Chapter 7: In the Still of the Night
About time I updated this. Won't say much up here other than the typical disclaimers that I don't own DP or anything else I reference. R&R and Enjoy.
***Paulina's Room***
Exhaling deeply, Desiree looked over the motley crew of horror movie slashers and classic movie monsters.
"Ok. One more time…" She held up a picture of Nightmarica. "I'm sending you in to keep her occupied and prevent her from killing…" She then motions towards the sleeping forms of Danny and Paulina. "These two."
The group nodded slowly and ominously.
"Under no circumstances," The wishing ghost continued, putting an edge in her voice. "Are you to harm either of them!" Her glare lingering particularly on the three slashers, understanding their particular obsession with killing hormonal teenagers. To their credit, they raised their hand defensively to calm her concerns…which failed due to the weapons of choice each carried.
Nevertheless, she nodded her head before handing each of the groups a scrap of paper with instructions scrawled on them.
"Remember. Distract her for as long as possible so those two can see the light of day again." The wishing ghost said before snapping her fingers. The two groups of three vanished in a poof of smoke before floating towards the two dreaming teens and settling over them.
***In Danny's Dream***
Danny sat up in the bed and looked around. Was he really awake or was this simply a strange dream he was having? Looking down, he saw Paulina sleeping peacefully, her back to him. Smiling and running his fingers through her hair, he was about to go back to sleep when a faint sound from downstairs caught his attention. Was that…music playing? Getting up and not bothering to put on any boxers, he left the room and walked down the stairs.
When I feel blue in the night
And I need you to hold me tight
Whenever I want you, all I have to do is
Drea-ea-ea-ea-eam
While Danny could appreciate the oldie, he couldn't for the life of him remember he or Paulina turning on any music player before they went to her room. And…was it just him or did the wallpaper change color? Currently, it was an ugly pattern of red and green stripes.
Shaking his head and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he brushed the thought aside and entered the living room for the stereo or wherever the music was coming from.
Only trouble is, gee whiz
I'm dreamin' my life away
I need you so that I could die-die-die-die-die
The halfa shivered as the song had stopped and was now stuck on repeating that one word over and over again. After a minute of searching, he finally found the stereo and turned it off.
"What time is it?" He asked no one in particular, looking for a clock. Upon finding one, however, he was sorry he asked out loud. The words "TIME FOR YOU TO DIE" flashed before him on the digital readout of a clock.
That was all the boy needed to see for him to realize he wasn't really awake. He wasn't merely dreaming. This was a nightmare and he had a feeling who might be behind these not so subtle tricks.
Danny turned around, ready to strike at anyone why might try and creep up on him…only to see nobody…just a dark and dingy hallway, cluttered with pipes. He turned back around and only saw another hall.
He wasn't in Paulina's house anymore. No, he was now in Nightmarica's Boiler Room.
As if to emphasize his latest discovery, the shrieking sound of metal on metal pierced his ears.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are." A taunting voice echoed all around him.
"Well at least you say more than just 'Sam', unlike the other two." Danny quipped, constantly checking his surroundings.
The fiendish female cackled, her voice somehow everywhere but nowhere. "Well, you can thank her for bringing the three of us to your world."
"Why? To kill my girlfriend?" The boy replied, his fists clenched, ready to strike.
"She wished for something bad to happen to her and I consider death to be something bad." She mused.
"Desiree." Danny whispered. That would answer a lot of questions as to the strange goings on. The question now was whether or not this was an uncontrollable twist from her powers.
Right now, though, he had more important things to worry about.
As if on instinct, Danny dodged to the right, narrowly avoiding a slash from the bladed glove of the burnt bitch herself. A terrifying shriek of metal on metal as her knives scratched the pipes near where he previously was made the halfa involuntarily shiver.
"Even though you weren't mentioned in the wish, it would be dreadful to that Mexican bitch to lose her boyfriend." Nightmarica taunted.
"She's Cuban!" Danny declared before throwing a punch and landing a hit on the burnt bitch. The child molester stumbled back before looking up and smirking at him.
"Do you really think you can hurt me in here? This is MY WORLD!" Her voice echoing throughout the boiler room.
Knowing that the fight option was now out of the picture, Danny opted for flight instead as he ran down the narrow hallway, taking turns at random in the hopes of losing her. When he came to a fork in the road, his fears grew as Nightmarica menacingly stalked towards him down each path of the three-way intersection.
