A Nightmare on Birch Street Ch. 03

"Good day at school, dear?" Nancy's mother asked, as they ate their dinner at the kitchen table.

"Yeah, fine. Hey, can I sleep over at Tina's tonight? Her parents are away and she said she doesn't want to be alone," Nancy said. She didn't like lying to her mother, but it was at least partially true.

"Yes, fine," her mother replied, as she finished her wine.

She'd been wondering when it was best to ask her mother about the photograph. After she'd had a couple of glasses of wine, when she was more relaxed? But she had to go over to Tina's later, so perhaps it would be best to do it now.

"Mom, do you remember we were talking the other night? About that poor janitor who died in that accident?"

"At High School, back before you were born?" her mother said, as she collected Nancy's plate and carried it over to the sink.

"Yeah, you said that it happened after you graduated. But we were looking through the archives today, and we found out it happened in '64. You were still at the college then, right?"

"Are you sure it was '64? Maybe I graduated the year before. Do you want desert? I've got some jello in the fridge or..."

"No, we're sure, there's a photograph of his body being taken out to an ambulance, and I saw your face in the background."

"Really? Well it was a long time ago, my memory is wasn't it used to be, sweetie," her mother said as she got to her feet. "Now, there's some cheesecake here that needs to be finished..."

"Mom, please, this is important! I think it's connected to the nightmares I've been having!"

Nancy watched as her mother slowly closed the fridge door and turned to face her. She suddenly looked pale and old, as if feeling the full weight of all the years since it happened.

"You're seeing him in your nightmares too? Gosh, I'm so sorry, dear," she said, slowly sitting back down.

"Please, Mom, if you know something please tell me."

"Listen, before I tell you, I want you to know that I didn't mean for it to happen like this, alright? None of it."

"Please, just tell me," Nancy said, reaching out and clasping her mother's hand, wanting to know the truth and yet fearing it at the same time.

Her mother took a deep breath then started to speak: "Okay, it all started back before you were born. I'd been going steady with your father, but we'd had this big, silly argument and had temporarily split up. A friend of mine told me he'd been seeing someone else, so I decided to date someone else too. The janitor, Freddy Krueger had asked me out a few times, and after we split up, I finally agreed."

"You dated Freddy Krueger!" Nancy said, her eyebrows shooting up over her forehead.

"Yes, only for a little while. He was a little bit older, twenty-five but so charming and good-looking. Anyway, the night he died, it was very cold for April. There'd been a freak snowstorm and he'd decided to spend the night at the school, so he could keep the boiler going through the night and stop the water pipes freezing. He had a little camp-bed set up in the boiler room, it was quite cosy really."

She took a sip of her wine before she continued.

"At first, Freddy had been quite sweet and romantic, but I soon became aware that he could be a little rough sometimes. He also liked, oh my, how can I put this? He liked to hold me down sometimes or..."

"He liked to tie you up? He liked bondage?" Nancy offered, remembering her nightmares and desperately trying not to picture her mother in the same situation.

"Yes, exactly," her mom said, looking relieved, that her daughter understood. "Anyway, that night, that's what happened. I didn't like it as much as him, and he seemed to be getting more extreme each time I saw him so I remember feeling a little shaken as I walked home. I was feeling a little upset, wondering whether I wanted to carry on dating him because it just seemed to be about, you know, the sex we never really went out to dinner or to a movie."

"Anyway, I remember it was bitterly cold, it had started snowing and I must have been looking upset because as I crossed Main Street a car pulled up beside me, and your father got out and asked if I wanted a lift. He'd been out to a bar, actually several bars, with Mitch Gray and Jeff Lantz; they were in the car."

"Wait, this is Mr Gray, Tina's father and Mr Lantz is Glen's father?"

"Yes, so your father sees I'm a bit upset and starts asking what's wrong. He knew I'd been dating Freddy, so he starts saying has he hurt you? Your father could be quite jealous and over-protective sometimes. Then he sees the marks on my wrists; they were a bit red from where Freddy had tied me up, so your father suddenly starts asking if I'd been assaulted, if he'd forced himself on me. I'm saying of course not, don't be silly, but he just completely gets the wrong end of the stick and starts ranting about how he' s going to teach Freddy a lesson about how to treat girls. You've got to believe me, when I tell you that I tried to stop him, but he was just so drunk and spoiling for a fight. I just couldn't talk to him. You do believe me, don't you?"

