Exasperated, Karen said, “Mom! Do we have to do this?”
Past Laurie’s shoulder, Karen noticed four police officers gathering at the curb, their expressions various shades of grim. Once again, Karen began to imagine the worst. If the police were involved…
Karen felt her body begin to tremble, her hands visibly shaking. Laurie noticed and took them in her own, holding tight. A wave of overpowering emotion threatened to engulf her. Laurie’s eyes were bright, but she appeared in control of herself, determined. In contrast, Karen felt as if the ground were crumbling beneath her feet.
Ray came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a dish towel, and stopped abruptly. “What’s your mother doing here? Thought you said the police—?”
“Where’s Allyson?” Laurie asked Karen.
Karen’s irrational fears roiled again, surging inside her, like lava spewing up from the caldera of an erupting volcano. Is she missing? Has something really happened to—?
“Where’s Allyson?” Laurie repeated, the concern in her voice escalating quickly with Karen’s silence.
“The dance,” Karen said. “She went to the school dance with Cameron.”
“So, you don’t know?”
“Know what, Mom? What are you talking about?”
Laurie glanced back briefly at the police before explaining. “The police canceled the dance. The school was evacuated. Everyone sent home.”
“Why—Why would they do that? What happened?” Karen asked frantically. “Was there an accident?”
“You haven’t been watching the news?”
“No, I’ve been—Why? What’s this all about?”
“He escaped.”
“Who—?”
“Michael,” Laurie interrupted. “The transport bus never made it. He killed the guards and the driver. Four people at a service station and…”
“And what?” Karen asked, grabbing her mother’s arms, fighting the impulse to shake her to find out what she was withholding. “What’s happened?”
“He killed at least two people in Haddonfield,” Laurie said softly. “Two that we know of… and one of them was a babysitter.”
“A babysitter…” Karen whispered. “That’s…”
“It’s happening all over again,” Laurie said. “He’ll come for me. To finish what he started. And if he comes for me, you’re not safe. Allyson isn’t safe. I tried to stop him tonight, but—”
“Tonight?” Ray said. “You’ve actually seen him?”
“I shot him,” Laurie said. “But he got away before I could… The point is, you’re not safe here. None of you.”
“But the police—outside?” Karen said, gesturing toward the curb.
“Yes, the police have been assigned to protect you and me,” Laurie said. “But they don’t know what they’re dealing with. They’re treating him likes he’s—what they know. Not what he is.”
“You’re not making sense,” Ray said.
“This house is not secure,” Laurie said. “You admitted you’re unarmed. These windows and doors are nothing to him.” She shook her head. “Nothing here will stop him. Or slow him down.”
“What are you suggesting?” Ray asked.
“Come with me,” Laurie said. “The police agree on this. My house is safer. It’s fortified. And I have… Well, I have an arsenal.” Laurie took Karen’s face gently in her hands. “I’ve been preparing your entire life for this. Nobody else is ready to deal with Michael Myers like I am. It’s all I’ve thought about since 1978.” Laurie took a deep breath. “Now call your damn daughter and let’s get the hell out of here.”
Karen nodded and walked to the living room coffee table for her phone with Laurie right behind her. After speed-dialing Allyson’s cellphone, she said, “Voicemail.”
After the prerecorded message, Karen clutched her phone with both hands and spoke quickly, trying to stay calm but unable to keep the urgency out of her voice. She needed to convince Allyson of the seriousness of the situation, but without scaring her to death. Her daughter needed to stay calm long enough to get help.
“Allyson, you need to call me the second you get this. The police said the dance was evacuated and I haven’t heard from you. They’re making us go to your grandmother’s house for safety. We’re worried about you.”
Laurie grabbed the phone from Karen and somehow managed to sound calm when all Karen wanted to do was scream—or cry. She felt foolish now, for ignoring her mother all these years, for dismissing her concerns. Most importantly, for not taking the threat seriously. Her carelessness had put her own daughter at risk. If anything happened to—
Sensing her distress, Ray squeezed her hand and she fell into his embrace, eyes closed as she listened to her mother reach out to Allyson.
“There is a police officer at your house waiting for you,” Laurie said. “Get to them and they’ll bring you to us. We’re all together now. We love you…” Overcome with emotion, Laurie covered her mouth with her free hand for a moment, then continued. “Wherever you are… it’s not safe outside tonight.”
She ended the call and returned the phone to Karen, who cradled it in her palm, staring at the display, willing it to ring or flash a text or buzz or do anything to indicate Allyson had received the message.
“Did we tell her enough?” Ray asked. “Should we have told her about…?”
“No,” Karen said. “She’ll know it’s urgent. And she needs to stay calm long enough to get home. If she panics, who knows what she—?”
“I hope you’re right,” Laurie interrupted. “Sometimes we do more harm by keeping secrets, no matter how frightening. Maybe it’s better to know the truth.”
“She’s only a teenager,” Karen said.
“So was I back then,” Laurie said. “Allyson is resourceful. She’s stronger than you think.”
“Hope you’re right, Mom,” Karen said. “I pray to God you’re right.”
32
Allyson walked along the sidewalk with Oscar, who struggled to carry the case of beer he’d retrieved from under the bleachers. Three times Oscar offered her a can, and three times she declined. She wasn’t sure if he was being generous in his own way or simply trying to lighten his load.
“Believe me,” Oscar said. “After a couple beers, you won’t be so stressed out about the Cameron situation. After three or four, you’ll forget why you were stressed out in the first place.”
After each alcoholic offering, Allyson said, “No thanks.”
“The longer you wait,” he said, “the warmer the beer gets.”
“The more you bring it up,” she replied, “the more irritated I get.”
“Fine by me,” Oscar said. “Just trying to be sociable.”
“Not in the mood.”
“I get it.”
“I’m tired of people letting me down,” Allyson said. “You give them the benefit of the doubt and think they’re going to be different, but then they show you who they really are. Cameron doesn’t want people to judge him, but then he acts like a jerk. Gets drunk, gets arrested.”
Oscar stopped.
Allyson continued a few steps before noticing Oscar was no longer beside her. She walked back to him, confused. Had she upset him? Insulted his friend. “What?”
“You deserve better,” Oscar said, shoving his sunglasses in his pants pocket. “You’re the smartest, most beautiful girl at school. Anyone that doesn’t appreciate that is crazy.”
Allyson expected a punchline, but when one didn’t come, she considered what he’d said and smiled. “Thanks, Oscar,” she said. “That’s sweet.”
Looking over her shoulder, Oscar said, “Check it out. Five-0. Let’s detour this rendezvous.”
Cradling his case of beer, Oscar led the way between two houses. Allyson glanced back and saw a police cruiser two blocks away, approaching at a deliberate pace, side-mounted spotlights slicing through the night, as if searching for fugitives rather than teens breaking curfew. As the car passed by, they ducked behind one of the houses, out of sight.