"Nowhere to run…" Said the one down the left path.
"Nowhere to hide…" The one on the right continued.
"Any last words?" The one down the middle asked, each of them simultaneously brandishing their gloves at him, ready to strike.
Before Danny could even think of a witty comeback, the floor fell out from under him as he descended into the pitch-black maw of emptiness below.
"WHAT?!" The slasher roared, her doppelgangers disappearing as she attempted to dive down the hole. Only for the floor to return to cement, causing her to skid to a halt.
"Who dares meddle with my realm?" Nightmarica cried out. To her surprise, a note poofed into existence before her. Snatching it up, it read,
You have fulfilled the initial desires of the wish. Disappear now before I'm forced to take drastic measures.
Desiree
The burnt bitch growled before shredding piece of paper.
"You have no power here in my world!" She cried before she used her powers to alter the dream, trying to find where the boy was now.
***In Paulina's Dream***
With a splash, Paulina landed in the middle of a lake. Desperately needing air, she kicked her way to the surface. After wiping the wet hair away from her eyes, she saw that it was a clear and stary night…wherever she was, and there appeared to be a dock on the shore closest to her. Sighing a little, she began swimming in that direction, not wanting to be caught out in open water should Nightmarica somehow return.
Her mind was flooded with dozens of different emotions and questions as she made her way to dry land. Why was Nightmarica still haunting her? When would this stop? And why did the floor fall out from under her and drop her here? Was this another trick from the burnt bitch or something else?
Minutes later, or what felt like minutes in this dreamscape, she made it to the dock and pulled herself up. Now that she was on the shore, she could get a better look at her surroundings. A dozen cabins were scattered across the area with a big house further back. Barely visible in the dark was an archery range.
"Please God, no." Paulina whispered, hoping that she wasn't where she thought she was.
Yet the more she took in her surroundings, the more her fears were confirmed that she was now in Camp Gemstone Springs, AKA Camp Blood.
Franticly, her eyes began checking every tree, every cabin, and any other multitude of places the famed slasher of this series could be hiding.
"Come on! I trade one campy slasher for another." She whimpered before a nervous and almost involuntary laugh escaped her lips.
"Heh…Campy. Danny would appreciate that." The Latina nervously chuckled before finally deciding to rush towards the nearest cabin in an attempt to hide from the horror that haunted this summer camp.
Yet the minor comfort and security she had hoped to attain was soon taken from her as, feet away from the door, it opened out to her. Skidding to a halt and stumbling backwards in the grass, Paulina stared in horror as a tall, imposing figure slowly walked towards her. Wearing dark blue coveralls, her signature altered Uhura mask (pitch black skin and snow-white hair) and wielding a kitchen knife stood the All Hallows Eve slasher Betty White.
Scrambling to her feet Paulina attempted to run back the way she came. Unfortunately for her, another figure moved out from behind a tree. This woman had skin that appeared to be waterlogged, was dressed in tattered jeans, t-shirt, and jacket, a moldy sack covered her face, and in her hands was a machete. For who else would stalk Camp Blood other than Jamie Valentine.
"Nonono!" The girl said, her voice getting even more frantic and desperate. Behind her, the crunch of leaves told her that the first slasher she bumped into was making her way towards her. To her left was a large pine tree that she would waste precious seconds trying to go around. To her right…
The sound of a chord being pulled and the rumble of a chainsaw in idle caused Paulina to turn to the right before backing up into the tree behind her out of terror. For there stood a third woman, wearing old and bloodstained butcher's clothes, a mask of human flesh on her face and a chainsaw in her hands. The one and only Skin Head from the Alabama Buzz-Saw Slaughter.
Feeling hopeless and surrounded now, the only thing the Latina girl could do now was cry and pray that whatever gruesome demise she met was quick and painless. Time seemed to drag on as she waited for the first strike.
To her shock and slight embarrassment, if the undignified squeal of fright she let out was any indication, the only thing she felt was the light tap of a piece of paper on her hand. Slowly cracking one eye open, she noticed that all the slashers were keeping their weapons at their side and that Betty White was the one offering her the note. Not taking her eyes off the trio, she quickly plucked the note from her hand before opening it and reading it.
Dear child,
These three are here to protect you and buy you time before I wake you in 10 minutes.
