Chapter 6
Abduction
"Pretty," Amelia cooed, cradling her china ballerina in her hands.
Jack smiled, his star resting by its points on his fingertips. The tree was standing in the parlor, bare and green. Tonight he and Amelia would make strings of popcorn and cranberries to drape over it's boughs. White tapers, also, would be lighted later to make it seem as though stars had settled on its branches. There would be many decorations collected over the years, ranging from delicately carved wooden birds to glossy, blown glass fruits, that would find new homes in the evergreen as they did every year. The two siblings adored them all.
The older of the two, however, was a little worried that the ornaments would come to life and try to frighten him. But something inside of him, the little rebellious part of his mind which refused to be intimidated, held out and almost dared them to try anything. That part of him felt more than ready to handle any petty threats or pranks this trickster could pull. Why, the tree had backed down after the boy had showed it a bit of an attitude. If anything else tried to scare him, he'd just use the same tactic.
Jack's sister looked to him with twinkling eyes. "I think it's going to be the prettiest tree ever," she said almost breathlessly, turning her gaze toward the evergreen. It was, indeed, quite lovely. Just the right size and shape without any bare sides, and just the right amount of room beneath it's lower branches for plenty of gifts.
Mr. Skellington came into the parlor, his wife at his side. "Well!" he said with a smile, "who's ready to get this tree decorated?"
"Oh, me!" called Amelia, jumping to her feet exictedly.
"Let's open the rest of these boxes, then, shall we?"
The family gathered around the small pile of decoration boxes and very carefully began removing their treasure of gleaming holiday relics. Jack could remember when they'd gotten most of them, each calling back a previous Christmas and a plethora of pleasant memories. He held up a blown glass pear and smiled a bit wistfully.
"Oh no!"
The youth looked up to see his mother holding a red ball, or what would have been a red ball if it wasn't broken. Mrs. Skellington sighed and dropped the broken decoration into the box. "They're all like that," she said, closing the top up. "The box must have fallen over sometime during the year."
"We can't make the tree up without them," murmured Amelia, staring at the box forlornly. "It just wouldn't be the same."
Jack got to his feet and flashed Amelia his silly grin. "Don't worry. Look, I'll tell you what. I'll go into town and pick up a new set. How does that sound?"
"You will?" his sister said, smiling up at him. "Oh, Jack, thank you!" Amelia hopped to her feet and hugged her brother tightly.
Mr. Skellington got to his feet and reached into his pocket, withdrawing a few coins and holding them out to his son. "All right, then. This should do it, but be careful. The sky's fairly clear, and I doubt it's going to snow anymore for the time being, but it's going to be dark by the time you get back."
"I'll take a lantern," Jack reassured his father, taking the money extended to him. The young man went to the door, pulling on his winter bundling. As he straightened his cap and lifted the lantern from the table by the door, he turned to his family with a smile. "Don't start without me!" And with that, he went through the front door.
As it closed, Amelia couldn't help but feel there was some odd finality to the click of the door. It sent a chill up her spine and she almost got up to go after him, but she shook her head and turned her attention back to the tree.
Jack hummed merrily as he made his way across the snowy fields. His breath puffed out in quiet clouds before him, and a brisk wind whistled across the landscape. In the distance the sun was slowly sinking below the treeline, starting to pull it up over itself like a dark blanket. Color streaked across the few remaining clouds in the sky, staining them pink on violet and orange edged with gold. In another corner of the sky, the moon was just begining to become illuminated. Times like this made Jack catch his breath in awe.
The town was perched on the horizon, a dark and angular blot against the pastel sky. Its streetlights were just begining to be lit, throwing soft, gas lamp circles to the wet, trodden cobblestones below it. Snow still sat thickly upon the rooftops like white icing, and every now and then a large clump would fall and burst on the sidewalk. Icicles were also forming on the edges of the roof, seeming to give the houses and buildings icy teeth. Jack made his way to the merchantile, reaching into his pocket and clinking to coins together softly. There was more than enough for the decorations, which, really, were just a bunch of cheap, thin glass orbs. Still, he had to admit that they did add something to the tree, and were quite lovely in their simplicity.
