Across the Lake
Chapter 15: The Swim
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I was haunted by gruesome nightmares till the morning. One involving multiple Jasons chasing me into the night. I snapped my eyes open and found myself staring face to horrific face with the dead skin book. The morning sunlight streamed from the windows behind it, giving it an ominous appearance. I jolted from its presence giving out a pathetic yelp in the process. I had a feeling this thing loved torturing me. I didn't get much sleep last night because of the nightmares. I had a feeling it was the reason for the cosmic horror nightmares.
Jason was already up, staring at the book at the base of the couch I had slept on. His machete gripped tightly in his right hand. Before I could say 'Good morning' to him, Jason grabbed the book and raised his machete, ready to stab the blade through its disgusting face. I shot up off the couch and touched his arm.
"Jason! Don't stab it! You might cause it to unleash something horrible!" I panicked. I wasn't exactly certain if it would, but that book had a spoopy vibe I didn't want to mess with. Jason looked over to me, his machete still mid raised, ready to slice that book a new screaming pie hole. Eventually, he slowly lowered his machete. During that whole time, I had been holding my breath. I exhaled in relief.
I didn't blame Jason for wanting to use his machete on it. It must have been his only solution for everything. He placed the book onto the coffee table. We both stared at the book, unsure of what to do with it.
As I stared at the book, I tried to figure out how to keep it contained. It doesn't like to be contained...it always seemed to get out, no matter what I did. I was too scared to do anything that could harm the book, for it could harm me. I thought back to the library, where I first found it. It was hidden behind a bookcase, in a small hole with candles around it...Why was it there? Who put it there? Why didn't it move? Was it waiting for me?
I shook my head, looking away. That's ridiculous, why would it have been waiting for me? I didn't even know it existed till I found it at the library. All I knew about it, was that it was a book that Mrs. Voorhees used to bring Jason back from the dead after the kids pushed him into the lake. So was she the last person to have owned the book? She must have hid it there for safekeeping...or to keep people from finding it and using it. Now she was dead...well...mostly dead. Was the book looking for a new user, and I happened to come along?
Well...Fuck. If that were the case, I fucked up big time.
I looked over to the Necronomicon. It stared back at me...menacingly. I wondered if I could leave it somewhere in the cabin until I found a way for the book to leave me alone. Maybe if I hid it in a secret spot, just like the secret spot in the library, it would stop randomly appearing next to me. It was worth a shot at least. Gingerly, I picked up the book. It felt heavy in my hands. The skin enveloping it felt sticky and sweaty.
"Come on, Jason. Let's go find a secret place to hide this book," I told him.
Jason silently followed me as we trudged back up the stairs, to the room I used to sleep in, until the book decided to become a living hell for me. Once we got to the main room, I looked around. What would be a good place to hide this book? Under some clothes in the dresser? No...A loose floorboard? I tapped my foot along the wooden floor. No. This place was brand new. There was barely any wear or overuse to cause anything to loosen up. I ran my hand over the wall close to me. I wish my dad had some sort of secret compartment already so I didn't have to go through this-
BAM!
The sudden sound gave me three heart attacks. I looked over and found that Jason had punched a hole in the wall. His fist was through the wall, cracks spiderwebbed out from the impact where he made contact.
"Jason! What are you doing?!" I shrieked. Jason pulled his fist back. Pieces of wall gave away, creating a basketball sized gap in the wall. My dad was going to kill me, use the book to bring me back, and kill me again after seeing what I had done to his cabin. Jason silently pointed at the book in my hands, then at the hole in the wall. He made his own secret compartment for the book. I guess that was one way to do it. I just wish it wasn't in the main bedroom of the cabin.
I placed the Necronomicon into the crumbling gap in the wall. It wedged in perfectly and just stayed suspended there, held up by the wooden planks on either side of it. We moved the bookcase from the other side of the room, over to where the hole was. The bookshelf went past the doorway by a few inches, but it was the best we could do at the moment. Hopefully the book felt comfortable being hidden in its dark little habitat we had created for it.
With that, we both went downstairs for celebratory cold cereal and a sack full of nuts and berries Jason had collected early that morning.
...
The storm from last night was over...Unfortunately the cool, dewy morning immediately died away into a super hot and humid afternoon. The electricity wasn't working. I had a feeling it was because of the Necronomicon; mainly because the AC unit was literally on fire when I went to check how hot it was in the house. Shade was in the nineties. I didn't have enough water bottles in the fridge to keep me cool...also since the fridge was not working as well. Thanks book.
I did not want to take a nice cold shower, half expecting the book to randomly appear in the shower with me. Possibly with a knife. I decided that today was a good day to spend outside, away from the cabin...
