Freddy's Back

Chapter 2: In their dreams

Maya's eyes flew open with a gasp, her heart hammering violently in her chest. Trembling, she clicked on the bedside lamp and gingerly lifted her nightshirt. Four long, deep scratches ran down her ribs, still oozing blood.

She stumbled to the bathroom and hastily bandaged her wounds, tears of frustration welling in her eyes. The faceless shadow man had found her again in the forest of her dreams, raking her with his gnarled claws before she woke.

A tapping at the door made Maya jump. She opened it warily to find Nancy's kind eyes studying her with concern.

"Are you alright, Maya? I thought I heard cries..." Her gaze fell to the bandages and her face paled. "My god, what happened?"

Maya just shook her head silently, ashamed to describe the grisly details of her dream assault. Nancy's expression grew serious.

"Come with me. There are others..." She motioned for Maya to follow.

Maya hesitated, then walked with Nancy down the shadowy hall. Nancy stopped at Ollie's room, face tightening when she saw his blood-soaked sleeve. Upon lifting it, deep lacerations were revealed on his forearm. Ollie quickly looked away, clearly humiliated.

"We need to stick together right now," Nancy said firmly. "Zoe and Liam appear to be injury-free, but let's reconvene in the common room."

The teens gathered silently, hugging themselves against the predawn chill. Nancy's chest tightened seeing their shell-shocked faces. Kneeling before them, she spoke earnestly.

"I know you're frightened and confused. But we must be vigilant against whatever evil is tormenting your dreams, or none of us are safe."

"You think we're attacking ourselves somehow?" Liam asked bitterly.

Nancy shook her head. "No, I believe some dark entity is infiltrating your subconscious minds. But we can fight back, together."

The teens exchanged uneasy glances. Nancy sensed their unspoken doubts and fears. She knew they associated her with all the other adults who had failed to understand or protect them in the past. Their trust would have to be hard-won.

Over the next several nights, the slashings continued. Each morning revealed new wounds that left both physical and psychological scars. The teens became increasingly withdrawn and paranoid.

Nancy tried reassuring them during sessions. "The harder we work on shedding light into your dreams, the weaker his hold will become."

But their eyes remained haunted, ringed by perpetual exhaustion. Nancy's own sleep suffered as she lay tensely awaiting the inevitable screams. She patrolled the halls endlessly, knowing the ravaged teens needed her vigilance.

Late one night, she burst into Zoe's room to find her struggling violently in her sleep. "No, get away from me!" she cried hoarsely.

"Zoe, it's Nancy, wake up!" Nancy gripped Zoe's thrashing shoulders. Zoe's eyes shot open, filled with primal terror. Nancy quickly wrapped her in a comforting embrace.

"He's...he's trying to kill me," Zoe choked out.

"Not while I'm here," Nancy vowed, internally steeling her resolve. This had gone on long enough.

At their next group session, Nancy informed them with quiet intensity, "We're going to start taking back control. I'm going to hypnotize you one by one and recover details to confront this demon head-on."

The teens squirmed with anxiety but Nancy's fiery determination won out. Under hypnosis, Maya described the shadow man in greater detail - his charred flesh, tattered striped sweater, claw-tipped glove. A name rang distantly in her mind..."Freddy."