"Of course, I remember daddy could be quite stubborn," Nancy said, squeezing her mother's hand reassuringly as she began to sob.

"So they roared off into the night, and I went home hoping they wouldn't do anything stupid, and I didn't hear the rest of the story until I spoke to your father the next day, " her mother said, as she got a tissue out of her pocket and started dabbing at her moist eyes. "He told me they went to the school to confront Freddy and found him down in the boiler room. He swore to me that they'd just meant to push him around a little, teach him some manners."

Nancy waited quietly, as her mother took a deep breath, trying to compose herself. She was sobbing almost continuously now, the carefully constructed barricades that had confined her darkest secrets for decades now splintering and breaking apart, and her emotions spilling out

"He told me that Freddy just laughed at them, telling them to go home their parents, that they couldn't handle their drink. He told my father that I'd started going out with him because he couldn't satisfy me in bed, which of course wasn't true. Anyway, Don got more and more angry and with his friends urging him on he started shoving Freddy around. Soon, they were swinging at each other and Don told me he connected with a lucky, drunken punch that knocked Freddy backwards. He said he stumbled and hit his head against the edge of the boiler."

"Oh God, is that how he...?"

Her mother nodded miserably, her shoulders shaking with a fresh round of sobbing she dabbed at her eyes with the soggy tissue.

"Yes, he told me they just stood there in silence, feeling stunned and not sure what to do. Then Mitch knelt down and checked for a pulse, but couldn't find one. He said there was blood running from Freddy's ear. And then Jeff, who was never good under pressure, started panicking and talking about how they were all going to go to jail for the rest of their lives. So Mitch tells him: shut up, nobody's going to jail, we just need to make it look like an accident. Then one of them, I don't remember who, finds the lighter fluid and some matches and suggests they...," her mother took another breath, determined to finish the story, "Suggests they burn the body."

"Oh God, no!" Nancy said, her hand covering her open mouth as she realised the full extent of the horror.

"So that's what they do, they drench his body with lighter fluid and set poor Freddy alight, then they run out of the school and back home."

"That's horrible! But I don't understand, didn't the police find any evidence? Weren't they suspected? Weren't you suspected?"

Her mother shook her head.

"The police weren't very thorough back then. I remember they were badly under-staffed. And, as it turned out, nobody saw them at the school, but just about everyone remembered seeing them out drinking that night. The Springfield Bulls had won so the bars were packed that night. And because, the body was so badly burnt, there was no real evidence in the boiler room. They talked to me, but accepted he was still alive when I left him. They estimated that he died around midnight, and plenty of people saw me heading back home long before that."

She took another sip of wine.

"Freddy didn't have many friends and no family so after a couple of weeks everyone just assumed it was a tragic accident and moved on. I guess your father and I were sort of brought back together by a shared secret that we agreed never to talk about. We were married less than a year later, then you were born the year after that," she concluded, as she finished her wine.

"Do you ever think about Freddy?"

"I sometimes have nightmares about him. Terrible nightmares where he says he wants revenge and he's going to make me pay one day. He sometimes says death would be too easy, and he really wants me to suffer."

"Suffer how?"

"I don't know, he just says that some things are worse than death."

"Is that why you drink so much?"

"Yes, I guess it is, the drinking helps me sleep sometimes," her mother sniffed.

"I'm sorry," Nancy said, getting up and wrapping her arms around her mother's shoulders.

"So am I, I'm just so terribly sorry," her mother sobbed.

--

"Well, this feels weird," Glen concluded, as he stared at the ceiling of Tina's bedroom.

It was late in the evening and all three of them were lying fully clothed on top of Tina's bed. She had quite a large bed but Nancy, stuck in the middle of her two friends, was still finding it quite a squeeze. She'd felt guilty about leaving her mother alone, but Tina was right, it was better they were all together tonight.

"Come on, we all agreed on this plan. Realistically, we all have to get some sleep tonight, so let's go to sleep at the same time, holding hands and see if we can't meet up in our dreams. Try and picture the school entrance as you drift off to sleep," Tina said.

