by A. Eggleston
Freddy tilted Steven's body so that he was now parallel to the ground. He turned him ever so slightly, so that he could see Faith.
At first, Steven thought Freddy was doing an act of kindness by allowing him to see her face before he died. But he soon realized the malevolence behind his actions. He wanted Faith to see how mutilated Steven's face and body had become. And by doing so, allowing Steven to see the revulsion on her face as well. Freddy wanted the last images of each other to be one of horror.
Faith nearly threw up when she saw the things Freddy had done to him. Steven had been bound, gagged, stabbed, pulled apart, and drenched with his own blood. Tears streamed down her face. She knew he was too far gone by now, but she still didn't want him to go. She reached out her arm, even though he was still too far away from her grasp. She screamed, "STEVEN!"
He could feel his strength, his life, his soul, draining from his body. The corners of his vision began to darken, as if everything that he was seeing was framed with pure darkness. It would be only seconds before everything would go black, and he would no longer be able to see her face. It wouldn't be very long until he would be taken from this world, and enter someplace either free of all pain, or more torturous than the agony he was experiencing. His soul would either belong to God, or to Freddy.
A single tear ran down Steven's face. It escaped from his tear duct, and raced down his cheek, to his jaw line, and fell down to the ground. Through the twigs that had stuffed themselves in his mouth, Steven tried to speak with enough power in his voice so that Faith would hear his final words.
"I‘m sorry, Faith."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the branches that wrapped themselves around Steven's ribs pulled in opposite directions. Every rib in his body had snapped from his spinal cord.
SNAP! SNAP! CRACK! CRACK!
Freddy had literally pulled him apart. Vertically, Steven's body had been pulled into two halves. His chest had been burst open and his rib cage stuck out of his body, the bones had spiked through his skin. The branches that held on to his feet also pulled him in opposite directions, splitting him in half from his groin, upward. Virtually every branch and small twig that punctured through Steven's body aided in his gruesome death, pulling on all parts of his body until it was ripped from him. His flesh tore off like a meaty band aid. His bones and muscle tissue became disconnected from him. With nothing holding his blood and guts inside anymore, it all spilled out to the ground. His intestines and other vital organs dropped to the ground, making a nauseating splat noise as it landed. His body burst open like a bloodied water balloon. It rained blood all over the grass and a small area of the parking lot.
Faith felt the warm rain that comprised of Steven's blood over her face as she watched him die. It happened so quickly. If she had blinked, she would not have seen him horrific demise. She wished that she had kept her eyes closed. She wished that her last and most vivid image of him wasn't of his death. She screamed again. This time, it was not in desperation, but in mourning. "STEVEN!" She choked on her own sobs as she felt the warm wetness of Steven's blood seeping into her clothes.
The smell of death was still in the air. The potent scent of blood and intestines was still fresh in their noses. Only two seconds had past since Steven's disembowelment when Freddy's image disappeared from the tree. The long, python-esque branches elevated from the ground, and slithered back up to the leaves to be unseen. The tree was no longer alive with Freddy's movements and voice. It was still. Calm. Quiet.
The branch that coiled around Faith's neck seemed to only tighten around her. She looked down and noticed that it was no longer connected to the trunk. It didn't appear to be connected anywhere. She put her hands on the trunk to try to free her airways, and noticed that what she was feeling was not ordinary tree bark at all. The surface was not
wooden and rough, but soft and woolly. She looked down and only saw red and green horizontal stripes. That was when she felt his chest pressed against her back.
Freddy held her tightly. He squeezed her throat with his gloved arm, and put his other arm around her stomach, restraining her. He put his charred lips to her ear and laughed softly but deeply. His hot breath sent shivers down her spine. Hearing her scream for her life sent his blood boiling.
Evelyn saw Freddy appeared behind her. She watched in disbelief as the wooden bark morphed into his arm. Once the reality of it sunk into her mind, she realized that she had to move quickly. "NO!" She fought the throbbing pain in her skull and pounded her feet to the concrete, running as fast as she could to get to Faith.
