Chapter 6

Barrel popped another candy corn into his mouth as he made his way to the club house. He was almost out of them so he was going to have to restock next time he went to the shriek shop. As soon as he opened the door Barrel knew there was something not right. He stepped into his house and into his room and there he saw the same figure that tried to hurt Holly. Barrel immediately garbed him and shoved him up against the wall "What the hell are you doing here? And what the hell did you want with the Princess?" he demanded.

Suddenly and without warning his face was up against the wall. "I don't have to tell you anything." the stranger said in a deep voice.

"Yes you do!" Barrel cried then managed to get away from him. Next thing he knew was he and the stranger were throwing punches everywhere. Barrel was bleeding from a cracked lip and his entire face was hurting. The stranger wasn't bleeding, but Barrel had managed to throw a few good punches too. Suddenly something grabbed his shoulder and threw him to the ground and the voice of Shock entered his ears.

"What the hell are you doing, Barrel?" she demanded.

Barrel wiped his lip of blood then glared at her. "This guy attacked the princess the other night and now he's in our home! What do you think I'm doing!" he snapped at her.

Shock sighed "Damn Barrel I knew you were an idiot, but I didn't realize you were this stupid!" she then walked over to the stranger and put her hands on his shoulder and said "This is Jr. Oogie Boogie Jr. We have agreed to help him with something."

..::-::..

After Shock had finished explaining who Jr. was and what they planed to do, he stood up and started to leave. "where are you going?" Shock exclaimed. "We need your help!"

Barrel turned to his former friends and glared at them saying "No way. I'm through with you guys. If you want to ruin your afterlives fine, but I'm done." he turned to go, but Lock stopped him.

"You wouldn't want anything to happen to that new girl of yours, would you?" Lock said looking up from the knife he was playing with.

Barrel turned and faced him paler than a ghost "You wouldn't."

"Oh believe me," Lock said walking up to him "we would."

"So what's it gonna be?" Shock asked with an evil smile.

Barrel lowered his eyes "Fine."

Holly had cried all the way to Spiral Hill. How could her father be that cruel! She knew that the Trick-Or-Treaters had a bad streak behind them, but Barrel was different! Why did he have to say that? Holly always knew she was different from her father and mother and the whole town for that matter, but with Barrel she finally felt like she belonged. She finally felt like she wasn't a freak. "WHY?" she screamed through her tears. "Why is everything I do not good enough?" she cupped her face in her hands and continued to cry.

Barrel rolled over on his bed and looked at the clock in the corner of his room. 10:00. He sighed. He didn't want to be part of this. He was trying to start a new life and he really cared about Holly. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, but he couldn't think of any other way. If he had told her; Lock, Shock and Jr. would find out and if he had told Jack or sally they would've found out about that too. Jr. had told him earlier that he had his bugs all over the city. Suddenly Barrel heard a faint scream in the distance. That had sounded like Holly, and it didn't sound like the good scream. He sat strait up and hopped out of bed. He then remembered that Jr. was sharing his room with him so he silently went to his closet and pulled on his cloths and shoes then raced out the door not knowing that he was being followed.

Holly screamed again, but this time more in frustration then sadness. She then heard the sound of faint barking and within moments saw her father's best friend, Zero. Zero whined at her and nosed her hand for her to pet him. She sighed "Hi, Zero." she said tiredly scratching him behind his ears. "Are you mad at my dad too?" she asked, but before he could answer she heard someone call her name.

"Holly?" Holly looked up and saw that it was Barrel coming towards her.

She couldn't help, but smile "Barrel!" she cried happily racing to him. When they reached each other she hugged him fiercely and asked "What are you doing here? Is everything okay?"

Barrel barely hugged her back. "No, I'm fine, but I heard you scream and was-" he cut off thinking about what he was about to say "wondering why you did?" he finished. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I'm sorry I worried you." Holly said lowering her head. She then began to tell him what happened with her father. After she was done they were sitting on top of the hill. "I just never thought he could do something like this." Holly said finishing sadly. Barrel just sat there quietly until she was done.

"Maybe," Barrel began softly "your dad's right." he finished looking deadly at her.

Holly looked up at him surprised to hear him say that and a bit scared. "What?"

"You know it was fun at first, but I just don't feel that way towards you." Barrel continued looking away from her.

"What do you mean?" she asked hoping this was all just a dream.

"What I mean is, I don't want to see you anymore! I never really cared about you, it was just for fun! I mean come on! Who would like you? You who screw up everything and don't know when to just give up!" Barrel cried looking back at her glaring. It was taking all he had to say these cruel things and not take them back.

"Barrel I," Holly began reaching for him, but he pulled away "I didn't know that bothered you. I'm sorry, but I can't change who I am." after a moments thought she added "And how dare you say that to me! How can you be so cruel?" she cried standing up.

"I'm not being cruel, I'm just telling you the truth." Barrel said standing as well. "I just wanted-" Barrel took a breath he knew he had to say this, but it was going to kill him. "I just wanted to get your father angry! We want the town and him to suffer and the only way that it worked was getting to you! I never cared about you! You were just a means to the end! Just something we could throw away." he looked at her now and saw her face. She was hurt and shocked. The tears silently fell down her sweet face and he knew that this was goodbye. "And this is me getting rid of the trash!" he said at last then turned around and ran away. He knew that if he had walked she would have seen his tears fall too.

