CHAPTER 4: Boogeyman

When Jamie had traipsed out for trick-or-treating, she was wearing her pretty princess costume, hauling along a pumpkin candy carrier, and watching the sun just starting to set. She twirled her dress around, enjoying the way it sparkled, which unfortunately allowed John, wearing his skull mask and black and green skeleton costume, to race ahead of her.

"Hey!" She sped up, but it was a little hard to run in her dress – it was so soft and wispy, she didn't want to tear it up.

"Guys, don't go running off alone," Rachel called from behind them. The twins slowed until she had caught up with them, then promptly sprinted off again.

The streets were filled with little clusters of trick-or-treaters, most of them children around Jamie's age, accompanied by their parents. Jamie saw lots of ghosts and clowns and pumpkin-heads, some older children wearing masks that looked a lot like John's, and even a couple of knights and princesses like her.

"Jamie!" A hand caught her shoulder, and Jamie saw Rachel, panting slightly, at her shoulder. "What did I say about running off? And where's your brother?"

Jamie pointed ahead, to where John, mask down, had wedged himself in with another group of trick-or-treaters and was already filling his bag with candy.

Rachel shook her head. "Geez, babysitting you guys on this night is the worst."

Jamie cocked her head. "You don't like Halloween?"

"Halloween? With all you kids running around in costumes, getting high off candy, not going to bed until midnight?" Rachel laughed. "Count me out." But she ruffled Jamie's long hair, and Jamie knew she was joking.

"What do you do on Halloween?" asked Jamie. She had always wondered what grown-ups did on this day. It could not be as fun as dressing up and eating lots of candy, surely?

Rachel shrugged. "Hang out." Which Jamie knew was teenager-talk for 'doing nothing'. "Some guys like to have parties. Brady invited me to one that Tina was holding –" Brady was Rachel's boyfriend, Jamie knew, "– but Lindsey and Tommy backed out, so that's why I was open for babysitting you two munchkins." She made a face at Jamie. "Your mom's basically paying my entire college fund, you know that, right?"

Jamie giggled. She didn't know much about college, only that it cost a lot of money. But then she saw a brightly decorated house that promised lots of candy. "Come on, Rachel! That one!"

There was another small group of costumed children waiting their turn, and Jamie (with Rachel's permission) rushed ahead to join them. John was there already, and he waved her over to his spot. But as Jamie drew nearer, one of the little girls saw her. To Jamie's confusion, the little girl jumped back, clutching her mom's hand. The mom, in turn, looked down and saw Jamie – and then she gave Jamie a Look.

Jamie had sometimes seen grown-ups give her Looks, and she knew the good ones from the bad. This was definitely a Bad Look. And right after, the mom tugged her daughter and the rest of the group away, hurrying to the other side of the street.

Jamie felt a warmth flush her cheeks and chest, and it only got worse when it happened again. This time was with a group of older boys, who nudged each other and whispered as they pointed at her. Then it was with a dad and his two children, the dad glaring at her before hurrying away. She was sure John noticed too, because he had his mouth set all funny. Mom called it his Angry Face.

And then she saw Kyle staring at her, and when she stared back all she could think of was last year.

Jamie's uncle's the Boogeyman!

Kyle sneered at her.

Every day is Halloween at Jamie's house!

Behind his mother's back, Kyle made a twirling motion with his hand.

Your uncle went crazy and your mom's crazy too! So you're gonna be crazy, just like them!

Sticking out his tongue, he sauntered down to another house.

He killed his sister and he killed your daddy and he tried to kill your mommy too! One day, he's gonna kill you!

She had never told Mommy about that. She hadn't even told Rachel. The only one who knew was John, and he knew how to keep secrets, because Kyle had said the same thing to him, and she hadn't even known about that until later. There was a funny burning feeling in her chest now.

She wasn't sure if she wanted to be out trick-or-treating anymore.

