Disclaimer: New Line Cinema owns everything.
AM DEAD
Written by detox
CHAPTER TWO - BILE, OH MY
The following day I did some basic chores laid out for me, and to avoid sleeping, the aid of MacGuyver re-runs and Sally Jessie Raphael came into play. Taking care of the usual business of a typical day, I caught a slight case of cabin fever. Pondering life choices, the future, and that Krueger character all contributed to the building of anxiety. I slumped into the couch, sitting through the opening credits of Quantum Leap. Might as well relax, I offered.
Elm Street had forgone temporary desolation due to the law-enforced curfews. Nightly fog rolled across the seemingly calm street as the time approached eleven o' clock. A female in her late teens emerged from it, running away from a sight unseen. She quickly glanced behind her, but no one was there. The girl slammed into--a car hood, slightly bruising her midsection. Yet, she clenched her side while running down Elm Street. In her focus, a house was targeted. It was her home. Now, aiming for her doorway, she spent whatever energy she had left. Something was wrong. Elm Street as the girl knew it began to spin around her like a hellacious thrill ride. In a blur of her surroundings, the girl became dizzy, and staggered forth as the spinning came to an end.
The Messenger Of Fear stood before her.
"Welcome."
The girl immediately tried to run, yet she did not go far as Freddy sliced her ankle following with an overhead left.
The frail body of Veronica Kimms dropped to the floor, folding unto itself like an accordion. Freddy slowly bent over to inspect it, and saw the eyes of the teen moving in fear.
"Don't..don't!" The teen heaved between coughs of exhaustion and anxiety. "Henry!! Help me, Henry!"
Krueger breathed with a satanic frustration, "Where is our hero, Henry?"
A tear managed to accumulate in Veronica's tear ducts, yet she tried to hide her fear and sadness by closing her eyes. She tried to utter another word, "Pl-..." Krueger lunged at her face, gouging the sinning eyes of the teen until the pupils burst. Blood began to flood under both eyes, filling the sockets with the crimson red. The teen's face contorted in horror, trying to muster the breath to scream, but not being able to do so. She was crippled by her fear. The girl's mouth blew agape, screaming a silent shrill into the face of this terrifying figure. Freddy leaned in close, and repeatedly snatched the girl to her feet by the lower portion of her mouth, severely dislocating her jaw. Freddy looked the girl in what was left of her eyes, and allowed her to fall once again...folding over unto herself like an accordion. Freddy flipped her body over. He kicked her head over to the side, assuring himself of a kill.
"See you around, bitch. Oh, HENRY!!" Freddy bellowed. His maniacal laughter filled the air at the thought of some peon trying to stop him.
"I'm back."
"WHAT?!?"
"Help", I muttered, lying face-first on the ground, dirt clinging to my lips. Putting my hand on the back of my head, I tried to subdue the pain from the blow. I got to my knees to look around. A long, deserted stretch of red, dehydrated soil reached for all eternity before me. The sky was a muted brown, with only the slightest hint of sunlight peering through the thick veil cast over it. I dusted my knees off as I got up to get a better look. Grave holes and unmarked stones surrounded me. "Holy shit", I thought. I began to walk, in search of some kind of help. As I endlessly walked onward, the sun had finally set, killing all illumination and visibility. I slumped to the ground, fatigued. "This isn't going anywhere", I offered, and it wasn't. The ground loosened under my weight, and I slipped into one of the graves. Shit!! I stumbled down a deep hole, descending onto a hospital bed with great force. I looked up to see the outline of the grave of which I just fell in. It loomed above me a good fifty feet away, leaving no room for escape. I was now stuck in a vast place of emptiness. A blinding light began to overtake the hole, causing me to shield my eyes. Restraints suddenly shot from the sides of the hospital bed, and strapped me down. An odd-looking doctor hunched over me, concerned look in tow.
"Amanda, you must give up this child for adoption", he stated, "we cannot have our church ruined by your disgraceful mistake and damned child." The doctor grabbed his pen and pushed it along with his clipboard into my face. "Sign here. AH!!!" Looking upward, the doctor began to yell in pain. A rumble began to vibrate the space in which I fell. It violently shook the room as the doctor continued on. Sheets of blood crashed down onto us, each sheet coming faster than the next. The doctor quickly began to mutate into numerous forms, from young teens to people I feel I recognize. As this weird metamorphosis came to end, a blonde, frail and weathered teen stood at the foot of my bed. She walked alongside my bed, and checked my forehead with her hand. She chuckled faintly, "you're still alive."
