The doorknob turned slowly, creaking with a prolonged sound, as if time itself were being stretched by death.
Larissa gripped the metal pipe tightly, her body trembling but ready. Adam stood beside her, his finger poised to trigger the improvised CO₂ extinguisher trap. Cold sweat ran down his temples, his heart pounding so hard he felt his chest vibrate.
Clack.
The door creaked, opening just a little. The darkness from the lower floor felt alive, like it was hiding something monstrous.
Then he appeared.
Jason.
The massive figure filled the doorway. His face hidden behind that dirty, cracked mask. His broad shoulders looked like concrete pillars. He raised the rusty, oversized machete—and took a step forward.
Adam reacted.
"Now!"
He pulled the trigger. The extinguisher burst in a thick, freezing cloud, filling the room with heavy smoke. Jason was engulfed by the white mist, but he didn't stop.
On the contrary. He pushed forward blindly, the machete slicing the air with terrifying force.
"Larissa, run!" Adam shouted, grabbing her hand.
They rushed out through the side door of the post, stumbling down the wooden steps. Jason burst through the side wall seconds later, crashing through the structure like a furious bull. Wood splintered in every direction.
"He's not human!" Larissa screamed, breathless, as they sprinted along the narrow forest path.
"Don't even think about stopping!" Adam yelled back. "One hit… and he splits us in half."
His mind raced in panic. He remembered every detail from the movies. Jason wasn't just strong—he was unstoppable. He had crushed skulls with his bare hands, ripped bodies apart with a single strike. One blow from that machete, and it was all over. No second chances.
The terrain was treacherous, hidden roots and stones under the damp earth. The forest seemed to close in around them, and the sounds of pursuit were growing—branches snapping, the blade crashing against trees.
They needed a plan.
"There!" Larissa pointed to an abandoned cabin ahead, hidden among the trees. "If we can lock him inside…"
"Or make him think we're inside," Adam finished, his brain spinning with desperate ideas.
As they approached the cabin, Adam pushed Larissa aside.
"Go around! If we split our footsteps, he might hesitate!"
She didn't hesitate. She ran around the side, while Adam kicked open the cabin door, making as much noise as possible—knocking over furniture, stomping on the floor, slamming against the walls.
Outside, Jason roared like an animal and charged straight for the entrance.
Adam slipped through the back window at the last second. His muscles burned, his chest ached, but he kept moving. He knew Jason was fast—unnaturally fast for someone that size.
And he wasn't wrong.
Jason tore through the cabin like it was paper. The entire structure shook. Part of the roof collapsed. But there was no one inside.
He stopped.
For a moment, the monster seemed confused.
It was enough.
Adam hid behind a tree, trying to steady his breath. Larissa appeared crouched a few meters away, signaling silently. They were alive. Barely.
But not safe.
Jason turned his head in their direction. Even behind the mask, they knew—he could sense them. Like a predator. Smell. Fear. The faintest sound.
Adam grabbed a rock and hurled it with all his strength toward the opposite side of the forest. A loud crash echoed.
Jason immediately turned to the noise. He charged like a bull in the wrong direction.
"Now, Larissa!" Adam whispered. "We follow the edge of the lake. There's a trail that might lead us away from here!"
They ran again, this time along the edge of the dark water. Every step was a struggle. Their breathing burned, their feet ached, but instinct was stronger: survive.
In the distance, they heard Jason roar again as he realized the trick.
But for now, they had gained a few precious minutes.
Maybe the most precious minutes of their lives.
The silence of the forest was a false comfort. Adam and Larissa had moved far from the station, the lake, the destroyed cabin… but the sound of the machete slicing through trees still echoed in their minds. Every snapping branch made them instinctively flinch.
They hid beneath the twisted root of a fallen tree, half-covered in moss and dirt. The air was humid, heavy, and the scent of rotting wood mixed with sweat and fear.
"Will he keep following us?" Larissa whispered, trying to steady her trembling voice.
"I don't know. But we won't get another chance like that. If he catches us by surprise again... it's over," Adam replied, his eyes fixed on nothing, thinking, calculating, sweating cold.
That's when the system's voice echoed in his mind—cold and sharp, shattering reality.
[System – Optional Mission Available]
Objective: Temporarily seal Jason Voorhees in an inaccessible location.
Reward: 1 Power Roulette Spin (Special – Horror Movies).
Risk: Extreme level.
Hint: Knowledge of the universe is key.
Time Limit: 3 hours.
Adam's eyes widened. He nearly choked when he saw the floating notification—visible only to him.
"Adam? What is it? You're pale..."
He took a deep breath. It was madness. It was suicide.
But it was also… the first real chance to gain an edge in this world. A power roulette. It could be anything: super strength, healing, night vision, maybe even a curse from another iconic killer.
He looked at Larissa, then at the silent forest. If Jason caught them again, they likely wouldn't escape. So maybe… the risk was worth it.
"There's a mission," he finally said. "The system gave me a mission. Optional. But it might give us an advantage."
"What kind of mission?" she asked, still out of breath and confused.
"To seal Jason. Trap him, somehow. Temporarily."
"You're kidding, right?! We nearly died just distracting him! And now you want to face him again?"
"I don't want to. But maybe… maybe if we understand how he works, where he goes when he 'dies' in the movies, what lures him… we can figure something out."
Larissa hesitated. But then her expression changed. Determination. Caution. Intelligence.
"Okay. If we're doing this, we plan it right. Jason doesn't think like a human. He senses, reacts. But he has patterns. You said you knew the stories, right?"
Adam nodded. His brain was already working.
"In some movies, Jason always goes back to the lake. It's his origin. A kind of spiritual link. If we can get him there… and prepare a trap with what we've got…"
"Maybe we can sink him. Or chain him. Something..."
"If necessary, I'll be the bait." Adam looked at her, serious. "You set the trap."
Larissa shook her head.
"No way. We do this together. If he grabs one, the other strikes. And if it all goes to hell... we run. Like always."
A moment of silence between them. The tension still heavy. But for the first time, there was hope.
Jason was out there.
They had three hours.
The clock was ticking.