Krueger & Voorhees: The Final Fear

•CHAPTER VI•

"Do you know the terror of he who falls asleep? To the very toes he is terrified. Because the ground gives way under him, and the dream begins." --Friedrich Nietzsche

The Nightmare Begins . . .

Beth walked slowly down the corridor. This place had a familiar feeling, although she'd never been here in her entire life. Then it came to her, from the news clippings and her conversation with the nervy desk sergeant. It was Westin Hills, but it was quite different. It seemed . . . older. It was like the church it was before they changed part of the structure into the clinic.

Bright, serene light filtered in through the panes of glass that lined the walls. Yes, this was definitely the way it had been before. They had later successfully built over the windows due their "suicidal" patients. She knew she was dreaming.

She caught a quick movement out of the corner of his eye. There, over down the hall to the right, a quick flash of a white garment. Beth followed it. It was that inquisitive "dream thinking" that made her do it. She knew that otherwise, she would pay it no mind. She bended around the right corner, the light growing ever brighter.

The corridor opened into a broad church hall. The white figure walked dramatically down the aisle, a ghostly bride come to join her invisible groom at the altar.

Beth noticed that there were figures waiting in the pews. They all looked forward silently, expectantly.

The white figure stopped at the altar and turned to face her. The face was motherly, withered as if she'd suffered a thousand tragedies.

It was Sister Mary Helena, better known as Amanda Krueger.

"Beth," she said. The people in the pews turned to look at her. Many of the faces were familiar. All of them had died at the hand of Freddy.

Her eyes swept across the faces as she advanced forward, many of them glowed in recognition. They were all from the coroner's reports. Roland Kincaid. Kristen Parker. Nancy Thompson.

Then, to her horror, she saw the face of Gerald.

"Oh God," she whispered.

"Thank you for coming," Amanda continued.

"Why am I here?" she asked.

She smiled warmly. "I think you know the answer to that." She gestured to the children with her hand. "I've been protecting these souls for years now. But now I think my efforts have been threatened once again. There is a new danger."

Amanda gestured to the pews once again and Beth turned to look. Suddenly, the seats began to fill with more people, until the entire hall was flooded with little more than standing room.

"Who are these people?" she asked her.

"They have died at the hand of Jason Voorhees. Beth, I cannot guard all of these souls. These unquiet spirits need to be put to rest, for once and for all."

"But how, Sister?" she asked.

Her image began to fade. "A child, chosen ages ago, has the power to defeat them. He is very near," she told her.

"Who is he?" Beth demanded, desperate for her not to go.

"The Apprentice."

"Apprentice? Who is that?"

"That's how we refer to them. They never know their true power, one has only to show it to them."

"How do I find him. Or her?"

"The child is very near," she repeated.

The image of the Sister began to flicker.

"Wait!" Beth said.

"This evil must be stopped. Look, Beth!"

The Sister pointed to the back of the church. Beth immediately turned around as the wall receded and showed the interior of Coop's bedroom, where he was sleeping peacefully.

Beth whirled back around to face the Sister once more, but she was gone.

•••

Beth sat up. Lucy's books lay spread out across the desk. She looked over at the bed. Nathan wasn't there.

She began to panic.

"Nathan!" She got up and ran to the bathroom, where she found him drying off from his shower.

She immediately shut the door.

Her chest was heaving, her heart was beating so fast. She could almost feel her cheeks turning red.

The door opened. He came out with the towel wrapped around his waist, followed by thick steam that smelled a lot like juniper. "Beth, you okay?"

She nodded.

Then his face formed into a horrific grimace. "Oh Beth. I'm so sorry."

"If anyone should be apologizing, it's me."

"No. I mean, I let you fall asleep."

She laughed nervously. "Oh. Well look at me. I'm alive." Then it hit her. "We need to go!"

"What?"

"Coop. He's after Coop!"

"Who?"

"I dunno. One of them!"

"How do you know?"

"I'll tell you in the car! Just get dressed!"

He stood there, looking at her for a moment.

"What the hell are you waiting for?" she demanded.

"Why don't you wait out in the truck so I can put on some clothes," he said.