A circle of darkness appeared at their feet. Glowing embers shot up from the ground, sprinkling Faith's skin with tiny burns. She felt herself falling, almost being violently pulled down into the black hole. Both Faith and Freddy sunk down into the unknown abyss so fast that it gave Faith motion sickness. Her senses became severely disoriented when she quickly stopped falling. Her feet touched the ground and she began to rise, only it was not back to where she was before, it was much worse.
Evelyn had been running as fast as her feet would allow to get to Faith. She didn't care that she didn't have any weapons. I can tackle him to the ground, and get Faith before he has a chance to hurt us. When Evelyn lowered down and prepared her legs to launch at him, they were both gone. In the blink of an eye, they had disappeared into the circle of nothingness. She landed on the hard concrete, the circle was now gone from the ground with no trace of Faith left. Anger swelled in her chest. Tears streamed down her eyes. She smashed the concrete with her fists as she yelled into the night air. "GODDAMN YOU!" She only wondered what lied ahead of Faith on the other side of the portal.
That "other side", happened to be Freddy's boiler room.
Chapter Thirty Seven
His forearm pressed against her neck. Choking her. He loved the feel of her thin, smooth body against his hands, especially when she squirmed. I just love it when they try to fight back. He thought. Makes it more interesting. He stood behind her, feeling her writhe and try to break free. Her short, but sharp, nails scratched through the sleeve of his ragged sweater as she tried to pull him from her.
The more she fought him and gulped for air, the more he relished the moment. He half-smiled and breathed harshly against her neck. His thick exhales both teased her for her lack of air, and also sent chills down her spine from sheer perverseness of it. Despite the immense heat radiating from the boiler room, he could feel the goose bumps coming to the surface of her arm.
If I don't do something now, I'll blackout or something. I don't know, can you blackout in a dream? Everything about him and this place is so fucked up, I don't even want to know what all the rules are. Just do something--anything. Faith gave up on trying to release his arm from her throat, so she did what she was taught on her first day of her self-defense class.
Faith let go of Freddy's sleeve and bent her left arm. Without any hesitation, she launched her elbow straight into his ribs.
Freddy yelled. "Agh!" The sharp pain caused him to only let go of her for two seconds, but it was just enough time for her to slip away. As soon as she started running, he extended his arms out in front of her, trying to reach, but she had already escaped. He also noticed that the Necronomicon had been taken from him.
The bottoms of her short, lace-up boots clinked against the grate with each running step. Her heart raced and the hairs on her body stood on edge as she ran for her life. She felt as if he was right behind her the entire time, but every time she turned to look back, he was not there. She started panting and her chest felt heavy from running so hard and so fast. Between breaths, she whispered to herself. "I gotta...hide...gotta hide...somewhere."
She turned every corner that she was taken to. Every time she spotted a flight of stairs, she raced up the steps, hoping to lose him. Each turn that was made was different every time. The last thing she wanted was to go in circles and be brought right back to him. Even if he wasn't in the same spot, she hoped that by going in different directio
ns each time, it would disorient him. However, the only person it confused and disoriented was herself. Faith had no idea where she was going. The only thing certain in her mind was
that she could never stop. She absolutely had to keep moving. She couldn't let Freddy take the book from her.
It wasn't long before the top of her head was matted with sweat. The tips of her black hair was wet. Sweat dripped like a faucet from her hair, falling onto her shoulders and face. The higher she went up, the hotter it had gotten. Once she reached on of the top levels of Freddy's hellish lair, she soon felt dizzy and weak. She fought those feelings with everything in her, and kept moving. She touched the railing on the walkway for support, only to have it burn the palm of her hand. She retracted her hand and jogged past the line of boilers at her side. They hissed, spewing mist in her face.
Tsst!
