Part 9: Typical Friday at the Camp

I was writhing on the floor in pain as the door closed behind us and faded into a wall. Blood was pouring from my shoulder; the wounds on my back had reopened; and the back of my neck, torso, head, and legs were riddled with shards of glass. I had never been in this much pain in my life, but I was still functioning. Amber was lying limp on the floor; barely breathing.

Hulk was holding his bloody arm and said, “She’s not going to live very long. We can’t take much more of this, dude.”

I nodded in agreement and tried to speak. The pain overtook me, so I took a deep breath and said, “C’mon, Hulk. One more demiguardian.”

“Okay, brother.”

“Wait!” Eli yelled.

Eli rushed over to us and tried to patch us up as best he could. He looked at me and said, “Keep this up, and you’re not going to make it to the guardian.”

I shook my head and laughed. Eli finished the stitch on my shoulder and said, “Okay. Good to go. Marcus, be careful.”

I stood to face the remaining doors, and I saw that the wooden door’s lock had fallen. Hulk and I limped to it, and as before, we opened it and jumped through.

Once we passed through the door, water surrounded us, and my lungs filled. I was shocked at being in water, and I didn’t know whether I was up or down. I was able to reorient myself because of the moon’s glistening light on the water’s surface. I swam as hard as I could, but the air in my lungs wasn’t enough. I blacked out; however, before I blacked out I felt someone grab me.

I woke up on a muddy bank coughing up water. Hulk was standing over me and said, “Dude, I thought I lost you.”

Coming to grips to what had just happened; I looked at Hulk and said, “Thanks, man.”

“No problem, brother. Take a minute to get yourself together.”

I looked around my environment. We were on the shore of a lake. Around us were docks, jet skis, lodging, and camping grounds. I knew this place. I put my head in between my legs, and my grief almost overtook me as I held back tears. Hulk saw my unusual behavior and asked, “You all right, man?”

“Hulk, I know where we are. I know this place.”

“Whadduya mean, dude? What’s the big deal?”

“We’re in Camp Crystal Lake… ring a bell?”

Hulk shook his head, “Kinda. Maybe, not really sure. I think I’ve heard of it. Why?”

“Probably better if you don’t know. C’mon.”

I stood and motioned for Hulk to follow me. He re-sheathed his maul and axe and I readjusted my swords, and we walked through the mud away from the lake. I was exhausted and hurting and my wounds had once again reopened. I could tell Hulk was sharing my plight as blood continually poured from his arm and various other wounds. His gait also was slowed and had evolved into a limp.

We climbed the hill from the lake to a gravel road and followed it. After a few minutes of walking, we arrived at the camp’s main building. It was a quaint wooden lodge that had a sign that read “Welcome to Camp Crystal Lake”. The main building was also surrounded by other log cabins, which formed a circle around the camp grounds.

We carefully eased our way onto the porch of the main building, and I glanced inside through a window. I turned to Hulk and said, “Yep. He’s here.”

Hulk gave me an inquisitive look and said, “Who?”

“Jason.”

“Who’s Jason?”

“He’s a crazed, super-human serial killer. Here, take a look.”

I pointed for Hulk to take a look at the devastation that had happened in the main building. Bodies and body parts were strewn on the floors, walls, and ceiling, and the inside of the building was in an obvious state of upheaval.

Hulk said, “Whoa, dude. That place is wrecked.”

“Yeah. We gotta find him. C’mon, let’s look around.”

We searched the buildings and the nearby woods, and while we found abundant evidence of Jason’s warpath, we could not find the killer. Our search led us back towards the lake to a modest shed by the dock. As we approached, we heard struggling and the shed began to shake. Suddenly, a woman screamed. The scream was so shocking and blood-curdling that it caused both of us to stumble. We heard more sounds of struggle and more screams, and then there were sounds of metal tearing through flesh. The screams were silenced.

It was obvious that Jason had just murdered a helpless woman, and we cautiously crept closer to the shed. The shed door flew open and a headless, disemboweled body was thrown to the ground. Jason emerged from the shed and immediately saw us. He faced us and stoically walked in our direction. Jason was larger than Hulk. He was covered in bloody, tattered clothes, wielded his infamous machete, and, of course, covered his face with his iconic hockey mask. Hulk turned to me and asked, “How do we kill him?”

