Tommy Jarvis sat silently in a chair while the doctor stared at him. Tommy's hair had finally grown back after having cut most of it off in a ruse to fool Jason Voorhees in order to save Tommy's older sister. He hadn't spoken a word since that horrific night six months ago.
"Your sister is doing well," the doctor said. "Your father sends his regards as well. With a little progress you may be able to have visitors soon." Dead silence continued to fill the air as Tommy just stared at the doctor. "Tommy, I can't help you unless you help me," the doctor told him. "I don't want to see you spend the rest of your life here. You need to open up to me, tell me about that night." Tommy started shaking as he remembered every detail of that night. The death of his mother and dog; the fear of seeing Jason Voorhees killing the college kids next door; Watching Jason nearly murder his sister; then repeatedly killing Jason with own machete until he stopped moving; and worst of all, the fact that it actually felt... good. Tommy soon fell out of his chair, with the the orderlies having to come in to sedate him. It would be another year before Tommy would start speaking and finally making strides to get out of the mental asylum, although he would never forget the night he met Jason Voorhees. * Andy Barclay's vision remained blurred as he lay on his stomach, having been struck by a 2x4 moments earlier. Andy thought he saw something familiar standing far away, something that looked like-- "M-- Mom?" Andy whispered as Karen Barclay held a flare gun toward Chucky's girlfriend Tiffany. "Karen, you're looking insane as ever," Chucky said as he put out the fire from the flare gun that had struck him. "Been looking forward to killing you for years. You think you got enough ammo to finish me before I kill little Andy?" "You can't kill me, you need my body for your soul." Andy told him. "Wrong, dipshit," Chucky said. "I've learned to like this body, so I'm gonna keep it. And now that I've got the whole Barclay family in one place, I'll just finish the lot of you here!" As Karen got distracted, Tiffany knocked the flare gun out of her hand as the two started fighting. Chucky looked at Andy and let out a roar as he ran toward the boy with his knife. "Not this time," Andy said as he saw the grenade, reaching for it and shoving it into Chucky's mouth before pulling the pin. "Enjoy playtime in Hell." Andy threw Chucky into the air as high as he could as Chucky exploded, raining plastic and blood all around. Andy got up as Karen punched Tiffany, knocing her away. As Tiffay rolled onto her back, she started laughing. "You know we just blew your boyfriend up, right?" Andy asked. "You think that can kill Chucky so easily?" Tiffany asked. "He's coming for you, little boy. And he's going to kill you nice and slow, and I'm going to enjoy watchi--" Karen kicked her unconscious as she stared at Andy before pulling him into a hug. "Five years," Karen said as she started crying as she stared at her son, no longer seeing the scared 6-year-old boy, but a young man who had become capable of defending himself. "You've grown." "I thought about you every day," Andy said as he kept hugging her. "I knew I'd get to see you again. Everyone told me I was crazy. Now we can go home and be a family again." "No, Andy, we can't." Karen told him. "What? Why?" Andy asked as his heart started breaking. "I'll explain later, but we need to find your friends." * Tommy barely managed to avoid a large metal bolt that had embedded itself into the wall. "You can't run forever," the teenager with the scarred face said as he reloaded his modified crossbow. "You know I'm only playing with you right now. The second I get tired of the hunt, I'm going to pin you to that wall." "Okay, Tommy, think," Tommy said to himself as he ducked behind a hedge. "I have no weapons, places to hide, and my friends are in trouble elsewhere. I'm on my own. How do I disarm this jerk?" The teenager got closer, ready to shoot a bolt into Tommy's head at close range. "The sooner I finish you, the sooner I can go find the bastard who made me look like this," the scar-faced boy said. "Come on out so I can kill you properly." Tommy started breathing heavily as he flashed back to being 12-years-old and hiding from Jason. He closed his eyes and remembered manning up to save his sister. Then he remembered that John and Andy were in the same situation that he was in and opened his eyes. "You want me?!" Tommy said as he rushed out and tackled him. "Come get me!" Tommy started punching him again and again