Hide-and-Seek, Done Right

Thunder rumbled over the Connor Household, and the smell of blood in the living room grew stronger by the second. Bi licked her lips, her once-gentle eyes now gleaming with fanatical light.

"Come on, little Lily." Bi slowly walked toward the stairs, the ice pick in her hand still dripping blood. "How about we play a game?"

Max, Alison, and Sonia followed behind her, all three wearing eerie smiles like beasts that had caught the scent of blood.

Lily tilted her head and hugged her teddy bear tighter. Her voice remained soft and childish, sounding utterly innocent. "What game?"

"Hide-and-seek." Bi stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at her. "You hide, and we seek. If we find you..."

She raised the ice pick in her hand, its edge glinting coldly in the dim light.

"Then the game is over."

Lily blinked, then suddenly broke into a giggle. "Okay, okay! Hide-and-seek is my favorite!"

She jumped down from the stairs, light on her feet as a kitten.

The four adults instantly surrounded her, but Lily showed no fear. Instead, she clapped her little hands excitedly.

"However," she said, her voice suddenly turning strange, "I think the rules of this game should be changed."

The moment she finished speaking, every light in the living room went out.

In the pitch-black darkness, only the lightning outside occasionally illuminated the room, casting the four zealots' faces in shifting light and shadow.

"You count to ten, then come find me." Lily's voice echoed through the darkness, but it was impossible to tell where she was. "But be careful. You're not the only ones playing this game in this house."

"What do you mean?" Alison looked around nervously.

A soft laugh answered her, coming from all directions, as if the entire house were laughing.

"One, two, three..." Lily began counting down. Her voice seemed far away one moment and close the next, making it impossible to pinpoint her.

Bi gritted her teeth and signaled to the other three. They split up, feeling their way in different directions.

"Four, five, six..."

Max felt along the wall as he headed toward the kitchen. His breathing quickened, and sweat began forming on his forehead. There were four adults against one little girl, so why did he feel so uneasy?

"Seven, eight, nine..."

Sonia pushed open the basement door. The stairs stretched downward into the darkness like the jaws of some giant beast. She gripped her dagger and descended one step at a time.

"Ten!"

The countdown ended, but strangely, the house suddenly became terrifyingly quiet. There were no footsteps, no breathing— even the thunder seemed to have been swallowed by something.

Bi stood in the middle of the living room, her heart pounding like a drum. She looked around and suddenly realized that the corpse that had been lying on the floor was gone.

The bloodstains remained on the carpet, but the body had vanished without a trace.

"Max?" she called softly.

There was no response.

"Alison? Sonia?"

The silence remained deathly.

A chill shot up Bi's spine and straight to her head. She realized that she might have underestimated that harmless-looking little girl.

Meanwhile, at Crystal Lake Camp.

Edward lay on the narrow bed in his cabin, listening to the sounds of the bonfire party outside gradually die down. Carrie had already returned to the girls' dormitory, while the other boys had climbed into their sleeping bags, ready to end this ordinary day.

But Edward could not sleep.

It was not because the bed was too hard, nor because of his roommates' snoring. It was because of an indescribable premonition pressing against his back like ice, making him uncomfortable all over.

A strange smell hung in the air—rotting, damp, with a faint trace of rust.

"Is it finally starting?" Edward murmured, a smile of anticipation curling at his lips.

He quietly sat up, made sure his roommates were fast asleep, then silently climbed out of bed.

He took out the two familiar pistols from the system space—Ebony and Ivory. Their bodies gleamed coldly beneath the moonlight, familiar and reassuring in his hands.

He pushed open the cabin door, and the night wind carrying the fishy scent of the lake rushed into his face. The camp was quiet, with only a few faint lights still shining from the staff cabins in the distance.

Edward did not head toward those lights. Instead, he turned and walked toward the lakeshore. His instincts told him that tonight's main character would not be waiting for him in those cabins.

