Disclaimer: I do not own Halloween or any of the characters. I just own Ash
Ok, so this is my first ever Halloween fic and my first ever time writing about Ash, a character who has been incessantly circling my brain for the last 3 months. This story takes place somewhere before the start of the first movie and is going to follow the movie story-line, at least for a little while. Anyway, it's MichaelxOC romance/horror. Rated M for blood, gore, violence and, uh, possibly some other stuff later on (*cough serialkillersex cough.) So, I hope no one is too out of character and critiques are always welcome. Enjoy!
Roger scowled over his steering wheel. A dull, institutional- looking sign identified his location as Smith's Grove Sanitarium. His bitterness spiked at the sight of the drab concrete walls and chain link fences. How the hell had he ended up here? He had been going to school, studying to be a doctor. They'd told him he should get some experience in the field. He thought they'd send him somewhere cool, LA or maybe Rio. He never thought they'd send him to Smith's Grove, Illinois, to work as an orderly in a goddamn insane asylum. His scowl deepened. He could've been in California right now, playing doctor with hot girls, and instead he was stuck playing babysitter to crazies and psychos. He pulled into an empty parking space and shut off the engine. He breathed in through his nose and collected his thoughts. They hadn't told him much about the job, just that he would be taking care of "Ash." He snorted. Ash. What a stupid name. He hadn't even met him yet and he already resented his very existence. He released the breath with a loud whoosh. Setting his jaw, he opened the car door.
Walking into the lobby was like walking into the lobby of any hospital… except it wasn't. Everything had a more permanent look than the hospital, where patients were being constantly moved or else discharged. A receptionist was typing while talking into the receiver of a heavy-looking telephone.
One moment, she mouthed to Roger. She finished typing and nodded. "Thank you, have a nice day." She said and hung up the receiver. She turned, smiling, to Roger. "How can I help you today?"
He cleared his throat. "I'm Roger Hall, the new orderly."
She smiled wider. "Of course. Dr. Loomis is waiting for you up on 4th."
He smiled vaguely in her direction. "Thanks."
"Have a nice day!" She called after him.
He got into the elevator and pushed the button. On the second floor, an orderly got in, a young man. He glanced at Roger. "You the new orderly? The one who's replacing Mark?"
Roger glanced sideways at him. "Yeah, I am." He said.
The guy stuck his hand out. "I'm Carl."
Roger took the proffered hand and shook it. "Roger."
Carl grinned. "So, you got stuck with Ash, did you? I don't envy you, man. I'd honestly rather take care of Michael, at least he can't talk." The elevator dinged and the doors slid open . "See you around!" Carl called.
Roger got out, feeling less and less enthusiastic about the next 18 months. An official looking sign on the wall pointed the way to the security desk. As he walked, his footsteps echoed in the pale, sterile hallway. He could hear someone screaming in a distant room, but other that that it was quiet. Deathly quiet, like a morgue. He shivered slightly. He found a rather heavy-set, middle aged man waiting for him at the security desk. The man reached out to shake Roger's hand. "You must be Roger Hall. I'm Dr. Sam Loomis."
Roger tried to arrange his face into something of a smile. "Pleased to meet you, sir."
They began walking down the hallway. "Did they tell you anything about what you'll be doing here?" Loomis asked.
"They just told me I'd be in charge of Ash." Roger responded.
Loomis nodded and handed him a file. "Read this."
Roger looked at the thick folder in his hands. "Ashley Persephone Quinn", it read. His lips twitched upwards slightly. So, Ash was a girl. This might actually be enjoyable. His eyes scanned over the first page.
Birth date: January 17, 1959.
Date of incarceration: June 12, 1972.
His smile widened. So Ash was a 19 year old girl. He might get the chance to play doctor yet. He flipped the page overenthusiastically.
Mother: Jennifer O'Riley (deceased).
Father: Thomas Quinn (deceased).
Hometown: Storm Lake City, Ontario, Canada
Reason for incarceration: multiple homicide
Roger's eyes widened at the last bullet point. Ok, maybe this wasn't going to be so fun. He flipped through the rest of the file. Medical file. Birth certificate. Short, undetailed case summary. No pictures, he noticed. He turned to Dr. Loomis. "What exactly did she do to get in here?" he asked slowly. "The file didn't go into specifics."
There was a beat of silence and then Dr. Loomis took a photo out of the file he was carrying. "Here." Roger felt a twinge of apprehension as he took the photo. His stomach lurched as his eyes scanned the gruesome image.
"That was her first murder." Loomis said grimly, watching his face. "47 year old Harrison Carlyle. She gashed his eyes out, then took a power drill and drilled a hole straight through his temple."
