I'm sorry for taking so long, I really am. I've been distracted by a lot of things lately. Plus, I'm very nervous about this chapter, seriously, so if you like it, don't hesitate to tell me or I might just lose my will to write. I've written and rewritten this chapter loads of times but now I'm just gonna put it out there and hope it won't turn into a disaster. (Funny thing is that since I've been stuck on this one I've jumped over it and written two-three chapters ahead.)
It was Darkness who requested the dining table scene, and like I said in the review reply, I did my best but it was tricky.
I get up off my bed and pace around the room, looking for inspiration. I have tiny trophies or souvenirs from the years that had passed. I have Glen's earphones, they are really old-fashioned and I doubt they work. The walls are red and black in my room to match the power-plant outside the door and it looks like blood. It's not though because the smell would be unbearable. But I have a few tins on a shelf that contains samples from, maybe, ten or eleven victims. I got the idea from that show on TV. It was called Dexter, wasn't it? I also have a video-camera sitting by the bed. I've used it once. But I have never watched the recording. I just keep it. As a reminder I guess. To remind me that this was a film in the beginning and not reality.
I had a porcelain doll sitting on top of a comic-book. It was a tribute to Greta and Mark. I'd really liked them in the fifth film. Greta's death was the worst by far if you ask me. My friends from the real world always thought that was weird.
When we came to that time to kill her I talked to Freddy about it. To try and change his mind.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"But can't you do it some other way? Pretty pleeease?!" I wailed at his back. He was walking quickly like he was in a hurry; he wasn't of course, unless you count him being in a hurry to get away from me. I had been nagging in him for hours not to do this, he wouldn't listen to me.
"Ha! She always wanted to eat more then her mother would let her. I'm doing her a favor!" He called back over his shoulder as he turned a corner, trying to shake me off. How could he find his way in this place? I threw myself through the air and landed on the floor, his ankle in my death grip.
"Freddy, I get it, I really do, any other person and I'd appreciate the irony and everything! You know no one enjoys a good laugh at death more then me! Just listen to me, just this once!" I was dragged after him and I could tell he was getting more and more aggravated. Soon enough he would slash me with his claws or something, I'd developed a sixth sense about that.
"Why," he said and paused in his stride only to stomp on my arm with his free foot, "do. You. Care. So. Much? Ya don't. Care. About. The others. Why. Should. She live?" His voice was strained as he spoke in time with the sound made by his shoe. He stomped more frantically on my arm. This was not doing wonders for his mood.
"No, you've got it wrong! I don't want her to live! I just want you to kill her some other way!" I called over the loud thuds. He stopped mid-stomp and glared down on me. I answered with an equal intense stare.
"Why?" was all he said after thinking for a while. I blew my fringe out of my eyes. "If I tell you, will you reconsider?"
Another minute passed as we both tried to stare each other down. He blinked first. "Maybe. We'll see what the reason is first."
I grinned happily at my small victory as he sat down on the ground in front of me. When I sat up I realized what state my arm was in. "Bitch! You broke my arm!" I said with a high-pitched voice, poking at the arm that now hung limply at my side. Freddy rolled his eyes. "It's not like you can feel it! Don't get mad over things that don't bother ya." he said impatiently, "And don't call me bitch." Whatever, I huff with annoyance, now's not the time to argue over petty things.
"Okay then, the thing with Greta is that I really like her. She's funny and I like her, plus she has a bit of attitude. And when I like people that you kill I sort of honor them by watching their death over and over and over and over and over and-."
"Yeah, I get it!"
"But I can't do that with Greta because I'm, well, not scared but I have a thing against..." I paused and glanced at Freddy before looking away, mumbling something that can't be heard.
"What? A thing against what?" The dream demon snarled, to show that he was growing impatient. I took a deep breath and then;
"Extreme features. I am a tiny bit scared of extreme features." I said quickly. I turned my head to meet his eyes only to notice that he was not laughing with glee but instead he had a confused look on his face.
"Now I don't get it." He said, "What does that have to do with Greta's death?" I felt like doing a face palm but decided not to.
"Don't you get it? I'm "scared" of, for example, biiig eyes or a tiiinyyy nose. Get it?" I asked only to be answered by an unchanged face. "Or big cheeks?" I say pointedly, puffing up my face. Still nothing. "My god, are you trying to get on my nerves?!" I shouted finally.
"Your nerves?! What about mine?! I don't understand what you're saying!" He shouted back. But that's when I got it. He didn't know that her cheeks would get really big. He just thought that he's going to choke her on her food. Of course.
