Chapter Text
Freddy sits on the dirt completely separated from any form of dialog Owen was trying to partake in. His back leaning against the log that was supposed to be the seating. While Freddy was able to keep up fine with chapters 1-6 this little session extended beyond reason and the boy found himself completely drained from it all. He wasn't absorbing any of the information given to him. It was all just passing over him just a small breeze. At this point, he was unsure if even Owen was learning anything from this. He wouldn't be surprised if Owen was more enthralled by the idea of teaching than the actual material. It was kind of cute in a way, like a toddler serving fake tea. Caring about the idea more than the act but not even great passion could persuade Krueger into listening.
“How long have you guys been out here?” another consular approaches carrying firewood, dropping it all at once into the fire pit. Freddy shot up looking around having lost track of time only to see that dusk was approaching. "Fuuuuuuckkkkk," he whines realizing his first day has been wasted. Slipped completely from his grasp. The other boy chuckled "Hey man relax, you're not missing much anyway.” He speaks as he organizes the wood into a pyramid shape. “It was basically just chatting and planning a route to the girl’s cabin," he says dusting off his hands. "Have any of you even opened the book?" Owen asked with the same tone of a teacher disappointed in the entire class. The boy shrugs "I don't know about the other guys but I'm good."
"You think you're too cool for learning?" Owen retorted
"No, it's just that I've done this before. You're looking at a certified counselor that has been in the game for two years now!" Owen had this face of amazement his respect making a sharp u-turn. Freddy remains neutral. "Is it that fun around here? The boy smiles and raises his shoulders. "Well, it has pros and cons like everything else." Just then, a bell rang. The seasoned consular tighten up hearing it. Owen and Fred looked at him confused. It was just a bell after all. The boy sighed "speak of the devil," he speaks in dismay as he approaches the mess hall. Owen and Freddy decided to follow. That guy knows more than they do anyways.
The group of teenagers scurries into one of the more aged buildings. One with moss claiming the roof as its own. Still, the structure carries this sense of pride around it even if the teens didn't respect it. With roots so deep in the ground, removal would be next to impossible. When Freddy entered it immediately clicked that this was a mess hall. Freddy counted about 4 long tables for each side. Way more than needed to host the counselors. Clearly this is an area meant to be shared with the kids. Although there were still some extra tables outside of the place. It was easy to notice that the boys and girls already were mixed. Both parties seemingly hated the separation. The endeavor to keep things PG will ultimately end up futile. It’s only a matter of when. Freddy just decided to slip into the crowd and take a seat not really caring who he ends up next to. He didn’t really know how this whole thing worked so he just thought it was best to observe for now. The chatter in the hall was deafening. No matter how hard he'd try to listen in on other’s conversations to get some sort of clue on what to do, he didn’t pick up anything. He could ask them but only stupid kids ask questions like that and Freddy wasn't an idiot. He’ll just bullshit a guess. It works in most of his classes. He notices dishes being placed down on these counter that connects the kitchen and mess hall. The window connecting the two rooms covered by a small pale blue curtain. The more experienced just seem to grab a plate or two and wander off to their own table. Freddy looks around him noticing not a lot of people are getting the message, not even his own table so he thought grabbing a few extra plates would be helpful.
The residents of the table are pleasantly surprised when the Krueger kid places down their dinner in front of them. Balancing plates on his arms like a waiter at a casual dining restaurant. “Thank you...You” the flower hair girl says in a cheery voice leaning in trying to read his shirt expecting a name tag but she quickly realizes that this is not the kind of situation she’s in. A Tall kid follows up with a chuckle. Freddy didn’t recognize them so she must be one of the kids from a different state. While a majority of the counselors are from Springwood the offering was open to everyone in the nearby states. Freddy could only assume Springwood was so common here because of the lack of activity for reckless youth during the summer other than curch and sports teams leaving many kids with a dull experience, and some people get desperate with exposed to prolonged boredom. “No problem,” he says putting on a fake smile and sitting down. Freddy sits down starting to block out the chatter of peers as he looks down at his tray. He reaches out to the large bread roll placed next to the vegetable casserole. He’s pleasantly surprised when it’s soft to the touch, one could describe it as plush. Freddy brings it to his face taking a generous bite out of it. His face lit up as his taste bud processed the still warm wheat. Soft and delicious. Simple, but it’s heaven for a pallet used to expired, sometimes raw sustenance. A smile grows on his face absolutely delighted by this hand made food, it was divine. The Casserole accompanying it had this great crunch behind it too. Still warm with fresh ingredients. Krueger felt like a king but others felt like chumps. Many poking or flinging their food around. Hell, some were just skipping the desert, chocolate silk cake. Freddy rolled his eyes at the display of entitlement. Little pigs.
