It's almost 4 in the morning. Why am I not asleep? Well, soon I shall be. (R&R, you lovely people! Your reviews spur me on!)

Chapter 6: Investigation

Not surprisingly, the school day went by agonizingly slowly. Every few minutes I would look apprehensively towards the clock, sometimes catching it flashing odd times such as 80:00 or 66:66. The technology in the place was a bit screwy, conservatively speaking.

Not one that had many friends, I politely made small talk with my fellow classmates and kept my caustic, witty and sarcastic remarks directed towards Mike and Alyssa, causing them to chortle during classes that would have otherwise been boring.

My last class couldn't come by quick enough for my taste. My fingers were itching for access to a computer, even though I knew the ancient machines wouldn't try to cooperate. I had to coax out that information about Freddy today. I would go nuts thinking about it, otherwise!

Relieved to finally hear the harsh ring of the bell signaling 11th period, I rushed out of my German class and eventually out of the front doors of the school with a quick 'Auf Wiedersehen!', rushing through the crowded hallways and maneuvering my way through kissing couples and towering students. Groaning at having to wait for the light to turn green again in order to cross to the technology building located across the street, I was prodded by someone. Spinning around immediately with a quirked eyebrow, I was face to face with Alyssa.

"Hey, doll." Alyssa smirked at my chagrined expression.

"Hello again, lovely. Have a wonderful time in your math class?" I sang in a sarcastic voice, shifting the heavy bag on my right shoulder, trying to alleviate a bit of the pressure. I should honestly start wearing it on both shoulders before I develop a crooked spine coupled with the hunchback that I presume will grace my form by the end of my schooling days. Abominable book bag.

"Oh, I had an utterly divine time. Anyways, do we have to go to last period? Actually, scratch that. Do I have to go?" Alyssa brushed back a few strands of the stick-straight raven shoulder length hair that teased the tip of her tan button nose due to the light breeze with a flourish.

"Naturally. You have to keep me awake." A bit of seriousness crept into my voice before I recognized it had. I quickly broke into a smile before she caught that something was amiss.

Alyssa sighed, rolling her eyes as she played with the zipper of her stylish black leather jacket. "Only if you promise not to keep me awake."

Laughing as I linked her arm with my own, we crossed the street and soon started the arduous trek up four flights of stairs.

Panting as we entered the small room, pleasantly warm due to the multitude of computers that were stationed in a horseshoe pattern, Alyssa and I reached for the sheet of paper which was to be our assignment on the teacher's desk. Like always, it was to type up a sheet of words and sentences on the word processor and print it out for grading purposes. The relatively new male teacher that taught our class left us to our own devices, texting away on his phone, knowing that it would be a waste of his time to lecture to a group of students who grew up in the blossoming age of technology.

Plopping down in our regular seats, we both typed in our school IDs and passwords without a second thought. We looked at each other simultaneously and I smiled tiredly at Alyssa.

"You look pretty awful if I say so myself, Christine. You need some quality sleep." Alyssa propped her arm up on the computer table, resting her head upon it after pushing her purse out of the way. The concerned look that pierced through her chestnut eyes warmed my heart, and I almost felt guilty about not telling her about my crazy ordeal last night.

"Yes I do, but not here. Listen. I normally don't fall asleep during class, I mean, it's almost against my nature, but I've been swamped with homework and all and clearly," I gestured to the dark circles under my eyes with an upward quirk of my lips, "have not been getting enough rest. Just make sure that I don't fall asleep during class, okay?"

"Alright, Chrissy. Just as long as you do the assignment and print out a copy for me, pretty please!" Alyssa charmingly pleaded, pouting her lips in supplication.

I nodded with a grateful smile and she returned it. Alyssa's eyes flickered back to see that her computer was up and running and she righted herself in the uncomfortable plastic chair to play around on the internet.

Taking a look at the straightforward assignment, I decided to research Freddy before starting. It shouldn't take too long.

