A Nightmare Reborn Ch. 07

"I'm your husband now, Lori," he flickered his tongue wildly at her in mock cunnilingus. Freddy laughed wildly and waved his hand like a theatrical magician at a kids show. From his hand came a thick, billowing dark smoke that gave birth to Freddy's latest nightmare. The air was suddenly filled with flapping, leathery black wings and clawed feet. Thousands of huge, mutant demon bats flew out of the shadows of Freddy's overcoat and slobbered towards Lori. They squealed and mewled, hungrily advancing towards her for the kill. Their little red eyes glowed like beads of blood as they strafed her, descending in to swallow her whole.

Lori watched them approach as time slowed down and the reality of the dream began to fade. She remembered seeing the dead in her dreams, and the boy with no eyes who told her about peace. She remembered the burnt woman who begged her to resist the anger and hate. The bats were closing in on her and amazingly enough, she reached down deep inside her soul and found calm.

It was eerie, the peace that over took her body and mind as she raised her hand up and the blades retracted back into her fingertips. The wounds healed immediately and the blood melted from her flesh as though it had never been spilled. She could feel a cool presence in the back of her mind as the world stopped for her. She drew a deep breath that filled her lungs not with the poisonous sulfur of Freddy's illusions but that of the real world.
In that eternal moment she saw the past and the future, she saw the tragedy of Nancy Thompson unfold before her eyes and the death of Donald Thompson. She saw the Dream Warriors fight and triumph over Freddy only to fall again to his resurrected evil. She saw the choices and burdens of the Dream Master as Alice Johnson fought to save those she loved. She saw the fights that followed, the fight at Crystal Lake again and everything leading her and the people around her to this place in time and space.
In that brief expanse, she understood everything Alice couldn't explain to her. Lori opened her eyes and saw Freddy's hellish corneas fixed on her. She saw the bats screaming towards her as she reached out, opened her fingers and stretched out with her mind. She looked at the hellish creatures and simply said, "No more."
The bats froze in the air, their wings and mouths caught in full motion as though someone had paused a movie. They hovered before her and she could hear Freddy's gasp of surprise. She could feel his anger and impotent rage as his best trick, the one that always granted him the kill failed. Fear was the medium in which the disease was passed. If there was no fear, Krueger could not spread. Lori smiled through the wall of bats, "I'm not afraid of you anymore."
Freddy staggered back towards the open door of the boiler oven, his eyes wide.
"Our screams gave you your power…"
"No."
"Our fear gave you your strength…"
"Shut up!" Freddy raged.
"You're a nightmare, Krueger…"
"YOU FUCKING BITCH!"
"…And all nightmares have to end."
Lori drew her right hand back, palm open and fingers reaching to the heavens. She looked at the bats.
"YOU STUPID BITCH!"
Lori shoved forward with her right hand and the bats flew backwards as though caught in a gale force wind. As they recoiled from her power, their hideous black fur melting and falling away under the power of Lori’s counter attack. The black monstrosities flamed as smoldering fur molted into white feathers. Their screeching turned into chirps and squawks as a flight of large, white doves erupted from the dying carcasses of the bats. Their leathery skins fell away and birthed broad snow-white wings. Pink eyes fixed on Freddy and the flock dived in towards him like a squadron of fighter planes.
"Auucgh!" he screamed as the birds swarmed him and drove him backwards. Their wings flapped and stirred up winds that blew through the entire world of the dream. They pecked and stabbed at him with their beaks. Tainted blood spilled out onto virginal feathers as the birds ravaged Krueger. His skin was pulled away in large chunks as they fed on him, consuming his evil. He swiped his blades in the air ravenously, killing a few of them but not enough to make a difference.
Lori stepped forward and sprinted towards Freddy and the birds. The doves scattered as Lori tackled Freddy and drove him into the fire. The boiler door slammed shut behind them and they were in flames. Lori felt her flesh beginning to burn as she looked into the inferno and then forced herself out of the dream. She could feel the cool air of the power plant office around her as she grabbed Freddy by the neck and pulled him close to her.
"Scream for me, asshole," she whispered.
There was an explosion of light and then they were gone.
***

Loomis and Tessa stood up and turned to see Michael Myers waiting for them, he reached over and grasped the machete Jason had dropped when Sean shot him. It was still dripping blood as he looked at it, appraising it once again as a weapon. Michael then looked to them and down at the bullet holes in his chest. He was pissed off and Loomis had no doubt he was going to express it to the fullest extent.

