Stepping out of the SUV, Trent spread his arms wide, facing the cottage as he exclaimed loudly, "People, welcome to my awesome summer house!"
His legs sore from the ride and being stuck between two girls, Eden fought off the urge to stretch as he got out of the car and instead directly grabbed his bag into the house, hurrying before the others came in.
His bag was quite light, so Eden figured it only had clothes inside. As for why he hurried inside, it was to rush to the kitchen and grab some of the knives. This was not exactly something that he could do in front of the others without looking suspicious and thus destroying his image in their eyes.
Unfortunately, he only managed to steal a few of them before Jenna followed him into the kitchen. Resting a hand on his bag to close it and hide the knives, Eden smiled naturally, as if he had not just been stealing from her boyfriend's house, and winked, "That's a nice kitchen. I could cook you something later if you want."
Jenna raised an eyebrow, not minding Eden's flirty tone as she was likely used to it, and asked with a smile of her own, this one innocently curious, "You're any good in the kitchen?"
Eden scoffed, "Gordon Ramsay calls me Senpai."
Jenna, who was not entirely unfamiliar with anime, could not help but giggle at the joke and slightly turned around to get a good look at the kitchen. Using the opportunity, Eden quickly put another knife into his bag before saying, "You know, I was surprised Trent invited us; this looks more like a couple thing than… whatever we are doing."
Jenna's smile faded away as she sighed, clearly frustrated as she crossed her arms, though making sure to lower her voice as she complained, "So did I. No offense, I love you guys, but this was supposed to be OUR vacation. But for some reason, Trent decided to change the plans at the last second."
Intent on cock-blocking Trent as hard as he possibly could, Eden asked with a raised eyebrow, "Some reason? Do you mean two of them?"
Jenna's only response was a sigh.
Striking while the iron was hot, Eden smiled and stepped closer to her. Despite his lean frame, he towered over her, making his figure appear more imposing than it was as he looked down at her. As she quietly looked up at him, tensing ever so slightly, he soothed calmly, "Well, at least with me here, if that copycat attacks us you'll have someone to defend you."
Jenna froze, not expecting him to say this, before bursting into laughter, slapping his shoulder, "Sure, my knight in shining armor."
Eden smiled at Jenna and grabbed his bag to walk out of the kitchen. As he did, he saw Trent walk in, not looking too pleased at the proximity between the two. To avoid any confrontation, Eden spoke quickly, before Trent could say something stupid, "You got a great kitchen! Are your parents chefs or something?"
Trent, thrown off his tempo, replied with confusion, "My mom had the kitchen built-"
Taking complete control over the conversation, Eden closed in on him, interrupting him once again as he whispered with a dirty grin, "Stop talking about the damn kitchen and go see your girlfriend. I'm sure you'd rather talk to her."
As expected, any protest within Trent died out as a primal instinct was awakened within him as he replicated Eden's grin and grabbed Jenna by the waist, burying his face in her neck. Jenna clearly was not comfortable doing this in front of someone else, making Eden slow his step to stay just a little longer, prolonging the uncomfortable moment for Jenna.
The last thing Eden saw as he left the kitchen was Jenna pushing Trent off of her.
Having annihilated any chances for Trent to see some action with his girlfriend today, Eden returned to the main hall, his bag now closed, where everyone was sitting on the couches. He decided it was the right time for some mild exploration as he slipped away with a joke, "I'm gonna explore the place, to make sure Trent isn't pulling some Resident Evil shit on us."
With that, Eden had an excuse if he got caught in any place he should not be in. It also got genuine laughs from Chewie and Lawrence, who undoubtedly got the reference. Bree and Chelsea also laughed along, although Eden doubted either of them got it. It simply was not in line with their characters.
Leaving them behind, Eden quickly mapped out the house in his mind. It was deceptively big, but it was still a matter of minutes.
With that, not only was Eden now familiar with the layout of the house, but he also knew all the exits and entrances from which Jason may attack and picked the best room to have intercourse later in the night. He also planted some of the knives he had stolen in strategic points, where the others would not find them but he would have easy access to them later on.
If possible, Eden would rather not face Jason with a knife, but it always beats facing him with only his fists. He also looked for any more weapons.
There had been a rifle in the main hall, where he had left the rest of the group behind, lying right above a stuffed lynx, which might mean it was functional. Other than that however, Eden was disappointed to find no more weapons. The only other thing of interest was a locked drawer in one of the rooms.
He tried to look for a key, but he did not find it in the bedroom, meaning he could not open it without making a ruckus. Fortunately, the room had a good position, so Eden decided to make it his own.
Once everything was set up, Eden also looked through his bag, but just as he expected, there were only clothes in there. They were not entirely useless though, as Eden changed into a more comfortable outfit that would allow him more flexibility.
