Chapter Six

Now, Nancy Thompson wasn't a type of woman who thought you had to dress in the finest clothes to be redeemed presentable. It was, of course, nice to look appropriate, but like the old cliché everyone said they believed ' The insides matter more then the outsides'. This didn't stop the young woman as she browsed over her ever growing collection of shoes and heels that rested in the belly of her closet. Mrs. Ackerman was a presentable woman with keen taste in society, she was also in one of the richest families associated with Springwood. To sum it all up, Nancy did not want to look like a cheap poor psychiatrist who had a regular income and a quite normal/lowly life style… Well all except the whole situation with the nasty child murderer Freddy Krueger stuck in her dream world.

After quite a while of hesitation Nancy decided to go with a pair of short black heels that she wore on rare occasions. The burnt serial killer was tapping his bladed finger against the glass his eyes rolling in utter boredom at her slow pace.

" Can you hurry up… You're wasting daylight, bitch." He snarled at her his mouth in a sneer.

" That's coming from the guy whose not going to be doing any of the work." Nancy stated trying to keep her cool, though her insides were tumbling about. " Also, could you possibly refrain from calling me such a rude name." She automatically knew his answer.

" No." Typical. " I call them as I see them."

" All right, I'm ready. Gesh…" With that Nancy Thompson snagged her purse lying on her bed and headed out of her apartment. Today was a good opportunity to meet Mrs. Ackerman, she did not have to be to the institution till the afternoon which worked perfectly for her. The September air whisked about as she descended the stairs heading out to her car. Nancy tightened her coat about herself looking into the clear cloud free sky. While starting up her car, she dug into her pocket to retrieve a crumpled scrap of white paper that she had written the address on. Hopefully the house would be easy to find, she didn't feel like wasting her time around a bunch of neighborhoods frantically looking for their home.

It did not take her long to find the house. It was to be expected that the Ackerman's would own the largest house in springwood, well at least one of the largest homes. Her car sat outside the gate that guarded the drive up all the way to the house. It was a two story home, with an antique feel, probably over a hundred years old. The lawn was nicely cut to a precise length, the bricks shone with a clean shine and the fountain out front bubbled and streamed crystal clear water. She had to keep reminding herself that money didn't make a person happy… It looked like it did though.

" Talk about having it fucking easy." Freddy joined in from the reflection of her rear view mirror.

" I don't even feel like my car is even worth entering through the gate." Nancy mumbled feeling a little more low then she already did. A loud buzz rang and the gates drew back before them, like a curtain before the big show. In a way, it was like a show that was about to unfold, Nancy wondered if she could pull it off or get stage fright. Puttering, the car pulled through up to the front of the house parking out of the way.

" Wish me luck." Nancy stated unbuckling her seat belt. Freddy grinned tipping his hat over his eyes and disappearing from the reflection in the mirror.

Nancy stepped out looking up at the large stunning architecture as she walked up to the house. The door opened as she walked up the steps, and a woman older than she was stood in the door frame. Nancy stared at her for a moment, she already knew who it was but it almost seemed nothing like how Mrs. Ackerman should have looked like. She had dark blonde hair that was naturally wavy but short, an beautiful modern sweater with the sleeves rolled up, that matched the fine dark brown skirt that hung to her thin form. She was a pretty woman with her blue eyes but she didn't have large breasts or a ton of makeup on, in fact she barely had any one from what Nancy could tell.

" Let me guess you're Nancy Thompson right?" She grinned as Nancy nodded smiling back. " I had a feeling you'd show up sooner or later."

" I'm sorry if I came an a inappropriate time." Nancy stated, " It seems some one already told you I was coming though…"

" Damien was the one if you were curious. He said you'd come snooping around for some information about my husband." She looked distraught and a little grumpy at her words. " Well he didn't say 'snooping' that maybe exaggerated…"

" I know that I should not be imposing on your personal matters, Mrs. Ackerman," Nancy began, a determination in her voice, "but I'm only interested to find out what's going on. I'm not here to accuse your husband or anyone, I'm only looking for answers."

" So that's why you got a job at my husbands office… Are you working undercover for the police?"