Stepping into the merchantile, the boy smiled. The store was decked out for Christmas with it's many ornaments and toys lining the shelves. At the front desk, the merchant, Mr. Atson, was sorting pieces of jewlery on a display case. Jack waved to the man before picking up a box of the Christmas ornaments he wanted. As he drew the box away from the shelf, he heard something soft thud to the floor. Pausing and looking to see what fell, the youth found a little rag doll topped with two plaits of red yarn hair and wearing a green dress smiling up at him with a painted mouth. It's blue button eyes shone in the light as he kneeled and lifted it off the floor. Getting to his feet, he almost set it back on the shelf, but looking at it again, he smiled and decided not to.
Instead, the boy came to the front desk, set down the items and pushed the money toward Mr. Atson. Amelia would love to have an early Christmas treat, thought the girl's brother, and he knew his father wouldn't mind the minute expense. The things were slipped into a bag and his change was handed to him before he out of the store.
The stars had begun to come out now, and the sun had settled in for it's sleep below the rim of the world. Jack lit his lantern and paused a moment. He could head across the fields again, but it was an awfully long way and it was about to become bitterly cold. There was, however, a shortcut he could take through the woods that would have him home in two shakes of a lamb's tail. Thinking it over a bit, the boy turned to the woods and started toward home. Begining into the forest, he whistled merrily to himself, finding the tune "O Christmas Tree" ready on his lips. Darkness was just begining to creep out from behind the trees, but Jack kept his mind off of it by imagining the tree decked out in holiday splendor. Perhaps his mother would take the harpsicord and play a few carols after they were done decorating. Then the four would sit around the tree and partake of tea or cocoa together, bathed in the warm glow of the firelight and the tapers on the tree. Amelia would be so pleased with her doll. He could imagine the way her eyes would light up and the way her smile--
SNAP!
The young man paused and looked about the woods, drawn rather abruptly from the perfect scene in his mind and brought to the forest of shadows that was his reality.
Moving his lantern in a slow circle, Jack illuminated the steadily darkening trees in an attempt to catch a glimpse of what had made the noise. Hesitating a moment, he tried calling out. "H-Hello?" He felt slightly disgusted with the bleat of a noise his voice had been reduced to. Checking his surroundings once again, the boy decided that the twig was probably broken under the weight of snow on one of the trees before moving on.
But it was no good. The damage had been done. Making his way through the trees, Jack found that he was unable to escape into a more comfortable place in his mind. He was stuck in the nighttime forest, and would be until he made it home.
He began to experience an acute decline in nerve.
As he walked through the woods in the darkness, the youth tried very hard to concentrate on the warm circle of lamplight falling on the patches of snow and bare ground. He knew these woods like the back of his hand, true, but in the night, they seemed to come alive. Worse, though, was that his nightmare seemed to return to haunt him. Now and then he could swear he saw the tree branches reach out to sieze him.
He staggered suddenly as a root caught his sock. Jack nearly dropped the items he was holding, but he held them tight and knelt to free his garment. His hands quivered slightly as he set his lamp down in the snow. "Pull yourself together, Jack," the boy muttered, uncatching his sock from the root.
"Oh gracious, yes!" boomed a voice from behind him. "No good havin' you all in pieces!"
Jack's head snapped upward, looking about for the source of the voice, and quite nearly fainted dead away when he did. Behind the young man, towering over him ten or twelve feet, perhaps even more, was the most terrifying abomination he'd ever laid eyes on. A horrible, bloated creature covered in burlap, edges puckered and stitched together with unnaturally colored insects squirming around it's terrible, grinning mouth.
"After all, that takes so much fun outta my job," smirked the monstrosity.
Oogie Boogie's target leapt to his feet, still clutching his bag and gaping at the ghoul with wide eyes. "N-no," he gasped, taking an uneasy step backward.
"Y'know, this wouldn't be so hard on you if you hadn't been such a stubborn little pipsqueak earlier," snarled the bogey man. His mouth twisted back into a grin. "You're comin' with me, kid. The folks back home...they got big plans for you." Oogie began to reach toward the youth.
