2. The White Room

Disclaimer: I don't own the Halloween franchise or Michael Myers, and I apologize for the first chapter if it fell a little flat, as I said it is a first time. I had this idea in my head for a month and felt like getting it out there. I thought of going with the Rob Zombie movie version instead, though with that being said this version respectively belongs to Rob Zombie, and the franchise itself belongs to John Carpenter. Happy Halloween everybody.

Smith's Grove Sanitarium, Warren County

Ava didn't know how long she was staring at the large, muscled man, named Michael, and she didn't even register the fact that he was staring back at her too. "Miss Mallory," Dr. Loomis hollered raising his voice, breaking her from her thoughts, "Sorry…Dr. Loomis. I was just…" She glanced back at Michael, noticing that he was still staring at her.

Ava shifted uncomfortably but tried to play it off as tired, as Michael stared her down through his mask, "I'm sorry…for staring," she says to him. Michael just continued on staring then cocked his head to the side slowly as if she just said some kind of riddle.

Loomis sniffed quietly, "I wouldn't bother talking to him," he said, "He hasn't spoken since he was 10."

And Ava found the statement more of an insult, rather than an explanation. 'Probably cause it serves to remind you of my dear old daddy and his own condescending remarks?'

The brunette looked back at Loomis, "Maybe no one bothered to talk to him without psychoanalyzing him before," Ava said tightly. Loomis gave her a disgruntled look, "You're here to pick up your father's personal effects?" He switched subjects, as the muscle in his face twitched. Ava doubted that he expected a snarky college student telling him how to do his job, not that she was but she could tell that she must have annoyed him but stood her ground, raising her chin stubbornly, "I am."

She heard a shuffling at the side and it came from where Michael was sitting, and she glanced over at him noticing that he was still staring at her from behind his mask.

Dr. Loomis nodded, "Very well then, I shall go and get the keys to his office. Please wait here," he said to her as he got up and headed for the door. Ava froze at that, and quickly glanced at the big giant masked man seated on the chair, "You want me to wait here," Ava asked.

The older man glanced at her and nodded, "Yes but I wouldn't worry, he will not do anything. He's in chains, and there's security outside of the door. You will be perfectly safe."

The young woman nodded, "Okay," she agreed quietly. She didn't want to give Michael the impression that she was nervous about being left alone with him, so she kept her voice low to disguise the nervousness in her voice.

Regardless if humans could smell fear or not, like animals could, they could certainly hear it.

And now Ava could only hope that he didn't hear it in her own voice, like she just did.

She vaguely heard the door shut behind her. Dr. Loomis had just left the room, leaving her with this large masked stranger. Ava stood in her spot awkwardly, and chanced a glance to see Michael still staring at her; she wondered if he was even blinking underneath that mask of his. The brunette really couldn't tell from where she was standing, but what she could tell was that he was absolutely still, almost like a statue. The 20 year old had to admit, that did impress her. This guy had patience that was for sure.

Ava shifted from one foot to the other, feeling herself get a bit tired, the only seat available was Dr. Loomis's…right across from Michael.

Playing subtly with the hem of her jacket, she swallowed, twiddling her fingers, "…"

Michael was still looking at her, and it was starting to unnerve her.

Ava shifted restlessly again, not used to this much quiet, she spoke up, "Would it be okay if I sit down," she asked him self consciously, not really sure why she was asking this mental patient of all people.

But God only knows, what this man could be like, underneath that quiet, and she didn't want to offend him or make an enemy of him, especially if she didn't know what could set him off.

And her grandma's lesson about being kind to all people, and treating them well, seeped into her head in reminder.

Michael cocked his head to the side again with interest – Ava wasn't sure if that was a yes or a no, but cautiously took a step ahead.

To her surprise he finally looked away from her and glanced at the seat across from him.

