Gwen and Erin were strolling down the slick, debris-strewn macadam when a loud whirring sound erupted behind them.
Turning, they stared tiredly as the sleek, chrome-like BMW pulled up to them, slowing down to a crawl as its driver recognized the two young women with a start.
As the shadowy window lowered, Nathan stuck his head out through the opening.
"What are you two doing out here?" Nathan asked, his concerned eyes sparkling in the afternoon sunlight.
"Who is it...?" Nicole whined from the front seat. "Natey, you're in my way-!"
Gwen looked from Nathan to Nicole, barely able to speak; had they been following her...?
"We just came to pick up..."
"-My jacket," Erin quickly added, smiling nervously. "I-I left it here, after the party..."
"Some party," Nicole snorted. "Natey, who are you talking to?"
Ignoring his protesting passenger, Nathan flashed a smile at Gwen.
"Why don't you both hop inside?" he asked, attempting to come across as innocent. "The camp's still a bit farther down the road; I could give you a lift."
"Really, we're fine," Gwen blurted out before Erin had a chance to accept the offer. "We could use the extra exercise..."
"Speak for yourself," Erin said with a smile as she pulled open the car door. "I'm not walking the rest of the way!"
Gwen, frowning, hesitantly pulled herself up into the backseat, as well.
"Whatever..." she muttered beneath her breath.
Nicole, upon realizing just who Nathan had invited into the car, felt her insides freeze, and her eyes exploding in an envious emerald-green flame.
"Let me out!" she shrieked hysterically, pounding on the locked door. "Don't keep me trapped in here with these losers-!"
Suddenly, she turned to face Gwen, her eyes gleaming angrily.
"You little bitch, first you ruin my party and now you're hitchhiking in my boyfriend's car? Can't I ever get away from you...?"
Just as Gwen was about to counter with a sly remark, Nathan grabbed Nicole's arm in a sudden, terrified vice.
"Ouch!" she wailed, gritting her teeth. "What's the matter?"
"We've got a problem..." Nathan mumbled, swallowing the lump in his throat.
Erin and Gwen, curious, poked their heads out from the backseat, and squinted their eyes to see a sapphire, cobalt blue Honda , its motor completely dead, in the near distance, slightly off the camp trail, its hood jutting into the surrounding forest.
"Isn't that Kevin's car?" Nicole wondered aloud, leaning forward in her seat for a better view; for a moment, she completely forgot about her disastrous party the previous night. "Oh my God, I think it is..."
The four of them sat in silence for what seemed to be an eternity; what, exactly, was going on at the legendary campsite, with its blood-soaked history and tales of masked, machete-wielding lunatics? What had become of the two young lovers who had disappeared without a trace after spending the night together?
As Nathan knew, there was only one way to find out.
"Come on," he said, taking up a leadership role. "We've got to check this out; they might have gotten into an accident for all we know."
"Do you think one of us should call 9-1-1...?" Erin asked, her face a mask of her worry and fear. "I mean, if someone's been hurt..."
"Miranda and Kevin were supposed to leave hours ago," Nicole shrilly pointed out. "Something must have kept them here, unless they're both still in that cabin..."
"Those cabins in the woods are off-limits, permit or no permit," Gwen added knowledgably, happy to argue with Nicole. "Those two boneheads would have been caught by now...and no one in their right mind would spend an entire night at Camp Crystal Lake!"
"Well, that's Kevin's car," Nathan said with a sigh. "Obviously they couldn't have gone anywhere without that Honda."
Almost mechanically, he removed his foot from the brake, and began to drive the BMW down the uneven path.
"I hope Miranda didn't forget to pack that sweatshirt I lent her..." Nicole muttered sourly, arms folded across her protruding chest. Then, as almost a second thought, she added, "Ugh, I'm so sick of Halloween now...I can't believe I ever fell for any of those stupid ghost stories..."
Gwen was about to mutter, "I'd bet not all of them are stories" but the silvery vehicle, glistening while out of the frigid shade, had already come to a stop beside the seemingly-abandoned Honda.
Opening the car door, Nathan leapt out first, followed by a peeved Nicole, a tired Gwen, and a trembling Erin.
"Oh...where is that stupid jacket?" Erin whined, shivering. "I could have sworn I left it here..."
"We'll look for it later," Gwen promised, more interested in the disappearance of Miranda and Kevin than in the disappearance of a hand-me-down.
"Hello?" Nathan called, approaching the Honda and spotting a form seated up in the front. "Kevin, is that you...?"
