Disclaimers, ratings, name, etc can be found in prologue.

Author's Notes: Back after a nice lengthy break - hopefully 'Thriller' tided a few of you over - though I doubt it. I have so much to say but I'll keep it as brief as possible.

First, this and the next chapter are human oriented, in other words, no Freddy, no Samara - no fun! :-(

I agree that without them things are no where near as good, but what can I say? We need to push through this stuff, people so we can reach the good stuff! Like they say, 'good things come to those who wait, etc, etc.'. And I promise you - Chapters 32 - 35 are so Freddyful you'll be drooling with happiness…

Quick heads up to new reviewer -abnormal-girl - thanks for your kind words! I am flattered muchly!

One other note, this chapter and 31 have both been edited about a hundred times but probably STILL need corrections, I would go over it again one more time but I'm not feeling so hot tonight so I'm just gonna post them so you can satiate your appetite for 'Nightmare Ring'. I plan on re-reading my printed version again tomorrow and if corrections need to be made I shall do them - okay, I think that satisfied my inner critic.

My normal recs'll be featured in Chapter 31's author notes- now read and enjoy!

More warnings…

WARNING: BAD LANGUAGE

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Chapter 30

Maggie felt like she'd never stop screaming. They'd found Doc's dead body over six hours ago and she still felt like she'd never stop wailing from the agony of loss. Doc was dead. Her best friend was dead. Dead. Dead. DEAD!

How could she go on?! There was no way she could make it through this without Doc at her side, no way she could defeat Krueger. She wasn't strong enough, wasn't brave enough…

Doc was her support, her rock. And now he was dead. Murdered by her father. That bastard. That bastard!

They'd found Doc in his hotel room - charred to black ashes, practically cremated right there on his bed. The rest of the room was in pristine order, the police and Hotel operators couldn't even begin to explain it but Maggie knew.

As did Alice and Jacob who were trying their best to console her. They took her back to their hotel, bringing along with them all of Doc's former belongings. Jacob was leafing through page after page of Doc's work material as Alice made Maggie a pot of tea.

Maggie was still bawling, head down on a table, inconsolable. Still, Alice tried her best, murmuring soothing words and rubbing her back. She'd shoot Jacob a look now and then, "Honey, you should really concentrate more on getting a hold of the others then looking at those papers…"

"Mom, this could be important…"

"Jacob…"

"There could be something in here that could stop Fre-"

"Now is not the time!" Alice snapped, voice tight, "Do what I say!"

Jacob knew there was no arguing with his mother at this point and with a disgruntled noise tossed the files aside. He shoved his hands in his pockets and charged out of the room. Once outside he let out a vicious curse, lashing out at a nearby trashcan, his foot creating an impressive dent in its side.

Fuck, they had just met the man last night and now…

Freddy was working fast, tearing his way through all of them. Who was going to be next?

"Like fucking Ten Little Indians…" Jacob muttered under his breath.

According to all the stories he'd heard Freddy never normally worked this fast. It was like he was updating his methods or something. Slash and dash his way through the lot of them. Two survivors were down now. Only three to go. And the new victim, Sam.

And what about Angela? How did she fit in? She hadn't received the video but she was as much a part of this as anyone else. What was her role? Once again, he knew it all couldn't be a coincidence. If only his mother had let him continue rifling through those papers, maybe he could have found an answer…

Then he remembered what Will had said last night. Sam's paintings of Freddy had caused the fears in the local teens. Why would she spread the fear like that? It had to have been accidental…that's what had happened with his mother but still…there was something about the girl that was just not right…

Jacob rubbed his eyes, no, no he was crazy. There was nothing wrong with Sam; he was burned out, fatigued from no sleep and all the death around him.

Back inside Alice was pouring Maggie tea, "Here honey, drink this, it'll help…"

"N-nothing'll help," Maggie gasped, "He's gone…god, he's gone and he helped me through so much, you have no idea h-how much I o-owe him and h-how much he meant…"

"Shhh," Alice whispered, still rubbing her back, "Drink this."

Maggie took a sip, trying to catch her breath, "Why would he have done that? Why would he have slept…"

"We were all pretty shook up last night. Maybe he just meant to rest his eyes…"

"No, you don't understand. Doc he - he controlled his dreams. When I first met him he told me about the Dream Demons, he remembered the kids who'd died and been wiped from everyone's memories by my father because he was in control of his mind…something got him upset, something made him vulnerable so my father could get in and - and…"

Alice frowned, "Maggie…have you…had any dreams since you last saw your father?"

Her forehead crinkled as she thought about this, "No, actually. I mean, I had to relearn how to sleep after it all happened but - but I don't think I've had any dreams since. I can't remember one."

"Neither can I. Neither can Jacob. Maggie, I think after each of us defeated Krueger something changed because none of us have had any dreams - any at all. It's like we're cut off from the dreamscape or our willpower keeps him out. Like you said about Doc, maybe we learned to control our dreams or like my experience, we all have dream powers - maybe we changed them all to blocking out dreams all together to protect ourselves…"

"And that power failed Doc last night?" Maggie asked, "But why would that happen…"

"You said he may have been upset. He - he certainly seemed so after Michael called."

"Michael." Maggie murmured quietly, "God, he's coming here…he'll never believe…"

Her eyes landed on the files Jacob had tossed down and she went over to them, tossing the papers around like crazy. Alice stood up, worrying her lower lip, "What are you doing?"

"Your son was right, the answer has to be in here somewhere-"

"Maggie, this isn't the time-"

"THEN WHEN IS IT!" Maggie snapped, "After you're dead, after I am?! This isn't going to stop, Alice! Not with those kids, with Lori, with Doc…he's not going to stop. He's going to keep going until he gets what he wants and that's us! That's why he took that girl and - Jesus, do you know how long he's had her in there! Do you know how many he's killed in total! How many lives he's ruined! If you're a survivor and I'm a survivor and Will….god, he's been around too fucking long and he keeps being stopped and coming back and I'm sick of it! I want an end! There has to be something here that'll do it! That'll explain…"

Maggie was practically panting now as she tore at the papers, hysterical. She collapsed to the floor, sobs consuming her again. Alice rushed to her side, wrapping her arms around her to hold her close.

Maggie was still trying to talk, even through her cries, "I have to find the answer before Michael gets here…before he gets Michael…I've lost Doc I couldn't bear it if - if…I'd rather die…"

"He won't get Michael," Alice vowed, "We'll stop him. I promise."

Maggie felt delirious when her eyes landed on a folder. It was no different than any of the other folders laying around but for some reason it called to her. She drew away from Alice, her hands taking hold of it.

"What's that?" Alice asked. As if under a trance, Maggie opened it and began leafing through paper after paper.

Good sections of it were marked and highlighted. Maggie gasped, "This is it…"

"What? What's it?"

"Doc must have worked on this last night before," her eyes turned to Alice, "Where's Jacob?"

"I think he's still outside, he stormed off…"

"Go get him," Maggie said quickly, "This is what we were looking for."