before wrestling the crossbow away and knocking the teenager out with it. "Thanks for the weapon, douche," Tommy said as he stood up and looked at the named carved on the weapon. "Henry. Well, Henry, you're getting off light tonight, and you still look reasonably human. But if you come after my friends again, I'll kill you without question." * "Tommy and Andy have to be here somewhere," John said as he looked for any kind of weapon that he could use. Michael Myers would be outside any moment, and thanks to the enemy having prepared for them, the trio of heroes were stripped of their weapons and clothing, leaving them in their underwear with only their wits to defend themselves. "Alright, let's try this," John said as he spotted an angel statue. He rushed up to it and struggled against it, eventually breaking one of the stone arms off. "It's not much, but it's something. Alright, Uncle Mike, let's dance." The doors swung open as Michael Myers quietly stepped outside, knowing that both Laurie Strode and her son John were on the grounds. So far he'd found the asylum to be completely empty, which he thought nothing of. He had only been focused on killing anyone he came across, and so far outside of the guard at the gate, he'd found no one. As he got further out into the grounds, Michael listened around for any sound that would alert him to his prey. Laurie and John had eluded him for a very long time, and once they were gone he'd be able to rest. John stood very quietly not too far away, ready to strike with the stone arm. Michael wasn't too far away at this point, knowing someone was out there with him. He could hear the heavy breathing of someone close, and got ready to turn a corner when-- WHAM! A large shovel from a landscaping job hit him upside the head once, then a few more times for good measure, sending Michael falling back. John thought he'd heard something and was about to emerge when an arm grabbed him. "I thought I told you to stay away," Laurie Strode said as she stood there with a shovel. "You shouldn't have come. And where are your pants?" "Have I ever listened to you?" John smirked as he hugged her. "I couldn't stay away, not when a horde of serial killers were on their way. He was coming for you. We tried to send a message, but--" "We got it, Dr. Gordon's on our side," Laurie told him as she looked around. "Where are your friends? Where's Alice's son?" "Wait, Alice is here?" John asked. "Jacob jumped ship just before we got to the town border. We got ambushed and lost everything. Tommy and Andy are here somewhere, I don't know if they're okay." "Well, for now let's you something warm to wear," Laurie said. "We'll get the others and find your friends." "Others?" John asked. * Andy had dug through the storage unit to find a set of clothes to put, finally finding a t-shirt and pair of pants. Soon Laurie walked in with John, who rushed to Andy, giving him a big bear hug. "Are you okay, kid?" John asked. "I thought they might have--" "I spent two years being tortured and mindraped," Andy said. "I'm not afraid of dolls anymore." "What's this about being tortured?" Karen asked. Andy held up his wrist with the thorn tattoo on it. "We've got a lot to catch up on. Right now we need to find Tommy." John grabbed a tank top and blue jeans, quickly pulling them. "We need to talk to Alice. Jacob's scared to death to enter Springwood. Maybe she can talk him into coming back." "Alice is looking for Jacob right now," Karen told them. "She stopped taking Hypnocil the moment we got your message, she was waiting for its effects to wear off." "Freddy could get her without Jacob here," John said. "If we can get to the van, I can hotwire it and force Jacob here. But Michael's still out there." "And so is Chucky's girlfriend," Andy told them. "And whoever's trying to kill Tommy. We need weapons." "This whole asylum is a weapon," Laurie told the boys. "I've been preparing for Michael since 1978. And if anyone else wants a taste of what Michael's getting, they can have it." "Karen, you keep an eye on Alice, wake her if you see she needs it," Laurie told her. "John, the confiscation room is next door. You and Andy find what you need in case you run into trouble trying to get to your van." "And what are you going to do?" John asked. "I'm going to wait for Michael." * "There it is," Jacob said as he saw Westin Hills up ahead with the gate wide open. "Don't worry, Mom, if you're in there, I'll find you. I'm not going to let Freddy get you." Sneaking past the gate, Jacob headed to the building and found an unlocked