I wrote this in 1991, shortly before Freddy's Dead came out. So, please ignore all that you have seen after The Dream Child; this is a continuation of Ae lice Johnson and her son Jacob – now a teenager. This story came to be after reading an interview with Kevin Yagher, the man behind Krueger's make-up. He said that Freddy "kind of" reminded him of a witch. Hmm. Also, this story opens with a prologue which you may have read before from the Elm Street novelization book (I cannot find an author for this piece to give credit). With that said, enjoy and I welcome your comments. Pleasant nightmares. MBS

Tonight, the blades are back.

But, this time, it will be one

Night He will never forget…

The Armageddon:

Elm Street's Final Nightmare

By

Michael B. Schwartz

"When sleep came, it fled again, as if in fear of dreams."

Clive Barker

"The Madonna"

Prologue: 1971

Then he saw the children, laughing and skipping as they rushed into their parents' loving arms, and Freddy knew what he had to do.

There was a little girl standing at the curb not far from the alley. Perhaps her mother had had difficulty starting the car, or maybe a long line at the supermarket had set her schedule back a few minutes. No matter. The little girl was very much alone, and Freddy felt a stirring deep in his wicked soul. Squinting into the sunlight, he read the name "Amy" written in bright pink letters on the girl's lunchbox.

"Amy?" he whispered, but the girl didn't seem to hear him. "Amy," he repeated, a little louder this time. The girl looked at him with her large blue eyes.

"Come here," he said, beckoning to the girl with his left hand. She looked away for a moment, glancing up the street as if expecting her mother to arrive at any moment. Then she looked back at Freddy, and he knew in that instant that he had won.

"Come here," he repeated. The girl hesitated for only a moment and then stepped into the alley.

"Who are you?" she asked in a small, sweet voice that set Freddy's teeth on edge.

"Uncle Freddy," he replied, liking the sound of it. "Your mother said I should bring you home."

The girl shook her head doubtfully.

"I don't have an Uncle Freddy," she said.

"You do now," said Freddy, raising his right hand high into the air…

Part I: The Claw

Chapter I

The city of Springwood was finally over the bad spring season and, as the public schools had let out for the summer, five boys were walking down their street – not caring where they were going. Three of the boys had long dark hair and black leather jackets and the other two were wearing their school football jackets with the sleeves pulled up to their elbows.

"Are you kidding?" exclaimed one of the boys. "Amy Wilson wouldn't give you the time of day," smiled Brad Metz as he looked over at Jacob.

Jacob Johnson brushed his long black hair out of his face. "Look, I tell ya, when our senior year starts we'll be going with each other," he replied.

Steve smiled and took out his two-hundred-dollar gold earring from his left ear and handed it to Michael. "Here, jock. This is the wager: I bet Jacob that he can't get Amy to go out with him. If I lose, he gets this. If I win, I get it back," he explained as Michael put it into his Springwood High jacket pocket.

Jacob shook his head. "Don't you want anything if I lose?"

Steve laughed. "Hell, the game itself is all the fun."

With a nod, "You're on, then," replied Jacob.

They continued walking down their street, Elm Street, and after a few minutes, the quintet stopped in front of the all-too-familiar old house. The address simply identified it as 1428, but everyone else (especially all the children) knew this house as,

"The Krueger house," Michael whispered and Steve smiled and glanced over at Jacob again.

"I bet you ten bucks to go into that house," he said behind a smile.

Jacob tried to hold back his laugh. "You bet too much," he said and he slowly walked up the dirt path (he was certain it had to have been a nice walkway) that led up to the front porch steps.

"Because I know you'll take my bets all the time," shouted Steve behind a smile.

As he drew closer, Jacob could hear the childhood tales of this house playing in his mind. It was said to have been haunted and that whoever entered it would be visited by the man who murdered Nancy Thompson (the girl who used to live here with her drunkard mother) in their own nightmares.

We're not children anymore, he thought as his shoes crunched over the dirt and pebbles. Besides, the story about this Freddy guy; he's dead – he can't come back. He continued and heard the wood splintering beneath his shoes as he climbed the few steps to the porch.

He looked at the old wood door; the paint was chipping away. And the mailbox, to the left side, was rusted closed. The one thing that worried Jacob was the sight of the chain and lock that once kept out trespassers was now unlocked.

Doesn't matter; a bet's a bet. Besides, I could use the ten bucks, he thought as he turned the doorknob. He was shocked that it had actually turned and he was able to push the door further into the house.

"One, two, Freddy's coming for you. Three, four, better lock your door," he heard from behind. There, the other four were laughing and chanting that damned childhood nursery rhyme. "Five, six, grab your crucifix." But still, hearing it being chanted and him standing on this porch, everything seemed eerie now. "Seven, eight, gonna stay up late."

Jacob turned back to the inviting mouth of the house. Nine, ten, never sleep again, he concluded in his mind.

With a deep breath, he moved his body into the dark and stale living room. As if by instinct Jacob crossed the dirty living room and into the short hall where he came to a door on the right. He opened it and realized that a wooden staircase led down to a cellar in the bowels of this place.

As he descended the stairs slowly down the rickety steps, the mold grew stronger. He held onto the railing for dear life. He didn't care right now what he might find when he takes that last step; his biggest concern right now was making sure none of the steps breaking – which would make him fall to the concrete floor and breaking his neck.

When his shoes touched the floor – an eternity seemed to have passed – a chill raced through his entire body. It wasn't a chill of the supernatural; it was cold down here. He looked around and his gaze took a sharp left and his eyes fell upon an old furnace. Another chill ran down the flesh of his spine. There was something peculiar about this furnace and he couldn't put his finger on it. He walked over to it and it was as if some force were coaxing him to open the door. He opened it and cringed at the sound of the loud screech of it being slowly opened.

His nerves had materialized into steel, but nothing happened; not even a rat jumping out from the hidden blackness of the musty old furnace. He sighed – he wouldn't admit it to his friends that he was slightly disappointed – and then stood back up. He turned around and went back to the stairs. When he placed his right foot on the bottom step, he quickly turned back to the furnace. A roaring fire, deafening in volume, had been ignited by an unseen person.

And what was more, Jacob saw that there were blue flames inside the furnace.

"Witch," he whispered and as curiosity boiled inside his mind, he walked back to the furnace and squatted down beside it. As he stared into the strangely beautiful blue flames, there seemed to have been a sort of hypnosis taking place. Jacob pushed his right arm into the flames and winced as he thought he would feel pain. But he felt nothing except an object wrapped in cloth and he pulled his arm back.

It was something wrapped in a dirty rag and, like any child at Christmas, he unwrapped it and was horrified at the sight of a glove with four straight razors for fingers. There was something about the finger-knives that he vaguely remembered. Perhaps it was from a dream he had had a long time ago.

And then the flames, that had been a blue, now became a typical yellow-red.

He jumped up and heard the sound of laughter filling the cellar. He dropped the glove in the process.

"School's in session, Jacob," said a low grunting voice that came from nowhere.

That was it; Jacob turned around in an attempt to run up the stairs, but then he saw a silhouetted figure leaning against the burning furnace. The only thing distinguishable was that this dark figure wore what looked like a battered fedora.

"Don't you, uh, like my gift?" asked the figure. "I try an' let someone else have ago at it, but they turn me down," the man whispered. "Look's like I'll haveta take 'em back, then," he said and then bent down to pick up the talon-tipped glove.

As if done many times before, the man slipped the glove onto his right hand.

"I must be dreaming," replied Jacob in disbelief.

Again, that same low laughter. "That's what they all say," the man said. "And you know what? They're right."

"What?" Jacob yelled and the man burst into a fit of insane laughter.

And that was when he got a good view of this strange man (he was sickened to see how badly burnt this man had been), and he realized that he must truly be dreaming. He forced his consciousness to act out and he opened his eyes, stifling a scream that would surely have awakened the dead.

Chapter II

It was seven-thirty when Jacob abruptly awoke, and it was around quarter after eight when he decided on getting out of his bed. When he entered the kitchen he noticed that his mother was already heading out the back door.

"Late?" he asked with a grin as he looked at her.

"Yeah," she said as she returned her son's grin. "I'll see you later, Kiddo. Love you," said Alice Johnson and closed the door behind her and headed out for her car.

Later that morning, just as he finished putting away his weights, the phone rang. He headed back into the kitchen and answered the call with a "Hello?"

"Hi, Jacob. This is Mr. Johenson. I found you a temporary job if you want it."

He had almost forgotten that he and Johenson had spoken one afternoon after Metals Shop about finding a summer job.

"Where?"

"It's just on the outskirts of town; at the generating plant."

"I thought that place burnt down more than twenty years ago."

"It did. They rebuilt it a year ago. You want the job?"

"When do they want me to start?"

"Monday at eight o'clock."

Jacob thought this over for a second. "All right, I'll do it."

"Good. I'll pick you up around seven-thirty."

That afternoon Jacob met Brad at the local department store where they met one another in the Sporting Goods section.

"About time, Man. Ya know I had two security guards hassling me," greeted Brad as a grin formed across his unshaven face.

"I got a job for a couple of weeks," Jacob explained.

"Where, Man?" asked Brad as he took another gulp from his soda.

"That power plant outside of town."

Brad was about to explain that it had burnt down, however his gaze fell to the Check-out lines before he could say anything.

There, working as a cashier, was the blond-haired Amy Wilson.

Jacob followed his friend's gaze and became suddenly nervous as he remembered the little bet he had made with Steve (not that he needed a bet to ask her out – he wanted to anyway).

"Go for it," Brad gestured behind a mocking grin. "Your babe awaits."

"I will…I will," Jacob said and glanced around the magazine rack.

"What're you looking for?" asked Brad behind a confused expression.

"I gotta buy something, don't I?"

His gaze went from Rolling Stone down to a small paperback book, Nightmare on Elm Street. Jacob grabbed it and saw, on the cover, was a picture of what the old house used to look like in all its glory. He read the authors names; Doctor Neil Gordon and Jesse Walsh. He decided that this was what he would buy.

As Jacob approached the counter, Amy looked up at him and smiled.

"Jacob, hi," she said behind a gleaming eyes.

Jacob tried to look surprised. "Amy, I didn't know you worked here," he said.

"I started a couple of days ago," she explained as she glanced down at the book. "Elm Street?"

"Yeah," he said as he glanced from the book, to her light pink face.

"I live on Elm Street," she said and looked at the picture of the house.

"I live on Foster," he said and was about to tell her where the street was, but she nodded.

"I know," she said behind a bashful smile.

So far, this is going very well.

