Disclaimers, ratings, name, etc can be found in prologue
Author's Notes: Hey all, storm didn't eat me up too bad but I did go for power without a while. Glad to be back and posting new chapters! Now for my comment-os!
I don't know if I ever thanked Katherin Kruegers Evil Twin for reviewing, if not, than thank you!
pmad - Nice try but it isn't Rachel, you'll see soon enough who I'm pushing forward…though I will say Samara herself will get a lot of showtime soon enough.
CarryTheZero - Yeah I know! It was only supposed to be a one shot, gosh darnit! But people showed enough interest to get me inspired and I have to admit, writing this is fun!
Agent A.T. - Here's Lori's reaction, though I might add in here again that Lori fans should be warned, I do not like her and while I write her somewhat objectively my obvious bias is in there. Also give the sign up for 'Mary-Sue alert'! We've got one lurking in here.
Danielle L. Bartlett - More talking in here I'm afraid but next chapter holds some cool actin, promise.
Also I recommend everyone see 'Underworld', soooo good! And the soundtrack? It's like but-uah! ('Butter' for those who haven't seen Mike Myers; old SNL gag 'Coffee Talk')
The warnings…
WARNING: BAD LANGUAGE
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Chapter 8
Lori Campbell watched her paperweight smash into the television set, knocking it over with a loud triumphant crash. Her arm hummed from the action of having thrown it with such force. God, this had to be a dream. No. Not a dream. Never a dream. All it was, was another nightmare.
She had had too many of those. Ever since the day her best friends died…Kia, Gibb-
In the end all she had had left were her father and the man she had thought to be the love of her life, Will Rollins.
Will.
The thought of his name made a shaft of pain shoot through her system as well as caused an errant snort to escape her. Will, the love of her life? She had thought so once, and so adamantly. But it turned out not to be. The stress of what had happened over their time apart, the mess that was their pasts…it was too much for either of them. Things cut too deeply.
Shortly after Freddy and Jason's apparent demises, things seemed almost picturesque for Lori, as if the whole mess had never happened. She and her father moved out of 1428 Elm but not Springwood.
No, instead they moved towards the edge of town, allowing Lori to finish up high school and prepare for a short semester at Springwood U before transferring to the college of her dreams.
In that time she and Will grew very close, they even lost their precious virginity to one another and it seemed too wonderful to be real. Once again, a dream. But she should have learned by now, after everything that had happened, that dreams aren't real and they certainly don't come true.
The pain of losing her two best friends, Gibb and Kia, turned out to be more of a devastating burden than she had realized. And then there had been the unconscious fear of Freddy, that some day, some when, he would return.
At that time, sleep had become such a chore, was it her fault she had turned herself fully over to Hypnocil? She could vaguely recall when her father had tried to sneak the pills to her. Now she knew better. She knew she needed them
Her father had recommended them after all, and he was only looking out for her welfare, for the welfare of all the kids in Springwood. That was why he had done what he had done in the first place, medicating so many, being a consultant for Westin Hills. He didn't want anyone else to end up like his wife, Lori's mother, murdered at the gloved hand of that dream walking sociopath.
True, she didn't condone his lying to her, much less his locking Will up and not telling her about it, but in the end she had begun to understand it all from her father's point of view. He cared so much; he loved her so much and couldn't bear to be without her, just as she couldn't bear to be without him.
And the mere thought of Freddy…
No, Hypnocil had been her only answer, was still her only answer. She had easy, free access thanks to her father. She got as much as she needed and it helped her to finally get some much deserved, dreamless rest. It was perfect.
Or it would have been perfect. But there were side effects of the drug. Nasty ones. She was often grouchy and sluggish, snappish and cold. She started taking out this aggressive nature growing inside her on Will. He didn't appreciate it.
He had had his own troubles, his own losses. Mark and his time in Westin Hills, neither had ever allowed him to fully settle back into normal life. He was as desolate as she was and soon enough they began tearing away at one another.
And one night, with tears in his eyes, Will had told her he didn't think it wise for them to see one another anymore. He had stood there, trying to sound oh so sorry, as he'd broken her heart. He had assured her it was the best for both of them, that they would heal better without one another.
He also told her he was taking a stand; she had to stop using Hypnocil. He said she was addicted and if she wasn't careful, she'd land in a coma like the patients in D Wing. So he'd left it up to her, the Hypnocil or him.
As if she had a choice. She couldn't risk Freddy returning, so by her own volition, their relationship ended. She had had to start all over. But she had dealt with it, given herself time and now here she was, this close to completing her first full semester at Springwood U when this happens.
She had thought it to be another sorority prank. Living in a dormitory was never an easy thing, in some ways it was dangerous to your health and all because of the ridiculous pranks that spread around like wild fire. Lori had been subjected to everything from condom water balloon bombs to tabasco sauce in her coffee. It was like an endless slumber party.
When the badly wrapped package had arrived with its blank VHS inside she had merely assumed it was another one of these. She stuck it in the VCR, half expecting a porno to show up when she had been greeted with static and then a glowing ring. And the images following…so horrible…
And then him.
Freddy, the man who had slaughtered her mother, her friends, who had destroyed her life…
Her fears of his return were finally validated.
But he was supposed to be dead! She had decapitated him for god's sake! Lobbed his head clean off with one powerful thrust! She had thought herself incapable of such a thing until she'd been in the position, until she had held that machete strong in her hands and swung. It was for her friends, for her mother, for everything and she had been proud. Glorious. She had exacted revenge, vengeance and now…
The video had to be a joke. Had to be, would Will…
No, no despite what she thought of her ex-boyfriend he wouldn't have done this. True, they went to the same school but she had avoided him on campus like he was the plague and he had done the same. Every now and then she glanced his way and he would do so to her. She had caught the sorrow in his eyes but there was no regret. He still felt he was doing the right thing.
