In My Town Chapters 2Epilogue

by Ice Cream Princess 123

Ramona and Samuel's friendship grows in Halloween Town. They become entangled in Jack's plot to have the residents of Halloween Town take over Christmas.

Chapter 2:

Town of Halloween

Ifound myself in a strange town of Halloween, in some ways it reminded me of the place I just left. I mean, it was just a bunch of dead trees and dark blots all around. Suddenly I noticed a strange looking two-faced man and he introduced himself to me as the mayor. He had a coned shape head that turned around into a sad face or a happy face. It was the kind of face that was perfect for him, a two-faced politician. He was very kind to me even though I was a complete stranger. He was much nicer to me than I was to that Carrie woman. He was even nice enough to ask me if I wanted a ride in his strange hearse. He also decided to give me the grand tour as we drove through the town.

"Welcome to Halloween Town. What's your name?" He asked.

"My name is…is Ramona— Ramona Valdez," I said quietly.

"Very pleased to meet you, how beautiful you look," He admired.

"Thanks," I said as my face turned red.

"Well I'll drive you to your new house now," He said, excitedly.

I was so very confused; I wasn't sure what house he was talking about.

We passed by a large grave yard, through it was a steep hill with a curl that rolled down the front and was dark purple. "Ah yes, that's our public grave yard, and far beyond that pumpkin patch, that's Curly Mountain," the mayor explained. "Oh, I almost forgot!" He shouted to himself. "How rude of me, so rude, yes, well, I do hope you attend our Halloween party tonight!" He pleaded with the most authority in his voice. "We are going to have a big contest; it's a new thing that we started last year; we're going to vote to see who gets to be the Pumpkin king and queen!" He explained. "Why, last year our dearest Jack was the Pumpkin King," He laughed.

"Wow that sounds fun; I wouldn't miss it for the world!" I assured him; now getting to express my love for Halloween.

Time seemed to pass quickly as I stuck my head out the window of the hearse. It was cool out. I saw those familiar autumn leaves dangled from its branches, only this time, they seemed happier. All around, the fences that divided people's property looked all the same; thin, black, crooked bars lined one by one. Most of the buildings' bricks were thick and shaded with a dark, grey color, and to top it all off the sky was… orange. The feeling it brought was scary, but for some reason it gave me a beautiful feeling, like something amazing was about to happen. I saw children throwing heads, and wicked witches flying around on their broom sticks. It was just another ordinary day in this town of Halloween.

A spooky, some-what cute little ghost waved his misty hand at me. I managed to wave back. As the mayor and I drove by, all these curious creatures were looking at me with a friendly expression. The mayor kept telling me stories about last Halloween and the ones before that. It was non-stop, and it was getting hard to keep listening to him.

I was excited to see that we were reaching a neighborhood; one house after another. I viewed all the houses. The mayor parked in the driveway. As he got out of the hearse, his tall, thin top hat bent over. I laughed.

"Um, I'm not sure which house you were referring to, in fact I've never been here before," I explained.

"Oh don't you worry about that, my dear. There's always a house for newcomers that nobody lives in, and I think there is one that is just perfect for you," the Mayor smiled.

"Really, okay, which one is that?"

"Why, it's over there" the Mayor pointed a pink polished finger towards a very old, Victorian house. The trim was crimson and the paint was dark grey, and it had a wide, lovely porch. I was thankful to be here. I didn't plan on it, but anywhere's better than that dusty, old cottage.

"Oh, and don't forget about our Halloween party! It starts at midnight!" He noted.

"I'll be there," I said.

I watched him climb back in his hearse and slowly drive away. I took a look at my new home. It was a large, two story house. I excitedly made my way to the porch and I opened the door. It was nicer inside than it was out. I loved the red and black striped wallpaper and the old paintings on the walls that appeared to be over a hundred years old. There was a beautiful 19th century Chesterfield sofa. It was made of black velvet with a high back that wrapped into large, rolled arms and sewn-in cushions. It was sitting against the wall of the main entrance, and a glass coffee table was situated in front of it. There was also a round mirror over a side table with a black framing that matched the 19th century style of the sofa.

I wandered into a bedroom and looked out the little window next to the side table. There was a view of the street and the driveway. I saw a few ghosts flying by and a werewolf sneaking behind a trash can. Suddenly, I saw a stranger make his way up to my doorway. Maybe he was welcoming me to the neighborhood.

I went downstairs to open the door for him, but I waited until he knocked or rang the doorbell. Ding, dong, "Hello, may I help you?" I asked, sweetly as I held the door open with my right hand.

He was the most amazingly good looking man I had ever laid my eyes on. He looked about 19 or 20. He had crazy, black hair that covered his eyes. His pale, white skin contrasted against his hair which caused it to appear a richer, deeper black color. He wore a black shirt and black jeans. His appearance all together was like that of a vampire. Was he a vampire? There were so many Halloween monsters around here I couldn't tell if he was or wasn't.

"Hi," he said with the sweetest smile. It was a crooked little tug against his lip. "I'm Samuel, Samuel Carter; I live up that corner next to the Witch's Workshop, in case you were wondering. You must be the new girl," He greeted me.

"Um… yeah, I'm Ramona, how'd you know I was new here?" I asked laughing nervously.

"Cool, nice to meet you," He said, shaking my hand warmly. "Everyone knows about you. Are you going to the Halloween party?" He asked, changing the subject.

"I was planning to, but I just realized, I don't really know where it is!" I laughed, awkwardly again.

"Oh, well, I'd be honored if you would be my guest," he suggested. I immediately agreed to go with him.

"Great Ramona, I'll just be waiting by the end of Pumpkin Street," He explained. He pointed down the same direction where the Witch's Workshop was.

"Okay. Let me get ready and I'll meet you over there," I suggested.

After he left I became more aware of the condition of my clothes. I was wearing ripped up jeans and a maroon sweater. I hadn't taken a shower since yesterday. I wanted to take a shower, but I wasn't sure about clothes. After I found the bathroom, I searched the closets and found them filled with clothes, especially dresses for me to choose from. So I took a quick shower and draped myself in a crimson, strapless dress with black lacing for the front layer. I didn't know what to do with my long black hair. I just simply tied it into a pony tail.

Then I found the highest heels that I could in one of the closets and quickly put them on. I searched in my handbag for a decent perfume to wear and sprayed a pink cloud in front of me, and then I walked through it.

At last, I was ready to give a good impression of myself to everyone in Halloween Town, especially Samuel. I just met him, but I was very interested in him. It was like all my dreams were coming true in this town of Halloween. I snatched my purse from my bed and flew down the stair way. Samuel was already on my porch, sitting in one of the rickety rocking chairs waiting for me. It seemed so strange that it was already dark out.

"How do I look"? I asked.

"You look like a goddess," He smiled.

"Aww, thanks" I giggled, feeling a flirt. I was so excited; he took my hand and held it the whole way there. It was so sudden and surprising what he did. I didn't mind. Then we walked down a gray, brick road, smothered with piles of autumn leaves. As we walked everyone we passed stared at me in amazement. It's like they are pleased to have me around. I've never felt so loved by other people before.

We walked over to a crowded place, there were banners hung over the streets in black and orange with spooky looking letters that said:

Happy Halloween

Samuel explained to me that it was called it Jack-O-Lantern Square. There were lots of shops and restaurants open, taking advantage of this large crowd, and right in the middle of Jack O Lantern Square was a big spooky fountain with a statue of a snake-like creature that spat out green goo from its mouth and into the fountain. Other Halloween creatures were there enjoying the party as well.

There was some patio furniture nearby the Casper's Coffee Café, so sweet Samuel pulled out one of the chairs for me and then sat across from me. He and I were just watching the citizens of Halloween Town running around and enjoying themselves. I was just about to ask him if he wanted some coffee, like a cappuccino, or as the decorated menu I read through the glass window called it, a Casperccino, when a creepy, fat clown startled me as he rode down the sidewalk on his unicycle shrieking his high-pitched laugh. I felt a little bit jumpy.

"Sorry about that, the clown doesn't have any manners," Samuel laughed at my frightful expression.

"I see," I mumbled, being startled by the clown made me forget all about the craving for a Casperccino.

Just then, a rush filled the Jack-O-Lantern Square as all the creatures started to run around in excitement. I had no idea what was going on. Some were screaming and cheering. To my frightful surprise I was suddenly captured by two, sweet looking ghosts who gently took my arms and led me down a dark trail. The ghosts just as suddenly disappeared and I was left alone in the public graveyard. I looked around but I couldn't find Samuel anywhere.

"Samuel?" I asked, panicked. What was going on?

I heard spooky music in the air and I suddenly found myself in a dark grave yard. I saw a little tombstone nearby and a freaky shadow upon it singing, along with other shadows. It was a strange, yet inviting song about Halloween. Not knowing what to do, I followed the other singing creatures. I didn't really know what to make of this.

I listened intently and watched everyone singing their eerie, but exciting Halloween song. I hid behind a dead bush as four vampires smoothly walked out of a little cottage and joined in unison with the others to continue their celebratory song.

More ghosts crowded around me, guiding me to the mayor, who was near a brick building and a tin trashcan. He was standing on top of his hearse. He was also singing along with the others. It seemed that everyone in this town loved Halloween and could sing about it.

