A Nightmare on Elm Street: Harvest of Souls
Chapter Four: Sorrow
By: Fernando Rangel
Chris silently walked down the sidewalk of his house. He stood right in front of Karen's home. He silently walked toward the house, not knowing what to do with the information he just received. He stood in front of the door, not knowing whether to knock, or just leave. He slowly turned around, and walked away.
He took a breath and thought, Fuck it.
He looked out and saw the car in the driveway, and the keys were still in the ignition in his driveway. He ran over to it and jumped in. The family car-for use when they needed it. This was definitely a time that Chris needed it. He revved up the engine, and screeched out of the driveway in a puff of smoke.
Marsha ran out of the house, and watched as the car drove off, shouting his name.
* * * * *
Chris strangely walked out of the car, and straight for the club bouncer, who was oddly enough a woman. He could have sworn that it was a man the night before. He slowly walked up, trudging as if he had uncovered some newly found sort of self-confidence.
The bouncer looked at him and frowned. She was tall and thin, hardly a candidate for a bouncer. But hey, she could be some sort of Buffy, he didn't know. He stood there at the entrance and waited to be let in. "ID," she said flatly.
He sighed. She looked at him when he made no move to show her ID. Finally, he said, "So are you going to let me in or not?"
"ID," she repeated again.
"Fine," he turned around and started off, "I'll go to the new club downtown. They let anyone in."
"New club?"
"Yeah, the covers less, and like I said they let anyone in."
She sighed. "Fine, you can come in." He grinned at her, and started inside. When he got near her he said, "Thanks Sweetie, I always knew I liked you," and gave her a kiss on the cheek, and continued as she stared back at him, with her hand on her cheek.
He strutted inside, and watched as the crowd opened for him, letting him inside the dance floor. *Where do you go to let off some steam? If you're a teen-a club. *
He moved onto the dance floor, and danced by himself as he scoped the dance floor, until finally, he moved toward a girl and started to dance behind her, and she went with it, and he moved on. He closed his eyes, and danced by himself again. Suddenly someone grabbed him and he just went with it. They dance together, his eyes still closed when the music stopped and he looked at whom he was dancing with.
The room was silent now, no music. The people that had flourished and were lively dancing were now non-existent. It was as if they had never been there at all. He looked at the person in front of him and gasped as he pulled away. "What the hell are you doing here?" Her eye shot open, "Me what the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be John. Not psycho Chris."
Chris looked at her and snidely said, "Well, do I look like John? So why the hell did you grab me?"
"Like I said, usually when this happens John is the one who I have my hands on his.and then I wrap my arms around his neck and we eventually kiss, and then it goes into this."
"Jen," he interrupted, "shut the hell up."
"Excuse me?"
"We're fucking asleep!"
"Yeah, so?"
"God damn it. This is fucking real. Not a joke."
"Look, I only went with that shitty story of Eric's because John did. And if it made John feel better, to know what was happening, I was glad. But this is going to extremes. Now I'm dreaming about you, trying to convince me that the big bad ole boogie man is real."
Chris let out a frustrated sigh and pinched her, "Ow!"
"Do you hurt in dreams?"
Suddenly there was a loud scream coming from behind them.
"Oh shit!" She exclaimed.
"Fuck Krueger." He said aloud.
"No shit Sherlock, and that was John with him. We have to help him."
Chris stopped her as the chuckle began to fill the room. "No, we got to get out of here."
"No, I am not going to leave here, without John." She said with determination in her voice.
Suddenly they were flung into the wall. Jen stood up, and shook her head a bit. "What the."
Freddy grabbed her neck and laughed.
"I'm not afraid of you! Where the hell is John!"
"You'll be joining him soon," he said snidely. Suddenly he was jumped from behind, and he let her loose. Chris shot up and watched as John began punching Freddy repeatedly until he was slashed in the chest and thrown to the floor. Freddy walked over to him, and flicked his glove making the ever-famous spine tingling sound.
Right when he stood over the bleeding John, Freddy suddenly busted into crazed laughter and a shriek came from behind, "No!"
Her feet pounded as she ran for Freddy, who swung around and with one swift motion, stabbed her hard in the gut. Her eyes bulged and her mouth filled with blood as he held her head, putting it on his shoulder saying, "There, there, you're dead now." And suddenly let her drop to the floor, as she slid off his sharpened knives.
Chris came from behind and kicked him to the wall. He was amazed it actually worked.
John stood up and ran to her, "Jen!" He kneeled down next to her and swooped her into his arms and cradled her, "Jen."
She looked him in the eyes and cupped his cheek and said, "I-I couldn't let him kill
you.I.I.love.you." she said as her breath subdued near the end, and her body went limp.
"Jen.Jen!" He cradled her body, and rocked it. Chris heard the pounding and went to him and said, "Come on!"
"No," he protested.
"Come on she didn't give up her life, her love for you so you could just throw it away. That's not what she would have wanted. Now come the fuck on!" John reluctantly stood up, and started to run with Chris. He heard the pounding and the chuckling behind him. Suddenly the scene changed and they were in the boiler room again. They stopped. Chris circled around. "We're trapped," John said.
Chris looked at the steaming hot pipes and said, "Not exactly." He looked at John and then looked at the pipes. "Are you serious? This isn't a fucking movie!"
"What have we got to lose?"
"Our lives?"
"We've already lost that."
John was silent and said, "I won't be able to do it."
"So I'll do it for you." He quickly grabbed John's arm, and he placed their arms on the red hot metal pipes. They both let out excruciating screams of pain.
* * * * *
The car hissed as steam poured out of the front of the car like smoke from a fire. Chris had fallen asleep at the wheel, and the car now found it's home wrapped around a light poll. Chris' eyes opened wide as he let out a horrid scream from the pain on his arm, he checked it quickly. A bloody burn was there, he had successfully exited the dream, and not a moment too soon. His head pounded with pain, he wiped his forehead and saw no blood, which was a good sign.
His eyes finally turned to see John and he immediately flung into distress mode. Next to him, the whole passenger's side of the car was smashed in. The door and the dashboard smashed into John, he wasn't awake either. He was still in the dream.
"Shit! John! John, can you hear me? Oh god... shit, I'm going to get you out of that place John, jus-just hold on!" Chris reached under the compacted seat and felt for the lever to pull back the seat that would give him enough room to slide John out and wake him up. If he didn't, then great-great grandpappy would have another one of his friends. Surprisingly enough, he thought of them as friends now and Chris knew he'd rather die then loose another one of them.
* * * * *
John's eyes fluttered open as he walked. His footsteps were what had shaken him from the sleep, and he was surprised he was walking. Suddenly he stopped and looked around, and he looked down at his arm. The burn was there, but where was he? Trees to the left of him, trees to the right of him. "We're not in Kansas anymore Toto..." he said with a sneer. His thoughts rushed through his mind like a train going over the speed limit.
Jen was dead.
The thought, the memory, the pain, it all hit him at once.
He began to cry, his body went numb and he crashed to his knees, which hit the ground and then hit metal.
