The summer air in Crystal Lake smells of flames. On the edge of town a small bon-fire has spread to consume five acres of forest. In Mckingie’s Pub the regulars talk of ill omens; with the camp reopening for yet another summer of blood. There’s laughter at the repetitive jokes, but if one listens closely, they can hear the fear it covers.

It’s July 12, 1985. A friday. No need to worry. The sun is shining through a cloudless sky, reflecting off the water of the Crystal Lake. Everything is in order for a radical summer to begin. Teen love, childhood memories; one too many drunken nights for underage kids to hide. Just another crisp summer at camp.

---

Micheal looked over the paperwork sitting on the desk. Everything seemed to be in order, or at least, as in order as he could hope for. The legal side of business was never his favorite. What he cared for was the kids. The joy, but more importantly, the freedom a summer away from home could give. He remembered his first time camp, how life changing it had been, and he wanted to share that.
He put the work folder away in his desk drawer and, glancing at his watch, saw it was time to meet the new counselors. First timers, all of them. Guaranteed to get up to some trouble, he thought with a smile as he jogged the length of road from the administration building to the parking lot.

A dark green pickup shuffled its way down the dirt road of the camp, bumping and shaking the whole way making its driver sick to her stomach wishing for the seemingly endless road to finally stop. Nicole squinted as a huge sign entered her vision with large letters on it, “Right in my face and I STILL can’t see it.” She mumbled as she tried to make sense of the blurry blue letters. Suddenly her glasses on the dashboard looked very tempting. No. She wasn’t going to use them at all this summer. The chance to have a fresh start, one look at the thickness of them and she’d be labeled a mental case and sent to work in the kitchen or clean cabins. Besides she didn’t need them, she managed to find the camp in one piece, sorry to say a few squirrels and birds may have lost their lives in the process but that was life!

The words made sense now, WELCOME CAMPERS! See she didn’t need glasses at all. Pulling into the practically barren parking lot she smirked and took advantage of getting a spot closest to the entrance. Soon as she stopped her truck stalled the engine and she looked at the wheel worriedly,“You planning on starting again at the end of summer Merle?” Nicole was really weird. Talking to a truck, hell naming it too! That’s what her father would always say; both parents were baffled at the fact that she even wanted a truck in the first place, but screw them. Turning off the engine she exited the truck looking at the amazing view in front of her. Tall trees that went on for miles, a crystal clear lake in the background and so much fresh air it was making her dizzy. Nicole took her glasses off the dash and stuffed them into her backpack then retrieving her overly stuffed duffle bag from the back seat, hoisting it over her shoulder as well beginning her march over to the camp. By the time she reached the entrance she was out of breath letting her bags fall to the ground as she plopped herself on top of them. ‘Maybe I should ease up on the cardio and hit the weights…’

She walked under the shaded archway and felt the cool on her back, a moment’s rest from the hike she took. Damn buses wouldn’t run to Crystal Lake... what a crock of bullshit. Shifting her weight onto the wall her eyes picked up and peered across the street, to a sign creaking in the breeze. McKingie’s… huh? Sounded like a bar.

Amy crossed the street with a grin on her face and a hunger in her stomach, and confirmed her suspicions when she reached the heavy wooden door. It was definitely a bar. It smelt like a bar. It smelt like peanuts, beer, tobacco, and just a spritz of sweat. The dark room cast a hazy beam of light from the right corner, and the light chatter she had heard from outside simmered into nothing once she walked in. As she approached the bar, conversation resumed again.

“What can I get you m’am?”

Amy smirked, well this was going to be an easy summer, first bar and no one’s asking for an ID! What had she been expecting from a hick-town like this? “Hi! How’s it going? Hmm. I’m gonna get a…” she trailed, her eyes passed the bartender, scanning the alcohol behind him, “...let me get uh, no no, let me get two shots of tequila and uh, whatever’s good here. A steak?”

“The steak ain’t good here.”

It seemed to Amy like he was actually serious. “Uh, how about a burger then?”

“Now that I’d do for ya’”

“Wait, could I get something else too?”

“What’s that?”

“You know anybody willing to give me a lift to uh, what is it, hold on lemme get the…” Amy dug into her purse like a wild bear, shifting things around before removing the neon yellow flyer, “...it’s uhh,” she unfolded the paper, “it’s Camp Crystal Lake?”