I, puzzled, looked up at the light coming from the hole. The girl noticed this, and nodded, "I guess you could say you're in the dream world's purgatory." She continued, "there's something about you that is pulling you away from my territory and into his territory. Yet, both feet aren't in yet." The girl pondered what was going on for a minute. "You do have time, if that's what you wanted to know", she said. She gave me an interrogating look, and trudged on, "I guess that isn't what you wanted to know. My name is Kristen. I'm the current Dream Master, and have been since I was bartered here to save a close friend. You may even know her, since you're here."
"Alice", I muttered.
"Yeah, Alice was the Dream Master until I agreed to take over her position to let her raise her son, Jacob. I did it, because..I'm already dead, Tina", Kristen said.
"How do I get out of here", I asked. "For one: do not agitate Krueger, or you'll be sent into his territory. If you do that, I definitely can't help you while he infests you dreams. So, leave Freddy alone, forget about Springwood and all of that, and maybe you'll live." She paused. A drop of blood spilled onto Kristen's forehead. She stood there as if she knew this would happen, and motioned to me, "quick--run! For some reason, Freddy is aware of you being here! Run!" The drops began to accumulate on her head, turning into those familiar sheets of blood. With each sheet Kristen's body began to contort and twitch, somehow avoiding the effects of such weaponry. A final sheet smashed onto Kristen's body, sending her to the ground. I loosened the restraints on my arms and chest, and looked over the edge of the bed to get a better look at whatever was left of Kristen.
Kristen lied on the ground, covered in blood, and whispered, "I'm okay, Tina. I just need a little.."
Kristen's head snapped around--now, it was Fred Krueger's!
"pussy on a Sunday morning!!"
Freddy bore his glove and very slowly began to rise to his feet. I realized my leg restraints were still tightened, and quickly reached for them. I began to unbuckle and loosen them as Freddy slowly reached a standstill. "Did you really think I wouldn't find you", he threatened, polarizing me amidst my strap removal.
I was paralyzed and numbed by fear and disbelief.
His stature loomed over me with devilish intimidation and poise. A musty, dirty brown Fedora adorned his terribly burned and decayed head. Dimples were replaced by burned slabs of flesh, with only a small stream of dead tissue laced across his face, separating the burns. Freddy's eye-contorting colored sweater of green and red showed years of death, murder, and revival sown into hellish cohesion. Refined and pristine knives were screwed into a dirty work glove, with metal spirals allowing for Freddy's hand to clench into his weapon.
He fiercely threw his glove into my face, fingers spread like the wings of death. Yet, his hand halted before me as I quickly flinched. Freddy slowly raised his glove as my head tracked it accordingly. All I could see was five razor-sharp points and the gleam of steel rise and lower. The blades looked cold from inactivity, but was enough to mire. Krueger slowly ran a blade down my face, cutting my numbed lip.
"Shit, Krueger got her! Hurry up", Rez shouted, taking notice of blood reeling off of Tina's lip while carrying her leg-first along with another.
My eyes widened as he lowered his head towards me. I began to tremble, and tried to put my hand to my mouth to keep my sobs silent. Yet, Freddy pulled my hand away, and profanely clicked his tongue at me. "I can't kill you.."
The stench of rotting flesh and gasoline flooded my nasal passages as Freddy opened his mouth and ran his tongue along my cheek. He then pulled away.
"..Yet. I CAN show you the way.."
Krueger grunted into frustration as the hospital bed pulled from underneath me. Seemingly falling endlessly, I finally landed behind a school desk in a classroom. I looked down at my desk, where a notebook laid. A heart with "Alice + Dan" in it was sketched in a corner. Opening it up, I found--
"Hey, hey. Alice? Yoo-hoo?"