Holly watched him go then fell to the ground. "Why did he have to leave me now? I don't know why I don't know how. Was it something that I had said? That he should lead me no he led. Why did he do this to me? And now we'll never, end up together. Why can't he be, the destined one for me, wish we were meant to be. Why did it have to be him? Why is our light now so dim? I loved him so much I could live. Now I have nothing left to give. I thought that he was the one. Because he was my morning sun. But now I see, he'll never be with me. For we will never be." Holly cried. She cried harder then she ever had before. She then heard Zero whine and whimper next to her. She had forgotten that he was there. Holly stroked him on top of his head and said sadly "Well it seems like your they only one who thinks I'm worth anything."

"That's not true, my dear."

Even though Sally had told Jack that Holly wasn't going to come home that night he went out to go and look for her to try and see if he could explain why he had said those horrible things and apologize. Jack sighed as he exited the pumpkin patch. Sally had kept good on her promise of not speaking to him. Every time he tried to talk to her she would just turn around and leave and when he had a question she would answer it with the least amount of words she could. Jack knew Sally had every right to be angry and that Holly had every right to be angry with him, but he still had to admit, he had never seen Sally this angry before. It made his heart ache to think that he was the reason such a sweet person could get so angry because of him. Jack walked into the cemetery and over to Zero's tome stone. He tapped his leg and called for the dog, but nothing happened. After whistling for him and Zero still not showing up Jack shrugged and continued towards Spiral Hill.

When Jack finally made it to Spiral Hill he was met with a terrible sight. From behind the iron gate that led to the hill he saw his daughter being thrown over the shoulder of a rather large man then being carried off. "Let me go, damn it! Let me go! HELP!" she screamed kicking and smacking her fists against the stranger's back.

"Oh shut up!" the stranger said rudely then hit her over the head causing her to lose consciousness.

"HOLLY!" Jack screamed horrified. He fought against the gate to open it and when it finally did Holly and the stranger were out of sight. Jack looked around frantically searching for her when he spotted something on top of the hill. He raced to it only to see Zero laying then crying. "Zero." Jack said placing a boney hand on the dog's head. The dog looked up at his master pitifully. "Please. Where is Holly?" The dog did his best to rise, but he was just to hurt. "Go home Zero and tell Sally what happened." Jack commanded and without waiting for the dog to go he raced off in the direction he saw Holly being carried off to. He ran as fast as he could, but instead of catching up to them he ran strait into something else causing both persons to fall to the ground.

"Ow!" he heard someone say "Sorry about that." Jack looked at the young man who had spoke to see that it was Barrel. "I wasn't looking where I was going." Barrel continued then offered his hand to Jack.

Jack stood faster then possible and grabbed Barrel by the collar and glared at him asking in a dangerously low and quiet voice "Where is Holly?"

"What are you talking about?" Barrel said as best he could. "She's on Spiral Hill!"

Jack let him go and said "I just saw a strange man take her and carry her this way."

Barrel turned pale "What did he look like?" he asked.

Jack looked at him and said "I didn't see his face, but he had a burlap sack for an arm."

Suddenly and without warning Barrel turned from pale to red in a matter of seconds "That bastard!" he cried. "I'm gonna kill him!"

He was about to go, but Jack stopped him "What do you mean? Do you know who that was?"

Barrel sighed and said "I'm sorry, Jack it wasn't supposed to be like this."

"Where the hell is my daughter?" Jack yelled at him grabbing him around the neck.

Barrel wriggled his way out of the hold and said "I'm so sorry. They went back on our deal, I'll tell you everything."

Holly awoke with a headache and when she tried to rub her head, she found that her hands were tied above her head. "What?" she asked nothing in particular and was a bit startled when someone answered her.

"Well, well, well what have we here, Holly Skellington huh? Oooo I'm really scared. So your Bone Head's little girl. Ahahahaha! You're jokin' you're jokin' I might just want to hurl! You're jokin' me you've gotta be this cant be the right girl! She's stupid, she's easy I don't know which is worse! I might just split a seem now if I don't die laughing first. Oogie Boogie Jr. say's there's trouble close at hand you better pay attention now cause I'm the new Boogie Man. And If you aren't shaken there's something very wrong cause this may be the last time you hear my daddy's song. Whoa (Whoa) Whoa (Whoa) Whoa (Whoa) I'm the new Oogie Boogie Man!"

"Let me go you bag of bugs I demand that you release me. You'll find me harder to depose of just wait and watch, you'll see."

"You're Jokin' you're jokin' I can't believe my ears! Would someone shut this girly up! I'm drownin' in my tears! It's funny I'm laughing! You really are to much and now with your permission I'm going to do my stuff!"

"What're you going to do to me?"

"I'm gonna do whatever I can! WHOOOOOOOOOA! The sound of the dice to me is music in the air, cause my daddy was a gamblin' Boogie Man! Although he didn't play fair! He had confessed that it was fun with lives on the line! Now I'd have to say that he was right now isn't that just fine!"

"Damn it I said let me go, or severe trouble you will know."

"Oh brother you're somethin' you put me in a spin! You aren't comprehending the position that you're in! It's hopeless you're finished, you haven't got a prayer! Cause I'm the new Oogie Boogie man and you ain't goin' nowhere! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"