That was more of a response than a cock of the head, so Ava decided to risk it, and take it as an affirmative gesture, "Thank you," she said politely. She slowly and steadily moved closer and sat down in Loomis's seat across from Michael. Her words always went unanswered, and it made Ava feel like she was talking to herself. She once again risked a glance to look up at him, and sure enough he was looking down at her from behind the eyeholes of his mask, and it only occurred to her now, how close he was to her now. If he didn't have chains on him now, he could reach out to grab her easily. Once again the silence was deafening and weighed heavily on one of them. Michael didn't seem to be too bothered by the quiet. From this encounter, Ava could easily tell that he preferred the silence. She shifted in her seat this time, and looked down at her lap, staring at her folded hands now, and bit her lip quietly then before she even realized it, words poured from her lips, "It's nice to meet you…"

Reeling back at that, she couldn't believe that came out of her mouth just now, but it was probably just out of habit, or manners, Ava surmised.

She glanced at him again and noticed that he was still staring down at her; for some unknown reason, Ava wanted to see his eyes, or at least something more in his eyes than just blackness. Now she found herself wondering, if this man had ever had a normal interaction with anyone in the past, before, or if he had ever spoken in the past, or if he was always this silent?

Ava stared at him, taking in his appearance; he was certainly not like any regular looking man she had seen before. If he stood up from that chair, he would tower over her and overpower her easily, she'd wager. Hell he'd probably have no problem taking on an average man. He had dark sandy dirty blond hair that seemed to lightly touch his shoulders, and obscure the paper-mache mask on his face. He had broad shoulders, long thick muscled arms, and overall just looked intimidating and powerful, with what her mom would have described as a boxer or a wrestler's build. As she had realized before, he was a giant. Now she could only wonder what he looked like underneath the mask and beneath those long strands of hair.

The door opened breaking her from her reverie, "Sorry I took so long," Dr. Loomis had returned with a set of keys.

He stopped talking when he realized what he was seeing. "Miss Mallory, what are you doing?" He asked incredulously and wide eyed.

Ava raised her brows, "Sitting down. Why," she voiced bluntly.

Loomis stared at her, "Michael's never been one to let anyone near him, or interacted with strangers," he said in surprise drawing closer to him.

The brunette eyed him then glanced at Michael, who remained a still like a statue and was of course still facing her…or from what she could tell, where his head was facing at least.

She shrugged, "Well, I asked him if it was okay if I sit down, and he let me know it was okay," she said nonchalantly.

This seemed to throw him for a loop, "Michael talked," he asked, his voice rising slightly.

Ava blinked in mild surprise, "No. He just…let me know it was okay to sit down," she explained faintly.

Loomis was now staring at her with raised brows and he seemed to deflate a bit, "How," he asked, and suddenly it felt like to Ava, he was grasping at straws.

The young woman lifted her hand and scratched the back of her head lightly, "He just…after I asked if it was okay, he just kind of looked at the seat across from him. Your seat," she admitted, "I guess I took that as an OK and as an invitation," she said, as she eyed the doctor and noticed something in his hands.

Those must have been the keys to her father's office, she quickly realized, and she was right as Loomis cleared his throat, "Ah, I see…very well then," he seemed to be put off, "Anyways…these are a set of keys to your father's office and desk," he said distractedly.

She nodded, "Thank you…is everything all packed or will I need a box," she asked getting up from the chair, and taking a few steps ahead.

"Most of it is just some files, and that's packed away into a folder, but a lot of it you'll need a box for," he answered her, moving forward to offer her the keys.

Ava nodded a thank you as she took the keys into her hands and was about to walk away, "What room is it?" She asked.

"No need to trouble yourself, Zach will you show where it is," Loomis waved off her question.

The sable haired girl honestly wondered if, Loomis was just eager to get rid of her so that he could get back to his session. At this thought she felt annoyance pinch at her sides – he was the one who called and asked her to come and pick up her father's personal affects and take care of the arrangements, and now he was quick to get rid of her?

"Thank you, Dr. Loomis, I can honestly say, thank you for calling me last night, and persuading me to come here, to pick up my estranged father's things. I didn't mean to come on a busy day," Ava said disguising the mock in her tone.

Loomis's head snapped at her in surprise. Oh so he caught that, she mused to herself with a sarcastic curve of her lip forming a slightly cynical half smile.

The door opened again and revealed a middle aged white guy, with brown hair that was starting to gray, a beard and moustache, and friendly crinkling brown gray eyes. Ava assumed that this was the Zach, Dr. Loomis had mentioned earlier, who would be escorting her.

"Miss Mallory this is Zach Garrett. Zach this is Miss Ava Mallory. She's here to see to any arrangements of her father's," Sam Loomis introduced the two.

