7 Years Earlier
4-year-old Andy Barclay sat on the carpet of the rent-controlled apartment building he lived in with his parents. The apartment had originally belonged to his mother Karen's parents, who hadn't been too thrilled that their daughter had married a man who could barely support their daughter. But what they didn't know was that Andrew Barclay Sr had just landed a job at a prestigious law-firm, who were representing victims in a legal suit against The Silver Shamrock Novelties Corporation. Dozens of children had died on Halloween night four years previous and the case was about to go to trial. Barclay won the case, ensuring a huge payday for everyone. But it was the birth of Karen and Andrew's baby boy a month after the murders that caused Karen's parents to come around, not being able to resist the baby's charms. Karen's parents had soon decided to retire and travel, letting Karen, Andrew and their newborn baby move into the apartment, which had more than enough space for a growing boy. Unfortunately when Andy was 2, his grandparents died when their RV crashed on a highway while traveling through California. As Andy played with his remote controlled truck, the phone started to ring as Karen grabbed the cordless phone from the kitchen wall charger, listening as the police told her the horrible news about her husband. Karen looked out into the living room, wondering how to tell her little boy that his father wasn't coming home. Or the circumstances behind her husband's demise... * "This facility is not equipped to deal with threats like Freddy Krueger," Dr. Neil Gordon said as he sat in his office during a 'session' with Alice Johnson. "In fact, it's taking all of my pull just to keep Hypnocil in stock here. I'm the only person in this place that believes in Freddy Krueger, and because of that it's opened my eyes to the plights of your friends and their problems with this Michael Meyers and Chucky. But being the only one here that believes in monsters, there's little I can do beyond providing Hypnocil and not letting them put you all in padded cells." "I appreciate everything you're doing," Alice told him. "But my son is out there, scared and trying to figure out a way to face Freddy. Karen's son is being stalked for his very soul; and Laurie's boy is in very real danger, especially after that news article about his girlfriend being murdered. At some point, one or both of them are going to make their way to try to kill these women. We need a plan to keep your patients and staff safe when they do." "Fortunately I've been working on something for just this sort of thing," Dr. Gordon told her. "It's not much, it might not even ensure everyone's survival. But it's a last ditch effort, probably one that'll get us all killed, or at the very least get me fired." "Whatever we can do," Alice said. "I just wish I could get in contact with Jacob. I'd give anything to know that my little boy is safe." * "So you can swordfight, huh?" Jacob asked Andy late one night as the quartet of Nightmare Warriors had raided a military surplus store after hours. "I'm not the best, but I can hold my own," Andy told him. "The cult made me learn to fight with whatever I can get my hands on. Swords were what I was best with so that's where most of my training went. I had to protect Danny at any cost." "So, is Danny like your boyfriend?" Jacob asked. "I mean, if he is, cool. Not judging or anything." "No, it's nothing like that," Andy told him as he picked up a large hunting knife. "He's just...my best friend. I'd do anything for him, take on anything so he gets to see another day. The Cult forced us to bond through torture and suffering and humiliation, and making us hurt each other. I guess it was supposed to break me and make me loyal to them alone, but they made a mistake. By making me care about him, they gave me something to hold onto. A friend that was always there through all the darkness. Even through all the horror, a part of me knew that if I hung on, I'd still have Danny when it was all said and done. I have to get him out of there." "We will," Jacob promised. "I'm getting better with my dream powers, that'll be a big help when it comes time to raid their hideout." John grabbed a belt of grenades. "Just grab what you can strap to your bodies, kids. Once we leave the van when we get to the asylum, there's no going back until this is over." "This place is going to have high security," Jacob told him. "How are we supposed to smuggle all these weapons past the gate?" "Who said we're stopping at the gate?" Tommy asked as he searched for a large gun. "Hopefully the guards are smart enough to see a nearly seven foot guy in a Shatner mask and a two doll with a knife and run away screaming. Then we'll ram our way in and come out shooting." "Did the asylum ever get our call?" John asked. "I talked to a Dr. Gordon, but it sounded like he was