Chapter 7
Training day
Me: yeah sorry for the long wait...it's been crazy in my life so sorry again. I hope I still have fans!
Ryan: what? So your life is more important than writing?
Me: would you kill me if I said yes? Haha just kidding fans!
Ryan: yes I would…..
Me: HEY!
Me: hope you like this chappie! Read and review don't just read...REVIEW!!
Sally!!
I ran up to Sally. She was standing on moonlight hill. She was looking off into the big yellow moon that looked so close you could touch it.
"Sally I'm so glad your ok...where have you been? How did you get back?"
"J-jack….."
"Wait Sally I need to tell you something"
"J-jack….."
The quiver in her voice made me stop what I was going to say.
"What is it love?"
Sally turned her beautiful head of auburn hair around and what I saw at made me scream…and I was the Pumpkin King and nothing scared me! Sally had crimson blood running down her face. There was a big knife going into that beautiful head that I adored so much and she wasn't even screaming in pain. Her eyes where black and her teeth were sharp, green and jagged. I yelled out
"Sally we need to get you to the doctor!! Come with me!" I reach to grab her hand but I slip right through it. I look over and Sally looked at me with so much hatred I could feel my dead heart ache.
"NO! LEAVE ME ALONE! YOU NEVER BOTHERED TO CARE FOR ME THEN! WHAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE NOW?"
Her voice was that of a banshee and made a loud, dreadful screeching noise. It was like a werewolves nails on a chalk board. Wind was blowing all around her as she was floating right above my head. She held out a knife that she got from god knows here and held it up.
"NO SALLY NO!" but she ignored my calls and thrust the cool blade into her stomach and screamed in pain
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" I screamed. I could feel violent shaking racking my whole body and I could hear the repetition of my name
"JACK, JACK, JACK, JACK!!"
My sockets opened up with a fast motion and I looked around. There was no moonlight hill, or a bloody Sally to cry over. I sighed in relief but felt a pang of guilt. We got into a fight before Sally disappeared. It was my entire fault for her vanishing into thin air. I tried to get up and try and walk off this horrible vision and finally noticed there was some weight on my legs. I looked down and saw Tom looking at me with a concerned look.
"Hey are you ok?" Tom asked in his screechy voice that sounded like a parrots.
"No I'm not" I replied bitterly
"Tell Tom what's wrong" Tom suggested
"Tell Cupid too" I heard a deep man-like voice say. I looked up and saw Cupid sitting on top of my head.
"Don't forget about Santa, I could hear your screaming from down the hall" a wise and jolly voice stated with mock-anger.
"Sorry about that Sandy" I sadly said.
"Come now! Tell us why you really even came to my holiday in the first place! I know the big part...but I want every detail" Santa said with much exhaustion in his voice. I sighed. So this is what its like to have real friends who care. I never really had any friends because people saw me as a leader not necessarily a friend. Sally was really the only one but we only started getting close right before she went missing. I looked around at the colorful characters before me. There was Cupid now using his light blue wings to go next to Santa eying Tom with a nervous eye. He was a baby with a man's voice…that's something you don't see everyday. Even more astonishing is seeing a talking turkey who wore a pilgrim hat that was right next to Sandy Clause himself. I laughed again in spite of myself and breathed in a big breath.
"Yes well I suppose your right…."
So I told them everything. About what I did when I was unhappy with Halloween and how I wanted to change it. My kidnapping of Sandy Clause which everyone got a kick out of. Including Sandy himself. I even talked about how Sally tried to warn me and how I was too ignorant to listen. I got into lots of detail when I had my dual to the death with Oogie Boogie and how I got rid of him once and for all. But most of all I talked about the moments with Sally on Moonlight Hill and the times we shared at the Haunted House I took her to. But when I got to the part when Sally and I were arguing I felt guiltier by each syllable that came out of my mouth. I knew this was my entire fault and this made me want to find her faster. To tell her I love her more than anything in the world and that I want her by my side until the very end…which for us was an eternity of living.
After I was done with the whole entire story with no detail left untold and all was said and done with I looked around at my friends faces for there reaction and it didn't surprise me at what their expressions read. It was a face of sympathy. I said in a melancholy tone
"Guys don't feel bad for me. I brought this on myself and I don't need your sympathy…just your support and power to help me find Sally and bring her home"
Sandy looked at me and said with a voice bulging with confidence
"Well of coarse we will!! What are friends for?"
Cupid was already sharpening his arrows
"I'm with ya Buddy!"
Tom's voice was shaking but as he spoke his voice raised in confidence
"N-nothing will stand in our way! Together we can do it!"
I grinned my famous skeleton grin at them all and said in a proud voice only Jack Skellingotn could say
"Yes we will!! All for none and one for all!"
We all put our hands in the middle of a circle (with a little difficulty with Cupid flying over head but still putting his hand in) and yelled out
"FOR THE PUMPKIN QUEEN!!"
We all laughed and went back to our beds. We are currently in Christmas Town for a little resting time. I could feel the roaring fire of the fireplace that was right in front of my bed. It warmed up my old bones and gave me a sense of home and welcoming. I smiled for the first time in a long time and I felt myself fall back into a deep sleep
I was dreaming peacefully on my soft silver goose down bed when I was woken with a sharp pain in my stomach. It would go away then it would come back repetitively. I opened my eyes and noticed Das was jumping on me!!
He looked at me and said
"Wake up princess its time for your chores!!"
I groaned silently for a moment and got up.
I looked down at myself and noticed I was still wearing that slinky nightdress from last night. Images flashed in my head of the night before. My face flushed with anger and sadness. Das seemed to notice this and laughed mercilessly
"Ah I see you remember, well it's all true and you're in for it now. Walking out on the master when he didn't dismiss you is very rude. Now you'll pay the price"
I sucked in a big gulp of air and went to the bathroom to wash my face. I looked at the big mirror in front of me. My face looked saggy with black mascara from last night still there for I was too tired and upset to wash it off. The night went too good at the beginning. But it went sour; I thought Talos was going to set me free. But I was just one of his play things. I sighed and washed my face. I took a towel to my face and dried away the tears that fell all night. When I was done I looked at myself one more time and breathed in a silent sigh. I walked out of the beautiful bathroom to my bedroom. On the silver sheets was a new set of work cloths. This was a very short cut dress and it was violet like the color of a dark sunset. It had black lace at the ends and a big crisscrossing black ribbon in the front of the dress like a corset. It had no straps and high heeled shoes that where a matching violet. I picked up the clothes in mild disgust. Though they were whorish I still had a fondness for them that even I couldn't explain. Das was not in the room with me so I was guessing he was waiting outside my front door. I took off the slinky black nightgown and slipped on the work clothes. For work clothes these were nicer and more comfortable and made my potato sack from yesterday look as worse and uncomfortable as it was. I looked at myself in the mirror and took in yet another deep breath. I was very scared as to what my chores were for today because I certainly don't think I am doing yard work today.