door. Not too far away, Tommy wielded the crossbow and saw Jacob slowly sleepwalking toward the asylum. "Oh, shit, he's asleep!" Tommy shouted. "Jacob! Jacob, wake up!" Before he could get to the boy, Jacob had phased through the door as Tommy arrived, finding the door locked. He started pounding on the door, not caring who heard him. "Jacob!" * As soon as Jacob had walked through the asylum door, he found himself in Freddy's old house. He quickly turned and found the front door was now locked. The sounds of a crying baby echoed through the walls as a small red tricycle wheeled through the dining room on its own. "No," Jacob said as he realized he was in his old pajamas. "Please, no." "Your friends can't help you now," Freddy's voice laughed. "You're all alone, but don't worry, mommy and daddy will be along shortly." "You leave my parents alone!" Jacob shouted. "It's me you want, you disfigured fuck! Come and get me!" The boy kept looking around, knowing Freddy could attack from any direction. He couldn't lower his guard for even a second. "Dad. He's in this house somewhere. I have to save him." As he rushed past the dining room, the basement door slowly crept open. "Noooope!" Jacob said as he saw the staircase and decided to head upstairs first. Rushing up the stairs, Jacob quickly found he had actually descended downstairs to the basement. "Ah, son of a bitch!" Jacob slowly walked across the cold concrete, feeling the coldness of the basement all around him. The hanging chains rattled as he slowly made his way toward the boiler room. "I know you're here, Freddy! I want my Dad!" "All in due time, brat," Freddy told him from all around. "But first we're going to have some fun." A chain quickly wrapped around Jacob's neck, pulling him into the air as he started choking. "What's the matter? The little Dream Master too scared to fight back? You should be, you've always been weak. You'd never have been able to face me." "One-up him," Jacob told himself as he struggled to breathe. "Have to be better." The chain around his neck turned to tissue paper as he fell to the ground, gasping as he tried to get up. The ground under him started heating up as Jacob got to his feet and looked down at his Spider-Man pajamas. He jumped and stuck to the wall as the room started rotating, causing him to roll around the room as it spun. "Sorry, Freddy, but I can be better than you at this," Jacob said as he pulled out two swords and stuck them to the floor, giving him leverage to keep from rolling. "What else you got!?" "Jacob!" a familiar voice shouted. "Jacob, honey?" "Mom?" Jacob asked as he saw his mother rushing through the door. "Are you okay? Come on, let's get out of here!" Jacob was the verge of tears as he rushed toward his mother, just as the boy saw another Alice emerging from the wall. "Jacob, duck!" the other Alice shouted as she tossed an axe at the first Alice. It went right through as Freddy started laughing. "Jacob was axing for you!" the fake Alice shouted as she morphed back into Freddy. "It's been a long time, bitch." "Mom, is that really you?" Jacob asked as he started to run toward her, but Freddy backhanded him with his glove, sending him onto his back. Before he could recover, Freddy grabbed him by the hair and lifted him up. "This has been a long time coming," Freddy said as he held a bladed glove at Jacob's throat. "I can cut your throat before you can scream, brat." "He's got Dad," Jacob told her in a weak voice. "He's in the house somewhere." Freddy laughed as he motioned toward the boiler where Dan appeared, draped in chains while battered and bloody. "Dan?" Alice asked. "A little family reunion," Freddy said. "Now you can all die together and live in torment." "Freddy, you want me," Alice said. "You've always wanted me. I'm the one who kept beating you. I'm the one who got away, the one you could never beat. Let Jacob and Dan go, and you can have me. I won't even fight back. The easiest kill you'll ever make." "Mom, no!" Jacob pleaded. "Tempting, but a quick kill isn't as much fun," Freddy told her. "You're powerless. I can gut and kill little Jacob here and you wouldn't be able to lift a finger to stop me. You've got nothing I want, outside of your blood." "I do have one thing," Alice said as she looked at her son. "I have back-up." Jacob took a deep breath and grabbed Freddy's gloved hand, twisting it as he stood up. As he concentrated, the ghosts of the Dream Warriors appeared, each one taking a shot at Freddy. Taryn's switchblades, Kinkaid's punches, Joey's sonic scream, Kristen's