Chapter 11: A Curious Mind

"Maggie, are you ready?"

Maggie zipped closed her briefcase that contained the remaining case files of the kids on the ward and her notebook of notes. She had photocopied her notes and given a copy to Doc, who was eager to go through the kids' backgrounds and brief descriptions of their dreams. She slid on her jacket and nodded. "Yeah, do we need anything for the motel? Some food?"

"Yeah, we can stop at a grocery store" He politely held the door to her office opened and she smiled appreciatively as she stepped through the doorway.

Their strides were brisk and strong as they wandered down the corridor towards the elevators where Max was waiting. He saw them approaching. "You heading back to your motel?"

Doc nodded. "We'll be back this evening around 6pm"

Maggie adjusted the strap of the briefcase on her right shoulder and clutched her handbag tightly in her other hand. Out of the corner of her eye down to their left she noticed Spencer standing in the doorway of a room chatting quietly to an orderly. It was a tall, Hispanic man in his mid to late thirties from what she could tell. His dark black hair was slicked back, and his face was titled forward towards Spencer. The young teenager glanced wearily up and down the corridor as he responded to whatever the orderly had said. Maggie cleared her throat and gently nudged Max on his arm. "Who is that talking to Spencer?"

Max's dark brown eyes narrowed in disdain. "Oh, that is Lorenzo" His voice had an icy tone to it. How many times had he warned Lorenzo to stay away from Spencer? Too many times. There were rumours that his colleague had on occasion distributed some recreational 'drugs' to the odd patient throughout the last several months. But there was no evidence on him whenever he was questioned or searched. So, nothing was done to reprimand him. "He works here part-time"

A shrill bell pinged above them and the metal doors of the lift slid opened. Before entering Maggie took one last glance at Lorenzo and for a moment, she swore that the orderly had passed something to Spencer who briskly slid it into his back jean pocket. It looked like a small brown envelope.

….

The clatter and clink of knives and forks resounded in the kitchen of Maggie's motel as she finished her lunch with Doc sitting facing her. He tentatively sipped his coffee. "Thanks for the lunch. It was lovely"

"No problem" she rose to her feet and carried their empty plates to the counter. "Doc, can I ask you about my medication? Do you think I should up my dosages of Clozapine?"

"Why?" He turned in his seat to face her, eyes widening in surprise at her question.

"I'm just worried about what happened earlier this morning. About seeing that guy when I was awake" Maggie replied. He narrowed his eyes as he discerned a hint of concern that tainted her voice which wavered slightly.

"Maggie…" Doc climbed to his feet and took a step towards her. "It was a daydream that you had. It wasn't anything to do with your psychosis. You just lost concentration and began to daydream"

She hesitantly shifted from one foot to another. Not reassured by his words. He sighed and gently placed his right hand on her shoulder. She flinched slightly under his touch and took a deep breath as he continued. "Maggie, your clozapine is working. We both know that. Just stay alert during the day. Take plenty of coffee. Do you have the tablets that Dr Gordon gave you?"

"Yes" she raised her right hand and pointed at the bottle of tablets tucked beside her jar of Nescafe coffee. "I'll take some after I have my shower"

"Maggie, are you okay?"

"Not really" Maggie's shoulders shrugged casually, "I'm just a bit on edge. I hate feeling like this"

"We'll find out why this guy is interested in you. And we'll find a way to stop him" He gesticulated with a wave of his hand for her to follow. She heaved a sigh of exhaustion and trailed behind him as he grabbed his belongings and ventured into his own motel room. Her eyes fell on the desk to her right and the stack of various brown and black leather books. The titles ranged from Greek Mythology on Dreams. Ancient Dream Mythology. "I'm going to start reading these books. See if there is anything that could help us fight back. Tomorrow we can start to record some of my meditation tapes on some blank ones. We can share them with the kids"

She gave a little smile, pleased that they had a plan. "I'll try and teach them some self-defence moves. Especially the girls"

"Good idea" He discarded his jacket onto the chair and kicked off his black shoes. "Would you help me set up my monitor? I'm going to sleep for a few hours"

"What?" Maggie's jaw dropped open in dread. "But that guy-"

"That Krueger guy told you that he wouldn't enter my dreams if you stayed. I'll be fine" He offered a comforting smile.

"But he could be lying to me for all I know!" Maggie eyed the white monitor beside the bed with apprehension. There were several thin white leads connected to small white circular sensors. "I'm afraid he'll go after you"

"I'll set the machine to wake me up in three hours. And you know that I can sense if I am dreaming. Just have some faith in me, okay?"

Maggie pursed her lips together in a grim line. "Three hours. You'll just be asleep for three hours?"

"Yes. Just relax. Nothing will happen"

Maggie took a wavering deep breath and helped him connect the sensors to his temple, two on each side and punched in a sequence of numbers as instructed by him. The monitor flickered on, and a time was displayed on the top right-hand corner in white. It indicated the time that the machine would send electrical impulses to his brain to wake him up.

2.30pm

She straightened up and watched intently as he laid back on the double bed, again offering her a reassuring smile. Forcing her lips up into a small grin she slowly left the room, giving one last glance at him as he drifted to sleep.

The door creaked shut behind her as Maggie began to remove her boots and long-sleeved red top. She gathered a fresh pair of dark jeans, white tank top and long-sleeved yellow checked shirt before venturing into the bathroom. Half an hour later having showered and now dressed in fresh clothing, and her black combat boots she began to dry her hair. The whirring sound of the black hairdryer echoed in the room as she hastily dried the strands of her damp hair. After finishing she tied her hair into a high ponytail and then focused on unpacking her suitcase for the second time this week. Soon the open wardrobe was neatly filled with rows of various coloured business shirts, checked shirts and a few casual hooded tops. Each of them hung on plastic or wooden hangers. Below tucked inside were folded t-shirts and tank tops, along with her stilettos, a pair of Nike sneakers and another pair of black boots. Her underwear and socks were gathered inside one of the drawers at the bottom of the wardrobe.

