That night, Alice sat alone in her bedroom, sobbing into her pillow. Fuck.. she had been an absolute fool to think even for a moment that Freddy had vanished without a trace. It had been plain from the start that the bastard would come back, and now that he had, Alice didn't know what to do.
She could fight, but what if Freddy had evolved since the last time they'd faced eachother? Yes, of course he would have evolved since then. He could screw with your mind in so many different ways before, so Alice dreaded to think of what he had planned for her now.
Won't go to sleep.
Alice had promised herself that she would stay awake. For as long as it takes, she thought to herself, biting her lip as more tears flooded down her cheeks and onto the pillow. She sat up and dried her eyes, then noticed that something was wrong.
The temperature of the room seemed to have dropped to about minus one degree's. Alice shivered and rubbed her eyes, hoping against hope that she hadn't fallen asleep. Fuck, I've fallen asleep.. obscene images began to enter Alice's mind. She saw herself being gutted by Freddy, saw Jacob with no one to protect him..
"Alice."
Alice shrieked and jerked her head around, clutching the pillow against her chest. Her eyes widened in horror. There, standing right there before her very eyes was Kristen Parker. Her ex-best friend. The girl who had shoved the burden of Freddy Krueger onto her.
Kristen definitely didn't look a pretty sight. Her once blonde hair was blackened as was her face. The night gown she had been wearing was ripped. She looked awful, but then Alice remembered Kristen's fate when she and Alice had been trapped in the dream world. The poor girl had been burned alive.
"Alice, don't scream," Kristen whispered, "Come on, take a deep breath. Relax."
Although she was terrifed, Alice obeyed her and took a deep breath, untill she was finally feeling more relaxed and had calmed down. "Kristen? What the hell are you doing here?" She asked Kristen, who looked uncomfortable and, to Alice's surprise, guilty.
"You really thought you could beat him, just like that?" Kristen chuckled lightly and shook her head, "Oh, Alice.. you'll never change, will you?"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Alice said, flaring up, "Kristen, what the - ?"
"If you want to defeat him, you've got to trick him. Fuck with his mind," Kristen went on, ignoring her, "I was as blind as a bat before, when It was me fighting him. But now I know how you can put a stop to him once and for all." She raised her hand as Alice opened her mouth in protest. "Are you going to listen to me?" Kristen asked.
Alice sighed. "Okay.. but first, tell me what you're doing here. You're not alive.. so how - ?"
"- How could I be here if I'm not alive?" Kristen laughed, "Well, I'm not alive, obviously. But I can still get around, Alice. You'd be surprised," She smiled, and Alice was reminded of how happy her old best friend had been before her life had been taken from her so many years ago. The thought made her nauseaus.
Kristen's face fell a mile right then. "Anyway.. what I'm trying to say is that I've spent a lot of time in the dream world. By means I know Freddy now. And I know what he can do aswell. He just fucks with your mind, Alice. And that's why I'm here. That's why we're all here."
Alice was confused. "All here? What d'you mean, Kris?"
Kristen clicked her fingers and other people began to appear at her side. Alice recognised many of them instantly. There was Kincaid, who didn't look too badly scarred except for a few cuts and bruises on his arms. Then Alice noticed his stomach and gagged.
Joey was covered in blood from head to foot, but he still managed a smile for her. Greta's cheeks were awfully bloated. She nodded sadly at Alice and Dan appeared. Alice was quite shocked by his appearance. Nearly all of his flesh had been completely ripped away.
There were other people there that Alice didn't recognise. A blonde girl covered in blood like Joey was standing nearby. A girl with a mowhawk haircut stood by Kristen and sighed. There was kid with no ear. A slightly older looking girl with frizzy brown hair stood close to Kristen. Her chest was covered in blood.
Then, Alice let out a scream when some sort of bug creature appeared. She couldn't stop screaming. The thing just looked so grotesque that Alice nearly threw up. "Shut the fuck up Alice, it's me, all right?"
Alice stopped screaming and tears formed in her eyes. "Debbie?" She squeaked, shaking her head at her friend. "Debbie.. what the hell did he do to you?"
Debbie didn't answer. Suddenly, the older girl with brown hair piped up. "Hey, Alice." She said.
Alice stared at her. "Hello.. who are you?" She mumbled.
The girl smiled at her. "I'm Nancy, Kristen's friend. We all heard that Krueger was back, and we want to help you." She explained, "I know you're refusing to believe that he's back. But he is, Alice, and if you let us help you then I'm sure we can find a way to stop him."
"Stop him? Stop him?" Alice laughed and Nancy was taken aback by her tone of voice. "You're fucking delusional. There's no way anyone can stop him. I tried. Twice. And guess what? I still failed." Her heart pounded in her ears and she drew breath. "Just don't tell me that there's a way we can stop him. Because there isn't, okay?"
Nancy smiled sadly. "Honey, I've been up against him so many time's that I've lost count," She sighed and shook her head, "Atleast listen to us. Like Kristen said, we've been hanging around the Dream World for so long now that we know a lot about Freddy and his ways."
Kristen took over now, "Exactly. So, are you willing to listen to us, Alice?" Everyone glanced at Alice hopefully. Alice didn't know what to say to them. She closed her eyes briefly, then said: "All right. I'll listen."
x
Meanwhile, Maggie was sitting at her desk, browsing the internet for answers, but at the same time talking on the phone to Doc. "I'm telling you, Doc. He's back. He just came out of fucking nowehere.." Maggie's eyes screwed up as she stared blankly at the computer screen. "Listen Doc, I'm fucking scared.. is there any way you could come over here?" She rolled her eyes, "Oh, come on. This is serious, Doc. I almost died tonight." She felt tears felling up in her eyes.. "Well, okay then!"
Maggie slammed the phone down and turned her attention back to the screen. "Mysterious killings in Springwood.." She said aloud, staring hard at the screen, at an article that had come up. "1988.. 1989.. Alice Johnson?" Maggie sat bolt upright. Alice Johnson. Finally, a fucking name.
"Alice Johnson, seventeen, has been spinning tales of a killer who kills in people's dreams. She describes the killer to be badly burnt, wearing a red and green sweater, and a dirty brown hat." Maggie said, reading on, "She says the man's name is Freddy Krueger, a child murderer from decades ago who killed many children in Springwood.."
Maggie looked for a date of when the article had been written. 1988, it said. Great. That had been years ago.. for all Maggie knew the girl could already be dead. Maggie decided not to give up. She punched in Alice Johnson and searched, finally finding a picture of Alice.
Well, it could be Alice. For all Maggie knew this could just be some other girl named Alice Johnson. Then Maggie noticed the date. January 2003. The picture itself showed Alice and a friend out partying. Maggie gazed somewhat fondly at them. It had been ages since she had had a good night out.
Then suddenly Maggie froze. Underneath the picture, someone had written: "Alice and I having a night out in New York".
Well, that was good enough for Maggie. Now all she had to do was find this Alice Johnson and warn her of what was yet to come.
