Chapter 4: A glimpse of hope

Despite her fatigue, Mairi didn't sleep all too well that night. For a long time, she just sat on the bed and stared at the bloodstains. In her mind, the events of past two days replayed over and over, but the conclusion was all the same. It was her fault. If she hadn't pushed his buttons the way she did, he might never have stormed off in rage and come across the hunters. She sighed. She had heard about the legend of the alleged drowning of young Jason Voorhees and she surely made him just feel a lot more uncomfortable. She had said some pretty nasty things to him. Words, she now regretted deeply and would love to take back. She felt terrible and incredibly sorry for what she had said. And to think, that this man, no matter how supernatural and murderous he was, lived and died here alone. Dug his way out of a grave, it broke her heart.
Finally, in the small hours of the night, she fell into an unquiet slumber but was woken by the light of a pale morning sun. Yawning, she stretched her cramped muscles out, before she sat up and swung her legs out of the child-sized bed. Her gaze fell on the now dried puddles of blood on the ground.

"Oh well, at least I could clean the mess I'm responsible for up."

An hour later the stains had all disappeared along with decade old dirt. As it was her habit, she quietly sang along while sweeping the dust out.

"Tell him to find me an acre of land
Parsely, sage, rosemary and thyme
Between the salt water and the sea strand,
then he'll be..."

Her song was cut off, as her back suddenly collided with a solid wall of muscle. Mairi jumped with a surprised little shriek, whirling around holding the stick of her broom like a weapon. The broom hit his target with full force. She had been so lost in both her work and her song, that she had forgotten about the giant murderer stalking the campgrounds. Yet here he stood, tall and silent, watching her every move, his head tilted to the side and seemingly unfazed by the wooden stick that had hit his shoulder.

"Jason! Damnit! How long have you been standing there?"

She asked, nervously tugging a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

A while.

She picked up his thoughts.

What are you doing?

She looked down at her feet with a shy smile.

"I'm cleaning up."

She replied, trying to find a reasonable explanation.

I can see that.

Mairi's right eyebrow twitched in slight irritation.

"Then why did you ask?"

His whole chest and shoulders heaved as he took a deep breath and a step back. He motioned through the cabin with both hands.

What are you doing here? Why did you not leave?

Mairi's smile faded and she put the broom away. She ran a hand through her brown hair, freeing the previously tugged away strands.

"Listen, Jason. I'm really sorry about yesterday. I was rude ...and I figured that you wanted me gone after that. I just couldn't leave the mess I'm responsible for behind and..."

Her throat tightened and she had the sudden need for fresh air. Struggling not to cry, she pushed past Jason and rushed down to the lake's shore. There she sat down, hugged her knees to her chest and took some deep breaths to calm herself. The last thing she wanted was to cry in front of that murdering menace.
Jason shook his head in confusion. That woman was by far the strangest human being he had seen in a long time. Except for that old man with his bike perhaps. Silently he stepped out of the cabin and watched her for a while. There was something about her, he couldn't pinpoint yet. It wasn't something bad, that he was almost certain of. And for some odd reason, she didn't trigger his urge to kill. He has had plenty of reasons yesterday and to be honest, he had more than once just wanted to crush her head. But somehow he couldn't bring himself to do it. Unconsciously he touched his chest and felt the stitches. Stiffly he walked over to her, towering over the sitting little woman. Something stirred in him. An emotion, he thought had died with him so long ago. He couldn't say what it was though. Pity maybe. He shrugged, dismissing the thought, before bending down and grabbing her upper arm. With a fluid motion, he roughly pulled her to her feet.

"Ow, Jason, you are hurting me!"

She exclaimed a spark of fear in her big blue eyes. He let go of her instantly. She shot him an angry glance, rubbing her upper arm and secretly wondering, why she hadn't any bruising yet.

"What was that for?"

He just stared at her for a moment.

Why don't you just go home?

She blinked at him for a moment with wide eyes shaking her head slightly from side to side before turning away. He tilted his head to the side.

You don't run away because you are lost. You have no home to go to.

The look of surprise crept over her face.

"How did you figure it out?"

Again a shrug.

I'm not a wise man, but I'm not entirely stupid.

She heard his mental answer. He pointed over to her car.

No camper takes so many clothes and so much furniture you said something along the line that you are lonely.

Mairi blushed

"Oh."

Jason turned away and headed up to his cabins. She looked at his retreating back, trying to suppress the need to cry.

Come.

She heard his command in her mind. Her sky-blue eyes went wide for a moment, yet she followed him until he stopped in front of a bigger two-story cabin.

You can stay in there.

He said so matter of factly. She stared at him for a long moment

"You are kidding me!"

He simply shook his head.

It has a bathroom on the upper floor...

A smile appeared on Mairi's face. For the first time since days, she really dared to hope that everything would turn out just fine. She looked up at the big, silent man.

"Why?"

He shrugged.

You know who I am. What I am. Yet you offered help. And you are brave. I can respect that.

He paused looking at her intensely.

Just don't get in my way, when I do my stuff.

Mairi swallowed and nodded slowly, while her eyes started to burn with unshed tears. Jason turned to leave. Then he stopped looking over his shoulder.

And I did call for help. I did call for mommy. She never came. No one did. I died alone.

With that, he was gone, while guilt and shame washed over Mairi like a tidal wave. With the back of her hand, she wiped a stray tear away.