Roger was only barely aware that they had started walking again. Dr. Loomis was still talking, but he was only half listening.
"She then brutally murdered her mother and sister, after which she targeted a group of her school yard tormentors."
Sirens were going off in Roger's head. He was going to be looking after a freakin' serial killer! The anger he'd been trying to repress since he'd gotten there flared again. They'd marched him in here blind, with no information on who or what he'd being looking after. They'd tricked him into baby-sitting what sounded like the freaking antichrist! His hands clenched involuntarily. This bitch had better behave herself or she'd be in for the most miserable 18 months of her life.
He was suddenly aware that they had stopped walking. They had stopped in front of a door, the same as all the other doors in the hallway, blank and indifferent to the horror behind it.
"Before we go in, I should warn you about Ash." Loomis said. "She is an expert at manipulating people. Flawlessly charming when she wants to be and dangerously clever. If she finds any weakness that she can use against you, she'll use it." He stopped and looked at Roger to make sure he was listening. "One very important rule is to never let her inside your head. Once she's in there, she can cause more harm and pain than she ever could with a weapon."
Roger nodded. Like he was going to let a murderer have free reign inside his head. "One more thing." Loomis added. "Never forget what we're dealing with here. Do you understand? Never forget what we're dealing with here!"
Roger arched one eyebrow. He was starting to get irritated with the safety lesson. He was a med student, after all. He knew better. "And what are we dealing with?" He asked.
"A monster." Loomis answered.
Skepticism colored Roger's tone when he answered. "A monster?"
Loomis looked at him for a long moment. " When we found her, she was sitting in the family room of the Carlyle house, surrounded by the bodies of the 4 teenagers she had murdered. And when we came in and saw what she'd done, she took one look at our faces and started laughing. Like what she'd done was the funniest thing in the world."
Roger inwardly bristled. But he put an appropriately abashed face and muttered "Sorry."
Loomis nodded. He reached for the doorknob, but then stopped just short of opening it. "One more thing." He said with his hand still on the doorknob. "Don't stare at her face. She hates that."
"What's wrong with her…?" Roger started, when the door was pulled open. The first thing he registered was the presence of another orderly within the room, a young woman sitting on a metal chair. She set the book she was reading aside and stood up as they entered the room.
"This is Janet Edwards." Dr. Loomis said.
"I take the night shift." She said, stretching out her hand.
Roger grinned. "Roger Hall." He replied, shaking her extended hand.
"Nice of you to introduce me, Doctor." A voice said from behind him.
Roger turned. A girl sat on the metal cot in the corner, her back against the wall. She, too, was reading and hadn't looked up even when she'd spoken. Her face was beautiful in profile, her pale skin sprinkled with golden freckles, her auburn hair waving gently down her back. Her eyes flicked up from her book to meet his and he felt a sudden sensation like an ice cube slipping down his spine.
"This is Ash." Janet said from behind him.
The girl smiled. "Thank you, Janet." Her eyes flicked to his again and she turned her face to him. A sudden spike of revulsion left his already disturbed stomach churning. The right half of her face was terribly burned, the dark scars twisting and twirling across the canvas of her face and neck. A long scar criss-crossed with black stitches made her smile into a permanently lopsided sneer. Her auburn hair fell around her shoulders, the chunk touching her burns turned an ashy gray. Her right hand was bandaged. Only her eyes appeared undamaged, dark brown eyes that seemed to swallow whatever light touched them and sent chills down Roger's spine.
She cocked her head to one side, like a snake watching a small bird. "So this is the new one." she said. She smiled in response to some secret amusement. "I hope he can handle this. But after all, why wouldn't he? He must be the best of the best if he was sent here to us."
Roger's anger flared hotter than it had before. She was mocking him! Apparently Dr. Loomis had seen it too because his voice turned suddenly stern.
"Ash." He said.
She gave him a lazy grin. "Sorry, couldn't resist having some fun with him." She turned back to Roger, her smile turned to a smirk. "My apologies, Roger. I didn't mean to insult you." With that, she turned back to her book and seemed to forget they were there.
Dr. Loomis motioned that it was time to leave. "Goodbye." Janet smiled as they left.
"Goodbye, Roger." Ash called. Her voice turned dark as she continued. "I look forward to seeing you tomorrow."
Roger couldn't help but shiver.
Duhn Duhn DUHNNNN! So, how's everyone enjoying the story so far? Good? Anyway, please review and tell me what you thought and I PROMISE that Michael will be showing up in some way, shape or form next chapter. Thanks for reading!
-VulcanGirl17