Eight Years Earlier
“Thank you for meeting me on such short notice,” Creighton Duke said as he sat in the small cafe. “It took quite a bit of effort to track you down.” “You said this has something to do with Tommy. Is he okay?” “Your brother is a very sick man,” Duke told the person sitting across from him. “I understand he spent a considerable amount of time in a mental institution.” “When he was 12, a murderer killed a bunch of kids next door, and our mother,” Trish Petrie (Formerly Jarvis) said as she sipped her coffee. Trish had gone on to marry and have a career, owning the very cafe they sat in. She now had her own daughter that Tommy Jarvis had never met. “Tommy… killed the guy. He was never the same. But they assured me that he was better when they let him out.” “He proceeded to murder more innocent people the very same week he got out,” Duke told her. “Including someone very special to me. Have you had any contact with your brother recently?” “No,” Trish told him. “I haven’t spoken to Tommy in a very long time. He just wasn’t the same kid I knew anymore. He hasn’t even talked to our father. I invited him to my wedding, but—“ “Mrs. Petrie, it’s imperative that I find your brother before he murders again,” Duke told her. “Do you have any idea where he could be now?” “No,” Trish told him. “Is he going to be okay?” “Let’s just say that when he’s found, he’s never going to hurt anyone ever again,” Duke said with a smile. “Good day, Mrs. Petrie.” As Duke stood up to leave, Trish looked out of the window. “Tommy, what have you gotten yourself into?” * Jacob Johnson found himself standing in front of his grandparent’s home in Springwood, Ohio. Creighton Duke held a gun in his back to make sure he didn’t run away as the door opened and Jacob’s grandparents came running down the steps toward him. “Jacob, my sweet grandbaby!” his grandmother shouted as she hugged him tightly. “You are… in so much trouble!” Freddy’s voice shouted as she backhanded him a metal glove. Jacob fell into the grass as his grandfather picked him up and carried toward a woodchopper, now in form of Freddy Krueger. “We missed you very mulch!” Freddy shouted as he tossed Jacob in. As he hit the blades, Jacob screamed as he was dragged down, blood and bones spitting out the back. Jacob woke up screaming while laying in a hallway of a high-rise apartment in Chicago, where he spotted the apartment of Karen & Andy Barclay. Jacob and Andy had been tranquilized trying to sneak into an old factory where bounty hunter Creighton Duke had lured the Nightmare Warriors into a trap. “Don’t have much time,” Jacob said as he found the door to the apartment was locked. He started pounding on the door as he tried to get in. “Go away!” Andy shouted as he looked around, finding his mother wasn’t home. “Andy, we don’t have time for this! If this guy takes out the others, we’re fucked! You go back to foster care and I have to go back to Springwood! And I…,” Jacob’s voice started shaking. “And I don’t wanna die, Andy. Freddy Krueger’s going to kill me the second he gets me. I’m scared, Andy. I’m scared and I know I have no chance of surviving this. So please… help me.” After a minute, the door opened, letting Jacob in. He slowly walked in, noticing how quiet things were. He finally found Andy sitting on his mother’s bed, crying. “She’s never coming back,” Andy whispered. “No one ever comes back for me. My parents, Kyle, Danny… no one. I’m always going to be alone.” “No, you’re not,” Jacob promised. “Even if Duke takes me, Tommy and the others will come for you. You have a family here.” “I wish I could believe that,” Andy told him. “But if the Cult doesn’t get me, Chucky will.” “Then we’ll kill Chucky,” Jacob told him. “We’ll figure out where he is and finish him, then we’ll bury whatever’s left so he can never ever come back.” “You’d do that for me?” Andy asked. “You said it yourself, we’re brothers,” Jacob said as he gently hugged him. “No one’s taking any of us anywhere. Now get your ass up because we’re getting back into the fight to save the others.” “We’re both asleep and drugged to Charlie Sheen levels,” Andy told him. “What do we do?” “I need to find John,” Jacob told him. “I’m going to try to wake you up, you get the others and make sure they’re alright.” “I’m pumped full of tranquilizer,” Andy told him. “How are going to—“ Jacob grabbed Andy’s arm and dragged him to the kitchen where he slammed Andy’s palm down onto a hot stove that he dreamt up out of nowhere. Andy screamed in pain as he bolted awake on the floor. “You mother fucker!” Andy shouted as he looked for a bandage for his hand. * “Alright, let’s take stock of our situation,” Cody Ingalls said as he hung upside down next to Max Madison. “We’re hanging upside down, you lost your magic cap, I can’t keep my shirt from falling down over my face, and any minute now, the police are going to break down that door and take us to prison where the population will have their way with our pretty young bodies.” “You really think I’m pretty?” Max asked. “Focus!” Cody ordered. “Okay, we can’t magic our way out of this, no big deal. Luckily I have a back-up plan.” Cody pulled his way up to his pant leg, pulling out a knife. “Always be prepared, that’s the boy scout motto.” “You were a boy scout?” Max asked. “No, but I got my ass kicked by one when I was 12,” Cody told him. “Stole his knife when he wasn’t looking.” Cody