Author's comment: WOW, already 37 reviews… *rubbing-eyes-in-astonishment*. Looks like some people really like my fanfic. *g* Well, I have long thought about this next chapter, what to write and how to go on with it. And I came to the conclusion to bring the story to life, i.e. not writing just e-mails without anything all around but showing what happens else. So here we go – have fun and tell me, what you think… :-)))))))

P.S.: Please excuse the delay in updating, I had a major writing blockade and had to rewrite half of this chapter, but finally I'm finished and here we go!

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Springwood, Elm Street

"Sarah, Darling, it's late! Go to bed eventually, okay?"

The voice of Sarah's mother trailed off through the house. Sarah, sitting in front of her computer, took a quick look towards the closed door of her room.

"Okay, Mum, I'm almost ready." she shouted back. Then, with a deep sigh, she glanced back at the bright computer screen. The small clock in the lower right corner showed 00:32 a.m. And still no mail from Freddy. Shit. She'd hoped to get an answer before she had to sleep this night. Why did he not write? Normally he answered her e-mails almost in an instant. Hell had to be rather boring, she guessed, if he spent so much time on his computer.

You know what this means, whispered a tiny voice in her head, you pissed him off completely and he is just waiting for you to fall asleep, so that he can kill you. Or even better, he is busy with killing other kids and you will be the next 'cause of your last impertinent e-mail. Gee, what the hell came over her to threaten Freddy Krueger, child murderer and nightmare stalker, with an e-mail chain letter? That had been the silliest idea on earth. He would know that it was nothing but an empty threat, just a desperate attempt to save her life. Although she was rather skilled with computer stuff things like that were surpassing her competence. Notwithstanding of all his rude swearing she had to admit that he was right at one point – it had been different to e-mail him before she had had the first real nightmare, more like some kind of weird game. But now the game was over. And she had to pay the price for her curiosity and cheekiness.

She checked her e-mail account for the last time, but to no avail. Sighing again she shut down the computer and stood up. She was already dressed for night. The short, blue pajama she was wearing was one of her favorites. She crawled under the blanket of her bed and yawned. To say that she was tired was a vast understatement. After three days without any sleep she was dead tired. And probably you'll be soon not dead tired but just dead! whispered the voice again.

"C'mon, shut up. This is nonsense." she spoke loud to herself, but her voice sounded quite tremulous and made her shiver. She closed her eyes and tried to relax, but despite her tiredness she felt as if she had never been more awake than now. She could hear her parents talking low from within their bedroom on the end of the floor. A cat meowed outside, a car with a humming motor drove past, and the fresh wind caused some long branches of the big elm standing right in front of her room to knock slightly against her closed window. All in all it was a peaceful night. If something like that was possible at all in this cursed town, and especially in this haunted street.

Suddenly Sarah noticed a flickering light in her room and opened her eyes. The computer monitor had turned on, showing nothing but a bright white screen. Strange, she thought, I must have forgotten to turn it off. But if the computer was shut down how was this white screen possible without any signal? Slowly she pushed her blanket away and slipped into a pair of sneakers which lay by her bed – after her last nightmare and Freddy's following email where he scoffed at her fluffy bunny-shoes she had replaced them by these sneakers, which where at least more convenient if she had to run once again through the iron maze of the power plant. Hesitantly she sat down on the chair in front of the computer desk. She turned the monitor on and off several times, but the white screen still persisted. Then, out of the blue, red letters appeared on the screen, as if someone was just typing them.

"You've got mail. Click here to open!" she read aloud. There was a small button under the message. Although she had more than a bad feeling about this she moved the cursor with the mouse to the button and clicked on it. Almost at the same moment the whole screen was splattered with red bloody sprinkles from inside. There were also some bigger grey clots like… like pieces of brain, that's what it is, continued her inner voice, but this time it sounded rather squeaky and anxious. She was dreaming! Although she had expected it somehow she was also crestfallen. A tiny part of her had still hoped that the last nightmare was just a one-time incident, a cosmic mistake or an accidental mix-up. It just couldn't be that she had become an Elm Street child; it was so loose and so… so unhealthy! But the blood that was still dropping down the inside of the screen revealed without any doubt that this special nightmare had reoccurred.

With a mixed expression of fear and fascination she raised her hand and touched the surface of the screen carefully. It was wet. She pulled her hand back and gazed at the bloody tips of her fingers. All of a sudden a bubbling sound came from the screen. More and more blood splattered against the panel until every inch was covered, and then it started to spill out from the edges. It poured on the keyboard and the desk, forming a growing puddle of blood. Sarah let out a horrified shriek and jumped away from the desk before the blood reached the edge of the table. A screeching sound of metal against metal made her cover her ears while she stumbled backwards. He is near! Without thinking she leaped to the door and ran outside. But instead of reaching the stairs she found herself on a steamy iron catwalk. She wasn't in her house anymore, but in the old power plant! Almost petrified with horror she stopped and looked back, however the door to her bedroom had vanished. She was trapped.

"Damn!" she cursed and tried to calm down then by taking several deep breaths. Don't act like a stupid wimp, that's just what he wants you to be! Steam filled the air and water dripped from ominous pipes and rusty tubes. Everything was bathed in a subdued flickering red light, making it hard to see where the path was leading. Slowly and attentively she walked over the catwalk, but only a few steps later she reached a dead end. Annoyed and disappointed she suppressed another curse and turned around to go back the same way, when suddenly she ran into someone standing right behind her. It was Freddy.

