Chapter 21: The Rumors

...

Kenneth's cabin was on the far side of the camp, near the archery range, just as Matt had told me. My backpack began to feel heavy as I approached Kenneth's cabin. On the outside, long wild grass grew. Grasshoppers jumped out of the long green blades and disappeared. Inside, the sounds of rustling and wood scraping against wood were heard. I stopped in my tracks, frozen to the spot. They were inside still. I decided to hide behind one of the targets near the archery range and wait till they left the cabin. I could hear loud, muffled talking from inside the cabin.

Seconds later, Victoria came storming out of the cabin first. She looked super pissed. I wonder if they got into a fight. Minutes later, Kenneth himself came out, slipping his camp counselor shirt on. "Victoria! Wait! Stop! I can explain!" Solved that mystery. Once he was gone, I came out of my hiding spot and made my way to the cabin. Kenneth didn't lock the door so I was able to sneak inside.

The whole place was a mess. With clothes strewn everywhere on the floor; spilled nail polish and makeup left behind by Victoria, which made the place smell even worse. I was starting to wish I brought gloves or disinfectant. I began kicking clothes aside with my foot, then eventually just gave

in and began using my thumb and forefinger to remove items aside. I didn't have time to be in this hellhole.

I chucked aside week old unwashed clothes, porn magazines, muddy shoes, and empty bags of salty chips and monster energy drinks. A few times I'd find a knife. In the lower bunk bed, the bed above, or under one of the pillows. I'd toss those far away from me as possible. I didn't care if I made a horrible mess in his cabin. I needed to find that book.

After ten minutes of searching, I came upon the realization:

No book.

What?

I looked again. Nothing. How was this possible? I couldn't find the Necronomicon at all. Did he leave with it? I didn't see anything in his hands when he left. Was he hiding it better than I thought he would? Where was that damned book?! I checked behind the dresser, under the bed again. Checked the wooden floor for any loose floorboards. Nothing. The book wasn't here.

It wasn't a big cabin. It was made to hold at least four or six small children, just like the rest of the cabins. They were built back in the thirties. There was not a lot of hiding places to hide a book. Did he hide it someplace else? Wait! Maybe under the cabin! There was enough room to hide it. I quickly headed over to the door.

The door swung open right in front of me, causing me to slam into someone. I yelped, jumping backwards out of the way. Shit! I was caught! The person I bumped into had staggered backwards back down the stairs. He straightened up and rubbed his chest where I had slammed into him. I felt sick to my stomach.

Kenneth.

He looked up at me from where I stood in the doorway. His eyes widened in shock behind his unwashed dirty long hair. "What the hell? What are you doing in my cabin?" Kenneth asked. I ignored him as I glared at him, balling my hands into fists. My heart was beating heavily inside my ribcage. Seeing him felt like I was being forced to drink toxic. I couldn't stand looking at him. His very existence boiled so much rage in me.

"Where is it?" I asked him.

"Where's what?" he asked.

"My book."

"What book?"

"The book you stole from my cabin, dumbass!" I snapped.

Kenneth stared at me as if I grew two heads right in front of him. "What the hell are you talking about? I don't have your stupid book," Kenneth snarled as he shouldered past me into his cabin. He stopped when he saw his things thrown across the room. "What the fuck? Were you going through my stuff?!" he yelled at me.

"I was looking for my book! The one with an ugly face on it. Ring any bells?" I asked him through gritted teeth. He was really testing my patience. He sneered at me. "You are fucking nuts," he said while grabbing a swiss army knife from the floor and placing it into his camp counselor shorts. He pushed me roughly out of his cabin before closing it behind him. "Why would you think I'd steal from you?" he asked me, as if he had never stolen anything in his life. I could see himself resisting to smirk.

"You are the only person who would steal something from me! You stole it so I would come here!" I shouted at him. His smirk disappeared as he glared down at me. "That is the stupidest reason for me to get you to come here. Why would I steal a book? If I really wanted you here, I would have stolen your car keys or your art supplies...which I didn't! You could ask anyone, I've been here for the past few days, trying to get the showers working. Victoria has been on my ass about it every day," he explained to me. He lowered his head down to me till his lips were barely brushing against my ear.

