CHAPTER 3

"Dr. Crews!!"

A shrill voice pierced the night.

"Oh my God! Dr. Crews, it's Tina!" Mrs. Shepard exclaimed as she felt a rush of adrenaline seeing her daughter passed out on the dock sticking out over the lake.

She sprinted onto the dock in near hysterics, grabbing Tina and holding her up, shaking her.

"Tina, sweetheart, are you alright?" Mrs. Shepard cried frantically.

"Tina, what happened?" said Dr. Crews who walked down the dock towards the scene.

Tina's eyes fluttered open at the sound of the familiar voice, and then they flickered around in fear.

"Where is he??" Tina said, looking around with a terrified expression.

The doctor and Mrs. Shepard both looked at each other in bewilderment, then they helped Tina up and hurried her back into the house.

Mrs. Shepard laid her down on the couch with a blanket, and went into the kitchen to brew some tea.

Dr. Crews paced the house, thinking.

As the tea was brewing, Amanda sat down next to Tina and stroked her hair.

Tears stained her cheeks. She took deep breaths of air and hugged the blanket close to her.

She looked frightened out of her mind. What had she seen now? Mrs. Shepard wondered.

After a few moments of tense silence, she heard the tea timer going off and she hurried into the kitchen to pour Tina a warm glass.

She came back into the living room with the tea where Dr. Crews was now leaning against the doorframe.

Tina gulped down a few sips and then shakily

set the teacup down on the coffee table.

"What happened out there?" Dr. Crews asked, his serious voice cutting through the silence.

Tina looked up at him with fearful eyes.

She hesitated.

"I thought I saw…someone.." she stammered, trying to remember those last few minutes before she had gone into mild shock and fainted.

"Who?" he asked.

"I don't know," she replied. She was now completely lucid and feeling better now that her mother was close and it was all coming back to her.

"He came out of the lake…I know I saw him, but I can't describe him…" she said.

"Him?" Dr. Crews asked, his interest piqued. "Are you saying a man came out of the lake?"

Tina immediately narrowed her eyes in anger.

"I know what you're thinking but this has nothing to do with my father," she spat at him.

She wasn't about to sit here and be psycho-analyzed again. Tina knew she saw someone, and it wasn't her father. She would have been sure that it was her father if she had seen him.

Dr. Crews bit his knuckles to keep from probing her and working her up even more.

Then, he went on in an empathetic tone.

"Tina…don't run away from it," he said. "Your guilt over your father's death…well…it's a powerful thing. I think it explains what we are dealing with here,"

"But..it wasn't my father!" Tina protested.

"And your mind is manufacturing these hallucinations…"

Tina cut him off.

"But it wasn't a hallucination!" she cried.

"Yes it was, Tina," the doctor said.

Tina scrunched up her face in absolute reproach.

"Noooo!" she screamed.

The glass in the picture of John Shepard that sat on the mantle suddenly shattered.

Dark presences tend to prowl at night.

Nighttime was where hapless victims of whatever beast was lurking could no longer see as well as they could during the day.

It was the perfect time for slaying.

And it was Friday the 13th.

One dark presence was awakening deep in the woods at Crystal Lake.

Endlessly, it stalked. It felt no pain. It didn't feel weary. It couldn't feel weary. It had no reasoning, no understanding, no comprehension of big questions or worldly concerns.

All it needed to do was to hunt for its prey.

Onward it went, straight through the woods and onto a road, breathing in the night air that was forced down into the rotting, barely functioning water-filled lungs of this beast that roamed the darkness.

Still, it was very much alive.

Some would say the curse of Crystal Lake was what had awakened him time and time again.

And then, what he didn't realize was that just a few miles down the road, some unfortunate victims would be waiting.

They too would become quick prey for the curse of Crystal Lake.

Two headlights became slowly visible in the distance, but they weren't moving.

