NoES Fic: The Dream Spawn: Nightmare I
Finally, here it is!
Story Info
Title: The Dream Spawn
Author: Ani (ani_coolgirl)
Fandom: A Nightmare on Elm Street
Pairings/Characters: Jesse Walsh/Jacob Johnson, numerous OCs, Freddy Krueger, cameos of other canon characters
Rating: PG-13 - R
Warnings: slash (that’s frightening!), violence/gore, language, spoilers for all movies (except New Nightmare), timeline abuse
Total Word Count: 2,914
Summary: Jacob Johnson (son of Alice Johnson and Daniel Jordan) has suffered a tragedy - a year ago, Jacob's mother died quietly in her sleep... but Jacob knows she didn't go quietly. Adopted by the loving Miller family, Jacob moves to the sleepy town of Springwood, Ohio. However, ever since his mother died, Jacob's been having horrible dreams, as have his friends. In fact, all of the kids at Springwood High have been having nightmares. Soon, Jacob starts uncovering the truth of the nightmares and why kids have been dying. But to fight this new threat, Jacob is going to need some help from someone who's fought it before. But only one such person remains nearby, locked deep inside the walls Westin Hills: Jesse Walsh.
Author's Notes: I’ve never written for this particular fandom before, and I’m frightened that I’m doing it at all. This is, admittedly, self indulgence - I have weird tastes. The timeline has been skewered slightly to make Jacob older (otherwise, he’d be ten, and that’s just wrong). To put it simply, I took out the five years in between Nightmare 1 and 2, thus moving movies 3 - 5 back five years. However, Freddy’s Dead does not move. Basically, The Dream Child originally took place in 1989, and now takes place in 1984, but Freddy’s Dead is still in 1999, making Jacob fifteen (which, I guess, isn’t really that much better than ten, but in a town where people get slaughtered on a regular basis, people fall in love quick) instead of ten. Make sense? I hope so. I also ignore the comics and books (even though some of them are considered canon) because I haven’t read any of them.
Chapter Info
Title: Nightmare I - “Alice Stayed in Wonderland”
Author: Ani (ani_coolgirl)
Beta: Miyou (miyouch)
Pairings/Characters: Alice Johnson, Jacob Johnson, Rennie Smith (OC), Jessica McDonald (OC), Bobby Davis, Justina “Tina” Richards (OC)
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: strange symbolism, mild language
Word Count: 2,914 / 2,914
Summary: Alice has her last nightmare and Jacob learns that something odd is happening to his friends at Springwood High.
Author’s Notes: Mostly an intro into the main characters. For future reference, Bobby Davis is not an OC - he is the brother of Mark from Freddy vs. Jason.
Alice dreamed often. It was unusual, considering all that she had been through. Still, it had been many years since those horrible happenings, so maybe it wasn’t that strange that she could sleep easily and peacefully, with deep, even breaths. Oh sure, she still had nightmares - but they were the normal kind, whereupon waking she could sigh in relief, not just because she woke up, but because she could wake up at all. And then she could laugh and go back to sleep with a smile on her face.
The dream that night was vivid; strangely vivid after such a long time. The sky was a brilliant blue, and as she looked down she saw that the dress she wore was the same color, with a frilly white apron similar to the clouds - it didn’t look odd even though she was far too old for such attire. The sun was so bright that it hurt her eyes, but in a good way. The grass smelled like apples.
“You’re going to be late Alice…”
She didn’t think much about the voice on the wind. She just knew that she had to follow it, so she did. Alice ran, skipped, past daisies, sunflowers, and roses. She didn’t stop, not until she reached the base of a giant redwood tree that seemed to stretch up, up, and up forever, up into the heavens, with bright, bright sunlight filtering between the emerald leaves. Smiling, she reached out with one hand to touch the rich wood -
bloodreddoorgreenroofbarsonthewindows
- but quickly snatched her hand back and wiped it on her apron.
“Hurry up Alice…”
The hole in the base of the tree was split open like a gaping mouth, but she didn’t hesitate at all in crawling inside on her hands and knees. She crawled forward into the deep, and as she moved it just seemed to get darker and darker until even the sunlight was swallowed into the nothingness. And just when she reached the point where she could scarcely see the hand in front of her eyes, she began to fall.
