It's the day of the party, and Jack is determined to go. But after the seemingly dire predictions at the Pole, what's going to happen to him? Read on to find out!
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By the time Jack arrived at Jamie's house the following Saturday, the party was in full swing. Children and adults filled the backyard. Cheerful conversation and happy screams mingled with music to create a decidedly festive atmosphere. It was exactly the type of celebration to make the guardian of fun feel right at home. If only it weren't so hot. Not a single cloud dotted the cerulean sky, dashing any hopes that Jack had that the day might prove to be a cool one. He wondered if he couldn't create a small blizzard, but decided against it, partially because he was worried that it might ruin Jamie's party and partially because the heat was making him feel so drained that he wasn't sure he could summon up a snowstorm even if he wanted to.
"Oh well," he thought, "I'll just make that best of the situation and try to stay in the shade as much as possible." Pulling his hood forward and one last time for protection, he angled downwards and into the thick of the party.
He landed softly on the grass, feeling glad for once that he was invisible to most people. It allowed him to make his way inconspicuously through the crowd of grownups, over to the little patch of grass where the children were congregated. It didn't take Jack long to spot Jamie bouncing with his friends in the giant blue bounce house. He waved to this little friend, wincing slightly as the summer sun beat down on him.
"Jack!" Jamie exclaimed, catching sight of him while in mid-jump. Distracted, the boy didn't pay as much attention as he should have to his landing, ending up falling hard on the rubber floor of the inflatable, then rolling right out the flapped door and onto the ground with a "thud."
"Jamie!" Jack cried, rushing forward. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Jamie replied, lifting his face up from the ground. He spit out a mouthful of grass and dirt, along with something small and white. "Oh cool, I lost a tooth!" he said excitedly, picking it up and holding it out for Jack to see.
"Nice," Jack laughed. He never grew tired of Jamie's endless enthusiasm. "You'll have to make sure to put it under your pillow for one of Tooth's fairies to pick up tonight."
"Or," said a musical voice from behind them, "you could save them the trouble and give it right to me."
"Tooth Fairy!" the boy cried in delight as he looked past Jack. "Easter Bunny! Santa Claus! Sand Man!" Jack turned around to see the rest of guardians standing just inside the gate.
"Surprise! Happy Birthday!" Tooth sang, flittering over to Jamie. She slipped a shiny coin into his hand as she took the tooth from him. "Sh, don't tell the other fairies I was working off the clock," she whispered jokingly, giving him a wink.
"Nuh-uh," Jamie agreed, grinning from ear to ear.
"Many Happy Birthdays to you Jamie," North said, laughing with all his jolly might. "I can feel it in my belly that this is going to be a very special year for you."
"Um, thanks?" Jamie said, a little confused. All traces of hesitancy disappeared, though, when North swung his sack down to the ground and invited him to look inside. "Oh, awesome!" he cried excitedly, his voice muffled by the cloth. He reappeared a moment later holding five little wooden figures, carved and painted to look exactly like the guardians. "It's you guys! Thanks Santa!" North gave him a cheerful nod.
Not to be outdone, Bunnymund hopped forward with his own gift. "Happy Birthday mate," he said, handing Jamie a smaller version of one of his own boomerangs. "Now don't go throwing that around without proper supervision," he warned him. "That can be dangerous if used improperly, but I'm planning to give you a little training on how to use it."
"Wow." Jamie looked up at him, awed. "Thank you." Bunnymund twitched his whiskers in a pleased way.
Sandy was next. He handed Jamie a small sack with a label that read, "Extra Special Birthday Dream. Directions: Pour over head at bedtime, guaranteed to create wonderful dreams and restful night's sleep."
"Thanks," Jamie said, smiling at the strange but wonderful gift. Sandy bowed and tipped a golden hat to him, giving him a cheerful thumbs-up with his free hand.