There was a small poof of smoke from her wrist before she noticed a watch was now there, slowly counting down the seconds from 10 minutes. Returning to the note, it continued.
You must grab her and bring her into the real world before you wake up so that she may ultimately be defeated.
Stay safe,
D
"Ummm…"
***Meanwhile, in Danny's Nightmare***
"Ok…" Danny said, dropping the note in his hands as he looked at the trio of classic movie monsters standing before him. To his right was the Were-Woman, covered from head to toe in hair and her clothes barely containing her new form. To the left was Duchess Tepes the vampire, bedecked in an elegant dress and a neck ruff. Finally, standing in front of him, was Von Becker's Creature. She was dressed in a surgical gown with bolts protruding from her neck and her curly black hair standing up straight with streaks of white running down the left and right side.
For Danny, this dream/nightmare was getting stranger by the minute. After falling for what felt like hours, he miraculously landed in a giant pile of leaves and survived. The next twist was that his new location seemed to be some kind of forest in Europe and all the color was now gone. Finally, there was his coming face to face with the various classic horror monsters standing before him and learning that Desiree had sent them to buy him time.
At any other time, the boy would have complained that this whole scenario was more convoluted than any slasher horror sequel that he had seen. Yet, given the circumstances and that he wasn't far off from the truth of the matter, he would just have to roll with the punches in this instance.
"Well, if this is what it comes to, I guess the only thing left for me to do is get ready myself. I'm going…ghost?" Danny said, not sure he could even change into his alter ego while he was asleep.
Much to his relief, the familiar ring formed around his middle as he transformed into his alter ego, suit and all.
As if on cue, Nightmarica finally appeared, stalking through the forest towards them.
"I have had enough of this running around." She snarls menacingly. "You've got nowhere left to hide!"
"Fine with me!" Danny said before firing off a beam of ectoplasm at the nightmare, causing her to stumble backwards slightly. This allowed Danny and his trio of unlikely allies to charge in and attack.
Danny kept to the air to continually pepper Nightmarica with a constant barrage of ectoplasmic energy. Were-Woman was the first to reach her enemy, clawing at the burnt bitch and ripping into her flesh with her fangs. The nightmare countered by stabbing the lycan in the side, causing Danny's ally to retreat.
Yet Duchess Tepes was soon to follow, using her enhanced, vampiric reflexes to claw and bite Nightmarica. Moments later, however, she too was flung off, blood coating her dress. Yet the nightmare had only just turned her attention to an airborne Danny before she was beset upon by the Creature. She used her enhanced strength to pummel Nightmarica into submission so her cohorts could return to the fight.
This exhaustive battle of back and forth continued on with Danny and his monstrous allies slowly beating (and in two cases eating) the nightmare until, with two minutes to spare, she was nothing more than a decapitated head, a pile of entrails, and several severed limbs scattered throughout the area.
Unfortunately for Team Danny, he and his allies hadn't come out of this unharmed. While Danny was physically unscathed, he was exhausted from the effort and energy he had used up. The movie monsters took the brunt of the damage with deep cuts and gouges marking their bodies. The Were-Woman was missing a few teeth and had an eye cut out, the Creature was missing an arm, and Duchess Tepes was having difficulty keeping her entrails on the inside.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Danny slowly started floating back down to the ground, when it happened…
***Back in Paulina's Nightmare***
A leg flew across the battlefield, followed closely by the other, zooming towards Nightmarica's now cackling head.
"I've said it once and I'll say it again…" The nightmare said as her body slowly reformed.
Frightened, Paulina could only watch in horror as the thing her allies had battled valiantly against was now undoing all their work. Looking down at her watch, she saw that she still had a minute and a half before she was to wake up.
"You can't kill me in MY WORLD!" The burnt bitch proclaimed as her body finally reformed. Lunging forward, she stabbed Jamie Valentine through the chest before conjuring a chain and wrapping it around her neck like a noose. At the other end of a chair was an anchor that seemed to be missing a cruise ship.
"Anchors away!" Nightmarica cackled before tossing the chained slasher to the deepest part of the lake. Cartoonishly, the anchor followed to ensure that Jamie Valentine would never reach the surface.
"One down, two to go!" The nightmare declared before she quickly speared the remaining two slashers with her gloved hands. The two struggled and fought but could not escape from her iron grip. All the while, Paulina slowly crept around the fight, trying to stay in the nightmare's blind spot.
