Across the Lake

Chapter 8: The 13th Cabin

...

My hands shook as I held the knife out in front of me. My leg stung from the injury and was continuing to bleed. I ignored the pain as I slowly limped my way blindly through the trees. Of course I was that stupid to not remember to bring an actual flashlight. My heart was racing fast. I felt very vulnerable. Any moment I could be attacked. A mountain lion, a bear...Jason.

An owl screeched overhead before flying close to my head, causing me to jump. I added owls to my list of things I could be attacked by. The sounds of dry leaves being crunched underneath my boots sounded loud in my ears. I felt I was the only one making too much noise, and every predator within five miles could hear my loud sounds.

The knife glinted in the moonlight in front of me. I felt somewhat safe with it, but wasn't sure if I would be able to use it if I did confront a huge animal. I stopped for a moment to rest and listened for any sounds. The trees gently rustled. Bats flickered through the air. Insects skittered along the ground and in the trees. Owls hooted and flapped their wings.

I was alone, and yet...I felt that same feeling that I was being watched...not by an animal...

I got up and continued limping in a random direction, hoping I would eventually make it back to my dad's cabin. After an hour of walking, or what I assumed was an hour of walking, I sat down on a big rock and shivered. What was I going to do? I was lost with no sense of direction. I had no idea where I was. I wanted to cry. I shook my head angrily and got back to my feet.

No. I couldn't give up now. I needed to figure out how to return back to the cabin. I was not going to sleep on the ground in the middle of the woods. I was going to get out of this.

Ok I needed to think of a plan...a plan...I'm lost...what do I look for when I'm lost? ...Landmarks? It was pitch black so I couldn't really see any landmarks. Also everything looked the same. That tree looked the same as that tree, and that tree, and that tree...

Ok next plan: The moon was out, ok that was good. That was my only source of light at the moment.

I could try looking for a trail and following it. So that was what I did for the next half hour...and I was not able to find a trail. I heard a wolf howl in the distance, causing me to jump and nearly drop my knife. Ok. Plan C. I looked around for a Plan C. I stared up at the trees. The trees. I could climb one of the trees and look for the lake!

I walked a little ways, keeping my head tilted upwards to figure out which tree had the most branches and looked like it was tall enough to look out over the others. I picked one that looked like an easy climb. I pocketed my knife in my pack and began to scale the tree. Of course it was a pine tree so you could imagine how scratched up my exposed arms, legs and face were climbing that rough bark and needles for leaves. A pinecone fell and hit me on the head. That hurt like hell. I continued climbing till I felt I was looking out over the whole forest. I think I was about twenty feet up.

There were so many trees. I couldn't see the lake at all. No matter which direction I turned my head. All I saw were trees, trees and more trees. I tried climbing some more, but had to stop when I had woken up a jay bird and was near her nest of eggs. She screeched at me and pecked at my head. I climbed down so fast, swatting at her in the process. Once I reached the bottom she flew back up to her nest, leaving me scratched up and tired at the base of the pine tree.

Ok that didn't work out. I sighed in defeat. I guess I was sleeping outside tonight...

From afar, through the trees a good distance away, I saw a warm glow. It looked like a fire. A campfire? Hope bloomed in my chest. A campfire meant people. I was saved! I moved in the direction of the warm orange glow. As I kept my eyes on the fire, a song bubbled up from my memories, a song I don't recall ever hearing or learning; and before I knew it, I was singing softly:

"Come one, come all...

the small and the tall...

come join in our song...

come and sing along...

Join our campfire...

Let the flames burn higher...

To keep us warm in the night...

Till the morning's sun light..."

I had no idea where I had learned that song, but it helped me continue walking through the pitch black. The leaves crunching loudly underneath me, but I didn't care. There was my salvation. A warm fire. Hopefully some warm food. I tripped over a root but was still upright. I kept making my way towards the light.

As I walked, I couldn't help but to think of those stories of following lights in the darkness. Legends about mysterious floating lights, I think called ghost lights, where they lured lost travelers to their deaths, either into a bog or over a cliff. I shuddered at the thought, but ignored the possibility. This wasn't a ghost light. It looked warm, not cold and white like a second moon.

When I got closer, the warm glow snuffed out. My blood ran cold. No. No. Don't disappear now! I picked up my pace towards where I had seen the glow. It took me ten minutes to finally reach where I had seen the glow. I found a small dark cabin. Run down and very well hidden amongst the overgrown trees and bushes. It looked like it was made by hand, and repeatedly repaired over and over again from the battles against nature.