As she placed the zipped suitcase at the side of the wardrobe her eyes wandered over her left wrist and lingered on her old scar that crossed over her artery and faint blue veins. Pushing the memory of that day to the back of her mind she turned towards a small lilac jewellery bag on the bed and rummaged through it for her cluster of black braided bracelets. She pulled them on and adjusted them to cover the scar. She hated people seeing it. They would always give her a confused stare, a flicker of curiosity evident on their face. She would feel embarrassed at times.

After grabbing the jewellery bag, she left it in the wardrobe beside her shoes and then strode across towards the kitchen and settled in one of the chairs. She had now spread the files of the kids on the table, separating them into neat rows – one row of the boys and another of the girls. There was only nine of the teenagers on the ward now. And from what Neil had briefly told them both, there was no more admittances to the ward. However, she knew that could change.

Maggie slumped wearily in her seat as she leaned over her notebook and began to flicker through the pages. Her eyes fluttered slowly, and she leaned her chin on the crook of her left palm as she skimmed through the notes of each patient's home life and their dreams. It was short and concise. She could clearly remember the gazes of fear and shame as the kids recalled their encounters with Krueger. It disgusted her that this madman would use these kids' lives, their insecurities against them. The fucker had no remorse, no sense of empathy. He truly was evil as Neil had stated.

A heavy pressure constrained against her eyelids, and they closed for a split second. She mumbled and jerked her head up, shaking herself as she rose to her feet. "On your feet. Some coffee. Get some coffee"

Raising her arms above her head she stretched her limbs and groaned at the faint crack from the base of her neck. She needed to get back to her exercises. Something to loosen her muscles and joints. Her fingers wiggled momentarily, and she walked towards the small drawers at the side of her bed and snatched her new packet of Marlborough cigarettes and ripped opened the pack. After lighting it up she combed through her pile of cassettes and gave a quiet nod as she took one and slid it into her cassette player.

Her index finger shoved down on the play button and soon the faint whirring of the cassette playing lingered in the air, until a guitar rift that led into the beginning of the song 'Heart Shaped Box' roared to life.

Maggie felt her lips curl into a little smirk. This was one if her favourite songs. She began to hum along to the lyrics of the song and allowed the music to relax her as she smoked her cigarette. After making a quick cup of coffee she snubbed the smoke out in the sink and washed down the ash into the drain with a quick blast of hot water. She discarded the butt into the bin, then took a long drink from her mug of coffee then focused her attention on the plates as she began to wash them.

The next song filtered through the small grey speakers of the cassette player and Maggie again smiled to herself as she again hummed to the song. Kashmir.

Her right foot began to tap against the tiled floor of the kitchen and within a few minutes the dishes were washed and placed in the drying rack. She took a quick sip of her coffee and lightly smacked her lips, a frown of mild disgust ravishing her face. The coffee suddenly tasted strange, now metallic and salty. Her eyes peered into the white mug, and she shook it slightly. She heaved a low sigh and poured it down the drain. The brown liquid swirled down the metal drain. The colour was slightly different. There was a faint red tint to it. Leaving the cup in the sink she grabbed a small glass and twisted on the cold-water tap. After gulping down the water she walked back to her smokes and lit another one up.

As the Kashmir song ended, the next one began to play. The beginning cords of Enter Sandman and the husky, loud vocals of James Hetfield blared in the room as the volume increased by a few decibels on its own accord.

Say your prayers, little one, don't forget, my son

To include everyone

I tuck you in, warm within, keep you free from sin

'Til the Sandman, he comes

Sleep with one eye open

Gripping your pillow tight

Exit light

Enter night

Take my hand

We're off to never-never land

Maggie swung around to the cassette player and scowled at the sudden change in sound. She took another puff from her cigarette and marched towards the cassette player and muttered to herself as the volume increased again. She slammed her hand on the player and switched it off. Then she felt it. A shift in the air. Like a presence had entered the room, a sensation of pins and needles fizzed throughout her legs and arms. Her back stiffened as she turned slowly back to the middle of the room. Her pensive eyes roved over towards the clock above the TV. The moving hand ticked slowly. But to her bewilderment it was ticking backwards. She took a hesitant step forward, then another. Another tingling sensation soared over her skin, particularly along the nape of her neck.

She moved forward a few more feet towards the end of the bed and took a long, calming deep breath. Allowing her mind to become clear. There was no doubt about it. It was a presence. His presence.

She was dreaming.

Again.

Her fingers tightened around the end of her smoke, and she took a few quick steps towards the ashtray beside the cassette player and snuffed it out with a low mumble. She then approached the end of the bed again and slowly curled, then uncurled her fists. Her lips parted slightly as she whispered. "I know you are here…."

The tense silence was shattered as the unmistakable sound of Krueger's gritty, hoarse cackle reverberated behind her. Maggie spun around and saw the tips of his four blades swipe towards her, flicking close to her face and she shrieked. Instinctively she lurched backwards and then felt the edge of his right black boot tap sneakily at her calf and she fell backwards into the opened wardrobe. There was a clatter of wood and plastic as the hangers toppled on top of her, a variety of garments falling on her head and shoulders. Her shoulders collided hard with the hard wood of the wardrobe and let held back a groan of pain.

