Chapter 5: What A Dream
Doc's car pulled through the large black gated entrance of the grounds of Westin Hills. The overcast sky from earlier had now grown darker, black clouds had rolled in and a heavy rain pelted down on the white car as he parked it in a car space near the far right of the car park. Maggie stared intently at the large building; the walls decorated in white stone pebbles. Large rectangular windows were dotted about on the three floors. A few steps lead into what she assumed was the reception area of the building. She noticed a few males and females lingering in the doorway under the canopy that shielded them from the rain. They huddled together as they took a quick smoke break. She saw them peering over as they climbed out of the car. After gathering their belongings – briefcases, laptops, and Maggie's bag they strolled quickly across the car park and stepped up the steps and through the double doors.
Maggie felt their eyes on them as they passed. Possibly wondering who the newcomers were. She ignored their pensive stares and thanked Doc as he held the door opened for her. The foyer was large, the grey tile floor gleaming in the light. Various grey fabric seats were dotted to their right near the windows. To their left was a long opening that had glass barrier showing a small reception area beyond. A middled aged woman with greying hair sat a small computer typing from a bundle of files that were laid in front of her. She looked up as they approached and offered a congenial smile, speaking through a several small circular gaps in the glass. "Hello, may I help you?"
Doc smiled pleasantly in return. "Hello, I am Dr Alan Reynolds and this is my colleague Dr Maggie Burroughs. We are due to meet with Dr Neil Gordon"
"Oh, yes" she reached for a small black phone. "I'll let him know you are here"
Doc and Maggie waited patiently as the receptionist conferred on the phone then quickly hung up and looked back towards them. "They're on their way down"
The creak of a door in the corridor to their left and they turned around as three men approached them. Doc gave a bright smile recognizing Dr Gordon and Dr Coleman, but the other man was new to him. A tall, bearded black man with a friendly disposition dressed in grey Westin Hills uniform. He assumed he was one of the orderlies that Dr Gordon has mentioned to him before.
Dr Gordon returned Doc's smile and held out his hand shaking Doc's firmly. "Dr Reynolds, I'm so glad you are here"
Doc nodded and turned towards Maggie, "This is my colleague, Dr Maggie Burroughs"
Each man politely shook her hand, smiling warmly at her as she said 'hello.' Neil glanced briefly at Paul, then Max. Despite not speaking they all knew that this woman was incredibly attractive. If Krueger were to enter her dreams, he would have no hesitation in destroying her if he had the opportunity. But at least all the information about him and the dreams the kids were having were blanked out. She would be safe.
Neil then gestured towards Max, "This is Max Fishbourne. He is the Chef Orderly and manages the orderlies in the ward" he took a step to the side. "I'll show you quickly to your offices and then we can have a chat in my office"
Maggie and Doc followed them as they showed them down the corridor to a doorway to their right, the staircase to the floors above. Their offices to Maggie's relief were situated next to each other and were several yards down from Dr Gordons, Coleman's, and the other doctors on the ward – Barton and Jenson. Their rooms were large with the same layout as each other, with large oak desk. A small filing cabinet in the far-right corner, on top of it was a small kettle and two white mugs. There was also a small black two-seater sofa and water dispenser. After leaving their coats and laptop bags in their offices, both were led towards Dr Gordon's office.
As they were led to his office, Neil attempted to make small talk asking them about their journey to the town. How it was, was there any trouble finding the motel…etc. But he was relieved that everything went smoothly for them. Max had commented on their trip to the Craven Inn diner, explaining that it was very popular with the teenagers in the town.
They quickly settled in Neil's office with Maggie and Doc sitting on the two chairs facing Neil's desk with Paul and Max congregated on the couch. Before sitting down Neil offered them coffee and soon all of them were nursing their hot drinks.
As he sipped his beverage Neil turned his attention towards Dr Burroughs. He wanted to know a little more about her, well in fact. They all wanted to know more about her. "Dr Burroughs. I want to thank you for offering your expertise as a child psychologist and coming to Westin Hills"
Maggie gave a small smile. "No problem. It was a late decision I know to come here. But Alan was very persuasive in getting me to come. Also, the fact that I am out of work was also a factor in making my decision"
"You used to work in the same Youth Shelter as Dr Reynolds?" Neil asked.
"Yes, I was working there from December 1989 to the start of January there" she replied.
"May I ask about your degrees, where you worked before?" Neil took another sip of his coffee. "I know a little about Dr Reynolds background in his work. But we would like to know more about you"
Maggie gave an aimable smile. "Of course. I graduated from Central City University in Youth Counselling in 1984. After graduating I worked in three youth centers for a few months until I obtained my position as Child Counsellor and Therapist in Jameson Hospital in February 1985. I worked there until March 1987 and moved to Hillview Health Clinic where I was a Child Counselor and Trauma Counsellor until October 1989. Then in December 1989 I got the position of Child Counsellor in the Recovery Youth Shelter. From June 1988 to January 1992, I was doing part time studying to get my doctorate in Child Psychology. It was in the Shelter where I met Alan"
"Did you always wanted to be a therapist?" Paul questioned.
She gave a little smile. "No, I had no idea what I wanted to do until I was about 18 or 19. I took a year out after high school before I decided to make a decision about what my studies would be" her eyes flickered towards Doc. What she had said was partially true. She had taken a year out of her studies. But it was forced and due to her mental health issues at the time. Through Doc's contacts in the University, she had managed to enroll in her Counselling course in August 1991 and focused all her energy and effort into her studies.
Max was next to ask a question. "Did you just know each other through your time in the Youth Shelter?"
Doc nodded. "Yes. I was working there from July 1989, and we instantly became good colleagues when she joined in December 1989. Though we knew of each other through various seminars and conventions in the city. We have become good friends. She is the one who calls me a hippie"
Maggie glanced at him and tossed him a playful smirk. She then turned back towards Neil. Gone was her smirk, a thoughtful gaze replacing it. "Dr Gordon, may we ask some questions about your patients?"
Doc looked over at her knowing that she would be asking questions about the patients under Dr Gordon's care but did not expect it to be so soon. He held back the urge to admonish her and allowed her to continue. As he too was eager to know more about what they were dealing with here. He watched as she reached down to unlock her briefcase and popped it opened to take out a small notepad and pen. "I'd like to take some notes"
Neil gave a small nod smiling nervously.
As he continued to stare at his work colleague and friend Doc detected the stern glow in her eyes. Her posture was bold, back straight as she sat up in her seat. Her legs were crossed, and her right hand tightly held her pen, poised to write down notes. This was a side of her he had seen so many times when she was dealing with her patients and dealing with her work colleagues. There was no fucking about with her when it came to her work. He knew that Dr Gordon and the other staff would soon find out about it very soon. Doc had to admit that the situation they both were in was strange, something that had never dealt with before in their previous jobs. In all their jobs they had some information about the patients, descriptive details of the job. But this job was very vague.
Maggie stared determinedly at Dr Gordon, "How many patients are on the ward?"
"Currently we have eleven patients. Six boys and five girls. Their ages range between fourteen and seventeen years old" Neil pushed his empty mug to the side. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Paul and Max shift nervously on their seats. They were wary of the questions that was going to be asked and he was too.
She scribbled this down and then asked. "They are in here due to anxiety, depression?"
"Yes, they are. There were two new kids admitted over the weekend"
Doc intervened and asked his own question. "Did they try to commit suicide?"
