(25)-The Mackenzies.
"The Boogyman, the Boogyman!" Tommy shouted as he and Lindsey ran down the street of the Haddonfield suburbs in the middle of the night.
"HELP! HELP!" Lindsey screamed.
"Boogyman! The Boogyman, the Boogyman!" Tommy shouted.
"Help! Help! Help! Help!" Lindsey shouted.
As he and Lindsey ran through the neighborhood, Tommy tried to think of a way to get help for Laurie before arriving at the Mackenzie home. They could keep running until they came across an officer in a police car, the chances of that happening at this time of night was slim. They could keep going until they reached the police station, that would take too long on foot. Or they could just keep running until they reached the Mackenzie home so that Mr. and Mrs. Mackenzie could call the cops themselves like Laurie instructed them to do.
Yes.
That was what it had to be.
The Mackenzie house soon came into view and Tommy and Lindsey ran towards it.
"TIMMY!" Tommy and Lindsey screamed as they ran up to the front door. "TIMMY, OPEN THE DOOR!" They screamed as they banged on the door with their fists as hard as they could. "OPEN THE DOOR! TIMMY! OPEN THE DOOR! TIMMY!"
The door opened, revealing Sam, Regina and Timmy Mackenzie dressed in their robes, pajamas, and house-shoes.
Regina had dark brown hair that had pink curlers in it, her eyes were brown, and her robe and house-shoes were pink.
Sam had brown hair, brown eyes, his robe was green, he wore upward-striped pale blue pajama pants, white socks, and his house-shoes were pale brown.
Timmy wore a dark blue robe, gray sweat-pants, white socks and black house-shoes.
Tommy and Lindsey rushed into the house as the Mackenzies moved out of the way.
"What are you kids doing out here so late at night in your pajamas?" Regina asked as Sam closed the door and locked it, with everyone standing in the foyer of the house.
"You guys, you've gotta help us! It's the Boogyman, he's here in Haddonfield and he tried to take me and Lindsey!" Tommy said. Actually, the Boogyman had just come for him, but there was no way for him to know that for certain.
"Yeah, Mom. The Boogyman is here in town." Timmy joked.
"SHUT UP, TIMMY!" Lindsey screamed.
"Hey!" Sam scolded.
"Sorry, Mr. Mackenzie." Lindsey apologized.
"Okay, you guys, is this some kind of Halloween prank?" Regina asked.
"This isn't a prank! I promise, just call the police and send them over to my house, alright?" Tommy said.
"Wow. This sounds serious. Maybe we should call the police." Sam said.
"Wait, you guys aren't actually buying this, are you?" Timmy asked.
"Be quiet, Timmy." Regina said. "And you say this happened at your house, Tommy?"
"Yes, it did. Ask Lindsey, she was there when the Boogyman broke into my house. And so was Laurie. She's the one that sent us over here to you guys so you could call the police." Tommy explained.
"Okay, and where's Laurie?" Timmy asked.
"She's back at the house, keeping watch over the Boogyman until help arrives." Tommy answered. "So please, call the cops."
"Okay, but...if we call the police, guys, and if this is a Halloween prank, you're gonna be in serious trouble." Regina said to Tommy and Lindsey.
"Mrs. Mackenzie...this isn't a prank." Tommy assured.
"Okay. Honey, go call the police...now." Regina said to her husband, Sam.
Sam then went into the living-room to call the police.
...
Tommy and Lindsey sat on the sofa together, with Lindsey resting her head on his chest. During their run to the Mackenzie house, both kids had been in a place of fear with what had happened back at the Doyle residence. In fact, they were so scared, they didn't even bother to look back while they were running to see if the Boogyman was chasing after them.
But Tommy and Lindsey were with grown-ups now. Kids were always safe from the Boogyman and other monsters when grown-ups were around. But if that was true, why didn't he feel safe when he and Lindsey came here? And why didn't he feel safe now? That question had been answered back at his house. It was Laurie, his babysitter. He believed that because she was there, it made him untouchable. That the Boogyman couldn't get to him while she was around.
But that was a lie.
A lie he had told himself.
