A Nightmare Reborn Ch. 05

Dr. Richard Campbell and his wife served the function of securing the hypnocil. Campbell was so dedicated to the death of Krueger that he personally remodeled and moved into the house at 1428 Elm Street with his wife and daughter, Lori. While the others thought he was insane for living in the heart of Krueger's dominance, Campbell believed the heaviest suppression of the demon's power should be where he is strongest. Campbell was the only member of the brain trust who hadn't personally been scarred by Krueger. Later on, many would say it was that inexperience that led to his demise.

From the city of Elm Grove came two unique doctors, their claims of having seen Freddy Krueger die in the basement of the Elm Grove Youth Shelter being both amazing and unbelievable to some. Dr. Maggie Burroughs, both beautiful and highly intelligent was the first to suggest that Springwood be destroyed. When the governor saw the costs involved he refused to let an entire city be demolished just to get rid of one pesky ghost. So, she made the counter proposal to sedate the town with hypnocil, and experimental dream suppression agent. She was smart and to the point, knowing that even though Krueger had been destroyed physically he very likely was sent back to whatever netherworld he called home. He was not dead.

She warned them not to underestimate him. Many of the politicians involved in the cover-up were skeptical of her motives and ideas, but when it was learned that she was the biological daughter of the man Fred Krueger had once been, any doubts about her knowledge of the dream killer were shed. Still, her recommendation that Springwood be destroyed went unheeded. Maggie was the inside track and the heart of the council.

Doctor Yaphet K. Parker, a bear of a man who looked after Maggie with deep commitment, supported her beliefs. He claimed Freddy could not be killed (a supposition Dr. Matthew Loomis would support years later), but Sheriff Williams and Dr. Campbell believed he would fade away after enough time. Parker implored them to think of Krueger as virus in remission and to reconsider the sedation project as the only alternative to the complete destruction of Springwood.

The sole voice of true unwavering objection came from a disgraced psychologist, a former administrator at Westin Hills in the eighties and a survivor of one of Krueger's early rampages. Dr. Neil Gordon supported Maggie and Parker's plan. He begged the governor to abandon Springwood and destroy the city through fire. He suggested burning the town to the ground and destroying all evidence of Krueger's existence and then allow nature to reclaim the land. He believed that consecrating the remains of Springwood and letting the dead rest might put a permanent end to Krueger's power.

He argued, like his colleagues, Springwood was a body crawling with a highly contagious and fatal virus. The body needed to be destroyed before the virus could spread. They didn't listen and Springwood became a living coma victim, not truly dead because nothing ever really dies in Springwood and yet not truly alive. How could anything thrive and blossom under the shadow of a beast like Freddy Krueger?

When the first of the unwitting families came to Springwood later on that decade (lured mostly by local and federal perks and tax benefits to repopulate the town), the water supply of the town had already been altered with the drug hypnocil. It wasn't a large dose, but just enough to retard the dreams of those living there. As Neil Gordon pointed out, the complete suppression of dreams led to irrational and eventual psychotic behavior.

The choice hadn't been made lightly, and those who made the decision bore the weight of not only the living but also the dead on their shoulders. Only a few people reacted adversely to the hypnocil, but it was acceptable in light of the alternative. Freddy Krueger could not be allowed to return or to leave the confines of Springwood.

But there was peace, and that was the compensation for the council. Dr. Parker and Maggie Burroughs left shortly after overseeing the initial two years of repopulation. Maggie still held to her belief that sedation and suppression would not be enough. Krueger was smart and very resourceful. Eventually, he would find a way back. Again, the local and federal government blew her and Parker off, happy with the results thus far. Knowing there was no more she could do, she left.

From Westin Hills, the remainder of the brain trust ruled with a power surpassing the limits of the law. The powers given to them by the select few in the government who knew the truth was absolute. For the children who weren't affected by the subtle effects of the hypnocil-tainted water, stories and lies of insanity were formulated to justify their removal to the ward. Those who had seen the dream killer in their sleep were taken immediately and drugged, ultimately committed to Westin Hills. Some, like the late Will Rollins, were lucky and only lived dreamless lives there. Others fell into a coma not unlike the one Springwood itself slumbered in.

