Dream On Dreamer

Don’t Fear the Reaper (Blue Oyster Cult)

“Is something wrong, Freddy?”

Freddy looked up from his desk, where he was absently flipping through his MP3 player choices—without the earphones on—and tapping the tip of his index knife into the desk irritably. “Does it show?” he asked testily.

His warden (“Wrangler”, as she liked to call herself) Angelia sat down on his small bed. “Duh,” she said, rolling her eyes. She tapped her temple with her left hand. “I’m your warden. I know when something’s wrong.”

“What have I said about sneaking into my mind?” Freddy growled.

“Stay out,” Angelia recited, sounding like a chastised seven-year-old. She stuck her tongue out at him. “But when have I ever listened? Besides, I don’t even NEED to be in your head to know when something’s wrong.” She flunked back on his bed, her hands behind her head. “So spill.”

Freddy sighed. “If you MUST know,” he said, “it was Lori.”

“Again?” Angelia asked. Freddy nodded. “That kid is nightmare-prone to a fault.” Freddy growled to himself.

“Something’s wrong,” he said, mostly to himself. “It wasn’t just a normal nightmare this time…she can normally dispel it by ‘not showing fear’.” He spat the last three words out, and Angelia knew that it was because those three words were key to beating him in his own playground. “…But tonight…fuck, it was horrible for her.”

“Scale of one to ten?”

“Fifteen,” Freddy said seriously. He normally rated ‘normal’ nightmares by one to ten, and made ‘adjustments’ when he did his work. For it to be a fifteen, he himself would have to be involved.

“Damn,” Angelia said. “…You think it was…another?”

Freddy dropped his MP3 at the very mention. “…Cant be,” he replied. “Yeah, there are more like me, but the odds of THAT…”

“True,” Angelia said. “I mean…she’s already nightmare-prone…and since she has the lucid dreaming skills of a Dream Warrior, her own mind could just be creating those terrors to the point where she cant tell outside from in.”

“…I don’t know,” Freddy sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “…She almost never calls for my help; she’s so independent. For her to actually call for me…something’s…just not right.”

“…You need to talk to Katherine,” Angelia said firmly. “You’ve been putting it off, and if you wont, then I will.”

“You will NOT,” Freddy argued back. “We left on an even note last time, and I’d rather NOT destroy what VERY little trust she has left in me.”

Angelia sighed and sat up. “I sometimes forget who’s in charge here,” she said. Freddy glared at her. “Okay, fine,” she griped, standing up. “But seriously, at least…I dunno, leave a Post-It on her forehead for her to find. You NEED to talk to her.”

“Alright, MOTHER,” Freddy growled through his teeth. “Permission to go slaughter and/or molest a kid now.”

Angelia smacked him in the back of the head. “Slaughter, yes,” she said. “Molest…well, you seem to forget who your meal ticket for eating out is around here…”

Freddy’s eye twitched; he hadn’t been able to TOUCH another girl since Angelia came to stay. For good. And the worst part was, she was right. He stood up and put his fedora on his head, his normally human-looking form dissolving into his infamous burned one. “Fine,” he spat. “But I get THREE kills tonight.” Angelia looked at him like he was stupid and held up two fingers. Freddy bared his sharpened teeth at her, but stalked off nonetheless.

As soon as he was gone, she walked over to his desk, picked up a pen and a pack of green Post-Its she ‘found’ and scribbled something on it before fading into a dream.
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Maggie woke up and rubbed her eyes; less than three hours of sleep…great. And the worst part was, Hypnocil was banned in most states—except for Ohio, of course. She got out of bed and walked to the bathroom—then paused when she saw a green square attached to her forehead.

She took it off and turned it over, her stomach churning when she read what was on it.

WE NEED TO TALK.
--FREDDY.
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Maggie called in sick that day, and drove Loretta to school. The pre-teen was hugging her backpack, looking like she hadn’t had any sleep at ALL. Maggie reached over and smoothed out her daughter’s dirty-blonde hair.

“No luck sleeping?” she asked. Lori nodded. Maggie sighed.

“I wish I could get you some Hypnocil…” she said pensively. Lori nodded.

“I know,” she said. “…But…” She broke off.