A little black kitten pounced upon the tin trashcan. A Harlequin demon leaped out of the trashcan; He had three orange and black striped tentacles on his head and a large bottom mouth. The poor kitten jumped and scattered away. The werewolf I saw earlier jumped out of nowhere and growled. They immediately joined in the mighty chorus of this town and continued the Halloween song.

I thought monsters were glaring at me like they wanted to eat me. It made me uneasy. I suddenly saw two ugly witches glide by on their broom sticks, so I hopped on the back of one of them to get away from there.

The witches twisted and turned on their broom sticks, causing me to fall in the path of a walking, talking tree. He had angry eye-holes and an evil smile. His long, thin, leafless branches had three hanging skeletons on one side and two on the other side. Just then I saw that big clown, riding on his unicycle again. He and the tree also joined in the mighty Halloween song.

I started to figure out that they weren't trying to scare me, they were greeting me. I wasn't so scared anymore; I was beginning to enjoy this, it reminded me of all the times I scared my friends for Halloween.

Then, a mysterious voice called out of nowhere.

I looked up above at a large tower. It was huge and round. Through a circular door was a rag-doll girl. She was brushing her long, bright, red hair as it blew in the wind. I heard the sound of another strange voice come to me.

I stared at the big, bright, yellow moon. A sinister shadow appeared on it. It had a ghost-like, evil smile. It didn't surprise me that it also commenced to sing the strange, yet hauntingly beautiful song. All the citizens chimed in with the moon.

The mayor jumped on his hearse again. I met up with the crowd, and thankfully with Samuel. I watched as Igor was pulling a noose around a horse made out of straw along with the legendary; Jack Skellington sitting on top, dressed as a scare crow with a pumpkin head. He swallowed a lit torch and caught on fire. It frightened the crowd as they gasped. Jack made a little dance on the horse and then jumped in the fountain of green goo.

I wanted to get a closer look at him, so I shoved my way to the front of the crowed until I saw a corpse of a fat little boy and a little mummy boy with one big, yellow eye. I sat upon the edge of the fountain and followed their gaze. We sang all together in perfect harmony.

The song finished with Jack Skellington arising from the fountain. He was thin, tall with long spidery arms and legs and wore a black pin stripe tuxedo with a torn up tail. He had long, spider-like fingers and a round head, with two large eye sockets and small holes for his nose. His smile zipped across his face; as if someone had stitched it there. He looked so friendly. I was sure that I would soon get to meet him.

Chapter 3:

A Day Together

Samuel and I made our way to our table. "How'd you like the song they sang?" He asked as I sat down across from him.

"I loved it!" I exclaimed; it was past midnight and it seemed like all the excitement of Halloween had made me jittery. "It was a bit frightening at first," I laughed stupidly, for Samuel had not joined in.

"Good, they've been rehearsing that song for the past two months and they wanted a volunteer for the show. Hope it paid off," He said.

"They truly did a wonderful job," I responded.

I looked around at the crowd. I saw the two witches, the talking tree, the clown, the little mummy boy and the corpse boy, I even caught a glimpse of that rag-doll girl hiding behind the tree. I wanted to meet everyone personally. I especially wanted to meet Jack first. For some reason I wanted him to know I existed, I wanted to be his friend.

"Samuel, I want to go meet Jack, I'll be right back," I exclaimed. He nodded and I turned to jog over to the fountain where Jack was standing, talking to the mayor. "Jack!" I shouted over the loud crowd. He looked my way. "Well hello there, you must be our new guest, Ramona," he said excitedly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," I reached my hand out for him to shake. He wrapped his long, boney hand around mine and shook it.

"Splendid, I hope you found this Halloween to be absolutely terrifying!" He laughed, grimly. I guess the phrase terrifying was another way of saying amazing or wonderful.

"Our most horrible yet!" The mayor said behind me.

"Oh, I did, Halloween is practically my life," I told him, hoping he'd be proud of me for that.

"Very good," Jack Skellington admired. I was glad I met him.

I walked back to the table where Samuel was waiting for me with two rather large mugs of white whipped cream with orange and black sprinkles and chocolate syrup drawn all over the white whipped cream to make uneven circles. I was excited and pleased that they were Casperccinos for us. We headed off hand in hand for the party.

I had a blast; I talked to practically everybody at the party; Samuel was nice to introduce me to some of his friends. The giant tree offered to give me a ride on one of his branches. One of the witches taught me how to steer her broom stick, she said she'd be happy to give me broom lessons at her workshop on Pumpkin St., which I recognized instantly as the same one Samuel had mentioned.

"Yes I've heard of your workshop, I'd be happy to stop by sometime," I agreed excitedly.

"You certainly shall!" The old witch smiled. She and Samuel watched as I rose up from the ground and quickly ran to my rescue as I fell off from over twelve feet high off the ground. I guess lessons would do me good. I was determined to learn so I tried it again. I nearly fell off my broom a few times, but It was still fun!

"And now, ladies and skeletons!," The mayor called out to the crowd, "It is time to announce the winner of this year's Pumpkin king and queen and each of them will be awarded a trophy with their names engraved on them and a crown to wear proudly on their heads!" He explained, showing them the huge, golden trophies and the black and orange crowns beside him. "Now, just like we did last year, everyone will write the names of those they wish to win the contest and drop them in this here box" Just as he instructed, people came to an old, splintered, wooden desk to vote. Though there was a large line, Samuel and I didn't feel like voting, considering I didn't even know anyone that well.

Remembering what the mayor said about last year's Pumpkin king, I looked back to see if Jack was going to vote or if he just sat and watched like some others, such as Samuel and I, but I did not see him anywhere. We waited what seemed like a long time for them to count the votes.

"And now…" The mayor shouted, causing me to jump and spilling some of my now cold, Casperccino on the ground. "…It is time, my friends, to announce this year's Pumpkin king and queen!" His voice got even louder and so did the cheering of the crowd. I had no idea this was that big a deal since it only started last year. Someone handed the mayor two envelopes. He opened them up and then…a moment of silence…

"This year's Pumpkin king is…Samuel Carter!" He said. "Samuel, my boy, get up here!" The crowd turned to look at him as they shouted and cheered him on. He was very much in shock and had no idea what to do other than just sit there, his heart probably pounding. Finally, he lifted himself up and shyly walked to the hearse to receive his trophy and crown. "And last, but most certainly not least, our most beautiful Pumpkin queen of the year…our newest resident… Ramona Valdez!" said the mayor.

Though I was sure the crowd was cheering, I couldn't hear anymore, I must have lost my hearing because I didn't think I heard that last part right. Did he just say Ramona Valdez or a gnome and his head? Neither of the two would have made sense. "Well, come on, don't be shy" The mayor called through his microphone.

I had to do something, people were looking at me, so I lifted my body up as if I was paralyzed and I had to pull its heavy weight. What have I been eating? I asked myself, suddenly remembering that big and fattening Casperccino I just had.

So I got myself up and forced myself to keep walking down to the hearse and Samuel, hoping I won't trip over my heels. It was rather quiet as I walked down the narrow aisle between the Halloween citizens. Everyone just smiled at me and gave me thumbs up as I a glanced over at them. The Mayor handed me the trophy with people cheering and clapping as he placed the black and orange crown on my head. Samuel looked at me and smiled sheepishly. We had won the Pumpkin king and queen. I was the pumpkin queen! Now that the nerves left me I felt much more excited.

Then the mayor's loud booming voice introduced us once again to the crowd, "Ladies and skeletons, your Pumpkin king and queen!" We just stared at each other incredulous to have won this honor. The mayor announced, "Now the Pumpkin king and queen will share the first dance of the night." I was in shock and so was Samuel, judging by the look on his face. We awkwardly held each other and swayed to the music. It felt good to be in Samuel's arms. The crowd cheered as we finished our dance.

They cheered even louder as we walked back to the Casper's Coffee Café tables. Before we sat down we both silently agreed with each other that this was a perfect time to leave. We left the crowd cheering to the now invisible Ramona and Samuel, seeing as they were still cheering even after we left.

We walked down a lonesome sidewalk. I saw Curly Mountain for the second time. This time it was a lot closer. It was beautiful and there, standing on the top of it was Jack Skellington. Like the mayor said, he seemed to be out in his own world. Samuel and I wondered why he was there. We both agreed that he probably just needed some time to himself so we continued on our way to my house.

When we made it there Samuel was sweet and walked me all the way up to my porch and to the front door. I thanked him for inviting me to the party and he suggested taking me around town tomorrow. I agreed to see him and then we said good-bye to each other with a nice hug. When I went inside I got ready for bed and tried to sleep despite my excitement about Samuel and the fact that I wasn't sleeping in my dusty room in that old, disgusting cottage.

The next morning I awoke with that same excitement. I quickly threw on some jeans and a blue, long-sleeved blouse. I rolled up my hair into a bun, leaving a little strand hanging loose along the side of my face. I sprayed the perfume that I wore last night, slipped on a light jacket and headed out the door to meet Samuel. I jumped as I opened the door to find him there holding his fist up like he was about to knock on my door.

It was a wonderful start to a new day. I invited him inside for coffee, but he refused wanting to start our day touring the town immediately. I'm not sure, but I think this is a date. Last night at the party was also a date, judging by how he held my hand as we were heading over there.

