A Nightmare Reborn: FVJ 02

Loomis finally pulled himself out of the basin and managed to reach Tessa. He grabbed the dagger and pulled hard as Sean squeezed the trigger and let loose another volley of unrelenting bullets. Jason convulsed and rolled as his body was punctured and shredded by the bullets. Sean was screaming and yelling as he fired, spraying Jason with all the ammunition he could muster.

"Get him into the basin!" Loomis yelled after Sean as he supported Tessa, "Do it now!"

The Uzi ran dry and clicked for a second before Sean threw it to the ground. Jason was already getting up, his body smoking from the multiple bullet wounds. Not wanting to give Jason a moment to breathe, Sean tackled him hard and they both went rolling across the narrow walkway. Sean kneed him hard in the groin and then positioned himself against the wall, pushing with his legs against Jason. The hulking killer rolled to the lip of the basin, his hand clumsily reaching out to find something to hold on to.

"You got him!" Tessa screamed, "Do it!"

Sean gave a final kick to Jason's hockey mask and the behemoth went into the basin, but not before he grasped the policeman's ankle. Sean growled against his teeth as Jason's iron grip crushed the bones and meat in his left ankle and foot. He kicked hard against Jason's face as the weight of the killer began pulling on him. Sean grasped the pipe behind him and held on tight as he was dragged into the basin with Jason.

"Loomis!" he screamed, the muscles in his arms tight and his veins bulging out as he held on.

The doctor rested Tessa against the wall and rushed to Sean's side. He fell to his knees and began trying to pry Jason fingers away. The digits were locked into position by a strength Loomis could not understand or even begin to counter. Blood was now beginning to gush from the mess of Sean's ankle. Everything below his calve was twisting and pulling loose as Sean screamed and kicked wildly at Jason with his free foot. Loomis was unable to even a get a grip on Jason fingering as blood pooled and ran freely.

"Let go, goddam you!" Loomis screamed at the masked killer.

Sean felt his grip loosening, his fingers raw and taxed to their limits.

"Don't let go Sean!" Loomis roared and began pounding on Jason's fingers. "Hang on!"

There was a final moment of clarity for Sean as he felt his body simply give out against the pull of Jason's might and weight. There was a sudden jerk and then a sliding sensation as he was yanked backward. His shirt rode up, exposing his backside to the grit and broken glass of the walkway. He didn't have time to scream or even think as Loomis blurred past him and he fell into darkness with Jason. There was the strange feeling of being airborne as they fell, a long drawn out journey through final night.

"Sean!" Tessa screamed, her voice shrill and desperate as Sean's head rebounded off the steel lip of the basin with a heavy *thock* sound. His hands flew into the air and then he was consumed by shadows. Loomis scrambled to the edge and looked down as Tessa fell to her hands and knees beside him.

Jason and Sean landed at the bottom of the basin hard, their impact echoing in a bass reverberation. Sean rolled to his right and when he tried to stand, he found his shattered foot and ankle were unwilling to accommodate him. He lost his balance and fell forward as Jason reached out for him. He felt the killer grasp his arm and pull. Sean knew what was coming and tore the pistol from his waistband.

"Fuck you!" he shouted with all his might and fired the gun into Jason's face and torso. The basin lit up with each deafening report, giving Loomis and Tessa brief glimpses of the fight below like a slow strobe light in a basement. Shortly after the fifteenth shot rang out there was a blood-curdling scream from the darkness, signaling the end of the conflict between Sean Renaud and Jason Voorhees. Tessa covered her mouth and reached for her gun as the screaming became watery, as though Sean were drowning. There was an audible cracking sound and then all was silent, save for the heavy breathing of Jason far below them.

"Sean!" she screeched and aimed her gun into the basin.

"No," Loomis put his hand on hers as she looked into the shadows.

"No!" she screamed at Loomis, "He's alive..."

"Tessa," Loomis held her to him close as she cried, "He's gone. Let him go."

Tessa let go of her gun and collapsed in Loomis's arms as the doctor tried to console her. Her body felt limp and a thousand miles away from her as Tessa struggled to hold back the flood of pain. Her heart had been broken into two pieces, split right down the middle. She remembered telling Sean she didn't think everyone would make it out alive, that no matter what they were dead anyway. She wished now she hadn't said that.

She wished she had said something else.

Anything else but that.

***

Lori stood toe to toe with Freddy Krueger in the confines of the dream world.

She raised her hand and when Freddy came at her, she didn't worry about what he was going to do. She could feel his movements in her body, as though she could read his mind. She felt the experience Alice had passed to her asserting itself as she dodged his wild slashes and erratically angry moves. They hopped from one flagstone to the other, thrusting and swiping, equally matched and equally determined to win.

"You know Lori," Freddy spat at her, "Your hubby is squealing like a pig to the slaughter in Hell..."

Lori felt a sting of anger in her heart, but resisted it.

"I know some hard hitting assholes down there who love tearing apart pussy's like him for breakfast..."

