Cobwebs Tend to Begin on Halloween
I don't own anything but my OC's.
Chapter 8
He wasn't going to touch that. It looked disgusting, yet Oogie and the others had eaten it; dropping it down their throats. They thought it was delicious. Icky just…no, he wasn't going to try that. That…snake and spider stew. His mind was elsewhere. He couldn't remember how it'd been since Jack Skellington had come over to their tree house and accused them of planning something. Well, technically, they were. But Jack didn't need to know that.
Icky had watched Jack Skellington leave. He had sat by the window, even long after Jack left. Something inside his head was nagging him to go after Mr. Skellington. But Oogie would be mad.
Icky looked over at his 'family'. The kids were going off to bed. Barrel glanced over his shoulder. "C'mon, Icky!"
Icky stood and followed the three into the room, glad that they had gotten him another shoe.
The three trick-or-treaters nestled into the beds and Icky crawled into his dog bed. He pulled his thin blanket up to his chin. Icky rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. Something was eating away at him.
He wanted to go and see Jack Skellington.
Maybe he could convince Jack to stop fighting Oogie. Then there wouldn't be all of this violence. Icky glanced at the others. All of them were fast asleep. They'd never see him.
Icky moved the blanket away. In a burst of thought, he picked up the blanket and wrapped it around his shoulders; creating a cloak for himself. He got up and tip-toed over to the door, wary of waking the others up. Taking another look over his shoulder, Icky opened the door and left.
…
The cage ride was annoying and loud. The cage was small and it made Icky feel claustrophobic. He was so glad to get out of it. Icky walked toward town. Oogie was asleep on the couch and Icky had found it easy to sneak passed him. Icky walked quickly, checking for any rocks that he were to trip over. If Oogie were to awaken, he would surely know of Icky's disappearance. Then he'd probably figure out where Icky was.
Icky finally made it to town and gasped at his surroundings. Before, he'd been tied up in a sack; therefore unable to see the town. The place wasn't very busy.. Vampires and witches were at their shops, closing up for the night. Icky watched them pull the shutters over their windows. Icky ducked behind a cart. If someone were to see him, they'd surely see the resemblance between him and Jack. He came here to see Jack, not cause a scene.
Icky ducked between carts and into alleys, dodging anyone who walked passed. He looked out from his hiding place behind an abandoned crate. Which house was Jack Skellington's? There must be one of these buildings that belonged to the king!
Icky paused when he heard a noise. A bark. He looked out.
A ghost dog was floating down the street, toward one of the largest houses Icky had ever seen. A man, who Icky recognized as the mayor, waved to him. "Make sure you take that to Jack, Zero!"
Jack.
Icky crept after it. There was no guarantee that the Jack it was going after was the same one Icky was searching for. Still, it was a good place to start. The skeleton boy ducked into alleys, following the ghost dog. The dog slipped into a little flap in the door to the house. Icky looked around.
No one was watching. Perfect.
Icky scrambled up the steps to the house. He got down on all fours and gently pushed the flap, peeking in. He was a wooden floor on the other side, and a staircase leading to the next level of the house. Further away was the entrance to the living room. Icky tried to push himself through the little flap, but it was too small. He huffed. How would he get to Jack Skellington if the door would not open? He looked up and paused.
A spider hung on a chain beside the door. If Icky remembered correctly, Barrel called this a 'doorbell'. It was supposed to get the attention of whoever was in the house.
Perfect.
Icky reached up and grasped it, then tugged it down. A shrill shriek sounded inside the house. Icky jumped.
…
Jack scratched at his head. These new plans the Mayor had given to Zero to deliver was almost right. But there was something wrong. Something he just couldn't put his finger on…
The shriek of his doorbell snapped him out of his thoughts. Jack turned and made his way out of his study, down the stairs. "Coming!" He called. "Hold on!" He grasped the doorknob, and heard a whimper on the other side of the door. There were footsteps. Jack pressed his 'ear' to the side of the door and listened. Deciding he could not wait any longer, he pulled open the door.
No one stood there. The cold, autumn wind blew into Jack's house. Jack looked around. "Hello?" He asked, but no one replied. Jack shrugged and shut the door. Perhaps he had imagined it…
…
Lock, Shock and Barrel threw Icky on to the floor, in front of Oogie. Icky looked up at him in fright. "So," Oogie began. "We have a traitor, huh?"
Icky gulped.
"You know somethin', Icky?" Oogie asked, thought even Icky knew the question was rhetorical. "We have something that'd like to meet ya."