“No can do, m’am” He muttered, and before she could say a word disappeared into the kitchen.

She laughed. What the fuck? You don’t know anyone, man? Amy rolled her eyes, he didn’t even leave her the shots. She collapsed into her arms on the bar, and waited for her burger, or alcohol, or anything.

*PLONK*

Huh? She raised her head to see a beer, in quite a cold sweat, staring her back in the face. She looked up to the hairy arm holding it.

“Hi.”

“Need a beer?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe…” she took the beer from his hand and gulped a third of it down.

“Easy now, lass.” The man chuckled. He looked no older than 50, five o’clock shadowed, with a rugged worn-out look laborers that age tend to have. He was actually pretty damn attractive, beer belly and all.

“I told you,” half the beer was gone now, “I don’t mess around.”

“You didn’t tell me that. You also didn’t tell me you need a ride to the Camp, but I heard that one.”

“Are you my knight in shining armor then?”

“I could be, finish your beer.”

“What was barman’s deal?”

“He’s gotta few screws loose… I’ll tell you more about it on the road.”

“How are the burgers here?”

“Awful.”

---

Amy’s bag whipped wildly in the back of Mike’s truck. She sat silent in the front and he talked about the town as they passed it. She toked on a thin joint and then passed it over to him.

“...and that right there is the Moravian Cemetery, got a few folks buried there… nice plot and all…”

“MIKE! Tell me about the crazy bartender!”

“Oh Bud? He’s harmless, he just more, y’aknow, uh, superstitious of town legends… myths really, just some coincidences, some terrible coincidences.”

She rolled her eyes, “Ohmygod, don’t tell me I’m walking into a long history of mysterious disappearances or something…”

He said nothing.

“Mike! Ohmygooood!”

“No, nothing like that. Just some murders back in the 50s, nothing to worry about, it’s history now.” He was blatantly lying about the time-frame of the murders, but he wasn’t about to bring up Tommy Jarvis, not to this bright little thing from California.

She scoffed, “What do I care about a bunch of poodle-skirt wearing bimbos getting killed? That happened ages ago. I’m here to make money and have a bitchin’ summer, dude.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you’ll have a great time..” He was genuine, but it was more so an act of “not jinxing it."

---

“Well here we are, this is as far as I’ll go…”

They were about halfway down the wooded path to the parking lot, she opened the truck's door and hopped out onto the gravel road.

“Thanks Mike, tell the wife I wish her well!”

“Hey don’t forget your shirt.” He tossed out the long-sleeved red, black, and blue flannel.

She caught it with one hand and tied it around her waist, letting her black and grey tank top breathe in the afternoon light. She grabbed her bag from the back and slapped the car twice, “I appreciate it.”

He turned around in the middle of the road and hollered as he drove away, “Good luck!”

“Yeah I’ll need all the help I can get with these kids…”

With a bag slumped over her shoulder and a reminder of why she was here, Amy scraped down towards the parking lot. She couldn't help but wonder if Mike had meant the campers or not.

Lee turned right off the pavement and onto a dirt road, shifting his Jeep down a gear. It should be a few miles before he reached the Camp, he thought.

As he drove, he thought a bit about the quick trip through town. It seemed nice enough, if a bit small. Lee grew up in a typical Suburban town out in the midwest, and spent the last couple years in a decent sized college town. But at least Crystal Lake had a couple restaurants and a bar, so he could get out to town on his days off over the summer if he felt like it. He wasn't too worried about getting carded at the bar, he looked old enough to pass, and he could bullshit about sports with any barkeep to keep them from asking. If he wanted to come back to civilization, it wasn't too far away.

Patting the piece of paper in his shirt pocket, he definitely would be.

---

A short while before, Lee had to stop off for gas. Shitty Jeep. It's good on roads like this camp road, and girls like it, but it goes through gas like water. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to double-check the directions with a local.

After filling up, he walked into the store to see a gorgeous brunette behind the counter. She had her hair back in a pony tail, with some plain earrings, and she had on an apron that was probably the equivalent of a uniform. But she had the look of a model, if any talent scout bothered coming through a small town like this. Imagine what she probably looks like when she's not running a counter. Lee thought to himself.

