Chapter 21
Playing the Game
Andrea sat next to the furnace and looked up at the scorched blood left behind on the cool surface. She saw the torn glove and its razor claws laying next Melissa who still lay asleep on the floor. Carefully she picked up the rusty knives and threw them back in the cold furnace, and then carefully glanced back to Alice. Alice flinched in her sleep, leaned against the wall letting her hands fall to her side. Andrea knew this was only the beginning of her nightmare and she would need to get out and away from them even to save her own skin. Carefully she tiptoed over the two of them and walked up the steps to the landing. She pulled the door open and breathed a deep breath away from the death under them. She was almost out, almost away from them, but not for long. A sudden pull was felt in the back of her mind. "No" she cried, but it was too late. Before she could reach the front door she fell limp and lifeless to the floor, but to her it didn't stop there, she kept falling through the floor and didn't stop until she hit the soft moist ground. Dazed Andrea looked around and saw she was in a cemetery. Not far from her graves blazed and she could see Freddy standing over one shoveling in dirt.
A panic entered her. "This isn't real!" she whispered to herself. "This isn't real", but as she did she knew Freddy felt her enter the dream space. He looked evil down at Alice who was sinking in the soft mud. The ground under her was thick and she couldn't move to clime out.
"Stay!" He shouted to her and from the dirt around her skeleton hands, and sharp roots reached through wrapping themselves around her and against the wall. There sharp edges dug in to her skin as she struggled.
Freddy turned from his pit and looked over to Andrea's direction. He grinned a twisted smile and let his decayed teeth show. "Andrea" He called in a sing-song way. "Come out, come out. It's time to play." Andrea inched closer behind a tombstone and tried to calm her breathing but it wasn't working. Suddenly from around her hands thrust up from under the earth and people crawled out and grabbed her. All around her were the Nightmare Society, all of them dead, their faces showing hatred at her.
"You killed us." They screamed. "You murdering bitch!" They clawed at her skin and pulled her down in to the earth with them as she fought to break free.
"No! No! It wasn't me! I didn't do it!" she cried as her feet were pulled in to the ground. "I didn't! I swear I didn't know!"
Then the pulling stopped and a warm crusty hand gripped her throat and pulled her out of the ground, kicking the hands of the dead away from her. Andrea looked up and saw that Freddy had her in his grip and was dangling her above a flaming grave.
"But you see, what you didn't know then you know now." He growled. Andrea held tight to his arm and cried.
"No! Please!" Freddy smiled enjoying the sound of pleading coming from the girl. He held tight to her and lowered her closer to the flames. "NO!" she cried. Suddenly he pulled her away from the fire and closer to him on solid ground.
"You're no better then they were, but you thought you were, didn't you?" He said coldly. "I don't repay no favors." He held his claw back and brought it down to Andrea's throat but stopped short of cutting her. Andrea closed her eyes, but when she noticed the pain didn't come, and the blood didn't pour she opened them and saw he was still holding her, the blades were right next to her, but nothing else was happening. She breathed a sigh of release.
"You can't kill me can you?" She said. "I helped you, you owe me."
"Not likely little girl." He growled again. And he grabbed her by her hair pulled her throat back and sliced her neck. The hot blood filled her mouth and poured down her shirt. He let her fall then. "No, I don't owe you." He watched as Andrea stumbled to her feet, but didn't die, he had sliced her neck, but only so she couldn't speak. He watched as she ran away from him and collapsed over Alice's grave. Andrea looked down in to the grave and saw Alice still alive held against the wall. Alice saw her as well, pale white in the night but for the bright red smeared over her mouth and neck. Alice struggled harder to get loose to help the dying girl but she was stuck.
"Andrea!" She called to her. "Fight! If you want to live damn it! FIGHT!" but Andrea didn't fight, she wasn't a fighter. She was just a poor little rich girl who liked to play games. Freddy stood over Andrea from behind. He watched as Andrea tried to reach down to Alice for help, but with a swift movement he pulled her away out of Alice's view. The only thing she could see was Freddy standing over her and the plunge of his blades down on her, but no scream came. It was a silent death but for the grunts of effort as Freddy scraped bone and tore flesh.
For Andrea, the game was over.
Alice screamed and tugged at the roots and bones that held her and thought franticly. 'I can get out of this! I am the Dream Master!' and the nursery rhyme played in her head. "Now I lay me down to sleep, the master of dreams, my soul I'll keep" then she felt a tug at the roots and hands. She looked back to the muddy wall and saw globs of dirt fall and a hole open. A hand reached out and grabbed her. Alice flinched away but stopped when she saw Melissa was the one pulling.
"How did you find me?" she asked, knowing she had not even thought of Melissa to pull her in to her dream.