dismissing everything I said," Tommy told him. "I don't think the staff there is going to be any help." "Then it's just us," Andy said as he grabbed a military sword. "The monsters are coming and those people are defenseless." "My mom will know Michael's coming," John said. "She'll at least have some kind of plan." "Freddy had someone working for him, seeking out these guys beyond Springwood, so there might be more human agents against us," Jacob told him. "But there's no telling how much power Freddy's gotten in the last two years, and we can't get our hands on any Hypnocil to protect us from him." "Staying awake might be all we need for that," Tommy said. "Just remember, saving your moms is our #1 priority. Just be prepared for any other surprises. Psycho killers and murderous dolls might not be our only problems, so be careful." * Having fallen asleep, Spencer walked into Freddy's boiler room in the Dream World, where a bloodied and tortured Dan sat on the floor, chained to the boiler itself as he weakly looked up at Spencer. "Help me." Dan said in a weak voice as Freddy backhanded him with his metal glove. "Bad doggy!" Freddy said as he quickly looked at Spencer. "You didn't disappoint me, did you?" "Michael and Chucky are coming," Spencer said nervously. "And-- and that Jacob kid saw me." "The prodigal son returns," Freddy said as he chuckled to himself. "I can kill the little bastard and move on to the next part of my plan. I just need him to set foot into Springwood so I can get him. It'll take a lot of souls to gain that much power again, better get started." "You said I could go after this," Spencer said nervously. "You said you'd let me go." Freddy suddenly appeared behind Spencer, moving his claw under the boy's long blonde hair. "What's the rush?" Freddy asked. "Don't you want to--," a joint suddenly appeared in the tip of Freddy's gloved finger. "Have a little puff before you go?" "I'm cutting back," Spencer said as Freddy laughed, cutting off Spencer's ponytail. "Hey!" "I'm cutting back, too," Freddy said as the joint's end lit up instantly. He put the joint to his mouth as the joint's end lit up brightly. Spencer started laughing, then realized his feet were catching on fire. "Come on, Spencer, light up with me." Spencer started screaming as more of him caught on fire the more the joint started burning, with Freddy inhaling as an accelerated rate. As the joint got smaller, the more the fire spread upward as Spencer struggled, trying to put the fire out. Soon the teenager had been entirely consumed by the fire as a charred corpse fell to the ground. "Sorry, Spencer, but your ass is grass!" Freddy said with an echoing laughter as Dan tried to cover his ears. "Don't worry, Danny boy, you'll live long enough to watch Jacob die painfully in front of his mother." * "Alright, this is it," Tommy said as the van pulled up just outside of Springwood. "Once we drive over the county line, Freddy will be able to screw with us if we fall asleep. Is everyone ready?" John and Andy just stared and nodded while Jacob sat in the corner, nervously shaking. "This is what we've planned for," Tommy said as he turned around. "This is what your mother wanted." "This is what she wanted," Jacob told him. "But what about what I want? I didn't ask for these powers, or for some Dream God to come after me." "None of us asked for this," John said as he put a hand on Jacob's shoulder. "I didn't ask for Michael to show up and slaughter my friends." "I didn't ask for Chucky to throw my babysitter out of the window or kill my foster parents," Andy added. "Or to try to take my soul." "We're all in this shit together," Tommy told him. "We have your back, Jacob. You're not fighting Freddy alone. We're going to kick his ass as a team, but first we have to save your parents. But if you want to stay behind, we'll do this with just the three of us." "Knew you'd understand!" Jacob shouted as he ran out of the van. "Did not see that coming." Tommy said. "So what do we do?" Andy asked. "We fight," John told him. "And just hope we don't fall asleep before we get our moms the hell out of Dodge." "What about Jacob?" Andy asked. "We just have to hope he comes back," Tommy said as he focused on the road ahead. "The night he left Springwood, Freddy would have killed him easily. He's scared even though he's more powerful. He'll come around, but right now we have to go forward." * "I'm sorry, Mom," Jacob said as he ran through the forest, stumbling in the darkness as he ended up rolling down a hill. Upon landing at the bottom, the teenager sat up and noticed a diner across the street as his blurred vision came into view. "I can hang out there for a while." Walking across the empty road to the lone diner in the middle of nowhere, Jacob entered and limped to the counter before sitting down. The diner was dimly lit, and empty except for the waitress pouring coffee into empty