James was not at all expecting this. He had planned for the tiny kitten to be scorched to death in the campfire flames—not saved by this man who had suddenly burst out of the darkness of the night. What shocked him even more was that this was Jason Voorhees, the killer that he had just told Dawn about.

Behind Jason, Dawn screamed in fear and took off running into the nearby trees. He had no desire to chase after the little girl; instead, he locked on the next object of his wrath: James.

"Oh my God!" James finally yelled and sped off in the opposite direction as that of Dawn.

Jason patted the kitten still in his arms and slowly set her down on the ground. Princess let out a tiny meow and scampered off into the bushes.

He walked over to where he had placed his machete and picked the mighty blade up. He had temporarily set it down so both hands could be free to rescue the kitten. The light of the campfire reflected in the blade's steel as he held it firmly and marched off into the woods after James.

The killer was in no hurry. He knew that he would find that man eventually.

Someone twisted enough to attempt to murder an innocent little kitten did not have even a remote chance of surviving.

Dawn was crying and screaming in horror, running as fast as her tiny legs would allow her. She had no idea where she was headed, but all she knew was that she had to get as far away as possible.

The man back there that had caught her kitten had to have been that Jason guy that her father had mentioned to her. He certainly had looked big and powerful enough to be him.

Panic-stricken thoughts raced through her mind. What is he going to do to my Princess?! What is he going to do to me?!

Dawn did not know that neither one of them was in any danger. She did not have even one worry or thought about her father.

Branches scratched at her slender bare legs, and the ground felt rough beneath her sandals. They were slowing her down greatly, so she kicked them off and kept running. Her heart kept pounding in her chest and ears.

After about what seemed like an eternity, Dawn stumbled and fell face down right into a pile of dirt. She cried out in pain, laying there for a minute as the dirt was smudged on her dress and exhaustion swept over her. The little girl finally pulled her head up to see where she was. She was lying on the sandy shore of the lake. Her blue eyes took in the luminous sight of the full moon high in the sky before her.

She pulled herself up and fought to brush off the dirt and grass that were buried in her long hair and covering her dress and face. She began breathing frantic gasps and whipped her head back in the direction from which she had come.

Only silence and the occasional hoot of an owl greeted her.

The calm wind sent eerie gusts blowing through the branches of the trees.

James was knelt down behind the tallest bush that he could find. The gripping panic of the moment had snapped him out of his drunken haze. But he was still the cold-hearted man who was only concerned with getting his own skin out of the woods alive. It was obvious that he didn't care whether or not his own little daughter lived or died.

His breathing halted when he saw Jason appear in front of the bush that he was hiding behind.

Jason began scanning his surroundings intently for any sign of life from James. Mr. Peterson tried to crouch down even further and remain as quiet as possible, hoping that Jason would eventually give up and move on.

Princess popped out from behind James and froze when she spotted him. He turned to see the kitten staring timidly at him and made slight movements in an attempt to shoo her away.

Princess seemed to sense that Jason was nearby, looking for this very man that had tried to burn her not too long ago. The kitten instantly knew what side she wanted to be on. She moved closer to the hiding man and meowed as loud as she could.

James gulped with overwhelming anxiety and looked to see if Jason had heard the sound.

Of course he had heard it. He turned his head toward the bush that the meow had come from and focused on it.

James tried not to give himself away, while at the same time attempting to quiet the kitten.

"Shoo, shoo. Go away, you annoying creature. Shut up, or I'll take your voice box out," he whispered harshly.

But Princess wasn't going to let herself be pushed around by this wicked man anymore. She started meowing over and over again, making her cries clear enough to carry to Jason's ears.

He clomped over to James's hiding spot and spotted him just in time to see him smack Princess. The kitten cried out in shock and darted closer to Jason.

James could tell that the hulking giant became even angrier than he already was.

"Oh crap!" James shouted, leaping up and running for his life yet again.

Jason carefully stepped over Princess and continued his vengeful pursuit.

Dawn waited on the shore of the lake to see if Jason would come bursting out of the woods to attack her anytime soon. As time passed and nothing happened, she crept closer and closer back toward the woods. She wanted to see if Princess was still all right. She wasn't sure if she was more worried about Jason or her dad hurting the kitten.

