chapter 7 - Fire and rain

Mairi tried to start her car for the fourth time, but all she heard, when she turned the key was a click.

"Oh come on! Come ON!"

She cried out in frustration and hit the stirring wheel with her forehead. She stayed that way for a moment closing her eyes while mumbling curses under her breath. She had a ten-minute ride to the hospital. Not that great of a distance, since it was just across the town. But she didn't feel like walking the distance, especially since the temperatures had dropped a little and it had been raining the whole day. Plus she would be late for work. With an annoyed move, she pulled her cell phone out and called her work, informing them that she had trouble with the car. The head nurse told her it wouldn't be a problem, as long as she managed to get there in the bridging time. Mairi sighed heavily. Arriving during bridging time gave her more than enough time to walk to the hospital, yet she did not feel up to it. Her gaze travelled to the heavy grey sky and with a little angry growl, she grabbed her bag from the passenger seat before she got out of the car.
In one last fit of anger, she kicked the front tire cursing loudly. As she turned, she spied Jason leaning against a wooden pillar that held his cabin's porch roof. Arms crossed over the chest, he looked both relaxed and amused. Mairi growled as she stomped up the few stairs and flung herself into a creaky chair.

"Battery's empty. Now I have to walk!"

She cried out in mock despair, throwing her arms into the air in an overdramatic gesture. He chuckled softly shifting his weight a bit to get a better look at the little woman. She looked up at him.

"You don't happen to have any spare batteries?"

He shook his head no, and ruffled through her hair, before walking over to his shed. She knew that he kept all kinds of sharp and blunt objects there. Actually, anything he could use as a weapon. And from what she had seen, when he briefly showed his man cave to her, there were a few guns and a bow as well.

"Yey. Shooting the car surely won't help but it would make me feel better."

She muttered under her breath while she heard him rummaging through his stuff, making her wonder what exactly he was looking for. When he emerged again, he had an old bicycle with him. Mairi blinked in surprise, while he quickly dusted the saddle off with his sleeve. She jumped out of her seat and circled the bike. The man's bicycle seemed fine enough despite its obvious age.

"Jason! You are the best!"

She blurted out happily.

"Was that yours?"

He shook his head no.

It belonged to an old funny guy. He often came here to warn the counsellors. But I think they were afraid of him. His way of helping only made him look like a deranged old man.

Mairi cocked her head to the side, faintly remembering an article about an old man that had suddenly disappeared.

"What happened to him?"

She asked, but deep down she already knew what the answer would be.

He ran into me and...

He stopped thinking back on how he had strangled Crazy Ralph from behind a tree.

"And he was doomed."

She finished for him. Beneath his mask, he smiled at her choices of words. His gaze shifted to the sky for a moment. The grey clouds hung deep and blended into one another perfectly. They promised rain soon.

Mairi. You gonna be late.

She looked at her watch.

"Damn! See you, Jason!

She waved him goodbye as she left. Jason stood on the spot until he couldn't see her anymore. Why did he always feel so strange when she left him, he wondered, his fists balled at his sides. She had awoken emotions in him, he thought had died so long ago. Emotions he tried to deny. He was dead, was he not? A lifeless, soulless thing? Then why did he feel so strangely every time she smiled at him. Why did she wake the need to protect him? He shook his head as he entered his cabin. He had no answers for his questions. Funny that she, whose soul was bruised and in need of healing, would heal him the way she did.