23 year old Mike Rogers was an average looking guy with an average job. He worked at an office, but this weekend, he was looking forward to some leisure time in the woods with his girlfriend.

He was dressed in a collared shirt and slacks and his sandy hair was styled and gelled.

22-year old Jane Albright stood on the side of the dark, desolate country road with her hand on her hip, tapping her foot impatiently as Mike leaned down into the hood of his 1979 Chevy Impala.

"Piece of shit!" Mike swore loudly, as steam hissed out of the radiator.

"When's the last time you put oil in that thing?" she asked, as he fumbled with the cap on the oil tank.

"Yesterday," he grumbled.

Jane rolled her eyes to the back of her head.

Great, she thought. She scanned both ends of the road, looking for any oncoming headlights.

Surely, there had to be some late-comers to the party, she thought to herself.

But knowing Mike, everyone was probably already there, waiting on him like they always were so now, she realized they were pretty fucked and would likely be sleeping in the woods tonight.

Maybe it would all be worth it.

Maybe being stranded on the side of the road would be a funny story to tell. She couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he walked into the cabin and saw all of his friends.

She wondered if he knew. It had been very hush-hush and she wasn't aware of anyone spilling the beans to him. She hadn't said a word about it.

And now, it looked like they were going to be late to his own goddamn surprise party.

And it was all the birthday boy's fault.

Why hadn't he made sure the car was functional? Why had he decided to wait this long to leave so that nobody would be driving by to help them? It was the dead of night, almost ten o' clock, and surely they weren't going to see any passing motorists, especially considering everyone was already at the party and had probably arrived hours ago.

Sometimes Jane wondered about their relationship.

She didn't know if she could handle much more of Mike's laziness and procrastination. She had worked so hard putting this weekend together for him, and this was how he was repaying her.

By forcing her to spend a night in the woods. Stranded.

An eerie fog had started to appear in the nearby woods, and Jane shivered.

The moon was full, high in the sky, providing them their only source of light and it wasn't much.

Now they were out in the woods at night. It was just the two of them.

All because of his stupid car, she thought. She had told him to take it to a mechanic to check it before they left, and he didn't listen. Mikey always wanted to do things the way Mikey wanted to do them.

And it had ended them up here. In the middle of nowhere with a car that wouldn't start.

Plus, they were going to have to show up to the cabin in the morning and explain their situation to their worried friends.

Maybe if they just stayed by the road, someone would come looking for them. After all, they

were supposed to show up at the cabin at seven but that wasn't going to happen.

They were all probably worried sick.

Or knowing them, they were probably throwing the party without them.

"I told you to get that thing fixed," she said.

He smacked his head on the hood as he stood up, rubbed the spot where he had bumped it, and turned to her.

"Jane, I don't need this shit right now," he said, exasperated. He wiped the grease off on his shirt.

"Great, now your shirt's ruined," she said.

Now he was going to look horrible and dirty for the party, she thought.

This was turning out to be a disaster.

She had been planning it for months now.

First, she talked to their friend Russell to make sure he would have his uncle's cabin available for the week.

Then, she had secret conversations with all of Mike's friends, including his estranged cousin Nick.

Apparently, there had been some beef between the two of them a couple of years back, something over a girl when they lived together as roommates their freshman year of college.

But now, Nick had happily agreed to join them for Mike's birthday party, but by now, Jane didn't even think there would be a surprise party at all.

It was all ruined.

Everybody would probably figure that Mike bailed, pack up their things and bail tomorrow morning.

A wasted effort this turned out to be, she thought miserably.

All the months of anticipation led up to this?

Stranded out at Crystal Lake in the middle of the night?

That's what had to happen, unless they just walked the three or four miles to the lake.

It sounded like the most reasonable option to her.

As she brushed a strand of curly red hair out of her face, she sighed.

"Well, you're not going to fix that thing. Let's just walk," she said.

Mike stared down defeatedly at the open hood and thought for a moment.

