-15-
EPILOGUE
They had just got clear of the building when Smith's Grove County Sanitarium erupted in a thunderous belch of fire. Flames quickly engulfed the building, illuminating the dark fall sky with their searing brightness.
Brackett fired up the van, which laid a mere few feet short of the bomb's fallout. The others, battered and broken, climbed in. Brackett wasted no time fleeing the scene, and drove the van up to the conservation hill, which featured a tower overlooking the entire area. Tending to their wounds, they watched the building burn.
As the hours passed, Laurie and Brackett kept vigil over the building. They finally concluded that no one had made it out, with the exception of the various inmates they encountered wandering the hill still on the prowl from their release the night before. It would seem that the Doctor, in his haste to bring about the end of the world via ritualistic murder, had his professional priorities back-words, and had failed to order the retrieval of the institute's lost wards. Lucky for them.
Unfortunately, old troubles were replaced with new ones. Neither Tommy nor Stephen had spoken a single word since they had fled, and both sat in seclusion, pale and unresponsive.
"Quite the pair," Brackett muttered, as he stared back at them with growing concern.
"Tell me about it," Laurie responded, holding her throbbing head as she looked back upon the boys. She was particularly concerned about Stephen. Tommy, at least, seemed lucid enough to respond, but the boy was verging on catatonia, and she was dreadfully afraid for him.
"Any ideas?" Brackett inquired, probing Laurie for a solution to Stephen and Tommy's comatose states.
"Yes," Laurie responded curtly, then abruptly left. She approached Tommy, who was sitting crouched on the ground, blankly staring ahead, absorbing the burning flames of the inferno below.
"Tommy," Laurie said, as she knelt down beside him. Tommy remained silent, and continued to stare ahead. "Listen to me, Tommy, I know you're hurting, and I can't imagine how you must feel right now, but that boy needs you."
Tommy continued to stare ahead, completely disregarding Laurie's presence. Laurie grew increasingly frustrated.
"God-damn it, do you hear me? That boy is lost, and he needs his father. You're the only one who can reach him. For the love of God, go talk to him!!!"
"And what?" Tommy's head spun around, his eyes suddenly blazing, his voice gravelly and strained. "What should I tell him, Laurie? Everything's fine? Hey, don't sweat it kid – don't worry about the fact that your mother and brother have been butchered? And that bit about being the son of a disfigured serial killer? Just put it out of your mind, son. Close your eyes, and everything will be better."
Laurie's composure buckled at the penetrating haunting presence of Tommy's gaze. She averted her eyes, and put her head down.
"I don't believe that garbage myself, Laurie," Tommy said with a dismissive wave.
"If you don't at least try to talk to him, you may lose him as well." Laurie returned, glancing back up into Tommy's face. It was his turn to hang his head.
"I can't prevent that."
Laurie put her hand on Tommy's shoulder, and continued. "You've lost so much tonight Tommy, and I don't blame you for feeling the way you do. But none of that was your fault. It was far beyond your control."
Tommy continued to sit in silence.
"But this isn't," Laurie said, gently pushing Tommy's chin up to face her. He flashed her a pained glance from the remains of his broken face. "If you don't at least try to reach him, this one's on you."
Tommy sighed. He gave Laurie one last final glance, then after a moment, he picked himself up and walked over towards the boy.
Stephen was sitting on the edge of the van's back, staring silently towards the bright orange flames, as they illuminated the night sky. Quietly, Tommy sat down beside him. The boy didn't acknowledge his presence, and continued to stare blankly ahead.
Minutes passed, when finally Tommy began to speak. "Stephen, I'm not even going to tell you that everything is all right. Everything is NOT all right. Everything is as bad as it possibly could be."
The boy continued to stare blankly ahead.
"But we can't let it destroy us." Tommy went on, his voice weak and quiet. "They're gone, Stephen, and we can't bring them back. But we have to go on…for them. They would want us to live they way they couldn't." Tommy paused again for a moment to see if he was getting through to the boy at all.
Nothing. Stephen didn't budge. He didn't even appear to be breathing. Tommy closed his eyes.
"But I promise kid, that I'm not going anywhere. I will always be there for you no matter what. Stephen, I…" Tommy reached down to place his hand on the boy's shoulder, when suddenly the child lurched back as if stung by Tommy's touch. The boy cowered with his arms crossed and his eyes tightly closed, and he began to breath rapidly, in large gasping pants.
