INT. MYERS HOUSE
Through a front window, you see Laurie bending over the welcome mat. Suddenly a dark shape, the outline of a man, leans forward, watching her. As she walks back to Tommy at the street the shape moves to watch them, then fades back into the interior of the house. Laurie and Tommy continue walking down the street.
"Lonnie Elam said never to go up there. Lonnie Elam said that's a haunted house. He said real awful stuff happened there once." Tommy says.
"Lonnie Elam probably won't get out of sixth grade." Laurie says. Tommy breaks stride and runs across the street.
"I gotta go. I'll see you tonight." Tommy says.
"See you." Laurie says. Laurie continues walking alone. She begins to sing quietly to herself. "I wish I had you all alone... Just the two of us... I would hold you close to me... So close to me..." See Laurie walking off down the street in the distance. The dark shape moves into view, watching Laurie disappear around the corner. "Just the two of us... So close to me..."
SANITARIUM -- DAY
Sam Loomis strides quickly out of the front of the sanitarium followed immediately by DR. Wynn, a gray-haired man in his forties. With them across the parking lot.
"I'm not responsible, Sam." Wynn says.
"Of course not." Loomis says angrily.
"I've given them his profile." Wynn says.
"You must have told them we shocked him into a grinning idiot. Two roadblocks and an all-points bulletin wouldn't stop a five-year old!" Loomis says. Loomis reaches a car and unlocks it.
"He was your patient, Doctor. If the precautions weren't sufficient, you should have notified..." Wynn says.
"I notified everybody! Nobody listened." Loomis says.
"There's nothing else I can do." Wynn says.
"You can get back on the telephone and tell them exactly what walked out of here last night. And tell them where he's going." Loomis says.
"Probably going." Wynn says.
"I'm wasting time." Loomis says. Loomis gets in the car. Wynn leans down to the window.
"Sam, Haddonfield is a hundred and fifty miles from here. How could he get there, he can't drive?" Wynn says.
"He was doing all right last night. Maybe somebody around here gave him lessons." Loomis says. Loomis starts up the car and pulls away from the sanitarium. Wynn watches him go, then hurries back into the building.
CLASSROOM -- DAY
Laurie sits at the back of a classroom of High School students. A teacher drones away at the front of the room.
"...and the book ends, but what Samuels is really talking about here is fate." The teacher says. Laurie. She barely listens to the teacher as she doodles in her notebook in front of her. "You see, fate caught up with several lives here. No matter what course of action Rollins took, he was destined to his own fate, his own day of reckoning with himself. The idea is that destiny is a very real, concrete thing that every . person has to deal with." Laurie lets her gaze move to a window. She stares dreamily outside. From the window she can see the street, and a station wagon parked along the sidewalk. Behind the station wagon stands the shape of a man. She can't quite see his features from here, but it is clear that he is looking in the school window. She turns away from the window and begins to doodle again. You can see Laurie draw: LAURI STRODE. "Edwin, how does Samuel's view of fate differ from that of Costaine?" She glances up from the book and out the window again. The shape behind the station wagon is still there and staring right at her. She frowns, staring back at the shape.
"Uh... doesn't he feel that no matter how complicated something is, it's also really simple too?" Edwin asks.
"No." The teacher pauses. "Laurie." This springs her around from the window.
"M'am?" She asks.
"Answer the question." The teacher asks.
"Costaine wrote that fate was somehow related only to religion, where Samuels felt that fate was like a natural element, like earth, air, fire and water." Laurie says.
"That's right, Samuels definitely personified fate..." The teacher says. Laurie sneaks a glance back to the window. The shape and the station wagon are gone. She turns back from the window and back to her notebook. She has written: "LAURIE STRODE IS LONELY"
EXT. GAS STATION -- HIGHWAY -- DAY
We see a car parked in front of a small, closed-down gas station/diner by the side of the highway. Over to a phone booth. Loomis is inside on the telephone.
"No, not since Thursday. (pause) Yes, yes I'm all right. Stop worrying. After this I'll sleep for a week, two weeks... (pause) I said I'm all right. Believe me. I'll be home soon. Yes I do. Very much. I just... have to stop him... Of course it's possible, but I know him. And when he gets there, God help us. (pause) Right, right, I'll call you. Me too. Goodbye." Loomis says into the phone. Loomis hangs up the phone and steps out of the booth. He looks up the highway. The highway disappears off into the distance. There is an old weather-beaten sign that reads: HADDONFIELD 73 MILES. Just above the horizon huge clusters of clouds, dark and ominous, are blown along by the wind.
EXT. GAS STATION
Loomis turns and walks back to his car. He glances at the old gas station as he walks. The building is dark, empty, dilapidated. On the padlocked door are huge marks like the clawing of an animal wanting to get in. Loomis stops, stares at the door and then slowly walks over to it. He touches the marks with his hands, then looks at the dirt driveway around the building. There are definite tire tracks leading from the highway up to the door, then back to the highway again. Then his gaze returns to a discarded object crushed in the dirt of the driveway: a pack of cigarettes. He picks up the cigarette pack. Stuck in the cellophane of the crushed pack are matches: "The Rabbit in Red Lounge -- Entertainment Nightly."
