Fighting my instinct to stay at Mark's side and figure out something- anything- to help him, I jumped from the bed as soon as I was thrown back into the real world and made my way toward the window where Maggie was wrestling with a more human looking Freddy Krueger. I placed my hands on the demon's shoulders in an attempt to pull him off of the woman, but instead he simply bucked back, causing me to lose my grip.

"DEVIN! In my purse, there's a gun!" Maggie yelled as she continued her struggle.

I looked from the two to the chair where she had been when we all fell asleep. Not seeing her bag by it, my eyes trailed the floor until I found where it lay a few feet off as if she had accidentally dropped it trying to get to Freddy. Rushing forward, I quickly reached inside the purse and easily found the small pistol. As I pulled it out to examine, I wondered how effective it would be due to its compact design.

"DEVIN!" the woman called my name more intently.

Removing my thoughts from the weapon instantly, I stepped determinedly back toward them with my arm straight out, aiming the gun as I cocked it. I didn't need any further instruction. The moment Maggie twisted so that her father's back was to me, I open-fired. The first shot rang out, thudding into Krueger's spine, making him release a screech. But I didn't stop shooting. Two, three, four, and five bullets flew from the barrel, each ripping through his sweater and sinking into his flesh.

I tried to fire once more, but the pistol simply clicked, having emptied its clip. Freddy fell to his knees then, his daughter still standing on the other side, simply watching as he died. However, I wasn't finished with him. I stomped forward, rotating the metal in my hand so that the butt was exposed. Upon reaching him, I reared my arm above my head and let it fall full-force so that the heaviest part of the weapon struck his temple. A string of blood leapt from his head with the blow and his eyes cut back at me as I readied to hit him again. With each strike, more red sputtered from the spot in his forehead which was now concave, his skull having fractured under the intensity of the attack. Even as he fell to the ground, eyes void of life, I couldn't stop beating him, my anger growing as my mind realized he was no longer feeling the pain.

"DEVIN! DEVIN!" Maggie cried out, suddenly beside me and grabbing onto my arms to get me to stop.

Through her attempt, I kept fighting, landing two more blows before I finally dropped the weapon and fell to the ground myself...crying out in agony, "YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH! YOU KILLED HIM!" I lifted my bare fists, letting them crash down onto Krueger's corpse in a pathetic try to hurt him more. "You killed him!" I sobbed.

"Devin," Maggie's voice had grown quiet, "Get up, we need to figure out our story before the police show up."

"I don't fucking care!" I growled at her. "Just get out of here if you want to and leave me alone."

"I can't let you take on the blame for this by yourself," she insisted.

Her nobility pissed me off and, grabbing the pistol I had dropped, I rose from my cowered position over the body of the man that killed my love. Turning around, I stomped toward her with the gun aimed even though I knew it was out of ammo, "I SAID LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!"

"Devin..." she tried again.

"NOW! FUCKING GO YOU FUCKING CUNT!" my voice was louder than it had been in quite some time, the rage I was feeling unlike anything I'd ever experienced...even with my past problems.

Her vision lingered a moment longer, watching quietly as several tears fell from my drenched face before she finally reached out and placed her hand on the barrel of the pistol I held. She calmly began pulling at it and at first, I resisted, but eventually allowed her to take her weapon back. I threw my hands onto my head, slicking my hair back as I spun to look upon Freddy's body. After taking in that he still lie there, motionless, I ran over to the bed and crawled into it, slowly scooting until I lay next to Mark.

Staring down at his face where his eyes remain closed, I cupped one hand around one of his cheek while lifting a finger on the other to trace his facial features and jawline while whispering his name, "Mark...I'm so sorry...I should have been there for you. I should have been strong enough to protect you... Please forgive me."

The sound of sirens could be heard in the distance.

"Devin," Maggie's soft voice called again. "They're coming. Here's the story..."