An impatient knock came from the other side of my big, white door that could only belong to Das.
"Are you ready yet wench?"
I walked a little uneasily from the new high heels I was wearing to the bedroom door and turned the silver knob. Das turned around and looked at me and what I wore. He cat-called and said
"You're one foxy mamma"
I laughed silently and blushed. The moment didn't last long as Das went to business as usual and took me by the stitched up arm and led me down the familiar path to Talos's room. We stopped at his big and scary door that still gave me the shivers. I went up to the door knocker in the shape of a gargoyle with his mouth open and the ring for the knocker held tight between his sharp, stone and ferocious fangs. I thought my mind was playing tricks on me but I could have sworn that the gargoyle was glaring menacingly at me and moved his eyes when I was coming down the hallway with Das.
"Knock on the door you stupid broad"
I nodded and picked up the rusty, black ring and pushed it against the steel black door. It made a heavy clunk with each bang I made, which was an effort because the door was SO HEAVY!! I clanged the heavy ring three times. I waited for any sign of life that was on the other side. I prayed to God that he might have had an aneurism and nobody was around to help him and that he slowly died with each passing second. At that thought I smiled, sure it was mean to wish death upon someone but this guy was different...he was the spawn of Satan himself. Das noticed my smile and pushed me into the steel door lightly and barked
"What are you smiling at wench? This is not a place for smiles to come from you."
I only sighed mutely and rolled my eyes. At that action Das got irritated
"Don't roll your eyes at me you good-for-nothing piece of shit. The only reason you're still alive is by the master's orders. If I was the one in charge and you ran off on me the night of a banquet I would have chopped your pretty little head off. I might be small but I still have power over you and can make your life a living nightmare so you better show me the respect of an elder. DO I MAKE MYSELF HEARD?"
His cruel words cut me open inside. Was it true? Did I make that much damage? Why is Talos keeping me alive? I swallowed my tears and nodded. I didn't want to give Das the satisfaction of my tears though my eyes were as glassy as crystal. At that moment I heard stirring from the other side of the door. I inhaled air and let it out slowly. Whatever job he had for me…in this outfit no less...i needed to do it…to survive….
I was surprised to see Talos come to the door very fast due to the fact I couldn't hear any footsteps. He looked at me with a dazed expression. I looked down at his morning attire. He had on boxers that had little red hearts on them and a black background. The thing that made me go red in the face was that he was shirtless…and DAMN HE WAS FINE! His six pack was so chiseled that it looked like drumlins. His pecks were in perfect proportion and he was so thin...but not the bad kind of thin. I couldn't help but stare at its beauty. I heard an "A-hem" and I looked up. I was staring into his crystalline blue eyes and I could feel myself blush madly…but…wait…WHY WAS I BLUSHING? I am completely devoted to Jack! I couldn't think about those thoughts any longer because I felt a cold hand push my back down and I was forced to go into a 'bowing' position. Das yelled
"BOW BEFORE THE MASTER YOU IMBICILE!"
I nodded and stayed in that position until Talos said with a light chuckle in his sarcastic yet sly voice
"Come now Das is that any way to treat a lady?" with that he took my hands and pulled me back into a standing pose. I looked at him with a confused look. I looked over my shoulder and saw that Das had that same expression that mirrored mine. Talos continued in that same tone
"Das, you need to learn the manners of a proper gentleman...Though I guess the Erishins don't really have manners" Since I knew that Talos can read my mind I decided to interject a telepathic statement. Though I had to be careful so I don't get hit or yelled at.
Permission to speak?
Talos looked at me. I guess he got the message
"Of course dear"
If you don't mine me asking…what are the Erishins?
Talos laughed and replied
"That is Dasturde's species…ugly isn't it? They are our neighboring clan and I made peace with them…terrible really…it was such a fun war….but Das and his clan were getting hammered by my clan…so they had to surrender and now they work for me…but have their freedom of course…you're the only one here that I have here against their will." At that remark he smiled at me…though he is the biggest bastard in the universe he has the greatest smile…its so…trusting…though the owner was a lying kidnapper.
Something that Talos said made me have to ask this question and I was getting scared by the minute of his answer.
Oh…well…I see…but wait…There are more of you? What are you? Who are you?
Talos laughed harder at my confusion
"All in good time my dear all in good time"
I sighed and waited for my daily chores to be handed to me. None came. There was an awkward silence that followed, which I hate. They make me feel alone…and afraid…I can't take the silence! It always makes me start to breath in fast and hyperventilate, which I started to do. My breath started to come in and out of my lungs very fast. It didn't last long because thankfully the silence was broken by Das. He asked
"Maser, what are we going to make the slave do today? Clean the farms? Clean my feet? Shovel out the elephant pens? Eat worms?" the list went on and on until Talos interrupted him.
"No, no today she will spend the day with me" I sly smile crept onto his face. I was afraid his plans for me weren't exactly pure-minded. I had to do what I needed to do in order to survive…and if that meant to sleep with Talos…then so be it. I love Jack with all of my hand-made heart…but I had to return home to him safely…and in one piece. Talos turned to Das.
"That will be enough for now Das; you are dismissed until further notice. Make sure that this here handmaid and I are not to be disturbed…is that clear?"
Das, still looking at Talos with that same confused expression I wore and stuttered out
"Y-yes master. Anything you wish" he bowed and left us. He went down the hallway and turned a sharp right. It was just Talos and I now. Another silence fell over us. But it was a short silence that was broken by Talos
"So…shall we?" He gestured out his arm for me to take. I sent him a telepathic message stating
If I may be so bold to say this but…do I have to take it?
Talos laughed in a light tone but his crystalline eyes were hard as diamonds.
