She imagined Carrie and Tiffany sobbing over her open casket and took comfort in knowing she’d be a beautiful corpse.
The axe swung. Jen jerked backward and lost her footing, blood spurting out of her mouth as her spine arched. She choked on the coppery mouthful, waiting for the impact of the forest floor and the fall of the axe.
But they never came, even though her arms and legs dangled uselessly from her body like she was a marionette. She was suspended in air, a bloody and broken ballerina held aloft by—by what?
She glanced down at herself. A long shape protruded from below her ribs. Not a blade, but a tree, its broken tip dark and glossy.Thatwas her dance partner.
Fucking trees.
The Slasher stood over her, watching impassively from within the depths of his hood, the axe perched on his shoulder. Jen tried to say something witty and cutting, but the words came out as bloody bubbles that drooled out of the side of her mouth. The stars above began to fade, and so did Jen. Her head lolled back, unable to hold itself up anymore. The Slasher nodded once with satisfaction, then turned and silently trudged away, leaving Jen to face the rapidly darkening sky alone.
17
Jason
Jason’s first instinct was to chase after Tiffany when she’d stormed off into the woods. Which made him as angry at himself as he was at her. Though he worried it was his fault she was acting out. Maybe he shouldn’t have been nice to Carrie, but he didn’t think he’d treated her differently than anyone else.
Ah.Thatwas what had upset Tiff. She’d expected him to give Carrie the cold shoulder, even though that photo was ancient history. Jason balled his fists and bit back a growl. Tiffany had made this night all about her when they were supposed to be looking for Mikey.
He longed to be back at the cabin, driving the satisfying weight of the axe into the logs. These days he felt like that wood. Ready to split at his weakest point with the right amount of pressure. Unable to hold it in anymore, he arched his back and let out a roar they could’ve heard across the lake. He threw all the rage and frustrationof the past six months into his voice, imagining the lake’s ducks taking off in alarm.
Throat sore and shoulders shaking, he wondered for the hundredth time what was happening to him.
He was sure of one thing: he should’ve never come to theSlashercabin. He should’ve tried harder to persuade Patrick to hold a reunion elsewhere. And when Patrick refused, he should have stayed away.
See?a little voice in the back of his head scolded. Being the old, obliging Jason had gotten him into this mess. The Jason who’d always given in to others’ desires—like his dad’s and Tiffany’s—to make them happy.
He took the compass out of his jeans pocket and shook the needle as if it could guide him through his existential crisis. Fuck. If he had the compass, then Tiffany didn’t. He’d better stay close in case she got lost. Reluctantly, he trudged off in the direction in which she had gone. He didn’t know whether it was because he truly cared about her or if it was an automatic reflex. There was no reason why it couldn’t be both, he conceded, reassuring himself he was still human and not a monster.
The woods at night teemed with shadows and sounds. The gentle hoot of an owl and the creaking of tree limbs. The occasional drip of rainwater caught on cedar needles. Despite the fullness of his surroundings, Jason barely registered any of it. He was too busy stewing in the black hole of his unnameable feelings. Trying to sort them like an overflowing basket of laundry. Every step he took grew harder, as if the terrain was reflecting his personal challenges.
He remembered when he and Tiffany had first met. He’d been an earnest thirteen-year-old helping out at a high school football practice. He’d gotten involved in order to spend more time with his dad and brother, since Dad was the coach and Billy a quarterback. Their lives revolved around football, and Jason hadn’t wanted to be left out.
The popular girl from Jason’s middle school had beenwatching the practice from the bleachers. She pointed to the field like she was choosing a flavor of ice cream, turned to her dark-haired friend and declared, loud enough for everyone to hear, “I’m going to marry that boy one day.”
That had been Tiffany, and her friend had been Jennifer de la Fuente, before Jen’s parents had split up and she’d chosen Wednesday Addams as her role model.
It would be another couple of years before he and Tiffany started dating. He’d assumed she’d been pointing at Billy that day, until he noticed she was always smiling and giggling when he was near. Despite her intentions, she’d stubbornly resisted making the first move. But once she’d joined the cheerleading squad and dropped some not-so-subtle hints, he’d finally mustered the courage to ask her out.
At first, he reveled in the thrill of “winning” her, like she was a tournament trophy. Just as she’d intended. Tiffany Podemski, the prettiest girl in town, was datinghim.His reward for being the most popular and well-liked guy in school.
But Tiffany wasn’t a prize if Jason no longer wanted to play the game.
He rubbed his cheek and his thumb came away dark. He’d been so lost in his own head that he hadn’t felt the sting of a scratch. His arms and legs ached like he’d just run a marathon. He must have blacked out and lost track of time and place. Trepidation tightened his chest. He’d been having more of these moments lately, disassociating when he couldn’t hold back the storm anymore.
“Mikey?” he called out, ashamed he’d forgotten the real reason he was out in the woods. “Tiff?”
He should have caught up to her by now. Sweeping the flashlight around, he suddenly realized why his walk had increased in difficulty. Because it had. Instead of following the shore, he’d strayed up the ridge that bordered the lake. He was literally taking the high road after his confrontation with Tiffany and couldn’t see the water anymore. Fuck.
Mentally berating himself, Jason checked his phone on the off chance he could get a signal this far from the cabin. A chill spread over his skin as he noticed the time. He’d been walking for over an hour. He’d told the others to meet back at the cabin ten minutes ago, and now they were going to think something had happened to him. Would Freddy flip out? Would Jen argue they give up and head to town? Would Carrie get upset, thinking her ex Daniel had hurt Jason in a jealous fury?
Jason hoped Patrick would be able to keep everyone calm. But knowing Patrick, he would send everyone out again to find him. Jason had to hurry back, with or without Tiffany and Mikey. It had been a mistake to split up. He should’ve listened to Freddy’s insistence they stick to the horror movie rules.
Studying the compass, Jason did his best to loop back toward the cabin. His knees and quads ached as the terrain roughened and sloped downward. But at least he was headed in the right direction. The scent of lake water was growing stronger. He caught a glimmer between the dense trees, as glittering as the stars above.
Thank God the lake was nearby. He’d follow the shoreline back to the cabin and stop the others from splitting up again. It would be easier if they all remained in one place, like Patrick had originally suggested. Hopefully Tiffany had checked the time and headed back as well. If she remembered to stay close to the lakeshore, she’d be able to find her way without the compass.
Jason quickened his pace, half jogging between the trees as if he were dodging the opposing team’s defense line. A near-hysterical laugh escaped his lips, a sound that would’ve shocked Tiffany if she’d heard it. All that football turned out to be good for something.