Clicking open the internet browser and then taking a discreet look from the corner of my eyes to see if anyone was watching, I hastily typed 'Freddy Krueger' into the browser. Clicking enter with a gulp, I saw only a few articles pop up. Picking the very first one, I was disappointed to find that the site was blocked.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

Every single one that I clicked was blocked. I guess the school's information technology department knew about the guy. I wondered why they would block everything about him.

Trying a different approach, I just typed in 'Krueger'. I was met with his full name: Frederick Charles Krueger. Chuckling to myself, I wondered how Freddy would react to being called by his full name. I suppose his Mom would've done just that if he got caught causing trouble.

Rather than clicking on the website itself, I opened another tab and went to Altavista's Babelfish and tried putting the website URL there, 'translating' it into English.

Bingo!

The website worked, and I was met with an article about the mysterious man. A gritty picture was shown at the top of the page and I was mildly shocked to notice he was wearing the same garb as when he appeared in my dream.

Certainly freaky. You would think the man had at least some variety in his wardrobe. I hid a giggle in the palm of my hand, trying not to attract attention to myself.

As I read the article, a bit of fear stirred from deep within me with certain key words. Not only did he murder countless children in Springwood, but he murdered his own wife and his daughter was taken away from him.

Yikes, a daughter? And he was a child murderer? Hmm.

I had to give in to a twinge of pity as I read about the abuse he endured as a child, but in no way did that justify his actions. Son of a hundred maniacs…

Suddenly it clicked into place – I remembered where I heard his name mentioned. It was history class a few years ago! We were talking about the most dangerous criminals that we could think of. If I remember correctly, he was brought up by one of the girls who obviously did her homework. The teacher dismissed him quickly, not even bothering to explain what he did. Well sure, he didn't come up to the ranks of Hitler, but he was evil enough to kill innocent children…

Anyways, now I know a bit about him. That still doesn't explain why I seemingly dreamt of him out of the blue, or why I have his trademark glove marks on my chest.

Looking up at the time, I figured that I'd better get to typing the given assignment. Opening up the word processor, I positioned the paper right on the left side of my keyboard, not needing to consistently look up at my monitor to check if I was right.

A, s, d, f, j, k, l, ;. As, that, the, at, on. You, he, she, it, they.

Feeling drowsy, I rubbed my eyes with a yawn as I looked over at Alyssa who was cheerily typing away on her keyboard before returning to my paper.

One, two, three, four, five. Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. I have one pen. She has two pens.

Feeling my eyelids become heavier and heavier, I sigh, resting my head on the wooden computer table. With a jolt, I remember that I cannot let myself fall asleep! Not in school, at least…what if I have a nightmare again?

Shooting back up in my seat, I rub my hands together and start typing once more.

One, two. Freddy's coming for you. Three, four. Better lock your door.

...Geez, what kind of worksheet is this?

Five, six. Grab your crucifix.

What the hell? My eyebrows furrowed together as I seemingly bore a hole into the paper, blinking a few times to see if I read it correctly. Looking around at the room, I didn't see anyone else reacting to the words on the paper.

Ah, whatever. I guess it could say stranger things.

Seven, eight. Better stay up late. Nine, ten. Never sleep again.

Looking up at my screen to see if I correctly wrote the contents of the worksheet, I realized that the font was not the Times New Roman, 12 point black font that I chose. Oh, no.

It was a bloody lettering, literally dripping from where I typed the letters. Squinting to see what font it was, I read out loud, "Freddy's Font".

No…I must be imagining things. Freddy only bothered me when –

Shit. I must be asleep.

Damn you Alyssa, wake me up!

Curiosity getting the better of me for the moment, I hesitantly drew my hand up to the computer monitor, wincing when I touched the warm crimson liquid that dripped from the words that I typed. It certainly felt like real blood, and I wasn't about to taste it to confirm the fact.

Looking towards my right, I frantically pulled at Alyssa's arm, begging for her to look at me, show any type of response whatsoever! Screaming furiously when I got absolutely no reaction from anyone in the room, my eyes flickered back to the computer screen when I noticed something was happening with my screen. Letters were appearing.

'Hey doll!'

Transfixed with the eerie print, I stood there gaping at the screen. More words materialized.

'Aww, don't you want to talk to Freddy?'