"If you want to live that is"
I nodded and took his arm. He smiled like a child who had accomplished something on his own for the first time.
"Let us go"
The sleep I was currently enduring was not a forgetful one. It was full of the foulest of images. They played on and on in my head. Being the Pumpkin King I knew what scary was. I was born from the darkest most scariest depths of all…and no…its not where usual babies come from…when I was alive I was born that way…but I was a bad person when I died…I knew for sure I was going to go to hell. I stole, I drank, I smoked, I hated, cheated, I slept with too many women for me to count, I even killed someone. Heck, I even died due to my evil ways. After I killed my first person I knew I was not going to be forgiven and join the angels of heaven so I just kept on with my routine. The last time I did anything horrible was when I was holding a bank up for robbery. That was when the police came. They gave me a forewarning…but being the numbskull that I was I shot a man…the police chief…that made the other guy shoot me…so we both died…I remember pitch darkness and a voice that shouted out commands like a dog trainer like "Thrash!" "Beg!" "Smash!" "Thrive!" each command shook my body around…thrashing it in the empty darkness…I could feel a burning sensation all around my body like I was some sort of rag doll that fell victim to the voice. I was in real darkness and could not see an inch in front of my nose. It felt like I was falling into an eternity until I felt ground touch my back. I looked around but could again see nothing.
A red light then fell upon me. It blinded me for a moment but my eyes got used to the light. I saw what looked like a judge's stand…and I could just make out the silhouette of a figure sitting in the high judge chair. There was complete silence until a deep and mighty voice spoke out of the darkness
"We have been expecting you Jack Skellington…it is such an honor for you to finally join us. I always wanted to meet someone as evil and wretched hearted as myself."
I looked up at the source of the voice. It seemed to be coming from the judges' chair. The light went brighter now. I had to squint my eyes until they were focused enough. What astonished me was the face I was looking up at belonged to that of a man, it was long and pointed at the chin with a small goatee growing at the edge of it. His eyes were as dark as the fall to this eerie place and the red glow made his skin look red...and if my eyes don't deceive me I can see two black horns jutting out of the two sides of this mans forehead.
"Ah yes…I am the judge of this here establishment we call Hell. I make your judgment that will keep you eternally dammed for all eternity" at that he had a good laugh. He seemed to like this job a little too much. From there I looked around my current surroundings. It seemed to me I was alone except for the heap on the ground next to me. Involuntarily I walked over to it. I placed my hands on it. It felt human but I couldn't be quite sure what it was due to the darkness. I flipped it over. What I saw gave me a bigger shock. It was the man I just killed. I gasped and ran away from it.
"I'm glad you have a familiar face to be with here" at that the body started to move. The eyes opened…but they were not filled with any sort of emotion but anger and they were looking straight at me. He spoke in a jazzy sort of way and in a loud booming voice
"Look what you have done to me? Is this what I really deserve?"
The judge answered for me
"You were a bad person Obie and this is what you get…I think I know your punishment" he said this while stroking his goatee "I can see it now…beautiful"
I looked at this judge with confusion and yet respect. This devil had the power to choose my future and I am not the one to wrong him.
"What are you talking about horn boy?"
The judge laughed and said
"Don't disrespect me and for your information I'm probably 300 times as old as you are so you shouldn't talk"
That seemed to shut the hot-head Obie up.
"What have you decided for us judge?"
The judged smiled at this
"See? This is what I am talking about…a little common courtesy is the thing most of the souls around here are lacking…but I have finally decided"
Obie looked at me with newfound anger in his eyes. He mouthed to me
"I hate you"
I only smiled back. Hey, I was used to being hated…It didn't hurt me none.
The judge took a deep breath and proclaimed
"Jack Skellington I hereby sentence you to serve as the leader of a holiday…not just any holiday but the holiday of Halloween"
When I heard my judgment my heart lifted. This was going to be easy! I had total control over a holiday that so many people enjoyed! I can ruin peoples lives and scare people and plus FREE CANDY!!
As if the judge could read my thoughts he said "It will come with rules mind you"
I sighed but still showed him respect "And what pray tell, are they?"
The judged stared at me with a bemused look "Ah an eager beaver…these are the rules
Thou shall not harm anyone
Thou will live an honest and pure life
Thou shall be a good and fair leader
Thou shall do the rights of justice
Basically be a good person
I was eager to ask him a question that was burning inside of me
"And if I don't follow these orders…what would exactly happen to me?"
The judge laughed a maniacal and knowing laugh. "If you do not heed to these rules ye shall be put in the burning suffering fires of HELL!"
I gulped at that "In that case I will accept these terms"
"Good boy, see? We're already at a good start" His eyes went from me and were then locked onto Obie who was shaking in his boots.
"For you, dear Obie I have a special damnation…you will also live in the town that Jack here will be ruling but your life will be that of an outcast…hated by all but three henchmen…you will live alone and cause terror and fright"
Obie's face got angry then "Why does HE get a better damnation then I?"
The judge looked at Obie with a defiant look. He replied "After looking at both of your records the Counsel of Devils and I have concluded that you Mr. Obie were much worse of a person when you were alive then Jack was. So you get the worse punishment"
Obie looked at me with the most hated look anyone can ever give a man. He said through gritted teeth "You are my nemesis...enemy to me…when we meet in this eternal damnation it wont be under good pretenses so be prepared…you will have your demise"
The judge chuckled out "Ha-ha that's a good laugh and I do like to see a good fight…so this should be interesting…now its time for your new bodies!"
"NEW WHAT?" Obie and I cried out.
"You think you would go to Halloween Town in that? Ha-ha hell no. you need to fit in with the damnation" with that the judge snapped his fingers. Two green lights feel upon Obie and I. I could feel my body being lifted up. There was black smoke surrounding me. As if like a snake the calm smoke shot straight at me…into my being. I could feel the changes inside and out of my body. It was a burning sensation that felt as if my skin was melting off…I could feel my insides seeming to fall out like a butcher throwing away wasted meat. My appendages felt like they were stretching out like taffy. The pain was unbearable so I let out a cry so loud I felt like it could wake the dead…or at least the people living down in this here room. There was laughing coming from the judge. He was enjoying this pain…what a sadist.
