Chapter Five
...Three...Four
"Alright folks, I'm preparing to dock with Beowulf. Welcome home!" Warlock called from the front of the shuttle.
Donella nodded and lifted her left hand in front of her face and pressed a small button on a band around her wrist, immediately a holographic image arose in front of her. A tinny beeping could be heard and after a couple seconds she saw the face of Lubdan apparently in bed. He wore a robe and was laying on his stomach, holding up his hand and seeing Donella as their conference connected.
"Aye, Sir. Is everything okay? I didn't expect to hear from ya so soon," Lubdan said a bit taken aback.
"We ran into some Earth-1 problems and our trip to Ohio got cut short, but we are all in one piece," Donella said.
"Ah, saints be praised! Did ya get the five plus?" Lubdan asked nervously glancing over his shoulder.
"We did, that's why I'm hailing you. We are docking with the Beowulf now. I need you and Talos to meet us in the lab so we can analyze our finds. I was hoping to go back for more artifacts but that option is out the window now. I will have to settle for the level four and the five plus we managed to get before everything went to shit. But the thing is, the level five plus is something even Dr. Degenarro has no experience with so we are going to need to research it" Donella explained.
"Aye sir! We are happy to help!" Lubdan said. As he reached to his wrist to end the conference Talos could be heard somewhere behind him. "Are you requesting a happy ending Lubdan?" Lubdan immediately looked mortified and quickly ended the conference.
"I KNEW IT! Ya owe me sixty Cred Nero! Come on, a bet is a bet!" Butch called from the seat across from Nero in the shuttle.
"Well, I never actually thought there were any 'happy endings' being given out, but I am a man of my word," Nero said with a smile as he pulled out a small scanner and pointed it at Butch and pressed a button automatically transferring the funds to Butch's account from his own. "But hey, as long as the little lab rat's happy then Mozel Tov!"
"I think it's adorable," Varissa chimed in, smiling at Nero. He smiled back with a slight blush.
The shuttle shook slightly and an array of lights came on throughout the shuttle.
"We are attached, you are clear to disembark. Congratulations worms, another safe excavation of Earth-1! Dust storm weather report from inside the Beowulf says Zero Percent Chance of getting dirt in your buttcracks," Warlock chimed in with a laugh over the PA from the shuttle's cockpit.
Everyone began unbuckling and standing as a side hatch slid open revealing an accordion type purplish corridor leading into the Beowulf. Christina shuddered as she watched Nero and Butch retrieve the two artifacts and carry them past the crew into the corridor first.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, let's go find out exactly how rich we're gonna be!" Donella said with a smile. "Things are looking up for Hawkins!"
"HEAR HEAR!" the crew shouted.
As Warlock shut down the shuttle and the crew departed, Candi lagged behind everyone and pulled the diary from her waistband. She opened it and began to read as she absentmindedly stood and slowly followed the crew back onto the Beowulf.
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
Twenty minutes later the crew of the Beowulf were gathered around the lab patiently awaiting an update from Talos and Lubdan who were both hard at work scanning every inch of the model house and glove into the Beowulf's system. Nero and Butch leaned in one corner chatting with Nyquilio and asking him about Somnium-5 and what there was to do there. The Beowulf was scheduled to take a four day warp speed trip to Somnium-5 the next day so Nyquilio could check in with his people there before the Beowulf moved on to their next excavation on a formerly inhabited planet in the Somnium Galaxy called Somnium-2. The Noctralians had abandoned that planet over seven hundred years prior due to chaotic volcanic activity that made life a constant battle for survival.
Varissa and Donella stood looking over Talos and Lubdan's shoulders as they painstakingly finished their task. Donella was anxious to find out exactly what they had found. Christina sat against the wall near her mother nervously biting her nails and gripping her crucifix. Warlock was in the cockpit of the Beowulf preparing the auto system for their upcoming four day warp speed trip as he and the rest of the crew minus Talos-16 would be in mandatory cryo-sleep for the trip. Candi sat at a small table on the far side of the lab, her back to the others. She yawned as she took a sip of coffee and turned the page again. So far it was just the boring diary of a teenage girl named Nancy but Candi felt there was a reason she had found the diary and though it was quite hard to continue reading she powered through.
"Why does this part take so long?" Donella whined.
"I am sorry, sir. We could do a quick scan but it could end up with missing data for our search," Talos responded.
"It's almost finished boss and then ya can cash in these lottery tickets," Lubdan added.