"Yes, All the teenagers admitted to the ward are suicide attempts" Neil remarked.
Maggie nodded quietly and glimpsed at Doc, both sharing the same disconcerted feeling at this piece of information. She turned back to Neil. "Have you spoken to their parents?"
Neil glared at her, confused.
She explained. "There may be some information about their lifestyles, family life, social life that could be linked to their anxiety and depression"
"No, we haven't spoken to the parents yet" he lied. He knew that Dr Burroughs was correct in suggesting this idea, but the situation the kids were in was completely different from what these doctors were used to.
"I'd like to have access to their files as soon as possible please" Maggie tapped the tip of her pen on the notepad. "And also set up some sessions with the kids. One on one. I like to build rapport with my patients"
Doc coughed lightly clearing his throat as he glared in her direction. "Maggie, maybe you should wait a day or so"
"No" Neil smiled warmly. "It is okay. I will get Paul or Max to show you where the patients files are kept. How many files would you like to look at?"
"All of kids that are currently in the ward"
Neil gave a brief glance over towards Paul and Max who were also equally surprised at Dr Burroughs insistence on gaining access to all the patients files. He gave her a curt nod. "Of course. Are there other questions you would like to ask before I give a brief tour of the ward?"
"What are the treatments you are currently using on the patients?" Maggie poised her pen on the next line for his response.
"Cognitive therapy, behavioral therapy" Neil kept his eyes lock on her hand as she noted this down.
The next question from Dr Reynolds caught him off guard. "What about their dreams? Sleeping patterns? You seem to be interested in my dream therapy"
Neil's body went taut, apprehension taking hold. He leaned back in his seat and eyed Paul, then Max. Before turning his meditative gaze back towards Alan. "Their sleeping patterns are normal. A little insomnia"
"And their dreams?" Doc prompted, "Any nightmares?"
"A few dreams. But that is about it" Neil kept his answer short.
Doc gave a soft 'mmm' sound and nodded slowly. He would need to speak to the patients himself, question them about their dreams. It appeared that either Neil was a little reluctant in giving any more information about the kids dreams. But why? He had been so persistent in getting him here to Springwood and had been eager for him to bring all the books, notes he had gathered on dreams and lucid dreaming. Then why was he not more open and forthcoming in discussing his patients dreams? Maybe Maggie was right, they could be hiding something from them. She looked up at him from her notes and arched an eyebrow in an 'I told you so' gesture. Her eyes swooped down to her notepad again as she continued to write and he knew from past experiences working from her that she would be meticulously reading every page, every line of the patient's files whenever she got her hands on them.
"Dr Burroughs…"
Maggie lifted her gaze towards Paul as he gave her a smile. "Have you ever used dream therapy before in your treatments?"
She shook her head. "Oh, no. I like to use the conventional approach. I like to talk to the kids, using cognitive and talking therapy. For me it is important to get to know my patients on a more personal level, their family backgrounds, personal life, social life. Any aspect that I feel that may affect their mental health I like to know more about"
"Though…" Doc cut in and smiled over at his colleague. "Maggie is very experienced in lucid dreaming"
"I wouldn't say that" She quickly corrected. "It's been a while since I used them in my dreams"
"May we ask what you would use the lucid dreaming for?" Neil became curious.
Maggie sat back in her chair and thought for a moment. "Well, I can sense if I am sleeping or dreaming. There has been the odd occasion where I can wake myself up. But I as say it has been years since I have used those skills. I may be a little out of practice"
"Maggie, you never lose those abilities. I have told you that" Doc reminded her.
"I'll have to those meditation tapes off of you again"
"Meditation tapes?" Neil threw them both a confused look.
Doc chuckled. "Sorry, I should have explained this. But before I teach my patients to control their dreams, I would get them to listen to various mediation tapes about twice a day, especially before they go to sleep. Mediation and concentration I skey in controlling your dreams. Your mind must be clear, free of any thoughts and worries. Any type of anxiety, apprehension or panic will make you lose control of your dreams"
Paul quickly noted this down on his own notepad.
"Doc…" Maggie began then saw the look of puzzlement on the three men's' faces. She smiled and explained. "Sorry, I would normally call Alan by his nickname. Doc. We would call him Doc in the Youth Shelter"
Neil gave a little smirk.
"Doc has mentioned that there have been a few suicides in the ward. When was the last suicide in the ward?"
There was a brief, anxious glance between Neil, Paul, and Max. Before Neil could muster up a reply, Paul answered for him. "It was last week. The 1st of February" He was partially telling the truth. There was a death that night. But there had been four more since that night. Two on the 3rd of February and two more the following night.
"I'm sorry to hear that" Maggie replied grimly. "How old were they?"
"Marianne was only fourteen" he replied sadly.
Maggie noted this down, and she paused for a moment. Fourteen years old? It was so young for someone to even contemplate taking their own life. She looked up at Doc as he spoke, "How long have the spates of suicides been affecting the town? I know from when we first met in October that you had mentioned about the deaths. But from what date exactly?"
"About the second week in September. Week beginning the 13th of September" Neil fibbed. "There has been a steady increase in the number of teenagers suffering from depression and anxiety"
"What about any campaigns?" Maggie looked up from her lap.
"Campaigns?"
"In Central City the local council and education services would set up workshops and meetings with the local schools, youth clubs and organizations in the communities. We would give them information about anxiety, depression, the signs to look out for. They would also be given contact numbers for support services, counselling groups and therapists. It was a way for the teenagers to know that there was help there for them if they needed it, that they knew that someone was there for them to talk to. Has anything like this been set up for the teenagers?"
Neil shook his head, "No. There has not. This is a small town. We do not have the resources of financial support to do anything like that"
Maggie held back a scoff of disbelief. There was something not right here. She knew of similar towns like this one setting up events and seminars with local youth groups to discuss anxiety and depression with the adolescents. It was strange how a town that was in the grip of a spate of suicides had not even considered doing this for their youth. Dr Gordon was keeping something from them. She was sure of it. Her brown eyes flicked towards Neil's face and saw the sweat on his brow, he was nervous. Her gaze fell to her notes on her lap, and she noticed that there was now two pages of deliberations noted down.
"How many suicides have occurred since the start of September?" Doc asked from her right.
Neil anxiously looked over towards Paul, silently beseeching him to help him out. Paul cleared his throat and pretended to think, and clasped his hands together, tapping his fingers lightly against each other. "From what I can remember, there has been about forty-three suicides since the 13th of September. But I will have to check our records"
Doc nodded silently and shared a disturbed look with Maggie. She chewed her bottom lip quietly, pondering at the number of teenagers who had taken their life. It was higher than she had initially believed. Her mind wandered back to the diner that had visited earlier that afternoon. Particularly towards the four teenagers who were there. They had all looked jittery and she remembered seeing the girl taking those pills. But what were they? "Dr Gordon" she looked towards her new employer. "Would you know if there are problems with drugs in the town? Has it become a problem within the last year or so?"
"Drugs?" he gave her an incredulous glare.
"Yes, drugs. Narcotics" she replied brusquely. "Doc and I were at a little diner earlier and I saw four teenagers in one of the booths. I am not sure why they were there, maybe they were skipping school. But I saw a young girl aged about fifteen or sixteen taking some tablets. They were prescribed drugs. But I am trying to cover all possibilities. I have come across in my work young people being addicted to drugs or alcohol. That may be related to anxiety and depression"
He quickly shook his head, dismissing this. "No, we would give drug tests to any teenager admitted to the ward. There has been no indication of drugs being used by them"
"Okay" Maggie nodded. "I will rule that out for the time being. We will hopefully find out more when we start to speak to the teenagers in our sessions"
Paul intervened, hoping to stop the incessant questions as he could tell from Neil's weary face that he was becoming more uneasy with each question. "Would you like a quick tour of the ward? We can show you the treatment rooms, where the kids go to relax and introduce you to them?"