John looked up, the forest was long gone and now he was in a huge boiler room. He got to his feet, and he looked at his burn just to make sure, and found nothing.
His heart jumped-he hadn't woken up!
Wiping his tears away, he tried to focus on his new surroundings. A hiss of steam blasted his back and boiled his skin, his vocal cords tightened as he screamed and ran from the pain.
He tried to put it out of his mind as he ran, the pain slowly drifted away into a range where he could bare with it and still searched for some way to get out of this place before he ended up dead...like Jen.
"John..." someone said. The voice was so familiar; it sent chills down his spine and made his skin crawl. He froze in his steps and turned around slowly, his eyes sealed shut in fear.
Slowly, he opened them to see her.
Jen stood in the distance, ghostly white and yet looked normal. She had a hand to her stomach and the other stretched out, trying to touch him with a longing in her eyes. "Help me John... why didn't you help me," she exclaimed. She released her stomach and crimson blood and insides poured out and hit the floor with a wet slosh.
John's eyes began to tear up, "You-you're not real!" He shook his head and ran off crying but slammed into Freddy Krueger.
"What's the matter? Didn't you love her?" Freddy caressed John's cheek with his glove. "Of course you did Johnny... but just not enough to save her I guess!"
John was turned around quickly as Freddy laughed and his eyes met with a rotting Jen. "You didn't love me!" Suddenly, out of Jen's mouth poured thousands of baby spiders.
They all began to jump onto John as he screamed from the sheer horror of it all. Jen's image was gone but the spiders were still there, and he ran around shaking and brushing them off but they kept digging deeper and deeper into his skin.
John shrieked louder and louder as each spider nestled deeply into his flesh. He looked down to his skin and saw their black bodies burrowing in deeper and deeper into his skin, and he began to try to smash them inside of him.
"Oh god," he repeated over and over as he looked all over his body. The marks were growing into big black marks.
He could feel them, the pain inside of him as they grew and began to crawl deeper inside him. He slammed down to his knees again and scratched his skin to the point where he was ripping off the top layer of his skin, and he looked upwards and let out a blood-curdling scream.
Suddenly, the spiders ripped out of him. John screamed in agony as the now giant black widows secreted from his skin and began to release more and more little spiders from inside him. "This isn't real! THIS ISN'T REA-", John screamed, but he choked on his words as the legs of a huge spider, bigger then the rest exited his mouth. He gagged as a giant black widow, almost bigger then a rabbit, crawled out of his mouth. He hit the spider and then began to hit and smash the rest in a mix of anger and fear.
The giant black widow hit the ground and turned around as John looked straight into its slimy eyes.
They blinked, John looked towards its mouth and saw that two dagger like fangs extended from it. "No.No!" John screamed covering himself as the widow tackled him and sunk its fangs into him as the little black widows did the same.
The pain of the fangs and the poison sent John into a coma, he fell to the ground and convulsed wildly as his skin turned darker and darker. His eyes began to take shape and exploded right in his skull and from the eye sockets, poured millions of more spiders.
As Freddy re-appeared onto the metal walkway once again, John's body ripped open as millions of more little spiders crawled out of his dried up, hollow husk of a body. He laid there with his mouth open in pain and his skin like a dry leaf.
Freddy's burned face showed a wicked grinned and said, "Love hurts..."
* * * * *
The night before had seemed so far away now. As though it hadn't really happened, only it had.
He knew it had.
Here he was. In black. Sitting down in a chair in the cemetery as the priest said the eulogy for Jen and John.
The day was oddly sweet, and the air even sweeter. Weren't funerals supposed to be depressing? Raining and all that crap? Why was the sun shining so brightly, shouldn't it be dull and dank.
Thunderstorms and lightning?
Someone died, and the sun was shining. It was like a bad retro-television show.
Chris looked to Karen as she wept into her handkerchief and Eric as he held her in his arms, and he watched as Spike watched from next to him with pain in his eyes.
*Poison, * he thought, *that's what got him. Who the hell knows how? *
The police had given him the alibi. He didn't have to make anything up, they told him what he needed. John was stung by something, and Chris just happened by and was trying to get him to the hospital when something got in the road and he swerved.
He didn't know what it was with this town. It seemed like they'd believe anything they want to. Even if they are, the ones who create their safe bubble to protect themselves from whatever reality might be out there.
Pitiful really and sadly Chris knew that all too well.
The delusions of pseudo-quasi-happiness of a normal life.
But he knew better than to conform to something as pretentious as that. It wasn't as though he asked for any of this to happen.
It was as if this followed him everywhere.
First in LA, then here. It was as if he had always been running away from something. Even when Ben had been around, although he had always felt safe with his big brother around, his rock. His savior.
But he was gone.
Dead and he couldn't be there for him now.
Chris was on his own.
All he had left were his friends, and God knew he wasn't going to give up without a fight. He knew that this was going to be the only way. He had to find a way to stop him. It was only him. He was alone in this. Eric, Spike, and Karen would have to trust him. They would have to.leave him be, and let him die if came to that point. They were going to live, one way or another.
* * * * *
Eric watched as Chris sat alone, pondering the events that had past, and watched as Spike looked at him.
He gave him a look, and Spike turned his attention to Chris.
Chris looked lost.
That was all he could think of, he looked lost, and alone.
He wondered what it had been like for him in that place. The psychiatric ward. He couldn't even begin to imagine what it was like in there. He felt for the kid. Anyone, who could survive that, could beat anything. He looked away and thought, *Even burned up boogiemen.* He sighed and kissed Karen on the cheek.
What he learned was that this wasn't going to be an easy life, and it wasn't always going to be easy. There were bumps.big ones. And you have to keep fighting no matter what. He couldn't tip toe around anymore afraid of being caught. Life was too short, and he knew that. It was time he was truthful to himself, and to Karen. She didn't deserve being misled. He loved her, just not the way she wanted him to be. The way she wanted him to feel for her, he felt for Spike and there was nothing denying that, except for maybe him. It was time to stop being afraid, to stop trying to be so "normal" all the time. He didn't care anymore. He was in love with Spike, and he'd shout it at the top of his lungs, on the highest mountain. If anything were to happen to Spike.he didn't know what he'd do, or if life would be the same without him. He didn't want to think about it. He just knew that he was tired of the hiding, and it was time to come clean, it was time to move on. But he had to tell Karen first. That was going to be difficult, especially now that they'd lost John and Jen. Her losing him.that would send her in a spiral.but it was something that he had to do.
He looked at Spike and smiled reassuringly, telling him that things were going to be good. That things would get better.
But as he looked at Chris, he knew something big was happening, and that Chris was planning. Murder and vengeance were in his eyes, and he was a force driven by something more powerful than Krueger could stop. And that made him feel.safe.
* * * * *
Chris stood up and slowly watched as everyone stood and slowly walked back to their cars.
He lowered to his knees and knelt before the tombstones.
*I'm sorry, * he thought.
He wished hard that he could turn back the clock.
To do something then just stand there and let him take her.
