Chapter Seven

Lola's Surprise

Dear Freddy... Well I have a surprise for you- its your daughter... Katherine, who actually goes by Maggie

Okay now that wasn't right. She scrunched up the papers and tossed them out.

To Mr. Krueger, Alright. I found your daughter and

She threw that sheet out too. Maybe she should just speak to him in person.First things first. She needed to call for a airplane ticket, because Maggie had moved to California in the early 90's.

She dialed up the traveling agency with trembling fingers.

"Malcolm Travel Agency how may I help you?"

"Uh yeah." She spoke in a guttural voice. "I'd like to purchase a two way ticket to California."

"Alright." She heard rapid typing in the background. "And for what day?"

"Perhaps...November 6th?" She guessed.

"Yes we have a flight available for 7 am that day. Gate 3, Flight 180."

Yes.

"How old are you?" The man asked patiently. How old did he think she sounded- two? How old WAS Freddy- 35, 40? Hmm... He mentioned once that he was born in...What was it-1942! That was it, and the year now was 2003 so he was... She could just tell the man he was thirty but she decided to figure out the math instead so she could tease Freddy later about how old he was- he couldn't do a thing to her if she was in his body.

He died in 1974 so if he wasn't aging because well, technically he was deceased. He'd be:

"I'm 61." She said finally. She heard the man typing.

"And where in California?"

"Laguna Beach." She told him.

"And your name and phone number?"

"Fred...Fred Krueger." See what the man said to that! "And my number is 555-8780." She recited her phone number.

"Okay thank you Mr. Krueger, you may pick up your tickets anytime. Will you be paying cash or credit card?"

"Credit card." That American Express of hers wasn't good for nothing. She told him her credit card number.

"It's $378.00 and we're located at 250 Water Street. No refunds"

"Great." She let out her breath. "Bye." She hung up and heard the door being flung open. Freddy had no respect for her privacy.

"Who were you talking to?" He asked curiously, still in his costume.

"No one that'd interest you."

"I'm sure I would be interested since you can't exactly call up your friends with that voice." He said suspiciously.

She inhaled slowly.

"Okay I've got something quite...Important to tell you. A proposition"

His eyes narrowed."I don't like the sound of this bitch."

"Well, I looked up Maggie Burroughs..."

"Maggie Burroughs?" He hissed. Katherine Krueger.

"Yeah and she's moved to Laguna Beach California, my old state. So I bought you plane tickets to go reunite with her and...Redo what mistakes you made last time."

"No." He snapped. "I don't want to look at that bitch of a so-called daughter."

She found she understood his hatred.

"Oh come on! She's older Freddy- she's 37 now!" She told him. "She's going to be a lot more mature about this!"

"37?" He whispered. "Wow I'm getting old." He just realized that now?

"Yeah well I have her address all written down."

"But what about the body situation?" He said with rage. "Ever think about that little glitch? Katherine tried to kill me once and I might just have to kill her this time."

"Your own daughter?" She knew she's hit a sore spot on the man.

"I'm her own father! She loved me although you may not believe it!"

Lola was quiet for a long time. She had gone and ordered those tickets for nothing. The words no refunds made a mark in her mind.

"Look, you should be a little more grateful!" She yelled angrily slamming her fist on the computer desk. "I'm spending all my college savings for some stupid dream demon who's angry at the world- to yell in my face. This is costing me big bucks or do you have you no sense of money?"

He was quiet in thought.

"So why the fuck are you doing this?"

"I guess..." She paused. "I guess I feel bad about getting you into this. You always seem so miserable about Katherine, and being in my body and just overall everything." She finished off lamely.

There was ten seconds of silence before he finally spoke.

"It's...thoughtful of you. But little 37 year old Katherine doesn't like me killing. She blew me into bits once doesn't that say anything?"

She shrugged, smiling casually."Well you'll just have to tell her you've changed. Even if its a lie she'd never know. Don't you want your only daughter on your good side?"

He turned away.

"Good night Lola." He growled. "I'll think about it." Lola sided from the other side of her room.

Why was she spending all this money on him? For what purpose? To be destroyed again- Maggie was an intelligent girl- not a little red ribbon wearing child wearing old fashioned dresses. She'd never convince her he was in this body... In that case...If they didn't switch back bodies she would kill LOLA not him. Lola wasn't good at using his powers at all. She'd never win a battle with his daughter. Did he like that idea or feel a tad reluctant?

Lola sighed and disappeared from view. She'd tried...Guess she'd have to call the agency back up and cancel the order.

What was with this airplane service? The seats sucked and the food was icky. He picked at a grey lump of mashed potatoes with a plastic fork. The obese man snoring and drooling beside him was getting on his nerves.

Freddy took his fork from the potato and jammed it lightly into the man's arm. He grunted but didn't move a muscle. He couldn't kill this man in front of people.

He couldn't believe he'd let Lola convince him into flying down to his daughter's. What would she say if some teenage girl showed up on her doorstep saying she was actually Freddy Krueger and had swapped bodies with someone else. She'd never believe him.

Freddy rang the doorbell. This was stupid. He should turn back now and just relax on the beach admiring the girl's in their skimpy two piece bikinis. He heard voices and footsteps clatter outside the door. A raven haired girl answered the door. Not a string of grey illuminating her hair. She was still quite an attractive woman.

Her surprised look faded.

"Why hello. How may I help you?"

"Uh..." He managed to growl from his throat. In a way, he wanted to kill her. Watch her bleed all over the doormat- after all she'd done to humiliate him.