Fear gripped Jack's heart and he took off running like a jack rabbit through the trees. Branches whipped past him, ripping at his skin and his clothing, but he didn't even seem to notice their sting. Instead, he continued to run, blinded by fear, through the woods. Nothing mattered anymore but getting away from this creature and into his house. Yes, his house. Warmth and light and welcome, loving arms to enclose around him and reassure him. Tell him this was all just some silly dream brought on by walking through the woods at night. Admonish him for doing so. They were going to decorate the tree tonight, so he couldn't be dragged away by this...this thing! It couldn't be! It wasn't possible! Nightmares and bogey men didn't come to life! Then, chilling and penetrating, the creature's laugh, the laugh from Jack's horrifying visions, rolled through the trees.
"This isn't happening," the boy hissed between breaths.
He stopped and leaned against a tree, gasping for air. His heart throbbed in his head and his lungs didn't seem to pull enough air in. Muscles burning and aching, his eyes darted to and fro among the dark trees, searching for the demon pursuing him. Jack was faster than this monster, so all he had to do was outdistance it. Unfortunately, he didn't suspect that his foe had planned ahead.
An all too familiar sting suddenly manifested itself on his neck. Jack let out a strangled cry and his free hand flew to the stinging sensation, and he crushed the insect that was causing it. He held his hand up and through the dimness he could make out the creature's remains crumpled and staining his glove. Too late...he could already feel the numbness creeping through him.
"No," the boy croaked softly, taking a few uneasy steps forward. The youth was struck suddenly in the back of the head and he fell forward to his knees, dropping the bag. Glass balls tumbled out of it into the snow, and the little ragdoll bounced onto a patch of bare ground, joined shortly by Jack. Groaning in protest to the drowsy feeling overcoming him, he turned his gaze to the dark form looming over him. As his heavy lids began to sink over his eyes, Jack stared groggily at the little doll smiling to him and the decorations nestled in the snow. "Amelia," he sighed out. A black pool of unconciousness spread out before him in his mind and he fell into it.
Grinning cruelly, Oogie Boogie hefted his prize up and threw him over one shoulder. Crunching across the snow and glass, the bogey man began to make his way home.
Abduction
"Pretty," Amelia cooed, cradling her china ballerina in her hands.
Jack smiled, his star resting by its points on his fingertips. The tree was standing in the parlor, bare and green. Tonight he and Amelia would make strings of popcorn and cranberries to drape over it's boughs. White tapers, also, would be lighted later to make it seem as though stars had settled on its branches. There would be many decorations collected over the years, ranging from delicately carved wooden birds to glossy, blown glass fruits, that would find new homes in the evergreen as they did every year. The two siblings adored them all.
The older of the two, however, was a little worried that the ornaments would come to life and try to frighten him. But something inside of him, the little rebellious part of his mind which refused to be intimidated, held out and almost dared them to try anything. That part of him felt more than ready to handle any petty threats or pranks this trickster could pull. Why, the tree had backed down after the boy had showed it a bit of an attitude. If anything else tried to scare him, he'd just use the same tactic.
Jack's sister looked to him with twinkling eyes. "I think it's going to be the prettiest tree ever," she said almost breathlessly, turning her gaze toward the evergreen. It was, indeed, quite lovely. Just the right size and shape without any bare sides, and just the right amount of room beneath it's lower branches for plenty of gifts.
Mr. Skellington came into the parlor, his wife at his side. "Well!" he said with a smile, "who's ready to get this tree decorated?"
"Oh, me!" called Amelia, jumping to her feet exictedly.
"Let's open the rest of these boxes, then, shall we?"
The family gathered around the small pile of decoration boxes and very carefully began removing their treasure of gleaming holiday relics. Jack could remember when they'd gotten most of them, each calling back a previous Christmas and a plethora of pleasant memories. He held up a blown glass pear and smiled a bit wistfully.
"Oh no!"
The youth looked up to see his mother holding a red ball, or what would have been a red ball if it wasn't broken. Mrs. Skellington sighed and dropped the broken decoration into the box. "They're all like that," she said, closing the top up. "The box must have fallen over sometime during the year."
"We can't make the tree up without them," murmured Amelia, staring at the box forlornly. "It just wouldn't be the same."
