Halloween: Restoration

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, places, or events that originated from ANY of the Halloween films.

Author's Notes: This Halloween story is based on events that occurred during the series John Carpenter began. This story follows the timelines in Halloween, Halloween II, Halloween: H20, and Halloween: Resurrection. The events in Halloween: The Return of Michael Myers, Halloween: The Revenge of Michael Myers, and Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers have been excluded.

This story is rated M because of language and explicit sexual content. Because of these adult themes, please use discretion before reading.

Summary: Megan Cramer moved out of her parents' house unexpectedly and is now trying to survive in the "real" world. She is renting a run-down apartment that she can barely afford, but without it she would be living on the streets. One day she applies for a job restoring the old Myers house and accepts a job as an interior painter. The job pays extremely well, but she knows by taking it, she is putting her very life at risk. This is the Boogeyman's house after all, and she is well aware that anything could happen.

Haddonfield, Illinois

May 7, 2012

There it stood just a few feet in front of her. Even though she had lived in Haddonfield all her life, she had never seen this particular house in person. She had stayed away from it, and with good reason. The structure had seen its share of horrific deaths, the latest having taken place nearly eleven years before with the production of the controversial webcast Dangertainment.

Megan Cramer had only been a child of seven when terrifying images of that night had lit up the television screen via the local news. Her parents had let her watch the carnage unfold, leaving her to deal with the nightmares alone. The man responsible had been presumed dead at that time. However, the next morning the young female mortician, who had been the one examining the culprit's electrocuted body, had been found dead on the floor with strangle marks around her neck. Meanwhile, the burnt corpse had mysteriously vanished from its body bag without a trace, leaving the residents of the small town to speculate that the man—if one could call him that—was still on the loose, waiting for the right time to strike again.

As Megan walked up the building's front steps, she couldn't help but wonder if this project would be enough to lure him from the shadows. After all, this was his house. In her opinion, the mayor's decision to restore it and put it back on the market as livable space was ludicrous, but he seemed quite determined to eliminate the fear surrounding the old structure.

Although the teenager didn't agree with the project, it did pay well. That was the only reason why she had applied for and accepted the job as an interior painter. At least now she could continue to rent the small run-down apartment, which had recently become her new home.

Only a month had passed since Megan had moved out of her parents' house. The incident behind her sudden departure still hurt like hell, but there was no point in dwelling on it. The damage had already been done, and as far as she was concerned, it was irreversible. In fact, she doubted her parents would even care that she was risking her life in order to keep a roof over her head.

The tall auburn-haired girl entered the house and instantly coughed. A thick layer of drywall dust covered everything inside, making it very difficult to breath.

"Sorry," apologized one of the drywallers, who was a tall man with golden hair and steel-blue eyes. "We're still in the process of sanding the walls upstairs. The ones down here, though, are all set for paint, assuming you're one of the painters."

Megan nodded. "I am."

"I'm afraid you'll have to dust the rooms before you start," another worker said. He was so covered in drywall dust that his only distinguishable feature was his light-brown eyes. "Usually we'd have you wait before painting, but we're already a more than three weeks behind schedule. This house has been fighting us every step of the way so far. In all honesty, it would have been faster if they would have just torn it down and rebuilt."

The redhead wordlessly repeated her previous head gesture. She was sure everyone working on the house understood why it had not been demolished.

"The brooms and dustpans are over there," the first man told her, pointing to a far corner. "You're also welcome to use the Shop Vac, which is around here somewhere."

"Thanks," said Megan. She crossed the living room and grabbed a broom and a large metal dustpan. "I think I'll start in the family room."

"Good idea," the second worker agreed. "If you need anything, just let us know."

"I will." The teenager walked into the family room and sighed at the amount of cleaning that had to be done just so she could prep the room for paint. Well, no use standing around and staring at it, she mentally reasoned. Time to get down and dirty.