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

Gaslight Heart

Mia wiped away more tears as the house continued to burn, the faint wails of the sirens in the background of her inner thoughts. The look on Kevin's face as he drove by told her all she needed to know. He did this.

And he was going to pay for it.

That smirk was etched into her mind and with her intense level of anger, she was going to etch that same smirk back onto his face forever. She had vowed to herself that she would beat Michael to the kill this time as this was a kill she felt needed to happen. He almost took away her baby and Michael... and that shit wasn't going to fly when it came to the passion and love a new mother has for her child.

She was thankful Michael wasn't recognized by the law after they arrived with the firemen, Sheriff Barker bringing two bottles of water in his hand with him to offer to Mia and Michael. "Thank you." She sniffled.

"Not a problem," Barker nodded. "I know this isn't a good time to tell you this, but this was a gas-fed fire."

"Wh-What?"

"A couple of the boys fighting the fire found a propane tank next to the air conditioning unit out back with a clear hose attached to it running into the system. We opened a case on it and have labeled it as arson."

"Oh my God." She began to cry.

"Do you recall hearing or seeing anything suspicious?"

She wiped a tear from her cheek, "Yeah, actually, I have. I saw a patrol car driving by after we came out of the house and he just kept going."

"Did you happen to catch what number was on the car?"

"Yep. 313."

"That's Kevin's car-"

"Give me five minutes with him," Mia growled. "He could've killed my baby."

"I understand. I'll have a talk with him as soon as we get things resolved here. Do you need a place to stay?"

Mia shook her head, "I already called my brother. We'll be staying with him."

"Okay. We'll continue with this and I'll contact you if I need more information from you."

"Thank you."

It wasn't any of Barker's concern, but he was rather curious about the man that kept a sharp gaze on Mia as she talked, as if he were mesmerized. Michael Myers' case was still open, and Barker had the suspicion that he was standing face to face with Myers himself, but it couldn't be... he was too... normal.

The man reminded him of Bundy - a man showing good intentions and talking of good things, but was a monster. There was no way the man that kept a watch on Mia, and clearly, the father of the beautiful baby Mia had been holding, was the stone-cold killer that was after Laurie Strode.

He decided to keep his curiosity to himself as he had a hunch that he was just overthinking the situation. If he could recall, he didn't even remember what Myers looked like.

She sniffled as Michael opened the truck door for her, soot caked against the hood as she was thankful the truck couldn't fit in her garage. He reached over to grasp her hand, kissing her knuckles and holding them there as he managed to drive through the yard to keep the firemen from having to move their units. "It'll be okay." He assured her.

"That bastard. I'm going to kill him."

He chuckled softly as if he didn't believe her.

"What?" She scoffed.

"That's like the pot calling the kettle black."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Why don't you leave it to me? I'll make it look like an accident."

"I don't want you killing anymore, Michael."

"And I don't want you to start," He replied, glancing over at her. "It's like a drug. You get high on the adrenaline and eventually crave more. The more you crave, the more you kill. Trust me, I know."

His words shook her to the very core. He was blunt about it and absolutely serious. She gulped, looking out the window, seeing the black smoke darkening the night sky, blue lights glowing against every surface. "Should we take Ella to the hospital?"

"That's up to you. We got out just in time before the smoke could do some damage, but we can."

"I'd feel better if we did," She sighed. "John said he was changing out the sheets on the bed in the spare bedroom for us."

Michael nodded, turning at the stop sign towards the hospital.

*

Arriving at the John's with Ella's clean bill of health as well as relieved parents, it was well past one a.m. when they arrived. Michael forced himself to see it as just a weekend with the in-laws to mask the reality that now, they truly had nowhere else to go. Mia was devastated and stressed beyond belief, crying to Michael as she hadn't been producing a lot of breast milk recently, losing her pump as well as the supply she had in the freezer to the fire. Luckily, they assumed they had plenty of time before Ella seemed to grow hungry again.

Big John held his sister close, kissing her temple as he was truly compassionate about the new family's well-being. He held her as she cried as Michael put the duffel bag he had managed to salvage with very little belongings in the spare bedroom, sighing to himself as he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror before returning back downstairs, appreciative that Mia and Ella were safe.

"You're going to be okay," Big John cooed, seeing Little John return to the living room with two glasses of water for them, Michael offering the bottle of water to Mia, frowning after she had denied it. She was too stressed and worried to think about anything.

"I'm going to kill him." Mia whispered in Big John's ear, anger and the quench of redemption on her tongue.

Big John paused, "Who?"

"Kevin. He-He did this. He tried to kill us. He was there that night last Halloween. He set the tank in the backyard and set the house on fire." She explained.

"Dear God..."

"He has it coming."

"Have you told Michael?"

"Fuck no," She scoffed, knowing he was still upstairs spending time with Ella, feeling as if he failed as a father, taking the time he now had to appreciate her in his own silence, praising how he was able to do something noble by keeping them safe - Ella's sleeping form being a constant reminder of his noble act. She was safe, she was warm, she was fed, and she had a passionate mother that, even though she was immensely stressed, she still made it a priority to take care of her family before herself, whereas Michael made it a priority to take care of Mia and Ella before himself. "This is something I need to do... This is something I'm going to do."

Both Big and Little John looked at Mia in confusion at her sudden change of behavior. Little John gulped, knowing that her promise to take another person's life was also a promise of life-long consequences. She wasn't planning to tell Michael, but the John's knew better.

Michael had to know.

Promises of shots rang from her mouth with her big heart of desire. She was her own gun for hire.