Chapter 1: Arrival at Krystal Lake

The sun was shining brightly through a cloudless sky. The ripples of the water reflected back the suns rays to give the water an especially illuminating glow of the surface. Birds chirped from the countless trees that bordered the shore line of the lake. The only human thing that disturbed this natural paradise was a large cabin that had used to own to the local camping center until the Cage family purchased it unknowingly a few weeks ago. The view was quite impressive from the main lobby, endless water and green trees. Brown fallen leaves crunched with rough dull pebbles at the shore. To anyone it seemed like a perfect getaway from a long war with the Nether Realm and Outworld. Especially for someone like Cassie Cage.

It had been about a month since Cassie Cage had taken down the fallen god Shinnok. The Earthrealm was keeping peace now and it was time to relax. After all, Jacqui Briggs, her long lifetime friend, had mentioned that she promised Takeda, the ninja son of Kenshi, that after it was all over they would have a poolside date with umbrella drinks. Cassie had entertained her friends by secretly purchasing the Kamp Krystal Lake's main cabin. "You wanted a pool. Jacqui? Hell I got us a fucking lake!" Cassie had told her friend when they left base in their truck. Jacqui, Takeda, and Kung Jin, the relative of the Mortal Kombat fighter Kung Lao of the White Lotus, gave Cassie no objections. A few days at a lake would do them some good.

"Tell me again Cassie, does your Father know you borrowed his card to rent this place?" Takeda was unsure of the moral aspect of how their sergeant had obtained enough money of her own to purchase such a place, let alone keep it a secret from her parents.

"Fuck if I know, soldier. All I know is we deserve this and to hell what anyone else says. We took down an empire and a god for God's sake, and you want to discuss the dilemma of this? Take some R & R Takeda, a little swim will do us some good. Besides, you and Jaqui have a date if I do recall. A promised date. So have fun, that's an order.

Takeda sat back in the leathery seat of the truck's back row seats. He wore a pair of khaki shorts, orange linen t-shirt, and black flip-flops rested on his feet. If he had the choice to, he would have worn his traditional ninja outfit, but Jacqui told him that he needed to relax. He gave a sigh, kissed her lips, and changed his attire.

The drive there was immensely long for Kung's taste. The truck felt cramped, and the scent of shower lotion and sunscreen became near unbearable for him. He sat beside Cassie in the front with a pair of jean shorts, white tank top that loosely covered his muscular torso. and some spare tennis shoes that he had purchased a few days prior to the trip. He leaned against the window, watching the trees zip by, the blue sky embedded between every space the leaves gave as the truck made its way forward. He already missed home. He missed the temple. But he was willing to see this lake and give some relaxation a try. Though if Cassie and Jacqui tried to get him drunk he would never go on another trip again. He shifted impatiently in his seat, groaning with the need to stretch his legs.

Jacqui was a buzz with excitement. She knew the grown up talk awaited her when she got home, but for now it was just her and the team. They had the drinks, the food, and all sorts of entertainment to last the trip. Plus she also had Takeda. Jacqui never forgot how he fought beside her against the corrupted souls of Liu Kang, Shao Lin, or the Princess Kitana while Cassie went to save her father and Raiden from Shinnok. The way they were bruised and bloody by the end and yet he still had enough courage to ensure a date from her. It wasn't a pool as she promised, but a lake was even better. More swimming space, less noise, and more places to be alone with him if they got the chance. Jacqui hadn't been to Kamp Krystal since Cassie and some highschool jocks had snuck her out from home for a weekend. Back then it was still a risk, reports had come from there that quite a number of campers had gone missing there. It had gotten so bad that she got grounded for a whole month when her father, Jackson Briggs, found out. A few days after her return, Jackson and Sonya Blade had gone to the camp to look into the disappearances. They never found anything, and thus the news reported to the public that the missing were drowned and lost to a current in the lake. Jacqui knew better now, the reports stopped years ago, not since 2009 had there been a missing report. Since then, campers still came to the camp to enjoy themselves. Some came for the sole purpose of trying to scare their friends with the "Horror of Kamp Krystal Lake". But it was all a hoax. Everyone who went there now all returned home safely. Jacqui reached a hand out to Takeda's, lacing her fingers with his while she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Hey! No making out you two. Not unless I'm participating." Cassie Cage blew a bubble from the gum in her mouth after making the jest at them, eying them through her hollywood sunglasses in the rearview mirror. The bubble of pink and now stale flavor popped with a gentle burst before receding back through her lips. Pressing a foot harder against the accelerator, the truck began to move up from thirty five miles an hour to forty. Cassie began to recognize the direction they were heading. "Almost there team. In around fifteen minutes we will be drinking the good stuff and up to our neck in fresh water, splashing Kung Jin until he gets mad enough to try and kill us," She said as she lightly hit her fist against Kung Jin's shoulder which was answered by a bored and uninterested groan. Keeping both hands on the steering wheel, Cassie lead the truck deeper into the woods. The trees began to grow closer together but the sight was no less beautiful or welcoming. After a moment of keeping at forty mph, she eyed a well worn building in the distance, sitting in a large clearing of grass and dirt.

