Surreality

Carrie stared up at the horror that was Freddy Krueger as a pathetic whimper escaped her lips. The sound caught the ears of the dream-killer and forced him from his thoughts. He glanced at Carrie as if he hadn't even been aware she was there and watched as she tried to back away. He grinned maniacally and advanced upon her, crouching down to her level as she backed up against the wall, thus cornering herself.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the little piggy who set me free." he hissed delightedly.

Carrie pressed back against the wall as he inched closer, crawling on all fours above her. She turned her head away in fear and disgust at his proximity, his rancid breath hot against her skin. Her breathing came in short, quick gasps as fear filled her and consumed all logical thought.

He breathed in deeply as the fear wafted from her body, like a sweet, intoxicating perfume, and purred with a sick, twisted pleasure. So long it had been since he had last smelled that sweet aroma of fear; of pure unadulterated terror.

"W-who are you?" she questioned meekly, pressing her cheek against the wall and snapping him from his reverie. He grinned and slid a single claw under her chin as he turned her head to face him.

"Freddy's the name, and killing's my game." he said simply.

"Freddy...Krueger?" she echoed, fear tightening in her chest.

"Yes, and because you freed me, you get the honor of being my first victim." he whispered grimly and raised his lethal glove, poising for attack. "Any last words?"

A million questions ran through her mind at that moment, but only one remained the most important... the one thing she needed to know the most... the one question that would explain all that was happening to her at this moment...

"W-why?" she whispered hoarsely, her throat suddenly feeling as dry as a bone.

Freddy lowered his hand and grinned with amusement. "Why?" he echoed mockingly "I'll tell you why." Leaning forward, he whispered cruelly in her ear, "Because..." and paused a moment to slide his tongue along her cheek while she shuddered with disgust, "...It's fun." he finished and leaned back with those deadly blades raised once more. With a glint of light and a soft grunt, the crude weapon quickly sliced through the air toward Carrie's exposed and vulnerable neck.

A hollow, emptiness consumed her at that moment as the blades sped toward her with impossible speed. She shut her eyes in defeat, his mocking laughter echoing endlessly inside her head, and awaited the fatal blow. But it never came. She knew it should have. She had heard the grunt of exertion as he swung that awful bladed glove, but there was no contact.; no broken flesh or severed muscle, only stunned silence.

She opened her eyes to see what had happened and stared openly into Freddy's shocked and confused face as his claws hovered inches above her neck, frozen in mid-attack as if by some unseen force. The shock soon evaporated into anger and he growled viciously at her. He grabbed her shirt collar, yanked her to her feet and slammed her against the wall, hissing in barely-controlled rage.

"How did you do that, bitch!" he growled.

Confusion overpowered fear as Carrie stared at him. She had no idea what he meant. She hadn't done anything. She had been as placid about her impending death as anybody could have possibly been. The last thing on her mind was trying to stop him. There was nothing she could have done, anyway. Didn't he know that? Why was he accusing her of doing anything in her position? These and a million other questions raced through her mind as she finally voiced her confusion.

"...W-what do you mean?" she asked timidly.

Freddy glared at her with narrowed eyes, seething with rage. "Don't play dumb with me, bitch." he hissed.

"I-I don't know what you mean! I don't! I didn't do anything! Please!" Carrie pleaded as the fear suddenly returned unabated.

He growled viciously and proceeded to slam her violently against the wall over and over again, forcing the air from her lungs. He continued to pound her frail body against the concrete wall until he was certain he had caused sufficient damage and threw her roughly to the floor.

He grinned with malicious intent, seemingly over his anger, and fanned the blades as he watched Carrie struggle to breathe and clutch her chest in pain. He advanced toward her slowly, intending to finish her off, when she collapsed and quickly faded away...

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Carrie awoke on the cold concrete floor of the old boiler room, her whole body aching terribly. There was an odd coppery taste in her mouth and she couldn't breathe. A cold sweat dripped slowly down her spine and her heart pounded rapidly in her chest as the dream flashed vividly in her mind.

Freddy Krueger was real.....and he had very nearly killed her! But what had stopped him from slashing her throat? She took a ragged breath and waited until she had calmed some before reaching for the walkie talkie.

"Allie....I wanna come home, right now." she whispered hoarsely into the receiver.

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Carrie stared blankly out the car window, dark violet eyes glazed over in pain and shock. She watched the passing landscape unseeingly as the nightmare replayed over and over in her head. The fear; the pain; all so real; all transferred over to reality.

Allie draped a blanket over her shoulders and patted her arm in an attempt to comfort her. She and Warren had hurried over as quickly as they could after she had received Carrie's request to come home. They were both shocked at the condition she was in when they had found her. They were now on their way to Springwood General Hospital.

"What happened in there, Carrie?" Allie asked quietly.

Carrie didn't answer right away, just continued to stare out the window, lost in the terrifying nightmare. After a few moments she spoke, though her voice was nearly inaudible and Allie had to strain her ears to hear.

".....I saw him.....he's real.....he's real...." She repeated this softly to herself until Allie gently shook her arm. She slowly turned to look at her friend and gave her a timid smile.

"I'll be okay, Allie, I just need some sleep." she whispered, snuggling into the soft blanket.

"That's alright, Carrie. You just sleep all you want. But...tell me what happened." Allie whispered softly.

"....I made him angry..." she grinned tiredly as her eyelids drooped. "...he punished me..."

"Who did you make angry? Who hurt you, Carrie?" Allie asked worriedly.

Carrie yawned and whispered sleepily, "...Freddy...Krueger," ...before slipping into unconsciousness.