Jasmine got up quite late. During the night she woke up several times, without an apparent reason. After the usual morning routine, she decided to spend the time she had before lunch decorating the rooms a little better. They still had a box full of pictures and photos that were just waiting to be hung up. One of the things she just could not stand was to see empty walls. Her old room was small, but it could not be said that it didn't reflect the young lady's personality. She had occupied every available surface, both inside and outside the wardrobe too. Because of this, her father had taught her how to plant the nails in the walls with the right method. But her mother had asked her not to put too much on the walls of her room, not until it was so new. Jasmine went to the cellar to pick up the toolbox found the day before and took it into the room, together with the photos' box. She first pulled out her red wood initials, hanging it on the door of her room. Now a J and a H pointed out that that was her room. Then, she hung a drawing, a gift from her friend Alex. She was very good at drawing; she had given her a lot of drawings and Jasmine kept them all carefully preserved. The one that she hung represented their small group of friends sitting on a couch, and behind them stood their favorite characters. Jason behind her, Leatherface behind Alex, Michael Myers behind Wendy and Freddy Krueger behind Stuart. They were a funny group.
Jason had been around the house for much of the morning, waiting for the girl to come out, and he was getting bored. And nervous. Instead she stayed inside, and only the father went out in the early morning. Every now and then he could see her through some windows, when suddenly she started hammering. Who knows what she was doing.
Anna found her daughter in her room, seeing what she was doing, and asked her to hang some photos up around the rest of the house, since there was still time before lunch. She took out all the framed pictures and together with her mother decided where to put them.
She was in the living room, hanging up a big family photo, taken in front of the Colosseum a few years earlier during a holiday. Suddenly, when tilting the frame, the glass reflected what was to the right of the girl, a big figure watching her from the window. It didn't take much time for Jasmine to recognize that shape and so she turned impetuously. Unfortunately for her, such sudden movement made her lose her balance and she fell with a loud thud, tumbling from the chair on which she was standing.
Jason hid away as soon as he realized the girl had noticed him. He did not expect that she would fall in such a way though. He had to admit that the scene had been rather hilarious, and his lips - or whatever remained of them - formed a slight smile underneath his mask. He moved away from the window, behind the bushes. He could see the interior of the house, but they could not see him.
"Jasmine!" He saw her mother run, worried, along with their dog. The girl was still on the ground, sitting now, with the frame unscathed in her hands, staring at the window. He finally figured out her name. "What happened?"
"Um ... nothing ... I just fell, I put my foot where I shouldn't have." She replied, telling a half-truth, still looking at the window. Jason wondered why she never talked about him with her parents. He was sure she had seen him. Was she afraid they wouldn't believe her?
"You have to be more careful. What are you looking at?" She turned to the window, not seeing anything special.
"Nothing. I'm trying not to think about the bruises that will form on my skin."
"Mmh ..." Mom seemed to believe it. "Get up. The frame?"
"It's fine." She stood up, taking her mother's hand "Now I'll hang it."
"Lunch is almost ready, so wash your hands when you're done and be careful." That said, the girl finished the job, with one leg and one arm sore.
Jason kept waiting for her to come out. He wasn't intending to kill her at the moment, as she hadn't done anything wrong yet. But this...her behaviour, reminded him of an episode from a long time ago; when he had found a sleeping girl in the woods, under a tree. It had just finished raining and he had slowly began to approach her, but she had woken up. She had immediately started to scream, to cry and to insult him. He had taken her - not to kill - but to take her away. Even though he had a knife in his hand, he didn't mean her any harm. She wasn't doing anything wrong, but she didn't have to be there. Since she was acting a little a crazy, he saw no other option than to drag her through the woods. Despite the screaming, nobody would have come to save her from the big, bad monster. When she fainted, relief washed through his ears; he put her on his shoulder and brought her back to her house. Her parents found her in front of the door and put her to bed. She had insulted him, she had called him a monster, and had also hit him several times. However he had spared her. His mother had been very proud of him. He had been good to her even though that girl had definetly not deserved it. But, sometime later, she returned to Crystal Lake, along with a group of friends. She left him no choice but to eliminate them all. She had managed to escape, however, after attempting to hang him and after hitting his head with an axe, cracking his mask.
