by A. Eggleston
Listening to Evelyn recall her dream unnerved everyone. Jill would fold her arms, while Cooper would stare down at the floor.
After Faith had wrapped the bandage around Evelyn's leg, she clasped Steven's hand. Steven gazed at her brown eyes for only a second before she turned her head back in Evelyn's direction.
Her voice had become shaken and fearful. "And then I saw him. He wore this dirty, brown hat. He was horribly burned...all over...and on his right hand, he had...this glove...with razors for fingers." She began recalling what he did to her. "He strangled me, and dragged me across the ground...he hit me...and then he..." Out of embarrassment, Evelyn wiped a tear away from her eye. "I thought he was really going to kill me."
Faith gently set her leg down. "Well, you're all bandaged up now." she said gently. "Do you think you can walk?"
It already hurt her to walk with the stab wound on her right ankle. She set her feet on the tile and stood up. She winced slightly at the pain. "It stings a little bit, but I'll be okay."
Everyone had left the room, Evelyn followed. Cooper put her arm around his shoulder, leading her out the door. Evelyn unwrapped his arm from her, refusing his help. "No." she said. "It's fine, I can do it."
"Are you sure?"
Evelyn answered. "Yeah."
She sat down on a wooden chair beside her small table in the kitchen. She stared down at her bandage. Blood had already started to surface in tiny dots where Freddy carved her. She knew how deep he had cut her. Even after it heals, the words would still be scarred on her leg forever, constantly reminding her: Freddy was here. She heard Cooper's voice, breaking her thoughts.
"We should leave Springwood." he said. "Think about it. If we're not here, Freddy can't come after us."
Faith argued with him. "Oh, so you're okay with that asshole murdering more kids? 'Cause that's what I'm hearing from you."
"No!" he retorted. "It's better than Jill's idea."
Evelyn turned to Cooper. "Why?" she inquired. "What was her plan?"
He opened his mouth to speak, when Jill put her hand over it to silence him. She spoke for herself. "Remember when Ash said that Freddy used the Necronomicon to resurrect himself?"
Evelyn nodded.
"I'm thinking if we burn the book, or like, rip up the pages, Freddy's done for." Jill looked to Evelyn for agreement. "Right?" She detached her hand from Cooper's mouth.
Evelyn was unsure. She knew they all had to do something to stop him. But they couldn't do it by themselves, they needed to get someone to help them. If we don't, she thought. we'll all die.
Cooper pointed at Jill. "See?" He asked her, hoping she would agree. He summed up her plan in one word. "Dumb." He refuted it. "The only way to get to that book is through Freddy, and I'm not letting anyone go through that--" he pointed at the bandage on Evelyn's leg. "--again."
Evelyn stood up from her chair. "No, you're both wrong!" she said. She looked into Cooper's eyes. "We are not running away like cowards." and then to Faith. "And we're not gonna fight him by ourselves. We can't do this alone." She knew what she was going to say next was going to irritate everyone, especially Cooper. "We need Ash."
Everyone erupted at once.
"What?!" Faith yelled.
"Are you kidding me?!" said Cooper.
Then Jill, who flat-out said, "No!"
Steven was the only one who agreed with Evelyn. He spoke out amid everyone's shouting. "Hey! Everyone, SHUT UP!" he yelled.
And they all did. They turned around to look at Steven.
"She's right." he said. "I mean, it's stupid to do this by ourselves. I bet if we did, we wouldn't last another night. We barely did this time."
"Besides," said Evelyn. "Ash is the only one with experience in dealing with demons. He would how to kill Freddy." Even though she had grown to trust Ash, she remembered how much of a screw-up he was. "At least...I think he would."
Cooper walked up closer to her. "I'm sorry," he said, sarcastically. "but isn't Mr. Wonderful the reason WHY WE'RE FUCKING HERE?!"
Evelyn leered at him, pursing her lips and scrunching her brows. She prepared to say something when--
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
Desperate to break the tension, Steven meekly raised his hand to volunteer. "I'll get it." he said.
