Chapter 13: But Who Wins?
As soon as the wisecrack left his lips, Freddy Krueger realized that he just might have made a move that would ultimately turn out to be a bad one – or at the very least, a move that felt like the way to go at the moment, but failed to take any possible next move on his part into consideration.
Krueger knew that if he remained in the dreamworld, the next time the exorcists came, he would be done for; so, he couldn't stay there. Having Dracula bring him out of the dream with him when he woke up – a move that Krueger's teenage victims often employed against him to deprive the Springwood Slasher of his supernatural powers and abilities, and make him vulnerable to injury – was the first thing to come to Krueger's mind, and he acted purely on impulse.
Would that this 'impulse' had first included restoring his right hand and his bladed Glove before grabbing hold of the awakening vampire!
Now, Krueger found himself atop the struggling vampire, minus his weapon (whatever else the vampire might think of it) and his right hand, as well as most of his own, supernatural abilities.
The vampire – who Krueger was now almost positive really was THE Count Dracula – was another matter. Krueger's opponent still had the strength of twenty men, the ability to control others, and the power to shapeshift, in addition to his fighting skills honed centuries ago in his various battles against the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary.
And though Dracula currently found himself pinned immobile within his coffin, Krueger knew that Dracula could easily escape by shapeshifting into mist and reforming outside the confines of his coffin, where he would then be free to resume beating the weakened and wounded bogeyman until he 'died.' True, Freddy Krueger could not exactly be 'killed;' he would merely return to the dreamworld – with nowhere else to go when the exorcists returned to send him straight to Hell, the next day.
But everyone needs a little luck, including bogeymen. And that's when Krueger saw the stake in the coffin – undoubtedly dropped by his former 'minions' - in Krueger's earlier, failed 'proxy' assassination attempt on Dracula – within easy reach of his good, left hand.
Without additional thought, Freddy Krueger grabbed the stake and slammed it as hard as he could into Dracula's chest. The vampire roared in pain, and began to show signs of decay as half a millennium of decomposition began to take its due. But it still wasn't enough . . . .
Acting quickly, Krueger leapt to his feet, standing on the ledges of the open coffin as Dracula instinctively grasped the stake with both hands to try to pull it free. But in doing this, the vampire inadvertently held the stake steady for Krueger's next move.
Jumping up and bringing both his feet together, Freddy Krueger came down hard with his full weight on the stake, so conveniently being held in place by its vampiric victim.
The effect was instantaneous. Dracula exploded into a cloud of dust when the stake pierced his undead heart.
For a long moment, Freddy Krueger just stood there in the middle of the now empty coffin as motes of dust that had once been the Lord of the Undead floated in the air around him.
"I . . . I did it," said Krueger in a voice barely over a whisper.
"I did it. I DID IT! I KILLED COUNT DRACULA! NOW, WHO'S "KING OF THE MONSTERS," YOU BLOODSUCKING BITCH! AH, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!"
Ten-year-old Allen Browning hid behind the furnace in the basement of 1428 Elm Street, which was between him and Dracula's coffin, hoping that he could stay unseen by the monster that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Moments earlier, Allen had just arrived to check on his cousin Norie and her friends as Freddy Krueger ordered him to do, before returning to the dreamworld to give Krueger an update on their progress.
Allen found the storm cellar door and the door to the basement open, but inside, he saw no signs of his cousin and her friends, or even the bodies of the dogs the vampire used as daytime guardians that Krueger said he would kill.
There was a coffin that the vampire no doubt used to sleep in during the day, but it was closed. Allen didn't think he was strong enough on his own to open the lid, not that he wanted to. But what really caught his attention was the wreckage of drywall and framework that had once covered a barred, metal door set in the basement's back wall.
Allen was about to check upstairs when a loud "BANG!" caught him by surprise.
Out of the corner of his eye, Allen saw the coffin lid had been flung open with Freddy Krueger kneeling inside. Allen heard the voice of Krueger bellowing, "WAKEY-WAKEY-EGGS-AND-BAKEY, BITCH!"
Allen then quickly hid behind the furnace, keeping it between him and the coffin, hoping that Krueger didn't see him. Seconds later, he heard Krueger yelling, I DID IT! I KILLED COUNT DRACULA! NOW, WHO'S "KING OF THE MONSTERS," YOU BLOODSUCKING BITCH!" Allen trembled as the bogeyman followed this up with a loud, blood-curdling laugh.
Now, all the boy could think of was escape. Escape from the basement of the house, and the bogeyman he was trapped inside with. Daring to peek, Allen saw Krueger leap out of Dracula's coffin, surrounded by a cloud of dust. Allen also noticed that Krueger was missing his bespoke Glove, as well as his right hand, but this didn't make Allen feel any more confident about his chances if the bogeyman saw him.
For now, Krueger just leapt and danced in front of the coffin, celebrating his victory over the Vampire Lord, as he sang, "Ding-dong, the bitch is dead! Which old bitch? The bloodsucking bitch! I'm talking about YOU, Dracula! I swatted you like the pesky mosquito you are!"
Allen considered his only two possible options for escape. The way he came in through the basement's storm cellar doors was open, and from there, he could scramble over the ladder back to Aunt Karen's yard, and the relative safety of her house. But Krueger could be on him before he made it halfway to the door.
