Leo’s blood turned to ice. “The 2010 remake? That’s not — people don’t count that. It’s a reboot, not part of the original continuity.”

Here’s a short story based on the prompt: “How many A Nightmare on Elm Street movies are there?” It was three in the morning when Leo’s phone buzzed against the wooden nightstand. He groaned, rolled over, and squinted at the screen. A group chat message from his friend Maya:

The phone screen dimmed. Then, from the darkness just behind it, two yellow eyes opened and blinked.

Freddy tilted his head. “Did I say original continuity ? You said — and I quote — ‘how many A Nightmare on Elm Street movies are there.’ Not ‘how many in the original series.’ The remake exists, kiddo. It’s got my face all over the poster. My claws. My name in the title. You think I don’t get royalties from that?”

Leo’s throat tightened. He tried to laugh it off. “I’m awake. It’s fine. He can’t —”

From the corner of his room, just beyond the foot of his bed, a low scratching started. Slow. Rhythmic. Like fingernails dragging down a blackboard — or down the inside of a boiler room pipe.

In the corner of the chat, a new message appeared — from Leo’s number, though Leo hadn’t touched his phone:

“Ten. Sweet dreams.”