My mind was a complete haze after that, barely registering the pounding on the apartment door...the subsequent stomping through the hall...and the yells of armed officers telling the two of us survivors to get on the ground. At first, I ignored them, unable to leave Mark's side. However, I was soon met with a man tugging me violently off of the mattress before a second assisted him in shoving me face-first onto the floor while they handcuffed me. Maggie and I were both escorted off the property and read our rights on the way to the police station, where we were kept separate the entire time as was their procedure to avoid any collaboration between us. Nonetheless, she had already told me what to say, what to stick to, so when finally questioned, all I had to say was:

I've been sleeping on Mark's couch after we met in the hospital. His friend Maggie came to visit, but he was already asleep so she visited with me in the living room instead. We heard strange sounds from the bedroom and went to check on him, only to find a man in a dirty Christmas sweater and a fedora stabbing him in the stomach. Maggie dropped her purse in shock and so I took her gun and shot the intruder, but I ran out of ammo so I decided to make sure he was subdued by hitting him over the head as well.

Both of us knew it would land me in jail for a while at the very least since I had gone past defending and into the realm of excessive force with my attack. I honestly didn't care about that though. Let them put me in prison for the rest of my life. I was done. I was tired of trying. Mark had been the first person that seemed to stave off that insatiable fury within me. Even when I got angry, it was so much easier to control simply knowing he was there. Maybe it was stupid to say, but it was true. And he was so sincerely sweet too...taking care of me like he did...just the way he spoke the simplest of things was so kind. I had never found anyone like him before and I knew I'd never find another ever again.

So, I stuck to the story Maggie had given me and awaited judgement. It ended up that she was released after several hours while I was meant to remain in lockup for seventy-two. Freddy's dead, I kept repeating to myself, I killed him for you, Mark. Please rest in peace knowing you didn't die in vain...just please, finally be at peace. For the first twelve hours or so, there was another man in the cell with me, but he was soon let out and I was relieved to be by myself again. Not because the guy had been bothering me or anything. It was only the idea of being stuck in someone's company right then pissed me off.

"Hello, Devin."

I looked up from where I had been sitting with my head hung to see the young girl from the restaurant standing directly in front of me, her short black skirt swaying from side to side and her arms crossed beneath her breasts. The anger that had begun to numb by then returned and I growled at the insolent ghost, "What the fuck do you want?!"

"Same as you," she stated calmly.

"I really doubt that," I scoffed, "You were the one giving Mark a way to die in the first place. Why would you care about getting him back?"

She hesitated, "I meant taking your frustrations out on Krueger."

I bore my eyes into hers and grinned, "I already did that."

"Maybe...for a moment...was it really satisfying after what he did to you, though?" she shot back playfully.

"Look, you little cunt," I stood up and stared maliciously down at her, "If there is anyone I want to take my frustrations out on right now, it's you. You're the one that started all this mess. Mark would be alive right now if it weren't for you."

"Would he?" she retorted.

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" I snapped.

"Think about it," she lifted her hands palm up in a thoughtful gesture, "If we hadn't shown up, he would have never had the extra push he needed to get out of that suicidal pit he was living in." She paused to let me consider her words before continuing, "Furthermore, he wouldn't have been in the ward at the same time as you...you would have never met."

"You're wrong," I growled, "Maybe we would have never met, but Mark is strong. He didn't need your bullshit. He would have gotten better either way. If him being alive and happy meant I never met him, then I would be fine with that. But you," I made sure to relay as much disgust at possible when referring to her, "Had to be selfish and petty. Not only did you get him killed, but you got five more kids killed! Don't you feel any remorse at all?"

Emma hardened her stance and glared back at me, "That bastard deserves to be in eternal agony for what he's done! How the hell can you be ok with just letting him live carefree in another world knowing he killed the man you loved?!"

"GAHH!" I reached out in an attempt to grab the girl's throat, only to stumble forward and hit my head on the iron bars of my cell when she disappeared into the air. I spun around, but she was gone. "GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!" I yelled, kicking the cot I had been sitting on, sending the cheap metal slat clanking against the wall from which it hung.

"HEY! Knock it off in there!" a guard immediately showed at the entrance of the cell.

I turned to face him, stepping determinedly forward, but before I was close enough to reach my hand through the bars and grab him, I instead grabbed the hair on the top of my head and pulled it as I forced myself to back away. When my back thudded against the wall, I let my body slide down it until I was sitting on the floor, head down and face hidden in my knees as I started sobbing, not caring about being heard...