Ok, so I know I have other stories I need to work on, but this idea has been stuck in my head for a couple days now and needed to be let out.
This takes place in 1978 in the original Halloween, but may make references to the 2007 Rob Zombie remake.
Disclaimer: I don't own Halloween or any of the related media to it.
"Laurie, would you please just stop freaking out for a moment? No one is stalking you, and if they are, it's probably just a stupid prank. Calm down, you know how things get around Halloween, especially around here."
"But you didn't see him, Alex...Oh my god, I am so sorry." If she could see Laurie right now, she bet she would have an equally horrified and guilty expression on her face. As it was, she just sighed.
"It's ok. You need to stop apologizing every time you think you've said something that would offend me. I know slip ups are bound to happen, especially since it's only been a few months. You saying sorry is more annoying than you slipping up." It may have been a little harsh, but after months of this same treatment, Alex was starting to feel more broken than she considered herself to be.
"I can't help it, you're my friend, and I feel like it's the only thing I can really do." Laurie sounded pathetic. This stress of a so-called stalker, on top of worrying about school and her, must have started to burn her out. "And anyway, he was this really creepy guy that I saw. Maybe he wasn't stalking me, but he was certainly looking at me. And he was all dressed up in a costume. Isn't it a little too early in the evening for that, especially for a grown man?"
Alex rubbed circles into her temple, though, it was more of a habit than from trying to deal with a headache. The cold metal frame of her glasses felt foreign as she accidently bumped them with her hand. She didn't want to wear them, but her Aunt Nancy forced her to. She claimed it was to stop other people from feeling so uneasy around her, but Alex knew they really didn't help at all in that department.
"Laurie, you really need to stop worrying so much. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to actually start the movie." She was hanging out over at Laurie's house for the day. While she couldn't watch the movie, it was still a favorite of hers. Just listening to it brought the images of what was happening up in her mind. It was hard finding activities she could still do with her friends, and while this one in particular reminded her of what she had lost, it seemed the best option. She couldn't carve jack-o'-lanterns, she couldn't bake those chocolate cookies with the peanut butter chips that Laurie loved, she couldn't help decorate for the Halloween party, and she couldn't even discuss school anymore because of her not being able to attend again yet. But she could damn well enjoy a movie with her best friend.
Laurie didn't respond, but from the way the introduction to the movie began to sound about the room, Alex knew she had started the movie. She only made it through half of it before she found herself falling asleep on the couch.
She woke up dazed, confused, and sweaty, the remnants of a nightmare still clinging to her consciousness. She could hear the TV playing some movie, and she could tell that no one was beside her on the couch. The room felt empty, and it just served to increase her anxiety. Ever since she had lost her vision, it was almost like a sixth sense had filled in the missing sensory input. Never the superstitious one, Alex believed it to just be extra input from her other senses that her brain wasn't used to processing, so thus it ended up processing the extra data as a new sense. And right now that sense was telling her she was alone for the first time in what seemed like forever.
"Laurie? Where are you? What time is it?" Her voice seemed to echo back to her. She couldn't feel any sunlight from the window, so she was pretty sure it was dark outside. Alex began to stand up, the blanket she didn't realize was covering her falling to the floor in the process. She almost tripped on it as she began to make her way around the couch. While she had the layout of Laurie's house ingrained in her mind, she was still afraid of hurting herself. Chills began to form on her arms as a light breeze brushed her. Instantly Alex put her guard up, stopping on the other side of the couch. Laurie's house didn't have a draft. Either a window or the door was open, and neither option sounded good to her. It was Autumn and under 50 degrees Fahrenheit outside, no window or door should be open.
So when she heard the front door suddenly slam shut, she screamed bloody murder.
"Alex! Where are you? What's wrong?" She could hear Laurie and another set of footsteps running over to her. She could feel Laurie's cold hands on her arms and could almost taste her concern. Rubbing her own hands over them, she realized the breeze was gone. When she finally got her breathing back under control, she replied.
"I just woke up and I was alone and I could feel a breeze, so I started to panic. Where the hell were you and why was the door open?" The words just came tumbling out of Alex's mouth, and she couldn't help but think she was too sober to be dealing with this shit.
"I went to go get Tommy. I was supposed to babysit him at his house tonight, remember? But you were asleep on my couch, and I know you needed the sleep, so I just brought him here. And what are you talking about? The door was shut." Her guilt at making her friend worry was suddenly thrown into the background as Laurie's words sunk in. She knew she had felt a breeze. Even now she still had chills.