kicks, Will's warlock powers, Rick's karate moves, Sheila's bug zapper and many others launched their attacks at once. "You have no power over us anymore!" Nancy shouted as she stood at the front of the ghosts. "We're free!" "Only as long as the brat can focus," Freddy said as he stood up. "Isn't that right, Alice?" "Mom! Watch out!" Jacob shouted as another Freddy popped up, stabbing Alice in the back. "NO!" Losing focus, the Dream Warriors quickly faded as Nancy looked at Jacob before fading. "Take away his power, Jacob. Make him fear you." Jacob caught his mother, crying as he held her. She smiled as Jacob touched her cheek. "Don't leave me, Mommy," Jacob pleaded. "Please." "You're more powerful," Alice whispered as her body faded into a white light. "I love you." Freddy laughed harshly as Jacob's anger built. He stared over at his father, bound in chains and unable to speak. "You stole my family," Jacob said as he sat there. "You've tormented me since before I was even born. You tried to make me be like you. You tried to make me into a monster like you. Then you took my dad and my mom. My whole life I've been scared of you, giving you power. Well, I take it back," Jacob stood up and stared at Freddy. "I want every ounce of power I've given you back!" "You think that trick will work with me?" Freddy asked. "It didn't work with Nancy. Why do you think it'll work with you?" "Because," Jacob said with a smile. "I'm the fucking Dream Master! This is my world now, and you're no longer a part of it!" Jacob turned his back on Freddy. "You have no more power here in 3, 2..." Freddy went to strike before he disappeared in a burst of light. As soon as Freddy was gone, Jacob quickly went to unchain Dan, hugging him tightly. "You did great, son," Dan told him. "I'm proud of you." "But Mom died because of me. I lost her." "You'll never lose her," Dan promised as his body started turning to light. "Look for us in the Beautiful Dream. We love you." Dan faded away, leaving Jacob alone as he cried, knowing his parents were now in a better place. * John and Andy had armed themselves with a ball bat and machete and headed out the door when they found Tommy carrying Jacob in his arms. "I think he did it," Tommy told them. "I think he beat Freddy, but I can't get him to wake up." "Then let's go finish Michael Myers," John said. "Let's finish this and get our moms the hell out of here." * Michael walked down the halls, looking for his sister when he finally found her standing there with a large knife in her hand. "Come on," Laurie told him. "Let's finish this for real this time." The boys entered the hallway just as Karen did. "If we all take him at once, we can kill him," Andy said as Karen pulled him back. "What's wrong, Mom? Where's Alice?" "Alice is dead," Karen told them. "I think Freddy got her. I tried to wake her, but I was too late. Is Jacob--?" "He's alive, he's just not waking up," Tommy said. "But John's right, the three of us can take him." "No, Andy can't fight him," Karen said. "I won't lose him, too." "What do you mean?" Andy asked as Michael followed Laurie around the corner. "I've been trained to fight him for the last two years." "Andy, I never wanted you to know this, but... Michael Myers killed your father." "No, you said he died in a car accident," Andy told her. "You said he was in Heaven and--" "I didn't think you could handle the real truth," Karen said. "You were 4 and he was in Illinois on business. Michael Meyers murdered him one night while investigating a court case. Your father was figuring out what had happened with the SIlver Shamrock corporation when several people were murdered. I lost your father, I won't lose you, too." Andy backed away slowly. "Then I have to kill him. He has to die because of what he did to Dad." Before they could catch him, Andy ran off. John looked at Tommy and Karen as he held onto his ball bat with a nail embedded in it. "Take care of Jacob, I'll watch after Andy," John told them. "I'll keep him safe." * Michael walked at a normal pace down the hall, following Laurie where ever she tried to run to. "Come on, you bastard!" Laurie shouted. "We're almost there." Just as they were almost to the kitchen, Andy came from out of nowhere, screaming as he stabbed Michael in the leg with the machete. He started pulling the machete out of the wound as Michael grabbed him by the throat and started choking him. "Andy!" Laurie shouted as she stabbed Michael in the back, but it had little effect as he smacked her backward while still choking Andy. "Let go of the kid!" John