Alice fell down the rabbit hole, and as she went lower, the dirt walls began to adorn themselves with mirrors and shelves full of children’s toys of all kinds. And as she fell, she became smaller, her face became more youthful. It became brighter and she caught her face in the mirrors: 33, 32, 31, skip a few years, 27, 26, 25, a few more, 21, 20, 19…
18.
She touched her face: so young! Could she really have been a mother when so young?
The skirt part of her jumper flared beneath her and her descent began to slow. The skipping ropes, shelves, and mirrors began to disappear and replaced with cold, twisting pipes that grew hot as she went lower. Steam spit out of the metal to push her left and right like she was a feather and pressure gauges screamed their warnings. Finally her feet touched the ground to a disturbingly familiar sight.
“Follow me, Alice,” the voice in the wind called, “you’re already down the rabbit hole - keep going, keep going.”
“This isn’t real,” she said. She sounded calmer than she felt.
“Are you sure?”
She couldn’t answer that.
“Look deeper, Alice. Look deeper.”
Despite herself, she found herself taking a step, a step that echoed metallically all around her, down the stairs into the red-hued light of the boiler room.
The air was sticky and hot, and she felt her hair and her cotton clothes cling to her skin, which had begun to sweat profusely. Her hands trembled on the rail. A scratching sound assaulted her ears and Alice whipped her head around to search for the source of the noise.
An albino rat scurried at her feet, stopped once to hiss at her, and then continued along. Sighing in relief, she took another step only for the walkway to collapse around her, sending her to plummet into the steam and darkness. She screamed, but the fall was short - her cries were abruptly cut off as she slammed into the concrete floor, cracking her head sharply against the surface. Dazed, she didn’t move for several seconds. When her vision finally came into focus, she touched the side of her head and felt blood slip between her fingers. Alice struggled to her feet, leaning heavily on a row of lockers.
“Warmer.”
She hesitantly took a few more shaky steps. She paused to steady herself and then moved farther into the maze until the piped walls became a plain off-white. Then, after more steps, the pictures came, one after another. First they were of little boys and girls, no more than ten years old, without any names to accompany the images. Then the faces of lonely teenagers, large Xs crossing their visages: Tina, Rod, Glen… the teens filled the walls, and continued on and. Entranced, Alice’s fingers traced the sleek paper until the names became familiar: Kristen, Joey, Kincaid…
Her throat tightened uncomfortably. Now before her was a name that she had known all her life: Rick. She couldn’t help the choked sob that escaped her throat.
“Oh, Rick…” She hadn’t thought about her brother in a long time. Too long.
“Can’t stop now, Alice,” whispered the voice. “Keep going.”
“What do you want?!” she screamed. Now she was fed up - mocking her with her brother’s face was the last straw.
“Keep going, Ali -”
“Shut up!” She viciously clapped her hands over her ears and crouched down, drawing herself into a tight ball. “Wake up,” she ordered herself. “Wake up. This is just a stupid dream. Wake up.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “Wake. Up.” Slowly, she cracked one eye open.
It was all still there, the children’s faces and the steam swirling around her. “Dammit,” she whispered.
“Onward, little Alice.”
“Fuck you,” she muttered, but now she had no choice to but to continue. The gazes around her became unfamiliar again, until the hallway suddenly ended with a plain, red door before her. She pushed the door open.
There was a loud crack as the scene rapidly changed around her in a frantic whirlwind. Gone was the corridor of lost names and the faint hiss of dying machinery: now was a hauntingly familiar tune and the rhythmic slap of a rope hitting the floor behind her.
“One, two…”
Her throat seized, but now there was nowhere to run. She entered the house. Although she thought she would inevitably be led downward, instead her instinct pointed her up. She climbed the stairwell to the second story and rounded the corner into a plain little bedroom, probably belonging to a teenage girl. Nothing of interest caught her eye until she caught sight of the pictures of the back wall. Walking forward, she felt her blood run cold and she snatched one of the photos from the wall.
The other four she didn’t recognize, but this one she would know anywhere.
Jacob.
“You bastard!” she howled. “Leave him alone! You leave my baby alone!”
The picture of her teenage son smiled at her and then rapidly shed itself to bits in her hands.
Suddenly she felt another presence in the room. “Don’t turn around,” the voice warned. She didn’t. She couldn’t move. “There’s nothing you can do for them, Alice.”
“My baby, my baby…” She let the pieces flutter to the floor.
“It’s your son’s turn, Alice. Bring him back home. Back to Springwood. Back to Elm Street!”
