A week after Cody and Max moved in, the new rooming arrangements had been made between the six housemates. It had been decided that everyone would have a roommate just in case of a night attack, so no one would be left alone. John had taken Andy in as a roommate since John had started becoming more protective of the boy lately, mainly due to their recent bonding experience in Los Angeles. John liked the idea of having a little brother to watch over, so the two rooming together seemed like a good idea. Plus he figured out how to keep Andy from sneaking out of the room at night to sneak alcohol.
Andy tiptoed toward the door late at night as John rolled over, sleepily saying. “There’s not a drop of booze for ten miles, and if you think about stealing the van, you’ll be in the doghouse. Literally, we built one to chain you up to if you piss me off.” Tommy had let Max move into his room, due to their shared experience with Jason Voorhees. Max still hadn’t really opened up to anyone, something that Tommy was hoping to help him get through. In the meantime, Max had started hanging out with Cody, who was ecstatic to have a gay best friend to talk to. It also helped Tommy to have someone to talk him through the constant night terrors he had about Jason. That left Jacob and Cody to bunk together. Jacob had insisted that he didn’t need a roommate, but Cody had no other room to sleep in because the other spare rooms still needed to be fixed up and fumigated. The bedroom that John had wanted suffered from a small spider problem. One that would put the film ‘Arachnophobia’ to shame. The other rooms were filled with mold, suffered from a hell dimension problem, and prompted people to kill while they slept. So Jacob made room for Cody in his bedroom, where a new bed was set up on the other side of the room. The first night that they roomed together, Cody exited the bathroom in a pair of green pajama pants as he climbed onto his bed, grabbing a book from his nightstand to read before bed. As he opened the book, he saw Jacob sitting on his bed, fully clothed. “It’s time for bed, dude,” Cody told him. “Aren’t you going to get ready to sleep?” “I am ready,” Jacob told him as he leaned back against the headboard. “You sleep with your clothes and shoes on?” “I never sleep underdressed,” Jacob told him. “Saves me the time of having to dream up clothes once I’m dreaming.” “You can control that?” Cody asked. “I’m the Dream Master, bud,” Jacob said. “I can control everything in my dreams. What I wear, where I go, what I do. It’s pretty sweet.” “How’d you manage to do that?” Cody asked. “It wasn’t easy, took years to master,” Jacob said as he stared at the ceiling. “And for the longest time, I had to do it alone. I tried to find someone to hang out within the Dreamworld, but… you probably don’t want to hear a story.” “Are you kidding? This sounds awesome,” Cody said as he sat up. “Okay, I guess I can tell you the story,” Jacob told him. “It started about a year ago after we first moved into this place. We all had our own rooms and none of us were really used to each other yet, especially Andy, so it got kind of lonely. John had Tommy to talk to and Andy kept to himself….” * 10 Months Earlier “I don’t like it here,” Jacob said as he walked into the bedroom. “Once we reinforce the doors and walls, it’s going to be the perfect base. No monster will ever get in,” Tommy assured him. “This is the perfect hideaway for a group of monster hunters, you’ll see. In six months we’re going to have everything we need set up. Just get some rest and we’ll talk about it some more tomorrow.” As Tommy left the room, Jacob peered the door across the hall where Andy’s door stood open. Andy sat on his bed, just staring at a picture of Danny and sobbing. “Andy, do you want to maybe—“ Jacob started to say as Andy slammed the door shut. “Okay, maybe not.” Jacob returned to his room and his closed own door before sitting down on his bed. Kicking his shoes off, Jacob laid down and stared at the ceiling as he drifted off to sleep, soon finding himself in the Dream World. He found himself lying in a field with the sun shining overhead. “Well, better than Freddy Krueger’s front yard,” Jacob said to himself as he stood up and waited patiently for a second. “Well, I’m bored.” * John sat on the beach next to his girlfriend Molly. The sun was setting as John held her hand, kissing her softly. “It’s been a difficult road, but we’re together,” John told her. “And nothing can ever separate us ag—“ A volleyball landed at John’s feet