Chapter One: In the Shadows

"Salina…" a quiet, sweet, voice whispered eerily from the black.

A part of me wanted to question the unknown, but another ordered me to keep silent.

"You can't run forever, Salina. No one can ever be safe."

I bit my tongue.

"I know you're here; in the darkness, just like me. Your mind is filled with potential evil that he desires."

What in the hell does that mean?

"Answer me Salina! He'll find you! He'll always find you!"

"Leave me alone!" I cried out into the darkness, stumbling backward deeper into the void.

It seemed like I wandered further and further away from the being who knew so much about so little. Me, filled with internal evil? I don't think so. As if it knew me and my thoughts, yeah right, I barely understand myself the majority of the time.

"One-two, Freddy's coming for you." Children's whispers echoed around me, filling the space. I could almost feel tiny hands reaching out for mine.

"You've got to be kidding me!" I was exasperated. This was child's play, and I didn't like it.

"Three-four, better lock your door.

Five-six, grab your crucifix.

Seven-eight, gonna stay up late.

Nine-ten, never sleep again…"

As the chanting fell silent around me, it felt ominously quiet and still. Each syllable from the song hung like pollen floating invisibly through the air. My breath grew heavy and Goosebumps forced their way across my skin as a chill crept through my spinal column. I wrapped my arms around my torso, shivering heavily, teeth chattering.

Suddenly, I could feel someone's humid breath upon my neck, and every hair on my body rose in unified fear. My heart pounded almost painfully against my chest as four pieces of cool steel settled gently against my collar bone. Each blade slid gingerly against my translucent flesh, just softly enough not to draw blood. Adrenaline poured through my veins as I tightly closed my eyes, afraid to face the ruined face of a psychopathic man known as Fred Krueger. This just couldn't be real.

"Hello, Salina, I've been waiting on you for awhile now. About time you let me in." His voice was darkly vague, a chuckle residing within his hollow chest.

I cleared my throat, trying to sound brave, but my voice broke. "What do you want from me?"

"Oh, Little Lynn, if I told you that now, what kind of fun would that be for me?"

"Just go ahead and kill me already." I replied. "I know you will eventually, so just get it over with."

"You don't want to fuck with me, doll face." He grabbed me forcefully by the shoulders, forcing me to face him. "Now, look at me!"

Reluctantly, I let my eyes slip open, not wanting to face the madness. His scarred skin looked like craters in the darkness, a black fedora shielding his fiery green eyes, and tattered red and green sweater loosely clung to his fragile-looking body. There was something about him that screamed danger and unpredictable. Anything could set this dream-demon off, knowing his uncontrolled temperament.

"What do you think, huh? Am I not the most handsome creature to walk this earth?" A wicked grin came across his gnarled face. "Why not give daddy a kiss?"

He leaned in slightly, and his tongue came in a ribbon across the gap towards my own lips. Before it could make contact, I struggled against his deadly grip, knifes cutting into my skin. I jerked my face away as his tongue caressed my jawbone, burning my skin like molten lava. Thrashing out with all my might, he finally stopped, shaking me violently as a sign to be still once more.

"Kid, you make this way too hard, but I like it." He crooned.

"Please, just leave me alone, Krueger." I held back the urge to piss him off.

At last he let me go, and slowly he walked away. "Ah, but Salina, you don't understand."

"What do you mean I don't understand?"

His tone was matter-of-fact. "Fate has given us no choice but to cross paths. I guess you could say I need you, but don't get any ideas, bitch."

I was shocked. "YOU… need ME? What in the hell for?"

"You'll find out when I decide to let you know." He informed. "But you can expect to be seeing me regularly."

"So, that means you can't kill me?" I mused.

He thought about this. "Not exactly, it's just in my best interest not to kill you."

This was somewhat a relief. "Do I have a say in this."

His laugh was hysterical, and he almost had to clutch his abdomen from the stress it was causing. "Not when this involves me! Who do you think you are? Your blood and soul belongs to me from this day forward. Actually, you have always belonged to me. You were BORN for me, doll face. It's the fact of your life."

"I highly doubt that." I muttered as he continued to laugh manically.

He smirked. "You better believe it, or else you won't be getting much sleep from here on out. After all, I do control your precious dreams."

"If you need me so badly, why don't you kiss my ass?" I was annoyed.

With inhuman speed he raised a claw to my face. "I'm so sick of hearing your half of our conversation. Why don't you just… WAKE UP."

I gasped as he jerked the blade across my cheek, the blood dripping hungrily down my neck. The stinging was enough to make him begin to fade, and he waved his claws in an impermanent farewell. He seemed too glad to see my blood, too glad to have hurt me, even if it was so slightly. Relief flooded over me as soon as he was good.

Jolting awake, I sat up in my bed, pulling the covers up to my nose. My breathing was heavy, arms and legs trembling from the unsettling feeling that began to fall over me like a damp blanket. I shook my head, getting out of bed and rushing to my bathroom in the corner of the room. Once inside, I shut the door, looking at my reflection in the mirror.