glasses at each table. The jukebox was playing the instrumental version of The Human League's 'Human' as a waitress came over with a cup of coffee. "I didn't order--" Jacob said as the waitress walked away. "Okay." Jacob took a sip of the coffee as he tried to breathe. "Now you've done it, Jacob. You're alone in the middle of nowhere. No car, no money, and everyone I know is probably heading into a death trap. Some Dream Master I turned out to be." "Shouldn't you be with your friends?" Nancy Thompson asked as she suddenly appeared next to him. "They don't need me, I'll just get them killed," Jacob told her. "Once Freddy knows I'm in Springwood, he'll come for us. I'm not ready to fight him. I know I've trained, but I just know I'm no match for him. Plus he has my Dad." "Then it's a good thing you have friends to back you up," Nancy said as she looked at him. "ALL of your friends. Remember, you have all of our dream powers at your disposal." "You didn't tell me that one of Joey's dream powers is chronic masturbation." "That's not a dream power, he's just really hormonal." "Then Is one of those powers the ability to talk to my mom?" Jacob asked. "Unfortunately no, she's blocked because of the Hypnocil," Nancy told him. "But you know where to find her in real life." "The others probably already took off," Jacob said as he stared down into his coffee cup. "How am I supposed to reach them?" Nancy just smiled as Jacob felt something tugging at his arm. He woke up at the bottom of the hill across the street where a wolf was chewing on his sleeve. "Cut it out, asshole!" Jacob said as he punched the wolf, sending the wolf rushing off with a yelp. "I'm not dead yet. Now I just need a ride." Jacob looked around and saw an old 10-speed bike laying in a ditch. "I would have also accepted a motorcycle or a porch, but whatever." * Westin Hills Asylum The guard stood in the box at the gate, waiting for anyone to arrive to try to get in. The lowered arm only raised if he pushed the button, otherwise no vehicle would be allowed to pass. The guard just sighed, having been bored out of his mind for the last few hours. At least until he heard something laughing. Looking outside of his box, he found a Good Guy doll sitting up against it. "What the fuck?" the guard asked as the doll looked up at him. "Hi, I'm Chucky. Wanna play?" The guard looked around, not seeing anyone as he picked the doll up. "Where the hell did you come from?" "Hi, I'm Chucky. And I'm here to kill you." "Are you supposed to say that?" the guard asked as a knife went through the back of his throat, emerging from the other side. The guard dropped the doll as he grabbed his throat to try to stop the bleeding, but soon fell dead on the ground. "You know, Mikey, I was a little unsure of you before," Chucky said as he stood up. "But I like your style. Let's go fuck these guys up good." * Having parked the van, Tommy looked through a pair of binoculars at the gate, seeing the dead guard being hidden in the bushes. "They're here," Tommy said as he looked at John and Jacob. "Grab whatever you can, we're going in. I'll scout ahead a bit further. Wait three minutes, then follow." "You sure you're ready for this, kid?" John asked as he sat in the back with Andy. "Do I have a choice?" Andy replied. A loud thump was heard as John looked at Andy. "Shoot at anything that moves. Tommy? You okay?" A smoke grenade flew into the back of the van as John tried opening the door, but couldn't slide the door as it had been blocked with a 2x4 board. As Andy and John fell unconscious, Tiffany stood over Tommy's unconscious body, filing her nail. "Whoever's in charge here doesn't want you dead yet," Tiffany said as she looked down at Tommy. "Personally I'd just rather slit your throat and be done with it, but whatever, I'm only doing this for Chucky." Tiffany opened the door and saw John and Andy were asleep. "There's only two of them. Where's the fourth?" "Oh, boy," a blonde teenager said. He had scars all over his face as he held up a modfied crossbow that shoots metal bolts. "That means a hunt." * Jacob peddled the bike as hard as he could on the old dirt road as he got to the county line which led into Springwood. "You can do this," Jacob said as he stared ahead. "My friends need me. My... mom needs me. I can't let her down." Taking a deep breath, the teenager set a foot over the county line. As he crossed over, he felt a laughing in his head. The skies immediately darkened as thunder was heard in the distance. "Welcome home, Jacob. Feel free to hang around!" Two tree branches reached down and picked Jacob up as Freddy's laughter was heard all around, echoing through the forest. "NO!" Jacob shouted as he broke free of the tree's grip and falling to the ground where he started running. "I'm not asleep, how's he doing this?" Looking down the road, the trees and road started becoming warped, turning into