We held hands again and paced our way to Jack-O-Lantern Square. There, he showed me all the nicest shops. The places here were old fashioned, 18th and 19th century with a pinch of darkness. We went to a nice, little store called Zombie's Wardrobe there I got a striking dress with spider web stockings. Another store Samuel took me to was called Beautiful Witches; I got another dress that was much longer than the one before, it was black and very silky. We strolled past other shops like Dead at Night and The Ghostly Secret.

At lunch time Samuel asked me which restaurant we should go to, the Spider Web Café or the Witch's Brew. I asked him which one had the best, bloodiest steaks and he recommended the Spider Web Café. As we walked in I noticed a Help Wanted sign on the window. Perhaps I could find a job here since I might be staying for a while.

We walked inside. It was a very nice place, I felt like I went back in time; everything here was so different from that old town I just left. Everyone here seemed to know each other and once we entered the building they all cheered and clapped. Our waitress was a very pretty woman who was no older than I was. She greeted Samuel and I and welcomed us to the Spider Web Café. She wore a black apron that had the café's name on it with a little spider web around it over her black turtle neck and jeans.

"Hello, I'm Chapel Winters, I'll be your sever for today. If you follow me I will show you to your seats," She smiled blissfully. She turned to lead us to a booth next to a window that showed a lovely view of Jack O Lantern Square and all its shops and a wooden sign on the side of the street that said Dark Demon St.

"So, what do you think of our town so far?" He inquired as we settled into our seats.

"I love it, it's like a beautiful dream," I admired.

Samuel seemed confused. "Like a dream? You consider this place a dream, a nightmare, maybe, but a dream?" He kept repeating, like he couldn't understand what a dream meant.

"Yes, and you especially made it all so much better. Gosh, I love this place; I love Halloween," I explained. Samuel suddenly felt guilty for questioning my choice of words.

"Well, glad to help you out," he gave a sheepish smile. "What was the best part of the day?" He asked. It was easy sharing with Samuel all the things I found to be so wonderful about our day in this town of Halloween. I loved climbing on top of Curly Mountain, and I had a lot of fun shopping at all the stores. I thought of more things we did today. I laughed remembering when that cute ghost gave me his number, and when we met that adorable, stranded black kitten.

Samuel was so cute. He patiently sat there and listened to all that I was saying and didn't once cut me off. He did his half smile, the one I love so much. It's funny, we both really like each other but we're too shy to say it out loud. I wish he could just say it already.

"So… Samuel, how long have you been living in Halloween Town?" I asked.

"Four years from yesterday, I moved down here myself on a rainy Halloween night," He explained. "Why did you want to move down here?" He asked me.

"First of all, I wasn't planning on actually moving here, I found this door…" I tried to explain.

"What door?" Samuel wondered.

"Um… it was shaped like a pumpkin, I found it in the woods," I explained.

"Amazing, I had no idea we had a door to another world like that!" His eyes popped out in amazement.

"Yeah, well, life is full of surprises," I managed to say.

We were quiet for a long time; couldn't think of anything else to say, so it got pretty awkward. The waitress gave us our Dr. Peppers. Breaking our silence, she asked. "So, did you hear the terrifying news?" By terrifying, did she mean good or bad news, I wondered? Samuel was curious, "What bad news?" he asked. "Jack is missing!" She blurted out. Samuel's pale face turned bright, crimson. "You're kidding right?"

"Wait, how is he missing? He was at the Halloween party last night!" I corrected.

The waitress slowly explained that he had gone missing this morning, as if my mind were too small to comprehend. She gave an annoyed glare and walked over to another table.

Samuel seemed to be in deep shock over this.

"Um, Samuel, are you okay?" He was staring into the distance; escaped from reality completely.

"That's strange," He mumbled to himself.

"What's strange?"

"This isn't like Jack to magically disappear like this," He explained.

"Maybe the mayor knows where he went. He seems pretty close to him," I suggested.

"Yeah, maybe!" He agreed.

"I heard the mayor is gathering a search party around this time," The waitress said, pouring more Dr. Pepper in our glasses.

Samuel stood up and reached out his arm to me, "Come on," he implored.

Not knowing where we were going, I took his hand. We crossed the street to Jack O Lantern Square and found half the city crowded around the mayor's hearse. Samuel and I managed to squeeze through the crowd.

"Listen everybody; we've got to find Jack! There are only three hundred and sixty five days left until next Halloween!" The mayor panicked.

"Three, sixty four!" The werewolf corrected. Everybody else started listing all the places they had checked to find Jack.

"Does anyone know when they'd seen him last?" He asked.

The last time I'd seen him was just last night. But, I didn't think that would really be much help.

Just then the mayor shouted in panic. "It's time to sound the alarms!"

The little mummy boy scrambled to a thin, black cat that was placed on the nose of the mayor's hearse. He twisted the tail until it made an ear-splitting screech. The mayor, standing on the top of his hearse fell on his back in distress.

"Did anyone think to trench the lake?" He wondered aloud.

One of the vampires holding an umbrella replied.

"Ugh, this morning," He grumbled.

Just then a ghost dog with an orange, lit jack-o-lantern nose charged through the Halloween Town's gate and behind him was Jack Skellington riding on a snow mobile. Everyone cheered as he drove in.

"ZERO!" A vampire shouted in excitement as he barked and floated over the surface of the ground.

"Where have you been?" The mayor asked as Jack drove close enough to earshot.

"Call a town meeting and I'll tell everyone all about it!" Jack replied excitedly.

"When?"

"Immediately!"

Everyone cheered and the mayor hopped in his hearse and drove off into the rest of the town to announce to the Halloween Town's citizens about a town meeting that has recently been arranged. The big church bell rang loudly. Samuel suggested we go to the courthouse early to find extra seats. I reached out and held his hand before he reached out and held mine. We walked inside; the talking tree was standing beside the door with the rag- doll girl sitting on one of the branches. Samuel found some chairs in the back row.

Just as the lights dimmed, Jack appeared on the stage.

Chapter 4:

Christmas; Good or Bad?

Listen, everyone!" Jack started, "There are objects so odd; they were not to be believed all around, things to tantalize my brain. It's a world that's not like anything I've ever seen and as hard as I try, I can't seem to describe, like, a most improbable dream. But you must believe when I tell you this, it's as real as my skull and, I must say, it does exist," He explained. Everyone gasped with curiosity.

"Here, let me show you," He pulled down a rope, opening crimson curtains. On the stage was a tree with shiny spheres hanging from it and a golden star on top. He held a colorful box of what appeared to be a gift.

"This is a thing called a present. The whole thing starts with a box," He explained. Just then people from the crowd started to call out questions to him. They asked many questions such as, "Are there locks?", and "Is it filled with a pox?"

"If you please," Jack interrupted, "Just a box with bright, colored paper and the whole thing's topped with a bow!" He clarified.

"Is that a bow, but why?" a witch asked. "How ugly, what's in it?"

"What's in it?" They rudely continued.

"That's the point of the thing, not to know!" Jack explained.

Suddenly, the creepy clown snatched it from him, to try to guess what was inside. "It's a bat!" He screamed. "No, wait, it's a rat!" he thought.

"Perhaps it's the head that I found in the lake," the creature from the Black Lagoon suggested.

"Listen now, you don't understand, that's not the point of Christmas Land!" Jack disclosed, snatching the box back, and setting it down under the tree.

Meanwhile, Samuel didn't seem that interested in what Jack was saying, but he didn't seem uninterested in it, either. He had simply escaped into a world of his own. I was pretty excited about Christmas. Jack was talking about a fearsome king, with a deep, mighty voice.

"And they call him Sandy Claws!" A red light casted his sinister face as he laughed, evilly. I watched as he fluttered behind the stage as the curtains closed. Samuel stood up and ruffled his hair a little bit. I watched him glare into the distance. He looked so angry, like, he wanted to punch something, though I wouldn't blame him; the singing was a little bit unnecessary, and annoying.

"Samuel…. Are you okay? You don't look so good" I noticed his hot, red face and furious eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. It's just that…. Well, I'm not so sure about this Christmas thing," He answered as he disgustingly said the word Christmas.

"What's not to be sure of"? I asked, confused.

Annoyed that he even had to explain it his eyes widened, "Because, the holiday doesn't belong to us, don't you think that's stealing? Not to mention, it's a ridiculous idea?" He thought. "Who wants to waste time decorating a tree?"

I never thought of it that way. I gathered my purse and let Samuel open the door for me. He gently wrapped his arm around my waist, suddenly letting go of his anger. He and I felt calm as we walked out of the courthouse I could feel the cool, autumn sensation brush against my face. Surprisingly and thankfully, I could smell the fresh apple cider coming from The Leaf, a nearby bar, along with burnt marshmallows. Samuel led me near a dark gate. It was a spooky design with crooked, thin black bars. There was a sign on the top of the black arch that we walked under to follow the path surrounded by dead trees. I couldn't quite make out the words as it's too dark, but assumed that it must have indicated that we were in a cemetery since up ahead were dark, shadowy hills of grave stones. The wall of trees were too tall and wide to see through them, but I knew that somewhere out in the open distance was Curly Mountain, standing tall and proud as it has been since the first time I saw it yesterday.

