Ch 8: Tinsel, Ornaments and Blood
(Day 4, Kage's Pov)
I walked into the den, my work finished. Jack was staring at the Christmas things that he had bottled and went over the notes he'd made on a chalkboard. A rooster called from somewhere outside as the Jack O' Lantern sun rose. 'We've been up all night'. And Jack didn't look anywhere closer to an answer.
"Jack maybe you should take a break and sleep on it."
He merely shook his head."Couldn't if I tried." He then began to sing his feelings.
"Christmas time is buzzing in my skull."
"Will it let you be?" I sang asked.
"I cannot tell." He answered.
"There's so many things I cannot grasp.
When I think I've got and then at last,
through my bony fingers it does slip,
like a snowflake in a fiery grip."
He tried to make a house cards only to have the whole thing topple down, he knocked the cards off the table.
I tried to convince him.
"Something here your not quite getting."
"Though I try I keep forgetting,
like a memory long since past."
"Here in an instant."
"Gone in a flash. What does it mean, what does it mean?"
He walked over to the dolls and toys.
"In these little bric-a-bracs, a secrets waiting to be cracked."
"These dolls and toys confuse you so." I sang.
"Confound it all I love it though." He responded. I tried to reason with him.
"Simple objects nothing more."
"But somethings hidden through a door."
"Please believe there is no key." I pleaded.
"Somethings there I cannot see. What does it mean, what does it mean?"
He began to go through his Christmas books.
"I've read these Christmas books so many times.
I know the stories and I know the rhymes.
I know the christmas carols all by heart,
my skulls so full it's tearing me apart!"
"As often as you've read them somethings wrong."
"So hard to put my bony finger on."
I had to make him see.
"Or perhaps it's really not as deep as you've been led to think"
I said pointing to picture of a family sitting together giving each other presents and laughing.
"Am I trying much to hard?" He sang asked.
I nodded. He followed my hand but instead saw himself as the Pumpkin King.
"Of course I've been to close to see,
the answers right in front of me. Right in front of me."
He grabbed me and began dancing me around.
"It's simple really, very clear.
Like music drifting in the air,
invisible but everywhere."
I thought he finally understood.
"Just because you cannot see it."
"Doesn't mean I can't believe it.
You know I think this Christmas thing,
its not as tricky as it seems,
and why should they have all the fun."
"It should belong to anyone."
Jack spun me a bit to hard and I went careening and tripped over his electric execution chair, getting my wrist caught in the arm cuff.
Jack was on a wheeling ladder against the book shelf gathering lights.
"Not anyone in fact but me,
why I could make a Christmas tree.
And there's no reason I can find,
I couldn't handle Christmas time."
He flicked his wrist and sent the christmas lights wrapping around the electric chair I was caught in, one of the lights wrapped tightly around my wrist, pressing into my palm.
"Jack hold on a minute!" But it was in vain he wasn't listening or hadn't heard me and continued on.
"I bet I could improve it too!" He grabbed the switch to the chair.
I released where this was going and tried to pull myself free.
"And that's exactly what I'll do!" He pulled the switch. cackling he went to the window.
Electricity raced up my arm, the bulb burst sending shards of glass into my palm.
I finally pulled free, hissing in pain as blood flowed freely from the wounds. My arm ached as it was racked with spasms.
"This year Christmas will be ours!" He shouted to those below.
I stomped to the door infuriated and in pain.
"Where are you going?" He turned and asked.
I cradled my injured hand. "Maybe you should look at whats right in front of you before you jump to a conclusion and do something stupid!" I shouted pointing at the chair with my good hand and stormed out. I grabbed my things and left slamming the front door on my way out.
(Sally's Pov)
Sitting against Jack's front gate I heard a door slam and heard footsteps coming my way. I had expected Jack but it was Kage.
She stormed past me and stopped at the stone fence a few feet away without noticing me. Then strangely she began picking at her hand.
I stood and approached. "Kage?"
She turned with a start. "Oh Sally I'm glad to see you got out, but what are you doing out here?" She asked.
"I could ask you the same thing." I noticed she was cradling her hand so I got a closer look.
"Well I uh..." She sighed. "Jack's a bonehead."
'Well I never heard it put quite like that.' "What happened to your hand?" I questioned.
She held it closer to herself defensively. "Nothing I-"
I grabbed her hand to look for myself and gasped. Shards of glass were sticking out her palm which was bleeding freely from the gashes.
"That's not nothing. Did Jack-"
"No no, not on purpose. He seems to have real trouble seeing what's right in from of him though."
I nodded, I could understand that. I'm practically invisible to him. But I couldn't feel bad for myself now. Kage's hand needed tending to.
"Come on. I know a place where we can talk." We walked away from the house and headed to Spiral Hill.
(Jack's Pov)
I heard the door slam from below.
'What was that about?' I looked over to the smoking chair. I hadn't meant for the thing to explode but it wasn't really that big of a deal. The outlets were still streaming smoke and there were bits of glass everywhere. I got closer and noticed there drops of red mixed with the glass.
"Blood? But how..." Now that I thought about it, hadn't Kage been cradling her hand? 'Oh no. Was she hurt? Did I do it?'
"Zero!" I called. I heard a whimpering from the corner.
Zero was hiding in an empty bookshelf.
"Come on Zero."
He whimpered again and hid deeper.
"Not you to?" I had to make things right. I went to Kage's room hoping to find her there. The door was wide open.
"Kage?" I called. No answer. I also noticed that her things were missing. I searched the rest of the house with no luck. She must of left. I darted out the door only to be met by a mob of monsters asking questions about our Christmas.
"Please please, not right now." I tried to get away.
"Oh Jack, Jack!" The mayor called. "Is it true what you said about us doing Christmas?"
"Yes, but right now I have to do something very important." The mayor's head spun to nervous.
"Oh, alright." I took off. 'Where could she be!'