Lori ducked as Freddy's claws cut the air above her and took a lock of golden blonde hair. She countered and carved a chunk of the dream killer's shirt and chest out. The fabric and rotted meat splattered against the wall of the cave as they moved into the perverse temple of Freddy's haven. Lori passed elaborate murals and frescos, most of them looking like something from "Dante's Inferno" as she and Freddy dueled. Their finger blades snapped and sparked in the hot depths of Krueger's world, metal against metal as the two fought for supremacy.

"When you get there, watch out for this mean motherfucker with the pins in his head... I mean this guy is wicked. He sure fucked your husband up... made him even curse your name and the day he met you!"

Freddy laughed.

Lori stabbed and removed one of Freddy's gnarled ears.

Krueger raged and sliced away a section of her jeans, taking part of her left thigh for good measure.

They were now in a long corridor leading to what looked like an oven. It made Lori think of the fairy tale, "Hansel and Gretel." She remembered the old witch being burned alive in her own oven after the little girl tricks her inside. She had always thought that story was scary when she was young, so dark for a children's tale. But now, as she backed her way up to the oversized oven she realized it looked more and more like a furnace. It was the oven in Freddy's tale, the place where the fires were the hottest and the pain lasted the longest.

"Who's that trip-trappin' on my fucking bridge?" Freddy guffawed as he caught Lori's shirt again and tore her right sleeve away, leaving two wicked gashes across her shoulder, "I'll grind your bones to make my bread!"

Lori leapt through the air and swung at him again but missed.

"... and not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin!"

Lori landed behind him and kicked hard. The move was so deft and complete it was almost perfect. She knew she had never studied martial arts, but there was something inside her that had. She could feel it; or rather she could feel him inside her. One of the souls Alice had carried. One of many. She could see them all within her mind, guiding her and lending her their power. They were the ones, the souls, Alice had collected and kept with her, and now Lori was that keeper. That part of them Alice had retained was a part of Lori now.

"Mind over matter," she heard herself say as she delivered a brutal roundhouse kick to Freddy's face. The dream killer staggered back as blood spurted from his broken nose. He looked at the black liquid and glared at Lori.

"It's over, Lori," he said, "Give it up."

She stood ready for him, anticipating his next move.

"What will it take for you to walk away?" Freddy stared at her, pacing back and forth like an agitated wolf trying to figure out how to catch the cunning rabbit eluding it, "I'm giving you the chance to walk away. Now, I never give my children that kind of offer..."

"You have nothing I want," she said evenly, the fires of the furnace burning hot and lighting the temple with wild and horrific bolts of color.

"Anything your heart desires," he said slyly, the air around them both growing thick and heavy, "Anything at all."

Lori looked at him thoughtfully and after a moment said, "Alice."

Freddy snorted.

"I want Alice back," she stated clearly.

Freddy looked at her.

"I want my father and my mother..."

The dream killer hissed at her mockingly.

"But most of all," she stared through his lies and his hate and his malevolence, her hair blowing in the arid wind and sweat beading on her forehead, "I want my husband back, you sorry son of bitch."

"I'm your husband now, Lori," Freddy flickered his tongue wildly at her in mock cunnilingus.

"I want them back now, Krueger."

Freddy sneered.

Lori raised her eyebrow, and though she stood a foot shorter than Krueger, she looked down on him anyway with icy blue resolve, "Now."

Freddy Krueger went to speak, but was cut short.

"Son of a thousand maniacs," Lori whispered.

Krueger furrowed his brow. "What did you say?"

"The bastard son of a thousand maniacs."

"Shut up."

Lori smiled and began singing, "One, two Freddy's coming for you..."

"SHUT UP!"

"Three, four here he's back for more..."

The boiler furnace behind Freddy began to steam and hiss towards an overload, "YOU BITCH!"

"Five, six he's just a lunatic..."

Krueger's face began to morph again, pointed ears forming as rows of razor sharp teeth grew from his rotted gums.

"Seven, eight watch him show up late..."

"Die, bitch," he rumbled.

"Nine, ten," Lori sang, "Never kill again..."

He bellowed and waved his hand like a theatrical magician at a kids show before Lori. From his hand came a thick, billowing dark smoke that gave birth to Freddy's latest nightmare. The smoke swirled and then spread out as the air was suddenly filled with flapping, leathery black wings and wickedly clawed feet. Thousands of huge, mutant demon bats flew out of the shadows of Freddy's smoke cloud and 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 rubies 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. The air displaced by their approach blew against her face and she could smell them, a hot sour stench of death and rot.

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 illusionary dreamscape but that of the real world.

In that eternal moment she saw the past and the future again, 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.

Lori opened her eyes and saw through the living mass of airborne creatures to Freddy's hellish corneas, fixed solely on her. She heard the bats screaming towards her as she reached out, opened her fingers and stretched out with her mind. She looked at the barrage foaming, drooling monsters 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, her arm coiled and mind birthing her response.

"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 melted, burned and fell 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. 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 dreamscape. 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 shattered glass and wood rocketed through the air. All three of the combatants 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 wound 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.