Chapter Twelve:

The Mysterious Figure In The Bone White Mask

Jack cast a nervous glance towards the bat shaped clock in the corner of the room. As the night drew near he was becoming less and less confident about his plan. He sighed and began wrapping his skeletal fingers in thin bandages. The rest of his costume rested near the window under the fading light. Jack stood and crossed over towards it.

"Well…this is it." He said softly to himself.

As the pumpkin sun began to fade into the eerie Halloween Town night, many of the towns residents shuffled dismally towards the hulking shape of the Town Meeting Hall. A couple of them pinched at their new outfits with a cry of disgust. Some held hushed conversations, where they asked each other whether or not they thought Jack…their REAL pumpkin king had truly met his demise. Others just walked towards the hall quietly, lost in their own sorrowful stint of misery.

Sally watched them gather from the window of her room. She touched the hateful ring on her finger and bit her lip. She wished that she could take it off and throw it out the window…but he would notice. He noticed everything.

Behind her, the door creaked open.

"It's time, my dear." His musical voice drifted in. Sally closed her eyes and turned towards him. She kept her gaze on the floor. As he grew near, she felt chills of disgust run down her arms.

Vaguely she felt something being fastened around her neckline. A collar…She pressed her lips together. A tear ran down her left cheek. Murdock's face grew near hers and he pressed his always grinning teeth against her fragile neck. His hand wondered to her waist.

"What a thrill this night shall be." She felt icy breath on her cheek. She shuddered. He moved away from her, much to her own relief and tugged at the chain that was connected to the device he had fastened around her neck. She followed him sorrowfully, her eyes cast downward…and her mind drifting elsewhere.

Apparently, during the course of the day, Murdock had made a few changes to the town. Sally watched as the scenery passed by. Before, when she had lived with the doctor, she had never been particularly thrilled with all Halloween Town had to offer. It was depressing and sometimes, too gloomy for her, but after meeting Jack, she had understood a bit more about the holiday everyone in town were so obsessed with. She had found something about Halloween that she did love. He had taught her that Halloween was harmless fun. And despite it's less then intriguing appearance, the holiday was enjoyed more by mortals…rather then feared.

But Jack was not The Pumpkin King anymore. Murdock was. And Sally did not think that he was particularly fond of harmless fun. She didn't need to have any sort of vision to predict what sort of disaster that Halloween would result to that year.

'I wish Jack were here.' She thought to herself. She lowered her head further and wept on her way to the meeting hall.

The band that usually played in front of Jack's house stood like statues and watched as the town progressed to the Square. They had stopped playing a day before, when neither Jack, or Sally was in the tower. The largest of the group picked at his purple suit in aggravation.

"I wonder where Jack is." He said absently. The other members of the stiff group turned and looked at him. The tuba player shrugged.

"I heard a rumor that he was gone." He said in a nasally voice. From inside the base the bodiless head sighed.

"For all our sake, let's hope he's not." The group nodded.

Once again, they fell silent. After a moment, one of the taller corpses spoke up.

"Wanna play?" As a group they shrugged.

"What should we play?" One of them asked.

"Jack's favorite." The corpse holding the base said.

The eerie and beautiful music began to drift down the street. A couple people heading to The Town Square looked up from the ground, as if pulled out of some sort of bleak and horrible spell. They exchanged knowing glances.

Jack's favorite.

When the street began to clear out, a tall hunched over figure shuffled down the road, in a manner which would have made Sally look surefooted and sturdy. Held in a long bandaged hand was a large walking stick with skeletal carvings etched into the wood. His cloak dragged on the ground. When he passed the band, there was a flicker of gold. The band stopped and gazed as a coin fell to the bottom of their jar. The band watched as the figure faded into the thick fog that was slowly overrunning the street.

When Jack reached the Town square he straightened his mask a little, and scowled at the discomfort the whole charade was causing him. Along the lines of his perception he watched as shadowy figures made their way up the street. So far, they were paying him no mind. But as Shock had already said. Jack was dead…so they weren't exactly expecting him to be there.

He felt something knock against his ankle. Jack let out a startled cry and turned quickly. A very small Version of the Grim Reaper was standing beside him in a purple robe. The figure had bumped it's scythe purposefully against him to get his attention.

"Uhh…can I help you?" Jack asked uncomfortably.

"Well…" The figure said in a very familiar voice. "You can start by not sounding so much like you. Your not going to fool anyone if you go around using Jack Skellington's voice, dummy!"

"Shock!" Jack hissed at her. "Where did you get that outfit?"

"I stole it off of one of the Grim Reapers when he was sleeping. Come on, or we'll draw attention to ourselves."

Jack whispered furiously at her as he followed her into the meeting hall.

"What are you doing here? It was risky enough with just me!"

"I'm gonna find Lock and Barrel. They've had to have found something out about Murdock, what with having to spend so much time as his henchmen." Jack nodded.

"Fine…but be careful!" He said with warning in his voice.