Maybe if he had helped her, John would still be here.
Maybe they'd be together.
They're were so many "maybes" floating through his head now a days.
He tightened his eyelids and tried to suppress the inevitable. It was just too much, all at once. Things weren't supposed to be like this. They weren't supposed to be this hard.
He should be partying, and having fun. Going to the beach. Hanging out and going to movies. Not wondering which of his friends were going to die tonight. He wasn't supposed to be Buffy or something.
He sobbed.
Life wasn't supposed to end at sixteen.
It wasn't fair.
None of it.
John and Jen should have had a chance.
"'It was fate my child," someone said from behind.
"Fuck fate," he said looking at the nun with his "bite me" face.
"It's all a game to him." She left her hands in front of her as she stared at him.
"Tell me about it.wait.how do you." he started a bit flabbergasted.
"You must destroy him. You must defeat him." She warned.
"How?" He said a bit crazed, pleading with the hold woman.
"Chris!" He turned sharply. Karen, Eric, and Spike were waiting for him. "What're you doing?" Eric asked.
"I was." he turned back and looked at the empty space that the nun had once occupied, "talking to someone." He turned around and gave them a confused look.
* * * * *
Spike sat alone in John's back yard, he wasn't exactly a people person, and he'd rather just be alone with his thoughts.
Well, not totally alone.
It was real.
All of it.
It wasn't just some figment of a person's imagination. It was all real. It was a scary thought that he could die in his sleep, before he could even live. He looked at the sky and hoped to God that Jen and John were in a better place. That's all he hoped. And that they didn't hate them, for not doing anything. For not being there.
He knew Chris felt worse. Especially since John was with him. He couldn't possibly understand what he was going through. He also couldn't help but think that Chris was hiding something. Something that he chose not to share with the rest of the remaining group.
*Secrets, * he thought.
That's what seemed to encompass their lives.
Secrets.
Especially in Spike and Eric's lives. He twitched when he felt warm arms wrap around him, and a chin on his head. Eric, he thought. He pulled away and looked up. "What're you doing?"
"What I can't hug my boyfriend?" Spike looked around as people stared at them, family and friends.his family, his friends. "Are you crazy? Your parents are here?" Eric smiled sneakily. "You know you're very dense sometimes you know that?"
"Excuse me?"
"But I love you anyway," then he grabbed Spike's tie and gave him a kiss on the lips catching Spike surprise. Spike was tense for the first ten seconds and then melted into his arms. He hoped to God Karen wasn't watching, this was just too good. His heart beat as it never had.or well had, just never in public before.
* * * * *
Karen sat alone in the living room. She was surprised everyone was outside joking and having a barbecue.or sort of barbecue. She wiped away a few more tears. She was just remembering about their 5th grade play, she chuckled, John had been the evil tartar, and Jen had been the hero, Madam Toothpaste. She remembered them in their costumes.and their horrible acting. She gushed again. They were gone. And never coming back. That wasn't something that was supposed to happen. John should be going to Harvard, being a teacher, or lawyer, or something! Jen should be his wife! Not dead in a burial ground some place.
She felt warm arms around her. She smiled to herself and said, "Thank you."
"No problem. You Ok?"
"Considering."
"I'm going to get him. I swear."
She smiled to herself, "Always the protector. Looking out for others huh?"
"Well.it's pretty much time I started." She looked up in his eyes; she could see how sincere he was. She saw the pain in his eyes, and she could see his determination to do them right. She knew they'd be all right. She turned and hugged him, "I can't believe they're gone," she sobbed deep into his chest. He slowly closed his eyes, and his heart began to race. She was torturing him. His chin trembled; he hated when someone cried near him.it always made him cry too. A tear escaped his tightened eyelid. He swallowed and kissed her on the forehead.
Slowly he looked outside as a crowd stared at Spike and Eric. He felt for Karen, and slowly let her go. "Karen," she looked at him, and he craned his neck toward the "show." She slowly turned and saw what she had dreaded the most. Her eyes closed, and streams of tears fell. Rivers in a drought could be filled with her tears. Her heart sank. She felt even emptier inside.
She covered her face with her hands and ran outside. Chris sighed and followed her out. He chased her to her car where she tripped over her shoe, and sobbed on the ground. He kneeled down and hugged her. "I knew it! I just knew it," she exclaimed angrily, or somberly.she couldn't tell anymore.
"I'm so sorry," he said trying to comfort her.
"Why can't anyone I love stay? Do they all just have a meeting and say, 'let's leave Karen at the same time!' Am I so horrible that I am deemed unworthy of love?" She sobbed even more, "Why doesn't he love me?"
He laid her head on his shoulders and sighed, "That's just the way it goes. I wouldn't worry about anyone not loving you. I happen to have it on good authority there's someone crushing on you," he said softly.
She scoffed, "Yeah, who? Mr. Boogie Man?"
"No, but close," he sighed, and looked her in the eyes, "me." She looked at him a little longer, amazed by his response. He helped her up, and led her to her car. Once inside, she kissed him on the cheek, and whispered thank you in his ear. He slowly backed away as the car sped off.
* * * * *
They sat in Spike's living room in silence. No one knew what to say.
Chris sat there, wondering how Karen was doing, watching as her ex- boyfriend sat next to his boyfriend, holding hands in front of her. Whether it bothered her tremendously, or whether they'd talked last night.so many questions.
Eric sat there with Spike, too afraid to start talking. Finally, she spoke up, "So how do we kill this fucker?"
Chris breathed slowly and said, "I don't know. How do we kill evil?" He took a deep breath. "I-we.did research last night." Spike finally uttered. Karen looked at him and coolly replied, "And what'd you find?" Eric sighed and said, "There's a pattern. It starts with one, and spreads sort of like a disease."
Karen nodded her head and said, "And?"
"Well, we also found a website. Kind of scary really."
"What was it?" Chris asked.
"Someone has built a website devoted to Freddy survivors."
"What?"
"They're diaries of the first victims, Nancy Thomson, Kristin, Kincaid, all of them."
"What did it say?"
"What he looked like, what he did. How they destroyed him."
"How did they."
Eric looked at Spike who said, "Different ways. Nancy took away the energy she gave him, and some doctor guy buried his bones, another made him look at himself in a mirror. Different ways. And he kept coming."
"What does he want?"
"Well, mostly revenge, but he also is collecting souls, that's how he gets his power." Spike looked away. Karen stood up and walked over to the window.
"This is crazy shit. Someone has given the world a website for Freddy. Gives us bits and pieces of our lives now. But how the fuck do we kill him. For good. Seems like they've tried everything."
"Unless we get him on him on his own territory," Chris said.
They looked at him, "What?"
"We have to play on his court, come up with a plan. That's the only way. Find someone who survived, someone who can help us."
Chris was fidgeting. "Chris what's wrong?" Spike walked over to him and placed his hand on his shoulder. Karen whipped around, "Yeah, is there something wrong?"
His eyes tightened. Should he tell them? That he was the cause of all this somehow. That his great-great grandfather was killing them off one by one?