Jack got to his feet and flashed Amelia his silly grin. "Don't worry. Look, I'll tell you what. I'll go into town and pick up a new set. How does that sound?"
"You will?" his sister said, smiling up at him. "Oh, Jack, thank you!" Amelia hopped to her feet and hugged her brother tightly.
Mr. Skellington got to his feet and reached into his pocket, withdrawing a few coins and holding them out to his son. "All right, then. This should do it, but be careful. The sky's fairly clear, and I doubt it's going to snow anymore for the time being, but it's going to be dark by the time you get back."
"I'll take a lantern," Jack reassured his father, taking the money extended to him. The young man went to the door, pulling on his winter bundling. As he straightened his cap and lifted the lantern from the table by the door, he turned to his family with a smile. "Don't start without me!" And with that, he went through the front door.
As it closed, Amelia couldn't help but feel there was some odd finality to the click of the door. It sent a chill up her spine and she almost got up to go after him, but she shook her head and turned her attention back to the tree.
Jack hummed merrily as he made his way across the snowy fields. His breath puffed out in quiet clouds before him, and a brisk wind whistled across the landscape. In the distance the sun was slowly sinking below the treeline, starting to pull it up over itself like a dark blanket. Color streaked across the few remaining clouds in the sky, staining them pink on violet and orange edged with gold. In another corner of the sky, the moon was just begining to become illuminated. Times like this made Jack catch his breath in awe.
The town was perched on the horizon, a dark and angular blot against the pastel sky. Its streetlights were just begining to be lit, throwing soft, gas lamp circles to the wet, trodden cobblestones below it. Snow still sat thickly upon the rooftops like white icing, and every now and then a large clump would fall and burst on the sidewalk. Icicles were also forming on the edges of the roof, seeming to give the houses and buildings icy teeth. Jack made his way to the merchantile, reaching into his pocket and clinking to coins together softly. There was more than enough for the decorations, which, really, were just a bunch of cheap, thin glass orbs. Still, he had to admit that they did add something to the tree, and were quite lovely in their simplicity.
Stepping into the merchantile, the boy smiled. The store was decked out for Christmas with it's many ornaments and toys lining the shelves. At the front desk, the merchant, Mr. Atson, was sorting pieces of jewlery on a display case. Jack waved to the man before picking up a box of the Christmas ornaments he wanted. As he drew the box away from the shelf, he heard something soft thud to the floor. Pausing and looking to see what fell, the youth found a little rag doll topped with two plaits of red yarn hair and wearing a green dress smiling up at him with a painted mouth. It's blue button eyes shone in the light as he kneeled and lifted it off the floor. Getting to his feet, he almost set it back on the shelf, but looking at it again, he smiled and decided not to.
Instead, the boy came to the front desk, set down the items and pushed the money toward Mr. Atson. Amelia would love to have an early Christmas treat, thought the girl's brother, and he knew his father wouldn't mind the minute expense. The things were slipped into a bag and his change was handed to him before he out of the store.
The stars had begun to come out now, and the sun had settled in for it's sleep below the rim of the world. Jack lit his lantern and paused a moment. He could head across the fields again, but it was an awfully long way and it was about to become bitterly cold. There was, however, a shortcut he could take through the woods that would have him home in two shakes of a lamb's tail. Thinking it over a bit, the boy turned to the woods and started toward home. Begining into the forest, he whistled merrily to himself, finding the tune "O Christmas Tree" ready on his lips. Darkness was just begining to creep out from behind the trees, but Jack kept his mind off of it by imagining the tree decked out in holiday splendor. Perhaps his mother would take the harpsicord and play a few carols after they were done decorating. Then the four would sit around the tree and partake of tea or cocoa together, bathed in the warm glow of the firelight and the tapers on the tree. Amelia would be so pleased with her doll. He could imagine the way her eyes would light up and the way her smile--
SNAP!
The young man paused and looked about the woods, drawn rather abruptly from the perfect scene in his mind and brought to the forest of shadows that was his reality.
