Chapter Eight
No one downstairs heard Steve die. They were all congregated in the living room. The silence was punctuated only by the radio, but no one was dancing anymore. Ben was sitting on the couch, his head in his hands, looking at the floor. He had taken off the vampire cape and now sat in just a shirt and jeans. Katie sat beside him, rubbing his back comfortingly. Joey and Alice stood by the window, still clutching each other even though their fear had long since died away. And Miranda was positioned awkwardly in the corner, eyes staring at the rug.
At length, Miranda decided to apologize. Glancing up at the couch, she said, "Ben, I'm sorry. We never meant to scare you like that."
Ben looked up, his face just as blank as the mask Steve had worn. He said nothing.
Miranda continued in a quavering voice, "We only meant it to be a simple Halloween prank. We never thought you'd be so upset by it. I mean, we knew it would scare you all, but we hoped you'd laugh it off afterward. We had no idea that you would take it so hard. Sorry." She dropped her gaze again.
Ben still didn't say anything. He just stared at Miranda for a long time, trying to calculate the sincerity of her apology. He was pretty sure she was being totally honest, but all the same, it would be a long time before he would be able to look at her and smile again.
Katie was still rubbing his back and said nothing. Ben sighed and murmured to her, "Thanks."
"No problem," Katie answered, leaning in closer and kissing him on the cheek.
Silence fell again.
"What the hell is taking him so long?" Miranda said after a while, looking up at the ceiling. "He should have been back by now."
No one replied, so she added, "I'll go check up on him."
She left the room, and no one was particularly sorry to see her go.
She reached the foot of the stairs and called up, "Steve? What's taking you so long up there? Did you fall in or something?"
Steve didn't answer. Miranda frowned. She hated being ignored.
She started climbing the stairs and reached the landing, where she saw that the bathroom door was shut. She approached it and knocked on the door. "Steve? Open up, it's me," she said.
No reply.
"Steve, open the fucking door," she said, more impatiently now. "You need to come downstairs and apologize to Ben. You really freaked him out and you owe him that."
Still nothing.
She pounded the door with her fist and said, "Damn it, Steve, why won't you answer me?"
She twisted the doorknob, expecting it to be locked. To her surprise, it turned easily. She pushed the door open.
The bathroom was empty.
"Steve?" Miranda said, looking around. "You in here?"
She eyed the shower curtain, which was drawn. "Are you trying to scare me?" she said, grinning and rolling her eyes, "I would have thought you'd learned your lesson."
She reached out and pulled the curtain back.
She screamed.
Steve's body was laying face-up in the tub, his eyes wide in unseeing horror, blood covering his chest and belly, seeping through a long gash that started at his throat and went all the way down to his waist. A slice of intestine was dangling out of the wound, soaked in blood and sticking to his skin.
Miranda's mind couldn't grasp what she was seeing. It wasn't possible, it couldn't be. How could this be happening?
She screamed again suddenly as a powerful hand yanked her hair backward and exposed her slender neck. She caught a brief glimpse of the masked shape in the mirror before the knife slashed swiftly across her throat. Her scream turned into a gurgle as blood burst from the cut, splattering over the floor and tub. She slumped forward and hit the floor with a wet thud, and the stranger stared down at her bleeding body, tilting his head to the side as though surveying a work of art.
…
Downstairs, everyone heard Miranda scream. They looked up at the ceiling in surprise, and Joey muttered, "What the hell?"
The screaming stopped abruptly, and Ben felt his blood chill. "Do you think something's happened?" he asked, though he couldn't think of a single thing that would make Miranda scream like that.
Joey seemed to think for a moment before he said, "I think Steve must have tried to scare her too."
Ben snorted, "Bastard," and returned his gaze to the floor. Trust Steve to do something so tasteless. He really never learned, did he? Miranda would probably be stomping down the stairs any minute now, pouting with her arms crossed, with Steve right behind her.
Five minutes passed. Ten. Fifteen. And no one returned. Ben glanced back up at the ceiling. "Why haven't they come back yet?" he asked.
Joey shrugged. "Do you think we should check?"
Ben hesitated before answering, "I suppose. Just to be safe."
He and Katie got up, and the foursome moved into the foyer, staring up at the stairs. "Miranda?" Ben called, his voice sounding loud in the silent house. "Are you okay?"