"No, I'm fine.as fine can be." He slowly walked to the door and said, "Go back to the site, look for some names, and then check local listings, maybe someone is still here. I'm going to go someplace, be right back."
"Where are you going?"
"To see a teacher." Karen rushed over to him and quietly said, "Come back to me." She gave him a half smile. He smiled and whispered, "I promise." And kissed her.
Once he was out the door, Karen turned around facing Spike and Eric.
* * * * *
Sarah Berg slowly entered the mediocre apartment. Things were definitely different. Something was different about this place. She just couldn't put her finger on it.
She stretched out, and yawned big.
She saw the mess in the kitchen and thought, "So much for rest and relaxation." She smiled dejectedly.
She walked over to the sink, and soaked the dishes in hot water. She yawned again and slowly turned on the faucet. Suddenly she couldn't let go. She looked at her hands, and the handles of the sink were holding her.glued to her hand. It hurt to struggle loose. The meat of her skin began to tear and break. She could see the skin stretching, the goop of blood began to run into the murky water and finally in one jerk she was free.
She screamed and withered in pain, her hands bled on the floor, rivers of blood pooled on the floor.
Then, quick as lightning, Freddy came in chuckling at the blond girl. He squatted down. "Have fun in domestic bliss?" She looked at him horrified and he quickly stood up, and rammed his foot into her skull. It was a bloody mush. Suddenly and blue fluorescent light shone from the girl, and levitated into the air, lifting from the girls body, and was sucked into Freddy. "Lucky 133." He laughed to himself, and said, "Soon no one sleeps."
* * * * *
Spike and Eric furiously typed on the computer, searching for known survivors of the Elm Street kids. So far no luck, it seemed as though he managed to kill them all off. Which wasn't really much of a reassurance. It definitely scared the hell out of them. Spike turned and stared at Karen alone on the couch staring at the TV. "Maybe you should talk to her?"
"Huh," Eric said looking up, "Oh, no. She's fine."
"You are clueless. Look at the body language." Eric studied her, tight, shoulders clenched and frustrated brow. "Oh shit."
"Duh, now go. Talk. Care." He kissed him on the cheek and said, "I'll work here."
"Oh sure, send me in with no weapons," he muttered. He cautiously walked over to her and said, "Hey." She was silent. He sat down next to her, and she slid away. "You mad?"
"What gave it away?" She said sarcastically and bitter.
"Look, I'm sorry."
"You're sorry?" Her voice rose. "You're sorry! No, I'm sorry. Sorry for dating an asshole, for falling in love with someone who was just using me as a cover because he was really in love with 'defacto freak' over there!" She yelled pointing at Spike, who looked at her a bit hurt. "Tell me Eric, was it fun? Huh, did you get a little warm and fuzzy seeing me fawn over you and pine, and love you? Did you and Spike have a big ole laugh when you were.together? 'Stupid Karen, she doesn't suspect.' You're right. I didn't. You could've fooled me. Oh, wait a minute you did."
Eric cringed. Spike looked out the window. "Don't play innocent victim here Eric, or you Spike, you should have been straight.real with me from the start. You shouldn't have played it like it was some fucking game, as if I was this little plaything for you to use whenever you wanted. Do you know how many guys I turned down for you? For you Eric! If you wanted Spike you should've just said so, and I would have understood. You didn't have go through this whole shit!"
She sighed and put her hands on her forehead and angrily exclaimed, "Ooh, I'm so pissed at you both right now, but I can't be because I know how hard it must be already for you." She said flopping down. "You should have just told me Eric. Instead, you made me look like a fool. And I bet all because you wanted to save your image as 'Mr. Badassfootballplayer.' That was wrong of you and you know it." She was silent. Eric stood up and said, "I'm sorry." She was right.
He went over to Spike and they continued to work on the task at hand. Even though both their hearts sank and were full of pain.
Suddenly, ever so softly, they heard, "So have you found anything yet?"
* * * * *
Chris slowly walked through the corridor of his high school. It was darker, and seemed bigger. He turned and knocked on Mr. Hinojosa's door. He stepped in but no one was in. He sighed and sat down in a desk. After waiting for thirty minutes, he stood up and began to leave when he knocked down some papers. He bent over to pick things up when he found a book that read, "The Physical Effects of Nightmares." He put the papers back, and slowly sat down and began reading.
From behind, he felt a hand; he whipped around and saw the nun. "You? Do you make it a habit of sneaking up on people?" She smiled warmly at him and said, "No I come to give you answers my child. Answers you won't find in that book." Chris looked at her, "Great, cause I need a lot of them."
"You want to know why."
"I know why. He's out for revenge."
"No, that was an excuse. It meant something to him in the beginning."
"In the beginning?"
"Yes, his direction has changed. He's out for more than revenge, he hardly even cares about that now."
"But then why."
"He's harvesting."
"Harvesting?"
"Souls." Chris looked at her in surprise. "So what he's saving them up for a rainy day?" She looked at him bewildered and said, "Not exactly."
* * * * *
Eric and Karen sat at the computer searching for some shred of hope. Spike sat in a chair by the window and watched as the rain hit the windowsill. He watched as Karen and Eric worked together, differences aside. It made him happy. He blinked. He shook his head. Oh no, I'm not tired. Suddenly his eyes began to droop and get heavy. The next thing he knew he was in Dreamland.
* * * * *
Karen and Eric whipped around when they heard a thud on the floor. "Oh shit!" Eric exclaimed as they ran over to Spike's body on the floor. "No, no he can't sleep. He took those StaWake pills, and not to mention a whole pot of coffee!" Eric and Karen hovered over him and shook him. Come on Spike, fight the fucker, you can be strong. You can get out of this. Eric needs you.
* * * * *
Chris absentmindedly walked down the lawn of Spike's place. He was in shock. End of the world. That was it. It wasn't about him, or them. Or those of the past. It was about power. About controlling and killing everyone. Dreams. That was what got to everyone. That was what struck people at the core. Nightmares of horrible things, of self-loathing, of monsters and demons-the embodiment of horrors from your childhood. That's what controlled people, and that's how he'd win. Kill them and be the ultimate force. They had to stop him.
He heard the scream and slowly bolted into a run and ran inside. He saw Spike sprawled on the floor, Eric and Karen hovering over him. "Oh God, what happened?"
"We don't know. He was fine, and then." Eric began on the verge of freaking. "We have to help him, I don't think he'll be able."
"No, don't think that," Karen said trying to comfort him. "We're going to kill the fucker, and so help me God if he gets Spike I'll kill him for you." Chris was shocked by her outburst, not as shocked as Eric was though.
Eric's panicky eyes looked up at Chris and said, "How do we."
"I don't know. It was a bust. But I got other info. I know exactly what he wants to do. Come on, we don't have much time."
"W-where are we going?"
Chris looked at them seriously and said, "To take a nap." If it had been under any other circumstance, Eric would have laughed, but this wasn't any other circumstance. He stood and Karen right behind him, followed Chris.