"That would be great" Doc grinned.
Maggie flipped closed her notepad and slipped it along with her pen back into her handbag. She rose to her feet and followed Neil and his colleagues out of the office. As they ventured down the quiet corridor Neil showed them quickly the two treatment rooms, both consisting of three beds, medicine cabinets, a defibrillator, water dispenser. They were shown two storerooms that were normally locked. They contained cleaning materials, hospital gowns, boxes of bandages, various medical machines such as EEG, ECG, medical tubes, gas masks. Maggie had asked if there would be times when they would have to work at night. But Neil had insisted that they would for the time being, be working during the day. However, if they wished to work longer hours, they could discuss this with him.
"There are some rules that the patients must adhere to" Paul pointed out. "They were not allowed to leave their rooms or the corridor their bedrooms were in after lights out. If they wanted to, a member of staff must accompany them"
Maggie and Doc nodded.
They turned right into another corridor, and Maggie noticed two doorways to their right, about fifteen feet between each one. They were the bathroom areas designated for the boys and girls.
"Breakfast is between 7.30am and 10am, lunch is between 12-2pm. And dinner at 5pm" Neil pushed opened a set of double doors, allowing them to pass through. "There are a few vending machines that the kids can use. There is a courtyard that when the weather is good the kids can go outside for a brief time each day"
"What about visitors?" Doc asked. "Do their parents or family members visit?"
"Some of them do" Neil slowed to a stop at a closed door to his left, "Visiting times are at 3pm each day. The visiting rooms are just before you enter the main ward. Before our offices. This is one of the games rooms"
He pushed opened the door, Maggie, and Doc peered inside. There were three brown leather sofas, with a few coffee tables. A large TV was across to the left, with a Super Nintendo attached to the TV with two controllers. To the side of the TV were two other games consoles – Sega and Turbografx-16. A collection of board games, books and magazines were stacked on an oak bookshelf in the corner of the room. "There are two games rooms. The other one has books, board games. The TV is broken. The boys usually use this room because of the computer games" Neil smiled at the memory of the other night. He had stumbled upon Spencer and Carlos in a heated game of fighting computer game at 4am in the morning. If it was a way of them avoiding sleep, then he did not mind.
"The teenagers' rooms are down here" Neil walked onwards and through another set of double doors. There were about eight rooms, four on each side. As they approached the first room on the left Maggie could hear the hushed voices of three boys.
Neil entered followed by Maggie and Doc, while Paul and Max waited at the doorway. Maggie took a quick look at the room, immediately noticing a cluster of empty coke cans and energy drinks on a nearby chest of drawers.
"This is Spencer" Neil started nodding at the boy, "Carlos and Shaun" his hand gestured at the other two boys, respectively. "Guys, these are the two new doctors we were telling you about this morning. Dr Maggie Burroughs and Dr Alan Reynolds"
The three boys looked up from their game of poker and smiled, muttering their greetings.
"You can call me Maggie" Maggie smiled.
"You can call me Doc" Alan stated.
"Carlos is new here" Neil admitted. "He was admitted a few nights ago"
The young Hispanic man tucked his right wrist under his arms as he crossed them against his red hoodie, feeling a little uneasy. He knew that they were not self-inflicted, but still felt nervous when people saw his scars. In time they would ask him about his suicide attempt, but what would he say to them? How would any of them reply to these questions?
"Are you settling into the ward, okay?" Maggie politely asked. Her eyes roamed over Carlos fatigued face then glanced briefly at other two boys. Each of them held the same troubled look, dark circles clearly visible under their eyes. A sign of exhaustion. It was the way them four kids were in the diner at lunch time.
"It's been okay" Carlos gave a causal shrug. "Though, I know Spencer and Shaun from school. We have hung out a few times"
"That's good that you know each other" Doc studied the room once more before they quickly said their goodbyes and moved onto the next bedroom.
As they entered Maggie scanned the room, seeing three single beds and two young men sitting on one as they chatted. While on the other bed facing them a young Japanese boy was reading a sports magazine. They looked up as Neil cleared their throat, grabbing their attention. After a quick introduction Maggie again spotted a few empty cans of red bull on one of the beds. She twisted around towards Doc and threw him a look of concern. He followed her gaze as she looked back to the cans and he frowned, then lightly coughed. Giving her a quiet signal to remain quiet and keep her qualms to herself for the time being. It was too soon to jump to conclusions.
Neil saw Maggie staring at the cans on the bed and felt his body turn to stone. He glared at Aaron and Brandon, slightly angry at them. He had given them all strict instructions to hide any energy drinks of caffeinated drinks. But then again it was normal for teenagers to drink a variety of soda and energy drinks. So far, the kids were managing to keep hidden the bottles of stimulants which was what he wanted.
After a quick friendly chat, they were escorted down the hallway once again and stopped a doorway to their right and heard two young girls conversing. Karen sat Indian style on her bed as she excitedly chatted to Rebecca. The other girl was stout, small in height at 5'1 and was staring impassively at the other girl as she droned on. Her brown eyes perked up as she saw the newcomers to the room along with Neil and Paul.
"Karen. Rebecca. This is Dr Alan Reynolds and Dr Maggie Burroughs" Neil stood at the bottom of the bed.
Rebecca sat up and was about to say 'hello' when Karen interrupted, getting in there first.
"Hi, I am Karen! Welcome to Westin Hills!" she thrust her right hand out to shake theirs.
Maggie and Doc gave a little smile, shaking her hand quickly and then turned their attention to Rebecca and nodded, saying hello.
"How was your trip to Springwood?" Karen continued, capturing their attention again.
Maggie allowed Doc to answer this as she slowly walked around the room, her eyes roving over the chest of drawers and down towards a small black bin where she saw a few crushed, cracked cans of diet coke. Taking a mental note of this she walked back towards Doc.
"My parents own a few restaurants in the town. If you want, I can get him to get you a discount" Karen smiled.
Doc exchanged a glance at Neil, and he smiled. Hopefully, they would get used to Karen's enthusiasm and talkative attitude. From the day she was admitted she was all too eager to give her opinion. She always had something to share or say.
"Dr Gordon says that you deal with dream therapy" Karen continued. "I know all about it"
"You do? have you been treated with dream therapy before?" Doc titled his head to the side, curious to know what she knew.
"Oh, no. I just read it in a magazine" She replied.
Maggie shot Doc a bemused smirk. How could she learn anything about dream therapy from a magazine? I
"Well, I will be interested in hearing what you have learned from your reading" Doc said with a pleasant smile.
Maggie turned away and held back a laugh. She knew that Doc was being polite, but inside he was being sarcastic. She regained her composure and wandered to the doorway, before speaking towards the girls. "I will be in contact with you in the next day or so to arrange times for us to speak on a one-to-one basis. I hope that is okay with you?"
"Great! Looking forward to it!" Karen beamed.