Her head jerked towards Freddy as he loomed above her, a playful smirk tugging at his lips as he stared down at her. He wiggled the blades of his bladed glove at her in a greeting and chuckled quietly at her, amused at the sight of her swamped by her clothes. She snarled and tossed the clothes from her head and shoulders, springing to her feet and was ready to lunge towards him.

As quickly as the thought entered her mind, Freddy raised his bladed glove and teasingly flicked his blades at her face again. She jolted back a foot and eyed the tips of the blades as they skimmed through the air, whooshing by her face by mere inches as they flicked and clicked at her in a shrewd, mischievous manner. Defensively she moved to the right and raised her right hand that was now clutched into a fist, ready to strike out. But a force held her limb tightly in its place. She grunted, straining against the energy holding her arm in place and then glanced at Freddy as he took a voracious step closer to her.

Her eyes widened slightly in apprehension as he delicately tucked a few strands of her brown locks behind her left ear with the tip of his index blade. His blue eyes never left hers as a pleased jagged toothed smile crossed his charred lips. Maggie bared her teeth in an irritated snarl as he continued to flick a few other wisps of her hair behind her ear. Why was he acting like this towards her? Was he trying to be affectionate towards her?

A surge of energy soared down her arm into her fist and she managed to thrust her fist forward a few inches through the energy that held it in place. Freddy cocked his head to the side, bemused at how she accomplished this little task. Her little dream power was more potent that he had considered. He grinned at her and allowed the pressure on her hand to ease and with a discreet flick of his glove, he jolted her body slightly to the left and she stumbled out of his way with a low curse as she regained her footing.

Freddy craned his head towards her, still flashing her a knowing grin as he slowly walked past her and around the bottom of the bed, past the TV. Maggie stood straight and huffily crossed her arms against her chest that heaved in exasperation at the gall of the guy. Her voice was laced with simmering rage as she called out. "Hey!"

He froze and twisted around towards her. His body lingered a few feet from the door. The scarred tissue above his eyes constricted as his blue irises glared at her in disdain at the tone of her voice. Even though he knew that she wasn't fully aware of who he was and of their relationship with each other, that didn't mean he would allow her to get away with speaking to him like that. No one raised their voice or spoke to him in that fashion. His lips twisted into a sneer and before he could rebuke, to admonish her she interrupted.

"See that door" Maggie pointed behind him. "You should be on the other side of it!"

Freddy glanced over his shoulder at the brown wooden door and grinned, finding her statement amusing. He lifted his glove and wagged his index blade at her. "Oh no, I'd rather stay here with you, little lady"

Maggie curled her hands into tight fists and glared at him in disbelief as he causally strolled towards the chair at the desk beside the window. Tentatively she took a few slow steps to her left towards the top of the bed, never letting her gaze leave him as he settled on the chair. He sighed quietly as he sat down and lazily crossed his arms over his grimy striped sweater. He lightly tapped his blades on the frayed material and locked his eyes with hers. "Let's have a little talk, Doctor"

Maggie scoffed softly and turned her gaze to the right. Blatantly ignoring him.

"Sit down" Freddy commanded.

She huffily crossed her arms over her chest and continued to disregard his presence.

Krueger's eyes narrowed in derision at her lack of obedience. He lifted his right arm and with a subtle flick of his index blade a weight propelled her body to the left and she landed hard on the mattress. "I told you to sit!"

Maggie snapped her head towards him, annoyed at the domineering pitch of his voice. The right corner of her top lip lurched upwards into a leer. She sluggishly adjusted her position on the bed and then felt a heavy invisible weight press onto her stomach and chest, stretching down to her thighs and calves. She quietly grunted as she strained to press her body upwards with her hands pressed firmly against the bed. Hearing a disgruntled sigh, she wearily looked over at him as he waved a blade at her. "You're not as powerful as me. So, you won't break free"

After a few seconds he felt her resistance against him begin to waver and she reluctantly began to relax into her seat on the bed. He flashed her a satisfied smile. "Good girl"

Maggie huffed out a long deep sigh and slowly turned her gaze towards his. It appeared that he wanted them to talk. "I know who you are now. You're Freddy Krueger"

Freddy's scorched lips curled into a fiendish smile, and he abruptly stood to his feet. Maggie stiffened suddenly in alarm at his move. Her eyes constricted in suspicion as he raised his left hand to take off his fedora hat and titled his left hand back a few inches above his head. It revealed a crisscross of burn marks and blistered skin over his skull. She watched in silence as he light-heartedly bowed before her, his right arm crossing his chest as his blades drummed against his sweater. His meditative and playful eyes never left hers as he said with a malicious smirk, "The one and only"

Maggie swallowed hard. The way he bowed to her stirred a faint recollection of something. Did someone else do that to her? Did someone she knew curtsy her in a pleasant manner? She saw his lips curled into a crafty grin as he ravaged her musings. He knew that it sparked a faint memory in her subconscious. Something that he had shared with her as a child. It would be one of many memories he would show her when the time was right.

He slowly placed his hat on his scarred skull and eased himself back into the chair. Stretching out his legs he raised them and settled his boots on the edge of the mattress and crossed his ankles. All the while he watched her as she swung her gaze away from his. "And your name is Maggie. Maggie Burroughs" he said her name in abhorrence. It felt foreign to him. It wasn't her name, and it never would be her name. "What kind of fucking name is that?"

"It's my name" Maggie snarled and jerked her head back towards him. "Okay?"

"But is it really your name?" Freddy smiled wickedly at her, "You did say you were adopted!"

She felt her face flush red for a few seconds, and she took a deep breath. "Maybe I was making that up. I was losing consciousness at the time. I was losing blood!"

