The Present
Beth Armstrong's black CR-V trudged through the snowy, tree-lined road. She checked the dash. The clock read 11:30 PM. She was weary, and a little upset. In all her days of research she'd never encountered something as frustrating as this. The old hick's taunts echoed through her mind. What in tarnation are you doin' here, young lady? Asking all these got-dang questions! We simple folk, ya hear? Turn around and take your city-slickin' ass on home. She'd picked the wrong drunk to ask upon at that roadside bar in Wessex County. "Is this Massachusetts?" she asked, purposely patronizing him. Yes. "Is this Wessex?" Yes. "So where is Camp Crystal Lake?" The old guy broke up in laughter, gesturing to his faithful group of drinking partners. Ya hear that, Billy? Where is Camp Crystal Lake? he mocked. Honey, there ain't no camp around here, there's not even a damn lake!
She rolled her eyes and left. Beth knew that these stories came from somewhere, even myths had an origin. All she needed to do was find the source of them. The purpose of her book was to link these legends to truth, and so far it had gone perfect. Even if it was the tiniest detail, if it was fact, it helped.
But this Jason Voorhees thing seemed like a dead end.
What gives?
It was getting a little chilly inside of the truck, so she turned up the heat. She yawned, tired as hell, pulled her auburn hair into a ponytail, and withdrew a Marlboro from her fresh pack of cigarettes. She used a lighter to blaze it because the one that came with the vehicle took too damn long to heat for her tastes. She sighed after the first puff, and began feeling a little better.
She passed a sign that read Springlake, 20 Miles. But she barely noticed it.
In fact, she barely noticed anything because she was rummaging around in her console to find her Lenny Kravitz tape. She needed music that would reflect her mood. When the insistent guitar riffs of "Are You Gonna Go My Way?" filled the truck, she was pleased.
Her eyes widened in horror when she saw the figure standing right in the path of the truck.
It was only a split second after she slammed on the brakes that her head hit the steering wheel and everything went black.
•••
When her eyes opened, it was daylight. Beth realized that her truck was moving forward, but she was on the passenger side. She had a major headache.
And that guy was driving her fucking truck!
"What the hell are you doing!" she demanded.
He turned to her and smiled, exposing perfectly shaped white teeth. "At least say thank you." He was mighty handsome, with curly jet-black hair and darkened skin in spite of the weather. He had a strong jaw line and dark green eyes.
"For what?"
"I'm the one that put that bandage on your head, girlie."
Beth felt her forehead. "Oh. Thank you." Then she regained her sense. "Why the hell are you doing driving my truck?"
"So I can get us to the hospital," he answered.
"If you hadn't ran out in the middle of the road, I wouldn't have to go to the hospital!" she shrieked.
"We are going for me, so that I can see my brother. He's hurt."
"I'm sorry to hear that . . . whatever your name is--"
"It's Nathan," he said.
"Okay. Nathan. Do you know how dangerous hitching is?"
He shrugged. "I know. I just wanna see my baby brother. What's your name?"
"Beth," she said lamely.
"I'm sorry, Beth. But I had to do this. Don't worry, we'll be there shortly."
He was quiet for a moment. Then. "So what brings you to town?"
Like she really wanted to engage in small talk. But she answered anyway. "I'm doing research. But I was heading home."
Nathan ignored the last part. "Research, huh? For what?"
"Mind your business and drive!"
"Whoa! Touchy! I just asked a simple question, good grief!"
She realized that maybe she was being too hard on him. Besides, he was kind of attractive. "I'm doing research for a book I'm writing on contemporary myths and legends."
He nodded thoughtfully. "Hmm, sounds interesting. Like what?"
"You know, like Jason Voorhees and the Springwood Slasher,"
Nathan chuckled. "Jason Voorhees? The Springwood Slasher? You writing a scary movie?"
Beth didn't answer.
They pulled up in front of Springlake General not long after. Nathan immediately ran for the front desk, demanding to know where Matthew Craig was. "He's in 5-D, room 512," the sullen attendant answered. She gave Beth a quizzical look. "Honey, is your head okay?"
Beth nodded.