"You know. You don't need to lie. You can just say that you missed me," he whispered with a smirk on his face. I bared my teeth at him. I wanted to punch his stupid ugly face. "You fucking asshole," I spat. He walked past me and was out of earshot before I decided to use his face as a punching bag.

I realized I was clenching my jaw. Slowly unclenching it, I stared where Kenneth had disappeared off to. Was I wrong? Was Kenneth really telling the truth? No. That's not possible. Kenneth never told the truth. No one else would have done such a thing. But now...I had no idea what to do.

I didn't find the book in Kenneth's cabin. Kenneth said he didn't have the book. Did that mean one of the other counselors had the book? They seemed to have known me back when we all used to come here. But I never saw them the whole time I had been here. How would they know about the book? If they did, why would they steal? I couldn't just go through every cabin here. I already got caught twice. The camp leader was most likely going to call the town sheriffs down here and arrest me for going through everyone's stuff.

I cursed under my breath, wiping the sweat from my forehead. This wasn't supposed to be difficult. If I found the book in Kenneth's room, I'd already be walking out of the camp and heading back to my dad's cabin. Not standing here like an idiot. I kicked the side of Kenneth's cabin angrily, causing my foot to go through.

Shit.

I quickly pulled my foot out and checked the damage. A foot sized hole yawned at me. Crap. These cabins were so old, I was surprised they were still standing. I looked around before finding a bag of arrows and leaned it against the cabin, covering up the hole. There. No one will know. Then I whistled an anxious tune and walked away.

...

...

At dinner time, everyone was looking at me weird. They kept looking over at me and then turning their backs on me. Whispering amongst themselves. Lauren gave me this look like I was a pathetic animal she could kick. Mari just gave me this smirk like I was doing something naughty and she thought it was hilarious. Aaron looked at me with disgust. The only ones who didn't care were Edwin and Matt. Edwin was staring at his DS. Matt was reading a book while eating a burger.

"What's going on?" I asked Sasha, who was sitting by herself. I sat across from her with my food. Tonight's special was MacRonald's, a rip off of a certain popular food chain. Super cheap and super shitty; just like a certain guy I knew who was working there and his name rhymed with Todd. Sasha flipped her purple hair out of her eyes before turning her focus to me.

"Kenneth told Victoria, who told Mari, who told everyone else here, that you were going through Kenneth's stuff in his cabin," Sasha told me. I sighed in annoyance. Great. The drama has started. Sasha stared at me with her dark mascara lined eyes.

"So, is it true? You sneaking around going through our stuff? Also, you know Kenneth is with Victoria, right?" she asked me. I turned to her, my eyes narrowed. I didn't have time for this teenage bullshit. "I don't care who Kenneth is with. He stole a book from me and I was trying to find it," I told her. She gave me a look. "A book? Really?" she asked, but from her tone of voice, she sounded like she didn't believe me.

"Yes. It's a very important book," I told her.

"Like...what? A sketchbook?" she asked.

I hesitated. "I...yes...Yes. A sketchbook. My sketchbook," I lied. I mean. It did have drawings in it, just not mine. Sasha slowly nodded her head. I couldn't tell if she believed me or not. I turned away from her and ate my food. I picked at my MacFries while Sasha took a sip out of her MacDrink.

"I heard you and Kenneth used to date," she said. I stopped eating, immediately not hungry anymore. "Yes...and then he cheated on me with Victoria. So I have no interest in getting back with that asshole," I told her firmly. Sasha didn't say anything to my answer. She went back to eating, which I was glad she did. I didn't feel like talking about the past.

I grabbed the rest of my food, throwing it in the trashcan, and left the lunch tables. I could feel everyone's eyes watching me as I walked away, but I didn't care. I didn't want to be near them anymore.

...

The sky darkened to a bruised plum color. The stars appeared one by one, clustering into silver diamonds in the sky. The treetops turned a dark green that gave off a spooky vibe. Once dinner was over, everyone decided to start a bonfire and stare at their phones. Since I didn't have a phone, I sat alone at the steps of the Art Cabin, racking on my brain.