I shrugged and said, “Together.”

Hulk gripped his axe and maul, and I unsheathed my swords. We looked at each other and breathed a sigh, and then we rushed towards the murderer. Since I was faster, I was ahead of Hulk, and I tried to anticipate Jason’s next move. Hulk’s axe flew past me and imbedded itself into Jason’s chest.

“Good throw.” I thought to myself.

The axe staggered Jason and opened a perfect opportunity for my attack. Jason had reached to remove the axe from his chest which caused his vision to divert from me. I leaped in the air with my wakisashi in my left hand and my katana in my right. With a reverse grip, I drove the wakisahi through the neck and shoulder of Jason, and then I spun myself around; flanking the monster, leaving the sword in place. I knew in order to overcome Jason we had to immobilize him somehow. I gripped my katana with both my hands and used a downward, cutting slice to the back of Jason’s right leg. I felt the blade touch bone, and I yanked it towards the ground. The edge was sharp enough to sever the hamstring muscle, which I knew I had done because the back of his leg drooped open. Jason growled in pain, and I ducked under his machete swing as he clumsily tried to turn and attack me.

Hulk connected with a devastating swing with his maul to the back of Jason’s skull. I heard the skull crack and saw a few pieces of his head fly through the air. Jason growled again and stood up; unaffected. I drove my katana through his side of his ribs almost to the hilt. Jason turned and looked down at me. I was a shocked at the amount of damage we had done that was shrugged off by the serial killer. Jason’s elbow connected with my nose and caused an explosion of blood. I fell backwards and rolled. I was dazed and my vision was blurry; however, I could tell that Jason coming for me, dragging his leg. In spite of everything, he was holding his machete with my two swords and Hulk’s axe still driven into his torso.

Again, Hulk caught Jason with another vicious blow to the head with his hammer. Hulk raised the maul for a third blow, but it was blocked by Jason’s forearm. The crushing strike broke Jason’s arm almost in half and caused the bones the jut through the skin. Jason lost the use of his right arm and dropped the machete. My head was beginning to clear as Hulk was raising his arms for his fourth attack. Jason smashed Hulk’s exposed ribs with his left fist. I saw Hulk’s ribs break, and Hulk spit up blood. Jason stood and head butted Hulk. I knew the blow cracked Hulk’s skull, and I wasn’t sure if he survived the hit. Hulk fell limply to the ground.

I had to act quickly, so I pitched the windmill shuriken at Jason. Like always, the shuriken cut through the air; however, it did not return to me because it had become stuck in the side of Jason’s skull. Jason growled again and started to approach me once more.

I couldn’t believe it. This monster literally had our weapons stuck in him and showed no signs of stopping. The shuriken had cut the straps of Jason’s mask, and it waved back and forth unstably with each rocking step that Jason took. I was catching glimpses of his hideous face the closer he got, and I had no idea what to do next.

Jason took another insecure step, and it shook the mask loose. It fell to the ground and Jason moaned, leaned over, and placed it back on his face.

“Yes.” I thought to myself.

I wiped the blood from my face and ran towards Jason. I jumped shoulder first towards his mangled leg and knocked him to the ground. I grabbed the machete on the ground and turned around. A giant fist was coming straight for my head. I maneuvered under it and braced the machete, blade side, towards the fist. The blade sunk between Jason’s middle and ring finger and cut down to the wrist and remained in place.

Without hesitating, I ripped the mask from Jason’s head and threw it towards the lake. Jason roared at me while spit and blood flew from his mouth. I tore the wakisasha loose and jammed it through his left eye. He stumbled backwards and peered at me. In a quick motion, I freed my katana from his side and pushed it through his right eye. This caused the monster to drop to his knees. I removed the machete from his fist, took careful aim, and, with both hands, I came down and wedged the machete between his eyes. The blow went through the skull and nearly cleaved his head in two. Jason fell to the ground dead.

I gathered our weapons and returned to Hulk. His face was a bloody mess and swollen, but he was still alive. I knew he wasn’t going to last long, though. Soon, the emptiness engulfed us and the door appeared. With all of my remaining strength, I dragged Hulk back into the Welcome Center.