"I don't feel a breeze. Laurie, why are your friends so weird?" She had almost forgotten about Tommy. "And why is she wearing sunglasses inside? Is it part of your costume? Isn't it hard to see? What are you supposed to be?" She could feel her panic dissipate, instead being replaced by annoyance at the onslaught of questions from the young boy.
Her answer of, "Your worse nightmare," rang out at the same time as Laurie's scandalized, "Tommy!"
"You could have just woken me up. I could have just gone home." Alex wanted, needed, Laurie to understand that while she appreciated the thought, she was too independent to be treated so fragile. She wanted to investigate the house because of her paranoia, but rationally she knew she must have just imagined the feeling of a cold breeze, almost like a phantom sensation. Slowly making her way back around the couch, she sat down. Reaching down for the blanket she dropped, she was surprised to not feel it there. Feeling around for it, she was taken off guard when Tommy plopped down on the couch next to her. He handed her the blanket.
"Here, this was on the other side of the couch. Why didn't you notice it?" Yet again, her mind seemed to freeze. She dropped that blanket on the floor. She almost tripped on it. There was no way it could have gotten off the floor and onto the couch.
"I already called your aunt and asked if you could stay the night. And it's fine with me, I like the idea of having a sleepover with you on Halloween." Laurie's response sounded logical, but she knew her friend just wanted to watch over her herself. And maybe with all her senses apparently being shot tonight, it might just be a good thing.
"I don't want to have a sleepover with you girls!" How old was Tommy again? Didn't he have a crush on that one girl, Lindsay? Surely he was old enough to be mature enough to see past gender.
"Then I guess it's a good thing we didn't invite you to." There was no way she was going to turn down her sass, even when using it against a kid. She could hear a puff of an exhale from Laurie indicating her amusement, and she could just imagine the little smirk on her face. Tommy huffed, and she could hear the TV's volume increasing, meaning he had decided to ignore her instead of retorting. Wrapping herself back up in the blanket, Alex lied down on the couch, ignoring Tommy's cry of indignation as she put her feet on him. Falling into the fuzziness of sleep, she could barely make out Laurie's words as she talked to Tommy. She was probably explaining to him that Alex had lost her sight in an accident. Cuddling into the back of the couch, she fell asleep again, a slight breeze touching the back of her neck.
She was startled awake by something shaking her. Her first instinct was to rub her eyes and groan, so when she hit the metal frame of her glasses, she was puzzled. She opened her eyes but saw nothing. She could feel a hand on her shoulder and breath on her cheeks, meaning someone was leaning over her.
"Alex? Are you ok? I'm going to go check on Annie and Lindsay with Tommy. Do you want to come?" Laurie's voice instantly had her relaxing, as she calmed down and remembered where she was. She was having a great dream, one so vivid and color filled that it made her want to cry. She saw herself as a baby being held by her parents. How she missed them. Then she saw herself being held by a little boy with dark brown hair and eyes so dark they looked like an abyss. Her mom appeared behind the boy looking worried. She tried to say something, but she woke up before she could hear her.
"No, I'm fine here. I'm still pretty exhausted. Just make sure to give me a call once you get to Lindsay's house so I don't worry. What time is it?" She had no desire to leave the comfortable couch, although, she was uncomfortably hot under her blanket. Being alone didn't sound appealing, but walking to Lindsay's home was even less so.
"It's 10:40, so almost 11. I'll call you when we get there!" Their footsteps disappeared from her range right before she heard the front door close. Getting up reluctantly, she shuffled her way to the front door. It took her a minute, seeing as she was a bit disoriented, but she finally made it. Feeling around for the deadbolt, she locked the door behind them. Testing it and finding the lock to be properly latched, she began to move to the kitchen. It had been awhile since dinner, and she was feeling a bit peckish. Maybe, if she was lucky, she could find something she could eat as is or easily make. Feeling around the cabinet where Laurie hid her candy stash, she was frustrated at her inability to find anything. She was a good 5'5", a nice medium height, but she was still a few inches shorter than Laurie. Brushing her hair away from her face out of habit, she considered what to do next. All she wanted was something small, and she knew there were snacks up there just out of her reach. Leaning back against the cabinets across from the snacks, Alex pouted.
She was caught off guard when she realized there was a slight breeze hitting her face. There was an odd metallic undertone to the smell of autumn. Pulling the blanket that lingered on her shoulders like a cape closer to her body, she wondered where the gust could be coming from now. The only thing in front of her were cabinets, and she could tell she was alone. Or at least it felt like she was alone. Working back up her motivation, she ignored it and approached the snack cabinet again. Standing on her tiptoes and reaching into the cabinet, she was surprised when her hand immediately encountered a box. Grabbing it easily, she shook the box to see what was in it. When her suspicions of it being cookies was confirmed by the sound, she took down the box. She wondered how she had missed it the first time. Humming, Alex began to shuffle back to the living room, the chilly breeze brushing against the back of her neck as she munch on a few cookies.