"That model, it is quite fascinating," Varissa chimed in, startling Donella who hadn't even noticed the doctor standing there. "The detail compared to the actual house is really quite good. Whoever made it must have studied every inch of that house, even the inside is precise. It's disappointing that the actual house stood the test of time for almost five hundred years only to fall now."
"Don't remind me doc," Donella said. "Yeah, yeah, the model is nice and all but this glove, this is our meal ticket!"
"Alright! That'll do, Talos! That'll do!" Lubdan said happily as the scan completed on both items.
"Okay, then! Run the scan through the historical databases! What do we have?" Donella said, almost salivating.
Talos waved his hand over a control panel with a holographic screen and images began appearing and changing faster than any human could keep up with. The rest of the crew overheard the conversation and made their way to where the search was being processed. Candi had not noticed and was still reading from the diary, a look of fear and disbelief now showing on her young face. After around thirty seconds the screen Talos viewed went blank. Talos waved his hand again and the screen vanished.
"Sir, the model house is not registering as anything other than old Earth hobby art, but in it's condition it is still a level four and will fetch you quite a high price," Talos began.
"I figured, but the glove, tell me about the glove!" Donella demanded.
"It is indeed a five plus but a price cannot be ascertained at this time because it is a one of a kind item. It needs some historical relevance to fetch a price margin like you hope for. However, my scan of the historical database only brought up the possibility of it being an old earth hand crafted gardening tool. Without more historical context the price range is up to the market for such tools, though the condition shows great promise for a higher than average price. Shall I put it on the auction market for you?" Talos asked.
All the air seemed to leave the room in that moment. The crew was saddened to see the disappointment bloom in their boss' face.
"Damnit! No, I refuse to believe a five plus item like this is nothing more than a run of the mill hedge clipper! Dr. DeGenarro, are you sure you don't know what this is? Nothing from your studies? This is exactly what I fucking hired you for!"
"Sir, I am sorry but I..." Varissa began. "Wait, no. This glove was kept in a safe place and was wrapped and tied. It was more than just a tool someone used. Not to mention the fact it is still in pristine condition after almost five hundred years." Varissa scrunched her nose in deep thought. "Lubdan, Talos! Run a search for Springwood, Ohio Finger Blade Glove. Maybe under the right parameters we can find more information on it. "
"Aye Doc " Lubdan said as he and Talos went to work doing just that.
The crew watched on with baited breath. Donella caught herself not breathing again. Images flew by on the screen in front and then stopped on an image of an old newspaper called the Springwood Gazette from Springwood, Ohio with a headline that read 'Krueger Walks Free.'
"Hmmm, the paper is dated May 11th, Nineteen Hundred & Sixty Eight. Fred Krueger walks free it reads. It says a man named Fredrick Charles Krueger was a janitor in the boiler room of a power plant in Springwood," Lubdan began.
"A what? Jan-uh-toor? That sounds heinous," Butch blurted.
"No Butch, a janitor is an old earth occupation where instead of robotic cleantech the humans of that time would actually do all the sweeping, scrubbing and cleaning and get paid for it," Varissa answered.
"Wow! One person to do all of what cleantech does? That's amazing! That's real talent, bet they made the big bucks," Butch pondered.
"You would think that but no. It was actually the exact opposite. They were looked down on in most social circles and made far less than most others. In fact we had a whole lesson on old earth blue collar vs white collar work force. Candilynn earned the highest marks on the final exam. Candi, want to explain the work forces to Butch?" Varissa said looking over her shoulder for Candi but could not spot her. "Candi? Where'd ya go?" Varissa spotted Candi on the other side of the room, her back to the group and was about to hail her to join them when Lubdan broke back in.
"Oh, saint's preserve us," Lubdan said with shock. "It says here he was a serial killer called the Springwood Slasher and that he preyed on the wee ones. Our treasured five plus artifact be exhibit #1 at his trial, his weapon of choice."
The crew leaned in closer murmuring amongst themselves.
"Hush, the lot of you! Let the boy read," Donella barked. The crew obeyed and Lubdan continued.
"It looks like the Earth-1 authorities came for the monster and took him down but in the heat of the moment certain important processes weren't followed and a judge ended up having to let him walk from the charges a free man," Lubdan finished.
"Wait, really?" Varissa asked. "Is there not more? I've never heard of this serial killer in my studies."
"That is all there is under those search parameters."
"Try digging deeper," Donella barked.