“No!” she screamed. “No, no, no!”
“Bring him home, Alice…”
“NO!”
Alice spun around.
*~*
Jacob Johnson awoke with a start at the sound of his mother’s screams one room over. The walls of the apartment were thin, and he’d been snapped from dreaming more than once by his mother’s cries. In fact, this was the fourth time this week. She screamed again, and he scrambled out of bed and ran out of his room, made a sharp left turn, and entered his mother’s without a second’s hesitance.
Alice was suspiciously still after making such horrible sounds. Jacob frowned and hastily approached her bedside. He lightly shook her, but she didn’t react. “Mom, wake up. You had another nightmare.”
She didn’t respond. Usually, she’d jerk awake the moment he touched her arm. Then she would smile, apologize, and hug him, kissing him on the forehead after he protested. Sometimes she would get up and make some hot chocolate if it was the wintertime (or tea if it was the summer) for the both of them and he would ask about the dream and she wouldn’t answer and then she would turnaround and ask him about school. They would talk for almost an hour until he was almost asleep at the kitchen table and then she’d tuck him into bed and whisper a nonsense rhyme about the Dream Master in his ear as he nodded into darkness.
She still wasn’t moving.
“Mom?” He shook her again, roughly this time. “Mom, wake up. Mom, c’mon. Wake up.” He felt his stomach clench. “Mom? Mom! Mom!” His grip tightened to the point of bruising, but still Alice didn’t stir. “Mom! Mommy, wake up! Mommy! Mommy!”
Jacob didn’t stop until an hour later when the neighbors finally called the police. And even as they broke the door in and pulled the young teen off of his dead mother’s body, he didn’t stop his futile calling until they led him out of his apartment and into the patrol car. Then he didn’t say anything at all.
*~*
One year later…
Exhaustion tugged at Jacob’s eyelids as he climbed into the bus that morning, and as soon as the back of his head hit the seat his eyes dropped closed. Not even the jumps and jolts of the bus could keep him from opening his eyes as it bounced down Elm Street, even as his skull knocked painfully against the window. He didn’t notice how unusually quiet it was or how many of the other rider’s had similar expressions on their faces. All he could do was wish for twenty minutes of rest on the ride from home to school, even if it was all in vain. At least he didn’t have to worry about homework - unable to sleep the previous night after his latest nightmare, he did all of his work for the next three days, even reading ahead in his history book. Ideally, he’d be able to sleep in class as well.
The bus halted at the next stop and another handful of sleepy students shuffled aboard. He felt a body drop in the seat next to him and he cracked an eye open. Rennie Smith, a soccer-playing sophomore, grinned weakly at him before also closing her eyes. Naturally pale despite her Hispanic roots, Rennie seemed to sport a permanent sunburn because of her numerous outdoor practices and games, giving her a pink glow. However, today her skin contrasted sharply with her dark brown eyes and short dark hair, making her to appear almost sickly.
Jacob considered asking her if everything was alright, but instead shifted slightly to accommodate Rennie better in the seat, placing his backpack onto his lap. The two hadn’t been friends for long, only a few months, and Jacob still wasn’t entirely sure of his place. Even before moving to Springwood he didn’t have many friends, so even the basic fundamentals of friendships were somewhat of a mystery to him.
The rest of the ride to school was uneventful, and Jacob couldn’t help but feel resentment when the vehicle pulled in front of Springwood High. Rennie had to shake him awake when they stopped, just as he was about to fall into a deep sleep. The girl laughed as he groaned and stretched, and she took his hand to lead him, blinking tiredly, off the bus.
The front of the school was bustling with activity, the typical cliques and groups clustered together around the lawn. A few were sprawled on the grass, heads resting on backpacks or jackets attempting to catch a few more Zs before the nine o’clock bell. That is how Rennie and Jacob found Jessica McDonald, her long blond hair spilling over onto the grass, headphones over her ears. Rennie bent down to flick a beetle off of her tresses and Jessica jerked awake, nearly slamming her face into Rennie’s nose.
“Jesus!” Rennie exclaimed as she fell backwards onto her behind. Jessica’s hazel eyes dilated to pinpoints before returning to their normal size. Smiling a bit sheepishly, Jessica removed her headphones and edged closer to the fallen Rennie, giving her a light nudge with her elbow.
