Friday the 13th: Lost Lake

❦ Chapter 14 • Threatening Care ❦

Jason made sure Claire and Stryker found a sheltered place to sit tight until night fell again, this time being another worn and abandoned building along a stretch of road with sparse traffic. By now the snow had stopped falling, and Claire looked exhausted.

Jason followed her inside the building, keeping a careful eye on both the beamish girl and her dog. He didn't want either of them falling through a rotten patch of floorboards.

Claire found a cozy spot on a torn couch, Stryker jumping up on the other end. She looked blissfully content as she wrapped her blanket around herself and snuggled into it.

Jason waited for her to fall asleep before poking around the building for anything that may bring harm to Claire or her dog with his machete in hand. It was better safe than sorry after all. He decided not to ascend the steps of a rotted staircase, guessing no one would dare be up there otherwise they surely would have fallen through the floor. Instead he investigated the other nearby rooms before he was satisfied.

Jason returned to the remains of the living room to check on Claire, finding her soundly asleep and making nonsensical sleep talk that he couldn't understand.

She'll probably be hungry by the time she wakes up. I should try to find something in the meantime. That sounded good to the Crystal Lake Killer. He left the abandoned house and stood outside for a brief moment, just getting a feel for his surroundings.

He didn't travel far from where he left his friends, not wanting a repeat of the last time they stayed in a desolated shelter. Jason could sense something living nearby. Human, animal, it didn't matter to him. If it was an animal, he would hunt it for Claire and Stryker. If it was human, he would kill it before it had a chance to discover the old house.

Tightening his grip on the machete, Jason made his way to the source of the presence and silenced his usual plodding footsteps in order to sneak up on his chosen prey. At last, he saw a medium-sized shape slowly moving through the vegetation as if it was foraging. It was a deer, a young buck by the looks of it judging from the small nubs coming from the top of its head.

Seems like Claire is getting venison afterall, Jason thought as he watched it graze on what little vegetation it could. The buck was fairly small, not even a full grown adult. Claire and Stryker could eat what they wanted while scavengers could eat the rest.

With one well-aimed shot, Jason launched his machete through the air, sending his machete plunging into the buck's head. The blade entered through the side of its skull, making its death rather quick and easy. Jason approached the deer as it stumbled for a second, easily picking it up and carrying it over his shoulder once it had collapsed on the forest floor.

This almost feels like cheating. I wasn't this good when I was alive and hunting for myself, Jason chuckled to himself as he hauled his kill back to the abandoned house. Oh well. This will definitely surprise and impress Claire for sure.

Upon his return to their shelter, Claire was still peacefully slumbering while Stryker seemed to be relaxed but alert. Jason patted the shepherd as he walked past with the young buck still draped over his shoulder, rewarding Stryker for a job well done in protecting Claire when he wasn't around.

Jason took his catch to the other room where sunlight draped through a hole in the roof so he could see what he was doing. He diligently skinned the buck's hide off, thinking he ought to save it for Claire for any makeshift use; extra clothing, blanket, whatever she desired. Then he gutted and cleaned the deer and set the organs aside for Stryker, since he noticed that Claire liked to feed them to him. After Jason had butchered the muscle meat, he slipped off to wake his human. He wanted her to eat more often. She was a healthy weight when they met, but by now he noticed she was starting to lose pounds. Plus, Jason knew from his own experience that human beings needed three meals throughout the day.