บท 15: Chapter 14
As things happened close to the cabins, Sherry had definitely heard the screams, but could do nothing about it, being locked in a cabin. All went silent as suddenly as it began. This could mean only one thing – Jason has got to them. He was undoubtedly a perfect hunter who sharpened his skill throughout the years of his existence. And Sherry was smart enough to understand that trying to get into Jason's way would mean suicide, even if he didn't lock her up. Now she only hoped that he had at least hidden the bodies somewhere as she had no wish to see corpses. She sat on her bed, lost in thoughts, until suddenly she heard heavy footsteps approaching her cabin, followed by unlocking the door.
"Oh, Jason… you're back already? Are they all… dead?" Sherry asked while her voice was shaking a bit. Jason nodded.
"Ok, but I hope you have got rid of the bodies or at least hid them somewhere? I'm not sure I would like to see them," she added.
Jason understood it perfectly. She has always lived a peaceful life and a mere sight of mutilated corpses would scare her to death. What seemed normal to him would be frightening for Sherry. So he just nodded in understanding and pointed to the direction where killed his last victims, indicating that their bodies were in the forest and not visible for Sherry's eyes.
"All right, thank you. Can I go out now?" Sherry asked. She really had no wish to stay locked in the cabin for the rest of the day. Jason gave her a slight nod and went outside.
Sherry wondered if he was going to lock her up like that every time when somebody comes to the camp, except for her family, of course. It would be great to clear up this problem. She knew that Jason couldn't have gotten rid of the bodies so fast, so he had probably left them on the same spot where they were killed, and now he went to take care of the bodies. But it was interesting for her to know how he managed to get rid of them so that no one had ever found them.
Jason had his own way to dispose of the corpses. On the surface he had a hut that he had built himself a long time ago, deep in the forest where no one has ever set foot in. There he kept his sanctuary – a resemblance of an altar with Mother's head and sweater on it, surrounded by lots of burning candles. But underneath this self-made building there was a hidden lair where Jason did the "black work" – dismembered the bodies and burned them. Of course, he hadn't forgotten to make a small hole in the ground so the smoke could go out. Jason was more than used to the horrid stench of corpses, especially decaying ones or burning, but having his underground lair full of smoke wasn't an option. Thus no one had ever found the bodies or even remains of his victims after those stupid morons dared to step into his territory. It seemed that the local authorities already have an idea about what was going on in the camp and finally just stopped intervening, and that was good. At first they caused problems, but now it was over. The same could be said about the rest of the locals who lived in the closest area of the camp. They knew about disappearing campers, but they had the intelligence not to interfere. Thus they and Jason kept some sort of neutrality between each other, so Jason's victims all were visitors from somewhere else. From this Jason concluded that no one would care about them. This camp is his home, his territory, and if the teens and young adults are foolish enough to set their foot here, it's their problem alone.
While Jason was busy with the bodies, Sherry wandered along the lake coast, not knowing what to do. She could do some work on her thesis or read one of her books that her family brought to the camp for her, but she couldn't force herself to do anything at the moment. The thoughts about recent events kept coming back to her mind, no matter how much she tried to block them out. It was still unbelievable that the killings happened practically in front of her nose. Again it made her remember the films she watched about Jason, but as all of it wasn't real, she felt no disgust. But now it was no film, it was reality, real Jason Voorhees, and the killings were real. She had no idea what would the feeling be like if she saw someone being murdered for real. Would it make her feel nauseous? Or make her feel frightened like never before? Most likely the second option. Even though the film murders weren't real and many of them rather unrealistic from the perspective of anatomy, Sherry knew she would be prepared at least a little bit if one day she would finally see Jason in killing mode. After all, it's better so than nothing.
Sherry pondered about what to do now. There were so many things she wanted to know about Jason, but deep inside was afraid to ask, as there was a possibility to annoy him. And that could be dangerous. Then an idea came to her mind. Maybe it was worth to begin with asking him where exactly he lived. Indeed, why not? It couldn't be that he lived just so, in the forest, without any roof above his head. Yes, she would definitely ask him that. At least, it was worth to try.
After one hour or so, Jason was finally back and Sherry decided to get to business.
"Are you finished already?" she asked and got a nod in response at once. "Jason, I was wondering… I thought about it a lot and I'm very curious about where exactly you live in this camp. I hope my question doesn't make you angry. It's just me… how to put it right… I'm like… worried a bit that you don't have a roof above your head. Or have you?"