cut the rope around his ankle as he fell to the floor, landing on his back. “You okay?” Max asked. “Anyone got any Neosporin?” Cody asked. * Tommy made his way through the loading shock, shining his flashlight as he looked around. “This place could use some housekeeping,” Tommy said as he looked at all the dust. “Can’t wait to find John and get out of here.” Duke remained hidden as he held a sawed-off shotgun, waiting for just the right moment to strike. “Come on out, you son of a bitch,” Duke said. Tommy got closer to the door when a cat jumped down from out of nowhere. Tommy quickly turned with his gun ready to fire but stopped when he realized it was only a cat. “Sorry, guy,” Tommy told him. “You startled me. You haven’t seen my buddy, have you? Tall, dark hair, baby face?” The cat scampered away as Tommy breathed a sigh of relief, not realizing Duke was behind him. * Andy rushed past a janitor’s closet where he found the unconscious John chained to a pipe. “Alright, Johnny, time to wake up,” Andy said, his right hand wrapped in Jacob’s shirt. He figured Jacob burned his hand, he could provide the bandage. Andy started shaking him before he saw the empty tranquilizer darts. “Of course, he’s a full grown-adult, I guess. He’s going to be out for a long time, and he’s too heavy to carry. Looks like I’m dragging your ass to the van. Now I just have to find something to pick the lock. I hope Jacob’s able to wake you up from the other side.” * Max picked up his cap as Cody leaned against the wall, trying to pop his back into place. “Do you need help?” Max asked. “You hit the floor pretty hard.” “Just gotta pop it back, I should be okay,” Cody said. “Ow!” “Oh, for God’s sake,” Max said as he grabbed Cody from behind and, with one swift move, a crunch was heard as Cody screamed before falling forward. “I was a swimmer, I learned how to deal with cramps and sore muscles and popped bones. Hitting the water from a tall diving board isn’t easy.” “How’d it happen?” Cody asked as he tried to pick himself up from the floor. “Your accident?” “I don’t remember that much,” Max told him. “It was the day of the big swim meet. I was going to bring home the trophy for the school, impress my foster parents, and hopefully get to go to the Olympics if the rep in the audience liked my performance. I don’t recall what happened, I just know that as I was getting ready to head to the pool I started feeling dizzy. I tried to shake it off and tried to power through, but I ended up slipping and hit my head on the board on the way down. I nearly drowned. After that, I just gave up swimming altogether. Been afraid to go back into the water ever since.” Cody put a hand on his back. “I’m sorry for pushing you to get into the pool this morning, Max. I had no idea how bad it was.” “We need to find the others before Creighton does,” Max told him. “Who knows if Tommy, John, and Andy are still alive.” Cody picked up his crossbow. “Let’s go save our buddies.” * “John?” Jacob asked as he walked around the woods, finally finding his friend sitting on the porch of his cabin, drinking a beer. “This place must have been peaceful,” Jacob told him. “You’re not with Molly? Or your mother?” “Molly’s dead,” John whispered. “And my mom didn’t want to stick around.” “They went to find the Cult to keep them off our backs,” Jacob said as he sat down. “I’m sorry about Molly. We’ve all lost people we care about.” “Doesn’t take the sting away,” John told him. “I loved Molly. She was the first girl that made me feel… special. I mean, I’m not talking like ‘experimenting with your best friend to see what it feels like’ kind of thing. Molly made my life feel better.” Jacob put a hand on John’s shoulder. “I know what you mean. His name’s Dalton and… I really care about him.” John smiled a little. “How bad is it out there?” “Max, Cody, and Tommy are out there and Andy’s trying to find them,” Jacob said. “I don’t think we have much time.” “He drugged me,” John said. “I can’t wake myself up.” “Did you try the stove?” John held up his burned palm. “I’ll try something,” Jacob said as he stood up. “When you wake up, find the others.” “What about you?” “I have a plan,” Jacob told him. “But I’m going to need you to do something really important when you get up..” Jacob put his hands on John’s head and concentrated. Moments later, John disappeared in a bright light and floated away as Jacob fell back into the chair, part of his energy drained. * “Jesus, John, how much do you weigh?” Andy asked as he dragged the unconscious John down the hall. “And Tommy doesn’t me to drink anymore?” Cody and Max ran into the hall to see Andy dragging John toward the stairwell. “About damn time,” Andy told them. “Help me drag this fat fuck outside.” “Where’s Jacob?” Cody asked. “Upstairs in the room we came in. We got jumped the second we got in,” “I’ll get him,” Cody said as he headed upstairs. “Max, help get John downstairs. We gotta find Tommy.” “I’ll get his legs,” Max said. “Careful, or you’ll hit his head every step down.” “Maybe the bouncing will shake some of this weight off,” Andy told him as John gasped while opening his eyes. “If you guys are gonna rape me, at least let me be conscious so I can fight back.” “Alright, this guy took out five of us, but there’s no way he can take us all at once,” Cody said as he saw Max back with Jacob over his shoulder and without his shirt. “Max, where’s your