"I had a wonderful time, Rick."Chris Higgins sat next to her boyfriend, Rick Davis, in his VW Bug. The two had just arrived back to Chris's cabin, known as Higgins Haven, which belonged to her parents, Frank and Katherine Higgins. The mid October rain now began to dissipate as Chris and Rick sat in his car, holding hands. Earlier that day, Rick had taken her to a horse show, knowing how much Chris loved horses. Her father really wanted to surprise her with one of her own. A pony. But owning a horse was too expensive right now.
"Are you gonna be okay, Chris?" Rick's head turned toward his girlfriend sitting beside him. He could see that she looked a bit worried. Both of them knew that her parents would be wondering why their only daughter was still out after 11pm. Chris was due back home at 9:30, but had completely lost track of time. After the horse show, Rick had taken Chris to dinner and then to a movie. After that, the two had driven out to Crystal Point, sitting by the cold lake, talking about their future together. Then the rain started and Chris asked to be brought home, noticing how late it was.
"Yea, I'll be ok," Chris turned to look at the two story cabin. "It's only my mom and dad. The most they can do is ground me." She leaned toward Rick, kissing him gently. "I'll call you tomorrow." Rick smiled as Chris stepped out of the Bug. "What a lucky guy I am," he thought to himself. He waited until Chris got inside of the house safely, and drove away.
Chris stepped out of Rick's car into the cold autumn air. The sweater that she wore kept her warm a bit, but a parka would have been much nicer. As she trotted up to the cozy looking cabin, she could feel the butterflies in her stomach. She could just picture her mother and father, sitting there on the sofa, with stern or disapproving expressions on their adult faces. The only light that shined through the windows came from the fireplace. Maybe they were in bed? Doubtful. Needless to say,Chris knew her parents very well. She gripped the handle of the cabin's main door, taking a deep breath. "Here we go." Chris stepped inside.
Frank and Kathy sat on the sofa in the living room, each holding a cup of steaming coffee. When Chris walked in, Frank immediately stood, nearly spilling the hot fluid on himself. "You had better have a darn good excuse for walking in here at this hour, young lady!" His wife rose and stood next to him, as if in aggreement. And she was. She was livid. Chris understood that both of her parents didn't much approve of her boyfriend, but they had never told her that she was not allowed to date him. Afterall, she was 16 and a 1/2 years old, and mature for her age. She was a young woman and it didn't matter who her parents did or did not approve of.
"Where were you, and what were you doing with that boy, Christine?" Chris's mother chimed in this time. The air was full of tension and Chris had no idea of what to say. She had spent a wonderful afternoon and evening with her boyfriend and now she was getting grief from mom and dad. In the back of her mind, Chris realized that her parents only loved her and were concerned about her safety and well being. But right now, she thought to herself, they had a peculiar way of showing it.
"Mom, we went to Crystal Point tonight", Chris began. " I lost track of time. I'm sorry. I'll never do it again." Kathy Higgins was normally a pleasant and extremely warm woman. She very rarely ever swore or used bad language. Tonight, however, Chris would see a very different side to her. There was a very good reason why Kathy was overreacting. Her daughter would not find out the reason until later on.
"Crystal Point!?" Frank exclaimed. "Did you have sex with that Davis kid?" Chris glared at her father, completely horrified by his question. "That's none of your business daddy!" Chris was so fixed on her father, that she failed to notice her mother rush toward her. The slap caught her left cheek, leaving it as red as a fresh apple. Chris looked surprised, shocked, hurt. It stung and she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. "MOM!" Chris put her hands to her face and she began to sob as her parents stood before her in silence. On impulse and in embarrassment, Chris turned around and fled out through the main cabin door, into the chilly autumn night.
She ran and ran,with no specific destination in mind. Angry and upset by her parents' actions, she wanted to teach them a lesson for blowing up at her the way that they did. Chris reached up to touch her face, which felt tender from the slap her mother had laid on her. As she ran away from Higgins Haven, she continued to sob, wishing that Rick was here with her, to comfort her and make this night better for her. Already she began to miss him. After a while, Chris stopped running and looked behind her. She was completely surrounded by foliage of cold and dark woods. It seemed as if Higgins Haven had completely disappeared.
Kathy Higgins paced the floor of the living room, wearing a terrycloth bathrobe. She was beside herself. "I shouldn't have hit her", she said. "I shouldn't have hit her, Frank. She's our baby." Frank walked over to his wife and put his arms around her. "We have to protect our baby, Kath." He turned his head, catching sight of his hunting rifle, mounted over the fireplace. "Things used to be peaceful around here until those murders happened years ago. If anything happened to you, or Chris, I would die." Kathy looked up at Frank, her eyes glistening with tears. "Then please go and bring our baby back." Frank stared into his wife's eyes and wiped her tears away. She and Chris looked amazingly alike. The resemblance was uncanny. "Okay." With that, Frank Higgins removed the rifle from its mount and fetched his parka.
