The Freak and His Queen [Eddie Munson x Chrissy Cunningham]

Nightmares

Trigger/Content Warning: Mention of murder and death

The clock chimed its distorted, reverberating chime again as Chrissy ran. Vines caught at her feet and branches whipped her face. She ran without seeing or thinking, blind terror consumed her. She only knew she had to keep running or else she would die.

In the woods Chrissy knew she was all alone and the monster was coming for her. But if she could just make it out of the woods... Even in her state of fear the sense that there was someone that could save her persisted. If she could just reach them... they were there, waiting for her to wake up.

"Eddie," Chrissy gasped his name as she jerked awake. The nightmare clung to her as she jolted upright and took in her surroundings, blinking rapidly. Slowly, slowly, the horror faded as her eyes adjusted to the soft moonlight lighting her room. She was at home, in her bed, and everything was as it should be. There was no monster. She was safe. She sucked in deep breaths of air, her chest heaving as she worked to regulate herself. Eddie.

There had been a terrible murder the night Chrissy had had her episode in Eddie's trailer. Chrissy thought of it as the night she almost died, because she was certain she'd been supposed to. But she'd been lucky, and poor Heather Robinson hadn't. It had happened at the Robinson's gas station just outside the trailer park where Eddie lived. Police said security footage showed Eddie arriving and entering, right before Heather died, and then showed him running away, peeling off into the night. They'd been looking for him ever since.

Heather's father had been in the back office of the gas station at the time his daughter was killed. He'd gone public, blaming Eddie in an interview on the news. He had described the lights of the store flickering, like they do during a storm, and then he'd heard a scream, and when he ran out his daughter was dead, gruesomely murdered, and Eddie was driving away. Heather's father had recognized Eddie's van. Everyone was sure Eddie had done it. Jason had taken up the torch and had been rallying his friends to hunt for Eddie. Eddie the Freak, they'd always called him. The town wouldn't be safe until he was caught, they said.

Had Eddie somehow been the monster in her head? The one hurting her? Had he hurt Heather the same way? No. Chrissy dismissed these thoughts. Eddie had saved her. Somehow she'd been able to find her way back because of him. She remembered how afraid he'd been when she'd returned to him in his trailer. That had been real. He'd been almost as terrified as her. No, she wouldn't be alive if not for him. She knew that.

"Eddie," Chrissy whispered his name, laying back down on her pillow. "I hope you're ok." She pulled her comforter up around her, trying to hide from the things that scared her, but when she closed her eyes to try to sleep again she saw the monster's face, looming in front of her. Every night she saw it. Every night she had the same nightmare. But even more terrifying than the monster and the nightmares was the thought that she might not wake up from the next one.

Chrissy forced her mind to focus on something else, something nice, something to counteract her fear. It was Eddie's face that drifted before her. His wild mop of curly hair, his infectious smile, his sweet brown eyes. He had taken such good care of her that night.

Be strong for Eddie, Chrissy told herself. He was out there somewhere, probably scared and alone. She had to stay strong for him. She could vouch for him if they found him. She'd already called the police and told them Eddie couldn't have done it, but when they'd asked her how she knew she'd hung up, she couldn't think of what to say. But she'd come up with something. She'd tried to talk to Jason and his friends too, but they hadn't listened. She would just have to try again. It was the least she could do. Be strong for Eddie. Kind Eddie. She pictured how he'd been in the woods with her — all smiles and disarming silliness. His grin was the last thing she saw in her mind's eye before she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

Author's Note:

Thanks for reading Part 5! Things really start to diverge from the show's storyline in the next part and I'm excited to share some of the stuff I've been imagining!