as Jacob ran up to him in a tank top and shorts. “My bad,” Jacob told him. “Who’s up for a game?” “Jacob, what the hell are you doing here?” John asked as he stood up. “This is my dream!” “Yeah, but I felt bored and thought you’d want to play.” “I’m trying to have a nice dream and… just get the hell out of here!” John told him. “Dream time is for dreaming of good things, like girls and not worrying about monsters.” “Yeah, but I just—“ John just stared him down as Jacob backed away. * Andy stood in the kitchen of his rent-controlled apartment, making breakfast for his mother on the morning of his 6th birthday. He had burnt toast with a huge slab of butter; an over-filled glass of orange juice and a bowl of cereal with a large of sugar poured in. “So, this is where you used to live?” Jacob asked as he looked around. “What the fuck are you doing here?” Andy asked as he turned around. “You shouldn’t be here.” “A birthday party? This is the day you met Chucky, isn’t it? That’s why you have the Good Guy gear on.” “Fuck you,” Andy said as he started pulling off his Good Guy pajamas, tossing them away. He then stared down at his Good Guy Underoos. “You can talk to me, Andy,” Jacob told him. “I just want to help—“ “I DON’T NEED HELP!” Andy shouted as he rushed Jacob, pushing him through the door and into the hall. “Leave me alone!” Jacob went to open the door only to find the doorway replaced by a brick wall. “Fine,” Jacob said as he walked away. “I’ll be here when you’re ready.” * A thunderstorm poured rain down as Jacob found himself at Camp Crystal Lake to see what Tommy had been dreaming of. “Probably should have dressed warmer,” Jacob said as he shivered from the cold. He walked until he saw what looked like Tommy holding a machete in one hand and a ball bat in the other. Through the rain he saw Jason Voorhees standing over him as Tommy attacked with everything he had, sending Jason to the ground as he didn’t let up for a second. “Tommy?” “Jacob?” Tommy asked as he lost his focus, giving Jason time to strike him in the knee, sending him to the ground. Tommy held his leg in pain as Jason grabbed the machete and stood over him, ready to drive it through Tommy’s chest. “NO!” Jacob shouted as he held out his hand to pause the scene. He ran over to help Tommy up. “What the hell are you doing?” Tommy asked. “I was beating him!” “That’s not the real Jason,” Jacob told him. “No fucking duh!” Tommy shouted. “But this is my happy place that I go to when I dream. Killing that son of a bitch is the only thing that makes me happy. Why are you here?” “I got bored,” Jacob told him. “Andy and John don’t want to play and—“ “Jacob, you need to stay in your own dreams,” Tommy told him. “Find your own adventures. We all have things that we’d rather dream about at night, okay? You shouldn’t invade other people’s personal space. Now go back to your own little corner of the sky and I’ll see you in the morning.” Before Jacob could say anything he found himself back in the field. “Find my own thing,” Jacob sighed. “But what is my thing?” As he started walking, a voice suddenly shouted out to him. “HELP ME!” Jacob turned around as the voice echoed around him. He looked down at his reflection in the water which was rippling. He kneeled to get a closer look as a human-shaped water creature jumped out at him. “PLEASE!” As the form collided with Jacob, it splashed all over him, forcing Jacob to wake up in his bed. Now soaking wet, Jacob looked at his shaking hands. Whatever that was, he could feel the scared person’s voice echoing right into his very soul. “What the hell was that?” * The next morning, the group sat at the breakfast table as Jacob’s hands shook while holding a cup of coffee. “Look, I didn’t mean to yell at you last night,” John said as he sat down. “It’s just… dreams are the only time I can see Molly now. I want to spend as much time as I can remembering her.” “I did mean to yell at him,” Andy said. “Stay the hell out of my dreams.” Tommy brought some toast over to Jacob, sitting it down in front of him. “Eat something, kid. You look like hell this morning. Did you get any rest after you left our dreams?” Jacob stared down at the toast in front of him, where the butter on the bread started morphing into a message. “The answers you seek are at the local library.” Jacob took a long drink from his coffee and when he looked back down, the message was gone. “Earth to Jacob,” Tommy said as he snapped his fingers. “What’s going on?” “I gotta go,” Jacob said as he stood up and backed away