AN: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! We've been enjoying reading your reactions so much!
As the story gets better we have more and more fun writing
it. We'll do our best to live up to your expectations!
Disclaimer: We own neither 70S SHOW nor FRIDAY THE 13TH. But we do think that Jason needs lots of love.
Chapter 3: The Truest Shade of Crimson
The smell of sawdust penetrated their nostrils as they stepped through the front door of the main cabin. All the lights were off and the only thing illuminating the room was the sunlight entering through the foggy windows. Dust clung to the twenty year old furniture in the den of the cabin, leaving a cover of gray over the dark colors of the fabrics. The most noticeable thing, however, wasn't the smell or the physical appearance of the cabin. It was the looming feeling that the gang was completely alone. The place felt like it had been deserted for years. If it wasn't for the cabin itself, one would assume a human being hadn't ever stepped foot on this land.
They began to search the cabin, familiarizing themselves with its different rooms. There were two bedrooms in it, a medium sized kitchen, and a bathroom.
"Where are the rest of us going to sleep?" Jackie demanded an answer once she realized how small the cabin was compared to the number of people present. "There's ten of us, and only 2 bedrooms!"
"Well here's a hammock outback." Kelso called as he looked outside. He laughed and turned to the others. "Hey Laurie, have you ever done it on a hammock?"
"Yeah." Laurie answered boredly as she picked at her fingernails.
"Me and Laurie call the hammock!"
Jackie rolled her eyes. "Well who gets the rooms?"
"Fez and I definitely get a room. There is no way I'm sleeping on the floor." Armand announced, gesturing to himself with a look on his face that said he wasn't going to take no for an answer.
"Alright guys, let's just draw sticks." Donna silenced the group as she morphed into her natural mediator position. "Eric, go get the sticks."
Once Eric returned he held the sticks uniformly in his hand.
Okay, I have the sticks," Eric said. "Each stick represents a couple. Or in Kelso and Laurie's case, a travesty."
"Shut up, Eric," Laurie said.
"Whoever has the two longest sticks gets the rooms in this main cabin," Eric explained. "The medium stick gets to sleep in the hammock out back. And the two shortest sticks take the kids cabins, whichever you want, it doesn't matter."
"We get it, Eric," Hyde said, revealing his annoyance.
"Okay, so Donna, Fez, Kelso, Jackie, Hyde…. Get drawing," Eric stated. "And Donna, draw well."
"Yes sweetie," she said. The group all drew sticks, and Donna and Fez both jumped up and down in glee, as they drew the longest sticks. "I drew well!!!"
"Aw crap!" Jackie snapped, holding one of the smallest sticks. She noticed that Hyde had drawn the other one. "Aw CRAP!"
"That leaves us with the hammock," Kelso said, and Laurie sighed.
"Well I guess that could be sexy in an outdoorsy kind of way," Laurie said. "Where am I putting my stuff?"
"You can keep it I the main room, I guess," Kelso said. "I only brought a toothbrush."
Jackie was about to protest. She really did not want to share a bed with Ted, and she certainly didn't want to bunk with Trisha. She'd rather spend an awkward night with Steven than fighting off Ted's advances all night long and possibly catching some slutty disease from Trisha. She was now really regretting bringing Ted along. He was more of a sleaze than ever, and he wasn't making her feel any better about Steven and his whore. They were all great reasons to pitch a bitch fit, but she thought back to her own camp experience. Kids' cabins had bunk beds that were way too small for two people.
"Okay, that's fine with me," she said. "I'm just going to put my sleeping bag on top of my bunk. You have no clue how long these sheets have been here."
"Well I don't know about you guys, but I have a new bathing suit I want to try out." Trisha announced to the group. "Let's go swimming!"
"Well if we're all going swimming we should go put our stuff away," Jackie said. "How far would you say the kids cabins are?"
"About a fourth of a mile," Hyde said. "Okay, we'll go put the stuff away and meet the rest of you at the lake."
The two couples were walking down the shabby path to the cabins, and Ted ran his finger across Jackie's collarbone.
"So I hope there are at least two rooms to this cabin," he said. "Cuz I want some alone time with you." Jackie smiled coyly, and secretly hoped for the opposite. She really hoped that these cabins were like the ones she thought they would be. Not that Ted or Trisha would be swayed by the lack of privacy, but Jackie knew that Hyde was much more private than that. And there was no way she was letting Ted get anywhere.
She dropped her purse, and all her stuff spilled out on the ground.
"Aw come on," she said. Ted was going to wait, but she motioned for him to go ahead. "No, you go and try to get the best bunk bed in the cabin." He smirked, and walked ahead. She gathered her things, and could have sworn she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She looked towards the woods slowly and carefully. There was nothing out there, but she still felt uneasy. 'He's out there' was what the man at the gas station had said. What did that mean?