In the woods, Chris stopped beside a large oak tree. The rain had started up again and she searched desperately for a dry spot until the storm let up. She could feel herself growing sleepy. It had been a long day afterall, helping her father in the barn, and then going on her date with Rick. Chris figured that she would hide out in the woods all night until the sun started to rise. That would really anger her parents even more, but she didn't care. The young girl still insisted that they be taught a good lesson. It was quite chilly, but Chris was not worried about that. Her snowboots, turtleneck sweater and jeans would keep her warm enough to survive the night. She sat down, with her back against the oak tree, trying to get as comfortable as possible. Soon, the sound of the falling rain lulled her to sleep.
Frank trotted through the woods, holding his hunting rifle in both hands. He called out his daughter's name, but the rain only responded to him. His search had been conducted a half hour ago and it still continued to this moment. Chris was out here, somewhere. Where else could she go? They were in the middle of nowhere, almost. If it took him the entire night, he would find and bring his daughter back home. Frank walked on through the night. Moments later, the rain stopped.
In her dream, Chris was riding a beautiful black horse with her boyfriend, Rick. She had read Black Beauty various times, falling in love with the book. They were riding through an emerald green, enchanted forest. Pixie dust seemed to be floating in the air around them, as the shiny dark horse trotted on. Heavy footsteps suddenly crashed through the forest. Chris turned around in her dream, to see trees being uprooted a short distance behind. This terrified her, and the footsteps sounded as if they belonged to a giant or an ogre of some kind. She turned back around to alert Rick, but he had mysteriously vanished, along with the lovely, ebony steed.
Chris awoke from her dream, startled. She noticed that the rain had stopped and the air felt colder. The footfalls that had been present in her dream were actually real. Someone was out here with her in the cold woods. Chris felt positive that it was her father, who had come looking for her. She sat up, pushing away from the oak tree as she tried scanning the wooded area in the dark. The footsteps came to an abrupt halt. Chris waited, feeling a bit nervous. It had to her dad. Just had to be.
Less than a minute passed, and the sound of branches cracking filled the night. A man came into view, on Chris's right. It was not her father, or anyone that she had ever seen before. The big legs of the man were covered in dirty slacks, with large feet in soiled workboots. Chris's eyes trailed up to the man's face, which reminded her of Quasimodo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. A short scream escaped from the girl, who got up and tried to run. In the man's large paw, was a hunting knife.
Hands grasped one of Chris's booted legs, causing her to fall to the wet ground. She continued to scream as the man attacked her. The girl dodged his swipes at her with the knife. Her heart beat furiously as she kicked at him, trying to escape. Chris managed to get free, but each time she did, the large hideous man caught her again. He held her left leg and raised the knife, but a swift kick in the crotch caused him to release her once more. Chris backed away on her hands and feet, with the man seven feet away. He steadily approached her, holding the blade, as if taunting the girl before he killed her. Chris continued to back off until she felt the tree at her back. The man got closer.
Timing the moment just right, Chris cleverly kicked the knife from the man's right hand. She got up quickly to run, but the man did not go after his weapon. He caused her to fall to the ground again. Chris struggled and resisted, but to no avail. Hands grasped her small wrists and the man began to drag the teenager away, screaming, kicking and struggling with the last bit of strength left in her. One of Chris's arms suddenly became free, but before she could act, something hard struck the side of her skull, and the girl lost consciousness.
"CHRIS?!" Frank Higgins had ventured a good distance from the house and still had not found his daughter. He suddenly wished that he owned a bloodhound, but he didn't. He was on his own, as he squinted his eyes in the darkness. At least the rain had stopped. It was easier for him to hear. As Frank advanced further, a sound reached his ears, causing him to freeze where he stood. It had been an unmistakable noise. The scream of a young woman. Frank's hands tightened on his gun and he dashed through the woods towards the screaming.
Jason Voorhees continued to drag the girl away, after butting her on the head with the handle of the large knife. He stood over her, staring down at her small delicate form. He tilted his head out of curiosity and raised the knife. A sound like a thunderclap rang through the night and Jason no longer held the blade. Instead, he clutched his right hand to his body as blood seeped from it, courtesy of Frank Higgin's bullet. Under the light of the full moon, Jason looked up to see a big man standing fifteen feet away, holding a large gun.
Frank reached into the pocket of his parka for more ammunition, cursing himself for not fully loading it before his search for Chris. "Come ON!" he shouted. He pulled the ammo out and quickly reloaded his gun, but the large deformed man before him, had vanished. Cautiously Frank approached the limp form of his daughter, laying unconscious on the ground. The knife lay about six feet away, and Frank picked it up, carefully pocketing it. "Chrissy?" She was out, and would not wake up until very early the next morning. Frank was a big man, and carrying his little girl back to the cabin would be no difficult task. He carefully hauled Chris up over one shoulder, holding the rifle with his left hand. Frank would never forget the terrible face of the man who had almost murdered his daughter. Neither would Chris, for that matter.