toward the door. “I’ll be back in a few hours. I just— I just have to go.” “I’m getting worried about him,” John said. “He’s been awfully jittery lately.” “He’s still scared that Freddy’s going to find a way to get to him,” Tommy told him. “Which is why we need to start researching ways to help him. Maybe find a way to trap Freddy ourselves. Between the four of us, we should be able to take him down.” “What’s this ‘we’ bullshit?” Andy asked. “My only concerns are keeping Chucky and the Cult of Thorn off my back. And maybe finding my mother. That’s it.” * Jacob rode his bike to the library in town, which was only a half-hour bike ride. He’d found an old bike behind the cabin when the group had found the old abandoned house and fixed it up with Tommy’s help. It still looked a bit beaten up, but it rode like new. Plus it was good exercise, making Tommy and John both want to buy a bike to stay in shape. As he parked the bike outside the library, Jacob calmly walked in and approached the counter. “Do— do you have any books on dreaming?” Jacob asked. “Like, how to control them when you’re asleep?” The old woman looked up at him, sizing the teenager up. “Your friend has been expecting you. She’s right over there.” “My friend?” Jacob asked as he looked across the room, where a short, older woman sat at a table with several books already picked out. Slowly walking over, Jacob calmly sat down. “What is this?” “I sensed your aura calling for help last night,” the woman said as she took his hand, feeling his psychic vibes. “Ah, there it is. The Dream Master, but you still have a lot to learn about your abilities.” “You know what I can do?” Jacob asked. “Can you tell me what that thing was in the water? Can you help me to reach my parents?” “Alas, no, child,” the woman told him. “I’m only a medium, I have no power in the dream realm. All I can do is put you on the path to finding your answers. The thing you saw was a person, a human boy, and right now his soul is trapped in another realm called The Further. But you can’t reach it through a dream, child. To save this boy, you must unlock a new power.” The woman put a book into Jacob’s hands. He looked down at a book on astral projection. “This will get you started, but the boy you must rescue will be your guide to mastering this power,” the woman said. “You must learn from each other, protecting the other as you venture the Dream World. Together you may just find the entrance to the Beautiful Dream where the Dream Warriors are.” “Sounds simple enough,” Jacob sarcastically said as the woman stood up. “Who are you? And how do I contact you if I need you again?” “My name is Tangina, child,” the woman smiled. “Trust me, the next time you need my help, I’ll come to you. Good luck, Dream Master.” Jacob stared down at the book, and when he looked back up, Tangina was gone. “That wasn’t creepy at all.” * That night, Jacob paced back and forth in his bedroom while reading from the book he’d borrowed from the library. “Okay, I can do this,” Jacob said to himself. “Just have to really focus all of my energy on this and—“ Jacob slowly turned to the door, seeing Andy standing there with a bottle of vodka in his hand. “Do you need something?” Jacob asked. Andy fell back on Jacob’s bed and lifted his leg. “Shoelaces are too tight, I can’t get my shoes off,” Andy drunkenly told him. “I’m about to cut the damn things.” Jacob just sighed as he sat down and worked to undo the laces. Soon he was able to pop both sneakers off as he realized Andy had fallen asleep. “Dammit, kid,” Jacob said as he put the half-empty bottle on his nightstand before going to pick Andy up, but realized how peaceful he looked. “Fine, just for tonight.” Lifting Andy’s legs onto the bed, he covered the boy with a blanket before grabbing the book he was reading. Jacob resolved to sleep on the floor that night, he’d probably need the room for whatever was going to happen. Sitting down Indian-style, Jacob closed his eyes and started taking several deep breaths and counting backward from 100. As he got closer to 1, he felt himself getting drowsier and drowsier… 5…4…3…2… Jacob opened his eyes, finding that he was floating over his own body, which was now limp on the floor below. Jacob let out a scream and fell, hitting the floor just beside where his body lay. He quickly scrambled to his feet and backed away, hitting a door that wasn’t there before. “What the hell did I get myself into?” Jacob asked as he looked up at the large green door. Standing up, he slowly turned the door