Ava shook hands with Zach, muttering a nice to meet you, and he nodded at her, giving her a pleasant smile.

"Thanks for doing this and for holding onto my father's things," she glanced back at Loomis, "I'll just take care of some things, pack up my dad's things and…get out of your hair," she said, acknowledging how rude she had been earlier.

Sam nodded, "Of course, thank you for taking the time to come, and have a safe trip back home in case I don't see you again," he said to her giving her a smile.

"Of course, goodbye in advance Dr. Loomis," Ava said pleasantly and reached out to shake his hand.

She then turned to Michael and nodded, "Bye Michael. It was nice…meeting you," she gave him a halfhearted attempt at a smile.

Michael was staring up at her, and she knew she wouldn't get a response out of him so she just turned to walk away.

What had happened next was a blur; Ava felt a tight bruising pressure on her arm that yanked her back causing her to let out a light yelp. She felt a slight ringing in her ears, and then she heard shouting. She could make out Dr. Loomis's voice, and then the security guard's. The young woman turned her head back around and her eyes widened, and she was sure that she had paled when she saw her arm in Michael's large and firm grasp. His grip was tightening and it made her gasp and wince, in that moment she thought he was trying to break it. But she didn't hear the crack, that she was dreading would come. She had broken her arm once before, when she tried riding a two-wheel bike for the first time, and ended up falling off and landing on cold hard cement. She hadn't landed right and had ended up breaking it. But the break didn't come, or hadn't had the chance to yet, instead his grip seemed to be determined to root her in place. Ava lifted her gaze to his masked face, and three things had occurred to her – the distance between them wasn't that big, the chains weren't short but they weren't long either, he could have easily reached from across the table to grab at her, and even if he couldn't those chains would never hold him. The second thing was, she didn't realize how close she was standing to him, though she supposed tied more into the first thing. And the third, was how close she was to him, that she could actually see into the eyeholes of his mask and caught a glimpse of his eyes. There was the glittering and hardening of a raging storm about to surface, and she felt everything inside her freezing.

"Michael! What the hell are you doing? Let her go right now," She heard Dr. Loomis shouting his name as he rushed forward to grab onto Michael's shoulder, with the security guard behind him and reaching for his weapon.

Ava felt her throat constricting, only letting out a choked out noise, between a grunt, and a yelp, as Michael's grip was unrelenting and seemed to jerk her towards him firmly.

The door opened again and another security man rushed with others following behind him, making Ava's head whip around to look at the other arrivals; he had long hair tied back, a thick mustache, was wearing a baseball cap backwards, with glasses and appeared to be of Hispanic descent, from what she could tell.

"Mikey, it's okay, it's me," the guard said rushing to him to touch his shoulder, "It's okay. You're okay," he said to him, "Let her go," he said gently.

Ava was sure that if he had tightened his hand any harder, her hand would have turned blue and eventually her arm would snap, but thankfully that hadn't happened. There was only a pause and hesitation followed, and this gave her the idea to follow the guard's example.

Bravely she turned to face him again, "Michael," she said hoarsely and quietly but nonetheless got his attention, "Please, it's alright. I'm…I'm a friend. You can let go of my arm," she asked him hopefully.

He didn't let go of her, but his grip did seem to let up, and she knew it was working, so she continued on another tactic.

"Okay that's good, thank you," she said to him, with what she hoped was a sweet and calm tone, "You…want a friend? Is that it," Ava asked him, "I can be your friend," she said to him carefully, "You know why? Cause you didn't hurt me, when it just you and me here," she continued to talk him down hoping she was reaching him, "And that makes you a very nice person."

The girl could feel eyes on her, and a few of the guards going for their weapons, and she raised her free hand to try and stop them.

This man didn't deserve to get punished just for simply grabbing her arm, he was still a patient who needed some form of help, and just didn't know his own strength. If Ava was being honest, she'd feel bad if anyone got hurt over her.

The guard by her side, which she took a quick look at his nametag and identified him as Ismael, who had referred to Michael as Mikey, got the message and urged them to stand down, "Back up. He's not hurtin' her," he said, "Just give it a minute," he urged them.

