by A. Eggleston
It was ironic when she thought about it. "Let's see," she said to herself. "I've been chased and stabbed by Freddy Krueger, attacked by my demon-possessed boyfriend, but what nearly killed me was crashing in Ash's car." She reached down and adjusted the seat closer to the steering wheel. "How does he even drive like this?"
She dialed Jill's number, keeping her eyes on the road. She put her phone to her ear and waited, becoming more and more frustrated with each ring. "Come on, Jill." she groaned. "Pick up." She anxiously awaited to hear the sound of Jill's voice, but all that came was--
ring......ring......ring......
Evelyn disconnected and slammed the phone down on her seat. "Damn it!"
The alarm on Jill's nightstand read 9:43 PM. Right beside it was her cell phone, which buzzed loudly. The name on the Caller ID screen read: "Evelyn". She had been trying to call Jill, but to no avail. No matter how loud the volume was on her phone, it couldn't compete with the stereo playing at full blast in Steven's room, just across the hall.
Jill had been standing outside in the hallway for the past few minutes, leaning against the neatly painted red wall, her arms crossed over each other. Since she had returned home, Jill had changed out of her tattered shirt and jeans, and threw on a baggy gray t-shirt and black leggings, and tied her hair with a rubber band. She didn't want anything from the night before to remain on her person. Touching her skin. Constantly reminding her of the horrors she had become witness to.
She waited for her mother to emerge from her bedroom at the end of the hall. It would be the first time she saw her mother since that morning when Ash dropped her off. For most of the day, her parents had been absent from their home. Jill was used to them being gone long hours of the day. But she figured that, since her house was a crime scene the night before, they would at least be home to comfort them.
At first, when she overheard Evelyn talking about kids being admitted to Westin Hills for having nightmares, she couldn't believe it. But after listening to Ash and seeing what Freddy could do, it all made sense. It's how they kept Freddy away all these years. By taking away all of the kids Freddy chased after, and keeping them isolated, the fear couldn't spread, and he would have nowhere to go. She could imagine her own parents in the middle of all of it. She wondered if they knew at all about this, or if they were involved in any way. I can't believe this is happening to us.
She felt her eyelids become heavy and start to droop. Suddenly, all she saw was a screen of black. All she was doing was resting her eyes. She could feel herself sinking down to the floor. She knew she shouldn't do it. She felt herself slipping away, but she didn't care, she was so tired.
It sounded like a faint echo in her mind.
Jill...
She heard someone calling her name. Jill winced, twitching her eyes and nose. She didn't know who’s voice was, but whoever it was, it sounded dark.
Then, she felt a hand grabbing her forearm. And she also felt something else touching her skin. Something cold and sharp. Like a knife.
JILL! Freddy yelled.
Jill gasped, twitching her arms and opened her eyes wide. She saw the hand that grabbed her arm. It was a woman's, with perfectly manicured nails and a diamond ring around one finger. When she looked up, Sharon Gordon, her mother, was in front of her face. Beneath her false eyelashes and painted, red lips, she looked distraught, waiting for her daughter to say something.
Her tone was surprised. "Mom." she said, relieved that it was her who brought her back to consciousness.
Sharon had dark brown hair, just like her son's, brown eyes, and the same heart-shaped face identical to Jill's. "Honey," she said, sounding both angry and worried at the same time. "how many times do I have to remind you not to fall asleep without taking your medication?"
Jill steadied herself. "It fine, Mom." she said. "I was just resting my eyes."
"It is not 'fine'!" she immediately heard herself and lowered her voice. "You know you and your brother have a condition. And if don't take your pills, then--"
Jill took her mother's hand and brushed it away from her arm. "You know, Mom," she said, still tired. "You and Dad have made me take them for years, but you've never told me what they're called. I've never even seen the bottle they came from."