"Tina's right, we know he's been getting stronger and we can be sure he's going to try something tonight, the twentieth anniversary of his death. It's better if we take on Freddy together, as a team," she added.

"Alright then, let's see if we can get some sleep, it's already eleven o'clock," Glen said, glancing over at the clock as he switched off the bedside lamp.

He closed his eyes and tried to slow his breathing, it was difficult though. The thought of a final confrontation with Freddy and putting Nancy in harm's way made him feel nervous and edgy, and as he listened to the girl's deep, even breathing he struggled to relax.

--

Nancy felt herself drifting off, her body slowly sinking into the soft folds of sleep.

The next thing she knew she was standing outside the main entrance of Springfield High.

"Tina? Tina?" she shouted. It was cold and empty in front of the dimly lit main entrance, and it grew darker as some clouds obscured the moon. A cold wind swirled around the open space, sweeping litter along the concrete steps. She shivered, goose bumps forming on her bare arms and she regretted wearing only a thin, short-sleeved blouse.

"Tina! Glen?" she shouted, but again there was no reply. Perhaps they were still awake, she thought. She skipped up the steps, figuring that it wouldn't hurt to wait just inside the main doors, out of the breeze.

After a few minutes, she heard it: a short, piercing scream that echoed down the empty corridors.

"Tina? Is that you?" she shouted.

She waited, holding her breath as she listened for a reply, unsure of what to do next. Should she press on, and see what the noise was? Or wait here, as they agreed? If only Glen was here.

Another scream, propelled her into action, and she found herself jogging down the hallway and pushing open the door to the boiler room.

"Glen, are you there?" she shouted back down the corridor. "Glen!"

She waited silently, hoping that he'd answer, still caught between pressing on and waiting. After a couple of minutes, she decided she'd better check that Tina was safe and nervously started down the stairs.

"Tina! Tina! Where are you?" she shouted as she took the stairs on at a time.

"Tina, Tina!" she shouted as she reached the bottom and edged forward towards the dark tangle of metal pipes.

Peering into the darkness, she failed to notice the dark figure stealthily creeping up behind her.

"You're just in time for our little reunion," she heard him chuckle as he grabbed her and pressed a damp wad of cotton tightly over her mouth, holding her wriggling body tight until a blanket of unconsciousness swept over her.

--

As his friend's breathing became slow and even, Glen was aware that they were already asleep and probably already wandering around Freddy's nightmarish dreamscape without him. But the more he told himself that he really must get to sleep soon, the more tense he got and the more difficult it became. He sighed as he turned over again and tried to empty his mind.

--

Nancy regained consciousness slowly. Her head thick, her vision blurred, her nostrils filled with a nasty, chemical odour. The first thing she noticed was the heat. It was a really hot, humid atmosphere and she could feel drops of perspiration prickling her forehead but when she tried to brush them away she found she was unable to move her hands, the jingling noise indicating that her wrists were handcuffed together behind her back. Her ankles, too, seemed to be shackled to the chair's legs.

Everything started to come into focus but agonisingly slowly, like she was waking from a very deep sleep. It was dark in the basement; there was a little light coming from a dingy bare light bulb but most of the light and a fierce heat came from the old boiler on her right. The large black iron doors were half-open and the fierce orangey-yellow flames cast flickering shadows around the gloomy space.

She slowly looked around; the soot-streaked walls and bare concrete floors were crowded with unusual devices and tools that looked to Nancy like medieval torture implements, a huge variety of chains, manacles and whips.

It took Nancy a while to realise what was right in front of her. It was Tina, but she looked quite different. She was completely naked and sitting astride what looked like an old vaulting horse from the gym that had been lowered by sawing off half of the wooden legs.

Looking closer, Nancy could now see that her hands were manacled, her mouth gagged and her bare legs were bent back and strapped to the sides as if she were sitting astride a horse.

She knew he was behind her before he spoke, the smell of wood smoke and the icy shivers running down her neck gave him away. Reluctantly, she looked around and noted that for once he wasn't wearing that awful glove; instead a small silver key dangled from a slim silver chain around his neck.

