WESTIN HILLS
CHAPTER 17- ...IN THE WALL


Just outside the town of Springwood, a heavy rain shower saturated the entire town as a white Cadillac Escalade zoomed down the freshly-dampened road, blowing leaves and spraying water across the sides of the street.

Sitting behind the wheel, Calvin was in deep thought as Ice Cube’s song “Ghetto Vet” played softly in the background on his radio. What the hell did I just do? He questioned as the realization finally set in that he had just lost his job. What did those kids get me into? No, wait. It’s Dr. Graham’s fault, not the kids. Dr. Graham fired my ass on the spot because I tried to help them? Fuck him. They’re good kids. Arghhh! Staring at his wipers as they swiped across his windshield on a medium setting, Calvin pulled off to the side of the road, attempting to clear his head and plot his next move. Throwing the gear shift into park, he took a deep breath and rubbed his hands over his face and eyes. What the fuck should I do?

On one hand, he could keep going and leave Westin Hills (and Springwood for that matter) behind forever. And based on his experiences there, he couldn’t say he’d be terribly disappointed by that. Besides, the job was just a filler anyway, so what did it matter? No more of that weasel Dr. Graham. No more of his flunky Dr. Halverson. And most importantly, no more of their bullshit. Looking at himself in the rearview mirror, his mind seemingly made up, he grabbed the gear shift and was just about to throw it into drive when he noticed a large billboard in his headlights.

The faded wood of the beige rectangle stood out in the lights, as the words “Welcome To Springwood” reflected in his face like he was meant to read it. Below that, in black lettering, it said “Population 15,285,” and beneath that, the sarcastically unique slogan, “A Nice Place To Live.”

It wasn’t the sign or the words that grabbed his attention. It was the pictures painted in the lower left hand corner sign that really affected him. Right next to the slogan, sitting snug against the forest green border of the frame, were two children and their mother, smiling brightly like it was a gleaming sunny day.

As beat up as the old wooden sign looked, it still held significance. It was the lone remaining symbol of what Springwood used to be. Back in a much simpler time. Back when the factory was still open. When it truly was a nice place to live and raise a family. All at once, his thoughts shifted to Lexi, Gwen, and the others back at Westin Hills.

While it would be great to leave the town (and all the garbage he’d put up with) behind, he simply couldn’t abandon his friends, could he? Not after all they had been through already. Not after Manny. And certainly that son of a bitch Graham wouldn’t have fired him on the spot like that unless he knew something was up. That motherfucker definitely had some skeletons hiding in his closet, and Calvin was determined to find out what. For his own sanity, yes, but more importantly, for the safety of the kids.

“Aw, fuck it!” he yelled, aggressively throwing the gearshift into overdrive and peeling out from the side of the road, spitting gravel into the air as he went racing back in the direction he had come.


***


“Hello?” Suzette called out into the darkness, her voice echoing in the narrow tunnel. She’d followed those two little brats for what seemed like an eternity, and still came up empty. With no sign of either one, she continued down the dark, musty passageway, flanked only by moldy, wet bricks up each side in the shape of an oval.

Spotting a white light at the end of this surrogate tunnel, she hurried toward it, hoping to find the two children.

She found more.

Standing right in front of her weren’t just two annoying children, but rather, about two hundred annoying children, all deathly quiet as they formed a single file line and headed up a tall rusty staircase. Marching in unison and bathed in a somber red glow of light, all of the children, both boys and girls, were dressed just like the two she had seen in her poster. White dress shirt and tie, black slacks or skirt. This time, none of the zombie-like children paid any attention to her. They just continued parading up the stairs, then across a long balcony.

“Hey, what are you doing in here?” Suzette questioned, even more confused than ever. Why were all these children inside my Pink Floyd poster? And for that matter, why am I? Taking in her surroundings, the scene was eerily similar to Pink Floyd’s music video “Another Brick In The Wall,” a song she both adored and feared at the same time.

God damnit, I must be dreaming, she surmised, rushing up the staircase beside the children. And if this was “Another Brick In The Wall,” that means that at the end of this walkway must be—

A large meat grinder.

And sure enough, just like in the video, the children were dropping off the edge of the balcony and falling into this large vat, only to be mutilated into shreds and oozed out the bottom like a piece of processed meat.

Watching in horror as child after child threw themselves to their death, Suzette screamed, “Hey, watch out!” and tried to save one.

When she stopped this particular little girl, one of the two she had originally seen, the adolescent turned her head to her and glared at her sadistically, biting her on the hand.

“Ouch! You little bitch!” Suzette yelped, pulling her hand back. A fresh set of bite marks were engraved into her hand, just above the small flap of skin between her thumb and forefinger. Shaking her hand, Suzette noticed the bruise turn a dark maroon color, but thankfully, her skin didn’t break open.

However, in the split second she pulled her hand back, everyone on the balcony lost their balance and fell into the grinder like dominoes. Suzette, who was trying to hold on for dear life, was seemingly pushed down into the thing by those nasty children. Finally losing her grip on the railing, she plummeted into the machine. As she neared the bottom, her eyes widened when she saw she was about to smash through a large brick wall at the base. A short moment later, her head and shoulders crashed through, sending pain coursing through her upper body.

Woozy and dazed, Suzette was shocked when she opened her eyes as saw Lexi and Ty standing there, tied up and gagged like two witches about to be burned at the stake.

“Oh my god!” was all she could say as the look of shock set in, blood trickling down her wounded head. “I gotta get you guys outta here!” Much to her dismay, she had no success in getting herself free, let alone the others. She was stuck in the brick wall, only her head and shoulders exposed.

Still trying to bust through the rest of the way, Suzette shrieked as an ugly, burned man appeared before her, wearing a red and green striped sweater and a wicked smile. Flashing his dirty yellow teeth at her, he tipped the brim of his brown fedora.

Realizing everything Lexi said was true, Suzette frantically tried to get free, but found she was wedged too deep inside the wall and couldn’t move a muscle. Sighing, she finally accepted the truth and made eye contact with the demonic dream stalker.

“Freddy?!”

“In the flesh,” Krueger snarled, turning back to Lexi. “You know, I kinda like her. I think I’ll add her to my personal collection. Just like that other bitch, Tash. Nothing like a little vanilla to go with my chocolate!!!”

Furious, both Lexi and Ty tried to yell something, but because they were gagged, all that came out was garbled.

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll add you two as well,” Freddy stated matter-of-factly. “But now, it’s time for little Suzy-Q here to pay the piper.”

Chuckling, Freddy flashed his claws in front her face, the metal reflecting off of her eyes. Suzette, frozen with fear, could say very little. “What are you gonna do to me?” she whimpered.

“Oh, nothing,” Krueger joked, getting a very mischievous look on his face. “But this...”

And in that instant Suzette ceased to exist, as Freddy slashed her across the face with his claw, then closed all four corners of the wall around her at once, smashing her upper body into a mangled mess of what appeared to be the only missing brick from the bunch.

Laughing sadistically, Krueger pointed right at Lexi as blood began to funnel down the side of the wall.

“All in all she was...just another brick in the wall...Ahahahahaha!!!!”


Proceed To Chapter 18
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