I walked closer to it and stopped. It looked no one had lived in it for years. Tree roots had taken over and were causing the rotting wood to buckle and snap in half. The paint was peeling away, exposing the bare skeleton of the cabin underneath. Dirt and leaves decorated its small porch.

It had the number 13 painted on the front door in blood red paint. Or was it blood? No. No it was paint. It had to be. "Hello?" I said in a soft voice. Were there people in there? I know I didn't imagine the light. I gently knocked on the door. The door creaked open, causing me to step back. What if drug addicts lived in it? Drug addicts who ate lost travelers!

I took another step back. Nothing happened. I didn't hear any rustling inside. I took out my knife from my pack again and held it out in front of me. I slowly approached the door and kicked it. It moved inward a couple inches. I kicked it again, harder this time. It gently smacked against the wall on the inside. I peeked inside, keeping the knife steady as I looked around the small one room cabin.

The inside matched the outside. Worn in. Years old. Dirty and looked like no one had inhabited this place for a long time. There was a handmade carved wooden table and a single chair. On one of the walls were crooked handmade shelves, filled with random items: a collection of compasses, maps, boxes of matches, and a white mug that said I (Heart) New York. There were magazines, books, old make up kits, first aid kits, and flip phones.

On the other side of the one room was a bunk bed, both beds had dirt and leaves on the tops of the covers from the hole in the ceiling. On the unmade bottom bed was an old stuffed teddy bear. The fur was matted and one of its button eyes was missing. Bits of cotton stuck out from one of its ripped arms. This was a cabin from a camp. Cabin number 13. That meant there were other cabins around. Wait...Did that mean this was Camp Crystal Lake? I found the camp? Were there campers already here?

Suddenly a strange noise was heard. It sounded like whispering, but it was loud and echoed all around me. It didn't sound like words being whispered, just the beginning of words...I couldn't tell but for me, it sounded like:

Ch ch ch ch ha ha ha ha...

Ch and Ha being echoed three times each and sounding fainter from the last.

Or wait...Ki ki ki ki...Ma ma ma ma... It sounded more like that now.

The echoing sounds got louder and closer. I got up and started to head towards the door. When I opened it, I was face to face with Jason Voorhees. His masked head went past the doorway. I gasped and took a step away. He ducked under the doorway and approached me. He was easily two and a half feet taller than me. His limbs were stiff as they reached out for my neck-

I screamed and ran towards the window. Thankfully it didn't have any glass as I jumped out the window and fell to the dirt ground outside of it. I heard Jason's footsteps thud inside as he walked out of the cabin. I stumbled through the overgrown grass and bushes and stuck close to the dark shadows of the cabin. I saw Jason appear in front of me, but he wasn't looking in my direction, he was looking out towards the forest. I bet he thought I had already taken off. In his hand he held a machete. My eyes widened in horror. I held my breath as he looked around. My heart was pounding so loud in my chest, I was afraid he could hear it.

I watched as he listened. His head jerked up when he heard the sounds of rusting twenty feet away, then took off marching in that direction. He disappeared through the trees. I exhaled a sigh of relief, but my heart was still screaming in my chest. I had to get out of here. I quickly got up from where I hid and took off in the opposite direction where he had walked towards.

I had no idea where I was going, only away from that crazed masked Jason. The branches raked against my stinging face and bleeding arms. Roots continued to try to trip me, but I was cautious this time. I moved through the forest as fast as I could, ignoring the screaming pain from my leg.. slashing the knife at the branches. The ground beneath me was dirt and leaves, then became a slab of rock, which was a huge piece on the low side of a mountain jutting out over the lake, A perfect natural diving board.

I wasn't looking where I was running and found myself running on air over the lake and falling right into it. The lake was ice cold. I had fallen head first. I thrashed my arms and legs, trying to kick towards the surface. Something brushed up against my arms that felt like hands. I screamed, causing bubbles to float out of my mouth. Water replaced the air that had escaped. My lungs were beginning to burn for air. I had no idea which way was up. Everything was ink black. I was trapped in this cold void, unable to breathe.

My feet and hands felt nothing but cold water everywhere, and were beginning to feel numb. My heart was pounding in my chest and ears. I needed to reach the surface or I was going to drown. Panic made me pick a random direction and swim towards it, hoping it was the surface. My lungs were on fire now as I headed towards what I hoped was moonlight. No, it was a sharp rock.

Stars lit up the inside of my eyelids as my head made contact with the rock. Freezing cold water rushed into my mouth and filled my lungs. I began to sink. My limbs ached from being so cold and I stopped swimming. I sank deeper into the lake. I felt the hands again. They gently ran along my arms and caressed the side of my face. I had no energy to fight them.

Eventually I closed my eyes from being so tired and let the darkness take over...