Jason stood behind a cluster of rotted branches as he watched the man carry the girl off into the night. Anger and frustration welled up inside of him. His wounded hand hurt, where the bullet had grazed him. The pretty young girl had almost been his, but she refused to let him take her willingly. Out of the nine people that he had already murdered, Jason had never encountered any victim who chose to fight back. That angered him. Soon the man disappeared in the darkness with the girl, leaving Jason behind. Little did the killer know, he would later be granted another opportunity to claim his prey. Much later.
Kathy Higgins stood by the cabin windows, drinking another cup of fresh black coffee. A quilt was drapped around her as she stood waiting for her husband and daughter to return. The living room was beginning to feel a bit chilly, due to the dying fire. There were fire logs set near the fireplace, but before Kathy turned to tend to it, she noticed a shape approaching the house. It was Frank, carrying over one shoulder, the limp form of their daughter. The coffee mug, which read, "Home Sweet Home", shattered in pieces as it hit the floor.
She ran outside, hysterical and crying, demanding an explanation from her husband. "She's allright", Frank exclaimed. "She's got a pulse. She's just sleeping, honey." His wife followed him upstairs to Chris's bedroom. The man tenderly placed his daughter on her soft bed, ignoring the hammock. Kathy tended to her little girl, examining her. She felt the right side of Chris' head. To her dismay, there was a good sized lump. Kathy's eyes shot to Frank. "What happened to her?" Frank stood by the bedroom door. "Come downstairs. I need to talk to you."
After Frank cleaned up the pieces of the broken mug that Kathy had dropped, he led his wife into the kitchen. She listened to his story and her eyes widened in total shock. "I think we need to leave, immediately", Frank stated. "Tomorrow morning, after Chris wakes up. Kathy it's for the best."
Both Frank and Kathy Higgins were familiar with the legend of Jason Voorhees, but had no idea that he actually existed. Frank was not 100 percent positive that the man who attacked Chris was in fact Jason, but he and Kathy refused to take any chances. "In fact, I think we should stay away. We'll only take with us what we need. Leave everything else here."
"Okay, Frank." Kathy looked down at the kitchen counter. "I was so afraid that something bad had happened to our only baby." She began to cry. Frank held his wife close, kissing her forehead tenderly. "Nothing is going to happen to our baby." Frank held her tighter. "I promise.
Kathy Higgins stood in the master bedroom of the cabin, packing a suitcase. Frank walked in with a duffle bag and set it on the bed close to his wife. "Kath, another thing", he stated. "Chris doesn't need to know about why we're going back home. She's already going to be traumatized from tonight."
"I know. She's an impressionable girl." Kathy looked at her husband,a slight smile on her face. "She's also strong willed, like you." Frank grinned. From his duffle bag, which he unzipped, he produced a folder which contained various newpaper articles. He selected one that displayed a picture of a deformed young male child with an oversized skull. The man in the woods and the boy in the picture possessed an uncanny resemblance. "Could it be?" he thought to himself. He did not know for sure, and he was not prepared to find out.
Chris lay safely in her warm bed, dozing peacefully. Her dreams were of dark shapes, surrounding her, trapping her. She tried to run, but her feet felt as if they were trudging through thick mud. A distance ahead of her, stood a figure, silhouetted against a white light behind him or her. As Chris moved closer, she could see that it was her father. No, not her father. It was Rick! She smiled and tried to run to him. His arms enclosed her and she looked up at his face, which had suddenly changed. It wasn't Rick. Chris tried to scream as the deformed man from the woods grinned down at her with ugly rotted teeth.
Chris bolted up in bed, suddenly, looking around her wildly, her long brown hair shaking and flowing about. "OWW," she exclaimed. She touch the lump on the side of her head, remembering her attacker. She realized that she was back at Higgins Haven, in her own bed. Was it all a horrible dream? It couldn't have been. There was a bruise on her head and there was also dirt caked underneath her manicured fingernails. How she had gotten back home, she had no idea. Something in the back of her mind told her that she had been rescued by her parents.
Chris lay back down in bed, hearing the birds outside starting to sing, but the sky was still dark. Her mom and dad were probably sleeping, for the entire cabin was dead silent. Once they were awake, she would talk to them about the previous night. Chris suddenly felt bad about running away like she did. She could have died. Who was that awful man? Why had he wanted to kill her? She realized that he probably had no reason. There were sick people in this world.
Chris would never be the same again, always looking behind her, no matter where she went, always on the alert. She was already a cautious girl, taking after her father, but now, she would become more tense and a bit paranoid. It wouldn't be until two years later, that Chris Higgins would encounter the very same man again. She turned over in bed, facing the window, not feeling as safe as she used to at Higgins Haven.