"I want to show you something," he said mysteriously smiling.

I laughed, excitedly, "What?"

"You'll see."

We drifted down a dark path in the forest until the bright moon casted down a little pumpkin patch. To the side was a flattened boulder, like a stone bed, and a bush of crimson roses framed the whole grassy patch. Over the flat, stone bed and mountains of large pumpkins was a white, garden arch decorated by black and orange roses and black and orange, silky ribbons, happily wrapped around the arch.

"What is this place?" I breathed heavily, fighting tears of joy; for this seemed so much like a dream.

"It's our place, to be alone." He said as I walked up and admired the roses on the arch, wondering where on earth he got black and orange roses.

"Why do we need to be alone?" I asked as innocently as possible.

Samuel placed his finger over my lip.

"Shhh, let's just relax. We've had a long day," He soothed. We lay down on the soft grass. We didn't look at each other for a long time. Instead, I gazed up at the stars. Samuel did, too. The soothing wind blew through my finger tips and cooled my skin until they grew goose bumps. The soft grass tickled as it danced in the wind. We lay there, peacefully as our hair blew in our faces. I almost fell asleep until Samuel stood back up. "Ramona," He started.

"Yes?" I sat up against the boulder.

"I really want to tell you something, but I'm too afraid to say it," he confessed.

"It's okay, you can tell me anything," I smiled. He smiled back, his sweet, glorious smile that always got to me!

"Okay then," he sat next to me, letting his beautiful, black hair cover his eyes. "I love you," he finally confessed. I smiled, widely, as a tear rolled down my cheek. Finally, my fantasies were coming true; someone loved me, they really, really loved me!

"You do?" I cried. Samuel wiped away the tears on my face.

"Yes, I really do. Ramona, you're so beautiful in the moonlight," he noticed as he placed his hand through my hair.

I wiped another tear away and wrapped my arms around him.

"Well, I love you, too," I whispered in his ear. We sat up on the boulder and just stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, admiring each others' beautiful faces. The sky was getting darker. The only light was that large, yellow moon shedding its light on us.

"Ramona," he repeated.

"Yes," I whispered.

"I've wanted to kiss you from the moment I first met you," he confessed.

"That long?" I teased.

"Can I?" He asked, seriously.

I didn't have to say anything. Both our heads slowly shifted towards each other until our lips touched. I felt sparks and butterflies fly around. The sparks replaced the lighting of the moon, creating a dimmer light to soothe this romantic feeling. The butterflies however were trapped in my stomach, creating a nervous feeling.

The small, newborn kiss suddenly transformed into an extremely long kiss. It was beginning to turn into something more beautiful. I felt like I was floating through the clouds, as if I had been dreaming all this up. Still kissing, we lay on the flat boulder. The dream was starting to feel real. I could feel the world again. The hard stone underneath me, Samuel's arm cradling my back, his soft hair brushing gently against my forehead. It calmed me. We separated for a while as Samuel decided to pick a flower. As he gave it to me something mysterious and strange happened to it.

"What…?" I stuttered. The flower shook violently as it transformed into a spinning Christmas tree about the size of the flower itself. Samuel looked as confused as I felt as we both glared at the transforming flower. Before Samuel or I could even say anything it immediately burst into flames. Samuel and I were speechless, just staring into the burnt piece of wood, not knowing what to say. Was this a sign? A vision of what might happen if Jack brought Christmas here to Halloween Town? Was this a prediction of the future of what would happen to our town? Will we all burn, or will our Christmas burn?

Chapter 5

cThe Necklace

OCK-A-DOODLE-DOO! I awoke, quickly as the rooster crowed. I suddenly realized Samuel and I both fell asleep in the pumpkin patch. When I looked next to me Samuel wasn't there. Just then I found a crumbled up note. It was taped on the rock. I yanked the taped note off of the rock and unfolded it.

Dear Ramona,

I'm sorry I left you this morning. I'll be waiting at town square for you. Please meet me there, I have a surprise.

-Samuel

I was surprised at how romantic he was. I stood up and stretched my arms and legs aching from the hard gravel I'd slept on. I took my purse and started trying to find my way out of the pumpkin patch. I felt like a lab rat trying to find the cheese in its maze. When I found the lonesome path through the forest I began to run. Samuel was waiting for me, and I couldn't let him wait any longer. Just then, I realized: I can't wear this! It was the outfit I'd worn yesterday, I needed to change. Even more, I needed a shower. I sprinted to my house. My hand reached in my purse's pockets for the house key. When I made it to the front porch, I jabbed the key through the key hole and shoved the door aside as I ran to the bathroom.

After I showered, I found one of the dresses I had bought at one of the stores that Samuel took me to yesterday. One of them was short and dark red, one side had a thick strap with roses running down it and the other side was strapless. It was cute, so I decided to wear that.

I was so excited! I grabbed my purse and ran out the door to town square as the note said. I must confess I was pretty lonely, walking down the sidewalk Samuel and I walked down together. I really did love him. He was my only friend here and, well, I truly felt in love with him. Wow, thinking about that massive kiss last night in the pumpkin patch, really threw me out of balance. My eyes were glittering into plumped hearts as I swayed down the sidewalk, humming a non-existent tune and completely lost in my fantasies. At last, I was falling in love!

I walked past Jack Skellington's house. It was tall and narrow, like a castle. He even had a large, fancy gate. Next to it was the rag-doll girl. She looked at his house in fear. I started to wonder what she was so worried about. I'd been living here for three days now and I was always seeing her around, but I never found the time, or reason to talk to her.

Anyway, it didn't matter because I wanted to see Samuel now. He was probably waiting patiently for me to arrive any minute now. He didn't have to wait any longer because I was almost at town square.

He was there, up against a wall, talking to one of the monsters. I was so excited to see him; I wanted to give him a surprise kiss!

"Samuel"! I cried. He looked in my direction.

"Hey, you finally woke up"! He laughed.

"I read your note, what's the surprise?" I asked, eagerly. The monster had already left.

"Okay, close your eyes" He instructed. I immediately closed my eyes.

"Now hold out your hands" He said.

I erratically held my hands out and made them into a bowl. Just as I did, something landed in my palms. It was smooth and cubed. It was a box of some sort.

"Open your eyes," and as I did, I saw a shiny, silver box, about the size of an orange, placed in my hands. It was a jewelry box. Had he gotten me an engagement ring already? I'd only known him for three days! I slowly opened it, but it wasn't a ring. It was a gorgeous necklace. It was a golden chain with my name written in cursive. It was beautiful.

"Wow, Samuel, it's beautiful! Thank you so much" I wrapped my arms around him.

"I love you"! I cooed.

"I love you more"! He competed.

I took the necklace out of the box and blindly attached the tiny hook at one end to one of the loops at the other so that the chain hung from my neck with the golden charm of my name bobbing against my chest. We stood there at that spot, suddenly remembering the wonderful kiss and that strange explanation we witnessed after that.

"Why don't we sit down" Samuel suggested. We sat on a bench not too far from where we were standing, still in a trance, still wondering.

"Do you still have that flower from last night"? I asked.

"No why?"

"We could have showed Jack"

"And what good would that do?"

"If we showed Jack we could have gotten him to stop all of this madness and maybe what happened to the flower won't happen to the town" I explained.

"He's not a very good listener, I doubt that would get him to stop"

"Well, it couldn't hurt to try"! I tried not to vent my frustration, my short temper was erupting. "I'm sorry Samuel, last night was great and all, but, I'm still worried about the burning Christmas tree. I am trying to figure out what it all means, like when it will happen and how?" I exclaimed.

"Don't worry about it" Samuel comforted.

"I can't stop worrying about it! Why don't we look in the pumpkin patch, to see if it's still there" I suggested.

"Okay" He agreed.

We made it to the pumpkin patch. I dug all over that place, searching and searching for it. No luck.

"Maybe the wind blew it away" Samuel thought. "The clown probably ran it over with his unicycle as the wind blew it in town square"

Samuel kept on thinking of realistic explanations as to what could have happened to the flower. I was just quiet and disappointed, listening to all of his explanations. All I did was sit there, on the flat stone and stared into the distance. Afraid that I knew something bad was going to happen. I felt so blind; I had no idea when this dark tragedy would hit or if we'd all die!

When we couldn't find the flower, I realized that the only thing we could do was go to talk to Jack and tell him what happened. Maybe if he knew what might happen he might stop this madness.

I jogged down the sidewalk as Samuel tried to catch up. My feet began to ache because of my extremely high heels. I didn't notice the steep chip in the cement, so my heel fell through the hole causing me to trip face-first. I was lucky my hands broke my fall.

Samuel was so sweet in his concern for me. "Ramona, are you okay"? He panicked as he leaned down to help me up. I assured him that I was fine, just a little scrape on my knee. He was concerned about the fact that I was bleeding, but I again I persuaded him that it wasn't a lot of blood and that I would be fine.

I saw the gate in front of Skeleton Jack's house from a distance as we arrived. There was a steep, large staircase leading up to a tall slanted tower with a pointed roof. It looked more like a poorly built watch tower than a house for the scariest man in Halloween Town. We continued to amble our way to Jack's house, then strode up the uneven staircase and knocked on his splintered door.

