Across the Lake
Chapter 28: The Present
...Trigger warning: s**cide and g*n use. Read with Caution...
I woke up in complete darkness. I was laying on my back on what felt like dead leaves and a cold floor. Slowly, I sat up and waited for my eyes to adjust. My heart nearly leapt out of my mouth when I realized that I was still in the Voorhees house. I scrambled to my feet, ready for Mrs. Voorhees to appear and strangle me with her hands.
It only took me a few minutes to realize that the house was different when I had first seen it. The Voorhees house was run down and covered in layers of dust. The wooden floors were damp with years of rain storms and dead leaves scattered about. I looked up when I realized that a faint red glow had filled the room. The red moon was in the middle of the inky black sky as it appeared through the five foot gaping hole the portal had made... the same one I had made back in the past.
I was back in the present.
The house had been abandoned since. The Necronomicon was nowhere to be seen. I guess it stayed in the past. Would it have crossed over to the present with me? I guess it didn't matter now. It just meant Jackson still had the book, and I needed to get it back.
A loud roar interrupted my thoughts from outside. Heading to the dirty window and looking out, I spotted a massive figure rush out of the woods, followed by two smaller figures. In the red moonlight, I spotted a large dark colored bear being chased by two creepy looking camp counselor humans with pale skin peeling from their faces.
It was those Undead things, and they were attacking Teddy.
Patting my pockets, I came up empty. I had lost my paint knife. My eyes turned to the fireplace. The poker rested against the bricks. I grabbed it before rushing out the front door towards Teddy and the undead things. The tree branches hissed angrily above me as I lifted the poker above my head and brought it down against the back of one of the undead creatures.
The one undead counselor I struck reared back and screamed before turning its ugly white face to me. It bared its jagged yellow sharp teeth at me before lunging towards me. I brought the poker down on its head multiple times. Black blood spurted out of its rotten head, causing it to falter to its knees. Finally, I drove the sharp end of the poker through the undead counselor's skull.
I felt icy cold hands grab my shoulders and spin me around. It hissed angrily at me for killing its friend. "I will devour your s-" It didn't get to finish its words, as its face disappeared into Teddy's large mouth. The scarred bear bit down on the undead creature's neck, his sharp teeth piercing through the flesh and bone, causing black blood to spatter all over my face.
"Hi, Teddy," I said, wiping the blood off my face. Teddy finished chowing down on the undead creature and turned his bloody muzzle to me. He lifted his head up and licked the side of my face, cleaning up some of the blood.
"Thanks, Teddy, but we don't have time. Jason is in trouble," I told Teddy. I wasn't sure what time it was to know when I had came back. I just hoped I had arrived back to the present in time to stop Jackson before Matt reads from the book, causing the undead counselors to kill Jason in the lake.
Teddy thankfully seemed to understand what I was saying. He lowered his massive body down so I could climb up onto his back. Once I was on top, I held on fast. Teddy lurched forward and began bounding on all fours through the forest back to the camp.
...
When we arrived at the campsite, Teddy slowed to a stop at the borderline of trees. I jumped off Teddy and surveyed the scene. Everywhere I looked, everyone was fighting the horrific zombie things. A few cabins were on fire. Everyone from the camp was awake and fighting off the two dozen undead counselors. Camp Leader Darnell hid under one of the lunch tables, while Sasha stood on top of it with a bow and arrows, aiming and shooting Undead counselors in the chest or head.
My mom defended herself with a wooden post that was on fire, swinging it at the Undead counselors, while Rod hid behind her and made frightened squealing pig noises.
Aaron and Edwin had turned a wooden lunch table onto its side as a barrier and began lighting pinecones with the fires and chucking them at the Undead counselors. They kept yelling things that sounded like quotes from a videogame. I guess the situation reminded them of it or something. Their fiery pinecones would for the most part, his their targets, causing the Undead counselors to light up like a Christmas tree and scream in pain as they flailed and contorted till they went still on the ground.
My dad held a swiss army knife in his hand with one of the blades sticking up. Margaret stood behind him, yelling at him. "Dick! stab him in the eyes!" Margaret demanded. My dad hesitated where he stood, staring at the undead thing stumbling towards him. His knees shaking. Margaret sighed loudly, rolling her eyes before pulling off one of her high heels, walking up to the undead creature, and stabbing the sharp end of the heel into one of its eye sockets. Black and green blood spattered everywhere, causing my dad to scream in terror.
Mari and Lauren had tennis rackets and were using them to hit the Undead counselors. The one they were fending off caused me to do a double take. His teeth were jagged and sharp. His eyes milky white and his matted black hair hanging from the sides of his head. It was Kenneth. He came back. Did that mean-
Suddenly I heard an inhuman growl behind me, causing Teddy to whip around, I lost my grip and fell into the dirt. Standing above me was Victoria, or...an Undead version of her. Her two halves of her body were stapled back together. Her eyes were sunken and white, bleeding black and green blood from the seams.