He looked down at the book. "The house; I've never seen it in person – only in my dreams," he explained his interest in buying the book. "And it sure as hell doesn't look that pretty," he said with a smile.

"I know that house too well. I could take you there…if you want," she said with a hopeful smile.

"I'd like that."

She scribbled down her phone number on the back of his receipt and handed it to him.

"I'll call you tonight," he said once she put the book into a bag and then he turned and walked back to Brad, who was watching the scene in awe.

"Looks like I get the earring," Jacob said almost laughing.

Chapter III

The book Jacob bought turned out to be more of a case-study in the life of Fred Krueger and all those he had murdered; during life and thereafter. It was actually, he had to admit, a trifle terrifying. And that was before he reached the last chapter. When he turned to it, his eyes widened and his jaw almost hit the floor. The title of the chapter read Alice Johnson and the Dream Master.

"Fred Krueger?" Alice whispered as she sat on the couch next to the coffee table, later that evening. She was trying to avoid Jacob's eyes; as if there were things she didn't want to talk about. "Why do you ask?"

He sighed and tossed the book down onto the table.

Alice stared down at the picture of the house and then picked the book up with caution – as if, at any moment, the book might sprout razors and slash her wrists open. "Neil Gordon and Jesse Walsh? I remember my old friend, Kristen Parker; she was in an institution and Dr. Gordon was her doctor. She died the next year."

He didn't care about all that (it was in the book after all). "Look at the last chapter, Mom," he insisted.

Alice flipped to the last chapter, and then a cold chill ran down her spine. "Freddy," she whispered. "I haven't spoken that evil name in seventeen years, right before you were born," she began.

"The only thing I can tell you, Jacob, was that he was the one who killed just about all of my friends. He almost killed me and you. And he killed…your father," she said as the rush of memories flooded her mind. How she ever got Dan Jordan to fall in love with her, she'll never know.

A chill ran down the flesh of Jacob's spine; there was a memory, however vivid, about Freddy and himself as a very young child (was he even born then?), but he couldn't produce anything more than just a memory of feeling.

After a few minutes of weeping, she regained control of herself. "You don't have to worry about Freddy. He's been dead for seventeen years," she concluded and then stood up and then left the room to go to bed.

Jacob stood in his room, thinking about the book and what his mother had told him. But, he's dead. Then why do I feel so weird about all this?

And then he heard a low moan. "Oh, Jacob, let me teach you. Jesse wouldn't let me. Your mother wouldn't let me. But Jacob, it's your life. You could have all the power and have the people fear you," said the low ominous voice.

Jesse…mother, Jacob thought. And then he said, "Freddy."

Suddenly the room became nothing but a black void, only to be filled with a bright light seconds later. Jacob saw that he wasn't standing in his room anymore. Instead, it looked like a boiler room. It might even be the same kind he'll be working at. And then he saw the figure of a man.

The man, Jacob noticed, had on a dirty red-and-green-striped sweater, a battered fedora, and brown pants. The man didn't seem to take any notice of Jacob's presence.

As Jacob watched the man, he suddenly became aware that he could almost hear the man's thoughts. The man brought out a blow torch and four straight razors; and then he forged them onto a metal plate that was attached to a thick glove. After he completed the configuration, he slipped it onto his right hand and smiled – a perfect fit!

The man turned around so quick, it made Jacob jump back a step. "You see, Jacob, it's really that easy," he said and burst into insane laughter.

If it hadn't have been for him falling out of bed and hitting his head on his nightstand on the way down, Jacob might not have waken up.

He got dressed and called Amy, learned that she didn't have to work that day, and they made plans on meeting later that morning.

Shortly after their conversation, Jacob walked up his street, turned left onto Elm Street and immediately saw Amy standing in front of the ominous house. She was too beautiful to be standing next to something so hideous.

She turned and saw him approaching her; and then she turned back to the house. "Well, here it is. In the wood," she smiled.

As he walked to her, he turned and looked at the house. Without realizing it, a worried and disturbed expression fell across his face. "He lives here," he found himself whispering.

She almost laughed. "Are you all right?" He looked back at her. "Does that thing look like it could hold someone? 'Sides, no one lived there after the Walsh's moved out," she explained.

"And before them, the Thompson's," Jacob threw in his small bit of knowledge.

"And before them, the Krueger's," she concluded and he looked at her behind a shocked look. There was no was Freddy Krueger lived there.

Jacob treated Amy to a sandwich and a drink at the Crave Inn and she gladly accepted.

"Name's Francis Krueger," she began as she sipped some of her drink. She had thumbed through the book Jacob brought with him and she skimmed some of it (most of it was already known to the kids living on Elm Street). "It mentions Amanda. Francis and Amanda used to live in the house shortly after their mother died of a heart attack. It was around that time that Francis began practicing witchcraft. She tried getting Amanda to join her, but failed. And then her ways seemed to have found their way to the public. Thinking that she was a messenger of the devil, they captured her and hung her in her own cellar. Amanda watched the whole thing. Before she died, Francis cursed Amanda (she felt like her sister abandoned her). Under her breath, she made a curse that any child of Amanda's would spell fear for everyone in Springwood. That's when Amanda started working in the mental hospital at Westin Hills. Around 1945, the Thompson's moved into the Krueger house with no knowledge of what happened to Francis or that Amanda had just been raped by the patients of the Snake Pit."

Jacob sat there, staring at her. He was holding his cheeseburger, but couldn't take a bite as he was mesmerized by the story. "How do you know so much about all this shit?"

A small grin found its way across her pink lips. "I sorta saw the whole thing."

"Huh?"

"Jacob, what I'm about to tell you, you might not believe," she began after a sigh. "When I was younger, I used to be able to see the future – little things here and there; nothing earth-shattering. But when I thought I understood my gift, I slipped into the past; the Krueger's past," she explained.

Jacob received a visit from the same stranger in the hat that night. This time, the stranger wore the claw on his right hand. "I'm giving you the chance of a lifetime, Jacob," Freddy croaked. Even from across the room, Jacob could smell the foulness of his breath.

"You were the one who killed my father," said Jacob as hatred simmered in his soul.

"Yes, I did. It was a matter of self defense. Believe me, you'll do the same. But be careful or else others might try an' kill you too," said Freddy with a grin.

Jacob shook his head. "No, I won't. I can't kill anyone," he said.

Freddy's look of approval faded into a look of disgust and disappointment. "Don't say I didn't try an' warn you," he whispered and then he reached out and flicked his blades in Jacob's face, making him awake with a jolt…

Being a member of the Springwood High football team, Michael was able to use the school's field any time he wanted, and considering that he could not stop thinking about the fight he and his girlfriend, Julia, had, he felt that this evening was as good a time as any.

And then an intruder entered the field. He had on football gear; however, Michael had never seen a school who had a green and red striped jersey before. As he approached, "Go out for a long pass," he said in a low voice. He turned around and sprinted in the opposite direction, and Michael saw that on the back of the man's jersey read Hell High.

Although he was confused, Michael decided to run and get ready for the pass.

The man threw the ball in Michael's direction.

Michael took a sharp left and opened his arms to receive the ball, however, when he could see it clearly, it wasn't a football. Instead it was a talon-tipped steel claw that was approaching Michael, points out, at a high velocity.

Before he knew he was being murdered, Michael caught the claw in his chest. He fell onto his stomach, dead, turning the green Astroturf crimson.

Just then Freddy burst into insane laughter as his body vanished from existence.

Chapter IV

"Jacob!" Alice yelled a third time before he jumped out of bed (he had not realized that he had fallen back to sleep after Freddy made him leave). He was startled by al the yelling from downstairs.

"What?" he yelled back.

"Telephone."

He sighed and grabbed the receiver that was on his nightstand next to his bed. "Hello?" he said, listened, then, "All right, Lt. I'll be there shortly," he said and then hung up the phone.

"What? Dead? How?" Jacob asked in disbelief as he sat in Lt. Richard Karls' office at the Springwood Police Station.

"All I can tell you is that he was stabbed four times and that he was found dead in the football field. What we don't know is who did it," explained Karls.

Once Karls ended his statement Jacob sighed. "I know what you're getting at. No I didn't kill him – he was one of my best friends. And no, I don't know anyone that had any motives," he protested and then stood up. As he headed for the door, he paused and looked back. "That's my statement," he said and then exited the police station.

For some reason he couldn't understand, Jacob found himself standing in the living room of the old house on Elm Street. However, it wasn't the same old and dirty room that it should have been. Nor was it the scene of a modern house. The furniture could have been taken directly out of some Victorian novel.

He looked over at the far wall, also the longest. There stood a baby grand piano (the perfect place for a future television, he thought). And above the piano, hanging on the wall, was a picture of two women, taken on the lawn facing Elm Street. They were both smiling. They were attractive ladies, he had to admit, but one thing troubled Jacob: One wore a long white gown and the other wore a long black dinner gown. Jacob walked up to it and read the small engraving on the bottom right, Francis and Amanda – 1898.

"How do you like the picture of my mothers?" asked the grunting voice from behind.

Knowing who it was before turning around, he turned with a confused expression on his face. "What're you talking about, Krueger?"

Freddy smiled as he pointed to Amanda. "The bitch," he said and then pointed to Francis. "The witch." He looked more at Francis while he spoke. "I am from the bitch, but my mind and soul are from the witch," he explained.

Jacob noticed that Freddy's teeth were yellow and crooked.

"I'll give it to ya quick and simple. Will you let me teach you?" asked Freddy.

With the thought of killing people in his mind, sickness rumbled in his stomach. "No," he said. "I can't kill."

Again, a disappointed look came from Fredd's charred face. "Did you like what I did to your friend, Michael?" he asked, and that disappointed expression turned to sadistic satisfaction.

Jacob took a turn toward hatred as he stared at Krueger.

"It was first and ten. And it looks like he got sacked," explained Freddy. "What if I should kill one of your other friends? Little piggies die very easy," he croaked. "But, if no is your answer,"

As if he were a ghost, Jacob vanished out of the living room. He had not wanted to wake up, not yet anyway. He wanted to try to reason with Krueger, however his plans were destroyed when his eyes opened and he turned his head to see the sun shining in his eyes through his window.

"Ashes to ashes…" droned the local Springwood minister the following Sunday. "Dust to dust."

Michael's funeral consisted of his parents and grandparents, Jacob, Brad, Steve, and Joe. Amy, Beth, Brenda, Julia (who was the most heartbroken because she had just had a fight with Michael the night of his death), and Mr. Johenson had attended as well – which rounded out the group of mourners.

