Chapter Eight:

Things Get Worse

Sally closed the door of her and Jacks house behind her as she ducked inside. For a moment she stood there in hesitance. Then she crept into the kitchen and looked outside of a crooked window. She could just barely see the residents of Halloween Town standing around the fountain miserably as they watched their new Pumpkin King, who was laying down a lot of new rules that he expected them to follow.

"This is awful." She said quietly to herself. She sat down in a chair near the window and while leaning back, placed her hands in her lap.

"Jack can't be dead…well…he is…but he can't be gone…" She pressed her lips together.

"I'll have to find out. He'd be at the Doctors house." She whispered into the empty room. She leaned forward in the chair and looked out the window again. She nodded boldly. She'd go as soon as the residents cleared out of the square.

Murdock grinned broadly as he stepped onto a wooded platform with a noose on it. His eyes were wide and lined with hideous bulging veins. He stared at his audience wildly as his irises floated in a mist of reddish orange color. His hat lay off to one side. Many of the residents wished that he would pick it up and put it back on. They liked ugliness and horror as much as anyone, but there was something about Murdock's eyes that felt…almost…controlling.

"Well well well…it has been a while. Halloween Town…mine again." He chuckled. "How marvelous!" His eyes swept across the crowd.

"Well…now would be a good time to lay down my…laws. Firstly…Halloween will be approached at a whole new angle…from now on." He stepped off the platform.

"I believe we've been too…nice…for far too long. This year…we wont strike fear into the hearts of men and women and children…of course. We'll terrify them! We'll scare them to death! I think it's time we get a bit more…hands on."

"You mean…hurt people?" The werewolf asked from the corner of the wooden platform. Some of the slower residents looked at him and then up at Murdock in horror.

Murdock grinned.

"Well, if you put it that way it sounds awfully…cruel doesn't it? Still…hurt…such a bland word. We should spice that up a bit…" He paused for a moment. "Wound…skive, eradicate, slaughter…torture…what do you think…sound like fun?" The people stared up at him for a moment.

"But Jack…Jack would have never…"

"Jack isn't here!" Murdock interrupted. "I'm here. You'll listen to me from now on!" He sat down at the base of the wooden platform and rested his arm on his knee.

"Now…as I was saying…"

A small figure pulled away from the group, managing to not be seen by ducking behind the fountain and sneaking away from the town square along the fence. Murdock's words faded as the figure reached Jack's house. Shock yanked off a cloak she had nabbed off one of the smaller Reapers and peeled off one of the many masks the mayor had hung along the fence. (It had actually made an improvement to the clustered display.) She put her own mask and witches hat back on and headed towards the graveyard. As she did, she occasionally checked to make sure the walking freak show that was their new Pumpkin King had not seen her.

"Jack's dead?" Shock said quietly to herself. Normally such news would not have disappointed her. Jack wasn't bad, compared to Oogie Boogie that was, but with him gone, in normal circumstances, her, Lock and Barrel wouldn't have anyone to prevent them from doing whatever they wanted. However, with that maniac around, Jack being gone was just about the worst thing that could possibly happen.

When Shock reached the graveyard she leaned against a headstone and appeared to be in deep thought. This was interrupted when a white misty figure darted through her and dove into the earth beneath the grave. Shock stood back, a little annoyed. She peered curiously at the grave. It was typically shaped and very small. After pulling her mask a little ways off her face she leaned forward and examined the grave more fixedly. Carved into the stone was the word; ZERO. Shock sighed. The ghost dog emerged from the dirt beneath the grave again, barked happily at her and took off across the sky back towards town.

Shock leaned against the grave again.

"Well…he's taking this whole 'Jack's dead' thing awfully well." After a moment of consideration, Shock grinned. She straightened and slowly followed the retreating form of the misty ghost dog.

Zero darted about the ghoulish buildings happily, not bothering to slow down, even if there had been residents around he probably would have gone right through them. (Not that the people of Halloween Town weren't used to this.) He reached the doctors house and headed straight upwards toward the large window that Sally had once stared out of so frequently that she could see the scenery spread out perfectly when she closed her eyes.

The room was dark and miserable (Sally would have noted that nothing had changed.) A tall figure sat in the corner, resting his head on one long bony hand. He raised his head a little when the ghost dog came through the wall and approached him, lighting the scenery a little with his pumpkin shaped nose.

Jack smiled a little.

"Hello Zero." Jack said, while outstretching his bony hand and petting the small ghost dog. He pulled his hand away and went back to cradling his head in his hand. His faint smile faded and he stared narrowly at the wall opposite of him. The dog peered at him enquiringly. Zero's spirit faded a little in light of his masters mood.

After a long moment of silent Jack growled in frustration and stood up (A little shakily.) He walked unsteadily towards the window and leaned against it. The town, HIS town stretched out beyond the window like a twisted nightmare. He banged his skull lightly against the glass.

"What am I going to do, Zero?" He whined desperately. "Ever since he hit me with that…thing…I can't even think straight! How am I suppose to stop him!" Jack drew his skeleton hand into a fist. For a moment he looked himself. His eyes were narrowed, his teeth looked almost jagged against the pale light, he looked like the Pumpkin King. Then, his shoulders sagged and his face filled with an overwhelming weariness. He sat on Sally's old bed and stared out towards his tower. The light was on.