I was eager for him to answer the door but it took him about 10 minutes to.

"Oh, well now, what a wonderful surprise"! Jack grinned. He let us in. Samuel and I stepped inside. It was quite warm in there. I looked over my shoulder to smile at Zero when I noticed a fire place. The fire suddenly reminded me of what I wanted to say.

"Jack, I know this is hard for you to believe, but, there's something wrong with Christmas!" I blurted. He didn't seem to understand.

"What do you mean? There's nothing wrong with Christmas," he chuckled as if it were a joke.

Samuel and I were standing in the door way, the inside of his house was very nice. The rooms were small, a couch against the wall, a coffee table in front along with an electric chair decorated with colorful Christmas lights.

"Look, last night, Samuel and I discovered something nasty about Christmas! It's going to destroy Halloween Town!" My voice quivered in fear and agony. Will this skeleton ever understand reasoning?

"What she's trying to say is - we think we saw a vision of Christmas burning," Samuel calmly explained.

"It's not very complicated to understand"! I added. "I'm no expert, but, I don't think holidays are supposed to mix together. They're special because they have their own kind of happiness for people to enjoy," I tried to explain.

"Listen children, there's nothing to worry about. Now if you like, I can assign you a chore," he started. I was confused. He was beginning to get on my nerves. He was acting like nothing was wrong while Samuel and I were tryingto explain everything in a decent way.

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked.

"Well, I'm giving everyone a job to help make this Christmas jolly and it would be splendid if you, Ramona, would be so kind to help make my Sandy Claws outfit," He explained.

"But Jack, you don't understand! Something bad is going to happen! You have to listen to us!" I pleaded. Jack placed his boney fingers on my shoulder.

"Ramona, everything is going to be okay. You're just overwhelmed about it, that's all. Don't worry, I'll get someone to help you with that Sandy Claws outfit," he smiled that boney smile. My worried expression suddenly relaxed.

"Well, Jack, don't say we didn't warn you," Samuel moaned, as we dragged our feet down the stairs. We didn't talk to each other the whole way as we walked through town. We were disappointed in Jack.

"You know, the only reason Jack is doing this is because he just wanted to try something new for once," Samuel explained.

"But that doesn't fix anything!" I grumbled.

"Maybe, that burning flower wasn't a vision, or a sign. Maybe it was… a dream," he thought.

"But I saw it, too"

"Maybe we both dreamt the same dream," He added.

"Listen Samuel, I know what I saw, it wasn't a dream! Christmas is a holiday just like Halloween, and they're both good holidays, but when you combine them together it's sure to end in a disaster!" I exclaimed.

"Ramona, I believe you, but, how are we going to get Jack to believe us?" Samuel asked me, thinking that I was the one with all the answers.

"I don't know yet, but I'll think of something."

We took each other's hands and tried to forget everything, but it was quite hard with everyone blabbering about it. We saw the line of citizens from a far distance, waiting to receive their job for Christmas. I wasn't sure if we should go, but Jack was counting on me. Samuel didn't want to go either, so I tugged on his arm.

Samuel and I sat at one of the available tables and watched the line shrink. I noticed the rag-doll girl standing in line. I focused more on her. She didn't seem excited like the others around her. I noticed she wore a dress stitched with different designs. "Patience everyone, Jack has a special job for each of you!" The mayor called out through his bull horn. Samuel and I waited until the line died down. When it did, we walked all the way to the courthouse to confront Jack. He was just finished talking to the town's band. The rag-doll girl was next in line.

"Sally, I need your help. More than ever" Jack pleaded, he turned his back on her to find something in a little, green chest. So that was her name.

"You certainly do Jack; I had the most terrible vision!" She started.

"That's splendid," Jack obliviously said as he dug through the piles of bric-a-bracs in his chest.

"No, it was about your Christmas, there was smoke and fire!" She tried to explain. I tilted my head, was she talking about what I think she was talking about? No, it couldn't be; Samuel and I were the only ones who saw that vision, not Sally!

Jack turned around. "That's not my Christmas, my Christmas is filled with laughter and joy and this:my Sandy Claws outfit!" Jack showed her a picture of himself at a pumpkin patch, with a sinister smile and holding a jack-o-lantern, then flipped a drawing of the same thing, only he held a present instead of a jack-o-lantern, and he was wearing a red coat and a red triangle shaped hat with a white fluffy, cotton ball on the top with red pants and long, black boots surrounded by snow, instead of his black, torn suit.

"I want you to make it with Ramona!"

"Jack, please listen to me, it's going to be a disaster!" She pleaded.

"How could it be? Just follow the pattern, this part is red," he said pointing at the photo of him in his Sandy Claws outfit, completely unaware of what she was really talking about. "The trim is white," he described.

"It's a mistake, Jack!"

"Now don't be modest, you are clever enough to make my Sandy Claws outfit, and with Ramona to help you, it'll be perfect!" Jack pointed a boney finger at me.

"I have every confidence in you," he shoved Sally towards me as he addressed the next person in line.

"But it seems wrong to me, very wrong," she moaned. Suddenly three, ugly, little creatures called out to Jack as they rode in a walking bathtub with a big, black bag inside. I stared at it as Jack excitedly ran to them.

"Jack, Jack, we got him!" they cheered.

"Perfect!"

Samuel introduced himself to Sally just as a pink bunny rabbit leaped out of the bag. It startled me so much that I jumped.

"That's not Sandy Claws," Jack noticed.

The little monsters seemed confused.

"It isn't, who is it"? The two boys asked. The poor bunny was startled by Behemoth as he shouted out "BUNNY!" And the poor creature jumped back in his bag. Jack was frustrated. "Not Sandy Claws! Take him back"! He demanded.

"But we followed your instructions" the devil-looking one said.

Sally, Samuel and I exited the courthouse before Jack could get any angrier than he already was.

Chapter 6:

Stopping Christmas

Sally and I went into an open shed. There was the sewing machine and the material we needed to start. I let Samuel go on and do his own thing while Sally and I worked. We were both shy and didn't say a word to each other. I noticed she had stitched lines running across her lip and around her neck and one going down her chest and across her eye. Her skin was a dull blue, and her eyes were as big as tennis balls. After a while Sally insisted on sewing the rest of it. She wasn't smiling and never even glanced at me. I decided that I was going to have to be the one to break the silence.

"I'm sorry I never got to introduce myself, I'm Ramona" I greeted. She smiled faintly.

"Hello," was all she said.

"So, are you excited about Christmas?" I asked, imagining a giant Christmas tree catching on fire and spreading the flames to the rest of the town.

"Not really," she replied with a melancholy look on her face. Just then I remembered that back at the courthouse I overheard a conversation between Sally and Jack. Sally didn't seem enthusiastic about Christmas. In fact she was trying to convince Jack about something a fire just like Samuel and I had tried to do.

"Me neither"! I groaned. She stopped what she was doing and looked straight up at me.

"You saw it, too?" Her big eyes grew even bigger.

"All depends on what you saw"

"You won't believe what I saw!"

"What did you see?" I insisted kind of relieved that someone else besides Samuel was on the same page as me. Sally pulled out a small branch with smaller branches attached to it from her dress pocket. It looked just like the one Samuel and I discovered last night.

"It's a long story, but this was originally a flower. In just a moment the flower magically turned into a twirling Christmas tree and after that"…

"It burst into flames," I finished. She looked up at me in surprise.

"So you did see it," she shuddered.

"Samuel and I both did. We tried telling Jack but he wouldn't listen," I explained.

"Well what should we do?" She asked, panicked.

I tried to think of what we could do, but I'm not very good at making plans. I gave her a hopeless look. "I don't really know," I mumbled.

Sally put the scrap of wood back in the pocket of her dress and continued sewing. We tried taking our mind off of it, but how could we? We couldn't keep running away from it forever. I promised myself that from now until Christmas I would not give up. I will tie Jack up if I had to. I've only been living here for three days, but, I have fallen in love with this town. I couldn't let it fall into dust the second I got here!

Meanwhile, as Sally and I sewed the costume, other Halloween citizens were running around, trying to get things ready for Christmas. I almost felt sorry for them. Those poor creatures had no idea what lay ahead of them.

"So, you like Samuel?" Sally asked, changing the subject. I was caught off guard.

"How do you know? We just met!"

"I've seen you together all the time, it's pretty obvious," she laughed a little.

"Well, do you like anyone"? I asked. She looked shy again. "You can tell me!" I assured her.

She sighed and said slowly, "I sort of like Jack."

"Does he like you?" I asked.

"I don't know."

Sally and I finished the costume. We decided to go to Jack and have him try it on. When we arrived at his house, he invited us in. I immediately gave it to Jack to try on. Sally did some finishing touches to the outfit as he wore it.

"You don't look like yourself Jack, not at all," she noticed as she tugged the sleeve with her sewing needle going in and out of the fabric.

"Isn't that wonderful? It couldn't be more wonderful!" He triumphantly shouted. Sally tried her hardest to knock some sense into his empty skull.

"But you're the Pumpkin King!" She pulled out the picture of Jack as Sandy Claws and flipped that page over to where he actually looked like the Pumpkin King.

"Not anymore"! He took the picture from her and snapped it in half with his leg. "I feel so much better now!" He exclaimed.