" No… I'm a psychiatrist trying to study and understand the thought process of serial killers, also you can say it's a cause… I don't wish to see any more woman die." Nancy knew she lied a little bit but she felt it was best to hide her ties with Markus from putting him into direct trouble.

Mrs. Ackerman looked at her leaning slightly against the door frame, her face looking older with out the smile. " You're different… I don't know why but I can just tell looking at you." Nancy sweated a little wondering what she meant by that. " You've got something most people don't have. That and balls to just come up to my house asking for answers. Come on in, I'll try to satisfy your questions the best to my abilities."

Nancy smiled and thanked her as the two went inside the monstrous sized home. Once again Nancy's attention was pulled to the beauty and exquisiteness that echoed from the house. " This way." Mrs. Ackerman had to say breaking Nancy from the houses trance. They entered a living room that was almost larger then her apartment. She sat down on a cushiony Victorian style couch that was rather comfortable. " Excuse me a moment, I was cleaning some dishes I'll be right back." Mrs. Ackerman left the room into a hallway and Nancy just had a puzzled look on her mug. 'This woman has all this money but still cleans…'

" Would you just look at this place." Nancy jumped a little and turned to see a large round antique mirror hanging above a table that had some traditional knickknacks and frames with old family memories. Freddy was leaning against the rim his arms crossed like he was propped up on something on the other side. " I'm going to go see if I can sneak around and find something. Don't fuck this up."

Nancy tried not to display her irritation with him already. " All right, all right! Just get out of here!"

Freddy rolled his eyes waving her off. " I'm getting out of her, ya bitch." Mrs. Ackerman came back into the room a few moments later, rolling her sleeves back down. She sat in a chair across the coffee table, she set down a glass of lemonade in front of Nancy and held one for herself.

" Here. Since we'll be talking for what I can already assume is a while, I've got some fresh lemonade." Nancy took a sip tasting it, it was pretty good and it made her laugh a moment as she sat it back down. " What's so funny?" Mrs. Ackerman raised a brow smiling herself.

" Oh, it's just that, your son seems to have a thing for lemons so it's funny to see he takes after you." Nancy crossed her fingers together looking calm, on the inside she was wondering what trouble her demon cohort would probably get them into… Or the things he may find. " Thank you for taking the time to see me out though Mrs. Ackerman."

" Please don't call me Mrs. Ackerman," The older woman said quickly, either from not wanting to feel that old or not wanting to be in any relation to her husband, "call me Brook." Nancy was not sure how to begin her questions, she didn't want to just bluntly throw them at her and she didn't want to waste a lot of time just trying to sneak into them. Brook ran her finger around the rim of her lemonade glass, peering into the droplets of condensation that trickled in races down her cup. " You probably think bad of me."

" Huh? Why would I think that?" Nancy replied, wondering why that came out of the blue. Was there a secret guilt hanging over Mrs. Ackerman's mind?

Brook sighed, her age was starting to show as she leaned back into the chair. " You must be wondering why I have stayed married to a man that has obviously shown that he is not faithful to me back."

" I am a little curious, most people wouldn't stick with a man like that for so long… He's cheated on you… How many…"

" Four. Four times. Each and every time I said to myself 'Brook you can do better then this, you don't have to stand behind this selfish pig' but then I always stay right where I am." She was smiling but it was a façade to cover the obvious corrosion that was eating her apart. Nancy noted something though, Mrs. Ackerman said that she was cheated on four times by Mr. Ackerman. Markus said they found five bodies, all women and all women with whom Ackerman cheated with. She didn't know about the fifth, perhaps it was best she not knew either, Nancy decided to keep that to herself.

" Why do you stay then?"