There was movement behind her, and Jamie looked up to see Rachel next to her again. She was staring at the other trick-or-treaters, and she had an Angry Face too.

"Don't worry about them," Rachel said, gripping Jamie's hand. "They're just idiots." She said that part loudly, looking straight at one family. The mom sent her a look (a Bad Look) back, but Rachel just glared harder. Jamie wished she could be as brave as Rachel, who was tugging at Jamie. "Come on, let's just get some candy."

But getting candy wasn't much better. Some of the people were nice, like Mrs. Cornish who cooed over her costume, or Mrs. Elrod who let Jamie and John pick whatever candy bar they wanted. But one mother eyed John really, really hard before letting him take a chocolate, and another had a very fake looking smile when she spotted Jamie. One of them even said there was no candy left.

Rachel snapped at that last one. "Seriously? I just saw you holding that big bucket to those kids up there –" she jerked her thumb behind her, "– and now you have nothing left?"

The mother just pursed her lips. "You heard me. I'm out. Besides," she narrowed her eyes at Jamie, "it's getting late. You kids shouldn't be out here, especially..." she gave Jamie another up-and-down look. "…you two."

Now Rachel had a very angry tone. "The police didn't say anything about him." She was leaning forward, her voice a low hiss. "This has nothing to do with them, and even if it did, do you think this is their fault? That they want this to happen?"

The lady smirked. "You go on believing that. But my husband's on the force, and I'll believe him over any official announcement, so I suggest you get back home, especially if you're hanging around those kids." And with that, she slammed the door in their faces.

"Unbelievable," Rachel snarled, grabbing Jamie and John with more force than she probably intended.

"What's not our fault, Rachel?" Jamie asked. She rubbed her cheeks. She was still feeling funny all over, like when she had a fever. The mean woman had said something about them being out too late, and she wondered if she was going to report them for breaking the curfew. The curfew was why they had to go trick-or-treating earlier this year, since nobody was allowed to be on the streets after dark.

Rachel just shook her head, the angry look fading. "Nothing. It's nothing. Let's get out of here. Just a few more houses, and then we can have our own little Halloween party back home, okay? We'll get out some pumpkins and popcorn and scary movies and you guys can eat all the candy you want."

"Okay!" Rachel always knew how to make things better.

And it seemed once she said that, it was. Halfway to their sixth house for the night, John spotted a group of his friends, and went running up to them, while Rachel jogged ahead, trying to keep herself between him and Jamie, who lingered behind her. And after a few moments, Jamie spotted her friend Billy, dressed up as a pirate, and after asking Rachel, she ended up tagging along with him. Billy didn't have many friends because of his stutter. Jamie thought maybe that was why he got along so well with her.

"H-how much candy did you get, Jamie?" Billy asked.

Jamie lifted up her pumpkin, which was barely halfway filled. "Not a lot."

"Oh. Me n-neither." Which was a lie, because Billy's bag was almost full, but Jamie liked that he said it anyway. And she liked it more when he shared a big chocolate bar with her too.

Rachel jogged ahead, putting more distance between herself and Jamie. "John! Stay where I can see you!" She sighed as John completely ignored her, too busy chatting with Molly. "Jamie, stay on this street, okay?"

"Okay."

Billy tugged on her arm. "Look at that one, J-Jamie!" He pointed at a house across from them that was lavishly decorated with fake tombstones, giant pumpkins, and ghosts hanging from the trees. People who put up that many decorations always had lots of candy. Jamie ran after Billy, skirts swishing around her feet.

But as soon as she saw the Look on the lady's face, Jamie knew. This woman Did Not Like Her. She could even hear it in her tone of voice, which sounded all snappy, like Mommy when Jamie had been staying out too late. Even Billy noticed, glancing back at her with a worried look on his face when she hung back.

"It's okay, J...J...Jamie," he said afterwards, and handed her a lollipop. "L-let's go to the next one."

But the Look lingered in her mind, following her like a prickling on her skin.