The pain subsided and I felt myself being lifted out of the air, I look over to where Obie was and jumped. There was no Obie standing there. In its place was a sack. It had arms and legs and a head. It had wide holes for the eyes and mouth cut into the burlap. It was obese and stitched up at its sides. The sack looked at me and laughed a big laugh.
"HAHAHA well look at you bone man!"
I looked at him with confusion. I looked down at my hands and saw that they were long…and bony…not like human boney as in skinny I mean BONEY! THERE WAS BONES THERE! NO SKIN AT ALL! I looked down at the rest of my body. It was covered in a black pinstripe suit. My legs were unusually skinny and my arms were just as skinny. I knew that since my hands were bones I guessed the rest of my body was too. I actually lived up to my name as "Jack Skellington" I placed my new found fingers on my head. It was a head no more. It was rough and hard. My hair was nowhere to be seen. My black long locks were a thing of the past now. Oh how I was going to miss it! All of the ladies loved it because it was so good on me and how it framed my face. My newfound skull felt cold without it. I felt were my eyes were and saw that I can put my whole fist in them! There were no eyes there. Instead it was sockets. Empty as a ghost town. I felt my mouth and saw that I still had my teeth but no lips where present. I was going to miss kissing girls with them. But now that I was dead I guess there was no love involved.
"Having fun with your new bodies?" the judge asked.
"Oodles" Obie asked in a sarcastic tone.
"This reminds me I have to change your name Obie Bangle to fit your new life you must have a new name"
"Great…what is it gunna be?"
"I christen thee to be called now and forever more in the eternity of your damnation to be know, called, feared, and loved by the name of Oogie Boogie"
"Wow I actually like that name. It sounds like a name that should knock your socks off!"
"HAHA or for you Oogie, your sack!" I added in
"SHUT UP! NOBODY ASKED YOU!"
"Boys, boys its time that you start your new life or rather death to be technically correct. I have a new client falling now and I need to get ready to present them with their damnation so let's get this over with"
"Ok!"
"Whatever"
"Good. Ok time for the spell...by the power granted to me by the Counsel of Devils I will now appoint these two damned souls to start a life in the town of Halloween. One an outcast and one a king. Two who hate one another with a passion but have accepted the terms thus far. Send them to their new life and let their fates be set from now into forever!"
There was a flash of light and I could feel the lifting sensation once more.
"Goodbye to you both. May your lives be once again full of meaning and that you will do good deeds…or I will meet you again and this time I won't be so nice"
With those words being said Oogie and I landed in Halloween Town. Everyone who encountered us treated us as if we lived there all our lives. I was known as the Pumpkin King and everyone respected me. As for Oogie…he got glares and threats which he didn't take lightly. Since we first started he was in more the 6 fights…5 were first fights and one was a verbal one.
That is how I lived my life from then on and still do. If I was back at home I would have. My dreams I had every night came back to this particular memory. I have no idea why. It has nothing to do with Sally or the fact she's missing but it still came to me.
I felt my body being shaken. I moaned and struggled to open my sockets. I didn't want to look up at the face of my dear Sally when she was in my dream. That wasn't my Sally. Just my imagination playing its Halloween tricks on me. Alas I had to open my eyes sometime or another because the shaking was getting very irritating. I slowly opened my eye socket. I looked into the face of Sandy, Tom, and Cupid (keeping his distance from Tom) looking down at me with concerned looks. I sighed with relief and sat up.
"Hey guys, what is with all of this shaking?" That's when my memory came flooding back of the pervious night. After we rescued Tom and his holiday of Thanksgiving we had a great feast. After that we were so tired and full of great food we had to rest so we went through the holiday trees back to Christmas Town and stayed the night there. At this very moment I was in the spare room with Tom and Cupid. Sandy was the one to respond to my inquiry.
"It's time to get up! Its time to get up!" Sandy said these two sentences with two claps separating them with such enthusiasm that I jumped out of the red and white pinstriped blankets. I loved those blankets. They smelled of a sweet peppermint that it was such a joy when I breathed it in with every snore that I did. Cupid laughed his baby-faced head off as he flapped his pale blue wings.
"HAHAHA wow Jack! He didn't even do it that loud!"
I looked at the guardian of love with a look of mock-hurt
"It sure was loud to me! And do you know the punishment for mocking the Pumpkin King?"
Cupid stared at me with curiosity "What, pray tell, is that?"
At that statement I pulled my skull back, showed off all of my teeth and made a face so gruesome, so terrifying, that it would scare that bag of bugs Oogie right out of this sack! I made a loud roar that seemed to echo throughout the whole town. I saw the look on Cupids face. It was the face of pure fear, but the smell…Oh my god the smell! I smelled the awful stench of someone who just defecated! My face contorted into a face of disgust and I knew then who the smell was coming from.
"Cupid…did you just…"
Cupid laughed and said with a flush of red on his cheeks
"Y-yeah…but you made me do it!" he pointed an accusing little finger at me.
"I did? You mean I made you sh― I mean defecate yourself?" when Sandy heard that he was threw.
"Alright! Alright! Let's just get you up! Its Training Day today and I don't want you all to miss it"
Tom, who had just finished laughing himself to death on the floor, got up and asked
"Training day? What's that?"
Sandy only smiled a mysterious smile and only replied with "You're just going to have to wait and find out"
So the group of holiday leaders and I got up and went out to the kitchen area which was just one door away if you went out into the hall. The door was a red oak color and had a picture of a holly clipping that was carved into the wood and was painted a forest green for the leaves and a fire engine red for the holly berries. The thorns carved into the leaf looked so real that I was too scared to put my hand on it and push in order to move the door because it looked SO sharp. Cupid took no notice and pushed open the door in mid air for he was flying on his baby blue wings. When we entered the merry kitchen it was like a sight I had never laid sockets upon. The kitchen had red and white pinstriped walls that ran down to the floor but the floor had pinstriped rugs. There was a stove that had red and green fire flaming under the stove tops which were red and white circles like the two colored mints that made your mouth burn. The fridge was a green color and the handle was red. The pots and pans were red, white and green with little pictures of Santa, elves, Christmas trees and presents in the middle. This kitchen was something out of a dream. If I only knew about this room before I would remodel my own kitchen after it.
