I'm back. There are two easter eggs in this chapter that I'm hoping you all catch. Hint is that they don't have to do with Jason Larson. Secondly, I will be adding some filler chapters just to help round out the story and to fill in more of the readers life. I do intend on this book covering the 4 year gap between Halloween kills and Halloween Ends. Enjoy!
"Yeah, yeah I know. It was one hell of a hill." They said subconsciously touching the bruise on their jaw with a light chuckle. You hoped that your normally quiet employer wouldn't push any further. You hadn't noticed the glances that your fellow employees were stealing, they hoped to hear the gossip of what happened. "I told them you fell, you are working camping tonight. Some kid went through and messed it up." Jason said, his deep voice was almost calming. It was familiar and at this time you needed familiarity. You nodded and walked towards the back right corner of the store where all things camping were held. As Mr. Larson had said the tents and sleeping bags were scattered all over the ground.
Vera, another employee walked up to you, "Hey that's quite the shiner. Are you sure you should be back at work?" She asked. Vera had always been nice and often worked in the section that dealt with knives and axes. She was kind but scary. (Y/n) looked over their shoulder at her and nodded. "Yeah I'm in pain but it's not too bad anymore." They said, not wanting to elaborate too much. "Must've been so scary being so close to where those tourists got gutted." She said not really thinking too much. You looked down remembering your part in their death. "Vera I love you but I should really get started on this mess" You said hoping she would walk away. With a smile she took the very obvious hint and walked away with a little skip in her step.
It took a while to pick all of the tents and sleeping bags up. You had to take many breaks due to the pain that radiated from the wounds on your body. 'How the fuck does he deal with this' you thought as you once again sat down with a pained grunt. Michael seemed to never be in pain, he never showed it, you know he felt it, but he masked it so well. This time as you were lost in thought about your giant of a friend you jumped at the feeling of someone tapping your shoulder. Danny's wide smile looked down at you, in his other hand was a cup of water. "Hey sweetheart you doin' okay?" He asked. Danny was a newer employee, he had moved to Haddonfield the winter you had found Michael. He seemed to be a genuinely kind man with unusual golden eyes. Carefully you took the water he offered and sipped on it. "Um kinda. I'm just still healing you know?" You said a small shakiness to your voice.
He pulled up a folding chair and sat with you. "Did you see him?" his smile held a small darkness in it now. "See who?" You asked knowing fully who he meant. "Him, the shape" He replied in a giddy whisper. "Oh um no. I fell down a hill, I didn't, any of the attacks that happened." You said trying to sound convincing. The image of Jack under your knife flashed in your mind causing your breath to hitch. Danny noticed but didn't say anything. "He's such a legend around here. I uh do freelance work at the local paper so I was just askin' in case I could get an inside scoop." His smile and demeanor shifted back to his kind stable form. You believed him and smiled back "Sorry that I couldn't help you out there. I know my story really isn't interesting" You said with a chuckle. "Don't be. You might not be here if you had met him. I hear he can be quite violent." Danny responded not wanting you to feel badly.
"I finished the stock shit in the back. Want some help with all this hon?" He said standing up. His face adorning a charming smile. You couldn't help but accept, you would be lying if you said you didn't need help. He extended his hand and you took it to help yourself stand up. For the rest of your shift the two of you joked and talked while cleaning and reorganizing the mess that was the camping section.
Once the clock hit 9:30 PM you said goodbye to Danny and clocked out. Jason was in his office and as you passed by he asked if you would like a ride home. He didn't want a repeat to happen of your fall down the hill and didn't trust the dark Haddonfield streets. You declined and said that you would be okay and that you had Mel on speed dial and had a knife in your pocket. He seemed content with this knowledge and nodded in approval.
About a block away from the shop you could feel eyes on you. They felt familiar and made you smile like an idiot. "I know you're there" You said almost to yourself, knowing he would hear. You crossed the street to dip into the woods so you could walk home with your friend instead of just having him follow. Almost out of thin air he appeared next to you. "Hey big guy. Miss me?" You said looking up at his emotionless white mask. The eyeroll he did was almost audible. "Knew you did." You said in response to the eyeroll.