Laurie was in a torment of confusion, pacing back and forth in the living room. Her fingers ached from being wrung together. She had turned on the TV, hoping to provide some background noise to quiet her nerves, but none of it could drown out the fears racing through her.

It was Halloween night, and her children were outside, with her brother stalking the streets.

She made for the door, then pulled herself to a stop. A cold sweat was breaking out over her skin. Her heart was fluttering against her rib cage. She could trust Rachel to bring them back – Rachel was good like that, responsible like that – and there were police roaming the streets – a curfew as soon as night fell – she should stay here, in case anything happened, in case they returned –

But what if they were separated – lost – and he was out there… Night was falling fast and even with the evening sun it was already getting dark – too dark to make out shapes – leaves all over the streets, made it easier to hear victims, harder for them to run – no, she was being stupid, paranoid – but this was how it was on that other Halloween night, she remembered –

She had to be out there, searching for them – had to be there to stop him – because only she really knew how it was – and it was her fault, her fault –

But… what if they came home while she was gone? What if he came then, stalked them down and came to her house when Rachel was alone and unguarded – what if Laurie wasn't there and Rachel, Rachel who she had babysat, Rachel who Jamie and John both adored, who had never judged her or her children, went the way of Annie – of Lynda –

Bile was building up in the back of her throat. She shook away memories, horrible imaginings – she didn't have time for this, she had to decide what to do.

Because if Michael got hold of the twins, when he was out of the confines of the institution, what might he do? He would not leave them alone, did not have the capacity for that (seventeen years, seventeen years locked up and he had still remembered her, still recognized her). Would he take them away – claim them, in his own twisted way? She might never see them again, might never know if they were gone or dead or… Or he might attack them, or worst, worst of all – might forget who they were to her, to him, lose all recognition of her twins and –

No, no, he would not do that – she hoped he might not – but it was not just hope, she knew deep down that he recognized them – he had never made a move to harm them, not in the last three years, he could not forget just because he was out –

But how certain was she of that?

A scream echoed through the room, and Laurie almost leaped out of her skin. But it was only the television; she had turned it to some stupid reality show about haunted houses, and one of the contestants had just had an obviously fake body drop on her. Shaking her head, she changed the channel, only to land on news coverage of the bus accident.

"– few details have been released regarding the cause of the accident, but police have reassured us that most patients have been found and families notified. Nevertheless, Sheriff Barker has placed a curfew on Haddonfield, which happens to be –"

Her dizziness increasing, Laurie fumbled the television off. An oppressive silence fell over the room. She tried to breathe, but all she could feel was her chest growing tighter.

For the second time in two days, she thought of Jimmy, tried to think of his calming presence. He had always been able to soothe away her fears, to talk through everything, to figure out a plan when something went wrong. But Jimmy was not there, and try as she might, she still could not conjure up his voice, his advice.

She was on her own.

Fuck it, Laurie thought, and sped for the door, groping for her car keys. She couldn't stay inside any longer; the curfew was in half an hour and there was no sign of them, no sign at all – other children were already returning home in little straggling groups (none had come to her home, they never came), but Jamie and John and Rachel weren't there –

Where would she go? Where could she find them?

It doesn't matter, she thought (running out the door, out the driveway, into her car). She would drive up and down each street in Haddonfield until she found them (starting the car, backing out with a screech of wheels on the pavement).

Then a thought, unbidden, came to her mind – more of an image, a memory –

An old, dilapidated, two-story house – a cavernous basement, dust in her nose, Lynda's body still at her feet - crouching at the bottom of an empty pool, lungs tearing from her screams –

She knew where to go first.

There was one other person (Jamie thought as she followed after Billy) who knew about the Incident. About Kyle.