“…But…?” Maggie pressed.

“…I wouldn’t get to…see Grandpa…”

Maggie resisted the urge to bang her head on the steering wheel. Instead, she forced a smile. “…One of these days,” she said calmly, “you’re going to have to tell me how you found out about him.” Loretta had the decency to look ashamed.

“…I cant,” she said. “I made Grandpa a promise.”

“…What?” Dear CHRIST, why did this all have to happen at once?

“Grandpa made me promise not to tell you how he found me,” she said softly. “It...wasnt anything bad…and I didn’t even get to SEE him…but…he was…THERE.”

Maggie made a quick decision; she made a U-turn and drove back to the house. “I’ll call the school,” she told Loretta. “Lori, we have to start talking about this TODAY. You said that a ‘nightmare man’ was after you that wasn’t your Grandpa,”—GOD, it felt weird calling Freddy that!—“and we need to figure this out.”

Lori only nodded as her mother silently drove into the driveway. They walked inside and Maggie made them both some hot chocolate—their ‘conversation’ drink. They sat in silence for a little while, then Maggie decided to speak first.

“…I can talk to…Grandpa, too,” she said, STILL not used to calling her psycho father ‘Grandpa’. “In my dreams.” Lori nodded, hugging the doll that was a gift from her grandfather to her chest. “I’ve done it a few times before.” She paused. “…Tell me about the first time you met your grandfather.”

Lori squirmed in her chair for a few moments before answering. “…I was having a bad dream,” she said. “You weren’t there…it was when Hannah was babysitting.” Maggie nodded for her to go on. “…I had a bad dream that I was stuck in the woods…it was really dark and REALLY scary.” She took a deep breath. “…I thought I was going to die, I was so scared…then…I felt someone behind me…”

Maggie’s eyes absently slid to stare at the empty space behind Loretta before turning back to her.

“…At first, I was really scared that it was someone coming to get me…but then…the person hugged me.”

“Hugged you?”

“…Well…not REALLY…” Lori said. “It was like…the AIR was hugging me like a person was…like they were THERE…but they WERENT there…you know?” Maggie nodded. “…Then…I heard a voice that told me not to be afraid…and then a big bonfire like the one we made when we went camping that one time appeared, with a big sleeping bag next to it. The voice told me to go back to sleep, and no one would hurt me.” Lori took a sip of her hot chocolate. “…That was the first time I met Grandpa.”

“How did you know it was him?” Maggie asked.

“I asked, the next time I felt he was there,” Lori answered. “I asked him who he was, and he told me that he was your father.” She squirmed around on the chair again. “At first, I didn’t believe him. But then he told me everything about you—that you were born in Springwood, Ohio…that your birth name was Katherine Krueger…what your job was…” She shrugged. “I went with it, you know? I was little, and I thought he was like…you know, a ghost.”

Maggie nibbled on her lip for a moment. “…Did he ever tell you…what he was?” she asked.

“I asked,” Lori replied. “But he said it was better that I don’t know, and to just know that he was there to take care of me in my dreams, and to call for him if I needed anything.”

‘Oh boy,’ Maggie thought, exasperated. Should she tell Loretta about Freddy’s ‘occupation’? Would it do more harm than good? She decided to take a roll of the die.

“…Loretta,” she began slowly, “…your grandfather…isn’t a ghost. He’s…a Dream Demon.”

“Demon?” Loretta repeated, her eyes widening. Maggie nodded solemnly.

“That’s right,” she said. “When he died, the original Dream Demons offered him the power to invade people’s dreams at night…and manipulate them as he wanted. He took the offer, and became a Dream Demon himself.”

“….You can DO that?” Lori asked, amazed. Maggie nodded again.

“Apparently, yes.” She paused, sipping her own chocolate to calm her nerves. “…Lori…aside from you…and often myself…your grandfather doesn’t protect people in their dreams…” She paused, taking another roll of the die to say what she had to. “…He kills people in their dreams.”

Lori gaped at her mother in shock. “…That…I…that’s not true!” she cried, her hazel eyes wide with shock. Maggie nodded, her eyes lowering to the table.