"Hi there. I filled up outside, it said $21.43."

"I know." said the girl, pointing to a matching gauge beside her. "We're not that podunk out here."

"Oh, I didn't mean-"

"That's okay, I was just kidding you. Thanks for being honest." She said, smiling at him as she rang up the amount. My day just got better. "Just passing through?", she continued.

"No, actually. I'm going to be working around here this summer."

"Oh, well that's great! There's so few people our age around anymore! You know, people going to school or having to go elsewhere for work. Reagan, am I right?"

"Hah, yeah, totally." Lee did not follow politics. He hoped that was the extent of her commenting on it.

"So where are you working? Here in town?"

"No, out at Crystal Lake. I'll be one of the councillors this summer."

The colour in the girl's face practically vanished in an instant. If it weren't for the radio and Huey Lewis, the room would have been dead silent for what seemed to be an eternity.

"What?"

"You don't know?" The girl said, a tremble in her voice.

"I heard there was a murder up here recently."

"Try a dozen. Probably more."

"...No way."

"Yeah, it made the news for a while. Most people around here stay as far away as possible."

"Oh, I don't really blame them. That's too bad, from the pictures I've seen, it's a beautiful lake."

"That's true. I sometimes go up there, although usually with friends, and always during the day. And I always let my dad know. He wouldn't let me go up at night."

Lee smiled "Nice, maybe you can double check my directions." He took out the map he had, and the girl confirmed that he was going the right way, the two of them leaning close together to look at it. "Go down main street through town, take the right into the woods, and continue down until you hit the lake. It's pretty hard to miss.", she said, the colour since returning to her.

"Thanks. I'm Lee, by the way."

"Vanessa."

"Vanessa, you've been a great help. Listen, I understand if you're not comfortable going up there, but depending on if the other councillors are cool, we might have some sort of party before the kids start arriving for the summer. You know, get the craziness out of our systems before we have to be responsible adults."

"Well... I don't know... My dad would kill me if he knew..."

"So don't tell him. And feel free to bring as many friends as you want."

"I'll think about it. Will you be around town at all?"

"I'll try to be." Lee said. "And I'm sure there's a phone out there that I can use."

"I'll give you my number." Vanessa said, tearing Lee's receipt from the register and scribbling on the back. Still got it. Lee smiled to himself. Even if she didn't want to come to the camp, he could always come into town for her.

It was about this time that another customer, an older man in a hunting jacket and cap -clearly a local- came in. "I should probably get going, they're expecting me up there. I'll give you a call if we have anything going on."

"Okay! I hope you have a great summer!"

---

It was already chalking up to being a great summer.

Lee continued along until he started to see the shape of other cars, along with the lake behind them. The pictures didn't do it justice. It was a shame that some hillbilly axe murderer had to ruin the reputation of such a beautiful area. It looked like some of the other councillors had already arrived. Lee grabbed his bags, his baseball bat tucked in the straps of his duffel bag, and headed towards the Administration office to report in.

"Here we are, Jamal, Crystal Lake!" The navy blue Volkswagen containing Jamal and his parents sputtered a little as it rolled in to town. Jamal's mom couldn't hide her excitement at her son finally getting a job and leaving the house for the summer.

"Alright, boy. This is where you get out!" His dad said with a huge grin on his face.

Jamal groaned. "I heard the camp is only a few miles from town. Can't you just drive me the rest of the way?"

"Sorry. We have plans. Your father and I have been dying to try out the Retro Roadhouse. We've heard good things about it from our friends. Oh, I see it just up ahead here!" The car pulled in to the parking lot and came to a stop. All three members of the Johnson family got out and stretched.

With a heavy sigh, Jamal opened the trunk and pulled his neon green bicycle out. It was old and starting to rust, but it still served it's purpose. HIs mom gave him a quick hug and his dad shook his hand. "I'm proud of you, son. It's time for you to become a real man and enter the workforce. When we see you at the end of summer you can tell us all about it. I know you'll have a great time!"

"Yeah, right." Jamal muttered to himself as his parents quickly disappeared inside the diner. He hopped on his bike and pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of his pants pocket. His parents didn't want him to blow this opportunity and made sure to write down directions to the camp for him. He studied the paper for a minute and then started peddling. It didn't take long to find the dirt road leading to the camp.

