"Yo! About time you got here. What took you so long?"
Kevin hurried over to Billy as the latter pulled up beside Orange Grove street on his black and yellow Mongoose Bicycle. As the flashing lights of emergency vehicles lit the dark and originally quiet street red and blue, a crowd of spectators, flanked by news vans from all over the state of Illinois , tried to rush into the infamous Myers estate cordoned off by yellow tape. From what Billy could see, two officers were posted on each corner of the residence, trying to keep the nosy crowd back from the scene.
"You do realize that I don't possess my own automobile since I entered the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. Unfortunately, a British license isn't valid here." Billy disembarked from the bike and faced his classmate. "So are you going to tell me what the attraction of the night is? It seems to have caught the attention of half of the blasted town."
"I got it, bro." Kevin glanced back at the 'boogeyman's ' house, occasionally lit by the lights of the emergency vehicles. "I wasn't asking for one of your long-winded witty quips you have a habit of doing. Is that commonplace in the British Isles? Now, as to your question, I will spare you one of your signature quick-witted aphorisms and get to the point."
Billy rolled his eyes as he remained perched on his ride. "Golly, please accept my humblest apologies. It never occurred to me that you Yanks don't appreciate fine chaffing. Perhaps it goes over your mind like the way of life of people on the other sides of the oceans. Anyway, I digress. I believe you have an answer for me?"
The jock chuckled and shook his head, crossing his arms. "I was getting to that before you decided to speak like someone from one of those old school British comedies. Don't get me wrong, you cool, but sometimes I can't wrap my head around your weird habits. I heard from one of my trackmates that a murder occurred in that house. It hasn't been confirmed, but that will probably change soon as the cops have marked this place off like those crime scenes you see on Law on Order or any other show in the crime scene drama."
"I have a feeling they will find a body or two inside. Have you invited the girls?"
"Dayum!" Kevin groaned. "I was gonna do that before you showed up with your British sense of repartee. Here, let me-"
A high-pitched shriek behind them startled the boys, resulting in them turning around to investigate the source. A blonde-haired girl about the boys' age, her blue eyes wide in shock, pointed a shaky finger at the boogeyman's house.
"EEEEK! How did that woman get up there?"
Both young men exchanged astounded glances before glancing at the house. As the light from the emergency vehicles lit the structure, the silhouette of a body, hands pinned above its face with a large knife and head facing down with the hair acting as a curtain obscuring the face, became visible. Billy felt his heart slide into this throat as he recognized the dead body as the real estate lady they saw on the advertising sign as well as the message written in her blood.
"This could very well be an early red October-type prank," Kevin whispered in the young Loomis's ear. "For all we know, that may be a scarecrow or some mannequin set up by the local punks to gain clout by scaring the pants off the city." A sudden realization then dawned upon the student athlete before turning back to the blonde who noted the body. "Holy crud, it's Elle. I guess I didn't need to call you after all. Where are the volleyball girls?"
"Aren't Amy and Jenny right there?" Billy asked, motioning to the middle of the chaotic throng. He tried calling out to them, but the frantic voices of the young people in attendance drowned him out. "Besides, I don't think that body is fake. It looks too real. That blood looks as if it is the real thing. You see the emergency crew that is setting up the ladder to bring the corpse now?"
At that moment the ladder was set up by the crew, the EMTs wheeled over two stretchers with white sheets over them as the cops tried to hold back the unruly crowd. The stretchers soon bore two bodies that stained the covers red, capturing the throng's notice.
"Dayum, there are more bodies!" Kevin breathed out. "Who could cause a body count that high? Not the Haddonfield Boogeyman, no?"
Billy frowned as he noticed the top half of the first victim's head was exposed. "I am not certain if your question is rhetorical or not, but I don't think he was responsible for all the murders. For one, you see that bullet hole in that guy's head on the first stretcher? Well, that isn't Myers' modus operandi. He never uses a gun on his victims. Or at least not firing bullets."
The runner raised an eyebrow. "Shite, you know so much about that guy. I ain't even gonna ask. What I will ask is that are you positively sure he has returned? As you told me, the boogeyman isn't one to put a round in someone's head."
Billy narrowed his eyes, making himself appear as a young Batman in the early Autumn evening, "I know for a fact he is back. However, he's got some assistance from a source that dates back to the Stone Age."
Kevin blinked several times, trying to digest far-fetched piece of information. "Wait....what?"
Judging by his classmate's look, Billy could tell he felt like someone had told him that Xenomorphs were running the city's school district. "I will explain this all to you and the girls over milkshakes. See if you can catch their attention."
