Chapter 5: Halloween
"Happy Halloween!" Nora waved as the children left the porch of the tidy little pink Queenslander she and her husband Jim had called home for the last fifty years. The couple was somewhat unfamiliar with the holiday-given its recent rise to prominence in the country-but still embraced the celebration, if for no other reason than the joy that it brought to the children in the neighborhood. The English Setter retiree closed the front door and walked back inside.
"Jim, do we have any more candy? We're almost out for this bag." She called back as she set the bowl down on the end table beside the floral print sofa. After a moment she didn't have a reply, Did he take his hearing aids out again? She shook her head slightly as she smiled. Jim was getting older-they both were-but he sometimes refused the help he needed, it was endearing in a strange way. He'd always been young at heart. "Jim? You back here?" She asked, walking from the front room toward the kitchen.
The overhead light in the kitchen was flickering, it looked like it had been hit, causing the bulbs to come loose. Nora stepped carefully over the threshold into the kitchen and pulled back her paw when she felt something sticky on the floor. She looked down and her eyes widened, it was blood. "Jim? Jim!" she called, hoping that he hadn't fallen and hurt himself. She rounded the corner and felt the breath catch in her throat. Jim was hanging from the lamp, his throat slit and his body dangling by an extension cord from the chandelier.
"Oh my God!" She shouted, backing up into a firm feeling lump. She turned and screamed as a blonde paw grabbed her mouth and smashed it shut. She tried to resist, but was soon lifted by her throat and pinned against the wall. She struggled, feeling her chest burning with the lack of oxygen. Her vision was growing faint as the masked dog applied greater and greater pressure against her throat. She clawed at his arm with her nails to no avail. Within a minute she fell limp.
Michael tossed the old woman to the ground, her neck snapping at the impact. She was sprawled out across the tile floor as blood pooled in the corner of her mouth. Michael turned to the door and exited the kitchen to find more prey.
***HW***
The men assembled at Stripe's house, each wielding whatever weapons they could manage. Only Loomis managed a firearm-given the difficulty of procuring and keeping one in the country it made sense. Bandit and Rad had arrived, each wielding a cricket bat from the set that had otherwise been collecting dust in the Heeler shed. Stripe had a bushwhacker. Fido had a chainsaw. Rocko had arrived late, but given the size of his weapon it made sense.
"Mate, is that a flamethrower?" Bandit asked as the Bassett hound strapped a tank onto his back.
"Legally I'm required to say no." He replied. "But, basically yes."
"And I thought my chainsaw was overkill." Fido muttered, the lab glancing with slight envy at the larger weapon.
"Lads, focus." Stripe said, calling the attention of the group. "That bastard who attacked my wife and kid is still out there. We need to get him. Tonight."
"Yeah!" The men shouted.
"He headed west; we're going in groups of two on foot. You see anything suspicious call to follow up. You see him send your location immediately, don't engage on your own, but together we can kill this fucking monster!" Stripe instructed.
"Let's kill this freak!" Rad shouted.
"Yeah!"
***HW***
"Look, I told you I don't care. I'm on my jog." Sasha rolled her eyes at the conversation going on in her headphones. "No, we didn't do this when I was a kid, why would I care now?" She jogged around a neighborhood lit up and full of trick-or-treaters and sneered slightly at the display. She turned down a side street without any decorated houses. "Half the city isn't doing it anyway…"
She thought she heard something behind her and turned, but nothing was there. She shook her head, Great all these morons in costumes have me paranoid… "Look, I've gotta go, besides this block is usually where my phone drops. Call you back later, okay? Bye." She hung up and stopped, stretching on a bench as she pulled up her workout playlist. As she fiddled with her phone she again sensed something behind her, but this time much closer. She turned and nearly bumped into a large dog wearing a mask holding a knife covered in fake blood.
She rolled her eyes, "Hah-hah. Happy Halloween, you got me. Now fuck off, I'm busy."
The dog grabbed her arm.
"Hey! Let go! Get off!" Sasha pulled to try to break free but the grip was too firm for her to escape.
"Help! Help!" She screamed, but the windows all remained dark.
Her eyes widened as the dog raised the knife , before she could scream it had been plunged into her forehead. She clattered to the ground, smashing the knife in further as her head impacted the bench, then pavement. Bits of blood and brain splattered against the sidewalk as Michael stooped over and picked up his knife, heading back toward the lights of the street full of trick-or-treaters.
***HW***
"Any signs?" Stripe asked over the phone. Bandit looked around. It looked like a normal street. There weren't any dogs wearing weird masks besides the dozens of kids running around. All the adults were normal, happy dogs either corralling kids or handing out candy.
"No, all clear here." Bandit replied. "Rad and I haven't seen anything all night."
"Damn it!" Stripe slammed his fist against the hood of a parked car. He looked Loomis, a slight apologetic look on his face knowing that the lab didn't love loud noises. "He's out here somewhere, where is he?"
"We'll find him. Check back in 20." Bandit replied before hanging up.
Stripe hung up and sighed. He shook his head, it had been over an hour and no one had had any luck. There wasn't much time left for trick-or-treating, and with the crowds dispersing it meant that Michael would likely disappear as well. If they were to catch him, it had to be while there was still a celebration ongoing. As Stripe huffed he felt his phone ring. It was Rocko.
"Hey Rocko, checking in?" Stripe asked.
"I think we saw him!"
"What?! Really?" Stripe asked. He signaled for Loomis to come over as he put the phone on speaker.
"We're over by that new neighborhood, Everett Estates? Yeah, that's what the sign says…" Rocko read, "Anyway, they're having some big block party and we saw some blond dog with a white mask in the back lurking. He disappeared a minute ago, but we asked and no one said they knew him. He was just here, so he couldn't be far."