“Sorry, sorry. You shouldn’t do that to people, you surprised me.”
“No kidding,” Rennie muttered, nudging her back. “Uptight, much?”
“Coming from you, that’s a compliment. You look like shit.” Jessica thoughtfully put a finger to her chin, tapping it in thought. “More so than usual.”
“Haha. And also, ha.” Rennie craned her neck to look up at Jacob, wearing a pout. “Are you gonna let her talk to me like that, Jacob?”
Jacob blinked confusedly at being addressed. He hadn’t been following the conversation in the slightest. “Uh…” Before he could answer, Jessica gave a sharp laugh.
“Don’t bring Mr. Daydream in this. He probably doesn’t even know what we’re talking about.” Jessica hopped to her feet, pulling Rennie up with her.
“True, true. He’s a complete -”
“- and utter -”
“- Space-Case,” they finished together. The two girls laughed, but Jacob knew better by now that he didn’t need to be offended. Jessica and Rennie loved teasing, but it was all in good fun. The two had a habit of teaming up for a good round of joking, and everybody was eligible for their game. They had been best friends for years, their families even moved to Springwood together, and often finished each other’s sentences and jokes. Jacob was used to it by now.
“Hey, ladies. And Jessica.” The three all turned to see a tall red-headed boy with his arm around a dusky colored girl approaching them. The girl, Justina Richards, gave a small wave. Justina, more commonly known as Tina, was a sophomore like Jessica, Rennie, and Jacob. Bobby Davis, Tina’s boyfriend, however, was not. Bobby was senior, and one of Tina’s favorite pastimes was to brag about that fact. Jacob really didn’t care how much older Bobby was, but Jessica was convinced that it wouldn’t last because of the age gap. Rennie, naturally, agreed.
“Bite me, cradle-robber,” Jessica grumbled.
“What she said,” Jacob added. Bobby gave him a good-natured thump on the head. Out of their little group, Jacob always felt most comfortable around Bobby, though he wasn’t sure if it was because Bobby was a guy or something else. Bobby always seemed like an older brother to him, but Jacob would die before he admitted that aloud - besides, Bobby already had a little brother, a spunky kid named Mark, who, while only a year younger than Jacob and the girls, had his own set of friends he preferred to hang out with.
“Did anyone do Mr. Kane’s worksheet last night?” Tina interjected worriedly, still hanging off Bobby’s arm. “I was going to, and then I, uh, didn’t. So? Anybody?”
Rennie rolled her eyes. “How many times do we have to tell you that Jessica and I have Ms. Conners? And Jacob never does his homework.”
It was true: Jacob hardly ever did his homework at home, mostly because it bored him to tears. Instead he’d frantically race to get it done during the lunch hour or during his electives, as most of his core classes were after those times. “I’ll give it to you at lunch,” Jacob said to Tina. The group stared at him for a long moment.
“You aren’t going geek on us are you, Jay?” Bobby asked, tilting his head to the side.
“You actually did it? Seriously?” Jessica narrowed her eyes. “Who are you and what have you done with Jacob Johnson?”
Jacob wrinkled his nose and slightly twisted his mouth. “I couldn’t sleep last night. I had nothing better to do.”
He saw it in Bobby’s eyes first - the way the older boy seized up without moving a muscle, the solemn look that crossed his face. It was unnerving to Jacob - Bobby usually radiated such unwavering confidence. But Bobby said nothing: it was Rennie who jumped in, unsurprisingly.
“You know, I haven’t been able to sleep well either.” Rennie twisted her fingers in her short hair. “Weird dreams.”
“Me too,” Jessica added. “Freaky ass dreams. Nightmares.” Jessica and Rennie exchanged meaningful looks, as though they knew what the other was thinking.
“Well, I’ve been sleeping fine.” Tina said perkily, batting her eyelashes up at Bobby. Bobby didn’t seem to notice the gesture at all however, his focus entirely on Jacob.
“You too?” Bobby asked. Again the group was staring at him, though this time with less humor involved. “Nightmares?”
Jacob was saved from answering when the bell rang shrilly across the schoolyard. Jessica and Tina immediately took off, Tina only pausing to give Bobby a kiss on the cheek, as their first class was on the opposite side of campus. Rennie took Jacob’s arm and started leading him towards the front doors. He allowed her to direct him, but he still felt Bobby’s eyes on the back of his neck as he moved, and could only wonder what made the boy give him such an intense stare.
