Halloween ~Rewrite~

✰Chapter 3: The Boogeyman✰

     "And I'm here tonight. I wont let anything happen to you." Y/N smiles. "Promise?" Tommy says, looking up at her.

      "Promise."

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     "Can we make the jack-o-lantern now?" Tommy asks. Y/N smiles and holds out her hand. Tommy takes it and together they walk into the kitchen.

     Minutes pass and Y/N and Tommy are covered with pumpkin meat when the doorbell rings. "I'll get it." Tommy says, running to the door and opening it. Annie and the girl she's babysitting, Lindsey, stand there.

    "Hi, come on in. We're making a jack-o-lantern." They step inside. "I want to watch TV." Lindsey states. She sees the TV on and runs into the living room. She takes off her coat; sits in front of the TV and eats her popcorn.

     Y/N comes from the kitchen and glances at Annie's coat. She wears yellow knee-high socks, a long button-up shirt, and a plaid blanket wrapped around her. "Fancy." Y/N teases, laughing.

     "This has not been my night." Annie frowns. "My clothes are in the wash, I spilled butter down the front of me, I got stuck in a window.." "I'm glad you're here because I have something I want you to do." Y/N informs. "I want you to call up Ben Tramer and tell him you were just fooling around."

     "I can't." Annie says. "Yes, you can." Y/N rolls her eyes. "He went out drinking beer with Mike Godfrey and he won't be back until late. You'll have to call him tomorrow. Besides, I'm on my way to pick up Paul."

     Y/N glances at Lindsey. "Wait a minute...!" "If you watch her, I'll consider talking to Ben Tramer in the morning." Annie says, putting a piece of popcorn into her mouth. "Deal. Hey, I thought Paul was grounded." Y/N recalls. "He was. Old jerko found a way to sneak out. Listen, I'll call you in an hour or so."

     Before Y/N can say anything else, Annie rushes out the door. Y/N closes the door and looks in at Tommy and Lindsey engrossed in the Horrorthon. "The old girl scout comes through again." Y/N chuckles to herself.

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     Music from "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" fills the room. Lindsey and Tommy are riveted to the screen. While Y/N was cleaning up, she heard the muffled sound of a car horn in the distance. A few seconds pass until the horn stops. Y/N ignores it and continues cleaning.

   Suddenly, Tommy SCREAMS from the living room, also scaring the hell out of Lindsey, who also screams and begins crying. "THERE HE IS, THERE HE IS! THE BOOGEYMAN!"

     Y/N rushes in from the kitchen finding the children in tears. "Whats wrong?!" Y/N asks. Tommy points out the window. "I SAW HIM AGAIN! HE'S OVER AT LINDSEY'S HOUSE! THE-THE BOOGEYMAN!"

     At this, Lindsey begins to cry even louder. Y/N bends down to comfort her. "Tommy, stop it! You're scaring Lindsey!" "I-I SAW HIM!" Tommy yells. "I said, stop it! There is no Boogeyman! There's nothing out there. If you don't stop all this, I'm turning off the TV and you go to bed." Y/N furrows her brows.

     Tommy turns away from Y/N and Lindsey walks over to the couch in front of the TV set. Almost instantly, Lindsey stops crying and follows him. "Nobody believes me." Tommy says. "I believe you, Tommy." She replies. Lindsey sits up next to Tommy and hugs him. Y/N shakes her head and walks back into the kitchen.

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   The house is totally black inside. The only sound is the music score from "The Thing." Suddenly, the sound of laughter is heard from the kitchen. Then an orange light floats through the room. As it gets closer, it's Y/N carrying a jack-o-lantern, with a candle illuminating from the center of the pumpkin. Behind Y/N is Tommy and Lindsey making scary noises.

   "Ooooo...he's gonna get you.." Tommy whispers to Lindsey. "No he's not." She says. "Nobody's going to get anybody. Now stop scaring each other." Y/N rolls her eyes and places the jack-o-lantern on the windowsill. She looks down the street toward the Wallace's. She sees Bob's car parked in front of the house and smiles to herself.

   "Everybody has a good time tonight. Okay, kids, what do you want to do now?" Y/N asks, placing her hands on her hips. "Lets make more popcorn!" Lindsey suggests, bouncing up and down. "You've had enough. Why don't we just sit down and watch the rest of the movie." Y/N smiles.

   Y/N sits down on the couch and sighs. Lindsey and Tommy cuddle up with her, one on either side. Suddenly, the phone rings. Y/N gets up to answer it. "Doyle's house." She says. "Hi, Y/N, what's up?" It was Lynda. "Nothing. I was just sitting down for the first time tonight."

   "Is Annie around?" Lynda asks. "No..? I thought she'd be home by now.." Y/N replies, confused. "She went to pick up Paul." "Well, she's totally not here!" Lynda says. "...T-they..they probably stopped off somewhere. Have her call me when she gets back, okay? I've got Lindsey here and I want to know what time to put her to bed." Y/N asks, still a bit puzzled as to why Annie wasn't at the house.

   "Okay. Later!" Lynda smiles. "Have a good time." "We sure will!~" She laughs and hangs up. Y/N stands by the telephone and walks to the window. She glances out toward the house. "It's dark.." She mumbles to herself. Y/N shrugs, turns away from the window and walks back to Tommy and Lindsey sitting on the couch.

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   The house is very quiet. The kids are asleep and Y/N is sitting on the couch knitting. The phone rings. "Finally.." She says to herself and answers the telephone. "Hello?" She says.

No answer.

Y/N hears squealing noises and rustling sounds from across the phone. Y/N continues. "..Alright, Annie! I've heard your famous chewing, now I get to hear you famous squealing?" She snickers. Y/N continues to hear weird sounds..

"Annie?" Y/N says. The sound of someone choking comes from the other end of the line. "Annie, Annie! Are you alright!?" Y/N yells into the phone, her heart racing.

Silence over the phone.

"Are you fooling around again?"

Silence.

"I'll kill you if this is a joke!!"

More silence.

"Annie..?" Suddenly, the phone goes dead. Y/N stares at the receiver, then hangs up. She crosses over to the window and looks out toward the Wallace house. The street is quiet, dark, and windy. Bob's car is parked in front of the house. She stares at the house, puzzled. Then the lights go off inside of the Wallace house. Y/N moves from the window back to the telephone and dials Annie's number.

No answer.

Y/N slams the phone down and stands for a moment considering it, then turns and walks upstairs. She opens the door to the bedroom. Tommy and Lindsey are sound asleep on the bed. "Sleep tight, kids.." She mumbles and looks at them a moment before closing the door behind her. Y/N goes back downstairs, takes a key out of her purse and again steps to the window.

*PLAY THE MUSIC AT THE TOP OF THIS CHAPTER!!*

Dark and silent.

She steps out the front door and locks the Doyle house, walking away out into the street. The wind whips her clothes and hair. She moves down the street, shivering from the crisp and chill breeze. She puts the key to the Doyle house into her pocket of her jeans.

Y/N picks up her speed now up the sidewalk. The house looms closer and closer. She walks up to the front porch and stands for a moment, listening, as if to hear some sound of life from the inside. She knocks on the door and rings the doorbell. She waits.

Silence.

Y/N sighs and steps off the porch and walks around to the side of the house. She moves to the garage and peeks inside. There is Annie's car. Y/N thinks for a moment, then looks to where Bob's car sits on the street.

Y/N puts a hand on her forehead, confused, before turning around and walking through the breezeway between the house and the garage around to the back door. The kitchen door is ajar, swinging back and forth in the wind.

She pulls open the door and steps into the house..