Well fuck him!
Freddy too!
Hot tears welled up and she let out a tiny gasp as she flopped down on her bed. She drew a stuffed toy bunny to her, hugging it tightly when suddenly her roommate entered, "Hey, Lori, ya okay?"
Lori looked up and saw Paige Bettens standing there, concern on her petite features. Paige was the first person Lori had felt at all close to since everything that had happened. At first she had been reluctant to make new friends, afraid to lose them all over again but Paige had helped her get over this impediment.
Paige was from the south, which was evident upon hearing her speak, the southern twang affixed firmly in place. She was very skinny, bony beyond reason and one of the tallest girls on Campus. Her hair was blonde but not like Lori's. It wasn't rich or bouncy with its curls, instead it was more like weighted down straw.
The best example would be to say she looked very reminiscent of Sissy Spacek in 'Carrie'. But she was funny and a good person and Lori had come to depend on her a great deal since losing Will. Sure, her break up had been almost a year ago but she still needed a shoulder to cry on, a person to understand.
"I'm fine," Lori whispered, easing up on the bunny.
"Good Lord, all mighty! What happened ta th' TV?"
"Oh - uh-huh - sorry," Lori muttered.
"If ya don't like the program, Lor, jus' change th' channel," Paige laughed.
"It wasn't that, it was…"
Paige rolled her eyes, "Not Will again."
"Huh?"
"Come on, gal, I know ya and ya gotta one track mind. It's been almosta year and yer still hung up on Mr. Tall-Dark-N-Handsome. I've seen ya shooting eyes at him when we've been in th' Quad. Ya try hard ta hide it but I've caughtcha."
"Paige…"
"Jeez, Lori, I thought we talked about this all ready. The guy was a jerk! Forget him an' move on. How many times I gotta tell ya-"
"I know, Paige, and I have been moving on, I have been on dates, you know." Lori muttered, "And I mean, Will broke up with me…and for no good reason, I mean, god," she shook her head, "But that's not why I'm upset or why I broke the TV, I thought I…there was something I saw that got me upset."
"This," Paige paused, apprehensive, "This wouldn't be because of those pills…would it?"
Lori shot her a piercing look, "Excuse me?"
"It's just - um - I mean," Paige bit her bottom lip, "Lori, girl, ya know I love ya. You're my best friend here but…I mean, it's just…I've seen you popping those blue pills and ya sleep almost all the time and I know your grades are dropping and-"
"I don't want to talk about it," Lori said stiffly, wanting to change the subject.
"Okay, okay, I just," Paige held up her hands, surrendering, "I know somethin' musta happened that ya don't want ta talk ta me about an' that's fine. I understand that, yer private life, yer past is yer business. I mean after all this time I don't know everything about ya and ya don't know everything about me but still… I wish ya'd open up a little, Maybe I could help ya better if…"
"Trust me, Paige, you don't want to know," Lori muttered, tossing the toy aside as she rose to her feet and wrapped her arms around herself. She looked out their window and down on to the campus lawn.
A bunch of frat boys were running around, shooting whipped cream at each other and the full moon was glowing down. If she was anyone else, tonight would have been beautiful, fun, full of promise…
Instead all she saw, all she felt, was dread.
"Lori, I know ya may not want ta hear it but…can I give ya some advice?"
She turned to Paige and tried to drum up some kind of smile, "Yeah?"
"Talk ta him."
A choked sound left her throat, her eyebrows raised high, "You can't be serious…"
"Ya still got unresolved issue with Will, so resolve 'em. Maybe then ya can finally move on. I mean all the dates you've been on haven't been raving success…"
"That's because so far I've only seen losers! Disher, Jon, Max, Greg, Phil, Tyler…"
"Now back up there," Paige laughed, "I set ya up with Tyler and he wasn't that mucha ofa failure if I remember rightly. 'Specially considerin' he was the most recent. When ya came back from that date ya wouldn't even tell me what had happened, ya just had the grin on your face…"
Lori blushed with memory, "Okay, I'll admit, Tyler wasn't that bad…"
Paige giggled, "Good, 'cause he called and I said you might jus' be interested in a second date!"
Lori gasped, astonished, "No, you didn't!"
"Did."
"OH…you!" Lori couldn't help but laugh as she grabbed a pillow and began to pelt Paige with it. A short pillow fight ensued with both girls laughing. Once they calmed down Lori was red faced and shaking her head, "I can't go on a second date with Tyler…"
"Why not? Ya said the first one wasn't that bad. Okay, well, ya didn't quite say that. Like I said, ya didn't say much at all but-"
"Tyler was good, Paige. I won't lie. I did have a generally good time with him and he's not a bad guy, in fact he's real sweet and good looking but…"
"Come on, don't leave Tyler in th' lurch, hell, don't leave yerself in th' lurch. Don't do this to yourself anymore. Finish that unfinished business. Talk ta Will. Please? If not for yerself, then for me…and for our busted TV."
Lori couldn't help but laugh again but her heart was sinking as she looked at the TV. Her mind flashed to Freddy. To those horrible things she'd seen. To the girl. She couldn't tell Paige about that. She wouldn't understand, much less believe her.
But Will would.
And if Freddy was back, he deserved to know. No matter what he had done to her, he at least deserved that. She had her Hypnocil to protect her, she knew Freddy was trying to scare her but as long as she had her pills, she was safe. But Will would be defenseless, doomed.
She sighed, "Okay, I'll talk to him."
"Awesome! Now let's clean this mess up," Paige said and began working over the TV.
Lori joined her side, thoughts still on Freddy. Yes, she had to talk to Will, because if the video was real and true, then Freddy was back and with more power than ever before.