THE LEGACY
PROLOGUE- THE ESCAPE


Rob wanted to close his eyes and have fate determine the rest, but he found he could not. The Hummer was going full speed ahead toward the shore, where Jason stood, daring Rob to give him his best shot. And that’s just what Rob did, because the front end of the Hummer successfully nailed Jason directly in the chest.

Rob was stunned Jason didn’t move out of the way, and now Jason was trying to climb over the hood to get to him. Rob was now only a few yards from the lake, and he went to brake, but the voices in his head told him to keep going and don’t stop. It was too late anyway, because now the entire Hummer was driving on the dock, its thick tires half off of the edge. But somehow, it managed to ride the entire dock without falling off.

Rob saw the edge of the dock, and then closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact. The Hummer flew nearly five feet in the air and did a nose-dive straight down into the water, sending a huge wall of water into the air. Jason’s body was still attached to the hummer when the force hit, and Rob was knocked unconscious as they began to sink.

Jason’s body landed directly between two huge rocks as the front end of the Hummer had him helplessly pinned between a rock and a hard place. He was once again trapped in the watery grave that claimed his life as a child.

Water quickly filled the Hummer, and Rob was still unconscious. The water made it up to his neck before the voices told him what to do for the last time. Rob awoke and everything seemed so clear to him. He kicked out the driver’s side window with ease and, before surfacing, looked back down and saw only one of Jason’s arms sticking out from underneath the Hummer. Next to him lay some chains and what looked like a big yellow sign, but it was too dark to make out what it said. Rob then gracefully let himself float to the surface, as the Hummer began to settle on all four wheels.

Rob barely managed to make it to shore, and took two steps before collapsing on the beach.

Back under the lake, the Hummer finally settled on all fours, with the front bumper no longer pinning the masked menace to the boulders. After a brief moment of suspension, Jason regained consciousness, and, realizing where he was, rapidly began to ascend. When he hit the surface with a roaring splash, Jason immediately began to search for Rob. He scanned the entire area around the lake, but since Rob was face down on the shore, Jason could not see him in the pitch black of the night. So Jason, breathing heavily through his mask, made his way to the shore on the opposite side of the lake, and disappeared into the darkness.


***


When Rob awoke, it was daylight, and he found himself lying on a cot with an IV sticking out of his arm. The entire place was crowded with rescue workers, firemen, and police officers, many of which were trying to fend off the press and keep them away from the crime scene. Rob noticed the entire radius of the campground had been roped off with yellow tape, and the investigations were well underway.

How long had he been out? He glanced into the woods, then back toward the lake, when the red and blue lights flashing on the police cars blinded him, and Rob became overwhelmed at the entire scene that he was responsible for.

Just then, two rescuers walked past, and he could faintly hear them discussing something about “the killer” and how it was going to be hell getting that Hummer out of the lake. Just then, a huge crane roared to life and lowered its hitch into the depths of Crystal Lake.

Delirious, the constant “click clack” of the hitch echoed in Rob’s head, and drove him crazy. He tried to tell them that they couldn’t move it, but he couldn’t speak well, and his voice was muffled in the commotion.

An instant later, two paramedics rushed to his side. They took his blood pressure, checked his IV, and then loaded him into an ambulance. The medics continued to work on him as he peered out the back window toward the lake. They gave him a shot of a mild sedative, and within seconds, Rob was calm again.

The last thing he saw was the Hummer emerging from the lake attached to the mighty crane. Rob then began to fade back to sleep amidst the piercing sound of the ambulance sirens and the radio up in the front of the cab. Rob thought to himself that it was so ironic that to hear this song now. It was Linkin Park’s “In The End.” The lyrics proved to be so true. ‘I tried so hard and got so far, but in the end, it doesn’t even matter.’ Then he passed out again.


***


At the Wessex County Medical Center, the emergency room was abuzz with activity. The switchboards all lit up as the phones were ringing off the hook at the front desk. The understaffed nurses were desperately prancing around the room trying to keep up with it all. The morgue attendants just managed to sit down in the break room, when the sliding doors opened, and another gurney was wheeled in.