They reluctantly did as suggested, though many were still tense, and Loomis more so due to what was happening. He was looking from Michael to Ava, and assessing the situation; for years he had tried to reach Michael, and aside from him killing that one nurse, when he was a child, this was a rather strange and very random reaction and response to a stranger. When he had left to go fetch the keys for Ava Mallory, he had half-hoped that perhaps something would happen, after he had noticed Michael stare at her so intently. But he didn't think that it would be this sort of reaction, he had hoped that Michael would start talking, but nothing like this. That was a reaction that no one had ever incited from him ever – Michael had been known to spare an attempted glance at newcomers but that was it, refusing to acknowledge anyone.

"So please let go of my arm," Ava pleaded carefully, "I just need to clean…then I'll come back, and you still need to get your food," she said to him, "While you eat, I'll clean up, then I'll come back to you okay?" She offered to him reasonably.

He was staring at her, his eyes glittering sharply, but it seemed like he was weighing this offer.

She could see that he was starting to loosen up, "Please Michael. Is that what you want? A friend? I can be your friend. You're a good person. I promise I won't leave," Ava whispered to him gently, trying to keep the panic out of her voice, or she hoped she didn't sound panicked or nervous. Regardless whether humans could smell fear or not, they could certainly hear it.

Michael gazed at her, and slowly released her arm and that was when the guards rushed forward with Ismael trying to calm them down and careful secure the chains around his wrists.

Ava felt a hand take her and push her away from Michael and guide her out.

She looked up and saw that it was Dr. Loomis guiding her out of the room with Zach walking behind them.

The young woman clutched her arm to her chest, feeling certain that it was bruised now.

"Are you alright Miss Mallory," she heard Dr. Loomis ask her.

Ava rubbed her arm quietly, "Yeah…yeah. It was just a surprise that's all," she murmured dazedly, "I just wasn't expecting that," she rubbed her arm and felt ridges of the keys in her hand reminding her what she wanted to do originally.

"Believe me Ava, neither was I," Loomis scoffed rubbing the back of his head in disbelief, "None of us were. For the longest time I have known Michael. He has never shown any sort of fixation or interest outside of himself, his family or his masks. The only other person he listens to or acknowledges is Ismael," he explained, "But that was not what I was expecting to happen. I haven't been able to get a word out of him since he was 11," he said flatly.

She glanced at him, "He's never done anything like that before," she asked lowly in a husky voice.

Dr. Loomis shook his head, "No. He never reached out to anyone like that before," he murmured in thought, and then grew quiet, "Miss Mallory?"

The college student glanced at him, "Yes, Dr. Loomis?"

"After you've collected your father's things, would you be interested in joining me for lunch at the cafeteria," Loomis asked her, "There is something I would like to propose to you, and I hope that you will be interested in hearing it," he stated professionally.

Ava bit the inside of her cheek but nodded, as she fingered the keys, "Okay…" she consented.

Samuel Loomis smiled in satisfaction, which Ava wasn't all too sure she liked, but only inwardly shook her head at the feeling. She was just on edge after all of that excitement; she honestly didn't know why all of a sudden Michael had reached out to her and refused to let her go. Now more than ever she really wanted to just go to her father's office and get this over with, along with anything Dr. Loomis had to offer, and be far away from here.

"Just take me to my dad's office please," Ava said indifferently.

She heard Dr. Loomis give the security guard, Zach instructions, and told her that he would meet her in the cafeteria, with Zach to show her the way. Loomis left them, going down the hallway in another direction, probably to his own office, before he joined Michael again. And honestly she didn't blame him for wanting a break after dealing with someone as stealthy and intense and quiet as Michael.

Now it just left her with Zach leading her to her father's office. They fell into a long and pregnant silence, and honestly after everything, Ava didn't mind in the least bit.

Though it seemed like Zach was a bit uneasy, so he decided to break it, "That was a brave thing you did," he commented.

Ava hummed at that, "Thanks. It really was nothing. Not a big deal," she said quietly.

The older man scoffed, "Oh believe me it was. Not everyone can get him to calm down like that except for good ole' Ismael," Zach pointed out.

She nodded humming again, recalling Ismael as the one guard who helped her with Michael and kept the other guards from making things worse, "I'll have to remember to thank him the next time I see him," she murmured.