No one answered him.
"Miranda?" he called again. "Steve? Is everything all right up there?"
When he heard no reply, he tentatively put one foot on the bottom stair and stepped up. "Guys?" he called. "If this is another joke, I'll kill you, I swear I will."
Nothing except the creaking of the house.
They started to climb the stairs slowly, their ears straining to catch the smallest sound that might hint at what they were about to face. Ben was pretty sure this was another of Steve's pranks, but the nearer he got to the second floor, the less certain he became. This was too professional. He should have heard something by now, the creak of a floorboard, excited whispering, anything that would give away that they were plotting something. But he heard nothing.
They reached the landing and faced the hall. The first thing Ben noticed was that the bathroom door was pulled to, and light was pouring from under it. He started toward it, apprehension rising in his chest. A small voice in the back of his head wondered if this was really a joke. What if something was really and truly wrong? Just what were they about to find?
They drew level with the bathroom door and stopped, facing it uncertainly. Beyond this door, Ben was certain they would find the answer. He reached up and, taking a deep breath, pushed the door open.
"Oh my God!" Katie gasped, her hands coming up to cover her mouth.
Ben couldn't think of a single thing to say, though even if he could he doubt he'd have been able to utter a word.
The bathroom was covered in blood. The shower curtain was pulled back, red streaks running down its side and pooling in the tub. The floor was covered with the stuff, as if someone had upended a bucketful of red paint. It was a scene out of a horror film. Ben felt the gorge rise in his throat and fought hard not to vomit.
"Is…is it real?" Alice squeaked.
Ben shook his head. "I don't know," he replied shakily. "Sure looks like it."
"Don't jump to conclusions," Joey said, though his pale face belied his rational tone of voice. "This is Steve we're talking about here. I wouldn't put it past him to dump fake blood on the floor as some kind of sick joke."
Ben didn't say anything. His eyes slowly scanned over the puddle on the floor, noticing what seemed to be faint streaks, as if something had been dragged through it. Following the disturbances in the blood, he saw that the trail continued past them into the hall. And from there it went…
…right up to his bedroom door.
"This is a sick joke," Ben said. His throat was very dry. He suddenly wasn't so sure this was a prank. Something was definitely wrong here.
They started toward Ben's bedroom, and Ben suddenly remembered that it had been Judith Myers' bedroom forty-five years ago. The though gave him no comfort. As they drew closer to the closed door, he noticed that the smears of blood in the carpet seemed to be getting smaller and fainter. He had no idea what it meant, but he was sure it wasn't good.
Ben reached out and pushed his bedroom door open.
There was a large lump in his bed, covered by the bed sheets and the thick comforter. It was there that the trail of blood ended. Ben stepped up to the bed and hesitated, now suddenly hoping that Steve was about to jump up at him and scream. Even if he jumped out of his skin and squealed like a little girl, he would feel relieved that nothing was wrong. He would then beat the living shit out of Steve for putting them through this.
He reached out and took the hem of the comforter in his hand. Pausing, he glanced at the others. Katie and Alice were looking downright terrified. Katie was pale and trembling, and Alice was clinging to Joey. Joey himself was looking apprehensive, but he met Ben's gaze and nodded once. Returning his eyes to his bed, Ben took a deep breath and yanked the covers back.
Katie screamed. Alice let out a terrified squeak and collapsed into Joey's arms. Joey gasped, "Jesus!" Ben took a hasty step backward and stared in utter terror at the sight that met his eyes.
Steve and Miranda were wrapped in a grotesque embrace, blood pouring and seeping out of deep, fatal wounds in their throats and torsos, covering their clothes and the sheets. Their eyes were open and staring at some unseen horror, fear forever embedded in their gaze.
After a moment of stunned, petrified silence, Ben spoke in a quavering voice. "Who? Who did this?"
He turned to face the others and saw something in the hallway beyond, something that made his blood run cold and his heart stand still. "Oh my God," he breathed.
The others turned to see what he was looking at and saw the shape standing in the hall, blue coveralls drenched in blood, butcher knife clutched tight in its hand, white mask livid and terrifying, the eyeholes black and unseeing.
Michael Myers.
A/N: Cue the Halloween pursuit music! Only two chapters left. Hope you're enjoying it. :)
