SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Windyfontaine: Glad you think so. Sort of, yes. Hint taken. Happy reading. Yeah, I remember that fic. Glad you think so. Keep reading. You too.

CraneAndFalconForeven: Okey-doke. Hope this is soon enough.

DISCLAIMER

Concepts and a scene that was taken from NOES 3 belong to Wes Craven and Canadian television. I only own the plot.

The next morning, everything seemed to be normal as the MacDonald/Venturi household got ready for their morning. Casey quickly got her things together.

"Are you okay?" Lizzie questioned.

"I need to talk to Joey. I have a bad feeling about something," Casey answered. If only he hadn't gone home so early, she thought to herself.

"Well, tell him I said 'Hi' and that it was great having him over," Lizzie requested.

"Will do," Casey agreed. Then, she grabbed her things and headed for the door.

"Where are you going? The bus doesn't come for another twenty minutes," a voice reminded her.

"I'm not taking the bus. I need some air," Casey replied to Edwin's question.

"What do you mean?" Edwin queried.

"Just what I said," Casey answered. Then, before the younger boy could push it anymore, she quickly left. As she walked in the direction of the school, Casey found her mind wandering. She had gone into the Dream World last night, but things had been quiet…almost too quiet. She didn't like it. Krueger was up to something. She could feel it. What are you up to, Krueger? she wondered. The sound of a honking horn brought her out of her reverie. She looked to see Max and his mother.

"Casey! Hey, Casey!" Max exclaimed.

"Oh. Hi, Max," Casey greeted.

"Do you need a ride?" Mrs. Chambers offered, stopping.

"Oh, no thank you, Ma'am," Casey replied.

"Come on. If you don't hurry, you'll be late," Max stated. She hesitated.

"Okay," she finally agreed. She got into the vehicle and they continued on.

"Is everything all right, Casey?" Mrs. Chambers asked.

"Yes, Ma'am. I just had a weird dream last night," Casey lied. Max twisted in the seat to look at his girlfriend.

"Really?" he queried.

"Yeah. It's no big deal though," she said. Then, she turned to stare out the window, effectively ending the conversation. Max's brows furrowed. What wasn't she telling him? He began to reach over to her, but a look from his mother made him sit back down in his seat. Casey stared out the window and absently played with the small necklace she had put on earlier that morning. Then, she started humming. Using the rearview mirror, Mrs. Chambers looked at that girl. Was she okay? The woman was about to ask this, but realized that they were at the school.

"Okay, kids. Here we are," she announced, stopping the vehicle.

"Thanks, Mom," Max stated.

"Thanks, Mrs. Chambers," Casey said at the same time. She grabbed her backpack and hurried out of the car.

"Hey, wait!" Max called, quickly grabbing his stuff and hurrying after her. But Casey seemed to have a mission and just continued on. She walked quickly down the halls until---someone grabbed her arm and pulled her aside. A hand over mouth muffled the startled yelp.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," a voice hurriedly apologized.

"Dang it, Joey! You scared me half to death," Casey chided.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to," Joey apologized again. "I just---really needed to talk to you. He's up to something. I can feel it," he continued.

"It was too quiet last night," she agreed.

"You think something happened?" Joey asked.

"I don't know," Casey answered. Meanwhile, she was unaware that Max had been following her and had seen her get pulled aside. Curious, he had hid out of sight, but within hearing distance.

"I got an e-mail from Nancy this morning. She said things were fairly quiet on their end too," he heard Joey say.

"He's up to something. Krueger wouldn't attack and then just stay away. That freak has a plan," Casey stated. Max's brows furrowed. Who were they talking about? Before either of them could say anymore, the warning bell rang.

"We'll finish this conversation later," Joey determined and they walked to their first class. Meanwhile, Derek was looking for Greg.

"Hey, have you seen Greg?" he asked a boy.

"Unh-uh. Sorry, man," came the response.

