In The Dreamtime

"Don't worry, Dream Tommy," Chuckie said, lifting up the loose board in the fence, "if I get scared of the big mean monster dog I'll just wake up in my bed-"

"No no no!"

Chuckie blinked as Dream Tommy's mommy ran up and scooped him up, hugging him tight as she moved to place herself between the rest of his friends and the fence. "I think we need to go back to the sandbox, okay?" Chuckie frowned at that as he and his friends were guided away from the fence. "Stu! Could you come out here?"

"What's wrong, Deed?" Dream Tommy's daddy asked, coming out of the house.

"One of the boards is loose on the fence and Chuckie nearly slipped into the neighbor's yard."

Dream Tommy's daddy paled at that. "Geez, that was close. Let me go pound it in. I'll check all the other boards too, just to be safe. Maybe put some boards down at the bottom to keep the kids from pulling on them."

Chuckie frowned as he was set down in the sandbox, Dream Tommy's mommy patting him on the head and telling him to stay there before she went back to the chair she'd been sitting in to watch them. "I don't get it… why did your mommy take me away from the fence Dream Tommy?"

Dream Tommy threw his hands in the air. "That's what I've been trying to tell you, Chuckie! I don't think this is a dream at all!"

"It… it isn't?" Chuckie said nervously.

"Nope!" Lil and Phil said.

Chuckie nodded. "Oh."

He promptly fainted.

~MC~MC~MC~

Later that night Tommy curled up in his crib, watching his mobile. "I'm glad Chuckie realized the difference between a dream and being awake," he said to Henry. "And I hope he has good dreams from now on." Honestly Tommy had never had a nightscare… had no idea what one might be like.

He shut his eyes and after a few minutes he was asleep. In his dreams he was running about happily through his house, as big as his mommy and daddy so he could grab all the fun things on the top shelf that he wanted. He was still a baby but he was now much bigger, which made it so much fun to grab popsicles and jump on the couch!

As he ran about Tommy didn't notice the man with the ugly face and striped sweater lurking in the corner, smirking as he reached out with his bladed glove-

"Didn't learn yar lesson in Chicago, did ya Freddy?" Tommy's grandpa said, grabbing onto the ugly man's wrist and squeezing hard.

"How… how are you even here?!"

"I'm Lou Pickles," the old man said, a dangerous gleam in his eye. "I'm EVERYWHERE."

Tommy continued to giggle and play, not paying attention to the pain-filled screams coming from the other room.