"I don't know I just felt you." She replied. They hugged briefly and Melissa pulled Alice in to the hole with her. "Hurry before he notices." And Alice lifted into the hole and crawled past Melissa. Melissa glanced back as Freddy smeared Andrea's blood all in his hands and laughed. But he felt her presence as much as she had felt Alice's. Freddy turned and saw Melissa looking up at him from the hole and anger burning in his eyes. He leaped down in to the grave and lunged at her. Melissa meanwhile turned and began to crawl through the dirt. "Hurry!" She screamed to Alice. From behind her Freddy reached his arm which stretched and grabbed Melissa's ankle, but she wasn't about to let him get her. She kicked his hand away and scurried faster after Alice.
Alice could feel Melissa's panic behind her and kept crawling until she saw a yellow light at the far end. Alice lunged for the opening and the mud slipped causing her to fall on to the hard concrete floor of the boiler room. She looked around and saw Melissa had smashed away old brink to the dirt and had crawled through her dream to get to her. Alice stood up and looked back to the whole and reached inside for Melissa. Melissa was almost to her when she suddenly was pulled back several feet. Melissa kicked and crawled again to Alice who held tight to her and pulled. Melissa put her arms around her and Alice pulled harder. The force suddenly released and Melissa fell out of the hole and in to Alice's arms. Melissa quickly crawled out of the way expecting Freddy to follow her through the hole, but nothing happened. She looked over at Alice and sighed in exhaustion.
"How did you find me?" Alice asked again.
"I don't know." She replied. "Maybe.maybe he's prepping me, making me like him so he can take over?" Alice nodded.
"Sounds logical" she said helping her up from the ground. "We need to get you out of here. We will all be safer if you were awake"
"Well that looks good on paper" She replied "But it's the getting me awake part that is the problem. He keeps me here, where he can reach me."
"But that is what we need to figure out, how can he reach you and not me?" She asked.
"Because I'm the last." She answered "I am honestly the last of the people who killed him. I'm his unfinished business, and if he can keep me alive, he can live."
"He is trying to take you over, so he can live forever. If he can live inside you, he can live on through you and through your children." Alice cringed at the thought of him inside Jacob. "He can make you like him and he can live on in your dreams, and continue to hunt through them, like one big game of hide and seek!"
"Well that wouldn't be right, I mean if I die, his battle is over, and this all ends."
Playing the Game
Andrea sat next to the furnace and looked up at the scorched blood left behind on the cool surface. She saw the torn glove and its razor claws laying next Melissa who still lay asleep on the floor. Carefully she picked up the rusty knives and threw them back in the cold furnace, and then carefully glanced back to Alice. Alice flinched in her sleep, leaned against the wall letting her hands fall to her side. Andrea knew this was only the beginning of her nightmare and she would need to get out and away from them even to save her own skin. Carefully she tiptoed over the two of them and walked up the steps to the landing. She pulled the door open and breathed a deep breath away from the death under them. She was almost out, almost away from them, but not for long. A sudden pull was felt in the back of her mind. "No" she cried, but it was too late. Before she could reach the front door she fell limp and lifeless to the floor, but to her it didn't stop there, she kept falling through the floor and didn't stop until she hit the soft moist ground. Dazed Andrea looked around and saw she was in a cemetery. Not far from her graves blazed and she could see Freddy standing over one shoveling in dirt.
A panic entered her. "This isn't real!" she whispered to herself. "This isn't real", but as she did she knew Freddy felt her enter the dream space. He looked evil down at Alice who was sinking in the soft mud. The ground under her was thick and she couldn't move to clime out.
"Stay!" He shouted to her and from the dirt around her skeleton hands, and sharp roots reached through wrapping themselves around her and against the wall. There sharp edges dug in to her skin as she struggled.
Freddy turned from his pit and looked over to Andrea's direction. He grinned a twisted smile and let his decayed teeth show. "Andrea" He called in a sing-song way. "Come out, come out. It's time to play." Andrea inched closer behind a tombstone and tried to calm her breathing but it wasn't working. Suddenly from around her hands thrust up from under the earth and people crawled out and grabbed her. All around her were the Nightmare Society, all of them dead, their faces showing hatred at her.
"You killed us." They screamed. "You murdering bitch!" They clawed at her skin and pulled her down in to the earth with them as she fought to break free.
"No! No! It wasn't me! I didn't do it!" she cried as her feet were pulled in to the ground. "I didn't! I swear I didn't know!"
Then the pulling stopped and a warm crusty hand gripped her throat and pulled her out of the ground, kicking the hands of the dead away from her. Andrea looked up and saw that Freddy had her in his grip and was dangling her above a flaming grave.