The book wasn't in Kenneth's cabin. So where was it? Eventually I got a headache and had to stop dwelling for a moment. I stared off towards the trees, looking for a hockey mask. I sighed heavily, feeling the familiar ache in my chest. My heart was feeling heavy again. I wish he was sitting with me. I wonder if he was looking for me. I hadn't been back at my dad's cabin all day.

My thoughts were interrupted when the Camp Leader came up to me.

Camp Leader Darnell told me there was one more cabin out of the twelve cabins on the campgrounds that I could stay at for the night. I gave in and agreed to stay at the camp. Besides my shoulders aching from carrying my backpack around all day, I still needed to find the book. I was running out of time. Darnell lead the way to the last cabin, thankfully on the opposite side where Kenneth's cabin was. I did not want to be near Kenneth anymore.

The cabin was at the edge of the campgrounds, close to the forest. I wondered if Jason's cabin was further in the forest. A forgotten cabin, inhabited by the masked man himself. The twelfth cabin I was staying in for the night was somewhat cleaned, still had a few cobwebs and spiders. A few roaches skittered across the ground, cowering into darkness.

"Breakfast is at seven. Don't be late. Kenneth finally got the showers working so don't use up all the hot water. Be careful of snakes getting into your shoes. See you in the morning," Darnell said before closing the door behind him. So Kenneth really was here working on the showers. He had an alibi, I thought as I hugged my knees on the bed, thinking about the possible snakes under it.

Would any of the counselors have taken the book? I had just met them today, but they all seemed to know me from when we all had come here fifteen years ago. Did they know where I was staying? Would Kenneth had told them? Would he had told Victoria? I doubt it. He wouldn't want her to know that he was leaving things for me on the porch.

My eyes wandered to the window where all the other counselors were sitting around the bonfire. They were all on their phones, not interacting with each other. Victoria kept looking over Kenneth's shoulder at his phone, while he kept moving it away from her sight. What a healthy relationship I thought to myself sarcastically, rolling my eyes. Lauren and Sasha seemed to be getting along well, sending each other memes and laughing about it. Edwin didn't seemed to like being social and just kept his eyes on his game.

Mari kept trying to get Edwin's attention by smiling at him and saying she sent him a text. Aaron tried being the leader and getting everyone to tell spooky stories but no one seemed to want to play, or didn't want to interact with the guy with the lisp.

"Do you guyth remember when we came here ath camperth? and how there wath a killer who came here and killed all the counthelorth?" he asked. Nobody looked up, but everyone's shoulders seemed to tense. I blinked and leaned closer to the window. What? Jason attacked the counselors here when we were kids?

"I remember being tho thared, I -" he started, but Sasha gave him a look. "We aren't twelve years old anymore, Aaron. Save it for the brats we are going to have to babysit till August," she snapped at him before turning back to her phone. Aaron closed his mouth and looked down at the ground. No one talked after that. My shoulders slumped a little in disappointment. I was hoping Aaron would say more.

Eventually it got too dark out and the sky blackened with mosquitos. I could hear the counselors slapping their legs and arms outside. A few of them grumbled angrily and finally decided it was time to call it a night. Everyone else agreed, they were tired of being eaten alive by the tiny bloodsuckers. They threw water on the dying fire and went back into their cabins. The campsite was swallowed up in pitch black darkness. Only the sounds of rustling leaves and the hooting of an owl was heard.

I couldn't sleep. My anxiety was taking over my thoughts. So many "what if" scenarios plagued my mind. My breathing was short. I felt like I was breathing through a straw. I needed some air. A flashlight stood on the nightstand. Grabbing it, I headed outside into the night.

My boots crunched under the rocks and leaf riddled dirt paths of the campsite as I made my way around the place. Above, the clouds had begun to appear. The winds had picked up, causing a heavy aroma of pine and earth. The air outside had gone cold, not hot, like it had been for the last couple of days. The feeling gave me a sense of unease. Like something was coming. Something dangerous. I had no idea what that was, but it made the hairs on my neck prickle.

I walked around for what felt like fifteen minutes. My flashlight swayed back and forth, looking around. For what? The book? Was I really thinking that I could find the book just laying out in the open? Waiting for me. The thought made me stop in my tracks. I sighed to myself in defeat. This was hopeless. Here I was trudging around in the middle of the night with anxiety, looking for a book that might not even be here. I should just go back to my dad's cabin and just try looking for it tomorrow.