"And let Michael Johnathan Deville be in the Kingdom of thy Lord Jesus Christ for eternity. And let this soul rest in peace, Amen." He then looked at the mourners. "This concludes our services, let us go in peace."

"Are you all right?" Amy asked as she and Julia began walking back to the entrance to the cemetery.

Julia grabbed Amy's arm and squeezed with a look of confusion and shook her head. "No," she said as tears flooded her eyes.

With that Amy took her friend in her arms.

"And they don't know who did this?" Julia asked in disgust as she looked over Amy's shoulder at Michael's resting place, hatred forming in her voice.

"No," whispered Amy behind apology.

"I do," said Jacob as he walked up behind them and they looked back at him with confused eyes.

"That's impossible," said Brad as they sat in a booth at the Crave Inn. "Freddy Krueger is dead and gone. It was all just childhood bullshit. You know – to scare little kids?"

"I know, but, you have to believe me. With an open mind," Jacob tried but was losing the fight as he read the skepticism on every face.

"No!" Julia screamed as tears exploded down her face again and she stood up and ran out of the diner.

They all stared as she made her abrupt exit. I knew I could never convince them, thought Jacob and let out a sigh.

That evening Julia returned to Michael's grave and was quick to notice the mild difference in the atmosphere. Before there was a feeling of warmth, loving togetherness among everyone. But now, as she stood looking down at the simple headstone, all she could feel was cold and alone.

"I'll always love you," she whispered and then turned around to leave. As she walked several graves away a loud metallic clanking noise bounced off the nearby headstones and she turned back to look at Michael's grave.

His casket was above ground and lay beside its hollowed grave. Confusion controlling her actions, she walked slowly back to it. With eternal slowness the lid creaked open and Julia stopped, dead in her tracks.

And that was when Michael, wearing his burial tuxedo, sat up and hoisted himself out of his casket. He looked just like he had several days before – before their fight.

What was it about? She could care less about some stupid fight. She felt guilty that that was their last confrontation.

Michael walked over to her and saw the confusion and repulsion behind her soft brown eyes. "I'm here," he said with a smile. "Forever in your mind."

She ran into his loving arms. "Is this real?" she asked into his chest.

"As real as dreams get," he whispered.

"Who the hell did it to you?" came Julia's next question.

And then she opened her eyes only to see that her face was pressed against a dirty red and green striped sweater. "Freddy," he exclaimed with a sadistic smile behind yellow teeth.

So she couldn't escape his grip, he grabbed the back of her neck with his claw.

"No," she screamed as Freddy dragged her body over to the casket. Her first glance was that of the hollowed grave. And then suddenly it changed to form a bottomless pit with a blazing fire somewhere within.

Then her frightened eyes dared to look down at Michael's lifeless body; his flesh was deteriorating and maggots were already feasting on his face.

"He told me he wanted to see you; that it was of the gravest importance," Freddy whispered in her ear as the horror exploded in her mind.

Not letting his prey survive, Freddy shoved the screaming girl into the casket and slammed the lid.

He laughed as he heard her muffled screams and he lifted the casket up over his head and tossed it into the hellfire pit below. "Going down," he croaked and raised his arms in the air and burst into laughter as the casket exploded, burning Julia to her death.

"Now, I want you to forget everything you've heard about this place and everything that had to do with the Krueger case. He supposedly built his weapon here and died here. That's it. All behind our backs. But I gotta tell ya; we're a union and when the place burnt down, everyone was out of a job. 'Course, that was when I was just a kid – my father told me all about it," explained Kirk Hetfield, the manager of the power plant, as he showed Jacob around the plant.

"All you'll be doing is helping the construction crew build the remaining wing of the building. For two weeks you'll get minimum pay and an increase if we hire you back. You can get started right now," he said and the looked around. "Now where the hell is Jeff?" he asked no one in particular.

Around noon Jacob entered the cafeteria and sat down at a table closest the small television. It was turned to the news at noon. "This just in: A young woman has been reported missing since eight o'clock last night. Her name is Julia Sambora," announced the anchorperson.

One of the other employee's was about to change the channel, but Jacob shouted, "wait."

"It was reported that her boyfriend, Michael Deville, died last Friday of an undisclosed diagnoses, and that she had told parents that she was going to the cemetery about eight last night. No further reports from the police, who are investigating the disappearance. Stay tuned for further updates," concluded the anchor as a picture of Julia faded off the screen.

Jacob completed his workday, with the thought of Julia missing the entire day. By the time he got home, it was past five that evening. He quickly decided on calling Amy.

"Amy, hi, it's me," he listened and said, "yeah. I just heard this afternoon. Any news?" Before he got an answer, a loud static cancelled her answer. "Hello?"

And then he heard that familiar sound of metal scraping against metal.

"Want me to whisper sweet nothings in your ear?" grunted the voice of Freddy Krueger.

But, I'm not even asleep, thought Jacob.

"I'll make it short so you can talk to your little piglet. Tell the cops to search Mikey's grave. The two love birds are together again," Freddy said and then the dial tone was heard.

Jacob dropped the phone on the bed and ran down the stairs and out the house.

He ran to Amy's house. "Jacob, hi," she said when she answered the door, looking surprised to see him so soon after he hung up the phone.

"We gotta go to the police station," he said "It's important."

She wasn't sure what this was all about but she grabbed the keys from her mother's purse and headed out to the car.

"Would you mind telling me what this is all about?" she asked as she shifted gears.

"You'll find out soon enough. Let's just say it's a matter of life and death," he explained as panic built in his veins. "More on the death side," he whispered.

"Are you insane?" asked Lt. Meyers.

"I'm getting there," replied Jacob with a serious expression. "Seems that everyone else thinks I am."

"What kind of drugs you on?" Meyers asked with a sigh.

"Look, I may be heading toward craziness, but I know how insane it all sounds. Can you just do it?"

"You want us to dig up Michael's grave? Just on a hunch?"

"Yes," Jacob almost pleaded.

"That boy is supposed to be at rest. How do you think he'd feel if we dug into his resting place?" Meyers asked and Jacob smirked.

"I don't think he's going to say anything."

A long silence filled the room as Meyers stared at Jacob. He looked from Jacob, to Amy, and back again. At last he sighed.

"Hey Rick," he shouted out the door. "Get in here and bring two shovels." Then he looked back at Jacob. "You'd better be real fucking positive about this or I'll throw your ass in jail with all the lonely inmates."

Later that evening they had finally pulled Michael's casket up onto land. Meyers, Rick the deputy, Jacob, and Amy all hesitated and looked, worriedly, at Jacob. "Your ass," Meyers reminded him before setting his hand on the lid.

And the he opened it.

Just a one-second glance made Amy bury her face in Jacob's chest where she burst into tears.

"Jesus Christ!" Meyers shouted and Rick turned and vomited.

There, in Michael's casket, were the deceased Michael and Julia. Michael's arms were wrapped around her thin waist as if they had died that way. Her eyes were opened and she had a frightened look in them as she stared at her dead lover forever.

Chapter V

"I've just got one question: How did you know that Julia's body was inside Michael's casket?" Meyers asked as he and Jacob sat in the Lieutenant's office.

"If I told you you'd end up signing me into an institution; and I really don't want that to happen," said Jacob.

Meyers took another sip of his black coffee and then a hit off his cigarette – clearly ignoring the No-Smoking law. "Try me," he finally said.

Jacob took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. "Lieutenant Meyers, we are up against powers that have come from hell and back."

"What powers are those?"
"The powers of the Springwood Slasher, Freddy Krueger," came Jacob's words and Meyers let out a long sigh of contemplation.

"Kid, let me tell you a story," Meyers began and leaned forward in his chair. "Seventeen years ago your Mama came to us with the same story. We thought she killed several of her friends, thinking she was crazy. At least now I know her whole family is."

"If you think my mother killed her friends, then I guess you believe that Nancy Thompson killed Tina Gray, Rod Lane, Glen Lantz, some guy named Philip, Taryn White, Will Statton, and sent a guy named Joey into a coma. Does that sound about right?" said Jacob with a sneer.

"I don't know how you got that information but I can guarantee Nancy Thompson was sent to a mental institution for a while. This has nothing to do with that case. When we thought your mother killed those people, we had no evidence so we had to let her go," Meyers explained and then Rick walked in.

Meyers looked up, addressing Rick. "Book him," was all he said and Rick grabbed Jacob by the arm and escorted him into a jail cell shortly after finger-printing him and taking his mug shot pictures.

As Jacob sat in his cell he heard the other officer's laughing and carrying on. As his adrenalin pumped harder, hatred formed in his soul.

"They're laughing at you." Jacob heard the voice of Freddy.

"They don't even think you fucking exist," Jacob whispered behind hatred.

"To them I don't. To you, I am real. Together we can prove to the world that I…am…back!" Freddy almost screamed.

Jacob quickly stood up, realizing how close he was to joining evil. "No," was all he said. He waited for Freddy's response and was shocked and worried when none came forth.

Steve was in the Jacuzzi, soaking, and talking to Amy on the cordless phone. His iPod had been playing at its loudest, his earphone cord dangling around his neck. "In jail?"

"They thought because he was the only one who knew about Julia, they thought he had something to do about it. They don't have any evidence though. They'll have to let him out tomorrow," she explained.

"Cool. Look, I'll talk to you later. I got the Jacuzzi jets on high – working out makes one's muscles sore," he said with a grin.

She grinned back. "Yeah, I'm sure it does," she replied and then said good-bye and hung up the phone.

He sighed and shoved the ear pieces back into his ears. Whitesnake was blaring into his ears. He closed his eyes for a fraction of a second and then he heard a loud grunting voice over the Pod.

"And now, Screechin' Mad Freddy!"

As his eyes snapped open he saw a tall figure standing above him in a red and green striped sweater and a brown battered fedora mounting his charred head. It wasn't the clothing, however, that scared Steve, nor was it the man's charred appearance. It was the claw on his right hand that glistened in the moonlight.

"You really should stop listening to that crap or you'll go deaf," Freddy said and two blades pierced through the earphones and into Steve's ears.

Blood poured out his ears and nose and the blades stopped just before hitting his brain. Steve was screaming and stopped as the blades stopped and just looked up helplessly at Krueger as blood began bubbling around his flesh.

"Jacob gives his regards," Freddy grunted and drove the blades the remainder of the way, slicing through Steve's brain.

Steve went limp, eyes still open, and he slid to the bottom of the Jacuzzi.

It was quiet when Jacob, only released several hours before, Amy, Brad, Joe, Beth, and Brenda met each other the next afternoon.

"Freddy?" Brenda asked Jacob as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Yes," came his only reply.

"Why? Why us?" Beth asked as fear overcame her.