Dr. Gordon rejected the council's actions and condemned their policies. But he was powerless to stop them. With a strong letter of resignation he abandoned the committee and left Springwood once again. Gordon predicted the projects ultimate failure to be within ten years. He was denounced by his former colleagues and disappeared into exile. This left Dr. Campbell and Sheriff Williams to run the operation by themselves, a move which later on many came to regret.

The sentiment Dr. Gordon had shared with the council years ago was now a thought Lori Campbell-Rollins, the daughter of Richard Campbell and the widow of Will Rollins, focused on. With the exception of her parents and the late Sheriff Williams, she had never known any of the people on the council, let alone that it even existed. But the thinking of people who had faced Krueger, the ideas of the survivors often bordered on the extreme. Krueger himself was extreme.

As the rain spattered the window of the cruiser and warped her view of the outside world, she found she truly hated Springwood. It was vile and horrible, and she was berating herself for having come back. If only she hadn't pushed so hard to come here and face the past, Will would be alive and with her right now. His death at the hands of Freddy Krueger's pawns Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers had been brutal and horrific. As much as she hated all three of the super-killers, she hated herself even more at the moment. They might have done the actual deed, but it was she who had insisted that Will put his head on the block for the chop.

"The house doesn't look all that different from the photo's I've seen," Matthew Loomis said quietly from behind her. The older man peered out the window from the backseat of the cruiser, Officer Tessa Alexander beside him and looking pale.

Lori turned as Sean pushed down the brakes and stopped the car in front of 1428 Elm Street. She breathed, "This house doesn't ever change. Not really."

"Donald Thompson used to live here," Tessa leaned against Loomis and peered at the front of the white house, "He was the man who collared Krueger back in the fall of 1970."

Loomis nodded, "As I understand it from the records, the entire Thompson family was eventually killed here in Springwood."

"Do we have to talk about it?" Sean asked, his eyes resting on the repetitive rhythm of the windshield wipers.

"Are you sure your father is still here?" Loomis asked Lori.

She nodded, "Dad couldn't leave."

They all stepped out into the rain, slamming the doors shut and feeling the supernatural aura of the house. The walk up to the front door was long and seemed to take an eternity. Tessa held onto Sean for support as she limped her way forward. Loomis followed behind as Lori led the way. She was quiet and determined, her face solid and straight as a card shark in a high stakes poker game.

Loomis looked at her and sighed.

Since the death of her husband a few hours ago, Lori's personality had changed. Following her brief emotional and physical paralysis, she had woken up from her grief and gone from being on the defensive to the offensive. She had shed off the skin of uncertainty she wore in her therapy sessions and emerged a leader, driven and focused. Loomis wondered if she was even aware of it. Sean would have been the ideal candidate for leading this ragtag group, but Lori had taken the spot via some group osmosis. They all understood that no matter what, this was her fight. They all had their place, but it was Lori who bore the burden of their lot now.

And it showed. Her eyes seemed darker somehow, her once brilliant blue coloring shaded to the cold slate hues of the winter-ravaged ocean. Her face was pale and tight, her beautiful features silent and betraying of nothing. The only person who truly saw the wall Lori had built around herself was Loomis. He knew the protective shell of rage and sorrow all too well. When Michael Myers had killed his father, he formed a similar cocoon.

He wanted to counsel Lori and help her escape the pain, but he knew it would do no good. Had anyone been able to help him through his own stages of grief? He thought not. She would have to find her own way out of it as he had done. And thus the doctor followed his companions up the wet sidewalk of Springwood's most infamous house. The closer he got, the more he believed they were marking themselves for death.

After a few years of Dr. Campbell's self-enforced seclusion, the house was showing signs of neglect. The white paint was cracked in many places and bulging out. The front door had peeled its yellow latex coating to reveal a red layer beneath. To Tessa, it looked like the color of blood. Sean was reminded of the ruby quartz coloring of police lights illuminating Michael Myers face in the dark. Loomis could only see his father, looking at him through a haze of fine red mist and warning him to stay away. Lori saw her husband, dead and stolen from her.

She knocked on the door hard.

"You think he's here?" Tessa whispered to Sean.

"Better be," Sean replied under his breath and nodded to Lori, "She's ready to go ape shit."

"Wouldn't you?" Tessa replied under her breath.

Lori knocked again, harder and with the side of her clenched hand.