Sharon brushed her hand across her long-sleeve, dark blue dress, sweeping away any wrinkles. She took the purse that she had slung across her shoulder and held it in front of her. "You and Steven have a..." she searched for the right word as she dug around in her purse. "...very common disorder. If you don’t take these before bed…well…" she took out a prescription bottle and held it in front of Jill. "If you don't take these, you're vulnerable to certain things when you're asleep." Sharon was about to open the cap, when Jill took it from her.
She held it in her hand. It was a prescription pill bottle. She turned it to look at the label. It read: Hypnocil. "Mom, what exactly do we do that requires us to take a pill every time we sleep. You've never been specific about that. Not even the doctor. Is there something you and Dad aren't telling us?"
Her mother slung the purse around her shoulder snatched the bottle away. The opened the cap. "You know what, I don't have time for this." She held the little white pill in-between her fingers and offered it to her. "It's late, just take it."
At first, Jill was hesitant to grab the Hypnocil from her mother. She knew that all they were trying to do for her and Steven was protect them. But, the fact that they had to lie to both of them to do it made her feel betrayed.
"Take it!" her mother yelled.
Her eyes still on her mother, Jill took the Hypnocil from her hand, placed it on her tongue, and swallowed it. It was routine for her. The same drug since she was at least eight years old, and always right before she went to sleep. And for all those years since, never once did she have dreams.
Sharon breathed a sigh of relief and put the bottle back in her purse. "Your father and I are going out--"
"Again?" Jill asked, her tone was judgmental. It would be the third time that week that her and Steven would be alone in the house. She thought she would be used to it by now, her parents were rarely home, day or night.
"Yes, again." she answered. "So, check the locks on all the doors," she gazed at Steven's room at the end of the hall, noticing the door rattling from the volume of his stereo. "God knows your brother won't do it." She placed her hand under her daughter's chin, tilting her head up and criticizing the dark circles that had accumulated under her eyes. "And get some rest, you look a little unkempt. You should be fine now that you've taken your medicine."
"I will." she told her. But in her head, she was thinking, Screw that. I'll stay up for a week, if I have to. Jill reached out to her mother to give her a hug goodbye, but she had already turned away and started to walk off.
The sound of her heels landing on the hard wood floor faded as her mother descended down the stairs. She stared down at the floor, completely unaware that her daughter needed comfort from her mother.
Jill let her arms fall down to her sides. She took a few steps forward and placed one hand on the doorknob that led to the bathroom. She hadn't showered all day, and hoped that maybe standing under the hot water for a few minutes would calm her down.
She placed her hand on the door before she pushed it open, and muttered under her breath. "You're never around, anyway." her tone was empty. "I’m pretty much living alone here."
When she stopped speaking, she noticed her brother had turned up the volume on whatever thrash album he was listening to. Damn it, I hate it when he plays that stupid...Alice Cooper? White Zombie? Slipknot? Whatever the hell it is. She turned the knob and yelled at Steven from across the hall. "Steven!" she shouted. "That's really annoying!"
She could hear his voice muffled from behind the closed door. "Is Mom gone?" he asked.
She expected him to know that already. "Yeah!" she said.
"Then shut the hell up!"
She lifted her middle finger, holding it up in front of his door
even though he couldn't see her. "You can't see me, but I'm flipping you off right now!"
He replied. "You can't see me, but not a single fuck was given!"
"Love you!" yelled Jill.
"Love you!" he replied.
Jill opened the door and, as she entered, muttered, "Well, I'm not completely alone..." She shut the door until the lock clicked in place. She pulled the scrunchie from her hair and threw it on the mess of perfume and lotion bottles that was on the sink to her right. She tousled her blonde hair and leaned over to turn on the hot water in the shower.
She grabbed a washcloth from the sink, ran water over it, and scrubbed the makeup off of her face. When she lowered the cloth to see her face, she saw long, black streaks running down from her eyes. Why is mascara always such a bitch to take off? she thought. Her cheeks were red from scrubbing her face. Her once clear, glowing face was now back to its normal, pale and dull state, with blemishes visible on her forehead, chin and nose.
