Chapter 23: The Accident

...

Nightmares plagued my mind. I thrashed against the terrors, but the pain in my body forced me to stop. The nightmares swam around me like sharks in the ocean. I couldn't breathe as I tried keeping my head above the surface. A scream ripped through my nightmares, causing me to wake up. I sat bolt upright in my cot bed and looked around the room. At first I had no idea where I was, then remembered I was still in the First Aid building.

The nurse was nowhere in the building. I was alone in a sea of cot beds. Kicking the thin sheets off my body, I got out of my cot bed and looked out the window. The sky had darkened outside. It was a bruised plum purple, slowly darkening to a mars black color. A dark figure stood amongst the trees, outside the building. My chest tightened. Jason? It was too dark to tell.

I quickly sat back down on the bed and pulled on my socks and shoes. Getting off the bed, I walked over to the door, grabbing a flashlight off the wall in the process. Turned the knob and walked out into the camp. I shined my flashlight through the trees, hoping to see the figure again.

The figure was gone.

"Jason?" I asked the darkness. Nothing. I didn't expect an answer. A rustle of leaves was heard further down the road. I slowly walked towards it. "Jason. Please listen to me. It was all a big misunderstanding. I am not a camp counselor. I'm only wearing the shirt because they forced me to. Everyone thinks I willingly volunteered to be here, but I never wanted to..."

Silence.

I sighed in defeat. He wasn't there. I was about to turn and head back inside the First Aid building, when I saw something odd further down the pathway. Camp Leader Darnell, Aaron, Mari, and Matt were standing a couple yards away from the entrance of the camp, all huddled together. I hesitated where I stood, my flashlight pointed in their direction. What were they doing outside at night past curfew? Darnell was with them. Was this more preparations for the camp? Why at night? I decided to investigate.

As I approached them, I could see their expressions. Darnell looked shaken up, clutching a radio in his trembling hand. A few of the counselors' faces looked pale. Aaron looked green, like he had recently just thrown up. Mari and Matt murmured amongst themselves nervously, occasionally glancing up at the big arching Camp Crystal Lake sign above them.

What's wrong? I wanted to ask them, but the words immediately died in my throat. Something didn't feel right. Something was off. Way off. I looked up at the sign. Something dangled from it. Something big and dark. It was dripping some kind of wet fluid on the ground. My hand raised the flashlight.

The blood drained from my face.

It was a body.

Covered head to toe in blood, the corpse hung limply in the middle of the sign, wrapped tightly in barbed wire. A 'No Trespassing' sign hung tightly around his neck. His face was slashed with deep cuts, making it difficult to tell who it was...but I knew.

It was the Ranger.

Bile rose up from my stomach, but I quickly turned away, swallowing the foul stuff down. The light from my flashlight turned off. I didn't want to see the brutal horrors anymore. The dripping sound of his blood hitting the dirt ground made my shoulders tense up.

Plat. Plat. Plat...

Off in the distance, a police siren was heard. The red and blue lights splashed across the pine trees as a few police cars, an ambulance, and a fire truck came upon the gruesome scene. Carson got out of his patrol car and began talking to the firefighters. The firefighters pointed over to us and the old sheriff turned his head in our direction.

Carson's eyes widened when he saw me. I guess I was a sight, all bandaged up like a mummy, or some dead person that came back from the dead. Darnell brushed past me and began explaining what happened to the sheriff, calling Aaron to come over and tell his side of the story.

Apparently, Matt, Mari, and Aaron were the last ones to head to bed. Aaron had to take a piss, but was too lazy to walk all the way to the porta-potties, so he walked twelve feet towards the entrance to go pee. He heard a noise and quickly hid behind a tree. That's when he saw a dark figure walking away from the sign, and he smelled the metallic smell of blood. The sounds of an owl pecking at the corpse was what alerted Aaron to find the dead Ranger and notify Darnell.

The firefighters had just finished cutting the barbed wire from the corpse and were gently bringing it down. Two other cops I didn't recognize were rolling out the yellow police tape, creating the perimeter of the bloody site. The paramedics placed the bloody corpse onto a gurney, before raising the white sheet over the deceased Ranger's head.

All the commotion roused everyone else out of their cabins, including my parents and their partners. The police, including Carson, kept everyone away from the crime scene. Rod didn't seem to like being told what to do and began fighting against the sheriff's commands.

"What the hell is going on, sheriff?! Why is there a fire truck and ambulance right in front of the camp?!" he shouted.

Sheriff Carson narrowed his eyes at Rod, immediately hating the guy. "Please stay back, sir -" Carson started, but Rod cut him off. "We have a right to know!" snapped Rod as he got up in the sheriff's face, puffing out his thick beer stained chest. Margaret stepped forward and tossed her poofy hair to the side of her face.

"Margaret Vaughn, City Hall -" she started, but Carson cut her off.