"Dad?" she yelled, "It's me, Lori! Open up!"

Several locks, both chain and dead bolt disengaged from behind the door. It slowly creaked open and the haggard face of Dr. Richard Campbell regarded them for a moment, confused and seemingly dazed. Sean knew the bloodshot eyes of boozehound when he saw them, and Campbell looked as though he had been sharing stories with Jack Daniels and Captain Morgan for a while now. His hair was disheveled and almost completely white, save for some dark strands peppered around his temples. A week's growth of stubble roughed his features up, dark circles and crow's feet deeply entrenched into his face.

"Daddy?" Lori asked, the affectionate term for her father holding no joy or happiness.

"Lori," he croaked and then coughed, clearing his throat. He looked at the three people standing with his daughter as rain poured down unforgivingly. His eyes were suspicious and filled with both dread and a certain acceptance; as though he'd known they would eventually come. He looked to his daughter and asked, "What do you want? You run out of hypnocil?"

"No Daddy," Lori shook her head, her long blonde hair soaked in thick strands and blood spattered on her "SPRINGWOOD HIGH" sweatshirt, "We need your help."

Campbell was silent for a moment and then shrugged, "Come in."

The inside of the house was in worse shape that outside. Boxes of papers were stacked in the foyer and in the living room. The smell of must and mothballs permeated every single cubic centimeter of the dwelling, along with something even darker still. The curtains were dark, not to make a statement of décor or taste but rather to keep the sunlight out. Sean counted at least six whiskey bottles, all of them empty, sitting on the coffee table in the living room. He led Tessa to the couch and eased her to the cushions. A small plume of dust curled up as the two cops sat down.

"Who are you people?" Campbell looked at the three strangers.

"My name is Matthew Loomis," the doctor spoke up from the entry, "I'm a doctor of criminal psychology."

"Loomis," Campbell licked his lips, his face betraying a man who had a bad taste on his tongue, "Loomis? From New York... you're the monster hunter."

Loomis leaned against the entry, his hands in his trench coat pockets, "Something like that."

"Officer Sean Renaud," Sean introduced himself and then motioned to Tessa, "This is Officer Alexander."

"Pleasure," Campbell said disingenuously, "Didn't your sheriff tell you not to come here?"

"He would have if he could," Tessa said evenly, "He was killed a few hours ago."

Campbell smiled dismally and walked to the fireplace, again acting as though he were not surprised. On top of the brickwork hearth was another bottle of whiskey, this one only half full. Tessa imagined that to the doctor, it was half empty. Based on the condition of his home she figured his entire life was half empty. He grabbed it, popped the cap off and took a long drink before saying, "Good bye, Williams... go to Heaven..."

"You seem rather casual about it," Sean eyed him, already disliking the man.

"Officer," Lori's father said, "You're probably too young to know that death is always a casual matter here in Springwood. Now what the hell do you want?"

"Freddy Krueger is back, Daddy," Lori said and pulled back the drapes from the living room window, letting overcast light into the shadowed living room, "He's back and so is Jason."

"I know," he squinted, "The minute the curfew went into effect last night and the sirens started sounding, I knew."

"Then you must also know that we don't have much time," Loomis said.

"Time?" Campbell laughed, his lanky body covered by only a blue flannel robe. He was sickly looking, ill and seemingly fragile enough to break at any moment. The robe opened up and revealed his chest. Tessa looked away as she saw the row of xylophone-like ribs. He closed the robe and tied it tight. Campbell took another drink and asked, "What does time matter to a creature like Krueger? Or to Jason Voorhees for that matter?"

"People are dying," Lori said, "We have to stop them."

"How heroic," he burped.

"Classy," Loomis said to Sean from the corner of his mouth.

"It's inevitable, Lori," Campbell looked to his daughter, "It was always inevitable. I swear we thought we knew what we were doing. But things fall apart, don't they?"

"Dr. Campbell please," Loomis began.

"The center does not hold..."

"This is not the time for waxing poetic," Loomis told him, "Doctor, we need to know all you can tell us about Krueger and his history."

"Why?"

"We plan to stop him," Tessa said.

Campbell spit some of his whiskey out in a fine spray as he laughed, "Oh that is priceless..."

"We're very serious, doctor," Sean said flatly.