"Oh. Sorry."

•••

Coop abruptly sat up in bed, his heart beating out of control. The insistent buzzing of the alarm clock seemed to fill the entire apartment. He reached over and slammed it hard, shutting the noise off. What the hell? he thought. It was 3 in the morning, why the hell was the clock going off?

He groaned and turned back over in his bed, sinking completely under the covers and burrowing his head into the pillow. Coop shut his eyes and tried to achieve sleep once again, but the sound of running water was coming from the adjacent bathroom.

He sat up. He lived alone, and no one had a key to his place. The only one that did was . . .

She came out of the bathroom in a tee shirt and a pair of his boxers like everything was perfectly normal.

"Hunter?" he said.

"Of course it's me, silly. Who else would be here?" She hopped into bed with him and slid under the sheets. Then she turned to him. "Coop? Coop, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"But I . . . I thought you were . . ."

"Dead?" Hunter laughed. "I only pretended to be dead so those sons of bitches wouldn't come get me." She took his hand and ran it under her shirt. "Feel me, baby. I'm real."

Coop was brought to tears. "Oh, Hunter . . ."

"Kiss me," she told him.

He leaned in and kissed her lips. Yes, this was the way it was supposed to be. She was as real as can be . . .

"Now get some sleep," Hunter said playfully, and turned away from him.

Coop smiled and turned over, satisfied that his girl was back. He was about to shut his eyes again when he heard the low guttural voice coming from the bedroom doorway.

"I heard you like it rough, Coop."

Coop turned to the source of the statement. Matt stood there grinning very uncharacteristically.

"Matt, how'd you get in here?" And why do you sound like you've smoked a convenience store's worth of Salems? "Are you okay?"

Matt threw back his head and laughed, responding in the same gravelly voice, "I'm perfectly fine."

Coop's eyes widened in horror when he saw the blades protrude from Matt's hand. He suddenly knew that this wasn't Matt.

"How 'bout some tongue action?" he asked.

Coop almost asked what the hell he was talking about until he felt himself about to choke. He grabbed his throat, gagging uncontrollably. He felt his tongue growing, fatter and longer. It rolled out of his mouth like a red carpet, extending down along the mattress and pulling him upward, wrapping itself around a blade of the ceiling fan. His legs dangled above the bed.

When he saw Matt again, he noticed that he'd changed. He was bigger, with a burnt face, a dirty brown fedora and a striped red and green shirt under a dark trench. The blades on his right hand had extended to their full length.

Freddy Krueger.

Coop desperately wanted to scream at the bastard to leave Hunter alone when Freddy went to her side of the bed, but he couldn't. Freddy laughed as he grabbed Hunter by her red hair. "Hunter gave good head, didn't she?"

The scream finally came, however soundless, when Krueger pulled her head from her body, showing Coop her scowling face.

"Coop!" Hunter's disembodied head scolded. "Put your fucking tongue back in your mouth!"

Krueger abruptly tossed her head across the room. "Women," he said flippantly. He came over to Coop, who was dangling from the fan. "A little tongue-tied, Coop? Don't look down!" he cackled.

The mattress of his bed was suddenly thrown to the side, revealing a fiery inferno down below.

"Any last words?" Krueger asked.

Coop couldn't respond.

"Didn't think so." Krueger used a blade to slice Coop free, and laughed as Coop dropped all the way down into the fire.

•••

Jason stood near the frozen lake. He was here again, and he knew the reason why this time.

All was quiet. There was no one to be found for miles.

He would wait now. It was time to gain the ultimate prize.

Suddenly, there was a stirring in the lake. The icy water began to slush furiously.

And right before his eyes, the boy floated upward, the chains that had been holding him under snapped. But the boy didn't plummet back down into the water, he simply faded.

Apprentice.

Jason would be ready.

•••

Nathan drove this time. Beth was far too nervy.

"Beth, I have a question."

"What's that?"

"You said 'one of them' was after Coop? She didn't tell you which?"

"No, she didn't."

"Well, it can't be Jason, because they captured him, right?"

"In the interest of saving lives or in the interest of science?"