After sitting down, she began to eat the cookies in earnest. Alone on the couch, she felt safe for the first time in awhile. That calmness shattered when she heard a creak. Before she would've been realistic and contributed it to the house just being old. Now, alone and blind, she felt a twinge of fear.
"Hello? Laurie? Is that you? Mr. and Mrs. Strode?" She faced the direction of the creak, although, with her lack of eyesight, it did her no good. Taking off her sunglasses, she opened her eyes in vain. It was odd, she could feel the gentle draft, but it had no physical effect on her. It didn't sting her sensitive eyes, it didn't move her hair, but she could feel it. Relaxing back into the couch, she wanted to laugh at herself for being paranoid. Humming again, she reached for the remote on the coffee table. Just as she was about to turn back on the television, she froze. She heard someone breathing, heavy and deep. And they were right behind her.
It was time. He didn't know why or how, but he knew it was time to go home. His escape was almost effortless on his part, making it too easy to enjoy. The thrill of killing was increased with his need to stalk his prey, and there was none of that in this situation. Stealing the car that was to take him to court, he began to make his way to Haddonfield. Michael Myers was back, and it was time to see his little sister again.
She was easy to find. Then again, he would always find her. She was now going by the name of Laurie Strode. She walked out of the high school, even passing right by his spot behind a tree as she made her way home. She didn't notice him. No one ever did unless he wanted them to. She was oblivious to his presence, ignorant to who she really was. He could feel rage begin to stir in him, his hands clenching into fists. How dare she not remember him, especially after the gift he gave her? Yes, while he wanted Judith and his stepfather dead for his own reasons, he did it for her too. Maybe 15 years of being apart was too long. Maybe she wasn't even his sister anymore. In any case, he followed her.
Going across the street, he walked parallel to her. Looking at her from afar, she looked almost identical to how his mother used to be. The way she walked down the sidewalk, the crisp wind tugging at her hair, reminded him of better times. Distracted for a second, he was surprised when he zoned back in to see Laurie looking at him. Cursing mentally at his rusty skills, he took in the fear on her face and in her posture as she walked away as quickly as she could. He knew he should feel a connection to her, but all he felt was the excitement that came with stalking his prey.
If only Loomis could see him now, free. He would never oppose the idea of being a monster, he knew he was. And he was okay with that. But he wasn't ok with how life was for him in Smith's Grove. While he may have seemed empty of everything but evil to Loomis, Michael knew differently. He was a psychopath, not the Devil. He was aware and capable of elaborate thought, though, in the sanatorium, he had only ever been treated as a dangerous wild beast. He was rather intelligent if he did say so himself, although, maybe a bit impulsive in his actions. He could feel emotions, though, he didn't really understand the more complex ones. He could shut them out when others couldn't, thankfully, allowing him to do what he wanted without morals getting in the way. Neither pain nor injuries would ever stop him. He healed rather quickly, and his body contained the strength of a juggernaut. He didn't know or care what he was, all he knew was that he had never been any different.
Part of his planning before the killing began was to gather information on Laurie's friends. The two he saw her with at the school seemed to have interesting personalities. He wondered how they would react to his murderous intent. But neither of them seemed to be close friends with Laurie, and that would simply not do. She needed to feel agony and misery before he decided what to do with her.
It was nearly 7 when he arrived at the Strode residence. It was already dark out, and he felt comfortable in his environment for the first time in what seemed like forever. It's a good thing he decided to stay out of view, for moments later Laurie herself rushed out of the house. He watched her run down the street and waited until she was out of view before approaching the home. Seeing as she had left the door unlocked for some reason, it was easy to slip into the house. He was silent as he made his way through the first level of the house. He was tense, ready to attack should he encounter anyone. His knife was his sole companion, the hilt cold against his palm. He was scanning the dining room when he realized someone was in the house. He could hear a TV faintly playing, but more importantly, he could hear whimpers. It sounded like a small child, so imagine his surprise when the source was a sleeping teenager.
This was a friend of Laurie's he had yet to see. All he could see was their back as they were curled into the couch. Approaching the restless figure, he noticed it was a girl.