"But you see, what you didn't know then you know now." He growled. Andrea held tight to his arm and cried.
"No! Please!" Freddy smiled enjoying the sound of pleading coming from the girl. He held tight to her and lowered her closer to the flames. "NO!" she cried. Suddenly he pulled her away from the fire and closer to him on solid ground.
"You're no better then they were, but you thought you were, didn't you?" He said coldly. "I don't repay no favors." He held his claw back and brought it down to Andrea's throat but stopped short of cutting her. Andrea closed her eyes, but when she noticed the pain didn't come, and the blood didn't pour she opened them and saw he was still holding her, the blades were right next to her, but nothing else was happening. She breathed a sigh of release.
"You can't kill me can you?" She said. "I helped you, you owe me."
"Not likely little girl." He growled again. And he grabbed her by her hair pulled her throat back and sliced her neck. The hot blood filled her mouth and poured down her shirt. He let her fall then. "No, I don't owe you." He watched as Andrea stumbled to her feet, but didn't die, he had sliced her neck, but only so she couldn't speak. He watched as she ran away from him and collapsed over Alice's grave. Andrea looked down in to the grave and saw Alice still alive held against the wall. Alice saw her as well, pale white in the night but for the bright red smeared over her mouth and neck. Alice struggled harder to get loose to help the dying girl but she was stuck.
"Andrea!" She called to her. "Fight! If you want to live damn it! FIGHT!" but Andrea didn't fight, she wasn't a fighter. She was just a poor little rich girl who liked to play games. Freddy stood over Andrea from behind. He watched as Andrea tried to reach down to Alice for help, but with a swift movement he pulled her away out of Alice's view. The only thing she could see was Freddy standing over her and the plunge of his blades down on her, but no scream came. It was a silent death but for the grunts of effort as Freddy scraped bone and tore flesh.
For Andrea, the game was over.
Alice screamed and tugged at the roots and bones that held her and thought franticly. 'I can get out of this! I am the Dream Master!' and the nursery rhyme played in her head. "Now I lay me down to sleep, the master of dreams, my soul I'll keep" then she felt a tug at the roots and hands. She looked back to the muddy wall and saw globs of dirt fall and a hole open. A hand reached out and grabbed her. Alice flinched away but stopped when she saw Melissa was the one pulling.
"How did you find me?" she asked, knowing she had not even thought of Melissa to pull her in to her dream.
"I don't know I just felt you." She replied. They hugged briefly and Melissa pulled Alice in to the hole with her. "Hurry before he notices." And Alice lifted into the hole and crawled past Melissa. Melissa glanced back as Freddy smeared Andrea's blood all in his hands and laughed. But he felt her presence as much as she had felt Alice's. Freddy turned and saw Melissa looking up at him from the hole and anger burning in his eyes. He leaped down in to the grave and lunged at her. Melissa meanwhile turned and began to crawl through the dirt. "Hurry!" She screamed to Alice. From behind her Freddy reached his arm which stretched and grabbed Melissa's ankle, but she wasn't about to let him get her. She kicked his hand away and scurried faster after Alice.
Alice could feel Melissa's panic behind her and kept crawling until she saw a yellow light at the far end. Alice lunged for the opening and the mud slipped causing her to fall on to the hard concrete floor of the boiler room. She looked around and saw Melissa had smashed away old brink to the dirt and had crawled through her dream to get to her. Alice stood up and looked back to the whole and reached inside for Melissa. Melissa was almost to her when she suddenly was pulled back several feet. Melissa kicked and crawled again to Alice who held tight to her and pulled. Melissa put her arms around her and Alice pulled harder. The force suddenly released and Melissa fell out of the hole and in to Alice's arms. Melissa quickly crawled out of the way expecting Freddy to follow her through the hole, but nothing happened. She looked over at Alice and sighed in exhaustion.
"How did you find me?" Alice asked again.
"I don't know." She replied. "Maybe.maybe he's prepping me, making me like him so he can take over?" Alice nodded.
"Sounds logical" she said helping her up from the ground. "We need to get you out of here. We will all be safer if you were awake"
"Well that looks good on paper" She replied "But it's the getting me awake part that is the problem. He keeps me here, where he can reach me."
"But that is what we need to figure out, how can he reach you and not me?" She asked.
"Because I'm the last." She answered "I am honestly the last of the people who killed him. I'm his unfinished business, and if he can keep me alive, he can live."
"He is trying to take you over, so he can live forever. If he can live inside you, he can live on through you and through your children." Alice cringed at the thought of him inside Jacob. "He can make you like him and he can live on in your dreams, and continue to hunt through them, like one big game of hide and seek!"
"Well that wouldn't be right, I mean if I die, his battle is over, and this all ends."