A trench-coat wearing teen with frazzled hair kept tapping me on my shoulder. I turned to him who looked a little worried at my equally worried look. Where am I? "Alice, you alright", the teen asked. "Alice? I'm not Alice..", I responded. A gentle, familiar voice called over, "Rick, leave her alone." I turned around to see Kristen sitting at a desk a row away from me. I asked, "Kristen? Am I still dreaming?"
Kristen laughed, "Alice, you're so silly."
A little girl in a white dress stepped to Kristen, saying, "she's not Alice. He can't kill you, until he kills her."
The classroom evaporated into darkness as only a lone spotlight shone onto the little girl.
Two police cars were parked in front of the Aerth residence. Alice sighed, knowing she had to confront not only what she had defeated, but ran away from.
"That's the only way, Tina."
She pulled in front of 1428 Elm Street. Alice grimaced as she took a look, a lone tear running down her eye.
"No! I don't want anybody to die!"
"It's too late."
Opening her glove department, Alice pulled a .22 snub out. Jacob looked on in horror. "It's okay, honey", Alice motioned, "Mommy is going to fix some things, okay?"
"Jesus, does it have to be this way? I'll fight Krueger if I have to!"
Krueger's voice overtook the little girl, "yes, bitch, to answer your question. Death is blooming, and I'm going to harvest!"
The nozzle is flesh against Alice's head. Jacob tries to loosen his seat belt, and lunges for his mother. The bullet quickly eats its way through Alice's temples, killing her as she slumps over her left knee. Jacob yells, "Krueger!!"
The spotlight shows a very different shadow other than the little girl's. I ran for the little girl, but was quickly stopped as a hand grabbed my arm to stop me. I turned around..it was Alice. I yanked my arm away, I knew it wasn't Alice. I thought it wasn't Alice..
Alice's eyes widened, and she yelled at me, "get out of the way!" I ducked as Krueger just barely missed with a swipe of his glove.
"How'd you get here, Alice? You usually don't like going out on your period. How about another Midol?"
I looked back up to see two identical Alices, both adorned in their "Dream Warrior" get-up. Confused, I stepped away, but I was without an exit. I was trapped in this world, and I need the real Alice to help me find a way out.
The two quickly began trading blows. Alice-A threw a punch that missed and broke through the darkness, revealing a sheet of light coming from the hole. Alice-A stopped to take notice, but Alice-B quickly shoved both of them through the dark veil into a church. I safely watched from inside the darkness as the two raged on.
Alice-B tripped Alice-A up with a leg sweep followed by a stomp to the gut--wrong, Alice A grabbed the stomp attempt and threw Alice-B onto her rear end. The two hopped to their feet, and quickly exchanged right hooks, both ducked under. Alice-A hit a punch to the kidneys that staggered Alice-B. Not to let up, Alice-A went for another punch to the midsection--blocked. A kick to the shins--stepped over. A punch to the face--countered as Alice-B grabbed her fist and landed a flurry of three jabs to her face. Bruises began to appear on Alice-A, but a well-timed roundhouse kick on Alice-B's cheek coupled with the friction of boot and skin caused a laceration to appear. Alice-B stepped away to feel the blood on her face. Alice-A quickly ran for the hole, grabbing my hand in the process.
"Let's get out of here", Alice-A shouted, but her arm began to oddly stretch as we rounded the corner. "Maybe if you'd loosen your grip, I could get it hard!" The arm turned a stark green and red as fabric stretched over it. I let go and ran into the church. Alice-B brushed me aside, protecting me, as Alice-A began to walk towards us. I looked down at Alice-B's arms only to find..Freddy's finger glove! Both Alice's began to chuckle as Alice-B's grip tightened on me. Alice-A's body shifted towards Alice-B, joining them into that damned Freddy Krueger. A body, however, ran past the hole leading to the darkness. Could it be...?
Inside the car, Jacob sat up from sobbing over his mom, but jumped completely back as her body now showed movement. Steamed still rolled off the gunshot wound as she warmly smiled at Jacob. "See, honey, I'm fixed", she proclaimed, and then grabbed Jacob by the back of his head. She said, "you need some fixin', too, boy", and with that, slammed Jacob's head hardly against the dashboard. He was completely cold-clocked.
Subdued thuds on the driver window boomed into "Alice"'s ear. It was Rez.