If Jason could smile behind his mask, he would have definitely done it now. He didn't know if Sherry noticed it or not, but a spark of fun briefly appeared in his eye. To him it seemed funny and even cute when she asked him such questions. But at the same moment something inside him stirred. Deep in his dead heart he was pleased. If she asked him such kind of questions, it meant that she truly cared about him. She even said it worried her that he might not have a house. Of course he had one, so he moved his head up and down which meant he wasn't homeless. And the thought about someone caring for him beside his mother, made Jason feel… warm. It made him feel… alive.
"Oh, then I suppose you have a house. That's good. Maybe one day you could show me where it is? But.." Sherry suddenly went silent, thinking that she might have allowed herself too much by asking Jason to take her to his place of living. "…please, don't think that I ask for it. You don't have to do it if you don't want. It's all my damn curiosity. Sorry…" she couldn't help but blush shamefully while finishing the sentence.
Now it was time for Jason to think things over. On the one hand, he could take her to his hut and show where he lived. But, on the other hand, should he do it? How would she react if she saw his mother's decomposed head? He could only guess. Most likely she would feel disgusted. After all, Jason assumed that she saw nothing more than just a dead body during the funeral. If he remembered it right, Sherry mentioned her great-grandmother whose death made her feel sad and bitter. It means she definitely was present at the funeral, but everything is very civilized there and nothing to get scared of.
At last Jason decided that he had nothing to lose if he showed her his hut. Not like she would do anything afterwards beside telling about it to her family. He knows at least how to tell her to be quiet and not to babble too much. So he came closer to Sherry, grabbed her arm and began pulling into the forest.
"Ouch, damn it, Jason! It hurts!" Sherry screamed, trying to free her arms from his grasp, but it was useless. Jason's strength was something she couldn't fight. "Jason, stop! Do you hear me? I said – stop!"
Jason stopped and looked at her in confusion, still holding her arm. He didn't understand what was wrong. She was interested to see his home and now suddenly she changed her mind? What was her problem?
"First, let me ask – we're going to your place now, right?"
A nod.
"All right. Now let me explain why I wanted you to stop. No, don't think that I changed my mind, I am still interested to see where you live. There is something else. Jason… please, be so kind and stop grabbing me like that. I know you're used to being rough, but don't forget that I'm much more fragile than you are. Do you understand? You hurt me. I have no doubt that after this I will have bruises on my arm. Luckily you haven't broken any of my bones yet. Do you even know what being gentle is?"
Oh, so that's what it's all about. He hurt her physically, without even realizing it. Of course, he knew what being gentle is, his mother had always been gentle to him. He just chose not to be like that anymore. Besides, he had no one to be gentle with and now he was used to being rough.
"If not, I'll show you." Sherry took his arm carefully. "See? Do you feel it? Do you feel how carefully I take your arm? I understand that last time you had to react quickly, otherwise I would have gotten into one of your traps. But please, next time try not to grab me like that anymore. It's really painful."
Jason nodded, indicating that he understood her. Looking at Sherry, he realized that she really looked fragile, and with such careless movements he might break her arm after all.
"Ok, thank you," she sighed in relief. "Now lead the way, I'll be right beside you."
***
The journey to Jason's hut took around fifteen or twenty minutes, not more. Although it wasn't far from the camp, Sherry was sure that she would have gotten lost in this forest if it wasn't for Jason. Finally she noticed something black among the trees until a dirty old hut appeared in her sight.
"So, this is where you live?" she asked. Jason nodded silently and led her inside. As Sherry entered the hut she felt her heart squeeze in sorrow. Jason built this little house with his own hands and now lived here like a beggar. And it was no exaggeration. Everything inside was filthy, messy, and in some places even rotten, and in one of the corners she noticed a tattered mattress. That's were Jason probably sleeps, if he ever sleeps at all. Sherry wasn't sure.
But all these things have come to the fore when she felt the strange smell filling the air. It was a mixture of the stench of decomposing flesh and the smell of… candles? Sherry could swear she felt the smell of paraffin wax. Then she noticed one more door straight ahead. It was closed, but she noticed yellow light seeping through the cracks. And the more she approached it, the stronger the smell grew. Sherry fought the urge to open the door, but didn't want to do it without Jason's permission.
"Jason, what is there?" she asked, pointing to the door. "It smells like candles and I'm pretty sure it's coming from behind this door."
Jason slowly opened the door and bright yellow light spread throughout the room she was in as much as it was possible. Sherry swallowed and peeked around the corner. There, in the middle of the room she saw something that resembled a pedestal, and right in the middle of it was a decaying human head of a person that had clearly been a woman when she was alive. And the head was surrounded with a large amount of burning candles. Some of them were already burnt out and extinguished, some looked rather new. Generally the whole picture looked like some twisted version of a sacrificial altar.