"…R-Really…?" Icky asked. Oogie grabbed him by his cloak and hoisted him up, carrying him over to the panel that he had laid on before his awakening. Oogie forced him to lay down, then walked over to a lever on the other side of the room. "I gave ya life, traitor," Oogie said. "So I can also take it away."
Icky's jaw dropped and, before he could move away, Oogie pulled the lever. Lightning bolts made their way up the panel, toward Icky's body. Icky flailed and writhed as the bolts attacked him, and he became weaker and weaker. His world was turning black. Just as his eye socket began to shut, he could've sworn he heard someone say:
"I'm sorry, kid…"
…
Jack scowled at Oogie. He grabbed hold of the piece of string that hung down and gave it a sharp tug. "How dare you treat my friend so SHAMEFULLY!"
Oogie whimpered in fear as his burlap was caught. It was torn from his body, exposing the many bugs; which still squirmed, even though the burlap was gone. "Now, look what you've done!" The bugs lost their strength to keep Oogie's body whole, and they began to fall into the lava. "My bugs! My bugs! My bugs!" He called helplessly, his voice becoming a higher pitch each time.
Jack watched triumphantly and Shadow's jaw dropped at the mass of bugs.
One green bug tried to get away, still squeaking "My bugs!", when Santa's foot came down and squashed it.
Jack made his way over to Santa, handing him his hat. "Forgive me, Mister Claws. Afraid I've made a terrible mess of your holiday…"
"Bumpy sleigh ride, Jack?" Santa snapped, snatching his hat back. "The next time you get the urge to take over someone else's holiday, I'd listen to her," He gestured to Shadow, who shrank back from the angry gesture. "She's the only one who makes any sense around this insane asylum!" Santa shuffled away from them angrily, muttering "Skeletons…" under his breath.
Jack placed his hands to his heart as his eye sockets drooped. Trying to fix the situation, he called, "I hope there's still time!"
Santa turned back to him. "To fix Christmas? Of course there is! I'm Santa Claus." Santa pressed his nose, and gold sparkles developed around his feet. Santa Claus flew off, out of Oogie's lair.
Shadow came from her hiding place, walking over to Jack slowly. "Don't worry, Jack. He'll fix things…He knows what to do…"
Jack turned to her. "How did you get down here, Shadow?"
"Well, I…I was…I just wanted to…to…" The words were lost in Shadow's mind as she wrung her hands behind her back nervously.
"To…help me?" Jack finished for her, placing a hand to his chest.
"Well, I couldn't just let you…" Shadow trailed off, turning from him as a blush crept across her features.
"Shadow," Jack began, gently grasping her hand. "I can't believe I never realized…how worried you were about me."
"Well, Jack…I just-" Shadow began to confess, when a bright light shone upon them. They both looked towards it, where the Mayor and the trick-or-treating trio were.
"Jack!" The Mayor called. "Jack!"
"Here he is," Barrel said.
"Alive!" Lock added.
"Just like we said!" Shock concluded.
"Grab a hold, my boy!" The Mayor tossed down a rope.
Jack led Shadow over to it, still holding her hand. He grabbed hold of the rope, then looked at Shadow to see if she was ok. Shadow smiled back, just as the Mayor tugged on the rope.
…
T'was a good thing Jack Skellington did not look in the same closet as he did awhile back. For he would've seen the still, lifeless body of Icky. It sat against the wall, legs spread out, head lowered and arms at its sides. The light in its mask was out.
And a lost soul was its only company.
…
Author's note:
Mav: Man, Cob's life was almost as bad as mine!
Me: Shut it, Mav. People will read about your life in 'From Little Flame to Raging Fire', so shut up about it.
Mav: Hmph…*Crosses arms and turns away*
Me: Cookie to anyone who can guess who said 'I'm sorry, kid'. It's easy. Plus, we got to see what happened to Icky during Nightmare. So, Icky's 'dead'.
Mav: Jack's still an idiot- I mean, hero!
Me: And Oogie's dead!
Mav: What'll happen next?
Mav + Me: Find out next time…
Mav: *Gasps* MysteriousMoonCo is right! *Runs over to Jack and hugs him* Jack! I love ya, man! You can read my- I mean, your newspaper for as long as you want!
Jack: Uh…thanks…Are, by any chance, Monochrome pretending to be Maverick again?
Mav: No! I just love you, man! *Thinking: Sandy will put me on the Nice List for sure!*
