Chapter 2

[MEMBERSONLY]

A/N: The lines marked with a

* are taken from Freddy Krueger's nursery rhyme in "A Nightmare on Elm Street" film series.

One, Two Freddy's coming for you*

The sound of soft knocks float to her ears. Somebody is at the door.

Three, Four better lock the door*

With a stab of horror, she realises that the door swings open. A dark silhouette stands. He asks if he can come in.

Five, Six grab your crucifix*

A whimper escapes her mouth. He enters the house without waiting for her reply. He looks up at her trembling form and smiles.

Seven, Eight gonna stay up late*

His glove, with the claws attached at the fingers glint in the moonlight. She looks at the claws. She knows what follows next.

Nine, Ten never wake up again*

He nears her. She stands frozen on the spot. The claws press against her neck. He smiles. She gasps.

She wakes up. She breathes in deeply. Only a dream, she whispers. She takes a gulp of water. She tries to calm down.

Khushi thinks that 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' movie marathon with NK was not a good idea. She is unable to sleep. She can't get the image of the burnt face out of her mind. She raises her head, and realises there is somebody beside the poolside. A wild thought enters her head. Did she manage to pull Freddy out of her dream? The absurdity of the idea makes her laugh. Freddy is just that ... a nightmare. She spots the pun. She smiles a little more.

She gets out of the bed, and walks to the poolside. He stares at the moon. She steps up beside him. "Kya hua Nanhe ji?" she asks. He turns around to her.

She screams. She backs up a few steps. He raises his hand. An evil maniacal laugh echoes through the house. The claws glint in the moonlight. Freddy smiles at her. He throws back his head and laughs.

Steps thunder down the poolside staircase. Anjali is the first to reach the scene. Manohar and Manorama follow close suit.

"Bhaat is happeningz here? Idhar kaa hovat hai?" asks Manorama, staring between the empty space between the laughing man and the screaming Khushi. Anjali stares at the scene for a few minutes, and begins to laugh herself. Manohar shakes his head and sits down on the steps. Freddy removes his mask. Khushi gasps. NK grins back to her.

"Sorry Khushi ji, hum khud ko bhok nahi paaye" (Sorry Khushi ji, I couldn't bark myself) says he, to an outraged Khushi. He peels of the glove and throws it onto the recliner. He stifles his laughter. "Nanhe ji, aapka matlab hai rok Bhok nahi.. Aur humko aapse baat hi nahi karni" (Nanhe ji, you mean stop. Not bark. And I don't want to talk to you) comes Khushi's reply. She huffs in anger and stalks off to bed. She ignores NK's bleating. She slams the door shut.

The phone, ringing downstairs, goes unnoticed.

The house is once more steeped in silence. Khushi is unable to sleep. She kicks the covers off. It is stuffy in the room. Her intuition tells her something is wrong. She wonders what. An hour later, she flings herself off the bed, and reaches for the TV remote. She settles down to watch TV. She flips through the channels, disgusted at the Teleshopping commercials that flash after every two minutes. She thinks the news is her best bet. She switches on NDTV and settles to watch. Nothing like news about the stocks to bore you into sleeping, she thinks.

There is news about some derailment. Images of burning bogies flash onto the screen. The reporters hyperventilate on the screen.

Her phone rings the next second. She glances at the caller ID. It is Aman. "Hello?" she asks. She listens into the phone. Her heart hammers. She glances at the TV screen. They are reporting casualties now. The tears flow down her eyes. She gasps. "Ma'am?" she hears on the other end of the phone. She hears the question. She takes a deep breath. She tries to calm herself down.

"Book me a flight to my husband Aman" she says finally. She cuts the phone and clambers out of the bed. She wipes her tears and walks out to inform the family.

Freddy Krueger, killing her in her dreams, would have been more welcome.

Don't take out chappals just yet, one more part is left 😆 V3232013-04-12 22:53:20