"Want some help?" Hyde asked, and she looked up at him.
"Oh," she said, and looked back at her things. "Sure, why not?" He got on his knees, and helped pick up her stuff.
"Didn't Ted offer to help you?" he asked. She shrugged.
"Well I told him to go ahead," she stated, and they began walking down the trail. "I mean, I don't want you and TRISHA getting the better bunk bed, you know?" He smirked.
"And besides," Jackie continued, desperate to tell someone about how it really was, "Ted gets a little… grabby. So why would I want him looking down my shirt as I picked up my stuff?" Hyde felt the protective vibe beginning to rise inside of him, and as they walked, he sort of rubbed her arm. She smiled at him gently, and rested her chin on his shoulder quickly as they walked.
"Don't worry about Ted," he said, and left it at that. It was really all he had to say, she understood exactly what he meant.
Trisha had finished applying her lipstick and trotted to catch up with Hyde on the trail. When she did, she was not happy with what she saw. She didn't like it that Hyde and Jackie were walking next to each other, speaking in low tones, or that his arm was sort of hovering above her waist as if he wanted to put it down but wasn't sure if she was okay with it. Trisha arched her eyebrow, and decided that she would have to take some desperate measures to get him away from his ex.
Once everyone had returned, they all piled into their cars and headed to the lake front. As soon as they got there, they all laid their towels on the sandy beach, splitting up into groups. The boys immediately tore off their clothes and started horse playing while trying to push each other in the water. Jackie, Donna, Laurie, Trisha, and Armand set up in a linear row a few yards further away from the tide. Once settled, Laurie began peeling off her clothes to show off a very revealing bikini. She pranced over to the water only grabbing the boys' attention temporarily. They were used to seeing her half naked. Trisha soon followed, stripping off her clothes to show her even tinier bikini. The boys stopped what they were doing to gawk at the little show she was putting on, and the girls and Armand just stared at her with disgust.
"How trashy." Armand said, speaking for both Donna and Jackie. Laurie just glared at Trisha from afar, furious at this girl for challenging her position.
Trisha approached Laurie with a sweet grin on her face only slightly masking her smugness.
"I really like your bathing suit Laurie." It was obvious that she only wanted compliments in return because she struck a pose as she waited for Laurie to respond.
"Thanks." Laurie simply responded, stalking away from the girl and not feeding her neediness for attention. Jackie watched the exchange, satisfied with Laurie's unspoken burn. She began to wish that Laurie was around when Sam was with Hyde. She would have made a fool of the tramp easily.
The guys soon lost interest in Trisha's prancing and returned to their previous games. They mostly left Ted out. Well, at least Hyde did. Every time Ted tried to crack jokes, Hyde would ignore him and move onto something else. Soon, Ted gave up and made his way over to the girls.
"You want to swim with me Jackie?" He asked.
"No, I want to work on my tan for a while. I'll swim in a little bit." She placed large sunglasses over her eyes and lay back on her towel.
"Well do you need me to rub lotion on your back?"
"Nope. I already have it covered." Jackie hoped he would catch onto her shortness.
"Could you please move." Armand said, stirring from his own sun bathing. "You're blocking out the sun."
Ted caught on and soon returned to the water.
Jackie lounged under the hot sun, trying her best to relax. However the harsh rays from the fireball in the sky were not the only thing beating down on her. Jackie had the strangest feeling that she was being watched again. She figured it must be one of the guys, or Trisha steaming about how much more gorgeous she was than her, but after a few very long minutes, it got to be too much for her. She sat up and looked to the others who were still playing in the water. None of them were even looking in her direction. Donna was reading a book and Armand's head wasn't even facing her. She still felt chills from someone's eyes staring at her naked skin.
"Donna? Do you have a strange feeling about this place?"
Donna rolled her eyes over to Jackie and eyed her.
"Jackie. Don't let what that guy said get to you. This is going to be a fun trip. Trust me."
She went back to reading her book. Jackie read the title on the spine. "The Phantom of the Opera".
"That sounds scary," Jackie said. Donna shot her eyes to Jackie again.
"It's really more say than anything else," Donna stated. "He's not really a ghost. He's just a very lonely man."
"That's disappointing…… Okay, Donna, are you sure that everything is okay?"
"Yes, Jackie," Donna said, and continued to read. Jackie really wanted to listen, but she still felt freaked out. She knew it just wasn't from her dislike of the trip in the first place, or the people on it. All of that she could shake off. Jackie was actually a pretty versatile person, despite what most people though. She was used to not getting her way, even though it still made her mad to no end. She could roll with the punches better than anyone, especially since the past year had not been the best for her.