Jack frowned and looked away. Every time he caught a glimpse of his tower he was filled with a devastating amount of guilt. It was not, as it should have been, because he felt he was betraying his duties as Pumpkin King. (Although that haunted him from time to time as well.) But because he felt he was betraying his duties as a friend. He was betraying Sally. (Of course being in her old room didn't help matters much.) Everything in it reminded him of her. He had considered switching rooms but decided against it. He felt comfortable in the room that had once belonged to his beloved.

Besides, the doctor rarely came in here and he needed as much privacy as he could possibly get to think about what he would do about Murdock Manifesto. He sighed and leaned back. Zero was in the corner dodging happily about Sally's old sewing machine. Something about the machine appealed to the part of Jack that was still alert. (And still Jack Skellington.) He would have explored this further if sleep had not taken him at that time.

Lock angrily threw a piece of his new outfit to the floor of his, Shock's and Barrels room. After going through Oogie Boogie's torturing game room (Which Murdock had been kind enough to turn full force.) his clothes were badly damaged…not that he was particularly upset about the ugly outfit being completely ruined, but the chamber itself had been annoyingly uncomfortable.

Barrel was sitting in the corner of the room. He didn't look much better then the older boy, but had been lucky enough to get away faster, considering that he had not been chained to a giant saw.

"That's it! I don't care what that freak does to me. I'm getting out of here. He's worse then Jack and Oogie Boogie combined!" Lock yelled angrily. He kicked the nearest thing his foot could come in contact with. (Which so happened to be Barrel.)

"Hey! Ow!"

"Shut up, Barrel!" Lock said absently. Barrel glared after the older boy as he fished his old costume out of a nearby trunk.

"I should have left you on the giant saw." Barrel said in a low voice. Lock either didn't hear him, or chose to ignore him.

"Get back into your skeleton costume. We're going to go find Shock."

"But what about Murdock?" Barrel asked as he stood up. He felt uncomfortable about running away from someone who could probably do just about anything he wanted with them.

"We're going to take our chances with him!" Lock yelled back at the smaller boy. Barrel frowned, but decided against saying anything further. Even when Lock was in a good mood he enjoyed abusing Barrel and the younger boy decided that he didn't really need any further abuse after going through the Boogie mans game room. He pulled his costume out of the depths of the crate and replaced his old grinning skeleton mask.

While she had been waiting, Sally had crept up to the tower so that there was no chance of being seen before the people of Halloween Town cleared out of the square. She had occasionally gone to the window to see if there was any break in the level of emptiness the town was inducing during Murdock's speech. It had appeared to be a long one because she was frequently disappointed.

She had dozed off for a little while, then, upon waking had found that the sun was setting and the light in the tower was becoming more noticeable. She stood and turned it off, hoping that no one had noticed it. Then she had looked outside of Jacks giant cathedral style windows for a sign of the meeting coming to an end.

She was aware of a few residents walking around beneath the window. This satisfied her. As she walked towards the trap door shadows fell across her. Her tiny stitched fingers had just touched the handle when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement. Sally froze and bit her lip. Then, even before the figure spoke, Sally closed her eyes in agonized failure.

She felt leathery fingers close over her chin and turn her head roughly so that her eyes met two glowing red orbs that hung in the darkness.

"My dear, did you think that I did not see you sneak away?" Murdock was leaning in the darkness, grinning with his horribly sneering mouth. He removed his hand from her chin and stood up.

"Up, my dear, so that I might have a look at you." Sally didn't move. She cursed herself softly. She should have gone straight to the doctors house. She shouldn't have waited so long!

"I said up!" Murdock grabbed Sally's blood red hair and yanked her to her feet. Sally whimpered and was forced to once again look into the hideous eyes of the loathful phantom. He grinned.

"Not bad…not bad. Do you come with the profession?" Sally made a sound of rage and disgust and pushed him away. She tried to get as far away from him as possible but stumbled over her often clumsy legs and crashed to the ground. Murdock replaced his hat and leaned over her.

"Jack isn't coming for you. You better get used to me darling. Because your mine now. Ever since I saw you in old Jacky's arms I thought that with a change of clothes…maybe something in purple…" He grabbed her hair again. "Put this mess of hair up!" He yanked her into a sitting position. "You wouldn't be half bad…" Sally pulled her hair out of his hand and tried to hit him away from her. He caught her wrist and laughed.

"Ahhh, my dear, what fun we shall have." He pulled her to her feet again. And suddenly, as though it were some sort of glitch in his appearance his smile faded and turned into an ugly and horrible scowl. "We'll just have to work on your ATTITUDE!" He grabbed a rope which had been offering some decoration as a noose and began to tie it around her wrists.

"Now, if you'll assist me, Sally, wasn't it? I must check on my idiot henchmen. Surely by now they have figured away out of the torture chamber and are likely planning some sort of escape." After he was done bounding her wrists he grabbed the other end of the rope and yanked her towards the trap door.

"After I'm done punishing them for their attempt of treason…we shall see what to do with your appearance." He pulled open the trap door and while dragging sally behind him, disappeared into the darkness.

Alright, now, I have a question to anyone who is planning to review this; did I make Murdock obnoxious enough? Or does he need to be worse? I don't want to put Sally through too much in this story, but I'm kind of trying to create a character that makes her feel a loathing that's the exact opposite of what she feels for Jack. Just wondering. I'm sorry that it's taken so long to update on this story. I'm even more sorry that it's taken so long to update on Special Keys For Special Doors. I'm really trying to finish Pumpkin Town. Plus, I'm kind of working on getting my drivers license right now, so I'm a little busy. Still, I plan on updating as much as possible and I do plan on finishing all these stories this summer. Thanx for the reviews! I hope you enjoy the chapter.