We held on tightly to each other and sank to the bottom of the cold porcelain tub. Tommy drew the curtain closed and I sat clinging to him as silent tears fell down my face. He ran his fingers through my hair, trying to calm me as my body trembled against his. We sat in complete darkness and the only noise I heard was the panicked rhythm of our heartbeats. In the quiet stillness, I started to hear the soft tap of footsteps approaching.

I held my breath, anticipating the moment when the door would be knocked down and my short life would be ended in an instant. Tommy had been right…the boogeyman was real. If only Laurie had believed him when he warned her.

I jumped when there was a tap on the door, but quickly let out my breath when I heard Laurie's raspy voice.

"Tommy? Lindsay? It's me." Tommy threw the curtain open and we ran, quickly unlocking the door. Laurie's face was tear ridden, and her eyes held the vacant expression of terror. I jumped into her arms, feeling the relief flow through my body. The boogeyman was gone.

Laurie started to speak to us in a calm but urgent voice, but I didn't hear the words. Her speaking was muffled, as if she was far away and not standing in front of me. I then looked into her eyes, and saw them widen in surprise and horror. I turned around, and that is when I saw it.

The dark shape slowly turned off of the stairs and stepped into the hallway directly behind us. My stomach clenched as his white mask became brighter as he slowly stepped closer, going past a window. His large knife seemed to ignite with electricity as the moonlight flashed across it. His pace was slow, but he was upon us before we could blink.

I felt Laurie's push on my body, but something was wrong. She wanted me to go, move, hide, anything…but my body wouldn't budge. I was stuck in place as I watched the monster's large form step in front of me. My eyes widened as he raised his knife high above his head. I couldn't help but think that this wasn't right. I should have run by now. Why wasn't I moving?

Then, as fast as lightening, his knife swung down…

I jerked up in bed as a scream left my lips. I could feel my heart thumping fast in my chest and I was struggling to breathe. I couldn't see, and for a moment I forgot where I was. I could feel the back of my pajamas clinging to me in cold sweat. I was half expecting to see the shape still in front of me, so I grabbed the material that lay around me to cover my eyes. That's when I recognized that the material I clenched to was my bedspread. Relax. It was just the stupid dream. Get a grip on yourself.

I lowered the blanket and let my eyes adjust to my dorm room, just to make sure I was alone. As my sight became less blurry, I recognized my familiar desk and dresser up against the opposite wall, and my heart rate slowed as the rest of the room appeared totally empty. I rested my head back on my pillow and allowed my eyes to close. Stupid nightmare. I had been having the same dream for years, and each time my reaction was the same. I would wake up terrified and disoriented, not knowing where I was. When will this stop?

I could tell that my mind would not allow me to fall back to sleep, so I looked over at my alarm clock on the stand next to my bed. The numbers glared a red 6:43. I decided that the only way to calm my mind would be to take a shower, so I grudgingly got up and walked across my room to the bathroom. I shut the door behind me and reached down to turn on the hot water. I ripped off my sticky cotton top and shorts and threw them on the floor as the room filled up with steam.

I stepped under the water and let the heat help release some tension from my body. My body relaxed, but my thoughts kept reeling. This dream always shook me to my core. I started having it less and less over the years since that fateful night, but it haunted me relentlessly every year as it got closer to Halloween. And, unfortunately for me, the holiday was a mere day away.

It would be thirteen years to the day tomorrow when Michael Myers made his first attack on the town of Haddonfield, and thirteen years since I almost lost my life. Unlike the dream, Tommy and I were able to escape from Michael and luckily ran into Dr. Loomis, who was able to scare Michael off after shooting him, at least for a little while. As the years went by, Michael made more appearances, killing many victims in his wake, not letting a single target go. It had dawned on me that just because I escaped once, it didn't mean he was done chasing. I'm sure he couldn't handle the idea of anyone, especially a mere child, escaping the wrath of his blade. I lived in fear from day to day, thinking that he would suddenly appear out of the shadows to finish what he began.

However, as more years went by, the threat became less potent. He never made an appearance, and has since been considered dead for the last five years. My family had moved from Haddonfield to New York to get away from the pain and memories, but the dreams still followed. Realistically, I knew he must be dead, but the dreams were able to bring out such terror in me, that for a moment I had no doubt he was alive.

Now that I was older, I tried not to dwell on the dreams too much, but around Halloween I couldn't help myself. This holiday was ruined for me forever, and that will never change. I was now in my third year studying English at a small private college in Ithaca, and I decided to put all of my energy into my studies, mostly as a distraction from my memories. As I remembered the term paper due tomorrow, I thought how drugs may have been a better choice over school.

Finally feeling at ease, I turned off the shower and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around myself. I wiped the fog off of the mirror and noticed the dark circles under my blue eyes and my face looked ghostly pale. How long can I live like this? No matter how hard I tried to forget, I couldn't.

I went back into my room and dressed into a purple shirt and a pair of jeans. After blow-drying my straight, dark-brown hair, I quickly ran it through with a brush to get out the knots. I took one last look in the mirror behind my door before grabbing my book bag, leaving for class.

I rushed into my literature classroom, running late. I spotted my best friend Emma in the middle row and took a seat next to her. She turned towards me and smiled as I sat down.

"Lindsay! I thought you were going to make me bear this class on my own today," she said, glaring at me.

"Oh come on. You know I never miss class." I gave her an innocent look. "My mind has just been…I don't know. I'm kind of out of it today." I shrugged with a small smile.

"What's wrong? Boy troubles?" She said with a smirk.

"Ha-ha very funny." It was my turn to glare.