Tommy's heart dropped, at the dawning revelation that the boy was petrified of him.
"Ah," Tommy muttered quietly, as he slowly and gently moved his hand away. "I get it. I got pretty scary back there. It's just that like you I was lost and angry and confused, and if you leave me I've got nothing…I'll be all alone, and I couldn't go on...I…"
Stephen peered up to see that his father was trembling. Tommy turned and met his gaze, and pleading in a desperate tiny voice, he said, "Don't leave me Stephen. Please, don't leave me."
For a moment, the boy looked up into the anguished face of his father, and then suddenly he hugged Tommy tight.
"I love you, Daddy," he said.
Tommy's eyes opened up in widened surprise, and then suddenly he burst into tears. Tommy's sobs echoed across the hill loud and sorrowful, as the boy held him in his arms.
Brackett, feeling like an intruder on the moment, finally couldn't stand it any longer, and turned away to give the two some privacy. Laurie followed suit.
She turned and walked over to the lookout point. The flames continued their searing cleanse of the building, and finally, in the distance, Laurie could hear the sirens. She wasn't sure why it took so long for them to respond. She rationalized that it was due to the fact that Smith's Grove was on the outmost reaches of Haddonfield, but still she wondered, if part of the town somehow realized the significance of what had happened out here tonight, and they were deliberately lax in their response. Whatever the reason, she had never before been pleased with such a late arrival to an emergency scene.
Laurie closed her eyes, as the cold November wind began to make it's Northern descent. She turned back to the flames of the building, and even from the top of the hill, she could feel their cleansing warmth, and she smiled. The dark shroud that had smothered the town had finally lifted after all of these years, with the onset of winter.
She smiled, for in the fire's cleansing flames, she had been reborn. For the first time in a very long time, she had found a purpose beyond the self -consuming darkness of revenge; she had found a reason to live. She turned back once more, and spared a final glance to the man and his son, her grandson. The road to recovery was going to be long and hard, but in the end, they would get through it.
The moon glowed down upon the scene, as Laurie closed her eyes once more and sighed.
Thank you Michael, she thought.
Thank you.
EPILOGUE
They had just got clear of the building when Smith's Grove County Sanitarium erupted in a thunderous belch of fire. Flames quickly engulfed the building, illuminating the dark fall sky with their searing brightness.
Brackett fired up the van, which laid a mere few feet short of the bomb's fallout. The others, battered and broken, climbed in. Brackett wasted no time fleeing the scene, and drove the van up to the conservation hill, which featured a tower overlooking the entire area. Tending to their wounds, they watched the building burn.
As the hours passed, Laurie and Brackett kept vigil over the building. They finally concluded that no one had made it out, with the exception of the various inmates they encountered wandering the hill still on the prowl from their release the night before. It would seem that the Doctor, in his haste to bring about the end of the world via ritualistic murder, had his professional priorities back-words, and had failed to order the retrieval of the institute's lost wards. Lucky for them.
Unfortunately, old troubles were replaced with new ones. Neither Tommy nor Stephen had spoken a single word since they had fled, and both sat in seclusion, pale and unresponsive.
"Quite the pair," Brackett muttered, as he stared back at them with growing concern.
"Tell me about it," Laurie responded, holding her throbbing head as she looked back upon the boys. She was particularly concerned about Stephen. Tommy, at least, seemed lucid enough to respond, but the boy was verging on catatonia, and she was dreadfully afraid for him.
"Any ideas?" Brackett inquired, probing Laurie for a solution to Stephen and Tommy's comatose states.
"Yes," Laurie responded curtly, then abruptly left. She approached Tommy, who was sitting crouched on the ground, blankly staring ahead, absorbing the burning flames of the inferno below.
"Tommy," Laurie said, as she knelt down beside him. Tommy remained silent, and continued to stare ahead. "Listen to me, Tommy, I know you're hurting, and I can't imagine how you must feel right now, but that boy needs you."
Tommy continued to stare ahead, completely disregarding Laurie's presence. Laurie grew increasingly frustrated.
"God-damn it, do you hear me? That boy is lost, and he needs his father. You're the only one who can reach him. For the love of God, go talk to him!!!"