Nightmare II-->
Story Info
Title: The Dream Spawn
Author: Ani (ani_coolgirl)
Fandom: A Nightmare on Elm Street
Pairings/Characters: Jesse Walsh/Jacob Johnson, numerous OCs, Freddy Krueger, cameos of other canon characters
Rating: PG-13 - R
Warnings: slash (that’s frightening!), violence/gore, language, spoilers for all movies (except New Nightmare), timeline abuse
Total Word Count: 2,914
Summary: Jacob Johnson (son of Alice Johnson and Daniel Jordan) has suffered a tragedy - a year ago, Jacob's mother died quietly in her sleep... but Jacob knows she didn't go quietly. Adopted by the loving Miller family, Jacob moves to the sleepy town of Springwood, Ohio. However, ever since his mother died, Jacob's been having horrible dreams, as have his friends. In fact, all of the kids at Springwood High have been having nightmares. Soon, Jacob starts uncovering the truth of the nightmares and why kids have been dying. But to fight this new threat, Jacob is going to need some help from someone who's fought it before. But only one such person remains nearby, locked deep inside the walls Westin Hills: Jesse Walsh.
Author's Notes: I’ve never written for this particular fandom before, and I’m frightened that I’m doing it at all. This is, admittedly, self indulgence - I have weird tastes. The timeline has been skewered slightly to make Jacob older (otherwise, he’d be ten, and that’s just wrong). To put it simply, I took out the five years in between Nightmare 1 and 2, thus moving movies 3 - 5 back five years. However, Freddy’s Dead does not move. Basically, The Dream Child originally took place in 1989, and now takes place in 1984, but Freddy’s Dead is still in 1999, making Jacob fifteen (which, I guess, isn’t really that much better than ten, but in a town where people get slaughtered on a regular basis, people fall in love quick) instead of ten. Make sense? I hope so. I also ignore the comics and books (even though some of them are considered canon) because I haven’t read any of them.
Chapter Info
Title: Nightmare I - “Alice Stayed in Wonderland”
Author: Ani (ani_coolgirl)
Beta: Miyou (miyouch)
Pairings/Characters: Alice Johnson, Jacob Johnson, Rennie Smith (OC), Jessica McDonald (OC), Bobby Davis, Justina “Tina” Richards (OC)
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: strange symbolism, mild language
Word Count: 2,914 / 2,914
Summary: Alice has her last nightmare and Jacob learns that something odd is happening to his friends at Springwood High.
Author’s Notes: Mostly an intro into the main characters. For future reference, Bobby Davis is not an OC - he is the brother of Mark from Freddy vs. Jason.
Alice dreamed often. It was unusual, considering all that she had been through. Still, it had been many years since those horrible happenings, so maybe it wasn’t that strange that she could sleep easily and peacefully, with deep, even breaths. Oh sure, she still had nightmares - but they were the normal kind, whereupon waking she could sigh in relief, not just because she woke up, but because she could wake up at all. And then she could laugh and go back to sleep with a smile on her face.
The dream that night was vivid; strangely vivid after such a long time. The sky was a brilliant blue, and as she looked down she saw that the dress she wore was the same color, with a frilly white apron similar to the clouds - it didn’t look odd even though she was far too old for such attire. The sun was so bright that it hurt her eyes, but in a good way. The grass smelled like apples.
“You’re going to be late Alice…”
She didn’t think much about the voice on the wind. She just knew that she had to follow it, so she did. Alice ran, skipped, past daisies, sunflowers, and roses. She didn’t stop, not until she reached the base of a giant redwood tree that seemed to stretch up, up, and up forever, up into the heavens, with bright, bright sunlight filtering between the emerald leaves. Smiling, she reached out with one hand to touch the rich wood -
bloodreddoorgreenroofbarsonthewindows
- but quickly snatched her hand back and wiped it on her apron.
“Hurry up Alice…”
The hole in the base of the tree was split open like a gaping mouth, but she didn’t hesitate at all in crawling inside on her hands and knees. She crawled forward into the deep, and as she moved it just seemed to get darker and darker until even the sunlight was swallowed into the nothingness. And just when she reached the point where she could scarcely see the hand in front of her eyes, she began to fall.