Dawn breathed a deep sigh that she had held in for a long time.

She suddenly screamed when a figure jumped out of the trees and grabbed her. She began struggling and crying out as the man tightly held her.

"Be quiet!" ordered the man's voice. "It's only me."

Dawn stopped moving and saw that it was James, though she still had no reason to completely calm down yet.

"What's going on?" the small girl whimpered. "Who was that man that was holding Princess? Did he hurt her?"

James didn't have time for the girl's pathetic concern for her pet.

"That man was indeed Jason Voorhees, the one that I had told you about. And I would best assume that he has already crushed her tiny white body until there was nothing left of her." He actually smiled wickedly at that last sentence, knowing deep down that it was a lie.

Dawn sobbed with all her might and pounded her head on her father's flannel shirt.

"No! No!" she howled. "Princess!"

He clamped a hand over her mouth and yelled at her to shut up, but Dawn couldn't stop her mournful cries.

Suddenly, Jason rushed out of the woods towards them, ready to slaughter the man that had lived longer than he had wanted.

"You again!" James shrieked.

He dashed out of the way toward the lake, dragging the terrified little girl along with him.

"Daddy, where are we going?!" Dawn screamed.

Her body was tilted backwards as James pulled her along. She could clearly see Jason stomping closer and closer to them. He was almost within reach of plunging his machete right through both of them if he wanted to.

James halted right at the lake's waters and spun around to view Jason only about a foot away from them. He then did something that would forever vanquish his role as a father to Dawn.

He held the little girl up before him and shouted, "Kill her instead!"

Dawn couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"What?! No, Daddy, don't! Don't let him hurt me!" she begged at the top of her lungs.

But before either Dawn or Jason could do anything, James hurled his daughter as hard as he could into the dark lake waters. The small girl screamed all the way and hit the surface with a resounding splash somewhere near the very middle of the lake.

James smiled in satisfaction. His reasoning was that Jason would go after the more vulnerable of the two of them and kill her while he could make his escape.

He fled and disappeared into the darkness while Jason was still staring in shock at what he had just seen. He saw little Dawn crying out for help as she struggled and splashed frantically in the water. It was obvious that the child didn't know how to swim. A pang of recognition and sympathy struck Jason's heart.

He pictured himself undergoing that same experience many years ago—so helpless and scared, fighting not to have his life claimed by the merciless murky depths of the lake.

A wave of anguish swept over Jason as he quickly turned his head in the direction that James had gone, and then back to the child crying for help. Oh, how he would have loved right then to go after that evil man that had done so many heartless things and butcher the life out of him in a horrendous, gory display of X-rated violence.

But there was a more immediate task at hand to be done.

Dawn's arms were getting weaker by the moment, and her cries were more breathless. Her fragile body did not have the strength to maintain the struggle to keep her head above water.

"Please, somebody!" she screamed weakly.

She caught a glimpse of a large figure moving urgently towards the lake before she finally disappeared under the water's surface.

The darkness of the water surrounded her with an intensity that sucked all the air out of her lungs. The poor girl tried with all her might to get back up to the top but to no avail. Her exhaustion and lack of swimming ability made it almost impossible. She fell deeper and deeper until her bare feet touched the lake bottom. She looked up to see that the surface of the lake was barely in sight.

If they couldn't be washed away with the water, the little girl's tears would be drenching her face. Her lungs were about ready to burst from the deprivation of oxygen.

Dawn closed her eyes and prepared for her death. She tried to picture at least one happy memory that had happened during her eight years of life. She was surprised at the only thing that stood out in her mind. It wasn't of her father, her mother, or even of Princess.

It was a clear-as-day image of Jason.

She didn't know why, but there was something about him that made him the one being that she was thinking of while she was drowning. This experience was actually making the small girl think more logically than before when she was running away.

That man saved my Princess, Dawn thought. Does that mean that he cares about her? Is he a kitten lover like me?

She just slightly made out something in the water getting closer to her, but she felt that it did not matter anymore.

I'm as good as dead, she figured. Nobody wants to save me. If my father hates me, then everybody else does too.

She sat as best she could on the lakebed and waited for the end.