Chapter 38
Chad stood under the hot water of his shower. The wonderful, clean, private shower of his own home. It was amazing. It had been days since the dreadful events of Camp Crystal Lake, but it all still felt so real. He hadn't told his mom, but he was having great difficulty sleeping. Every small noise in the room or outside sounded like Jason coming to get him.
Even when he did close his eyes, all he saw was Kenny with Jason on top of him. His imagination had no difficulty picturing how that ended. He was afraid he'd never be able to sleep well again.
He cried under the heat of the shower. Looking down at his own minuscule body, he couldn't help but think of Kenny. He was so opposite of him, but they meshed so well together. Now he was dead. He felt a bit strange for ever thinking this, but he wished he could go back to when he first had seen him at camp this year. He wished he could walk into that shower room and find Kenny there again. He wanted to have that casual conversation with his friend again. No other counselors to get in their way. No killer to occupy their minds. Just a wonderful new friendship waiting to be explored. But none of that would ever happen. He was dead.
With a turn of the nozzle, the shower died. Chad sighed as he stepped out of the shower and dried off. He looked at himself in the full-sized mirror. He looked good. He looked trim and fit, but not as fit as Kenny. "Dang..." He said to himself. "This is going to be so hard."
He pulled on his black suit and got ready for an event he never wanted to happen. Kenny's and the other counselors' funeral service. Due to Deborah's parents pulling everyone together, they had decided to have the funeral service all together, for the sake of the survivors. None of the surviving counselors could have lived with themselves if they had to miss one of the funerals, but they also couldn't bear the idea of attending six funerals in a week.
His mom drove him over to the funeral home and it was as bad as he knew it was going to be. His mom gave him a hug. "I'm right here, honey." He nodded and scanned the room. J.R. was standing on the far end of the room where some light refreshments were provided. He seemed very down.
He didn't see Deborah or Tiffany around, but he knew they'd be there. With a big sigh, he approached the caskets. They were all closed due to the horrible manners of which they died. The first one was A.J. They weren't close, and she was quite the loner, but she certainly didn't deserve to be butchered.
Next down the line was Rob. He was a nice guy. Chad was going to miss his smiling face at school. He had always been a guy that got along with everyone. He did a little of everything at school from sports, to drama, to academics. He was an all-around guy.
Jenny's casket was next across the room. Chad had always found her to be quite attractive, in a mature, well-put-together way. He had never really spoken a lot with him. In fact, he was pretty sure that Jenny didn't like him, but he didn't let that bother him. He had no ill-will toward the poor girl. She didn't deserve to be lying dead in this box of wood.
Brandon's was next, which Chad didn't linger long at. He never liked the jock, but at the moment, all the fighting and hatred seemed so far away. So trivial. While he wasn't the nicest guy to Chad, he never wanted him killed. He had the same feelings for Adam, who was next down the row. However, he knew that Deborah would be heartbroken.
Vanessa's followed. He hadn't gotten along with her either, but he had heard of the ways she had saved others' lives. He couldn't deny that she was amazing. He certainly hadn't the courage to do what she had done.
Finally, Chad froze at the largest of the caskets. He didn't want to make a scene at the funeral home, but he knew he was about to. He could feel it coming on. He placed a hand on the huge closed box and began to cry. He was going to miss him so much. There was nothing worse, in his opinion, that getting a taste of such an amazing brother, of such a wonderful friendship, and then having it so suddenly stolen away from him.
His crying morphed into full-on sobbing. He hated that everyone was looking at him, but he couldn't help himself. He hated death. Ever since his dad died, just the thought of someone dying pained him. Now it was rearing its ugly face into his personal life once again.
As he sobbed, he felt a couple hands rest on his shoulders. He looked through watery eyes and felt his heart break in his chest. Deborah was reaching up to him from a wheel chair. Her leg was in a cast, but still waiting for surgery. On his other side was Tiffany. She hated him, at least, that's what he thought, but here she was. They cried together and offered each other a comfort that no one else could. No one else knew what it was like. It wasn't long before even J.R. joined them. He was dressed up nicely and smelled fresh and clean. It was good. These guys deserved their best. They had all lost friends, but as Chad looked at the three young people mourning with him, he realized that they had made new ones. He wasn't sure they'd ever be friends that go out to the mall together and spend all their free time together, but they were friends. They had gone through something so traumatic together that it had forged an unexplainable and unbreakable bond, and they all knew it. Their lives would never be the same again.