"Oh, but you see I know that you weren't making that up. I know more about you than you think" He chuckled quietly and relished in the sight of her brown eyes contracting in scepticism. She gnawed at her bottom lip and twisted her gaze away from his again. He chuckled again and his eyes scanned over her hands as they reached down to the rim of her checked shirt and began to scrunch the cotton material. She still had that little trait. Playing and tugging at her clothes whenever she was nervous.

Maggie's eyes darted sporadically about the ground, from one garment to another. Spiralling thoughts ran through her mind. She knew that he would try to access her mind. But she had to resist, to fight it. She needed to talk to Doc…

Freddy grinned maliciously as he again plundered her thoughts. She was incredibly uneasy at the prospect of him finding out about her memories over the last few decades. How far back would he be able to reach? He would retrieve the memories of her childhood; from the moment she was adopted. But was she adopted right away after she had left Springwood? What was her teenage years like? How did she know she was adopted and when? He had discerned that she did seem a little mistrusting of people. He had seen that when they had conversed in the basement area. But was she always like this around other people? He would find out. His main aim was to penetrate her memories as a child first. Then he would help her unravel the memories they had shared when she was with him. If he could perhaps persuade her to have a little stroll about town. Find out the places they had frequently visited together and of course, their old home on Elm Street.

He blinked out of his deliberations as she finally lifted her contemplative gaze back to his. "Who was that guy you were pretending to be?"

Freddy broke out into a grin. "Oh, that was me when I was alive"

Her head cocked to the side in curiosity. "That was you?"

"Yes, when I was eighteen" He placed the tips of his bladed glove on the wooden arm rest and lightly tapped the wood. "Charles is my second name. Freddy Charles Krueger"

"Why did you show yourself like that to me? To try and get me to talk to you?"

"Yes. But you were quick to catch on. You are very mindful of your surroundings. Of what is real and what isn't real. Even earlier you knew that you were dreaming" He brandished her a pleased smile. He knew he had to find out more about her level of ability with her lucid dreaming. Who taught her? His eyes darted to the left to where room where her colleague was sleeping. Had that fat shit taught her? The edge of his blades scraped eagerly on the wooden, creating a few scratches.

Maggie glanced down towards her right jean pocket and slowly slid her right hand into the pocket and her fingers coiled around the handle of her switch blade. Her eyes flew towards Freddy again as he spoke again.

"What did Neil tell you about me?"

"That you were a child killer in the 1960s" Maggie replied quickly. "That you killed at least twenty innocent children"

He swiftly lifted his glove and corrected her. Raising two blades and then added a third. "Twenty-three" A malevolent grin crossed Freddy's charred face. "And believe me the little shits weren't innocent. No child is as innocent as they seem. They deserved what I did to them"

Maggie felt bile form in her throat at the heinous grin that remained on his face. Fuck, he was relishing in what he did to those children. She took a shaky breath and then muttered. "You also raped some of the little girls"

His monstruous grin widened and he perversely licked his lips and nodded.

She shivered, disgusted at look of malicious glee that marred his face. He tapped a blade on the wooden arm rest, beckoning her to continue. "The police caught you in the autumn of 1967. But when the court case began in early 1968 you were released. The police failed to sign the search and arrest warrant"

Freddy chuckled low in his throat and thought back to the day that Robert Deeks had informed him about the warrants. It was his ticket to freedom. He had known for at least a week before the court date and was advised by Deeks that they would disclose this important piece information when the court case began. When he saw the look of horror forming on Thompson and Lt Blockers faces when the judge had dismissed the charges against him was amazing.

If only that fucker Deeks had fulfilled his promise of getting Katherine back into his custody after his release from jail. He had assured him before the court case that he had a custody order ready for submission on the morning of his case. The aim of the custody order was for Katherine to be placed back in Krueger's care with immediate effect. But the bastard had failed to inform him that the order was immediately rejected when the social services had discovered that Krueger was free. It happened within an hour. They deemed him to be an unfit father, which was utter bullshit. Then that evening on the day he was released, the social services had hastily moved her out of Springwood to another town. The fuckers were terrified he would have taken her from the orphanage. And well that was his plan. Take her from there and for them to leave the town. Freddy sighed in frustration and locked his brooding gaze on her. If only things had worked out differently…

Maggie softly cleared her throat and continued what she knew about him. "That night a group of parents tracked you down to the place where you took the kids. It was some power plant. They burned you to death"

Freddy growled in rage as his mind meandered back to that cold February night. He could clearly hear the faint murmurs of the parents as they lingered outside the room at the back of the power plant where he had set up refuge. Then the shouting and cursing began…

Scum…

Murderer…

Child molester…

Monster…

Then there was the loud smash of Molotov bottles as they were propelled through the small rectangular windows. It had happened so quickly he had no time to react. A wall of flames had surrounded him then engulfed him. The hot flames spread to every part of his body, every inch of his skin. He never felt such pain. As much as he enjoyed the sensation of pain, the feel of a blade along his skin. This pain was something else. Every nerve ending was on fire, the skin on his was melting and bubbling before him as he writhed on the floor. The last sound he heard before the darkness of death consumed him was the cheering and laughter of the parents…

Then they came. His new friends. The Dream Demons.

He momentarily closed his eyes and banished that memory for the back of his mind, then with a wicked smirk he locked his gaze on Maggie. "But I came back"

"Yes" Maggie nodded slowly, "Years later you went after their children"

Freddy's smirk elongated into a vile grin. "Oh yes, I did. Those fuckers had to pay for what they did to me. I got all of them! Kristen Parker was the last Elm Street brat!"