Rebecca nodded, "Yes, that sounds good. Thanks"
They left the room and were led down to the last room where Tracy was unpacking her belongings having been moved from Karen's room to where Megan and Nicole slept. She knelt at her chest of drawers and was folding a few t-shirts into the bottom drawer. Her head craned around towards them as Neil shown them into the room.
"Hey everyone" He began. "This is Dr Alan Reynolds and Dr Maggie Burroughs"
Tracy rose to her feet and gave a shy smile. Megan and Nicole looked up from their books and smiled warmly. Nicole pushed a stray stand of black hair from her face. "Hi"
"This is Tracy, Megan and Nicole" Neil pointed to each one, respectively. "Tracy is new here too. She is moving in here from Karen's room"
"Thank god" Tracy muttered.
Maggie smirked at the young girl's statement. "We've just met her"
"Talkative, isn't she?" Megan grinned.
Doc nodded and laughed, "Yes"
"God help you when you start talking to her in the therapy sessions" Nicole remarked, "You won't get a word in!"
Maggie smiled reassuringly. "Do not worry, we've had experiences with over-zealous teenagers. We can handle her!"
"If you want to speak to us you can come to our offices anytime you want" Doc offered.
The girls nodded quietly and after exchanging their goodbyes they left the room.
Afterwards Doc was invited to Neil's office along with Paul, who seemed eager for him to explain a little more about his dream therapy treatment, while Maggie had snuck away to her office and was quickly writing up in more concise notes her deliberations from her observations and notes she had taken.
There was a list of the rooms and the inhabitants of each room.
Room 1 – Spencer, Carlos, Shaun.
Room 2 – Aaron, Lee, Brandon
Room 3 – Karen, Rebecca.
Room 4 – Tracy, Megan, Nicole
Next was her brief descriptions of what she had discovered so far:
Two new patients were admitted over the weekend – Tracy and Carlos. All the patients are tired, agitated. Evidence of various empty cans of caffeinated rinks – coke, diet coke, red bull, jolt cola, Pepsi. There have been cases I have dealt with throughout the years where patients on various anti-depressants or other medication can have side effects such as fatigue. I would need to check the patients list of medications that they are prescribed to support this supposition. This would be the only plausible explanation for the consumption of so many caffeine drinks/energy drinks.
She stretched her arms and rose to her feet and wandered to the small kettle and two mugs on the cabinet to her left. She inspected the teaspoons and sachets of sugar, groaning aloud. There was no coffee. Leaving her office, she hurried down towards Doc's room and lightly rapped it, and pushed the door opened. "Excuse me, sorry. Is there any possibility that I can get a jar of coffee from the canteen?"
Paul stood and smiled. "Of course, I will bring you down. I'll get you those files you were looking for too"
"Great, thanks" she beamed and stepped up beside him as he led her down the corridor and towards the canteen.
"So, how is your office? Is it okay for you?"
"Yes, it is fine. Bigger than my last office in the Shelter"
They turned left into an intersecting corridor. "Did you like working in your last job?"
"Yeah, I was devastated when they closed it down. There were so many kids that were dependent on the Shelter. They had nowhere to go to. They had to go back to their families which to be honest was not the best place for them" Maggie sighed.
"Dr Reynolds mentioned to us that that there are not enough Youth Shelters in the city where you live?"
"No, it is all because of budget cuts. Also, the families do not have the financial means to pay for the fees to send their kids to the new clinics and centers in the city center. It is all about how much money you have now. They seem to screw over the working-class families and those on welfare" Maggie replied, a hint of bitterness tainted her voice.
They walked the rest of the way to the canteen in silence, passing by a few rooms – staff room, nurses' station, and a few old vacant offices. She followed him through a large double doorway into a large, darkened canteen. He motioned her to wait and ventured behind the serving counter and then reappeared with a jar of Nescafe. Maggie thanked him and they continued their way back to the offices.
Paul began to make small talk. "So, have you any brothers, sisters?"
"No. I'm an only child" she replied. Well, from what she knew.
His eyes averted towards her left hand, and she followed his gaze and with a husky laugh she commented, "Yes, I'm single"
"Oh" he blushed. "I didn't mean- "
"It's okay" she smirked. "I am used to it. I just do not have the time for settling down. I would rather focus on my job to be honest"
"Fair enough"
He turned right down a corridor where she was not shown to yet. At the far end of the corridor on the right she could see a sign above a door – Patient Records. Staff only.
Paul stepped to the side and allowed her to enter the room. Her brown eyes scrutinized the room. It was quite large with three large metal shelves to her right that had various brown boxes. Facing them at the back of the room was a long row of eight grey cabinets. There were four drawers in each cabinet. Another smaller row of cabinets was to her left, with three cabinets again with four drawers in each. There was a small circular table and two chairs tucked into the right beside the shelves. She followed Paul as he strode over to the far right of the room where the first row of cabinets against the far wall was. He took out a small silver key from his shirt pocket and slid It into the lock, twisting it to the left and there was a small 'click' as the drawer became unlocked. "The patient files are in here"
Maggie peered inside as the drawer was pulled opened. There were about forty files, but they seemed thin. Not much paperwork was in each file. "How far do these file cases go back to?"
"Late December" he replied.
"Has there been patients discharged from the hospital? Is there any way to access those files?"
"There have been some kids who have left yes" he lied. "Those files are kept in another filing room"
She gave a quick nod.
He discreetly loosened his tie. Hoping she would not question about the other cabinets and drawers. They all contained the files of the patients from October 1989 to date. It was on the 10th of October when the first cases of failed suicide attempts began to be admitted to the hospital. Since then, the number cases grew. Paul was given strict instructions along with the rest of the staff to make sure that these cabinets were always locked. The only files that the new doctors would have access to would be the current patients in the ward. "Are you sure you don't want to start with a few files?"
"No" Maggie disagreed, "I'd like to get all the files of the patients here"
He nodded and quietly flicked through the files and slipped out the eleven case files that she required and handed them over. She smiled in appreciation, and they left the records room, with Maggie eager to make a start on her work.
X x x
Maggie sipped her lukewarm coffee as she finished writing up her notes, she had taken from her and Doc's brief meeting with Dr Gordon when they first arrived. She stifled a yawn as she glanced at the small clock on the wall to her right. The time reading – 4.10pm. Thick black clouds rolled by in the afternoon sky outside. Her eyes fell back down to her notepad and towards the names and ages of the kids on the ward she had written down from their files.
Megan Armstrong – 16, Lee Chang -15, Karen Foster -17, Spencer Lewis -15, Rebecca McCarthy – 15, Nicole Nugent -15, Brandon Rogers -16, Carlos Rodriguez – 15, Tracy Swann – 16, Aaron Nelson -15, Shaun Williamson -16
Maggie felt despondent as she read their ages. They were so young. She took another gulp of her coffee and then grabbed the closest file to her and flipped it opened to the first page. She then grabbed her notepad and turned over to the next empty page and grabbed a pen. Her eyes went back to the file as she carefully read the page. A single polaroid photo of the boy stared up at her, attached to the page by a silver paperclip. It was taken of him the first day he was admitted to the ward. He looked like fucking hell. Dark circles under his eyes, scratches around his forehead and cheeks. She read his basic details and noted some details down on her notepad.
Name – Lee Chang, Date of birth: 8th August 1978. Height 5'7, Weight: 70kg. Address: 88 Oak Drive, School: Springwood High School. Family: Parents, one sister Wendy who passed away in 1992 aged 16 years old.