" Money, wealth, being able to live an easy life style. I don't have to struggle through what most people do… But I almost wish I would, because even though I don't work, all I've made myself to be is worth nothing. I originally stayed married to David because I wanted to be able to give Damien a good life… But what's the reason if he's already out of the house and taking care of himself?" Nancy was quiet as Brook looked into the old mirror hanging above the table. " I see myself but I'm not there… I don't quite exist any more… It's his fault… It's all his damn fault…"

Nancy knew that feeling all to well. She was right… Wasn't she? Nancy didn't want too but her mind forced her to reflect it in the same way she felt about her old past wounds. Even after Freddy was gone she was still suffering almost as if he was there every night clawing her open… It nestled in her heart and her conscious whirled about in resentment. ' I don't blame her for hating him at all…'

" This game is coming to an end though, I'm not taking it anymore. Especially with these murders going about, I'm not going to risk my neck for his money or comfort…"

" So do you believe David is the one killing these young women?" It was silent for a moment as the sound of a clock tick-tocked away in the background. " Forgive me it must be a sore, over asked topic… Plenty of reporters have probably wanted your opinion."

" Is he the one… I don't know. He could be, or it could be someone setting him up… I don't know and I don't really care. It's his fault for getting himself into that mess, not mine… Just as long as Damien stays safe, I'm not involving myself… However, since I just poured my pathetic heart and soul to you I will give you my opinion about it." Nancy took another sip of her lemonade, she was nervous and it was a bit of habit to keep drinking a beverage when she was. " It doesn't seem like what he would do… if he went crazy. Then again, all the women who've been found dead are all ones that he's cheated on with me, or have worked for him in the past…" She stopped and looked into Nancy with her icy blue eyes. " So more then likely, he is being setup by some one that would want to knock him out of his position."

An uncomfortable realization hit Nancy as she stared across the coffee table at the woman with cruel blue eyes… Damien must have obtained his from her, seeing as David had brown eyes." Have the police accused you of being a suspect?"

" Yes, they have. I suppose they have every right too, sounds all to well. Wife gets jealous at the husband, kills a few girls to frame him, he goes to jail and she gets everything… It doesn't help that the body of the last girl was dumped behind my house. I was gone that day though, I was visiting my mother who lives not to far from springwood." Nancy sweated a little, she never thought about it like that way before… Nancy's conscious came to calm her ruffled mind. 'If she was the murderer why would she come out and tell you all of that?' Good point. " It makes me sick that people only think women will go crazy and homicidal when a man breaks their heart." Brook laughed, a dry laugh, resting her head against her right hand.

" I have something I would like to share with you then… Perhaps you can give me some insight onto whom might be the one doing the killing. I found out that-"

" Hello Mom?" A voice sounded from the entry hallway and a young man came strolling in with his coat on his arms. " I hope I'm not interrupting you and your company."

" Not at all Damien… In fact she probably doesn't mind at all." Nancy waved to him with a smile and he sighed cracking a grin. Damien came over and plopped on the sofa next to Nancy rubbing his neck.

" I didn't recognize the car out front."

" You told your mom that I was going to be here sometime I see." She crossed her arms and gave him a teasing glare.

" I was going to invite you over soon, it's just been works been busy lately and I haven't really got the time to plan it out." He looked over at his mom and sat up his fingers meshing together. " I got a call from… Dad by the way, said he really needs to talk some things over with you."

" Tell him forget it, I'm not talking to him unless I have a lawyer sitting right next to me." Damien shrugged nervously pushing it off. Nancy was sure things like this had always been happening with his mother and father so it probably wasn't that new to him at all. The clock that had been ticking away earlier chimed loudly with a little tune, telling the three of them that a new hour had just begun.

" Oh what time is it right now?" Brook ask looking over at Damien.

He looked down at a watch that clung to his wrist. " It's eleven right now…" Nancy sighed, she should be leaving, she still needed to snag a bite to eat and then head over to Westin Hills. " I came home to take my lunch break since my kitchen is down for the moment. Carol is helping me paint the walls in there, along with my dinning room."

" Let me guess," Nancy started, " It's all bright yellow, like lemons."

" Just because I like lemons does not mean I like the color yellow." He pouted reaching over and grabbing his mothers drink. " Also I love other things beside them too, like beets and artichoke."

" You have a very… special son Mrs. Ackerman." Nancy laughed and Brook chuckled as well.

" I have to agree with you on that one. Special fits perfectly."

" Hey!" Damien furrowed his brows at both of them. " Well at least I eat healthily."