Things went downhill quite suddenly when she bolted upright. His knife was raised into the air the moment he detected movement, and now he just was waiting for her to scream. Instead, she just sat there hyperventilating. She was facing him, but her head was pointed downwards. Then she surprised him by speaking.
"Laurie? Where are you? What time is it?" Her voice was soft. It almost sounded shy in the way that it seemed reluctant to break the fragile silence. She lifted her head, and he began to tense up again, but, somehow, she didn't notice him. Maybe she was sleepwalking or something. When she stood up, he noticed the way she used the surrounding furniture to guide her. Next he noticed that she was dressed differently from the other girls he had seen around Haddonfield. She had on a men's black T-shirt that engulfed her and wore her faded jeans low on her hips. It wasn't a bad look, though, it made her seem a bit lazy and tomboyish. And even weirder was the fact that she was wearing sunglasses.
Then her foot caught on the heavy blanket that had been dropped to the floor. He didn't realize he was moving until he was a foot away from her, ready to steady her. This close to her, he could smell her slightly over the constant plastic scent of his mask. She smelled sweet, like raspberries and cream, but there was a muskiness to her as well, like sandalwood. He froze only inches from her and watched as she managed to catch herself. When she had cleared the obstacle completely, he picked up the wretched blanket and quietly placed it on the far end of the couch from her.
Then the girl just seemed to freeze completely. It reminded him of some of the schizophrenic patients from Smith's Grove during their catatonia episodes. From where he was standing, through a window he could see Laurie and a child approaching the home. Hiding in a closet nearest to the door, he waited. He could hear the front door open before being banged shut, causing the girl to scream. Footsteps ran down the hall in front of the closet he was in and he couldn't hear anything of what Laurie said to the girl other than her name; Alex.
"Michael, would you like to hold her?" He and his mom had encountered an old friend of hers who lived in the nicer section of Haddonfield. The lady, Mrs. Walken, was a beautiful woman. Holding her month old baby, she almost seemed to glow with an amount of happiness he found abnormal.
"Michael, you have a baby sibling of your own on the way. You should try and get used to it." His mother urged him gently. He wanted to, the baby looked so peaceful and perfect laying in her mother's arms, but he was afraid of disturbing it.
"Her name is Alexandra, which means protector of man," Mrs. Walken told him as she showed him the proper way to hold the baby.
"She seems too tiny to protect anyone." He replied, seemingly unperturbed at the information. As his mom and the other lady began to chitchat, he studied the baby. She was asleep at the moment, and she felt so warm in his arms. It was like holding a living marshmallow. She had a layer of dark fuzz for hair and he found himself gently combing his fingers through it.
"Alex." He whispered, trying to get a tiny reaction. He was surprised when she yawned and opened her eyes. They were powder blue and seemed to reflect the light like crystals, and they were looking him directly in the eyes.
Looking up at Mrs. Walken, he surprised her with the seriousness in his tone. The dominating look in his eye combined with the unfriendly look on his face seemed to distress her.
"Can I keep her?"
And she had said no and quickly took Alex back before leaving. Now the oddness of the girl seemed to make sense to him. No one had really liked him but that tiny baby with crystals for eyes. She had smiled at him, a smile just for him.
Hearing only the noisy TV now, he deemed it safe to leave the closet. As he slipped out the front door, he glanced back once. Laurie was in a chair watching the movie, Alex was laying on the couch as she fell back asleep, and the boy was on the couch with her. Ignoring the twinge of rage he felt at the idea of someone touching her, a being they should consider to be above them, he left the Strode home without anyone knowing he had ever been there. And so he headed down the road, trying to find those other friends of Laurie's.
The one girl, Annie, was leaving a house when he found her. When she ran back inside to grab something, he quickly hid in the back seat of her car. Laying down on the floor caused his rubber mask to slightly chafe his face, but he knew there was no way he would be removing it. Without it, he was just Michael Myers. With it, he was a monster, and only monsters kill people in his book. When she got in the car, she began to do her make-up and mumble to herself.
"Ok, so first I'm going to go pick up Paul. Hopefully Lynda and Bob will get here after we do with the beer. I can lock Lindsay in her room for the night, and we can party all we want. Sounds like a plan. But first- Dammit, I messed up my eyeliner." He had heard enough. He sat up quietly in the back seat, his breathing sounding like thunder to him under the mask. He didn't understand what his sister saw in this girl. Her clothes left little to the imagination, and her makeup disguised her face almost as much as a mask. This tramp was not the kind of person he wanted hanging around Laurie, and by extension, Alex. He made sure to let her scream before stabbing the knife through the seat and into her back, the sharp metal cutting through fabric, skin, and layers of muscle easily. Her eyes pleaded with his through the rear view mirror, but, instead of euphoria, he only felt tired.