Zach nodded snorting lightly, "Yeah, a lot of us here owe Ismael a thanks for getting through that big guy, we were barely able to reach him the last time he went on an episode, it took two guards to restrain him," said shuddering as he remembered the day.

The brunette nodded slowly, releasing a quiet shaky breath, "What happened?" She spared Zach a sideways glance.

"Michael had killed a nurse with a fork, and that was almost 15 years ago," Zach recalled, "Nice lady too. Her name was…huh," his voice trailed off gravelly, "You know what? I don't remember. I remember her last name though. It was Wynn too. I think she was related to Dr. Wynn."

Ava felt her feet stop at that and her heart skip a beat; her father had a sister, she remembered. A woman with orange strawberry blond hair, brown eyes, a friendly smile and a little mouth with stern and pursing lips, a spare upper lip and a full bottom lip. She was a woman, who enjoyed reading horoscopes, and was obsessed with astrology and knew all of the constellations by heart. "Effie," Ava murmured lowly.

"What's wrong?" Zach asked noticing she had stopped walking.

Ava shook her head, "Nothing," she muttered, making a mental note to ask Dr. Loomis when they were alone, incident of the murdered nurse.

They lapsed into silence and it seemed like it was just in time as they reached her father's office, and Ava took the keeps and unlocked the door. She turned to Zach and smiled faintly, "Thank you, Mr. Garrett," she said politely.

He smiled back at her, "Don't mention it, Miss Ava, call me Zach," he said, "I'm gonna go on break, but I'll be right back and take you to the cafeteria," he let her know.

She nodded and thanked him again and watched as he left her to her devices.

The young woman turned the key and pushed the door open and took a deep breath as she looked around. It was dark with the blinds drawn down and closed – Ava wracked in her brain, trying to recall if she had been there before. She had been in her father's study once, back when her parents were together, she would always remember trying to get her father to spend time with her, only to be ushered out because he claimed to be busy. Ava glanced at a brown leather armchair behind the desk, and a memory flooded before her eyes. Her father would sit in that chair and then have her sit in his lap and they would be looking over a book; some fairytale book that he would read to her. As the memory flickered away, Ava shook it off and glanced at the bookshelf behind the desk and the chair, it was a tall bookshelf with 6 shelves. If she got anything from her father, it was an enjoyment for reading and her love for books. Her father had told her that his family came from Ireland so he'd tell her folktales from there, including about the Celtics and their ways. He'd proudly claim how they descended from them and that it was some sort of pagan tribe that had to do with a plant…or the one of the constellations.

Ava couldn't recall the name at all right now. But she knew that her father would tell her the story every night.

She looked around the dim room and saw a box with case folders in it – figures he'd want his work to be boxed away and to be studied by other future psychiatrists to study, then maybe one of them could diagnose her own father, and figure out what drove him mad.

Shaking her head, the brunette turned back to look at the bookshelf and sauntered towards it, smiling a little as she spotted a book with what looked to be a triangle on the binding along with the words, Family History & Practices on the cover. Blinking slowly she reached up and pulled the book out. She knew how much Terence Wynn had stressed on the importance of their family history; he'd claim that they were descended from royalty. Being young and only 5, she asked her father if that meant that she was a princess, to which he'd laugh and say that yes she was. Feeling a smile stretch across her lips, Ava could admit to herself that she and her father did have some good times, even if they were short, few and rare.

"Yeah right dad. If we were royalty, I'd be sitting on England's throne right now," she muttered under her breath sarcastically and humorously and looked around, wondering if her dad had a hidden liquor stash around here somewhere.

She had a feeling that in order to go through this and get through her father's life's work, she'd need a drink…

Meanwhile

He didn't think much of her at first, if he could be honest with himself. He knew that she was the daughter of the doctor who had died recently, and really didn't know how to respond to that. He had lost his father too. It had a bad effect on everyone in his family especially him. She was pretty, and attractive, but something in her reminded him of his older sister, Judith, and Michael instantly hated that, and he looked at her long and hard to find any more similarities to Judith. He was surprised to be proven wrong. She and Judith were miles apart, and couldn't be more different – they both had dark brown hair, with Ava's being a shade darker, and the eye color was different as well. Judith was loud, obnoxious and had no shame at all, whereas Ava seemed very nice. When he had grabbed at her, he expected her to scream and yell obscenities at him and struggle away from him, but instead she just froze and was as surprised he had been to how she had handled the situation later. She had calmed down, and spoke to him calmly and gently, saying only good things about him. Things only his mother had said to him when she had been alive…

That was it right there, Ava reminded him of his mother, Deborah Myers.