shirt?” “Everyone else was taking their’s off, I just wanted to be popular.” * “It’s so much easier going through people’s memories when they’re awake,” Jacob said as he found Camp Crystal Lake in Creighton Duke’s memories. “I just have to find something to slow him down and… bingo!” * Tommy hit the wall as blood dripped down his shirt. He’s managed to hold his own against Duke so far, but he was quickly tiring from the fight. Plus Duke was more muscular and better trained at fighting. Tommy knew he wouldn’t last much longer. “Is this all really about Jacob?” Tommy asked. “I’m not a kidnapper. If you’d let me explain—“ Duke grabbed Tommy and threw him into a stack of crates before cracking his knuckles. “This isn’t about either of those boys,” Duke told him. “I will take them home, but this is about something bigger. You murdered someone very close to me.” “What? I’ve never killed a man in my life!” Tommy told him. “I only monsters.” “What a coincidence, I’m about to kill one now,” Duke told him. “And I’m gonna do it real slow so I can make you scream like you made all those kids scream.” “What are you talking about?” Tommy asked. The rest of the ream rushed through the door, Cody and Andy having removed their shirts as well. “Tommy!” Cody shouted. “Don’t worry, he can’t take all of us at once!” Duke just smiled as he tilted his head to crack his neck. Thirty seconds later, the entire group lay on the floor as Duke stepped over Max. “Wow, do we suck at hand-to-hand fighting,” Cody said as he tried to get up. Jacob bolted up from he lay, screaming as he held his burnt hand. “Tommy’s innocent!” Jacob shouted. “Jason Voorhees killed your cousin! He’s the one who killed everyone at Crystal Lake!” “He killed my brother and friends there recently!” Max added. “He killed my boyfriend.” “Bull,” Duke said with a hand around Tommy’s throat. “I don’t believe in fairy tales!” “Neither did I until a killer doll murdered my babysitter!” Andy shouted as he jumped onto Duke’s back. “A Leprechaun killed my guardian!” Cody shouted as he head-rammed Duke back. “A dream slasher killed my parents!” Jacob shouted as he punched Duke. “A masked psychopath killed my girlfriend!” John added as he shoulder rammed Duke into the wall. “Monsters do exist,” Tommy told him as he wiped the blood from his nose. “We’re here to stop them from killing more people.” “You’re all insane,” Duke told them. “You’ll all spend the rest of your lives in a mental ward.” “Maybe,” Tommy said he nodded to Max. “But if you ever touch any of my brothers again, you’re going to be sorry. In the meantime, do your fucking research about Jason Voorhees.” Tommy rammed Duke, causing him to fall through the portal that had opened up behind him. Duke fell into a snowbank in Alaska as the portal closed before he could reach over. “This isn’t over,” Duke said. “This is far from over.” * Tommy looked around at his team. “You guys really held it together and fought as a team,” Tommy told them. “I think we really can make this work with more training.” “A burly black man beat us in less than thirty seconds,” Cody said as he felt his sore shoulder. “We’re lucky none of us died.” “Which is why we need to start getting into better shape,” Tommy told them. “If guys like Duke are starting to come after us, we need to step our game.” “We’ll start by ramping up security at home,” John told him. “He knows where we live now. We need to prepared for him when he comes back.” “A few more teammates wouldn’t hurt, either,” Cody said. “Some heavy hitters than can take a punch.” “Then let’s go home and get to work,” Tommy told him. As they walked toward the door, John put a hand on Andy’s shoulder. “What’s this?” Andy asked. “Jacob said I needed to do something really important,” John said. “You’ll never be alone, Andy. I swear to you. You had an older foster sister a few years ago. Maybe you need a foster brother to keep an eye on you. One that’s never going to leave.” “I don’t know,” Andy told him nervously. “You gotta trust someone sometime,” John told him. “Just name something you want.” “Well, there’s that baseball game in town tonight.” “Put on a shirt when we get home and you’re on,” John promised as they exited the warehouse. * Fairfield, Connecticut Diane Freeling stood in the kitchen as her daughter Carol Ann sat at the table, making a card. “Do you think Robby’s going to like my card?” Carol Ann asked. “He’s going to love it,” Diane assured her. “After moving around for so many years, I finally feel like you and your brother are starting to get back to normal lives.” “Is Dana coming home from college?” “She’ll be here in time for your brother’s party,” Diane assured her. “And she says she has news for all of us. Do me a favor, baby, go and see if your father brought the extra chairs in before he went to work.” Carol Ann went into the living room and after a few minutes let out a scream. Diane dropped her knife and went into the living room. “What’s wrong?” Diane said as she saw the living room had been turned upside down. All of the furniture was now on the ceiling. “They’re ba-ack,” TO BE CONTINUED…
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Ed's Note - Be sure to catch up on Mighty Max, and then NW: The Gathering, before you carve into Nightmare Warriors!
by Tobias ChristopherJust a body. Meat, bones, some skin... Archives
July 2020
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