"Jack, I know you think something's missing…"

"OW!" Jack cried as Sally accidently pricked his finger with the needle and Jack stuck his finger in his mouth like a little child.

"Sorry," Sally apologized.

"You're right; something is missing, but what? I've got the beard, the coat, the boots, the belt," he listed. He couldn't figure out what he was missing and he didn't seem to understand that Sally meant that something was missing in his life, not his costume.

Just then Shock, Lock and Barrel arrived with the actual Sandy Claws stuffed in the great, big, black bag in their walking bath tub. They called to Jack, saying that they really got him this time. Everyone crowded around the bag so that they could see Sandy Claws close up, everyone except Sally and me, who were separated from the crowd. We were just about the only people that didn't have any reason to meet the eye of death. We knew that we were all doomed!

"He sure is big Jack…!" Barrel began. "…And heavy!" Shock; the little witch girl continued, as they opened the bag. Out came Sandy Claws! He was extremely fat and had a long, white beard and wore a red coat with white, fluffy trimming. On his head was a triangular shaped hat with a white fuzzy ball on the end. I realized Sally and I forgot to make that.

"Sandy Claws, in person! What a pleasure to meet you!" Jack shook his hand and took a close look at it.

"Why you have hands, you don't have claws at all," Jack discovered. Sandy Claws looked around, still in the bag though, he rubbed his eyes as if it were a dream.

"Where am I?" He asked.

"Surprised aren't you? I knew you would be! You don't need to have another worry about Christmas this year," Jack explained. Sandy Claws looked so confused.

"Consider this a vacation Sandy. A reward, it's your turn to take it easy," he soothed.

"But there must be some mistake!" Sandy Claws retorted. Jack snatched Sandy's hat off his head and before we knew it, he was back in the bag again and was gone.

"This is worse than I thought, much worse," Sally murmured. Just then something clicked in her mind. "I know!" She grabbed my arm as she bolted towards Main Street. As soon we reached the sidewalk she released my arm. I didn't know where we were going but I just went with it. Over a hill was an abnormally shaped building. It was large and tall. The bottom part was like a large cylinder and the top was an immense sphere with a circular window. I was assuming that this was Sally's house. When we got up to her door steps she told me to wait there as she went inside. I waited there for about fifteen minutes when to my surprise, Samuel worked his way up to the door steps as well.

"I was looking all over for you. I hung out at the Spider Web Café for a long time and realized you weren't coming," he laughed, forgetting that he hadn't told me that he was going to the Spider Web Café.

I greeted him with a kiss. Samuel was puzzled as to why I was there. I explained that I was waiting for Sally and he still didn't seem to understand why I was there.

Thankfully, Sally opened the door. In her hands was a large, brown jar with the words Fog Juice on it. I wasn't sure where she was going with this.

"What's that"? Samuel asked.

"There's no time to explain! Jack is going to leave here on his sleigh tonight and if we don't stop him…" Sally stumbled down the door steps in a rush.

"No telling what will happen," I mumbled.

We needed to save Jack. Somehow this jar of Fog Juice was our only chance to prevent him from flying into the unknown. I was so scared that my arms and legs were shaking like a Chihuahua.

Sally, Samuel and I sprinted all the way back to town square. We were panting like dogs when we got there. Sally snuck up to the fountain with the green goo and poured the Fog Juice. The town's band was playing Here Comes Santa Clause in a minor chord. Just then, fog oozed out from the fountain as the Mayor was giving his speech to Jack.

Sally, Samuel and I joined the crowd and acted as if nothing had happened.

"Think of us as you soar triumphantly through the sky, out-shining every star, your silhouette a dark blot on the moon. You are our pride, you are our glory, and you have frightened millions of…" The fog got so thick that the Mayor couldn't read the speech that he had written on a sheet of paper to Jack.

Jack was heartbroken, he squatted down and whined "Oh no, we can't take off in this! The reindeer can't see an inch in front of their noses!" Sally sighed in relief, as did I. "There go all my hopes," Jack sobbed. "My precious plans, my glorious dreams!"

"There goes Christmas," The little corpse boy cried as everyone moaned.

Zero, Jack's ghost dog started barking like crazy. What was he up to? His nose started to glow in Jack's face.

"My, what a brilliant nose you have! The better to light my way"! Jack shouted in excitement, "You're the head of the team, Zero!"

Everyone cheered as Jack lifted up towards the moon. My mouth was agape. Samuel cursed under his breath in frustration.

Sally cried to him, "Wait Jack, no!"

But he couldn't hear her. Suddenly I grew angry with Jack. Everything turned black and I was alone. My face grew cold as my hair blew in my face. My legs grew tired. When I looked down to rub them I realized I was running faster than usual. I looked ahead of me; the sleigh was coming right over my head. As soon as it did I instinctively reached my arms up to grab a hold of the metal blade underneath.

I shrieked in pain with my arms, still holding tightly to the metal bar underneath the sleigh, causing Jack to finally realize I was there.

"Ramona, what are you doing under there?" He asked, startled.

"Help me!" I screeched. Jack leaned over to grab my hands. We were about 10,000 feet above the ground. Just imagining me slipping or Jack accidently letting go freaked me out. "Don't drop me!" I demanded.

"I've got you!" He painfully pulled my arms until I was all the way in. This was so overwhelming; my heart was practically vibrating like a cell phone. The wind was cold as we flew through it. The ride wasn't smooth at all. We were going up and down, like a roller coaster. My stomach churned. I looked straight down, all I saw was a snowy neighborhood. We had just entered the real world. The world; where nothing like this would happen, no magic, no talking trees and friendly ghosts. We were back where I came from and I didn't like it.

"Ramona, why are you here?" Jack asked as the sleigh smoothed out its path. I calmed down to answer.

"Look, you have to listen to me! You're making a big mistake!" I breathed heavily.

"That's strange, Sally said the same thing to me not too long ago," Jack realized.

"That's because she agrees with me! Jack, let's just go back to Halloween Town, forget about Christmas, trust me, it's going to be a big favor for everyone!"

"I can't do that, I have toys to deliver."

"I'm serious! Jack, please listen to me! Christmas is not your holiday, you live in Halloween Town. It's wrong to put them together," I managed to talk over the swishing sound of the wind.

"Ramona, I don't have time for your nonsense, just be quiet while I stop at this house," Jack reproached me in the nicest tone he could muster.

Just then the sleigh harshly landed on a snow-white roof. On top was a row of four lit up, plastic angels. As the sleigh thumped, one of the plastic angels slipped off and hung from the electric wire in front of a window. Jack shouted out "Ho, ho, ho!" As he grabbed a giant, green sack and leaped inside of the chimney. I waited in the freezing, cold for him. My arms started to freeze, and for a second I swore I could smell cookies. My stomach growled of hunger from the sweet smell of chocolate chips.

I waited there for about a half a minute for Jack to jump back out of the chimney with a strange laugh. When he rested in his seat in the sleigh I heard screaming from below. As we lifted up, he shouted, "Merry Christmas!"

I asked what he had done in that house in a tone that I would use if I were talking to a three year old. He didn't answer, all he did was smile. I was starting to realize that when the mayor said Jack was always out in a world of his own he wasn't exaggerating. I squished my eyes shut and prayed to our God almighty that Jack wouldn't get us killed.

We soared way up high into the chilly night sky. I dug in the sack of toys, looking for a blanket, or even a beach towel, to wrap myself in, but, all I found were toys. It was so cold I could see my breath; it looked like smoke was coming out of my mouth. I remembered back in my home town it used to be as cold as this. Usually I don't get paranoid but I was starting to wonder if this was another vision of how our Christmas would turn out. What if, right now, the town is already on fire? I never got to say "I love you," to Samuel one last time!

Chapter 7:

Sandy Claws

J ack's hilarious laughter was beginning to freak me out. It was as if he was going crazy. We landed on another roof; it was an old lady's house. I saw through the window, knitting in her rocking chair. Jack opened her door and placed a wreath on it.

Back in the air, I still didn't have a blanket. Jack landed on every roof in the whole neighborhood. He seemed to be having a lot of fun. I couldn't figure out why all the people screamed every time we left a house. They turned on their lights and a few seconds later we could hear them scream. I was getting suspicious, so the next time he landed on a roof I peeked through the window. Inside, the lights were still off, but I could see a Christmas tree in the corner of the house. It had red ornaments in the shape of balls. Jack slipped down the chimney and opened his sack of toys. Out came a large snake. It was orange with black, thick stripes. It slithered around the Christmas tree and happily declared it his home.

I knew that no child even ask for a monstrous snake like that. I figured they would want a doll or a toy fire truck.

"Jack, are you sure the kids in that last house will like that snake?" I asked as we traveled to the next house.

"Of course they will," he answered as if he thought my question was just a silly joke.

At the next house he left a creepy, little vampire teddy bear and a wooden, yellow duck with bloody bullet holes. I watched as a little girl and boy saw the toys and ran to them in excitement. As the girl hugged the vampire teddy bear, the boy jumped when the duck came to life along with the teddy bear and chased them screaming for the mother into their parents' bedroom.

I gasped. I wondered if Jack knew that his demon possessed toys were coming to life and chasing little kids around their houses. Every house we landed on I heard screaming. I thought this was so wrong. Instead of ruining Halloween Town he was ruining Christmas Town.