Maggie tutted quietly in dismay at this piece of information. His sister's death was part of his depression. She would have to touch upon this when she spoke to him. Her mouth parted slowly as she held back another yawn. God, she was so tired. Though it should not surprise her since she had barely any sleep over the last few days. A little nap would help her. Doc would come and wake her up before they left for the motel. She closed her notepad and pushed it to the side along with the file, then crossed her arms over the desk and laid her head down. Allowing her eyes to shut…
The light bulb high above her desk began to glimmer, flickering as the brightness began to soften until the room grew darker. Three shadows began to slither and glide from the corner of the room, merging into the three dream demons with their scaly, blistered grotesque skin and long, thin, bony limbs. They hoovered in the air above the desk meters from Maggie's sleeping form. The demon in the middle with the thickest body and their long thick head swooped down to linger inches form her head. A lecherous grin crossed their disfigured face as they reached down with a clawed hand to touch her hair, connecting fully with her mind. Their eyes closed briefly as they raided her mind, her memories. Going back to her teenaged years, her childhood. Though to his puzzlement and disappointment he could not reach them all particularly the ones when she was a child. They were vague, distorted, and fragmented. Some of them were lost, pushed so far back into her mind that he could not reach them. The only recollections he could discern was the times she had been moved from orphanage to orphanage, care home to care home as a young child in various towns. It was not until she was twelve years old that she was finally adopted by a couple named Diane and Martin Burroughs in Central City. This was a few weeks after her 12th birthday in March 1974. But for those memories of her being taken away from Krueger, the events that conspired after that night were lost. Buried deep in her subconscious. Though what had fascinated him was the drawing she had drawn. A man with sandy blond hair, blue eyes and dressed in a brown trench coat. He knew who it was, it was Freddy. But as for her, she had no idea who she was drawing and had thought it was nothing important.
He showed his sharp rotten teeth in a vicious smile. "It is her"
His two counterparts murmured, then one asked. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. She shares his blood. Has the same aura as him. Though she has no indication who she really is. Her memories have been repressed. She does not know she comes from Springwood" He replied.
"How did this occur?"
"Trauma related memory loss. It was caused by what happened to her as a child. She has deep hatred inside of her"
The smallest of the demons hovered closer to her. "Hatred for whom?"
"Her real parents. She believes that they abandoned her and that they never loved her" the lead demon withdrew his bony hand from her hair.
The two other demons threw each other concerned looks. "Shall we tell Krueger that she has returned to Springwood?"
"No" the head demon shook their grotesque head "We shall conceal her identity from her for now. I want to observe how they interact with each other"
"Do you not realize that when Freddy finds out it is her and that we've been hiding her identity from him he will be furious?"
He lingered closer to her again and lightly touched her forehead with a bony finger. "I understand. But I wish to discern if Freddy recognizes any of her mannerisms, her facial features. I am particularly interested in how she will react to him. Maybe meeting him may spark her memory, help her recover some of her memories as a child"
"How long shall we keep this from Krueger?"
"For as long as we can. Though, we do not want a repeat of what he did to Dr Stewart. We do not want him to kill her" he closed his eyes, and an amused smirk crossed his face. "She has some dream abilities. She may be a lucid dreamer"
They shared an excited smile and in a flash of white light they vanished…
Maggie began to stir. She blinked slowly and lifted her groggy head from her arms. There was a small crack as she rolled her shoulders and straightened up in her seat. As she adjusted her sight to the room, she noticed that the lightbulb had flicked off leaving the room in darkness. She rose to her feet and dazedly left her office and wandered down towards Doc's office. She lightly rapped the door and entered, a frown immediately crossing her face. It was empty.
She spun back to the corridor and looked to her left, then right. There was not a soul about. Maggie sighed and ventured down towards the other offices. But to her dismay they were also empty. She shook her head in confusion and shouted out, "Hello? Is there anyone here?"
A heavy prolonged silence greeted her until she heard the light patter of feet from behind her. She twirled around to see a young blond-haired girl in a white nightdress rush into an adjacent corridor. Her eyes widened, was that Tracy? She thought back to the rules of the ward. They patients were not allowed to wander the ward on their own, as there was a substantial risk, they could harm themselves. Her instincts kicked in and she broke out into a little trot after the girl. She turned left and pushed through a large set of doors. "Wait!"
Her heels clicked loudly on the tiled floor as she dashed down the darkened hallway towards a doorway to the right. The door swung closed as she approached it. Her patience began to wane as she pushed the door opened and she staggered down a set of concrete steps. "Hello? Tracy?"
A deep metal rumbling echoed from below, along with banging and steady hum of machines whirring. Just where was this staircase leading her to? She should go back and get Dr Gordon or Dr Coleman. She was not familiar with the hospital. But then by the time she went back and got help, God knows what would happen to the girl? Maggie continued and heard the various metal rumblings and the whirring of machines becoming louder. She then heard hissing, and then felt it. Immense heat. Her mouth parted in awe as she came to the bottom of the stairs. She now stood at the start of a long metal corridor. The sound was relentless, thunderous, and piercing. Steam hissed from long thick pipes above her head that stretched along the length of the corridor. There were metal catwalks above, spiraling metal staircases in the distance from what she could make out. She sighed; she should have known something was off. It had been so long since she had sensed she was dreaming. But why would she be dreaming of this place? Was it part of a power plant? A factory? Her white shirt began to become saturated in sweat as the heat poured over her, smothering her.
She took a calming deep breath and cautiously made her way down the corridor. Her eyes darted to the right then left, inspecting various pressure valves, rusted boilers, worn down furnaces and numerous other passageways leading to other parts of the plant. Again, the question entered her mind, what was the purpose of her dreaming of this place? Through her brief discussions with Doc about dreams, he had always told her that dreams would have significance to each person. Something linked to their own life. But why the fuck would she be dreaming of an abandoned power plant? Though she also knew that dreams could also have no meaning. They were sometimes just random images, places, faces. Completely random and had no relation to anyone's life.
Maggie scowled quietly as she came to an intersection and pondered what direction to go to…
The four blades of Freddy's glove drove into the chest of a young boy. The little shit had managed to evade him over the last three nights by staying awake. But Kevin's soul was his now. You could only manage to evade Freddy for so long before the inevitable would happen. Your death. Freddy gripped the dark hair boy's face and yanked his face towards his and then with a wicked grin he withdrew his blades. In a flash he slashed his crimson blades across the boy's jugular drawing four deep lacerations against the skin. As the young boy gurgled and took his last breath Freddy stepped away letting the body land with a thud onto the catwalk. A simmering white glow emanated from the corpse and floated into Freddy's chest. Another soul for his ever-growing collection.
Freddy chuckled and turned to walk down the catwalk when a prickling sensation swarmed over his body and he froze, a little smirk playing at his scarred lips. He had sensed a new presence in his world. His smirk turned into a lecherous grin. It was a woman. He knew that one day the new recruits that Dr Gordon enlisted would be coming to the town. But he did not expect them to find out about him so soon. But so much the better.
Maggie walked jadedly down another dimly lit corridor; her flushed face drenched in sweat. Trickles of perspiration dribbled down her neck and cheeks. Despite walking at a slow pace, she felt exhausted. The heat was unbearable. It was though the temperature was increasing. She had never felt heat like this. It was unrelenting. She paused at an opened raging furnace and shrugged off her black jacket. After tying it around her waist she rolled up her sleeves of her shirt. It gave her a little reprieve from the heat. All she was to wake up. If only she could remember what Doc had mentioned to her about waking herself up?
