He hated Halloween. Well, how could he not? Every new Halloween meant new blood. Apart from that, it was the time of the year thanks to which he had kissed his humanity goodbye. What did he have to live for? What could he do now? He had lost his family, his voice, his ability to feel emotions and everything else he might need to be a normal human. His mission had been completed without his involvement. Laurie was dead. What else did he need to finally find his peace? Oh, yes, there was his little niece that had suddenly caught his attention, turning him into the boogeyman in a heartbeat. Truth to be told, Michael hated the idea of killing her. Not that he was fond of children but the innocent air they always held around them never failed to amaze him. It calmed his rage down, forcing him to lower his knife and aim it to adults instead. He himself couldn't remember if he had ever carried such calmness and innocence with him. Perhaps, he had. Every normal child has that ability. Was he ever normal? Whatever, even if he had ever been innocent, there was no way he could return it now.

Michael's thoughts were interrupted by a sharp pain in his wrist, right where his mark had kissed his skin. He rubbed it absentmindedly, feeling the devil within raising ever so slowly, turning into a heated rage. It was the time to hunt for Jamie. With a deep sigh, he put his back mask back on, making sure to cover every last detail of his face, before grabbing his butcher knife and heading outside. He had a feeling it was going to be a different Halloween.

"Rachel, can we go "trick or treating" please?" – The teenager heard the voice of a nine-year-old girl begging her with a pair of dark chocolate eyes, her face quickly adjusting a puppy dog look.

"Jamie, I'm busy, I have to do my homework". – She sighed, gesturing at her working table that was decorated with a huge mountain of books, notebooks, pens, pencils and other things necessary for studying.

"But it's Halloween". – The little girl whined, tugging at her sister's hand – "You can't get a free candy and scare people every day, you know?"

"I know but Jamie…" – Rachel tried again, hoping to make her understand but in vain.

"Please?" – Jamie begged again, forcing her face to look cuter.

"I'd really love to but I must finish my homework or else I'll have big problems".

"Oh, well, can I go alone then?"

Rachel's hand froze in the air as soon as the words left her sister's mouth. There was no way she could let such a young child roam outside on her own, especially at night. Her parents would kill her for that. However, she knew Jamie wouldn't give up until she got what she wanted. The little one was so stubborn sometimes. What could she do? She had to finish that damn homework to avoid problems. God, how she wished there was no Halloween.

"Please, Rachel?" – Jamie pushed on, sensing her sister's thoughts. – "I am not that little anymore. I can take care of myself. Come on, it's not fair to let me sit here all night when other children are having fun outside".

The teenager ran a hand through her hair, lost in thoughts. Jamie had a point. She didn't deserve to stay home just because her sister was busy. Besides, she knew almost everyone in her neighborhood. They all could take care of Jamie if needed.

"All right, funny face, you may go". – She started but was cut off by Jamie who started jumping and clapping her tiny hands, expressing her enthusiasm.

"However…" – Rachel raised a hand to stop her. – "Don't go far, be nice to people and come back before 11 got it?"

"Yes, mommy". – Jamie teased a bit, laughing as the other girl rolled her eyes, before thanking her sister by kissing her cheek and running outside.

Michael stared blankly at the body lying in the pool of blood in front of him, the blood crawled on the ground slowly, gifting it another one's last breath. God only knew what that poor man did to have a duel with Michael's knife but it was plain that he had lost the fight. The killer wiped his knife on the dead person's clothes and continued his hunting session, looking for Jamie in every nook and cranny of the street.

After "hunting" for candies for almost two hours, Jamie decided it was time to go home. Rachel would have problems if she didn't return on time, so she shortened her fun a little to avoid getting her beloved sister in trouble. Thanking the last person, she grabbed her small basket and started going towards her house.

A few moments later, she saw a group of older kids moving towards her, their eyes promising nothing good. Jamie tightened her hold on the basket and increased her pace, almost running towards the desired house. To be honest, she wasn't a fast runner, so they caught her easily, one of them covering her mouth swiftly while the other dug into her basket.

"Let's see what we have here…" – The boy with black hair said, roaming his hand in the basket, eyes widening in pleasure as he realized how many candies she had gotten.

"Seems like it's our lucky day. I've rarely seen such a great amount of candies.

"We should definitely take advantage of this then". – One of the girls smirked, pulling a handful of candies out of the basket.

Jamie struggled violently, her voice coming out as muffled screams because one of the boys was still holding her while the others were busy stealing her well-deserved sweets. The little girl bit her tormentor's hand, causing him to loosen his hold and ran away, screaming. However, she didn't manage to go far. Soon she felt a small blade settling right on her throat, her eyes widening in horror.

"Now, now, little one, calm down. We'll just take your candies and go on our way. No need to be so whinny and childish".