Eager to arrive so he could relax and take it easy, Jamal peddled hard and soon the parking lot was in sight. He slowed down as an idea started to form. He stopped just short of entering the open area of the lot. There were a couple vehicles, and he saw at least one person at the far end of the lot. Jamal got off his bike and carefully set it on the ground. Then he laid down next to it, with his limbs sprawled out.

"Help me! Help!"

He grinned and stayed motionless, waiting for someone to get close to him.

‘Well at least the layout seems simple enough…’ Nicole was glancing at a map of the camp given to her by a close friend back home who gave her the idea of working at a summer camp. In fact, she was supposed be a counselor alongside Nicole but suddenly backed out of it last minute after it had been revealed that there were a few murders within the grounds.

She understood that it might have been painful for her but she really didn’t understand her fear, nor would her friend open up about it. There was nothing to fear, the media assured that the murderer was apprehended. Yet Nicole’s heart started racing as she lifted her gaze from the paper and looked around. She was completely alone with no one in sight.

About to jump up and try to find some other people, a distant yelling stole her attention. She looked from behind her sunglasses at a bright green blur and a dark form moving about. “Shoot.” She mumbled slipping on her glasses from her pocket finally able to see the guy lying on the ground next to a bike. She gasped and took off for him as fast as she could, “Hey! Hey! Are you ok?!”

When she reached him Nicole fell to her knees and began searching his body for injuries, “What happened? Are you hurt? Is it internal? External? Do you see a bright light? Oh God please don’t die!!”

A green 1975 AMC Gremlin slowly pulls into the parking lot containing a redheaded teen and an older woman with cat eye glasses and graying hair.

“But mom this place smells weird and there are probably ticks.”

“That's enough young man, you need this on your collage application, and don't forget to take the inflatable cushion.”

“I'm not taking the cushion, people think I am a dork enough as it is. I just wish I could have brought my Colecovision with me.”

“You're taking the cushion, all that's going to be there to sit on are rocks and dirt and I'm not having you get a sore tuchas.”

Reluctantly yielding to his mother, Seamus grabs the inflatable doughnut cushion, and reaching into the backseat gets his backpack and purple Samsonite suitcase. As he begins to leave the car, he hears his mother's heavily Staten Island accented voice.

“You're not leaving this car until you give me a hug and a kiss.”

“MOM, you are embarrassing me!”

“Don't be a putz, and kiss you're mother.”

“Ah the humiliation.”

Sheepishly Seamus gets out of the car after giving his mother a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Cautiously looking around the parking lot to make sure nobody saw him.

“Damn, this place looks like some thing that the Son of Sam would frequent.”

“What happened? Are you hurt? Is it internal? External? Do you see a bright light? Oh God please don’t die!!”

Jamal could hardly contain himself as the sound of a voice called out to him. Not just any voice, but a female. Even better! He waited until she was next to him. She sounded really upset about the predicament. For a brief moment Jamal felt a little bad that he was tricking someone like this. That feeling quickly passed as he continued to lay still. As much as he was enjoying himself, he heard the sound of a car approaching and decided it was time to end this game.

"Boo!" Jamal's eyes flew open and he bolted upright, then reached out and tried to grab the girl who was there to help him. In that brief moment he had to look at her, he thought she looked kind of cute, in a nerdy sort of way.

"I'm not gonna die, but a kiss would sure make me feel better!" he said, laughing uncontrollably.

Nicole shrieked jumping up and away from the now conscious boy's grasp. Her already shot nerves must of disabled her perception because she stepped back and didn't notice a medium sized rock behind her making her trip and fall right on her ass with a loud grunt. She overreacted for nothing, like she always does. Now she was embarrassed and her butt hurt. Nicole felt heat flush across her face at the boy's request, "No I will not kiss you...you...you jerk! That wasn't funny you really scared me." She exclaimed pouting sightly.

Looking back she saw the green car pulling up and a rather large boy getting out, she looked back at the guy puzzled. "Hey is he one of the campers? Thought they weren't going to be here till tomorrow."

"Aw, I'm sorry, babe." Jamal snickered. That plan went off about as well as he could have expected. It was going to be a fun summer if all of the counselors were like this girl. He then thought about the possibility of being the only male counselor. What a dream that would be!