Brad reached over and took her hand and squeezed it.

Jacob looked at every person who saw in the circle. "Open mind?" he asked and they all agreed by nodding their heads. "Seventeen years ago Freddy tried to come out into the real world by making me be like him," he began.

"You weren't even born yet," said Joe.

"Exactly. I was still inside my mother. I kinda dreamt of Freddy and my Mom was dreaming the same things. As he tried killing my mother, I killed him in my dreams – or so I thought. And now he's trying to use me again. He's not through with me yet," Jacob explained.

"Oh, so you're the reason why we're all dying!" Brenda shouted and left the diner. After a short nerve-wreaking silence, the others soon followed her.

Jacob and Amy walked, hand-in-hand down Elm Street. "He's trying to make me kill like he used to. I don't want to, though. And now he's getting everyone to turn against me so it'll be easier to turn me into him. With vengeance."

She stopped and turned to him. "He might be able to fight with vengeance, but love is my weapon. We'll get through this together," she said with a smile and wrapped her arms around his waist as he took her in his arms.

He smiled as his heart warmed up once again.

That evening Amy had invited Jacob to her house for dinner and he agreed. Once they finished their meal, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson were in the living room watching television and Amy and Jacob went to her room.

"There's gotta be a way to destroy his soul," she said as she paced the room and Jacob sat on her bed, watching her.

Confusion and hatred suddenly exploded in his soul. "I don't know! I really don't know about anything right now!" he screamed and exited her room.

She stared past him, worried and scared.

"This is more fun than I thought," said Freddy as Jacob walked down the street, heading to his house.

"What?" Jacob asked in hatred.

"How I can control your outbursts and feelings," Freddy croaked.

"Why can't you leave me alone? Go get someone else to do your dirty work," Jacob almost pleaded.

"I tried. But Charlie Manson didn't make parole," said Freddy with a chuckle. "Let's see, who should I slaughter next? The other jock, Joe, looks like he could take me on."

"No," Jacob protested.

"Or maybe I should, uh, go after Amy. I'm sure you'd like to see her spread all out on a table for you…in pieces." Freddy laughed and left Jacob in silence.

Jacob rushed home, went to his room, and called Amy. "I'm sorry, but she just went to bed," said Mrs. Wilson and he hung up the phone.

He didn't know if he could even try, but Jacob jumped into bed and pictured Amy's face inside his mind…

…"Jacob!" Amy shouted as she ran into the boy's arms.

Shocked, he embraced her. "I can't believe it worked," he commented. "Where are we?" he asked and she pointed outward.

"Look familiar?" she said and they looked at a newly built house with an address of 1428.

"I don't know how, but I'm remembering the far past. And I'm taking you with me," she said.

"But, where's Freddy? He told me he was going after you," he said…

Brenda found herself inside an old house that she vaguely remembered. She slowly walked up the stairs and then entered a room that appeared to have been an old bedroom…

Amy and Jacob entered the house and looked around at the Victorian furniture. Then they walked upstairs and went into the master bedroom and noticed that the closet door stood ajar…

Brenda looked around the room and walked over to the closet. She opened the door and went inside…

Amy and Jacob inched cautiously toward the closet and looked at one another…

The closet door slammed closed, locking Brenda inside the dark room. She pressed up against it, praying that it would open. She could feel the walls closing in on her. "Help!" she screamed, the claustrophobic feeling overwhelming her. And then she heard a sound like metal scraping against metal. Inside the closet! At first she thought that it was just the metal wire hangers. That was, until she rubbed her body up against someone else in the closet.

"Kinda cozy in here, isn't it?" asked a low grunting voice.

She was about to scream once again for help, but the four piercing blades penetrated her back, spine, and up her neck...

Amy placed her hand on the door and pulled it open. They both jumped back when they saw the deceased body of Brenda, laying on the floor. Scraped across her chest were two words, written in Brenda's blood: I LIED.

Just then Amy and Jacob awoke.

Jacob was beyond hatred. There was no other feeling that could compare to how he felt. Four of his friends are now dead. "All right, Krueger, you win! Okay? You fucking win!" he screamed as blood tears fell from his eyes.

Chapter VI

"No, he's still at work," Alice had explained when Amy called the next evening.

"Still at work?" Amy repeated. "But it's past seven." She didn't know what to make of this situation.

"Maybe he just wants the overtime. I remember I used to work a lot of hours at the diner when I was about your age," said Alice and heard Amy sigh.

"Well, thanks. I'll try back later," she said and then hung up the phone.

Jacob returned around eight-thirty and when Amy tried calling again, "look, I'm really tired," he said. "I'll call you tomorrow," he said and hung up the phone before she could speak.

After another evening of Alice explaining that Jacob was late at work again, Amy had almost completely given up. Almost…

Around eight-thirty she was walking down her street when she saw a familiar figure walking down the adjoining street. The figure's head was lowered and he was slouched over.

"Hey!" Amy yelled after him as she ran in the person's direction. "I'm talking to you," she said as she moved in front of Jacob.

"Please, Amy, I need some time to myself. Just…leave me alone," he said as she formed a shocked, practically hateful, expression on her young face.

"Now wait just a second!" she exclaimed as she brushed her red-blonde hair out of her face with her left hand and pointed at him with her right. "One of our friends just died the other day. It just so happens that tomorrow is her funeral. Do you think that you can find some fucking time to have the decency to show at her funeral?"

He looked down at her flustered face without emotion on his. "I'll try to be there; I will," he said and turned away and took a step.

"Go to hell!" she screamed and he stopped and turned his head back to her and grinned.

"They're afraid I'd take over," he said and that grin turned into a full wicked smile.

For the first time Amy had noticed that the eyes Jacob had were not his own. The eyes had grown green and not his true brown. She also saw something in those eyes as he glared down at her: Evil.

"At least there aren't any new deaths," Brad commented to Amy the next morning.

"Yeah. But look at the facts: Michael, alone, is somehow murdered. Julia is somehow killed and is found inside Michael buried casket. And Steve was found dead of a severe brain hemorrhage. And Brenda is killed and was found inside a closet in that damned house. We're not just up against a serial killer who once hid in alleys and killed little kids," she paused as fear suddenly filled her soul.

"Hey, you're trembling. What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing, I'm okay," she answered and cleared both her throat and thoughts. "Now, we're not up against your normal flesh-and-blood killer. He's more like Satan's disciple," she said.

"Look, after the funeral I'll talk to Jacob. I think he could use a friend right now," he said and she stood up from the bench they were sitting on.

"Good luck," she grinned. "I already tried. I practically gave him my body," she said and walked past him with one last sympathetic smile.

By the time the funeral had started that afternoon, it began raining. Brenda's entire family was there. Jacob was there, too, however he wore dark sunglasses and a long black trenchcoat. And mounting his head, covering his features, was an old brown battered fedora. There was something about the hat that jolted memories inside Amy's mind…

She was no more than two or three and she was standing beside her mother, wondering why she were here. They stood in front of a small headstone. Her mother was weeping. Amy didn't understand why her mother was crying over her great-aunt Amy's grave. And there he was. The man in the hat, brown trenchcoat, and a green and red striped sweater beneath the coat – watching over the tombstone, too. No; he was watching over her! Then, before he exited, he looked back at her and formed an obscene smile and left the cemetery…

Amy snapped back to the present. As the funeral ended, she saw Brad wink at her as he led Jacob out of the cemetery. Good luck, she thought.

"Look man, we gotta talk," Brad started as they walked through the park.

"About?" asked Jacob while staring straight in front of him.

"Your attitude, for starters," said Brad as Jacob turned his head and glared him from beneath his sunglasses.

"What's wrong with my attitude?"

Brad looked at him, awestruck.

"You're ignoring us, your friends. And your mother; she asked me if you were on drugs. Are you?"

Jacob laughed. "No, man," he said.

Brad ran out of ideas. "Then what is it with you?" he yelled as Jacob's view took a right turn.

Brad followed the gaze and saw Bret Wrigley and Tom Osbourne walking toward them.

"Well, if it ain't the psycho brothers," Bret hollered as he and Tom broke out laughing. "How's your little dream doll, Amy? Is she a good lay?" he laughed again. "Oh, but you wouldn't know; you're too afraid of the Boogey Man. Well, maybe she'd like a piece of what I got," he said as his hand went inside his jean pocket.

"You son of a bitch!" Jacob screamed. "Let's go! Right here and now," he shouted as Bret pulled out a switchblade from his pocket.

"Thought you'd never ask," said Bret and ignited the blade.

Brad, standing to Jacob's right, gestured for Jacob to take his own blade, but Jacob shook his head and refused.

Jacob lifted his right hand in front of Brad's face. All three gawked at the steel-bladed clawed glove that glistened in the little sunlight that managed to poke through the sprinkling sky.

"Holy shit!" Brad tried not to shout.

Jacob pointed at Bret with his index steel blade. "Time to die, Piggy," he said in a low voice and he swung back his claw. And then he swung down at Bret.

Bret managed to duck out of the way of the four straight razors and jabbed at Jacob, which entered his left arm. Jacob yelled and started bleeding. But then he smiled and looked at Bret.

"My blood will flow slow and eternally. Yours will flow fast until you are drained," said Jacob and lashed out and sliced through Bret's chest.

As Bret fell over onto the sidewalk, Jacob and Brad ran in different directions. They didn't stay around long enough to see that Tom had called for the ambulance. But it was too late; Bret bled to his death before the ambulance arrived – right outside the cemetery.

That night Jacob was watching the news in his bedroom.

"This afternoon," announced the anchorwoman, "a brutal slaying had occurred at Springwood Park. The victim, Bret Wrigley, died before paramedics could arrive (a picture of Bret appeared on the screen). A witness, who wishes to remain anonymous, stated that a weapon, a steel-bladed clawed glove – worn on the right hand of a local teen-ager – was used. Suspects Jacob Daniel Johnson and Brandon Ronald Metz fled the scene and are now the subject of a city-wide manhunt. If anyone has any information leading to the apprehension of these two suspects, please notify the Springwood Police Department," explained the anchorwoman.

After ten seconds of thinking Jacob grabbed his dufflebag and started stuffing in some clothes and crawled out his window and he closed it from the outside.

Brad sat on the corner of his bed, thinking, when Jacob crawled through his window. Brad was not at all surprised to see him. "Where's your parents?" asked Jacob as he looked around.

"They're outta town, luckily. You really fucked me up this time," answered Brad.

"I know," Jacob replied. "I wish I could express how sorry I am, but I've come here to tell you that I'm going into hiding. I want you to come with me," he explained.

