone turned their heads to look at her... even Ashley; who was just grabbing a Coke from the fridge.
Ginny took the last drag of her cigarette, and then pressed it against the bottom of the ash tray until it went out.
"Kris invited me to dinner at his house," she exhaled. "Tonight... at this time... so I best be going."
She left the room and moved into the dark living room... every light in there was off; even the TV. She brushed off her clothes, quickly, to make sure she didn't have any ashes on them... them: a yellow and black striped long-sleeved T-shirt (the sleeves rolled up to her elbows) with a white Johnny collar and army-green short shorts that tie up the crotch... Saphy had been angry about her bowering her shoes... without asking, particularly... so now she was back to her old style... black high-heals, this pair; baring a million straps to hold them on.
She hadn't told Saphy and TJ and Dana about the invitation before that moment... she didn't want them to threat over it... she preferred to just leave when she leaves and return when she returns... time is such a flimsy thing... so unreliable.
A noise behind her caused her to jump... footsteps... someone coming. She picked up the pace and moved quickly towards the door, yanked it opened, then pushed open the screen... that was when the footsteps entered the living room...
They were Ashley; on the way back to her room.
Ginny relaxed and began outside again; taking a glance at the darkening sky outside... it looked more like seven or eight; rather then five. The screen door flew shut behind her... but it didn't scare her; she was expecting it.
She began down the walk ways. Kris's house was on the corner of Elm and... some other street; she was too damn lazy to learn. She liked the house... it was bigger then her own and seemed to have a cozy feel about it... where as, to her, anyway, 1428 always seemed to be so cold...
She tried not to look as she passed the house where she had seen the little girls playing out in front... jumping rope... singing of Freddy. She didn't want to see them again... there was something about them... she hated them... she feared them.
She picked up the pace as she passed the house, but not by too much... she was, after all, still warring high-heels. She passed the last house and reached the corner house, Kris' house.
She slowed down dramatically and slinked up the walk way, casually. When she reached the door, she knocked two times, pressed the door bell, then knocked two times again... it wasn't a code or secret knock... just for the fuck of it, I guess.
Minutes later; a tall, heavy build man who made Ginny look like a tooth pick (which wasn't very hard) appeared behind its frame. He looked down at her.
"You're Kris's friend?" he said, in a low, flat, emotionless tone.
"Ginny," she replied, plastering a smile all over her face and extending her hand for a shake on some sort of strange, mocking impulse.
He didn't take it but, instead, went back in the house leaving the door wide open for her to enter and close... she did, and then looked around... Kris was no where in sight. She waited. Kris's mother, Mrs. Carrigan, entered the room seconds later.
"Oh!" she cried out, like she had just seen the most adorable puppy. "You must be Kris's friend! I'm his Mommy. It's such a pleasure to have ya here... Kris has spoken very highly of you."
This woman needs some Librium... exaggerating every-other-syllable is bad, Okay.
"Ginny," she said, again.
"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Mrs. Carrigan cried, again. "I know, I know, Kris told me!"
Why would anyone actually *want* to speak with this... thing!?
Ginny plastered yet another fake smile onto her face. "Well, I'm glad... speaking of Kris; where is he?"
"Kris?" the woman's eyes lit up like candles. "Oh! He's upstairs. I'll go shout for him and tell him that you're here..."
With that, Mrs. Carrigan scurried away to the stair case and began cheerfully shouting at the top of her shrieky little lungs for him... she particularly hated the woman scream: "Giiiiiiiiiiiinny's heeeeeeeeeere!"
Ginny fidgeted. She heard the thumps of footsteps begin down the stairs and then, after only a few minutes, Kris appeared in its frame. He smiled. "Hey, Ginns."
"Hey, Krissy." ... an inside joke.
Mrs. Carrigan smiled wide and scurried back into the kitchen... she never walked or ran... only scurried... always scurrying.
Kris watched her and waited until she was gone before turning back to Ginny. "C'mon, we can chill in the living room for a while before dinner."
Ginny nodded, numbly, and followed him into the living room... on the way, they did bump in to Mr. Carrigan... who just picked up the pace and hurried past them without a single word.
"Not a very social person, ah?"
Kris scoffed. "Nah, he just thinks you look like a whore."
"What?"
Kris just smiled in reply and continued along.
They entered the den and flopped down on the couch. Kris scooped up the remote, turned the TV on, and started flipping through channels until he found something worthy of their observation...
Ginny waited. She had a secret purpose here to night... and it wasn't to enjoy a lovely home cooked dinner at a dear friends' home... it was much more important then that... it was about Kruger; of course it was about Kruger... the Nightmare Man was taking over her life! But she couldn't fight him... at least, not yet.
Ginny sorted out what she'd say in her mind and, when she had, when she knew how she'd go about things, it she waited for a commercial break... one came – a commercial for Foot Locker – but, just as she opened her mouth to speak, Mrs. Carrigan appeared in the doorway. "Diiiinnnner iss reeeaaddyy!" she sang out.