Oh yeah, that was also the day when he found his mask. He knew that the mask, along with the machete, had become a symbol. His symbol. He knew that somebody had made movies and objects about him. The city was full of shops with this junk, he had seen it. Many of the people who disturbed him knew about him precisely because of these movies. By now he had virtually given up on peace. They said they knew all about him, that they wanted to see if he really existed, or if he was still alive. But when they found him, their reaction - and their demise - were the same as the ones who had no idea who he was.
Jason wondered if that girl, that Jasmine, was like everyone else. If she was, she was taking longer than expected to show it.
The young girl went to the bathroom to wash her hands and reflect for a moment about what had happened, needing to stay alone for a few minutes. She had seen Jason, she was sure, even if only for a moment. She must have seemed ridiculous to him. But if Jason knew about them, and he was even so close, why he had not done anything? They had done nothing to annoy him, so maybe her theories were grounded. Maybe he just passed by to check that no one was causing problems. Thinking that perhaps Jason was not willing to hurt her family reassured her. She decided that she would bring Finn back to the lake with her after lunch. She wanted to see if Jason had actually been spying on them the day before. Not the best idea, probably.
After eating and cleaning with her mother - as she always did - she went to change, having remained in her pajamas throughout the morning. She put on her jean shorts and the Star Wars T-shirt from the day before, a pair of light-blue converse shoes, and then put the leash on Finn.
They left the house and walked until they reached the lake, ending up in the same place as last time. She took a moment to look around with prudent behavior, wanting to ensure that no one dangerous was following them. Actually, she did not see anyone, had not heard any strange noises, and Finn had been pretty much quiet for all the time. A sigh left her lips as she thought about it."Don't worry Jas. If he wanted to hurt you, he would've already done it."
She calmed down, pulled her mobile phone out of her pocket and began to take photos of the landscape and her dog. She noticed that there was no signal there for some strange reason. "Typical" She thought.
Jason had certainly not lost her, but this time he was much more cautious not to make noise, staying slightly farther away. He saw her taking pictures, and she did not seemed worried as a few minutes before. At one point the girl began to walk on the shore of the lake, along the path that crossed it. Obviously he kept following, he was curious to see where she wanted to go. After a while they came in front of a wooden jetty. Did she want to dive in the water? He took out the machete from the sheath to his side and came a little bit closer, without being noticed. He stopped when the girl came to the end of the pier and sat down, just looking at the water.
Jasmine thought that staying there for a bit would not be so bad. Finn laid down next to her and she stroked him, her legs dangling over the edge while she was careful not to touch the water. As she watched the water shine due to the sun's rays, she found herself wondering if it was all right that she and her family had moved there, invading Jason's territory in a sense. She had already thought about it several times, but after what had happened it was even more important to know now. Anyway she knew she was happy, and that probably she did not have to think about it. Unless she had been hallucinating, she had really seen Jason! She now had the confirmation she had always been waiting for. He was real and he was there, maybe he was watching them right at that moment and she was completely unaware of it. He could jump out of nowhere from behind her, or appear out of the water and drag her into the depths of the lake. The second option was the one she liked less, at any rate.
She did not notice the time that had passed, and after a while Finn had begun to get tired of doing nothing. Seeing him a bit annoyed, Jasmine stood up and noticed a path that led into the woods, so she thought to follow it, at least for a while. It was not long before they arrived in front of a beautiful blue and white house, a little taller than hers and with a much bigger garden. All the windows were closed, a sign that no one was probably inside.
The girl jumped when her phone started to ring, scaring her a bit since she was already on alert. She answered without even looking at the screen and found that it was her mother. She had tried to call her several times, but the phone was always unreachable, and she was worried. So Jasmine and Finn went all the way back to home.
Jason was surprised; he didn't expect the girl to stay all that time, simply looking at the lake. He'd never seen something like that happen. He also at some point noticed that a purple bruise had appeared on the leg she'd fallen on. He had not taken his eyes off her for all the time. Everyone else only came to bathe, often completely naked, to party or to mate like animals in heat. Jason felt a visceral hatred for teenagers, disliking them more than others. It was all their fault. It was always their fault.