"Aye, I'll do a scan for Fredrick Charles Krueger Springwood, Ohio," Lubdan offered with hesitance.
Dozens of newspaper articles and police reports and court papers flashed across the screen. Lubdan and Talos began going through them. The crew waited patiently.
"Fredrick was born in May 1942 to an Amanda Krueger but from what I gather he was raised by a foster family in springwood, Ohio at..." Lubdan paused.
"What?! what is it?" Donella begged.
"He grew up at 1428 Elm Street, sir," Lubdan answered reluctantly. "Oh my, it says there was a small fire in the home in 1960. Fredrick wasn't home at the time but his foster mother and father and a wee five year old foster sibling didn't survive."
"After the fire Fredrick Krueger was suspected by some to have started it but it couldn't be proven. Frederick repaired the home and lived there alone until his death in May 1968," Talos continued taking over for Lubdan.
"Twice, twice this man gets away with his crimes," Varissa muttered bitterly.
"This is bad, mom," Christina said, her voice shaking. "I told you that house was evil."
"Chrissy, not right now!" Donella said, turning to face her daughter who was almost in tears.
"You humans and your history of violence," Nyquilio piped in with a shake of his head. "No offense but if the Noc'tralians had met the human race on old earth, I'm not sure we would have joined the alliance."
"And honestly I wouldn't have blamed you all," Varissa replied.
"Wait, you said he died in May 1968?" Nero asked.
"Yes, May 1968. Why do you..." Lubdan began and then his eyes grew wide. "Oh yes, the newspaper article about him walking free was also from May 1968! Let me see…"
Lubdan excitedly began scanning through more files. He looked annoyed as he waived his hand over his control panel moving page after page off his screen until finally settling on one that seemed to calm his annoyance. "Okay, sorry there was a LOT of redacted information but I found an in house police memo that speaks of a group of Springwood citizens that sought Frederick out after he skated on the killings and…" Lubdan's eyes widened in surprise. "They took justice into their own hands! They found him at the boiler room he worked at and burned him alive as he was preparing to flee town. He died in the fire."
"Good! It serves him right after what he did to those children and burning his family alive!"
"Mom, we have to get rid of the glove and model house," Christina whined. "No good can come from them! It's cursed! it's evil, please!"
"You don't understand Chrissy! This type of serial killer memorabilia from old earth is priceless to collectors," Donella explained to her daughter.
"Mom, it isn't worth the money! It's blood money! It's dirty! Please, I'm begging you!" Christina continued.
"I understand what you are saying but WE HAVE TO SELL IT!" Donella caught herself shouting. Christina shrunk back from her mother. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell," Donella continued. "I didn't want to say anything but Hawkins isn't doing great right now. Ever since that damn Grendel & Solaris fiasco and all the added protocols, permits, and red tape that came from that we haven't been able to secure the kind of finds we used to when we could use backdoor channels and the like. Truth be told, without this five plus popping up, I was truly depending on a miracle this summer to pull us back into the black. I will protect my family, this business, and your jobs at all costs, and if that means selling this here blood diamond to the highest bidder than so be it. I am as sickened as the rest of you at the history of this item but the fact is it will save us all."
Donella finished and looked to her daughter and crew, awaiting their response.
"Mom, I'm sorry that things are that bad but this isn't the way," Christina said turning and running out of the lab.
"CHRISSY, COME BACK!" Donella yelled.
"I'll go talk to her and bring her back " Varissa offered.
"No, it's okay, let her get it out. It's this religious kick she's been on. She will come around to understanding why this is so important. You all understand right?" Donella asked her crew.
"I got your back boss!" Butch spoke up.
"Thanks Butchy. Doc? Nyquilio? Nero? You understand right?"
"The quicker we get rid of this thing the better, and if it can help the company then fine by me as long as it's gone," Nero answered.
"It does have a nasty history, sir," Nyquilio said. "It was part of something unspeakable but you're the boss and I enjoy getting to explore lost worlds, so yeah, if this is what you think is best I will trust your judgement."
"I don't like it but you're the boss, sir," Varissa said in a small voice.
"Thank you all for understanding. What about you Lubdan? What do you and T think?" Donella asked, turning back towards the two.
"It's strange sir, the police reports, newspaper articles, website pages...everything...it doesn't stop the night he died in 1968," Lubdan gulped.
"What?! What do you mean?" Donella asked. "The bastard died didn't he?"