Chapter Four: Sorrow
By: Fernando Rangel
Chris silently walked down the sidewalk of his house. He stood right in front of Karen's home. He silently walked toward the house, not knowing what to do with the information he just received. He stood in front of the door, not knowing whether to knock, or just leave. He slowly turned around, and walked away.
He took a breath and thought, Fuck it.
He looked out and saw the car in the driveway, and the keys were still in the ignition in his driveway. He ran over to it and jumped in. The family car-for use when they needed it. This was definitely a time that Chris needed it. He revved up the engine, and screeched out of the driveway in a puff of smoke.
Marsha ran out of the house, and watched as the car drove off, shouting his name.
* * * * *
Chris strangely walked out of the car, and straight for the club bouncer, who was oddly enough a woman. He could have sworn that it was a man the night before. He slowly walked up, trudging as if he had uncovered some newly found sort of self-confidence.
The bouncer looked at him and frowned. She was tall and thin, hardly a candidate for a bouncer. But hey, she could be some sort of Buffy, he didn't know. He stood there at the entrance and waited to be let in. "ID," she said flatly.
He sighed. She looked at him when he made no move to show her ID. Finally, he said, "So are you going to let me in or not?"
"ID," she repeated again.
"Fine," he turned around and started off, "I'll go to the new club downtown. They let anyone in."
"New club?"
"Yeah, the covers less, and like I said they let anyone in."
She sighed. "Fine, you can come in." He grinned at her, and started inside. When he got near her he said, "Thanks Sweetie, I always knew I liked you," and gave her a kiss on the cheek, and continued as she stared back at him, with her hand on her cheek.
He strutted inside, and watched as the crowd opened for him, letting him inside the dance floor. *Where do you go to let off some steam? If you're a teen-a club. *
He moved onto the dance floor, and danced by himself as he scoped the dance floor, until finally, he moved toward a girl and started to dance behind her, and she went with it, and he moved on. He closed his eyes, and danced by himself again. Suddenly someone grabbed him and he just went with it. They dance together, his eyes still closed when the music stopped and he looked at whom he was dancing with.
The room was silent now, no music. The people that had flourished and were lively dancing were now non-existent. It was as if they had never been there at all. He looked at the person in front of him and gasped as he pulled away. "What the hell are you doing here?" Her eye shot open, "Me what the hell are you doing here? You're supposed to be John. Not psycho Chris."
Chris looked at her and snidely said, "Well, do I look like John? So why the hell did you grab me?"
"Like I said, usually when this happens John is the one who I have my hands on his.and then I wrap my arms around his neck and we eventually kiss, and then it goes into this."
"Jen," he interrupted, "shut the hell up."
"Excuse me?"
"We're fucking asleep!"
"Yeah, so?"
"God damn it. This is fucking real. Not a joke."
"Look, I only went with that shitty story of Eric's because John did. And if it made John feel better, to know what was happening, I was glad. But this is going to extremes. Now I'm dreaming about you, trying to convince me that the big bad ole boogie man is real."
Chris let out a frustrated sigh and pinched her, "Ow!"
"Do you hurt in dreams?"
Suddenly there was a loud scream coming from behind them.
"Oh shit!" She exclaimed.
"Fuck Krueger." He said aloud.
"No shit Sherlock, and that was John with him. We have to help him."
Chris stopped her as the chuckle began to fill the room. "No, we got to get out of here."
"No, I am not going to leave here, without John." She said with determination in her voice.
Suddenly they were flung into the wall. Jen stood up, and shook her head a bit. "What the."
Freddy grabbed her neck and laughed.
"I'm not afraid of you! Where the hell is John!"
"You'll be joining him soon," he said snidely. Suddenly he was jumped from behind, and he let her loose. Chris shot up and watched as John began punching Freddy repeatedly until he was slashed in the chest and thrown to the floor. Freddy walked over to him, and flicked his glove making the ever-famous spine tingling sound.
Right when he stood over the bleeding John, Freddy suddenly busted into crazed laughter and a shriek came from behind, "No!"
Her feet pounded as she ran for Freddy, who swung around and with one swift motion, stabbed her hard in the gut. Her eyes bulged and her mouth filled with blood as he held her head, putting it on his shoulder saying, "There, there, you're dead now." And suddenly let her drop to the floor, as she slid off his sharpened knives.
Chris came from behind and kicked him to the wall. He was amazed it actually worked.
John stood up and ran to her, "Jen!" He kneeled down next to her and swooped her into his arms and cradled her, "Jen."
She looked him in the eyes and cupped his cheek and said, "I-I couldn't let him kill
you.I.I.love.you." she said as her breath subdued near the end, and her body went limp.
"Jen.Jen!" He cradled her body, and rocked it. Chris heard the pounding and went to him and said, "Come on!"
"No," he protested.
"Come on she didn't give up her life, her love for you so you could just throw it away. That's not what she would have wanted. Now come the fuck on!" John reluctantly stood up, and started to run with Chris. He heard the pounding and the chuckling behind him. Suddenly the scene changed and they were in the boiler room again. They stopped. Chris circled around. "We're trapped," John said.
Chris looked at the steaming hot pipes and said, "Not exactly." He looked at John and then looked at the pipes. "Are you serious? This isn't a fucking movie!"
"What have we got to lose?"
"Our lives?"
"We've already lost that."
John was silent and said, "I won't be able to do it."
"So I'll do it for you." He quickly grabbed John's arm, and he placed their arms on the red hot metal pipes. They both let out excruciating screams of pain.
* * * * *
The car hissed as steam poured out of the front of the car like smoke from a fire. Chris had fallen asleep at the wheel, and the car now found it's home wrapped around a light poll. Chris' eyes opened wide as he let out a horrid scream from the pain on his arm, he checked it quickly. A bloody burn was there, he had successfully exited the dream, and not a moment too soon. His head pounded with pain, he wiped his forehead and saw no blood, which was a good sign.
His eyes finally turned to see John and he immediately flung into distress mode. Next to him, the whole passenger's side of the car was smashed in. The door and the dashboard smashed into John, he wasn't awake either. He was still in the dream.
"Shit! John! John, can you hear me? Oh god... shit, I'm going to get you out of that place John, jus-just hold on!" Chris reached under the compacted seat and felt for the lever to pull back the seat that would give him enough room to slide John out and wake him up. If he didn't, then great-great grandpappy would have another one of his friends. Surprisingly enough, he thought of them as friends now and Chris knew he'd rather die then loose another one of them.
* * * * *
John's eyes fluttered open as he walked. His footsteps were what had shaken him from the sleep, and he was surprised he was walking. Suddenly he stopped and looked around, and he looked down at his arm. The burn was there, but where was he? Trees to the left of him, trees to the right of him. "We're not in Kansas anymore Toto..." he said with a sneer. His thoughts rushed through his mind like a train going over the speed limit.
Jen was dead.
The thought, the memory, the pain, it all hit him at once.
He began to cry, his body went numb and he crashed to his knees, which hit the ground and then hit metal.