"But you didn't stop" Maggie shook her head in confusion. "You went after Kristen's friends. Alice and her brother. There were others you killed. You murdered Alice and her unborn child. Even now, you're killing the kids in the town. Why?"

Krueger's cold, heartless blue eyes stared intently at her. Roaming over her face. She saw his teeth clench as he angrily grounded his rotten teeth together. Then a flash of anger sparkled in his eyes. Maggie puckered brow and chewed the corner of her lip. Why did those eyes still hold a sense of meaning to her? Some sort of recollection? Taking a deep breath, she swung her head away from his gaze. She knew she couldn't let herself be distracted…

Freddy felt his rage that surged through his body begin to wane as he studied his daughter's face. She had no inkling he was killing the kids in this town because of her. At the start, one of the reasons he went after the Elm Street kids was because of what their fucking parents did to them. But another reason was because of Katherine. He knew that Donald Thompson had a hand in sending his little girl out of the town. All the fuckers in the town were in on it. So, they all had to pay. It infuriated him that everyone else in this pathetic little town could raise their children. But he had to ponder in the solitude abyss of death who was raising his child. It was meant to be him who was meant to nurture her through her childhood, teach her in his way of thinking.

Even if there was the chance she was still residing in Springwood, either in the orphanage or in a new foster home, he had seriously contemplated on entering her dreams. Showing himself to her. Show what those fuckers had done to him…

But no. The fuckers in this town had ruined that.

Though, she would find out exactly what they did to her daddy…

From the vague recollections of her discussions with Neil and Paul over the last few days, he had discerned that Neil had warned her not to pry any further into his crimes. But Freddy knew one thing about her that Neil didn't. And that was her inquisitive nature. If she wanted to find something out, she would. Even as a little girl she was full of questions and would have constantly pestered him. She wanted to learn about everything.

He knew that if he could entice her to learn more about him and about Springwood. It would help her regain her memories from her childhood when she lived here. He smirked liking this idea.

His mind wandered briefly as he scoured through the fragments of her memories over the last few weeks. Particularly from a month ago. She was sitting in her little apartment and there was a brown cardboard box on the coffee table. She was sitting facing it with her little switch blade in her right hand. The tip of the steel was lightly tapping on top of the box. Scrawled in black marker was her adoptive name.

MAGGIE.

There was something fascinating about the box. A connection that he had to it. A connection they both shared. Tied to both their pasts. But from her mindset, he had distinguished she was hesitant to open it. She was afraid.

Next to the box was a variety of sketches. It had made him chuckle and break out into a grin. She had drawn several faces and figures. All of them the same – sandy cropped blond hair, blue eyes with a long brown trench coat. The same one he had worn when he was alive. His little girl was drawing him and hadn't a fucking clue.

Freddy slowly exhaled a deep, hoarse breath and focused his attention back on her, to finally answer her question. "The town still has to pay. And they will"

"Pay for what?" Maggie's eyebrows arched sharply.

"Oh, you'll find out. It'll be a nice surprise!" Freddy gave her a knowing wink.

Maggie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at his remark. She opened her mouth to reply, but then noticed the force on her calves and thighs begin to fade and she cautiously began to shift on the bed. She raised her legs and rested her ankles on the edge of the mattress as she shuffled further up the bed. Freddy glanced at her black boots and smirked as he wriggled his own feet. "Nice boots!"

She glimpsed at his similar black work boots and then at hers. A burning sensation flashed across her cheeks as she embarrassingly looked away and lowered her feet onto the carpet. Freddy cackled humorously at her mortification and then saw her right-hand slither into her right jean pocket. He watched as she pulled out her switch blade and flicked opened the three-inch steel silver blade, laying it on her lap with her fingers tightly gripping the handle.

"A little small, don't you think?" Freddy commented with a coy smile.

Maggie lifted her right hand, inspecting her blade carefully. "Oh, believe me it can cause a lot of damage. Come over and I'll show you"

Freddy laughed, the tone of his laughter playful and coarse. "Oh, I'm sure it can sweetheart in your capable hands!"

"Stop calling me that! I'm not your sweetheart!" Maggie spat with venom, giving him a deadly glare.

Freddy faked a pout, then broke into a vindictive smile. "Oh, would you prefer me to call you, a bitch? Slut? Cunt?"

Her grip grew taut on her switch blade, and she glared at him again in ire.

He cackled again. "I thought not. You can put your little knife away sweetheart, I'm not going to hurt you"

"Well, you see I don't trust you" Maggie snapped briskly. "And if you try to use that glove on me, I'll break every bone in your hand!"

Freddy held back a scoff and then lifted his glove, "Oh, you mean like this?"

Maggie watched in shock as he casually used his left hand to wrap around the leather of the glove and with an insane cackle, his fingers snapped the trapezoid, capitate and hamate bones that attached his hand to his wrist in half. His rough, burnt fingers then moved over the brass plating of the glove, where the knuckles of his hand would be and crushed around the leather fabric. The unmistakeable sound of bones crunching and cracking echoed in the room as he leisurely began to snap and break his fingers on the glove in half, shattering each small bone into pieces. He flashed her a devilish smile as her face paled in horror. After one last agonizing snap of his knuckle, he mockingly raised his right arm and wagged his limp hand at her, the bladed fingers flapping back and forth. Then with another sickening smirk he flexed his arm, and she heard the bones cracking, forcing back into place. The fibres and muscles on his hand grew back and he triumphantly sprayed his steel blades wide and wiggled them at her. "As you can see Doctor, you can't hurt me…" his eyes slowly averted towards her right waist as he reminded her. "But I can hurt you"

She instinctively touched her waist, thinking back to when he had stabbed her with her own blade.