After a while Jack was getting locked out. One house had their fire place lit. Others just shut their windows and doors. Poor Jack; I started to wonder about him. I overheard from a radio in someone's car that someone was taking the place of Santa Claus and mangling this joyful holiday. I knew they were talking about Jack. But did Jack know they were talking about him? Did he know they were sending the military force out to get him? I didn't think he did; Jack was having so much fun flying around in his sleigh. He had no idea what they were doing down there.

I could hear loud sirens and search lights glared at us through the clouds. I gazed at Jack to see if he noticed all this madness.

"Look Zero, search lights!" Jack realized. I figured now he'd know what the search lights were for. I looked down and saw tanks rise and aim right for us. One shot a missile, but luckily missed. I moaned in fear.

"There're celebrating; they're thanking us for doing such a good job!" He shouted excitedly. I rolled my eyes; officially annoyed. One almost hit the sleigh but Jack shifted out of the way a little.

"Whoa, careful down there, you almost hit us!" He called to them.

"Jack, they're trying to hit us!" I blurted out. Zero barked in fear.

"No they are not silly girl, it's okay Zero, head higher!"

The sleigh swung higher into the sky. My body pressed harder against the sleigh as the force pushed me back in my seat. The wind blasted through my face as hard as it could. We were finally over the clouds. At least the military won't see us anymore. Jack pulled out a list that was so long it blew in the wind.

"Let's see, who's next on my list? Oh, little Harry and Jordan, won't they be surprised?"

I glanced down at the faded blue clouds. They seemed to have calmed me a little. I wanted to get cozy and fall asleep, but Jack was making me nervous. All this time I had been against Christmas. I began to be afraid that I had moved into a mad town. Everyone there was always overly excited about everything. They made a big deal out of me moving into their town and of course their Halloween, and now, Christmas.

Besides the fact that Christmas might be a burden to our town, I've been meaning to ask Jack where he found out about Christmas. I mean Jack couldn't have made it up right? He had to have gotten it from somewhere. I wish I could figure it all out.

Missiles flew towards us and Jack dodged all of them. It felt like a roller coaster. Up, down and sideways, I was starting to feel queasy. I hung my head over the clouds and moaned in sickness.

Jack was shouting at Zero to go faster, but a missile shot up right over us and before I could have time to warn him we were falling. The heat of the fire made my face burn. It hurt so much I forgot I was falling, but then I screamed. Louder than Jack; I was afraid of death and also the fact that I may never see my new love ever again!

"MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!" Jack screamed as we fell to our doom. He looked over at me in a way that he might never get to see me again. I looked straight up at the sky that was suddenly getting farther and farther. The sleigh and the sack of toys were burning from the fire that the missile created. It wasn't as much fire as I thought it would be, but I was still scared and my face still burned.

Nothing was underneath me, nothing was over me. I had no foundation, though the sky was still painted over my head. I looked down and saw how close we were getting. The buildings grew bigger. I screamed and closed my eyes preparing for the hard fall. I felt a tear roll down and then fly up in the air as it released. I made another ear-splitting scream as I landed. I grunted in pain once I harshly touched the snowy ground. It was as if I did a belly flop in the pool after I jumped off a 10 ft diving board. I twisted my arms as I tried putting them in front of me when I landed and now I realize that was a bad choice. I blacked out a few minutes. When I woke up, I looked around; it was hard because everything was so blurry. As things cleared up I discovered that I was in a grave yard. Lying on the freezing snow, I couldn't move my arms to wipe away the dirt that was all over my mouth. I gagged and spit some out. The snow did cool my burning cheeks though. But after a while my body heat melted the snow until it was water.

I finally built the strength to get up and slumped on a bench nearby. I cried and cried and couldn't stop. I knew for a fact that we would never see Halloween Town again and I would never see Samuel's beautiful face ever again. We were stuck here in this plain world, no love, no curiosity, no excitement, no Halloween, no Samuel! I cried even more now. All I want is for Samuel to be here right now, hugging me close to his warm body, comforting me as I cry. Oh, the agony hurt me to the core. My throat was sore from screaming and my skin was getting tired of the snow.

In front of me was a large statue of an angel, holding an opened Bible in her hands. Jack was lying on the Bible. His jaw was missing, but he didn't care. Zero returned his jaw to him. I think he finally realized all the bad that he had created.

"What have I done, what have I done? How could I be so blind"? Jack cried, finally noticing what he had done. He looked down at me and said, "But I never intended all this madness, never, and nobody really understood…well how could they?"

"That's all I've ever wanted was to bring them something great! Why does nothing ever turn out like it should!" he wondered to himself.

I was just wondering how we were ever going to get back to Halloween Town. I want Samuel; I suddenly remembered the pretty necklace he gave me. I pressed it against my chest. My heart started pumping blood a lot slower. My pinky twitched, feeling a pulse in my arms again, I wrapped my arms around me to keep me warm from this snow. I felt so weak and practically dead, but I used all of my strength to lift myself up until I was sitting there.

I was scared; Jack ripped off his Sandy Claws outfit and was once again overly excited about the next Halloween already and I just wanted to go home. The snow numbed my hands and turned them purple. Freaked out; I stood and wiped the snow off my lap. Just then something brought him back to reality and he seemed anxious about something.

"Aaah, Sandy Claws!" he gasped. He stuffed Sandy's hat in his black suit and opened a double door underneath the angel statue. I had to run after him in order to catch up.

Suddenly we were back in Halloween Town.

"Come on Zero, Christmas isn't over yet!" He had a determined look on his face.

"Jack, where are we going?" I asked, trying to keep up with his long, spider-like legs.

"Trying to find Sandy Claws!"

We ran through the main entrance of Halloween Town's grave yard. Zero glowed in the night sky as he floated in the air by Jack's side. We ran as fast as we could. I didn't know where Shock, Lock and Barrel put Sandy Claws and neither did Jack. We sprinted over a steep hill. Up ahead of us was a narrow bridge. It didn't look very strong to support the both of us.

"Help, help!" I heard a voice call from below the bridge. Jack and I realized it was Sally. I couldn't see her anywhere, just a foggy hole. Jack hushed Zero and me as he snuck in down there. He climbed down a rope. I heard another voice in there, laughing evilly. It was a deep voice. He seemed to have called himself: Oogie Boogie. I couldn't see so I hushed Zero and snuck down there as well. I held tightly to the rope and slid down. My hands weren't numb anymore but now they turned red from the rope burn. Sally screamed even louder in terror. What was Oogie doing to her?

"Five, six, seven," Oogie counted quickly.

Still sliding down the rope I met up with Jack. He looked through a round window with crooked bars through it. He looked up and saw it was me who was above him he moved downwards some so I could also take a peek through the window.

I saw Sally and Sandy Claws tied up on a flat sheet of metal. Oogie was pulling a lever as the death trap arose and caused them to slide into a big bowl of hot lava. Before they could fall anymore, to my surprise Jack was on the other side where Sally and Sandy were. When I realized he was there I looked down and saw that he must have snuck off when I wasn't looking. I didn't know where Sally and Sandy were, but I didn't want to hang here any longer. I felt my hands were going to rip off. I huffed in pain, feeling abandoned. Jack ditched me, I didn't have Samuel by my side and Sally suddenly disappeared.

I decided, what the heck, I'll go down there and see what all the commotion was. As I climbed down the noise of evil laughter and sounds of things spinning grew louder. At last I leapt down from the rope and managed to find the floor. I saw this strange spinning wheel, like what you would find at a casino, only there aren't sharp objects trying to kill you. Jack, as skinny as he is, crouched down like a crippled spider and dodged all of the spinning knives. I hid behind a wall and watched. Jack was getting closer to Oogie. When he realized Jack was gaining on him he started trying to run.

Oogie Boogie reminded me of a big, fat pillow. He was light brown and had a ghostly, triangular head and big, dark eyes. It looked like he was sowed together almost.

Suddenly, Oogie leaped and pushed a button. When he did, a piece of thread from his fingerless hand was caught on it and caused it to grab a hold of the thread. A spinning, circular saw was headed towards Jack.

"Jack, look out"! Sally called from where ever she was hiding. I tried looking around for her but couldn't.

Jack was an inch close to being shredded in half until he jumped out of the way. I had to help him, but how could I? I looked around for something; an idea of any kind would be helpful. I watched the piece of thread; I wonder what's inside of him that makes him look so fat? Suddenly, that gave me an idea, so I jumped on the spinning wheel of death and in no time I was right in front of the thin string.

Oogie leapt on top of a long ceiling fan as it got closer.

"So long, Jack!" Oogie laughed. The string got longer and longer as he got farther from where it was stuck. As he tried to escape I pulled on the string. He was beginning to get worried.

"Hey, you there; little girl, stop it!" He called in horror. It was harder to pull than I thought it would be. Jack went behind me and helped.

"How dare you treat my friends so shamefully!" Jack growled as he pulled harder and harder. Swiftly, Oogie's arm started to open up and to my surprise creepy crawlies poured out and into the lava. The string got loose enough to get caught in the spinning fan and as it got tangled up with the rest of Oogie's skin, more and more bugs fell in the lava. It was gross and horrifying.