At the front of the room, Dr. Anders tapped on his desk to get the attention of the boisterous class. After tapping a couple more times, the room finally filled with silence.

"Now that's better. So, who can tell me what Keats was saying in 'Ode to a Grecian Urn'?" Dr. Anders' monotone broke the quiet, and his drawl continued on for an hour. I was happy when the clock above the white-board finally struck 3:50 and I all but flew out of my seat. I walked to the back of the row and met up with Emma out in the hall.

"Hey, I was wondering, since tomorrow's Halloween and all, if you would like to come over to my dorm tonight and watch some scary movies?" Emma said, practically jumping in excitement.

I lowered my eyes. "Well, I got a lot to do tonight, so I really just can't." Maybe she'd fall for that.

She gave me a cynical look as we passed through the crowd, trying to make our way outside. "Oh please. You're just afraid, and you know it."

"Well…yea. You caught me. I'm not that big of a Halloween fan. And horror movies just make me uncomfortable." As we stepped outside, the autumn air felt cool on my skin and I squinted my eyes in the bright sun. It felt good to be outside.

"You need to learn to let go and have some fun. Are you at least going to the party in the Moser dorms tomorrow?" She sighed as I shook my head no. "You have to! It's going to be a blast, and I'm not taking no for an answer. And besides, I already bought a costume."

"I don't know. I don't even have a costume, or the money to buy one," I replied, looking at the leaves swirling over the side-walk. Other than this holiday, I really loved autumn.

"Don't worry. We'll find you something," Emma confidently answered, her long gold locks flowing around her in the wind. She looked in front of her and spotted her boyfriend up a ways ahead of us. "There's Jonathan. He's meeting me for lunch. Love ya, babe." After a quick squeeze around my arms, she was off. I watched as she ran up to Jon and practically pounced on him. Crazy, care-free girl. In that moment, I wished I could have been more like her; to just be free to be myself; to not have a care in the world. I watched as she embraced him in a kiss, and I felt a sense of longing clench my heart. I had never had much luck with the guys I came across. They all seemed immature or egotistical, and none of them made a lasting impression. A couple came close, but they would manage to ruin it in the end. However, I still remained hopeful that there would be someone for me, someday. I would just have to deal with this feeling…the want to be wanted…until then.

I made my way across the campus, back to my quiet dorm room. I sat down at my desk and decided to hash out as much as my term paper as possible to get it out of the way. I lost track of time as the sky began to darken outside my window and my stomach grumbled. I got up, thinking that chips out of a vending machine would have to do for now, when something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. There was a rather large smudge on the window. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was a hand print. I went to wipe it off with my sleeve, and then realized it was from the outside. My heart stopped, and then I angrily pulled my curtains shut. Stupid perve boys. Why do I want one so badly again? I chided myself as I left the room and entered the hallway, on a mission to end my hunger pains.

After returning to my room, chips in hand, the corded phone on my desk began to ring. "Hello?" I answered.

"Hello Lindsay. Where were you? I called once already." It was my mom. Her voice seemed worried, and I knew something was wrong. This wasn't her normal, cheerful self.

"I just got back into my room. Why, Mom?"

"I have some news…not very good news." I heard her sigh.

"What? Is it Dad? Are you guys ok?" Worry now started to fill me.

"We're fine, we're fine. It's not us," she quietly replied, and there was a moment's pause. "It's Tommy…Tommy Doyle. He was found dead yesterday." She waited for a reply, but only a soft gasp left my lips. I sat down on my bed in shock.

"How? What happened?" I answered, confusion taking over.

"Well, he was found in a men's restroom at a truck stop in Philadelphia. It appeared he had been stabbed several times." Tears started to roll down my face at this answer. I couldn't speak and my heart began to ache as my mind brought back memories of Tommy. My childhood friend…my one comfort on that terrible day…A thought quickly came across my mind, and my mother heard my loud gasp. "Lindsay, what's wrong?"

"Mom, you don't think…?" I couldn't bring myself to ask it, but my mother knew and probably anticipated where my mind had gone.

"No, Lindsay. It's not even possible. That Myers maniac has been long dead."

"Mom, they never found Michael's body. We are not sure that he's even dead!"

"I completely understand your concern, but the police have already determined this case as gang violence. You know the kind of crowd Tommy hung around with. They even have possible suspects." I heard her words, but they held no comfort for me. I rubbed my fingers across my temples as I felt the traces of a migraine begin to form. "Hun, are you going to be ok? Would you like to come home? Your father can leave to get you in five minutes if you want."

I paused for a couple seconds, thinking. "Um…No, that's ok, Mom. I have too much to do here. I'll be fine. I'm just sad, is all."

"Well, if you change your mind, you just need to call me. I don't want to have to worry about you. You will drive yourself crazy with your thoughts."

I sighed, knowing she was right. "Don't worry. I know Tommy got into a lot of trouble. I guess…it was bound to happen." More tears filled my eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Lindsay." I could hear the strain of tears in her own voice. "It was a shock to all of us. Get some rest and call me tomorrow."

"I will. Love you, Mom," I answered, my choked voice barely allowing me to speak above a whisper.

"Love you too. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

After I ended the call I fell back on my side as my body shook heavily with sobs. Tears fell off my face and left damp prints on the pillow. I may have lost touch with Tommy over the years, especially after he got drawn into certain things, but he had always held a special place in my heart. Maybe finding trouble was his own way of dealing with his past.

I laid there as darkness grew behind my curtains, and I slowly drifted off into a sleep with an even deeper darkness waiting for me.