Michael Myers: Final Girl

Bridge Over Troubled Water

Samuel Loomis exited Smith's Grove silently. He questioned his own judgement as he entered his vehicle. He wasn't sure what to expect of the situation he was about to willingly put himself in. He had seen Michael as inhuman, animal since he had become aware of his existence. He had been the villain of his life's story, a force he had never truly been able to overcome. He had no illusions that this time would be any different, but this was no longer about defeating him. She had shone a new light on him, unveiled a side of him that Loomis couldn't let go unstudied. There was a human under the mask that he had to know.

His own morals were under investigation now too as he drove through the streets of the little town. In the last few months Haddonfield had managed to find peace and he knew very well he could be the one to disrupt it in a matter of minutes. Michael was still everything he had been before, fully capable of continuing his endless rampage if given the motivation. He was still a killer and one of the most prevalent predators he had ever encountered. Loomis held Haddonfield's fate in his hands, yet he continued straight into the lion's den to awaken their most feared beast. Perhaps he was the villain of this story, the master of the monster he hopelessly pursued.

He parked the car and stepped out into the chilly air. The house with it's peeling white paint stood before him. The trees that framed it swayed eerily in the wind and the broken windows gave view to the total darkness it held within. He knew Michael had come home, he could feel his presence in the dread that washed over him as he stepped closer to the front door. He had never felt that kind of a feeling any other time in his life, it only occurred when he was near the Shape. He wondered how (Y/n) had ever been able to stand it. Then again, maybe she had never felt it. Such a strange thought. But he wasn't here to see the Shape, he was here to see Michael. He had to try to see him the way she had. He had to see him as a man and a broken one at that.

He put his hand on the old wood of the door and gently pushed it open. It gave way and light poured into the dark front room as he walked in. He stood for a moment, wondering if he would ever leave it's embrace again. He knew full well closing that door and trapping himself in there could possibly be his own death sentence. Every survival instinct screamed run, but he ignored their cries and shut himself in. He wanted Michael to know this was between the two of them. No one knew he was here, no help would come. He turned and let his eyes wander up the staircase. He was up there, or so he thought. Wherever he was, Loomis knew he was already very aware of his presence. He went to the the first step and planted himself there. He had no intention of seeking him out further, he didn't want to corner him, he only wanted him to listen.

"It seems I owe you an apology," he began to the walls.

His voice reverberated around him, cutting through the thick silence the old house was so accustomed to. He received creaks from the old wood in response to him.

"I'm not a man who makes many mistakes, I've always thought of myself as exceptionally good at what I do. But you have haunted me, Michael. For years I thought it was because I couldn't crack you. No matter how much I poked and prodded, you never broke. I saw your ability to refrain from speaking, moving, feeling as a threat as if you were taunting me. I was wrong. I failed you. I see that now and I know that is what haunts me. As a boy you were subjected to such cruelty. You were alone in that little room we placed you in for so long. When you weren't alone, you were interrogated. Picked apart by doctors, nurses, myself. No one showed you an ounce of sympathy, not even I. Never again were you allowed to feel the warm touch of your mother, the love of family or friends. We took it from you. Your childhood was stolen and you became Haddonfield's monster. At six years old that title was given to you. You became a myth, a scary story to tell. No one saw you as what you were, a child. How could I have ever blamed you for what you've become? We allowed one mistake that has been made by so many on this planet to define you. We created you, Michael. I created you."

He paused on that thought. His mind conjured up images of Michael's childhood form. He had been small once, Loomis had all but forgotten that until he heard his own words. She had seen that innocence that had once existed in him, that Loomis had missed. He walked from his spot at the stairs as he thought out aloud.

"She saw it, didn't she," he nodded, "I know she did. You may have escaped me, Michael, but you'll always be my patient. I met her here and I saw you in her eyes. I didn't quite understand it then, I was frightened of it if I'm being honest. But fear has always been my curiosity's weakness, you of all people know that best. I had to know how she had gotten so near to you and avoided death. The explanation evaded me for quite some time as I watched you with her. I kept waiting for that evil within you to show itself, for you to break her as you've broken so many others. Instead, you held her. You let her hold you. I watched her become something even you were frightened of and I watched you blame yourself. You saw yourself in her as she changed, you saw the evil we saw in you. And she saw the innocence she had lost buried deep within what I now know is your heart."

Loomis felt that familiar presence growing closer the more he spoke. The usual threatening feeling was missing this time, but he was near.

"Her downfall wasn't your fault, Michael. That was something far out of anyone's control, even yours. She was broken before you found her. What happened to her wasn't even her own fault. It's this world. It takes and it takes until we give in to our own wicked ways. It's a game we all lose in the end. No one is innocent. Perhaps some people's crimes are worse than others, but no one is without evil. We're programmed with it. Maybe she is a monster, maybe you are, or maybe it's me. I could have stopped this cat and mouse game you and I play a long time ago, you know that. My own selfish need to study you has resulted in the demise of so many. Your existence gives my own life purpose. Without you, I have no cause. Perhaps that makes you the master and I the monster."

He stopped pacing. He felt Michael's gaze burning a hole into the back of his head. He was standing just a few feet behind him now, listening intently.

"The death of you and this woman won't bring Haddonfield peace. There is no such thing. You would both just become another number in its long list of victims and you wouldn't be the last. Evil would find a new vessel, maybe it already has. But it's not her, Michael. If anything this town has wronged her the same way it did you. So why let it?"

Sam Loomis turned to face his old foe. The white of his mask didn't fill him with fear, he saw him as she did now.

"Don't allow it to claim another life," Loomis said.

Michael didn't move, but he understood what his old doctor was saying.

Loomis gave him a small smile, "I won't fail you again, Michael. Don't make the same mistake I did, don't give up on her. It will haunt you long after your own death if you ever find it."

They stood silent for a few moments until Michael allowed him a nod.

"For my own peace of mind, I'll have to try to stop you just one last time," Loomis said as he brandished his pistol.

He could almost see a smile on Michael's face through his mask.

"One last game, for old time's sake," Loomis said as he aimed his gun.

Michael moved towards him quickly as the pistol shot rang out through the house. The bullet missed him by a long shot as Loomis intended. Michael's hands found his throat and squeezed.

"Goodbye, Michael," Loomis choked out.

The doctor's breath was cut off just long enough for him to think perhaps Michael had indeed killed him, but he awoke moments later. the house was empty, just as he hoped it would be. He stood and looked out the front door which had been left wide open. He let out a chuckle when he realized his car was no longer parked out front.