Chapter 4-2
The hotel in town wasn’t big. It would be more appropriate to call it an inn. The building had only five floors. It definitely had enough rooms for fifteen people but there was no single room spacious enough to fit all of them. This was the original reason the team first decided to head to the city. Unfortunately, they were stuck and had to settle into this hotel.
“Such terrible conditions. The biggest room in this hotel barely fits four people… If we force fifteen people in, I don’t think anyone’s going to fall asleep. There wouldn’t even be space for you to sit. Fine for a day or two but thirty days? I believe no one wants it right?” Zheng shrugged as he spoke to the people sitting in front.
The team climbed up to the roof of the hotel. They sat in a circle under the starry sky. Zheng had the responsibility to lay out the situation the team was in as the leader.
“We have witnessed the danger of this movie. To be honest, I couldn’t figure out when did I fall asleep. My body is strong enough to stay awake for ten to fifteen days and I can further strength it with Qi to stay awake up to a month. So I don’t believe I would fall into a dream so easily. The only possibility is God altered the movie to put anyone who attempts to leave this town into a dream.” Zheng said.
The rest of the members looked to each other. The day had been strange to them. Everyone came in knowing the kind of world that was A Nightmare on Elm Stret. The science they learned could not be used to explain this world. Still, what had happened today was inconceivable to them. Was there no solution to this movie? Were their deaths already set as they were in Final Destinations?
“Strangeness is inconceivable. We can label A Nightmare on Elm Stree as ghosts type or inconceviable type movies. The plot itself is simple. However, dreams themselves are among the strangest. Things which couldn’t happen in the real world could in a dream. Unless you never sleep, you will become fragile in your dreams. That’s why we group this movie with the unsolvable genre.” HongLu said.
The others nodded in agreement. All equipment became useless in a dream. No one could bring their weapons in. It was probably the same for their abilities. Dreams were imaginations of the person. One’s imagination determined everything of him. In some ways, it was exactly like what Xuan had said. Hypnosis and the Lambda Driver might allow him to slay the demon the moment it entered his dream.
Zheng let out a long breath. “I originally planned to find a hotel in a city today so we could stay in the same room and aid each other… Anyway, we will just settle in this town now that things turned out the way they are. I am going to assign you for the upcoming thirty days. We have five women and ten men. So the all five women say in a room. It’s going to be crowded but try your best to bear with it. The remaining people split into two groups of five. It will also be crowded for us but that’s what we have to overcome. One person must keep watch at night. The moment you see someone enters a nightmare, you have to light the incense and wake all four people. If the person still can’t wake up from the nightmare, call everyone over, or at least the two other people keeping watch.” Zheng gave his assignments, especially stressing them to the newbies. He was rather worried with reegard to the newbies. This wasn’t the same situation as The Grudge anymore. There wasn’t a scripturee for them to steal and Zheng wasn’t the same person. The problem he feared was if the newbies didn’t put effort on the night watch. Then those who fell into a nightmare wouldn’t be able to wake up.
Anyway, Zheng repeated the assignments a few times and the team split up. They stayed in three consecutive rooms on the second floor. These three person rooms could barely fit enough beds for five people. Yet, it was not the time to enjoy the stay. Everyone frowned then settled down.
The best choice to get through the night was actually staying on a busy open area as they did in The Grudge. The members would take turns sleeping. However, the drawback it possessed was the members might not be able to physically sustain through their time here. They had to survive for thirty days after all. Being constantly stressed for thirty days or sleep deprived could break a person down mentally.
The women’s team was actually not weak despite having three newbies. YinKong had a magical weapon and Lan was a psyche force user. Whether or not Freddy could take her on was a question.
Xuan led the team of Zero, Kampa, Heng, and ChengXiao. Xuan was the counter to Freddy. Heng and ChengXiao also had magical weapons to take him on. This group was safe whether in a dream or in reality.
The group of Zheng, WangXia, HongLu, TengYi, and LiuYu was weaker in comparison. Although those who believed in Zheng’s strength would think it was the strongest team. Yet, Zheng shivered from his heart.
(Freddy attacks people from their dreams… My mental state is filled with weaknesses. I might be the weakest one in this team at the moment. Physical strength does not equate to mental state.)
The ominous feeling was growing stronger. Zheng didn’t know what would happen but it was definitely related to this movie, and probably Freddy.
(I should just not sleep. I will meditate Qi throughout the night which also helps to refine Qi. Thirty days is going to be tough but it will get through. Too bad I won’t be able to kill Freddy. Life is more important.)
After Zheng made up his mind, he headed to the room and began meditating. LiuYu became curious and asked. He was excited when Zheng told him about Qi was among the enhancements. It took Zheng much convincing and letting him know of Cultivation enhancements to stop LiuYu from pestering him. LiuYu continued talking by himself for another hour on the bed before falling asleep. The other three had long fallen asleep.
The four people in this group didn’t have to worry since Zheng was going to stay up. Zheng’s strength in reality did not fear Freddy even after God altered the difficulty. He might even be able to one shot Freddy with Destruction.
Zheng did not notice anything out of the ordinary as he continued to meditate and refine Qi. The breathing of the others was rather calm. There was no traces of a nightmare. Yet, that ominous feeling just kept growing. He felt as though he had forgotten something.
(Is it from the women’s group? The first one to stay up is definitely YinKong. She would not have any issue. It’s midnight now. So it’s time for the third person. Is it one of the newbies?)
Zheng became more worried. He woke WangXia up to take his place while he headed for the door. The hallway was creepily silent but he walked without fear since he was in reality.
As he looked toward the women’s room, his heart skipped a beat. The door was painted in blood. The floor, the ceiling, the walls were all painted in blood. It was as though a manslaughter took place.
Zheng rushed toward the blood trail without a second thought. He made a turn and saw a girl walking with her trembling body. Her flesh was torn open. Her tendons were pulled all the way out to the floor, ceiling, and walls. These tendons were dragging her forward.