"I don't know if that's a good idea. Out here? You thinkin' of hitchhiking too?"

"Do you have a better idea? It's either walk or sit here and wait to have a threesome with Bigfoot," she retorted.

Mike couldn't argue with her. He was much too pissed off at his car. He pictured kicking it as hard as he could, but he restrained himself, knowing he could break a leg or a bone in his foot and make their situation even worse.

Finally, after a few more moments, Mike slammed the hood down.

The couple opened the trunk, got out their sleeping bags and duffel bags filled with supplies and clothes and started down the road towards the lake.

The road was hard-packed dirt and lined with tall pine trees. There wasn't a house or a streetlamp in sight. Just endless blackness on either end of the road, the dirt leading off into oblivion.

It was quiet, except for the sound of owls hooting in the trees and the soft chirping of crickets.

It was almost too quiet and it unnerved Jane. She kept glancing around, feeling like anything could be watching her from the shadows.

Guess that's what a full moon and Friday the 13th will do to you, she thought.

And now, it looked like the curse of Friday the 13th was already in full effect.

Here they were, stranded. Castaways in the land of Crystal Lake.

They walked onwards.

After about a mile, Mike stopped and glanced towards a trail leading off into the woods.

"Let's camp out here," Mike said.

He started to walk down the trail.

"But we're almost there," Jane protested.

Mike turned around, heaving his knapsack up higher on his shoulder with a heavy sigh.

"Jane, I'm beat. Woods are woods. Come on!"

"Michael!" Jane said.

"What?" he exclaimed. "We're going to have to go back to the car in the morning anyway,"

Jane frowned.

She was not about to sleep in the woods tonight, but her only other option was to tell him about the party.

He was right. If they walked to the lake now, they'd have to walk all the way back for their things.

Unless there was conveniently an entire group of people waiting for them at a cabin a few miles down the road.

She had to tell him.

Jane bit her lip, thinking.

Fuck it, she thought. The party was ruined no matter what.

"Nick can take us," she said.

"Nick?" Mike asked in bewilderment. "Why would he come all the way out here?"

Jane dropped her bags on the dirt shoulder of the road, and sighed, defeated.

"He's already here," she replied.

Mike stepped closer, his eyebrows raised.

"What are you talking about?"

"This was supposed to be a surprise party for your birthday," she said.

She was hesitant at first, but then it all came spilling out.

"Everybody's waiting for us to show up. I got this great cabin and everything,"

"No way," Mike said, grinning.

"Never mind, the whole thing's ruined. Happy Birthday," she said glumly.

In the midst of their conversation, they didn't notice the two headlights approaching in the distance.

It was a 1965 Plymouth, and it was headed straight for them towards Crystal Lake.

Mike saw it first, and held out his hands, waving them frantically.

"Hey! Hey!!" he shouted.

Jane also ran up to the side of the road and called to the motorists.

They drove right on by, leaving a cloud of dust.

Mike threw his hands in the air in frustration.

"Eat shit, fuckheads!" he screamed into the night.

And just like that, they were gone.

The two taillights of the Plymouth receded around a bend.

They picked up their gear and kept walking, grumbling to themselves.

As they continued towards the cabin with Mike having a new surge of energy from hearing about the surprise party, the night grew darker.

Rustling in the leaves kept startling Jane, but she kept assuring herself that it was only nothing.

Mike huddled close to her, and they walked on down the road.

Another mile passed.

And then another.

Finally, they passed the sign that read "Crystal Lake-5 Miles".

"Some birthday," Mike said.

"It's going to be a great birthday," Jane said, truly sorry for him. "I promise,"

"Wait here, I'll be back in two shakes," he said, dropping his gear underneath a pine tree.

"Just hurry," she replied.

Mike walked off down a trail, and soon, he too was receding into the darkness.

Jane leaned against a tree and listened to the night quietly.

She looked around at the woods, at the intimidating wilderness that surrounded her and shivered in the frigid night air.