No wonder the Boogyman had chose this night to enter into the real world and come after him. It was Halloween. A paranormal holiday when people dressed up in costumes and played scary tricks on each other. No one would believe that a real monster was walking the streets of Haddonfield. Especially not during this time of year. And even if they did see it, they would think it was just someone dressed up for the scary holiday. Looking back, this was the perfect night for the Boogyman to come after him. It was Halloween...his parents weren't home...and he was being watched by a 17-year old girl who wasn't even a grown-up yet. Sure, she was only two years away from it, but still, she was a teenager. And teenagers were still considered kids by law. In the Boogyman, that made Laurie fair game for him as well.
Ever since Tommy was 4, he always believed his parents could protect him from the Boogyman, and they had told him over and over again that the Boogyman and monsters weren't real. But that was a lie too...like all the lies parents had told down the years. Oh, they answer their kids' questions as long as they don't ask the really important ones. Then they turn out their kids' lights and tuck them in so tight, they can't move, and tell them to go to sleep whether they want to or not. If kids are scared of monsters, parents tell them that they're not real. If kids are scared too much, parents tell them that they're over-reacting. Finally, they don't want to listen. They try to make their kids feel guilty for being afraid. That's the way it had always been for Tommy as long as he could remember. Nothing had changed. When he was 4 years old, he thought he would be over this whole Boogyman fear once he turned 5 and got into school. Once he made 5 and entered Haddonfield Elementary, he could hardly wait to get out of 1st grade, as his fear of the Boogyman hadn't gone away. Then he was in the 2nd grade. No change. By the time he was in 3rd grade with no change, he knew for sure that his parents' assurance of the Boogyman and monsters not being real was an illusion. He would never know the answers. At least not enough of them to be safe. Maybe when he was all grown up. Yeah. Out on his own.
Girlfriend?
Married?
Kids?
No.
He put those options out of his mind too. Now, when did it seem that he would know? 20? 21? 22? Ever? What a fool he had been waiting. It was like a rainbow. As soon as one got close to the pot of gold, the end moved further away. It always did, it always would. He wondered if his Grandmother knew. She must've been in her 60s. He bet she didn't. He wished he could ask her. Or at least tell her that it was the same for him too. Why wouldn't his parents believe him about the Boogyman? They'd change the subject like they were embarrassed when he brought the creature up. They wouldn't even want to talk with him about it sometimes when he mentioned it. As if not talking about it could make something less real. But he knew the Boogyman was real. He'd known it since the creature started haunting him in his dreams when he was 4.
Childhood. Bah! He wanted to tell his friend, Logan, right now that it was all a joke. As soon as he saw him again, he would. And he wouldn't wait any longer. He wouldn't put off his life, school or no school. College in ten years? Sure, but he wouldn't do it because he thought it would make him any wiser. He wouldn't use it as an excuse. The time he had was precious. He would never know more than he did now. That was a promise. It was as clear to him as the knowledge that was finally on his own...completely from now on. His parents could come here if they wanted to. It would be easier seeing them, but it wouldn't really make any difference. They hadn't been able to protect him tonight when it actually counted. There was no reason to assume they ever would again. For the first time in his life, he accepted and embraced reality for what it really was. It was like an opening-up, not like a loss. He wondered if it would be any easier for Logan or Holly or Timmy if they knew. It was the secret every kid was moving towards as they grew up. But they don't know it. They only know that parents can't do it forever, if they ever did. That's why Holly was crushin' on Logan and Lindsey was crushin' on him.
Yes. Since the 1st grade, Tommy always knew that Lindsey had a crush on him. But he kept that knowledge to himself, as he didn't want anyone to know that he knew. Not even Lindsey herself. Truth be known, he didn't feel the same way about Lindsey the way she felt about him. He only considered her a friend and nothing more. And deep down, he knew that she knew how he felt. That's why she never declared her love for him, as she didn't want to get her heart broken and lose him as a crush and a friend altogether. Now...he wanted to tell that past Lindsey that he wouldn't be able to help her either. Not in any way that really counted when the time came that she would need help most. He would also tell Holly the same thing about Logan. He would tell both girls to love him and Logan for who they were and be grateful for that, not to expect them to save them. They couldn't. They thought their parents could do the same for them. Didn't they get it?
Holly and Lindsey.
Two of his school class-mates.