Jill dropped the washcloth and turned away from the mirror. She took off her black leggings and gray shirt, opened the glass panel and stepped into the steaming shower. She hoped that maybe for just twenty minutes, she could just forget about everything that happened today.
She didn't even want to stand up anymore. Jill sat down on the white, marble, tile on the floor, feeling the droplets of hot water hit her back as she sat there motionless, wrapping her arms her legs and laying her head down on her knees.
But Jill knew she still had to be careful. She made sure not to close her eyes for more than a few seconds. She didn't want to give Freddy any chance to let him get into her dreams. Jill had just taken the Hypnocil, she figured she should be okay for awhile, but still, she worried. After hearing Ash talk about how Freddy would only get stronger, she wondered how long the pill was going to work. "Next time I see them," she muttered. "I'll give everybody my stash of the Hypnocil. We can all ration it. Maybe then, we won't have to worry about dreaming. Yeah, that sounds good."
Jill leaned her head back against the dark orange tile on the wall, and felt the water patter against her face. For the first time in the entire day, she felt relaxed. She stood up and grabbed her razor from the shower caddy, and began shaving her legs.
By then, she felt the tile vibrating behind her. It was rhythmic, synchronized to the drums and bass that came through Steven's speakers in his room.
She let out a frustrated sigh. "Figures," she muttered. "I can't get one minute of quiet with that little dumb-ass here." The music was so loud, it didn't matter that there was a thick wall between the rooms. She could here it very clearly. The drums were so loud, it sounded like a cannon blast. The guitar was distorted and muddy, while the bass was just as thick. What stood out to her the most were the vocals. The guy sounds like he's puking his guts out. After listening to her little brother's personal collection for years, she had grown used to hearing it. But just once, at least for tonight, she wanted peace and quiet.
She balled her hand into a fist, and banged on the wall a few times. "Steven!" she yelled, hoping her voice would carry through. "Could you shut the vomit metal off for two minutes?!"
Jill traced her razor up from her ankle to her knee, listening to the quiet shhh that came when she glided the razor through the thick coat of soap. She held the razor up and shook the excess soap away. She anticipated Steven turning off his music within the next few seconds.
But still, he persisted. Jill leaned in close to the tile, squinting her eyes and listening closely. "Did he just turn that up?" she inquired. Jill banged against the wall once more. "Steven, I swear to God, if you don't shut that off, I'm gonna kick your ass!" And just like that, the noise ceased. It was peaceful again. "That's what I thought." she said.
When she dragged the razor again, she cut the middle of her leg. She had been preoccupied yelling at her brother, that she barely noticed until she felt that slight sting on her leg. She muttered under her breath, "Ow." Jill was used to getting nicked when she shaved, so it didn't bother her.
It didn't take very long until Jill started to hear the noise again. It was even louder this time. The nerve! she thought. Jill was just about to tell off her brother when the noise stopped abruptly. It was silent for about three seconds before it came back on. Then off. Then on again. "What the hell is he doing?"
By then, the music started to speed up and the sound became higher and warbled, like a cassette deck spitting a tape out. Soon, the music itself was replaced by sounds of high-pitched squealing.
Jill shut her eyes and plugged her ears. It was incredibly loud, and soon became unbearable to hear. The sound made her paranoid, and the more she heard it, her anxiety rose.
The noise quickly transitioned to what sounded like metal scraping against metal.
SCREEEEEEEEEEE!!!
It made Jill's ears sting from hearing it. Alongside the scraping noise was the unbearable sound of children crying in pain, as if they were being tortured. "Make it stop!" she cried.
Still hunched over, Jill opened her eyes and looked down at her leg. From the knee down, her left leg was covered in blood. Some of it was being washed away from the pouring water above, leaving a red stream on the tile below. Her eyes widened in shock, and she was left speechless. With her hands, she wiped the blood from her leg. She knew that she wasn't paying attention when she was shaving her leg, but she didn't feel herself get cut again. Certainly not enough to amass that much blood.