Hours later Mairi stood under the roof of the bike-rack, the handlebar in hand, drumming her fingers against it nervously. Lightning flashed across the sky engulfing the world in bright light only to plunge it back into darkness seconds later. She was more than a little reluctant to go out there. Now, by early October the temperature had dropped quite a bit and rain was pouring hard. She would be soaking wet till she reached the camp. But what kept her under the protection of the rack was the thunder. Ever since the lightning had hit her, she was afraid of thunderstorms, the memories of the agony still fresh in her mind.
She let her gaze wander across the parking lot as it was lit by another flash and squinted her eyes. For a moment she thought, she had seen a figure standing amongst the bushes. In the brief stark white light, she had only seen a blur of white with black markings against the dark of the bushes. Almost like a ghoulish face. Suddenly she felt unprotected and exposed. She looked around for something she might use as a weapon but found nothing.
Another flash. The figure was gone. She breathed a relieved sigh. Surely the thunder and rain were playing tricks on her mind. She tried to relax, but the strange feeling of being watched wouldn't leave her. Goosebumps started to form on her forearms and Mairi shook herself, trying to fight the uneasy feeling back. And then a heavy hand clamped down on her shoulder. With a terrified shriek, she jumped around and out of reflex smacked the person behind her in the face.

Mairi. Calm down.

She heard a familiar voice in her head as she saw the hulking figure behind her back up and out of her reach.

"Oh bugger, Jason! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

She ran a still shaking hand through her damp hair and tried to calm her racing heart down.

"What are you doing here anyway?"

He looked down at his feet and scratched his head.

I thought you might not want to ride home in the dark alone.

He paused.

Besides. I was... worried...

A warm smile spread across her face, as she regarded Jason's lifeless masked face.

"You were right. I'm so glad you're here."

She said, thankful that her friend had come. She felt a lot safer now.
And so they began to walk home. Both being wet in a matter of seconds, but Mairi could care less about that. The cold was worse. She pulled her arms around her in the vain attempt to protect her from the cold. Of course, it did little to help her against the cold. She would definitely take a warm shower when they got home. Beside her, Jason stopped for a moment and slipped out of his jacket and flung it around Mairi's shoulders. Though wet, it provided a bit of protection against the weather. Mairi flashed him a thankful smile.

"Aren't you cold?"

she asked after they had walked a long time in silence. He shook his head.

No. Looks like nothing seem to matter, once you've died, not even temperature.

The woman beside him stopped and reached for his arm. Putting her warm hand on his lower arms she looked up into his face with sympathetic eyes.

"Jason you are not dead."

Jason smiled beneath his mask and met her gaze.

Maybe. But I'm not really alive either.

He paused thinking for a moment and resumed walking.

But at least I don't feel so dead anymore.

Mairi smiled, looking at the road ahead of them. By now they had entered the forest and were shielded from the biting cold wind and the rain a little. She thought about the unlikely bond of friendship she had formed with the notorious killer. And how much she enjoyed his company, even though he still scared her sometimes. Especially when he lost his temper. She thought back to her own family. How often had she longed for a good relationship with her little sister? But since her mother had died in a car accident her sister had been the apple of her father's eye. Spoiled rotten. Besides he'd always fret over his younger daughter, often mumbling something about how nightmares would kill people.

Everything could kill people, even stupidity

Mairi used to think. It somehow saddened her that she could open up to a killer who had claimed hundreds of lives without remorse more than she could to her own family. Her father would probably die without ever knowing that his eldest had tried to take her life and almost succeeded.
They reached the campgrounds and Mairi saw smoke coming out of her chimney. A smile lit up her whole face.

"Aww, Jason you got the fireplace running."

He nodded and Mairi didn't fail to notice, how he puffed his chest out a little in pride.

Thought you might like it warm. You look like you are really cold.

He entered the cabin behind her and fed the fire with some new logs. Then he stood back straight and turned to the little nurse.

Mairi. You showed me kindness, where no one else did. I don't want to see harm come to you. And I swear, I will protect you with my life if necessary.

Mairi stood still for a long moment and stared at him with her big sky-blue eyes, her hand clasp over her mouth. A tear escaped one eye. That was something she had always hoped to hear from Brandon. But all he ever took was her money to buy expensive clothes. Jason cocked his head to the side, confused. Had he done something wrong? Why was she crying? But then Mairi crossed the distance between them and hugged the man tight, burying her face in his chest. She breathed in his scent of earth and wood, she had grown so fond of.

"Thank you so much."

her voice sounded muffled against his chest. Jason smiled, and for the first time, he reacted to her hug by bringing his arms around her in a protective manner. He rubbed her back in circles, enjoying her warmth against his cold body. In that moment nothing else mattered.