Morning turned to noon and noon to evening. By nightfall, Jason decided to check on the woman, who had come back for him. Part of him feared that she had abandoned him, despite his offer to let her stay...unbound. In fact, it wouldn't surprise him. No one ever stayed with him. They all were too afraid, too grossed out by his entire being or simply too dead to stay. Yet he could not deny that he had felt something when he returned to the cabin yesterday and found her gone. He had spent the day in the woods, thinking. Trying to figure out, what was wrong with him. Why was he unable to kill her. And what had he felt when he found her gone? He couldn't deny it either, that it had felt good to have someone offering him help. His wound would have been bad for a couple of days without her aid, he had always healed fast. But Jason had somehow enjoyed seeing someone worry about him. At that moment she had reminded him so much of his mother. Perhaps that was the cause of his inability to kill her.
And last but not least he had somewhat enjoyed her touch. He was sure, that this wasn't the bad touch, his mother had always told him about. It was nice to feel her soft warm skin on his. It had felt so tender and intimate. And it reminded him of his mother as well. She had been the only one in his life who would touch him, who would comfort him when he was sad and scared. Often she had rubbed his back then. Though Jason would never ask for it, he secretly hoped, that this young woman would be brave enough to touch him again. Attempt to comfort him again.

If she's not gone by now.

He mused and his mood grew a little darker. He could have misjudged her after all. It was a wild guess that she was lost, thought her reaction told him he was right about it.
He walked up to the cabin and found her car still there, though empty now. He was surprised in a positive way and relieved to see the car.

So she really moved in. She really is staying. That's going to be interesting...

He was curious to what the cabin would look like now. It had been empty for years. It was one of the counsellor's cabins. With long even strides, he crossed the porch and entered and froze in his tracks. The cabin was cleaned and dust free. The furniture that already was in there looked somewhat brighter now. But it was actually her, that made him stop. She didn't even notice his presence. She sat huddled in the corner, her arms around her knees and her face buried in the crook of her arms. And she was crying. Her shoulders shook violently with each muffled sob. Briefly, the hockey-masked murderer wondered if he had done something to hurt her. Perhaps the remark he had made about his drowning before he left in the morning? Then he noticed the pictures, lay scattered on the floor. Quietly he stooped down and picked one up. It showed Mairi in the arms of a man in front of an old castle. She looked so happy in this picture, she almost seemed to glow. He tilted his head and sighed inwardly. He remembered her saying, that she was lonely. By the look of this photo, it hadn't always been that way. Then again, there was a time, when he had been happy too. A time when he had lived with his mother. At least he saw his suspicion confirmed and understood now why she was so desperate that she would stay with a mass murderer.

What has he done to you?

He wondered, forgetting the fact that she was able to hear his thoughts. Mairi froze for a moment then looked up. Her big eyes bloodshot and tear stained.

"How does a man your size walk so quietly?"

She asked with half a smile instead, while wiping her tears away with the sleeve of her pullover. A pullover that seemed several sizes too big, Jason noticed. He remained silent, not sure what to do with the crying woman. He never had good social skills, most of the times he rather felt awkward around strangers. Not that he cared, he wasn't the frightened little kid anymore he once had been. A moment he thought about what his mother would have done. Then he held his hand out to her. Mairi took the offered hand and he helped her to her feet with ease. She brushed the dust off of her back.

"So do you like what I did to the place?"

she managed a weak smile. He nodded.

You confuse me.

He finally stated, not letting him distract from the actual matter. She sighed.

"Why's that?"

Mairi urged him to explain.

You are not like the others, who have come here.

"Right. I'm alive."

She tried to joke.

That's not funny!

Mairi sat down at the table and got herself a cup of tea. She had been surprised to find the power working.

"No. It isn't."

Now tell me, what brought you really here? It isn't normal for a young woman to live with someone like me.

Mairi sighed.

"That's a long story."

Jason shrugged.

I believe we have time.

Mairi took a sip of her tea while regarding Jason for a long moment. She let her thoughts wander.

How could I ever have thought of killing myself? For a guy like Brandon?

True. They had been together for nearly 7 years and she had hoped to start a family with him. And part of her still held a soft spot for the man, who had broken her heart. But she as well thought about a proverb her mother always used to say. There's plenty of fish in the sea. A smile creeped over her face.

You were right, mom.

Her thoughts wandered on.

Funny how I was so afraid to be murdered when I had chosen to die willingly a day prior.

By now she was more than happy to be alive. Which led to her next question.
How long would she stay alive in the company of that unstable killer stalking the woods? She had seen him switch from seemingly calm to deadly in a split second. And she couldn't deny that deep down she was still afraid of him. Not only because he was a mass murderer. No. Jason had an otherworldly feel to him. Like he didn't belong to this world. Then again he had died at least once, hadn't he? Her gaze finally met his curious stare and with a deep sigh, she started to explain.

"You know, I had everything I've ever dreamed of. A well-paid job. A fiancé I thought would love me above all. A nice apartment with him. And the hope of having a child."

She paused and looked up. His green-brown eye never left her face, while he remained still and listened.

"And then, five days ago, I caught him cheating on me."

She balled her hands into tight fists and tried to hold the tears back that threatened to fall again. She drew a deep breath. Somehow Jason's look had become hard, almost deadly.

"He threw me out of our apartment, saying I was just a mistake. An overcaring mistake. Can you imagine how much that had hurt? Hope he gets happy with this bitch!"

She finished, watching Jason carefully. Something had ticked him off. She could feel his anger radiating from him.

Shall I kill him?

"What? No...no it'll be alright. "

She looked at him with large eyes. Jason just shrugged, then stood up slowly. He tilted his head to the side as if he was about to say something. Yet he remained silent before he finally turned and left the cabin.