THE LEGACY
CHAPTER 23- A DIVERSION


“Help! Hellllllllllllp!” Carrie yelled as she grew tired of running. Sweating heavily and with tears pouring down her face, Carrie had no idea where she was going. She just knew that every time she looked back, she would lose time and Jason would get that much closer.

The one time she did look back, all she could see was the moonlight reflecting off of the white hockey mask and the machete, so she figured to save her skin she would never look back again.

Carrie ran as fast as she could, but in the back of her mind, she could still hear the footsteps approaching behind her. ‘God, how much longer can he keep up?’ she thought, breathing heavily as she approached a small clearing in the middle of the woods. When she came to the opening, all she could see were more paths that split off into four different directions. ‘Now what do I do?’ Carrie thought as she tried to ponder which path to take. Catching her breath for a few quick moments, she finally opted for the path in the center, hoping it would keep her that much further ahead of Jason.

A few moments later, Jason came barreling through the clearing, kicking some loose brush out of the way as he continuing straight on, directly behind Carrie.

Carrie ran in an all-out sprint as she got deeper into the thick forest around Crystal Lake. ‘Good thing I ran track in high school,’ she thought, continuing to run for her life. She then approached a darker, thicker area of the woods and started to get alarmed. Carrie found herself dodging more bushes and shrubs, and her lead ahead of Jason was shrinking rapidly. She could hear Jason stomping right through the shrubs behind her as she jumped over and ran around them. However, just when she was about to turn around and look back...

Two powerful arms grabbed her from behind and brought her to a screeching halt, yanking her behind a nearby oak tree. She tried to scream, but the man put his hand over her mouth. In fact, she tried to talk repeatedly after that, but it was all muffled by the man’s hand.

“Shh!” Rob Goldwater whispered as he held her still, putting his finger to his lip.

An instant later, Jason came barging through the bushes and went right past Rob and Carrie, who were concealed by the tree. Rob held her very still, but when he backed up against the tree, a twig snapped beneath his feet, and Jason immediately spun around. Their eyes widened as Jason slowly stalked back toward them. Rob alertly moved them around to the opposite side of the tree, so Jason would not see them behind the trunk of the huge oak.

Jason was soon right next to them, turning his head in all directions trying to see where they were. He was like a rabid dog sniffing its prey as Rob and Carrie sweat it out trying to stay quiet. Jason peered his head around one side of the tree, and was just about to look directly at them, when...

BOOM! A large explosion rocked Camp Crystal Lake in the distance, shaking the ground beneath them. Jason immediately responded to the explosion, furiously stomping back down the trail toward the camp. He sensed more intruders at his camp. Rob and Carrie, meanwhile, remained absolutely motionless until they heard the footsteps dissipate and then go away.

Rob then let go of Carrie, who yelped when she turned around.

“Shh! Do you want him to hear you and come back?” Rob said. “This was the only way we could get him off of you.”

When Carrie got a good look at him, she knew exactly who he was.

“Rob Goldwater???” Carrie stated, shocked.

“How did you know that?” Rob asked.

“You’re all over the news,” Carrie answered. “The local police, the state police, and probably even the national guard are out looking for you right now. They think you killed all those people.”

“Yeah, I know,” Rob glumly responded.

“Did you do it?” Carrie questioned, backing away from him.

“No, I didn’t kill anybody,” Rob stated, dead serious. “At least not until tonight.”

“What do you mean?” She asked again.

“Tonight, we’re going to kill Jason Voorhees,” Rob smiled. “Once and for all.”

“We?” Carrie asked, continuing her reporter-like attitude.

“Well, me and Kevin,” Rob replied, “But you will probably have to help if you want to stay alive.”

“Kevin Staley?” Carrie asked again, shocked.

“Can I ask you something?” Rob asked back.

“Yeah, sure,” Carrie responded.

“Why do you ask so many questions?” Rob asked with a snicker.

Carrie didn’t immediately reply. She just sighed, suddenly overwhelmed with the situation. Then she broke her silence. “But Kevin is dead,” Carrie said. “He was killed in that plane crash right before you sister was...”

Rob immediately turned away before she could finish. Suddenly, all he could see were Krista and Nikki in their backyard, jumping rope and riding their tire swing. Krista and Nikki were having the time of their lives while Rob and his buddies played football behind them. The girls would then go up into the tree house with their friends and play Clue or the Game of Life and read their favorite Nancy Drew novel. Rob used to get a kick out of hearing them giggle while he was in the huddle—it meant they were having a good time, and more importantly, that they were safe.

Then, just like that, his flashback ended, and he was brought reeling back to the present. He didn’t notice it, but tears had begun to stroll down his face, and Carrie immediately knew why.

“I’m so sorry,” Carrie said. “I never should have brought it up.”

Rob then wiped the tears from his face and turned back toward her. “We’re going to make that bastard pay. Come on, we have to go find Kevin.”

“Where is he?” Carrie asked.

“You can thank Kevin for that little diversion,” Rob replied. “We have to get to him before Jason does...Or else there won’t be anything left of either one of them.”


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