Chapter Text
“One, two, Freddy's coming for you…”
The steam lingered all around the long industrial hallway, warm enough to form pearls of sweat on Cassie's tanned skin. Her pounding heart and the sounds of the pipes were the only things she could hear, alongside the echo of a little girl singing throughout the building, her voice slowly sounding a haunting little lullaby.
“Three, four, better lock your door…”
Cassie couldn't help but grip the waist of her long white nightgown, swallowing at the lump in her throat as her feet kept moving forward, like she was unable to do anything else but walk around the now familiar sight of an unfamiliar boiler room.
“Five, six, grab your crucifix…”
She was getting sick of the pungent smell coming from the smoke around her. This was the third night in a row she'd found herself in this place. What was it with her and unsafe buildings?
“Seven, eight, gonna stay up late…”
The sudden sound of a creepy cackle echoed behind her. Her head turned, looking back at the hallway behind her. Nothing was there but steam and the dim lights.
“Cassie~”
“W-what do you want?” Cassie growls, clenching her fists against her slightly trembling body. Her only response was another cackle echoed around her, the source of it unseen.
The girl took a shaky breath, pushing her curls back to wipe the sweat off her neck. She turned back around, continuing her walk down the long, warm corridor. Her eyes lingered on the sight of scratch marks on the metal pipes, like a set of claws had once scraped against them…
Cassie turned the corner, looking down yet another hallway. A staircase was visible at the end, and a wide, dirty curtain covered one side of the wall. As she quickly walked towards the stairs, the last of the girl's haunting rhyme echoed around her.
“Nine, ten, never sleep again.”
Four long blades suddenly pierced through the curtain next to Cassie, the fabric tearing loudly, making Cassie jolt and scream. The arm reached out to swipe at her, barely missing her as she ran away, another, much louder cackle echoing behind her.
Cassie managed to outrun the arm, reaching the staircase as the man behind her followed close behind. She reached the bottom of the stairs, quickly hiding behind one of the pipes. She gasped for air as a haunting screeching sound echoed close by, but unfortunately, she was unable to silence her heavy breathing.
The screeching came to a halt just by the pipe she was hiding behind, and the girl covered her mouth in terror, though it did nothing to quiet her gasps. It was eerily silent…very, very silent. She slowly stood back up, shaking as she tried to regain her composure of her breathing. Unable to resist, she peered her head around the corner…
No one was there.
With a whimper, Cassie’s body loosened. Her hand moved from her mouth to her chest, feeling her heart pounding as she slowly took a few steps back…
“GOTCHA PRINCESS!”
Two rough hands grabbed her shoulders from behind her suddenly, the four long, familiar blades adorned on the left and poking into the fabric of her nightgown. Cassie shrieked as she was yanked back by the man, right into the soft, comforting mattress of her own bed. She struggled, but the man was no longer there.
“Cassie?” A familiar voice grumbled behind her bedroom door. “Y’alright? You were screaming bloody murder in your sleep. Again.”
Cassie huffed. “Had that stupid dream again.” She rubbed away the tears forming in her eyes as her older brother slowly opened the door. “I-I'm alright...I think.”
Jackson stared at her from the door for a moment, his expression of concern yet mild annoyance visible even in the dark bedroom. He sighed, rubbing his eyes. “You sure? You want me to get Mom or anything?”
Cassie shook her head, clutching her blanket awkwardly. “N-no…no, I'm okay, really. I'll tell her in the morning or something.” She sighed as she saw the look on her brother's face. Of course, he wasn't buying it. “Really, Jackson, I'm okay…”
He sighed again, pushing his dreads back. “If you say so. But I swear one more night of you screaming and I WILL beat your ass back to sleep.” Despite the joking tone in his voice, there was some clear concern in her older bro. Cassie couldn't help but force out a small laugh in response, but the deep pit in her stomach refused to let up, knowing that something was genuinely wrong.
“I know, I know, sorry…night.”
Jackson sighed, closing the door behind him without a response. Cassie sat there, staring at the wall as she heard the young man walk away back to his room, a door closing down the hall. Her mouth was drier than a desert, and her heart was pounding so loudly in her ears that her body trembled slightly from the relief. Her gaze wandered the room until it landed on something on the wall across her bed.
A crucifix. Her mother, being the religious woman she was, always insisted on them having one in nearly every room. The girl's eyes lingered on it for a moment before she slowly got out of her bed, moving towards it, and gently taking it off the wall. Even though she wasn't super religious anymore, a deep sense of safety overcame her senses the moment she held it in her hands, examining it. Cassie pressed it against her chest, slowly stepping backwards to her bed. Crawling under the covers, she kept the cross pressed against her chest, whispering a silent prayer.