Crossing the Boundaries- Chapter Eight (standard:drama, 0 words) [8/12] show all parts
Author: Siobhan	Added: Jun 03 2001	Views/Reads: 2700/2178	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Brenda returns to camp three years after her stalking experience. She is ready for a happy life but strange events begin occurring, and it becomes clear that the stalker is back to destroy her once and for all.

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Michelle explained. 

"Or stupid enough," Jack mumbled underneath her breath. 

"I heard that," Brenda smacked Jack with her pillow. 

"Creep," Jack threw a pillow at Brenda but missed. 

"Good shot," Beverly snickered.  Jack and Brenda looked at each other
than grabbed two pillows and threw them at her. 

"Right on target," Jack cheered." 

Brenda smiled and wiped away a stray tear that slipped down her cheek. 
How could she have taken such a dear friend for granted?  Now they 
would never share silly giggles and pillow fights.  It was all over and 
had been now for a year.  Another memory hit her. 

"A fifthteen year old Brenda sat by the edge of a cliff, watching the
ground below.  She was sure; a boy by the name of Brady would pop out 
of the grass and come to finish the job of killing her but it never 
happened.  She began to cry and apologize to no one in particular.  
Suddenly, a hand lay on her shoulder. 

"Can I sit here?" Tyson's voice asked. 

"Sure, the seat is unsaved," Brenda replied. 

"You okay?" Tyson wanted to know. 

"I don't know.  I mean I feel as if everyone thinks I am crazy.  The
worse part, is so do I.  I mean, I have believed in this thing so solid 
and when I sat here, I realized how insane I have been acting and how 
many people I've hurt.  I'm so thankful for you and Jack," Brenda 
leaned her head on his shoulder.  He casually draped an arm around her 
shoulders. 

"Here, I have a present for you," Tyson pulled out a large white teddy
bear with red hearts on its' boxers and an "I love you" balloon in its' 
paw. 

"Thank you.  It is so sweet," Brenda smiled up at him. 

"His name is Mr. Cuddles and he is only here to cheer you up," Tyson
laughed. 

"Mr. Cuddles, Tyson would make a better cheer up than you," Jennifer
secretly confided in the cute bear's ear.  Tyson looked at her, she 
smiled, and then they kissed. 

"I told you so," Brenda insisted in the little bear's ear. 

"Will you be my girlfriend?" Tyson questioned. 

"How could I say no?" Brenda had to know." 

Brenda realized that she had unpacked Mr. Cuddles and was squeezing him
tightly.  Another memory came into focus and Jennifer almost cried. 

"A sixteen year old Tyson held a sixteen year old Brenda in his arms. 

"It'll be all right," Tyson whispered into her hair. 

"No it will not because I know that rose was here," Brenda whimpered. 

"No it wasn't.  You were hallucinating," Tyson hugged her tighter. 

"No I wasn't.  Stop dismissing everything I see as a hallucination,"
Brenda pulled away from him. 

"I am sorry but I am so worried about you," Tyson reached for her hand
but she yanked it away. 

"How can you be so sorry if you are insisting that I am a nutcase meant
for the loony bin?" Brenda spat. 

"Brenda calm down.  That isn't what I meant," he whimpered. 

"Then what did you mean?" she wanted to know. 

"I just meant that maybe the "incident" tinkered with something it
shouldn't have," he sheepishly replied. 

"So basically screwed up my mind and I am as crazy as a Loony Toon," she
hissed. 

"Brenda, stop twi. . . it," Tyson's voice sounded defeated. 

"How could you hurt me like this?" she felt as if she were going to cry.


"How'd I hurt you?" he inquired. 

"You didn't stand by me and I would have.  I saw him go ever the edge, I
heard his scream of death, I saw his body hit the ground like a rag 
doll, and I am the one who knows he is still alive and will hunt me 
down.  Why can't you see that?" Brenda almost begged. 

"Brenda, we are way to serious about this hot topic and I think we
should drop it till it cools down," he explained. 

"You mean drop something else, don't you?" she laughed. 

"I'm sorry, give me a call when things are better, okay?" Tyson looked
at his feet. 

"You can count on your phone not ringing by me," Brenda smiled sadly
then turned around and marched off." 

Brenda squeezed Mr. Cuddles even closer and angrily wiped a few tears
into the white fur.   They had made up and broke up a year later.  She 
had been grieving and he had sadly thought their paths were going 
different ways, and he was right. 

