Chapter Text
Jerry stepped out of the shower, soaking wet feet almost sticking to the tile floor. Hot water still stung him, keeping his entire person flushed. The room was filled with steam, fogging up the mirrors and preventing him from seeing anything besides himself. Beside him, there was no one else, leaving him in a nice, gentle quiet. He sighed as he grabbed a towel and started patting his body down, dabbing his now sensitive skin.
Jerry wrung out his sopping hair and wrapped his bare chest in his towel. He started massaging it up and down aggressively, rubbing his skin rawer than it already was. His breathing grew heavy as he focused on how it hurt a little, persisting in the painful action. He winced from the sting but he continued, not letting up in the slightest. A tremor shook his fists, he bit his bottom lip. Tears started to form in his eyes and he threw the towel on the ground with a stifled shout from deep in his throat and a wet thwap.
He ran over to a sink with a thankfully fogged up mirror, placing one hand on the smooth edge of the porcelain basin and the other in his still moist hair. Jerry focused on his breath, trying to calm himself. His back rose and fell repeatedly with each gasp of air. A sob interrupted his breaths, saltwater dripping down his face was indistinguishable from the shower water. He wiped the tears off his face with his hand.
Jerry reached over to the faucet and turned it on. It spit out water with a constant hiss. He put his hand under the freezing cold water until his hand was fully soaked. Jerry lifted his hand back up and patted his fingers around his eyes. Cold water will help the puffing die down, keeping his routine bathroom breakdown his secret. This has happened every week since they did… that thing. His hands started shaking even stronger at the memory. He scrambled to think about something else.
Girl Jeri was the one who taught him this trick, back when they were around nine. They were riding scooters together and he fell and scraped his knee. He put a bandaid on it but he kept on crying and he really didn’t want anyone to know he cried. She pooled the clear, cool liquid on her palms and dabbed his face. It cleared the entire thing up in an instant. He still remembers the feeling of her fingers on her face. His mind shot back to the memory that grew a pit in his stomach.
The sound of an urgent knock on the door gratefully jolted him out of his thoughts. He swallowed hard as the knocking endured. “Boy Jerry!” The familiar voice of Girl Jeri on the other side yelped out. “One second!” He shouted back, walking over the bag holding his clothes, keeping them dry.
Outside, Girl Jeri started playing with the short sleeve of her pink shirt. Her heart pounded in her chest and it grew stronger every second. She could barely hear anything past it. The sting of her bile still rested in the back of her mouth and she couldn’t stop herself from quaking. She honestly has no clue at all what to do, her brain’s barely aware she’s doing anything right now. What she did know was that she needed someone to comfort her at the very least and she just knows that being near Boy Jerry will help with that.
The door swung open barely a beat before Girl Jeri threw herself into Boy Jerry’s wet arms. Her shirt soaked through, sticking to her skin, and she squeezed him tight. He melted into her instantly, nuzzling his nose into the top of her head, covering his cheeks with her soft, beautiful hair. Boy Jerry took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of her fruity deodorant. Girl Jeri had her face pressed against his chest and sniffed to calm her nerves. She noted that he was using a new soap. Reluctantly, she pulled herself back and stared up at him, eyes wide and body trembling.
“I need your help,” She said, voice barely above a whisper. Before he could speak, she stepped back, grabbed his hand, and started dragging him behind her. He stumbled after her, dazed after their little moment back there. Her legs sped along, steadily bringing him somewhere he didn’t know. He ran a hand through his hair. “Girl Jeri, how’d you know I was in the shower?” He asked, trying to make idle chit chat while they dashed over to the looming treeline that grew ever closer.
Girl Jeri shot her eyes to the ground and swallowed a lump in her throat. “Uh, I, uh, you- you’re always the last guy to shower,” It was something she couldn’t stop herself from noticing because she was the exact same. She, too, liked to shower last so that she could be alone for a moment. Her face flushed with shame. When you’re in there alone, no one could see her horrible, sinful body, the stretch marks from when she had her child. She ruined herself and every time she had to clean her disgusting body, she remembered that and it never took long for the tears to come after.
She blinked tears out of her eyes and forced her face stoic, pursing her lips tight. The two were now in the woods, well on their way to what Girl Jeri found. Boy Jerry bit the inside of his cheek, trying to ignore the face that he noticed Girl Jeri showered last too. Even after all this time, he still couldn’t stop his eyes from following her nor would his heart ever cease from fluttering in his chest when she was around. She was one of the most amazing women he’s ever met.
“Where’re you dragging me?” He asked, feeling that question get too large to ignore. She suddenly stopped in her tracks, making Boy Jerry stumble a little. He looked at her to see her face pale white. Boy Jerry stared around, trying to find the cause of her fear. His eyes quickly landed on the mangled corpse in front of him, covered in blood and vomit, missing its head and covered in countless cuts.