Moving his lantern in a slow circle, Jack illuminated the steadily darkening trees in an attempt to catch a glimpse of what had made the noise. Hesitating a moment, he tried calling out. "H-Hello?" He felt slightly disgusted with the bleat of a noise his voice had been reduced to. Checking his surroundings once again, the boy decided that the twig was probably broken under the weight of snow on one of the trees before moving on.
But it was no good. The damage had been done. Making his way through the trees, Jack found that he was unable to escape into a more comfortable place in his mind. He was stuck in the nighttime forest, and would be until he made it home.
He began to experience an acute decline in nerve.
As he walked through the woods in the darkness, the youth tried very hard to concentrate on the warm circle of lamplight falling on the patches of snow and bare ground. He knew these woods like the back of his hand, true, but in the night, they seemed to come alive. Worse, though, was that his nightmare seemed to return to haunt him. Now and then he could swear he saw the tree branches reach out to sieze him.
He staggered suddenly as a root caught his sock. Jack nearly dropped the items he was holding, but he held them tight and knelt to free his garment. His hands quivered slightly as he set his lamp down in the snow. "Pull yourself together, Jack," the boy muttered, uncatching his sock from the root.
"Oh gracious, yes!" boomed a voice from behind him. "No good havin' you all in pieces!"
Jack's head snapped upward, looking about for the source of the voice, and quite nearly fainted dead away when he did. Behind the young man, towering over him ten or twelve feet, perhaps even more, was the most terrifying abomination he'd ever laid eyes on. A horrible, bloated creature covered in burlap, edges puckered and stitched together with unnaturally colored insects squirming around it's terrible, grinning mouth.
"After all, that takes so much fun outta my job," smirked the monstrosity.
Oogie Boogie's target leapt to his feet, still clutching his bag and gaping at the ghoul with wide eyes. "N-no," he gasped, taking an uneasy step backward.
"Y'know, this wouldn't be so hard on you if you hadn't been such a stubborn little pipsqueak earlier," snarled the bogey man. His mouth twisted back into a grin. "You're comin' with me, kid. The folks back home...they got big plans for you." Oogie began to reach toward the youth.
Fear gripped Jack's heart and he took off running like a jack rabbit through the trees. Branches whipped past him, ripping at his skin and his clothing, but he didn't even seem to notice their sting. Instead, he continued to run, blinded by fear, through the woods. Nothing mattered anymore but getting away from this creature and into his house. Yes, his house. Warmth and light and welcome, loving arms to enclose around him and reassure him. Tell him this was all just some silly dream brought on by walking through the woods at night. Admonish him for doing so. They were going to decorate the tree tonight, so he couldn't be dragged away by this...this thing! It couldn't be! It wasn't possible! Nightmares and bogey men didn't come to life! Then, chilling and penetrating, the creature's laugh, the laugh from Jack's horrifying visions, rolled through the trees.
"This isn't happening," the boy hissed between breaths.
He stopped and leaned against a tree, gasping for air. His heart throbbed in his head and his lungs didn't seem to pull enough air in. Muscles burning and aching, his eyes darted to and fro among the dark trees, searching for the demon pursuing him. Jack was faster than this monster, so all he had to do was outdistance it. Unfortunately, he didn't suspect that his foe had planned ahead.
An all too familiar sting suddenly manifested itself on his neck. Jack let out a strangled cry and his free hand flew to the stinging sensation, and he crushed the insect that was causing it. He held his hand up and through the dimness he could make out the creature's remains crumpled and staining his glove. Too late...he could already feel the numbness creeping through him.
"No," the boy croaked softly, taking a few uneasy steps forward. The youth was struck suddenly in the back of the head and he fell forward to his knees, dropping the bag. Glass balls tumbled out of it into the snow, and the little ragdoll bounced onto a patch of bare ground, joined shortly by Jack. Groaning in protest to the drowsy feeling overcoming him, he turned his gaze to the dark form looming over him. As his heavy lids began to sink over his eyes, Jack stared groggily at the little doll smiling to him and the decorations nestled in the snow. "Amelia," he sighed out. A black pool of unconciousness spread out before him in his mind and he fell into it.
Grinning cruelly, Oogie Boogie hefted his prize up and threw him over one shoulder. Crunching across the snow and glass, the bogey man began to make his way home.