One more memory assaulted her.  "Her and Jack were sitting on the tire
swing, the summer before the stalker.  They were just swinging and 
talking about all the guys they thought were hot.  It had been a great 
moment and the air had been filled with their laughter."  Suddenly a 
little girl tugged on her shirt. 

"Miss," the little girl's voice sounded squeaky. 

"Yes," Brenda forced her frown away and came out with her sunny smile
but her eyes were a cloudy bluish gray. 

"A counselor told me to give these to you," the little girl handed up a
velvet red rose and a lavender envelope. 

"What counselor?" Brenda tried to keep herself from freaking. 

"I don't know.  Just a boy one," the girl smiled. 

"Oh, do you remember what he looked like?" Brenda saw that her hand was
shaking. 

"He was tall, but everyone is compared to me.  Can I go now?" the little
girl was getting bored. 

"Yeah, sure," Brenda felt her self-composure giving way.  The little
girl skipped merrily away. Brenda saw that the little girl who had been 
putting on the lotion was gone leaving the cabin deserted except for 
Brenda.  She took a deep breath and sat on the bunk underneath hers.  
She opened the envelope slowly, almost expecting a poisoned spider or 
scorpion to crawl out but nothing came.  Brenda pulled out a typed note 
and she began to read. 

"Dear unfaithful, 

All I asked was for you to pledge your love and I mine for you but you
had to fight back.  I then tried to put you out of your miserable 
existence out of love but you fought back.  You thought you had won, 
did you not?  They never found my body or any sign that I ever existed. 
 You could not even find a camper with the name Brady.  That is my real 
name but I just always sign in using a false name.  You are probably 
wondering why I am blabbing all this junk well I shall tell you in 
time.  Do you like your boyfriend still?  I doubt he will still like 
you especially when he finds out his death is coming because of your 
lack of interest in me.  By the way, Michelle makes a wonderful mother 
but from the grave, I think not. 

Love your ceaseless nightmare, 

Brady 

P.S.  I came to finish my job that I began with you and will finish
without you." 

Brenda wiped a trickle of sweat off her forehead and angrily threw the
rose and letter into the trashcan by the door.  Why couldn't he leave 
her alone?  All she wanted was peace and she knew that she would never 
have it until she had succeeded in killing him. 

"God help me.  I must save them," Brenda prayed swiftly and then tried
to decide which one she must save first.  She realized that with 
Michelle being a mommy, she would take the dice without any thought.  
Brenda ran in the direction of where she had seen Michelle walking.  
She had to run by the playground and as she ran by, she saw something 
that made her stop. 

" "Higher Elyse!  Higher!" a ten-year-old Michelle giggled.  A
twelve-year-old Elyse stood behind her and pushed her on the swing.  A 
nine-year-old Amanda and an eight-year-old Beverly sat on the monkey 
bars throwing peanuts at two boys.  Eight year old Jack and eight year 
old Brenda were racing each other down the slides while escaping from a 
couple of boys who were playing tag. 

"Your it!" one of the boys yelled and tagged Jack."  At the same time, a
deeper voice became the boy's voice and Brenda came back to present 
time.  She saw Michelle swinging on the same swing that she had ten 
years ago.  Her husband tagged the little baby girl and she giggled in 
response. 

Brenda took a deep breath and yelled, "Michelle, I need to speak to
you."  Brenda watched Michelle's face go from happy to disturbed to 
fake happy and to false joy. 

"Oh Brenda, you came back," Michelle sounded unhappy. 

"I need to speak to you now," Brenda insisted. 

"If it is about how you acted three years ago, no need to apologize, you
are all ready forgiven," Michelle announced but Brenda could tell that 
she was lying. 

"It isn't about that.  He's back," Brenda began. 

"Please, don't start up with that again, okay.  Let everything be,"
Michelle had lost all pretense. 

"Honey, are you all right?" her husband called. 

"I'm fine, it's just someone I knew from a long time ago," Michelle
shouted back. 

"You don't understand.  He's threatened you and Tyson," Brenda insisted.


"Don't you think that is convenient that it happens to be the only two
people who actually came back from that horrid time?" Michelle wanted 
to know. 

"What does that mean?  Jesse is also here," Brenda asked. 

"It means that I think you need to go see a shrink again.  Now stay away
from my family and me.  For all I know, he went home sick and you 
imagined the entire Brady thing or perhaps you have split 
personalities," Michelle hissed. 