My golden brown eyes were lit with terror from the nightmare and I appeared even more unrealistically pale than normal. There was a lack of color in my usually bright pink lips and my thick, untamed ringlets of black hair fell haphazardly to the middle of my back. Though, my hair was always that way.

Shakily, I brought my small hand to the clean cut residing on my cheek. Carmine liquid was slowly seeping from the line, but starting to ease up. I wet a warm washcloth and pressed it to the opening, calming as the water relieved the stinging. Once the bleeding stop, I sat down on the floor, hurling the dirtied towel into the bath tub because I was too lazy to put it in the laundry.

"It was just a dream." I said to myself, trying to make sense of what happened. "I probably just scratched myself while I was sleeping."

There was no reply from the cool bathroom, only the water dripping within the sink.

I forced myself to laugh. "Freddy Krueger, in my dreams? What a joke. This is exactly why I shouldn't be aloud to watch scary movies."

Getting up, I made my way back to my bed, turning my lamp on as I fell back into unconsciousness. This time, there were no visions of a burnt man haunting me through an unknown place. If I even dreamt at all, I didn't remember it. I preferred nothing over nightmares of serial killers recruiting me for who-knows-what.

When morning came, I had all but forgotten the troubling dream as I sat down at the old, yellowing kitchen table for breakfast. Mom was chatting half-heartedly on the phone as dad sipped his morning dose of coffee. My eight-year-old brother Danny stabbed his scrambled eggs grumpily with his fork, refusing to look at any of us. Jennifer, my sister who was a year older than me, was texting while taking bites of her meal in between.

"Good morning, Salina." Mom said as she hung up the phone, offering me one of her kindest smiles.

I yawned. "Is it?"

She rolled her eyes. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Did you sleep alright?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, I just had a stupid nightmare."

"Did you eat something before you went to bed, honey? I know that can cause people to have weird dreams." Dad suggested, still absorbed in the news.

"Probably." I laughed as mom got up and gave me a plate of food.

"So, what's on the agenda for today, kids?" Mom asked.

Jennifer put down her phone. "I'm going to go hang out with Harper after school. Is that okay?"

"Sure." Mom's attention shifted to my brother. "Danny do you have soccer after school?"

"No." Danny mumbled.

Our mother raised a brow. "Do you want to go to grandmas? Your dad and I are going out tonight."

His face scrunched up in distaste. "I guess."

I knew she was going to confront me next, so I went ahead and answered. "I'll just stay at home tonight."

"Okay, dear. There are frozen burritos and pizzas in the fridge if you get hungry. Or you can order take-out. We'll leave you some money." She instructed happily.

They go out every Friday night.

I hurriedly finished eating, then ran upstairs, put on my makeup, and got dressed. Eyeliner on the top sand bottom lid was my thing, foundation, and some mascara. I noticed my cut was practically invisible after it had dried up. Cloaking myself in a red sweater, some skinny jeans, black leather boots, and woolen winter coat, I ran down the stairs in a rush. Jenifer was already waiting, tapping her foot impatiently by the front door as Danny was outside waiting for the bus.

"About time." Jen, huffed, opening the door and ushering me outside before I could find something else I needed to do.

Frigid morning air hit me directly in the face as we hurried to her already running blue, 2001 Sunfire. Our breath came out in clouds of moisture, lingering behind us as we trampled the frost infested grass. We got in, and she immediately threw the gear shift in drive, waving at Danny as we passed him by. He gave us a irritated scowl in return.

"Ah, I remember those days of waiting for the bus." She sighed, turning up the heat. "Poor kid, if only his school was closer to ours."

Abruptly, her phone's ringtone went off, which happened to be Fancy by Iggy Azalea. Though, what do you expect from my sister of all people? She's popular, the typical upper class of school life. Straight blond hair to her shoulders, manicured nails, mini skirts in thirty degree weather, heels, blue eyes, lip gloss in every shade, and pretty. It makes sense, but it doesn't add up that we're sisters.

I've always been more middle class in the high school social scene. Not that I'm exactly antisocial, but defiantly not one of the hierarchies of socialites. Preferably I like to spend time alone listening to music, writing, or drawing, but every now and then I will go to the movies or Pizza Hut with a friend. A boyfriend has definitely not been in the picture, and I'm almost eighteen years old.

We finally made it to the student parking lot.

"Do you have a ride home?" Jenifer questioned as she put the car in park, turning to me.

I shrugged. "No."

"Well you need to find one, because I have plans." She was blunt, getting out of the car, and heading towards her friends.

I followed suite. "I know. You don't have time to take me home?"

"It's not that I don't. I just don't want to go out of my way." She continued to walk away from me. "Today's going to be a dream."

I rolled my eyes.

Yeah, a real 'dream.'