She had asked him, once. It had been a couple weeks after Kyle had yelled all those mean words at her, when her Mommy had taken her to see her Uncle. They had been allowed outside, because it had been getting warmer, and her Uncle had been sitting at one of the tables, and Jamie knew, just knew, that she had to ask him. He would know, right, if Kyle was a liar (which he was, she just wanted to make sure)? But Mommy didn't really like it when she or John was too close to their uncle when Mommy wasn't around, or even if she was too far away from them, so Jamie had had to watch and time her movements carefully.

When John had run off to some monkey bars and Mommy had gone chasing after him, Jamie had made her move. Sneaking away, she had walked straight up to her uncle, and tugged on his pants to get his attention (which was also a big no-no, Mommy had always said not to touch Uncle, but Uncle was so busy watching Mommy that he hadn't even noticed Jamie coming up to him).

When he (finally) looked down, she had stared straight into his masked face and asked, "Uncle, are you the Boogeyman?"

He had not answered, just kept looking at her. Jamie remembered the way his look had felt – she had never known people looking at her to feel like anything, but that was before meeting her uncle. Because they way he looked at her, or John, or Mommy, felt different from everybody else. And she remembered waiting and waiting and also trying to listen for her mommy, who had been busy yelling at John for doing something stupid on the monkey bars.

And then, Uncle had done the funniest thing. He had moved his hand over to hers (still grasping his pants leg) and rested it near there. She could remember thinking how big his hand looked next to hers – it had completely covered not only all of her hand but also her wrist – and then he had laid his fingers on hers and, very slowly, touched – or stroked – his thumb over hers.

That was all she needed to know, and she had beamed at him, at least until her mommy had noticed what she was doing and come running over to yell at her.

Her uncle was not the Boogeyman. Kyle was dumb and mean and a liar too, and she didn't believe anything he said to her. All the kids at her school had shared their stupid stories about what the Boogeyman did, and he wasn't anything like her uncle. Someone had said that he attacked kids who believed in him. Another had said he only attacked kids who didn't believe in him. And one person had said the Boogeyman only killed his own family, so they didn't have to worry and besides, he had been locked up for a hundred years after killing so many people.

What they always argued about was what he looked like. One girl had said that he had no face, and if you looked at him for too long he would kill you. A boy had said that his face was just blank, until he was coming after you and then it would open up and eat you. And Kyle had said they were all wrong and that his face was actually a scary mask.

Well, her uncle wasn't any of those things – except for the mask, but he took those off sometimes, and he looked totally normal then. And he couldn't have killed all his family, because Mommy had said she was his sister and she was still alive. So she knew Kyle was dead wrong.

And besides, she knew her uncle did not kill people at all. Except for that one time, but Mommy had told her and John that those were Bad People, so it was all right after all. Anyway, Jamie barely remembered it anymore, except thinking that the room looked like red paint had spilled all over it, and that there had been a very funny smell in the air, kind of the way pennies smelled.

For a little while, she had wondered if her Uncle would come back home with them. She remembered asking Mommy if he was going to their new Daddy, but Mommy had said no, in a very funny voice. She had also said Uncle would be in the hospital place for a long, long time, probably for the rest of his life. It made Jamie a little sad, because she still missed her daddy sometimes, and because she thought it a bit unfair that she, John, and their mommy could go anywhere they wanted but their uncle couldn't.

"J-Jamie?" Billy tugged at her sleeve. "W...Where are we?"

Jamie looked around. Some time while she had been daydreaming, she and Billy had wandered down a very long and dark alleyway, and neither Rachel nor John were in sight. The sun had fallen so suddenly she hadn't even noticed; it seemed like a few moments ago the sky was a shiny golden color, but now it was a dark blue, with only a pale sliver of moon and the street lights to help them see. It had rained a few days ago, so there were puddles and patches of wet everywhere.

Oh-oh, she thought, I think we're lost.

Billy twisted about, looking rather pale. "M-Mom?"

"Rachel?" Jamie also called. She tried not to step in a puddle, afraid of getting her dress wet. "John?"

But there was no one in sight. Jamie could not even hear the calls of other children and parents anymore. It was like everyone in Haddonfield had run off and left them alone. Even the houses all along the alleyway were dark, like nobody was home.