"But as I said, I won't"

Maggie didn't feel any comfort from his words. She couldn't risk lowering her guard around him.

"I know that Neil warned you not to find out any more information about me. That he believes if you find out more about my crimes, that I will manipulate you" He shook his head. "I won't do that. I know that you are curious. You want to find out more about me, don't you?"

Maggie anxiously licked her lips and gave a curt nod. He was correct. There was a part of her that wanted to know more about him.

He grinned, before continuing. "You see what Neil told you about me is only scratching…" he lightly scraped the tips of his glove along the wood of the chair. "The surface. You should dig a little deeper into my past. You should even" His index and second blade slowly made a walking motion along the arm rest. "Go for a little walk into the town!"

Her eyes broadened, a glimmer of surprise at this suggestion.

Krueger smirked in delight. He was reeling her in. This was good.

"What do you mean by scratching the surface? Does Neil know everything about you?"

"No, he doesn't. And what would you say if I said that we" he motioned with a blood-stained index blade between them both. "Were connected?"

Maggie smirked then burst out laughing, her voice low and husky. She took a dep breath then leered, "The only thing that will be connected between us is my boot to your crotch!"

A flash of anger flared across his face and soon he began to chuckle, "Now, honey, don't be like that!"

She glowered at him and swung her gaze to the right, staring blankly at the kitchen window trying to ignore him. A few uneasy moments of silence went by until she heard low raspy breathing from her left. Turning her gaze to the left, she saw him perched on the bed on his knees. His grinning face inches from hers. Before she could react and raised her weapon, Freddy wrenched his scarred hand around her throat and slammed her backwards against the hard wooden headboard. Her grip loosened on the handle of the black, but her fingers constricted sharply and with a cry she propelled the tip of the blade towards his face. It ceased an inch from his leering face. He shook his head and tutted in disapproval and with a flick of his blades her hand flew backwards against the headboard. She cursed and wildly looked to her left and right as thick layers of bed sheets slithered like snakes from behind the wood and wrapped tightly around her wrists, pinning them to the headboard.

Freddy knelt on the end of the bed and looked down at her ankles then skimmed an index blade through the air, making more strands of the bedsheets to wrap and coil around her legs. She grunted and strained her right wrist against the strapping around her flesh. "Damn it!"

He flaunted her a roguish smile and predatorily began to crawl up her body. His glove placed delicately around her flushed enraged face as he mounted her. The leather thumb of his glove brushed over her cheek as she seethed in his face. "Get off me!"

In one swift motion he placed the long index blade at her trembling lips, hushing her. "Sshh" His eyes flickered towards her blade, and he focused on her taut grip. The fingers began to shake and unravel from the around the black handle of the blade. "You won't be needing that, honey"

Maggie jerked her face to the right and sneered as the blade fell from her grasp into his opened left palm. "Hey, that belongs to me!"

He switched the blade close and slid it into his back trouser pocket. "Not anymore"

The headboard shuddered as Maggie yanked against her restraints. Her bottom lip quivered in simmering rage, and she glowered at him. "You-"

Freddy again hushed her and placed two blades across her lips. "Don't be naughty. Or you'll make me angry"

Her breathing came out in short pants, and she took a deep breath, twisting her face away from his blades to her right. He sighed and grasped her chin, tugging her face back to his. "Seeing as you know a little about me. I want you to tell me who adopted you and how old you were"

"Go spit, asshole!" Maggie leered back at him with venom.

There was a moment of silence. Then a sharp slap of flesh hitting flesh tore through the air, followed by a small yelp. Maggie blinked and groaned, feeling a dull ache on her right cheek and the copper taste of blood in her mouth. The bastard had hit her. Harder than before. Fuck, her face hurt like hell. She lightly trailed her tongue over her busted lip and tried to lick away the crimson liquid.

Freddy sighed in aggravation. Becoming irritated by her insubordinate attitude. As much as he didn't want to hurt her. He knew that if she didn't start to show him some fucking respect, then he would force her to respect him. And if that mean by some vigorous coercion. Then so be it. He lightly shook out his left palm and then carefully curled his fingers under her chin and gently yanked her face towards his. There was a glimmer of rage in her deep brown eyes that was quickly followed by a flare of fear. Fear at what he would do to her next, considering he had her restrained on the bed like this. He bent forward and lightly swept his coarse thumb over her bloodied lip, wiping away the blood and healing her wound in one move. He muttered softly and skimmed the ridge of his chin against her forehead and kissed her hair, as he began to whisper. "I didn't mean that baby. But you need to stop doing that okay? You need to show me respect"

Maggie's body went rigid, paralysed in trepidation and incomprehension at his strange actions. He was apologising to her again. Why? She strained to listen to his murmurs as he mumbled against her hair. She cringed and tried to tear her face away from his grasp as he again kissed the top of hair. What kind of twisted game was he playing with her? The light, attentive touches he was bestowing on her made her want to throw up in revulsion.

She tensed as he slowly withdrew his head backwards and leaned on his knees. He gave one last tender stroke of his thumb over the corner of her lip. "You shouldn't speak to me like that sweetheart. It will only make me angry"

Her eyes glowered at him in dismay. Was he kidding? She gulped nervously. What had Neil told her? That Krueger psychologically tortured people? Playing with their minds? Was he toying with her by acting in a compassionate way? Her chest suddenly retracted, and she exhaled a whoosh of air she didn't realise she was holding in. She cautiously eyed him as his face turned passive, his icy eyes roving over the lines of her face as he examined her. His lips pursed into a thin line as he silently contemplated an idea, then slowly scanned her motel room. Then back to Maggie. "You don't mind, if I have a little look around? Mmm?"