"Put your location in the chat. We'll be there as fast as we can. Stay in the open, don't try and corner him on your own." Stripe instructed.
"I think we got 'im…" Loomis grinned.
The group arrived at the neighborhood. It was clear that the HOA had arranged the party given just how professionally done everything was. There was a DJ, a few bounce houses, and even some tables with brochures for the neighborhood.
"Where'd you see him?" Loomis asked, running up to Rocko and Fido.
"Fido saw him last." Rocko said, nudging the lab.
"He was over by the edge of the neighborhood, by that brick house." Fido gestured.
Loomis ran off in the direction Fido had pointed.
"Loomis!" Bandit called. "Goddamnit! Get back here! We're doing this as a group!"
The others chased after the sheepdog, who despite being a bit older than the rest, had apparently been keeping up his running regimen. Sam darted between houses, scanning as he peered in gardens and yards, looking down alleyways and in shrubs. Eventually he stopped in front of a house that was fully timbered, but only partly covered in plywood over the framing.
"He's in there."
"You saw him?" Rad panted.
"No, I can feel him. Something that evil, you can sense it…"
The others all looked at Bandit.
As Loomis disappeared Bandit exchanged a look with his friends. "I promise he's not normally this crazy." He whispered as Loomis walked into the front door.
"Michael! I know you're in here! Come out! There's no use in hiding!" Loomis ranted as he stalked through the first floor. The other men stood at the entryway, not wanting to enter. Partly for fear of Loomis being correct, and partly for fear that the man would shoot any moving target in the house. After a minute of watching him check the rooms on the first floor Rocko noticed something in the upstairs window.
"Hey! There's some shape in the window up there!" He pointed and the others saw that there was a shape for a brief moment before it disappeared back into the darkness.
Loomis charged up the stairs, which forced the others to enter and follow.
"Sam!" Bandit shouted as his friend charged into a bedroom and shouted. Six shots rang out followed by a loud crack and the crunch of something organic smashing into a surface that was not soft at all.
"Holy shit!" Rad ran up the stairs and led the charge to where Loomis was panting as he stood overlooking a collapsed balcony.
"Sam! What the fuck?!" Bandit shouted.
"I got him!" Loomis chuckled, pointing at the blonde masked dog spread eagle on the bottom of a concrete swimming pool in the backyard. Blood was pooling out from beneath him as he lay still. "He's dead. Finally! Hah! Hah! Hahaha!" The sheepdog's head tilted back revealing wild eyes beneath the fringe.
The others took a step back as Bandit placed a hand on Sam's shoulder. "Um, maybe we should have you sit down a minute. Stripe, can you call the police. We'll need to explain everything…"
Before he could continue his thought Sam vaulted the balcony and landed with a roll on the dirt below.
"Mate!" Bandit shouted.
"I have to make sure…"
"He fell thirty feet onto a concrete pool, if he isn't dead, he'll be gone by the time the jacks get here he will be!" Fido shouted down.
A siren was heard in the distance as flashing lights pulled in front of the house.
"Wow. Good response time." Rad remarked.
"I didn't call." Stripe remarked.
"Someone probably reported the gunshots." Fido said, eyeing Loomis as he tried to figure out a way to get down to check that Michael was truly dead.
"Either way, I say we make sure they know we're not a threat. Let's leave these up here…" Bandit put his cricket bat on the floor. The others followed suit and exited the house through the front where a patrolman was leaving his car. He immediately reached for his belt as he saw the group leaving the house.
"Woah! We're not the ones who did it mate!" Rocko said, his hands held in the air. "Check the backyard." He nodded toward the rear of the house.
The officer motioned for his partner to stay with the group as he walked to the rear. A moment later a message crackled over the remaining officer's radio. "Hank, get back here. We've got a situation…"
***HW***
Twenty minutes later Michael was being loaded into an ambulance while Loomis was being restrained by two officers.
"No! He's a monster! Can't you see?! He should be dead! I shot the bastard six times!" He raved as he tried to break free and grab the stretcher that the EMTs were pushing.
"Mr. Loomis, we're going to have a nice chat back at the station. We need some information." One officer said as he placed cuffs on Sam's wrists.
"Let me go! He killed at least three people! Why am I the one being arrested?!"
"Sir, regardless of what he did, it is not your job to administer justice. If you continue to resist we will use force." The second officer stated calmly.
Loomis screamed as he head butted the nearest officer and charged toward the ambulance. He was quickly tased.
Bandit watched, his brothers by his side along with his two closest friends.
"For a mental health professional he sure unraveled quickly." Rad commented.
"Well, he was always a bit strange, but I never figured he'd end up doing this." Bandit remarked.
It was silent a moment before Stripe spoke, "He's right though. Michael should be dead."
"It was a helluva fall, but I guess he got lucky." Fido said.
"No, he deserves to be dead." Stripe said, his eyes cold as he watched the ambulance depart. "That bastard almost killed my wife and kid. Now he's going to be nursed back to health and put in some psych ward instead of getting what he deserves." Stripe sneered. "I swear to God, I ever get the chance I'll finish what Loomis started."
As Stripe finished Bandit's phone chimed. It was a reminder.
"Finish trick-or-treating. Halloween's over!" He read flatly.
"Happy fucking Halloween." Stripe shook his head. The group separated and started heading home, the night one that they wouldn't forget any time soon.
***The End***
Thank you to JacobSmith2 for inspiring and being the patron for this work! This is my first ever commission, so I hope you all enjoy it! If you'd like a commission feel free to message me directly! I hope you all have a happy (and not quite this violent) Halloween!