The next day found us at yet another of our friends' funerals... Rod had died the night before and the police were saying he'd hung himself. Nancy however was saying it was Freddy and I had reason to believe she was telling the truth thanks to the dream I'd had. I watched his casket lowering into the grave as a tear tracked down my cheek.
"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust," the Minister read, "May God be with this young man's soul..." My gaze snapped up to the other side of the grave where most of our parents were stood. As I watched them, they all swapped a quick furtive glance... they knew something that they weren't telling us.
"His life and his death attest to the Scripture's warning that he who lives by the sword shall die by the sword," the Minister carried on, I blocked out what he was saying, whatever it was wasn't the truth.
After the Minister finished his sermon and the mourners had walked away from the grave, I sent one last glance at Rod's headstone before I walked off. I could feel Quentin and Glen watching me worriedly, but I ignored them both and headed over to Dean's grave, settling down on to my knees as I looked at the picture on the headstone.
"I really need your help," I told him quietly, "I know you figured out who Freddy was, that's why he got rid of you; you were going to tell me in the Diner." I don't know why I was saying it, it's not like Dean could tell me what was going on with him being gone and all.
"Cassidy honey?" my mom's voice called from a little way away making me turn my head, "Let's get going."
I nodded to her before looking back to the grave stone, pressing a kiss to my fingertips and pressing it to his photo. "I miss you Dean," I told him quietly before I made my way over to my waiting parents and brother, the latter wrapping his arm around my shoulders when I reached them.
The rest of the day I remained quiet, upstairs in my room, trying to find a guy called Freddy in Springwood's history. It was late into the night when I finally found a story that fit.
A man by the name of Fred Krueger, known as the son of a hundred maniacs, constructed himself a glove of metal knives. He used to wait in dark alleys as school got out and kidnap the children of Springwood. Some he took to a boiler room in a power plant he used to work in, others to a boiler room in his own basement at home. Freddy's wife found out about the killings and confronted him, only for him to kill her too as their daughter watched. The trial of Fred Krueger was the most infamous in Springwood. Unfortunately someone forgot to sign the search warrant in the right place and he was freed on complication.
It wasn't long after that, that Fred Krueger went missing, never to be seen again.
"Why are we all dreaming about this man?" I muttered in confusion before falling silent as I listened to my parents going to bed.
"Cassidy dear, sleep time," mom called through my locked door.
"Will do," I called back before flicking my lamp off, "Night!"
"Good night," she called back and I heard her footsteps walking away from my door.
"Fred Krueger," I muttered quietly, "What happened to you?"
"Hey," a voice hissed suddenly, making me turn quickly and roll my eyes at the sight of Quentin climbing through my window again.
"Hey," I replied as I went back to my research.
"Who's Fred Krueger?" he asked curiously as I scanned the page again in thought.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out," I replied distractedly as I typed into the internet again, "He was a child killer, and then he disappeared."
"Why are you researching him?" he asked me curiously as he sat himself on the end of my bed.
"Because I have the strange feeling that this has something to do with him," I replied, "And if I find out what happened to him I can stop him."
"Cassie?" Glen's voice sounded from the door making me turn and head over, unlocking it and letting him in, he settled to glare at Quentin.
"Not now," I hissed simply as I went back to my computer, "I'm too busy for you guys to be arguing in my room."
"That's why I'm in here," Glen muttered, "What are you still doing up?"
"Oh give over," I snapped, "I just went to the funeral of the third of my friends to die... you really think I'm gonna go to sleep?" the two guys swapped a look, "Exactly, I'm gonna use my time to actually figure out what the hell is happening here."
The next day had me at the local library, looking through past news papers as I researched more on the Krueger case. I'd been there since opening at 10am and I was pretty sure it was getting close to 5pm when my phone rang in my pocket.
"'Lo?" I asked tiredly as I rubbed at my eyes.
"Where are you?" Glen asked curiously.
"Library," I replied simply as I flicked to the next article.
"Wh... Never mind," he sighed, "I'll come get you."
"I'm fine Glen," I muttered, "I'll just walk home when I'm done."
