Friday the 13th:Surviving Ironback

The eight remaining teenagers sat around the campfire they had made near the lake's shore. It was nearly two AM. Todd had finally stopped saying Hail Marys around midnight, about twenty minutes after Scott had left, soon followed by Pietro and Taryn. Things had calmed down quite a bit, actually; they hadn't heard any screaming. But no matter how desperately exhausted - both physically and mentally - they were, not a one dared to close their eyes.

Because he was still out there.

The ranks of both the X-Men and the Brotherhood had thinned quite a bit this fateful evening. Of the X-Men, only Kitty and Rogue remained. Of the Brotherhood, Freddy, Lance, and Todd. There were also three human students, Paul, Melany, and Kayla. The plan to stay in the open, where they could see danger from a mile away, was working, so far. But they knew it was only a matter of time before he came back.

All they could really do for now was take comfort in each other. Freddy and Rogue, surprisingly enough, were the ones trying to keep things light. They spoke of rumors of Judas Priest reuniting for a new album, and how great it would be. They tried to look towards the future. This talk gave the others hope as well; even Todd brightened up. Lance joined the conversation, too. Paul and the girls were off in their own little world, but that was alright. Rogue had always suspected he was gay. The boy listened to crappy Emo music, after all…

(:P)Meanwhile, at the X-Mansion…

Professor Charles Xavier had been awoken by the alarm of Cerebro, his mutant detection system, at exactly 11:47 PM. It had briefly registered Scott's power, but now he couldn't seem to find him at all. He had always thought of the boy as a son, so he couldn't help but worry.

It was probably nothing, but…

Still! Usually, the Professor could pick up someone's mind, even after they had finished using their powers.

And he had absolutely zilch!

Ever troubled, Charles decided to stay up, in case Cerebro went off again.

(:P)Back at camp…

The kids were getting along quite nicely. They should have known better. I the forest, a madman crept.

'Okay now, sweetie. I think they've had enough fun. Make Mama proud.'

He pulled back his arm in preparation, and then pushed forward as he hurled the unseen object directly into their fire. It was a simple strategy; create a distraction, then, in the confusion, take down the stragglers.

Around the fire, the kids stopped and stared. Each had given out little yelps of panic; something had been thrown into the fire. Gathering what courage he had, which, admittedly, wasn't much, Todd leaned forward for a better look. The sight that greeted him was a ghastly one; Scott's severed head, minus the ruby quartz glasses, charring lightly in the blaze. Thank God for the poor lighting. In the state he was in, seeing the red of the boy's lifeblood would have started a panic in him that undoubtedly would have spread to the others.

Amazingly enough, Todd managed to keep his cool, calmly and quietly alerting his companions. "Yo, I think we should leave. No sudden movements, alright? Just get up, real slowly, and-"

But just as he said this, the ditzy cheerleaders, Melany and Kayla, began to shriek and held each other briefly before running into the woods in the same direction. A classic mistake; they were delivering themselves like a pizza. Todd, still in cool-calm-collect mode, recognized this and motioned for the others to get as far away as they could.

Though it was only a few short hours ago that he'd been close to catatonia from the certainty of his own death, Todd was now dead-set on staying alive(pun most definitely intended!). He couldn't explain why he suddenly wanted to survive; he just did. If he couldn't, he would accept his fate with as much dignity as possible, but he refused to go without a fight. But, he promised himself, only after he made sure everyone else was safe, even if it meant sacrificing a couple of bitchy cheerleaders.

The others remaining did what they could to keep quiet, heading in the opposite direction from where Scott's head had flown.

(:P)Due east of the campfire…

Jason waited, completely out in the open, convinced the two he sought were too stupid to go the other way. They were what he meant by 'stragglers'; unintelligent, and unable to stay cool in a crisis. He might as well go after the dumb ones first, he thought. It would give the stronger ones a chance.

The two girls ran as fast as their cheerleader legs could carry them. Both were the same height, around 5'8", with bottle-blonde hair and too much make-up. The kind of girls Jason liked to hunt, anyway: the bitchy kind.

"Like, oh my gawd, Kayla we are so dead!", one of them whimpered.