"When you stuff her with the food she won't swallow it. It'll gather in her cheeks, like a hamster. In the end her face will look like this." I drew a very bad picture in the dust on the floor with my fingers. "Get it?"
He looked down on the drawing and then back up at me. "Are you serious?" He said like I was joking. The smile of relief from the thought that he would understand quickly slipped of my face.
"You are, aren't you?"
"Umm, yeah?"
Freddy snigger and tried to hide it behind his glove for some reason.
"You know," he said and stood up from the floor, "for someone who's scared of "extreme features" you are very fond of a guy whose smile covers one third of his face." It was my turn to look confused. "Huh?" I said.
"You like that Joker guy, right?" the dream demon said and pulled me up of the floor by my shoulder. I stared at him. "How did you know that?" I said suspiciously.
"I looked inside your head, remember?" He said and knocked on the side of my skull before turning to leave. "Right." I replied sheepishly. "Hey, I thought you looked at my 'fears' back then. Didn't you see this?"
"Don't sound like that." he stopped to look at me. "It's not like the head is a big filing cabinet with big red stamps on them saying "Fears", "Memories", "Made up shit". And yours was pretty maze-like so it didn't help me find my way." he said accusingly and continued walking with me not too far behind.
"So what are you going to do?" I said and ran to walk next to him. He didn't turn his head to look at me. "What do you mean?"
"About Greta obviously. How are you gonna kill her?" This time he did look at me.
"Oh. Did ye think I was gonna change it? No no, she'll die looking like a hamster."
"What?! But- but you can't do that! Come on!" I grabbed the back of his shirt, trying to stop him. But suddenly he grew. Bigger and bigger until he looked a bit like a hairless grizzly.
"What did you say?" He boomed and picked me up by my broken arm. "I can't do that? What are y' gonna do, stop me?" he laughed in my face.
He walked in huge strides until we came to a door. He opened it and shoved me inside. "Hey, Freddy! Don't be such an ass, let me out!" I shouted and banged on the thick metal door. "I thought we could be reasonable! Remember your promise! You can't ditch me unless you can kill me! Hey! Are you even listening to me?!"
"I'm not getting rid of you, I'm just locking y'in while I kill Greta!" came his voice from the other side. "I don't want no disturbances so I'll put you in there, where you can't dream-walk out. See ya later!"
Fuming in anger I sat down on the floor in the dark room. Damn him!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
After what could have been a few hours I was lying on the floor, counting water droplets as they fell. 4283710. 4283711. 4283712. 418713. I mean umm... Aww hell not again. ...
The door squeaked something terrible as it opened. When the red light flooded in I could see Freddy's shadow looming in the doorway. I gave him a sour look. "Y'done now I suppose? Had fun?" I said and sat up. "Yup, girl sure looked like a hamster." He squatted down so that we were at the same eye level and then he took his hand out from behind his back, showing me what he was holding. It was a porcelain doll. It had a white fluffy dress and brown curly hair with a ribbon in it. "It's one of hers." he sniggered. As I stretched my hand out to get it he snatched it back. "Ah ah. If I give y' this you'll have to stop moping. Yes?" I eyed the doll and chewed on the inside of my cheek before saying; "It's a deal if I get to wear your Hat for 73 hours."
The demon flinched and growled; "12 hours!" I jumped up and glomped him while shouting. "Sold!"
I snatched the doll from his hand and the Hat from his head. Freddy looked like he wanted to kill me right there but he knew he couldn't.
He got to his feet and looked almost injured at the sight of his precious Hat. "We're gonna take out Mark Grey next, right? That comic guy who's scared of blood. Let's start planning." I eyed his back as he walked away.
I tried to keep a straight face and said with an air of drama; "Mark is one of my favorites too. I wish he didn't have to die this wa-!" I didn't get to finish the sentence or say that I was joking before Freddy ran one of his claws through my throat. It was one of the things he liked to do the most because it left me unable to speak for hours.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Some time later I was standing in a white room that I knew Amanda Krueger would walk into soon. She would have Freddy in her belly and I'd have to help him get out. I was somewhat torn about all of this, I guess I kinda like Amanda and she tries so hard to stop Freddy, and here I come along and ruin everything. I mean, who am I to judge what is to be done? What right do I have? This is family business and I am not part of the family.
But I care about Freddy. If I want him to live I have to choose between what's right and what is what I want. Of course, what I want seems right to me. I could hear voices from a memory talking. Like a conscience that actually worked like one.
"What the hell were you thinking? You could have died!"
"No I wouldn't. And if I had, I'd just have myself to blame! You don't have to rush after me every time, it's not like I'm hurting anybody else."