Before returning to follow the girl he stopped to look at the blue house for a few seconds. Even the kids were disgusting sometimes. Part of the blame was also theirs. And looking at that house, he remembered a name he could hardly forget: Tommy Jarvis, the child and then the young man who had tried to kill him. But as his mother Pamela told him on those occasions: "You cannot die, Jason. You can never die." And she was right. He would always come back.
Jasmine came home and found her father's car parked in front of the house, back from work hopefully, and not called by her mother. She entered the house and was immediately overwhelmed by questions from her mother. She had to explain that she only went out for a walk, that her cellphone hadn't received a signal, and that she had only forgotten that time had passed. She had done nothing dangerous and nothing bad had happened. Her father had come straight home after his shift, and both of her parents were worried. They even made her promise to tell them when and where she was going out since that moment.
The rest of the afternoon was quiet enough, her father brought the rocking chair to the living room after having cleaned it and Jasmine could take the blue trunk to her room and put it at the foot of her bed. The color matching was not the best, but later she could repaint it, or she would just find a better place for it. Furthermore, her father might have found a job for her mother. There was a vacancy in a diner nearby the hospital, where he had been with some new colleagues during the lunch break. They'd decided that Anna would go to a colloquy and possibly give it a try the next day. Probably Jasmine would had to spend much of the day alone, and she should have found a job too. She decided to go biking the next day, maybe go into town and see what was interesting there.
The killer was tired shortly after the girl had returned home. He had observed her enough for that day, neglecting his usual inspection of the woods. He walked around the lake, but found nothing new, no unwanted presence. Before returning home, however, he wanted to go back to check the young woman's home without knowing the reason. His instinct told him to do so and he followed it without asking too many questions. Hidden as always, he managed to see the girl once he'd arrived. It was evening and Jasmine was in a rather unusual position. She was sitting on the roof that covered the porch, in front of the window that was probably of her room. The roof was flat, so there wasn't a great risk of slipping. Jason noticed that if necessary he could easily climb on it and enter the house from one of the windows. His thoughts were interrupted by the ringtone of the girl's cellphone, even distracting her from what she was doing - which was to watch the stars. He could only hear what the girl said, being too far away to be able to listen to the other person as well.
"Hello?"
"Hey Jasey!"
"Alex, hi!"
"How are you doing? Everything okay?"
"Great, and you?"
"Well, nothing new ... What are you doing?"
"Not much, I was relaxing a bit, and you? How is Stuart? "
"Nothing, too. I was bored and so I called you. Stuart has bought a new game and has not been off the computer all evening. Little Nightmare, you know it? "
"Yes that I know it! It's beautiful, you should play it too."
The two girls chatted for a while, and Jason had not been able to follow the conversation very well after the first three sentences. At some point, Jasmine was silent, beginning to probe the surrounding area. Had she seen him? Did the person on the other end of the phone tell her something about him?
"So, have you explored the area? Have you found anybody interesting?"
Jasmine did not answer, she did not know whether or not to tell her the truth.
"Jas? Can you hear me?"
"Yes I hear you..."
"Then what's wrong? Oh God ... Did you see him?"
"I don't know..."
"What do you mean "I don't know"?!"
"I don't know! I think I saw him today, maybe even yesterday."
"Oh my God, Jasmine! Did you really see him?!"
"I told you I don't know! It was just for a moment, maybe I just imagined him."
"Come on, Jas. You are not the type to have hallucinations."
And in fact, the girl had not imagined anything, she had really seen him that morning, Jason, too, was sure of that.
"Well, then I'm in trouble ..." A small smile pulled the edges of her lips up, confusing the killer. She was not just in trouble, but her life was in danger - yet she smiled. Wasn't she scared?
"You obviously are! You knew it before you went there. What are you going to do?"
"Nothing. What can I do? I don't want to cause problems, and I don't want them either. So I can only stay calm and enjoy this beautiful place." Jason was again surprised. Now it was evident to him that the girl knew enough of him to recognize him, though perhaps not enough to fear him like she should have. But nobody had ever called this place "beautiful". That girl behaved strangely to him, so far very different from the regular visitors. "I was staring at the stars before. In the city I could not see them practically ever, but here there are so many." She looked back at the sky.