I decided that since today was a super hot day, I'd cool down in the lake. Unfortunately I did not bring any swimming attire, but I did have an extra pair of shorts and a t-shirt I didn't mind wearing in the water. Everything that was once in the main bedroom was now downstairs in the living room with the kitchen and couches. I changed into the shorts and t-shirt, grabbed a towel and sunscreen from the downstairs bathroom, and walked outside.
Jason followed me like a silent shadow.
The lotion felt cold on my neck and shoulders as I rubbed it into my skin. The lake stretched out before me like a large mirror. The glassy surface reflected the trees surrounding it. The sun's rays glittered across its surface like millions of gold coins. I wish there really were gold coins in the lake. It would help my mom with paying the bills. It would help me have enough to have my own place...and I could paint and draw till the day I died. It felt like such a fantasy. But then...this whole summer had been nothing but a fantasy...A horror fantasy...
I looked over to Jason, who stood behind me like a dark monolith. Full of mystery and a dark past. His head angled down to me, and he stared down at me with his eyes in shadow. I smiled up at him, engulfed in his massive shadow. "It's a super hot day today... I'm going to take a swim in the lake," I told him. His body stiffened at the mention of the lake. I knew he didn't want to swim in the lake, and I wasn't going to force him to, but I needed to cool down, or else I was going to have heatstroke. I gave him a small smile.
"You can stay right there, I'll be ok," I assured him. He didn't look assured. I placed my towel on a log and began walking towards the edge of the lake. The water lapped gently against the dirt. It reminded me of the ocean. I placed my feet in the water. The sun had warmed up the surface of the lake, making it perfect temperature to go swimming.
Slowly I walked into the lake. First it was only up to my ankles, then my shins. Eventually to my knees, then finally my waist. I turned around and found Jason staring at me from the edge of the water. He stood stiff still, but watched me intently. I smiled and gave him a wave where I stood, hoping that would ease him. He didn't wave back. I stayed only at waist deep for him. I didn't want him to worry even more, or get PTSD. Eventually the top of my head started to burn. I needed to dunk my head. I turned to Jason and gave him another wave.
"I'm ok, Jason. I'm going to dunk my head for just a moment," I told him. I didn't wait for an answer, knowing full well he wouldn't be able to respond or reject to my choice. I dunked my head into the water. My whole body submerged into the cool liquid-
"...Jason Voorhees is coming to get you..."
"...Jason Voorhees is coming to get you..."
I heard voices say behind me. I turned around and found myself standing in the forest at night. The trees were swaying all around me. I could smell a storm brewing. The moon was a blood red color through the trees. My feet were bare and caked in mud and blood. I was shaking in fear.
White faces all appeared behind bushes and trees. Wait, not faces. Hockey masks. There were around fifteen to eighteen of them. Their eyes shadowed in the black sockets. Sticks and leaves crunched under their feet as they came slowly towards me. Fear rose up from my chest. There were so many of them. They all held what looked to be weapons, dipped in shadow. They advanced towards me.
"Jason Voorhees is coming to get you..."
Jason Voorhees is coming to get you..."
My feet felt like they were made of lead as I tried to run. My whole body moved as fast as molasses. What was happening? Why was I so slow? Who were these...things? The figures in the moonlit hockey masks picked up their speed and chased after me. I tried screaming, but nothing came out.
I ran a few steps, then suddenly found my feet slapping against wooden planks. I was on a dock. Once I got to the edge, I turned to face my pursuers. They all stood at the other end of the dock. They were all practically identical. A few taller than the others, but that was the only difference.
The one in front of them, the leader, took the first steps towards me. I tried stepping away but felt my foot slip on air. There was no where for me to run. He raised his weapon above his head. I cowered in fear. Instead of feeling the sharp pain of a weapon, he pushed me into the lake. My nightmares of me drowning surfaced. My lungs filling up with water. I was sinking-
As I had been sinking, my head came up to the surface of the water.
Jason held me in his arms as I coughed up water. I adjusted myself in his arms, instinctively wrapping my arms around his neck as I heaved water out of my lungs. After I was done, I took a few gulps of fresh ragged air before looking around. The hockey masked figures were gone, it was a hundred and ten degrees outside, Jason was holding me in his arms. I flinched, realizing I was in Jason's arms again. I blinked, looking down.
Wait...Jason was standing in the lake...
"Jason, you are in the water," I pointed out. Jason stared down where he was standing. In a blink of an eye we were both back on dry land. Jason set me down on the ground before glaring down at me. He was not happy. I blinked in surprise. This was the first time I was seeing him upset.
"Jason? What's wrong?" I asked him, my clothes hugging tightly against my body while my hair dripped repeatedly. Jason's shoulders rose and fell like he was breathing heavily. He began to sign with his hands angrily. I stared at his fast moving hands, trying to decipher what he was signing. He was signing too fast. Then again...even if he signed slow, I would not know what he was saying. He stopped signing and angrily sat down on the ground, arms crossed. He was sulking. It reminded me of a child that got his toy taken away.