Nathan groaned. "So if he did escape, we'd never know it because that lab is top secret."

"Unfortunately. I need a cigarette." She began reaching around in her console and he abruptly slapped her hand away. "Hey! What gives?"

"No, Beth. You need to quit."

She laughed without mirth. "Nathan, I can quit smoking today and get my head chopped off tomorrow. If I'm gonna die, let me die happy."

He turned to her. "You're not happy?"

"Look what's been happening to me? I didn't even come here on purpose, I stopped in Springlake--"

"Because of me." He returned his gaze to the road.

"Nathan, I didn't mean--"

"It's okay. I just thought that maybe one good thing came out of this."

She was silent for a moment, then, "You looked great in that towel, by the way."

He chuckled. "So Lois Lane does have a libido?"

"Sure I do. I just don't get to use it often."

Nathan quickly changed the subject. "You told me that the Sister said the Apprentice was the only one that could stop the two of them. What does that mean?"

"I still don't--" The realization hit Beth like a train wreck. It was there, right in front of her face and she hadn't even realized it. "Matthew!"

"Matthew?"

"He's the Apprentice! Remember what I told you guys Lucy said in her book? She said Matt was a lot more important than he knew. He was the one helping her bring back Jason, therefore it's him!"

"But how will that help if we don't know where the fuck he is? And does he even know what he's capable of?"

"I wish I knew, Nathan."

They pulled up in front of Coop's building shortly after.

"Oh god," Beth said, looking out of the window.

They could easily make out the flames that were coming out of Coop's window.

The two of them immediately hopped out of the truck and ran up to the entrance. Sirens blared in the background.

As they ran up the steps to Coop's apartment, they saw him, sitting on the steps with his head in his hands.

"Matt!" Nathan said.

Matthew looked up, his face tearstained. "I did it. I let him get him!"

•••

"He called me Apprentice," Matthew said from the back of the truck.

"I knew it," Beth said. "You're the one that can kill them, once and for all."

"Do you even know how?" Nathan questioned.

"It was something Lucy told me, of how these chosen ones could defeat these demons. I never thought for one moment that she meant me."

"Do you think it's possible that she kept you around just in case she lost control of Jason?" Beth asked.

"No, but it makes sense now."

"I'm gonna need you to be strong now, Matt," Nathan said to his brother. "Your friends--"

"I know, Nathan. Just drive."

"Do you even know where we're going?"

"I was there in Jason's dream when Freddy imprisoned me, but neither of them knew it. There's a border, right down the middle of town where Springwood ended and Crystal Lake began. The two of them, these two spirits, have been drawn to that area forever. If we can bring them both there, and I can remember . . . Maybe I can kill them both." Matthew sounded unsure.

"One of Lucy's books said something," Beth told them. "That it would take a nearly godlike power to kill them, if they didn't kill each other first. Maybe they can take each other out."

"I'd think that by now, they're too smart for that. However, if they do fight, they can weaken each other and it'll be that much easier for me to get them. They don't seem to like each other very much. But Krueger said something else in the dream. When he called me Apprentice, he also said I was the source of all that's good in the world, the key to his reign in Hell, and the gift to his savior. Like I'm a prize or something."

"The key to his reign in Hell?" Beth asked. Then it came to her. "He needs you, they both need you. The book said that the release of the both of them at the same time could mean the end of the world. Maybe that's what they want, and you're the key to getting it."

"That's why Freddy came through when Lucy brought Jason out!" Matthew said. "They have to fight each other!"

Nathan suddenly slammed down on the brakes. "Matthew. Get out."

"Huh?" his brother asked.

Beth looked at him like he'd just landed. "Nathan, what are you doing?"

"Matthew get the fuck outta the truck!"

"Nathan, what's wrong with you?"

"Beth, I can't risk it."

"It's your brother. Krueger doesn't have him anymore."

"How can we be sure?"

"Because he just told you how he could kill him!"

"Well if he's not in Matt then where the fuck is he?"

•••

Tia sighed a breath of relief. She was finally on her way home. Away from Springlake and its grisly murders and into the loving arms of her family. She counted her blessings and crossed her heart. Hopefully, there was an escape from Krueger after all. Maybe he couldn't find her if she was away from Matthew.