handle, finding a winding staircase that seemed to go on forever. “That doesn’t look like Disney Land. Hey, I can astral project now! I actually can go to Disney Land for my birthday.” After what seemed like forever, Jacob finally reached the bottom of the stairwell, arriving in a thin, dark corridor. As he got closer to the glowing tint of a fiery red light, he heard a record scratch where Tiny Tim’s ‘Tip Toe Through the Tulips’ started playing loudly. He got close to the door and slowly peeked inside to see a large theater with a stage and balcony. Hanging high above the stage sat a suspended cage with a teenage boy huddled in the corner. He wore a pair of pajama pants and a blue and white baseball jersey. “What the hell?” Jacob asked as he snuck in. “Is that who I’m here to rescue?” Sneaking into the theatre, Jacob looked around to find the lever to lower the cage. That’s when he noticed… it. A large red-faced creature up in the balcony, sharpening what looked like extremely sharp nails on a large sharpener. Sparks flew out as the nails touched it, sharpening them to a deadly capacity. Quickly working to lower the cage without dropping it, Jacob quickly rushed over to unlock the cage. “Hurry up, I don’t want to be here when that thing gets down here,” Jacob told him as the boy stood up. He was the same age as Jacob with dark blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. He quickly shook off a funny feeling as he looked at the young man and pulled the door open. “About time,” the boy said. “I’ve been calling for help for days now.” “Yeah, you’re welcome,” Jacob sarcastically told him. “I had to learn to astral project to even get here.” “You had to… learn?” the boy asked as he looked at Jacob. Astral projection came easily to the young man, like second nature. “Who the hell are you?” “My name’s Jacob, but I guess you can call me The Dream Master,” “I’m Dalton, and astral projection is something you can either do or you can’t. There is no ‘I learned over the course of a day’.” “That’s why I’m The Dream Master, dummy,” Jacob re-iterated as he paused to listen. “You gonna complain about this rescue or are we gonna get the hell out of here? The music’s stopped.” “Run,” Dalton told him as he realized what that meant. “Now!” As the two turned to run, they immediately found themselves face to face with the red-faced demon. As the monster raised its sharpened hand to attack, Jacob raised a psychic shield of his own to block. The nails scraped across the shield, making a horrific scraping sound. The demon brought his hand down again, shattering the shield as Dalton hit the demon in the back with a pipe. As the monster turned its attention to the boy, standing at its full height to tower over him, Jacob focused his dream powers. “I hope I can use my powers here,” Jacob said as he unleashed a barrage of punches, flips, and kicks at the monster, not letting up for a second. He jumped for one final kick, sending the monster flying off of the stage. Landing on his feet, Jacob grabbed Dalton’s hand. “Let’s roll.” “How did you do that? Wait, wait, ‘you’re the Dream Master’, never mind.” “You’re learning, you’re not as dumb as you seem,” Jacob told him. The two started running out of the theater, ending up in a dark void on the other side as the demon started giving chase, knocking chairs out its way before jumping onto the wall and quickly skittering toward them at a lightning pace. “Where are we now?” Jacob asked. “The Further,” Dalton told him. “It’s where you go when your astral form gets lost. If they catch you here, then the lost souls try to take your physical body so they can return to the real world. We have to get back to our physical bodies.” “Is that how you ended up here?” “It was a stupid mistake,” Dalton told him. “When I was ten, I found out I could astral project. That demon caught me and tried to steal my body, but my Dad and a psychic rescued me. But my dad ended up getting possessed and killed the psychic who saved me. We got my Dad back, but then we had the ability to astral project erased from our minds. Only a few years later, it started coming back to me. I was slowly getting the ability to astral project back and I have no idea why. I didn’t tell anyone because I didn’t want to worry my parents, so I started practicing, getting better so I wouldn’t get caught again. Then I thought that there might be others like me in The Further, trapped by the ghosts there. So I decided to try to help them, but… the demon caught me and trapped me. That’s when I