"There were other people there, who saw what he was doing to me and
Beverly," Brenda pointed out. 

"They were not there when he supposedly "fell off the cliff"," Michelle
chuckled. 

"Oh he went home sick that quick.  Wow, Michelle you are truly on top of
things. Why didn't I think about that?  You're the one who needs to get 
real," Brenda cried out. 

"Yeah, what about you?  You were once real when you weren't seeing "dead
boys" everywhere," Michelle exclaimed. 

"I have never seen a dead boy," Brenda verified.  She couldn't believe
that Michelle was being so terrible.  She wasn't trying to be mean, she 
was only trying to protect Michelle and her family. 

"Whatever, that isn't the point.  The point is that is all behind me.  I
even have a family now with Jonathon.  I am not going to have you drag 
up a time period that I wish had never existed," Michelle huffed. 

"As much as you hate to admit it, the time period will always be there
and you can't rid it by clearing your conscious memory of it.  
Eventually, the past will catch up and that time is now.  If you aren't 
willing to face it then it will face you," Brenda insisted. 

"I mean it, stay away from me and my family," Michelle turned and
returned to her family. 

"Be aware," Brenda shouted after her but she did not respond in any way.
Brenda stood there for a moment thinking of lost times that would never 
be recovered.  Nothing could ever be normal again, Brady had made sure 
of that. 

With a start, she realized that she still needed to speak to Tyson and
that conversation, she dreaded even more than with Michelle. 

She knew what cabin he was in somehow.  She gingerly knocked on the door
and heard a wheezing sound.  She felt fear in her bones and knew that 
she still did love him and would hate herself forever if he were dead. 

"Hello?" she called as she knocked again.  She again heard the wheezing
sound and she tried the doorknob.  It was locked and she then heard 
gasping for air. She saw the window next to the door was open and she 
peered into the cabin room.  She thought it was empty until she saw a 
pair of white Sketcher shoes and blue jeans sticking out from behind a 
bed. 

"Oh no," Brenda climbed through the window in a flash and turned the
corner of the bunk bed.  She prayed desperately that it wasn't her 
Tyson. 

"No," a scream escaped Brenda's mouth before she could stop it.  Tyson
lay on the floor, strange bruise marks around his throat.  His eyes 
were opened but unfocused and it was from him that the wheezing sounds 
exorcised from. 

"Tyson, please come back to me," Brenda dropped to her knees and stroked
the brunette hair off his forehead.  She loved him so much and it would 
kill her if he died.  She had forgotten that they were no longer 
together in that instance. 

"Don't leave me," Brenda almost begged.  Slowly but surely, Brenda saw
Tyson's eyes beginning to focus.  She felt hope leap into her and she 
kept praying that he would be okay. 

"That's it," Brenda felt as if she were coaxing a small creature into
breathing. 

"You were right," Tyson suddenly breathed out. 

"Don't speak," Brenda crooned and ran her hand through his soft hair. 
She had missed holding him so much and she had almost lost him today. 

"I was wrong," he wheezed out, his voice raspy. 

"Forget it.  The one thing that matters is that you are alive.  If you
were dead I would never forgive myself," Brenda claimed and smiled 
gently. 

"I should have listened to you," Tyson whispered. 

"It isn't the first time and I am sure that it won't be the last time
that you don't listen to me," Brenda laughed.  She knew that it was 
true also for she had a feeling that they would always be on speaking 
terms with each other, even if they weren't on listening terms. 

Later, Tyson and Brenda walked out of the nurse's office. 

"I really am sorry," Tyson insisted. 

"I am sure that you are.  The bruises on your neck are your atonement,"
Brenda pointed out.  She loved him too much and his bruises were 
imprints on her mind and conscious.  Of he hadn't cared for her and she 
for him, he would have escaped all pain but he hadn't. 

"Actually that is a point," Tyson smiled. 

"Good point, actually, on your neck it looks like several good points,"
Brenda laughed.  She ran a hand over his neck and could feel the welts 
because so much pressure had been applied. 

"I want you to be my girlfriend again.  I really missed you and I
realized something.  I love you and in a way, I always have," Tyson 
looked into her eyes. 

"It took you long enough," Brenda laughed then hugged him, "Of course I
will.  You always had my heart and you always will."  She was having 
another prayer answered and she felt so blessed.  She felt that she 
could not live without him and she had been miserable without him.  Now 
she had him back and after Brady was eliminated, they could go back to 
being a normal couple again. 