She sighed and walked onwards, passing by a few dormant furnaces and broken boilers. The light from the fiery furnace behind began to fade and soon the only light was a dim lightbulb above her head on the high ceiling. Her eyes scanned the area ahead, seeing a movement. A shadow slither across into another corridor to the right about fifteen feet ahead. She quicky stopped and her head titled to the right, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. Was there someone there?
Freddy hid around the metal frame of the other corridor. His pensive eyes peered from his hiding position, starting directly at this new woman. The faint light that shone upon her revealed that she was in her late twenties, early thirties. If she did not have her high-heeled shoes he guess she would be about 5'3 in height. Although he could not make out her facial features, only that her hair was tied back in a messy bun, and she was impeccably dressed in a business suit. He had watched her for the last few minutes as she made her way towards his corridor and had distinguished that she was taking the sensible and cautious approach to her new surroundings. Something that was different from the other bitches he had encountered over the years. She was studying the corridors, the furnaces, the boilers as she passed them. Like she was actively searching for a way out of the situation she was in. She was not panicking. He didn't like that one fucking bit. He growled lowly and lifted his bladed glove. There was one way he could instill a little bit of fright in her. The tip of his index blade connected to the metal wall to his left and he trailed it down…
Maggie flinched at the sound of screeching, metal upon metal. Her eyes narrowed again as she glared at the direction where the noise came from. Directly ahead. Her arms fell to her sides, and she slowly curled her hands into fists. A flicker of annoyance flashed across her face. Who the hell was making that noise?
Freddy twisted his head around the rim of the wall, starting intently at her. A frown stretched across his face. Usually, the sound of his blades upon metal would cause his prey some sense of fear or anxiety. But this woman was not afraid or apprehension. The emotion he sensed from her was of annoyance. Fury. She was pissed off. He had never come across this before. His eyes widened in astonishment as she stood up straight and held her head high. Freddy swore he heard her snarl as she broke out into a strong powerful stride, marching straight to where he was.
Maggie grumbled and tightened her fists as she briskly walked down the corridor. Whoever was making that screeching sound was getting a piece of her mind. She sneered and turned the corner. "Come fucking out- "
Her sneered disappeared, being replaced by a look of surprise. The other passageway was empty. She sighed then jumped sharply as another screeching sound resounded from behind her, then in front. Her body swung around, and she faced nothing again. She felt her blood pulsing faster in her veins, as her heart thumped a little more loudly in her chest. She chewed her lips momentarily and mentally counted to ten.
"Keep calm" she whispered quietly. "Remember, your mind. Your dream. You are in control"
It was something that Doc had mentioned to her when he was using dream therapy on his old patients. Those words had always stuck with her. She exhaled long and hard, feeling more serene and then she felt it. A presence. Near to her position. She did a slow spin, staring down each corridor and then walked down to her left. Like before she examined every passageway she passed, every narrow gap between the furnaces and broken boilers. With each step she could still perceive someone was watching her. Their presence felt cold, hostile. It had to be the asshole who was making that screeching sound.
The screeching noise began again, becoming more potent and louder as she turned down to the next corridor. It was coming from every part of this place. Maggie tried to remain calm and saw a small set of steps leading down to the next level and she quickly descended them. As she reached the bottom step the tip of her right stiletto heel jammed into the metal grating, and she was halted in her stride. "Damn it!"
She bent to grab her shoe and yanked it hard, pulling the heel out of the hole and with a thud she fell forward onto her knees.
There was a deep, gritty, humorous chuckle from the darkness behind her and she gasped. She scrambled to her feet and revolved around to face the corridor where she came from. That was when she saw it, a shadow. It shifted forward, ever so slowly. Growing larger and began to form into a figure, a man's lean frame. The top of their body was submerged in the darkness, but she could distinguish the arms at his side. It was hard to make them out. She took a few prudent steps backwards into a dim light that shone down on her body.
Freddy gave a malicious smile as he finally saw her face, her defined sharp cheek bones. Rounded jaw, with their brown hair in that messy hairstyle with a few tresses hanging at either side of her face. Though to his dissatisfaction he could not see her eyes. But he would soon and when he was through with her, they would be full of fear. He had to admit she was very attractive and had some alluring appearance to her. He cocked his head to the side as he watched her. She had huffily crossed her arms against her chest and was brashly glaring directly at him. This bitch was very gallant or well at least she was putting on the pretense that she was brave.
Freddy chuckled softly and stretched his right arm outwards and lightly scraped each blade against the pipes on the wall. Several screeching sounds emitted from his actions, and he slowly broke into a triumphant smile as he predatorily began to walk down the corridor. There was a little apprehension coming from her. At last, he was drawing out her uneasiness. But he wanted more. Much more. He watched as she glanced behind her to the corridor and spun away, into a light jog. Freddy smirked in delight. This was what he wanted, a little chase.
Maggie felt stupid. How could she let herself become agitated and uneasy by a stupid dream like this? By some fucker running about dark corridors scraping a knife against a metal wall? It was ridiculous. She turned into the next corridor, then at the end of the passageway she turned left and rushed forward until after thirty feet she came to a dead end. "Shit!"
Her eyes darted about the area, looking for any sign of a ladder or even a gap to slide through. There was a sudden whoosh of flames from her left and she twisted towards a large metal furnace. A bright raging fire was burning inside, and she could see the outline of a body within. There was a loud metal clang as the door to the furnace sprung opened and the corpse toppled out, landing a few feet from her. She took a hesitant step forward and stared wide-eyed at the cadaver. Their blond hair was burnt away from their scalp, smoke lingering in the air. There were two bloodied holes where the eyes would have been. Her nightdress was torn apart down her chest to reveal four long deep gashes from her collarbone, cutting into her breasts and over her areolas down to her naval. The skin was mangled, ripped apart to show her innards. Maggots and worms wriggled within the long slashes. Several thick centipedes slithered out of the holes where her eyes would have been. Maggie shuddered and took another step closer to the body and continued to study the wounds, every line of blood, every cut, each rutted muscle tissue and tendon that was severed.
Freddy stood at the end of the corridor, patiently waiting for the woman to scream in horror. To turn and run. But when she took another step to the corpse and began to examine it, it had caught him off guard. Why was she not terrified? All the rest of the fuckers would be screaming by now. But no, this woman was different. This was intriguing. She was intriguing. He saw her tilt her head to the side and curiosity flashed across her face. Her bottom lip was sucked inwards under her top lip. Freddy frowned. Why did that remind him of something? He shook his head. Fuck this. This woman was very strange. A stark difference from the other whores he had butchered. She was more stimulating than the last female Doctor Stewart. And more pleasing on the years too. It would be exciting to break her down. He smiled. It was time to show a little more of himself to her. With a discreet flick of his blades another furnace erupted into life with an intense blaze fired up within the metal walls.
She swung around to the right to stare at the numerous crushed and burnt bodies of children within the furnace. A silhouette began to from across the frame of the furnace. On top was the shadow of a hat, in the shape of a fedora. Maggie's eyes roamed along the silhouette of the body towards one of the arms that was stretched high above their head. The tips of their hand reached upwards. Her eyes broadened in astonishment as she realized that there were four long knives on their hand, attached to their fingers. She gasped and spun around…
"Maggie!"
Her eyes flew opened as Doc's hands gently shook her shoulders, waking her from her dream. She grumbled and sat up. "Uh…what?"