"You need to get that checked out." She passed Beth a clipboard and summoned an orderly. "Jeff, can you take this young lady to get checked after she fills this out."
"No, really," Beth protested. "I'm okay." She almost looked to Nathan for help but he was already gone. She shrugged and reluctantly filled out the forms, then allowed Jeff to take her away.
•••
"I'm his only family," Nathan told Dr. Sheridan over the bleeps of the heart monitor and other hospital equipment. "Our parents were killed in a plane crash over ten years ago."
"I see," the good doctor said. "He's had quite a shock to his system. I'm not sure how long this coma will last."
Nathan looked at his brother with a glazed look in his eyes. "Coma."
"Yeah. What makes it so strange is that he brought himself to the hospital. He didn't even look shaken, there was a vacant look in his eyes, they told me."
"A vacant look in his eyes," Nathan repeated.
"Yes. Almost like he was sleepwalking."
•••
"A nurse with be with you shortly," Jeff said as Beth propped herself on the table.
"Thank you," she responded, and Jeff left.
Beth wrapped her arms around herself, she was so cold. Hospitals did that to her, they gave her a cold feeling, inside and out. And that medicinal smell only made it worse.
She wondered why she even agreed to do this; her headache had faded a long time ago.
She watched the clock. Its ticking seemed to get louder and louder. Beth sighed, hoping the nurse would hurry up. She played with a strand of auburn hair.
The door opened as if on cue and a moderately pretty middle-aged woman in a white uniform entered. "Hey, sweetie. Got a little bump on your head?"
Beth forced a smile. "Yeah, the lady at the desk thought you should check it out."
"Tell me what happened," the nurse ordered as she had Beth lay back on the table and withdrew her penlight.
"Well," Beth said as the nurse pulled open her left eyelid and shone the light into her pupil. "I was in a little car accident and banged my head on the steering wheel. But I think I'm okay now."
The nurse shook her head. "No you're not, sweetie."
"Excuse me?"
"You're gonna be here for a while," the nurse confirmed.
Beth tried to sit up. "It's only a bump. Really I'm okay."
The nurse wrapped her hand around Beth's neck and slammed her back down. "I said you're gonna be here for a while, BITCH!" she roared, in a guttural, almost male voice.
"No!" Beth screamed. She sat up and looked around her. She was alone in the hospital room. Her heart was beating out of control.
The nurse had never even come into the room.
She assumed she must've dozed off.
Beth hopped off of the table and rushed to find Nathan, almost knocking the nurse over. She looked nothing like the one in her dream.
•••
"What's going on? Is he okay?" Beth asked as Nathan emerged from Matt's room.
"He's in a coma," Nathan answered. "Beth. You're bleeding."
"What?" she asked.
He went over to her and removed the bandage he'd applied the night before. "Shit. I thought they looked at this."
"I got outta there," Beth answered, snatching the gauze from Nathan and swabbing her forehead. "So you said he's in a coma?"
"Yeah. Matt came to the hospital yesterday and checked himself in. He has a few bruises and some head trauma." Nathan shrugged sadly. "No one knows what happened to him."
They both looked up when they heard footsteps pounding the linoleum, rushing towards Matt's room. There were two girls. One was voluptuous with cascading strawberry-blonde hair and the other was smaller, plain-looking yet pretty with a short mop of brunette hair. The bombshell was out of breath. "Excuse me. We gotta see him!"
"Wait a minute, you know my brother, Matt?" Nathan asked.
"Yeah, we go to school with him. We heard he turned up here. After what happened with Lucy."
"Who's Lucy?' Nathan asked. "I'm sorry, my name is Nathan."
"I'm Hunter." She gestured to the other girl. "And this is Michelle."
"So who's Lucy?" Nathan asked again.
"This girl Matt was seeing," the smaller girl, Michelle, said. "She was really weird."
"Was?" Beth asked.
The two girls looked rather uncomfortable. "She's missing," Hunter said. "Is Matt okay?"
Nathan shook his head. "He's in a coma."
"Oh god," Hunter responded. "I knew he should've never gotten involved with her!"
Nathan took Hunter's hands and looked her squarely in the eye. "I want you to tell me everything you know."