With that said, the young Loomis took a photo of the scene. That's when one of the officers, a bronze-skinned man with a full beard, walked over to him.
"Boy, don't tell me you are press."
"I won't tell you then," Billy responded with a smirk.
"Beat it, you smart alek!"The cop snapped.
Shaking his head, the British student turned away to find his clique.
---
"What exactly is this curse of Thorn?"
Seated at one of the lavish tables at Johnny's sipping on milkshakes, Amy glanced over at Billy as he explained what the mark they saw back at the Myer's place was. The others also wanted to be enlightened about Billy's knowledge on the grisly scene before and the possible driving force behind it. After taking another slurp from his triple berry shake, the British student wasted no time initiating an explanation on the phenomena.
"Let's start with the explanation of what Thorn is. It is an ancient evil that gives supernatural strength and endurance to whoever it is bestowed upon. During October 31 when Samhain, which is what we now call Halloween, is celebrated, druids select an individual to bear the curse of Thorn and slaughter their whole clan in order to ensure prosperity. Mind you, the constellation Thorn appears on the night of Samhain, thus enhancing the cursed individual's invulnerability. This has been going on since the medieval times. "
Billy stopped to let the information sink in on his astonished-looking friends' minds before he showed them the picture he took of the crime scene at the Myers house.
"See the mark on the door that looks like a thorn from a rose bush?" He pointed at the red marking on the door of the 'haunted' house. "That's the rune of Thorne. Those bearing the curse, druid or chosen, have the mark on their wrist. Yes, Ellie?"
The blue-eyed cheerleader decided to ask the question on the other three's mind. "What does this have to do with Michael Myers and the murders?"
Billy glanced back down at the photo before speaking. "How do you think Myers is so hard to put down for good? During the Halloween massacre of '78, my father shot him six times yet he rose again to attack Laurie Strode. How about when he gets shot, run over, and set on fire, but still rises the following day to continue his rampage?" He then pointed at the rune on the photo. "Look at that mark on the door and compare it to this." He placed the clip of the rune from his father's files onto the table beside the photo. "Here is your answer as to how Michael is able to kill with impunity and defy all odds."
Everyone glanced over at the photo with the poor realtor woman pinned between the windows and above the doorway of the Myers house. A butcher knife had nailed the victim's wrists above her head like a tack while the Thorn rune was painted in blood to her left. There was also a message to her right that read : Haddonfield Beware-The Shape Stalks Once Again. It was mere moments before Jenny made the connection.
"So you are saying this cult of Celtic zealots are behind the Halloween killings?"
Billy nodded in confirmation. "In a way, they are, but mostly assisting their avatar."
Amy caught on as well. "Which is Michael Myers, the shape that stalks on Halloween night."
"Precisely!" The young Loomis snapped his fingers.
"Hold up." Kevin raised a hand. "You mean to tell us that those weirdos we nearly ran into that looked like grim reapers are the ones that are running the show every Halloween?"
"Correct," Billy replied, sipping from his drink. "I believe they are supposed to be the second incarnation of the Cult of Thorn and they want to control Myers for their own personal goal. In other words, he will be their personal attack dog if they succeed in taking command of his will. If we want to prevent another massacre at the end of the month, we must move to thwart these bloke's plans. Michael is vulnerable now so the window to take him out for good is open until Halloween. Once we miss it, Haddonfield and its many residents will be in deep doodoo."
Ellie looked apprehensively at Billy. "You aren't saying what I think you are saying? That we take on the boogeyman of Haddonfield and the cult of nutjobs that seek to use him against us? Nuh uh, we are way over our heads here. We need to alert the Sheriff's office or the Feds. They are the ones that are better equipped to take them on than we are."
"Don't waste your time." The Briton waved his hand dismissively. "The cops won't believe you. You have no idea how the bureaucracy works. By the time they realize that you aren't playing a Halloween prank, Michael will have slaughtered half of Haddonfield. Besides, I believe these people have my father in custody. I will personally confront them myself."
"Bro, you need to think this through first," Kevin objected. "Even if you are right about this cult and the boogeyman's return, you can't take on them alone. You don't even know how many operatives they have in their network. You need back up in case you run into trouble."
"Which is why I have you four." Billy rose from his seat. "Come on! We have a cult to take out. Time isn't on our side so let's make haste!"
Jenny rolled her eyes as the Englishman made his way outside as if he was going to miss his bus.
"How did we end up going along with this harebrained scheme?" she muttered as they went after their friend.
