Welcome to Crystal Lake (ENG)

Chapter 16 - New friends

She went back to her bike, with the impression that she had just improved Mike's bad day.

"Someone seemed pretty happy, didn't they Finn?" In response, the dog let out a snort that cheered his owner more. "Let's go, boy."

She got on the bike, determined to find a quiet place where she could reflect about the last events without having to go home.

After touring a neighborhood she hadn't seen the previous time, she decided to stop at a bakery on a street corner. There were a couple of tables outside the shop that, together with the wonderful scent of freshly baked sweets, seemed to call her. This, combined with the fact that her anxiety made her very hungry, prompted her to go in for a mid-morning snack, despite the excellent breakfast she had already had. In a couple of minutes she found herself sitting with a fruit juice in one hand, a chocolate croissant in the other, a thousand thoughts in her head and Finn gnawing on a breadstick under her chair.

She had to figure out what to do now, to try to think of all possible alternatives. But which one to start first?

First, Jason had come literally inches away from her during the night after a massacre and had decided not to hurt her, her parents, or Finn. Since it was a Friday the 13th, and given what she herself had seen at the lake and at the cemetery, although she was unaware of Jason's presence in the second case, she was not at all surprised that all this had happened. The false guide was just the icing on the cake, since generally, or at least from what she knew, Jason was more practical than theatrical. It was evident that he had used the man to send everyone a very clear message, the only thing that could surprise her was that the killer had taken longer than usual to punish him.

It was therefore logical for her to think that the rest of the victims were the tourists from the other day.

Jason didn't seem to be angry with her then and Jasmine breathed a sigh of relief. Now she had one problem, a big one, less. The gift had been appreciated, or at least the symbolic gesture, without being considered a pander. It remained to be seen whether the offer of friendship would be accepted, or at least the one of peaceful coexistence. Did she really want to have the infamous Jason Voorhees as her friend after the events of the last night? Yes, of course she wanted. As she had always wanted. What he was doing she had known for a long time, the two girls at the lake were just the tip of the iceberg. If she had changed her mind now she would have been just an hypocrite.

It was also true that she certainly wasn't going to force Jason to accept her as a friend. She had taken the first step, but she wasn't quite sure if he had done the same. He had brought her necklace back, but maybe it was just his way of saying thank you, with no other implications.

For the moment, that was more than enough. So now the problem that remained was another.

What if he had left the weapon somewhere and the police was able to trace her? What if the investigation led to her home? A valid excuse had to be found. For a moment she imagined a very shocked Mike watching her as she was arrested. It wasn't a thought she wanted to see turned into reality.

The axe? She could say she found it and left it in the garage, she certainly didn't have what to do with it, but then it was just gone. She thought her father put it away.

A trail that led to her house? It was night, in the middle of the woods, and everyone was sleeping in the house. If someone had entered, Finn would have woken them, but the dog, accustomed to the city, would hardly have paid attention to outside noises.

But Jason had made it to the window, so it was like he was inside the house. And seeing how Finn barked at the lake, it was very strange that he hadn't done it during the night with a stranger, who had chased them, so close.