It made her whole body damp with sweat. She was growing exhausted with every stomp that landed on the metal grate. Don't ever stop. She reminded herself. I have to keep moving. "Come on." she complained quietly. "Someone get me out of here, already." She looked around as she ran across the boiler room. The sheer size, height, and overall space of it was enough to make her fear of heights resurface. The dark corners, tight spaces, and its maze-like design, however, made her feel claustrophobic at the same time. It was a very odd and very unnerving sensation. She feared how dark it was, not because she feared the dark, but who could be hiding within it.
She was about to leave the dark area. She saw another flight of stairs up ahead. But just as she was about to leave, Freddy emerged from the shadows, only a few feet behind her. His right arm was bent slightly, his gloved hand parallel to the floor. In his left hand was a thick, rusted chain. He dragged it along the grated surface.
Clink! Clink! Clink!
Freddy lifted the chain and whipped it towards Faith. The long chain gathered around her ankle. Once she had reached the length of the chain, it stiffened, tightened around her ankle, and caused her to trip onto the floor of the walkway.
Faith grunted. "Oof!" Her face, knees, and elbows smacked against the metal grate. Fuck! She thought. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck!
Freddy gripped the chain with both his left and his gloved hand. He pulled her closer to him. With each rough tug, Faith was getting one foot closer to him.
She tried to run away again. She refused to accept defeat. She kicked her legs behind her, trying to shake the chain from her ankle. Her body squirmed and she kept looking for something to hold on to that would halt Freddy, but everything she touched in that boiler room was blazing hot. She couldn't touch any of it for even a second without burning her skin. Even the walkway was hot against her thighs and stomach as Freddy pulled her in closer.
She felt the side of her leg touch his grimy boots. I have to do something quick, before he can hurt me.
Freddy dropped the chain to the floor. "Come here!" he growled.
Faith rolled over on her back, just in time to see Freddy lowering down towards her. He was ready to pounce on her and do his worst. She brought her knees to her stomach. His face was already inches from hers. She pulled her elbow back and punched Freddy in his jaw. Then again on the side of his face. She punched him and many times as was needed for him to pull back away from her.
Once Freddy leaned back to get away from her fists, she launched her feet at him. She repeatedly kicked Freddy in the chest, stomach, and face. Her hands and feet were a flurry of kicks and sucker punches until he finally gave up and stood on his feet. Faith rolled back on her stomach and prepared to run away. She was still on her hands and knees, crawling, as she built up enough speed to race.
Only a second after Faith punched and kicked the living Hell out of him, Freddy spread his legs so that each foot was on either side of her hips. "You like to put men in their place, huh?" He lowered down and grabbed a handful of her hair, just as she was about to stand up and run away. He gripped her hair tighter and pushed her back down to her hands and knees. He gritted his teeth and his voice was menacing. "You little bitch." he called her.
Simultaneously, Freddy slithered down to his knees and brought her up just enough so that her back was pressed against his chest. He yanked her head back so that she could see the fury in his eyes. He quickly leaned in and let his lips graze her ear as he growled more. "You fucking cunt!" he yelled, putting emphasis on "cunt".
He brought his gloved hand around the front side of her body so he could trace his blades along her skin. "No matter how fast you are, I'll always find you." He barely scratched her neck when he trailed down to her collar bone, then her chest, and then traced the knives across her shirt. He made thin tears up and down the length of her shirt, exposing her bare, pale skin. Still holding a chunk of her hair in his hand, he turned her head slightly to face him.
Freddy's dry, burned lips parted ever so slightly, by just a fraction of an inch. He tugged on her hair, directing her to look up at him. He spoke to her softly, but still with a low growl and grittiness to his voice. "Ohh...Faith..." He lingered on her name, hanging on every letter in it. Very slowly, he leaned down closer to her face. "You must have a lot of it to think you could ever put a scratch on me."