'One minute.' The Latina thought.
"Now…" Nightmarica said before her maniacal grin faltered. "How did you two die in your movie series?"
Comically, the two shrugged and shook their head.
"Great. Now you're making me get creative with how I kill you!" The burnt bitch grumbled as if this was an inconvenience for her.
"Hmmm…alright. First the Ed Gein wannabe!"
Out of thin air, a gigantic meat grinder appeared. With a flex of her arm, Skin Head flew into the air and landed headfirst into the top of the meat grinder.
"Saw this in a play once." Nightmarica joked to Betty White before the grinder slowly began cranking. The chainsaw murderer screamed in fear and agony for a few seconds before she was silenced with a sickeningly wet crunch. Her body went limp and seconds later, a pile of ground meat and clothes came out of the base.
Shivering at the sight, Paulina risked another glance down at the watch
20 seconds.
"Now for you." The nightmare continued, scratching her chin with her now free hand. "A child killer who made their first kill as a child and is obsessed with killing their remaining family and their children. That is some very deep psychological trauma and problems. How does one help such a fucked-up person?"
Faster than the blink of an eye, Betty White was strapped down to a medical table while Nightmarica stood over her, a gloating smirk on her face.
"Now normally, a lobotomy would be performed with a very special tool because this very extreme procedure has a very low success rate…eh, do what you can with what you got." The burnt bitch mused before jamming two of her knife fingers into the eyes of Betty White. The slasher moaned in pain as Nightmarica kept talking.
"Let's see…Through the eyes, into the brain cavity…" She pushed down more forcefully, her knives sinking deeper. "Jiggle them around to cut out that bad brain matter…and voila!" She said, pulling her fingers free from the now brain dead…and most likely regular dead killer. "The patient is cured! You know, if this doctor thing doesn't work out, I could probably make a killer meat pie, what with the ground meat and vegetable I have." Nightmarica cackled, looking back and forth between her two most recent victims. "Bet that cannibal doctor would love…"
But her musings were cut short when Paulina jumped on her back and wrapped her arms around the killer's neck just as her watch hit zero.
"WAKE UUUUUUUUUUP!" she cried in desperation as the nightmare struggled to shake her off while everything around them turned white…
***Back in Paulina's Bedroom***
Simultaneously, Danny and Paulina sat up, their arms grasping at an invisible enemy. Opening their eyes, the looked at their hands and then at each other.
"I…I had her." Paulina said, looking back at her hands.
"Me too." Danny replied as he powered down. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah…" She said, letting out a sigh of relief. "You?"
"Heh…" the boy tried to chuckle but it came out as more exasperation than humorous. "Not gonna lie…it was terrifying, not being able to hurt her in…"
A groan emanated in front of Paulina's bed, cutting Danny off. Getting to her feet, Nightmarica growled in anger before brandishing her knives before the teenagers.
"You…may have brought me to your world…But I can still kill…"
Now it was her turn to be interrupted, this time by a book landing on the bed.
"What the…"
Her words were drowned out as the book opened up and a vortex of ethereal and otherworldly energy pulled the nightmare into the book.
"No! NO! I…Will not…Go out…Like…THIS!" the burnt bitch exclaimed as her feet were pulled into the book.
Meanwhile, Danny and Paulina recoiled from the book, fearing they to might be pulled into whatever the book contained.
By now, Nightmarica was up to her neck in the book, her hands barely holding onto the sides of the book.
"Come on! Get in there you ugly bitch! Don't have all night!" A new voice called, this one the gruff sound of a man.
With a final scream, the nightmare was completely pulled into the book before it closed. The book itself was a hideous looking tome with what looked like human skin as it's cover.
"Well," The gruff voice spoke up again, picking up the book. "I have seen some ugly bitches but that one, THAT ONE, takes the cake."
"Umm…thank…you?" Danny said, unsure of what else he could say or do in this situation. Paulina, meanwhile, pulled the sheet up around the two of them.
The lights flicked on, revealing their savior to be…middle aged man wearing a dirty pair of khakis, and equally dirty blue shirt, a metal hand, and a well chiseled chin.
"Don't thank me. Thank Ms. Harem Scare 'em for calling me in to capture her." The man said as he tucked the book under his arm. "I think the only other thing I'm supposed to do is answer whatever questions you may have?" He continued as he pulled an index card from his pocket.