"It's time to go" he stood at her side.
"Sorry, I had fallen asleep" she mumbled.
"It is okay. You are exhausted" he smiled.
Maggie gave a little nod as she tried to shake the image of her dream from her mind. She hurriedly gathered her notes and took a quick glimpse at the clock. The time read – 5.30pm. "I'm going to get a quick coffee then we can head back to the motel"
"Dr Gordon has invited us to dinner at a local restaurant"
"What?" Maggie shoved the files and notepads into her briefcase. "Why?"
"He wants to have another chat with us. In a quieter and relaxed setting"
"Can we not do it another night?" Maggie protested. "I want to start on reading these files"
"Maggie we are going tonight. Remember we are not just here to work. This is a good opportunity for you to meet new people. It will be only for an hour or two. We will be back at the motel before 9pm. You have all day tomorrow to read the files" he replied.
She sighed and half-heartedly agreed, following him out of the room.
X x x
True to his word, they both arrived back at their motel shortly before 8.30pm. The dinner at the Italian restaurant was nice, Maggie had to admit, and it did help her unwind. She had forgotten all about her little dream from earlier. When they drove back to the motel, they had stopped a small grocery store that Neil had recommended to them for provisions. They had stocked up on coffee, milk, cereal, and bread.
Maggie now sat hunched over the desk in her motel room, her eyes eagerly reading Tracy's file. There was not much detail which didn't surprise her seeing as she was new to the ward. But what was there was limited.
Name – Tracy Swann
Date of birth – 4th January 1978.
Address: 45 Hazelwood Grove, Springwood.
Date of admittance – 5th February 3.55am.
Suicide attempt – lacerations on her right wrist. Found in the bathroom by her aunt Janet Swann.
The rest of the notes on her file was a brief description of her family life. How she lived with her aunt Miss Janet Swann after the death of her father last year due to alcohol abuse. Her mother had passed away when she was thirteen due to cancer. She had lived with her father at an apartment complex on Riverside view on the north of the town. She had no other relatives, no brothers, or sisters. As Maggie read on, she saw that some of the sentences were blanked out, covered by thin black marker. She frowned and turned the page seeing the next few paragraphs were blanked out. Her eyebrows crinkled in confusion. What the hell? She continued to read and saw a few sentences regarding medications.
Valium – prescribed since August 1993, 2 x 5mg per day. Though she has not taken prescribed medication within the last two months.
Armodafinil – administered 2 x 200mg tablets when admitted to the ward.
5th Feb – 2pm – administered 1 x 200mg tablet Armodafinil
5th Feb 11pm – 2 x 200mg Armodafinil
6th Feb – 10am – 2 x 200mg Armodafinil, then 2 x 200mg Armodafinil at 9pm.
Maggie slumped back in her seat and tapped her blue pen against her knee. "Armodafinil" she murmured softly. "Why would they give her a stimulant and why so much in such short space of time?"
She sighed and grabbed her notebook and flipped opened to the next page after the list of patients and noted down her discovery. Tracy Swann administered stimulant upon entering ward. Why?
She closed the file and her notepad, managing to stifle a yawn. That would be enough reading for this evening. As Doc rightly noted she had all day tomorrow to check out the files. She placed the files into neat piles on the corner of the desk and quickly changed into her nightwear – grey jogging bottoms and white tank top. She untied her hair and discarded the hair bobble onto the drawers beside her double bed. After checking her clock alarm was set for 7.30am she turned off the lights and climbed into bed, and willingly allowed sleep to overpower her.
Xxxx
Maggie's head jolted up from her pillow at the sudden, sharp sound coming from the window. She twisted around on the bed and shoved the covers from her body. Again, the sound rattled against the window. A tapping sound.
Tap, tap, tap…
She muttered to herself and huffily stomped over to the window and drew the curtains, peering out into the misty rainy carpark outside. A fierce wind blew several pieces of litter across the road. She took a step back and allowed the curtains to fall back in place when another rapid tap came from the door to her room. Her lips curled into a sneer of rage, and she marched towards the door, sliding across the lock, and flung opened the door.
A blast of heat washed over her as she stepped through the doorway, and she cursed. "Fuck. Not again"
She was back in the same power plant from her dream earlier that evening. The same thunderous rumblings of metal furnaces, boilers, generators echoed around her. Her eyes scanned the long catwalk that she now stood on. At the end of the gangway, she saw the outline of a spiraling staircase that led to the floors below. She slowly made her way towards it and then descended the steps to below. As her hands touched the metal railing, she never realized how surreal it felt. The way the sweat dribbled down her brow, across her skin, how the sound of the machines and furnaces resonated in her ears. It all felt too realistic. It was first day nerves that was causing her mind to overthink things. All she had to was to clear her mind, be calm and composed.
Maggie took a long deep breath as she stepped off the last step and began to focus, suddenly tensing as she sensed something. Again, someone was watching her. She scowled in ire, was it the same guy from her previous dream?
Freddy stared with fascination at her from his hiding position at the far end of the corridor she had just entered. Just like he had observed from earlier that evening, she stood at about 5'3 tall. The light that shone down from ceiling above revealed that her hair reached just down past her shoulder blades in thick waves. What surprised him that he could sense her detecting his own presence in the dream. This was something that no-one else had been able to do in their dream. This woman was very perceptive, very alert to her surroundings in the dream. Did she have any other dream skills?
He flicked his blades eagerly and slowly began to stalk her as she walked down towards her left. It was about time he showed her one of his past victims and conjure up a little more fear from her.
Maggie strode down the various corridors until she turned into the next passageway and stumbled upon a little girl with blond curls in in white ribbons. They looked to be about seven years old dressed in a white frilly summer dress. The little girl's eyes were haunted, her neck was marred in blue and black bruises. A sign of strangulation. She looked up at Maggie with cold, dead eyes.
She stared blankly at the girl and gave an aggravated sigh. Now what?
The little girl took a small step forward as he eloquently began to sing.
"One, two Freddy's coming for you…"
Maggie's head titled sharply in perplexity. Freddy? Was that not the name that one of them girls had mentioned that afternoon?
"Three four, better lock your door. Five six grab your crucifix, seven eight gonna stay up late. Nine ten never sleep again…" the little girl finished reciting the jump rope song, then started again as she took deliberate slow steps towards her.
Maggie took a step back and then grumpily crossed her arms. "Listen, I know you are not real, okay? All of this is a dream!"
The little apparition stopped in her tracks and stared at her.
"You don't scare me with that stupid little rhyme!" Maggie scoffed.
Freddy glared in rage at the woman, bewildered at how she as so dismissive of the little specter he had shown to her. Why was she not disconcerted or on edge? He had to show himself to her now. She was bound to show some uncertainty if she finally saw him.
Maggie jumped as a shrill screeching sound that erupted from behind her. She twisted around, then looked back briefly where the girl was only to find out she had disappeared. The metallic screeching grew louder, growing into a crescendo of piercing noise and with a scowl she threw her hands over her ears. It was irritating the fuck out of her. Who was making that noise?
After a few more seconds the sound began to dissipate until she it faded away. Then she heard footsteps approaching to her left from down a narrow corridor she must have missed. It was about ten feet from her position. She took a slow step back then heard it. A voice, a dark, threatening chuckle coming from the corridor. Whoever it was their voice was gravelly and deep.
"Hello little lady" Freddy eyed her from the darkness.