As she nervously ran her hands down her leg, she felt her skin coming off. Soon enough, her skin and muscle tissue had unwrapped from her leg just as easy as when she took of her black leggings.
In a matter of seconds, her left leg was reduced to nothing but bare bone. From the knee down, she looked like a skeleton. Jill stared down at her leg in horror and shock. She felt like she was going to pass out. She couldn't help but scream. "Aaaaaaah!"
When she lifted her gaze from her leg to the glass panel, she saw that it too was dripping blood from top to bottom. But there was something written on the glass, like someone had dragged their finger across the foggy glass when she wasn't looking. Scrawled on the shower panel was: I've got a bone to pick with you!
She opened her eyes and felt her entire body awake with a jolt. Jill was back on the clean, marble tile, sitting under the hot water. It was just a dream. The first dream I've had in ten years. she thought. He didn't get to me. Thank God... The floor was clean. The only thing on the glass was steam from the shower. And it was quiet.
Jill looked down to see her leg intact, skin and all. She noticed she still had her razor in her hand. As soon as she laid eyes on it, she grimaced and threw it on the floor. You know what? I think I'll wax from now on...
Clutching her knees and trembling, Jill stared all around her with wild-eyed fear as she summoned the courage to stand back up. She reached out above her head and turned the knob, shutting the water off.
Her knees knocked against each other as she stood straight up. The glass shower panel was so dense with steam, she couldn't see the through the other side. Jill wiped the glass with her palm, and felt her heart stop racing when she confirmed that there was no one else with her. She pushed the door open, and stepped outside, grabbing a fresh towel from the rack to her left. Jill ran patted the towel against her bare body, drying her arms, chest, and legs. She flipped her hair over and wrapped the towel around her golden locks, squeezing the water out.
After carelessly rolling the towel up into a ball, Jill threw it into the hamper. She bent over to pick up her baggy gray shirt, and put it back on. The hem of her shirt ended just six inches below her hips, barely covering the rest of her.
Jill leaned over the counter and wiped the foggy mirror above the sink. The only thing she saw was herself, and the orange wall tile behind her. No one else was there. She thought it was ludicrous to go about thinking that Freddy was behind her all the time. He tried to get to her just now and failed. I'm just being paranoid. she thought. I can't let him get to me. That's what he
wants. She wasn't going to allow herself to go utterly mad because of that bastard.
At the same time, she didn't another incident like that to happen again. Jill opened the medicine cabinet, searching behind the aloe vera, allergy medication, and aspirin to grab a small bottle of No-Doze. As the recent incident proved to her, the Hypnocil could only to so much at that point, so it was time to take precautionary measures.
She twisted the cap open, and poured a few pills into her palm, her fingers still pruned from the shower. At first, she was only going to take one, but at the last moment, she decided to take out another. Just to be safe... Jill titled her head back and swallowed both pills. She put the bottle back in the medicine cabinet and closed the door.
When she viewed her reflection again, she leaned in closer to examine her face. For almost two days, she had gone without sleep, and already it started to take a toll on her appearance. Dark circles had appeared under her eyes, making her look fatigued, and her eyes look sunken. Jill had always looked lovely and glowing, exuding beauty and happiness with a simple smile. And now it had all faded. Her face was dull and her mind was filled with fear.
There was nothing Jill could do about her fear, that one would simply take time to subside. But she knew there was an easy fix for the jaded look on her face. Jill turned away from the mirror. She unwrapped the towel from her wet hair, and swept away all of half-empty bottles of lotion, the hairdryer still plugged into the wall. She grabbed some makeup to put under her eyes. "I'm sick of seeing myself like this."
When Jill looked back into the mirror, she instantly regretted it. What she saw was not her reflection. It was still her, but perversely different. The face in the mirror had a blank white face, with fresh, red cuts covering every square inch. Her eyes were white as well, missing any sort of color, and the rims of the eyes were black. Her hair was a dark, ashy gray, different from Jill's blonde hair. The girl in the mirror had bright, red, blood pouring from her mouth as she opened it wide, and screamed like a banshee.