Her lips smashed together as she saw his lips lining up with hers. A whimper fell in the back of her throat. She tried to pull back, but Freddy was holding her with such force that it was impossible to make any distance between them. She decided to speak before he got any closer. Her voice was strained, crippled with fear. She, along with her voice, was shaky. "Wh...Wh..."
Freddy paused. He was now only six inches from her. His eyes stared deep into hers. He feigned curiosity when he replied, "What's that?" He pulled on her hair again, bringing her up higher than he was. He then slammed her head down on the floor of the walkway. The sound of her skull hitting the metal left a ringing sound that echoed throughout.
She now lied on her stomach, her palms facing down, next to her head. She put her fingers through the little grated holes on the floor and squeezed, trying to fight back the pain. She grunted and groaned. "Agh..." She words she had meant to say forced their way out of her mouth as a result of the pain. She panted and moaned in-between words. "Why...do you e-even...want me? You're already...f-fucking p-powerful...you don't need me!"
The last thing that she said caused Freddy to tilt his head in inquiry. "Well you see," he said, beginning his explanation. "Ash did quite a number on me back there, in the parking lot." He grimaced when he remembered the bullets to his face and chainsaw swings to the chest. "That made me weaker, so I need another soul or two to take care of that." He leaned in closer to her ear. "Even though your boyfriend's fixed that little problem, I thought I'd have a little more fun with you." He chuckled deeply.
In one fell swoop, Freddy stood up tall, picking Faith up with him. He swung her and pushed her away from him. His menacing strength sent her across the walkway. In the blink of an eye, her back hit the body of a thick pipe next to the line of boilers. The pipe was thicker and wider than her own body.
"Ugh!" she shouted as she slammed against the surface. When is he going to stop hitting my head against stuff? Faith thought as her skull throbbed. She looked up to see Freddy standing ten feet away from her. I bet I could lose him right now if I ran.
Before Faith could even attempt the maneuver, Freddy lifted his index blade, summoning his demonic powers.
An assortment of thick, rusted, chains appeared from behind her. She could hear them rustling against the pipe. She was about to run for it, when she suddenly felt stiff. She couldn't move. She had no control over the movements in her own body. Her arms lifted straight up above her head, and her feet shuffled back against the pipe. As soon as her arms and legs touched the pipe, the chains tightly wrapped around them, pinching her skin. She tried to move her hands and feet, hoping to wiggle her way out. She was completely immobile. The only thing under her control was her breathing, which was heavy and erratic. Her eyes widened and glistened as she watched Freddy step closer to her.
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He made his steps slow and steady. The sound of his boots landing on the ground echoed, making it the only sound heard in the whole boiler room. He wanted to savor each passing second as the fear in her eyes elevated. He enjoyed the sight of her limbs quaking, and the sound of the chain rattling as she shook.
He was now standing before her. So close, that he could smell the sweat dripping from her hair. It was the sweet extract of her terror. Even though her nostrils were flared and her teeth were gritted, she couldn't change the look behind her eyes. The rest of her face showed that she wasn't going to be fazed by him, but her eyes revealed that she was terrified for her life.
Freddy kept his gloved hand lowered to his hip, while his left hand gently touched his chest over the thick fabric of his sweater. His hand grazed the sweater. He lowered his head to look at Faith in her fearful eyes. He smirked. "His soul is in here, Faith." he said, referring to Steven. "With all of them."
Her voice lowered as she stuck her neck out to shout in his face. "Fuck you, prick!"
Freddy grabbed her throat and squeezed it tightly in his hand, keeping her from speaking further. "Get used to it, bitch." he snarled. He clenched his fist around her neck until she had to open her mouth to gasp for air. "I'm your boyfriend now."
He lowered his head towards her. He slowly opened his mouth, waiting until his lips were barely touching hers. Still with his dark, burnt hands around her smooth neck, he kissed her. More accurately, he violated her mouth with his. Freddy breathed into her, leaving the taste of soot and burned flesh in the back of her mouth.