"Yeah, but it's strange," Lubdan replied. "In the mid eighties a string of teenager deaths started up in Springwood. Friends of the victims and even some who ended up being victims later all would say it was Freddy Krueger. This is going to sound really strange but they say he came after them in their dreams. Even stranger they all described him exactly the same, as a man in a red and green sweater, covered in burns, and wearing a black hat. And, get this, wielding a glove affixed with four razor sharp blades."
Varissa felt a shiver run down her spine at the words 'red and green' but before she could think on it more Donella was cutting in.
"Dreams? Come on, Lubdan. It's old earth superstition, a town boogeyman, mass hysteria!"
"That is the most likely scenario," Talos-16 chimed in, agreeing with Donella.
"I agree, sir but these police reports go on and on for countless years and the weird part eighty percent of this stuff is redacted, blacked out!" Lubdan said. "There's even a ton of medical records for patients at a place called Westin Hills, again mostly redacted but I dove into Westin Hills and it was a psychiatric hospital that specialized in sleep disorders. I wish I could tell you more sir but everything and I mean everything important has been seemingly scrubbed from history, redacted almost in full."
"Maybe I can fill in the blanks for you."
The group turned with a start at the voice of Candi who had been silent the entire time. She walked towards them and stood next to Lubdan and Talos, facing the group with the old diary in her hand.
"Candi, what is that?" Varissa snapped. "Where did you get it?"
"It's a diary that belonged to a girl named Nancy Thompson who lived in that house on old earth. I took it when Nyquilio and I found the model."
Donella and Varissa snapped their heads to Nyquilio. He put his hands in the air.
"I had no idea," Nyquilio pleaded. "I would have never let her take that out of there without tagging it and reporting it to you boss."
"Dr. DeGenarro," Donella spat. "I thought you explained to your student the laws governing what we do. This could've been bad if the wrong people had found out." The intimidating woman rounded on Candi, her hands held out, "Give us the book Candi so we can scan it in. What value you thought there would be in a level zero old earth diary is beyond me."
"No, please listen to me," Candi begged. "Nancy was one of the teens you spoke of that Freddy came after in her dreams! It wasn't mass hysteria and it wasn't an urban legend. I don't know how but it's all true. She documented it all! The nightmares she had, the smell of his breath. She wrote about seeing sleeping friends lifted by unseen forces and wounds appearing out of thin air. If he killed them in their dreams they died for real. He was getting revenge on the people of Springwood for killing him! He came after the teenage kids of the mob who burned him! Don't you see?! Christina was right! These items are evil. Nancy thought she defeated him but apparently she was wrong! And he kept coming back!"
"I did actually see the name Nancy Thompson pop up several times in the files," Lubdan interjected. "Her father was with the police in Springwood when the mob killed Frederick, um Freddy. I also came across her death certificate. She passed away while working at Westin Hills, but again all the pertinent information is redacted."
"What? He got her? NO!" Candi began as she looked down at the diary in her hands and began frantically flipping through the pages hoping to find something, anything to prove what Lubdan had said was wrong, but instead she made it three quarters of the way through the diary and found nothing but empty pages. Tears began to well in her eyes when suddenly she gasped as large scratchy characters began to form on the page before eyes. First the number one followed by the number two and then the words 'FREDDY'S COMING FOR YOU' and then blood began to ooze out of the passage on the page in front of her causing her to scream and throw the diary across the room.
"What's gotten into you, young lady?!" Donella shouted. Everybody snapped their heads to the diary on the floor across the lab from them then back to Candi who was almost hysterical.
"THE PAGE! IT WAS EMPTY! AND THEN IT SAID… IT SAID ONE, TWO, FREDDY'S COMING FOR YOU AND IT STARTED TO BLEED!" Candi yelled out, her hands held up over her mouth. Varissa automatically put her arm around Candi and then Varissa looked up and nodded at Nero, jerking her eyes towards the book on the ground. Nero understood and strode across the room picking up the diary.
"It's okay, shhhh," Varissa said, trying to soothe her student's anxiety. "Candilynn, you're just upset. The stuff you read in that old book freaked you out. That diary is just that, an old diary. Freddy Krueger is long gone. Nancy has been gone for almost five hundred years. You're safe, we're safe, no one is coming for you."
"Yeah, look," Nero said holding up the diary for her to see. "Nothing here but a diary, see?" Nero stood next to Varissa and Candi and flipped through the empty pages. Candi watched and saw the bleeding passage was nowhere to be seen. There was nothing but empty pages after teenage Nancy's final diary entry, but Candi knew what she had seen. She knew she wasn't crazy.