A rustle. Jamie spun around. It seemed to be coming from one of the houses, but she couldn't see anything, no matter how hard she squinted.

"Maybe we should go back?" Jamie said uncertainly. But which way was back? Behind them led to an even darker, tinier street. Off to the right and left were smaller side-alleys which looked dirty and scary, while ahead was a flickering lamp, which at least made that part look brighter – but which was totally unfamiliar to her.

Which way had they come from? They couldn't really be lost here. Jamie shivered. And they were supposed to be back before dark. If Mommy found out, she was going to be so angry with her.

Jamie glanced at Billy, then made her decision. She tilted her head towards the lit area. At least they could see where they were going. His eyes were wide, but he nodded. Together, they started to walk.

A stick snapped.

Jamie and Billy jerked to look behind them. Everything was still and quiet, but Jamie just couldn't get rid of that funny prickling feeling on the back of her neck. She had thought it was because of all the trick-or-treaters, but this felt different. Like someone was watching her.

"C-c-" Billy's stutter was getting even worse. He took a big swallow. "Come on."

Jamie hurried after him, but couldn't help giving the scariest warning she had. "Whoever's out there, I have a big dog and he bites!" Rachel had a dog and she used to say that when they went trick-or-treating on some scarier streets. Jamie had thought it really funny every time she said it, because Sundae was the friendliest dog she had ever met and would probably lick someone to death first.

Billy just looked confused, as much as he could while trying to jog down a damp alley. "W-w-e don't have a dog."

"Shh!"

She grasped his hand and kept going for the light.

Another snap.

This time it was definitely louder – and closer. Jamie knew she shouldn't look behind her, but she did anyway. It was so dark now she couldn't really see, and she had to squint really hard.

And then she saw something: a giant, dark shape standing in the shadows of the homes behind them.

Jamie gasped. Beside her, Billy turned, looked, and yelped in fright.

"Go!" Jamie said. She grabbed Billy's hand and ran, shoes slapping against the pavement. The big light was still many feet away, and Jamie's soft princess slippers skidded on the ground and almost sent her falling.

"C-come on, come on!" Billy cried out, tugging on her hand. She had almost dragged him down with her, but he had stopped and was hauling on her arm. Getting back up, Jamie picked up her skirts and ran, pushing hair from out of her eyes, not caring anymore if she stepped in any puddles. Her chest was aching but she had to keep running – though not before looking behind her again.

She yelped, turning around. The shape had come closer – close enough that she could see that it was a man, a really tall man, walking slowly after them.

"A-a-almost there!" shouted Billy, pulling harder. Jamie turned around, head thudding. They were nearing the end of the alleyway, which opened onto a street, with houses with lit windows at the end – which meant people who could help them – but only if they reached it.

Billy yelled her name again, jerking hard at her arm. She scooped up her damp skirts and pelted the last few feet, Billy in his pirate clothes running ahead of Jamie in her tangled dress – but they were almost there –

A siren blasted the air, and Jamie cried out, leaping backward on reflex as a police car sped through the small street, right across her path. Billy, however, made a mad dash forward, ending with a running leap for the other side of the street – safe.

The police car zoomed forward, lights flashing, barely missing hitting Billy, and Jamie could hear a magnified voice coming from it, saying something about curfew – but she could not pay attention, because she had looked back again and saw the dark shape only feet from her –

Terrified, she turned sharply left and dashed off to the side, and on the other side of the street, safe under the bright lights and lit houses, Billy was yelling her name – and something else –

"Jamie! Jamie!" he was screaming. Then, pointing: "BOOGEYMAN!"

What? Jamie thought, completely confused. She looked back.

The man had come under the beam of the nearby lamp, and Jamie saw his face – a horrifying grayish-white color, dark cracks running through the skin, and black eyes like holes.

Jamie screamed. And then she ran.