The car that he heard earlier had arrived, it was an ugly green thing. The door opened and an overweight kid stepped out holding a purple suitcase and some sort of odd-shaped pillow. He had the look of someone who didn't really want to be here.

The girl asked Jamal if that was one of the campers. He hoped not. That would spoil some of his fun if the campers were arriving already. However, Jamal was having a difficult time picturing him as a counselor.

"I don't know who that is," He shrugged. "but they better not let him near the kitchen." Jamal stood up and dusted himself off, then offered a hand to his prank victim. "Come on, lets go check it out."

"Thanks." Nicole reached out taking his large warm hand in hers pulling herself up. She dusted off the backside of her jean shorts and adjusted her glasses before turning around and walking back with him, "I'm Nicole by the way.." she trailed off with that avoiding his face. Everyone made her nervous most of the time and this guy was no exception so loud and forward about everything Nicole hoped that she would get along with him and the others,she wondered if the other counselors were just as friendly as he was. ..

Looking at the boy again she waved her hand at him to draw his attention, "Excuse me!" She ran up to him and smiled at him, "I'm sorry but the camps not open yet, campers aren't supposed to be here till tomorrow."

Tina walked up the dirt road towards the camp. It’s been a long time since she was out this way. Her and her older brother use to play at the camp all the time. It was closed as long as she could remember, the idea of being a counselor was just too much fun to pass. Her fingers involuntarily went to the strap of her backpack when the word fun passed through her mind, wanting nothing more than to confirm the pound of shrooms as still in it’s place.

Lost in thought, she didn’t notice when the car stopped next to her.

“Hey!” a voice called out, breaking Tina from reminiscing about the time spent with her brother. She looked over to see a brand new Ford Pony with two blondes in front. “You heading to the camp?” the driver asked.

“Yeah, counselor. You?”

“Yep, hop in, we’ll give ya a lift.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Micheal tried to suppress his desire to giggle. He heard the kids cries for help, knew exactly what he was up to. The kid wasn’t bad but he was no Scott, Micheal’s old roommate back during college. That guy was so good, you never knew if he was serious. It’d get him killed one of these days.

Alright, one short. Guess it’s the best you could hope for old boy.

“Hey everyone, if I could have your attention. I’m Micheal, head counselor. I’m glad to see almost everyone here. If you’d follow me, I’ll give you a brief tour of the camp, go over what’s expected from you, then let you mingle.”

He started down the road into the camp, took the first left. There was a large building, more rot than wood, it looked as if it shouldn’t be able to stand on it’s own. “This is the mess hall, it’s in terrible condition right now but we have crews coming in a couple days to fix it up before the kids
get here.”

The door came off the top hinge as he opened it, forcing him to have to balance it on against a large rock near by. The inside was much better looking, new tables and chairs, brand new lighting. He lead the group through to the kitchen, where a bald guy with tattoos running down his neck was rushing around, preparing some kind of meal.

“This is Alex, he’ll be our chef, be sure to compliment him on his meals and you’ll have no problems.” Alex nodded at the group, but continued on his duties. Micheal lead the group out the back entrance and headed towards the next building, nothing more than a large tent. “ And this is our arts and crafts center. One of you will pull art duty, we’ll have a workshop twice a day. One during physical activities and one after supper.”

He lead the group through up the road towards the administration building, his place of work. He was about to tell them they can always find him, or leave a note there, when an older woman came out of the front door. Micheal didn’t recognise her at all.

“Excuse me one second.” he said, stepping forward to meet her. “Could I help you miss?”

“You could help me by shutting down this place of sin.” she snapped back. Rising her voice she pointed at the kids, “You’re going to die for your sins. Don’t think he doesn’t know what you’re up to here.”

“Miss, that’s more than enough. I think it’s time you leave.” he went to take the old bag’s arm but she forced him away.

“ He’s coming for you. Just like before. Just like before.” the woman let loose a stream of yellow spit that splattered on the ground in front of kids. It was too much for him.

“Alright Miss, either you leave with me right now or I call the police.” The woman turned at that threat, said something in another language and then started to walk towards the parking lot.

Micheal took a look at the group, glanced back at the woman and said, “I’m going to make sure she leaves. You guys can check the camp out yourself. Cabins are that way,” he said pointing up the path, “everyone takes care of one. We’ll be having a campfire by the lake once the sun sets, we’ll meet up by the boathouse, you can’t miss it.”