"Good," Tyson wrapped his arm around her shoulder. 

"Do you remember a long time ago when I beat on you with a stuffed teddy
bear?" Brenda inquired.  She thought of her memory earlier. 

"No, when was that?" Tyson wanted to know. 

"We were about eight years old and they were having Beat- Your- Crush-
With- Animal fight at the Memorial Hall.  I beat on you but you beat on 
some other girl," Brenda remembered. 

"Her name was Andrea.  I remember.  She was not meant for me.  She was
incredibly slutty and at age fifthteen was pregnant.  She'd been with 
everyone but sadly enough, her best friend, Jenny, disappeared along 
with Tonya and her boyfriend Justin.  Oh wait, I didn't mean to bring 
that up," Tyson explained. 

"Oh, well, guess she wasn't meant for you," Brenda smiled and wrapped an
arm around his waist.  She ignored the slip up for with the 
disappearances came Jack's untimely death and she did not want to think 
about it. 

"No, you were and you knew it even as an eight year old," Tyson kissed
her forehead softly. 

"Well shows who has the brains in this relationship," Brenda teased. 

"It ain't you cause you liked me," Tyson replied. 

"Oh whatever!  Wait, perhaps you are right because you did like me,"
Brenda grinned. 

"Actually maybe it was you because you did see the hottie in me," Tyson
chuckled. 

"Anyone could see that," Brenda responded.  She loved joking with him
and being with him.  She was so glad that they were back together, she 
had been miserable without him. 

"Well thanks," Tyson said. 

That night there was a concert just for the counselors and CITs'.  Only
a few stayed with the kids and Brenda had such a blast.  She danced, 
sang, and joined the mosh pit.  Tyson was always at her side and a 
couple of times she saw the counselor with the frosty blue eyes.  She 
walked back to her cabin afterwards and saw all the kids were sleeping. 
 She changed silently into her nightgown and was about to slide into 
her sleeping bag when she remembered the rose that had been slid in 
there before.  She grabbed her flashlight and opened the sleeping bag 
slowly.  She shined her flashlight down the material and screamed. 

The older counselor, Jo Anne, held Brenda in her arms and rocked her
back and forth.  Carla, another CIT, walked onto the porch with the 
dead snake in a bag. 

"Who would out a dead snake into your bed?" Jo Anne asked. 

"I was here three years ago and a boy named Brady stalked me.  His
trademark was by leaving roses behind.  Well, he tried to make me 
pledge my love for him but I refused and so he tried to throw me over 
the side of the cliff.  I ended up throwing him over but they never 
found his body.  Then today, a little girl delivered a note and a rose 
to me.  They were from him and he is going to try to kill me.  I think 
right now he is just trying to scare me and is playing with me," Brenda 
was close to crying.  She just wanted it to end, why wouldn't he just 
go away? 

"We won't let him get you.  I promise that," Jo Anne tried to comfort
her.  Brenda wished that Tyson was there with her and instead squeezed 
Mr. Cuddles into her arms. 

The next morning Brenda got up early and went for a lone walk around the
camp.  The cold air made her shiver but she felt strangely warm.  She 
figured it was because she was thinking of Tyson.  She walked by a 
cabin and heard a strange creaking noise.  She looked up at it and 
began to scream, repeatedly.  Michelle's body hung by a thin wire from 
a tree branch and rocked back and forth.  Brenda sank into a hysterical 
heap on the ground.  Someone touched her shoulder and she looked 
through tear streaked eyes to see Michelle standing beside her. 

"No," Brenda wailed and scuttled away from Michelle on her hands and
knees.  This could not be happening.  Michelle was dead and her spirit 
was coming to say good-bye.  She had been murdered by the devil, Brady. 


"Brenda, wait.  It is I.  Someone hung a dummy from the tree, dressed it
in my clothes, and made it look like me.  I swear," Michelle insisted.  
Brenda looked at the rocking body and realized that it was a dummy. 

"Why is he doing this to me?" Brenda whispered.  She was shocked but
slightly reassured.  How could anyone want to play with her like that?  
Even Brady, she had thought would not go to those extremes but then 
again, he had. 

"Who?" Michelle wanted to know. 

"Brady.  He tried to kill Tyson but he did not succeed.  Last night, he
put a dead snake in my bed.   Now he made a dummy of you to try and 
scare me," Brenda explained.  How could Michelle be so daft as to ask 
who?  As if she didn't know. 