"Yeah, don't worry about it," Derek dismissed, and then walked off. He ignored the warning bell, and continued his search. Come on, man! Where are you? Derek wondered. Then, he came upon some of his teammates.

"Hey, have any of you seen Greg?" he wondered.

"No, not yet," they answered.

"Weird," he said.

"He's probably just playin' hooky," one of the boys commented.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Derek grinned. With shared laughter, they walked to their first class. Unsurprisingly, his stepsister was already there, along with her friend. What did surprise him was the troubled look on her face.

"What's with you? We don't have anything due," he sneered. Then, in a slightly panicky voice, "We don't have anything due, do we?"

"No," Casey assured. Then, the teacher came in and immediately started lecturing. Derek felt himself nodding and jerked awake. Come on, man. He's not that boring, he silently chided. However, it was a losing battle. Derek looked around. This wasn't his usual dream. His usual dream consisted of a cheerleader and his living room couch, not some freaky boiler room.

"Hello?" he asked. There was a screeing sound and he jumped. "Who's there?" he questioned. The screeing came again. Then, he heard a kid's rhyme.

One, two, Freddy's coming for you.

Three, four, better lock your door.

Five, six, grab your crucifix.

Seven, eight, gonna stay up late.

Nine, ten, never sleep again.

"This isn't funny! Knock it off!" he shouted. The only answer was another scree. Derek tensed and took off running. Without warning, he found himself falling down a flight of stairs. What? They weren't there a minute ago, the boy thought to himself. Derek gasped and backed up towards a wall. There came a sinister chuckle and the boy watched as a man came into view.

"Man, you're ugly," he gasped, staring at the charred skin. The man only laughed maniacally and waved his right hand through the air. Derek's eyes widened when he saw the four gleaming knives. He panted nervously and tried to hide against the wall. The man continued to approach. He raised an arm and began to strike. Without warning, Casey in front of him to block the attack! She kicked him away.

"Okay, Krueger. Let's dance," she snapped, as her outfit took on a more punkish visage. There were two simultaneous clicks and Derek was suddenly aware that in his stepsister's hands were two old-fashioned switchblades. As the man called Krueger and his stepsister went at it, Derek stared. What is going on here? he wondered. Casey could feel the blades in her hands spinning madly. Sparks flew as she and Krueger fought. Suddenly, she felt something slice her right cheek. Krueger laughed. She groaned in pain as blood trickled down her face and staggered back. The man grabbed her and threw her in another part of the room. Derek scrambled to his feet and tried to get to her, but was cut off by a door unexpectedly materializing in front of him.

"What?" he asked. He frantically tried to find a knob, to no avail.

"Casey! Casey!" he shouted, pounding on the door. On the other side, Casey scooted backwards, trying to get away from the man. He chuckled as he advanced, brandishing his razors.

"Joey, Nancy, Rod! Help me!" Casey exclaimed.

"No help for the dead," Krueger chuckled. Then, he roared in pained surprise as electricity enveloped him. Joey and Rod hurried to Casey and helped her up. A strike from Krueger knocked Nancy to the ground. Joey kicked Krueger away and the three rushed to their friend. Then, they ran off. They found the door that Krueger had conjured up and barricaded it with their bodies.

"Who are you?" Derek wondered, as he joined their efforts.

"We need to get out of this dream now!" Nancy told Casey, ignoring the question. Casey put her hands on her head and concentrated. Then, they all disappeared just as the door burst open. In their own respective schools, Nancy Thompson and Rod Lane both gasped as they suddenly woke up. Ignoring the curious looks, they each grabbed their backpacks and took off. Back at J. Thompson High, Derek, Casey, and Joey all jerked awake.

"Casey!" Joey exclaimed, rushing to her.

"I'm okay," Casey assured him.

"Your face," a girl said in surprise as Joey took off his jacket and pressed the cloth against the cuts.

"What the heck was that?" Derek wondered.