"NO! IT WAS THERE! YOU GOT TO BELIEVE ME! DON'T YOU SEE?! WE DIDN'T FIND THAT HOUSE BY ACCIDENT! THOSE COORDINATES WEREN'T A SYSTEM ERROR! HE USED US! SOMEHOW HE LURED US THERE TO FIND THAT GLOVE AND BRING IT WITH US! TO BRING HIM WITH US! HE WANTS TO START ALL OVER AGAIN WHEREVER WE TAKE HIM!" She screamed, turning and grabbing the glove off of the scanner surface. Talos and Lubdan jumped out of their chairs to avoid being knocked over.
"Candi, that is very expensive, you need to put it down. You're tired, you're stressed. Doc! Please tell your student to put down the artifact," Donella said as calm as she could muster.
"Candilynn, please put it down," Varissa asked, trying to reason with her distraught student. "I believe you think you saw something. No one is calling you a liar but this isn't the way."
"Hey, beautiful, come on, take a breath ok?" Butch tried to chime in to assist.
"Candi, I believe you. I saw how you reacted. Give the boss back her artifact and I'll make sure we lock all this stuff up in the most secure, farthest part of the ship. Then we can talk more about my planet and ...and...and I'll answer any strange questions you have about my physique."
Everybody snapped their heads towards Nyquilio with a million new questions for him as he spoke to Candi. It was obvious he was not exactly sure how to talk down a distressed young adult human female.
"I KNOW WHAT YOU ALL ARE TRYING TO DO! IF YOU WON'T GET RID OF IT THEN I'LL DAMAGE IT! MAKE IT WORTHLESS! THEN YOU'LL THROW IT OUT! WE CAN'T LET HIM WIN! I'M SORRY MS. V BUT IT'S THE ONL-" Candi stopped talking mid sentence and collapsed into Lubdan's waiting arms. Talos-16 stood beside his maker holding a tiny empty syringe. Candi's hands went limp and the glove threatened to slip from her unconscious grip but Nero was fast and he took hold of the glove before it could fall to the ground.
"Here, I'll take her to her quarters," Butch offered, stepping forward to take the young woman from Lubdan.
"Take her straight there and Butch, do I even gotta ask?" Donella said.
"Ha Ha! I'm not a creepo like Krueger I'll drop her off in her bed and hit the mess hall."
"Thank you, Butch," Varissa said as Butch lifted Candi to her feet taking her from Lubdan's arms and draping her arm over his shoulder as he carried her out of the lab.
"And thank you, Talos and Lubdan. That was some fast thinking," Donella said, smiling at the odd pair.
"Aye, sir," Lubdan said.
"Candilynn was in distress and was not thinking or acting rationally. Lubdan and I decided an old fashioned sedative injection was the best tactic to help her calm down before she could hurt herself or the artifact," Talos said.
"Good work, all of you. I do have some questions about the whole talking about your physique with her thing Nyquilio but I'll save that for later. In fact, let's table all this Freddy and artifact talk for after our trip to Somnium-5. Everybody head to the mess hall and have some dinner. We got a four day Cryosleep to prep for. Everyone is to report to the Cryochamber room at 0100 to be jacked in for the trip," Donella ordered. "And Talos?" she asked.
"Yes, sir?" Talos responded.
"I want you to do a deep dive into all this glove and Krueger business. See if you can find out anything more, maybe dig for some unredacted information or see if you can unmask any of it and give me a full report when we come out of cryosleep. We need all the information we can gather to present to collectors."
"Yes sir, I will do my best," Talos responded.
Donella turned to Nero, "Good save. I knew I hired you for more than your good looks."
"No problem, sir," Nero said, smiling.
Varissa smiled. She was concerned for her student but knew the four days in cryo sleep would be good for Candi and when they got to Somnium-5 all this boogeyman stuff would be replaced by the wonder of visiting a new planet for the first time. Though a small twinge of fear still dwelled deep in Varissa's gut, the red and green sweater...the red and green snake...She began to ponder on the two more but was snapped out of it again by her bosses finger.
"Sir?" Varissa spoke up as Donella was beginning to leave the lab.
"What is it doc?" Donella asked, turning to Varissa.
"Your finger, sir, it's bleeding again," she answered.
