[LCHorrorFan]

4

John Tate cruised through the empty streets, heading for the local police station. Passing through the center of town was more lively, as people enjoyed themselves and prepared for the fun they were expecting from the night to follow. Ghosts and pumpkins creatively decorated the town green as well as the doors and windows of every little shop along the sidewalk. The images were festive and peaceful, seeming almost to hide the dark secret that lived deep inside the soul of Haddonfield.
John rolled his Honda Civic into the police station parking lot. A beaming orange Halloween sign welcomed him as he walked in through the steel, gray door.
A balding, middle aged man glanced up from behind a pair of spectacles, “What can I do for you, son?”
“I need to speak with the sheriff,” was his reply.
The man stood up and removed his glasses, “What’s the concern, I’ll relay the message.”
Becoming slightly agitated, John decided to explain his concerns to the officer, “It’s about Michael Myers.”
“Michael Myers?” his eyes narrowed, “Son, we haven’t heard a word about him in nearly a decade. We’ve gotten passed it. I think you ought to do the same.”
John spotted the man’s name tag, “Officer Williams, I know he’s here.”
“What’s your name?”
“John Tate, “ he hesitated before continuing, “Michael is my uncle.”
Officer Williams gave a confused look.
“My mom was his sister.”
“I knew what you meant when you said uncle, “ he said firmly, “My confusion is coming from your story. Sheriff Bronson won’t want to hear it. I can bet on that one.”
“But -”
He held up a hand, “I’ll go get him, just in case you’re right.” He took a deep breath and looked at John, “I’ve been there and I don’t want to take any chances.”
“You’ve been there?”
Officer Williams nodded, “I was about 16 or so when that bastard first started his streak, killing them kids back in the 70’s. I was friends with them. Very good friends.”
“Did you know Laurie Strode?”
“Very well.”
“She was my mom,” John explained.
“ How was her name Strode and his name Myers if they were related?”
“She was adopted. He was on a mission to kill her for a long time and more than twenty years later he finally got his mission accomplished.”
He looked puzzled, “Now I read in the paper years ago that she died in a car accident.”
“She faked her death to get away from him.”
The two men stood in silence with Officer Williams attempting to comprehend John’s story, “Well I’ll go get the sheriff.” He walked into the back and disappeared around the corner.
John ran his hands through a head of messy, dark hair and waited. Within a few minutes a tall man with a blonde buzzed cut made his way to the front.
“How can I help you? I’m Sheriff Bronson.”
John reached out to shake his lion paw of a hand and stared up at the huge man who could probably pass as Hulk Hogan’s younger brother. “John Tate,” he said firmly before getting right to the point, “Listen I’m here because I think you should have some extra men out on the streets tomorrow night, you know, looking out.”
“Of course we will. We always do,” he assured him, “Don’t need 50 cars with broken windows or eggs smeared all over people’s windows.”
“I’m talking about Michael Myers.”
Officer Williams returned to his desk a few yards away but stayed out of the conversation.
Sheriff Bronson half smirked, “I hope this isn’t some joke. Or some kind of weird gut instinct.”
John looked the man in the face, “All I’m asking is that your staff pays some extra attention tomorrow night, that’s all.”
The sheriff removed a toothpick from a small box on Williams’ desk and put it in his mouth with a true Midwestern cliché. It caused the eavesdropping secretary to chuckle.
“I’m not sure who you are but I take it as a sign of personal disrespect when an outsider comes into my town and tells me how to run it.”
John realized his attempt at a firm but polite conversation was running thin. He glanced down and noticed a gold band on the man’s ring finger. “Do you have kids?”
His look turned stern, “That’s none of your business.”
“Regardless of whether or not you do, I want you to think of the children of Haddonfield and their level of safety. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe the threat of Michael Myers returning here will end up being just a bullshit theory and that’ll be the end of it. But if it’s not, you’re going to have hundreds of trick-or-treaters within reach of a psychopath.”
The two men stared at each other without blinking before John continued, “I don’t want to see that lunatic cause any more pain to any more families. My life is a living hell because of what he did to me. He killed my friends. He killed my mom. He almost killed me, but I got away. Before all that happened to me, I was just like you listening to someone just like me. I thought the idea of Michael Myers returning from the dead, or breaking out of whatever dark corner of the world he was hiding in was insane,” he paused, “And then he killed two of my best friends.”
There was a brief moment of silence, for lack of words, before Sheriff Bronson responded, “I’ll put some extra muscle on but I do not want to send this town in a panic based on some 6th sense. Keep your worries to yourself, or tell them to me. But do not go spreading this stuff any farther than you already have.”
John nodded, semi satisfied that he was able to get through to the man. He started out the door when Officer Williams caught his arm, “I’ll make sure he follows through.” He smiled politely and gave John a quick pat on the back. “Don’t go trying to be a hero.”
Exiting the station, he mumbled to himself, “I don’t have much to lose.”