This was all done in the span of a few minutes, and so as he returned to the main hall, everyone was still there, lounging on the couches, having been joined by Trent and Jenna. Chewie had also taken out a bong from his bag.
Spotting him, Chewie took a long drag from it before pushing it toward Eden, offering with small eyes and a deep, breathless voice, "Want a hit?"
Bree cheered on, "Yeah, take a hit!"
Eden smiled politely and shook his head, refusing, "Sorry, but I did not come here to spend my day shut inside. I'll go out to run for a bit."
Upon hearing him, Chelsea immediately jumped up from her couch, causing Nolan, who had been sitting next to her and waiting for the bong to make a move, to scrunch up his face. His expression worsened as Chelsea grabbed Ethan by the arm and asked, "That sounds fun! Can I come with?"
Her eyes made it obvious that there would be little running if he accepted, but now was not the time. Unmoved by her eyes, he faked a grin, replying, "I'd rather you conserve your energy for later on. Besides, I have a feeling I would end up falling behind if we ran together."
The sexual innuendo helped make her easily accept the refusal, and much to Nolan's frustration, she did not go back to sit next to him, choosing to crash next to Bree instead.
Before leaving, Eden glanced at the rifle before sending a look at Trent and asking, "You mind if I take a look at it?"
Trent initially wanted to refuse, but Eden had already walked up to it before he could say anything. If there was one thing Trent valued, it was his authority over the group, and he could see crystal clear that Eden would touch it anyway, so instead of having his words defied in front of everyone, he said, "Sure. But be careful with it; it's not a toy."
Eden smiled and grabbed the gun, reassuring Trent, "Don't sweat it; I know how to handle it."
His original plan had been to observe it manually to determine whether it was in working condition or not. He was not an expert in guns, but he was not completely ignorant either. But the moment he touched it, the rifle's description appeared above it.
[Mossberg Bolt Action Hunting Rifle]
[Rank: Common]
[Attack: 40]
[Capacity: 5 Rounds (Loaded)]
The rifle seemed powerful. Its attack value was his entire health pool, meaning that if he got shot by it, he would be killed instantly. He had a feeling the value was more indicative than anything, though, as he doubted it would do the same damage when grazing the target as when hitting them right in the forehead.
Interestingly, it was only Common rank, which Eden guessed was one of the lowest, if not the lowest. The knives earlier had not even had a description, meaning Common might be the lowest rank, and the knives were not even good enough to enter that rank.
As for having a gun in the lowest rank of rarity, it was not so surprising. Although they were deadly weapons on Earth, they barely amounted to anything in many fictional worlds. What was a rifle in the face of Madara's Susanoo or a ghost?
Eden also noted that it was loaded, though he did not share his discovery, deciding to simply place the gun back instead. He even added, to look more natural, "Your father knows his stuff; this Mossberg is a pretty good rifle."
Trent nodded, although Eden was sure he had no idea what he was talking about.
Now set on his resources inside the house, Eden headed outside, and he started running, just as he had said, though it was not to get some exercise.
Actually, he had hesitated for a while as to whether he should run or not.
On the one hand, it would allow him to cover more ground quicker, thus reducing the time he was away from the group, and it would also train his cardio a little. He was not about to experience any big change with just one run, but he did have to start his training somewhere. On the other hand, if Jason decided to come out in the day and came when Eden was tired, then this could very well sign Eden's death warrant.
Still, Eden decided that the pros outweighed the cons. In every movie of the franchise, Jason would not attack on his first appearance to the group. Instead, the members of the crew would remain oblivious to Jason's presence and get scared by something else, with only the audience seeing the killer. This was done to keep up the suspense. In lore, this was Jason stalking his victims to learn more about them. Now, Eden was betting on his isolation leading to this, instead of an attack.
Quickly, Eden was able to map out the surroundings, as there was not much to see. There was Camp Crystal Lake to the East, and a huge barn to the West, which should belong to Trent's family, seeing its close proximity to the house. North was Crystal Lake, and South was where they came from.
Camp Crystal Lake being Jason's base of operation and home ground, Eden was only left with the barn to use as his hunting ground. It was rather large, larger than Trent's summer house, and was filled with all kinds of tools, old and new. Most strangely, there was an old farming tractor. What was odd about it was that it had been placed on the first floor of the barn.
Eden had no idea as to why it would be placed there, as it seemed to be more of an inconvenience than anything, but it worked perfectly for him as he started trapping the barn.
It took him a good hour to set everything up, a good part of which was spent making sure he was not being spied upon. While Jason never spoke, he was depicted as an intelligent hunter, so if he saw Eden setting up his traps, they would be rendered ineffective.
In any case, he was now ready. All he had to do now was trigger Jason's attack.