Jack took a deep breath as he leaned back. The Mayor was rambling about some kind of scare, and he was bored. Just as he'd suspected, the others hadn't come that morning, so he'd trudged out to greet the rest of the citizens of Halloween. They were all happy he was back, and he'd shaken hands and joked and talked. Then the Mayor had asked where to begin preparations. Jack had pointed to the cemetery, where there would be a lot of fresh air and ghastly chills. The citizens had gathered for games and a feast that Jack could only watch, and now, an hour later, Jack was ready to beat his skull against the table. It seemed that nothing had changed after all.
"There you are!"
Jack started out of his musings and turned to see Sandy striding over, the others behind him. "Sandy!" he yelped, standing up. "You came!"
"Sorry we're a bit late," Squanto said. "The wives insisted we bring some goodies for lunch."
They carried baskets that sent up tantalizing smells, and Jack scanned them again, his heart (metaphorically of course) soaring. He grinned, happy and excited. The Mayor's blue face twirled to the front and he glared at them.
"What are they doing here?" he asked sourly.
"They're here to help," Jack said promptly.
"They're the reason we're even further behind schedule," he grumbled.
"Three days won't matter," Sandy said. "Not with twelve extra hands."
The face switched abruptly and the Mayor beamed. "Good idea. We can borrow more from the cemetery if we need to."
Sandy blinked then chuckled. "If you think it's necessary. But won't they need to be attached to somebody to help?"
Jack nearly burst with glee. None of them looked disgusted or squeamish, as they had every time he'd made jokes like that. They were snickering and smiling!
"Head's up!" Ethan called.
Behemoth's hatchet embedded itself with a dull thunk into the table, slicing through Jack's wrist. The Holiday leaders immediately went pale, wincing as if Jack would scream. The citizens, on the other hand, began to shriek with laughter.
Jack smiled at his friends as they looked ill, and his hand leaped up onto its fingers and skittered over the axe handle to stand up. He placed his wrist on the severed hand and it reattached seamlessly. He flexed his hand then wrenched the axe up and out of the solid oak.
"Seeing as how our guests can actually bleed," he said as the citizens stopped laughing. "Perhaps bowling with pumpkins would be more advisable."
They agreed amicably and hurried to set up the game. Behemoth ambled over.
"Can I have axe back?" he asked.
"Of course," Jack replied.
Behemoth turned around and stood still, revealing to their guests a neat slice on the back of the top of his head. The bone was split, revealing soft pink tissue Jack raised the hatchet and brought it down with quite a bit of force. It made a fleshy noise as it sunk into the man's brain. It stood up on top of his head. Behemoth turned to thank Jack and noticed the shocked looks on the other Holiday leaders' faces. Their eyes were on the hatchet, a tinge of surprise and horror that was amusing to see.
"You want axe in head?" he asked politely.
Jack grinned, covering his mouth to keep from laughing. Patrick found his voice first, drawing his fingers through his neat red beard.
"Ah, no thanks, laddie. Very nice hatchet, though. It suits you."
Behemoth smiled, but it was dark. "Big brother gave me axe as present."
None of them dared to answer that, Dr. Finkelstein's warning flashing through their minds. Jack knew just what to say though.
"Your brother been bothering you again," Behemoth?"
"Him dead. But still mean in dreams."
Behemoth's face flushed, and he rubbed his head then hugged himself.
"Why don't I come to the pumpkin patch tomorrow night. We can see how they're growing and have a cup of witch's brew and talk about him."
Behemoth grinned at once. "Pumpkins grow real big! Big Jack-o'-lanterns this year!"
"Sounds fantastic!"
"Jack!" the Mayor whined, his blue face facing forward again.
"Of course. Preparations. But we need several more chairs. Could you go and get them, Mayor?"
At once, the faces switched back. "Of course, Jack!"
He hurried away, and Jack sighed. "Get ready for bombardment," he muttered.
"What's with that Behemoth?" Eros asked in a low voice.
"He's been having night terrors again," Jack replied quietly. "His brother was terrible."
"How?" Bunny asked. Then he flinched and backtracked at once. "You don't have to explain."
"Asking me and asking them are two different things. Just don't go spreading it around," Jack said. "You can tell your wives, but don't talk about it with anybody from around here but me and Oogie and the doctor."
They nodded. Jack checked on the status of the chairs. Ned and Behemoth and the Mayor were hauling them over. Jack took several steps away.
"Behemoth was a slow child, and he was a secret in his family. That's not even his real name. That's just what Otis, his older brother, called him. It's actually an insult. In his time, that sort of mental disorder wasn't openly discussed. He was treated like a farmhand by his family. He embarrassed his older brother when he was betrothed, and the girl was horrified by Behemoth and said she wouldn't marry his brother if he was around. So Otis took him out to chop wood and had an 'accident.'"
They could hear the quotation marks around the word, and it made them severely uncomfortable and angry. Jack didn't look happy either.
"That's not the worst thing Otis did to him," Jack murmured. "It was a quick death, and Behemoth wasn't afraid at all. The next thing he knew, he was here with people who didn't think him stupid. It was a release. It was the 'games' Otis would make him play that he has night terrors about."
They didn't want to ask, and they didn't have to as the Mayor called them to the table.
Jack strode over and sat down. "Where were we, Mayor?" he asked, in good spirits for the first time since he'd gotten back.
The others leaned forward and began to study the plans. They had a lot to learn. But they would do it gladly. Jack had given them so much for three years, and they knew he would continue to work hard for them in the years to come. Now they finally would begin to give back to him, and they were ready for all the spooks and scares that awaited them.
And this is the end of the edits for Black and Red. The story will be continued in Rekindling Warmth once I have the chance to edit it. Please let me know if you enjoyed this expanded and improved story about Jack and the Holiday leaders. Have a great day and God bless.