"Watch your step, bunny-bitch!" he growled and grabbed her on her arms. The sharp blades of his razor glove cut into her left arm, causing four painful thin slash marks.

"Oh my god, Freddy!" Sarah shouted and stared in horror into the dreadful burned face that was only inches away. She could even feel the heat radiating from his body as if he was still burning. Freddy, dressed in his usual outfit, sneered at her and released her abruptly. 

"God is not sleeping, so it's just you and me here!" He kept his piecing green eyes on her while circling around her. "So here we have the sassy nag who really dared to threat me with what – fucking spam e-mails! Very inventive, but also futile! Do you really believe such a crappy idea would prevent me from killing you?"

He stopped and grabbed her again, his blood-stained knifes clasping her pale cheek. Sarah felt the panic urge to scream and to tear away from him, but she overcame the impulse and stood still.

"It… it was worth a try! And not the worst idea, after all it worked not too bad until now." she said finally, hoping that her voice sounded not as tremulous as she was feeling right now. Freddy gave her a strange glance that gave her the creeps. Then, when she already thought he would kill her right now, he let her loose a bit and chuckled raspy.

"Still the same cheeky brat!"

Sarah regarded his laughter as a good sign. Perhaps she would somehow survive this nightmare. Although Freddy's blades were still dangerously near upon her face she relaxed a bit and even tried to smile.

"Well, it's a bad habit!"

However, all her hope was destroyed at once when he grabbed her throat with his free left hand, pressing so hard that she could barely gasp for breath.

"It's a deadly habit if you ever mention again that drowned moron Jason, you stupid bitch!" hissed Freddy and ran his gloves hand deceptively soft over her cheek, drawing a thin blood line with the blade of his index finger. Sarah's face turned to purple while she made desperate efforts to loose his grip. She knew that Freddy was really enjoying her pain and suffering, she could see it in his eyes which reflected his sadistic desire. Helpless she tried to say something, but her voice was hardly more than a hoarse whisper:

"Got it! Sorry! Won't happen again! Please…."

She was almost blacking out, when Freddy released her eventually and pushed her backwards with a scornful snarl. The impact of his thrust threw her hard to the ground, where she stayed down first and coughed loud until her face had regained its normal color. Freddy on his part ignored her and simply walked away. Sarah had no clue why he had spared her after all, surely not due to her pathetic excuse, but she was of course relieved to be still alive and forbore from asking him.

"Freddy, wait! Where are you going to?" she called instead before he got out of sight and jumped on her feet. She felt still a little bit dizzy as she followed him deeper into the labyrinth of the power plant. What the hell are you doing, got her inner voice again in touch with her, why don't you just sit down twiddling your thumbs and wait until you wake up? But no, you of course have to follow a maniac serial killer who almost strangled you just a few minutes ago! Freddy had also noticed that she was following him. He spun around with his razor glove upraised, missing her only by hair's breadth.

"What the fuck you think you're doing? You're supposed to wake up screaming, not to run after me like a dumb dog!"

"If I knew how I certainly would, believe me! But after three sleepless days I guess I have a huge sleep shortfall. So I doubt that I will wake up soon, and until then I will definitely not sit in some dark corner of this awful place and wait all along."

She crossed her arms before her chest in a gesture of affirmation. Freddy rolled his eyes and muttered in a low voice: "Hell, that fucking brat drives me up the wall!" Sarah, who heard him full well, kept back any comment that might upset him again. As she did not show any sign of waking up Freddy scowled at her, pointing with on of his blades into her direction:

"Don't push your luck too far, damn nag! You're still an Elm Street child and sooner or later I'll kill you anyway!"

"What are you waiting for?" slipped from Sarah before she even realized what she had said. Startled she covered her mouth with one hand and made two steps backwards while peering at Freddy's reaction. Congratulation, your cheeky tongue just bought you a ticket to hell! Perhaps it would be easier if you pre-empt him and just spike yourself on his talons, 'cause his way will surely be more painful and long-lasting.

"I don't get it! She doesn't shut her trap!" mumbled Freddy in disbelief, then he closed in on her and roared indignant: "What the hell is wrong with you? Are you weary of life or what?"

Furiously he raised his razor glove, ready to slash her with one frantic stroke. Sarah couldn't help but close her eyes as she didn't want so see the deadly blades that would doubtless kill her now – two times she'd escaped certain death but this time she would die definitely. However, the deadly strike did not happen, and after a few seconds which seemed to be almost endless she blinked cautiously. The blood stained blades had stopped less than one inch from her face. She could see the details of the copper knuckles, on which the knifes were attached to, yes she could even see Freddy's palm and fingers through the holey leather glove. But of course she was not in the mood of admiring the remarkable construction of this dreadful weapon.

Freddy, however, slowly lowered his glove and grinned malicious.

"Nay, damn too easy! You wanna stay with me, piggie? You can have it!"

Without any warning he grabbed her by her shoulders and threw her around brutally. Stumbling backwards Sarah hit the low banister and lost her grip. With a frightened scream she desperately tried to catch the iron railing, but her hands were only clutching at air. She fell over the banister, plunging into the misty depths while Freddy, chuckling viciously, bent forward and waved her goodbye with his razor gloved hand.