called for help and ended up bringing you to me.” “I didn’t know how to astral project at first,” Jacob said. “Maybe… maybe there aren’t that many people out there that can do it.” “So I really am alone in the world,” Dalton told him as he turned his back. Before Jacob could say anything, the red-faced demon burst out of the ground toward him, ready to strike. Jacob rallied his power and let loose a powerful sonic scream, blasting the demon as far away as he could send him. Jacob, his nose bleeding, fell to his knees. “You’re not alone,” Jacob said as he fell forward, having drained himself of his power as he passed out. “So, you’re not a Superman,” Dalton said as he picked Jacob up by putting an arm around Jacob’s shoulder. “And we’re not out of the woods yet. We gotta get out of The Further before—“ The ghosts of every spirit in The Further started gathering to surround the two. The doomed souls who never passed into the next life for some reason or another, but most of them had done some sort of evil in their life to trap them there after death. Dalton slowly started backing away before he started running, carrying Jacob as far as he could, having to constantly change directions as more spirits popped up in front of him. “Don’t you dare!” an old woman said as she smacked Dalton across the face. Two twin girls appeared behind him, one brandishing a knife as a demonic smile suddenly appeared on their faces. Jacob softly moaned as Dalton slung him around his shoulders and started to run faster. “Come on, wake up,” Dalton said. “We’re in deep shit here, man. I don’t know how to fight them like you.” “Tap into your dream power,” Jacob whispered weakly. “My dream power?” Dalton asked. “How do I—“ “Just think about what you want, what’s the one power you’ve always wanted?” Finding himself completely surrounded, Dalton gently put Jacob on the ground. He stood up and closed his eyes as The Further started shaking and within seconds a metallic ’shing’ sound was heard as Dalton found himself covered in orange and black armor that looked like a legally safe version of Iron Man. “I can work with this!” Dalton said as he looked at his hand. He turned his attention to the ghosts that had surrounded him. “I’ve had enough of this place, so I’m taking my new buddy and getting out of here!” Though weakened, Jacob opened his eyes enough to see a light show going on, blasting spirits every which way. After a few minutes, Dalton picked his friend up, flying out of The Further. A short while later, Jacob and Dalton sat on a beach overlooking the ocean, just getting to know each other and sharing their stories, although Jacob left out the part about his dream demon wanting him dead. “Do you think you could teach me more about projecting?” Jacob asked. “Only if you show me how to use more of those dream powers,” Dalton replied. “I’m kind of starting to think that you were meant to come to get me from the Further.” “Yeah,” Jacob smiled. “I think so, too. Maybe together we can go back and see if you were right about finding others who need help. We can be like a superhero team.” “Cool,” Dalton told him. “We could really kick ass in the dream world. I’m really glad we met. See you right here tomorrow night?” “This can be our own little dream spot,” Jacob smiled. * Jacob woke up the next morning with Andy standing over him, finishing his vodka. “You got an erection, dude,” Andy said as he stumbled out of the room as Jacob looked down at his pants. * Now “Tell me you didn’t fuck on the first date,” Cody said as he lay back on his bed. “What are you talking about?” Jacob asked. “It was insanely obvious from the second you saw him,” Cody told him. “You have a crush on this guy.” “That’s insane,” Jacob told him. “We’re just friends who hang out in the dream world. Plus we’re pen pals, that’s all. “Yeah, Andy mentioned what you do with those letters,” Cody said. “There’s no shame in it, you gotta let go of that tension somehow. At least cop to having feelings for this guy.” “I don’t have feelings for this guy,” Jacob told him. “Now good night, I’m going to meet up with my friend.” “Sure,” Cody laughed as he got into bed. “Sure you are. The friend who writes you love letters.” “They are not love letters,” Jacob said as he got under the covers and closed his eyes, heading to the dream world. * “So, what do you say we head into The Further to see how far in we can get?” Jacob asked. “Actually, I needed to talk to you about something,” Dalton told him. “My family’s moving and… I might not be around for