He made a gesture of disappointment and began his task of waiting for these friends of Annie's to show up to their funerals.
He was covered in blood, the metallic smell comforting to him. Annie's friends had shown up and, after discovering her body in the foyer, he had butchered them all quickly and mercilessly, not in the mood to draw things out. He was currently outside the Strode residence again, watching his sister. His view of the boy and Alex was obstructed, and from the way Laurie kept looking at the couch and smiling, he guessed that whatever he saw would annoy him. Recalling the few fond memories of his older sister, he remembered laying the couch with her. It had been a rare moment of affection on her part, and though he could smell alcohol on her, he took advantage of the warmth. Just thinking about that kid cuddling up against Alex made his blood boil.
After an hour, he was relieved when Laurie began to show signs of leaving. After getting the boy bundled up in a coat and turning off the TV, she shook the sleeping girl. He couldn't see Alex's face, but Laurie's hovering over the couch displayed a mild form of worry. He hid as Laurie and the kid left the house before heading in the direction of his most recent massacre. He moved quickly as he saw Alex get off the couch. Opening the front door quietly, he slipped inside as she reached the hall. Back against a wall, he waited tensely as she approached, not even daring to breathe. She ignored his existence completely though, simply locking the door before shuffling off. The damned blanket from before was wrapped around her, hiding most of her from view.
He followed her to the kitchen next, stalking her through the house. She approached a certain cabinet and though she was a bit short, she began to search for something. When she sighed in defeat and pouted against the opposite counter, he slipped past her. The close contact startled him slightly. He could smell her again, and could feel the warmth radiating of her. She was like a sun to him, burning brightly. He brushed against her, the blanket being all that he came in contact with though. Back to the task at hand, he faced the cabinet. Curious, he reached up, quietly grabbing what he assumed she wanted and putting it directly up front. He managed to slide out of her way when she again approached the cabinet. An emotion, surprise, made her face scrunch up for a second before she simply accepted the victory. She began humming a song he was unfamiliar with, but it sounded jazz related. Shaking the box like a child, she nodded slightly in satisfaction before making her way back to the living room.
She opened the box on the journey, and as she walked and snacked, she left a trail of crumbs. He felt warm, happy she would be considerate enough to leave him a trail to her. Feeling around a bit, Alex carefully sat down on the couch, her blanket restricting her movements.
He stood in the archway into the living room, behind the couch, listening to her. Her music was soft, and hidden away as she was, she seemed as fragile as a caged bird. When he stepped closer to hear better, his distraction made him careless. The floorboards creaked under his heavy step, and the humming cut off abruptly. She turned around on the couch so fast he was surprised she didn't fall off.
"Hello? Laurie? Is that you? Mr. and Mrs. Strode?" She asked instead of acknowledging him. The twinge of fear on her face excited him, his grip on his steel companion tightening. He was admiring her flawless face when she took over her glasses, his excitement being thrown out the window quickly as he studied her.
Her eyes were open unnaturally wide, searching. Radiating out from the region of her eye sockets were fresh scars, barely healed completely. They were limited in surface area but seemed to be severe and to have done damage deep within the layers of skin and connective tissues. He could tell they were the scars left over from burns, but even worse than that were her eyes themselves. Her pupils and irises were completely gone from sight, a dull shade of blue taking their places. The whites of her eyes were an angry red from damaged blood vessels. Sudden understanding donned on him, and the rage building in his chest now rivalled that of when he went on his first massacre. Something, someone, had hurt Alex, burned her, and marked her with scars. They had taken away the beautiful crystal blue that he remembered so fondly and given her the eyes of the night sky when polluted by unnatural, manmade light.
After a minute of tense waiting, she turned back around. She began to hum again, but the music no longer soothed him. As she placed her glasses on the table, she grabbed the remote. He didn't know why, but he needed to know what happened, needed to see those pitiful eyes again, needed to fix them. He closed the distance between them until he was directly behind the couch, inches from touching her. His fury was so close to the surface that he was surprised he wasn't catching fire. As it was, he began to breathe heavy, deep breaths that sounded like a hurricane under his mask.
And then Alex froze again, and he knew she knew he was there.
Well, I have no idea where to go from here, so that'll be the end of this chapter.
Reviews are loved! I hope I made an interesting OC without making her seem unrealistic. And I hoped I captured Michael as a man, a psychotic man but a human all the same, instead of a monster. Let me know!