A Nightmare Unleashed Ch. 01

"Why me?" Lori flickered her cigarette away into the air and to the street below, "I'm not a specialist or a scientist."

"True," Loomis admitted and then hesitated, "But..."

"But what?"

"Rowan believes that there may be more at work here than just a case of Jason Voorhees on a rampage."

Lori shook her head. Again, she knew it before Loomis even thought it. She had been waiting for this particular moment ever since she had gotten on the plane for home in Ohio. The reality of this moment had been seared into her mind during all the questioning sessions with the FBI and the police. She knew it wasn't over. It would never be over. How could anyone kill something that was already dead?

"Krueger?" she licked her lips, her stomach churning.

Loomis was quiet for a moment. "Yes."

"Jesus." Lori felt like crying.

"She couldn't go into the specifics, but she did say that there was some compelling evidence," he told her, "Rowan's superiors aren't as willing to believe that a dead child killer from Springwood has anything to do with anything, let alone Jason."

"Godammit."

"If we can recapture Jason, maybe-"

Lori swallowed hard. "I keep thinking about them, Matthew."

Loomis was silent, and then, "I know. Me too."

"Will, Alice, Sean and Tessa," she tried to fight back the stinging hot tears, "My father."

"If you can't do this, Lori, I understand. There is no pressure on you to come."

Lori took a deep breath, her voice betraying her. She felt scared. She felt so goddamned scared. "Are you going?"

"Yes," he said, "If there's anything I can contribute, it's my job to be there."

Lori could feel that black-handed fear closing hatefully around her heart again, threatening to steal her soul and her life from her. She had been living with this cancerous blackness now since her mother had been murdered. It was her determination to rid herself of it that had led her back to Springwood in May, but now it only seemed worse. It had regrouped in the wake of her becoming the Dream Master and grown into a new beast, angry and hideous.

She could see it smiling at her in the mirror sometimes late at night after flushing the toilet. She would see it in the windows of stores she passed walking to work and in the faces of men she knew to be no better than Freddy Krueger himself. The thought of going back and facing the evil again terrified her to the very core of her being, and she realized her hands were shaking badly now. Very carefully, she said, "I'm tired of being afraid, Matthew."

"It is up to you," Loomis said, "You must remember that. No one will think less of you."

Lori swallowed hard as the fear taunted her. The faces of those she had loved swam before her as they always did in her nightmares. She could see Will looking at her accusingly, along with the grim visages of the two cops Sean Renaud and Tessa Alexander. How they had protected her and stood by her, despite the danger to themselves. And they hadn't even known her. She could still feel Tessa's arm around her, holding her as the shock of Will's death sank in. She could hear her father scolding her, warning her to stay away and not bring any more death to the innocent.

But if Freddy were able to bounce back so quickly from his last defeat, then he would find her whether she was with Loomis and Rowan in Michigan or under her bed here in New York. The dream killer would come for her, because she was the Dream Master. It was her fate, her destiny to face Freddy Krueger and those like him to protect the innocent. She had even told the killer himself that very fact as he burned and writhed in agony at the power plant.

Of course, talking tough to the broken corpse of the enemy is one thing; facing him again, fresh and rejuvenated was a whole other matter entirely.

"He'll come for me no matter what."

Loomis said nothing.

"I'll come," she said finally.

"Rowan has arranged a dinner tomorrow night at the Jade Dragon in a town called Dark Hollow. It's about a half an hour south of Dearborn, and easy to find. That's where we are to meet her and the others."

"Others?"

"Apparently," Loomis said, "Dr. Maggie Burroughs and Yaphett Parker will be there as well."

The names were familiar, and Lori knew that the gathering of these people was not a routine avenue in an investigation. Something serious was about to happen and whether Rowan had called or not, they all would have ended up in Dark Hollow anyway. It was meant to be. Lori could feel that as certainly as she felt her lungs take in air and release. The wheels of the universe were turning again, taking both hero and villain alike towards the climax of this event.

"I'll take first flight out tonight," Lori said, "I'll meet you at the restaurant."

"You're sure?"

Lori wanted to tell him no and hang up, but instead said, "Yes. What time is the dinner?"

"Five sharp," he said.

"Okay then."

"Lori?"

Loomis paused, as though trying to find his words. He said, "I've missed you."

Lori smiled. The doctor was always good to her, and she felt a small burning flame of hope in her chest at his admission. She said, "I've missed you too."

"See you soon," he said, "And be careful."

"You too."

The line went dead and Lori dropped the phone to the floor. She slid down the wall and tucked her legs beneath her as the sobs simply came out of her and spilled for all to see. Her body wracked silently, her mouth open and eyes watering as she realized that she probably would not be coming home again. As certain as she had been about her being there with Loomis, she was just as certain about this. There were only so many times a person could face death and escape before death wised up. Freddy Krueger may have been arrogant and overzealous in his ambitious plans, but he learned quickly.

"I'm not ready," she wept.

After a while, she gathered herself up and went to pack her clothes.

It didn't matter if she was ready or not.

It was time.

***

Jason Voorhees stood alone in the dark over his latest victim; only it wasn't quite Jason Voorhees. The killer stood in front of a busted concrete wall in the middle of the debris field of a condemned neighborhood somewhere in Michigan. His machete was lodged in the still warm corpse of some kid unlucky enough to have been passing by when Jason emerged from hiding, driven by the torturous evil seeded within his black soul. With fingers that had never done anything delicate in his entire life, he dipped the tips into the open chest cavity of his victim.

Blood dripped and drizzled to the ground. He held his fingers up and began to write on the wall. He wasn't sure of what he writing. Jason couldn't read beyond the most elementary means. His mind had never developed to include such basic education. It simply was never necessary for the path his life had taken. Still, he instinctively wrote on the wall, periodically refreshing the warm ink of his blunt pen. He seemed to be there forever, watching his hand move about and create the words, the names of the people his antagonizer wanted most of all.

Jason could see what the dark man, the dream killer, wanted. When he was done with his task, Jason grasped his weapon with his good hand and pulled it from the body. He turned and disappeared into the shadows. On the edge of the breeze floating by at that moment, there was a distant, maniacal laugh.

Jason looked at his mutilated right hand.

His anger burned.

Jason walked on.

***

... to be continued