"I can't believe we covered that much of London in only five
hours!" Shock said wearily as she trundled up to her room,
dragging her pillowcases of candy behind her. Lock and Barrel
trudged along behind her, equally as tired.
"It was your idea to cross over from Ireland." Lock mumbled, brushing a stray piece of hair that had fallen into his eyes.
"I'm glad we did - look at all the loot we bagged AND we got to scare all those kids! It was a blast!" Barrel replied grinning. Lock and Shock nodded.
"I guess you're right." The taller devil - boy said. He chuckled evilly to himself. "Do you guys remember the look on that lady's face when we dropped the snakes in her baby's carriage?" Shock almost doubled over laughing.
"Oh, how could I forget something like that!? Her look was priceless - a real hall-of-famer! I can't wait to tell Jack about it tomorrow!"
"Me neither." Lock snickered.
"Me double neither." Barrel added. Their witchy counterpart yawned audibly.
"Well, I'm off to bed. Goodnight morons - try not to eat all your candy in one sitting. You remember what happened the last time you tried that?"
"Yeah' Barrel made a face. 'I don't remember what was worse tasting - my puke or the stuff Sally made me drink to stop it."
"Oh come off it, you loved it, having Sally nurse you back to health! You dreamt about it for weeks after." Lock teased.
"Did not!"
"Did to!"
"Did not, stupid!"
"Did so, moron!!"
Shock watched them back and forth for a while until she felt her head began the ache. She tore the pale green china doll mask from her face and gave them both a fierce look.
"SHUT UP!" She barked causing the quarreling boys to instantly fall silent. Secretly, she enjoyed the dominance she had over them even though she was the only girl and much smaller. Perhaps it was the fact that Shock was the only one out of the three who bothered to pay any attention to Sally's lessons and was consequently smarter than Lock and MUCH brighter than Barrel. Or it might have been the fact that Shock had significantly matured - at least physically - since the ordeal seven years ago involving Oogie - Boogie. She was no longer the little girl Hallowe'en Town remembered but a well proportioned teenager. The same could be said about the other two - especially Lock, and Shock often found her mind wandering to thoughts of him, but almost never paid them any attention.
"You're no fun, Shock. We were only playing." Barrel said quietly.
"I don't care, just do it somewhere I can't hear! I'm off to bed - goodnight." Shock slipped past them and into her room. Lock waited until he heard the sound of her door closing before he turned to Barrel.
"Betcha I can finished a loot bag before you!"
"No you can't!"
"Uh - huh!"
"Nuh - huh!"
"Fine - prove it!" Barrel said pointing to a pillowcase of candy.
"You're on!"
Shock woke up the next day feeling relatively groggy and sore from last nights walking. Her candy bag was safely beside her bed and she reached inside and grabbed a wrapped toffee. The tree house was silent, which was odd for the morning after Hallowe'en, or any morning for that mater. Shock propped herself up on her pillows and listened. She half expected Lock or Barrel to jump out from her closet but them remembered that she had dead - bolted her bedroom door the night before.
"This is weird." She thought. "The house hasn't been this quiet since - Oh NO!" Shock threw the covers off her and swung her legs over the side of her bed. She approached the living room and hoped that her instincts were wrong.
They weren't.
"Oh GOD you two! I though I told you NOT to eat all of your candy!!" Shock stood in the doorway and regarded her companions. Lock was draped over the old sofa looking paler than usual; his blue lips thin and pulled into a pained frown. Barrel was on the floor beside the couch curled up in a ball. Between them were an empty candy pillowcase and a bucket filled with vomit.
Barrel looked up at her and smiled weakly. "Lock s-started it."
"Did not." Came a quiet reply from the devil. Shock shook her head and made her way to the bathroom. She wet two rags with cold water an instructed the two boys to suck on them slowly until she came back with Sally. Too sick to argue, they merely whimpered and stuck the wet towels in their mouths.
"Again??" Sally inquired in disbelief as Shock led he back to the tree house.
"Yeah, I know. You'd think they learned their lesson from last year but noOoOoOoOOo."
"Sally carried a basket filled with bottles of potions and walked quickly beside the smaller girl. They found Lock and Barrel in much the same position as they were when Shock left. Sally shook her head and quickly set to work cleaning the bucket and setting a fresh one between them. She instructed Shock to make new wet towels for them and made them drink a bottle of liquid from the basket she carried with them.