Without warning, he grabbed the metal handle, and pulled open the surprisingly-unlocked door...
With a loud, horrifying thud, Kevin's bloodied, battered corpse fell out of the driver's seat, landing atop the rocky ground at Nathan's feet.
The next few moments unraveled in slow motion; Nathan, so taken aback by this gruesome discovery, tripped on the limp body and fell himself; Nicole let out an animalistic screech of terror, clawing at her face in fear; Gwen covered her eyes and turned away, her entire body shaking uncontrollably; and a pale Erin fainted, collapsing to the ground like a lead weight.
"Oh my God-! Jesus...Jesus Christ, Kevin!" Nicole wailed, swaying unsteadily, nausea overwhelming her.
Gwen, her head pounding, fell to her knees, unable to stare at the glazed, bloodshot eyes that peered up at her from the ground.
Kevin was dead - that much was obvious; a large gash had formed on the side of his shattered head, and crimson liquid trickled down from this wound, smearing and drying atop his horribly-stained shirt. Broken glass, like shimmering ice, coated his entire torso, and Nathan spotted sharp fragments caught in his friend's mop of hair.
Nathan, though very much horrified, allowed himself a few moments to squeeze his eyes shut and pray before standing to examine the abandoned Honda.
Sniffling ever so slightly, he crossed himself and made his way over to the driver's seat window, noting how it had been broken in, most likely from the outside, and with incredible force.
Blood had been sprayed atop the windshield, and the deep, dark red liquid had also caked upon the steering wheel. Two teeth, impeccably white, lay on the car floor, as if they had been forced out of Kevin's mouth.
Nathan, barely able to control the surge of emotions that were rushing through him like lightning, turned away from the scene of destruction, and bent back down to gently shut Kevin's ever-staring eyes.
"I...I think his neck is broken," Gwen gasped, clutching her heaving chest for support. "L - look at th - the way his head is leaning to the side..."
Nathan, nearly choking, gingerly grabbed Kevin's shredded chin, glancing for some tell-tale signs that shouted a fatal injury; indeed, the bruised neck was especially limp and lifeless, as if it had been snapped in two. It appeared that two hands had been wrapped around the hapless teenager's throat.
"Christ..." Nathan breathed, standing. "Gwen, there are markings all over his neck...like he was strangled-!"
Gwen looked from a petrified Nathan to a still-collapsed Erin, and it felt like she was drowning in her own fear.
This can't be happening...this just can't be happening! If we hadn't gone to that stupid party we never would have come back here... I'm such an idiot; I was begging to get wrapped up in some disaster!
All of sudden, Gwen lost control over herself; with a maniacal wail, she cried, "Who's doing all of this?"
Nathan immediately rushed to her side, his hands covered in Kevin's spilled blood.
"Hey, come on, Gwen, this isn't the time for hysterics," he murmured soothingly, though he was scared to death himself. "Just take a deep breath...we'll be fine."
"I wish we could say the same thing for Kevin!" Nicole snapped in the distance. "Do you think Miranda ended up like this, too? Left for dead in an abandoned camp?"
Nathan shot Nicole a look that told her to shut up.
"We can't jump to conclusions just yet; it's clear enough that Kevin was strangled, his neck broken - that rules out accidental death and suicide. We've got to report this to the police..."
"But Miranda is still missing!" Nicole cried, livid. "What's keeping me from thinking that she's dead, also?"
"We've got to let the police do their job," Nathan pointed out. "Just standing here and arguing won't do us any good."
"But what are we supposed to do with the body until they arrive?" Gwen asked, nearly choking on her own words; she wasn't sharing a car seat with a bleeding corpse, no matter how handsome Kevin had been prior to death.
Nathan frowned; he hadn't factored Kevin's body into the equation at all...
"I'll stay behind with him; he was myfriend, after all." With a sudden motion, Nathan tossed the glittery car keys to Gwen. "You'll have to drive to the station; Erin's out cold and Nicole's likely to crash my car."
Gwen, startled, caught the keys, and watched in solemn silence as Nathan bent down and sat beside his deceased teammate.
This is unreal...absolutely unreal - how did I get into this mess-?
On the verge of hyperventilating, she stumbled over to the waiting vehicle, its engine purring patiently; as she opened the car door, Erin awoke with a jolt, her brow wet with perspiration.
"Oh, oh-!" she groaned, her eyes wide and fearful, giving her the appearance of a terrified puppy. "Gwen, what's going on?"