"Tessa," Loomis said from the corner of his mouth.

"Yeah?"

"Run."
And then from behind them the office windows at the end of the housing structure blew out in a thunderous explosion of air and smoke. It was like a sonic boom had occurred in the office as glass and wood rocketed through the air. All three of them on the ground looked up to see two bodies sailing through the air. Loomis immediately recognized Lori's blonde hair as she struck one of the overhead pipes and fell to the ground near the forth basin. He and Tessa rushed over to her and found her unconscious.
The second body landed at the feet of Michael Myers with a dusty skid. Freddy looked up, his hat and coat smoldering as he tried to grasp where he was. He looked at the muddy boots and then up the blood stained coveralls and finally at the ghostly white face. Freddy rolled his eyes and hopped up to face Michael.
"Cute, Lori," he coughed and brushed himself off, "I should have fucking seen this coming."
Michael looked at him, his head cocked to one side.
"And what are you looking at, Shatner?" Freddy eyed him, "You know its Jason you should be mad at. He stole your idea for wearing a mask!"
Michael raised the machete into the air.
"Well fuck you too, Myers," Freddy growled and swiped at Michael. He tore Michael's coveralls and opened up some nasty wounds across his chest, but Michael did not relent. He hammered the machete down and caught Freddy in the shoulder, taking him by surprise. Krueger howled and then began punching Michael in the stomach hard with his free hand. Freddy jerked back and wrenched the machete from Michael's hand with his own body.
"You know what your problem is?" Freddy yanked the machete free from his torso, "Halloween only comes once a year. Your gimmick isn't practical for longevity…"
Freddy sliced down and caught Michael on his right thigh, "It's a fucking overrated holiday anyway…"
As Freddy and Michael fought, Loomis cradled Lori in his arms and shook her gently, "Lori?"
She didn't move. Tessa felt her neck and found a pulse there, steady but weak.
"Lori wake up," Loomis hissed and slapped her.

Her eyes fluttered open and then went wide as she scrambled back out of his arms and onto her ass. She looked around and then saw Freddy and Michael. Michael was slamming Krueger up against the wall repeatedly, battering him like a rag doll. Freddy dropped the machete and it fell into the basin where Jason and Sean had disappeared. Michael's leg was bleeding badly as he beat the living shit out of Freddy. After a few minutes of this, he slammed the dream killer down to the ground hard, causing Freddy's trademark fedora to go rolling away into the shadows.

"Michael's winning," Tessa whispered as the huddled back into the corner of the housing. She looked at Loomis and asked, "Do you think he might be able to kill Freddy?"

"No," Lori spoke up, her head throbbing from her sudden exodus into the real world, "No…"

"You fucking dime store reject!" Freddy roared and jammed his blades into Michael's neck. The killer staggered back, holding his neck and losing his balance. Blood squirted out from between his fingers in steady pulses as Michael dropped Freddy and tried to recover. Freddy slowly stood up and dusted himself off casually, his yellow eyes resting on Michael's mask. He started walking towards the Halloween killer, the terror of Haddonfield, and brought his claws to bear.

"You and Voorhees," Freddy huffed, "What a fucking pair…"

Michael fell back against the wall, his hands still clasped to his neck.

"I brought you here to fight him, you asshole. Not me!" Freddy kicked Michael across the face, his dusty boot leaving a black mark across the white mask. He knelt down and grabbed Michael by a handful of his wild hair, shoving his head back against the eroded concrete wall. Freddy growled, "You're pissing me off, Myers."

Freddy raised his hand into the air and the blades clinked together, scraping in a taunt that heralded Freddy's victory.

"You lose," Freddy spat at him and then brought his glove down. Only it never connected with Michael's mask or flesh. The hand stayed in the air, trembling against the power of Jason's grip. Jason jerked Freddy to the side and whipped him around, his vice-like hold unforgiving. There was a wet popping sound as the bones in Freddy's right arm came out of their sockets and then were jammed back in. Krueger's head was lolling about as Jason spun him into the wall. The concrete cracked and splintered, heavy chunks of the old compound falling to the floor.