When he reached the lake, the moon was swallowed by dark clouds, plunging everything into a darkness so deep he could not see his hand before his face.

Then he heard it.

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"Ah—!"

A shrill scream came from the direction of the staff cabins, shattering the night's silence. It was followed by another, then a third.

The screams abruptly stopped, as if something had forcibly strangled them off.

Edward turned toward the cabins. The light in one of them suddenly went out, then the second, then the third.

Darkness spread like a Plague, quickly swallowing the entire staff area.

Bang—!

A door was kicked open with brutal force, and a tall figure stepped out of the darkness.

Even from dozens of meters away, Edward could clearly make out that iconic silhouette—tall, burly, and wearing that classic hockey mask.

Jason Voorhees.

The legendary killer of Crystal Lake had finally appeared.

Jason dragged a massive machete in his hand, its blade still dripping blood. He slowly turned his head, and that mask looked especially vicious in the darkness.

Then he saw Edward (._.)

Naturally, Edward was looking at Jason too ( ˶•o•˶)

The two stared at each other across the lake, the killing intent in the air so thick it nearly solidified.

Edward raised both pistols and grinned. "Hey, big guy. I heard you really like playing games with young people?"

Jason did not answer. He merely raised the machete in his hand.

"Okay, looks like you're not much of a talker." Edward rolled his wrists. "Then let's get started. The rules are simple—whoever catches the other first wins."

He gave Jason a provocative wink. "But I should warn you, the loser might have a slightly... unpleasant experience."

The moment he finished speaking, Jason moved.

That seemingly lumbering giant burst forth with astonishing speed, charging to the lakeshore almost instantly. His machete tore through the air as it swung straight for Edward's head.

Edward had been prepared. He leaned backward and barely avoided the deadly strike. The blade swept past the tip of his nose, carrying a gust of cold wind.

"Not bad speed!" Edward flipped to his feet and fired both guns at once.

Silver bullets tore through the night, but Jason reacted just as quickly. He raised his machete, and the bullets struck its blade in a spray of sparks.

Edward did not linger. He turned and ran. Not because he was afraid, but because he wanted to draw this "game" into a more open area.

Jason followed close behind, each step leaving a deep footprint in the ground. He moved absurdly fast, his machete whistling through the air in his hand.

One pursued while the other fled, passing through the woods and crossing a stream before finally arriving at an open clearing on the hill behind the camp.

Moonlight happened to break through the clouds there, providing the perfect stage for the coming showdown.

Edward stopped and turned to face the killer. They stood less than ten meters apart, close enough to clearly hear each other breathing.

"Now," Edward said, licking his lips, excitement gleaming in his eyes, "let's play something truly fun."

Back at the Connor Household, the game continued.

Bi cautiously felt her way through the darkness. She had already lost all contact with her other three companions. The house she had thought she knew like the back of her hand now seemed to have become a massive maze.

The corridor seemed longer, and the rooms were arranged differently from how she remembered. Most bizarrely, she could always hear soft footsteps behind her, but whenever she turned around, there was nothing there.

"Lily?" she called tentatively. "The game can end now. We don't want to hurt you, we just..."

"Just want my blood?" Lily's voice came from above her.

Bi abruptly looked up, but saw only the dark ceiling.

"You know, Sister Bi," Lily's voice continued, seeming to come from every direction, "I'm actually very grateful to you."

"Grateful?"

"Mhm. Usually, Master never lets me fool around. He keeps saying I have to be a good girl. But tonight is different. Tonight..."

Her voice paused, then became filled with malice.

"Tonight, I can finally let loose and have some real fun."

As soon as she finished speaking, Bi suddenly heard a scream from upstairs. It was Max! That was followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the floor, and then there was no more movement.

Bi's hand began to tremble. She realized that the rules of this game had never been what they thought.

They were not the hunters.

They were the prey.

And that harmless-looking little girl was the true predator.

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