She became startled as he hastily climbed off her legs and stood at the side of the bed, smiling down at her. Her head shook wildly in discord. "Wait a damn minute!"

Freddy chuckled mischievously and stalked across the room towards the desk at the window. His curious gaze fell towards an array of other cassette tapes, and he reached down with his scarred hand towards a Led Zepplin tape and showed it to her with a coy grin.

Maggie blushed and immediately cast her gaze away from him, before turning back as he noticed her black leather purse. She saw him unzip a few compartments and take out her driving licence. He held in his left hand and scrutinized the picture of her. She looked in her early 20s, her hair styled in a bob an inch above her shoulder blades with a side fringe. He was astonished at how similar she was to Loretta. His eyes darted down to her name, and he let out an irritable growl.

Maggie Jane Burroughs.

His fingers quickly snapped around the plastic card with a snarl he snapped it in half and tossed it onto the desk.

Maggie's jaw dropped in shock, and she watched as he turned his attention to her dream journal. He eagerly leaned against the edge of the desk and flicked opened the first page, reading her name and then turned to the entries about her dreams.

Freddy lightly tapped the back of the journal with his claw as he finished the first dream and quickly scanned the next paragraph. His lips curled into a malicious grin as he read…

It felt evil. They called me a little lady. Fuck, the way he leered it at me made my blood boil. I gave the fucker a few harsh retorts and the asshole laughed. Laughed at me! Ugh. I hate smug bastards like that

He averted his eyes towards Maggie and began to laugh. The tone gravelly and vicious. "Oh, you think I'm a smug bastard?"

Maggie cocked her head forward and nodded, "Yeah, I do!"

Freddy slammed the book shut and threw it behind him. Then pointed at her with a blade. "I could call yourself very smug too, little wildcat! A little firecracker!"

Her eyes followed his every step as he marched towards her wardrobe and bent down to inspect the scattering of clothes on the ground. Freddy grumbled softly to himself. In disbelief. She now had a taste for tomboyish clothes. Long gone were the frilly colourful dresses he loved to see her in. He rose to his feet and his eyes lit up as he saw the rows of files spread out on the kitchen table. As he lingered over them, he scoured through various blanked out paragraphs and he scoffed. The fuckers were erasing the details of the kids dreams. Trying to keep details of him from her and colleague. But she eventually found out. His waist twisted as he rotated around to her and jabbed a single blade at a folder and perked the scarred tissue where his eyebrows once were, enticing her to speak.

Maggie glimpsed at the files. "I had suspicions about what Neil was initially telling us. There was little or no information in their files about why they tried to commit suicide. I knew that Neil was lying to us. So, I…"

"Decided to investigate" Freddy finished for her with a wicked grin.

"Yes" Her eyes darted to her black notebook and Krueger's gaze followed suit. He clucked his tongue and eagerly zealously reached for the book and read each page diligently and let out a little chortle, "You are very perceptive, aren't you?"

Maggie was taken back by his compliment. "I uh, knew that something was wrong. Especially after…"

The burnt muscles around Freddy's lips twitched and curled into a vicious grin as he stared at her. "After what I did to the little piggy Brandon!"

Maggie's eyes furrowed in bewilderment. "Piggy?" her voice was barely a whisper. Was this something else that ignited a memory within her subconscious? She lightly shook her head and tried to dismiss the ridiculous thought.

Freddy smiled in wicked delight. Oh, he knew that she had hear him talk about the little 'piggies' before. But not in this context. It was in a more joyful and playful manner. It was one of their favourite games that they had played together in the back yard. The idea of the game came to him a few days after their little conversation on Halloween night. He was the big bad wolf, and she was the cute little piggy he had chase…

"You knew after you saw his body in the morgue, that your dreams were real. Didn't you?" Freddy chortled quietly.

Maggie slowly nodded. "Yes, I then found out more files of the other kids. They were all dead. Neil was lying. I discovered the link between all the teenagers' deaths. I could make out the word dreams. And your name. Freddy"

He flashed his jagged, rotten teeth in an arrogant smile. A feeling of pride swelling inside him at how bright she was. As he lowered his gaze back to her notes he turned to the next page and skimmed over the notes that she had taken about his crimes. His arrest. The court case and ultimately what occurred after his release. His death. The next sentence. A particular name made his lips curl into a sneer.

Nancy.

"He told you about that whore Nancy" He said with a growl.

Maggie detected a hint of animosity in his voice as he spoke the woman's name. "Yes. Nancy was the daughter of the sheriff who arrested you. You went after her and her friends. They were the first kids you went after you died. But it was over a decade later"

He gave a sharp nod. What she said was partly true. Nancy, Tina, Rod, Glen…were the first Elm Street brats that were his targets. But he had killed just weeks after his fiery death. Lt Blocker and Robert Deeks were the first to perish.

"You killed her mother and six years later you finally killed her. By pretending to be her father in the dream. You also killed him too"

Freddy swung around to her and nodded with vigour. "Yes. That fucker Donald had it coming!"

Maggie curled her fingers against her sweaty palms, growing uneasy as he broodingly gazed at her. It appeared he was thinking, but what? The blades slinked and flicked at his side as he twisted back to her notes. He flicked through the next few pages, disregarding the events of the previous decade. He knew exactly what had happened. He finally came to her most recent notes about her observations about the kids in Westin Hills and their dreams, plus a little information about their insecurities and fears. Flicking his blades with deadly intent he knew that he had a few twisted and depraved ideas on how to kill the little piglets when they eventually fell asleep. But should he allow her, his little princess to watch? His eyes flew towards Maggie. She was staring at him quietly, eyes narrowed in mistrust. It would be a risk to allow her to be in attendance. And there was one thing he fucking hated and that was being interrupted when he was on the hunt. Also, the fact that she wasn't fully on his side yet could be an obstacle too. He had no doubt that she would try and save the little cunts.