He walked over the front door and looked through the peephole. He saw a tall man with dark hair and a little gray on the sides, and wearing a bloody shirt. The man looked up, allowing Steven to see the scars on his face. He knew it had to be--
"It's Ash." announced Steven.
Evelyn broke eye contact with Cooper ordered Steven from the distance. "Let him in."
Steven turned the latch, unlocking the door, and turned the knob.
Ash pushed the door open and immediately walked through. "Hey." he greeted Steven. He turned his gaze to the rest of the kids. "How's everyone holding up?"
Cooper shouted from across the room. "WE'RE COMPLETELY FUCKED!!!"
He walked away, allowing Ash to see Evelyn, bruised and covered in cuts and bandages. "Yeah, I think that speaks for itself." said Ash.
Evelyn stepped forward, making her way past Steven, Jill, and Faith. "Freddy told me he had a message for you."
"You mean threatening to skin me and making me as his own little puppet wasn't enough?" he said. "What did he say?"
"It was more of a visual, really." Evelyn led him to kitchen. She put one foot on the chair she was sitting on, and un-wrapped the gauze.
Ash saw the cuts Freddy left on Evelyn's leg with his finger knives. The letters were thin and crude, like someone had carved words into tree bark. Seeing what he did to her made his stomach drop, because Ash knew it was his fault that Freddy was free again. "Oh...God." he said. "Evelyn, I'm sorry."
"Save it." said Cooper.
Evelyn tightly wrapped her leg back up. After securing the bandage, she returned her gaze back at Ash. He avoided eye contact with anybody, staring at the floor, the furniture, the chipped paint on the walls--anything--to keep himself from feeling any more guilt for the damage he had caused. Come on, Ash. Evelyn wanted to say, but kept to herself. Don't be a coward.
Ash couldn't believe the mess he had gotten himself into this time. He didn't just put a few kids' lives in jeopardy, but he put the lives of every child in the world in the clawed hands of Freddy Krueger. Boy, Ash thought to himself. I really screwed up...big time.
Chapter Sixteen
Ash lifted his gaze from the floor and watched her circle the gauze around her leg. Even though he had felt guilty, responsible for what he had done, he kept thinking back to what he had warned them just a few hours before: Don't. Fall. Asleep. he told them. But did they do that? No. These kids just go ahead and do whatever the hell they want. he thought to himself.
Ash pointed at Evelyn. "What did I tell you, huh?" he said to her. "I told you not to fall asleep, and you guys turn around and let him slice you!"
Faith stepped forward and grabbed Ash's arm, turning him so that he faced her. "Hey!" she yelled. "I had a plan and it didn't work out, okay? So, don't blame her."
"Oh, you had a plan?" he said. "Nice goin' there, Sailor Moon."
Faith scoffed and leered at Ash for his cheap insult. “Sailor Moon's a ditzy blonde, you jackass.”
He turned to Evelyn. "What was the plan, huh? Hang a dream-catcher above your head and hope Freddy doesn't get you?"
Evelyn interrupted them. "No." she said coldly. Her voice was now quiet and apologetic. She looked at Ash. "But, you're right. I shouldn't have done it."
Cooper walked up to him and stared him down. "We were just trying to find a way to manage. It seemed smart at the time, you know, considering it's your fault that we're now desperate to stay alive." he said in his irritated tone.
Jill leaned in close to her brother. "You know," she said in a quiet voice, but still loud enough for Ash to hear. "if it weren't for him, we'd be safe at home right now. We can't say anything to Mom and Dad about this."
"Hey, the car still has
a full tank of gas, right?" Steven asked.
Jill nodded.
"We should all just load up and go until this whole thing blows over." he proposed. "I mean, it'll be tough convincing Evelyn to go with us 'cause she's all hell bent on this teaming-up-and-banding-together-with-Ash crap--"
Ash turned away from Evelyn. He studied everyone's faces. It was a bevy of emotions: guilt, fear, anger, and enmity (mostly intended for him). He prepared to lay down his own plan. Ash stood straight. He stepped away from Cooper and Evelyn. "All right, listen up you little knuckle-draggers!" he announced. "Here's how it's gonna go down." Ash turned his head and pointed directly at Jill and Steven. "No one's going anywhere." Ash noticed the surprised looks on their faces. "That's right. Some of you've been thinking about skipping town. But it's not gonna happen."