The other alternative was the basement stairs, which was further away, but would hopefully be hidden by the furnace from Krueger's view. But what if the basement door was locked from the outside . . . ?
Allen reasoned that Dracula wouldn't lock the door from the outside if he slept in the coffin in the basement. And that if the door was locked, it would probably be by something that could be opened without a key from the inside. Throw in that he could likely reach the stairs and the door without attracting the distracted bogeyman's attention, and for better or worse, Allen made his choice.
Moving as quietly as he could, the boy soon made it to the stairs as he heard Krueger singing and snarking behind him. But just as he made it to the basement stairs that presumably led to the kitchen, he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder that spun him around.
"Leaving the party so soon, Kid?" said Freddy Krueger. "Well, I won't hear of it! Come and celebrate with me!"
Pamelynne Conroy remembered waking up in Lenore's mom's bed, still wearing her swimsuit from the night before, and partially wrapped in a sheet. She also remembered feeling a compulsion to go back to her house, get dressed in sensible clothes and shoes, and then to proceed directly to the basement of the house behind Lenore's backyard, where she knew intuitively that the storm cellar door and the basement door would already be opened for her.
She was almost out of her room when her mind was suddenly flooded with other memories.
Krueger. Dracula. Her friends . . . .
Pamelynne remembered that Dracula had freed her from Krueger's nightmare dreamscape, and had commanded her to go home, dress, and then to wait for him in the basement of the house at 1428 Elm Street.
A moment ago, she had no desire to do anything else. But now, as Pamelynne began to process the new thoughts that suddenly began running through her mind, she stopped in her tracks. She didn't know why, but Pamelynne knew that she no longer had to heed the word of the Lord of the Undead. Her will was her own, and she could do what she wanted. And now she wanted nothing more than to help her friends.
Oh, she still planned to go to the basement of 1428 Elm Street. But first, she had to get something: her dad's aluminum baseball bat.
Something – she couldn't say what - told her that she might just need it . . . .
Freddy held Allen firmly with his good, left hand, forcing him against the railing of the basement steps. Though his right hand and his Glove were left behind in the dreamworld, Krueger had plenty of experience restraining a struggling child with only his left hand. And while he lacked his bespoke Glove, he could instill at least some fear by brandishing his bleeding stump inches from the boy's nose. And as the boy tried to pull back, pressing himself hard into the railing, Krueger saw it had the desired effect.
Besides, there would be little to gain from killing the boy, now. Dracula was gone, but there was still work that needed to be done that only this boy and the four teens could do for Krueger, if his master plan was to be put into motion.
With a low growl, Krueger said, "Your friends tried to betray me, kid. Not only did they fail, but it turns out I didn't even need them to dust Dracula for me. But I still need them to put up my website, to let every little piggy in the whole world know about me, and what I can do to them!
"You and the other piggies are lucky that I'm in such a good mood, kid. So the second part of my original offer still stands: Put up my website, and I'll let you all live . . . ." And then, Krueger did something unexpected, and let Allen go; releasing his left hand's grip on the boy, and backing away from him a few feet.
"If you agree to work for me, stay here. If you refuse," the bogeyman shrugged, and added, "go ahead and leave. I won't stop you."
Allen rubbed his right arm below his shoulder where Krueger had just released him from his vicelike grip. "W-why are you letting me go?"
"Because I don't need to kill you if you refuse me. Not now. I'll just do it later on, the next time you and the other traitorous piggies go back to sleep . . . ."
"Wait, you mean I'm awake now?" Allen said puzzled. "But . . . h-how are YOU here, then?
"You can't be here in the real world. You died fifty years ago!"
Again, Freddy Krueger shrugged. "I can be 'pulled-into' the physical world by a lucid dreamer if they're holding onto me when they wake up. But if I'm 'killed' – or if I just fall asleep – here in the physical world; I just go back to the dreamworld, and pick-up where I left-off.
"You wanna leave, kid? That's OK by me." Freddy laughed, and added, "Hey, kid? Why don't you call the cops on me, while you're at it. I'll just wait right here for them to arrest me. I'll fully cooperate as they throw me into a holding cell. Can you just imagine the look on their faces when I fall asleep in the cell and vanish right before their eyes, and maybe even on film?
"Or . . . maybe I'll just resist and force them to shoot me so I can vanish right before their eyes!
"If THAT don't add to my legend, nothing will!
"Oh, I may miss the looks of shock on their faces. But when you and your older friends go to sleep; you can tell me all about it when we meet again in my dreamscape!
"I'll kill you then, kid. I'll kill you all! Slowly and creatively; especially that slut Pamelynne! You can count on that! And even if you manage to wake up, I'll just finish my 'special work' later, the next time you fall asleep. I got all the time I want!
"But there IS a way out for you and the others, if you want to live!
"Work for me! Set up my website, with my full life story! Then I can afford to let you five live – I'll have millions – no, billions – of kids to prey on! And with each kill, I just become stronger!"
Krueger then ripped open his sweater, exposing his horribly burned torso. "Soon, my body will swell with the souls of my children!" To emphasize his point, Krueger rubbed his belly with his left hand to further terrify the boy, laughing salaciously.
Then, Kruger yelped in surprise as he quickly pulled his hand away, stunned to see two small puncture marks on his forefinger.
"It's Dracula!" said Allen, and the bogeyman looked down in pure horror to see the face of Count Dracula forming on his chest.