"Why don't you come in, you look tired." She put her arm around him and led him to her spacious kitchen. Was she married-did she have kids? So many questions, so angering... She must think he was some delusional kid from the new shelter she worked at after leaving Ohio.

"Mom have you seen my eyeliner?" A young girl frantically entered the kitchen searching randomly under books. She did have a daughter. He was a Grandfather! "I'm fifteen years old and I'm going to be the only girl without makeup at the party!" She wailed.

"Who are you?" The teenager asked Freddy.

Freddy looked from daughter to granddaughter. What a bombshell this would be.

"Will you beat it?" He snapped at his granddaughter. "Its me Katherine and I've swapped bodies with a seventeen year old girl." The two were silent and his granddaughter looked alarmed.

"I'll be upstairs." She whispered and ran from the room. She had no idea who Freddy was but this person was psycho at the least.

"Is this some sort of sick joke?" Maggie whispered in horror.

"No! I'm your father and its nice to see you again." He said cruelly. She flushed.

"And I'm married to the pope! My father is dead."

"No I'm not dead Kat-"

"How do you know that was my birth name..." She replied coldly. "Katherine Krueger- no one knows that except for-"

"Except for your Daddy...Well for one thing. You struck dynamite in my chest and blew me up. I was trying to teach you the ways but you're were a brat about everything." He talked quickly trying to get her to believe him. "And uh... Well you took my hand and entwined my fingers through yours and you said 'I remember when we use to hold hands. I didn't like it then either'-"

"Stop." She said hoarsely. Hardly believing what she was hearing. "I killed you I know I did!"

"Well you didn't because I came back. I never die."

"Why are you in a girl's body?" She was still unsure about believing him- unless Freddy had told this girl what had happened that night no one else knew about what she had said... or what she had done...He was looking at the girl he had held every night as a child, tied red ribbons in her pigtails, the child he'd tucked into bed and protected

"Because a stupid teenager moved into my house. Our house... 1428. She found my glove in the furnace in her basement and put on. It made us swap bodies."

"You know Dad... I really want to kill you but I won't harm this teenager's body..." She didn't know what to do- it would be like killing a girl if she killed Freddy in this body.

"Well then good." He snapped. What was her problem? What did he have to do to earn her back to help him on his killing missions?

"So you've still gone on killing poor kids." Her eyes were burning with an unhappy fire.

"Not really." He said miserably. Which was the truth. "They locked me out of the kid's minds for years. Finally when they remembered- I didn't kill anyone except for this one mental kid Mark..." He trailed off. He hated this story.

"So what's my granddaughter's name?" He asked.

"Not that it concerns you but her name is..." She hesitated before going on. "Her name is Hallie. And don't you dare lay a fucking finger on her Dad or I'll kill you relentless of whose body your in." Her voice was ominous and frigid.

He shuddered at this thought. She would kill him easily while he was in Lola's body. Unless his soul lived on which most likely it would. But that wasn't the point.

"Come on what's your problem? I take a god damned plane to see you and this is what I get in return you bitch." He roared.

"Keep your voice down. My daughter is upstairs." They both glanced at the stairs. "We don't exactly get along Dad." She hissed. "You know that."

He stood up angrily.

"Just like your mother. So stubborn!" She was stubborn?

"Leave right now." She pointed to the entrance. "I won't touch you okay? I'll leave you to be. Go to Ohio and just stay there."

"WAIT!" He jumped towards her. "You won't help me reverse this spell?"

She shook her head immediately. Not even giving it a chance.

"I'm through with you."

He thought of a response to her cold manner. "I thought teenagers were your specialty Katherine? You're going to leave some poor little girl in my body forever?" That bastard had gotten to her.

"Alright." She whispered so her daughter wouldn't hear. "You sneaky, conniving little-"

He held up a hand to motion for her to be quiet.

"I cannot believe I'm related to you- we're nothing alike!"

"But you would be like me if they hadn't taken you away." He said truthfully. He was probably right. If Katherine had been raised with murder. That thought scared her.

"I'll help you tomorrow night. Not now- but remember I'm only doing this for that girl's sake."

She turned from him and took a shaky breath. Well, at least she would figure out a plan and she hadn't pulled the knives on him just yet. There was still hope. Hardly. She wouldn't just join his side now that she had a husband and child. Damn it. Talk about late timing.

"Oh and Katherine?"

"Maggie."

"Maggie- tell Hallie Grandpa says hi!"

"So things didn't go as planned?" Lola asked the grumpy Freddy hopefully.

"Obviously not!" He shouted. He paced around the bedroom strewn with clothes.

"Aw is Krueger going to cry?" She teased laughing. "Going to write it all in your little diary?" He whirled around to face her.

"IT'S NOT A DIARY. It's a murder log! You want to see it Lola? Huh? Because its got all my murderous plans for you in it- written all over the page."

She stopped her taunting abruptly.

"I k-know its not a diary I just-" She sputtered.

"It's my d-daughter okay? Not some s-stupid kid on the street!" He mocked her nervous stutter as once before in the past.

"But she said she'd help us didn't she?" Lola squeaked playing with the fedora in her hands. Wringing it out nervously. She hated his hissy fits. They were violently dangerous.

"Watch that hat." He grumbled, eying the fedora. She dropped it back on her bald head.

"Just think Freddy. One more day and everything will be back to normal.... And...You'll go back killing people in your sick twisted manner."

He grinned. He could hardly wait!