"Oh, Melany, I am, like, so scared!"

They had good reason to be; after all, they had just run right into the clutches of a hockey-masked maniac. Chances of survival: nada.

The madman grabbed Melany by her wrists and pulled her close, slicing open her abdomen with his machete as she let out a girlish shriek. Her entrails gushed out almost gracefully as he twisted his precious blade. Finally, her screams ceased and he turned to her friend, Kayla.

Seeing the gleam in his deep blue eyes through the holes in his mask, Kayla at long last came to her senses, turning and running.

"Please, somebody help! He's AFTER ME!" The girl begged every God and Goddess she knew of for deliverance, but none would come. "I WANNA GO HOME!" Finally, she stopped running and fell to her knees, sobbing; this was the end for her.

'Oh, the poor dear. Sweetie, why don't you help her out?'

Jason obeyed his mother; in times where the victims broke down like this, she often was capable of mercy and demanded their deaths to be quick and painless. Such was this time. Kayla continued to sob, the tears streaming down her face. She looked up, and Jason cut her throat with such a force that she was decapitated, ending her fear and her pain.

In a way, death was the ultimate release.

(:P)2 miles due west of the campfire…

And then there were six. The group had gotten far enough away that they figured they were safe, for now at least. Rogue and her roommate were finally opening up to each other. Nothing like a tragedy to bring you together, right?

"Oh, man that was too close. What're we gonna do?", mused the southern goth.

"Like, I don't know, but we better think of something fast. This guy's pretty damn quick.", Kitty answered. Rogue giggled. "Like, what?"

"Kit-Kat, you swore! I nevah heard you swear before."

"Oh, like, yeah."

For a moment there was silence, then for a reason they never could explain, both girls laughed their asses off. It was a beautiful sound, the sound of two girls bonding. It was also very contagious. Before they knew it, Lance, Todd and Freddy had joined. Paul, however, was too scared to manage any more than a nervous giggle.

Though laughter can sometimes be the best medicine, it is very important to know when laughter is appropriate. In this case, it was not.

For it lead Jason to where the six teens rested.

'They're mocking you! Are you gonna take that, son?'

In a blind fury, he swung, but he made far too much noise; his intended victim knew he was coming. Usually, this didn't really make a difference, but his intended victim had the ability to move through solid objects.

Kitty let out a little scream as she phased and dodged, for she hadn't been fast enough. Though she had escaped the full force of the slash, she only did so with a rather nasty cut on her right thigh. Todd kicked Jason in the back of the head in a momentary act of bravery, stunning him as Lance helped Kitty to safety.

'Oh, they shouldn't ought to have done that…'

Jason got up, angrily taking a firm grip on his machete and stalking quickly after his prey. Seeing this, Lance shook the earth and made the behemoth lose his footing

(:P)Back at the X-Mansion…

The alarm sounded once more, startling Professor Xavier. Cerebro had again picked up mutant signatures at Ironback. This time, thankfully, they didn't cut out abruptly as Scott's had earlier.

Concentrating on Kitty, he delved into her mind in an attempt to assess the situation.

What he saw was more gruesome than he could possibly imagine. The attacks of the night played for him as he watched in horror. He spoke to her telepathically.

Kitty, what's going on? Pleas, you need to calm down.

Professor! Oh my God, he's after us! It's not just a legend! Evan, Kurt, Jean, Sgt. Hawk; they're all dead! Probably Scott and Pietro, too, and these three preppy girls from school-

We're on the way. Try to stay safe.

He wheeled himself to his dresser to get out of his pajamas, praying that the children would be alright before sending out an urgent telepathic message to Wolverine and Storm.

LOGAN, PREP THE BLACKBIRD! ORORO, SUIT UP! THIS IS AN EMERGENCY! WE'RE GOING TO IRONBACK!

A/N:BODY COUNT: NINE(9): #8 Melany Candice Andrews, disemboweled. #9 Kayla Denise LaJudice, decapitated. REST IN PIECES! Sorry for the dealy in updating; I had to cram for exams. They're over now, though, so no excuses. Much Love, Fenrir's Daughter