"I know who you are, Margaret. You don't need to lay that bullcrap on me," he snapped angrily. My mom turned to me, silently searching my eyes. What is going on? her eyes asked me. I hesitated on telling her. The image of the bleeding corpse of the ranger still burned in my mind.

"Ranger Gartner is dead," Jackson said, suddenly appearing next to Carson. Where did he come from? A chorus of gasps escaped everyone's throats.

"Oh my god!"

"How?!"

"What happened?!"

A string of questions came out at once from everyone. Carson gave Jackson a look, but Jackson didn't seem to notice. My mom's eyes widened, leaning into Rod for comfort. All the counselors exchanged panicked glances, shuffling nervously in their pajamas. Margaret didn't make any reaction. She just looked down at her phone and frowned when she couldn't get a signal. My dad swayed a little where he stood. He looked like he was going to be sick, but stayed completely still.

"It was Jason...It has to be," one of the counselors said; I couldn't tell who. The crowds concerned murmurs grew louder and more panicky. Aaron threw up in some bushes. Mari clung to Edwin, who tried drowning out the horror around him by playing his videogame. My dad looked like he had seen a ghost at the mention of Jason. Margaret rolled her eyes and pocketed her useless phone. She clapped her hands to get the attention onto her.

"Jason Voorhaus doesn't exist," she said.

"It's Voorhees," I corrected her.

Margaret either didn't hear me, or was ignoring me as she continued talking. "He is just a story to keep the kids from breaking rules and leaving the cabins at night," she told everyone. No one liked Margaret's answer and began to talk over themselves.

"Then who murdered Ranger Gartner?!"

"Why don't you think it was Jason?!"

"Ranger Gartner is dead!"

Margaret stood on one of the wooden picnic tables and looked out over the heads of the counselors, sheriffs, and my parents. "It was most likely a bear! Ranger Gartner was most likely setting up a no trespassing sign for one of the hiking trails, saw a bear, ran up the sign and got tangled up in it. A complete accident! No need to worry!"

"I thaw it! I thaw a dark figure in the woodth!" Aaron argued. Margaret gave him a look. "Were you certain it was a human? Bears can stand on their hind legs," she asked. Aaron went quiet and looked down at the ground. It was too dark for him to be certain. He just saw something wandering away. Everyone looked to one another. Fear filled their eyes. They were scared. Margaret raised her hands up and continued to speak.

"The camp is still happening! Don't let this little mishap ruin everyone's time here! Let's make this camp the best summertime ever! Go back to your cabins and sleep. The sheriff here will deal with the bear." Margaret shouted for everyone to hear. Her smile was so huge, I could see her gums.

Sheriff Carson glared as she got down from the table. "You are just going to ignore the fact that someone was murdered?" I heard him mutter angrily to the lady. Margaret glared at the older cop. "We don't know if he was. It could have been an accident! That kid didn't see shit! So let's all stay positive and let this camp happen! This town needs a new reputation! No more Camp Blood! We need the tourists to come back here," she hissed at him. She changed back to her false smile as she waved and wished everyone a goodnight.

My dad stood next to her, the blood drained from his face; but didn't have the balls to speak his mind. Slowly, everyone began shuffling back to their cabins. My mom stared at me. Her eyes filled with fear. Rod grabbed her arm and steered her away to talk to her in private. The firetruck, ambulance and other cop cars were already driving away from the camp one at a time and back down the only road in and out of the campsite.

"You should be resting dearie," I heard a voice from behind me. I turned around and found myself face to face with Margaret. She smiled her huge fake smile. "Got a big day tomorrow," she told me before walking away. My dad came up to me, his face pale and his shoulders shaking a little. He straightened up and forced a fake smile.

"Goodnight, kiddo...Sleep well," he said.

"Goodnight, dad," I responded. We stood there awkwardly. He hesitated for a moment. He looked like he wanted to tell me something, but something was holding him back. I was just starting to turn on my heel and leave, when he finally spoke in a low voice.

"I saw him..." my dad said. I stopped in my tracks.

"Saw who?" I asked him softly. An ice cold chill ran up my back as I stared at my dad.

"Jason..." he responded.

"...When?"

"When you used to come here..." he said.

I blinked in shock. "Where was he? What was he doing?" I asked, hoping to get more answers this time. My dad looked out towards the lake. The black surface of the lake rippled before going completely still.

"He was looking down at you...You were laying down on the ground..." he told me. I took a step forward. "What do you mean? Why was I on the ground? Why was he looming over me?" I asked him in a low voice. His eyes were glazed over as if he were reliving the past. My dad knew something he wasn't telling me.

"You weren't breathing..." he said, barely a whisper.

He looked like he wanted to say more, but Margaret called his name, snapping him out of his zombie daze. He grabbed my arm and stared at me intently. His eyes filled with fear. "Leave with your mom. You shouldn't be here," he said. Then he followed after her to where her car was parked.

I stayed where I was as I watched my dad disappear into the car and head towards the only entrance and exit of the camp and head back down the path. The glowing red headlights disappearing through the pine trees into the darkness.