John looked up, the forest was long gone and now he was in a huge boiler room. He got to his feet, and he looked at his burn just to make sure, and found nothing.
His heart jumped-he hadn't woken up!
Wiping his tears away, he tried to focus on his new surroundings. A hiss of steam blasted his back and boiled his skin, his vocal cords tightened as he screamed and ran from the pain.
He tried to put it out of his mind as he ran, the pain slowly drifted away into a range where he could bare with it and still searched for some way to get out of this place before he ended up dead...like Jen.
"John..." someone said. The voice was so familiar; it sent chills down his spine and made his skin crawl. He froze in his steps and turned around slowly, his eyes sealed shut in fear.
Slowly, he opened them to see her.
Jen stood in the distance, ghostly white and yet looked normal. She had a hand to her stomach and the other stretched out, trying to touch him with a longing in her eyes. "Help me John... why didn't you help me," she exclaimed. She released her stomach and crimson blood and insides poured out and hit the floor with a wet slosh.
John's eyes began to tear up, "You-you're not real!" He shook his head and ran off crying but slammed into Freddy Krueger.
"What's the matter? Didn't you love her?" Freddy caressed John's cheek with his glove. "Of course you did Johnny... but just not enough to save her I guess!"
John was turned around quickly as Freddy laughed and his eyes met with a rotting Jen. "You didn't love me!" Suddenly, out of Jen's mouth poured thousands of baby spiders.
They all began to jump onto John as he screamed from the sheer horror of it all. Jen's image was gone but the spiders were still there, and he ran around shaking and brushing them off but they kept digging deeper and deeper into his skin.
John shrieked louder and louder as each spider nestled deeply into his flesh. He looked down to his skin and saw their black bodies burrowing in deeper and deeper into his skin, and he began to try to smash them inside of him.
"Oh god," he repeated over and over as he looked all over his body. The marks were growing into big black marks.
He could feel them, the pain inside of him as they grew and began to crawl deeper inside him. He slammed down to his knees again and scratched his skin to the point where he was ripping off the top layer of his skin, and he looked upwards and let out a blood-curdling scream.
Suddenly, the spiders ripped out of him. John screamed in agony as the now giant black widows secreted from his skin and began to release more and more little spiders from inside him. "This isn't real! THIS ISN'T REA-", John screamed, but he choked on his words as the legs of a huge spider, bigger then the rest exited his mouth. He gagged as a giant black widow, almost bigger then a rabbit, crawled out of his mouth. He hit the spider and then began to hit and smash the rest in a mix of anger and fear.
The giant black widow hit the ground and turned around as John looked straight into its slimy eyes.
They blinked, John looked towards its mouth and saw that two dagger like fangs extended from it. "No.No!" John screamed covering himself as the widow tackled him and sunk its fangs into him as the little black widows did the same.
The pain of the fangs and the poison sent John into a coma, he fell to the ground and convulsed wildly as his skin turned darker and darker. His eyes began to take shape and exploded right in his skull and from the eye sockets, poured millions of more spiders.
As Freddy re-appeared onto the metal walkway once again, John's body ripped open as millions of more little spiders crawled out of his dried up, hollow husk of a body. He laid there with his mouth open in pain and his skin like a dry leaf.
Freddy's burned face showed a wicked grinned and said, "Love hurts..."
* * * * *
The night before had seemed so far away now. As though it hadn't really happened, only it had.
He knew it had.
Here he was. In black. Sitting down in a chair in the cemetery as the priest said the eulogy for Jen and John.
The day was oddly sweet, and the air even sweeter. Weren't funerals supposed to be depressing? Raining and all that crap? Why was the sun shining so brightly, shouldn't it be dull and dank.
Thunderstorms and lightning?
Someone died, and the sun was shining. It was like a bad retro-television show.
Chris looked to Karen as she wept into her handkerchief and Eric as he held her in his arms, and he watched as Spike watched from next to him with pain in his eyes.
*Poison, * he thought, *that's what got him. Who the hell knows how? *
The police had given him the alibi. He didn't have to make anything up, they told him what he needed. John was stung by something, and Chris just happened by and was trying to get him to the hospital when something got in the road and he swerved.
He didn't know what it was with this town. It seemed like they'd believe anything they want to. Even if they are, the ones who create their safe bubble to protect themselves from whatever reality might be out there.
Pitiful really and sadly Chris knew that all too well.
The delusions of pseudo-quasi-happiness of a normal life.
But he knew better than to conform to something as pretentious as that. It wasn't as though he asked for any of this to happen.
It was as if this followed him everywhere.
First in LA, then here. It was as if he had always been running away from something. Even when Ben had been around, although he had always felt safe with his big brother around, his rock. His savior.
But he was gone.
Dead and he couldn't be there for him now.
Chris was on his own.
All he had left were his friends, and God knew he wasn't going to give up without a fight. He knew that this was going to be the only way. He had to find a way to stop him. It was only him. He was alone in this. Eric, Spike, and Karen would have to trust him. They would have to.leave him be, and let him die if came to that point. They were going to live, one way or another.
* * * * *
Eric watched as Chris sat alone, pondering the events that had past, and watched as Spike looked at him.
He gave him a look, and Spike turned his attention to Chris.
Chris looked lost.
That was all he could think of, he looked lost, and alone.
He wondered what it had been like for him in that place. The psychiatric ward. He couldn't even begin to imagine what it was like in there. He felt for the kid. Anyone, who could survive that, could beat anything. He looked away and thought, *Even burned up boogiemen.* He sighed and kissed Karen on the cheek.
What he learned was that this wasn't going to be an easy life, and it wasn't always going to be easy. There were bumps.big ones. And you have to keep fighting no matter what. He couldn't tip toe around anymore afraid of being caught. Life was too short, and he knew that. It was time he was truthful to himself, and to Karen. She didn't deserve being misled. He loved her, just not the way she wanted him to be. The way she wanted him to feel for her, he felt for Spike and there was nothing denying that, except for maybe him. It was time to stop being afraid, to stop trying to be so "normal" all the time. He didn't care anymore. He was in love with Spike, and he'd shout it at the top of his lungs, on the highest mountain. If anything were to happen to Spike.he didn't know what he'd do, or if life would be the same without him. He didn't want to think about it. He just knew that he was tired of the hiding, and it was time to come clean, it was time to move on. But he had to tell Karen first. That was going to be difficult, especially now that they'd lost John and Jen. Her losing him.that would send her in a spiral.but it was something that he had to do.
He looked at Spike and smiled reassuringly, telling him that things were going to be good. That things would get better.
But as he looked at Chris, he knew something big was happening, and that Chris was planning. Murder and vengeance were in his eyes, and he was a force driven by something more powerful than Krueger could stop. And that made him feel.safe.
* * * * *
Chris stood up and slowly watched as everyone stood and slowly walked back to their cars.
He lowered to his knees and knelt before the tombstones.
*I'm sorry, * he thought.
He wished hard that he could turn back the clock.
To do something then just stand there and let him take her.