"You sure?" he asked worriedly making me groan slightly.
"I wouldn't have said it if I wasn't Glen," I replied simply before hanging up and going back to my reading.
"You've been here all day," the Librarian commented as I huffed and sat back in my seat about an hour later, running my hands over my face. "Can I help you with anything?"
"No, its fine I just..." I yawned slightly as she leaned in to see my notes and the articles.
"Hmm," she sighed, "I guess your parents haven't told you about him then." My eyes darted to her and I sat up straight. "I could... but I probably shouldn't."
"Please," I practically begged her.
The Librarian sighed and took a seat in the chair next to me as I looked at her, "As you've probably read, Fred Krueger was a child killer," she told me letting me nod, "He got at least twenty kids, kids from Springwood that most of the people around here knew. It drove everyone crazy when we didn't know who was doing it... but it was even worse when he was caught." I arched my eyebrow.
"Lawyers got fat, the judge got famous," she carried on, "but someone forgot to sign the search warrant in the right place and Fred Krueger was free, just like that."
"That's all I've got," I muttered, "But what I need to know is... is he still alive?"
The Librarian smiled grimly, "He wouldn't have stopped," she replied, "He would have got more kids the first chance he got... they found nearly ten bodies in his boiler room at his house. But the law couldn't touch him." I looked up at her again, "What was needed were some private citizens willing to do what had to be done... a bunch of us parents tracked him down after they let him go."
I frowned slightly, remembering the look shared between the parents of myself and my friends, "We found him in an old boiler room, just like before," she told me, "Saw him lying there in that caked red and yellow sweater he always wore, drunk and asleep with his weird knives by his side..." she hesitated, "We poured gasoline all around the place, left a trail out of the door, locked the door then..."
"You lit him on fire," I finished as I bit at my lip, the image of his burned face appearing in front of my eyes.
"But... just when it seemed not even the devil could live in there any more – he crashed out like a banshee, all on fire – swinging those finger-knives every which direction and screaming..." she carried on with tears in her eyes, "he was going to get us by killing all our kids..."
"All those men, even Lt Thompson, none could do what had to be done," she sighed, "Krueger was rolling around, screaming so loud the whole state could hear – no one could take the gun and kill him good and proper... no one but Marge Thompson."
"Nancy's mom," I muttered in shock.
"Nancy's mom, Tina's parents, Dean's, Quentin's, Rod's..." she agreed making me wince, "And yours and Glen's too."
The Librarian left after that, not realising the implications of what she'd told me, either that or not caring. I sat there for a while after she's told me, thinking it all through before I collected my things together and headed home, pausing at the sight of the bars on Nancy's windows before I headed inside.
"Cassidy I need to talk to you!" Mom called as I headed upstairs, I just ignored her and went to my room, my thoughts buzzing through my skull loud enough to give me a headache.
"Cass..." Glen stopped me as I went into my room, "I uh... there's something you need to know." Turning towards him, I waited. "Quentin, he uh..."
I knew what was coming... he'd fallen asleep. Before Glen even said the words, my knees buckled from underneath me and I dropped to the floor hard, dropping all my things as I went. My mouth stayed shut to all the things I needed and wanted to say, and instead of the sorrow that wanted to get out... anger bubbled up inside me.
"Cassidy..." Glen started but I shook my head and pulled myself into my room, slamming my door shut as I did.
I didn't bother locking it, so Glen followed me in, coming in just in time to see me pulling my drawings, sketches and photos off my walls and cork board as tears streamed down my face. The last photo on the wall was one of me, Dean and Quentin, laughing at the camera at some carnival a few months earlier. After pulling it off the wall I sank to my knees once more and sobbed, clutching the photo to my chest as Glen wrapped his arms around me, trying to comfort me.
Mom and dad must have heard me, because they came rushing into my room, looking around at the carnage before mom collected me from Glen and wrapped me in her arms. "My darling, my baby," she hushed at me, "It's all going to be okay..." I just carried on sobbing... finally giving up because without Dean I barely coped but without Quentin either, I was as good a dead already.