Now more than ever, Michael felt something in him crave the company of another, a friend, as Ava had put it. He hadn't had a lot of friends growing up.

Honestly he didn't know what made him grab onto her like that without doing serious harm to her, but all Michael could gather was that she spoke to him like a person and he liked that, and she polite, and she didn't try to force him to talk to her, which he liked even more. He was pleased that he got her up close to him too; she smelled like vanilla and something fruity, apples, or maybe peaches…? He couldn't recall, but whatever it was, he liked it.

Loomis had scolded him for what he had done, but at least he didn't get physical punishment since Ismael pleaded his case and talked them out of it, then he had taken him to get his evening meal all the while making some small talk here and there.

He commented on how he had made a new friend.

Other than Loomis, Ismael Cruz had been the only other person, Michael had accepted and let near him without any harm. And now there was a third person.

Michael was glad he was wearing his mask so that they wouldn't see the little twitch of a smile at the corners of his lips. He hoped that she would be done with whatever she came to do, and come and join him again…and Loomis.

But as always he had patience. The Shape was always patient.

Back at Dr. Wynn's office

Well, she couldn't find her dad's secret stash, but she was able to look through some of his old case files. If she had pursued psychology as a major then she would see it all as interesting, or even nursing as a career. It listed Michael and several other patients' files in his case compilation box. Then there was a bizarre star chart with all the constellations named and what times of the year they would show, and a pagan calendar. Ava had no idea that her father's obsession with this…hobby had leaked into his work that much, though she wondered if it affected it, and his patients, and couldn't help but pity them.

She had placed all of the papers back in the files she found them in, packing some old photo albums, and some of other books she knew her father treasured. For them, she had to get a second box, and have some help getting it to her car.

Ava heard a knock at the door and decided she would look at the rest later when she'd pack it all and get home.

True to Zach's word, he had returned for her in an hour to show her to the cafeteria, the walk there was surprisingly short considering how big this place seemed. They had made it there, and she instantly spotted Michael, and Dr. Loomis present with him as well.

The cafeteria was a sterile white with blue borders on it. The room was blindingly white as where she had first met him.

It all looked the same to her.

She hesitated at first, but saw two guards posted at the door's entrance, and made her way to them, "Didn't mean to keep you both waiting," Ava said courteously. "Hello again Dr. Loomis," she greeted the older man, then glanced at Michael, "Hello…Michael," she nodded to him, and noticed that he had lifted his head and she could already guess was staring in her direction.

"It's quite alright, we didn't wait long," Loomis brushed off her words, "Please have a seat, Ava." The girl did as he instructed sitting down across from them, "What did you want to see me about," she asked him patiently.

Dr. Loomis cleared his throat and began, "As you are well aware, Michael is…different. He has always been withdrawn and refused to connect with anyone, save for myself and his caretaker," he referred to Ismael.

Ava gazed at him but nodded slowly, signaling that she understood so far, and was willing for him to go on at the same time, so he did, "But today is the first time I had ever seen him initiate any sort of contact with…any individual, and a complete and utter stranger at that," Loomis said incredulously, "To my knowledge he has never done such a thing until today" he said to her. The dark haired girl frowned delicately, "I'm…I'm sorry…?" She murmured uncertainly.

"No, no don't apologize," Dr. Loomis shook his head vigorously, "It isn't your fault. It was exactly what I had hoped for. Granted I didn't think he would grab hold of you like that. Staring is one thing, but for him to do that was…unusual. I don't know what you did while I was gone, but I have a proposition for you," Loomis stated.

Ava nodded again, "Yeah, that's what I wanted to know about as well," she said, hoping she didn't sound too impatient. She spared Michael a quick glance – was he okay with Dr. Loomis talking about him in front of him like he wasn't here?

She wouldn't be.

The older psychiatrist smiled at her thinly, "I would like you to stay, and work with Michael," he offered, eying her for her reaction.

And just like that Ava wished she had something to drink, and black out, just to get out of this pale white room.