Maybe if he had helped her, John would still be here.
Maybe they'd be together.
They're were so many "maybes" floating through his head now a days.
He tightened his eyelids and tried to suppress the inevitable. It was just too much, all at once. Things weren't supposed to be like this. They weren't supposed to be this hard.
He should be partying, and having fun. Going to the beach. Hanging out and going to movies. Not wondering which of his friends were going to die tonight. He wasn't supposed to be Buffy or something.
He sobbed.
Life wasn't supposed to end at sixteen.
It wasn't fair.
None of it.
John and Jen should have had a chance.
"'It was fate my child," someone said from behind.
"Fuck fate," he said looking at the nun with his "bite me" face.
"It's all a game to him." She left her hands in front of her as she stared at him.
"Tell me about it.wait.how do you." he started a bit flabbergasted.
"You must destroy him. You must defeat him." She warned.
"How?" He said a bit crazed, pleading with the hold woman.
"Chris!" He turned sharply. Karen, Eric, and Spike were waiting for him. "What're you doing?" Eric asked.
"I was." he turned back and looked at the empty space that the nun had once occupied, "talking to someone." He turned around and gave them a confused look.
* * * * *
Spike sat alone in John's back yard, he wasn't exactly a people person, and he'd rather just be alone with his thoughts.
Well, not totally alone.
It was real.
All of it.
It wasn't just some figment of a person's imagination. It was all real. It was a scary thought that he could die in his sleep, before he could even live. He looked at the sky and hoped to God that Jen and John were in a better place. That's all he hoped. And that they didn't hate them, for not doing anything. For not being there.
He knew Chris felt worse. Especially since John was with him. He couldn't possibly understand what he was going through. He also couldn't help but think that Chris was hiding something. Something that he chose not to share with the rest of the remaining group.
*Secrets, * he thought.
That's what seemed to encompass their lives.
Secrets.
Especially in Spike and Eric's lives. He twitched when he felt warm arms wrap around him, and a chin on his head. Eric, he thought. He pulled away and looked up. "What're you doing?"
"What I can't hug my boyfriend?" Spike looked around as people stared at them, family and friends.his family, his friends. "Are you crazy? Your parents are here?" Eric smiled sneakily. "You know you're very dense sometimes you know that?"
"Excuse me?"
"But I love you anyway," then he grabbed Spike's tie and gave him a kiss on the lips catching Spike surprise. Spike was tense for the first ten seconds and then melted into his arms. He hoped to God Karen wasn't watching, this was just too good. His heart beat as it never had.or well had, just never in public before.
* * * * *
Karen sat alone in the living room. She was surprised everyone was outside joking and having a barbecue.or sort of barbecue. She wiped away a few more tears. She was just remembering about their 5th grade play, she chuckled, John had been the evil tartar, and Jen had been the hero, Madam Toothpaste. She remembered them in their costumes.and their horrible acting. She gushed again. They were gone. And never coming back. That wasn't something that was supposed to happen. John should be going to Harvard, being a teacher, or lawyer, or something! Jen should be his wife! Not dead in a burial ground some place.
She felt warm arms around her. She smiled to herself and said, "Thank you."
"No problem. You Ok?"
"Considering."
"I'm going to get him. I swear."
She smiled to herself, "Always the protector. Looking out for others huh?"
"Well.it's pretty much time I started." She looked up in his eyes; she could see how sincere he was. She saw the pain in his eyes, and she could see his determination to do them right. She knew they'd be all right. She turned and hugged him, "I can't believe they're gone," she sobbed deep into his chest. He slowly closed his eyes, and his heart began to race. She was torturing him. His chin trembled; he hated when someone cried near him.it always made him cry too. A tear escaped his tightened eyelid. He swallowed and kissed her on the forehead.
Slowly he looked outside as a crowd stared at Spike and Eric. He felt for Karen, and slowly let her go. "Karen," she looked at him, and he craned his neck toward the "show." She slowly turned and saw what she had dreaded the most. Her eyes closed, and streams of tears fell. Rivers in a drought could be filled with her tears. Her heart sank. She felt even emptier inside.
She covered her face with her hands and ran outside. Chris sighed and followed her out. He chased her to her car where she tripped over her shoe, and sobbed on the ground. He kneeled down and hugged her. "I knew it! I just knew it," she exclaimed angrily, or somberly.she couldn't tell anymore.
"I'm so sorry," he said trying to comfort her.
"Why can't anyone I love stay? Do they all just have a meeting and say, 'let's leave Karen at the same time!' Am I so horrible that I am deemed unworthy of love?" She sobbed even more, "Why doesn't he love me?"
He laid her head on his shoulders and sighed, "That's just the way it goes. I wouldn't worry about anyone not loving you. I happen to have it on good authority there's someone crushing on you," he said softly.
She scoffed, "Yeah, who? Mr. Boogie Man?"
"No, but close," he sighed, and looked her in the eyes, "me." She looked at him a little longer, amazed by his response. He helped her up, and led her to her car. Once inside, she kissed him on the cheek, and whispered thank you in his ear. He slowly backed away as the car sped off.
* * * * *
They sat in Spike's living room in silence. No one knew what to say.
Chris sat there, wondering how Karen was doing, watching as her ex- boyfriend sat next to his boyfriend, holding hands in front of her. Whether it bothered her tremendously, or whether they'd talked last night.so many questions.
Eric sat there with Spike, too afraid to start talking. Finally, she spoke up, "So how do we kill this fucker?"
Chris breathed slowly and said, "I don't know. How do we kill evil?" He took a deep breath. "I-we.did research last night." Spike finally uttered. Karen looked at him and coolly replied, "And what'd you find?" Eric sighed and said, "There's a pattern. It starts with one, and spreads sort of like a disease."
Karen nodded her head and said, "And?"
"Well, we also found a website. Kind of scary really."
"What was it?" Chris asked.
"Someone has built a website devoted to Freddy survivors."
"What?"
"They're diaries of the first victims, Nancy Thomson, Kristin, Kincaid, all of them."
"What did it say?"
"What he looked like, what he did. How they destroyed him."
"How did they."
Eric looked at Spike who said, "Different ways. Nancy took away the energy she gave him, and some doctor guy buried his bones, another made him look at himself in a mirror. Different ways. And he kept coming."
"What does he want?"
"Well, mostly revenge, but he also is collecting souls, that's how he gets his power." Spike looked away. Karen stood up and walked over to the window.
"This is crazy shit. Someone has given the world a website for Freddy. Gives us bits and pieces of our lives now. But how the fuck do we kill him. For good. Seems like they've tried everything."
"Unless we get him on him on his own territory," Chris said.
They looked at him, "What?"
"We have to play on his court, come up with a plan. That's the only way. Find someone who survived, someone who can help us."
Chris was fidgeting. "Chris what's wrong?" Spike walked over to him and placed his hand on his shoulder. Karen whipped around, "Yeah, is there something wrong?"
His eyes tightened. Should he tell them? That he was the cause of all this somehow. That his great-great grandfather was killing them off one by one?