Maggie let her hands fall to her sides and took a prudent step forward. Her body instantly tensed, and she went into defense mode as she shouted. "Who is there?"
Freddy chortled again, his voice low and menacing. He savored the tone of her voice. It was soft and husky. Very alluring. He could not wait to hear what her screams would sound like.
She snarled and took another step forward, "Fucking show yourself!"
"Oh, you're a feisty one!" Freddy remarked with another chuckle.
Maggie titled her head to the side and raised her hands. Her fingers waved back and forth, gesturing for him to appear. "Why don't you show yourself and I'll show you how feisty I can be!"
The burnt lips on Freddy's face curled upwards into a vicious smile. He was surprised at her response. A maniacal laugh came form him as he replied. "Oh, aren't you a little firecracker! I like you! You are going to be fun!"
She growled quietly and was about to rebuke when she finally saw him as he revealed himself from the corridor. He was about 5'10, with a lean frame. His left hand dangled at his side, and she squinted as she studied his flesh. It looked scarred, burnt. Her eyes slowly travelled along the grungy jumper that adorned his body. There were red and green stripes. She was startled, red and green? Why were they familiar to her?
She shook the thought away and allowed her gaze to continue upwards to his neck and face that was shielded beneath the rim of his brown fedora hat. Her mind again became distorted, confused. She had to remind herself that sometimes dreams were only that, dreams. They meant nothing. No significance to anyone's life. Her eyes were soon directed towards his right arm that he leisurely withdrew from behind his back. There was a glove attached to his right hand. It looked like an old gardening glove. It was brown leather, attached on the back was a bronze metal plate, positioned on it by several screws. Connected to the top of the fingers of the glove were four knives, at least five or six inches long. The tips of each blade looked sharp, and she swore the metal was stained with dried blood.
Freddy grinned maliciously at her as he studied her whole body. She was indeed extremely attractive. Her eyes were a deep brown and her wavey brown hair reached down just below her shoulder blades. He noticed her eyes going wide in amazement at the sight of him. He frowned momentarily, those eyes. What did that remind him of? He held back a low scowl and pushed the distracting thought away. A vile grin soon spread across his face, and he showed her his rotten, blackened teeth as he took a predatory step closer to her.
Maggie took a quick step backwards as a flicker of alarm flashed across her face. As much as he liked that look, he wanted more. He wanted to smell her fear, see it on her exquisite face. This would not do at all.
He deliberately clicked his blades and raised them in a threatening manner and flashed her a ravenous smile and began to approach her. Maggie moved her right leg backwards and took up her boxing stance. Her hands quickly raised upwards into two tight fists, and she eyed him over the back of her knuckles. She wiggled the fingers on her right hand expectantly and prepared herself for the attack.
Freddy glared in shock at her fingers in. It was the exact same gesticulation he would use when ready to kill his victims. How he would twitch and wriggle the blades on his glove. What the fuck was going on with this bitch?
Maggie took a half step backwards as he continued to close the gap between them. Then at last she saw his whole face as he titled his head back. His whole face was horribly scarred, burnt. The charred flesh on his face were rutted, red and brown in color. She glanced briefly at his eyes, which were an icy blue. Where had she seen those eyes before? She swallowed hard, her fear and confusion starting to manifest on her face. "Calm yourself girl…" she whispered to herself. Again, she jiggled her fingers and her eyebrows narrowed as she began to focus.
Freddy closed the gap and titled his right hand back ready to strike…
Maggie opened her clenched left fist and thrust her palm outwards just at the moment he was about to attack. "Stop!"
Freddy grunted as his arm froze in its place. It was like a heavy weight was pressed against his limb. But not his arm, but his whole body. He felt like stone. His eyes flickered towards her and at her left arm that was positioned forward, her palm thrust ahead of her. She was forcing him to remain still. He snarled, "What?"
She let her lips curl into a victorious grin. "My mind, my dream, asshole!" she chuckled and with a slight thrust of her palm an invisible force propelled him backwards a few feet. He cursed as he stumbled backwards onto his back.
Maggie took his opportunity and turned on her heel, running down the corridor behind her.
"Fucking bitch!" Freddy roared. He sprang to his feet and ran after her.
Maggie panted heavily as she sprinted down the passageway. Up ahead she saw a doorway and turned into it. It was a long passageway that ended about twenty feet ahead of her. She saw a large thick door and grasped the edge, grunting and groaning as she pulled it shut. There was a loud clang as she slammed it shut and pulled down the lever, sealing her inside. She would be safe in here. Her bare feet shuffled backwards and then she felt it. Hard, rounded bones underneath her feet. She looked down and gasped. Scattered along the ground were cracked and crushed skeletal remains. They were of children, judging by the development of their bones. Maggie stumbled backwards and fell, landing hard on her back. Her hands were soon coated with liquid. She looked down and saw other cadavers of children and teenagers Some with their bodies slashed and gutted, blood and bodily fluids smeared their mangled flesh. Other bodies were burnt beyond recognition. She gawked in horror, becoming slightly afraid. Oh, she knew that in her delusions when she was younger, she would witness dead bodies, of children and adults. Images of death and decay. But it was nothing like this. It was carnage. Like a graveyard of dead children. Vast endless corpses as far as she could see. They were just squashed and piled into this corridor. Some of them were young toddlers, little babies.
"Oh my god" she breathed. Her hands pushed herself to her knees as she tried to scramble forward towards the door. She began to gasp as she grasped the lever and attempted to push it upwards to unlock the door. But it was jammed. She knew why she could not move it. She was in a panic, alarmed by what she was seeing. She was losing her composure. "Shit!"
A bony hand suddenly clamed around her ankle and she swung her head towards it. The disfigured face of a boy stared at her, aged no more than 10 years old. Their skin was peeled away from their face, along with the muscle and tendons beneath, revealing his cracked skull. She snarled and kicked out with her other foot, but he grasped it and yanked her towards him. Then she felt other bony, mutilated hands began to grapple and grasp at her body. And this pushed her over the edge, her anxiety peaking as she let out a shriek.
Her arms and fists lashed out as she wildly kicked and pushed at the corpses that crawled over her writhing body. She screamed and cursed until a familiar face thrust itself in front of her face. It was the little girl from earlier. Her face was now marred with four long thick slash marks. Her tiny hands grasped Maggie's wide-eyed face as she gave a twisted smile. "One, two he's coming for you!"
Her little mouth parted opened and soon a swarm of centipedes, beetles, red snakes, worms, spiders escaped her mouth onto Maggie's face and body. Crawling and slithering over her hair, skin, clothing as she screamed…
Maggie thrashed and let out a yell as she jumped up on her double bed. Her blankets were entangled around her legs, while her whole body was drenched in sweat. She looked around the darkened motel room and then switched on the side lamp. A little silly chuckle came from her as she gathered her breath, "What a dream!"
She shoved off her covers and entered the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
From under the bed covers a cluster of centipedes and thick black spiders crawled out, slithering off the bed and underneath…
xxx
Author's Note:
I thought I would never get his completed. It is rather long. The next chapter will be another long chapter too.
Just a random thought - I have always wondered when watching Freddy's Dead - how did Freddy know that Katherine/Maggie was living close to Springwood in Central City? Did he have some sort of connection to her mind, sensing her presence close to the town? I mean, she could have lived anywhere. Even in another state, or country. Just always wondered.
Please review and let me know what you think about Freddy and Maggie/Katherine interacting.
And I didin't know what to call this chapter. I may change the name if i think of something else.