“Ugh,” Coroner Jack Davis sighed, holding his hand up to his face. “Not another one.” “Will you sign for this, please?” the ambulance attendant asked. “I have to head back for the rest.”

“How many more are there?” the coroner asked as he signed his John Hancock on the paperwork. “Uhh, we don’t know. They keep finding bodies right and left spread out all across the campground,” the attendant replied.

“Dean, get over here. We have another one,” Davis called out to his assistant, Dean Carroll. An instant later, the ambulance was gone again, and Dean emerged from the break room. “Will you go put him on ice please?” Davis asked. “Sure,” Carroll sarcastically replied. “I need more coffee anyway.”

“Did you say you’re getting coffee?” Davis questioned. “I like mine black with extra sugar, thank you.” Carroll didn’t reply. He just gave Davis a nasty look and then wheeled the squeaky gurney down the hallway.

Just then, another ambulance pulled up, escorted by two police cars. The sliding doors swung open as Davis had the sarcastic “oh, great” look on his face. However, this time he didn’t see a body bag, so that meant this one must be alive. “Hurry, come on, get him to the ER!” the medic screamed as they rushed Rob Goldwater past the coroner and down the opposite hallway toward the emergency room. Two of the nurses took off to follow the medics as Davis breathed a sigh of relief that they actually found someone alive.

“Stabilize him, get a move on!” the medic barked as they wheeled him to a stop. They gave him a couple more injections to settle him down, and then the doctor hurriedly came in. “Patient is stable. Multiple contusions and exterior chest trauma. Suggest implementing chest and stomach x-rays,” the nurse said before turning over the operation to Dr. Robert Jones. Dr. Jones examined Rob, and noticed some irregular breathing, so he agreed with the nurse and had Rob stabilized and prepped for X-rays.

The X-rays revealed that Rob had two cracked ribs and some internal bleeding. He was extremely dehydrated and weak, so he was admitted. It was then that Rob, lying in his hospital bed, finally came to. Looking around, he was confused at first, but somehow he knew exactly where he was. Then the pain came. He was very weak, and he felt like he got hit by a freight train, but all things considered, he was doing well. Hell, he was still breathing. That’s all that mattered.

It could have been much worse. He could have been one of those 14 other poor souls that were hauled down the opposite corridor to the cold room. A few days laid up in this god awful hospital, and then he’d be fine. Fine to go hunt down Jason Voorhees and finish what he started. Rob then grinned slyly, but he was brought out of his momentary daze by the sound of approaching footsteps.

Rob didn’t know what to do. What if that was Jason? What if Jason had found him? He was in no shape to fight right now. Rob tensed up almost immediately and began to sweat profusely as the steps got louder approaching his room. Luckily for Rob, it was only a police officer, who was looking for Dr. Jones. Rob’s door was cracked open just enough so he could faintly hear them talking.

“How can I help you, officer?” Dr. Jones asked. “I understand you got the casualties from Camp Crystal Lake,” Officer Dwayne Lewis asked. “Yeah, there are 14 down in the cold room,” Jones replied. “The one survivor has stabilized. He’s banged up, but he’ll pull through.” “Where is he?” Rob heard Lewis ask. “Uhhh, room 324,” Jones answered. “Right across the hall.” “Great, we’d like a word with him when he’s able,” Lewis stated. “He may be our only link to what happened out there.”

A moment later, Rob’s worst nightmare came true as he heard the officer’s police radio: “All units, please be advised, suspect is at-large and assumed to be armed and dangerous. Suspect’s name is Rob Goldwater, male caucasian, blond hair, blue eyes, 5-foot-10, 175-pounds.”

Hearing that, Officer Lewis immediately spun around and looked at the name plate next to the hospital door. It clearly read “Goldwater, R.” Then Lewis grabbed his receiver, and began to relay the message, “Cancel all units, this is Lewis. Suspect is in serious but stable condition at the Wessex County Medical Center.”

Rob’s heart dropped. He was being charged with murder.


Proceed To Chapter 1
Back To The Lair Of Horror