I sat down next to him. The grass was warm under my legs. "Jason..." I started. I guess when I went under the water, it caused him trauma...but I was only under the water for only a few seconds; and I had that...vision? I turned my head back to Jason.
"When I went under the water, I saw something," I told him. He turned his mask to fully face me. I told him about the multiple hockey masks and being chased to the lake, and suddenly drowning. I brought my legs to my chest and began pulling at the grass near me. I decided to tell him everything that was going on with me.
"I keep having nightmares where I'm drowning in water. It happened ever since I was little...but ever since I came here, they have become more frequent...and I don't know why. I can't remember anything from when I was little..." I told him. "Then I had that...weird vision right when I dunked my head in the water...I feel that something unlocked inside me...but...I still don't know what it means..." I told him. Jason listened to me as I rambled on.
I had never opened up and told anyone about the nightmares, not even my mom. She knew about them when I was super little, but I never told her that they were still happening. I had a feeling that she would treat me differently or try to convince me that it was all in my head. Jason turned his head back to the lake. We were silent for what felt like hours, watching the lake and the scenery around it. That moment should have been peaceful to me, but Jason still looked upset. It made me nervous. Was he still mad at me for going under the water?
"Thank you for lifting me out of the water...I didn't realize I suddenly started drowning...I know how to swim, I swear. I was only under the water for a few seconds," I told him. Jason turned his mask fully to me, and silently shook his head. I blinked. "What? No what?" I asked him. "Knowing how to swim?" he shook his head. I tried again. "I was only under the water for a few seconds?" I asked. Jason nodded his head, then shook his head.
"It wasn't a few seconds?" I asked, my voice rising. Jason nodded his head. That was why Jason was upset at me. I had disappeared under the water and didn't come back up immediately.
"...How long was I under the water?" I finally asked.
Jason held up two fingers.
"...Minutes?" I asked.
Jason nodded his head.
"Oh...it felt like I was only under the water for a few seconds...I'm sorry, Jason." I hesitated my arm to give him a half hug, but I didn't want him to flinch again so I gave him a gentle pat on the arm. Jason turned his upper torso towards me, and embraced me. My cheeks felt hot to the touch as he pulled me close to him. Gradually, I wrapped my arms around his neck.
His hug didn't feel stiff this time. It felt strong and a little more confident, like he had discovered hugs for the first time and realized that he liked them. I had to admit, he gave great hugs. I started pulling away when our hug lasted a little longer than usual, but Jason didn't seem to want to let go yet. I angled my head and found his eyes were closed. I had never seen his eyes closed before. He seemed peaceful. Calm.
Eventually his eyes opened and he gently let me go. His hands lingered along my arms, then down to his sides. I got up and offered him my hand to help him up. Jason stared up at me from where he sat. His eyes went down to my hand, hesitant. Then his huge hand engulfed mine. Jason pulled my arm as he started getting up.
Unfortunately, I was not strong enough to pull him up, so I ended up falling back down and into Jason's lap. We both got tangled in each others arms, falling over into the daisies. I started laughing, sitting up from Jason. Jason sat back upright and stared down at me in his lap, cocking his head to the side. It only made me laugh harder till tears were coming down my face. God that was so embarrassing, falling into his lap, but I couldn't help but to laugh.
I lifted my glasses from my face, wiping the tears from my eyes. Jason noticed me crying and cupped his hands on the sides of my face. I opened my eyes, breathing while smiling. "I'm ok, Jason. I'm just laughing," I admitted to him. Jason's shoulders lowered back down. His eyes softened as he stared at me. My laughs lingered a little longer as his hands stayed on my face, his thumbs gently brushing along my cheeks, rubbing away the tears.
Eventually, he realized he was still holding my face and pulled away. He got up off the ground and offered his hand to me. I grabbed his huge gloved hand. He picked me up off the ground as if I weighed as much as a sack full of feathers. My legs even lifted off the ground for a few seconds before they touched the earth.
Jason handed me my towel and I dried off what the sun didn't already dry. The sun was setting over the treetops. Jason picked up his machete where it had fallen and sheathed it in his belt. He turned his body to fully face me, still as a statue. He lifted his hand up in a farewell. I did the same back. With that, he turned and walked off. I watched him as he walked through the forest, stepping over fallen trees and through bushes till he was out of sight. Immediately, a feeling of loneliness hit me. I was already starting to miss him. I don't know why but...having Jason around made me feel...safe. Calm...Happy.
With a heavy heart, I walked back into the cabin by myself. My shadow stretched ahead of me as I opened the door. I turned and closed it then began to look around the room for the book. The book wasn't randomly waiting for me. I took that as a good sign and began to make dinner for myself.
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