•••
Mickey did his final count of the cash drawer and deposited the money in the safe. He looked at his clock. It was 8:30, he'd closed the wilderness store on time. He was finally getting the hang of this, he didn't need the other mangers hounding him about they way he took his time closing.
He looked up when there was a knock on the glass door. It was his girlfriend, Angela, come to pick him up. He walked from behind the counter and unlocked the door. "You're right on time," he said.
She looked dejected. "I have bad news, baby," she said. "My parents aren't going out for dinner tonight."
"Damn, how are we gonna have any privacy?" Mickey asked. "There's no way my roommates are gonna let me have the room tonight!"
Angela grabbed him by the waist and pulled him close. "There will be other times, Mickey."
"Hmph!" he snorted. "There will always be other times."
"It's not my fault!"
He looked away from her. "No one's blaming you."
Angela folded her arms and tried to stop herself from sulking. "Well, are you ready to go?"
Mickey suddenly had an idea. "Wait a minute."
"What?"
He gestured over to the counter.
Angela laughed. "Mickey, you can't be serious!"
"C'mon, baby, it'll be fun. We're all alone . . ."
She contemplated it for a moment, then, "Alright."
Mickey grabbed her hand and pulled her behind the counter. He lay on the floor and she straddled him. In between hot kisses, they unbuckled their pants. Mickey let out a luxurious sigh when he entered her. Angela began a steady ride, Mickey grabbing her waist and holding on for dear life. Suddenly she stopped.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"You didn't hear that?" she said, looking around.
"Hear what?"
"I swear it sounds like somebody just came in."
"Angela, the door is locked."
"No it's not. I didn't lock it behind me."
"Shit, Angie!"
"Let me check before you get all crazy." She rose up from him and looked over the counter.
Nothing.
She sat back down on him. "I guess I'm just hearing things."
A sly smile crossed Mickey's face. "Are you trying to enhance the sense of urgency so it will be more dangerous?"
"No. I seriously think I heard something."
He grabbed her waist again and began pumping furiously, squeezing his eyes shut as he pounded.
"Oh Angela! Ohmygod! I love you! I love you!"
His eyes flew open when he felt something land on his stomach. It was heavy, like a melon.
Mickey screamed.
His eyes went from Angela's head which had fallen on him, a clean slice, to the figure towering behind her decapitated body. It was a tall, massive man wearing a chrome hockey mask. One of the store's large machetes was missing from the far wall.
The killer had it.
He brought the weapon down onto Mickey's skull.
•••
Beth, Nathan and Hunter stood before the door to Lucy's dorm room.
"I don't know how useful this will be," Hunter said, "seeing as how Lucy and Becky never got along." She knocked on the door.
"She might have some answers about this girl," Nathan said determinedly.
The door opened and Rebecca Long stood before them with a cellphone pressed to her ear. "Can I help you?" she asked indignantly.
"Let us in, Becky," Hunter demanded. "We need to talk to you."
Rebecca pulled the door open wider. "I'll call you back, Gerald." She tossed the phone onto the bed.
"Why are you talking on your cell?" Hunter asked.
"Because the phone is in Lucy's name, and I haven't seen her in God knows how long. So much for roommates."
"Do you have any idea what happened to her?"
Rebecca folded her arms. "What's it to you?"
"This is Nathan, he's Matt's brother, and this is Beth."
Nathan and Beth exchanged greetings with the girl.
"My brother is in the hospital and Lucy's missing," Nathan said. "We were wondering if you knew anything."
"I've already been over this with the police," Rebecca said. "I don't know anything about the Blair Bitch's disappearance."
"What was she like?" Nathan asked.
"She was goth, really weird. We all made fun of her, she was such a case."
Beth was becoming uncomfortable. "Why do you keep referring to her in the past tense?"
"Sorry," Rebecca said. "Anyway, she was always going off, disappearing to some secret place, as she called it. I just blew it off as the ramblings of a psycho."
Beth was suddenly drawn to the desk that sat in the corner. Numerous volumes sat upright on it. She read their spines: Myths and Legends, Fallen Souls, Anatomy of Sorcery, etc. "Is this Lucy's desk?" she asked.