Brad stood up abruptly. "Come with you?" he repeated behind sarcasm. "I've already gone too far with you." He took a deep breath and then exhaled. "No. I'm going to the cops. You ought to, too. I mean, explain that it was sudden – that it was self-defense. Hell, he cut you first." Brad tried to get him to surrender.

"Sure," Jacob smiled. "If I tell them that it was self-defense, what'll they ask me next? Then why even have that weapon? I'm sorry, Brad, but the only purpose for this is to kill," Jacob explained and pulled out the clawed glove.

The blood had dried on the razors. At the sight of the claw, its purpose, and Bret's dried blood, suddenly gave Brad a sick feeling in his stomach. "No, I'm going to the police. You're my best friend," he sighed. "Go. When I turn myself in, I'll tell them I haven't seen you since this afternoon. I'm sorry, friend," said Brad as Jacob headed out the window.

"Thanks," said Jacob and then headed out into the infamous darkness where he began his destructive destiny…

PART II

THE NEW SPRINGWOOD SLASHER

Chapter VII

It was very quiet when Amy, Joe, and Brenda met at the Crave Inn. It was Amy who had finally broken the deafening silence.

"Look, Brad turned himself in," she said and then sighed. "But he's no guiltier than any of us. The one who's guilty is Jacob and now he's gone into hiding." She thought for a moment and then looked at Joe. "Can you call the rest of the football team. Tell them to look out for Jacob and then let me know. We've got to find him before its too late," she said and Joe nodded his exhausted head.

The next day no news surfaced as to Jacob's whereabouts. Brad was released for having no connection with the crime. For a while the police were calling the incident a spontaneous act of a teen-age child. That was until three days after the incident involving Jacob and Bret.

A little girl by the name of Judy was reported missing and her body wasn't found until three days after that. Dead. With four long slashes from her chin down to her stomach.

And then Tommy went missing. Found a day later. The same four slashes marked the killer's call.

And that was when Lieutenant Meyers sighed. Again, after twenty-five years, the damned Springwood Slasher has resurfaced, he thought. And as the Springwood Slasher surfaced, so did the city-wide fear.

Two weeks had passed when Joe spotted Jacob in a dark alley by the Springwood Elementary. Jacob had walked in the darkness, keeping to the shadows, up the street and Joe followed him.

He trailed Jacob for a while before realizing where he was. Surprised to find the devil's hiding place, he rushed back home to call Amy what he had discovered.

As he entered his house he closed the door behind him calling, "I'm home," to his parents as they sat in the living room.

Before he could move, the doorbell rang. Joe answered it, and seeing that it was Jacob, slammed the door closed again. Back up against the door, Jacob plunged his right hand through the glass window in the door.

Jacob gave out a war cry as his claw grabbed Joe's neck and slashing from left to right across his throat.

Joe's parents were screaming as their son's lifeless body fell to the floor. By the time Mr. Adler had moved his dead son, to open the door, there was no one in sight.

Later that morning Brad called Beth and asked that she meet him at the park. She agreed, feeling as though this was no ordinary meeting of boyfriend-girlfriend. Something was about to happen.

As they approached one another from opposite ends of the park (they had first met here three years ago) his heart crushed as he noticed that she was wearing the exact green blouse, blue skirt, and blue vest that she wore when they first met. They stood facing one another at the bench where they shared their first kiss.

"Hey," he greeted and he tried to smile.

She gave him no reply. If she did, the closest response was her expressionless stare.

Nerves became the better of him as the tension overcame his body.

"I know you don't believe in Krueger," he began and she shook her head. "I don't want you to get hurt or killed – whoever is doing it."

She had heard rejections before, but none this colorful. She moved closer, took his left hand in hers, and gently kissed him on the cheek. Before she released his hand, "You need to shave," she whispered in his ear and backed away and withdrew his hand.

He looked down and saw that she had returned his class ring. She had never bought one so she expected nothing in return. As she turned her back on him he thought he saw a tear rolling down her cheek.

And as she started walking away from him for the last time, he knew that he would never know if she actually shed that tear.

Amy and Brad decided on paying Alice a visit. Alice was in tears at the sight of Jacob's friends. "His birthday's coming up. He'll be eighteen," she said as she wiped her eyes with a Kleenex.

"Mrs. Johnson," said Amy as she looked directly into Alice's eyes. "Exactly how did Jacob kill Freddy before?"

Alice cleared her throat. There was no way she was going to talk them out of this; she had once battled the son of a bitch before herself. "It was when I was pregnant. As an unborn baby, he dreamt of Freddy. All the while, he was killing my friends and feeding Jacob their souls. And then Amanda, his mother, came back and told everything to Jacob. Jacob gave back every ounce of hatred to Freddy. That's how he was supposedly stopped," she explained.

Several hours after they left, Alice received a visitor who rung the doorbell. She got up to answer the door but when she opened it, walking away from the house, was a man in a green and red striped sweater and a battered brown fedora.

She looked down and noticed a letter on the doorstep. She bent down and picked it up, then began reading.

Alice,

Don't worry – Jacob's safe and sound. Want to tank you.

He wasn't as strong as you were 17 years ago.

Love ya, Babe,

Freddy

Beth stood in front of the full-length mirror that hung on her closet door. She wore a necklace with four lion's teeth and wore nothing else.

She stared at her naked body. "You made up that fucking story about Freddy just to get to her," she said to her reflection.

She turned and looked at a picture of Brad that lay on her nightstand. "Bastard," she spat out and turned back to the mirror.

But it was no longer her body she saw standing on the other side of the glass. What she saw was a badly burnt man in a red and green striped sweater, brown work pants, a battered brown fedora, and a right hand that seemed to have razor blades growing from the flesh of his fingers.

"I'll be your boyfriend, Bitch," he laughed. "I'll love you 'til your dying day."

"You don't scare me," she screamed and smashed the mirror with her right fist.

The mirror shattered but the face of the madman was still laughing manically as she looked down at her bloodied fist.

And then she felt something moving across her bare chest. She looked down and saw the four lion teeth were coming to life as they began digging into her flesh. She looked up and saw the creature moving his finger-knives in the air like a orchestra conductor. He was moving the teeth, she realized.

And then he made a jabbing motion and Beth felt the teeth push their way into her throat and cutting her jugular vein.

She grabbed her throat and fell to the floor as she died in the blood that had once been her life.

As Amy walked down Elm Street that night she noticed the same familiar figure. She walked up to him and turned him around; only to see that it was no one she knew. A little embarrassed she tried covering up her error. "You know, it's getting dangerous to wear those clothes," she said, gesturing the hat and sweater.

She quickly walked away, keeping an eye on the stranger. Maybe if she wasn't watching the stranger, she would have been able to avoid her collision with Jacob.

"Taking a night stroll?" asked Jacob with a grin.

"You won't kill me, Jacob," she said as she looked up into his green eyes.

Staring down at her, he grazed her upper chest with the claw on his right hand and he could feel her trembling. "It's been close to a moth since I've seen you," he almost whispered. "You're still very beautiful. I'll miss you when you go to the place where dreams are made," he said with a grin.

That was when she remembered the book about Elm Street that Jacob had shown her so long ago it seems. She recalled the passage about Jesse Walsh and his girlfriend Lisa. "You can't kill me, Jacob. You can't kill me. I love you. I won't let you. I love you too much, Jacob!" she was trying hard not to scream.

"Sorry, Amy," he said and shook his head. "It doesn't work that way. Maybe your great-aunt could help you," he said and burst into laughter as he strolled passed her, leaving her looking like she had been struck in the face by a fist.

But at least she was still alive.

As soon as Jacob turned the corner, Amy looked at a tall hedge. "Still there?"

Mr. Johenson stepped out of hiding. "Yeah," he answered.

"Don't lose him," she pleaded as fear engulfed her soul. "Please God, don't lose him," she whispered and began trembling once again.

Adam Johenson stayed several yards behind Jacob and tried to make himself invisible behind trees, in shrubs, and behind buildings.

Buildings? Adam thought and then suddenly realized that they were on the road out of town. My God, he thought. It suddenly struck him that he knew, all along, where Jacob's lair was.

Without following him any more, Adam turned around and headed back to Elm Street to tell Amy of his incredible findings.

Adam and Brad met that night at Amy's house.

"Jacob was like the son I never had," said Adam and he lit a cigarette. "I don't want to see it end like this," he added.

"Tell me about it," said Brad. "He was my best friend. But the part that was my friend died a while ago." He looked over at Amy. "Did you love him?" he asked and took her off guard.

She hesitated and then said, "he was a good friend. In that way, yes I loved him. I loved him like you all loved him. And if he won't give up and turn himself in, then this is the way it has to end," she said and grabbed Adam's lighter and a cigarette.

She flicked the lighter and they watched the flame as the same thought entered their minds.

"Up in smoke," she whispered.

Chapter VIII

Morning arose as it said farewell to the night. The fourth of July was warm, not hot. Many of the citizens of Springwood were buying fireworks and sparklers and firecrackers for the nighttime.

Brad and Adam entered the hardware store and bought three flares them went to the gas station and bought five gallons of gas.

They met each other at Adam's apartment. As dusk progressed into night the trio went over their plan.

As Adam drove his car through the streets of Springwood, he passed one called Elm Street. Then they reached the edge of town. There stood the newly built power plant that had once burnt down to the ground, taking Fred Krueger with it, over twenty-five years ago.

They got out of the car and grabbed the gasoline and flares. Knowing that whatever fiend was sleeping within the power plant, was in the far back – hiding from the reality of the world, and society.

As their footfalls echoed throughout the entrance of the almost-abandoned plant, Brad started splashing the gas all around the interior, then led a trail out the door. Then he made another trail, and then a third, all connecting with one main trail leading into the mouth of the power plant.

There they stood, Amy in the middle, Adam to her left, and Brad to her right. First, it was Amy who lit her flare, followed by Adam. At that they looked at one another.

Instead of lighting a flare, Brad lit a cigarette and put his lighter back into his pocket. He inhaled and then looked at the others. He nodded and they threw their flares just as Brad dropped his cigarette on his trail of gas.

All three trails of fire shot inside of the plant, sending it up in smoke.

"Jacob, wake up!" the voice of Krueger screamed at Jacob, who was sleeping in a corner.

He jumped up and smelled the smoke.

"Get out of here! Don't let it happen to me again! Get us out of here," Freddy screamed.

As Jacob reached the entrance, it was too late. The entire building was lighting the sky.

"No!" Freddy screamed in fear and pain. "I'll slice you all good! I'll be back," he warned whoever had killed him again, even though he wasn't sure just who it was – yet.