"I can't tell you anything," the old man leaned to the left a little and waved Sean off dismissively. He looked to his daughter, belched again and then concentrated, "We thought we were doing right by you, Lori. And right by Will."

"Will's dead," Lori looked at her father, challenging him.

The doctor went silent as his drunken stupor seemed to wear off a little. He opened his mouth to speak but could not find the words. Lori stood in front of him, her back straight and tall as she confronted her father with the truth. Her eyes were fixed on him, waiting for the response. Richard Campbell could not meet her stare. Instead, he turned and faced the fireplace, "I'm so sorry."

"He was killed by Jason and another man," she walked over to him, "Michael Myers."

"I am so sorry," he said again, his voice cracking.

"Dad, we need you."

"Your mother... I couldn't save her," Campbell's voice broke as tears burned his bloody eyes. The weight of the dead was too heavy for one man to carry. When Williams had been alive it had been different. When his wife had been alive he had believed he could handle it. But now, alone and cold against the burden he could no longer hold back. He wept, "Your husband, the children... it's all lost."

Sean sighed and rubbed his temples as he looked at Loomis, "He's no good to us."

"Help us," Lori said.

"I can't," he insisted and covered his face with a hand that shook badly.

"God damn you," Lori grabbed him by his robe and spun the thin man around. She shoved him against the hearth as the whiskey bottle fell to the floor. It thudded to the carpet and drained in long spurts into the fibers. Loomis went to intervene, but Sean grabbed his arm. The cop shook his head and motioned for the doctor to step back. This was family business, and Lori needed to handle this on her own. Loomis nodded and stepped back.

"How dare you," Campbell gaped her, his eyes wide and glassy, "I am your father!"

"My father died the night my mother died," Lori dug her fingers into his robe and tightened the fabric around his throat, "The night you decided to bury Krueger and just hope he'd go away rather than deal with him."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"You're not my father anymore," Lori glared at him.

Campbell had no fight in him as it was, so his resistance to Lori was pathetic at best. He hung his head low as tears watered from his eyes. The haggard doctor looked at the floor and breathed in deep as his disgrace was revealed. His shoulders shook as he sobbed, the years of mistakes and sins finally being expressed here in front of his daughter. But Lori was not impressed or even sympathetic as she shook him violently, "Wake up!"

Loomis looked to Sean and Tessa. The two cops only watched the scene unfold.

"Wake up, goddamit!"

As Campbell cried and slumped forward, Sean squeezed Tessa's shoulder and got up. He left her sitting on the couch and walked over to Lori. He put one strong hand on her shoulder and squeezed, "Let it go, Lori."

"Wake up you son of bitch!" she screamed and slapped her father so hard it echoed through the house. Campbell's head snapped sideways, "My husband is dead you fuck!"

"Lori! He's finished!"

She slapped him again, harder this time.

"Lori," Sean put his hands on hers, "Let it go. He knows, okay? He knows."

She looked to Sean, her eyes filled with pure grief and pain.

With a final disgusted grunt, she shoved away from her father. Campbell stood there for a moment in front of them. His shame was evident enough, and the fact that his daughter had turned on him so violently only made it more apparent. He supposed that expecting her to greet him with open arms would have been foolish, even naïve considering the circumstances. As he sat down on the lip of the hearth, head in his hands there was certain release. Everyone here knew he was one of the architects of the grand design that supposedly would have rid Springwood of Freddy Krueger. And everyone here knew he had failed at the cost of many lives.

"What can I tell you?" he asked them finally, "We thought if we treated Krueger like a fire, he would extinguish. No, that's what Williams and I told the government. Neil and Maggie kept saying he was a disease and he need to be handled as such. I didn't listen..."

"Fire?" Tessa asked, "I don't understand."

"What's the most effective way of extinguishing a fire?" Campbell looked at her, "You deny it oxygen. Without oxygen, fire cannot exist."

"Take away what Krueger needs to survive and you'll kill him, yes?" Loomis asked.

"That was the thinking," the old man nodded, "We had thought if we took away the dreams, if we simply sucked the air out from the fires that fueled him, Krueger would die. Hate is the flame in which he burns, Doctor Loomis. Fear fuels the fire. If no one remembered him, then there would be no fear of him."