Hot tears blurred her vision as she watched the group eating and stuffing her candies in their bags, a wide grin crossing their features. For the first time in her life, Jamie wished she had listened to Rachel and stayed home. None of this would have happened then. Now she was forced to see other children getting candies in the blink of an eye while she had spent almost two hours collecting them. It hurt too much to realize it.

"Ok, we're done here. Let's go". – The same black-haired boy said, grabbing their bags.

"Wait a second. I have to teach this little one a lesson".

As soon as she heard the words, she felt a sharp pain in her arm, warm blood tickling and marking her pale skin as well as wetting the ground. The little girl cried out, clutching her injured arm, feeling tears stinging her eyes once again. They would pay for this. She had no idea how but she would definitely make them pay.

"What a nice method, Josh". – The red-haired girl giggled, looking at Jamie with an evil smirk. "May I try my own one, as well?"

"Be my guest".

Jamie had about 5 seconds to brace herself before she felt a pair of quite strong hands pushing her from behind with all their might. She landed on the ground with a thud, grazing her arms and knees on the ground, feeling blood oozing out of her injuries.

"Serves you right, you little scumbag for making our task difficult". – The girl spat at her. The others laughed loudly, before going away and leaving her alone to deal with her misery.

With a series of moans and groans, Jamie finally managed to get up, dragging her body towards the basket. Kneeling down, she picked it up and put a hand in it, making sure it wasn't broken. Suddenly her hand came in contact with something tiny. Grasping it tightly, she pulled her hand out to reveal a single candy laying on her palm, begging to be eaten. She was about to open it when something stopped her. Not knowing why, she felt like it didn't belong to her, so she carefully put it in her pocket and headed towards home, wishing to find a way to avoid the upcoming long lecture along with a punishment.

Michael's patience was wearing out. How long would it all last? When would he finally get his target and complete the other half of his mission? Judging by the current events, he had a small spark of doubt that he would never ever find his little niece and the word "peace" would be forgotten by him for good.

Myers came out of his reverie as soon as he felt someone bumping into him. His hand instinctively reached for his knife, body preparing for a violent action when he realized there was no danger. Judging by where he had felt the touch from, his potential victim had to be a child. He could tell the little one barely reached his stomach when she accidentally crashed into him.

"I am sorry". – A childish voice greeted his ears. It was a girl. And she sounded quite scared or, he'd say disturbed. Why? She hadn't even seen him properly. What was the reason to be so afraid? He hadn't hurt her, had he?

Looking down he found a pair of wide eyes staring at him with a mixture of guilt and…Curiosity? No, that was impossible. Why would any child be interested in him? She would simply apologize and continue her way like other kids did whenever they accidentally collided with his solid body. But no, this one seemed different. She looked familiar. Michael couldn't see her properly in the dark but was able to vaguely make out thick eyelashes resting above a pair of dark black eyes like blankets, slightly wavy hair resting on her back, a small well-formed nose with thin, pouty lips. It was her! She was Laurie's daughter and his target! The killer was sure of it as he recognized Laurie's features on the girl's face. Michael felt his wrist throbbing, the devil within him encouraging him to end her life then and there. Oh, today was the luckiest day in his life. If he didn't get the chance to kill the mother, he would kill the child without any difficulty. Yes, he didn't like that but he had no other choice. He had to end the curse.

"Are you ok?" – Michael was about to reach for his knife again when her voice stopped him. He just nodded, hoping she would turn, so he could grab her and slit her throat instantly.

"All right. I am glad at least someone is still able to get pleasure from this day". – Jamie's words left him confused. She was a child. What on earth could make her say such thing? The boogeyman tilted his head to the side, showing off his confusion.

"I am Jamie" - The girl smiled at him, waiting for him to say his name but her face turned thoughtful when he didn't make a sound. Suddenly the realization hit her.

"Are you numb?" - She asked, her eyes wide and curious.

Michael didn't expect that question yet but nodded quickly.

"Oh, I don't know how exactly it feels to struggle for communication every day but I am sure it's awful". – She said, staring at him with sympathy. Michael felt a weird tug in his chest for a second but ignored it, turning his attention to her earlier words. He waved his hands in the air, trying to make her understand what he wanted. Jamie stared at him as if he was mad and he truly looked like one. Finally, after a good ten minutes of "madness" he spotted her bloodies knees and pointed at them, a gleam of curiosity entering his dark orbs.

"You want to know what has happened to me?"

He sighed in relief under the mask and nodded. Jamie proceed to explain the whole situation, trying not miss a single detail.