" Speaking of eating I should get going." Nancy stood up and pulled her purse up her shoulder. " I've got to go back to Westin Hills this afternoon. It's no fun to work with angry kids on an empty stomach I might say."

" Good luck with your kids today then." Brook said taking a stand. " I'll have to invite you and Carol over sometime later. It's nice to have my son invite some of his friends over now and again." She elbowed him in the side and he just smirked.

Nancy smiled a little her pretty face glowing even prettier. " That sounds good to me."

Damien quickly stood leaving his clean coat on the arm of the couch. " Hey I'll walk you out, I forgot something in my car anyway." The young man walked out of the lovely home with Nancy at his side. He lead her over to her older car, that was kind of a rust bucket compared to his lovely new Volvo. " Sorry about the cold shoulder my mom bares."

" That's all right, she's actually kind of a nice person when you avoid the whole 'husband' subject."

" It's just been," He sighed crossing his arms, " there have been so many local reporters and newspapers coming to bug my mom about it that, she's really stressed out. I had to warn her ahead of time that you were coming, but… She seemed to like you."

" Well… That's a good thing." Nancy laughed looking off to the large house.

" I don't know… You two seem alike… Well of course not completely."

Nancy looked back over to him, with a small sad smile. " Actually," she said softly, "we're pretty similar."

" Well I better let you go on your way." Damien stated. The two said their goodbyes and the young man waltzed back up to the house. Nancy started up her vehicle and began to pull out of the drive. Damien watched her until she was out past the gate. Entering his house he saw his mom sitting on the couch looking over to the old mirror that hung on the wall. " Mom? Are you okay?"

She seemed to come back to reality as she looked over at him. " I'm sorry… But… I felt like someone was watching me…"

Nancy looked at her rear view mirror, wondering when Freddy would pop back up from his little investigation. As she turned the corner she didn't notice the black vehicle sitting on the other side of the road from the Ackerman house. It puttered to life and then drove the opposite way disappearing into the neighborhood.

" So how'd it go?" Freddy asked reappearing in her rear view mirror.

" Fine…" Nancy simply said, eyes focused on the road. Freddy frowned, he tilted his hat back.

" You're very talkative, thanks for asking how it went for me."

" Find anything?" She asked with little interest appearing in her voice.

" Not really, all the rooms I could peek into didn't have anything out of the ordinary. Except…" He paused a moment, his left hand scratching the side of his head. " There was one room I couldn't look into."

" What do you mean?" She sounded a little more curious but Nancy didn't look at the murder.

" There were no mirrors, no windows, nothing with a reflective surface that my powers could tap into… It's completely out of my view… So, obviously that's the room that has the information we're looking for from that fucker."

" Interesting…" Nancy said softly, taking a turn on an intersection. Westin Hills was looming in the background not to far away. Freddy stared at her, but she never looked up. He shifted uncomfortably, he hated being ignored, yet he knew something from the two's talk made Nancy act the way she was. He didn't care though, if the bitch wanted to be a bitch let her. However the dream demon kept looking at her wondering if she was even going to glance back at him.

Robert dug his fork into his potato salad and took a large bite. He was sitting in the faculty room eating his lunch. He looked over at the empty chair near him and just kept ingesting his food. Normally Nancy would eat lunch with him but she probably wasn't going to today. He sighed and took a bite of his tuna sandwich as he ate in the room silently. Suddenly the door opened and he looked up to see the woman he was just thinking about walking through the door.

" Hi." He said, as he quickly reached for a napkin to wipe the tuna off his lip.

Nancy laughed as he gave a embarrassed grin. " Hi." She said her voice perking back up. Freddy watched from the window and just glared. Okay, so now she wasn't acting like a royal bitch. Nancy sat down in the empty chair and set her McDonalds bag on the table. " Sorry that I was a bit late. I forgot how many people drive through the drive at lunch."

" That's okay, we don't have to start our group session until twenty minutes or so."

" How is Travis? I heard he's starting new medication to help treat his anxiety disorder."