"And what?" Tommy's head spun around, his eyes suddenly blazing, his voice gravelly and strained. "What should I tell him, Laurie? Everything's fine? Hey, don't sweat it kid – don't worry about the fact that your mother and brother have been butchered? And that bit about being the son of a disfigured serial killer? Just put it out of your mind, son. Close your eyes, and everything will be better."
Laurie's composure buckled at the penetrating haunting presence of Tommy's gaze. She averted her eyes, and put her head down.
"I don't believe that garbage myself, Laurie," Tommy said with a dismissive wave.
"If you don't at least try to talk to him, you may lose him as well." Laurie returned, glancing back up into Tommy's face. It was his turn to hang his head.
"I can't prevent that."
Laurie put her hand on Tommy's shoulder, and continued. "You've lost so much tonight Tommy, and I don't blame you for feeling the way you do. But none of that was your fault. It was far beyond your control."
Tommy continued to sit in silence.
"But this isn't," Laurie said, gently pushing Tommy's chin up to face her. He flashed her a pained glance from the remains of his broken face. "If you don't at least try to reach him, this one's on you."
Tommy sighed. He gave Laurie one last final glance, then after a moment, he picked himself up and walked over towards the boy.
Stephen was sitting on the edge of the van's back, staring silently towards the bright orange flames, as they illuminated the night sky. Quietly, Tommy sat down beside him. The boy didn't acknowledge his presence, and continued to stare blankly ahead.
Minutes passed, when finally Tommy began to speak. "Stephen, I'm not even going to tell you that everything is all right. Everything is NOT all right. Everything is as bad as it possibly could be."
The boy continued to stare blankly ahead.
"But we can't let it destroy us." Tommy went on, his voice weak and quiet. "They're gone, Stephen, and we can't bring them back. But we have to go on…for them. They would want us to live they way they couldn't." Tommy paused again for a moment to see if he was getting through to the boy at all.
Nothing. Stephen didn't budge. He didn't even appear to be breathing. Tommy closed his eyes.
"But I promise kid, that I'm not going anywhere. I will always be there for you no matter what. Stephen, I…" Tommy reached down to place his hand on the boy's shoulder, when suddenly the child lurched back as if stung by Tommy's touch. The boy cowered with his arms crossed and his eyes tightly closed, and he began to breath rapidly, in large gasping pants.
Tommy's heart dropped, at the dawning revelation that the boy was petrified of him.
"Ah," Tommy muttered quietly, as he slowly and gently moved his hand away. "I get it. I got pretty scary back there. It's just that like you I was lost and angry and confused, and if you leave me I've got nothing…I'll be all alone, and I couldn't go on...I…"
Stephen peered up to see that his father was trembling. Tommy turned and met his gaze, and pleading in a desperate tiny voice, he said, "Don't leave me Stephen. Please, don't leave me."
For a moment, the boy looked up into the anguished face of his father, and then suddenly he hugged Tommy tight.
"I love you, Daddy," he said.
Tommy's eyes opened up in widened surprise, and then suddenly he burst into tears. Tommy's sobs echoed across the hill loud and sorrowful, as the boy held him in his arms.
Brackett, feeling like an intruder on the moment, finally couldn't stand it any longer, and turned away to give the two some privacy. Laurie followed suit.
She turned and walked over to the lookout point. The flames continued their searing cleanse of the building, and finally, in the distance, Laurie could hear the sirens. She wasn't sure why it took so long for them to respond. She rationalized that it was due to the fact that Smith's Grove was on the outmost reaches of Haddonfield, but still she wondered, if part of the town somehow realized the significance of what had happened out here tonight, and they were deliberately lax in their response. Whatever the reason, she had never before been pleased with such a late arrival to an emergency scene.
Laurie closed her eyes, as the cold November wind began to make it's Northern descent. She turned back to the flames of the building, and even from the top of the hill, she could feel their cleansing warmth, and she smiled. The dark shroud that had smothered the town had finally lifted after all of these years, with the onset of winter.
She smiled, for in the fire's cleansing flames, she had been reborn. For the first time in a very long time, she had found a purpose beyond the self -consuming darkness of revenge; she had found a reason to live. She turned back once more, and spared a final glance to the man and his son, her grandson. The road to recovery was going to be long and hard, but in the end, they would get through it.
The moon glowed down upon the scene, as Laurie closed her eyes once more and sighed.
Thank you Michael, she thought.
Thank you.