"Alice, where have you been? I need your help, Tina's.."
"Alice" stepped out of the car, gun discreetly placed in her purse. Rez continued, "Alice? You okay?" "Alice" smoothed back her hair slightly, allowing her wound to get some air. Rez quickly picked up on it, but before he could react..the imprint of a gun was engraved into his head. "Alice" opened a passenger door, and carried Rez over to it. Poetic justice? Yes or no, Rez was pushed into the back seat of Alice's car. "Alice" hopped into the driver's seat, and looked up at "her" reflection in the rear view mirror..
"My rules, kids. MY rules."
My eyes snapped open, yet my focus slowly aligned to reveal Henry standing beside the sofa. He was caught off-guard by my reaction. "Oh, I'm sorry. I just wanted you to know I'm back from work. I got you some groceries. Oh, and an..Alice called?" I thanked him, as Alice was the person I truly had to get in touch with after that bizarre dream. What the hell did it mean? It seemed different than my average dreams. It felt different than my average dreams. Thank God for being bored out of my mind, I programmed Alice's number with the help of speed dial. I quickly punched it, with rings beginning to accumulate. One ring..two rings..is she still home? Three rings...finally an answer.
"Hello?" She asked.
"Alice! Alice, I just had this terrible dream!"
Alice's suspicion began to grow. "Did it seem real?"
"Yeah..how'd you know? This happened to you guys?"
"I guess we shouldn't keep digging into the past, but yeah. It did, but that's beside the point. What happened in your dream? Were you attacked?"
"From what you've told me, I know I saw Fred Krueger..murder a girl."
"Was it--"
"No. It wasn't me, it was another girl, but Alice, I swear it felt real."
Alice sighed, "Shit. I'll be in Springwood tomorrow, but until then try not to sleep much."
That was a no-brainer. "After a dream like that, how could I?"
An application entered his frame of vision, yet he didn't look up. It fell harmlessly into his lap as a secretary walked off, annoyed. At his right sat an awkward sophomore, who seemed uneasy while the bag of ice taped to his head started to sweat. The boy had obviously been in a fight, and was visibly shaken. It was a completely lost battle. Nerves already shot, the boy tried not to jolt too much as Krueger raised his head in the boy's direction.
"What's the matter with you?", he asked.
The boy stuttered as he tried to find truth amongst his anxiety.
"I-I-I forgot a bully's homework s-s-so I got beat up."
Fred chuckled, and leaned in closer.
"Sure you ain't have that beating coming to ya?"
He chuckled some more, but he yanked his head towards the door as Principal Aerth walked in. The Principal gave a dead-pan hello to his secretary, and began..
"I see we now employ local idiots. Not if I have anything to do with it", he gruffed.
The Principal made a quick 180 degree turn towards the door--BAM! A school nurse bursts into the door with the injured boy's mother in tow, sending the principal to the ground. Freddy quickly kicks over a table to break his fall, for better or worse. Highlights magazines and bits of cheap particle board lie underneath Principal Aerth, as Freddy finishes his application. He confidently stands, and slides it over to the secretary, taking a quick, potent glare at Principal Aerth.
"Tell your little brother I said, 'Hello', Aerth."
Shrieks, like a fire siren. No--like an ambulance warbling. Wait--it's my baby crying.
"Hold on, Alice, I have to check something--"
I quickly tended to my daughter, who was frustrated as she came out of a formerly quiet nap. I placed the phone on top of the dresser, and rocked her into serenity. I laid her back down into the crib as the sun quietly set at 7:26 PM. I continued my conversation, "Alice, we aren't playing with fire, aren't we?" Alice intercepted, "I know Krueger's dead, but all this talk of him..". She paused then continued, "..don't worry about it. I'll be there sometime tomorrow afternoon."