"Oh yeah," Rebecca said. "I'm surprised the police didn't ask about that. She was really into that shit. Wicca and all that crap."
"She wouldn't happen to have a journal, would she?"
Nathan was agitated. "Beth, what are you doing?"
"Trying to help you."
He was skeptical. He noticed the spines too and they looked like great research for her book. Interesting.
Rebecca shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno. I doubt that she'd mention anything in there about her and Matt, if she had one."
"Why do you say that?" Nathan asked as Beth began thumbing through the volumes.
"I don't think she wanted anyone to know the nature of their relationship," Rebecca answered. "She was so secretive, so I don't think she'd write it down even for herself."
Beth suddenly held up one of the books. "Found it. She used this book as her journal." She sat down and flipped through it as the others gathered around her. "She writes sloppy as hell, I can barely read it."
"Maybe it's code," Hunter said sarcastically.
Beth read aloud from Lucy's writings. "I have finally been able to do it, the cloning process is complete."
"Did I forget to mention she was a genius?" Rebecca asked.
Beth continued. "They will pay, the demon that would serve me will make them all pay." Beth turned to Becky and Hunter. "How badly did you guys tease her?"
Hunter shrugged. "Not enough for her to want to summon demons to come get us. That girl was crazy."
"Yeah," Rebecca agreed. "That's a bunch of boloney."
"I'm taking these," Beth said as she gathered all of Lucy's books.. "If the police call you again, you never knew about these books."
"Solid," Rebecca said.
Beth turned to Nathan and Hunter. "Let's get out of here."
•••
The Student Union was abuzz. Everyone was talking about Lucy. Michelle plopped down on one of the comfortable couches with Ricky Tucker and his girlfriend Tia Grey. Cooper Bentley, who thought he was God's gift to Hunter, sat across from them in an equally comfortable chair. They sipped on various types of coffee house lattes, courtesy of the lounge. Starbucks was far too expensive for a struggling student. Michelle had declined earlier when Hunter, Nathan and Beth said they were going to visit Becky for answers. She couldn't stand Becky; she was the worst to Lucy and she was her freaking roommate!. Michelle herself was the only one she knew that didn't hassle Lucy.
Why did it have to be Lucy that turned up missing and not that bitch Becky?
"Why are they making such a big deal out of this thing?" Coop asked indignantly, slumping so that his jet black hair flattened against the back of the chair.
"Why do you care?" Tia challenged, playing with Ricky's locks. "Are you the one that abducted her?"
Coop smirked. "She wasn't my type."
"Wasn't?" asked Ricky. "So they found her dead already?"
"I'm just saying . . ."
Tia laughed. "No, Coop. You're talking but you're not saying much of anything, as usual."
"You don't find all this a little strange?" Michelle asked. "I mean, Lucy isn't the only one that no one's heard from."
"What do you mean?" Ricky asked, he and Tia both turning to her while Coop looked on.
"I mean, Mickey Roberts and Angela Smith are nowhere to be found. Don't you find that strange?"
Coop chuckled. "Oh, c'mon, Michelle! This was supposed to Mickey's night! Him and Angie are doing the deed!"
"Well," Michelle continued, "I called Angie for notes to the Psyche test and she wasn't there. Then I called Mickey to see if they were together and there was no answer. I even called Mickey's job."
"Don't jump to conclusions," Ricky said. "You're just a little paranoid because of this whole Lucy thing. Everything will be cool. They'll find Lucy, put her in a halfway house, and in less than a year, Mickey and Angela will be proud parents!"
Tia and Coop cracked up. Michelle wasn't impressed at all.
Ricky playfully slapped his girlfriend's hand away from his head. "What are you doing?"
"I like playing in your hair. Your dreads are so cute," Tia said.
"Twists, Tia! They are called twists! Not dreads!"
Tia rolled her eyes. "Dreads, twists, what's the diff--"
"Wait a minute!" Michelle said, pointing to the mounted television near the back of the lounge. The students were hushed. There was a newscast on television, and the reporter was at the Springlake University Campus. One of the students hollered for someone to turn it up and another obliged.
