Happy (early) Halloween everybody! I have all my Fridays DVRd. I think the hubby is over it lol Anyway, thanks for reading as always and I hope you enjoy!

Esme's curiosity was overtaken by fear when she heard the rustling of leaves approaching furiously behind her. She wanted to scream but refrained and bolted toward the structure before her. Despite viewing the shady complex as a death trap, Esme knew she was a sitting duck out in the woods with the madman behind her.

The twisted, rusty handle to the door was cold, wet and unwelcoming. Esme reached for it and flung the door open as her survival instincts kicked in and she scanned the immediate area for a place to hide.

The home looked more like a demented tree house. The floorboards were dirty and uneven. In several patches there was no wood, only dirt from the forest floor below. Random items were scattered about, and the smell of dead animal was confirmed by the carcasses of several raccoons and squirrels.

Esme didn't have time to judge the ghastly place. She quickly scampered into another back room behind a disgusting, old blanket that hung in place of a door. She never expected what she saw next.

Candles covered nearly every inch of the back room, illuminating a rotted head like a type of sick shrine. In front of the head, which appeared to be an old woman's, laid a sweater laced in dust and cobwebs.

Jason's mother, Esme thought as she put a hand on her head in disbelief. The stories are all true; they're true.

She thought back to the story that was told around the campfire. Jason had seen his mother beheaded and then kept her head and clothing. It was as sad as it was sick, as Esme reminded herself that he was only rumored to have been a small child when the incident occurred.

A loud bang from the front door made Esme shriek in terror, and the reality of her situation slapped her in the face again as she anticipated the monster that was about to emerge through the filthy blanket.

In a panic, an idea popped into her mind, something that was truly a last resort, but wholeheartedly creative.

Esme reached for the sweater and pulled the dirty rag over her head just in time for Jason to emerge into the back room.

"Jason!" she called out attempting to hide the fear in her voice.

The giant figure stopped abruptly and stare at Esme through the quarter-sized eye holes of the hockey mask. His black eyes pierced hers, but there was a hint of submission and confusion.

"Jason," Esme repeated, having a small ounce of faith that her plan was working. "You've done your job well and mother is pleased."

Jason cocked his head to the side, staring intently at her. He began to slowly raise the machete as he took a step toward her.

"Jason! Mother is talking to you!"

The massive arm that held the menacing weapon well to his side and Jason continued to stare.

"Come kneel down," Esme said to him, motioning to the ground in front of her. She eyed an ice pick to the right just a few feet but didn't dare lose Jason's eye. "Kneel down," she said again more gently.

Jason took several steps in her direction, obeying the simple command that Esme asked of him.

She repeated the phrase several times and slowly began reaching for the ice pick.

Jason's eyes shifted slowly from her eyes to the head that was now visible behind where Esme stood. Her lean to the right provided just enough room for him to see past her to the head that was still in the middle of the shrine.

Like being taken out of a trance, Jason's submissive eyes quickly became cold and lifeless again. He waved the machete and created a long, deep gash in Esme's arm.

She screamed and continued to reach for the ice pick but Jason knocked it away and stood to rise above her.

Esme begged for her life now, screaming the words, "No" and "Please" multiple times before he brought his arm down toward her with the blade aimed at her head.

"Esme!"

Jason stopped what he was doing and turned only to be faced with a baseball bat to the face.

"Carlisle!" Esme called out through a mess of tears, finding hope again.

Carlisle swung the bat again, connecting with Jason another time before the massive man managed to stand up off the ground.

Jason knocked Carlisle to the ground as he attempted to connect another time and the two of them struggled in a type of wrestling match for a moment. Jason reached for the ice pick he had knocked away from Esme and raised it above his head.

Esme kept her composure amidst the madness. She scanned the floor and saw the machete that Jason had already sliced her arm with. She then eyed Carlisle on the floor, and their eyes locked for a moment as Jason began to bring the tool down toward him.

Without another thought or hesitation, Esme waved the machete and connected deep into the area where Jason's neck met his shoulder. Immediately he dropped the weapon and grasped his left side before slowly tipping to the ground with a lifeless thud.

Esme stared in disbelief for a brief second before rushing to Carlisle's side, pulling his body close to hers.

"Carlisle, I thought you were dead," she said to him, tears still rushing down her face out of fear.

Carlisle closed his eyes for a moment and held onto her before finally stating the obvious. "We need to get out of here."

Esme didn't respond. She rose to her feet, pulling him up off the ground before the two of them rushed out of the house without looking back.

The only question now was: how were they going to get help?