"Brenda, I am sure that it isn't Brady.  I bet it was someone just
playing a cruel prank on me," Michelle pointed out, "You really need to 
quit with the Brady thing.  Didn't mess up your life enough?" 

"I know it was him.  I really do not feel well.  Will you walk me to the
nurse?" Brenda stood up on wobbly knees.  It seemed like the world was 
dong a strange dance and tilting to one side.  Fogginess seeped into 
her vision around the corner of her eyes and her head was pounding.  
She seemed so hot that she felt as if she was on fire.  Suddenly she 
just passed out without any warning. 

When she awoke, she was in the nurse's office again. 

"Nurse Tory, what's wrong with me?" Brenda asked, her voice scratchy and
choked sounding. 

"Someone slipped some sort of poison into your blood stream.  It is
wearing off but you may want to rest today.  It seems that it was just 
to knock you out for a while," the nurse wiped her forehead with a 
moist cloth. 

"Brady did it," Brenda mumbled.  Her world was disorientated but she
still knew who was the perpetrator. 

"You have a visitor," Nurse Tory ushered Tyson in.  A smile spread
across her face and she felt that as long as he was with her, she was 
safe. 

"Are you okay?" Tyson kissed Brenda's cheek. 

"I guess.  He poisoned me but not to kill me.  Why?" she begged to know.
She felt so dizzy and couldn't think straight. 

"I don't know.  All I know is that I am staying with you today.  I can't
give him another chance to hurt you," Tyson insisted. 

"You can stay with her but you must take care of her," Nurse Tory spoke
up. 

"I can do that," Tyson nodded his head. 

"Okay, well I have to go get breakfast," Nurse Tory gave her adieus and
left. 

"Tyson, I am scared.  He is playing games but how long before he goes
after me or attempts to kill you again.  Not to mention he threatened 
Michelle but she does not believe me," Brenda was close to crying once 
more.  She hated feeling so helpless and having people she knew not 
believe her. They heard the door squeak open. 

"Nurse Tory, you were back quick," Brenda commented.  She was feeling
even more dim but she could tell that the poison was not as strong as 
before.  She wondered how the nurse had moved so quick. 

"That's because I am not Nurse Tory," a male voice chuckled.  A large
vase came crashing down on Tyson's head and he slumped to the ground in 
a crumpled heap. 

"Tyson," Brenda shouted then looked at his assailant.  His frosty blue
eyes coldly regarded her and she now recognized them. 

"Brady, oh no," she was afraid.   She could not escape him and somehow
she knew that this was it.  One of them was going to die and with drug 
that he had slipped her, it was most likely her. 

"Good guess. Did you like my present?" Brady wanted to know.  His eyes
were bright with insanity and his lips twisted into a cruel sneer. 

"Which one?" Brenda inquired.  Her one hope was that she could stall him
until help arrived but she wondered, how long would that be?  For if 
she knew him, which she did, he would not wait for long before going 
through with his plans. 

"All of them," Brady replied. 

"No, I'm sorry I didn't," she responded.  She had to keep talking and
keep him from realizing that she was stalling.   She really didn't want 
to die. 

"Too bad, now you will come with me or not only will I kill lover-boy in
front of you but I will kill Michelle and her darling family," Brady 
threatened. 

"I'll come but we're going to have to take it slowly.  That drug you
slipped me was a doozy," Brenda slowly stood up and almost blacked out 
again.  She wondered if she would even be able to make it wherever he 
was taking her.  Probably not and then what?  Would he kill her on the 
spot? 

"Aren't you glad that you shoved me over that cliff?" Brady laughed. 

"Where are you making me go?" she questioned.  There was a knot of
terror in her stomach and she was guessing that they were going to the 
cliff.  Brady seemed twisted like that. 

"A spot that you'll love.  Trust me, it has many memories," Brady
smiled, grabbed her arm, and yanked her over to him.  She squawked in 
pain and she wished that she had the strength to beat him up but she 
didn't. 

"I am all ready hating the spot," Brenda hissed and tried to push away
from him but the poison he had served her sapped her strength, as was 
it's obvious purpose and intent. 

"Yes, I am sure you are," Brady began to pull her out the door.  They
began to walk in the direction of the canteen and the parking lot.  
Worse of all, towards the cliff that Brady had gone over in an attempt 
to throw her over. 

"No, I don't want to go to the cliff," she tried to hold back but Brady
just pulled her onward like a rag doll.  She did know him too well and 
this bothered her. 