"I'm gonna enjoy devouring your soul, traitor!" Undead Victoria said as she wrapped her sharp claws around my throat. I pulled out the fire poker from my belt loops and stabbed her in the eye. Undead Victoria shrieked, nearly blowing my eardrums out as she staggered backwards, clutching the remains of her milky white eye.
I quickly scrambled to my feet, gripping the thin strip of iron in my hand. Undead blood dripping down the sharp end. Victoria glared at me with her one good eye. Baring her sharp teeth angrily at me. She lunged forward again. I swung the iron poker, slashing the sharp tip across her face. Black blood sprayed everywhere. Parts of her face began to rip open, causing it to split open. She shrieked as her face began to bubble and sizzle. I bashed her face in a few more times till she was just a pulpy mess.
The rest of the Undead had been defeated from the other counselors, but I knew it wouldn't be long till they began to rise back up, ready to fight again. Everyone noticed my presence and began bombarding me with questions, as if they knew I would know. Was it because I came out of the forest and not out of my cabin? Was it because I welded an iron poker and seemed to know what I was up against? Did they see me ride in on Teddy like a warrior? My parents and their lovers came up to me.
"What is going on?!"
"Where have you been?!"
"What are those things?!"
"Do you have anything to do with this?!" which I knew was Rod, berating me. I stepped back from them back towards the line of trees. I didn't plan to stay for long. I needed to get back to Jackson.
"I-I don't have time to explain...I have to go," I said before turning to the trees. Teddy poked his head out and came up to me, causing my parents to gasp in horror and step away from me. I gave Teddy a pat on the head to show he was good. "Come on, Teddy. Let's go," I said before jumping up onto his back and riding out of the camp and towards the pier. I could feel everyone's eyes on me in shock.
"Did I just see...?" one of them asked.
"Yes...We all saw the bear..." I heard another person say before I was out of earshot.
...
Lightning struck across the black sky. The blood red moon still hovered overhead like a giant eyeball. Glaring down upon the mortal world. Jackson and Matt were still on the edge of the wooden pier. Jason's mask and machete still sat on the wooden boards of the pier. He was still gone. I didn't go back far enough to stop Matt from reading the book. My heart sank to the deepest pits of my stomach.
Fighting back the tears, I approached the pier. A few undead counselors approached us, causing me to stop. Teddy growled and lunged at them. I took this moment as an opportunity to get closer to Matt and the book. My footsteps caused Matt and Jackson to turn their heads to me. Jackson whole body jolted when he suddenly saw me standing right in front of him. Matt's eyes widened in horror as he began to shake uncontrollably.
"Wha-? H-how? How are you there?! We just-I just...You!" Matt stumbled over his words till they began to blend together into garbled nonsense. He didn't look so great the last time I had seen him...which I guess was only a few minutes ago. His skin was very pale, even his hair had lost its dark color. His face was gaunt like he hadn't eaten in days. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like he was aging by the second.
He was slowly going insane. Reading the book was causing him to become like this. Jackson didn't seem to notice...or maybe he did, and he just didn't care about Matt's mental state and forced him to continue reading.
"Stop reading from the book, Matt!" I said in a loud voice. Matt continued to tremble where he stood. Jackson glared at me. "How the hell did you come back so fast? Did the spell even work?!" he snapped, glaring over at Matt, who flinched.
I didn't answer. Instead, I lunged forward, swinging the iron poker. Jackson quickly stood between me and Matt, grabbing my wrists in the process. I kneed him in the groin, causing him to fall to his knees. Before I could grab the book from Matt, Jackson grabbed my leg, causing me to fall on my side. He grabbed the iron poker and tossed it away from me. We wrestled for a few minutes till he broke away, gasping and wincing in pain. I stood on the opposite side of Matt and Jackson, breathing heavily.
"Stop this now, Jackson! You can't bring your brother back! Look around you! Are any of these Undead counselors your brother? The book used you. It wont give you your brother back!" I yelled at him. Jackson sneered at me, wiping blood from his mouth before standing up. "You don't understand. You've never lost someone you cared for," he spat. I narrowed my eyes. Jackson and I glared at each other till Jackson broke the gaze and spat a mouthful of blood on the wooden boards.
"Oh my god. I can't believe you...Jason was a killer! He had no feelings for anyone! He was a mindless zombie that was just following orders from his dead mother!" he shouted at me. I got to my feet, picking up the iron rod near me, my face burning. "You're wrong! Jason was caring!" I shouted back at him. Jackson clutched his arm where Jason had stabbed him with his machete.
"Tell that to all the counselors he killed!" Jackson shouted back at me, gesturing over to the sandy shores of the lake. I turned my head. More undead counselors had appeared. All of them fighting Teddy. Teddy was running out of stamina as he tore his teeth through their rotting flesh, constantly turning his massive body in circles as they surrounded him.