As Amy watched, she grabbed Brad's hand and squeezed it tight. "Burn in hell," she whispered…

PART III:

THE ARMAGEDDON:

THE FINAL NIGHTMARE

Chapter IX

Amy had learned a great deal after the deaths of her friends; She learned that life, no matter how big or insignificant it may appear, is too precious to lose. She remembered the hellfire that she helped create three nights ago – and tomorrow's Jacob's funeral.

As she, Brad, Adam, and Alice watched the casket lower into the ground, they said their own unspoken prayers while the charred corpse was being covered by earth.

Brad and Amy decided on meeting at the park after the funeral.

"Sleep much?" she asked as she took his hands in hers.

"Well," he hesitated. "Yes and no."

She looked up into his face for an explanation.

"I fall asleep but I'm still scared shitless and I wake up several minutes later," he explained. "What about you?"

She had a grim smile on her face. "If my eyes start turning black, you'll know why," she said and he slid his arm around her waist.

"That bad?"

"It's like, I know it's all over, and yet I'm still scared to death – like we've just pissed off an evil spirit," she replied as they continued walking.

Adam was trying to get a lesson plan written for the next school year but the residents living above him was playing their stereo too loud for him to concentrate. As hard as he tried to block out the thumping walls, bottles smashing against something set him passed aggravation.

He stood up and went to the door. When he opened it, "Too loud for ya?" croaked Freddy Krueger as he stood in the hallway.

With his claw he pushed Adam inside the apartment. "If the music won't kill ya, the fucking neighbors will," he chuckled.

Adam, terrified beyond words, fumbled nervously through his desk.

"I don't like people knowing where I am," Krueger hissed. "I didn't like burning again. I was just a little steamed – Jacob took the heat for me that time."

"But…we killed you," Adam yelled.

"Oh Adam, you little fuck," said Freddy. "I've been dead for the past twenty-five years. But you'll be dead soon too. Let me know if you ever come back."

Adam found what he was looking for and pulled out the .45 Caliber Bulldog, took off the safety and fired at Freddy without aiming, sending both flying across the room in opposite directions.

"Woah, what a kick," Freddy exclaimed through the smoking room.

Adam stood up, searching for Freddy but couldn't see anything from the smoke that came from firing the gun. There shouldn't this much smoke, he thought.

And then he felt the ripping flesh and looked down to see the blades coming through his chest and felt the breath of Freddy who was now standing behind him with his claw running through his body.

Freddy pulled his claw back and looked down at the still-beating heart. "Oh Adam, you've got a big heart," said Krueger and brought it up to his face and wrapped his mouth around the muscle and ripped a piece with his teeth as he watched Adam slump to the floor and die as he watched Freddy eating his heart.

When Amy and Brad discovered Adam dead – murdered – they didn't know what to think. Not only that, but they were more horrified knowing that the killer was still alive.

As they walked down Elm Street Brad was in a panic. "So which was it? Freddy or Jacob?"

"It was Freddy," she answered with hatred emanating from her soul.

Brad stopped and turned to face her. "And how do you know that?" her asked with sarcasm.

"Look, I'm going to tell you a story," she began and grabbed his left hand and led him to 1428.

As they walked up the path, "Why are we going here?" he asked as fear filled his soul.

She pushed open the front door and entered the mouth of the infamous Krueger house. They entered the living room and Amy formed a grim smile as she closed her eyes. Confused, Brad looked around at the mess, dirt, and broken furniture.

"Wh…what's going on?" he asked, looking around.

"Can't you see? Over there, a piano," she pointed over at the longest wall.

"Huh? You seeing things?" he asked as all he saw was a dead rat, obviously dinner for a cat.

"Can't you feel it?"

"What?"

She took a deep breath and sighed, eyes still closed. "The sorrow," she almost cried out as tears rolled down her cheeks. She took hold of his hands and placed them on her chest.

He felt her heart pounding through her blouse.

"Can you feel it?" she whispered.

He inched his body closer to hers and then his lips touched hers as he gently kissed her.

"Yes," he replied.

Her look of comfort and stillness changed into a flushed face of fear. Her eyes sprang open. "No!" she screamed.

He jumped back several feet, letting her out of his grip. "What the hell?"

And then everything changed before his eyes. Everything in the house had changed form and age.

"What the fuck?" He looked from the Victorian furniture to the piano that Amy had mentioned. "What's going on, Amy?"

"The year is 1899," she said and looked at Brad. "We are in Francis and Amanda Krueger's house. After Francis was hanged for being a witch, Amanda moved out and went into a religious order, and died in the forties. Before she died, she gave birth to Freddy," explained Amy as Brad looked at her.

"No fucking way," he said and shook his head.

And then they heard people talking and one woman screaming. They rushed to the cellar and shoved open the door.

What they saw were three men on the cellar floor looking up the steps at a young woman who stood next to another man. A woman wearing a white summer dress stood next to the men on the floor. The woman on the stairs, dressed in black, draped a crude noose round her neck.

"By the power invested in me," called one man from the floor, "I declare you guilty of witchcraft and shall hang to your death and then burned and your ashes consecrated in holy ground," he explained.

The woman's gaze of hatred turned to look at the other young woman. "You betrayed me, Amanda – your own sister! You let these men have power over your own blood! I curse your offspring. The legacy of the name of Krueger shall spell fear, in blood, throughout Springwood. Everyone will fear their dreams!" she screamed and the man standing next to her pushed her off the side of the stairs and she dropped, neck breaking, to her death.

Brad and Amy quickly raced out the front door and were transported back to the present. They turned and back and noticed that the house had also turned back to its old, horrid self.

As they walked down the street, heading for Amy's house, "If there was only some way that we could stop that from ever happening," she said and Brad cut in.

"There's no way we can travel back in time," he explained and she stopped.

"Well, I didn't get these powers to see into the past for nothing," she stated.

"I agree, but," he tried but she ignored him as she turned around and walked into her house, closing the door on him.

He sighed, shook his head – not wanting to try and understand women – and walked away from her house.

When he walked through his doorway he headed straight for the stairs but he was stopped as his mother called out to him.

"I told you a week ago that I wanted you to get your hair cut," she said. "The salon's still open."

First there's a killer loose, then we kill him. And then another killer, and now Mom wants me to get my hair cut?

He turned around, grabbed his jacket, and sighed as he opened the door again. "Perfect," he grunted and headed back out.

He sat in the salon's waiting room for twenty minutes (sure, there were plenty of barber's in Springwood, but he wouldn't trust his hair to anyone else). He had been looking through a tabloid magazine when he heard his name being called.

He stood up and looked at the rather attractive blonde beautician. "That's me," he said with a smile.

"Follow me, please," she said and then walked into the cutting section of the building.

He followed her with a small smile on his face as he watched her ass move back and forth.

"Do you need a shampoo and rinse?" she asked as she glanced over her shoulder at him.

He thought he saw a hint of flirting in her eyes. "No," he said. "Just a few squirts of water and a blow job – er, blow dry," he explained and turned red in the face.

She grinned and gestured a chair. "Sit here and I'll be back in a second," she said and he sat in the chair and shook his head.

She came back not a minute later. "How would you like it cut today?"

"Well," he began and then she dropped a pair of clippers.

"Sorry," she said and then bent over to pick them up.

His eyes bulged when he noticed her blouse was unbuttoned at the top. He saw that she wasn't wearing a bra – he could see her nipples brushing up against the fabric of her shirt. He smiled as he felt her hand gently grab him between his legs. He closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them again he saw the room had become darker – there was red and green striped lines spray painted along all the walls.

The grip between his legs grew quickly tighter and then the deformed figure of Freddy Krueger jumped up. He was smiling down at the panic-stricken Brad as he clicked his blades in front of Brad.

"I said – how would you like it cut?"

Instinct took over and Brad brought his knee up to Freddy's crotch. Freddy backed off. Brad was about to jump to his feet and do away with his next attack, however, before he had that chance, the cords of a hair dryer and curling iron came to life and wrapped themselves around Brad.

Freddy doubled over and cackled. "This is priceless," he croaked. "I gotta say it, Brad; what's wrong? All tied up?"

Brad had had enough of this sick game and he violently shifted his body backward and the chair fell back and he slid out of the cords.

He pulled his knife out of his pocket, ignited the blade, and hurled it at Freddy, who was still laughing.

Freddy silenced and looked a little shocked when the blade penetrated his dirty sweater. He wrapped his claw around the hilt of the knife and pulled it out. Green syrupy blood dripped to the floor and Freddy brought the blade up to his mouth and he licked the blade clean.

He slammed the knife down and glared at Brad and gestured at Brad with his claw. "C'mon, you little shit," he grunted. "Is that all you got?"

Brad looked around for anything he could use as a weapon and he noticed a can of hairspray and grabbed it. He pulled out his lighter and lit it and aimed the can at Freddy. He pushed the button down, sending an impressive blast of fire toward Krueger.

To Brad's surprise, it wasn't Krueger he set alight – it was a mannequin that looked like Freddy Krueger.

That was when Brad felt Krueger plunging into his back. "Don't worry," he whispered in Brad's ear. "I'll only take a little off the top."

Chapter X

Brad jumped awake from the nightmare just before Krueger made him a corpse-kebab. As his heart pounded he looked at his clock and saw it was ten minutes 'til ten. He grabbed his phone and called Amy only to discover that she was working.

He knew this was too important to wait and so he got dressed and then ran out to his parent's car.

He looked around and saw the register she was working and was upset that there was a long line. He saw that she looked up, noticing him and smiled. And then she saw the scared look in his eyes.

She quickened her pace and when he finally walked up to her, "What happened?" she asked.

"Krueger paid me a little visit last night. We gotta get out of here," he explained.

"I can't just leave," she said and looked around. "Hey Bob," she called to the man wearing a Manager's tag. He walked over to her. "I have to leave," she began and saw that he was looking at Brad. "Something very important happened – it may be a matter of life and death," she explained.

He hesitated for a moment and then sighed as he placed a clipboard on top of her register. "Go on. I'll cover until we can get a replacement," he said and she thanked him and she and Brad exited the store in a hurry.

"So what the hell did you do last night?" Brad asked as Amy plopped herself down on her bed.

"I went to the library," she began explaining and leaned over and pulled out some papers off the shelf that was connected to her bed. She handed them to Brad, who began looking over the newspaper headlines:

FRANCIS KRUEGER HANGED TO DEATH

SPRINGWOOD WITCH DIES

"I also checked this out," she tossed him a book entitled: Witchcraft, Black Magic, and Devil Worship.