"Yes, we are going there and I will throw you over the edge like you did
me," Brady laughed insanely. 

"I didn't mean to though.  I was just trying to defend myself from you,"
she cried out.  He had forced her to push him over the edge, it hadn't 
even been on purpose. 

"Shutup and do not be loud or I will kill you here and now," Brady
pulled a little switchblade out of his pocket and moved it in the air 
across her throat. 

"Okay," Brenda began to cry.  She prayed that a kid would see them and
go run and find help but no one was even spotted.  They arrived at the 
cliff and Brady marched her up to the edge of the cliff. 

"Look down there," Brady forced her to look down the side of the drop
off.  she noted that there was a pile of snow down there and she hoped 
to land on that. 

"Sit down," he forced her onto her bottom. 

"Stop, I can do it on my own," she shouted.  She hated being forced to
do things especially by creepy men and she wanted to kick him where it 
mattered. 

"That was a little loud," Brady warned. 

"Well then don't do that to me," she rolled her eyes.  What did he
expect?  Her silence when he was trying to force her on her rear end?  
Certainly not and she really wished that Tyson was with her. 

"Stay right here because I know that drug has not worn off yet and I
will be able to catch you and subdue you easily," Brady pointed out and 
began to walk towards the parking lot.  She sat still hoping to reserve 
her strength.  Brady walked back out with about a dozen roses.  She 
gawked with curiosity and wondered what his psychotic plans were now. 

"What are those for?" Brenda wanted to know.  She voiced her opinions
aloud and still hoped to stall him. 

"They are for sprinkling on your body when you lay stiff on the ground
below," Brady replied. 

"How sweet," she sarcastically announced.  How she hated him and wanted
to tear him up into little pieces.  He had made her life so miserable 
and now he planned on ending her life. 

"I know," and with that Brady gave her a great shove and knocked her
over the side of the cliff.  Horror like nothing she had ever known 
before screamed through every nerve.  She was going to die and she knew 
it. 

"No," she wailed as the ground raced to meet her.  She landed on her
back with a loud thump and she felt the coldness of the snow begin to 
seep through her clothes before she closed her eyes.  Right before she 
blacked out completely she felt the light pitter pat of the roses being 
tossed onto her. 

When she awoke, she was laying on her bunk with a cold compress on her
forehead.  She saw Elyse and Tyson watching her. 

"Elyse, since when were you here?" Brenda inquired.  Even with the aches
of her body, her heart ache for her friends mattered  more. 

"I arrived late last night and I found you at the bottom of the cliff,"
Elyse explained, "I just have one question.  Could we be friends again 
and how did you manage to get yourself into the situation that I 
stumbled upon?"  A smile was upon her face as she looked fondly down on 
Brenda. 

"Yeah, of course we can be friends cause I missed you all and Jack died.
 Brady's back and has attempted murder on both Tyson and me," she put a 
hand to her head and winced in pain.  Every muscle and bone in her 
seemed to ache and she had a nasty headache.  She hated Brady with a 
passion and now he had made her hurt worse, physically. 

"So how are you feeling?" Tyson asked.  His eyes searched her face with
concern even though his hand kept wandering to the back of his head. 

"Like I fell off the side of a cliff.  How about you Mr. I took a vase
in the back of my head for my girlfriend? " Brenda laughed. 

"Like I took a vase in the back of my head for my girlfriend, though I
would go through more for her if need be so," he ran a hand through her 
hair then outlined her face while he talked. 

"Like duh," Elyse chuckled.  She had always thought that they were the
cutest couple and she loved being around them for their love for each 
other was so pure and untainted by all that they had gone through 
together. 

"So what's up with you?" Brenda wanted to know.   She was curious as to
what she had missed over the past three years. 

"Well, I am engaged to Jesse," Elyse replied.  She showed off her
diamond engagement ring with pride.  She had never imagined marrying 
Jesse but over the three years she had dated him, she had fallen in 
love. 

"No way!  Congratulations," Brenda cheered.  She was so happy for her
friend and hoped that she too, would soon add word of an engagement.  
She looked over at Tyson who was also looking at her and she had a 
feeling that she just might. 

"Yes way and thanks," Elyse smiled.  Her heart beat faster at the
thought of Jesse and she wished that she could go see him but she was 
taking care of Brenda at the moment.  She would soon be able to be at 
his side and listen to his stories.  She sighed at the thought. 