By this time, most of the children at the party had taken notice of the guardians and were crowding around, anxious to catch a glimpse of the legendary figures. Jack was surprised that more than a few actually saw him, and started pointing him out to the others. He knew he had Jamie to thank for it, and he would have been even more excited if he weren't feeling like a popsicle left out too long in the sun. Still, he tried to keep a smile on his face as he made his way to the edge of the crowd, letting his better known colleagues take the spotlight. He headed for the one tree in the yard, hoping to find some respite from the heat. He barely had the energy to stumble into its shadow. A few moment later he realized that even it wouldn't do much good—the stifling summer air was all around him, like a constrictive cocoon or a smothering blanket. He could literally feel the cold melting off and out of him, running down his skin in little streams of water. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong. His head was spinning, and his limbs felt like lead weights. His vision was starting to blur, so he could barely make out Jamie breaking away from the group and heading over to him.
"Jack? Are you okay? Jack!" The words sounded like they were coming through a tunnel, spoken from a million miles away. It felt like the whole world was melting around him, finally crashing over him in one dark wave.
"Help!" Jamie screamed as he saw Jack tumble to the ground. "Please, somebody help!" Tears ran down his face as he reached his friend. He grabbed Jack's hand. It wasn't freezing like it usually was. I wasn't even cold—it was hot. "No," he whispered, fighting back sobs as he felt the other guardians joining him.
"Oh no!" Tooth cried, her voice catching. Sandy was sending up a cacophony of distress signals.
"Ax!" North gasped as he caught sight of the boy.
"Jack, consarnit you fool, what were you thinking? Don't you dare leave us!" Bunnymund shouted, reaching past Jamie and shaking the comatose guardian. "Wake up! C'mon, wake up!"
"Stop it!" Jamie sob-shouted. "You'll hurt him!"
Bunnymund looked like he wanted to argue, but North stopped him. "Wait, something's happening!" Slowly, almost imperceptibly, Jack's skin and hair began to grow darker. His cheeks took on a rosy glow, and suddenly breath started to pass through his lips. Jamie let out a joyous shout.
"Oh thank God!" Tooth sighed. "He's alive!"
"Yes he's alive, but look at him!" Bunnymund cried. "He looks totally different."
"Not totally," North said, rubbing his chin agitatedly. "But yes, this is strange. I wonder what other changes—" Before he could finish his sentence, an adult female voice cried out.
"Oh my! Jamie, what's happened?" A lady with dark brown hair and big brown eyes raced towards them. Oblivious to the four guardians, she knelt beside both boys and took Jack's head in her hands.
"You—you can see him?" Jamie stammered, still recovering from the shock of almost losing his friend. The guardians all exchanged a look.
"Of course I can see him," the lady replied impatiently. But a moment later she tenderly brushed a lock of Jack's hair off of his face. "Who is he, and what happened to him?"
"He's a friend of mine," Jamie explained through his tears. "He f-fainted."
"No wonder," the woman said, shaking her head. "This heat is enough to make anyone pass out. He must have gotten dehydrated. Fredrick? Fredrick!" She waved a tall man with blond hair and broad shoulders over. "Please take this young man inside. He's fainted from the heart and needs to get cooled down."
"Of course," the man replied, reaching down and picking up Jack as easily and gently as if he were handling a lamb. He had an odd look on his face as he headed back towards the house, walking straight through an invisible North. North gasped, involuntarily grabbing his middle.
"Come on Jamie, let's follow them in and make sure your friend is all right," Jamie's mom said. She took Jamie by the shoulder and steered him towards the house, calling as she went, "I'm sorry everyone, but the party is concluding a little early. Thank you very much for coming."
As people filed out of the yard, North turned to the others, his eyes still wide with shock. "Did-you-see-that?" he finally whispered.
"Yeah, they just took Jack into the house!" Tooth cried, her wings beating erratically. "We need to go after him!"
"Not that luv," Bunnymund said, putting a hand on her shoulder to keep her from flying off. "Those adults could see him. They could touch him. And unless they're believers—which I seriously doubt since that man just walked through North—something has gone seriously wrong with Jack."
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Oh my goodness! Jack had a meltdown—literally! What's going to happen to him now?! We'll find out in the next chapter.