He flipped through the pages with a confused look on his face. "What's this got to do with our problems?"

"Don't you see?" she said. "The only reason why Freddy even started killing when he was alive was because of Francis. Remember, she cursed Amanda? She was a witch; and the only way to fight fire is with fire." She formed an evil grin on her beautiful young face.

"But, Amy, how are you going to get to her?" he asked.

She just stared at him for a while.

That evening Amy took a walk through the cemetery. She passed the tombstones and markers of Michael, Julia, Steve, Brenda, Joe, Adam, and Jacob and then that of Amanda Krueger. All Springwood's victims.

As she exited the cemetery she walked through the park as she thought. As the clouds rolled overhead it began to drizzle. She didn't bother running back to her house and instead, she continued through the abandoned park.

With her index finger she reached up and noticed a single line of moisture running down her cheek. Since the rain had not had enough time to soak her face, she discovered she was crying. How can I feel sad when I don't feel anything at all?

As she approached a bench she noticed a person sitting on it with his head slumped down. She walked over to him.

"Excuse me," she began and he looked up and she saw his face!

His sad and deformed face – almost burned beyond recognition. "Help me," pleaded a deteriorating Jacob as he reached out for her with his right hand which had the blood-caked finger-knives resting on it.

At that moment, Amy awoke almost screaming.

"You're not the only one who had a weird dream," Amy commented as Brad entered her bedroom.

"What do you mean?"

"I dreamt of Jacob asking for help," she explained as she grabbed her pillow and held it to her chest.

"What do you think it meant?" He sat down on the bed next to her.

"Look, Brad, I used to think I knew what to do. I thought I had it under control. And now everything's screwed up. First Francis, then Freddy. And now Jacob asking for help." She paused and felt the weight of the world on her shoulders. "I don't know what the hell it meant. I don't know anything anymore. Except that…I'm scared," she whispered and began trembling. She brought her knees up to her chest.

He placed a firm hand on one of her knees and the other around Amy's shoulders.

"It'll be alright. We'll survive," he replied and she looked up at him with wet eyes. "I promise," he concluded and they embraced one another.

And then they looked at one another for the first time it seemed. That innocent glance turned into an intimate longing. He pulled her head to his as their lips touched.

"Where's your parents?" he asked behind heavy breathing.

"Out of town for the weekend," she responded with a smile.

An hour later Brad and Amy lay I her bed as their arms wrapped around each other's naked body.

"I had a aunt once," she said as she laid her head on his chest.

He rubbed his hands through her hair as he looked at her.

"It was around twenty-six years ago. She was around six or seven. Gramma was on her way to pick her up from school. That day she was reported missing. A couple weeks later the cops found her body at the power plant. Freddy killed her when he was alive – she was his first victim from what I've learned," she explained and then sighed.

"I'm sorry," said Brad and he held her tighter.

"And you know, when I look at pictures of my aunt, I look exactly like her. We were, in a sense, twins. No one talks about her – even when I asked why they named me after her," she concluded and looked into his eyes. "What?" she asked when she noticed his contemplative demeanor.

"Nothing," he broke the train of thought and smiled and then kissed her again.

Chapter XI

Alice Johnson had not dreamt of her friend Kristen Parker since that horrible night of her burning death (when Kristen had brought Alice into her dream). And then she had that mysterious dream.

It started out so innocently that it threw her off guard. Two friends meeting each other for the first time in a very long time. They saw each other at the Springwood Park. At first glance, Alice thought it was one of Freddy's disguises. But,

"Alice!"

Kristen ran into the woman's arms as they embraced one another. "It's been so long," she cried out.

After a few moments they released one another. "What're you doing here?" Alice asked behind confusion.

"I couldn't've brought you into heaven; I'd get into trouble if I were caught with you," Kristen began. "I had to break a couple of rules to get here." She looked around with caution in her eyes.

She grabbed Alice's hand and began walking toward the exit. "I know that He's back. There's nothing I can do. Except," Kristen said and hesitated.

"Except what?" Alice asked impatiently.

"Amy knows the secret but she doesn't know how to use it. She can't go back in time to stop it. But there is one other way," said Kristen.

As if expected, Alice looked over and saw the ominous house, glowing so sinister in the moonlight.

A low breeze blew through the area, sending chills down Alice's back. Dead leaves rustled across the lawn.

"Has it ever made you wonder how hasn't Freddy been stopped? I mean, Nancy Thompson tried by turning her back on him, taking away his energy. Jesse Walsh's girlfriend, Lisa, tried by turning love against him. Nancy comes back, forming the Dream Warriors and bury him in hallowed ground. And you used the Dream Master. And then Jacob gave Freddy back his power," Kristen stopped and looked around and then back at Alice. "How hasn't he been stopped? And why is that particular house the centermost point of the void? When you wake up, ask Amy. And tell her this: Whatever she does, do not,"

And then a bright light shot out of the clouded sky and ignited Kristen.

"No," she cried as her body vanished before Alice's eyes, leaving her alone, wondering what she was about to say.

Not a minute later, Alice awoke without jumping.

"What the hell is going on?" she asked out loud.

There could be no more waiting; Alice had to see Amy and Brad – it seems that Krueger was haunting them too. Together they must find a way to vanquish the demon once and for all.

She found them sitting at the far booth in the Crave Inn and she shivered at the memories. "Of all the places in Springwood, Ohio, and they had to pick the place I worked," she mumbled under her breath as she walked into the diner and approached them.

They glanced up and were surprised to see Alice's presence.

Amy smiled. "Mrs. Johnson, hi," she greeted and moved over to allow room for Alice.

"Amy," Alice began without hesitation. "Last night I did something I haven't done in over eighteen years; I dreamt of his house. I knew he was back ever since your friend's deaths. I just didn't want to believe it," said Alice and then sighed. "How do we stop him?"

Amy grinned and placed her left hand over Alice's right. "As far as you knew it started in the insane asylum," she began.

"Yeah," replied Alice.

"But it didn't."

"What do you mean?" Alice looked from Brad and back to Amy.

"Francis Krueger – the fucking witch," answered Amy in a tone of spite while Alice looked confused.

In the next fifteen minutes Amy had explained to Alice all the knew about Francis, Amanda, and what she was planning.

"That's impossible," said Alice as she shook her head. "It can't be done." She took another sip of her coffee.

"In reality you're right. And as a normal person, no it can't be done. But as a witch?" Amy said.

"But…you're not," Amy cut Alice off.

"It'll work," she whispered. "It has to."

That night Amy and Brad stood in her room as she was on the phone talking to her parents who were in New York. "Okay. I love you, too. Bye," she said and then hung up the phone.

She turned and looked at Brad. "It's all set," she said and then picked up the phone again and dialed a number.

"Hey, it's me. Yeah. It's tonight. Okay, we'll see you then. Bye," and then she pulled the cord from the wall jack and Brad understood that a phone call in the middle of the night could wake them in a most inconvenient time.

They laid down on the bed, Amy taking the left side. He wrapped his arms around her body.

"Brad, if…if I don't wake up," he cut her off by placing his finger over her soft pink lips.

"I'll make sure you wake up," he assured her and she smiled up at his face.

"I love you," she said and hugged him body tighter for security's purpose. She really did know that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. She had fallen in love with this young man she had only recently met.

He kissed her tenderly on the forehead. "I love you," he whispered and closed his eyes.

"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take," she whispered before drifting off into another world…

Chapter XII

Darkness engulfed Amy as she slowly walked up toward the sinister house. As if it had a mind of its own, its mouth slowly creaked open, gesturing anyone to enter in some obscene way.

And then someone crashed into Amy's back. She screamed and then saw that it was only Brad.

"Where's Mrs. Johnson?" he asked.

She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. "The questions is: Where's Freddy?"

"Somewhere," he began and his gaze turned toward the house. "In there," he concluded and took the frightened girl's hand.

They walked up the steps and entered the old house. Once they crossed the threshold, the jaws of the house closed behind.

From the living room, they looked up the long flight of stairs that led to the second floor. Heavy breathing echoed ferociously throughout the entire house.

"Come…to Daddy," hissed a low voice.

"Hell no. You come to us," shouted Amy.

"Your wish," Freddy grunted as his body formed through the darkness at the top of the stairs. "Is granted." He pointed at them with his index blade. "And now, you die, Piglet."

And then someone from behind Krueger shoved his body forward and he stumbled down the stairs. When he regained his balance and stood up, he looked up and was taken aback to see Alice. "You!" he yelled up at her.

"Welcome to your own fucking nightmare," she screamed down at him.

There was a look in her eyes that he had seen once before when he was fighting her in the church so long ago. It was the look of victory.

Freddy chuckled and shook his head. "You'll die first, Bitch."

Alice smiled and took a step forward, toward Freddy. She felt something on her feet, looked down and saw a pool of blood running across the floor. She lost her balance when her feet slipped on the liquid cascading down the stairs. She stumbled down, unable to support herself from the decline, as Freddy laughed and spread out his arms, ready to embrace the Dream Master.

When she hit the bottom Freddy lashed out and sliced through the back of her neck. Alice Johnson died in the arms of Freddy.

"No," screamed Amy and she grabbed Brad's hand and stormed out of the living room.

For a little while there was no sight or sound from their predator. "Where the hell is he?" Amy asked behind hysterics.

Brad placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Calm down," he said. "We hate him – that much we know. But we can't fight him if we're all worked up," he said.

She looked up at him, sighed, and hesitated to recollect her thoughts. "You're right," she said with an apologetic smile. "Can you forgive me?"

He returned her smile with a grin. "It's alright," he replied when they entered the kitchen.

And there, sitting at the table, with his back to them, was Freddy. He was eating something.

Amy glanced over his shoulder from afar and saw what he was eating; human eyeballs with raw flesh wrapped around them.

She almost vomited but found the will power to hold it down.

Freddy stood up suddenly and turned to the couple. And when he turned, the oven exploded into flames. "If you can't stand the heat, get outta the kitchen," he croaked.

And that's just what they did as they ran back toward the front of the house. They stood in the hallway, trying to think of a way to rid them of their madman.

Amy looked around and saw two mirrors hanging on opposite walls. They were floor-to-ceiling mirrors which gave Amy an idea.

When Freddy approached the hall he stood there with ten Amy's! He looked at each of them behind confusion.

"Why did you kill me?"

Freddy stared into the blue eyes of one of the many Amy's.

"Why was I the first?"

Freddy could not move his legs and he dropped his right arm down to his side. In his mind's eye, Freddy saw the Springwood Elementary School, the beautiful young children…then Her! The one called Amy. His first taste of flesh.