This feeling she had was entirely different. She didn't feel annoyed, depressed, or angry. Dread latched onto her back, constantly reminding her that there was something about this place that wasn't right. She had a feeling that something terrible happened here. The gas station attendant's crazy raving might have held some kind of sustenance. Why would he just say that? And if it was true, Jackie had no idea how she was going to convince the others to believe that this place may not be the best to stay at. They were already annoyed with her complaining. Maybe if she just kept her mouth shut and just complied, the feeling would eventually go away.
From the brush on the shore about fifty feet down, Jason patiently observed the group of kids. They were doing the exact same thing all the counselors at this place used to do. While the kids were away, they would play, flirt, and good off. Jason knew that they would do this when the children were around too, leaving them to any dangers that awaited them. The dangers that had awaited him many years ago...
He'd been watching the short brunette on and off all day. While the three blondes were the prototypes of what he usually liked to eradicate, the single brunette in the blue bikini seemed worth more than all of them. For one thing, he could smell the fear on her, which was a rarity for the girls who came here to romp and play, and she didn't seem happy.
Jackie stood up from the beach, and strolled to the dock. She dangled her legs in the water, and sighed despondently. The one good thing about Trisha was that she got Ted's attention away from her. It was too bad that this horrible tramp had to be there with Hyde. She had such great hopes for this summer. They had been flirting and getting back to their normal relationship, when all of a sudden he just stopped, and began seeing Trisha. She watched him talk with her, and then looked out at the woods. Was that where her feeling was coming from?
Kelso popped up in the water by Jackie, and rested his hands on the dock.
"Why so blue, Jackie?" he asked. "Aren't you having fun?" How could she explain to Michael that she thought his 'brilliant idea' was a total bust, especially when she was the only one (besides Armand) who thought that way?
"It's nothing, Michael," she said to her ex, and he shrugged. Eric popped up next to him.
"Jackie, come on in," Eric said. "It's fun, really."
"No, that's okay," she said, holding up a hand in protest, and Eric grabbed it and pulled her in playfully. "Oh, you BAS-!" Splash. She broke through the surface, and splashed Eric.
"You love it," Eric said, and she sighed, treading water.
"Well now that I'm in here I may as well swim I suppose," Jackie said. "Ugh, my hair is going to look awful after this."
"Are you done?" Eric asked.
"Yes." She began swimming, and swam out by the far dock. She turned around, and looked back towards the woods. Dammit, stop doing this to yourself, Jackie, she thought.
Something from underneath the water brushed her leg. She continued to tread, and looked down. She couldn't see anything in the murky water, but felt her heart begin to race.There was something not right about being in this water. Waves of terror traveled through Jackie as the air around her grew cold. This was not just some normal lake. The opaque black hid what lay beneath its surface, and Jackie felt the sudden urge to get out as fast as she could. Before she could bolt, ice fingers wrapped around her ankle, gripping her immobile limb like a clamp, making sure she wasn't going anywhere.
Hyde had been rubbing Trisha's back with sunscreen, when Jackie's scream pierced through the air. Donna sat up, and Hyde's head snapped towards the lake. He leapt up, and ran down the dock.
"Jackie!?" he exclaimed, and she was thrashing in the water. He jumped back in the lake, and swam as quickly as he could out to her. Once he got there, Ted popped up from beneath the water, laughing.
"Ted?!" Jackie exclaimed, and hit him on the shoulder. "That was YOU?!"
"You sounded really scared!" he said, laughing. She growled, and Hyde shoved him in a moment of lapsed control. "Hey!"
"Steven, don't!" Jackie exclaimed.
"You dick!" Hyde snarled. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"Hey back off, man!" Ted snapped. "It was just a joke!" Hyde shot Jackie a look, and then swam off. Jackie bit her lip and was quite finished swimming.
Jason watched it all from the trees, very interested. He couldn't wait for dark.
After the sun had almost set, the gang stopped swimming and drove back to the main area. There was a fire pit about fifty feet from the main cabin, and they threw in a bunch of old firewood. It was time to cook dinner.
"Hot dogs!" Kelso exclaimed, carrying the cooler to the fire pit. "Also marshmallows and other smores stuff."
"Kelso, I take back everything I said earlier today," Donna said. "This has been a great day."
"Yeah, Kelso, you did good," Hyde stated. "This place is pretty cool." Trisha plopped down on his lap, and ran her fingers through his curly hair. Fez and Ted worked on lighting the fire, and it eventually kicked up.
