Friday the 13th: Lost Lake

❦ Chapter 27 • The Only Truth That Sticks ❦

"Now what?" Shannon was the first to speak after several minutes of silence, as if she was letting Cole grieve for a short period. "With Tommy gone, what do we do now?"

"I don't know…" Cole answered her. He held on to that little ember of rage that still flickered within him. His and Shannon's survival depended on it. He needed a fighting spirit. He couldn't go on being the spineless coward he had been before.

On that night they set the fire, Cole had Derrick. He thought he would still have Tommy. But without the middle-aged man protecting them, he was on his own. Even Cole knew he would have to be the one stepping up to the plate. It wouldn't be easy. He was still scared of both Jason and the girl that stubbornly refused to see what her friend really was.

"We… we could try to chain Jason back in the lake," Cole suggested, mentally slapping himself for his shaky, unconfident tone. Seriously? That won't work! Even if we take care of Jason, what about Claire?!

"Hmph, didn't Tommy say that old technique was pointless?" Shannon muttered with her arms crossed over her chest, picking apart his half-hearted plan with ease. "Also, I reckon we'll be putting all our strength into stopping Jason, so what will stop Claire from trying to kill us?"

"I don't know, okay?" Cole snapped at her, regretting it instantly when he saw Shannon flinch and back up. "Sorry… I'm just… stressed. I'm as good as dead."

"No you're not," Shannon argued, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Yes, I am! They're after me," Cole reminded her firmly. "They won't stop until I'm dead. That's why I keep telling you to get out while you still can. You'll only get killed too if you stay."

In his heart, Cole didn't want to lose Shannon. But he also couldn't live with himself if she died too. He loved the fiery, curly-haired cutie. He was already responsible for Julie's death, he wasn't about to let his newfound interest be torn away from him in the same violent manner.

"Listen, we follow Tommy's advice from earlier," Shannon began, "we isolate Claire and go after her first since she's weaker than Jason. We take her to the abandoned mines he mentioned and wait for Jason to show up."

"Dwayne was supposed to be building explosive devices so we could bury Jason in that old hellhoe forever," Cole weakly protested. "Besides… Claire didn't seem that bad. I looked into her eyes, and-"

"And what? You think there's any hope of reaching that?" Shannon demanded suddenly. She got right into Cole's face, forcing him to look at her.

"S-she said something at the fast food joint… I don't think she's as eager to kill as Jason is," Cole murmured, feeling small under Shannon's sardonic gray eyes. "She said she would stand by Jason regardless… but I don't think she would kill us alone."

Shannon glared at him for a few seconds before bursting out into a fit of laughter. This struck a nerve in Cole, annoying him. Sure, Claire was siding with Jason and was by default their enemy, but why couldn't Shannon see that the girl was not pure evil like Jason was?

"You honestly think she wouldn't kill you if given the chance?" Shannon snapped at him before motioning to the stitched up laceration in his shoulder.

"Think about it… she could've just killed me right then and there. I could feel it, Shay," Cole explained through gritted teeth. "She was holding back."

"Only because Tommy would've blown her fucking head off," Shannon retorted with a roll of her eyes.

"I'm serious," Cole sternly told her, holding her glare with his own. "We need to focus on Jason and Jason alone. Maybe just… knock Claire out for the time being."