"I already told you—it's holy water. I'm not lying to you."
Luke's voice stayed calm.
The answer only made Glen more confused. He looked Luke up and down.
"Aren't you a forest ranger? How the hell do you have sothing like this?"
Luke leaned back in his chair, arms crossed.
"Hmph. I wasn't always a forest ranger, you know."
That got everyone's attention.
"I used to be a cop in Miami!"
"..."
The group went silent. Clearly this guy had no intention of telling the truth.
Nancy was more focused on the imdiate problem. She clutched the bottle tightly, eyes full of worry.
"Mr. Luke, since you understand this stuff… do you know how to actually deal with that monster nad Freddy?"
Luke shook his head.
That was the real issue.
Freddy wasn't like the other monsters he'd faced—Jason or Myers. Those had physical bodies. Even if you couldn't kill them outright, you could still shoot them, stab them, get so kind of reaction.
But Freddy? A dream demon you couldn't touch or reach? Physical attacks did nothing. It was a nightmare.
Even the original movie solutions had felt pretty half-assed.
Luke wasn't about to risk trying them. If they worked, great. If they failed, he and everyone else would be sitting ducks.
Looking at the exhausted, desperate faces in front of him, Luke made his decision.
"If you trust , co with to the camp. More people ans we can watch each other's backs."
The teens looked at one another. Finally Nancy stood up first.
"We're going with you."
Once one person moved, the rest followed. They had no other options left. Better to gamble on the forest ranger who actually seed to know what he was talking about than sit around waiting to die in their sleep.
Luke didn't waste ti. He went to the counter, bought several cases of soda and drinks, then led the worn-out group outside.
"Everyone in the truck. Back bed."
"It's a little rough, but think of it as a nightti stargazing trip."
Nobody argued. They climbed silently into the pickup bed, too drained to complain.
The truck bounced along the familiar dirt road. When the old Crystal Lake sign flashed past, Glen couldn't help himself.
"Are we seriously going there? I heard that place is—"
"Shut up!" Nancy hissed.
Now wasn't the ti to freak themselves out. Compared to so old campfire story, the Freddy who could actually kill them in their dreams felt a lot more imdiate.
When the pickup stopped in front of the camp cabins, Ethel stord out of the main building, face full of anger.
"You finally decided to co back! I swear, if you're late one more—"
Her words died the second she saw seven or eight exhausted teenagers climbing out of the truck bed.
The feather duster in her hand nearly hit the ground. She pointed at the group, then at Luke, mouth opening and closing without a sound.
"Did you go into town to buy… people?"
Luke kept a straight face.
"When I was in town these kids heard how beautiful Crystal Lake is and begged to co camping."
He spread his hands, looking helpless.
"What could I do? They were too enthusiastic to turn down."
Ethel stared at him for a long mont, clearly suspicious.
Luke knew Freddy fed on fear. The fewer people who knew the truth, the better. So he kept his mouth shut.
Ethel studied him for several seconds. Weird or not, the guy didn't look like a criminal.
She sighed.
"They can stay. But the empty cabins are still a ss. Nothing's been cleaned."
"No problem. These boys are tough. They can sleep on the floor with the kids."
Luke waved a big hand and turned to the teenagers.
"Right, guys?"
The exhausted high-schoolers nodded so fast they almost gave themselves whiplash.
Ethel threw her hands up and walked away, done arguing.
Luke pushed open the door to the kids' cabin and shouted with full volu.
"Kids! Look what I brought back!"
The little ones shot up from their beds. The second they saw the cases of soda in Luke's hands, they erupted in cheers and sward him.
Luke laughed and started handing out drinks.
He'd already turned every single bottle into holy water while they were in the truck.
[Holy Water LV1 (186/1000)]
He'd only ant to test it. He hadn't expected it to actually work.
The kids clearly preferred the fizzy sweet stuff over plain mineral water.
Once the teenagers were settled in the sa big cabin, Luke watched them sit or lie down, eyelids already drooping.
Ti was running out.
He stepped outside, hauled several cases of mineral water from the truck, and stacked them in the corner of the cabin like ammunition.
When everything was ready, he found a spot in the corner, opened one bottle of his homade holy water, and set it beside him.
Breathing inside the cabin gradually grew deep and steady.
The kids had already fallen asleep. The exhausted teenagers didn't last much longer either. One by one they slumped over and passed out.
That's when Glen—sleeping only a few feet from Luke—started twitching. His eyelids fluttered rapidly. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. His breathing turned ragged, like he was trapped in sothing terrifying.
Luke's eyes sharpened. He stood up slowly.
Here we go.
He walked over to Glen and pried open one eyelid.
The eyeball was rolling wildly. Deep REM sleep.
Smack.
Luke slapped him across the face. A bright red handprint blood instantly.
Glen didn't react at all.
"AAAAAHHH!"
Suddenly Glen's body started convulsing. Arms and legs flailed wildly in the air.
Freddy had already entered his dream.
The holy water he'd drunk earlier was doing its job—there were still no visible wounds.
Luke watched Glen thrash on the floor, jaw tightening.
Need more.
He grabbed a full bottle, forced it into Glen's mouth, and squeezed hard. A whole liter went straight down his throat.
The convulsions eased almost imdiately.
The holy water worked.
Luke nodded, satisfied.
One more bottle.
Soon Glen stopped twitching. His breathing evened out again.
But the mont things cald down on Glen's side, a kid in the opposite corner started the sa violent twitching.
Luke didn't hesitate. Sa treatnt.
The small cabin turned into a battlefield for the rest of the night.
Whenever soone started convulsing, Luke sprinted over and force-fed them holy water.
In the middle of the chaos, only one person slept through everything without a single twitch.
Russell.
The chubby kid lay sprawled on his back, snoring like a chainsaw, drool pooling on the floor like nothing in the world could touch him.
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