With that, we ended our conversation. I placed the handset into the receiver, and walked back into the living room. I flopped onto the couch in boredom until the sounds of knocks at my front door grabbed my attention. I quickly got up, and answered the door. It was Rez, who was looking a tad uneasy about something. "Hey", I greeted. "Hey, Tina, how's it going? Uh, can I come in for a minute?" He asked. I noticed something was wrong, thus, I figured I could make worse decisions in life. I sat him down on the couch, but he preferred to stand. "Now, Tina..what exactly are you doing", he calmly asked. "What do you mean?" His posture stiffened, and continued, "I just had a nightmare last night. Sure, I always have had a nightmare here or there, but I think you know what kind of nightmare I'm talking about. So, what are you doing, Tina? What's Alice been telling you?" "A lot. But what would that have to do with you", I honestly wondered. "Tina, Tina, don't you get it? Whatever the fuck you guys talk about or do is getting everybody spooked."
"Wait--we're not the only ones?"
"Yeah, we're not--wait, you're having nightmares, too? Shit." Rez clinched his neck, realizing where this might head. "So, how does it feel to run from him?"
"I had one earlier, but I wasn't in it. I was watching somebody else being killed by Freddy--"
Rez's eyebrows quickly rose.
"But it wasn't you. It seemed like it happened in the 60s or 70s."
Rez sat down on the couch to think over this ordeal. He turned, and said, "Alright, I got it. Luckily for you, I think Freddy isn't aware of you. YET. So, I think if you just stopped the conversations with Alice about his favorite color, his childhood, or whatever..you may have a fighting chance."
My lips squirmed, because I wasn't entirely sure.
Rez continued, "trust me, Tina. I've seen this town get wiped out. You can't kill him. My brother was a Varsity middle linebacker who could bench 320, and even he couldn't get a decent lick on the guy."
Knock-knock. Light knocks on the screen door distracted me away from Rez. A teen around my age stood there, dead-pan, and looking without much purpose. Must be a paperboy. I then rose and continued for the door. The boy's eyes rolled upward, slightly above my head. A hard, swift bash to the top of my head sent me reeling into the screen door, pushing it open. The boy sidestepped me as I fumbled to the ground.
Feeling four hands begin to drag me, I slowly blacked out.
Henry nervously waited in the Springwood Police Department's waiting room, his expression blank in thought, and sweaty palms resting on the sides of his chair. He wondered if he had done the right thing by turning Tina in. Maybe. Maybe not. Knocking her unconscious with the side of a wine bottle may have been a little overzealous. Henry sighed as he was becoming restless in his frayed state, and just wanted this over with. Faintly, he heard his name through the police chief's door. Looking up, he could see a silhouette of the chief coming to, and opening, the door. Doorknob in hand, he nodded for Henry to come in.
"Henry, I'm glad you did what was needed of you. I knew taking in strays was a bad idea, because you know how these fuckin' kids are. Any little crime left unsolved or in cold case or infamy, and they want to know every goddamn thing about it. Springwood can absolutely not afford another Krueger massacre, and you know it."
Henry nodded, but was legitimately concerned about Tina, "where did you take her?" The chief turned in his chair, reluctant to tell him, but figured it wouldn't do too much harm to tell him. The chief returned his chair back to the previous angle, and swiped his nose. Maybe it would do him some harm. "Listen, Henry", the chief offered, "I've got a reported Alice Johnson sighting , a kid missing, and an already rattled town up in arms over this kid you took in who is trying to start Freddy right on up again. ON YOUR BLOCK."
If he couldn't get straight answers, then help would be an excellent alternative, "Chief, what can I do? I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place."
The police chief sighed, and flipped along his rolodex, halting in the "G" section. He pulled out a card, and leaned over to hand it to Henry. Henry flipped it over, inspecting it.
"Neil Gordon. Used to be a doctor at one of the shrink bins, but I think he can help you. I know where you're getting at, and he'll help you with that. He's up in Kokosing, by the river. Now, you can get yourself some rest or maybe a coffee, but whatever you do..get the hell out of my office."
Henry put the card in his pocket, and acknowledged the police chief with a goodbye nod. Kokosing was now he's destination, but he wondered about this Gordon character. Was this the same Dr. Neil Gordon who had a hand in the "suicides"?
Two and a half hour's worth of Ohio passed under Henry's tires as the Kokosing River area began to get closer and closer. Henry first passed the tourist portion of the town, littered with trails and parks. Moving further, he came upon the desolate edge of town. Houses skipped rhythms, and were few and far between. The pine trees began to up in numbers as Henry pushed further into deep forest.
To be continued...?