Alice fell down the rabbit hole, and as she went lower, the dirt walls began to adorn themselves with mirrors and shelves full of children’s toys of all kinds. And as she fell, she became smaller, her face became more youthful. It became brighter and she caught her face in the mirrors: 33, 32, 31, skip a few years, 27, 26, 25, a few more, 21, 20, 19…
18.
She touched her face: so young! Could she really have been a mother when so young?
The skirt part of her jumper flared beneath her and her descent began to slow. The skipping ropes, shelves, and mirrors began to disappear and replaced with cold, twisting pipes that grew hot as she went lower. Steam spit out of the metal to push her left and right like she was a feather and pressure gauges screamed their warnings. Finally her feet touched the ground to a disturbingly familiar sight.
“Follow me, Alice,” the voice in the wind called, “you’re already down the rabbit hole - keep going, keep going.”
“This isn’t real,” she said. She sounded calmer than she felt.
“Are you sure?”
She couldn’t answer that.
“Look deeper, Alice. Look deeper.”
Despite herself, she found herself taking a step, a step that echoed metallically all around her, down the stairs into the red-hued light of the boiler room.
The air was sticky and hot, and she felt her hair and her cotton clothes cling to her skin, which had begun to sweat profusely. Her hands trembled on the rail. A scratching sound assaulted her ears and Alice whipped her head around to search for the source of the noise.
An albino rat scurried at her feet, stopped once to hiss at her, and then continued along. Sighing in relief, she took another step only for the walkway to collapse around her, sending her to plummet into the steam and darkness. She screamed, but the fall was short - her cries were abruptly cut off as she slammed into the concrete floor, cracking her head sharply against the surface. Dazed, she didn’t move for several seconds. When her vision finally came into focus, she touched the side of her head and felt blood slip between her fingers. Alice struggled to her feet, leaning heavily on a row of lockers.
“Warmer.”
She hesitantly took a few more shaky steps. She paused to steady herself and then moved farther into the maze until the piped walls became a plain off-white. Then, after more steps, the pictures came, one after another. First they were of little boys and girls, no more than ten years old, without any names to accompany the images. Then the faces of lonely teenagers, large Xs crossing their visages: Tina, Rod, Glen… the teens filled the walls, and continued on and. Entranced, Alice’s fingers traced the sleek paper until the names became familiar: Kristen, Joey, Kincaid…
Her throat tightened uncomfortably. Now before her was a name that she had known all her life: Rick. She couldn’t help the choked sob that escaped her throat.
“Oh, Rick…” She hadn’t thought about her brother in a long time. Too long.
“Can’t stop now, Alice,” whispered the voice. “Keep going.”
“What do you want?!” she screamed. Now she was fed up - mocking her with her brother’s face was the last straw.
“Keep going, Ali -”
“Shut up!” She viciously clapped her hands over her ears and crouched down, drawing herself into a tight ball. “Wake up,” she ordered herself. “Wake up. This is just a stupid dream. Wake up.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “Wake. Up.” Slowly, she cracked one eye open.
It was all still there, the children’s faces and the steam swirling around her. “Dammit,” she whispered.
“Onward, little Alice.”
“Fuck you,” she muttered, but now she had no choice to but to continue. The gazes around her became unfamiliar again, until the hallway suddenly ended with a plain, red door before her. She pushed the door open.
There was a loud crack as the scene rapidly changed around her in a frantic whirlwind. Gone was the corridor of lost names and the faint hiss of dying machinery: now was a hauntingly familiar tune and the rhythmic slap of a rope hitting the floor behind her.
“One, two…”
Her throat seized, but now there was nowhere to run. She entered the house. Although she thought she would inevitably be led downward, instead her instinct pointed her up. She climbed the stairwell to the second story and rounded the corner into a plain little bedroom, probably belonging to a teenage girl. Nothing of interest caught her eye until she caught sight of the pictures of the back wall. Walking forward, she felt her blood run cold and she snatched one of the photos from the wall.
The other four she didn’t recognize, but this one she would know anywhere.
Jacob.
“You bastard!” she howled. “Leave him alone! You leave my baby alone!”
The picture of her teenage son smiled at her and then rapidly shed itself to bits in her hands.
Suddenly she felt another presence in the room. “Don’t turn around,” the voice warned. She didn’t. She couldn’t move. “There’s nothing you can do for them, Alice.”
“My baby, my baby…” She let the pieces flutter to the floor.
“It’s your son’s turn, Alice. Bring him back home. Back to Springwood. Back to Elm Street!”