"Come on," Gwen breathed heavily, helping Erin to her feet. "We've got to get to the police station."
xxx
Derek Myers, groaning tiredly, traipsed down the flight of oak stairs that led to the family's spacious yet cozy living room. Already, his mother was off in the kitchen, whisking a chrome bowl of freshly-cracked eggs.
"Morning, sweetie," she called with a smile as soon as she heard her son leap off of the bottom stair. "Did you sleep well?"
Derek, still tired after a restless night, grunted an inaudible answer, plopping himself down atop a broken-in couch, eager for breakfast. Grabbing the nearby remote control, he began to flip through the hundreds of television channels at his fingertips.
Pouring Derek a glass of bright, citrusy orange juice, Mrs. Myers added, "Just don't forget you've got hockey practice in the school auditorium this afternoon. From there we've got to head over to Aunt Cindy's for dinner, so I want the coach to excuse you about fifteen minutes early."
Once again, Derek merely shrugged; though he hated missing parts of practices (especially when he had to go visit his aunt instead), he was arguably the best player on the team - they really only needed him for major games.
Yawning, he leaned back atop the couch, and nearly drifted away into sleep.
xxx
Mark, unlike Derek, was wide awake when he hopped downstairs, ready for expertly-cooked scrambled eggs and toast.
His mother, short and stocky, her glossy black hair pulled back into a tight bun, shuffled into the living room, a large plate in her dainty hands.
"Eat breakfast now, then go with Father for new football cleats, yes?" she asked as Mark grabbed a fork and began to tear into the eggs.
"Yeah, yeah, of course," he grumbled, more focused on his meal; his old cleats were perfectly fine - he hated the feel of a brand-new pair.
Then again, it wasn't his money rapidly going down the drain.
"Game today, yes?" his mother demanded to know. "At school field?"
Mark nodded, a bit frustrated; he had completely forgotten about the day's scrimmage! And he still had that social studies essay to start...
"Yeah, there's a game, but I can miss this one," he pointed out, afraid to meet his mother's suspicious eyes. "You know, there's that really easy essay that I've got to finish -"
Without warning, the peeved Filipino woman before him slapped his head three times in rapid succession.
"Stupid boy!" she growled angrily. "Essay due tomorrow, yes? You supposed to be done with essay by now!"
Suddenly, she began to wag her finger and shake her head.
"Oh no, no, no, no, no; you not miss this game - you learn to manage time better! Sorry, but you going to scrimmage today."
And with that, she disappeared back into the kitchen, hands on her hips.
xxx
Gwen stared tiredly out of the car window as she backed up the BMW and drove it back into town; the skeletal, knobby trees on either side of the path seemed to twist and distort in the strange, dull lighting of the early afternoon.
Already that day, so much had happened; she had argued with her overbearing, relentless mother, and by some sick turn of events, she had uncovered the body of a slaughtered baseball player with a brainiac, a fashion-conscious diva, and a defeated jock by her side.
What else could possibly go wrong? She had never faced Death before - it was such a new, frightening yet fascinating feeling that had washed over her; a perfectly healthy, able-bodied teen cut down in his prime...it was all so horrific.
Sighing, she turned to face Erin (they had shoved a protesting Nicole into the backseat); Erin was even quieter than usually - Gwen could see the streams trickling tears had formed on her friend's pale cheeks.
It had been a terrifying experience, discovering Kevin's body; no one knew how to handle the situation... Run? Scream? Faint, like Erin?
There was no way to know which approach they would have chosen should Nathan not have forced Gwen to drive down to the police station.
But what would be done then? Would the police believe their story-?
It sounded fake enough - two misfit teens and an aspiring socialite claiming to have found the corpse of a classmate in an abandoned Honda right in front of the Camp Crystal Lake gates.
While driving, Gwen attempted to think up each way the police could react; they could laugh heartily (as if death was some sort of a joke to them) and have the desperate trio removed from the station, they could lock the three of them up for telling such a fabricated story, or they could take action, and go to investigate the scene of destruction.
Gwen assumed she'd be laughed at and thrown back into the open streets.
Shaking her head, she turned back to the window, and peered out at the town before her; almost identical houses lined the bare streets, their curtains closed and their windows darkened, as if no one lived in any of them. Every so often, Gwen would spot a young boy or girl frolicking in their respective yards, but aside from the laughing children, the entire town seemed to be deserted.
