Friday the 13th: Lost Lake

❦ Chapter 22 • Crossed A Line ❦

Claire fidgeted with a stray string at the corner of her blanket, staring off in the distance as she waited for Jason to return. She wondered what he could be up to, as surely it didn't take that long to kill a handful of trespassers. She was growing tired of waiting, having one-way conversations with his mother's decapitated head in some strange attempt to speak with her like Jason could.

What if he needs help? Claire anxiously pondered to herself as she stood up, setting her blanket on a board of wood. Is he somehow in trouble?

Strapping her machete across her shoulder and tying Stryker's leash to ensure he stayed safe, Claire decided to venture out into the blackened skeleton trees. She stopped for a moment, just listening. Her sensitive ears strained for the slightest sound, and she heard something- running footsteps close by. She knew Jason didn't run, as far as she was aware, and the source of the footsteps sounded lighter than how Jason's would sound. This meant the noise must belong to one of his victims. Claire decided to take off as well in hopes to intercept whoever was charging off in the woods. The exposed graveyard of trees and the lack of vegetation gave Claire plenty of space to run about without slowing down, only needing to jump over the occasional log.

At last, she spotted someone running ahead, wearing a baggy gray and black hoodie. Much to Claire's relief, the fleeing intruder seemed no bigger than her, if not slightly shorter, which gave her a boost of confidence.

As Claire ran along to catch up to them, her footsteps distracted the trespasser. As the hooded face looked in her direction, Claire realized it was a young Asian-American man wearing eyeglasses, with short ebony hair with matching ebony eyes. He slowed to a stop, wheezing as he bent over a tad bit with his hands on his knees.

"W-who you?" He sputtered out breathlessly. "It's not… It's not safe here. You must leave… now!"

Claire tried her best to play coy, wanting to give Jason enough time to catch up to the man. "Huh? What's going on?"

"He's after me!" The young man screamed at her, glancing behind him with wide panicked eyes. "He's going to kill me! He'll kill you too! Run!!"

Before the man could take off again, Claire decided to trip him with an extended foot, making him fall face-first. The glasses he wore had fallen from his face, dangling from his ear as Claire noticed dirt smudging them. She couldn't help but smirk, knowing how distracting streaks and blurry smudges on glasses could be. However, she wanted to ensure that Jason found him. She held him down with one foot, pressing the sole of her shoe into his spine to make it uncomfortable for him to move.

"W-what are you doing? You crazy bitch, let me go!" The man shouted at her as he clawed at the ground desperately, kicking and struggling under Claire's strong leg. The more he tried to fight, the harder Claire would press down on him until he cried out.

A faint kikiki mamama fluttered past Claire's ears, and she knew who exactly was lurking behind her.

"He's all yours, Jason. Come get him," she called out to him, spying her killer friend lumbering towards them from the gloom.

Jason didn't waste a second as he approached, an unreadable expression in his eyes as he plunged his blade into the young man's back, just below her foot.

For a moment, they stood in an eerie silence as they watched the male twitch and gasp before finally succumbing, his body still and his eyes glossing over.

"Sorry if I intervened or got in your way," Claire swiftly apologized, hoping the machete-wielding slasher wasn't upset with her for involving herself this time when he must had been habituated to going solo for so long. "I just thought you could use an extra hand. Not that you couldn't do it by yourself! Just wanted to help out so we could go get Cole-"