"Freddy's dead," Tessa cringed as they watched Jason spin and flip Freddy around. The dream killer bent six-foot diameter pipes in with his backside and broke concrete with his head as Jason unleashed his fury. All of the teasing and taunting Jason had endured, the pain and the humiliation suffered at the hands of Freddy Krueger was being brought to light now. Their fight on the dock two years ago had only been a prelude to this moment. Jason had found time to think about what had happened to him, he had had time to consider the blasphemy of Freddy's desecration of his mother. After a brief moment of consideration (as thoughtful as Jason Voorhees could be about it at the very least) Jason followed through on the impulse to kill Freddy.

Loomis eyed his shotgun, only a few feet away from where Michael Myers lay, his legs sprawled and head hanging forward. He wondered for a moment if Freddy had actually killed him. There was so much blood drenching his coveralls and the cuts on his body had been truly grievous. Loomis wanted to believe that Myers might be dead, but he knew better. Michael was too smart. There was the possibility that Michael, in his quiet contemplation and secret agenda, might even be smarter than Freddy Krueger.

"We have to get them into that basin," Loomis bit his bottom lip, "And we have to make sure Jason doesn't have his machete…"

"Why?" Lori asked.

"He used it to climb out," Loomis pointed at the opening of the basin. There, lodged in the rusty metal was Jason's weapon of choice. He had stabbed it into the side of the basin and used it to escape by pulling himself up on it and then standing on it. It looked to be an arm's length from the lip of the basin, within reach if someone was brave enough to go and grab it.

"I'll get it," Tessa said quietly.

"Its lodged in there pretty good," Loomis eyed the weapon.

"I'll handle it," she said and squeezed his shoulder, "Just blow their fucking heads off."

Loomis nodded, "All right. Let's do this. Lori, stay put for a moment."

As Loomis broke to the left and Tessa went right, Michael sudden stood up. He looked at the doctor with bloody red eyes as they shared an exchange of "got ya!" Loomis cursed himself and skidded to a halt a few feet shy of the shotgun. Michael had been waiting for him to come out. He had been playing possum to avoid Freddy and Jason, his black heart intent on the doctor. Loomis felt sweat beading on his back and winding down his spine as he and Myers locked eyes.

Jason continued his beating of Freddy. He spun the weakened killer around again by the arm and let go. That was when Krueger crashed into Michael and sent them both toppling over. Jason stalked over to them like some kind of post-modern Prometheus and grabbed them by their necks, one in each hand, hoisting them up. Michael twisted in his grip and freed himself, his black eyes flaring above the bloody marks dripping from his sockets. Freddy slashed out with right hand but found it caught by Michael. Jason pulled on his left hard as Michael refused to let go.

"Oh Jesus," Tessa looked over her shoulder as the two monsters pulled Freddy apart. She thought maybe there was a mutual understanding between them at that moment, a sort of unspoken agreement in regards to their shared hate of Krueger. Or maybe it was just that they were caught in a bloodlust and Freddy was in their way. In either case, Freddy was holding the short end of the stick.

Krueger howled and threw his head back as the muscles and bones began to fail his body. There was a definitive tearing sound as the flesh began to rip and sinews of the meat split apart. Black blood splashed to the dusty floor as Freddy became the wishbone between Jason and Michael Myers. His eyes bulged from his sockets as the connective tissues and bones in his arms pulled away from his torso.

The power plant was filled with his agony as he fell forward and smashed face first into the floor. Jason tossed the severed arm aside as it sprayed the foul smelling essence of Freddy Krueger all over his tattered clothes. The screams echoed throughout and acted as a death knell for the dream killer. Jason kicked Freddy hard and cracked his ribs on the left side as Michael drove his hand down into Krueger's back. He punched through the fabric of his burnt clothes and through the slimy flesh to the spinal cord beneath. Michael gave the slippery backbone a mighty yank and Freddy's Krueger's back was broken in two.

"Oh God," Lori covered her mouth and closed her eyes as her stomach lurched.

There was a loud squealing shriek of metal against metal as the machete came loose from the basin. Tessa flipped over and held the weapon up, but her triumph was short lived as Jason and Michael both regarded her with an intense glare. She laid there for only a second before they both began moving in on her.

"Oh hell no," she grunted and got up as best she could, her wounded shoulder throbbing and sending bolts of pain through her right side.