"But you are Hannah! Can't you see that? You're hurting us! Stop being an idiot, I know you. You are too clever to not see what you're doing is dangerous!"
"..."
"What if you had died, huh? What do you think would have happened to us? Or just me for that matter. Niles would have been looking at me with sad puppy eyes, you know how I hate them. And Samara would be on my back so fast that I'd wish I'd gone with you to the grave."
"...'s true."
"Is that a smile I see? It is isn't it?"
"Pffha! Shut up."
"Come on. Let's get out of here. I'm hungry."
"Vonji."
"Yeah?"
"You know how I said you guys don't have to rush after me? It's true but, I'm kinda glad you do."
"Shutupshutupshutup!" I mumble to myself and continue to pace the room. They'd be here any second. Gotta focus.
Indeed, a few seconds later Amanda stumbles through the door. Freddy's arm is visible, fighting his way out. Amanda puts her hand over and her belly seals up again. She sits down against the wall, panting like she'd just won a race. I step closer cautiously, clearing my throat. "Um, Ms Krueger?" I said respectfully. I would try to be polite to her at least.
With a gasp she whipped her head around to face me. She then seemed to calm down, which I thought was odd.
"Ms Krueger, I am Hannah. I sort of live with your son." I explained and sat down on the floor in front of her. To my surprise she nodded and said, "I know."
I had to do a double take at that. She knew? "Pardon?"
"Hannah, I've been trapped here since I killed my self. When you do that you are left haunted by your demons. But not just you own, other demons too. Like dream demons. I've been hearing about you since you arrived in this world four years ago." She said, resting her head against the wall. I glanced at her belly and new that Freddy was waiting impatiently to get out, but this was a chance I would never get again.
"What do they say about me?" I asked excitedly and Amanda gave me a loop sided smile before answering.
"They say you are, to put it in nicer terms, very annoying and silly." I gave out a bark like laugh but quickly quieted down to hear more. "They are annoyed by your happiness to be here. And they don't like what you have done to Frederick."
"What I have done to Frederick? What have I done to him?"
"I don't know for sure to be honest, that's all they said about that. But I have to warn you, they are not pleased by your presence. Not at all."
The smile slid of my face. "Why?"
"Frederick is supposed to kill children and that is his fun, they are doing him a favor. But there are no win-win situations in real life. He has to suffer somewhat. Being lonely is his suffering, and you ruined that plan. He may not realize it but having you around gives him something to do all the time. You talk to him and you play your games," she frowned at this to show that she did not approve of the "games" we play "you challenge him and you tease him, you ask him about himself and you praise him. That is making him less lonely. The demons can't have that. They want you dead." I whistled quietly. Is all of that true?
"He's having fun when I'm around you mean?" I asked hopefully. She nodded and it felt like a dream come true. I make him happy. In a way.
"But that is not the point. You are in danger, child. As long as you stay here you're not safe."
"Um, maybe the demons didn't mention this but I can't die. I'm not in any danger." I said and flashed her a grin. It faded as Amanda reached out and touched my cheek with a look of pity in her eyes. "What?" I asked uncertainly.
"Honey, you know why Frederick can't hurt you, don't you?" She said and tried to put my hair behind my ear but it was too short so it just fell back in my eyes. "Yes." I answered. "Do you?"
Amanda shook her head. "No, and neither do the demons or he. And I don't want to upset you dear, but I'm certain that if he ever finds out how to do so he will kill you." She said and cupped my face with both her hands to show how serious she was. I pulled her hands away.
"Don't you think I know that?" I said with a little laugh. Her surprised face looked a lot like Freddy's I noticed.
"Amanda, I know what kind of a person he is. I do. I am not a naive little child that thinks he'll grow to care for me or anything. We live in a balance right now. It is upheld by him, try to kill me, and me, helping him survive. The scales would fall if either of these were removed. And I'm fine with that. I'm fine with him wanting me dead and treating me like something he found under his boot." Amanda opened her mouth to argue but I stopped her.
"Listen, first when I came here I didn't believe where I was 'cause it was just an impossible dream to me. Then, when I saw Freddy I knew it was real. And when I first spoke to him he got so mad that he stabbed me in the guts." Her eyes went from my face to my belly and I lifted my shirt up a bit to reveal my unmarked skin. "I didn't know that I wouldn't die. I had no idea! I thought I was dead for sure. I only realized why I didn't die a few years later. But right then I was fine with dying 'cause I'd seen Freddy Krueger and I knew he was real. That was enough for me." I finished and twisted my head to catch her eyes. I wanted her to understand.