Cooper interjected. "Yeah? And why the hell not?"
Ash got in his face. "Because as long as Freddy has the book, he can go anywhere, not just Springwood." he said. "So, high-tailing it outta here won't do you any good. And it's not just Freddy." he told them. "It's those things out there: the Deadites. They live in the dark. Now all of you, listen carefully: They can get you when you least expect it. By then, it's too late for you. And now that they have a leader..." Ash muttered under his breath. "...again..." he returned back to his normal volume. "Well, let's just say it makes my job a hell of a lot harder now."
"So, basically you're saying we're screwed no matter where we go?" asked Cooper.
"Not exactly." he replied. "I can take Freddy down, but it's not gonna be easy."
"Maybe we can help." said Evelyn.
"No, it's too dangerous." Ash told her.
"So," Faith said. "what are you gonna do? Look for Freddy in the dream, ask him nicely for the book, and banish his ass?"
Ash leered at Faith for a moment. She, frankly all of them, was really starting to get on his nerves. The annoying part was that she pretty much had just summed up whatever plan he could think of in those few hours, aside from the "asking him nicely" part.
"Look," Ash said. "I have to get the book from Freddy. I haven't exactly worked out how I'm gonna do that, but it's all I got. That damn book has to be destroyed. Then, maybe Freddy...maybe this whole Deadite problem...will be over."
Jill nudged her brother on the shoulder and said to him in an "told-you-so" manner. "See? I'm not always wrong." she said.
Faith, who still stood close to Evelyn, glanced at her. She stared at the cuts and bruises on her. Faith felt so uneasy and disturbed every time she saw those slash marks. She was afraid that the bandages she hastily tied on her wouldn't be enough. "Ash," called Faith. "shouldn't we take Evelyn to the hospital or something? I mean..." she wanted to say look at her, but she figured Evelyn had been stared at enough already.
Ash answered her with a flat-out, "No." he elaborated. "If she goes, the doctor’s gonna see where Freddy left his mark, and get suspicious. You can't let anybody know. You got me?"
Everyone begrudgingly nodded in agreement.
Ash continued. "The people here tend to hide Freddy away like he's their dirty laundry, or something. Judging from my little visit earlier today, I get the feeling the police are in on it, too. If they find out about this, they'll probably lock us up in the nuthouse."
"Westin Hills." Evelyn corrected him.
"What?" he asked.
"It's a psychiatric hospital. I've heard about some kids being taken there, but they never say what for. They're not allowed any contact with their family or their friends, and most of them never come back home." she said.
"All the more reason to shut up about it." said Ash. He looked across and saw the sun light peeking through the curtains in the living room. Seeing dawn was the most comforting thing in the world to him. It meant that, until later that night, he was safe from the Deadites. But now, if Ash makes the mistake of nodding off, he won't be safe during the day either. It's not just the Deadites he has to worry about anymore. It's Freddy as well. Ash was starting to wonder if he was even going to win this battle. Last time something like this happened, he had an entire army backing him up. And what do I got now? A bunch of whiny kids?...I'm screwed. "First things first," Ash said as he walked to the door. "I gotta get you guys home to your parents. It's dawn now, so they're probably wondering where you are." Ash opened the front door and let Jill, Faith, Steven, and Cooper go first.
Evelyn ran over and touched Ash on his shoulder. "I'll ride with you. I have to get the car back anyway." she referred to Cooper's El Camino.
"Fine." he said hesitantly.
The sun peeked through the clouds. The morning fog was starting to roll in, making it hard to see the road ahead. While it was still somewhat dark outside, the yellow sunlight that was visible over the horizon had brightened the sky a little bit. The red moon was gone, and wouldn't return for another twelve hours.
Ash parked his Delta 88 about a block away from Jill and Steven's house. He figured it'd be best if their parents didn't know that their kids were being chauffeured around by a guy with scars on his face and blood on his shirt.