a giant maze. "I have to get to my friends," Jacob said as Freddy backhanded him. Jacob hit the ground and saw Freddy standing there, cackling. "How?" "I've been very busy," Freddy told him. "Two years is a lot of time to build power. I've been doing a lot of... soul searching." Freddy ripped open his sweater, revealing his chest of souls. "You and me are connected," Freddy said as he walked forward as Jacob tried to crawl back. "We're in each other's heads. I can affect you whether you're awake or asleep now that Mommy's passed on her powers. And when I kill you, I'll be unstoppable. But first I want your parents to be here to see this." Freddy pointed to two chairs under a spotlight with Alice and Dan's names on them. "Run to Mommy," Freddy laughed as he pointed ahead. "It's nearly showtime. Don't want her to miss your big death scene." Jacob scrambled to his feet and started running as fast as he could. "The gang's all here," Freddy said to himself. "Let the show begin." * Tommy woke up inside the closed gates of the asylum, immediately realizing something was wrong. He'd been stripped of his clothes and weapons, leaving him in his boxers as he stood up. "What the hell is this?" Tommy asked. "A little game," a voice told him. "You and your friends are outside of the asylum. You have nothing but your bare hands to fight. Chucky and Michael have free reign of the place and can go where ever they desire. You and your two little pals, however, don't. And their precious mothers are somewhere, probably hiding because of your warning." "Our message did get through," Tommy thought to himself. "Not that it'll do any good." "The Asylum's seemingly empty, but don't worry, we'll find every living soul here and tear them apart." * In an underground bunker not too far away, Dr. Gordon had taken the staff and patients underground under the assumption that a terrorist attack was imminent in the area. Only three patients were conveniently missing... * "If the three of you are brave enough to face what's ahead... well, you're still going to die, but at least we'll get a show out of it." "Who the hell are you?" Tommy asked as he looked around. "Me? Someone who's looking for revenge, but since he's not here, I get you while my playmates get your friends. The hunt begins now." A bolt fired from a crossbow embedded itself in the wall behind Tommy as he started running. * On the other end of the asylum, John found himself in the same position, nearly naked and weaponless as he sat up, finding a note. "Michael's coming. You might want to run." Through the darkened window, John saw The Shape's mask looking for the doorway outside. John got to his feet and began running to find any kind of defense. * Andy bolted awake at the sound of a familiar laughter. Andy had found himself near a fountain on the side of the asylum, finding he had nothing to defend himself as well. Shivering as he stood up, Andy saw something small scurrying through the darkness. "I told you that you couldn't run from me," Chucky's voice echoed through the darkness. "You and me? We're friends to the end." "You have to be human right now," Andy said as he quickly turned to face any direction he could. "You can't take my soul." "There are a lot of things I can do now," Chucky assured him. "I've learned a few new tricks, Andy. Did you know that I can never die? You and that bitch Kyle made sure of that. Don't worry, after I'm done with you and your mother, we're going to pay her a little visit, too. I have all eternity to get my revenge on everyone that's ever fucked with me." Andy tried to find where the voice was coming from and fell backwards. "You look cold, Andy. Let me stab you to really get your blood pumping so you can get warm." Chucky let out a roar and jumped at Andy, who just curled his fist and sucker punched him backward. "Come get me, you little shit!" Andy shouted as he got up. "You can't scare me anymore!" "Then let me try," Tiffany said as he hit Andy in the back with a 2x4. The boy flew forward and tried to pick himself up with his hands as Tifany hit him again, forcing him back to the ground. "Really, Chucky? This is the kid that's been giving you trouble for five years?" "He's craftier than he looks," Chucky told her as he pulled out his knife. "Now I'm going to enjoy carving him--" A flare flew into Chucky's chest, sending him flying across the lawn and into the wall, lighting him partially on fire as one of the grenades from the van fell out of his pocket. Another flare flew past Tiffany as she turned to see Karen Barclay standing there with a flare gun. "Get away from my son, you bitch." To Be Continued...
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Ed's Note - Be sure to read Mighty Max before you carve into The Gathering!
A Special Seriesfrom the mind of Tobias Christopher! Archives
October 2019
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