She ran down the tiny alley as fast as she could, and it seemed like every time she stepped she could hear the monster's footsteps – or her heart pounding in her ears. She splashed through a puddle and felt the cold water fly up her legs. But there was a light at the end of this side-alley – an opening – she just had to reach it – everyone knew the Boogeyman was afraid of light –

And then she ran into the fence.

Chain-link rattled as she bounced off it; it was so dark she had not even seen it. The metal cut into the skin on her fingers and palms, and she cried out as much from the pain as in terror. The light was so close, but she was trapped behind this fence, and the Boogeyman was getting closer with every second –

Then, as she spun frantically around, she spotted a little side-street, and ran towards it –

Only for a looming shape to appear right in front of her, blocking out her exit, the light – even the moon. And as she backed away, she saw his hands, which were bumpy, with dark stuff all over it – and a knife, flashing in the dim light.

Jamie shrieked and stumbled back into the fence as the shape circled in front of her. She felt the links snagging against her dress, ripping it when she moved. The shape kept moving forward at a slow walk – circling her. She pushed herself as far back into the fence as she could, curling against the wet ground, the metal digging into her back. There was nowhere else to go, he was only a few feet from her, the dark pits of his eyes boring into her.

She covered her eyes and whimpered. "Please–"

Then she waited.

Nothing.

Jamie shrank back still further, waiting for pain – but still nothing happened.

Slowly, she uncovered her eyes.

The figure had stopped. He was just standing there, head angled down to look at her. Jamie uncurled herself just a little, then more when he still didn't do anything. She got shakily to her feet, scared, confused, but also feeling just the littlest bit stupid. She stared up at the man for another moment, not sure what to do. Was it something she had said? And what was she supposed to do now?

"Boogeyman?" she tried.

The man's head tilted – and a sudden, unexpected pang of familiarity shot through Jamie.

"What do you –" she began to say, until the man stepped forward, and the light fell on him more clearly.

That wasn't a face, she realized, seeing the edges of it now, the eye holes, the places where it had cracked. It was a mask.

A mask...

Jamie! Boogeyman!

And there was something else. It was the way he moved –

Every day is Halloween at Jamie's house!

– and the way he looked at her –

Jamie's uncle's the Boogeyman!

– and the way that look felt...

...are you the Boogeyman?

Jamie craned her head up at the man (tall, he was so tall, just like him), her chest feeling like it was fluttering.

She said, "Uncle?"

He moved forward, then stopped less than a foot from her, towering over her. Jamie kept looking up at him, not feeling quite so afraid anymore – because she was sure, she was sure this was him, this was her uncle. Mommy had said he'd be in the hospital forever and all they could do was visit him, but maybe she was wrong, maybe he'd come out to visit them.

Then she saw her uncle stretch out his hand towards her, the one not holding a knife. He hesitated, his palm up. Beckoning.

Jamie stared. And remembered.

She got up off the fence, walking closer to her uncle, who did not move, and lifted her own arm towards him.

Lights flashed over them, behind her, blinding her with their brightness. Tires squealed, sirens shrieked in her ears. When Jamie flung herself around, arm thrown up to shield her eyes, she saw the police car on the other side of the fence, blue and red headlights spinning.

"Don't move!" a voice shouted. It sounded very loud.

Jamie froze where she was.

The doors of the car opened, and from inside clambered out a policeman and an old man, his arm in a sling.

"Jamie Lloyd?" The policeman, who she could still barely see with all the bright, flashing lights, held up a hand. "It's Deputy Hawkins! Stay right where you are, I'm coming to get you!"

Police? Police were here? To get her? Was she in trouble?

And what about her uncle?

Forgetting that she had just been told not to move, she turned around.

Her uncle was gone.

The policeman shouted, "Stay where I can see you, Jamie!" He raised his flashlight, began moving around the fence. "You're safe now. Just stay put while I find a way around. There's no need to be scared. Dr. Sartain here will watch you."