"Oh Lock, that shirt won't do - it's too tight and full of sweat." Sally shook a finger at him and turned to Shock. "Go and get him a new one - preferably loose and made of something dry and soft." Shock nodded and left for Locks room. It was dark inside and smelled faintly of sulfur. Shock set to work searching his closet, bed and floor for a shirt for Lock to change into. She found a red loose fitted PJ shirt under his bed and made her way back to the living room.
Sally was bent over Barrel and trying to get him to swallow the same potion as Lock with little avail.
"Shock - help Lock into that shirt while I try to get Barrel to drink this?" Shock cast a glance down at the worn out cloth she held and then at Lock. He looked so pitiful lying there. Whatever Sally had given him; it certainly worked as one hell of a sedative. She helped Lock to a sitting position and tugged the thick red sweater off him. Shock couldn't help but stare at his finely toned stomach - the result of hanging by his tail from the rafters of the tree house and pulling himself up towards the roof. Smooth muscles rippled from beneath his smooth skin, as well as a multitude of scars - the result of his former life and rough play with Shock and Barrel. She ran her fingers along a trail of white scars from Lock's shoulder to his stomach and shook her head.
"Idiot." She mumbled before pulling the new shirt over his head and helping him lie back down. Lock's lips moved in response but only a dry whisper escaped. Shock leaned her head close to catch his words and placed her ear by his mouth.
"Barrel s-started.it.." His voice trailed off and his eyelids slipped closed. Shock rolled her eyes and gave him a light smack across the face.
"I wish my cohorts weren't so dumb."
Sally was placing a blanket over the sleeping Barrel and she joined her by the side of the couch. Shock gave the rag doll a sideways glance. "What did you give them anyway?"
"Oh just this and that. Some Deadly Nightshade to ease them into a long sleep and some Thistle thorn to take the pain away. They'll be fine tomorrow morning when they wake up. Feed them only light foods - lots of spiders' legs and keep them away from that candy. If they haven't leaned by now what will happen if they eat too much, they most likely won't ever. Lock it away or something to keep it safe."
Shock rolled her eyes again. "Like that'll work! You don't honestly believe that a padlock will keep Lock away from anything?!"
Sally chuckled to herself and gathered her basket of things. "No, I guess not. I'll be heading off now. If anything happens, be sure to send for me right away."
The rag doll left and Shock began to look for a place to hide the left over candy. She decided the safest place was in her closet.inside of her underwear drawer. The only place in the whole tree house the boys didn't bother looking into - at least she hoped. *******************************************
"It was your idea to cross over from Ireland." Lock mumbled, brushing a stray piece of hair that had fallen into his eyes.
"I'm glad we did - look at all the loot we bagged AND we got to scare all those kids! It was a blast!" Barrel replied grinning. Lock and Shock nodded.
"I guess you're right." The taller devil - boy said. He chuckled evilly to himself. "Do you guys remember the look on that lady's face when we dropped the snakes in her baby's carriage?" Shock almost doubled over laughing.
"Oh, how could I forget something like that!? Her look was priceless - a real hall-of-famer! I can't wait to tell Jack about it tomorrow!"
"Me neither." Lock snickered.
"Me double neither." Barrel added. Their witchy counterpart yawned audibly.
"Well, I'm off to bed. Goodnight morons - try not to eat all your candy in one sitting. You remember what happened the last time you tried that?"
"Yeah' Barrel made a face. 'I don't remember what was worse tasting - my puke or the stuff Sally made me drink to stop it."
"Oh come off it, you loved it, having Sally nurse you back to health! You dreamt about it for weeks after." Lock teased.
"Did not!"
"Did to!"
"Did not, stupid!"
"Did so, moron!!"
Shock watched them back and forth for a while until she felt her head began the ache. She tore the pale green china doll mask from her face and gave them both a fierce look.
"SHUT UP!" She barked causing the quarreling boys to instantly fall silent. Secretly, she enjoyed the dominance she had over them even though she was the only girl and much smaller. Perhaps it was the fact that Shock was the only one out of the three who bothered to pay any attention to Sally's lessons and was consequently smarter than Lock and MUCH brighter than Barrel. Or it might have been the fact that Shock had significantly matured - at least physically - since the ordeal seven years ago involving Oogie - Boogie. She was no longer the little girl Hallowe'en Town remembered but a well proportioned teenager. The same could be said about the other two - especially Lock, and Shock often found her mind wandering to thoughts of him, but almost never paid them any attention.
"You're no fun, Shock. We were only playing." Barrel said quietly.
"I don't care, just do it somewhere I can't hear! I'm off to bed - goodnight." Shock slipped past them and into her room. Lock waited until he heard the sound of her door closing before he turned to Barrel.