EXT. GAS STATION
Loomis turns and quickly strides back to his car, gets in and roars away from the lonely gas station.
EXT. SCHOOLYARD -- DAY
The playground is filled with children just getting out of school for the day. Some are dressed in Halloween costumes, some carry pumpkins and orange and black streamers, some carry Jack-o'-lanterns. Tommy Doyle comes out of the door carrying a very large pumpkin. He is followed by 3 boys, Richie, Keith and Lonnie, who are laughing and pushing him.
"Leave me alone!" Tommy exclaims.
"He's gonna get you!" Lonnie exclaims. Lonnie runs up to Tommy and wiggles his fingers in Tommy's face. The other boys form a circle around Tommy and taunt him. In unison they sing.
"He's gonna get you, he's gonna get you..."
"The Boogeyman is coming!" Lonnie says.
"No he's not. Leave me alone." Tommy says.
"He doesn't believe us. Don't you know what happens on Halloween?" Lonnie asks.
"Yeah, we get candy." Tommy says. The boys laugh. Richie runs up to Tommy and makes a face.
"Oooooo! The Boogeyman!" Richie says. The other boys join in the chant.
"The Boogeyman, the Boogeyman, the Boogeyman..." Tommy turns from them and starts to run away. Richie sticks out his foot. Tommy trips and falls to the concrete, smashing his pumpkin beneath him. The other boys run away giggling and screaming with delight. A michievious looking boy helps up tommy.
"Hi im Peter" He says. Tommy smiles gratefully at him. "Their annoying little boys, their gonna get whats coming to them dont worry"
"Thank you for helping me" TOmmy says. Peter smirks and nods.
PLAYGROUND ENTRANCE -- GATE
As the boys race out of the playground, Richie barrels through the gate and runs right into the dark shape. We don't see the shape's face, just his lower body. He is dressed in pants and a shirt that look too big for him. He grabs Richie and holds him back at arm's length. A large object falls out of his pocket. Richie quickly stares down at it. The shape lifts his foot and smacks it down over the object to hide it. Quickly Richie and the other 2 boys run around the man and on down the block. The shape lifts his foot. Underneath it is a large butcher knife. He quickly picks it up and shoves it into his pocket. Slowly the shape turns and walks away from the playground gate. For some reason when Peter got mad at the boys so diud michael. He wants to kill the boys for upsetting Peter and he doesn't know why. Across from him in the playground we see Tommy wiping the demolished pumpkin off his shirt and pants. Michael goes to the station wagon. On the side of the door is a state emblem.
INT. STATION WAGON
The shape gets in the station wagon. We still don't see his face. Separating the front and back seats is the wire- mesh screen. It is Loomis' vehicle. The shape starts the engine. He pulls away from the curb. Slowly the station wagon moves down the street. We see Tommy hurrying along the sidewalk, still rubbing off the pumpkin splatter. Tommy turns off the sidewalk and cuts up a side alley. The wagon picks up speed and continues on down the street.
EXT. HIGH SCHOOL -- DAY
Laurie and Lynda stroll down the front steps of the high school and turn up the street. Laurie carries another large stack of books. Lynda is a knockout in tight jeans and tight T-shirt. She carries no books. They catch sight of Peter and both blush as he glances at them. He turns away and walks off school grounds.
"It's totally insane! We have three new cheers to learn in the morning, the game in the afternoon, I get my hair done at five, and the dance is at eight. I'll be totally wiped out!" Lynda says.
"I think you have too much to do tomorrow." Laurie says.
"Totally!" Lynda says.
"As usual, I don't have anything to do." Laurie says.
"It's your own fault and I don't feel sorry for you." Lynda says. Annie comes out of the side doors of the high school and calls after Laurie and Lynda.
"Hey, Lynda, Laurie!" Annie exclaims. The girls stop and wait for Annie. "Why didn't you wait for me?"
"We did. Fifteen minutes. You totally never showed up." Lynda says.
"That's not true. Here I am." Annie says.
"What's wrong, Annie? You're not smiling." Laurie says.
"I'm never smiling again. Paul dragged me into the boy's locker room to tell me..." Annie says.
"Exploring uncharted territory?" Laurie asks.
"It's been totally charted." Lynda says.
"We just talked." Annie says.
"Sure." Lynda says.
"Old jerko got caught throwing eggs and soaping windows. His parents grounded him for the weekend. He can't come over tonight." Annie says.
"I thought you were baby-sitting tonight." Laurie says.
"The only reason she baby-sits is to have a place to..." Lynda says. Laurie suddenly stops and turns back toward the school.
"Shit!" Laurie says.
"I have a place for that." Annie says.
"I forgot my chemistry book." Laurie says.
"Who cares? I always forget my chemistry book." Lynda says. Laurie glances down the street. The station wagon slowly moves up the street toward them. The shape isn't visible behind the windshield. "Isn't that Davon Graham? He's cute."
"don't think so...I" Laurie says. Laurie stares at the station wagon as it moves past. She looks directly at the shape inside. There is a quick glimpse of him, a strange pale face staring back.