---
As the young adults filed out of the diner, two pairs of eyes watched them. The first set, belonging to a broad-shouldered man with olive skin and oily dark hair, turned back to his partner, a lithe woman with burgundy hair and freckles on her nose, and conversed with her about the youngsters.
"It seems like the English gentleman with the 80s haircut knows more than anyone else we spoke to."
His partner took a sip of her alcohol before responding. "All for the better. He could a useful ally to us."
The man nodded. "Yep. Once it is time to make our move, we can reach out to him."
The woman nodded at her partner before finishing her drink. "Yes, he could be the key to preventing it from happening. We need to be as persuasive as we can to draw him in. Perhaps offer him an incentive."
The olive-skinned man only chuckled. "I don't think that is necessary. Once we convince him that we want the same thing, then he won't refuse. We need to make our move soon as Halloween will approach within the month."
---
"So any of you lads think that the city has gotten the message?"
In the passenger seat of the Cadillac, the mastermind behind the Samhain plot and the revival of an ancient cult of druids, turned to glance adjacent to him to at their fellow cultist, her green eyes darting between the 3 other occupants of the brown car. The driver, a lad with a bushy dark beard and matching dark eyes, spoke.
"If that didn't drill the message across Haddonfield, then I am not sure what would. Every news van within the state was covering the story. "
"Besides," the grey-eyed blonde added. "This has to be the biggest story this sleepy city has covered since the Green Mall hostage crisis. This will create a ripple throughout this community. You should know that as someone who has lived her virtually all her life, I can attest that Haddonfield is a close knit community. Whatever occurs is felt through the whole town like a tidal wave."
"You aren't the only one here who was born and raised here," the driver explained.
"I get the point," the mastermind said. "Yes, I was but a wee lad when my parents and I migrated from Cork, but I lived here longer than I have in Ireland. I do have knowledge of Haddonfield's mechanics. I know how we need to operate should we want to pull this off effectively."
"Then things will go smoothly," the green-eyed curly brunette suggested. "Not only do we have Haddonfield natives, but the our incarnation of the Cult has had family members who were present when the previous manifestation of the Cult was active in 1995. Unfortunately, their incompetence in dealing with the Shape resulted in their demise, but we won't make their mistake. Is there a means to bend the Shape itself to our will? We have assisted it in sating its killing lust and will do until the curse shields him during the night of Samhain. The city now knows that we are back as a force to be reckoned with and so is Michael."
"Hold up a minute," the blonde placed a hand on the back of the driver's seat and continued speaking. "I know we just announced our presence as well as Michael's with our stunt earlier, but wouldn't that only draw unwanted attention to us? There will be those who will think it is wise to shut down Halloween once more or come after us and our own force of destruction. "
"She does have a point," the bearded-driver agreed. "I know that we have Dr. Loomis in custody, but what about his spawn who we are keeping tabs on? He could interfere with our plans and undo everything we worked tirelessly to begot so Halloween night could go as planned."
The Cult mastermind only nodded. "Yes, I am quite aware of him. For now, we will continue monitoring him and his pals. Should they prove to be burdensome, we will eliminate them. While we revealed our presence after rejuvenating our organization from the shadows, there is not much anyone can do about us. Some nosy detective or cult investigator, or glorified bounty hunters as I see them as, could come sniffing after us, but I doubt they'd get anything on us as we operate in secrecy. Cancelling Halloween would be a fatal mistake the mayor wouldn't want to repeat. The show will go on as always. As for how to bend the Shape to our will, I know just the person to consult."
The leader opened the door of the vehicle and stepped out into the chilly night. Beside the Cadillac, two other 'druids' were perched on the curb, smoking cigarettes. As their headman made his way to the payphone by the abandoned parking lot of a small plaza, the two gave the archdruid a nod of respect. Pretty soon, they would have something to do. Picking up the pay phone, he inserted a couple quarters and punched in the number he wished to reach. After a couple sounds of the number dialing, the click on the other end signaled that the recipient had answered.
"Hello?" A voice belonging to an elderly Midwestern woman responded.
"Am I speaking to Mrs. Ida Blankenship?"
"Who wants to know?"
Taking a breath, the lead druid spoke the cult's words of protocol to reveal himself as a member of his contact's former group. "It's a long way from Chicago." Once he got the confirmation from his recipient, the mastermind then chose his words carefully. "Let's say someone who wants to learn to tame the shape of Thorn for scientific purposes."
The line was quiet for a few seconds before the voice spoke. "Very well. Meet me at 420 Lampkin Lane at your earliest convenience."
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