"Yes Kelso, we shouldn't have doubted you and your knowledge of good party sites," Fez said, sitting next to Armand and putting a hot dog on a long stick. Armand didn't say anything, and continued to sulk. He was rivaling Jackie for the title of Best Sulker, but unlike her, he had no good reason to be doing so.
"So should we tell ghost stories or something?" Laurie asked. "Or get out a guitar and sing Cumbaya?"
"Oh God, shoot me before it comes to that," Trisha said.
"I second that," Armand said.
"Last time we did something like this all together it got really crazy," Eric said. He pointed his fingers to the two culprits "Fez, Laurie, no getting married this time."
"Married?" Armand asked. His face contorted with anger and shock "You never told me you married Laurie!"
"Hey, don't make it sound like the worst thing he could have done," Laurie huffed, her voice still low and sarcastic.
"Well you tell me, Laurie, how would you feel if Kelso here married a really slutty girl?" Armand hitched a hip out and crossed his arms in interrogation
"Burn!" Kelso shouted, still smiling ignorantly to the situation.
"And this is unbelievable too!" Armand snapped, throwing his arms into the air in disbelief. "You are seriously that dense, aren't you? How do you have friends?! I mean, you brought them to a run down abandoned summer camp and they're hailing you like a king!!"
"…. Well, it's Kelso," Ericbegan to explain. Armand began pacing.
"You're all ridiculous!" he screamed. "ALL of you!"
"Armand," Fez hissed as he tried to calm his boyfriend downHis worst fears for the weekend were beginning to unfold.
"No, Fez, I can't take this anymore!" Armand exclaimed. He pointed at Kelso. "You're just a complete idiot who manages to mess everything up. It's no wonder you never became a police officer."
"Ouch!" Kelso said.
"Trisha, you're trashier than Laurie!" Armand said.
"Hey!" It was the only thing she could come up with.
"I don't know how to react to that statement," Laurie saidstill denying that she was being insulted as well. "I THINK it's in my favor, but…."
"Ted, you're a sleazebag!"
"Shut up!"
"And you, Donna," Armand was practically seething. "You're so self righteous and stuck up."
"It's ironic coming from YOU," Donna retorted.
"Eric, you're a wuss and a complete nerd," Armand stated.
"Hah, you say that like I don't know," Eric said, trying to blow it off.
"Jackie… Well, you have great fashion sense-."
"Thanks!"
"But your codependence on men is completely pathetic."
"Owwie!"
"And Hyde," Armand whipped around to face him. "You're a pot head who cuts people down to make yourself feel better." Hyde shrugged. This wasn't new.
"You're all below Fez! And I can't be a part of this little BUMPKIN JAMBOREE. Fez, are you coming with me?" Armand asked. Fez looked from his boyfriend, back to his friends. He really didn't know what to do.
"Armand, don't make me do this," Fez said, quietly. Armand huffed, and rolled his eyes. "Can we talk about this later?"
"Whatever," Armand said. "I'm going for a walk." He stamped off, and a silence fell over the gang.
"I'm sorry," Fez said. "I… I'm just sorry." Jackie rubbed his back sympathetically.
"He's just not a fan of camping, I'm sure," Eric said, trying to make Fez feel better.
The dead leaves crunched beneath Armand's shoes as he stormed his way through the woods. He had no idea how he was going to get home, but he really didn't care at the moment. He just wanted to get as far away from Fez and his moron friends as was humanly possible. He should have known better than to get involved with fresh fruit.
Armand was blind with rage. He barely noticed the nature around him, and if he did, he might have had a chance to avoid the huge spider web he walked face first into. The sticky, invisible threads wrapped around his face and draped down his back.
"What the fuck!" He yelled through the cobwebs. His fingers scraped away at his face as he desperately tried to free himself from his trap. Tiny sensations of little legs trickled down Armand's neck, and the night bounced Armand's squeals throughout the forest. Frantically, Armand swatted at his neck, trying his hardest to get out of this net of terror. During his entire struggle, he quickly began backing away from the trees that arched over his flailing body. Armand never did get out of the cob web. Instead, his struggle was soon forgotten as he backed into a salient blade that pierced through his back. Before Armand could shout his pain to the world, Jason forced the machete through Armand's body and out his abdomen. Armand didn't need to worry about the spiders anymore.
A deluge of hot blood cascaded from the exit wound, painting the ground a dark red. Armand's life juice that served no purpose anymore splashed onto Jason's boots as it fell from the entry point and hit the ground. Jason ripped his machete from Armand's body, shoving his corpse to the ground. He couldn't get this bloody just yet. He had a date he needed to get ready for, and it would be rude to keep the little brunette waiting.
