The Devil Walks Among Us; Book l - Completed 4/21/22

Thoughtless

Gripping the steering wheel, Lonnie began to sweat as he stopped his SUV across the street of Michael's childhood home - every window was dark as no light illuminated from the house. He sighed, "I'm going in alone."

"What?" Cameron asked.

"Mr. Elam-"

"You fucking dummy, you brought your kid to the belly of the beast." He sighed, talking to himself.

"Dad, no."

"Mr. Elam, with all due respect, you really expect me to sit here while you go inside and confront the man who killed my father and everyone in his path because we took the one thing that drives him?"

"No, I don't expect you to, but I'm asking, Allyson. For your sake and my son's. Okay? Just stay here," He said, taking a final sip of the coffee in his mug - which was unusual that he would drive with a mug - "I'll see you on the other side, buddy."

Cameron and Allyson watched in silence - watched Lonnie approach the house cautiously. He had no idea what he was doing, but in his head, he wanted to make amends, or bargain, for his freedom of guilt. He knew Michael was after Mia, but there was a reason behind his pursuit. After many conversations with Tommy, he had concluded that none of this would have happened if Laurie had left Mia alone. The teenagers jolted as they heard a gunshot, not even a full minute after Lonnie had entered the house. "Let's go!" She said as they rushed out of the SUV, each of them with a weapon in hand.

They nodded at each other before entering the house, assuming that Michael had done away with the John's, but unbeknownst to them, they were out doing the same thing as them, except they weren't planning on using Mia to lure Michael into a trap - they were wanting their loved one back.

Intense minutes went by with no sign of Lonnie as if he had vanished into thin air. There was no trace of him, not even an empty casing of the brass bullet, or worse, blood. "Dad?" Cameron dared to call out as he and Allyson ascended the staircase, the song Could I Have this Dance playing in the background. Cameron's hands were shaking terribly, barely able to hold the firearm correctly. To be truthful, he had maybe shot five guns in his entire life - this being the first time he had the intention of shooting someone with it.

"I'll check this room," Allyson whispered, pointing her shotgun in the direction of the record player. "Be careful." He nodded, proceeding to check the master bedroom - nothing there either.

Allyson stalked around the room quietly, looking at the photos around her. Oh, fuck she thought. She's related to them. Small fucking world. She continued to look around at the photos displayed on the shelves and desk, seeing family photos with Mia and who she assumed to be her brother, posing happily at what looked like a family outing. "Cameron?" She called.

"Yeah?"

"...She's related to the people who live here."

"The girl Tommy took?"

"Yeah..."

"Fuck. Where's the people who live here?"

"I-I don't know. Probably doing the same as us."

"...Except they're not looking to use her as bait." Allyson continued as she proceeded her scan of the study.

Cameron sighed, taking a quick glance into the master bedroom again before looking towards the end of the hall at a closet. He and Allyson had already checked the downstairs closet, seeing nothing but a case of golf clubs and shoes. He was hopeful that Michael wasn't in the house at all, but he couldn't be too hopeful. This was Michael Myers they were after - not some teenager - an inhuman beast of a man who cleared anyone in his path - and tonight, every human in Haddonfield that wasn't Mia was his target until he got to her.