THE SPRINGWOOD SLASHER
CHAPTER 27- TRANSFORMATION


While Mike was being sucked down into the depths of hell, Lexi was regaining consciousness on the front lawn. Her eyes were still glazed over, and she had to look around at her surroundings for a couple seconds before she realized where she was. Dazed, she barely even glanced back at the crash scene when the cries of “Lexi, help me!” caught her attention. When she looked up, all her worst fears were confirmed— Krueger had got to Mike.

The image before her was a blur, but she knew exactly what was going on. In a sort of pseudo-virtual reality displayed in front of her like an overhead projector, she could see Freddy pulling a helpless Mike down through his bed, his claw raised high into the air. Screaming, Lexi ran toward the image and yelled “Miiiiiiiiike! Nooooooo!” but when she reached for his hand, she went right through the projection like it was a ghost. Not long after, the geyser of blood shot up out of the bed and the image disappeared with a flash. Lexi, in despair, watched it vanish like the sound of a local television station signing off after the late night national anthem. It was Krueger’s way of showing Lexi that Mike had been sacked for the last time.

Eyes wide with the look of shock frozen on her face, Lexi lost it again as she hit the ground with a thud. Weeping like never before, Lexi let out a piercing cry as her face plummeted onto the grass not far from where she had collapsed the first time. The cry was ethereal, and sounded more like a cross between a banshee and a bat than a human being. It was a sign that Lexi was now at her breaking point. “Oh God, Noooooo!” she cried, hearing Krueger laughing hysterically deep in the background. “You Bastard!”

Then, nothing. Eerie silence filled Elm Street once again as the tears of Springwood high’s head cheerleader seeped into the soil beneath her. After a few tense but quiet moments, Lexi forced herself back up, and surprisingly, the expressions of pain and anguish did not appear on her pretty face at all. Neither did hurt, heartache, or distress.

When she got back to her feet, a look of determination had set in, as well as strength, strong will, and resolve. The expression of hate was also prevalent in her eyes. Hate for Freddy Krueger, the demented son of a bitch who had taken everything away from her. Her sister. Her best friend. Her boyfriend.

For the first time, Lexi was no longer afraid, and as the rage built up inside her, she realized that she had nothing left to lose. Her cheeks got puffy and fire flared up in her eyes as they squinted in hatred. After a rather uncomfortable moment of quiet, she broke her silence.

“Kruegerrrrrr!” She yelled. “You want me so bad? Huh? Well here I am, you son of a bitch! I’m all yours! Come and get me!”


***


It didn’t take Lexi long to find her way back to her house at 8241 Elm. As she approached the front steps, she noticed the house was dark, and immediately thought of her mother. What must she be thinking? Lexi pondered as she tried the door. It didn’t budge. For all she knew, Sandra could still be at the hospital, begging and pleading with the doctors to revive her youngest daughter, to no avail. Reality would set in with her sooner or later, and she wanted to make sure she took care of the sooner so that there would be a later to go to.

Hurrying along, Lexi tried the front door, then a couple of the windows, but they were all locked. Somewhat discouraged, she remembered her “last resort”—the rose trellis that hung up the side of the house right outside her bedroom window. The good old trellis had saved her bacon many times before, whether it was the late nights at Mike’s house or the times she snuck out to do some school-night partying with Tash. It seemed like all those good times flashed before her eyes as she ascended the trellis with ease, flung open the window, and entered her bedroom.

The room was dimly lit by the moonlight, but that was all Lexi needed as she started to lay her plan into motion. Looking at the various posters on her wall, one of the Springwood High football team, the other of the TV show “Survivor,” Lexi turned on her radio and began to get ready.

Drowning Pool’s “Step Up” blared over her speakers as she made her way back and forth between her room and Apryl’s. Normally, Lexi wouldn’t be caught dead listening to Drowning Pool or anything hardcore, but lately, she had taken a liking to it, as well as some R&B and rap, too. Must be the influence of my friends, she smiled as she looked at the various pictures around her mirror. She had them laid out carefully from left to right in an oval shape, careful not to block any of the mirror, because God knows it would be a crime if she left for school without looking at herself one more time to make sure everything was perfect.

There were pictures of everyone there, including football shots of Quinton and Mike, a “group hug” with Tash and Apryl, and even a picture with Veronica from last Halloween in a lot of black makeup. Lexi always told her that they’d be identical twins one day out of the year at least, and it might as well be on Halloween. Lexi smiled as she continued to reminisce, looking at the right side of her mirror, a.k.a. “The Mike Shrine.” There, everything from Mike’s senior picture to his football portrait dominated the shrine, nearly overlapping the mirror. Even a cheap picture from the dollar booth at the mall was on there. Lexi pretty much put up any pictures of Mike that she could get her hands on, circling some with little red hearts. Tash always got on her about it, and she told her she would clean it up one day, but that day never came.

The last photo brought tears to her eyes. It was the last one her and Mike had taken together on opening night of football. Mike was holding her up on his shoulders and they were having so much fun a week before…well, a week before everything had happened.

Staring back into her mirror, she was surprised at what a change she saw from a week, a day, even an hour ago. God, what’s happening to me? She thought as she just looked off into space blindly, not focusing on anything in particular. The fact was, life as she knew it had changed drastically, and if she didn’t do something about it, she would have no life left to save. Just then, Motograter’s “Suffocate” came on the radio, and the lyrics brought out the fury inside Lexi, who kicked her mirror with a loud and crashing roar.

Millions of pieces of glass flew all over her room and showered all over her, but she didn’t care. She just brushed the glass off and stared into the spider-webbed carcass of the mirror. It was time to do something. It was time to put up or shut up, and shutting up was certainly not something in Alexis Murphy’s vocabulary.

Determined, Lexi began to drastically alter her wardrobe. Out went the preppy look, and in came something much, much different. Something even she wouldn’t have expected. With the music blasting in the background, Lexi changed into a pair of tight black jeans and a black Springwood football t-shirt, tying it off into a knot at the waist, revealing her belly button. She then washed off all of her smeared makeup and replaced it with black eye shadow and lipstick, something that would have made Veronica proud. She even painted her fingernails and toenails black, which she wouldn’t have even dreamed of doing yesterday. Lexi examined herself in the broken mirror, but still wasn’t satisfied with what she saw, so she continued. Making a major change, she dyed her hair jet black and put it into a ponytail. I think I’m finally starting to like this look, she thought with a smile. Why didn’t I do this sooner? Lexi chuckled to herself as she slid an important piece of clothing— Mike’s number 7 wristband— onto her forearm. She was going to make sure Mike, and everyone else for that matter, was with her in some form when she kicked Krueger’s ass.

Finishing up her makeover, Lexi picked up Mike’s black leather jacket and put it on, recalling what Apryl had told her at breakfast just the other day: ‘You know, someday you will learn that it takes more than just looks to get ahead in life.’ That phrase echoed in her mind over and over and made her realize just how true it turned out to be. Eat your heart out, Paris Hilton.

Sighing, Lexi glanced into the mirror one final time to make sure everything was perfect, and, in the words of Quinton, mumbled, “It’s on, motherfucker!”


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