Faint sounds filtered through the night: the soft cry of night birds, the chirping of crickets, and the croaking of frogs. All these sounds were normal. For the moment. For now, life went on as it was: predators hunting prey, as the hawk hunts a mouse. Others slept, hoping they would wake up the next morning alive instead of being eaten. For two teenagers, however, waking up again was not an option.
"Mark! Hurry up, will ya?" Stacy Cambell darted through the trees, heading towards the lake. The clear waters lapped the shore as she ran out onto the beach, splashing into the water. Her boyfriend emerged from the woods a second later, throwing his shoes off. He ran down to the sand and cannonballed in beside her. They embraced each other, kissing, then let each other go, just enjoying the other's presence.
Deep below the surface, fish swam lazily through the murky water. Most stayed clear of the presence below, tending to stay well away from the hatred radiating from the creature. A slow-minded turtle swam closer, then suddenly stopped moving. It slowly sank to the bottom of the lake, where it rested at the creature's hand. Muddy brown eyes glared up towards the light, watching, waiting. Soon, he would be free. Soon, he would be able to stalk again. And soon, and most importantly, he would be able to KILL again.
He turned his head towards his feet. He'd been a prisoner of the lake water for almost two years now, chains wrapped and locked around his legs so he couldn't kick towards the surface. But the stupid humans didn't consider the possibility of him getting free after the chains rusted. He turned once more to the surface, waiting patiently for the chains to rust to the point where he'd be able to break them.
The eyes followed the legs of the two swimmers, waiting till the girl's legs were close enough to grab them. As soon as they were, he reached out and yanked her down to him, pulling her into a crushing embrace.
"Stacy! Where are you, girl?" Mark wiped the water off his face and looked around. Both of them had tried to hold their breath longer than the other; apparently she'd won. He turned in a circle, wondering if he'd missed her somehow. He caught sight of a few bubbles to his left and turned, ready to grab her when she came up.
Stacy let out a strangled scream, kicking hard and flailing at the monster that had a hold of her. Damn, if it wasn't enough he was strong, but God, was he ugly! She could see the hideously deformed face behind that hockey mask. Her eyes widened in terror, flailing for air that would never come again. She was terrified, naturally, but there was a small part of her that was amazed at how strong this guy was. She was putting up a hell of a fight and he still wouldn't budge.
Strong hands spun her around, and she let out another water-gargled scream as the huge fist pulled back and punched through her throat. Blood foamed from the break point, drifting towards the surface. She faintly heard the creaking of large chains giving way, then felt the hands let her go. She drifted down to the bottom of the lake, her lifeless eyes staring up at the behemoth that was now making his way to the surface.
"Stacy?" Mark watched the bubbles curiously, tilting his head to one side. He was a bit unnerved. The bubbles weren't the small kind of bubbles that a human were make. These were huge bubbles, as though expelled from the lungs of a great beast. He started to swim backwards, towards shore. The bubbles were getting larger, as though the creature was getting closer to the surface.
Mark turned completely and starting stroking towards shore. He reached the sand and scurried out, grabbing his clothes and racing up to the bank. Slipping on his shirt and pants, he looked back at the lake waters. Maybe the stories were true….Maybe Jason Voorhees really was real…. He winced. And maybe that same killer had just killed his girl and was now coming after him!
He didn't see any bubbles on the surface, but he didn't expect there to be. If the stories were true, Jason could already be in the woods right now, watching him. That thought made him turn around and scan the woods. He kept looking back, making sure the bastard couldn't sneak up on him. His heart hammered in his chest, feeling like a bird trying to leap free from its cage. He glanced at the water again. Maybe it was just a large fish or a turtle breaking free of the muddy bottom.
Just as he was about to decide he shouldn't be worried, he heard a sound from the woods. He turned back, ready to run, then relaxed. A large buck was watching him, slowly making its way through the forest. It sniffed in his direction, then turned and ran off. Mark smiled. Good God, letting his fear getting the best of him. He turned back to search for Stacy again.