"And now I have to go back home and listen to my foster family's lecture. I am sure they'll punish me but I am not worried about myself. I am worried about Rachel". – She whispered the last words, looking down at her feet to hide her tears. Thanks to her stupidity, her sister would be in a great trouble and she would not be able to do a single thing to protect her. Without realizing what he was doing, Michael reached forward and wiped some fresh tears from her eyes with his large thumb, caressing her cheek softly.

"I like your costume". – She smiled at him. Jamie couldn't see properly behind his mask but she could tell he was smiling too. Michael patted her cheek again. Maybe it was his way to say "thank you".

"Well, thanks for listening to me. Now I really have to go".

Jamie turned around and was about to take a step when a gentle touch on her arm halted her movements. Turning around she opened her mouth to ask the stranger what he wanted but was cut off by a sudden surprise as he lifted her in his arms, cradling her closer to her chest and choosing a different direction.

"Where are we going?" – The little girl asked. Michael stared at her for a moment, before pointing at one of the houses nearby.

"All right". – She was too tired to ask more questions. Jamie knew trusting strangers was dangerous. However, to her great surprise, she felt safe with him. He was huge and warm and cuddly and made her feel protected, so she just wrapped her tiny arms around his neck and let him carry her inside the house which was old and creaky, with dirty, broken furniture. Jamie thought it looked much like those haunted houses she had seen in horror movies so many times. She loved watching them in movies. However, being inside a house like them felt anything but pleasant.

Upon entering the bedroom, Michael set her on an old dirty bed and lit up several candles, before bringing a medical kit. He knelt down to examine her injuries. None of them looked serious. Just scratches. He ran a clean cloth across the flesh of her knee gently, causing her to wince a little. He patted her arm in apology and continued his work.

"Do you live here?" – She broke the silence, getting a nod from him.

"Alone?"

Another nod.

"Oh, but why?" – Michael raised an eyebrow inside his mask, clearly not expecting such question. She was so curious. Well, every child was. He didn't know how to answer it, so he just shrugged, resuming his work. Jamie winced again, wanting to clutch her right knee but Michael gave her a look that immediately halted her movements.

"Don't you want to live with someone? Maybe you won't be bored then". – Michael sighed loudly, getting quite annoyed and shook his head vigorously.

"Come on, no person on earth deserves to be alone. Rachel says god punishes bad people by leaving them alone in the whole wide universe first and then sending them to hell but I think you don't deserve that". – Michael's hand froze in mid-air, his whole body covering with goosebumps. How could she say that? He was a monster, the boogeyman, the apostle of death sent to Haddonfield to kill hundreds of innocent people in the process of finding his last target and here she was, thinking he was no harm to anyone. Had anyone ever looked at him that way or said something like that? He didn't really remember but perhaps the answer was "no".

"You are a good person. As far as I know, good people are never alone. They are surrounded by their beloved ones, having long and joyful lives. So why aren't you with someone?"

Michael pointed at himself and shook his head fiercely, hoping she would understand good would be the last word ever used to describe him. To his surprise, as soon as Jamie got it, she took his hand in hers and squeezed gently.

"You listened to me when I needed someone to share my burden with, then you brought me to your house and now you are cleaning my injuries. How can you say you aren't good after this?"

Michael couldn't control what he did. Opening his mouth, he let out an audible sniff, feeling a lone tear rolling down his cheek inside his mask. He had spent decades believing he was a pure evil and now this little girl here was reminding him of his humanity, trying to make him understand he still had some humanity left inside him. She had managed to evoke more emotions in several minutes than his doctor had managed in 15 years! So ironic. Sadly, the poor girl had no idea what this "good" person was going to do to her in less than an hour. Wouldn't he be a monster if he killed her right now? Of course, he would and this "humanity" would vanish from him for good. Jamie looked at him surprised, realizing he was crying. Then she carefully reached forward and enveloped him in a warm embrace before Michael could come back to his senses. The killer's eyes widened in shock, paralyzing his body for a moment. He considered reaching for his knife or strangle her with bare hands at first but then changed his mind and stood still. His arms remained limp at his sides as Jamie kept hugging him, her arms wrapped around his neck, her breath tickling it. Hugging her felt weird but Michael couldn't deny it was pleasant. After mentally debating if he should return the hug or pull away, he finally wrapped his arms around her tiny body, pulling her closer to his chest. He had no idea that human body felt so warm and comfortable or that a person's hair could smell so good. His mark kept burning his wrist but he paid no heed to it. He enjoyed hugging her. Enjoyed a lot.

"You are like a teddy bear. So warm and cuddly". – Jamie sighed, burying her head in his chest. It amused him against his will. He was beginning to think she was cute and it scared him. He couldn't think of her that way if he was going to kill her, could he? Perhaps, giving her a little credit would do no harm. It would be nice if she knew she was a good girl before joining her mother forever. Right now, he had to enjoy the first and probably last moments he would ever spend with his niece. It was a shame he had to kill her. She was such a sweet girl, probably the only one who had seen a human in him, who thought he was still worth something at all. It made him feel weird but the feeling wasn't negative at all. In fact, it felt quite… Comforting.