Mrs. Clause was working like clockwork at the stove. Flipping pancakes and stirring eggs in a green pan. She was humming a carol to herself and took no notice of us as we entered. We sat down at the circle table with its red and white spiral look and matching chairs that had such comfy cushions I could sit in them forever. I had to get Sandy's interior designer.
Sandy looked impatient and hungry so he gave a small whistle that sounded like the beginning verse of "Deck the Halls". Mrs.' Clause turned around swiftly and gave a little shriek of fright. I smiled at that.
"OH MY! Good gracious I didn't notice that you came in dearie. Good morning did you sleep well?"
Sandy replied in a soft voice that hid a beast of hunger "Fine, are the eggs ready yet dear?"
Mrs. Clause gave a big huff and crossed her arms over her pinstriped petticoat "Is that all you use me for Nicholas? Am I just you food slave? Hmm?"
Sandy looked around nervously and said in a rush "No! No! It's not that! You know how I get when I'm hungry in the morning! Less talk and more food!" he made a nervous laugh and waited for his wife's reply who only giggled and said softly
"Oh come now you know I was only kidding. Of course I know that you're a hungry chubby elf in the morning"
At that remark Cupid looked up from the "Tinsel Times" that was on the table.
"Chubby elf? What kind of name is that?" Cupid asked through a laughing fit
Sandy's face turned a shade of crimson
"It's just a name! Come on I'm sure your wife Aphrodite has a name for you"
Cupid replied "Yeah she does but not 'Cubby elf"
I couldn't control my laughing that was churning at the bottom of my rib cage
"Ha-ha aww but I think your making the cubby elf mad guys! His face is puffing out"
It was true Sandy's face looked like a swollen tomato as he sunk down in his chair and just looked at a particular space on the wall. Tom looked at him with concern in his eyes
"Come on! Stop! That isn't nice! How would you like it if people made fun of you?"
Cupid looked at him with pure hatred
"Shut up you poor excuse for poultry"
Everyone in the room gasped. Mrs. Clause came to the rescue
"Cupid! You should be ashamed of yourself! You're all supposed to be a team and save the pumpkin queen. Look at all of you. This cannot be the team Santa tells me about everyday. You Cupid hate pilgrims but you should not be unkind to the ruler of them because he is just like you but with different beliefs. If anything you should be the one being criticize because you're a talking baby! You Jack shouldn't talk at all if I remember correctly the only reason Sally got captured was because she had her guard down on account of the bad night with you! So you have no reason to talk. All of you should be one big happy family and a good team! So I want all of you to apologize to one another even If you didn't do anything to that person just do it anyway"
After that little speech Mrs. Clause made we all swiveled in our chairs and said in a feeble voice "I'm sorry" we gave one another hugs and we all then turned to Sandy. Cupid looked him square in the face and said "I'm sorry for ridiculing you and making you feel bad. I promise not to be rude or unkind again" I went up to him and, since I tower over him, squatted down and apologized to "I'm so sorry, if it wasn't for you I think I would still be back in Halloween town figuring out what to do about Sally" Then Tom came up to him. He opened his beak to speak but Sandy raised a black with white fur trimmed hand up.
"There is no need for you. You were the only one who stood up to me and for that I am grateful. As for you two" He waved his finger and us accusingly "I was going to go easy on you today but I think you're in need for the hardest course" we all looked at him with one eyebrow raised and we asked at the same time
"What are you talking about?"
Sandy smiled at us mischievously again "You'll see" With that Mrs. Clause came to the table with plates piled high with all the things you can possible eat for breakfast. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, bagels, you name it and this woman seemed to have made it. We all dived into it like famished animals. Gobbling down everything in plain sight. Even we were fighting over breakfast rolls. The food was delicious. It tasted like they were cooked by the most experienced chefs. The beverages where a paradise to the taste buds. It was so tantalizing. The orange juice wasn't even bitter and the milk was a nice thick cream. The coffee was also so good that the warm liquid rushed down and even burned my bones but it felt so good I didn't even flinch. When we were finally done we couldn't even move. I thought my stomach was about to burst. Mrs. Clause had a very pleased look on her face. She was used to the contentment on people's faces when they had her home cooked meals.
"Well I can see you boys enjoyed that"
Cupid looked up at her and smiled "We sure did ma'am"
Mrs. Clause chuckled and turned to her husband "Well I'll leave it to you then Nick"
Sandy thanked her and turned toward us. He took a breath
"Over the past two holidays we have visited and saved I couldn't help but realize that none of us have done any fighting until then. Our holidays have been at peace and we have had no reason to fight until now. So while we were relaxing in The Holiday of Thanksgiving I called up Mrs. Clause and I devised a plan…more like a course really"
I looked up at him in inquiry "What are you talking about Sandy?"
Sandy looked at us like he had a secret and looked at us like idiots because we weren't in on it. "Gentlemen…today is…training day"
All was silent until a certain baby called out "What in the name of love is training day?"
Tom cut in "Don't you know anything? It's when we all buy trainers!"
I looked at Tom and smacked my boney hand against my hard skull "We're not in England…and plus you don't even wear shoes!" Tom looked at me and said plainly "So?"
Sandy said in a rushed tone "Ok now everyone finsished? Good. Now everyone up! Where going out to the field"
Cupid looked a little troubled and said "Field? What do you need a field for? You're not training for anything….unless it's a pie eating contest" Sandy glared at Cupid with an icy glare that could only come from someone who spends their life in the frozen tundra of the North Pole. Cupid shrunk down in his seat and mumbled an incoherent sentence that sounded like he was apologizing. We all followed Sandy out the back door that had a snowflake intricately carved into the oak door. The wind was slightly blowing outside but it was still freezing. My bones were shaking as we tromped through the snow following Sandy to the field. I looked behind us and smiled slightly. Our footprints in the snow looked quiet unusual to a bystander. There was my long oval step and was not as close together as everyone else's, hey I was a big guy and took long strides. You could easily make out the bird-like prints of Tom. His three-toed print stuck out like a sore thumb; if you looked closer you could even see the sharp talon mark from his feet. Sandy's footprint was like any other humans but rather small and was closer together. He was a large man and took his time walking but still ended up a little farther then everyone else. He must be so eager to get to this field thing. Cupid was flying but having a little trouble due to the wind. His eyes were squinted and were tearing a little bit. I could only guess that back in Valentines Day it was always a perfect day with no snow and only a red sun and pink clouds.
