8. Mr. Sandman

Disclaimer: I do not own Halloween it belongs to Rob Zombie with the original one belonging to Mr. Carpenter, but I do own Ava Mallory and her family. Also fair warning this chapter will be a two-parter. Sorry if this one's all over the place, I've not been having any easy time lately, especially when it came to planning out the chapters. Again apologies if this sounds more like stream of consciousness but I also wanted to give Michael room as well. And I've been working on some original stuff too, and dealing with editing and my keyboard acting up. I hope you all enjoy this Halloween, have fun and stay safe out there. Happy Halloween~!

He had carried them both out and back to his old home. He finally had his family back, his baby sister Boo, and Ava.

Now he just had to get Boo to remember and it could all go back to how it was, only better.

And no one or nothing would ever stand in his way – not the damn doctor, the police, or anything else. Certainly not the people who tried to keep Boo away from him.

He had already taken care of those two girls, that Boo called her friends…and their boyfriends.

Leaving one of their corpses before he hoped they would get the message.

Now they reminded him of all of Judith's more unpleasant qualities. His mom had done the same things, but she had no choice, but Judith was unapologetic about embarrassing their family.

Not that their legacy was any better than it was now. But that legacy would change.

He got to their old home in record time and placed both girls down, staring at them, and checking on Boo, and then Ava.

He brushed aside some of Boo's hair, caressing her cheek in the process, missing her so much more than he could say, which he never did, but still kept her photo with him at all times.

Michael idly wondered if Boo still slept the same way as she did when she was a baby, with her little fists curled in her sleep.

He then turned to Ava and silently moved to her, as she rested. She looked peaceful as she slept.

Moving his hand he also touched her face, realizing it was the first time he had ever done so, and caressed her cheek with his thumb until he moved his hand lower, and his thumb brushed against her lips curiously.

He had been familiar with what kissing was – he had seen his parents share kisses, and Judith kiss her boyfriend. He barely remembered a time when his mother or his stepfather were ever that way with each other, exchanging kisses for verbal abuse, with the threat of the physical.

His parents kisses had at least looked loving and chaste enough, even in the ways they loved, it was after all how Boo and he and their sister came to be didn't they?

He wondered…if with Ava would it be loving? Or violent?

A dark thought crept into his mind; he could take either one~ He loved both sides of love and hate. They were one and the same, each other's twin reflections.

A noise in the corner jarred him out of his trail of thought as he realized Boo was waking up now…

She didn't know what had happened, but only that it was fast, and worked so much faster than any sleep that had ever claimed her in the past. But the blow she hadn't expected had knocked her out cold. It disoriented her that she felt herself drifting in and out of consciousness. Ava had truly felt like she was floating on a cloud, and surrendered into that heavy fluffy fog. Honestly, it felt better compared to the splitting headache she had had before, now she had felt numb, and all she wanted to do was sleep.

It had never crossed her mind that she might have a concussion, or that she would need to wake and stop Michael.

She couldn't help but dream about her time in Smith's Grove; for a moment she thought she was there and all of what had just happened was a dream. She was sitting at the usual table and engaging in some arts and crafts with Michael.

It was the slow and sluggish movement of his hands as he would color and paint the mask.

Ava had been content to just draw or do a sketch on a plain piece of paper – she had never been much of an artist.

But it was still just the quiet activity that just brought her peace. The other activity was sometimes being able to read to Michael. For some, it may have been unnerving to read, whilst someone just watched.

Dr. Loomis had stated that he even doubted that Michael was listening, but Ava knew differently. Michael was listening, he could hear her after all.

The vision of the white room had melted into a darker one, her vision was still swimming as she looked around.

There was no light and she could make out two figures, a large one, and a smaller one. Only one of them was speaking, but everything sounded meshed together to her, but one of them was talking loudly.

Was that…shrieking…? Crying? She couldn't tell. The smaller figure was hunched over something…clutching onto something…was that another person?

Ava barely comprehended, as she tried to move her body, lifting her hand as she tried to move towards them but ended up resulting in a crawl towards them. She opened her mouth trying to speak and get their attention.