"Now look what you've done!" Oogie screamed in pain. "My bugs, my bugs, my bugs, my bugs!" He kept crying out until there was nothing left of him. I saw that Sally came out of her hiding place along with Sandy Claws as we all watched Oogie's bugs burn in the lava. My skin began to crawl.

Zero made his way down by Jack's side. I saw one of the bugs was spared from the lava, but before it had time to escape this dredged place Sandy Claws squished it. I think this was going to be a Christmas to remember.

Chapter 8:

A Christmas to Remember

S andy Claws seemed furious.

"Forgive me Mr. Claws, I'm afraid I made a terrible mess with your holiday," Jack moaned, he handed him the hat.

"Bumpy sleigh ride, Jack, the next time you get the urge to take over someone else's holiday I'd listen to her!" Sandy Claws growled as he pointed a finger at Sally. "She's the only one that makes any sense around this insane asylum!"

Sandy mumbled under his breath as he snatched the hat out of his hands and found his way out.

"I hope there's still time!" Jack called behind him.

"To fix Christmas, of course there is, I'm Santa Clause!" He held his nose as he magically floated up in mid air and into a small tube. He was gone.

"He'll fix things Jack, he knows what to do," Sally comforted, resting her hand on his shoulder.

"How, why did you get down here Sally?" Jack asked. Sally stammered, knowing she had a crush on him, I thought it was kind of cute.

"To help me?"

"I couldn't let you just"-

"Sally, I can't believe I've never realized that you"-

"Jack, Jack!" The mayor called from above with a bright light shining down on us.

"There he is, alive!" Lock shouted.

"Just like we said!" Shock announced.

The mayor dropped a rope down to us. "Grab a hold, my boy!"

Jack held the rope with one hand and held Sally's hand with the other. It was sweet to watch but I wish Samuel were here with me. I touched the pretty necklace he gave me this morning, remembering him, and missing him as well.

When we were all inside the mayor's hearse we drove to the town square, where everyone was cheering for the presence of Jack.

"Jack's okay and he's back! He's alright, let's shout. Make a fuss scream it out!" They chanted.

I was surprised at how much the citizens of Halloween Town worshiped Jack. I searched the crowd for Samuel but couldn't find him.

"Jack is back now everyone sing, in our town of Halloween!" The citizens continued to sing.

"It's great to be home!" Jack shouts out.

Up in the sky was Sandy Claws passing by the moon, on his sleigh being pulled by living reindeers not skeleton ones like Jack's."Happy Halloween!" He shouted.

"Merry Christmas!" Jack shouted back to him.

Just then the wind grew cold and snow began to fall, I shivered, still sweeping the crowd for my love. In relief, I saw him in the crowd and ran to him, like, there was no tomorrow.

"Samuel"! I cried, pushing everyone out of my way.

"Ramona, oh my goodness, where'd you go?" He asked as I jumped on him like a little girl.

"Long story," was all I said. "I missed you so much!" I whined, brushing my fingers through his hair.

The snow on the ground was thickening. When Samuel put me down, my feet sunk in it.

"What's this, what's this? I haven't got a clue?" A creature asked himself, somewhere in the crowd.

"What's this? Why it's completely new!"

"What's this? Must be a Christmas thing!"

"What's this? It's really very strange"!

Samuel and I found ourselves in a snowball fight with other Halloween creatures. The snow back at my old town wasn't as much as fun as it was in Halloween Town.

The Halloween Town citizens were so excited about the snow; they'd never seen it before. The vampires were playing ice hockey and the mayor was eating a snowflake. Shock, Lock and Barrel threw snowballs at Jack and hid behind a snowy hill.

I saw Sally pick a flower and depressingly wander off into the grave yard. Jack seemed compassionate about poor Sally; he was starting to show his true feelings for her. She seemed sad and thought that Jack had forgotten her, what with all of his fame. I tugged on Samuel's arm to get him to follow me.

"Jack," I exclaimed. He faced me. "Run to her. She loves you," I whispered to him.

He looked back to where he saw Sally last, wondering if I was telling the truth. In just seconds Jack was gone; he ran to Sally. I thought it was quite romantic. I wanted to see this. I dragged Samuel to the grave yard to spy on Jack and Sally; I wanted to see what Jack was going to do.

The path was so dark. On each side of the path were huge, dead trees. It would have been hard to see without the big, yellow moon brightening the path for us. Finally, the wall of trees vanished and we were out in the open grave yard. Up ahead was Curly Mountain. It was covered in snow and Sally was sitting on top of it. She was picking off petals of her flower. Thinking she'd never have a special moment with Jack again, but at least she'd have him in her dreams.

Samuel and I hid in our pumpkin patch as we watched Jack sing to her, looking through the wrought iron fence that divided the patch from the rest of the grave yard and Curly Mountain.

Jack approached her from below Curly Mountain, asking her if he could join her. She said yes and he slowly, yet faithfully climbed up the mountain with his extremely long legs. She stood up as Jack grabbed her hands and at once, so, very romantically; they leaned in towards each other for a fine, first kiss indeed.

The stars were scattered across the dark, blue sky. The big, yellow moon caused the snow on Curly Mountain to glitter. I smiled as I watched and Samuel laughed. Feeling a bit romantic myself; I grabbed Samuel and we kissed as well. This was surely the best Christmas ever.

Epilogue

Later on that romantic evening, Samuel and I, along with Jack and Sally; all walked back to town together. We stopped at the Spider Web Café for dinner. It was a cold winter and for the first time I didn't mind it. I had friends and felt true happiness for the first time in my life. I felt that I had a happy, happy life ahead of me.

Remembering that dreadful, down- right depressing town, when I dreamt all that I have now, I was glad those days were behind me now, and I was living a life worth living. I have a new family, a new place to actually call home-Halloween Town. This is Halloween; the place where I want to be! I love it here!

"So," Samuel said. We all stopped talking and paid attention to what he was about to say.

"Jack, are you thinking about doing Christmas next year?" He asked sarcastically, which Jack did not notice. He rubbed his long, boney finger on the back of his skull; thinking of an answer. What was Jack thinking? I don't think I could relive another Christmas like this one!

"Samuel, my dear boy, I think Halloween Town is perfectly fine without Christmas in our hands," He explained. Samuel nodded, slowly. I sighed in relief. No Christmas next year, however, this Christmas was pretty crazy and memorable. It was an adventure I had been craving, though my arms and legs still ached from when Jack and I fell in the snowy grave yard. I could still feel that awful feeling when I was falling to my doom.

Finding myself back to reality, Sally and Jack were happily together, I watched as they laughed and kissed. It made me smile. Boy, I've missed smiling.

"How's your spaghetti, Ramona?" Samuel asked as he laughed a little.

"Oh, it's good," I managed to say. It was nice to soften the day by going out together on a double date.

When we were all done with our Christmas dinner we walked back to my place to say good- bye. Unfortunately, Jack and Sally live on the other side of town, so they have a long way to go; hopefully it'll be a romantic walk through town for them.

After they left it was just Samuel and I.

"Well, Ramona," he turned to face me. It was a cold night and the moon was shining down on us, just like that unforgettable night in the pumpkin patch. We looked at each other's faces. His hair was pure black and his skin was as white as the snow. His eyes were a rich blue. His face looked so smooth and so perfect; I felt that I must touch it! As I did, he touched mine, too; like a mirror. In just minutes our lips met again and we kissed until I needed to breathe. This was truly a Christmas to remember!

"Good night," I whispered in his ear. He didn't want to stop kissing; I had to gently shove him away.

"Good night, my beautiful," he whispered in mine.

I went inside my house. I looked out the window and Samuel was gone. I felt sad, I already missed him. I felt a tear running down my cheek but I didn't wipe it away, I let it fall as far as it could go. I'll see him tomorrow. I reminded myself. I'm not going anywhere.

That next morning I quickly arose from bed to get myself ready for the day. I wore another dress that I bought with Samuel and, of course, my necklace. The dress was bright crimson with black lacing trim. It ended over the knees so I tried on some long boots. I ran out the door expecting to find Samuel at my door step, but instead I was face to face with the mayor.

"Oh, Ramona, you're awake!" he laughed to himself.

"Um… yeah," I wondered to myself as to what he wanted. The last time I really met him was when he took me to my new home. "Can I help you?" I asked, warily.

"Oh, I'm just checking in on you; making sure you're alright," he smiled.

""I'm doing just fine, thank you" I smiled down at him.

I walked out the door as he followed.

"It's a pretty nice neighborhood isn't it? Made any new friends lately?" The mayor continued on. I nodded, excitedly. He walked back to his hearse.

"Hope you have a good day today," he wished. I nodded again.

"So… just out of the curiosity… are you thinking about going back home? You know; the place where you came from? I understand if you're a little home sick," He mumbled. Perhaps he doesn't me want to leave.

"Actually Mr. Mayor," I said, looking out at the view where I could see the grey bricked road and the long, skinny, leafless trees all around. The large fountain was there in a distance and far, far away I could see Curly Mountain. I could feel the fresh air, cold and yet cozy, blowing softly on my cheeks and through my hair. Something warm just landed in my heart, it was telling me that this was home now; this is where I belong!

"I don't think you can get rid of me that easily. This is my home now; in my town of Halloween!"

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