Chapter 6

Sherry felt like she lost the ability to talk, so strong was the shock. Before her stood the man that, as she could already guess, was no other that the infamous Jason Voorhees. But part of her was still doubting if this was the real Crystal Lake Killer. What if it was just a copycat? Sure, she has watched several Friday the 13th films and knew about Jason, and even one of the films featured a copycat. But those films are just work of fiction, nothing of that is real. Sherry knew it would be childish to consider any of horror films to be actually real. Some were based on true events or inspired by them, but it was still fiction. And so was Jason. Or… was he?

Somehow Sherry had a bad feeling that the man standing in front of her wasn't some silly prankster. He was truly large and tall, and his skin was deadly pale. He wore trousers and a shirt which were old, tattered and dirty, and old dark jacket above it, and massive boots, but did he really have a choice to wear something different? Of course, he didn't. If he lives in the forest, there was no possibility to obtain new clothes. And if it really was Jason, he never cared about changing clothes, so much she knew from the films.

Several minutes passed in total silence while the young woman and the monsterman stared into each other's eyes. Only the sounds of his deep breathing broke the silence. He made no move, and Sherry understood that it was up to her to try her luck to start communication. It had to be done anyway, so the faster she began, the better.

"You… um… Damn it…" she stuttered from fear. "Are you… Jason? Jason Voorhees?"

The man was silent, but her question wasn't left without an answer, when he nodded. So it was true. Jason really existed. Sherry could only wonder if the film creators knew what they make their work about. If they did, why have they never mentioned about it? Then again, if they didn't, the coincidence was just astonishing. And if murders happened here, did the police know about it? Sherry guessed that authorities were hiding a lot from people, but why? It made no sense. People should be warned about the danger, and yet not a single word was ever mentioned about the real Jason and this place. Neither on TV, nor on the radio, and not even in newspapers. All of it seemed very strange.

"So… as I guess… we are now in the Camp Crystal Lake, right?" Sherry continued her questions. Jason nodded again. It seemed to him that this girl had no idea where she was, but she knew about him. He was curious about what she was going to do, he wanted to study her more. She was obviously afraid, but still tried to talk to him. Deep inside he even felt happy that someone was trying to communicate with him.

"Can you talk, Jason?" the young woman asked, although she knew from the films that Jason has never spoken a word, but she wanted to make sure if the real Jason was also mute.

Jason shook his head, which clearly meant "no". He was mute in real life, too. Sherry was lost in thoughts for moment, trying to think of something. She obviously couldn't communicate with him like with other people, but there is always a way. At least he understood everything what she said, and it was a large plus. And if she asked him such questions that can be answered with "yes" or "no", there was a chance to build up a dialogue.

"Erm… okay. Would you mind to have a little talk with me? I just thought… you're always alone here, so… maybe sometimes you had a wish to talk to someone?"

Jason didn't move and made no signs of replying. He tilted his head on the right side, like thinking about something. The girl was offering him to talk to her. It surprised him a bit that she wasn't trying to run and avoid him, but wanted to speak to him instead. Anyway, he liked this idea, so all he could do is nod.

"Well, thank you, Jason. I'm glad you agreed to talk to me," Sherry continued. "I would like to ask you a few questions… So… did you bring me here, to this cabin?"

A nod again.

"All right. But… you found me around here somewhere, didn't you?"

Jason nodded.

"I see. But where exactly, I wonder? Was I in any other cabins, or?"

This time Jason shook his head and suddenly started approaching her. Sherry widened her eyes in fear and began backing away until she stumbled and fell on one of the beds. The large man paid no attention to that and just grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her up. Then he began dragging her to the door.

"Jason, stop! Wait!" she screamed. His grip was so strong that Sherry was sure there will be bruises on her arm afterwards. "Where are we going? Where are you taking me?"

Jason stopped and looked at her, tilting his head slightly. He didn't know how to explain that he wanted to show her the place where he found her. Sherry was in such panic that she forgot about her own promise to ask him only such questions that can be answered only with "yes" and "no". But when he stopped, she suddenly realized that, perhaps, he wanted to show her something. She tried to calm down and try to rephrase her question.

"Wait a minute… Let me guess – you probably want to show me where exactly you found me? Am I right?"

If Jason could smile under his mask, he would have definitely done that. This girl was catching on quickly, and that was good. He liked that she could understand what he wanted to say, this time even without explanation. His grip weakened a bit, but he still continued holding her arm and dragging her outside.

"It's rather dark outside, but I guess for you it makes no difference," Sherry said. "Alright then, let's go. It's your home, so you lead the way."

Jason didn't care about the darkness. He knew this forest like his own five fingers, so it was not an obstacle. The sky was cloudless and the moonlight gave enough light to see everything around. Jason walked confidently and fast, and Sherry nearly had to run to manage to follow him, as he was still holding her arm. They didn't have to walk far, it took just a few minutes to reach the goal. Finally he stopped and pointed to the ground.

"What is there?" Sherry asked, trying to look better at what he was pointing. Finally she noticed a large hole in the ground what was visible in the moonlight. "Oh… it looks like some kind of a pit… You want to say that you found me down there?"

Sherry noticed his head moving up and down, which meant that she was right.

"Damn… I guess I was unconscious when it happened, because I can't remember anything…" she sighed nervously. "Now, can we go back to the cabin? Please? I don't like being in the forest when it's dark. I feel safer inside."

Sherry wasn't sure what exactly she was scared of. She was standing right beside the infamous serial killer that might not even be human anymore. And yet she felt nervous while being outside at night, and panic slowly started to take over. Jason just nodded and grabbed her arm again, leading the way back to the cabin where the light was still on.

Soon they were back inside, and Sherry didn't know for a moment what to do or what to say. Somehow she felt terribly awkward. Jason just watched her in silence, waiting for her next move. Finally she swallowed and spoke:

"I… um… as it's night now and I have no idea what time it is… do you mind if I try to get some sleep? We can talk in the morning. I hope you don't get angry…"

No, Jason didn't mind. He realized that the girl was still shocked from what happened, and she might need to be alone for some time to think about everything. He knew this from his own experience. He often needed to think about many things, and for that the time and space were necessary. So he just nodded and turned to the door.

"Jason?" the girl spoke suddenly. Jason turned his head to her.

"Could you please not lock the door? I mean… I might need to use the bathroom, as there's no bathroom in this cabin."

Jason stared at her, thinking about whether to lock her inside or not. On the one side, she was right, but on the other side, he was afraid she might try to run away. He didn't trust her, at least, not yet.

"Jason, please. I know you probably think that I could try to run. I promise, I won't do that. Besides, I have nowhere to go. Please, trust me. If I make a promise, I always keep it."

He hesitated for a few moments, but then realized that even if she tries to run, he will find her, no matter where she goes. He knows the forest, but she doesn't. So be it, he won't lock the door. Finally he nodded.

"Thank you, Jason," Sherry said with a faint smile. "See you tomorrow then. Good night."

With that, Jason left the cabin. Sherry switched off the light and lay down on one of the beds, covering herself with an old sheet. Of course, she won't search for the bathroom in the darkness, but in the case of need she'll just go behind the cabin and do her things. Tomorrow she'll take a better look at the camp, when it's daytime, and think of her next move. With that thought she fell asleep.