“No!” she screamed. “No, no, no!”
“Bring him home, Alice…”
“NO!”
Alice spun around.
*~*
Jacob Johnson awoke with a start at the sound of his mother’s screams one room over. The walls of the apartment were thin, and he’d been snapped from dreaming more than once by his mother’s cries. In fact, this was the fourth time this week. She screamed again, and he scrambled out of bed and ran out of his room, made a sharp left turn, and entered his mother’s without a second’s hesitance.
Alice was suspiciously still after making such horrible sounds. Jacob frowned and hastily approached her bedside. He lightly shook her, but she didn’t react. “Mom, wake up. You had another nightmare.”
She didn’t respond. Usually, she’d jerk awake the moment he touched her arm. Then she would smile, apologize, and hug him, kissing him on the forehead after he protested. Sometimes she would get up and make some hot chocolate if it was the wintertime (or tea if it was the summer) for the both of them and he would ask about the dream and she wouldn’t answer and then she would turnaround and ask him about school. They would talk for almost an hour until he was almost asleep at the kitchen table and then she’d tuck him into bed and whisper a nonsense rhyme about the Dream Master in his ear as he nodded into darkness.
She still wasn’t moving.
“Mom?” He shook her again, roughly this time. “Mom, wake up. Mom, c’mon. Wake up.” He felt his stomach clench. “Mom? Mom! Mom!” His grip tightened to the point of bruising, but still Alice didn’t stir. “Mom! Mommy, wake up! Mommy! Mommy!”
Jacob didn’t stop until an hour later when the neighbors finally called the police. And even as they broke the door in and pulled the young teen off of his dead mother’s body, he didn’t stop his futile calling until they led him out of his apartment and into the patrol car. Then he didn’t say anything at all.
*~*
One year later…
Exhaustion tugged at Jacob’s eyelids as he climbed into the bus that morning, and as soon as the back of his head hit the seat his eyes dropped closed. Not even the jumps and jolts of the bus could keep him from opening his eyes as it bounced down Elm Street, even as his skull knocked painfully against the window. He didn’t notice how unusually quiet it was or how many of the other rider’s had similar expressions on their faces. All he could do was wish for twenty minutes of rest on the ride from home to school, even if it was all in vain. At least he didn’t have to worry about homework - unable to sleep the previous night after his latest nightmare, he did all of his work for the next three days, even reading ahead in his history book. Ideally, he’d be able to sleep in class as well.
The bus halted at the next stop and another handful of sleepy students shuffled aboard. He felt a body drop in the seat next to him and he cracked an eye open. Rennie Smith, a soccer-playing sophomore, grinned weakly at him before also closing her eyes. Naturally pale despite her Hispanic roots, Rennie seemed to sport a permanent sunburn because of her numerous outdoor practices and games, giving her a pink glow. However, today her skin contrasted sharply with her dark brown eyes and short dark hair, making her to appear almost sickly.
Jacob considered asking her if everything was alright, but instead shifted slightly to accommodate Rennie better in the seat, placing his backpack onto his lap. The two hadn’t been friends for long, only a few months, and Jacob still wasn’t entirely sure of his place. Even before moving to Springwood he didn’t have many friends, so even the basic fundamentals of friendships were somewhat of a mystery to him.
The rest of the ride to school was uneventful, and Jacob couldn’t help but feel resentment when the vehicle pulled in front of Springwood High. Rennie had to shake him awake when they stopped, just as he was about to fall into a deep sleep. The girl laughed as he groaned and stretched, and she took his hand to lead him, blinking tiredly, off the bus.
The front of the school was bustling with activity, the typical cliques and groups clustered together around the lawn. A few were sprawled on the grass, heads resting on backpacks or jackets attempting to catch a few more Zs before the nine o’clock bell. That is how Rennie and Jacob found Jessica McDonald, her long blond hair spilling over onto the grass, headphones over her ears. Rennie bent down to flick a beetle off of her tresses and Jessica jerked awake, nearly slamming her face into Rennie’s nose.
“Jesus!” Rennie exclaimed as she fell backwards onto her behind. Jessica’s hazel eyes dilated to pinpoints before returning to their normal size. Smiling a bit sheepishly, Jessica removed her headphones and edged closer to the fallen Rennie, giving her a light nudge with her elbow.
“Sorry, sorry. You shouldn’t do that to people, you surprised me.”
