NOVEL NEXT Chapter 3: 3
Matt was walking with the group through the forest. He was trying, unsuccessfully, to distance himself from a hyperactive girl beside him, who kept asking increasingly personal questions.
"So, Matt, how can a guy like you be single? It doesn't make sense to me," said Amanda, walking next to him and deliberately bumping into him.
"Maybe he doesn't like women, Amanda. You're in luck, man. Wade here is single." Before Matt could respond, Richie spoke up teasingly.
"Hey, I'm straight!" Wade grumbled, irritated by his friend's joke.
Matt completely ignored Richie and replied, "I guess I just haven't found the right girl."
"Well, maybe you should stop looking for the right ones and try the wrong ones instead," Amanda said with a seductive smile, causing Richie to give Matt a threatening look.
Before Matt could respond, Wade, who was walking ahead of the group, stopped and murmured, "This doesn't make sense. The crop should be here."
"Well, apparently the information you bought was wrong, Wade. You two got scammed. Now that there's no weed, let's just find a place to camp and enjoy the night," Richie said, turning to Matt. "Well, man, looks like you came all the way here for nothing. We haven't walked too far. We're still near where you parked your bike. You can leave if you want."
"Richie, don't be rude. Matt's a friend of my brother's. He can stay with us if he wants. You wanna stay, Matt?" Whitney defended Matt, surprising her boyfriend.
However, Matt wasn't paying attention to the group's conversation. He was focused, using all his senses to scan his surroundings. He knew he couldn't afford to slip up; his enemy in this world was relentless—a supernatural killing machine.
Feeling the eyes on him, Matt glanced around and focused in one direction. In fact, he had already spotted the location of the herbs.
"It'd be a pleasure to stay with you guys," Matt said, his tone carrying a double meaning that made Whitney look away, embarrassed.
Her boyfriend furrowed his brow, about to say something, but Matt interrupted him. "Good guide, Wade. You almost got the exact spot right. Come on, follow me, I've found the herbs."
Matt veered off onto a side trail, and after exchanging silent glances, the group followed him.
After a few minutes of walking, Matt and the group reached the exact spot of the crop.
Seeing it, Wade rushed to one of the plants, and after confirming it was marijuana, he burst into laughter.
"Hahahahaha! There must be tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of dollars here! Hahaha! We're rich, Richie!"
But looking around, Richie shot a suspicious glance at Matt. "How did you know it was here?"
"I've been here before," Matt replied indifferently, lying.
"Are you one of the dealers who planted the weed?" Richie asked tensely, taking a small step back.
"Do I look like a drug dealer to you?" Matt snapped, irritated.
"Alright, alright. Richie, calm down and don't jump to conclusions. Matt, you said you were looking for something else. Is it here?" Whitney tried to ease the tension.
"Not yet, but it should be here soon, I hope," Matt responded mysteriously, making the group look at him strangely.
Before anyone could ask anything, Matt took the lead. "Alright, the most important part is already done. You guys need to collect the herbs and store them for later, but not now. We'll do that early tomorrow. Get your equipment together."
Matt looked at Richie and Wade, the leaders of this "mission."
"You brought the gear, right?" he asked, noticing their expressions.
"Well, I didn't think we'd actually find anything. I mean, I bought the information and the map for 20 bucks. Thought it was an adventure, but I didn't think it was real. So... I didn't bring anything," Wade admitted, looking at Richie, who shook his head, embarrassed.
"Alright. I've got some bags. I'll go grab them. Find a spot to camp. I'll be back soon." Matt sighed and left.
The group agreed and started setting up the tents for the night.
---
In reality, Matt didn't bring any bags. While the group set up their tents, he was hiding in the woods, waiting for Jason to make his move.
Killing Jason would be far harder than just destroying his body. Jason was virtually immortal, and his body was merely a vessel for a soul twisted by hatred and dark forces to move through the physical world.
Every time his body was destroyed, his soul would go to a distorted dimension—an unchanging, dark, and damp replica of the main reality. In that dimension, Jason, using malevolent energy, would rebuild his body to continue his massacre.
Matt, through his cosmic consciousness, learned this the moment he entered this world. That's why he wouldn't face Jason immediately. He knew that destroying his body would be pointless, as Jason would return. But Matt had a risky plan—his only solution.
He knew an Enochian spell, a potent magic that, for 60 minutes, would allow him to trace Jason's soul to the distorted dimension. But he needed two things: energy, which he didn't have at the moment, and something to connect him to Jason. Looking carefully at Whitney, Matt knew exactly where to find both...