"Christ, it's cold!" Mike shouted from the woods.

Jane laughed. She could barely make Mike out through the darkness, taking a piss just a few yards away through the trees.

The only sounds she heard now were the nighttime animals coming out to make their calls and find their mates.

She didn't hear the softly approaching footsteps from behind her.

The presence that was now near her was far too quiet and stealthy to attract her attention.

The huge, dark, looming figure, obscured by the shadows of the woods, bent down and picked up a sharp, metal tent spike jutting out of the duffel bag that Mike had left lying under the tree.

Jane didn't hear a thing.

A hand shot out of the darkness and clamped around her mouth.

She was viciously spun around and throttled.

A hockey mask was staring right at her.

His rotting, meaty hand stifled the terrified scream that rose up from her gullet.

He was immensely strong. She could barely move in his inhumanly powerful bear hug.

All she felt was helpless terror.

Her eyes grew wide as she saw the sunken, rotted, and unblinking eyes of the monster that had her in his grip.

Her eyes were then transfixed on the wickedly sharp tent spike in his right hand.

The monster slammed her into the pine tree with such force that she felt the rugged bark pierce the flesh on her back.

Jane tried to wriggle free, but it was futile.

She could see her own petrified eyes in the reflection of the silver steel spike that was then rammed into her throat and then into the tree.

For a split second, she felt an indescribably intense tightness in her neck, and then a splitting, tearing pain that started coursing through the rest of her body.

Her masked assailant rammed the spike with his fist, sinking it in deeper and she began to choke on blood that erupted from her mangled trachea and spilled out of her mouth.

As her body stopped quivering, the monster let out a deep breath.

It had been his first victim since his awakening.

It always pleased him, but she could have appeased him more by putting up a fight.

She had gone limp with terror in his arms.

His senses were all coming back to him.

For so long he had waited down at the bottom of Crystal Lake, perfectly preserved by the dark force that had awakened him.

It was the force that Jason had first felt as a young boy.

It was a strange feeling that he had, and expressing it had terrified the other children around him.

Jason didn't quite understand what it was, but now he knew. There was no more human reasoning left in him.

All he wanted to do was to annihilate anyone who came to his home.

The place where it all started.

Crystal Lake.

Then he saw the boy, who was zipping up his slacks and walking out of the woods.

Mike stared in horror at the sight of Jane, her dead eyes looking up to the sky, as if she had been begging for God to just let her die.

The tent spike was plunged all the way to the hilt, impaling her like a bug on a corkboard.

Then, Mike saw the enormous, lumbering figure towering over him and his knees went weak.

Jason Voorhees stepped into the moonlight in terrifying, menacing form. He ripped the spike out of the tree and Jane's lifeless body crumpled into the leaves.

Mike didn't say a word. He turned and ran.

Jason stalked after him. Slowly. Walking at an even pace. He knew he had plenty of time before his prey would get tired.

Mike kept running, half-stumbling and half-falling, glancing behind him every few seconds to make sure there was much distance between him and the hockey-masked maniac.

He ran further in a blind panic, not knowing where he was going but not caring. He was in full-blown survivor mode.

He glanced behind him again and Jason was hot on his trail.

No matter how fast he ran, Jason was always right there.

And then, he heard a whoosh, and a sudden, sharp agonizing pain tore across his back.

The tent spike had been hurled through the air with tremendous force.

It was now lodged deep in his trapezius muscle, and blood started to spill from his mouth.

Mike landed on all fours, and tried to scrabble away, but Jason was suddenly right on top of him, moving with inhuman speed.

Jason yanked on the spike, lifting Mike up into the air, twisting it in deeper.

Blood from Mike's punctured lung bubbled up into his throat and out his open mouth as he unleashed a hideous gagging noise-one last cry for help.

Jason ripped the tent spike out of his victim, the spike that had been thrown like a dart through the air with inhuman strength.

And Jason felt alive once again.

Jason was back