Just as I was about to turn around and head for the cabin, I saw a flash of white amongst the trees. Jason? I quickly turned back around, my breath caught in my throat. What is that? It looked like a piece of paper. The light illuminated on the yellowed paper as it flapped gently in the breeze, as if waving at me.

I reached up to grab it. My heart stopped when I saw that familiar strange writing and creepy detailed drawings in blood. This was a piece of paper from the Necronomicon! I was right! Or...half right, but I knew the book would be here! Hope refilled itself in my chest as I stared down at the paper in my hand. The scrawled writings and blood soaked illustrations seemed to glow in the light of my flashlight.

The book was here-

A twig snapped behind me. Before I could turn around, a pair of hands grabbed my shoulders. I yelped and spun away from the person behind me. Shining the light into their eyes. "Ah! Turn that light off!" snapped the figure, lifting his hands to his face. I lowered the light when I saw who it was.

"Jee-zus Christ, Matt! You scared the shit out of me!" I snapped at him, clutching the front of my shirt. Matt snickered, lowering his arms. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I saw you with the flashlight and wanted to make sure you weren't going out into the woods. Are you trying to find the bathroom?" he asked me. I shook my head, then hesitated. I couldn't tell him about the book.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing at the paper in my hands. I hesitated as I held a piece of the Necronomicon. After not being able to find the Necronomicon in Kenneth's cabin, I had to not trust anyone at the camp. Anyone here could have the book-

"Hey!" I cried out when Matt snatched the piece of paper from my hands before I could decide what to tell him. He stared down at it for a moment before snapping his head back up to me. "Where did you find this?" he asked in shock. I hesitated where I stood. Not sure how to answer him. Instead I just shrugged, trying to pretend that it wasn't a big deal.

"I...it's from my sketchbook," I lied.

Matt stared down at the piece of paper, entranced. He didn't seem to hear my lie. "How is this even possible? There's no way this could be here," he stated, which made me look up at him. "What do you mean?" I asked him. He pointed at the piece of paper. "This is part of an ancient artifact. A book. Specifically, The Book of the Dead," he explained.

Shit. He knew what it was.

"What if it's some sort of prank?" I asked him. Matt shook his head. "No. I am going to college and getting my degree in archeological finds. I wrote an essay on Professor Raymond Knowby and his finds in the Castle Kandar ruins," he explained to me, which I had no idea what he was talking about.

"...Oh. So you can read Latin?" I asked him, trying to not sound too surprised.

"It's Sumerian. I can read a little bit of it," he admitted, flipping over the piece of paper in his hands.

My cheeks burned. Sumerian. I kept saying it was Latin. I bet that's one of the reasons why the book was so irritated with me. I didn't know what language the book was even written in, yet it helped me be able to read its pages. Matt was so entranced in the piece of aged paper in his hands, being very gentle with it.

"This is so cool...Can I hold onto this?" he asked me. I shook my head and took the piece of paper back from him. "Nope. I don't want you raising any dead on this campsite," I told him seriously, but Matt laughed. "You really think that reading from one of the pages of the Necronomicon would be able to bring the dead back to life? You are so superstitious. There's no way that's possible," he said.

Right. Just like how its not possible to be friends with a local legend who can teleport, and has his mom's talking severed head. I just smiled and shrugged. "Can't be too careful," I said, folding the piece of paper and tucking it into my back pocket. Matt chuckled softly and smirked at me.

That's when I saw another bright white object amongst the trees behind Matt. It wasn't a piece of paper. It didn't flap in the breeze like the paper. It was solid, and it had holes. A hockey mask. My eyes widened in shock. Jason! He had been looking for me! I had not returned back to my dad's cabin. I had been stuck here.

Jason stood amongst the dark foliage like a ghost; I almost thought someone had just hung a hockey mask in a tree. I was so happy to see him. Butterflies danced in my stomach while my masked friend stayed in the shadows of the trees. I wanted to walk over to him, but I was stuck talking with Matt.