"Betcha I can finished a loot bag before you!"
"No you can't!"
"Uh - huh!"
"Nuh - huh!"
"Fine - prove it!" Barrel said pointing to a pillowcase of candy.
"You're on!"
Shock woke up the next day feeling relatively groggy and sore from last nights walking. Her candy bag was safely beside her bed and she reached inside and grabbed a wrapped toffee. The tree house was silent, which was odd for the morning after Hallowe'en, or any morning for that mater. Shock propped herself up on her pillows and listened. She half expected Lock or Barrel to jump out from her closet but them remembered that she had dead - bolted her bedroom door the night before.
"This is weird." She thought. "The house hasn't been this quiet since - Oh NO!" Shock threw the covers off her and swung her legs over the side of her bed. She approached the living room and hoped that her instincts were wrong.
They weren't.
"Oh GOD you two! I though I told you NOT to eat all of your candy!!" Shock stood in the doorway and regarded her companions. Lock was draped over the old sofa looking paler than usual; his blue lips thin and pulled into a pained frown. Barrel was on the floor beside the couch curled up in a ball. Between them were an empty candy pillowcase and a bucket filled with vomit.
Barrel looked up at her and smiled weakly. "Lock s-started it."
"Did not." Came a quiet reply from the devil. Shock shook her head and made her way to the bathroom. She wet two rags with cold water an instructed the two boys to suck on them slowly until she came back with Sally. Too sick to argue, they merely whimpered and stuck the wet towels in their mouths.
"Again??" Sally inquired in disbelief as Shock led he back to the tree house.
"Yeah, I know. You'd think they learned their lesson from last year but noOoOoOoOOo."
"Sally carried a basket filled with bottles of potions and walked quickly beside the smaller girl. They found Lock and Barrel in much the same position as they were when Shock left. Sally shook her head and quickly set to work cleaning the bucket and setting a fresh one between them. She instructed Shock to make new wet towels for them and made them drink a bottle of liquid from the basket she carried with them.
"Oh Lock, that shirt won't do - it's too tight and full of sweat." Sally shook a finger at him and turned to Shock. "Go and get him a new one - preferably loose and made of something dry and soft." Shock nodded and left for Locks room. It was dark inside and smelled faintly of sulfur. Shock set to work searching his closet, bed and floor for a shirt for Lock to change into. She found a red loose fitted PJ shirt under his bed and made her way back to the living room.
Sally was bent over Barrel and trying to get him to swallow the same potion as Lock with little avail.
"Shock - help Lock into that shirt while I try to get Barrel to drink this?" Shock cast a glance down at the worn out cloth she held and then at Lock. He looked so pitiful lying there. Whatever Sally had given him; it certainly worked as one hell of a sedative. She helped Lock to a sitting position and tugged the thick red sweater off him. Shock couldn't help but stare at his finely toned stomach - the result of hanging by his tail from the rafters of the tree house and pulling himself up towards the roof. Smooth muscles rippled from beneath his smooth skin, as well as a multitude of scars - the result of his former life and rough play with Shock and Barrel. She ran her fingers along a trail of white scars from Lock's shoulder to his stomach and shook her head.
"Idiot." She mumbled before pulling the new shirt over his head and helping him lie back down. Lock's lips moved in response but only a dry whisper escaped. Shock leaned her head close to catch his words and placed her ear by his mouth.
"Barrel s-started.it.." His voice trailed off and his eyelids slipped closed. Shock rolled her eyes and gave him a light smack across the face.
"I wish my cohorts weren't so dumb."
Sally was placing a blanket over the sleeping Barrel and she joined her by the side of the couch. Shock gave the rag doll a sideways glance. "What did you give them anyway?"
"Oh just this and that. Some Deadly Nightshade to ease them into a long sleep and some Thistle thorn to take the pain away. They'll be fine tomorrow morning when they wake up. Feed them only light foods - lots of spiders' legs and keep them away from that candy. If they haven't leaned by now what will happen if they eat too much, they most likely won't ever. Lock it away or something to keep it safe."
Shock rolled her eyes again. "Like that'll work! You don't honestly believe that a padlock will keep Lock away from anything?!"
Sally chuckled to herself and gathered her basket of things. "No, I guess not. I'll be heading off now. If anything happens, be sure to send for me right away."
The rag doll left and Shock began to look for a place to hide the left over candy. She decided the safest place was in her closet.inside of her underwear drawer. The only place in the whole tree house the boys didn't bother looking into - at least she hoped. *******************************************