“No kidding,” Rennie muttered, nudging her back. “Uptight, much?”
“Coming from you, that’s a compliment. You look like shit.” Jessica thoughtfully put a finger to her chin, tapping it in thought. “More so than usual.”
“Haha. And also, ha.” Rennie craned her neck to look up at Jacob, wearing a pout. “Are you gonna let her talk to me like that, Jacob?”
Jacob blinked confusedly at being addressed. He hadn’t been following the conversation in the slightest. “Uh…” Before he could answer, Jessica gave a sharp laugh.
“Don’t bring Mr. Daydream in this. He probably doesn’t even know what we’re talking about.” Jessica hopped to her feet, pulling Rennie up with her.
“True, true. He’s a complete -”
“- and utter -”
“- Space-Case,” they finished together. The two girls laughed, but Jacob knew better by now that he didn’t need to be offended. Jessica and Rennie loved teasing, but it was all in good fun. The two had a habit of teaming up for a good round of joking, and everybody was eligible for their game. They had been best friends for years, their families even moved to Springwood together, and often finished each other’s sentences and jokes. Jacob was used to it by now.
“Hey, ladies. And Jessica.” The three all turned to see a tall red-headed boy with his arm around a dusky colored girl approaching them. The girl, Justina Richards, gave a small wave. Justina, more commonly known as Tina, was a sophomore like Jessica, Rennie, and Jacob. Bobby Davis, Tina’s boyfriend, however, was not. Bobby was senior, and one of Tina’s favorite pastimes was to brag about that fact. Jacob really didn’t care how much older Bobby was, but Jessica was convinced that it wouldn’t last because of the age gap. Rennie, naturally, agreed.
“Bite me, cradle-robber,” Jessica grumbled.
“What she said,” Jacob added. Bobby gave him a good-natured thump on the head. Out of their little group, Jacob always felt most comfortable around Bobby, though he wasn’t sure if it was because Bobby was a guy or something else. Bobby always seemed like an older brother to him, but Jacob would die before he admitted that aloud - besides, Bobby already had a little brother, a spunky kid named Mark, who, while only a year younger than Jacob and the girls, had his own set of friends he preferred to hang out with.
“Did anyone do Mr. Kane’s worksheet last night?” Tina interjected worriedly, still hanging off Bobby’s arm. “I was going to, and then I, uh, didn’t. So? Anybody?”
Rennie rolled her eyes. “How many times do we have to tell you that Jessica and I have Ms. Conners? And Jacob never does his homework.”
It was true: Jacob hardly ever did his homework at home, mostly because it bored him to tears. Instead he’d frantically race to get it done during the lunch hour or during his electives, as most of his core classes were after those times. “I’ll give it to you at lunch,” Jacob said to Tina. The group stared at him for a long moment.
“You aren’t going geek on us are you, Jay?” Bobby asked, tilting his head to the side.
“You actually did it? Seriously?” Jessica narrowed her eyes. “Who are you and what have you done with Jacob Johnson?”
Jacob wrinkled his nose and slightly twisted his mouth. “I couldn’t sleep last night. I had nothing better to do.”
He saw it in Bobby’s eyes first - the way the older boy seized up without moving a muscle, the solemn look that crossed his face. It was unnerving to Jacob - Bobby usually radiated such unwavering confidence. But Bobby said nothing: it was Rennie who jumped in, unsurprisingly.
“You know, I haven’t been able to sleep well either.” Rennie twisted her fingers in her short hair. “Weird dreams.”
“Me too,” Jessica added. “Freaky ass dreams. Nightmares.” Jessica and Rennie exchanged meaningful looks, as though they knew what the other was thinking.
“Well, I’ve been sleeping fine.” Tina said perkily, batting her eyelashes up at Bobby. Bobby didn’t seem to notice the gesture at all however, his focus entirely on Jacob.
“You too?” Bobby asked. Again the group was staring at him, though this time with less humor involved. “Nightmares?”
Jacob was saved from answering when the bell rang shrilly across the schoolyard. Jessica and Tina immediately took off, Tina only pausing to give Bobby a kiss on the cheek, as their first class was on the opposite side of campus. Rennie took Jacob’s arm and started leading him towards the front doors. He allowed her to direct him, but he still felt Bobby’s eyes on the back of his neck as he moved, and could only wonder what made the boy give him such an intense stare.
Nightmare II-->