Brad threw open the door. He and Amy were about to run out, however, their plan was cut short due to the fact that there was no ground. Nor was there a sky. The entire house was surrounded by complete blackness.

As Freddy stared at one Amy, several tear slowly – but surely – oozed down his charred face. The tears were of blood, but nevertheless, tears came from the evil eye of Freddy Krueger.

Seconds later, Brad heard a soft clanging and looked down on his right shoulder. He had forgotten that he had on his black leather jacket. On his shoulder was a long metal chain.

The transfixed Krueger broke the long trance and threw his clawed arm at an Amy and to his surprise, a mirror shattered before him. He looked at the center Amy and grinned.

"You thought you could fool me?" he asked and raised his index blade and waved it back and forth in a mockingly naughty gesture. "Nobody knows my past. Nobody!" he screamed as he lashed out at her.

She tried to dodge the claw of death, however, it felt her left arm. Blood dripped down her arm from the four slashes in her upper arm.

Brad ripped his chain off his shoulder and, using it like a whip, cracked the end at Krueger.

It wrapped around Freddy's right leg. With all his strength, Brad yanked it back as Freddy tripped over Brad's leg and descended out the door into the blackness.

The only thing they could hear was the screams and curses of Krueger as he descended downward into the void.

But what Brad had not foreseen was the free end of the chain rope as it came whipping back into the house as Freddy made sure it wrapped around Brad's wrist. There was nothing Brad could do. "Amy!" he yelled…

Amy thought about jumping also, but she thought of the plan she and Brad had had. She straightened her back and tore off a piece of her shirt and wrapped it around her gushing arm.

And then she sighed and headed further into the hallway. She stopped midway and pressed her hand on the door that led to the cellar. It was cold beneath her palm. She closed her eyes and breathed steadily.

That was when the door that was once cold turned two hundred degree's hotter. She pulled back her hand and opened her eyes. As she predicted, she left the old, worn down house…and entered the 1899 house of Francis Krueger…

Chapter XIII

Amy looked around the abandoned house. There was no sign of Francis or Amanda. "Where are you?" she whispered. "I know you're here," she said.

Upstairs, she walked slowly through the hall and turned left at the first door and headed into a familiar room. She was awestruck when she glanced around the bedroom. Along the wall that held the window, there stood the bed. It was pristinely made with a peach comforter that had red roses all over stitched into the patchwork.

Laying on top of the bed were five dolls.

The walls were painted light-green with red carpeted floor. But there was still no sign of Francis.

"The power of darkness, knowledge of Satan, the blood of the wicked soul shall flow and form thy body reverence," whispered Amy into the air.

Just then the lights went out – leaving the moonlight shining through the window. One of the dolls slowly moved its head toward Amy. She stared at the doll as it stared at her – its porcelain face shining in the darkness. Tears of blood rolled down the dolls' cheeks.

The window suddenly exploded, sending shards of glass toward Amy like lethal projectiles.

She opened her eyes and was surprised that she wasn't cut. Amy noticed that the moon, that was once her only light, had mysteriously turned red.

"Why!" shouted a vaguely familiar voice…

As for Brad, he fell to a familiar ground (one that he had seen on a regular basis lately, it seemed) and he stood up and looked around the cemetery.

"Look familiar?" Freddy jumped out from behind a large tombstone, goblin-like as he was hunched over. He held Brad's chain in his clawed hand.

"Nice scene we have here," said Brad, trying to act like he was in control. "Perfect for when you finally die."

"Don't bet on it, Piglet," croaked Freddy. "I've been down that road twice now. I think it'll be you to be placed in the ground," he said with an obscene smile as he leaned up against the tombstone.

Whether it was his weight or else the ground was too soft, but the tombstone fell over. Freddy lost his balance and stumbled with it. He stood, and as he stood an earthquake rumbled throughout the cemetery and Freddy was, once again, knocked to his knees.

The quake died down and the earth split open revealing a fresh grave.

Both Brad and Krueger – who was still kneeling, clawed hand being used for balance – peered into the dirt hole and was surprised to find a casket. Their eyes moved up to the headstone:

Jacob Daniel Johnson

Confusion overcame them but it was Freddy that looked up at Brad. "Looks like your friend wants you to join him," he hissed.

Brad stared down at the madman with a look of terror behind his eyes.

Amy looked around the bedroom in hopes of finding where the voice came from. She was scared when she saw all of the candles that burned which were now scattered, by the hundreds, around the room – on the vanity, the floor, on the bed, and even the little dolls held two burning candles each.

"Why did you call me back?" asked a voice that came from the doorway, to Amy's back.

Amy spun around and saw the woman in the black dress.

There was a loathing that emanated from this woman; even more repulsive that Freddy had ever been. She looked around for an escape. The only means of an egress was the door but Francis blocked it with a sinister grin.

She knew what the girl intended to do and there was no way in hell she would let her leave without having her soul first.

Amy stared at Francis, left with only one choice.

"Why did you curse her?" she asked as she looked deep into the witch's green eyes.

"Because she wouldn't become a disciple of Satan. And she let them kill me," Francis replied in a soft, yet demonic tone.

"There wasn't anything she could have done," said Amy. "If she were to have joined you, they would've killed her too."

Francis grinned. "I don't know how you could have known all of that, but you don't quite understand the powers of darkness, either," she said. "Had she joined me, then He would have given us enough power to defeat our enemy and escape."

Francis grabbed the inverted pentagram which dangled between her breasts and rolled it between her fingers.

Amy stared at the pentagram, becoming hypnotized.

"Amanda wouldn't. But what say you, sweet Amy? Join me, my love, and together we shall rule the night," Francis said with a smile.

There was noting she could do; she had been brainwashed. "Yes," replied Amy.

With that, Francis reached out with her right hand with a nod.

Amy took the witch's hand in hers…

Chapter XIV

Freddy was ready to slice through Brad's left leg, but was stopped when he heard a loud creak. He turned around only to see the open casket of Jacob. Empty.

Freddy stared into the box contemplating the idea that Jacob might try to return and he looked back at Brad and grinned. "Jacob thinks he can come back from the dead? Only evil can return." He glanced back at the casket, then at Brad again. "There's no one to save you now."

As Freddy saw Brad's fear, he jumped forward. But then he was pushed to the side as someone ran into his side.

"You're right, Krueger; only evil can return," grunted Jacob in a decayed voice as he smiled with obscenity at Freddy.

"You!" Freddy exclaimed and backed away from Jacob.

"You took something from me and I want it back," explained Jacob. "My soul."

Both Jacob and Brad could see the fear build up behind Freddy's eyes.

"Our powers are unity. Together we are all-powerful. Together we share thoughts – we have nothing to hide. What about you, Amy?" whispered Francis as Amy lay on the bedroom floor, arms and legs spread, with candles all around her body.

"Lift the curse and I'll be with you for eternity," Amy whispered as a look of shock developed on Francis' face.

So, this is what this is all about; a trade? Freddy for Amy? Francis pondered this for a moment. It would be a fair trade, I suppose.

"Eternal darkness, Brotherhood of death, I cease the curse of Fred Kruger," she called out to the blood-red moon.

As Freddy backed off, his boots tripped and he stumbled into the hallowed grave that once belonged to Jacob.

"Go to hell, Frederick Kruger," Jacob screamed.

Before Freddy could even plan a counterattack, several pairs of rotted hands clawed their way through the dirt walls and grabbed Kruger. The hands formed arms, the arms formed bodies, and the bodies formed the corroded beings and faces of his previous victims: Nancy, Marge, and Don Thompson, Rod Lane and Glen Lantz, Tina Gray and Ron Grady, Kincaid and Joey, Will, Taryn, Philip and Kristen Parker, Rick Johnson, Mark, Greta, Debbi, Dan Jordan, and Sheila. All with one thing visible behind their eyes (although some had no eyes) – Revenge!

Freddy screamed as the hands clawed through his charred flesh, tearing at his limbs.

It was Nancy who had decapitated his clawed hand and it was tossed up to the surface.

Jacob bent down and picked up the glove. He pulled out the bloodied hand and threw it back into the grave and he stared at the dirty four-bladed claw with satisfaction. And then he looked down at the agonizing Krueger who was trying to fend off the hands – and having no success.

Freddy threw screams and curses in every direction.

"Krueger!" Jacob screamed and the entire cemetery became silent, dead silent.

The hands of the corpse's ceased at their call. Even Freddy had stopped screaming and fighting.

"It's time to wake up," Jacob said and threw the claw, blades out, down toward Freddy.

The blades punctured through Freddy's heart, causing one final scream and then an explosion which caused Jacob and Brad to be knocked onto the ground.

As the explosion ended, Brad opened his eyes, only to be surprised to discover that he was laying on the ground, alone, in front of a covered grave.

He stood, carefully making sure nothing was broken and discovered that he had a sprained right ankle. Nonetheless, he looked down at the new grave and then to its tombstone.

Fred Krueger

1949-2008

At the time of the explosion, Francis felt a pain in her heart and Amy jerked and the hypnosis was broken. She knew what was left that had to be done – like she knew that Freddy was finally in hell – so she quickly jumped to her feet and ran over to Francis.

"Now you can go back to hell," she exclaimed as Francis opened her mouth.

"By eternal powers…"

Before she could perform another curse, Amy shoved her fist into Francis' mouth and pulled with what strength she had left. It was just enough to pull out the witch's tongue as she held it in her hand.

"There will be no more curses," she said and then backed away. "Burn, Bitch," she screamed as Francis' eyes widened and she felt the burning creep throughout her body just before it burst into flames.

Amy watched the burning witch with a tired smile. As she watched, Francis began to disintegrate from the room back to whatever hell had trapped her for such a long time…

Epilogue

Both Brad and Amy awoke with a start in the same bed where they had, several hours earlier, fallen asleep. They turned and looked at one another, smiled, and then embraced with no words spoken.

Neither Brad nor Amy had spoken of the dream they had just before they awoke – right after Francis and Freddy died. The one where lightening struck Freddy's tombstone, causing it to explode. And a single straight razor shot out of the ground of the cemetery where his grave stood.

The next day they walked, hand-in-hand down Elm Street, talking about how they stopped Francis and Freddy (Brad couldn't take the credit, he explained). Then they approached 1428 – at least what was left of the old house.

The house had burned down to the ground some time last night during their final confrontation, the Armageddon.

At that moment, staring into one another's eyes, they knew that Freddy and Francis Krueger were finally resting in hell.

"I love you," said Brad and they smiled at each other. He took his right arm and placed it around her shoulders, and they continued walking down the street, Brad limping, and they continued talking about their futures…

The End – 9.7.91