Chapter 2

Pumpkins Scream In The Dead of Night

Oogie was bored out of his mind, or whatever was considered to be his mind. He was slumped

up against the back of the metal slab he had once used to hold down Sally and Sandy Claws. Of

course, it had been quite a few years since then, which gave some of the leftover bugs enough

time to regroup and reassemble back into his original form, complete with even the burlap

material. But because of the fact that Jack worked together with the mayor during that time to

make sure that the doors to the other holidays could not and would not ever be opened again,

Oogie had not gotten to have any fun with a victim since Sandy. It was aggravating him and he

was racking his brain for ideas on how and where to find another victim. "Ugh… What should I

do? I'm feeling bored! So bored, in fact, that I don't think even a good ol' batch of snake n'

spider stew would make me feel any better!" he sighed.

He was just about to place the back of what would be his hand on his forehead out of stress

when he suddenly got an idea. "I know!" he shouted with excitement and sinister laughter as

he got up to move over to the chute that connected his chambers to that of Lock, Shock, and

Barrel's. "Hello, kiddies! I've got something I need you to do for me, and you better do it right,

or I'll throw you all into the next batch of snake n' spider stew!" he made his voice boom down

through the metal tunnel and imagined the sheer power of it knocking them over, which made

him grin. Shock jumped off of the couch, knocking over Lock and Barrel, and made her way over

to the chute. She cupped her little gloved hands on the sides of her mouth, took a deep breath,

and yelled back, "Of course, Mr. Boogie Man! But what, specifically, would you be wanting us to

do?!", as Lock and Barrel rolled over with peals of mocking laughter in the background.

"Well…" Oogie mused, "Why don't you three little ghouls run along and find me a way outta

here?!" his voice doubled in fierceness and loudness. "Ghouls?" said Barrel, looking confused.

"HEYYYY! We're no GHOULS!" Lock shouted angrily as he got to his feet. Shock turned her head

slightly, with an angry glare and yelled, "SHUT UP! Ghouls are better than you two, anyway!".

"Says the bitch…" grumbled Lock as he turned his back to her and folded his arms, swishing his

tail madly behind him. "WHAT did you just call me?!" Shock left the chute and marched over to

Lock, ready to strangle him. On hearing the beginnings of a fight, Oogie's grin widened even

further. This was just adding to the fun he was expecting. Of course, he did actually want them

to go out and find a way for him to find a victim, but it was an added bonus for now to hear

drama going on. At least it was noise to shatter the silence that had so long pervaded the

house.

"A witch! I called you a witch!" Lock shouted into Shock's face. "No, he didn't!" Barrel chimed

in, "He called you a bitch!". "You called me a bitch?! Why I aughtta…" Shocked yelled as she

wound up her arm to throw a punch in Lock's face. The only thing that stopped her was the fact

that Lock quickly pointed to an old broken mirror that was glittering and lying on the floor,

saying "Hey, look! It's glowing!". Shock dropped Lock onto the ground on the spot and rushed

over to pick up the mirror and rub off some of the dust. "Hey… You're right! It is glowing!"

giggled Barrel, clapping his hands with excitement. "Shhh! Shut up! I hear something!" Shock

half whispered to them in a very rough tone. When the boys had quieted themselves down, all

three children could hear the sound of running water, as well as a female voice filled with

confusion, but they could not make out the words it had said. Then, the mirror began

emanating a sharp ringing sound over and over, spooking the trick-or-treaters and causing

them to hide behind the couch.

"Wh-What was th-that?" Lock thought aloud when the mirror went silent. "Th-That's n-n-no o-

ordinary m-mirror, th-th-that's f-for s-s-sure…" Barrel had a difficult time keeping his teeth from

chattering long enough for him to talk. "Oh, s-s-stop b-being s-s-scaredy c-cats…" Shock jabbed

at them both before creeping back over to the mirror to see if everything was okay. The mirror

was as blank as ever and no sounds came from it, so Shock supposed it was okay to touch it

again. This time, she tried to touch the glass part, but to her surprise, her arm went straight

through! "Hey! Dimwits! Check this out!" she whispered as she waved her half-stuck arm

around, showing them that the mirror was a portal like they had been ordered to find.

"We found it! We found it!" Lock and Barrel's devious grins returned full force as they leapt up

and down with joy before rushing to Shock's side. "Oh, goodie! You've found a portal? Send it

down here now!" Oogie's voice thundered up from the chute and nearly toppled them over,

mirror and all. "Of course, Mr. Boogie Man! Right away! Look out below!" the three of them

yelled in unison as they took up the mirror and shoved it down the chute. Oogie couldn't

contain his joy. As the mirror traveled through the chute, he was dancing with delight and

salivating for his escape. As he threw out his arms after a twirl, the mirror landed right in his

hands with a beautiful little shimmer around it's rim. The trip through the chute had greatly

altered it's dimensions, so now it was just the right size for Oogie to go through. He quickly set

it up against his Wheel of Misfortune and laughed maniacally and with sinister effect as he

crossed through it into the other world.

When he arrived, it was at first horrifying. He saw something that looked like a bed, but it just

did not look comfortable. It didn't have snakes or teeth, claws or fangs. Instead, it was made of

wood and had a bright magenta tone to it which, for someone from a dark world, was blinding.

Everything else was also just as terrifying. The night stand was not alive, the toilet in the

bathroom to his left had no eyes or teeth, and though the tub had legs, they could not move!

But Oogie was determined not to let this get the best of him and resolved not to leave until he

had gotten himself a new victim. He heard a door shut a few rooms over and very soon after,

he heard a loud roaring noise start up down below and then fade out into the distance as it

moved away at a fast pace. Well, he thought slyly, that might have been my next victim. I'm

gonna follow'em! Poor sack won't know what hit'em!. As he crept towards one of the windows

for an escape route, adrenaline began rushing through every bug inside of him for the thrill of a

chase.