"You know," she said slowly and the puzzled look on her face faded away. "I knew I wouldn't be able to stop him by doing this. I knew I would only delay him at most. So do you know why I went through all this trouble? I thought it'd give me the chance to meet with the girl that's troubling the demons. And I'm glad I did." Amanda said and I helped her to her feet. "Though I do not approve of your way of thinking, you're worth more then this." She added with a frown and shook her head. I only laughed at this.
"Well, people can't agree about everything." I leaned her against the wall since she was swaying a little. "I'm sorry to end this happy moment but you know I'm gonna have to take him with me, right? We can't stop here." A sheepish smile crossed my face.
"Yes I know. Didn't think you'd have it any other way. You'll do what you want. Stay with him if that's your dream. But don't have to high hopes. It will in all probability end in tears." Amanda put her hand to her belly and a light shone through. She fell to the floor at the same time an adult Freddy did.
The mother was looking at her son with a pained expression. He was scrambling around in a heap at my feet, emitting swearwords that would make a sailor run in fear. He then saw Amanda sitting against the wall. The demon stilled were he sat, with what looked very much like pout.
I waited with anticipation on what would happen next.
"Hello Frederick." Amanda finally said. Freddy turned his face away from her and grumbled a hello back. I grinned at her and she smiled a small smile back at me.
"We can go now Freddy," I said lightly, the dream demon twitched at the sound of my voice and turned his head upside down to look at me, standing behind him. I don't think he realized that I was there. "unless you have something you wanna say to your mum." I continued and gave him a pointed look. He just wrinkled his nose and looked back at Amanda.
"Why would I wanna do that?" He growled and I kneed him in the back. "'Cause as far as I know you won't met her again." I said and he glanced at me reproachfully.
"It's alright Hannah. Don't expect any miracles from that one. He's never really been like a son to me." the nun said simply and lowered her head to look at the floor. As she shuffled her feet I could still see a bit of Freddy's face, he watched her and he looked like he'd just gotten a slap.
"Don't say it like that." He said and I noticed that his voice sounded just like Roberts again. It sure freaked me out when he did that. "It's not like you were a mother to me."
Amanda clamped her eyes shut and shook her head. "You know why I couldn't- I couldn't keep you, Frederi-."
"Don't call me by that name!" Freddy yelled and stood up on his knees so that he was towering a bit over her. I took a few steps back, I'd never seen him like this and it was quite unsettling. This was something that I didn't wanna interfere with. "This is all your fault! If I had stayed with you I wouldn't have turned out this way! I'd have been normal, alive!"
"You don't know that. It might have turned out worse." she said, eyes still closed. Freddy snorted.
"Worse you say! How could it possibly have been worse? I would have felt like I was in the right place. The place where I belong. A place where I could feel like someone cared for me!" He was walking on his knees closer to her as he spoke and put his hand on one of her feet. She immediately pulled it towards herself and away from his touch.
"But you wouldn't have. You would have felt neglected and alone and ended up the same way!" her eyelids shot open and she looked at him with pleading eyes. "I couldn't look at you as a child and I couldn't look at you when you became an adult either!"
"But why, huh? I was just me! I hadn't done anything to anyone." He sat down on his heals with his hands on his knees. The claws on the glove scraped against the stone floor as he flexed his fingers. The sound made her shudder but she shook it off.
"I couldn't look at you because you looked like them! You looked like him! I can see him even today if I close my eyes. I couldn't bare to see your face every day!" She said loudly with a stern look in her eyes. Freddy's face scrunched up in rage and he bared his teeth. Suddenly his skin changed and blond hair grew on his head. A few seconds later the spitting image of a younger Robert Englund, Freddy before his death, was sitting on the floor. "Is this what your fear looks like?!" He screamed and slammed his hands to the wall on either side of her head.
Amanda pressed herself against the wall and her eyes were shut tight. A whimper escaped as she trembled visibly. Freddy's heavy breaths washed over her face. "Look at me." he ordered quietly but she shook her head. He slammed one hand on the wall again and roared at her, "Look at me!" she obeyed and slowly raised her eyes to look into his.
"I want you to see me when I tell you this cause it'll be the last time you'll ever have to!" he said and held her head so that she was unable to turn from him. When he spoke his voice was so calm and collected that it really surprised me. "I understand how you thought you were helping me, but it doesn't help how angry it makes me that you did it. I hated Underwood, I wish he'd neglected and ignored me rather then what he did. I wish that I had been able to adapt to the people around me 'cause then maybe I hadn't ended up this way. Sometimes I even wish that I hadn't been born. I bet you do too. We'll never know what might have happened if you'd let me stay with you but I guess that's how it is some times. I just want to say this, this last time... That I hate you, mom. And I'm as glad as you are that you'll never see this face again." Freddy let go of her and she immediately turned away from him.