Boy Jerry’s jaw dropped and he let go of Girl Jeri’s hand. His head was emptied of almost all blood, it felt like he was about to fall to the ground. Girl Jeri raised her knuckle to her mouth and started nibbling on it. “I didn’t know what to do,” She whined out, trying her best to prevent herself from crying. Numbly, Boy Jerry crouched down, studying the body. His eyes landed on one strange detail; their pants were down, showing off crimson covered, torn up legs. He furrowed his eyebrows as the warm, summer air took a sharp turn.
The water clinging onto him bit at his flesh, making him shiver. He took a deep breath and noticed that the breath hung in the air like cool steam. Boy Jerry shot to his feet, hearing the bushes nearby rustle in time with loud, thudding steps that grew nearer and nearer by the moment. He flinched as a large man the same height as Boy Jerry walked out into their sight. His skin was grayer than stone, eyes akin to a block of ice in both color and expression. Hair that was once fiery red was now growing in black at the roots.
He held his ax in his hand. It would be impossible to not notice that it was dripping with blood that landed on the grass with a pitter patter like rain. “Lil Jerry, what on earth did you do?” Boy Jerry asked, tone harsh. His son motioned to the body with his ax, letting out a small grunt. Even though she already threw up, Girl Jeri could feel more bile rise in her throat, ready to spew some more of her stomach.
“I know that!” Boy Jerry yelled through gritted teeth. “Why did you chop a camper up into pieces?” He hissed out, motioning to Taylor’s dead body. Lil Jerry raised a hand and started waving his burly fingers. Then, he continued moving them around as he placed the hand on his own chest, slowly drifting down to his stomach and eventually his crotch. He closed his hand into a fist and pulled it away.
Boy Jerry’s face twisted in confusion as Girl Jeri realized what he meant. “What?” Girl Jeri patted his arm with the back of her hand. “I think that meant wandering hands,” She reasoned. Lil Jerry nodded emphatically. “Wait,” Boy Jerry said. “Are you saying that they were…” He lowered his voice greatly, even Girl Jeri, who was right next to him, could barely hear. “Touching themself?” Lil Jerry nodded again.
Boy Jerry turned to the side, leaving his face unviewable by Girl Jeri but at this exact moment, that didn’t matter to her. She raised a hand to cover her eye as her jaw drooped, only one thought bouncing around her head. He killed someone. Her son, a being she created, killed someone. A set of parents are going to come to camp in a few weeks and she’ll have to tell them their kid is dead. She fell to her knees, body going numb, gasping for air.
Girl Jeri barely noticed as she distantly heard someone shouting something and then felt someone shake her shoulders. “Snap outta it!” Boy Jerry shouted to deaf ears. He bit his lip, already dreading what he was deciding to do. Boy Jerry placed his palm on her cheek, jolting her back to the present. She let out a small gasp and stared up at him. “We have to do something about this,” He said with a forced, twitching smile, trying to ease her.
She took a deep, shaky breath and rose to her feet. Boy Jerry pulled away and instead rested his hand on her shoulder. “We’re gonna go back to camp and we’re gonna get some cleaning supplies, ok?” Girl Jeri gaped at him, feeling her temper rise. “Boy Jerry, we can’t just hide this!” She exclaimed. “Why?” He instantly shot back.
“Taylor was touching themself, they were a sinner. Lil Jerry did the world a favor.” He insisted. “Plus, if the cops or whatever find out about this, they’ll find out about… him.” Dread coiled around Girl Jeri’s heart, knowing exactly what he meant. Boy Jerry continued. “And if they find out about him, they’ll find out about… the thing that happened.” Hesitancy spread on Girl Jeri, she desperately wanted to vomit again and then maybe die.
Boy Jerry moved back up to the side of her face, coiling his fingers around her head. Her knees buckled and she almost fell over. He shot his arm under her back, holding her up. Boy Jerry leaned in close to her face. They could feel each other’s warm breath that was no longer visible. He couldn’t stop himself from licking his lips and her head started hanging loosely, even going cross eyed for a moment. “If they find out about what we did, we’ll be ruined,” His eyes grew distant with his words. “Even more than we already are.”
Girl Jeri jerked herself out of the pleasure she felt in her heart, grounding back to this moment. He was right, as always. She nodded meekly and pulled herself away from Boy Jerry, walking back to camp and holding back tears. He followed, both desperately wishing that he kissed her a moment ago and thinking he was the scum of the Earth for thinking that.
Ted sped to the campfire, drenched in sweat and gasping for air. Mostly everyone decided to leave by now, leaving only Mark and Jenny here, who were busy putting out the fire. His side started hurting greatly, causing him to grab it as Jenny and Mark both stared at Ted in urgent confusion. “Ted, where the hell did you go?” Jenny asked, mildly upset sounding. “We’re having a conversation and you just dip?”