"Ah, finally awake, huh?" he cackled, his scarred lips next to her ear as she tried to twist away. "You're just in time. Your friend's gonna put on a little show for us."

"What have you done to Tina? Please don't hurt her, please," Nancy said.

"Hurt her?" he said, then laughed, his voice a hoarse, dry cackle. "I'm not going to hurt her, a least not yet. No, we've got all night and your horny little friend is about to have the time of her life."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you know what a remote controlled vibrator is?" he asked as he held a black box up in front of her. It looked a little like a TV remote control but with fewer buttons.

"No," Nancy said, although she could guess.

"Well, let me explain. Recently on one of my little scouting trips around the school, I found a sex toy in the desk of one of the female teachers. You know Mrs Higgins the religious instruction teacher? Apparently, she's not as pious as everyone thought. Well, that little toy is strapped to the vaulting horse, right between your friend's legs," he said. "It took me a while but I managed to connect it up to this remote control that I borrowed from an engineering class. It was a labour of love and I've been dying to try it out."

"You're such a disgusting pervert," Nancy hissed.

He laughed as he flicked the switch with his thumb. In front of them, Tina let out a long, low moan, her body tensing. Her legs were tightly strapped,

--

Tina felt groggy and fuzzy-headed as she slowly became aware of her surroundings. She was in a pool of light, and off to her left she could see two blurry shapes moving in the semi-darkness but couldn't make out who they were.

She quickly realised she was naked; she could feel the fierce heat from the open boiler against her bare skin. It was also apparent that she was gagged and tightly bound. Looking up she could see her wrists were manacled, the chains disappearing up into the darkness of the ceiling forcing her to arch her back, her naked boobs jutting out. Looking down, she noted that her legs were bent at the knees and strapped tightly to wither side of what looked like an old vaulting horse. Her vision was still quite blurry and she struggled to focus on the white, cylindrical object between her spread thighs, partly inset into its surface.

She realised what it was as it began to vibrate, sending hot electric tingles through her bare thighs. Her shocked gasps were muffled by her gag as she struggled against her bonds, the chains jingling. Although she'd been tied tightly there was still a little give in the ropes and she found that if she strained her thigh muscles she could lift her hips an inch or two and get a little relief from the infernal buzzing. After a few seconds tough, her thigh muscle began to burn then ache painfully and she'd had to relax, moaning loudly as she felt the buzzing toy press against her pussy once more.

It was like torture, the short periods of relief becoming shorter and shorter as her muscles ached, and every time she settled back down her pussy was a little more sensitive, her body a little more aroused, the pleasure a little more intense.

Soon she felt herself surrendering to the delicious sensations, unable to deny how god it felt, her hips undulating as she began to rub herself against the wicked toy, riding the vibrations.

--

"You see how much your hot little friend's enjoying herself?" he chuckled as he eased the switch a little higher bringing a fresh round of moaning from his captive.

"You sick bastard," Nancy said, although she couldn't deny that Tina seemed to be enjoying the subtle stimulation.

Nancy heard him laugh cruelly as he operated the remote with one hand, whilst crudely squeezing her breasts through her blouse with the other. With her hands tightly cuffed, Nancy could only watch as Freddy tormented her friend, his thumb easing the slider up and down as Tina writhed and groaned in front of them.

"She's such a horny little tart, look at how much she's enjoying it," he said, his acrid breath warm against her ear as he impatiently tugged at the buttons of her blouse.

Reluctantly, Nancy had to concede he was right, it was clear now that Tina, her hands and legs firmly bound was surrendering to the intense sensations. Her blonde hair, which was usually perfect and neatly tucked behind her ears had fallen over her face, the fine strands sticking to her damp forehead. Her blue eyes were dull and unfocussed, making it look she was trapped in her own little world of feverish pleasure.

"I think it's time to finish your friend off, don't you?" she heard him chuckle as he tugged a slim chain from the pocket of his grubby brown trousers and dangled it in front of her. It was silver with a tiny clasp at each end.

"What is it, you sicko?" Nancy asked.

"You've never seen nipple clamps before? You really are the sweet little virgin, aren't you? It's my own design, see how they tighten when you tug at them," he chuckled, demonstrating them to her by attaching one to the end of his finger and pulling at it.