“It IS true,” she said. “…Your grandfather was a child murder when he was alive. But he never touched me, nor ever hurt me, just like he never hurt you.”

Lori was near tears by this point. “Why…would…he save me…?” she asked, her doll now in a deathgrip.

“Because you’re his granddaughter,” Maggie said, amazed she was actually DEFENDING her father on this subject. Next came locusts. “He never hurt me because I was his daughter. He told me that he wouldn’t hurt his blood.” Lori was shaking now. “Lori, even I cant believe I’m saying this, but your grandfather loves you very much. I am willing to bet that if his jurisdiction was here, he wouldn’t touch any of your friends, if you asked. He and I don’t have the best of relationships, but he apparently wants to have one with YOU.”

“…My grandpa’s a murderer…!” Lori said, mostly to herself. “He murders little kids…like me…!”

“Lori, listen to me!” Maggie said, reaching over the table to hold her daughter’s hand. “Your grandfather protects you! He loves you!”

“Did he ever hurt you?” Lori suddenly asked. Maggie drew back in surprise.

“What?”

“Did he ever hurt you?” Lori repeated. “…You said you don’t have the best relationship with him…did he ever try to hurt you?”

Ah, shit. It was a gamble telling her about Freddy, and now it was time for her to ante up.

“…Before you were born…when I was in my late twenties,” Maggie finally admitted. “…When I was a little girl, the police discovered what your grandfather did to kids, and Child Services took me away.” She lowered her eyes. “…I found a memory of his in my dream…he tried so hard to keep me because he…loved me…” She rubbed the bridge of her nose. “…I blocked everything before the age of six out of my memory as I grew up…but when I was an adult, your grandfather found me again. He wanted out of Springwood, and he told me only his blood could get him out.” She took a deep breath.

“…You know that I work with kids that are abused at home, right?” Lori nodded, her eyes hard. “…I found a John Doe that came from Springwood that had no memory, and we went to Springwood to try to find something to jar his memory. But it was all a trap to get ME there.

“…All but ONE of the kids that I brought with me ended up dead.”

Lori’s eyes widened with terror, and her breath hitched.

“…Your grandfather…Freddy…finally got into my mind and unblocked the memories I had kept deep down inside. I remembered my happy childhood…until the day…my mother found proof of his ‘special work’…” She saw Lori shudder. “…He was willing to let her live so they could ‘forget this ever happened’ and get on with our lives, but my mother wanted a divorce and to take me away from him.” She swallowed hard. “…Freddy has a bad temper that makes him do things he doesn’t really think through…”

“…He killed her?” Lori asked in a small voice.

“He killed her,” Maggie said, her eyes lost in a haze of memories. “…And I watched. He never meant for me to see that. I promised him that I wouldn’t tell…but I did…” She closed her eyes. “…I did tell.”

‘But you DID tell, didn’t ya?’ GOD, she could still hear the accusation in his voice…

“…When I finally remembered everything…your grandfather and I got into a fight…a fight that I won, and sent him back into Hell.”

“…Was that the last time you saw him?” Lori asked, her voice emotionless. Maggie shook her head.

“No. I spoke with him again two years ago, on Halloween,” she said. “He…filled in a few holes in our story. That was when I got your doll.” She pointed to the doll still clutched in Lori’s hand. “…Lori…about last night…” She took another sip to calm herself. “…I think that we may be dealing with another Dream Demon.”

“Another…?” Lori murmured, her hand shaking around the handle of her cocoa cup. “…Why?”

Maggie let out a heavy sigh and put her face in her hands. “I don’t know, Lori,” she said in a defeated tone. “And as much as I absolutely HATE to say it…there’s someone who does.”

“Who?”

“…Your grandfather.”

Lori swallowed, hugging her doll to her. “…Grandpa…?” she said softly. Her eyes, which used to light up at the mention of her beloved grandfather, were now dim with fear. And Maggie at least had the decency to feel slightly guilty about it. “…Grandpa can help?”

“When it comes to you, he’ll do anything,” Maggie said, actually half-believing what she was saying. She stood up and took her daughter’s hand. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?” Lori asked as her mother led her to the living room and closed the curtains.

“To see your grandfather.”
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Okay, just wondering---where the hell is my prequel?