Warily approaching my uncomfortable seat, I sat back down and inched myself forward slowly with my feet. I took my sweet time typing my response, afraid to touch the keys as if they would scald me if my fingers brushed them for more than a few seconds.

"Perhaps?"

In response, huge letters conveyed his amusement: 'HAHAHAHAHAHA! You certainly were interested enough to look me up, doll face!'

Before I could respond, Freddy used my mouse to open the internet browser once more, looking up his name. Clicking on the first article he could find, it surprisingly wasn't blocked and had a picture of the day his trial for murder was dismissed. Freddy's well-used fedora hid his face, he was wearing his signature sweater and slacks and he was being escorted by police who kept his hands behind his back.

Suddenly, the picture moved and I was staring into the unblemished face of Freddy before his scarring. A triumphant grin was on his features, and he wriggled his left hand away from the officer to wave at me.

At a loss about what to do, I just sat there dumb-founded. I certainly wasn't going to wave at a picture on a computer screen.

I was saved from having to choose something to do when Freddy stepped out of the picture and settled onto the word processor, leaning against the scroll bar languidly, right hand still behind his back. I could imagine what I'd see should he wave at me with that hand.

'Soooo…you wanted to know about little ol' Freddy? Make sure you warn all your friends!' As soon as the last bloody letter filled the screen, it was erased, and in its place was Freddy's mug shot along with a short description stating his full name and his occupation: Dream Killer.

Copy after copy immediately spouted from the printer, immediately folding itself and finding its way into each person's backpack, purse or pocket.

Freddy was doubled over in laughter in the corner of the word processor and I stared at him, bewildered. Finally building up my reserve, I reached over to the computer mouse and closed the word processor, effectively taking him off my screen.

That was only temporary. The word processor popped on again with an angry Freddy glaring at me. I gulped.

'Bitch!'

Not knowing what else to do, I tried to wipe the word literally off my screen with my hand. It caused the word to smudge into a red blot on the screen. As if sensing that he would try to pull me into the computer, I hurriedly took my hand away from the screen.

My premonition was right: his hand reached out, narrowly missing my wrist. With a growl, Freddy pulled his hand back only to jump out from my computer screen and clutched at my throat fiercely with his gloved hand.

Desperately gasping for air and feeling his blades dig into my skin as I thrashed against the swiveling plastic chair, I cursed Alyssa for not following my simple instructions. Was it so hard to fulfill one of my few requests?

Finally realizing I still could use my legs against him, I kicked Freddy harshly in his shin. A dangerous look flashed in what I passively realized was a flame-like eye color.

I was going to die, wasn't I? At school, no less.

OW! What the –

Blinking my eyes repeatedly and coughing as my lungs accepted the much needed oxygen, I felt the red hot burn of the slap given to me.

Alyssa was looking at me with a sheepish grin. The rest of our class was gathered around her, staring at me as if I had suddenly grown a third arm.

Slowly picking my head up from the rough table, I grimaced as I felt my head throbbing.

"Nnnngh. I'm alive." I mumbled, ever so eloquently.

"Yes, Christine, you are. And there's five minutes left of class. You were mumbling, screaming actually, in your sleep and suddenly bloody marks appeared on your hands and neck. Care to explain?"

Looking at the expectant faces around me, all I could do was shrug. "No clue, really. Sorry."

Still not satiated by my response, the crowd refused to abate. Closing my eyes and gritting my teeth, I expelled a long breath before asking them politely to please leave me be. They reluctantly obeyed after Mr. Thayne told them to take their seats.

I could've sworn I heard someone mutter freak.

When the prying individuals of the class were finally engaging each other with trite conversation, I turned to Alyssa with a scowl.

"Didn't I ask you to make sure that I stayed awake?"

"Well, yes, but I don't think you should be the only one mad here. You've been clearly hiding something from me." Alyssa pointedly looked at the angry slashes on my neck with an annoyed frown.

For the millionth time today, I heaved a big sigh. I took the elastic hair tie off my hair and ruffled my locks, appreciating their length when they covered the fresh marks.

"Alyssa…it's a long story."