A Darkness in Mind 3 - or 'This Horror World is way more scarier with its Lewdness' (Semi-Lewd Horrorverse SI)
Haddonfield, Illinois.
Without Michael Myers, the city was a normal one by most standards. After all, despite the demise of the Boogeyman himself, the town was now down by a couple digits. Michael's rampage in these last few years had been impressive compared to the one from 1978, and yet not many were keen to pause and remember the victims. Not because of a general indifference on the matter, but rather treating this as a Freddy Krueger situation: no one mention the Shape now that it was no longer active.
I think this was taking main inspiration from the new timeline, the one that came out in the most recent movies and, in a way, I was fucking glad that Michael was dead. Likewise, I was relieved to know there were a few open spots for me to look for a job for the time being. Nothing big, only for part-time and limitedly so. I found a spot in a grocery shop as the elderly owner needed someone that could take care of the shop now that he was also helping with his grandchildren, the kids' parents murdered in that vicious encounter between some of the locals and Myers.
The pay was not much, but it was money and I didn't mind sleeping in the park for the time being. It wasn't going to be pleasant, but what better place to rest by if not a city where its most famous killer just got slained mere weeks ago? Yeah, the cold was going to be a nasty issue to deal with, but I was getting paid and then I would move to a safer location.
I started my shift right that very day. The owner didn't even ask me for ID, perhaps more worried about having someone keeping the shop up during this bad situation rather than push away any needed hand. So, I shifted into a uniform and started working around. Nothing unusual, a few of the older folks asked a few questions since I was a new face, but none of the teens paused to do the same.
Still, I couldn't help but feel unsettled in these few hours. Right as I started my lunch break and planned to use the few dollars left behind by the owner in case I needed something, I noticed that the shop wasn't as vacant as I would have liked. A single figure was there, silently standing in front of a small section of the Halloween costumes.
No one I recognized on the spot, but it was a young woman, roughly my age, dark-brown hair and surprisingly intense yellow eyes that were staring intensely at a specific spot. She was wearing worn-off clothes, her long hair a bit disheveled and her overall vibe... creepish. How long has she been there? I didn't even notice her entering the shop. Rather than do the stupid thing and approach her, I just leaned forward by the counter and frowned.
"Miss, do you need assistance for something?"
There was no response at that, and I contemplated what to do next without actually exposing myself to surprises.
"Ehr, brown hair?" I started to ask, listing out a detail which should help understand who I was talking to. "Yellow eyes-"
I paused as her head turned right as she heard me say that. It was mechanical, yet smooth. From merely standing in front of the items, she moved closer to where I was until she was standing right in front of the counter. I got a better look of her and with her current appearance, I had a feeling I had to recognize her from somewhere but... I just couldn't put my finger on it.
"Can I help you with something, miss?"
Once again, she remained quiet for some time but then tilted her head, as if amazed by something. I just frowned, this gesture ringing my alarms even more as if this was relevant or something. Then, she spoke.
"Your eyes glows too," She muttered dryly and as she said that, she turned and left the shop.
I frowned even more at this comment, unconsciously tilting my head to the side as she just left... with something in her hands. She didn't even bother to hide away what she stole. Part of me wanted to follow up and catch up with her, but I refrained from doing so. Rather, I moved away from the counter and went on to check what she had been looking for.
Lo and Behold, I was greeted with a few copies of Michael Myers' mask. One was missing... and I knew that I may have found a potential emulator of the Boogeyman himself. This one a chick that seemed to be less brutal and more methodical than her predecessor. Which was, as many would expect, quite bad news.
I just didn't expect for it to get as vicious and gruesome as it got.
Haddonfield, Illinois.
This was the killing grounds once wandered by him.
It was interesting, but small- he made the city smaller than it once was with his vicious brutality. She could already tell he was once around, the feeling of unquestionable urges to satisfy the inner demons leading him to act the way he did. Michael Myers had once given the city true infamy by being the monster one couldn't beat. A monster that was all but just a face of a shapeless entity.
Or... that was as much her mother told her from the very moment she could understand her words. Maria, that was her name, the bringer of pain through a world that needed to know a monster always existed. Haddonfield was picked for this saintly job, with her sole parent teaching her all she needed to know to be like him, to appease his legacy.
Yet, Maria knew she wasn't ready just yet. 21, barely able to function without assistance due to the strong reliance she once had on her mother for food, warmth and care, the young woman was driven by a single goal in mind and that was to give Michael's legacy a greater reach. She was the one that was birthed for the task, shaped to be part of that very Shape that manifested through Michael Myers.
But where the journey at hand felt perilous, she also knew that her main goal was one and the same as his: kill Laurie Strode. She was the victim he couldn't claim and the one that tarnished his legacy. She was going to be Maria's proving test, to show how that part of his legacy wasn't her own weakness.
At first, she felt nervous of being caught. She couldn't move around with the appropriate outfit and carrying a knife would have warranted early attention- something Maria didn't need. So, she went on to buy all the pieces she needed to be ready to be... him. The mask was the final touch, and the one that somewhat filled Maria with a degree of renewed doubt.
She always thought herself as the only one to bear that soul-related mark. But then she met him. That young man, as old as her, and yet bearing those same eyes. Pretty eyes, that's how her mother called them, the same as Michael, except... livelier. Reluctant even to show their true colors.
What a shame, but it was best for Maria to not have competition. She had all the tools she needed and she was moving to find a safe spot to change in the outfit, hold the kitchen knife and then stalk Laurie Strode now that the old woman was relaxed and at ease, thinking that the worse was now over.
Or... that was meant to be the plan.
Right as she was turning the corner, Maria paused as she noticed a familiar face flashing on one of the screens of TV by one of the nearby shops.
Breaking news! Laurie Strode, 61, found dead. Police rule out accidental death and suicide- could it be a new Michael Myers?
Maria always promised her mother she would have never shown any emotion for anything, fully accepting the need to be as emotionless as Michael, but something within that sight just made her blood boil.
Someone had stolen her kill and was also trying to ruin her plans. That, she knew, she would have solved by seeking the only other individual bearing that potential duty from within.
I had a strong feeling someone was plotting to murder me.
I shrugged it off as SCP-682 still having a bone to pick with me despite the fact I was a bit confident she had been contained after that break-out. I doubted she was going to track me down here as she didn't have the natural means to know where I was if I barely had my name known around to people, but... I decided to take residence by one of the homeless' shelters in town.
I was enough of a 'hobo' in terms of lack of ID and much money to get accepted and I was given the proper stuff to go and sleep in a corner. But right before going to bed, I couldn't help but listen a few people mention something that froze me on the spot. Laurie Strode was dead, someone had killed her.
How and when? Also, why? I knew it wasn't Michael, the bastard's body had to have been put through the grinder so that's not him. While some of the Halloween movies suggested he had some supernatural bullshit, the notion that he was still alive was... stupid. Even his absurd supernatural connections had limits as he had many times avoided losing his head, getting heavily wounded to the point of near-death, and, as it happened to his body with his 'dead', having his whole self destroyed.
I had to get through this rabbit hole as I had a feeling this girl I met, she may be the one behind all of this. And since she shared a connection with Michael, then I had to look into two individuals to know more about this very matter, but I wasn't sure how to do it. Samuel Loomis and Ranbir Sartain, the men that studied Michael's case the closest and had to know the most about what secrets the monster had.
I wasn't just prepared to what dark secret Michael bore during his two decades of limbo...
AN
But if it wasn't John or Maria to do this, then... who killed Laurie Strode?! What these two may not think of, is that Michael left behind someone to take the mantle. And this individual wants everyone in town dead.