A giant fist slammed into his stomach, bursting through his back. He slowly looked up at the hockey mask. Muddy brown eyes glared back. The fist retracted, pulling yards of intestine and gut with it. He let out a soft sound and collapsed on the grass.
Jason stared down at the teen, tilting his head to the side. How many people had he killed now? He'd lost count over the years. He turned back to the waters, as though surveying his homeland. Nobody entered his camp and lived. He let out a heavy sigh, then turned to the woods, marching in, fading into the shadows.
Two months laters, Jessica Yerger and Cassandra Reichenbach sat down on the black sofa, ready for their movie. Andy Kintner, Cassandra's boy, was dancing around in front of the TV, plugging in wires and setting the channel for the DVD player.
"I'm telling you! This is a complete flop! They totally ruined his killing method!" He set the player up on the VCR, then catapulted onto the couch, switching the remote in his hand. "Jason Voorhees is one of the top legends, but look what they did to him! He's chasing down females like he was sex deprived!"
Both girls looked at him oddly, a bit unnerved. They looked at each other, the same look in both their eyes: He's obsessed.
"Andy…Jason's not real," Cassandra gave him an annoyed look. "He's just a rumor to keep kids and teens away from Camp Crystal Lake. I believe the murders happened, sure, but seriously: a killer that can't be killed and keeps coming back from the grave? Highly unlikely."
Jess turned to look out the window, bored, as the two continued to banter back and forth behind her. Snow was just beginning to fall, signaling the start of the snow storm scheduled for the weekend. She sighed, putting her head on a hand, glancing back at her friends. Did they always have to argue? Still, she got the faintest of urged, just a bit curious about Andy's "Crystal Lake". What would it be like, if they visited the old campgrounds in the winter? All the other people who'd said they'd gone had gone in the summer.
"Andy…" She felt so foolish, and she'd probably regret saying this. "What would happen if…we went to the campgrounds? Just to see if...the rumors were real? I'm a tad curious." She felt hate for herself well up inside her as Andy's face lit up.
"Go to the campgrounds?" He was practically jumping up and down. "You'd really want to go? Oh, my god, I can't believe this!" He turned to Cassandra, a silly smile plastered on his face, along with sad eyes. "Would you join us, dear friend? It wouldn't be the same without you."
Cassandra rolled her eyes and looked at Jess. She gave her a wry grin, flipped her off, then sat up. "Oh, fine. I have a feeling that if I don't, you'll never forgive me for not going, and you," she nodded at Andy, "will never stop bugging me if I don't."
Andy whooped and jumped back onto the couch. He looked like an overexcited little boy, kicking his feet in the air. They watched, a strange look on their faces, as he giggled like a little school girl.
"Okay, enough!" they both yelled in unison, tugging him to his feet.
"When are we planning to go?" Jess asked.
Andy got a serious look on his face for a split second, then grinned at her. "How about tonight? It shouldn't take more than a few hours to get there, and your parents are gone for the whole weekend."
Cassandra frowned at him, sitting down. Leave tonight? She didn't think that was such a good idea; an itch was gnawing at the back of her mind. She mentally shook herself. Get a hold of yourself. So what if it's Friday? It's not like anything's going to happen…And yet, the voice told her, she didn't seem all too eager to go now, knowing that it was Friday. She told herself she wasn't superstitious, but just thinking about going near the camp on a Friday...it just didn't really suit with her.
"Pleeeaaase???" Andy begged, dropping down to his knees. "Friday the 13th won't be around for many months after tonight!"
Cassandra rolled her eyes and sighed. She looked at Jessica, who shrugged.
"Oh, all right. We'll go tonight. But we're bringing more people. If the legend's true, I don't want to tell everyone how I escaped him after only 2 friends were killed." She yawned as Andy whooped and hollered. She looked at Jess with a anxious look; the look was returned. This was going to be a looong weekend.