Before she could, she remembered looking at the ground, blinking some of the blurriness away, or trying to.

She crawled towards the figure, and whispered out weakly, 'Heys' trying to make a noise above a squeak. Before she could register anything further the figure swung at the bigger figure.

Were they fighting?

Ava had grabbed onto the figure's shoulder only to feel something cold and sharp piercing her side, and the air leave her lungs. What had happened?!

Was she dying?

She gasped and felt herself collapse to the side and more screaming. Was it at her? Why were they screaming?

Before she knew it she drifted off again and then felt herself being lifted up and carried, feeling cold, some sounds in the distance and then carried again, and her world going black again.

This time she really did feel and dream of and remembered nothing. No dream or memory from the past. She could only welcome the numbness that invaded her mind.

Boo had attacked him! Why! Why did she fight him!

She stabbed him, shot him, and tried to kill him! She tried to kill Ava! WHY! At this point the Shape was awake again and hungering for more blood once more. This time he would make sure to teach Boo a lesson.

Boo.

Dr. Loomis.

And this town.

He had almost gotten to Boo, and she had given him quite a good chase, and fought back. Michael hadn't had this good of a fight in a long time…

Ava could barely lift her head, much less open her eyes or keep them open; it took blinking a few times to realize that she was staring at the white ceiling of a hospital and resting in a hospital bed.

She tried to move to sit up but realized she couldn't without there being pain at her side. Looking down and feeling it she felt stitches.

When did she get stabbed? And by who?

For a brief minute she forgot where she was and for a minute wondered if she was once again back in Smith's Grove.

But then remembered she was supposed to be looking for Michael, and the ones he was attacking… What had happened to them?

"Excuse me," she called out, "Nurse?"

She was met by silence, and it felt unnerving to her despite her now feeling accustomed to it.

Why was it so quiet? Not just here, but it also felt almost deafeningly so, right outside her hospital room.

Where was Michael?

Dr. Loomis?

The children?

Laurie? Was that the name?

Ava looked around the room, seeing the darkness from the bathroom permeate partly into her bright room.

Why did she still feel so sluggish and weak?

Lifting her hand she carefully touched her head feeling a bandaged gauze around it. She received a head injury, she remembered that much but she hadn't registered how hard she was hit. So a head injury and a stab wound?

Either a concussion or whatever was in the IV they had strapped to her arm.

She leaned back into her bed and looked downwards. Ava knew she could see clearly now but it still felt like the shadows and shapes were still swimming.

At least she knew that there was no one else in the room with her…so why did it look the shadows in the corners of the room were moving…?

Suddenly she felt like she wasn't alone in the room anymore…and more than ever Ava wished she could sleep again. She remembered there was a song they hadn't stopped playing in the sanitarium.

"Sandman…," she whispered slowly staring at the shadows, particularly a large moving in the dark bathroom.

Ava clutched to her blanket, sinking deeper into the bed, feeling a cold dread spread through her, and a sweat spread through her body underneath the hospital gown.

Who else was here with her…?

Clip! Clap! Clip! Clap!

Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream (bung, bung, bung, bung)
Make him the cutest that I've ever seen (bung, bung, bung, bung)
Give him two lips like roses and clover (bung, bung, bung, bung)
Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over

Sandman, I'm so alone (bung, bung, bung, bung)
Don't have nobody to call my own (bung, bung, bung, bung)
Please turn on your magic beam
Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream

Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream
Make him the cutest that I've ever seen
Give him the word that I'm not a rover
Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over

Sandman, I'm so alone
Don't have nobody to call my own
Please turn on your magic beam
Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream

Mr. Sandman (yes) bring us a dream
Give him a pair of eyes with a "come-hither" gleam
Give him a lonely heart like Pagliacci
And lots of wavy hair like Liberace

Mr. Sandman, someone to hold (someone to hold)
Would be so peachy before we're too old
So please turn on your magic beam,

Mr. Sandman, bring us, please, please, please
Mr. Sandman, bring us a dream