I was shivering. I tried to get my mind off of the cold by thinking of something else. So I thought of home. What was going on there? The mayor must have noticed that I'm gone. I hope the town isn't in that much of a hysteria…who am I kidding? Of course they are going insane! I mean there only leader is gone and not there to guide them or help plan for Halloween! The thing is though….it's not so big once you think about it. I mean sure it's what our world is all about and the reason for our existence but if you think about it from an outside point of view…it's not so big...planning and working so hard over just one thing that happens only once a year. It might seem pointless to others but I love doing it. I love being the Pumpkin King! Why didn't I realize this earlier? I should have listened to Sally! I made so many mistakes it still makes me wonder why such a smart and beautiful ragdoll could ever love a foolish bag of bones like me. I blew it! And not she's gone! I have to―
My thoughts were shut off because I slammed into something…hard. I backed up and looked at what I just collided with. It was Sandy. He was staring at what looked like a field. It had separate buildings with green roofs and the walls were painted red with white pin striping. Sandy had a very content look on his face and turned to us. He smiled when he saw the confused faces.
"This is where we will be training today. I got this place set up while we were dining in The Holiday of Thanksgiving"
Cupid laughed and stated "Wow that's a shock! I didn't think anything could distract you from the food" Sandy gave him a glare so cold it made the weather surrounding us look like the fire that roared in the hearth in Sandy's nice and warm home. Cupid shrank back and laughed a nervous little laugh "Hehe...just kidding".
I followed Talos into his room. I have seen it before and knew the contents. There were the silver sheets and the magical objects around the room that he wouldn't let me touch for who-knows-what reason. Though I have seen the place it still took my breath away due to its beauty…even if the bed was untidy. Talos took long strides over to his bed and sat down. He looked up at me. In the darkness of the room his eyes shown with a brilliant blue glow. I gasped mutely, he looked so dashing in this dark setting. He was looking at me with this kind of…mischievous look…I was scared to know why…then he finally took his hand and did the "patting" gesture that could only mean he wanted me to sit next to him. I slowly walked over but with each step my body shook violently. So this was it. He wanted me for sex…I wanted my first time to be much more different…and with someone I wanted. I sat down and looked at him. He smiled and said softly
"Don't be afraid….I won't be using you for those kinds of reasons. I just would like to talk to you…well I'll do most of the talking anyway" I simply nodded. I felt so relieved! So I was not going to be his whore! I felt my stomach untangle from the knots it had been twisted prior to Talos telling me he wanted to talk to me. I was curious to know what it was he wanted from me. He finally took a breath and asked
"Tell me about where you came from" I looked at him with wide-eyes. Out of all the things he could have asked me he had to ask me that? What is this a date?
Uh…why are you asking― but I was cut off
"Shut up. I'm the one asking the questions here and you're the one answering them. Got a problem? Or are you too dumb to figure that one out Miss Sally?"
I glared at him but responded
As you say, Master. I live in a place called Halloween Town. The priority of the town is to scare people in the human world. We spend 365 ½ days just for one day a year. We go all out and we never failed because of our king Jack.
"Ah I see and who is this Jack?"
I blushed at his question and continued telepathically
Well he is the Pumpkin King. He is the master of fright and he won't let you forget it. My thoughts wandered back to that night when we went to that haunted house but they quickly came back to reality in fear of being yelled at for spacing. He also has a stubborn streak and won't take in any other ideas once he gets hold of one. He just likes to make it happen. He almost destroyed Christmas once. After countless times of telling him that it was a bad idea to take over the holiday he never listened until he learned the lesson himself.
"Tell me more about this…Christmas thing" Talos asked with mild interest. I proceeded to tell him about what went on over the past year. Talos reacted at all the right parts laughing at the funny things and was so anxious when I told him about Jack not listening. He gasped when I told him about Jack falling out of the sky. When I was done with the story Talos looked at me and said in a calm voice
"Wow I could never imagine that you went through all of that. When the doc brought you―" after hearing those words I cut him off
Doctor? What doctor? Do you mean doctor Finklestien? Is he here? Did he bring me? What is going on?
Talos must have realized what he said and cursed under his breath. He then took me by the elbow and said quickly "Nothing! It was a slip of the tongue did I say doctor? Wow I must be off today." He took me to the door and when he opened it Das was already there he looked at him and said in a rushed voice "Take her back to her room and don't let her leave it. She will be locked in it until I say so"
I gasped inwardly. That's unfair! I want to see the grounds! This was such a beautiful place and I won't be seeing any of it until who-knows-when. Das grabbed me by the wrist and walked rather fast down the hallway. He turned and right before I knew it we were back at my room. He opened it and shoved me in. He took one more look of disgust before he shut the door in my face. Right after that I heard a click noise and knew I was locked in for sure. I was caught up in to much emotion. All I could muster doing was sitting on my bed and just start sobbing.
Our party trumped through the snow. The wind was hitting me and cutting through my thin layer of clothing. I prayed for when we would go inside one of the green-roofed buildings. Once we made it down the hill without smashing into one another we marched right up to a building that had a bow and arrow carved into the wood door. I turned and saw Cupid's face light up. Sandy pushed the door open and we were greeted with an instant rush of warmth. I smiled and took in the heat. I looked around and saw that it was a nice sitting room with over-stuffed armchairs that where fire-engine red sitting rather closely to burning fire. I felt the melting snow start to drip off me. I took my long boney hand and wiped it off of me. Everyone else did the same. We then turned to Sandy who said when everyone was at his full attention.
"Alright gentleman this training room is for the arrows man of our little bunch. Cupid you're up first! Everyone else can stay and relax here. There is a glass right on that wall adjacent to the hearth looking into the training room if you care to watch. Cupid there is an expert waiting for you in there so go on in.
"Alright!" said Cupid excitedly. He flapped his light blue wings a little faster. He pushed open the door which had a carving of an angel with an arrow about to be shot. It was no angel though but cupid himself. Once Cupid went inside I turned to Sandy and asked curiously
"Did you know that we would come here?" I was pointing at the carvings. Sandy replied "I told you before. I had this place built while we were in The Holiday of Thanksgiving."
Sandy gave me a most mischievous smile as he sat down into an armchair and looked into the fire. He looked to be in hard concentration when I joined him on the armchair to his right.