"The body of Lucy Malloy has been finally recovered and she has been pronounced dead," the blonde reporter said. They cut to the exterior of an abandoned warehouse where an officer spoke. He confirmed her death, saying that the victim's spine was broken and her brain crushed, in more delicate terms. He also said that some strange paraphernalia was recovered from the warehouse. He would not name what it was. They cut back to an exterior of the campus with a close up on Rebecca.
"I was her roommate," Rebecca said, barely flinching. "She was different."
"Is it true that the students of Springlake gave her a hard time for being different?" the reporter questioned.
Rebecca shrugged. "I mean, we all did a little. No one expected her to die, though. I wish I could take back every bad thing I said about her."
"Bullshit," Michelle said under her breath.
The scene cut to the news desk, where an attractive black male reporter sat. "In what may be a related story, Mickey Roberts and Angela Smith, two more of Springlake University's students, have been found dead at a nearby store where Roberts worked. The bodies were discovered by his manager, who came and found the door to the store unlocked and a machete unaccounted for. He'd come to make sure that Roberts had closed up properly."
Michelle turned back to the group. "Something is going on at this school."
"I'm calling my mom and getting the fuck outta here," Ricky said. "You know in horror movies, us black folk never make it!"
Tia nudged Ricky. "Shut up, Ricky. This isn't the time for that."
"This isn't a movie," Michelle told Ricky ominously. "This is reality."
They all looked up as a gangly redhead boy hurried to them. "Did you guys see that?"
"Yeah, Greg," Coop said. "We saw it."
Greg shuddered. "Someone got Lucy. Us nerds are in for it."
"No worries, Greg," Coop told him. "You're a cool nerd. You'll make it."
Greg draped an arm around Michelle. "You gonna protect me, baby?"
Michelle forced a smiled. "You know I'll try." She gave him a brief kiss on the lips.
"Oh god!" Coop exclaimed. "All this mushy couple crap is too much to handle! I need to call Hunter." He winked. "We can keep each other safe and warm tonight."
The others forced a chuckle as Michelle slumped deeper into Greg's arms.
•••
Beth had seen the newscast. For Nathan's and everyone else's sake, she hoped Matthew would recover and be able to tell what went on in that warehouse. Now she looked over the texts and writings that she'd found in Lucy's room as Nathan slept nearby. The two of them had rented a room in a motel not far from the campus. She would've preferred a bed and breakfast, but that was far too personal. She looked at Nathan. He was gorgeous and she couldn't deny it.
She returned to one particularly old tome with delicate, faded pages. It had no copyright date, or a publisher for that matter. It was huge and ancient, like a necronomicon. The writing was a mixture of symbols and old English. However, it wasn't very difficult to decipher. She was simply skimming, until she came upon a part that she found very fascinating, yet disturbing.
It spoke of two ultimate evils. Each of them had many incarnations over the centuries, even before the printing of the book Beth had before her. Both of them lived as killers in each manifestation and thrived on the revenge of their human hosts. The similarities ended there. One, the Asmodion, usually worked through a family line for it's manifestations, resting for a while then re-emerging and going on a mindless killing spree as a new descendant. The Asmodion usually used a jealous host for its work. In several incarnations, the Asmodion took over the bodies of people who wanted just what they could not have, such as closeness with another human being, or another's success.
The other, Kali-khan, followed a different pattern. Like the Asmodion, it would embody a jealous and vengeful host. However, when the host was destroyed, the Kali-khan would re-emerge in the dreams of those it had unfinished business with. If the Kali-khan killed in the dream, then it's victim died in reality. The Kali-khan had been defeated many times by those understanding it's weaknesses. However, the slightest fear could reinvigorate it, and much later, it would follow the same pattern again.
The text stated that when the two were unleashed upon the world at the same time, It could pose a very serious threat to humanity. It would take an extreme, nearly God-like power to defeat them, if they didn't destroy one another first.
Beth sat back, taking it all in. The descriptions vaguely resembled the legends of Jason Voorhees and the Springwood Slasher. But it couldn't be. This book was far too old to be talking about them.