She hoped her reasoning proved true.

She bit her lower lip to stop from crying over Ricky and the rest of the group. Damned that Lucy! Why did she have to unleash not one but two maniacs upon her and her friends?

Tia sat back and closed her eyes, trying to shut the thoughts away.

She felt an insistent tapping on her shoulder. She turned to the passenger that sat beside her. He was short, middle-aged and was wearing thick spectacles.

His eyebrows were furrowed in anger. "You stupid little bitch!"

"What?" she demanded.

"You just fell asleep. You killed everybody on the fucking plane!"

"What are you talking about?"

He pointed upward. "THAT'S what I'm talking about!"

Tia looked in the direction of his finger. Krueger looked down at her with his back against the ceiling of the cabin. She screamed.

"Nice to see you're riding the Freddy Skies!" he cackled.

She immediately got up and ran down the aisle. All of the passengers were asleep. "Wake up!" She shook a random passenger to no avail. "Wake up!" She looked around helplessly. "Oh god." Tia ran as fast as she could to the cockpit and threw open the door.

The pilot was asleep too.

She brought her hands up to her mouth. "Oh no!" She backed out of the pit--

Right into Freddy's waiting arms. "It's too easy nowadays," he said.

•••

"Tia!" Matthew screamed. "She fell asleep."

"What?" Beth asked. "What happened to her?"

"She's on the plane. I just saw it . . . I don't know how. He got her. We need to hurry!"

Nathan stepped on it.

Ten minutes later, Matthew told him to stop. "We're here."

They all got out of the truck.

"Beth," Nathan said. "Your clothes.

"What?" She looked down. She was wearing a nightie. "What the hell?"

Nathan was in bedclothes too, and so was Matthew.

"We're asleep," Matthew said ominously.

"How is that possible?" Nathan demanded.

"He's playing with our heads. We've haven't been awake for sometime."

"Look!" Beth screamed, pointing in the near distance, by the lake.

The airplane was nose-diving right towards the edge of the water.

"Tia's on that plane," Matthew said, and made a beeline.

"Matt!" Nathan screamed, going after him.

It hit the ground hard, and exploded in a blaze of fire and shrapnel. The shockwave threw Matthew back and he hit his on a large oak. Nathan covered his eyes. Beth ran to him and grabbed him. "Nathan . . . oh God."

They looked up at the fiery wreckage. The dark figure emerged from the fire and smoke, claws primed and ready. He walked confidently, deliberately.

"It's him," she said.

He broke free of her embrace. "Matt!" He ran to his brother and pulled him away from the tree. "Matt! Wake up!"

His brother's eyes snapped open. "Jesus. What happened?"

Nathan was about to answer, but there was a rustling in the bushes.

"Nathan," Matt said breathlessly. "Freddy . . . he's coming . . ."

"Freddy's not the only thing we have to worry about," Nathan said, fear shadowing his face.

Matthew followed his brother's gaze. "Oh shit."

Jason stood there, ax in hand.

"I'm not ready," Matt said.

"Get away from there!" Beth screamed.

Matthew and Nathan made a break for it, narrowly escaping the slice of Jason's weapon. The killer headed for them, then stopped, noticing the other figure coming towards them.

Freddy stopped right in front of Jason. "Think you got what it takes?"

Jason cocked his head to the side, as if to say "Do you?"

Freddy laughed uproariously as they circled one another. "Hey kid? How 'bout we take it back to the old school?"

He lifted his arms heavenward.

Beth, Nathan and Matthew watched in horror as a wooden sign shot up out of the ground where Jason stood. It read WELCOME TO CAMP CRYSTAL LAKE. Then, behind Jason, in the same fashion, cabins and tents materialized. Jason looked around him, then back at Freddy.

On Freddy's side, a metal street sign sprung out of the ground. ELM STREET. And behind him, the house. Old and unused for years, it's wood dirty and cracking. The address plate clearly said 1427.

Beth turned to the others. "He's making it a fair fight."

Nathan seemed mildly amused. "They're gonna kick each other's ass."