The fire dances along the night sky cracking and popping at random. Vague images of people, houses, animals all burning, all being delighted by it. Freddy was hypnotized by it. The powerful light contrasted the star-filled sky was a thing of beauty. Freddy is using his imagination for the first time in years and it’s effortless. One of the louder girls chucking whatever she could into the flames. Pine cones, branches, and napkins she pocketed from dinner, nothing was off-limits. She was just as excited as Fred. Cackling as she watches her items become consumed by fire. This warmth was welcomed, comfortable. Unlike, the basement Mr. Underwood forced him into, it would assault him. His clothes would stick to him almost suffocating. Making him pull and scratch at the skin he was blessed with. No windows were available to obtain cool air. Just an endurance test of how long he can survive being steamed to death by those damn pipes. Just thinking of it all made him scratch at his wrist out of habit but it didn’t last. This flame was far more inviting. He could see it for one thing. It’s light beaming onto him filling his eyeballs with a joyous luminescence hurting him in the best way possible. It’s heat filling his empty body and soul even if it’s only a modest amount. He gets closer. Leaning his face in getting as close as he can. He smiles seeing it trying to reach him, to burn him like every else within its grasp. However, despite the blaze's power, it can’t touch him. Only tease him with the threat of heat. “Jesus Christ Krueger!’ suddenly, Freddy is grabbed by the back of his shirt pulled away from his heated mistress. “Just a reminder Fred. Fire is indeed, hot.” Owen remarks. Freddy groans having the urge to push him into the flames for daring to take him away from it. He had forgotten how pleasant his old friend could be. A partner he had not had a tango with since people stopped dropping their lighters around Fred’s neighborhood. To deny him that time to reconnect should be considered a crime. Any other day he’d tell the guy to fuck off to take his piss covered pigskin off to the backwater barn he was born in and drown in the shit filled slop he sucks up daily. If it was any other day. Any, other, day. But not today. Normal kid, doing normal things. At this camp, he’s going to have more than one pleasant moment so he doesn’t have to defend this one so hard. So he just breaths slowly, moving back to reclaim his spot on one of the logs.
A stick taps against an empty coke bottle gently bringing the group’s attention over to them. It was the veteran counselor that Freddy met earlier. "Camp crystal lake! 1957!" He speaks in a hype man voice and it seems like it works as the other kid’s cheer. Freddy is late but he raises his fist and smiles to give off the illusion he knows what he's doing. The veteran laughs waiting until the excitement does down a bit before he continues. "Welcome! Welcome! I'd like to start by thanking every one of you for coming out. Your folks may have the perception that you’re giving up your summer to be here. Well, they’re wrong. This is an enhancement to your summer! A way to turn a good summer into a great one! It may be hard work, the kids may be gross but I promise the parties and beer make up for it!” once again the teen gathered up a crowd of cheers.
“Now, let’s start with intros, shall we? Keep it brief, keep it snappy, name and home only. We can do life stories later. Okay? Okay. Let’s start withhhhhh.” The boy covers his eyes hovering his hand across the group landing onto a girl deeply invested in her sketchbook and wasn't present at all for the current conversation. She looked up utterly confused by why all eyes were on her. It took her a moment but she eventually introduced herself as Elza, a local to the area; only to dive back into her paper. She speeds through her intro for sure only putting forth the bare minimum effort. Still, the flow has been established. Next was Trey, a kid from Indiana. He was probably the tallest of the group. He was very laid back, he spoke soft but he shouldn’t be considered passive, he was the first to break the ice after all. Sparking several conversations in the cabin effortlessly. Chrissy was next she was the kid that had been putting flowers in her hair since she got here. She was a Springwood kid so Freddy had a vague idea of what she was like already. Around school, she's known for constantly volunteering for whatever came her way and she was a high member of like three clubs. Of course, her grades were in the can. All that focused on socializing left little time for actual school work. Afterward, Riley introduced himself. He was one of those girls with an unreasonably long skincare routine. She tried to get an astronomy club started in Springwood high but it never got anywhere. Taylor was one that got under a lot of adult skins. She was roaming around Springwood singing in public areas and then when people demand her to stop she’ll require a fee for her silence. If not paid she’ll only increase her volume. Freddy honestly respected her tactics. Her greatest talent was squeezing out pennies but it sure wasn’t a necessity for her. More a hobby maintained by boredom. Becca from the big apple who had a bit of an accent and spoke very loudly. She was the one chucking stuff into the fire earlier. She looks like she could kill anyone here. Owen was so unremarkable that not only was his intro skippable but his existence to. The kid was from Springwood and Freddy has never noticed him before. Then again, judging by the cross on his neck it's most likely just because Freddy's life is so far removed from god. Two paths so far removed from each other they'll rarely interact. A proud Christian and whatever the fuck Freddy was. There was a two for one deal going with Barry and Claudette. Locals that were talking non-stop during dinner and you'd have to be an idiot to not know Barry is looking for some summertime love. Lucky for him, Claudette is an idiot. Seemingly clueless as to why the boy was sitting close to her. Besides that Freddy could tell Barry was into some sort of kickball or track just by the muscle mass on his lower half compared to his noodle arms. Claudette wasn't as easy to read but she sure chewed gum loudly. She'd even do it open maw. Hopefully, she doesn't do the same with actual food.