And with that he set off after the woman.

---

Alex watched as the last of the kids left and then closed the door. Why the fuck did I take this job. Not one of them even looks legal. He went back to chopping up beef for the stew tonight. Once it was in the pot, he ducked into the washroom, took a quick leak and placed three tabs of blotter LSD on his tongue.

“Excuse me!”

Seamus turns to see a rather cute looking smiling brunette running toward him.

“I'm sorry but the camps not open yet, campers aren't supposed to be here till tomorrow.” She says to him, in a voice that reminds Seamus of Lieutenant Uhura, and he instantly begins to crush on her.

With his face beginning to flush a little, he begins to stammer slightly. “Oh, I, I, I am a counselor also, I need this to look good for M.I.T. Admissions.”

Just before Seamus can open his mouth again and make himself look like even more of a dork, a man walks up to them who appears to be in charge and begins to introduce him self.
“Hey every one, if I could have your attention. I'm Michael, head counselor.......”

Seamus doesn't hear the rest, all he can keep thinking about is the cute brunette, lost in thought he barely notices every one else being taken on a tour of the camp.

“Damn” he thinks, “I have to run to catch up now, I hate running.”

((Erased))

[wcburns x slint x horrordaily x SaraRPs]

"Huh. Weird. Hey everyone. My name's Lee. I'm thinking we should probably take a quick look around the camp. We're going to be living here for the next couple months."

So that's his name. Amy thought, eying him up and down in careful glances. She spotted the Louisville Slugger, still nestled in the straps of his duffel, Well if the bat didn't give it away that ass sure did. Baseball stud. Niceeee.

"I'm for it," she hiked up her high-waisted white denim shorts and dropped down from the small rock she was standing on, rubbing her shoulder over her bag's strap, "let's ditch the gear though." She looked around at everyone and cast her index and middle fingers like a half-assed salute, "Name's Amy by the way."

"Hi Amy." Lee smiled toward Amy. Not bad he thought to himself. If nothing were to come with Vanessa from town, at least he wouldn't be entirely at a loss this summer. This Amy looked like she'd be pretty fun to be around at a party. He noticed the slight redness in her eyes, which confirmed that. The other girl, Nicole, also looked cute in the nerdier sense, although she looked like she was a little more nervous and apprehensive about the whole thing. He also nodded towards the others, the two blondes and the one who mentioned herself as Tina.

The other guys... Jamal had already identified himself as a prankster, which was good in small doses. Hopefully he wouldn't overdo it. The other guy who arrived looked like he really did not want to be anywhere near here, or outside in general. He reminded Lee a bit of some of the kids he would slip a $20 to do his mid-term assignments for him. Might be that I can hand off some of the less desirable jobs to him., Lee thought. I should probably make friends with him.

"Hey man, let me get that for you." He said, grabbing the guy's pack from him and setting it alongside the others. "What's your name?"

Before he could answer, one of the blondes - who looked like sisters - spoke up, "Hey, so how did you guys hear about the job?"

"...Um a friend of mine told me about it." Nicole's tiny voice rang out from the far right of the crowd, "She has family in the town near here. She was supposed to be here too but... uh she decided not to." This was the first time she said a word since the entire group of counselors got together. She was not an antisocial person, just when it came to people she didn't know she was as tight-lipped as a clam, and it wasn't going to change.

The other counselors looked pretty cool and some a bit intimidating, especially that Amy girl. She just oozed with confidence and was probably a really nice person. The Lee guy was super cute and nice Jamal...she knew Jamal plenty already, she noticed that the M.I.T guy wasn't with them but it didn't bother her too much, she figured while some of the attention was on her she'd get her introduction over with, "I'm N-Nicole by the way." Really. She had to stutter, right now? Nicole just smiled as she felt the all too familiar unflattering blush spread across her face.

Amy was walking backwards, an attempt to usher the group down the wooded path and to their cabins. The quicker they dropped their bags off and settled in, the quicker their pre-camper hijinks could begin.. and the quicker her and that "Lee" could talk.

She turned her focus to one of the two Barbie twins, "..basically my aunt and her loser boyfriend wanted the house for the summer.. so I'm here, it's whatever, Long Island fucking sucks anyway." Amy looked out towards the expansive, shimmering lake.

