Deadly Disguise
Page 9
Then he remembered that Rachel was out there, somewhere. Unprotected.
Running toward the column of flames and smoke that had only minutes before been his childhood home, Jack began searching for Rachel. The heat was searing, nearly driving him back. But he forced himself onward toward where he had last seen her.
She had been impossibly close to the house. Jack feared the worst. Flaming wreckage seemed to cover the entire yard. In the distance, he could see a fire already beginning in the forest. His face felt sunburned.
He almost walked past Rachel. In her black bodysuit, she was nearly impossible to spot. Only the lighter skin of her hands alerted Jack to her location. He found her farther from the house than he had expected. Then he realized that the force of the blast must have flung her away as it had him.
She was lying face-down, unconscious but breathing. Turning her over carefully, he brushed the hair from her face. Cradling her for several minutes, he strained to listen for sirens. An explosion that big would surely be noticed in town. And the glowing column of smoke would be impossible to miss.
Jack hoped Rachel would be all right until the authorities arrived.
* * *
Rachel dreamed of camping. She sat on a log in front of a tremendous bonfire. With her were Maria and RePete. Across the fire on another log sat Vanessa and Ron. Beside them sat Todd and Van. They were all roasting marshmallows. Only the fire was much too hot. The marshmallows were burning, dropping like molten nuggets into the flames. Then their clothing started to catch on fire. They beat at the flames, trying to extinguish them, but to no avail. Vanessa and Ron became human torches, as did the rest of the gathering.
All except Rachel. Rachel could feel the heat, but was otherwise unaffected by it. Around her, the others were dancing grotesque jigs as they were consumed. Finally, one by one, Maria, RePete, Todd, Van, Vanessa, and Ron all cast themselves into the infernal bonfire, which reached to the sky.
For a moment, Rachel was alone.
Then suddenly, Freddy Krueger sat beside her. Each talon had impaled a marshmallow sandwiched between two graham crackers and a square of milk chocolate.
"You can't be here," Rachel insisted. "I figured it out when I saw the spark. That mansion was filled with enough gas to blow you back to where you came from."
Freddy laughed, then thrust his entire hand into the fire.
"You haven't beaten me," he snarled quietly. "Don't kid yourself." Withdrawing his hand from the fire, he brandished the razors at her. They glowed white-hot. Waving them under her nose, she could smell the toasted graham cracker mingling with the scent of chocolate and marshmallow.
"Freddy will always be back for s'mores!"
Then he started laughing, first as a low rumble, then building to a crescendo of madness.
Her eyes snapped open.
Jack was hovering over her. His lips moved, but he made no sound. In fact, she could hear nothing. Jack seemed to be saying "You did it" over and over.
Rachel turned her head slightly. White-hot pain shot up her spine. But she saw the mansion… or what was left of it. The building had exploded as she had planned, and now resembled the bonfire of her dream.
Or had it been simply another delusion?
But several things immediately became more clear. Both she and Jack had survived the blast. The explosion had made her deaf. And, according to the words forming on Jack's lips, she had done it.
Within the week, Rachel's hearing returned, although she would have to learn to live with a head full of ringing noises. And although she had suffered no other major injuries (Jack had come through almost entirely unscathed), her body remained bruised for a long time afterwards.
But had she done it? Had she disposed of Freddy Krueger?
The memory of her dream returned often. He said he'd be back "for s'mores." And he wasn't talking about chocolate-marshmallow-graham-cracker sandwiches, she was sure of that.
Freddy Krueger would be back.
For more.
Epilogue
That was quite the housewarming Rachel gave Jack, eh?
Even though I had to cut my Halloween rounds short, I still managed to fill my bag with plenty of «treats.» The good news is that I can eat them all at once, and I won't get a stomach ache! Heh heh heh…
Ron, Vanessa, RePete, Maria, Todd, and Van — I've collected all their sweet souls. But down here in the boiler room, you might not recognize them right off. You see, they've removed their human disguises. Each one now appears in his or her true form.
Ron, for example, has a place of his own — wallowing in the muddy water of the terrarium, the blood-sucking leech he has always been. His parasitic soul mate, Vanessa, buzzes around the terrarium as a hungry mosquito. The hapless duo of Todd and Van scavenge as cockroaches, where filth and garbage are now their riches. Also joining them is the bitter RePete, who has shed his human form to become a fly on the wall of the terrarium. Nothing that happens within the terrarium escapes his notice. But, to his frustration, he has no one to tell.
You might think that, compared to some others who have joined me in the boiler room, this group has it pretty easy. What could be less pressured than simply being yourself throughout eternity?
The terrarium isn't exactly a stress-free environment, though. Outside it sits a large, hungry crow. It doesn't see a terrarium. It's sees a smorgasbord. Heh heh heh… So there it sits, pecking constantly, eyeing the morsels contained within — especially the juicy leech. The denizens of the terrarium will spend eternity in fear, just because some crow — Maria, of course — likes them just the way they are.
Quoth the raven, 'Evermore! Heh heh heh…
So ends this chilling tale of terror. And in the spirit of the holiday, I wish a scary Halloween to all.
And to all, a good fright!
* * *
Hello again. It's me. Your host, Freddy Krueger. Surprised? You thought that maybe the nightmare was over. Well, well. Guess again, my young friend. You see, the terror has only just begun. But I see that you don't believe me. You need proof?
Very well. Just turn the page for a peek of the horror that awaits you…