He could almost hear Holly as she talked with him, Logan and Timmy about the late serial child killer, Frank N. Stiner.
Was it only earlier today?
Tommy then thought back to when all of his friends were at his house earlier, arguing over which house to Trick-or-Treat at first. Knowing what he knew now, he wanted to go back in time and tell his friends, and himself, "It totally doesn't matter".
Tommy then looked down at Lindsey. He didn't have to tell her the kids world was an illusion. She already knew it after tonight. Maybe she even now knew how bad things could get. Like what happened at his house. Maybe that was why she had always been crushin' on him since the 1st grade.
And Annie. Good, kind, funny Annie. She use to babysit him whenever Laurie was babysitting Logan, Timmy or some other kid in the neighborhood. She was the unconscious girl he saw the Boogyman carrying out of the Wallace garage, she had to be. The monster had got her, he knew it. He just couldn't admit it. Since the age of 5, he'd wondered why teenagers were so different from kids and now...he had the answer. They knew the truth about life. He wanted to tell Annie that he knew the truth about life now too. And he was only 8 years old. It didn't make any sense, it was crazy, all of it. Life, that is. Annie was right. There are things out there. Terrible things coming that kids would never be ready for, no matter how long they waited. They should make a joke out of everything, have fun, play, watch TV and enjoy what the world has to offer in it. It was the only way to keep from flipping out.
Tommy wished he had.
When he went to the school dance last year with Lindsey as his date, she told him how brave and strong he was, just like his Dad would whenever he would be scared of the Boogyman being in his closet or under his bed. And guess what? They were both wrong, despite Tommy always putting on a brave face and acting all macho. And for what? All the bravery and strength didn't do him any good tonight. It didn't save him. Laurie saved him. And Lindsey too. Laurie thought she knew more than Tommy because he was a little kid and she was a teenager...but she was wrong. He was certain she wanted to tell him that now, wherever she was. If she didn't believe in the Boogyman before...she sure as ever did now.
"My Mom figured you both could use a snack." Timmy said as he came into the living-room, carrying a tray with a plate of Halloween cookies and two glasses of milk as Lindsey got her head off Tommy's chest.
Lindsey looked at Tommy. "What do you say? Cookie-break?"
"Sure. But let's go in the kitchen and eat, i'm tired of sitting here." Tommy said.
"Yeah, me too." Lindsey added before she and Tommy got off the sofa.
"I guess this means i have to turn around and head back in the kitchen." Timmy said.
"Smart boy." Tommy said.
Timmy turned around and headed out of the living-room and into the foyer, with Tommy and Lindsey following him.
...
Tommy, Lindsey and Timmy and his parents were now in the kitchen, sitting at the table, eating some of the Halloween cookies his Mom had baked earlier this evening, which were in the shapes of bats and pumpkins. There was orange frosting and Jack-O-Lantern faces on the pumpkin-shaped cookies and black frosting on the bat-shaped cookies, and the two glasses of milk now rested on the table with a third glass Timmy had poured for himself.
"Tommy, i really think you should show Lindsey your awesome cookie-dunking skills." Timmy said while dipping a pumpkin-shaped cookie in his glass of milk, followed by taking a bite of it. "He can get three cookies in one glass. It's really amazing." He said to Lindsey.
"Lindsey, i'm sorry i didn't protect you back at my place." Tommy said, holding a bat-shaped cookie.
"You were just as scared as i was." Lindsey said, holding a pumpkin-shaped cookie.
"But if i had stood up for you, maybe i could've stopped the Boogyman myself." Tommy said.
"Or you could've got yourself hurt or worse." Sam said.
"You think?" Tommy asked.
"You know, Tommy...it would've been a real brave thing for you to try to fight off the intruder yourself...but you did the smart thing." Sam said.
"Really?" Tommy asked.
"Really. You're the hero." Sam assured.
"No, Laurie's the hero." Tommy said. "Because of her, Lindsey and i are okay." And that was true. Laurie was the hero in this situation. She had taken on the Boogyman and saved Tommy and Lindsey from being his next abductees. And he would never be able to thank he enough for that. Because of Laurie, he and Lindsey were okay. Now, safe? That remained unseen.
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Note: I've decided to do two more chapters before ending this story.
Please review.