Tina watched the conversation with reserved interest. They didn't seem like such bad people, a little boring maybe but a couple of them seemed like they might party. Maybe after the campfire Micheal mentioned, they could actually have some fun.

“He’s coming. You can’t stop him!” she was yelling, over and over again. Violently trying to pull her arm back from where he held her. He marched her to the parking lot and threw her forward. She tripped over herself and looking up at him from the ground snarled, “It’s too late you foolish sinner.”

Micheal had just about enough of this. What a way to start off. “Look Lady, all I’m trying to do is let some kids have a good summer. So if you’d kindly just fuck back off to planet crazy I won’t have to call the cops.”

“He’s coming.” She spat at him.

“Yeah, I’m sure he is.”

The exchange went on a little longer, though her dialog stayed one dimensional. It was a wonder someone like that could survive in the world, Micheal found himself thinking. He vaguely recalled another Jason-crazy there were rumors about. Crazy Randy or something like that. Ever since that crazy story got around. Nothing more than a myth really, sure that kid’s mother did kill some campers, but her son coming back? Crazy. .

But the story bleed fantic following. Worshippers almost, in the cult of Jason. People who believed he was some kind of savior. They’d shout there warnings at anyone looking for a good time and if by chance something bad actually happened? Damn the fates! It was Jason.

Micheal headed back to the administration building. He had paperwork to finish up, paying food bills, safety fees. It was all so much more than he had expected. But, if he could give these kids a summer like he had? Well, he knew it’d be worth it.

---

Tina watched as the two sisters, Rebecca and Sasha, raced towards the cabins. Claiming #7 and #8 as theirs so they could be side-by-side. Their innocence was cute in a make you sick kind of way. The basic definition of a blonde could be seen in their every movement, cutting through clearest in dorky little laugh they shared. It made her glad she was born a brunette.

It was just as this thought was passing her head they both turned and ran back towards her, eyes alive with possibility. “Hey, Tina!” they said together. Sasha took over talking duties while Rebecca looked on expectantly, “you should take #6, then we can all be together!”

They looked so excited at the possibility of being completely separated at all times, but together in such a false illusionary way, that she wondered just how crushed they would look if she said no. She could almost see them crying.

“Sure, sounds fun.”

“Oh, that’s just great.” Rebecca cried out. Then they were off together in their own world discussing something about the campers. Not exactly the group you want to take mushrooms with. Well, maybe at the campfire tonight she could set something up.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alex finished the stew and washed his hands. Set out plates for everyone, placed the food up front of the dining room. And proceed to head back to the archery range to trip fucking balls. For the last hour he had been floating in disney world, his visual a series of fractals that shone in multicolor brilliance.

His mood was ecstatic. Every inch of his body felt like heaven floating through a cloud. At times he felt himself pulled away from the third dimension to something higher, swore he could see through time and space. Every moment of his life he was living now, there was nothing like it.

He couldn’t wait to get to the woods. Feel himself surrounded by mother nature, by the earth itself. He forgot all about how much he hated Micheal, thought he was a tool. Forgot all about the days locked in jail cell. Felt only love, free of all other emotional baggage.

He was high as fuck and loving every moment of it.

---

Darkness.

Darkness had been all there was and all there is for a long time now. Darkness was all there ever was before the calling. It had been darkness for so long he had forgotten everything else.

Laying in an unmarked grave, underneath ten feet of dirt and stone, lays a body not rotting. Worms pierce the eyes and travel tunnels of the body, but it does not rot. What’s eaten grows back, tissue reforming in sickening fashion. Skin held together by blisters and scar tissue.

Upon its face rests a hockey mask. The kind worn by a goalie to turn it into a white faced monster until the end of the game. But this mask has long since been pulled in by the reanimation of face tissue to become a part of the monster that rested in darkness.

The ground above this sleeping giant is a flame. The heat of the firestorm distorting the air above the grave. Years later professionals would look back on this incident and scratch their heads. A fire of such strength that rose on it’s own.

With such rage.

Two festering eyes opened.

Lee picked up his duffle bag and went towards one of the yet unclaimed cabins, going with 1 since it was the closest to him. He clicked the chain on the light a few steps into the darkened cabin, and took a look around his new home.