a few days. Lot of late nights packing and getting ready for the move.” “But I’ll see you when you get back, right?” “Definitely,” Dalton told him. “I just figured that since we won’t see each other for a little while, we’d have fun tonight. Maybe… talk about something I’ve been wondering about for a while and— aw, the hell with it.” Dalton grabbed Jacob and passionately kissed him. He pulled back and Jacob blushed. “I really like you, Jacob,” Dalton told him. “I don’t want to ruin our friendship, but— I really want more. When I’m with you, I just— I want to be with you as more than friends. I want to hold your hand and kiss you and tell you how special you are.” “Does that mean that you want me to—“ “Be my dream boyfriend?” Dalton asked. “I hope so. I mean, if you feel the same way, that is. If not, I don’t know, I don’t want to lose you as a friend. But ever since we met, it’s felt like we’re meant for something more.”” “I’ve never felt like this about anyone,” Jacob told him. “I always thought I liked girls, then… I met you. I want to be with you, too.” “So that’s a yes?” Jacob leaned in to gently kiss him before pulling back. “Could you speak up? I didn’t quite hear that,” Dalton teased as the two kissed again. * As Jacob slept, a smile crossed his face while he spent one final night with his official boyfriend. * A week later, the Lambert family sat in the station wagon, staring at their old home for the final time. “Everyone buckled in?” Josh Lambert asked as he looked into the backseat where his oldest son, 17-year-old Dalton; 15-year-old Foster and 7-year-old Cali sat in the backseat. “What are you happy about today?” Foster asked. “We’re leaving our friends and our home behind. I hate this.” “Foster, your father just got a high paying teaching position,” Renai Lambert told him. “We could use the money, especially now that you kids are getting older. And why you are smiling this morning? You’re never this happy.” Dalton took a deep breath. “Mom, Dad… I’m bi-sexual and… I have a boyfriend. We just made it official last night. Online that is. That’s where we’ve been talking. Online. On a computer.” “Well, congratulations, son,” Josh said. “Do we get to meet this boy?” “Do you think I could invite him over some night? He kind of lives a few states away,” “I’ll tell you what,” Renai told him. “When we get settled in, you can invite him to spend the weekend. We’ll have a guest room for him and his parents to stay in once we get the house ready.” “He doesn’t have parents, just older brothers,” Dalton told him. “But I’m not even sure if he wants to meet me. We’ve just been talking… online. I’m afraid if he meets me in real life, he won’t like me.” “Smart guy, I like him already,” Foster joked as Callie punched his arm. Josh saw the look on Dalton’s face and realized something was up. “We’ll talk about this more when we get to the new house,” Josh told him. “Alright, everyone ready? Alright, say goodbye to California. Springwood, here we come!” * “It took some digging, but I finally have information on your grandson,” As Doris and Dan Jordan Sr sat on the couch, they looked at the information being relayed to them, including surveillance photos and documents. At the top was a picture of Tommy Jarvis walking alongside a 12-year-old Jacob Johnson. “This is the last photo of the boy I could find, taken near a motel in Chicago four years ago. It’s taken a lot of effort to track him, but I believe I’ve found the man who took your grandchild. Since then it appears that he’s kidnapped another boy and is now working with an accomplice who himself is wanted in questioning with a recent string of murders in the Los Angeles area.” “But— but you’re going to bring our grandson home, right?” Doris asked hopefully. “That’s what you’re paying me for. The boy will be returned to you very soon,” Bounty Hunter Creighton Duke said as he looked at the photo of Tommy Jarvis. “I’ll even do it for half the original price. I have a personal score to settle with this man. Believe me, in one week, Jacob Johnson will be home in Springwood, as safe as he ever was.” Dan smiled as he stood up, shaking Creighton’s hand. “Thank you, Mr. Creighton. I look forward to seeing my grandson again. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a call to make.” As Dan headed to the kitchen, a smile crossed his face as he let out a low life. A laugh that wasn’t human. The laugh of Freddy Krueger. 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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