I flapped my wings to where a woman was standing. One of her legs was up against the wall while the other was supporting the rest of her weight. Her clothes consisted of a black tank-top and short black shorts. She also worse an archer glove and had her bow and quiver propped up against the wall to her left. She was looking down at nothing unparticular. I flew over to her and positioned myself to look at her straight in the face. She looked up at me. I was a little taken aback because of her beauty. She had gorgeous emerald eyes that shone with such clarity. Her hair was a golden color that cascaded down from her scalp. Her lips were full and she had a prominent nose. Her skin the color of snow If any normal human were to see her they would fall for her instantly…if it wasn't for her huge elf ears protruding out of her head. One of them had a gold hoop on the higher part of her ear. She looked at me and smirked
"So father of love are you? My name is Stella and I will be training you today." She said these words with softness and yet still filled with determination. I nodded and replied back "Looking forward to it Miss."
She went through her bag and took out a black ponytail holder from a tan satchel hanging around her thin waist. She tied back her hair and said "Ok! Take out your bow and quiver of arrows and let's get started!" She led me over to where there where six targets set up at a far distance from where she stopped at. She took out her bow and strung an arrow onto it. She aimed it at the first target and pulled back. With one eye on the target and the other one closed she let go. With a loud "PHUNG!" the arrow shot right in the bulls-eye in a matter of 3 seconds. My jaw dropped. I asked her "How do you do that?" Stella looked at me and smiled a small smile "Practice I guess. But enough about me it's you're turn now! Try and do the same thing." I nodded. I summoned my bow and quiver. I took one red arrow out and strung it on the bow. I pulled back and aimed the same way Stella did. I let go with another loud "PHUNG" and watched as it landed at…the area right before the bulls-eye. Stella cried "OOH! Bummer man but don't worry after my training with you is over you will be kicking my hide in shooting arrows" I countered "You sound like an infomercial"
For what seemed to me like hours Stella was going through the kinds of targets to expect and the best tips on shooting and reloading in fast precision. We went through all the basics and I seemed to go through some major improvement. Finally when my training was over Stella turned to me and smiled after I just beat her in getting to the target first "See? I told you that you would be kicking my hide!" I smiled back and said "You're a woman of your word" For a moment we just smiled at one another then I said "Well then I guess I should be heading back now right? It was great being the pupil of such a fine Bow and Arrow's chick such as yourself." I bowed and she smiled "I hope to see you again Cupid" I looked at her and replied "Of coarse we will" With that said we gave each other a quick hug. I looked into her face and saw a small blush fleck across her face. I waved goodbye over my shoulder as I flew back to the doorway.
I looked as the door swung open and Cupid flew out. He was smiling and full of new confidence. "Alright! Let's go on to the next trainer!" Cupid stated while pumping his little fist into the air. Sandy nodded and said "It seems you liked you're training session. I'm glad." He then turned and walked out the door with the rest of us trailing behind him. We went out the door and into the frozen tundra again. I was so relaxed in our previous place that I forgot how cold it was outside! We huddled our heads against the wind until we went across from Cupid's training session. On it there was a musket carved into the door. We all turned and saw Tom's face light up despite the harsh weather. Sandy opened the door and we all followed him inside. Trying desperately to get away from the weather. The room was exactly like the other one. We all sat in the armchair order we sat in last time only Cupid was sitting in the chair farthest from the hearth instead of Tom.
"Ok guys wish me luck" Tom gobbled out. "We wish you all the luck in the world!" bellowed Sandy. "Try not to get shot!" Cupid cried out. I looked at Cupid harshly and stated "Good luck Tom!"
I opened the door to the training room with one colored wing. I looked around. There were targets in the shape of a human silhouette on the far end of the building their colors switched off from red to green. . I trudged on the foamy floor which was a reddish color that matched the ceiling. I looked ahead and saw a short man. He had a wild red beard which covered most of his face except two gleaming amber eyes and crinkly cheeks which signified age. He was very short…shorter then most men at his age, he had a round belly that just screamed that he was a jolly guy but what stood out the most about this strange character was that was wearing some sort of hunting gear. He looked at me and aimed his silver musket at me. I yelped and held out both my wings "Don't shoot! I'm Tom! The Thanksgiving Turkey, please don't kill me!" The man laughed a hearty laugh and said in a raspy tone with an overseas accent "O' course I 'no 's you. I'm not a dope. I 'm just playin a joke on yer" I looked at him, my eyes full of fear and a bit of resentment. I nodded and stuttered "S-so your-r-r my train-ner?" The dwarf looked at me and said "Aye, me name is Warg" I smiled a scared smile but in my mind I thought Great…I hope I don't die..He looks hungry…do dwarfs eat turkey? He looks like he eats plenty of it…I was so lost in thought that Warg had to poke my forehead to get me out of my muse. "Huh? What?" Warg looked at me with a bemused expression across his hairy face. "Ya spaced out lad. But no more with tha'! Were gunna start yer training…now!"
That's what we did. We trained and trained. Warg taught me how to shoot better at moving targets. He taught me the basics on the best way to calm myself before shooting because as I was about to take a shot my whole body started to quiver. Warg looked at me with a glimmer of laughter and concern in his eyes. "Calm yourself laddie nothin 's gunna hurt you in 'ere. Jus concentrate on yer target 'nd think hard 'bout your goal. Tha' you wanna shoot think thing so it don't come back" Warg said. I closed my eyes and looked at the target. It was a human cut out and was moving rapidly from left to right. I thought hard about wanting to shoot that thing right in the would-be heart. I opened my eyes and pulled the trigger of my musket. There was a loud bang and when I looked up there was a gaping hole right in the middle of the target. "Good job lad!" Warg yelled and gave me a hard clap on the back. I winced but smiled. This dwarf was a bit of a loud one but he was an excellent teacher. We went on to more shooting tactics. It was fun having him teach me the ropes. I thought I was a good shoot but boy was I oblivious! I was doing lots of things wrong such as reloading, firing, aiming, and strategizing. The more I discovered the more anxious I was to try and get out there and fight! Before I knew it there was but little time left. Warg and I faced one another. I looked straight into his face. We were both short and were about the same height of shortness. "Warg I would like to thank you…you are a great teacher. It's people like you who we need to help out in our journey." Warg laughed a loud and hearty laugh and simply said "What I do 's help ya youngsters get to be good shots too…anyone can be better 'n me ya just gotta try 's all." I smiled at him and stretched out my wing. "Good luck lad" Warg stated "Thanks again Warg" I said. I turned my back and started to trudge down the foamy carpet once more.