Two days had gone by and something had seemed off about the small nurse. It was early afternoon as Jason finally made his way over to Mairi's cabin. Normally the nurse should be out and about by now but was nowhere to be seen. Somehow Jason had a sinking feeling in his guts, that something wasn't right. She had seemed a bit too tired when she came home yesterday. Even though he had indeed found her a battery - and him a good little kill - for the car so that she wouldn't need the bike again.
He entered the cabin and listened. Everything was silent. Beneath his mask, he frowned. Something was amiss here. He unsheathed his machete and slowly stalked in. The kitchen was empty, as was the main living area. Silently he climbed the spiral staircase and pushed the bedroom door open, only to find rumpled sheets on an empty bed.

That would leave the bathroom.

He slowly stalked over and found the door closed. For a moment he lay his head against the wood and listened for any sounds inside. Nothing. Carefully he knocked and waited, not sure if he should enter unasked. Again nothing. He felt his heart rate pick up.

She can't have left the camp!

Was the first thought that came to his mind. He had seen her car. And he remembered stepping over her shoes when he had entered. He couldn't wait any longer and his hand clenched around the doorknob and turned. The door was unlocked, yet there was something heavy lying in front of the door. Jason stopped short for a minute, pressing his good eye shut.

Oh no, please no!

He thought as he used his shoulder to push the door open. He found Mairi on the ground. The stench in the bathroom told him, that she had been sick sometime during the night or early morning. As he saw the petite woman lying unconscious on the cold wooden floor, he panicked. His machete clattered to the ground with a mournful ringing sound as he pushed through the door and turned Mairi carefully on her back. A wave of relief hit him when he saw her chest rise and fall with shallow breaths. He looked at her more closely. She had big circles under her eyes and she looked pale. Despite that, her cheeks seemed flushed. He put a visibly shaking hand against her forehead.

Mairi, you are burning up.

He thought, sincerely concerned. At this moment he more than ever wished for his mother to be here. She had always cared for him when he had been sick. Surely she would know what to do. But his mother had been silent for such a long time now. Helplessness and despair wrapped their cold hands around his heart. He was just a big guy with a talent for killing others, how was he supposed to care for another being? Carefully he took her in his arms, cradling her against his chest and went over to her bedroom. There he tugged her into bed. Lightly stroking sweaty strands of her wavy hair out of her face, he tried to remember what his mother had always done.

I need to keep her warm.

Was the first thing he remembered. So he raced over to his cabin and into all the others and grabbed a whole yard-sale of old dusty and half-eaten blankets.

And now I need to reduce the fever.

He turned around himself helplessly, not sure what to do. Beneath the mountain of blankets, Mairi moaned weakly. Softly he stroked her cheek.

Please don't die on me. I'll be back in no time.

He raced over to his cabin to get an old iron bucket and then down to the lake. As much as he hated water he needed the lake now more than ever. He took a deep breath and took a step. Then another and another. Until the water reached up to his neck. His hand was clenched around the bucket's handle. By now the lake's water was bone-chilling cold and he could feel it creep into his bones. Not fazed by the icy cold, Jason stayed in it as long as he dared to leave Mairi alone. As he couldn't bear to be away from her anymore, he returned. On his way to her, he grabbed some towels as well. After soaking them in the cold water he wrapped one around each leg. The third one was placed carefully on her forehead. He took a deep unsteady breath, as he finally began to strip down.

This better works.

He thought wearily. His skin-colour had turned from his normal greyish blue to a livid discolouration. Another deep breath, then he crawled under the covers. As carefully as possible, he scooted over to Mairi and pressed his now ice cold body against hers. He draped one arm protectively around her, with the other hand he petted her matted brown hair. His own heartbeat fell into the rhythm of her breathing and with surprise, Jason realized that he was afraid. For the first time since he had been alone in these woods, he was afraid. Not afraid of his own well being. But afraid, that the one person he cared for might die. And so he laid his head down on the pillow anxiously watching her breath.