"Ahahah Jasmine, you're always the same. But seriously girl, you just want to stay at home and not disturb anyone or want to try ... Well, you know what."
"Actually, I've already thought about it. Within three days is his birthday, you know?"
Who was she talking about? Whose birthday was it? Could she possible be talking about him once again? The 13th would be his birthday, as well as the anniversary of his mother's death. Was someone else's birthday that day?
"Ah, yes! It's true!"
"I wanted to do something...I hope he likes it."
"Do what? Be careful...!"
"I can't tell you."
"Why not?"
"He could hear me, and I want it to be a surprise. A little surprise, nothing special. But I want to make a good impression."
"I don't know, are you sure? I mean ... is it safe?"
"There's only one way to find out, right? Now I have to leave you, the battery is dying"
"OK honey. Talk to you soon. And be careful!"
"Don't worry, Lex. Goodnight."
"Night Jasmy"
Jasmine ended the call and put the phone into her pocket, sighing. Jason did not know what to think. Did she talk about him, or somebody else? What was she planning? She simply looked at the bruises on her leg, gently passing her hand over, and then, got up, crossed the window, and went back into the house.
Jasmine put her phone on charge and went to the bathroom, to get ready to go to sleep. When she returned to her room, she approached the window to close it, because she'd started to feel cold. It was this time that she saw him again, and this time very well.
He was standing there, just beneath her window, looking at her. He was just as she had always imagined him, a mix of all those she had seen in the movies. Hockey mask slightly ruined and split in the upper right, machete in the hand. Work boots, dark pants and an old dirty and torn gray shirt. He stared at her through the mask's eyes: two black holes from her perspective. A shiver crossed her spine and she realized she was trembling. She did not close her eyes, instead barely blinking as she wanted to be sure he was real. She had to do something, she couldn't just stand still. So, she raised her hand and moved it imperceptibly, because of the tremor, as a greeting. She was sure to look like a perfect idiot, but she didn't care.
He was there. He was real. And he was watching her.
"Jasmine!"
The girl jumped, with her heart hammering in her chest. She turned and found her mother in front of her, with a worried expression on her face.
"Jasmine, what's going on? I've been calling you for a while, why did not you answer me? What did you see?" Anna looked out the window, along with her daughter. But there was no one there.
"..." Jasmine could not say anything, still a little shocked by what had happened.
"Jasmine you're scaring me ... why are you trembling?" Her mother was worried, she had never seen her daughter in this state.
"I ... I don't know ..." She had to find an excuse in a hurry, she did not want to frighten her mother even more, "I do not feel very well ... and you scared me."
Anna looked at her daughter, trying to figure out if she was lying.
"Sure?"
Jasmine nodded. "Yeah. I think I'm going to go to bed ... would you get me a glass of water, please?"
"All right. Go to bed, I'll be back soon." The mother left the room and Jasmine looked in the mirror. She had a horrible look: she was paler than usual, was sweating and shaking at the same time, and her eyes were wide open. She found herself once again thinking she had a hallucination, but she knew it hadn't been. He had disappeared as he had first happeared, without a trace, in a moment, just like in the morning. She leaned into bed, clutching her pillow with the deer in her arms. She did not know how she felt. Scared but excited, worried but happy.
Her mother returned with the glass of water, made sure that her daughter was alright, closed the window and then said good night - leaving the door half-closed as she left the room. But not before letting Finn go inside.
The dog jumped onto the girl's bed, as if feeling her agitation. He wanted to do something to help his friend, so he curled onto her lap, sending her his warmth. Jasmine could only calm down a bit by caressing her hairy friend. She relaxed and tried to fall asleep after drinking the water.
She closed her eyes, and the only thing she could think of was the black, empty orbits of Jason's eyes behind the mask and the blade of his machete reflecting the rays of the moon.
A/N
Hello!
How hare you? I'm back with the 4th chapter of the story!
The chapters are way too long, I have to make them shorter.
I hope that in any case you can enjoy them.
The house is the one of part 4, near the Jarvis house. I used the one of the game because I couldn't find one of the film.
Thanks to @CamsterHale for the votes (you're amazing :3) and to @SeyiWilliams for adding the story to her reading list.
See you soon!