"Here we are team. I call top bunk." Cassie was used to joking. Whether her team mates laughed or even enjoyed her jokes was beyond her giving a fuck. She was a Cage after all, she didn't care what other people thought. "Hey, Kung Jin, since Takeda and Jacqui are going to no doubt be breaking their bed on this trip, want to see how loud we can bang the headboard together?"

Kung Jin growled while the truck came to a stop a couple yards away from the cabin. He was tired of his sergeant pestering him. He unbuckled and shoved the door open hard before storming off inside. Cassie watched him go, feeling a bit guilty but nevertheless amused. She stepped out of the vehicle, grabbing straps of luggage and setting them down on the pebbled road for her teammates to pick up. Her shoes crunched against the pebbles as she tightened the arm straps of her backpack which rested on her back heavily.

"Alright lets move on in," Cassie called to the others as Takeda and Jacqui were grabbing their own materials. She went inside the doors as she popped another bubble from her chewing gum before spitting it out into the trash bin. The building itself was quite nice, checkered tile black and white floor with chairs and clean windows intertwining with oaken walls. Above hung half a dozen ceiling fans each equipped with four lightbulbs in their centers. To Cassie's left was a short hallway leading to a two hinged way door that lead to a large kitchen area composed of meat lockers, freezers, ovens, grills, and boilers. Past the main room sat a secondary room. This room was carpeted with green the shade of grass. The walls were a darker wood with a large walled window at the far back allowing a perfect scenic view of the woods. To her left and right of the second main room she saw signs indicating bedrooms and bathrooms down a rather lengthy hallway to many bedrooms. No doubt one was for females and the others were males, seeing as how this used to be a kids camp. Cassie couldn't help but smile, a sense of freedom washing over her. She entered the first bedroom down the woman's hallway, flipping her backpack luggage onto the top bunk. She leaped up, landing on the mattress of the top bed just before Jacqui entered the same room.

"Oh come on girl! We aren't kids, I know you want to bunk with Takeda. Not like I will be calling your dad on you."

Jacqui blushed and flung her backpack on the bottom bed before laying in it. Both girls had kicked off their shoes and laid silent for a while. They could hear the distant chirping of birds and the grasshoppers calling for mates in the grass.

"You shouldn't tease Kung Jin like that, Cass. You know how he feels."

"If he respected my leadership more in the field then maybe I wouldn't be so hard on him. I don't care who he loves, what he is into, or whatever. He knows I give tough love to my team. Hell you know that best of all, girl."

The sun had begun to set outside while Cassie lay in her bunk. Jacqui had already left to bunk with her new boyfriend. She was thinking about Kung Jin for a good while. This trip was meant to get them relaxed, not to tighten them up even more. Perhaps I should apologize… I know he is going through a lot. Cassie laid her mp3 player on her chest, kicking her feet up onto the wall while playing the music from her playlist as loud as she could. Her eyelids began to drift off into a deep sleep while the moon began to rise above the forest of the Kamp.

—

The pebbles crunched hard beneath his boots, heavy strides as though the weight of Atlas were bearing down on him with each step. Jason had heard the sound of tires and an engine approaching his woods, his hunting ground. He had been asleep for far too long, but now his mother was urging him to wake up.

"More interesting prey has come to you, Honey. Not the typical squabble sheep that you have killed for so long. These are wolves. Warriors to be exact. Mommy would be so very delighted if you killed them. Show them how strong you are, my boy. Show them what true fear is like."

Jason stomped forward through the woods. His hockey mask covered in old dirt and wear. His jacket keeping his decaying flesh warm beneath its weight. His mother was urging him on to kill. Kill. Kill.

"Kill for Mommy," Her voice echoed in his head. The voice of a decapitated head that bore her face, worms crawling out her mouth as maggots ate at her eyeballs. A spider crawled greedily along her rotted left cheek. It made him clench his machete tighter, the murder boiling in his undead soul.

"Kill for Mommy, Jason. And Happy Birthday."