Sherry's eyes widened in horror at a mere sight of what she saw. She wanted to say something, but couldn't, like she lost the ability to talk. All she could do now is to cover her mouth with a palm. So that's where the smell of candles and decaying flesh was coming from. Then she suddenly remembered seeing something like that in one of those movies, not recalling exactly which one, but it didn't matter at the moment. Now she did her best to focus and collect her thoughts. If this is some kind of an altar, and the woman's head on it… There was only one person that Jason has ever valued in his life – his mother. From this Sherry concluded that the head on the pedestal belonged to his mother, Pamela Voorhees.
"This… this is your mom, right?" Sherry whispered in fear, and Jason nodded. "Well, I'm glad to know that you value her memory. I'd say I'm… proud of that. No, I really am. I've never seen anyone who would cherish the memory of their mother, father, or any other relative like you do. Really, well done, Jason. You're doing the right thing. I'm sure if your mom saw it, she would be definitely proud of you. And now I'm proud of you too. I hope you believe me."
Sherry could swear she heard Jason growling quietly. He closed his eye and for a moment gave in to his feelings. This girl truly does things to him. Her words made his dead heart beat faster, she made him feel alive. So Mother really was right. This girl was indeed special. With her help, he was beginning to understand what respect and friendship meant. Now the only thing that made him very angry is the inability to talk. He wanted to tell her so much, but couldn't. Instead, he lifted his hand to her face and gently touched her cheek as a thank you. Sherry sure didn't expect such tender gesture from him and her face became red as a beetroot. She also let her feelings to take the upper hand and snuggled her face to Jason's calloused palm, pressing it even closer with her own hand and closing her eyes.
"Jason…" she sighed and opened her eyes. "I know you're thanking me, I can feel it. And I want to thank you, too. For everything. For letting me live, for helping me, for allowing my family to help me. And, most important, for your trust. I know that we are now standing in your sanctuary that you would never show anyone. And yet… here I am, so it means that you trust me. Am I right?"
The large man nodded slowly.
"And I want you to know that I trust you as well. Despite that we know each other just for a few days, I can feel I made the right choice. And I regret nothing. You know, it's a rarity when I feel that I can trust a person that I know for a couple of days, and your case is one of those exceptions. I realize that you're a killer, but you know what? I don't care. I accept it. I accept you as you are. So thank you for… for being who you are."
Emotions burned throughout her body, and Sherry pressed herself to Jason, hugging him tightly, and in the same moment she felt his massive body trembling. She didn't know if that was from excitement or something else, but she didn't care. She just wanted to hug this large man right here and now. Jason, in turn, felt himself how his body trembled, first of all from being touched by all the things she has just said. She was ready to accept him with all his disadvantages. No one has ever said anything of this kind to him, except for Mother. And now this girl was hugging him, but not like the last time, in a happy childish manner. There was something else. But he will have time to think about it after she goes to sleep. Right now he gladly hugged her back, trying not to squeeze her too rough.
Both didn't care if someone could walk right inside at the moment and see a large monster of a man and a fragile young woman embracing each other and a severed head of an old woman on a pedestal with candles in the background. This moment existed just for the two of them and the rest of the world like vanished in the darkness. Jason was more than happy at the moment and truly hoped that if Mother saw this, she wouldn't object.
Yes, Jason, that's right. Take care of her, and she will care for you, too. Mommy is proud and happy for you, my special, special boy.
Finally, as a reply to his thoughts, Jason heard Mother's voice in his head. She approved his doings and didn't bother that he was hugging Sherry before the altar with the dead head. So they stood for a few minutes until Sherry finally stirred in his arms.
"Alright, Jason, thanks again for showing me your home and your sacred place. Can we go back to camp now? I feel tired somehow."
Although Sherry stayed in a cabin for a long time while Jason hunted for victims, she felt tired. Jason nodded and they left his hut, walking back without hurry. The day was coming to its end and the sunset illuminated the sky with beautiful orange light. For the first time during her time at Camp Crystal Lake Sherry felt truly relaxed in Jason's presence, like if she had known him for all her life. Perhaps she could have a peaceful sleep tonight, or maybe not, after all the recent events.
When they finally reached Sherry's cabin, she opened the door and turned to her companion.
"Well, here we are. Once more, thank you very much for this day. You may not believe it, but I had a good time today. I truly had," Sherry bobbed her head up and down, emphasizing her words. "So, um… good night? See you tomorrow. Have a nice evening."
Jason returned the gesture, like saying "it was nothing". He liked being near this girl. And now he had new mental pabulum after today's events. When Sherry finally closed the door after her, Jason turned around and disappeared in the dark of the forest.
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