"Huh?" Donella said, lifting her finger and seeing it was in fact dripping blood from where the glove's blade had cut her on Earth-1 earlier. "You must not of done a full heal scan."
"Here, allow me," Talos said, walking to Donella and holding up a small gun shaped device and scanning the finger. Donella wiped away the blood revealing a normal finger with no wound.
"Thanks T! See, good as new. Alright, enjoy dinner folks. see you at 0100. I'll tell you a bedtime story," Donella said with a laugh as she left the room.
Varissa, Nero, Lubdan, and Nyquilio all made their way to the mess hall but none of them ate much that evening. Talos stayed behind hard at work digging for more information to present to Donella.
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
The crew of the Beowulf were all standing in their large glass cryochambers. It looked like ten clear glass coffins lined the solid white sterile room with a lone control panel erected in the middle surrounded by the ten chambers. A crewmate stood in each chamber with electrodes and IV's attached to their bodies as Talos made his rounds, jacking in the cryosleep system to each of their neural implants. Candi had still been unconscious from Talos' injection but Varissa and Nero had teamed up to make sure she was prepped and jacked in. Now, they were jacked into themselves. Talos made his way to the final crew member to assist.
"See you in four days, Lubdan. I will miss you. I will be looking after you while you rest," Talos said to his creator and friend.
"I'll miss you too, Talos. I'll see you soon, ok?" Lubdan said with a hint of sadness. He gave a the android a quick hug.
"OH, GET A ROOM!" Butch called good-naturedly from his cryochamber.
"HaHa! Arsehole," Lubdan called back, flipping Butch off playfully.
"Okay, ladies and gentleman" Donella called. "It's bedtime. Close your eyes, say your prayers, and, in the blink of an eye, you'll be waking up in the Somnium galaxy."
"Mom, please think about what we talked about," Christina said, looking over to her mother's chamber.
"Yes, sweetie. We will talk about it more after we all wake up. I love you, Chrissy."
"Love you too, mom," Christina said tersely, thinking her mom was not taking her serious.
"See ya on the other side," Nero said, looking over to the chamber next to him where Varissa stood. "Maybe we could grab a coffee or whatever they drink on Somnium-5."
"Sure, why not," Varissa responded with a smile.
"It's called Yarvestiq and it really is quite good but we have a higher metabolism and require a much higher dose of caffeine than humans so might I suggest you take it slow at first and I think you'll enjoy it," Nyquilio began as he looked back and forth at the two. A smile stretched across Nero's face and a slight blush colored Varissa's cheeks. "But, then again, perhaps you'll be more interested in something other than the beverage."
"Auto-Warp is set," Warlock called from his chamber. "It will kick in two minutes after we are all safely in cryosleep, boss."
"Alrighty, then. Talos we're ready. See ya soon," Donella said.
"Yes sir," the android responded as he waived his hand over the control panel before him and all ten chambers hissed as a clear glass encasement slid over down to seal the crewmates inside. Talos waived his hand again and a clear fluid began flowing through each crewmember's IV.
Varissa could feel her body slowly falling into cryo hibernation. The room began to distort around her as her eyes slowly closed then opened and closed again. Her breathing slowed.
Her eyes opened and she noticed a change in the room. The other cryochambers were gone leaving only hers there in the middle of the white sterile room. She blinked and heard a strange noise like something slapping the ground in a rhythmic pattern. She opened her eyes and saw she was no longer in the white sterile room.
She was back outside the house on old earth but the area was much changed. There was no dust storm, no desolation. The house still looked rundown and boarded up but now there was grass on the ground in areas, patches of pavement with chalk drawings on it. The sky was dusky, almost dark, and from her cryochamber she could see three small girls. They wore bright white dresses with their hair tied up in pigtails with big white bows. They were on a patch of pavement near the house and they were playing. Two of the girls each held one end of a rope and they swung it over and under as the third little girl would jump over it and they began singing. The lyrics sent a chill and a spike of fear through her slowly fading body as they sang out the same thing Candi had said she read in the diary "One...two...Freddy's coming for you."
Her eyes closed again and she still heard the slapping of the rope. Her eyes opened once more and they were still there singing their song.
"Three...four...better lock your door."
Varissa tried her best to not fall into cryosleep. She fought the undefeatable urge to fall into unconsciousness with everything she had but failed. The last thing she saw was the front door to the house at 1428 Elm Street slowly creak open and then Dr. Varissa DeGenarro's eyes closed one final time and cryosleep took her and all she saw was blackness.
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll