POSSESSED

Chapter 10

Knowing that priests can be met on Sundays, when the holy mass takes place, Sandra sat at her computer and searched for the nearest church in her city. The best option she could find was St. Nicholas church and the priest Father Torres that served there. She wasn't going to wait until the murderous spirit makes her delve into violence again and decided to act at once. Better so than regretting later. If Jason doesn't disturb her day after day, it didn't mean at all that he has left her alone. He was just in a dormant state and would make her remember that he was still there. Sandra could only hope that the situation could be controlled and won't get that far when the only way to get rid of Jason turns out to be exorcism.

The mass in St. Nicholas church lasted for two hours, from 10:00 a.m. till the noon. Sandra decided it was better to wait until the mass ended, so the priest finished his work and would be free afterwards. Sandra reached her destination around fifteen minutes to twelve, but when she was ready to approach the massive church door, she suddenly felt coldness surrounding her in the middle of a hot day. Her heart started beating faster as the young woman knew that Jason was around here somewhere. She turned around, seeing no one, but as soon as she pulled her pocket mirror out of her bag, she saw Jason standing a meter or two behind her. Putting the mirror back into the bag, Sandra decided to run for it, but her attempt to enter the church failed miserably. She didn't manage to get even close to the door when she felt something like grabbing her neck and pressing hardly. The worst thing was that she could do nothing about it, she couldn't touch and pry open the invisible hand. Jason Voorhees was choking her, obviously angry with her tries to get rid of him; and the last thing he was going to allow was the priest standing in his way. Sandra felt her lungs getting less and less air and thought that this is it, her life ends right here and now. But the annoyed spirit suddenly seemed to change its plans, and Sandra didn't even manage to comprehend what was going on when she felt herself fly away from the church. She moaned loudly in pain when her back and butt crashed on an asphalted sidewalk, as the impact was strong, but luckily not hard enough to break any bones. Sandra rolled on her side, clenching her teeth, and tried to get up. Coldness still was there, and it meant that Jason still didn't leave her side. She was going to curse him for what he did when sound of footsteps reached her ears. Lifting her face up, she saw an Afro-American middle-aged couple running to her; and when they reached Sandra's side, they helped her get up.

"Are you alright, miss?" the woman asked. "What happened to you? We saw you standing there, and in the next moment flying backwards from the church."

"I… I don't know…" Sandra spoke, rubbing her soaring elbows and other spots that collided with the ground. "I was going into the church, but then something like… threw me away. God, you would never believe anything like that…" Sandra tried to find the right words, but hear head hurt and was spinning, thus making her feel like drunk.

"Well, it happened, and we believe what we saw," the man said. "Is everything alright? Can you stand? Maybe you need a doctor?"

Sandra shook her head.

"No, I'm alright. Thank you very much for your help." She was ready to leave, but when her vision finally cleared, she spotted a camera hanging on the man's neck; and it seemed one of those that make an instant photo. She concluded then that this guy might be a photographer. Then she felt the cold still surrounding them, and the couple seemed to feel it as well.

"Why is it so cold in the middle of a summer day?" the woman pondered loudly. "Do you feel it, Dan?"

"Yes, Mary, I do," the man named Dan replied. "Kinda weird, don't you think?"

While the couple was in a state of light confusion, Sandra suddenly had an idea.

"Please, sir" she began. "Does your camera make instant photos?" Getting an affirmative reply from Dan, she continued: "May I take a picture or two of the church? It's really necessary, I assure you. May I use your camera for a moment?"

"Of course, no problem," Dan replied and handed her the camera. Sandra took it and took a photo of the church entrance. And when the picture slid out of the camera, she took it and widened her eyes in terror at once. A translucent silhouette of a large man in a hockey mask stood there, seemingly a few meters away from them. Mary and Dan also didn't hide their surprise and horror when seeing the photo, and both turned to the church, but, of course, saw nothing.

"Holy Mother of God, what is this?" Mary exclaimed, studying the photo. "Dan, look at that! It looks like some kind of a phantom standing there!"

"Yes, it is," Sandra replied instead. "And he was the one who threw me so violently on the ground, not allowing to enter the church."

"You know, I've heard that spirits usually don't behave like that," Dan said. "This already sounds more like a demonic entity that hates holy places."

"Well, maybe," Sandra said. "By the way, this coldness you feel means that he's still there. And it looks like he's going to stay there if we don't leave. He's clearly determined not to let me into the church."

"Then let's leave this place," Mary said, and all three left as fast as possible. On their way they felt coldness disappearing, leaving just the heat of a typical summer day.

"I guess the entity is gone," Dan said when they reached the city park. "It's not cold anymore."

"Yeah, finally," Mary added. "It was creepy."

"So, um… your name is Dan, am I right?" Sandra asked the man, and he nodded.

"Yes, that's right. And this is my wife, Mary," he replied, introducing his partner.

"Pleased to meet you," Mary smiled, extending her hand, and Sandra shook it. "And you would be..?"

"Sandra," the young woman said, smiling back. "Nice to meet you too."

Dan coughed then and asked:

"So, Sandra, may we take a look at the photo again?"

"Of course," Sandra responded and pulled out the photo, handing it to Dan. The spouses studied it for a few minutes until the man spoke again.

"You know, strangely enough this specter reminds me of someone. It's like I've seen a guy similar to him in movies when I was younger."

"Yes, you're right, the horror movies!" Mary exclaimed, remembering something as well. "Although this image is translucent, I can very clearly see a man in a white mask."

"A hockey mask," Sandra corrected.

"Yeah, it seems like that," Dan agreed. "Damn, if I only could remember the name of the character and the movies. It was so long time ago…"

"Jason Voorhees, and he's the main villain of Friday the 13th movie franchise," Sandra helped them to remember.

"Oh yes, yes, right! That was his name!" Mary and Dan nodded simultaneously, and then Mary asked: "But how is it possible that this hostile entity by the church looks like Jason Voorhees?"

"A long story," Sandra sighed, scratching her head. "The only explanation I can find is that many, first of all, many people believe that Friday the 13th is the unlucky day; and after horror movies with the same name came out, for a bunch of most susceptible people this day became strongly connected with Jason Voorhees, and some even began to believe that on this day Jason rises from the dead and goes looking for victims. And fear, as we know, is one of the strongest human emotions."

Dan and Mary agreed with the statement about fear, and Sandra continued:

"Also, it is often said that the more you think of something, the more likely it will happen. I suppose that this fear and belief in Jason, despite him being a fictional character, created this clot of energy and fed it constantly. Thus it resulted in him materializing as an incorporeal spirit. And then me and my friends went to Swartswood Lake exactly on Friday, 13th June, which happened to be Jason's birthday, according to the movies. We had our laptops with us and we made a Friday the 13th movie marathon. After that all devilry began, but only with me. Neither of my friends experienced anything like this. I started seeing Jason through the mirror, standing behind my back; or he appeared twice in my room. Once my twelve-year old cousin spotted him and got the scare of her life, and second time I saw him myself. He clearly made me understand that I should keep quiet or he would kill me. And today he showed violence, hinting that trying to stop him is a bad idea. The rest you saw with your own eyes."

The couple listened with all their attention, and when Sandra finished, they exchanged glances in silence. Of course, she wasn't going to tell the strangers about the murders, but perhaps through them she could find some help.

"This is all so weird," Mary pondered loudly. "I knew you can make things come true if you think of them too much, but a movie character materialization… This is something new."

"You're telling me," Sandra said. "I still find it hard to believe, and yet this is what's going on in my life, and I'm more than afraid of what this entity might do next. And it's capable of violence, this I know for sure."

"Yes, we saw that," Dan spoke. "All right, so does anyone else know about it?"

"My mother doesn't, although she knows about what happened to my cousin. She described that a man in a white mask was what she saw that night," Sandra explained. "The rest she is unaware of. I told about this case to both best friends of mine, also about hearing footsteps behind my door at night; but I saw they were reluctant to believe that I see Jason in the mirror. And I'm not surprised. They both don't believe in supernatural, so for such people all this otherworldly stuff will seem nothing more than figment of imagination. Oh, by the way, do you believe in paranormal?"

"We do," Mary replied, and Dan nodded in agreement. "In our families everyone is a believer, so in no way we would mock anyone who experienced the encounters with supernatural. And you are no exception." She put her hand on Sandra's shoulder to calm her down, and the young woman felt better. "So, first of all, your mother must know all the truth. She is the closest person to you. If she finds it hard to believe, show her the photo you made." Sandra nodded, and Mary continued: "Second, we have to find out what exactly this "Jason Voorhees" entity wants from you. It has obviously latched itself to you and is feeding on you. And we must find out why to know what to do further. You need not just a priest, but a psychic as well. And you're very lucky to stumble on us. We know one woman that works with such things, and she has literally saved many lives from violent entities. If it wasn't for her, no one would realize the nature of threat and things might have gotten worse. We will contact her and then let you know when you could meet up with her."

Hearing this, Sandra's eyes began to shine with hope, and her lips stretched in a smile.

"Really? Oh, God bless you!" she said not without joy. "How can I ever thank you?"

"No need, dear," Mary smiled warmly. "Let's say that we had our experience, and it was far from pleasant. And we see that a serious threat is looming over you. It's our duty to help people get out of dangerous situations when police and authorities are of no use."

"Yes, and we will give you our phone numbers so we can contact each other after we speak to the psychic," Dan said, pulling out his phone. Sandra told them her number, and both spouses wrote it into their contacts; and Sandra added them both to her list. Thanking them once again, she waved goodbye to them and left for home. She had to talk to her mother today and hoped that everything goes smoothly.

0o0o0o0o0

Jason Voorhees was angry. He understood that this young woman would do anything to get rid of him. If he could, he would have finished her long ago, but he couldn't. He still needed her to get more energy and thus become more powerful. Also, little did she know that Camp Crystal Lake existed in reality, and that was his only goal. If the situation gets really bad soon, he will finally possess her and enslave her mind fully. Thus he will be able to kill more and gain more power. Jason wanted to exist and be free. He still depended on the woman, but committing more murders, using her as a vessel, might finally help him become independent.

And that would be his ticket home.