As silent as a cat, Jason started heading right over to us, his footsteps as silent as a graveyard. My breath got caught in my throat. No! What is he doing? Why is he coming over here? Matt noticed me making a face and stopped laughing. "You ok?" he asked me. I kept my eyes on Matt and not on Jason, which was very difficult. I didn't want Matt to get tempted to turn around and see what I was actually seeing behind him.

"I..n-nothing. It's nothing," I said to him, but at the corner of my eyes, I could see a glint of Jason's machete in his right hand. My eyes widened. What was he doing? Was he going to kill Matt? Did he think I was in danger?

Jason was a couple feet away behind Matt. I was surprised Matt hadn't turned around already. I held my breath. Jason suddenly stopped in his tracks. His mask slowly tilted to one side. Quizzical. I stared at him while he stared right back at me. His eyes were on mine...then slowly lowered down to my chest. His whole body stiffened. The grip on his machete tightening.

I looked down where he was possibly looking. My shirt. I looked back up at Jason, confused at first. My heart skipped a beat. My eyes widened as my eyes went back down to my shirt again. Not the shirt I was wearing this morning. I was wearing a camp counselor shirt.

They were supposed to be watching the kids...The counselors...

Jason took one step backwards. Then another. His eyes still on me. They didn't glint in happiness to see me. The eyes disappeared to solid black in his mask. Soulless black sockets in his skull white mask. My heart got caught in my throat.

No...no no no no! He assumed I was one of them! He thought I was a camp counselor! I reminded him of the counselors who didn't save him when he drowned in the lake all those years ago! Jason slowly kept walking backwards, then turned around and walked into the dark woods.

"What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost," Matt said, but I ignored him as I pushed past him and ran after Jason.

"Jason! Wait!" I called out to him. My legs pumped fast, trying to catch up to the tall guy. "It's not what you think! I am not a counselor!" I called after him, slapping the branches and leaves out of my way. I could see Jason's silhouette ahead of me. Just walking at his usual pace, but no matter how fast I ran, I could never catch up to him. I kept running, ignoring my burning lungs and tired legs. My eyes stayed on him.

I blinked.

Then he was gone.

"No!" I kept running.

"Jason! Jason!" I called for him, my arms out in front of me, pushing the branches away from my face. Suddenly, the branches seemed to be slapping me back. They grabbed at my arms like fingers with sharp nails. Raking across my skin. I cried out in pain and stared down at my arms. Lines of red blood was seen on them. Vines slithered around me like snakes. They tightened around my legs and torso, causing me to fall. I screamed as I fell to the ground. I kicked and thrashed wildly on the ground.

"No!" I screamed angrily. The vines and foliage wrapped tighter and tighter around me until it was cutting off my ability to breathe. I was starting to lose consciousness. The more I thrashed, the more tired I became. The plants were alive...they were going to kill me...Was this Jason's doing? The book's doing? Whatever it was, it was going to kill me if I didn't act fast.

Something poked me in my side pocket. My paint palette! My savior! I pulled out my paint palette from my pocket and used it to slice the vines. I heard a high pitched shrill from the plants as they recoiled from me. I kept cutting and hacking away at them, my ears filled with the inhuman screams of the plants recoiling away from my weapon. Once the last of the branches were free I laid on the ground, breathing in deep gulps of wonderful air.

Tears rolled down my face. Jason's masked face still printed in my eyelids. His eyes speaking volumes in how he saw me now. A traitor. An enemy. My chest heaved as more tears fell from my face. He hated me.

In the distance, I could hear Matt calling my name. I couldn't bring myself to call out to him. My heart was so heavy in my chest. This feeling in me weighed me down greatly. I felt like I was drowning again. The gallons of water above my head, crushing down on me. The lack of air. My eyes stinging from the salty water...

"Oh shit! You need medical help!" Matt's voice had interrupted my thoughts. He appeared in front of my vision. He was helping me up off the ground. Flashlight in one hand, Matt used his free hand to wrap his arm around my waist. I leaned against his shoulder and finally looked down at myself. My clothes were shredded from the sharp thorns and branches. Red blotches of blood bloomed from the tears in my attire.

"We gotta get you back to camp immediately!" Matt said as he lead me back to camp.

I turned my head to look over my shoulder, hoping to see a glimpse of Jason, but he wasn't there. I doubt he would ever want to see me again. With a broken heart, I turned back and hung my head down.