"So, you know who wished all those ghosts to attack you?" He asked.
"Sam." The two replied.
"You also know that she wished for you." The man non comitally waved his hand in Paulina's direction. "To get fucked by a loser?" This time he waved his hand towards Danny.
"You mean that wish was granted?" Paulina asked, shocked and slightly embarrassed.
"And fulfilled." He replied before looking up and giving Danny a thumbs up.
"Finally, she wished that no wishes could be made until after the meteor shower." The man concluded.
"Ok…" Danny replied, now having a better understanding of the events that took place. "Why couldn't Desiree have told us all this?"
"Right. Knew I missed one. She wished that Desiree couldn't tell you about her wishes." He then turned to some empty space. "There. Did I get everything?"
A poof of smoke and Desiree appeared, pinching the bridge of her nose at the blunt man.
"Yes, Ash, that about covers it." The wishing ghost said.
"Great!" He replied, either unaware of or not particularly caring about Desiree's exasperation with him. "Would you mind popping me back to…"
A poof of smoke surrounded the man with the well-defined chin before dissipating and revealing he was gone.
"Absolutely." Desiree replied in a somewhat exasperated tone before turning towards the teen couple. "I'll give him points for the creative nickname because it gets very annoying to be referred to as 'Ghost Jasmine'."
The two teens couldn't help but chuckle a little at that before Paulina decided to speak up.
"So…was…was this…" She pointed between her and Danny. "real…or just the result of a wish?"
"Yes and no." Desiree replied. "All I did was pop Boxy into your party. Everything after that was all you."
Upon seeing the confusion written on their faces, the wishing ghost elaborated, a smirk playing on her lips. "What woman doesn't get excited when their knight in shining armor saves the day?"
That brought realization to both the teens, followed by Paulina chuckling a little while Danny grumbled about the quadrilateral obsessed ghost.
"I…I hope you two understand…I mean no ill will towards you…" Desiree spoke up after a moment's silence. "I just…I have to grant any wish that I hear…That is my curse."
"Couldn't we just wish you could choose what wishes you could grant?" Paulina asked with Danny nodding his head in agreement.
"That wouldn't completely fix the problem." She replied. "I'm not a true genie. I don't have the full 'phenomenal cosmic power' a full genie would have. If I don't grant wishes, I would eventually fade from existence because I would lack any power to remain in this realm."
The wishing ghost sighed now that everything was off her chest now. It was a bittersweet moment because she was positive the ghost child would either kindly ask her to return to the ghost zone or, were he in a more foul mood, would suck her up in his thermos.
But, as he was about to speak, the Latina began whispering in his ear. From what she could read from his facial expressions, he was initially confused, then doubtful, until finally nodding his understanding as she continued whispering to him.
"We…" Danny said, indicating himself and Paulina, "May have a solution to your problem…if you are interested."
Her eyebrows raised in surprise as she nodded her head yes.
"Would you…like to be our genie?" Paulina asked, her voice sounding very small and nervous.
When all Desiree did was blink in surprise, Danny elaborate.
"So you would only have to grant wishes for us…and maybe Sam and Tucker if they agree with this…but you have the ability to choose what wishes you can grant and whether or not you would put a twist on them."
"What's the catch?" The wishing ghost eventually asked. This deal sounded too good to be true. A steady stream of wishes, coming from (reasonably) responsible teenagers, and she could both choose whether or not to grant them and add her own twist should she see fit? This was the deal of a lifetime! But…she had been offered deals of a lifetime before…and those ended up backfiring on her tremendously.
"Well…" Danny said, "We can't make you stay with us after we get too old or pass on…"
"If the time comes," Paulina continued, "We'll let you choose your own path."
While Desiree was no mind reader, she could tell that the offer Danny and Paulina were giving her was genuine.
A full smile now breaking out across her face, she replied. "I accept."
Quickly checking the clock to see that it was technically the day after the meteor shower, the two made their wish.
"So you have wished it, so it shall be." She replied before snapping her fingers. This time, the only indication their wish was granted was a small poof of smoke that revealed Desiree's vase. Cradling it like a child, she handed it to Paulina who carefully set it on her bedside table.