The sound of lips brushing against something shook his thoughts away. Turning his head, he found Jamie smiling at him and realized she had kissed his masked cheek. Not really knowing why he felt his cheeks redden. No one had ever kissed him before, apart from his mom of course. However, it happened too long ago to recall the feeling. Michael had forgotten how it felt to be kissed, hugged and comforted. He had forgotten what it was like to be a human. Thinking he had no place among people, he had decided to live in his own world and came out of it only in case he had to hunt. Since that day, he had neither spoken a word nor made an attempt to fit in the world he was stuck in. Instead, he had chosen to be the shape and do whatever the curse asked him, despite the fact that he hated getting his hands painted with blood.

Jamie pulled away from him, not realizing she was sitting on his lap. Climbing down, she straightened her dress and looked up at him, her eyes shining with gratitude and concern.

"Are you sure you will be all right?" – She asked hesitantly. Of course, she had to go home but the thought of leaving her new friend all by himself made her feel guilty. He didn't leave her when she needed help, did he? Wouldn't she be a bad friend if she did otherwise? Besides, he would probably feel scared. She herself would feel really frightened if she was forced to live in a house like this.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Michael's nod. She sighed and took his hand in hers once again, running her fingers along his burnt flesh. Jamie wanted to know what had happened to his hands but she refrained herself from asking him. First of all, he couldn't speak, so it would be a torture for both of them. For him to tell and for her to understand. Besides, what if it was a painful subject for him? He had been so kind to her. She didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable in any way, so she stayed silent.

"This house is really creepy. If you get scared, you can visit me anytime you want. I don't live far from here. My house is right there". – She said going towards the window and gesturing at the space. Michael could vaguely make out a big house with green roof. It looked really nice. Far too different from his own one.

"You can come anytime, ok? I should thank you properly for everything. Whenever you need a friend, I'll always be there for you".

Michael felt that weird tug again. Only this time it got worse. He wanted to fall on his knees and cry his heart out until he had no tears left to shed. His little niece had managed to understand what he really needed to feel himself again. Not his mother, not Judith, not Laurie, not even Loomis had ever wondered if he also wanted to feel loved by anyone? They had never thought he might need a friend, as well. They had never bothered to use the ways that didn't involve violence and medicines to get to know him better. All these years he had been waiting for someone who could finally reach beyond the walls of his heart. To his great surprise and dismay, his niece turned out to be the one he had been looking for and now he had to kill her. How could he ever forgive himself if he truly murdered her? Would he ever be able to justify his action? He had a feeling that if he did so, it would be the biggest crime of his.

"I really have to go now. My family will be worried about me". – Jamie said, turning to but she felt his touch on her arm again. He was begging her to stay with his eyes.

"Don't worry, I am not leaving for good. We'll meet again". – Jamie reached forward and kissed his masked cheek again, before enveloping him in a brief hug. Michael felt something on his palm and gripped it tightly, ignoring it for a moment and returning the embrace. He felt the devil within him raising again, building a heated rage but he controlled himself this time, winning over his dark side. There was no way he could kill her. At least not now.

Jamie went towards the door without looking back, not wanting to meet his sad eyes. However, she paused right in front of it, her hand halting around the doorknob. She turned to Michael who was looking at her blankly.

"Will I see you again?" – She whispered, afraid to get "no" as an answer but instantly felt relieved as soon as he nodded, something warm flashing in his eyes.

"Then I'll wait for our next meeting. I'll have so much to tell you by that time". – Jamie smiled and went, leaving Michael alone with his scary house and chaotic thoughts. He'd really like to see her again. The question was: How on earth would he do that? She would never be alone at home, especially after today's events. There would be kids with her at school. Then how? He didn't know. Perhaps, she would come to visit him herself or he would have to wait for the perfect moment and sneak in her bedroom. He didn't really care how he was going to do that. The only thing plain to him was that he wanted to get to know his niece better. He wanted her soothing, innocent words, her friendship, her calming aura… In short, he wanted her love and would do anything to get it. The thought of killing her had left his mind completely. He wanted a friend more than another victim. Besides, she was his niece. It would good to show some mercy.

Michael's eyes suddenly settled on his closed fist. Opening it, he found a small candy laying in the center of his palm, almost begging to be eaten. Carefully as if it contained a bomb, he traced a finger across it, a small smile tugging at his masked lips.

Perhaps Halloween wasn't that bad at all.

Author's note: My first Halloween fanfic :) I hope you like it. As usual, any kind of disapproval or suggestion is welcomed. Enjoy and don't forget to leave reviews 3