He let his right-hand fall to his side and began to move away from the table when a green first aid kit sitting on the kitchen counter drew his attention. It was opened. Tossing her a sideways glance he strolled towards the bag and peered inside. There were four tablet bottles. Two yellow-coloured ones, one blue and one brown. Each with a white label encircled around the plastic container.

Maggie wildly shook her head as she saw him reach inside with his burnt hand. "Wait!"

Freddy ignored her frantic cry and placed the four bottles in front of him and skimmed his eyes over the labels. Each one detailed the name of her pharmacist.

Dr Henderson.

Then on each label it displayed the medication.

Clozapine – 12.5mg.

Celexa – 10mg

Fluoxetine – 10mg

Valium – 2mg

His face twisted and scrunched in bewilderment, and he glimpsed in her direction. What the hell was she taking? He had heard of Valium before. It was a medication to help with anxiety. However, the other names were unfamiliar to him. What was wrong with her? Was she sick? He snatched them in his glove and burnt hand and shook them, demanding. "What are these for?"

"None of your damn business!" Maggie seethed through her gritted teeth. "Put them back!"

He sneered and shoved them back into the med-kit. Fuck it. He would find out himself. Everything that happened to her throughout her childhood and her adolescent years would be revealed to him. He would slither into her memories and find out all the little secrets that was hidden away in the depths of her mind.

Another brown medication bottle caught his eye, and he leered down at the label. That fucking bastard had given her this. Adrenaline tablets – Armodafinil. His glove clamped around the bottle, and he teasingly flaunted the plastic bottle to her then with a smirk his palm crushed around the bottle. There was a crack of the plastic breaking, and a puff of white powder floated from the bottom edge of the glove onto the tiled floor. "You won't be needing these, little lady"

Maggie glared in dismay at the pile of white residue that now stained the ground. She then whipped her head up towards him as he approached and with a teasing wink, he straddled her thighs once again. Her legs went stiff, and she pressed the arch of her spine hard against the wooden headboard. Trying to keep the distance between her chest and his as he leaned forward. Freddy leisurely examined her body posture. Her shoulders were tense. Muscles twitching and pulsing as he sensed a surge of trepidation flowing through her. It never occurred to him until now, but it wasn't the first time she had displayed this type of reaction to someone being close to her. "You seem tense? Why is that?"

"Because I want don't want you near me"

He scoffed softly and raised two of his blades along the side of her left check and lightly tucked a strand of her hair behind the shell of her ear. There were a few little snippets of her memories over the last day or two that interested him. One was when Neil had tried to approach her to examine her waist, but she had flinched away from him. She seemed a little jumpy. And then when her colleague tried to console her by placing a hand on her shoulder, she had recoiled away. Like the slightest touch unnerved her. Did she not like anyone showing her any type of affection or being in her own personal space? He pursed his lips together for a moment, then lightly tapped a blade at her cheek. "You seem very dismissive of people. Even I tried to talk to you in your little daydream. Why is that?"

She twisted her head to the right with a sneer.

With a low tut of disapproval Freddy clutched her chin with his glove and tugged her face back to his. "Did someone do something to you?"

"No" Her eyes burned into his with rage. "Now, get off me!"

His grip grew taut on her chin. The edge of two blades pressed hard into her skin. Nearly piercing her flesh as he shook his head. "No, I won't sweetheart"

She groaned in disgust, muttering softly.

Slowly, he eased the hold on her chin and let his glove fall onto her left arm and lightly tapped the fabric of her shirt. Then tucked his burnt hand under her chin. "I am going to wake you up. But remember what I said. Neil doesn't know everything about me. And seeing as you are a good little detective, it shouldn't be too hard for you to find out a few revelations! When the time is right, you'll find out exactly who I am!"

Maggie felt his fingers loosen around her chin and she shakily nodded her head in agreement.

Freddy broke out into an exultant grin and with a swift flick of his index blade in front of her face, he catapulted her out of the dream into the waking world….

Maggie gasped as her head lurched up from the kitchen table. She panted and fervently began to pull and tear at the bulky straps of bed clothes that were bound across her arms. As she staggered to her feet she toppled out of the kitchen and took a worrying glance at the numerous plastic and wooden hangers discarded on the ground, surrounded by her clothes. Raising her right hand, she soothingly rubbed her temple and winced as the beginning of a headache began to kick in. She rounded the bottom of the bed, and she groaned out loud as her eyes landed on her driving licence. Now cracked in two. "Damn it!"

Wearily she slumped onto the bed and thought of what Freddy had said to her, implied to her. Should she venture into town one day? Were there any places that held old newspaper articles? Ones that were not destroyed. From what Neil told her, the kids in the town were finding out about Krueger. And what about where he had taken his victims to? There was the possibility she could visit that location too. Despite Neil cautioning her not to probe any further into Krueger's crimes, she was indeed very curious about him, and she didn't know why.

Her decision was made. She would dig a little further into the life and crimes of Freddy Krueger.

To hell with the consequences.

xxx

Author's Note - I don't own any of the songs used in this chapter.

Also, the cardboard box that Maggie has back in Central City is important. :)
I will try and start the next chapter this weekend. It may not be posted until sometime in August.