It was a decent enough cabin, he thought. The windows let a little bit of light in for this time of day, and provided a few of the nearby lake. A knitted rug covered the middle of the floor next to the bed, with a wooden footlocker at its foot with a padlock and key already supplied. There was a small dresser and closet area in the corner, and a lamp and radio on the nightstand. The cabin also had a couch off to one side, so as to provide a bit of a lounging area for councillors during their time off.

A bit rustic, perhaps. But it is a camp, after all. Lee unslung his bag, and setting his bat aside, he opened it up. He would unpack properly later tonight, but he would organize a few things.

He took out the baseball that he brought. He assumed a camp would have all the equipment he'd need, but many a ball game in his youth got delayed because the neighbourhood kids all assumed the others were bringing the ball. Lee also took out the bottle of Jack that he had tucked away under his clothes, and put that in the footlocker, snapping the lock shut.

Grabbing his bat and the ball, he proceeded to walk outside to the others. He thought about taking a walk up to the baseball field, then maybe grabbing a bite at the mess hall. He also wanted to try finding a phone, other than the one that was in the Administration building by Michael's desk. Even a pay one, that would be provided for homesick kids to call Mom and Dad.

Lee turned to the others who weren't already settling in their cabins "Hey, I was thinking of walking up to the Ball field for a minute to see what it's like. Anyone else want to come?"

Seeing the two twins fretting over whose cabin was the nicer of the dilapitated pieces of shit, Tina quickly spoke, " Yeah, I'm down, as long as we hurry. If I get caught with them all summer I'm going to lose my shit."

---

Amy stood outside the door and looked at the faded '3' above. Moving inside had essentially confirmed what she already knew, it was a dump, the whole thing had a choking smell and no doubt a thick coat of dust. That's why they were there though, to get the place ready for a long summer. She dropped her bag by one of the beds, it landed in a soft thud and stirred a flurry of dust. Amy sneezed.

She crunched along stray leaves that littered the not-too-perfect wood planked floor and opened the far back window, and then the next one, and the two by the door. Fresh life permeated through the thick blanket of must and a look of relief crossed her face.

"Alright.."

Amy rubbed her palms together, preparing like an Olympic gymnast. She scooped her bag by the strap and emptied it's contents on the bed. Among the cluster of junk: clothes, a few casettes, an ounce of weed, papers, and copies of 'The Crying Lot of 49' and 'The Stand'.

She spotted the radio in the corner and excitedly brushed her underwear and various toiletries aside, snagging a blue and white cassette with small ink-blot tests on it. She slipped the cassette in and it started playing from whatever point she had stopped on it last. A drumbeat began. Amy smirked and plopped down on the bed.

Her hands worked fast and broke the nuggets of plant down into little flakes of green, graciously she discarded these flakes into a folded piece of rolling paper. Amy nursed the tube with her thumbs and packed it tight, tying the end off and licking the seam to keep it solid.

Ahhhh, perfect

She let the joint rest lazily in between her lips and fumbled through the large travel-sized messenger bag for the lighter. In the darkest recess of the bag's corners out came a silver zippo.

Amy lit the end and inhaled the smoke with a pop and a crackle

--

Jamal grinned a little as the girl ran off to greet the new kid who just got dropped off, his eyes watching her ass as she moved. He followed her and discovered the portly dude was actually a fellow counselor. Jamal couldn't imagine him being of much use for any of the athletic activities at the camp.

More counselors were gathered nearby and soon a man who introduced himself as the head counselor, Michael, showed up and started a tour of the camp. Jamal was feeling good about this summer. All of the ladies looked quite fine, and that would definitely make things a lot more enjoyable. Michael seemed like a bit of a chump, and Jamal stayed in the back of the group during the tour, not really paying attention to what was being said. He was grateful when a crazy lady appeared and caused Michael to abandon the tour prematurely.

Some of the other counselors began to move toward the cabins to pick one out, but Jamal felt his stomach start to rumble.

"Man, the cabins can wait. I'm gonna head to the mess hall and see what they got to eat around here."

Leaving his backpack on, Jamal turned to start walking to the mess hall. He really was hungry, but he also had other motivation for being one of the first to go there. Tampering with some of the food sounded like a fun idea.