Mark furrowed his eyebrows and pushed his glasses up his nose. “Are you ok?” Ted pointed vaguely at the woods far off behind him. “Taylor, woods, dead.” He gasped out, ribs still screaming in pain. Both Jenny and Mark’s eyes went wide. “What?” Jenny asked fearfully, gathering what Ted meant. Ted took a deep breath, calming enough to speak.
“I went into the woods cause I heard a scream and I found Taylor and…” He paused, feeling those tears come up again. “There was so much blood,” He shook his head. “I didn’t know people had that much. They were just in pieces.” The image of Taylor's mutilated corpse shoved itself into his head, making him shudder. “So it was like a dead body?” Mark asked, tone unsteady and hands equally so. “What else would it be, Mark?” Ted whined out, feeling his legs collapsed beneath him.
“So, Taylor's dead?” Jenny asked too, heart pounding and veins cold despite this. “Like our classmate is… dead?” Ted nodded fervently. “Yes, what're you two not getting about this?” He said with a hint of annoyance, running his sweaty palm on his even sweatier forehead. Mark shook his head repeatedly with frightened eyes. “No, no, no, no,” He mumbled sternly. “I don't buy it. Why would someone kill someone here?” He pointed out.
“I dunno!” Ted shouted, raising his hands into the air defeatedly. “Maybe they were touching themself or something.” Realization sparked in Ted's head. “Wait,” He said. Mark appeared to come to the same realization that Ted did, freezing to his spot. Jenny stared at them both in confusion. “What?” She asked. Mark and Ted exchanged a serious glance as if confirming something. “The Axeman.” They said in unison. “What is that?” Jenny questioned urgently.
Ted turned to her, face pale as a sheet as Mark stared a hole into the ground, gaze horribly distant. “There's this stupid campfire story here. If you have premarital sex or masterbate or make out, a crazy ax murderer will show up and chop you into pieces.” His knees gave out a little under him, making him sag a little lower to the ground. “Like Taylor was.”
Mark came to life, shaking like a leaf. “B-but the Axeman isn’t real, he’s a scary story to freak out the younger kids,” He ran a hand through his short brown hair. “He’s as real as the boogeyman.”
“Or god,” Jenny muttered out the side of her mouth. Mark stared at her. “What?” She shook her head. “Nothing.” She quickly continued. “Are you saying that a boogeyman killed Taylor?” Before Ted could speak, Mark interjected, hands on his hips. “No, cause Taylor isn’t dead.” He raised a finger pointedly.
Ted gaped at him. “Are you saying I’m a liar?” He said, deeply offended.
“I’m saying that why would someone kill Taylor, especially here at the greatest place on Earth.” Mark reasoned, waving his wrists about. Ted placed his palm on his own shoulder and shrugged meekly. “I dunno but they’re dead, they’re very dead.”
“Prove it.” Mark stated, crossing his arms. “Where’s the body?” Ted slightly raised his eyebrow. “The… woods?” He said questioningly, unsure of his own answer. Ted turned around and motioned vaguely to the far off treeline he thinks he was at. “Somewhere there.” He turned back around to see Mark looking skeptical and Jenny’s face bearing a worried expression.
His shoulders slumped in defeation. “You guys don’t believe me,” He mumbled, heartbroken. While Ted gave two shits about what Mark thought about him, the way Jenny looked at him like he was crazy made him want to cry even more. “It’s there, I swear,” His voice cracked in despair. Jenny shifted, stretching the back of her neck.
“Well, it-it’s not that I don’t believe you but-” She started but was cut off by Ted waving a dismissive hand. “Whatever,” He choked out with watery eyes, stepping away from Jenny and Mark. “Drop it,” Ted turned tail and stormed off to the cabins. “Ted,” Jenny shouted after him. Ted ignored her.
She sighed angrily and turned to Mark. “Thanks a lot, Mark.” He shot her a look and over-exaggeratedly shrugged. “What did I have to do with that?”
Jenny pointed at him. “ You made it sound like I didn’t believe him, It was just… hard to believe.”
“Well, then why didn’t you say that?” He asked, motioning to the now gone Ted. Jenny opened her mouth to speak then clamped it shut. She tried to but then he got all upset and ran off and this whole thing is frustrating and she thinks that if she follows Ted, it’ll end worse because she is very tired and she’s still a little upset about the whole running off thing he pulled. It especially hurt due to her inability to tell what that meant. She crossed her arms with a huff and grumbled, “Fuck you, Mark.” Jenny then stormed off in the opposite direction of where Ted went, heading to her cabin.