" He's doing excellent. The new medication is helping his recovery process, he opened up to me the other day for the first time. I know he's going to do better now." Robert smiled at her and Nancy smiled back, happy for Travis and for Dr. Audley. He had such a beautiful smile, she loved hearing him laugh too, over all he was a happy person for working with sad and angry kids. " What about you Nancy? You seem a little down today."

He was very good at reading human emotion though, she wondered what gave her away. " I'm totally fine."

He frowned a bit setting down his sandwich. " I can tell you know, we've been working together for a while. When you're happy you sit up straighter, when you're sad your shoulders slump and you crouch over more… Great… Now I sound like a stalker, I don't mean too, I guess psychology makes study humans too closely." Nancy blushed a little, she sat up a little straighter. Freddy couldn't take watching them anymore, he gritted his teeth in great annoyance, his reflection slowly faded from the window.

" It's amazing that you can read people so easily. I wish I knew how to tell if someone was feeling bad or not. As for me, yes, I am a little sad but… Being around you makes me feel way better."

" Same for me Mrs. Thompson. You're such a strong individual, I know you'll perk back up to your old self." Robert put his hand on Nancy's shoulder and the two seemed to be locked looking at each other. Robert was reaching his hand up to cup Nancy's face when all of a sudden the door swung open. Kate stood there, her blonde hair a little ruffled and a very worried look plastered on her face.

" Mrs. Macklin, what's going on?" Dr. Audley asked as he stood up quickly. Nancy stood up too, she was concerned about the screaming from coming down the hall.

" It's Travis!" She stammered, her normally bubbly voice frantic. " He just started freaking out for no reason! We're trying to sedate him but he keeps screaming 'Monster, Monster'!" Nancy felt her stomach flop and her rage began to boil in her skin. The two psychiatrists ran out the door and down the hall to the room that the young man was currently held in. The young man was lying on the bed with two guards hovering, the guards were sweating and very nervous from the convulsing boy.

" Travis!" Audley knelt down to the boys side grasping his hands. " Travis calm down now… Calm down… You're okay there is no monster here."

The boy was calming, his blue eyes wide and animal like. He slowly raised a shaking hand and began to point at the window from across his bed. " There… T-there. He was right there…"

" Who was there?" Nancy knelt down too her heart pounding her chest. She already knew.

" A-An man. A monster. He said-that my dad's d-death was all my fault. He called me a k-k-ki…" Robert hugged the boy pulling his face into his shoulder and began rocking him. " Am I a ki-killer? Am I? I don't want to b-be! I don't want to be! I'm sorry dad! I'm so sorry…"

" Shhhhh… You're not a killer. You're not a killer…" The boy sobbed a little but the sedatives were coursing through his veins and soon the child went back to sleep. Robert stayed beside the boy as the guards left leaving the two. Nancy felt tears prickle her eyes as she saw Dr. Audley slowly lay the boy back into his bed. The two were silent for a while as Robert stood back up, placing his hands in his coat pocket. " I think he's going to regress… He probably just had an anxiety attack and hallucinated." Robert pinched the bridge of his nose and clenched his teeth. " He was so close to getting better… How did this happen? Why did this happen?"

" It's going to be okay Robert." Nancy softly said taking hold of his arm and hugging him. Her face was displaying nothing but anger as she stood beside her fellow doctor. " I know you can help him get better again…"

" You fucking bastard." Nancy said looking into a mirror that hung above a sink in the woman's bathroom. The room was empty and the sound of water dripping was the only echo. He didn't appear. " You fucking coward." She spat fingers trembling with the hate that was consuming her heart. " Why do you have to ruin everything? That poor boy- Dr. Audley, he was doing his best and you went and crushed it all!"

'I see myself but I'm not there… I don't quite exist any more… It's his fault… It's all his damn fault…'

Freddy appeared where Nancy should have been, wiping every sign of her existence on the other side of the mirror. " What, finally talking to me. I had to go and disturb a mental kid just to get your attention." He smiled with his ugly nasty teeth.

" How could you do that to that boy?" She growled staring him down. " He has nothing to do with you or me!"