Ginny bit her lip in irritation. Kris stood up and began to walk towards the door, then stopped in front of her, pause, then said "Come on..." and continued along. Ginny followed.
Dinner went by slowly and boringly... the entire family and Ginny all sitting around... she felt like an alien invader... an orphan sitting with a family of a friend... an orphan sitting with a family that wasn't and never would be her own.
She swallowed down a mouth full of soggy carets as she thought this; wishing she had another cigarette.
After about forty-five minutes, more or less, Kris's parents and little brother (Donovan) left the room... Ginny had been careful to chew every single bite twenty million times and take as very little on her fork so that it'd last as long as possible...
Kris swallowed his last bite and set down his fork. Ginny did, too. Kris stood up and began to leave. Ginny stopped him by grabbing his arm.
"Kris, I need to talk to you." Ginny stuttered out quickly. Her gray marble eyes store up pathetically.
He didn't say a word.
"I need you to tell me everything you know about Freddy Kruger."
"Wha-... why?"
"Because!" she didn't mean to sound so desperate... it just happened.
There was silence for a long moment... Kris seemed to be pondering some great matter deep inside his mind. Ginny watched hopelessly desperate.
"Is he... is he stocking you, now?" Kris broke the silence, finally.
Ginny hesitated... then nodded.
"Okay..." Kris sat back down, starring at the floor. Ginny let go of his arm. "Okay, I'll tell you everything I know..."
He began timidly... but as the story developed he became more and more into it. Deeper. Deeper, did Kruger's legacy go. He continued, first telling her of Freddy's life-time murders... beginning with some girl name Loretta, moving on to the children of Springwood – one by one – and ending with...
"Mei," Ginny whispered.
"Huh?"
"Mei, Mei, he killed Mei!"
Kris was silent. Ginny was silent. They were silent for a long, long time... and then he picked up again. He told her, as Mei had, about the trial and how the parents had ganged up to kill Freddy... but in much more detail... and how they did and then how things had been quiet for so long... and then when it started up again with Nancy... and on and on and on... always coming back to 1428 Elm Street... just as Mei had said.
"And now," he began his conclusion. "... it's started up again... it had to start up again! Because there are new comers to that house... that house; it's damned! Damned by the dream demon Fred Kruger... everyone who sets foot in it is damned. He takes their souls on his blades... forever!"
Ginny shivered. "He takes their souls?"
Kris nodded.
"Why?!"
"Huh?"
"Haven't you ever read Bram Stoker's book, Dracula?" a feverish grin twisted its way into the corners of Ginny's mouth. "Renfield, the psychopath in there, don't you remember how he felt about souls? He hated the idea of having the souls of the dead haunting about him... hated it! So, if our little Freddy here is such a psychopath, then why is it he'd want souls?"
"You're forgetting," Kris shot back. "Renfield wanted their lives... No body knows what Freddy wants... revenge, I think."
"Still... if he hates them so much..." her voice trailed off.
"He calls them 'his children'." Kris picked up again. "Everyone he kills – every soul – is one of his children... Mei is one of them, now, too... and, if you don't be careful, you'll be one of them, also!"
"Kris, don't be so epic." Ginny smiled slyly.
"What does this have to do with anything anyw–" Kris was interrupted by a rolling giggle as it entered the room.
They could hear the giggle bouncing around in the living room before... and now it entered the kitchen as Donovan came crashing in, running like a madman.
He smiled and ran straight up to Ginny. "Hey, Piggy!"
"Hello, Donny." Ginny smiled wide and friendly-like for the child... and they dropped the subject of Freddy, for Donovan's sake.
"Hey Ginny!" TJ chimed as Ginny stepped through the front door.
Ginny didn't answer – didn't say a word – and kept her gaze straight forwards as she headed for the stairs.
"Was the dinner fun?" TJ seemed to giggle out every word. "At that boys place? Kris, right? Isn't that his name? You like him, don't you? How much do you like him? Do you like him a lot?"
Silence.
"Ginny?" the manner of TJ's speech changed suddenly and dramatically. Golden blond brows narrowed worriedly in on the bright blue eyes.
Ginny ignored her, pretty much blowing her off, and began up the stairs... thump, thud, thud, thud... each step seemed so heavy, felt so heavy; as if she were warring cement shoes...
She thanked God more and more, silently, inside her head, the more the canned laughter from the television faded away... until it faded away completely... and she couldn't hear it, anymore, at all.
Once upstairs, she fell against the door to their bedroom, her fragile hands and long fingers thumbled with the handle until she managed to get it opened... then nearly fell down but did a trippy little jog like thing over to her bottom bunk and crashed face first down onto the mattress... forgetting and leaving the door half-way open.
She fell asleep mere seconds after her head hit the pillow.