She was about to pull out her laptop and copy the notes into her research when she noticed a torn sheet of paper sticking out from in between the pages of the book. She withdrew it and read it. It was in Lucy's handwriting.
It wasn't difficult to pose as a scientist and steal the DNA of Voorhees from the Crystal Lake Research Facility.
Beth's eyebrows lifted. Crystal Lake Research Facility? Those damn jerks in Wessex told her that Crystal Lake did not exist! If it wasn't in Wessex, where the hell was it? She continued looking over Lucy's note.
Matthew is a willing participant in the experiment. I have made him want me so much that he'd do anything to serve me. He was chosen specifically. He thinks he's just an apprentice, but he's more important than he really knows.
It ended there. Beth began to flip through the pages to see if there was more.
Nothing.
She pulled out the book that Lucy had used as her journal and continued to read as Nathan tossed and turned.
•••
Nathan didn't know where he was. He continued to walk though, down the dark, long corridor. The walls were stone, and looked as if they dripped with moisture. He could hear a faint creaking sound in the background. The air around him was very humid.
It was a dungeon of sorts.
"Nathan!"
He stopped short. Someone was calling his name. It was his brother.
"Matt!" Nathan screamed. "Matt, where are you!"
He followed the direction of Matthew's voice, turning the dark halls until he came to a cell, that looked as though it had no way to get in from where he stood. Beyond the bars, he saw Matthew standing straight against the wall, arms against his sides. Why wasn't Matt moving?
Nathan grabbed the bars, as if he could pull them off. "Matt! What the hell is going on?"
Upon closer inspection, Nathan saw that Matt wasn't standing, his feet hovered inches above the ground. It was like he was stuck to the wall. He slammed his hand against the bars, desperately seeking a way to get in. "Matt! Who brought you here?" he demanded.
Matthew opened his mouth to answer, but suddenly his body began to spin against the wall. It was a horrific sight, his body turned like a roulette wheel. Nathan screamed his brother's name over and over again.
He heard maniacal cackling. The sound seemed to have no visible source.
Nathan watched in helpless terror as Matt's body slowed, deliberately moving like the hand of a clock. Nathan could even hear ticking with every movement.
Childlike voices rose over the beat of the tick, beginning very low, then building momentum in a steady crescendo.
"One, two, Freddy's coming for you . . . Three, four, better lock your door . . ."
"Somebody help me!" Nathan cried to no avail.
"Five, six, grab your crucifix . . . Seven, eight, gonna stay up late . . ."
Matthew's face was like stone. He didn't seem to be cognizant at all. He was being controlled by something Nathan could not see.
"Nine, ten, never sleep again . . ."
"No!" Nathan screamed as flames suddenly rose from the ground and began to engulf the cell. Matthew returned to his former position.
The face appeared out of nowhere, right on the other side of the bars. "Want him? Come and get him!"
Nathan jumped back. The face was horribly burnt and wore the countenance of extreme evil.
He turned to run, bumping right into the man.
He grabbed Nathan by the neck and tossed him to the side as if he were a ragdoll.
Nathan got a full glimpse of the man. He wore a dark trench and his scalp was just as burnt as the rest of his face. Nathan's eyes widened in horror when he saw the blades that protruded from the man's right hand.
The stories were true.
Nathan backed away.
The man grinned as he looked to the ground. "Almost forgot something." He bent down to retrieve a dirty brown fedora, which lay at his feet. He placed the hat on his head as the flames climbed higher in the cell.
"You stay away from Matt," Nathan spat.
The man laughed, stooping down on his haunches. "I need Matt."
"Why?"
"What would you do to find out?"
"Take me and let him go!"
The man laughed again. "How 'bout I take you now!"
He rose and lunged for Nathan.
•••
"Nathan! Wake up!" Beth hollered as she shook him.
"Matt!" Nathan screamed, abruptly sitting up in the bed and looking around. He was out of breath. His heart was racing and his chest heaved.
"Were you dreaming?" Beth asked, concerned.
"Yes," he answered, trying to catch his breath. "We need to go to the hospital! Now!"
"What's going on?"
"Matt's in trouble. Let's go!"