One Good Woman

Disclaimer: Yeah, Yeah. I don’t own anything….we know.
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Jesse has slept until noon. The night watch was rough. But then at least this way she knew it was being done right.
She peeked out the curtain with a sigh. The only disadvantage was during the mornings, Tommy was pretty much left out of everything. She could see him sitting on a log outside her cabin. He was waiting for her to wake up. Jesse smiled sadly as she looked at him. Of course, it was practical for him to be sitting there….the other kids didn’t dare tease him right outside Jesse’s window.
She dressed quickly in a blue t-shirt and black shorts. Her long hair was swept into a pony-tail, and she was out the door.
Tommy rose quickly when she came out, but did not look at her. His vacant gaze was only for the ground under his feet. But Jesse was warmed by the few times he had looked at her. Such joy had twinkled in those eyes….
Jesse didn’t want to tear up. But it was a sad fact that Tommy wasn’t likely to reach his twenties. Aside from missing a good chunk of skull, he’d recently had kidney failure and was working (with medications) with only one kidney. His liver had problems, giving him a sickly-yellow cast to his skin. And to top it off, he had asthma.
Without a word, Tommy gripped Jesse’s hand and towed her into the woods. Tommy loved these walks, and usually spent most of the afternoon with Jesse just walking along the trails. Jesse never guided him. The only control she ever exerted was to slow her pace when she heard the boy begin to wheeze.
Tommy never needed to grope for his inhaler around Jesse. Her younger cousin had bad asthma, and Jesse knew how key it was for cousin Cora to be able to relax. If the people around her were calm and just waited a bit, her asthma usually subsided on it’s own.
So far, the technique had worked just as well for Tommy. Still, Jessie always carried Tommy’s spare inhaler just to be safe.
Jesse usually enjoyed being in the woods, but the past few days….She glanced over her shoulder as the hairs on the back of her neck rose.
She couldn’t see anything in the foliage. But she couldn’t quite shake the feeling that sometimes…someone was watching her.

()()()()()

The girl had stopped again. Unblinking eyes stared at her from the bushes. Merciless intelligence glared at her t-shirt. Was it too low cut? Too tight? Thin enough to reveal her nipples? No. Maybe the shorts were a little too short. A scarred hand tightened on the machete.
But he did not move. The shorts did not brazenly display cheek. And there was the child to consider.
Normally small children were below his notice. But this little boy was….different. Jason had been dead a long time. His Mother, dead even longer. The demon that resided within him had been speaking more often than she had for a long time.
Still even after so much time, his past was still his past. He couldn’t kill someone who was clearly responsible for a retarded boy….not yet anyway. He waited and watched. The girl would do something BAD. They always did. He just had to be patient.

()()()()()

“Luke….you gonna pass me some of that or what?” A young black man said as he propped his leg up of the log Luke was lounging on.
Luke blinked slowly at Thomas and dug into the front pocket of his over-alls. Taking a long drag on his own joint, he pulled a second out with a flourish and handed it over.
“Ooh baby!” Thomas said as he lit up and inhaled. “Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about!”
“Shhhh.” Luke muttered irritably. “Tell the whole Camp why don’tcha”
“Seen Donna?” Thomas asked.
“Yeah I seen her.” Luke said with an impish grin. “Said she had a big night planned with you. I hooked er up with ‘something special.’” He said with emphasis.
Thomas took a couple steps towards the woods. “Damn! I’m supposed to be night watch tonight.”
Luke just waved at him. “Aw hell. Just ask Jesse to cover it. You know she’ll do it for ya. Ain’t like she’s got anything better to do.”
“Yeah.” Thomas mumbled as he glanced across the clearing to where Jesse was sitting with Tommy. Looked like they were making macaroni pictures.
“Damn shame.” Luke muttered as he too found himself staring at Jesse.

()()()()()()()

Camp Director Bradley stood proudly on the upper deck of his cabin overlooking the center of the activities in front of the lake.
He watched as children played tag over here, kick the can over there, and down below him in the grass sat his greatest pride.
Tommy, the Special-Needs kid was sitting with Jesse putting together a macaroni picture. *That kid is going to bring serious business back to this place* He thought. Little did anyone know, he and his wife had been slowly buying up property around Crystal Lake. Just waiting for an opportunity like this one. And it had come.
Tommy would ensure the return of paddle-boaters, a lakeside public beach, waterskiing…
The locals would stop thinking he was off his rocker. Respect would come to the Bradleys. The Crystal Lake area would become a modern development. And all of it would have his name as owner, entrepreneur, hell maybe he’d eventually become the Mayor.
Jesse was an oddity, but one he could certainly appreciate right now. She saved him the trouble of having to keep a close eye on the retard.
He headed back into his cabin to get ready for bed.

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Authors Note: You may have noticed I gave Jason two working eyes. But seeing as the Series couldn’t really keep track of which damn eye was bad, I figured I was free enough to let him have two. But with a demonic face and being dead, it’s not really like he’s got much else going for him. Let him have two eyes!

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