" I can do whatever the fuck I want. I think, you're starting to forget who I am." Freddy scoffed staring her right back down. " I'd watch myself if I were you."

" Like you can do anything to me…" Nancy stated a sick smile forming on her face, Freddy's grin dropped. " That won't be served right back at you." Freddy pressed both hands on the window and dragged his claws down, a pissed look crossing his face. " Don't like being caged Krueger? Don't like knowing your nothing now but… Shit? That you can't kill any child, that you can't kill anyone… That you can't kill me?"

" I may not be able to hurt you, you fucking bitch, but I can keep everyone you care about away from you." He growled dangerously. " How does it feel whore… To know that you belong only to a monster? The same monster that took everything from you. Does it make you sick? Does it make you sick to know that no man will ever have you because of me?"

" FUCK YOU!" Nancy shouted slamming her hands on the sink, her blue eyes wide as she felt her fury rise with every breath. " I DON'T BELONG TO YOU!"

" You always have Nancy. Ever since we've met." He smiled sickly, pure malevolence leaking from him. " Whose the one you've been obsessed about? Whose the one you've constantly thought about? Whose the one you always thought about before going to bed and until sunrise? I can tell you it wasn't your dear precious Glen. It's not your dear Audley either-"

Nancy threw her fist into the mirror and felt the glass crack and break. Blood dribbled into the sink as pieces imbedded into her knuckles. The bathroom filled with the noise of glass shattered hitting the ground. She panted heavily feeling her chest rise and fall. Looking into the broken fragments of the mirror before her, she saw half of herself and half of Freddy in the smashed surface. He smiled at her while her half was shedding a single tear down her face. " Now Nancy… Is the truth too much for you to handle?"

Slowly she fell to the floor and leaned against the bathroom stall behind her. Tears spilled down her eyes as she covered her face. The brown haired woman sobbed as her tears mixed with the blood that was dripping from her right hand.

' I don't quite exist anymore…'

' Who am I?'

' Who is Nancy Thompson?'

He did not appear the rest of the day. Nancy walked about forcing a smile as she continued with her job. She looked at the kids alone during group therapy, Robert had to help rehabilitee Travis who was back to where he started once more. Even after work Nancy did not see Krueger as she walked out to her car. He didn't appear in the rear view mirror as she drove home. She didn't want to see him anyway, she didn't want to see him ever again. She knew he was there though, their souls were twisted together, she could feel him near, that alone made her sick.

Walking up the stairs to reach her apartment she passed a couple along the way. Looking at them made her stomach even more upset as they whispered precious little things to one another. Here apartment appeared and she stood in front of it a moment. The cold wind whipped her coat and scarf about but she almost enjoyed the cool cruel sting it gave her. The door opened revealing the lonely darkness that was hers alone.

" I'm home." She whispered to herself stepping inside and locking the door behind herself. The lights flickered on and she halted feeling a chill crawl up her spine. Cocking her head she looked at her coffee table. There was a manila envelope resting on her tape top . She dropped here purse and walked around the couch, eyes curious and frightened at the package waiting for her. 'I had my door locked… How did this get…' With a bounce she sat on the couch before her and stared at it. Unknown to her, Freddy was at the edge of the window looking down with a frown at it.

Slowly she picked it up, the front read in big blocky letters 'READ'. She undid the metal on the back and opened it reaching in to grab it. She stopped and then went into the bathroom, she came back out with a pair of tweezers that she washed. Using the tweezers she pulled out the paper from inside setting it on her table. The letter was written with magazine clippings, whomever it was cut out letters and pasted words on it. It read…

' NAnCY THOMPSOM WaTCH YOURSelF YOU May BE nEXT.'

" Good." Nancy spoke into the quiet. She put the letter back into the envelope, her heart was pounding in her chest. " That's exactly what I want."

What… Is… This? A new chapter? I bet a lot of you were thinking I'd never make another chapter. For a while even I thought so, this chapter was a bitch to write for some reason. XD Oh well here it is! Very drama filled too! Things are starting to heat up! Who is the killer, our choices are starting to slim and the first nightmare is coming to an end soon. Thank you for all your wonderful reviews! You guys are awesome.