"Face it. You were in love with a killer. He most likely let you live because you were a kid then," Jackson said as I turned my head back to face him. "Now that he's gone...you are outnumbered. You have no one to help you. I have won," Jackson said. I looked over to Matt, who was shaking where he stood. The book open in his trembling hands.
Read me, Matt. Read me...I could hear the book constantly repeating. I could tell Matt could hear the same voice and flinched every time he heard it say his name. Jackson snapped at Matt, causing him to nearly jump out of his skin, demanding him to read from the book again. Matt hesitated. He looked over at me with bloodshot eyes. I shook my head at him. "Don't do it, Matt. Please," I whispered.
Just then, bubbles began to rise out of the side of the pier. Jackson and I exchanged confused glances as we looked over the side. The bubbles got bigger and bigger. A dark figure rose out of the water and stepped on the pier between us. The dark figure was bathed in the red moonlight. His heavy boots stomped on the wooden boards of the pier. Water dripped from every part of his body. His maskless face turned to me. His hazel eyes twinkling.
It was Jason.
My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe it. He wasn't dead! My heart swelled with excitement, I nearly cried. "Jason! You're alive!" I screamed happily. Before I realized what I was doing, I found myself jumping up and wrapping my arms around his thick neck. My body hung there, pressed up against his dripping wet body. My shirt and shorts were beginning to soak from the cold lake water, but I didn't care. The only thing on my mind was Jason.
One moment I was staring into his hazel eyes, the next moment, I closed mine and I could feel my lips pressing against his soft, wet lips. They felt so nice and cool against mine. I could feel Jason jolt in surprise in my arms, but he didn't pull away. Neither did I. I don't know how long we were kissing, but I could have kissed him forever. I finally pulled away and stared down at him. He stared at me in his arms. His eyes were wide in shock. His giant gloved hand went to his lips. Then his whole hand covered half his face as if realizing he wasn't wearing his mask.
I smiled up at him, blushing as I slowly lifted my hands up and signed 'handsome' to him. Jason's pale face burned bright red as he looked away from me. His reaction spoke volumes. He wasn't used to affection like this. It made him all the more cute.
The sweet moment was interrupted by a sudden loud clearing of the throat. We both turned our heads when he heard a loud cough. My blood froze. On the sandy shores of the lake, everyone was staring at us. My parents...The counselors...even the Undead counselors. All of their eyes were right on me. Most in shock, a few in disgust. It took me a moment to realize where everyone had come from. They had watched me ride off on Teddy and had followed me to the lake.
My face burned so much, it felt like it was going to catch on fire. Jason and I quickly turned away from everyone's eyes. I wanted to disappear. I was so embarrassed. Jason set me back down. My shoe nudged against something on the wooden boards. I looked down and found Jason's hockey mask. I picked up the hockey mask, wiping the specks of blood off it.
"Erm...here's your mask..." I said quietly, looking away as I handed his mask back to him. Jason placed his mask back on, hiding his red face. He picked up his machete from the ground. Jackson's mouth still hung open in shock at the sight of Jason. Before any of us could say or do anything, a loud scream caused us all to jump. We all looked to the source of the scream.
Matt was seen screaming up at the sky. "I can't do this anymore! Please make it stop! I hear the voices! They are telling me so many things!" He screamed. Then he began to speak what sounded like half Sumerian and half garbled nonsense. Then, before any of us could do anything, Matt reached for Jackson's gun in its holster. He lifted the end of the gun to his temple.
A sound of thunder cracked across the campsite.
Everyone, including me, gasped in horror at what Matt had just done.
"Matt! No!" Jackson screamed. Matt's body laid in a crumpled heap at Jackson's feet. The book laying next to him, filling up with blood. Jackson lifted the book up from the blood soaked boards and stared down at the book. The face stared back at him through its sockets. Wanting him to read from the book, but he couldn't. He didn't know how to read Sumerian. And now his one translator was dead at his feet. He had lost. His brother was not going to come back.
Jackson clenched his teeth as he dropped the book into the pool of blood at his feet. Slowly he straightened up, his back to us. His fists shook at his sides, trying to control the anger coursing through him. Slowly, he turned around to face us. He took a deep, shaky breath and sighed.
"Guess I have to do everything around here myself..." Jackson muttered under his breath.
He pulled out his gun and shot me into the stomach.
A gasp escaped my mouth. Falling to my knees, clutching my stomach. My hands covered in my own blood. I could hear screams, but they were so muffled, I couldn't tell who was screaming. Jason's strong hands grabbing me and pulling me close to his chest. Engulfed in his arms. I should feel warm...but I felt so cold. The energy was leaving my body so fast. I felt so tired. More gunshots were fired, but they sounded so far away.
Jason's eyes stared down at me from his mask. The corners of my vision were fading to black. I tried reaching up to touch the side of his face, but I was too weak. I was dying. I could feel my anxiety working overtime as more blood pooled out of me. I was beginning to feel light headed. I didn't want this to happen. I wanted to live...I wanted Jason...
I wanted...
Jason...