"Lad!" Warg called. I turned and he called out "Don worry my kind don't eat turkey" We both laughed and smiled at one another.
The door opened and Tom emerged looking quite pleased with himself. Sandy turned to the rest of the party and announced "Time for the Pumpkin Kings turn!" "Joy" I muttered sarcastically. I was too tired and too stressed out to do any sort of training Sandy here had to offer. Sandy led the way to the door. He opened it with a smile. It was like he was totally unknowing of the blizzard that was whipping and screaming outside. He won't be ignorant much longer because we were about to go into it. I wrapped my skeletal arms around my thin waist and sighed. This wasn't going to do much for me. I bent my head low to keep it out of the wind and walked on following Sandy whenever I had a chance to open my sockets...which were being forced closed by the force of the cold wind making my skull shiver. He led us to a building that was the last one at the way end. My teeth we chattering from the cold, I felt so bad for Cupid. He was so small and was huddled against Sandy's warm fur coat. He was going to catch a cold out here! I grabbed the little angel and ran to the building, my long spider-legs flailing behind me. I pushed the door open without bothering to look at the beautiful carving that was on every door in the place. I then ran to the nearest fire-engine red easy chair to the fire and placed Cupid on it. He shivered from head to his little toes.
"T-thanks-s-s bud-d-d-dy" I laughed and grinned. "It's no trouble really" Sandy walked over and chuckled "It's your turn bone daddy. Hope you have fun!" He was way to enthusiastic about this. It started to worry me. My suspicion grew deeper when he got behind me and started to push me toward the door, which had a sword carving etched into the oak door, and basically threw me into the room! My arms and legs were flailing as I tried to keep my balance.
"Whoa!" I yelled. I heard a light sniggering ahead of me. I lifted my head from its position of making sure I didn't fall to the source of the sniggering. Ahead of me was the most peculiar looking girl I had ever seen. She was very pale, almost as pale as me I might add. Her long blue-black hair was tied back into a bun. She looked my way and stared at me with small almond shaped eyes that were so dark it looked like I was gazing at a night sky with no stars. She laughed again.
"What are you staring at bone boy? We have training to do! We can socialize later" Her voice was bubbly and child like. She might sound like a child but her body told a different mature and slender story. She waked over to me with a spring in her step and held out her delicate hand. I took it and felt its soft skin tickle my bones. I forgot what my own skin felt like but I do remember that my skin was never as soft as this. She smiled and her cheek bones rose. "Hiya! My name is Lu and I'll be your instructor for today" She bowed and then looked at me questioningly "Well aren't you going to introduce yourself?" I stuttered. I was in such complete shock from her beauty that I totally forgot my own words "Y-yes I'm terribly sorry. My name is Jack. Jack Skellington." Lu giggled and shook my hand. "It's great to meet you! Now let's start out training shall we?" "Yeah, er, sure" I was still a little embarrassed to really speak at all but I followed Lu to the center of the room. She took off the long black cloak that was wrapped around her body and revealed a body any gymnast would only dream of having. It was fit and perfectly muscle-toned. She was wearing a tube top that showed her stomach and short black shorts that went along with the black top. She unsheathed her sword and stood in front of me.
"Alright let's see what you got!" She was swinging her hips ready to pounce. I was a little shaky but I summoned my sword and unsheathed it as well. I rushed her and tried to knock her off balance but she was to fast. Her moves were like lightening as she moved. It was like watching an art. In a matter of seconds she had me on the ground and my sword stuck in the gym mat next to me.
"Wow, your good." I was in complete awe. She was amazing. "I wasn't called here to chat. I was summoned here to train. Now get up. I'm going to point out what you're doing wrong and were going to fix it alright?" I nodded. She held out her soft hand once more and I took it. She corrected me on all of my follies and told me the right moves, like where to put my foot and the best sort of swing in each situation and how to move swiftly just like she did. "Now step forward, turn and swing" Lu instructed. I stepped forward and turned around swiftly and swung my sword. I could imagine the image of Lu as she was moving and how close I was to moving like that. Lu clapped and said with a hint of mischief in her tone "Now it's sparring time. You ready? I won't be going easy on you bone bag" We got into our ready positions. I was squatting slightly and stared Lu down just as she told me to do. We rushed and swung at each other. Blocking, counter attacking, moving and spinning. The sound of our swords clanging together reminded me of Halloween town's bells. How they chimed to alert everyone to come to town hall. This was my wake up call. I was in this to save Sally and bring her home. I was going to fight hard and long and will vanquish anyone who stands in my way! With a mighty swing Lu was sent backward. Her sword spinning uncontrollably in the air until it landed on a red mat 10 feet away from where she fell. She looked at me with an impressed look on her face and clapped. I bowed and went to go help her up. "Very nice work you have done. Look at what you have accomplished. You're ready now to go and beat this enemy" I smiled nodding my head. "Thank you so much Lu. You really helped me. Thanks to you I can now get Sally back" Lu smiled and gave the 'V for victory' sign. "It was my pleasure. No hard feelings about the first spar right? We're friends right?" I nodded "Yep. Friends" I walked out of the training room with a confidence in my heart that I knew could only be hope. With all of us trained and ready there was nothing that couldn't stand in our way. I'm ready to get Sally back! I opened the door and saw my friends smiling at me.
"So how was it? You learn anything cool?" Tom inquired with a small gobble. "Yeah I did" Now there was only Sandy left. "So Sandy is it your turn?" Sandy shook his head. "Nope I trained while you were all sleeping. So I'm fine" We all looked at him incredulously. "Say what!? Aren't you tired at all?" Sandy replied with a smile "I'm Santa Clause. I'm never tired but I think I could use some sleep and some good food right about now courtesy of Mrs. Clause what about you guys?" We all smiled and yelled "Yes sir!"
Yes!! Finally done. I'm sure that was a heck of a lot to read. Sorry about that. So many thoughts so little paper. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you have any problems PM me. Review please!! I'm sorry I didn't update for a while it was just a lot of things to be done but I'm back now! So again please review!!!!!