They sat quietly like that for a while before Amanda began to sparkle. She slowly turned into little soft lights that floted to the sealing and then disappeared.
I watched the last light fade before walking over to Freddy. He barely noticed when I put my small hand into his bigger one and tugged at it. He gave me a tired look and then got to his feet. I pulled him along the corridors of the asylum, turning my head every now and then to look at him as he walked a few steps behind me. After a couple of times he shook my hand slightly and asked me what I was doing.
"Nothing. It's just that even though I know it's you, you just don't feel like Freddy when you're looking like that."
He cocked an eyebrow, now that he had one, and tilted his head slightly. "You want me to change back?" He asked with a small frown. I quickly shook my head. "No no, that's not what I meant. I was just shocked that you can change how you look just like that."
He shrugged his shoulders. "It's exhausting. I won't be able to stay like this for long. It's just kinda nice to look like original me for a change."
"S'still weird to me though. That look will always be Robert to me." I said. I felt like squeezing his hand but I was afraid that if I did he would notice that I was actually holding it and he'd pull away.
"When will I meet this Robert anyway?" He said and pulled down a blond lock from his head and examined it.
I smiled, "Don't be impatient. Just five years left." his mood was lifting by the minute and we were soon back in the power-plant.
"Five years? Just five years? How can you say it like that? Five years is an eternity!" his voice was changing back now too. I sniggered behind my hand. He'd be okay, we were home soon anyway.
"Hey Freddy?" I asked uncertainly after a while.
"Yeah?"
"Do you... Do you really feel so bad that you wish you'd never been born?" He didn't answer but I could feel his hand tense up in mine and I was sure that if I'd turned around to look at him it would show on his face too.
"Why d'you ask?" he said after a moment of thinking.
"It's just that... I was under the impression that we were having fun. But if you don't wanna exist I have been mistaken." I replied hurriedly. That display of emotion before had really knocked my feet out from under me.
Freddy chuckled lightly and I whiped my head around. His eyes twinkled and he seemed to be very amused by my behavior. "Don't worry about it you little idiot. I'm having fun. It's not like I walk around all day, wishing I was dead. Well, proper dead I mean." he said and bumped me on the head. I grinned in relief. "Really?"
"Sure. I only felt that when I was a kid and if I hadn't I wouldn't have learnt to master pain. And we all know what a shame that would have been." he said lightly. True, if he hadn't been cutting himself as a teenager he wouldn't have killed Mr. Underwood. If he hadn't done that he might not have had the courage (or been messed up enough) to kill the kids on Elmstreet.
"Yeah. That's good." I agreed and felt my mood lifting.
"Why are you so, peculiar, now?"
"Well. I met a woman." I said with a smile. I loved that his expressions were clearer now that his skin was unharmed. You could tell that he had no idea what I was on about. "'You met a woman?'" he said, looking at me like I'd lost it. "Yep. She had a mouth like yours." I lifted a corner of his mouth with a finger. "She knew your life. She knew your devils and your deeds. Do you know what she said to me?"
"No." Freddy said sourly, I guess he understood who I was talking about by now. "Nothing good, if I were to guess."
"She said 'Go to him. Stay with him if you can, but be prepared to bleed.'"
"She said that?" He asked uncertainly.
"No." I said simply. Freddy rolled his eyes at me and I turned back to were we were walking. "It's the text from a song. But it's what she ment with what she really said."
"Oh." He said thoughtfully. She probably cared more for him than he knew. But we'd never know now. She had left for good.
"Um, Hannah?" He said after a while. I turned to look at him again, I noticed that his skin was getting more and more scared. "Yeah?" I replied.
"Remind me never to let you lead again." He said solemnly. "Huh? Why?" Had he finally realized that I was holding his hand?
"'Cause you have no idea where you're going. We're lost."
I looked around, it was true. We were so lost. Crap.
So there you have it, there's bound to be some spelling mistakes but bare with me won't you?
I stole a bit from the lyrics to Case of you, just couldn't resist.
And yes, phobia against extreme features is real. I have it unfortunately. That's why I couldn't do Greta's death because when I take a scene from the films I have to watch it over and over and over and, well, yeah, you get the point. So I'm sorry those of you who were expecting it!
Well you know what to do. Please review so that my heart won't break!
And by the way, am I the only one pissed about the fact that Robert Englund won't be playing Freddy in the next Elmstreet film?
Oh it makes me mad!
Hannah: Take the Robert out of Freddy and your left with half the killer.
Jokerina: True words Hannah, true words.
Till next time, I hope it won't be too long, bye bye.