Loomis aimed the shotgun at Jason, even as Michael approached him. He knew if he didn't disable Jason, then Tessa wouldn't stand a chance. He aimed and fired. The shot went wide and blew apart a pressure valve. Steam hissed and billowed outward, the hot air whistling as it enveloped Jason's hulking frame. Loomis turned and fired at Michael. The blast caught Myers in the left shoulder and sent him flying backwards.

Tessa realized too late that she had backed herself into a corner as she bumped up against the wall of the generator housing. She looked and saw Jason emerging from the steam, his shadow hiding her from the light. She glanced to her left and saw the open basin where Sean had been pulled in. Tessa took a deep breath and tightened her grip on the machete as Jason bore down on her.

"I fucking hate hockey," she growled and then charged forward, the machete held out in front of her. Instead of going for Jason's stomach or chest, she brought the huge blade up and with all her might drove it into his left eye. She let loose a cry of primal rage and fury as she drove the machete deep into Jason's ocular cavity. The tip of the machete exploded out the back of his skull as he lost his equilibrium. The hockey mask split at the damaged eyehole and revealed his deformed face to her as she smashed into him, her momentum carrying them backwards.

"Just die!" she screamed and toppled over into the basin with him. Before his fist smashed into her face and shattered her skull, Tessa was able to pull the machete out and throw it back up and out of the pit. As everything went dark, despite the pain, she felt strangely at peace. A flash of blinding light and a spray of blood saw Tessa leave this world for the next.

***

Loomis heard Tessa shouting and turned but could only see roiling steam, but no sign of her or Jason. He looked down at Michael, who was not moving again. Loomis walked up to him slowly, the only sound being that of the hissing steam from the broken valve. His eyes stung with sweat and blood as he leveled the gun at Michael's face. His clothes were stained with blood and dirt, his legs shaking. His heart was pounding so hard he thought it might bust his ribs loose as he held the shotgun with hands that trembled.

"Michael?" he whispered and kicked the killer's boot.

Nothing.

"I don't believe you're dead, Michael," Loomis said.

The masked killer did not move.

Loomis steadied himself and took a final aim.

Here, tonight and finally forever he would put an end to Michael Myers. Maybe he couldn't kill him permanently, but a shotgun blast to the head would insure that Michael wouldn't be out and about any time soon. The curse of the Thorn would end here for as long as it could. He didn't fool himself into believing his act was anything other than a temporary solution. Loomis simply took comfort in the fact that he would avenge his father's death and finally give the elder Loomis peace. He would give the world a reprieve from the Thorn.

"Damn you," he said, his voice weak and broken. He pulled the trigger and was shocked to hear only any empty click. The shotgun was empty.

"No!" he shook his head and reached into his pocket for another shell. He fumbled with one for a moment and then quickly reloaded the gun. He finished and snapped the gun back up to find Michael gone. There was trail of blood leading into the shadows of the pipe works and corridors. He sighed and lowered his gun.

"Damn you."

He turned to find that Lori was gone from her hiding place. He looked to his left and saw Krueger's body was gone as well.

"Lori?"

***

The journey from the generator housing to the outside was symbolic for Lori. To her, she had been walking through the shadows and darkness for years now. Ever since Freddy Krueger had set her life on this course she had not known any peace. Everywhere she looked, there was danger and death. Her life had been ruled by fear of him, and it had taken her so much to realize it. The journey to freedom had come at a terrible cost.

She dragged the still living corpse of Freddy Krueger through the old halls and walkways of the power plant. She could hear the souls trapped here. She could feel them as she had felt the others in her dream. Lori thought of Alice and Will as tears streamed down her face. The memories of her father and mother before Springwood ever happened flashed before her as she struggled to pull Krueger out of the power plant and onto the loading dock.

Morning sunlight was filtering through the muddy windows and cracked glass as the star rose into the sky. Her fingers were flaring under the strain of pulling his weight behind her, but she pressed on. As she stepped into the receiving bay at the loading dock where Sean and Tessa had entered earlier, she noticed a squeeze bottle on one of the dejected workbenches. It was caked with grime, yellow and marked with permanent ink the phrase "lighter fluid." She grabbed the bottle and felt the weight. It was half full and she took it along with the book of matches she found in a greasy jar just behind the bottle.

"What do you think Lori?" Freddy gurgled behind her, half laughing as his useless legs flopped back and forth, "You think this will be the big one?"