He stared at the steering wheel while he listened to the kids say "Thanks, Ash." as they both got out of his car. Next, he heard the door slam, and the quiet shuffling of their feet as they walked home. Ash lifted his gaze from the wheel and watched Jill and Steven as they walked down to the end of the block, towards their parents, who were standing on the front steps, waiting for them.
They looked so relieved to see their children alive and unharmed. Jill wrapped her arms around her mother, tightly, while Steven hugged his father. After she kissed the top of her head, Jill's mother grabbed her face and looked at her worriedly.
Ash couldn't make out exactly what they were saying, but he was pretty sure it was along the lines of: "Where the hell were you?" "What were you thinking?" "Who were you with?" But, at least those kids had someone to care for them. They weren't completely alone. Not like--
"Thanks for the ride, Ash." said Evelyn, who sat in the passenger seat. "I appreciate it."
"Yeah, no problem." he responded. Ash looked at the scrapes on Evelyn's face as she unbuckled her seatbelt and reached to open the door. Even though she had washed the dried-up blood from her face, and changed from her torn jersey to a clean, purple tank top, black jacket, and jeans, she still looked a little roughed up due to the bruises on her forehead. It was funny when he thought about it: An undeserving kid getting beaten up by an evil force she had only recently found out about. Becoming the leader of her circle, and yet being stupid enough to put herself in harm's way when she was most vulnerable. The more he thought about it, Evelyn kind of reminded Ash of...himself.
Before she left him, he felt he had to ask her. "So, why'd you do it?" he said before she had the chance to open the door.
"What are you talking about?" asked Evelyn.
Ash smirked a little bit. "You know what I'm talking about. You expect me to believe after what I told you, you didn't think you'd run into ol' Dream Weaver? You knew what you were doing."
Evelyn slumped into her seat and sighed. She didn't look at Ash at first. She mostly gazed outside. "I wanted to find out for myself if Freddy was real." she finally looked him in the eye. "I didn't think anything bad would happen, because I knew someone was going to wake me up eventually." she exhaled. "It's a habit of mine." she said. "Going where I'm not supposed to."
"We have that in common."
"I'm sorry I doubted you." she said. She hesitated before asking him the next question. "So, um--"
Ash waited her to speak.
"why did this happen to you?"
Ash took a deep breath and wiggled his fingers on the steering wheel. "It wasn't always this way, you know. When I was younger, my life was normal. Then fate smacked me across the face like an angry girlfriend. Since then, I've had to watch everyone I've ever cared about die in front of me...it never ends. Take it from someone who's been there. In situations like these, be prepared to have people you love get taken a
way from you."
Evelyn couldn't speak at first. She just let his words soak in for a moment. "I'm really sorry." she said quietly. "I had no idea."
"I guess, after a while, I started to think that maybe this was how my life was supposed to go. That I was chosen to do this until--until I'm just not strong enough to fight the evil anymore."
Out of sympathy, Evelyn reached over and gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder. She was about to say something when Ash beat her to it. She figured it was for the best, since nothing she thought to say could have made much of an impact on the situation.
His voice became cryptic. "Sometimes, I think that day's coming sooner than I--"
"Ash!" she interrupted him. "Don't say that. We're gonna beat this thing, all right?"
Somehow, Evelyn was able to lift his spirits just enough for a tiny smile to appear across his face. "You really think so, huh?"
Evelyn nodded. "Yeah, I do."
"You got spunk, girly. I like that." he said.
She smiled in response.
Ash suddenly remembered. "One more thing." he reached over to the glove box to grab a pen and a small piece of paper. "If you, or any of your friends start seeing some ugly faces out there in the dark," he said as he scribbled his phone number on the paper. "let me know. And just a word of advice, keep an axe around handy, if you got one."
She took the paper with his number on it. She crumpled it up and put it in the front pocket of her jeans.
Ash leaned over to look out the window on Evelyn's side. He gazed across the street and noticed the black 1987 El Camino with chipped paint and cracked window tinting. All of the other vehicles on that block were practically new, and all were parked neatly in their driveways. Ash had a hunch it belonged to her.