THE LEGACY
CHAPTER 8- OUT OF THE SHADOWS


The rain continued to bear down on the town of Crystal Lake, seemingly coming down in sheets. There was no end in sight, as the sky was littered with dark clouds and dangerous lightning.

That didn’t deter Kevin Staley, however. He was dead set on doing what he had to do—and the rain sure as hell wasn’t going to stop him. He had passed through the Hope Cemetery about a half hour ago by his estimate, and now found himself totally surrounded by wilderness, with the torrential downpour mercilessly pelting his body.

Soaked to the bone, Kevin trampled through the thick brush, mud and anything else that got in his way. He was carrying only his red #35 Boston University bag, which looked more like maroon from being so wet. After what seemed like hours hiking through the woods, Kevin finally found a clearing in the woods, and as he marched through the clearing, he knew exactly where he was. Directly in front of him was the Eternal Peace Cemetery.

As Kevin approached, he saw his first obstacle—a huge metal fence complete with tall steel rods and barbed wire along the top. Kevin launched his bag up over the fence and wasted little time scaling the fence. The barbed wire tore at his flesh, but it didn’t seem to bother him at all, and he soon found himself on the other side.

That was only the first obstacle. The second and most important obstacle still lied ahead—where was the grave? There were so many headstones there, it was impossible to know which one was the right one. But somehow, he knew just where to go as he sprinted through the graveyard with a combination of rain and blood dripping off of his body. It was as if there were voices in his head leading him to the exact spot of the grave.

A few moments later, after tirelessly searching through the cemetery, Kevin Staley just stopped, suddenly frozen with fear. His eyes began to well up as he looked down at the headstone and saw what he feared most—there, etched in the granite, read “Goldwater, Krista Marie- Born: January 21, 1981; Died: February 13, 2002.” Kevin broke down and lost it. He slumped down to his knees as he read the rest of the epitaph: “The Lord Works In Mysterious Ways, And We Know Not Why He Took His Angel From Us, But We Look Forward To Seeing Her Shining Face Again In The Afterlife. May God Rest Her Soul.”

Kevin didn’t know what to say or think as he sulked in front of her grave on his knees. The thunder and lightning even picked up in intensity, but Kevin was none the wiser. His tears flowed rapidly off of him, mixing in with the rain and the blood and soaking into the ground and puddles below him. Whimpering, Kevin finally broke his silence. “Why, God Why!” he cried out. But between the howling wind and the intense thunder, his cries were quickly drowned out. “Why Didn’t You Take Me Instead??!!” Kevin continued, as he collapsed to the ground, reaching out with his hand, hoping Krista would be there to grasp it. “Baby, please come back to me!” he continued to cry out in agony, knowing damn well that nothing could ever change the fact that Krista was six feet below him.

Reality finally set in, and Kevin ended his tirade by placing his ear to the ground and muttering, “I Love You, Krista.” He then pulled out a rose from his bag and laid it at the base of her headstone. Soon after, he passed out.


***


“Faceoff is to the right of goaltender Larrimore. 5 seconds remain in the game, score tied at 1. Morris will take the draw against Newman. The puck is dropped, won by Morris, back to Adams at the blue line. He winds, shoots, SCORES! Jarrod Adams scores with 1.2 seconds remaining, and the Boston Terriers win it! Oh, my, the improbable run continues, and on the strength of 33 saves by Kevin Staley, Boston is heading to the Frozen Four! The Terriers win it, 2-1.”

As Kevin celebrated, he skated over to the bench and took his helmet off, and was immediately greeted by a huge hug and kiss by Krista. “Congratulations, baby,” Krista smirked, kissing him again and again. Kevin didn’t reply. He just kissed her back, and lovingly gazed into her eyes...

Just then, Kevin Staley was sent reeling back to the present, as he was startled out of his trance by the roar of the loud clap of thunder. Kevin smiled, remembering that that was the last time Krista ever got to see him play on the ice. Soon after, Krista went back to Washington and their relationship did a nosedive. Then, in a whirlwind of emotion, all the events that came after that ran through Kevin’s mind in one big blur—the national championship, fucking that “drunken accident” Cammie Walker in the hotel that night, missing the team flight home the next day, crashing on the small charter flight at Camp Crystal Lake, and getting a second chance with Krista, as they finally extinguished the evil Jason Voorhees.

Kevin vowed that day that he would take care of her, and that he’d always be there to protect her—but then he remembered that dreadful phone call in Milan last February. It was Krista’s mother, deep in tears, having to relay the worst news he had ever heard in his life—even worse than hearing of his beloved Jessica’s demise only a few years earlier.

As Kevin got to his feet, he looked back down at the grave one last time and turned to head out—when all of a sudden, he was tackled back to the ground by a dark, mysterious figure emerging out of the shadows. It wasn’t even much of a tackle. It was more like the guy just fell on him. “Kevin, for god’s sakes, help me!” Rob Goldwater panted, obviously exhausted from being on the run since his escape. “Holy shit, Rob?!” Kevin answered, stunned. He managed to get Rob back to his feet, and, putting his head under Rob’s arm, helped him walk away from the cemetery, saying, “Let’s go. I know a place we can hold up for a while.”

And just like that, Kevin Staley and Rob Goldwater left the Eternal Peace Cemetery and disappeared back into the abyss of the wilderness.


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