shouted as he swung the ball bat up into Michael's crotch, landing the nailed part right into him. Michael was momentarily phased as he dropped Andy to the ground, where he started gasping. "John, get him and the others out of this wing!" Laurie ordered. "I'll be with you soon. Trust me." John put Andy over his shoulder as he started running. "Mom! Be careful, okay? I don't want to lose you, too." Laurie just nodded as she picked up John's ball bat and hit Michael in the back. "Let's go, Michael! Focus on me!" Laurie shouted as she ran into the kitchen. Michael slammed the doors open, seeing the darkened kitchen as he walked in, trying to spot Laurie in the darkness. As he walked through the kitchen, he heard something that sounded a lot like hissing. Laurie stood up with a lighter she'd taken from the confiscation room. She started clicking it as she smiled. "Goodbye, Michael." A flame finally sprung up as she tossed the lighter toward Michael, igniting the open gas lines, creating a massive fireball that began engulfing the hospital wing. "Mom!" John shouted as watched the asylum wing exploding just as he burst through the door to the outside. He met up with Tommy and Karen, laying Andy next to Jacob. Andy continued coughing and hacking as John fell to his knees. "Please, no." "I'm sorry, John," Tommy said as he put a hand on his shoulder. "She did what she had to--" A blurry form walked away from the flames as Tommy grabbed a knife from his waistband. "No fucking way!" Tommy shouted as he got ready to attack. "Wait," John said as he stood up. "Mom?" "I've survived worse than an explosion," Laurie said as she hugged him. "I'm so glad you're not hurt." "I think it might finally be over," John told her. "The nightmare's over." "No, it's not," Tommy said as he looked at the fire. "We've seen what kind of punishment he can take. What kind of punishment any of them can take. I won't believe he's dead until I see a body, and even then I won't fully believe it. Like Jason." "Chucky said he couldn't die," Andy said as he got to his feet. "He always comes back." "Freddy won't stay gone forever, either," Jacob said as Andy helped him up. "He might recruit more monsters to come after us." "But at least we're not alone, now," Andy said as he looked at his mother. "We have our moms now." "No, Andy," Karen said. "I tried to tell you earlier, but... we can't stay with you." "What?" Andy asked as he took a step back. "Why? We've been apart for five years. We can fight these things together." "We talked about this before we got your message," Laurie told him. "The four of you need to stick together, watch out for each other until we all know that Michael and Freddy and Chucky are all gone for good." "And what are you going to do?" John asked. "Stay here?" "No," Karen told them. "We're going to be doing what you're doing. Finding a way to kill these things. Like the voodoo priest that taught Chucky his powers, their might be others who have that kind of knowledge. There's got to be more people out there like him. Maybe one of them knows how to kill him for good." "We'll also investigate the Cult of Thorn. They're responsible for Jamie's death. I'm going to personally make them pay for that. In the meantime, the four of you have started something good that can help people. Find more survivors, learn from each other, figure out a way to stop more death before it happens." "Are we going to see you again?" Andy asked as he held onto his mother. "I promise we'll be together again someday," Karen told him. "I love you, Andy." "This is a lot bigger than us," Tommy said. "This goes far beyond Chucky and Freddy and the rest. There's a lot of evil out of there. Maybe-- maybe if we find more people like us, we might stand a chance." * As the sun started to rise, the group stood around a makeshift grave for Alice. Tommy put a hand on Jacob's shoulder. "This wasn't supposed to happen," Jacob said. "I was supposed to save her. We were supposed to go home after I beat Freddy." "We've all lost something because of these monsters," Tommy told him. "Let's make sure that it doesn't happen to anyone else." Soon the van drove down the highway, looking for new adventures and monsters to slay. The Nightmare Warriors had officially gathered, and now it's the monsters' turn to be afraid...
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Ed's Note - Be sure to read Mighty Max before you carve into The Gathering!
A Special Seriesfrom the mind of Tobias Christopher! Archives
October 2019
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