It finally landed on Fred and he finds himself tensing up. First impressions are important after all. Still, he knows not to oversell. "Freddy Krueger. Springwood. Nice to meet you all" generic? Yes remarkably bland but it was passable. Sure the teens from Springwood that knew of his reputation were skeptical but those not familiar with the maniac tale seemed welcoming enough. He supposes that's the best he can hope for as of now. "And then there's me! Your fearless leader-" "I never agreed to that" Elza cuts in only to be promptly ignored. "Say hello to the one and only David Wilson! A proud local and camp master." Freddy's eyes widened hearing that name. It was uncomfortably familiar.
Freddy has seen many John's in his time and all of them were bad at hiding their identity. Family photos, sports teams, work parties. Freddy would at least get a glimpse of it all. Quick fuck or not, sex is still the most intimate thing you can do with a person. There’s no such thing as privacy in between the sheets. Plus motels were a rarity with these guys. Too many chances to get caught if Freddy decides to scream loud enough. So it’s not hard to recall Charles Wilson. He was a greasy motherfucker. His hair looked like he ran a stick of butter through it daily. Tons of dirty underneath his nails and bags under his eyes. A clearly broken man feeling powerless and looking for easy prey. He could tell he hated his wife just the way he called him a fucking bitch and backhanded him. He probably liked beating him more than anything. Of course, he probably knows this guy better than his own wife. Just because he was showing Krueger his true monstrous self. Guy didn’t last long. He was a novelist at best. He had naked pictures of him and other children trapped in the Springwood circle but they were mass-produced copies. He never knew how these things were produced but he was familiar enough with the photos that he was numb to it. Krueger was probably his wet dream long before he stepped into his abode. Freddy was surprised to notice Charles didn’t even think to lock the door. A grade-A dumbass. Still, it allowed him to roam. Something the boy actually enjoyed. Most times Fredrick had very little power in his work dynamic. It was designed to be like that after all. So the closest thing he gets to any form of control is picking apart his John’s physiological and the very rare moment he can say something that really stings. To make them feel like the pathetic scum they truly are. Most of the time that’s the closet to revenge he’ll get. However, Charles’s case was far different. Freddy can remember clearly exploring the house. It was huge, nice carpets, wooden floors, and a tv ban. Not a single telly in sight despite the wealth on display. There was a knitting project in the works placed on the living room table, pictures of the family and the son’s soccer team displayed. It all seems so perfect from the outside and usually, the dirty underbelly would never come to light. This squeaky clean mask would hide the truth until the man dies. However, this is the one time that it completely shattered and it that break started with the dropping of cans. A brunette in a flowing dress and a child in a soccer uniform stood in the door. One horrified by the implications of a child wrapped in a towel and one just deeply confused asking his mom questions she did not have the answers to. All eyes on him Krueger did not know what to do. He didn’t want to bullshit for the guy but he knew if he got caught if he reached out to these people there would be hell to pay. Panicked and put on the spot Freddy ran. Squeezing through the two and racing out into the foggy night. He could hear screaming between the married couple as he ran down the abandoned street and Freddy could basically feel the build-up to violence in the air and he really didn’t want to light rod in that shit storm. He’s willing to take the rocks to his bare feet if it meant not being involved in the fallout. He looked behind just to make sure he wasn’t being chased. Only to see the son eyeballing him. A completely blank stare just watching his getaway.
It took less than a week for divorce rumors to spread around the elementary school around young David. A kid in a different class but the same age as Freddy. Needless to say, Freddy decided to stay in for recess. A month later the mother and son moved out and the father hanged himself. So it really was a wait out the situation. No police approached him, David never saw him again as far as the family knew Freddy only existed for an hour. Could this guy really be the same David, or was it just a common name? Even if it is, would he even remember him specifically? This was an odd situation, to say the least.