THE FESTIVAL OF SAMHAIN
CHAPTER 25- NO MERE MORTAL CAN RESIST


Screaming at the top of her lungs, chaperone Diane Moulson removed the skull mask of Seth White and dropped his severed head in disbelief, clearly thinking she'd been the victim of a horrible Halloween prank.

Deputy Forster, instinctively drawing his revolver, pointed it in her direction and backed into the large bale of hay. As he did, two more severed heads fell to the ground with a thud, stuck inside the cheap pumpkin and witch masks.

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" Diane asked, staring at the deputy in awe. Unfortunately for her, when she looked back up at where the masks were hung, a spray of blood splashed down onto her, dousing her from head to toe.

The partygoers almost immediately took notice of the scene, which was eerily reminiscent of Carrie White's fateful night at the prom in the popular film.

"Dude, is that Blaine Babcock?" someone called out.

"It is!" a female voice echoed. "OH MY GOD!"

As Diane's eyes widened in terror, the formerly safe and secure rave turned into a madhouse, and total panic ensued.

Echoing the carnage downtown, Haddonfield's youngest and brightest were trampling all over each other in a crazy stampede to get out of there. More screams and shouts filled the cool night sky, as the teens were determined to escape by whatever means necessary. Some successfully made it to their cars, but that only created an even bigger traffic jam than they had coming in. Others took off into the woods. Some even abandoned their vehicles and ran down the road on foot, figuring it would improve their chances.

DJ Drake-Ulla, who had large headphones over his ears and his back turned, was quickly swarmed by the mass of people like ants attacking their prey. Almost fittingly, Oingo Boingo's song 'Dead Man's Party' blasted through the speakers as the mayhem progressed:

Don't run away...it's only me...
Don't be afraid...of what you can't see...

It's a dead man's party
Who could ask for more?
Everybody's comin', leave your body at the door
Leave your body and soul at the door...


Sherry Robinson, who was dancing with her boyfriend Brandon Farson when everything went to hell, had no clue what was going on. After briefly trying to assess the scene, she grabbed Brandon's hand and took off running as well, but they soon lost each other in the melee. If she had waited just a moment longer, she would have spotted Deputy Forster, who was yelling until he was hoarse, desperately trying to get her attention.

"SHERRY! SHERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRY!" he repeatedly shouted into the night, to no avail. With all the craziness around them, she didn't hear him, and disappeared into the woods with many others in tow.

Deputy Farson, discouraged but not defeated, made a bee-line for his squad car, turned on both the lights and the sirens, and sped out of there, kicking up mud and debris under his tires in the process.


***


The rave was a complete disaster area.

Garbage and debris were piled everywhere and the dance floor was completely abandoned except for the few unlucky souls who were caught underneath the mass exodus. If you didn't know any better, you'd think a tornado would have just blown through.

Despite that, the music, which had been cued up long before that, played on, blasting Michael Jackson's cult classic, 'Thriller'. Off the center of the stage, DJ Drake, who ended up caught in the stampede, slowly came to and shook his head from side to side, attempting to gather himself.

"WHAT THE FUCK??????" he called out, taking off his headphones, which were haphazardly hanging from the side of his head, its electrical cord broken at his side.

The DJ was appalled at the scene before him. He saw no movement at all, and instantly thought of everything from a terrorist attack to a class prank gone wrong. Either way, it wasn't very funny. Those damn techies, he thought, settling on the latter.

Staring in awe, Drake made his way across the dance floor searching for any sign of life, any movement at all, but found none. 'Thriller' continued to blare through the speakers behind him, but he didn't seem to notice as horror icon Vincent Price began his infamous narration:

Darkness falls across the land
The midnight hour is close at hand
Creatures crawl in search of blood
To terrorize your neighborhood...


Making his way toward the concession area, he heard someone in the distance calling out, "Wade? Wade, where are you?!" and assumed it was Miss Moulson, but sounded like she was miles away. Aside from that, not a peep. There was no one left vertical, and the few motionless souls who remained were spread out across the grounds. Assuming they were just drunk and passed out, Drake paid them no mind and continued his search.

And whosoever shall be found
Without the soul for getting down
Must stand and face the hounds of hell
And rot inside a corpse's shell...


This is bullshit, the DJ thought. Why the hell would the students crash their own party? After all, word had spread for weeks that this was going to be epic. Unless...

The foulest stench is in the air
The funk of forty thousand years
And grisly ghouls from every tomb
Are closing in to seal your doom


Unbeknownst to Drake, Michael Myers emerged from behind the stage, brightly outlined by the strobe lights that adorned the dance floor. Scratching his head, Drake turned back around-- and instantly found himself in the clutches of evil in its purest form.

And though you fight to stay alive
Your body starts to shiver
For no mere mortal can resist
The evil of...The Thriller!


Drake struggled to break free, but it was no use. As his victim's eyes began to roll back in his head, Michael launched the DJ headfirst into one of his huge speakers, electrocuting him to death just as the song ended, and Vincent Price's chilling laughter echoed into the night:

"AH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Then, complete silence.


Proceed To Chapter 26
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