HALLOWEEN - INFERNO

The Inferno

Haddonfield, Illinois
October 31st, 2018
Halloween

The night had been quiet. No emergency dispatch calls came through. The group of ten sat around a large table, some had coffee's while others had beers in their hands. They were laughing loudly as jokes were exchanged. Rookie Ian Summers sat at the table next to Michelle Fisher who had been serving with this precinct for nearly two years now, his phone buzzed and he smiled and lifted it. It was a message from his wife, he called her and stepped away from the table while the others continued to chat.

He was standing at the large doorway that looked out into the night, it was pretty quiet now. Most of the children had packed up and gone home, Rolls of toilet paper sat in the front yard across the street where large sheets of paper had been thrown into the trees on their lawn. His wife answered and they began talking, he looked back as he heard more laughter and smiled.

"Got his misses on the phone again" Michelle perked up quietly to Jenny Field who just snarled. "Probably making him check in again".

"You remember the time she came in here? God, she was pissed. Thought he had been out-"

"Hey everyone! I just wanted to let you know- I'm gonna be a dad!" Ian cheered as he jumped around all excited. "I can't believe it!" Everyone started cheering and clapping for him. They knew that he'd been trying to have a kid for a while now, and it had finally happened. "She only just found out!'

The celebrations were cut short when the alarm roared above them, making them jump. Heads turned and the voice of the announcement of a single house fire on the outer skirts of town had them rushing to get ready, Ian said his goodbyes to his wife then joined the others. As they got ready the announcer read the details out to them so they could assess the situation correctly.

"We've got a 10-31, I repeat a 10-31 to 452 Meridian Ave, Haddonfield. House fully ablaze. Approach with extreme caution" the voice died down and the trucks roared to life and the sirens started blasting loudly. They all climbed in and prepared to head when the doors finally opened. They held on tightly and then drove off when the doors opened fully. The truck screamed as it sped off, those who remained out late night trick or treating stepped off the streets as it zoomed onwards.

"Only one we've had tonight and it's in the middle of absolutely nowhere!" Ian said, the truck hit a bump and he groaned as he hit his head. "I should probably put a helmet on".

They giggled. Behind them was the other two trucks that followed. They soon disappeared from the town and were on a bendy road that lead them to the house, in the distance they could see the glow from the fire beyond the tree line. They went to enter the property line but were stopped by an older gentleman who was blocking the gate.

"Sir, you need to leave!"

"You can't go up there. We aren't going to let you put out that fire!"

Ian watched from where he sat with a confused expression on his face. "What is going on?"

A car came speeding out from the compound and stopped at the gate. A young teenage boy climbed out and came over to the man. "We've gotta go, she needs a hospital!" He looked over and into the car, Ian couldn't see who was in the car but he noticed the man sigh and hurry off into the car. "He couldn't have survived that fire! Let them in!"

He nodded and ran off into the car that sped off.
"Come on everyone! Let's get ready!"

The fire had swept through the entire house. The house was large and only accessible through one door which was the front which was open, flames could be seen inside the house as the furniture inside burned. They unloaded from the trucks and began unraveling the hoses from the truck and rushing up towards the main structure. They tapped into the waterline on the property and aimed up at the building.

Ian grabbed onto the halligan and gathered with a small team and hurried up to the front of the house as water was sprayed down onto it from the trucks. The teams worked quickly as there could be others inside. They hurried inside and Ian ran off to the left with Matt while Jenny and Michelle went to the right. Everything was burning, there was no way somebody had managed to pull through. Ian looked around and then down at the floor, he saw the panic room entrance then turned to Matt as the flooring beneath him opened up and he went crashing down into the basement with a heavy thud.

He screamed loudly in fear and shock as he dropped the halligan and it landed somewhere in the burning room, smoke was flooding the room and he couldn't see anything. He rolled onto his back and groaned and examined the room. Matt screamed out to him from the upstairs kitchen that was burning around him.

"Ian! Are you okay?"

Ian moved and suddenly screamed, the pain from his leg was intense. He thrashed and howled out. Matt heard him screaming but couldn't make out where he was. Ian looked up as he thought he saw something move in the smoke. He tried to focus on what was happening but he couldn't stop screaming. He looked down towards his feet as a menacing shape appeared from the smoke. He screamed even louder and moved around as the masked man lifted the halligan and then swung it down where it pierced the protective helmet and pierced his skull, cutting his scream short. Blood flooded the mask and poured out the sides as the halligan was torn from his skull.

"Ian, take my hand! Now!"

Matt's hand was extended down through the layer of smoke that was drifting around the hole in the floor. He cried out for his friend and when a firm grip was returned he pulled him up straight away, as he stood himself back up and sighed with relief he quickly realised that he was looking at Ian. He was looking into the darkest eyes he had ever seen.

Water was showering across the building and running down the roof that was still intact and dripping down to the ground below, the windows on the foundation of the house peered into the basement and flames could be seen engulfing the entire room. The team that went inside still hadn't come out yet, and they were getting worried. As a male grabbed a fire axe for inside they looked up at the front door as the silhouette of a masked figure stepped out onto the balcony as a ball of fire erupted from the doorway behind him. His halloween mask had been damaged in the fire. The left hand side had been burnt to a crisp, the hair had melted away on the side and the back had opened up from the heat. His coveralls were damaged, torn, bloody and suffering from the extreme heat damage. He swung the halligan up and gripped it tightly then walked down the front steps and onto the lawn where he approached the first fire fighter.

He swung the halligan upwards where it went up through his chin and out the top of his skull. Blood was spraying upwards into the air and showering down onto the lawn and the fireman's uniform which was covered in droplets from the hoses that had now turned red with blood as they mixed. The others began screaming and yelling out, the halligan was removed and then he targeted another who was backing away from him as he walked towards them.

Another fireman was taken out when the halligan was forced into his stomach, he coughed up blood before being lifted then thrown back to the ground. He rolled onto his side while clutching the wound on his chest, blood was oozing from between his fingers. He listened as the buzz saw was roaring to life by a truck, his eyes followed as the buzz saw was carried towards the masked man. It was quick, the buzz saw was turned back on the firefighter and the blade was shoved into his face. His body convulsed aggressively as the blade tore into his face and skull apart. He threw the body down and turned his head and looked at the others and then walked towards them. The injured firefighter on the ground groaned as his eyes fluttered, the last thing he saw was the bodies of his coworkers hitting the ground.

He pinned a body to the side of the truck and grabbed the halligan that had been thrown down and shoved it through his chest, it became wedged within the side and he howled out in agony and looked up into the eyeholes of the mask. The masked man tilted his head and examined the man. The others who hadn't been targeted were screaming and grabbing equipment from the truck to use as a weapon. A fire axe was being swung at him. He was quick, he grabbed the handle and pulled it from the firefighters hang then in one quick swing decapitated him. His head rolled along the ground before his body struck down hard.

The others were easy.

He stood by the house as it roared with flames. He tilted his head and then turned and looked up at the fire then dropped the halligan and turned around and looked at the tree line.

HALLOWEEN - INFERNO