"Now," The wishing ghost said, giving the two a warm, almost motherly smile. "It's time you two to go back to sleep. I promise you won't be having any more killer nightmares."
Danny and Paulina chuckled before letting themselves fall back onto the mattress and return to their rudely interrupted sweet dreams.
"Sweet dreams, my…friends." Desiree whispered, caressing each of their cheeks lovingly before she returned to her vase to get some rest of their own.
***The Next Morning***
As a new day dawned over Amity, our lovers awoke from their peaceful slumber. No slasher nightmares, no killer dreamscapes, and no more worrying about dying a corny death. After stretching their tired limbs and explaining to one another what happened in their respective dreams, they decided to take an extra steamy shower to clean themselves from the night before.
When the hot water eventually, the two got out and got dressed. Danny in his dress clothes and Paulina in a pair of pink short shorts and a black tank top. Desiree was even nice enough to conjure them a breakfast of waffles and sausage upon their first official wish from her.
"So…" Danny said after finishing his delicious meal. "How are we going to deal with Dash and the food chain when we go back to school on Monday?"
"Well…I'm not quite sure if I can end it…but I know that I'm done with it. Should he try to make an issue about it, then I'll put him in his place, preferably in front of the whole school again."
The boy chuckled at her enthusiasm before getting up and putting his dishes in the sink.
"I gotta go. Hopefully I can sneak in before mom and dad notice I wasn't home all night."
With a wave goodbye to Desiree, who poofed back to her vase, Danny and Paulina walked out the front door and to Danny's parked scooter.
"See you Monday." The Latina said before pulling the boy in for a goodbye kiss.
It was only when a car horn blew in the driveway did the two lovers separate, seeing Mrs. Sanchez behind the wheel of the offending vehicle and smirking playfully at the two.
"I'll text you later!" Danny said hurriedly before jumping on his scooter and speeding away as Paulina's mother parked her car and walked up towards her daughter.
"So how was your birthday party?" Mrs. Sanchez asked. "Did you have fun?"
"Yes, the party was amazing." She replied, doing her best to sound calm and nonchalant while she internally panicked.
"Oh really?" Her mother continued, cocking her head slightly while her grin seemed to grow. "Did you and this new boy do anything special."
"We danced and he gave me a birthday present." Paulina responded, hoping that if she kept truthful yet vague, her mother would be satisfied and drop the interrogation.
"I can imagine." Mrs. Sanchez chuckled conspiratorially before walking past her daughter and towards the front door. "Well I'm glad you had a fun time and he seems like a nice enough boy. Much better than that blonde oaf you used to date."
"Yeah." The Latina girl replied, holding a back a sigh of relief for dodging that bullet.
"Oh, chica?" Her mother said, almost as an afterthought from the door. "Bring down your bedsheets so I can wash them."
"Crap." She mumbled under her breath when her mother was out of earshot.
***Meanwhile, at Fenton Works***
Carefully closing the garage door, Danny began to creep towards the staircase.
"Oh there you are, Danny." Maddie Fenton called from the couch.
Internally cursing his luck, the boy put on a smile for his mother. "Hey mom. Didn't know you were up early."
"Your father and I were working late on something in the lab and I decided to take a power nap here." She replied before countering. "I didn't think you would be coming home so late."
"Yeah. The party went late and then I spent the night at a friend's house." He replied. In his mind, the boy figured that by telling his mother a vague overview of the truth, he could worm his way out of this impromptu interrogation.
"I see." Maddie replied, her eyes combing her son up and down for any tell tale signs that he was lying.
Danny said nothing, letting his mother do her inspection of him. Finally, she seemed satisfied with what she saw.
"Just put your dress clothes in the hamper and I'll take them to be dry cleaned later." She said.
"Thanks mom." He replied before going up to his room.
Still on the couch, Maddie wondered what exactly her boy had gotten up to the previous night. While his answers were satisfactory and he seemed genuine in his responses…there seemed to be something he was leaving out.
Shrugging her shoulders, she got up to make herself a cup of coffee. Whatever it was, she was sure that he would tell her in due time and not force her to find out on her own.
Author's Note: Not gonna lie. I had to delete and rewrite several sections of this chapter because they didn't come out to my liking. But, in the end, I'm pleased with how I handled the final nightmare. Only one more chapter to go for this story. Rest assured, I have not abandoned my other works. Thank you all very much for your patience and continued support.