"Maybe I'm not the only one who believes folk tales..." she grumbled tiredly as she zoomed past an empty public park.
It was as if the entire community had been put on a 'Jason Voorhees alert'.
"How much farther is it?" Nicole whined from the backseat. "I don't want to leave Nathan alone for long when there's some teenager-killing maniac on the lose."
Gwen suddenly felt a pang in her chest - a lunatic. That's what this was. A lunatic...such as a masked monster wielding a machete?
You've got to get a hold of yourself, Gwen - you're sounding like a psychopath - there's no such thing as Jason Voorhees-!
At that exact moment, a blue-and-white sign off to the side of the road - 9-1-1 Center/Police Station Next Right.
A feeling of hope blossomed within Gwen's soul - they had made it!
Pulling into the wide, gravel parking lot, Gwen removed the key from the ignition, leaping out onto the solid earth.
The station, like everything else in the town (excluding Nicole's mansion) resembled a small, crumbling brick square, a hand-painted sign reading POLICE in large letters hanging from off of a weather vane on the building's roof.
A long bench was positioned off to the side of the front door for waiting victims of crime.
As Erin and Nicole also exited the sleek BMW, Gwen hurried for the door, her heart racing - she was losing control.
Pushing her way inside the station, past an overweight secretary on her way to the coffee maker, Gwen ran up to the front desk, rapidly jabbing at a dull silver bell that barely even worked.
The secretary, nearly dropping her coffee cup, waddled back over to the desk, her lips pursed into a sour frown.
"Can I help you?" she asked in a throaty, nasal voice.
"We need to speak with the sheriff right away," Gwen blurted out as Erin and Nicole joined her at the desk. "It's an emergency."
The secretary raised an eyebrow, staring suspiciously at the three young women before her. After a long pause, she reached for her outdated telephone.
"Can I have your names, please?" she mumbled as she punched a two digit number into the phone's key pad.
"Gwen...Stevenson," Gwen answered quickly. "And Erin Benet and Nicole Goldsmith."
The secretary nodded, turning her attention back to the call she was making.
"A Ms. Stevenson, a Ms. Benet, and a Ms. Goldsmith here to see you, sir." she spoke into the receiver.
And with that, she replaced the phone, and looked back up at the shivering trio.
"Sheriff Haskell will be right with you," the secretary droned. "If the three of you would care to take a seat...?"
The woman motioned to three uncomfortable-looking chairs set up against a far wall, a table of ripped, ancient magazines next to them.
Gwen, taking the lead, dragged Erin and Nicole over to the chairs.
"We've got to be smart about this," she breathed so that only the two girls could hear her. "If we act like idiots, they'll never believe us."
Erin nodded her head frantically.
"Unless we get straight to the point, they'll keep us here for questioning all day..."
Suddenly, a tall, lanky man with an olive complexion entered the waiting area from a small, cramped room down the hall from the front desk.
Smiling pleasantly, Sheriff Haskell, the permanent replacement for the deceased Sheriff Rowland, strolled up to three young women.
"What can I do for you ladies this afternoon?" he asked gently, grinning. "I just hope you realize how busy we are the days following Halloween -"
"It's an emergency," Gwen pleaded before Nicole could speak.
Trembling, she turned to look at Erin, who motioned for her to continue.
"We...we found a body..." she breathed, her words coming out jumbled, barely above a whisper.
It didn't take long for Sheriff Haskell's smile to evaporate, as it was rapidly replaced with an expression of concern.
"Where?" he asked soothingly, taking Gwen's shaking arm. "It's very important that you tell me everything you know..."
"At the campgrounds...near Crystal Lake," Gwen gasped, tears streaming down her pale checks. "He was inside his car, right in front of the gates..."
Images of the lake flashed through Sheriff Haskell's mind; he knew perfectly well that the area was off-limits, and anyone caught trespassing could easily be fined hundreds of dollars.
Yet things had grown substantially worse in and around the lake; suspicious deaths, slaughtered pets that had been released from their owners' back yards...it was all so peculiar.
Perhaps this new case would shed some light on the serial killer who was plaguing the town...
But why, exactly, were three perfectly-sane teenage girls snooping around the campgrounds?
"Would you three mind riding down to the crime scene with me?" the sheriff asked. "On the way, you could explain to me just what you were doing down at the lake...and don't worry; one of the other officers will follow behind in your car."
Gwen, Erin, and Nicole all exchanged nervous looks; how would they explain the Halloween party and not get fined or arrested for trespassing themselves...?