"I hate to be rude but my head hurts and I really would like to sleep in
private," Brenda exclaimed.  She loved having them with her but she 
felt awful  and would really have liked to get some shut eye in. 

"That isn't being rude and you know it," Elyse stood up, as did Tyson. 
She really didn't mind, she wanted to be with her Jesse. 

"Of course we will.  I don't think he'll bother you because he thinks
you're dead and anyways my head hurts too because of the vase 
smashing," Tyson decided.  He automatically rubbed the back of his head 
again and grinned sheepishly.  He hadn't been able to protect her when 
she needed it and he felt guilty even though he had a huge goose egg on 
the back of his head. 

"OK, thanks again," Brenda accepted the kiss from Tyson and waved
good-bye.  The moment they were gone Jennifer fished through her bag 
and found her bottle of aspirin.  She started to go to the bathroom but 
stopped and fished through her bag again.  She pulled a pair of sharp 
scissors out with triumph.  She walked into the bathroom and without 
looking at the mirror swallowed the pills with water.   She just wanted 
her cursed headache to go away.  She looked at the mirror and gasped in 
shock. 

"I am behind you," was written across the mirror in deep red lipstick.
Brenda turned and looked at the closet behind her with fear.  She 
shakily reached for the doorknob then thought better of it.  She 
started to walk out of the door when the closet flew open and a boy 
grabbed her around the waist.  Anger and terror set off her adrenaline 
and she knew that she was truly going to succeed in killing him again.  
She wanted a normal life back. 

"Let me go," Brenda shrieked and dropped the scissors with a clatter to
the ground.  She felt like a movie bimbo because she hadn't been 
quicker and she had dropped her only weapon. 

"I knew the fall wouldn't kill you if it didn't kill me in the middle of
summer without any snow to cushion the fall so I waited in here for 
your return," Brady whispered in her ear.  She looked at the scissors 
but knew they were too far away to reach.  Brady laughed and began to 
haul her out of the bathroom.  She summoned up some strength, kicked, 
and elbowed as hard as she could.  Brady grunted heavily and let her 
go.  Brenda fell to the ground and scrambled towards the scissors.  He 
grabbed her foot with which he began to drag her backwards but she was 
determined to get her only weapon.  She fought and struggled but she 
just couldn't reach them.  She finally summoned up another plot of 
strength, stretch really far, and grabbed the scissors. 

"You stupid little witch," Brady reached for her hand and she drew her
arm back.  She wasn't even going to think twice about it.  He had tried 
to kill her and her true love.  He had cost her many of her friends and 
her last year of life with her best friend.  She was going to make him 
pay. 

"You ain't coming back for a second time," she hissed and plunged the
scissors into his neck.  She pulled them out with a sickening squelch 
and thrust them in for a second time. 

"No, Brenda," he gasped and clutched at the scissors but he could not
grip them for the blood made the handles slick.  He struggled to remove 
them for he knew that he was dying and he wanted to take her down with 
him. 

"Oh God, I'm sorry," she felt bile rise in her throat but she forced it
down.  The killer rage had left her a hollow empty shell  and she felt 
rotten. 

"I love you," he sobbed as he staggered out into the cabin room.  He was
fighting for life but he knew that he was going to die.  She had 
ensured that and he hated that he was not the winner. 

"No, you obsessed then you cracked.  Now you die," she sobbed and gave
him a wave good-bye.  She had finally triumphed and wouldn't have to 
worry about her life being ruined again. 

"Good-bye Brenda," he whispered and spun around in a daze.  He stumbled
towards the door and toppled onto the floor with a heavy thud. He lay 
there, trying to breathe through the thick blood that spewed from his 
lips and nose.  This was not how he wanted to go.  He saw the roof 
becoming fuzzy and growing distant.  He reached for it with a bloody 
hand but it dropped limply to the floor as the world became black and 
silent. 

"I'm sorry Brady," Brenda wailed. 

Several days later, she stood in Tyson's arms watching Brady's coffin
being lowered into the ground.  This was not the first time that she 
had lost someone who had made an impact on her life, at camp.  The 
funeral dredged up memories of Jack's and it broke her heart.  Though, 
with Brady's death, she had accomplished the one feat she had been 
desperate for.  A normal life!   With a hand that bore a large 
engagement ring, she tossed a bouquet of roses into the hole with him. 

"You're finally at rest," she whispered then buried her face in Tyson's
shoulder. 


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