"No, I'm fine.as fine can be." He slowly walked to the door and said, "Go back to the site, look for some names, and then check local listings, maybe someone is still here. I'm going to go someplace, be right back."
"Where are you going?"
"To see a teacher." Karen rushed over to him and quietly said, "Come back to me." She gave him a half smile. He smiled and whispered, "I promise." And kissed her.
Once he was out the door, Karen turned around facing Spike and Eric.
* * * * *
Sarah Berg slowly entered the mediocre apartment. Things were definitely different. Something was different about this place. She just couldn't put her finger on it.
She stretched out, and yawned big.
She saw the mess in the kitchen and thought, "So much for rest and relaxation." She smiled dejectedly.
She walked over to the sink, and soaked the dishes in hot water. She yawned again and slowly turned on the faucet. Suddenly she couldn't let go. She looked at her hands, and the handles of the sink were holding her.glued to her hand. It hurt to struggle loose. The meat of her skin began to tear and break. She could see the skin stretching, the goop of blood began to run into the murky water and finally in one jerk she was free.
She screamed and withered in pain, her hands bled on the floor, rivers of blood pooled on the floor.
Then, quick as lightning, Freddy came in chuckling at the blond girl. He squatted down. "Have fun in domestic bliss?" She looked at him horrified and he quickly stood up, and rammed his foot into her skull. It was a bloody mush. Suddenly and blue fluorescent light shone from the girl, and levitated into the air, lifting from the girls body, and was sucked into Freddy. "Lucky 133." He laughed to himself, and said, "Soon no one sleeps."
* * * * *
Spike and Eric furiously typed on the computer, searching for known survivors of the Elm Street kids. So far no luck, it seemed as though he managed to kill them all off. Which wasn't really much of a reassurance. It definitely scared the hell out of them. Spike turned and stared at Karen alone on the couch staring at the TV. "Maybe you should talk to her?"
"Huh," Eric said looking up, "Oh, no. She's fine."
"You are clueless. Look at the body language." Eric studied her, tight, shoulders clenched and frustrated brow. "Oh shit."
"Duh, now go. Talk. Care." He kissed him on the cheek and said, "I'll work here."
"Oh sure, send me in with no weapons," he muttered. He cautiously walked over to her and said, "Hey." She was silent. He sat down next to her, and she slid away. "You mad?"
"What gave it away?" She said sarcastically and bitter.
"Look, I'm sorry."
"You're sorry?" Her voice rose. "You're sorry! No, I'm sorry. Sorry for dating an asshole, for falling in love with someone who was just using me as a cover because he was really in love with 'defacto freak' over there!" She yelled pointing at Spike, who looked at her a bit hurt. "Tell me Eric, was it fun? Huh, did you get a little warm and fuzzy seeing me fawn over you and pine, and love you? Did you and Spike have a big ole laugh when you were.together? 'Stupid Karen, she doesn't suspect.' You're right. I didn't. You could've fooled me. Oh, wait a minute you did."
Eric cringed. Spike looked out the window. "Don't play innocent victim here Eric, or you Spike, you should have been straight.real with me from the start. You shouldn't have played it like it was some fucking game, as if I was this little plaything for you to use whenever you wanted. Do you know how many guys I turned down for you? For you Eric! If you wanted Spike you should've just said so, and I would have understood. You didn't have go through this whole shit!"
She sighed and put her hands on her forehead and angrily exclaimed, "Ooh, I'm so pissed at you both right now, but I can't be because I know how hard it must be already for you." She said flopping down. "You should have just told me Eric. Instead, you made me look like a fool. And I bet all because you wanted to save your image as 'Mr. Badassfootballplayer.' That was wrong of you and you know it." She was silent. Eric stood up and said, "I'm sorry." She was right.
He went over to Spike and they continued to work on the task at hand. Even though both their hearts sank and were full of pain.
Suddenly, ever so softly, they heard, "So have you found anything yet?"
* * * * *
Chris slowly walked through the corridor of his high school. It was darker, and seemed bigger. He turned and knocked on Mr. Hinojosa's door. He stepped in but no one was in. He sighed and sat down in a desk. After waiting for thirty minutes, he stood up and began to leave when he knocked down some papers. He bent over to pick things up when he found a book that read, "The Physical Effects of Nightmares." He put the papers back, and slowly sat down and began reading.
From behind, he felt a hand; he whipped around and saw the nun. "You? Do you make it a habit of sneaking up on people?" She smiled warmly at him and said, "No I come to give you answers my child. Answers you won't find in that book." Chris looked at her, "Great, cause I need a lot of them."
"You want to know why."
"I know why. He's out for revenge."
"No, that was an excuse. It meant something to him in the beginning."
"In the beginning?"
"Yes, his direction has changed. He's out for more than revenge, he hardly even cares about that now."
"But then why."
"He's harvesting."
"Harvesting?"
"Souls." Chris looked at her in surprise. "So what he's saving them up for a rainy day?" She looked at him bewildered and said, "Not exactly."
* * * * *
Eric and Karen sat at the computer searching for some shred of hope. Spike sat in a chair by the window and watched as the rain hit the windowsill. He watched as Karen and Eric worked together, differences aside. It made him happy. He blinked. He shook his head. Oh no, I'm not tired. Suddenly his eyes began to droop and get heavy. The next thing he knew he was in Dreamland.
* * * * *
Karen and Eric whipped around when they heard a thud on the floor. "Oh shit!" Eric exclaimed as they ran over to Spike's body on the floor. "No, no he can't sleep. He took those StaWake pills, and not to mention a whole pot of coffee!" Eric and Karen hovered over him and shook him. Come on Spike, fight the fucker, you can be strong. You can get out of this. Eric needs you.
* * * * *
Chris absentmindedly walked down the lawn of Spike's place. He was in shock. End of the world. That was it. It wasn't about him, or them. Or those of the past. It was about power. About controlling and killing everyone. Dreams. That was what got to everyone. That was what struck people at the core. Nightmares of horrible things, of self-loathing, of monsters and demons-the embodiment of horrors from your childhood. That's what controlled people, and that's how he'd win. Kill them and be the ultimate force. They had to stop him.
He heard the scream and slowly bolted into a run and ran inside. He saw Spike sprawled on the floor, Eric and Karen hovering over him. "Oh God, what happened?"
"We don't know. He was fine, and then." Eric began on the verge of freaking. "We have to help him, I don't think he'll be able."
"No, don't think that," Karen said trying to comfort him. "We're going to kill the fucker, and so help me God if he gets Spike I'll kill him for you." Chris was shocked by her outburst, not as shocked as Eric was though.
Eric's panicky eyes looked up at Chris and said, "How do we."
"I don't know. It was a bust. But I got other info. I know exactly what he wants to do. Come on, we don't have much time."
"W-where are we going?"
Chris looked at them seriously and said, "To take a nap." If it had been under any other circumstance, Eric would have laughed, but this wasn't any other circumstance. He stood and Karen right behind him, followed Chris.