"Me? You're the one who ISN'T HUNCHING or DISGUISING YOUR VOICE!" Jack hunched over quickly and glared at Shock from underneath his mask. He cast a brief look to his side and then slid carefully onto a fairly empty bench. The only other resident on it was a man who was oozing immensely. He cast a quick look towards Jack, then turned back towards the stage. Jack sighed and lowered his head. So far so good. Shock slid into the seat beside him and awaited Murdock's arrival.

The Town was peculiarly quiet, this silence was particularly out of character due to the fact that Halloween was getting near. The spotlight, usually operated by the mayor, sat coolly as the stage was bathed in darkness. Suddenly, several dark candles lit up on stage, the flames in the dark candle sticks shone a brilliant purple. A couple of the residents up front exchanged looks with those beside them.

From nowhere a shadow materialized in the center of the stage. The slender phantom stepped up to the podium and grinned upon his audience. His hat was off and his eyes were alight with hellish flame.

"Ah…how wonderful it is to see you all…" His pale fingers shuffled a deck of cards with a rapidity which made the cards seem almost transparent. "I have called this meeting to discuss two very important matters. The first…is the ever approaching All Hallows Eve. I have…a lot of…fresh idea's that you all might find quite…stimulating. The second…is the news on your…beloved Jack Skellington. I shall finally put your mind to rest…on this subject. I understand that there has been a lot of conversation on the matter."

Some of the resident's exchanged nervous looks.

In his seat, Jack hunched down further and absently pulled the hood of his cloak down as far as he could.

"But first. I have…some very…special…news." His grin widened and for a moment, it looked as though the stitches on his face would split and rip his flesh free. "I have taken a bride."

Some of the residents looked at each other uncomfortably. Romance was a thing that was rarely found in Halloween Town. There were a few whispers in the back of the room.

Shock noted some movement beside her. She looked up at Jack, who had shifted uncomfortably.

"We were married this morning and I would like to introduce her…of course…I imagine you've met." He walked to the back of the stage and grabbed at the chain that was lying on the floor.

"Come my dear." He said. After a moment, when no one came forward, Murdock grew impatient.

"I said come!" He pulled roughly on the chain. Sally stumbled into the faint candlelight and peered sadly into the crowd. She had never been very bold when it came to meeting people. Jack had been trying to make her more uncomfortable with the town, but now, standing in front of all of the resident's, in the arms of a madman of whom she loathed, she felt very alone and very awkward.

There was a crashing sound from the back of the room. Many of the resident's turned quickly to see what had made it, only to find that it appeared as though no one had moved. Murdock, like everyone else, had been one of the ones to look into the crowd.

"I would appreciate silence and respect from whom ever the clumsy fool was to knock over the candle in the corner. Remedy that in the future." His voice was low and dangerous. He peered into the shadows for a bit longer before his eye's moved slowly back to the front of the crowd. The rest of the town turned back around slowly, apparently losing interest in the ruckus.

Shock was holding Jack's cloak down in a death grip that, had she been alive, would have probably rendered her hand with numbness after a few seconds. Jack was shaking with rage and had not yet regained his composure. When the attention was off of them Shock leaned towards him.

"Settle down, Bonehead, before ya give us both away!" Jack seemed to cool down a bit as the realization of where he was set in. When Shock decided that he had completely regained his self control, she let go of his cloak. Jack glared up at the stage, his bone fingers tightening around the wooden staff with a near splintering capacity.

Sally was staring at the ground. Her hands were folded . Her tiny fingers ran over the stitching and the small ring, sitting like a shackle on her finger. It made her think of imprisonment. Beside her, Murdock spoke up to the crowd.

"Before I tell you of my new plans for this years…celebration. I would like to address the issue of Jack. Your previous Pumpkin King." He looked at the crowd with pleasure as an array of whispered conversations began. Sally looked away from them miserably.

Murdock nodded at Lock and Barrel, who had been standing off to the side of the stage.

"Take her to a seat." He said, while handing the chain to Lock. He mumbled something under his breath and led Sally down the steps of the platform and into the audience. She was taken to a seat three rows back from the front. Lock and Barrel sat down beside her.

"Now…I feel I must put this issue to rest." Murdock began. His eye's flashed a brilliant plum color. Some of the residents looked away hurriedly. " I am your new Pumpkin King. Jack is not coming to save you. He is gone! Reduced to naught but dust!" His thin fingers curled into a fist. The crowd looked around in horror.

"How…how did this happen." One of the people in the back said.

"I've taken his soul…his talent…his very being. I am everything that Jack Skellington was…and more!" He paused for a moment to let this information sink in.

"Can…can you do that to us?" One of the witches asked, fearfully.

"Ah!" Murdock stood to his full height. He wore a pleased look. "This question brings me to my next issue. Perhaps it's time you…ghouls…learned about the Law Of Anarchic Demise." He spun around with a flourish that was so Jack like that it brought a stab of pain to Sally's fabricated heart.

Murdock pulled on a rope and grinned broadly as the curtain rose. An ancient book sat on a stand, gathering sheets of dust.

"This is the book issued to all those who follow the Law Of Anarchic Demise. There were five of us in the old days, here in town. As it is…there are now only three…well…that is."

"Who are they?" Asked a squeaky voice from deep in the crowd. Murdock's smile froze and he spun around in superfluous rage.

"I'm getting to that!" His eye's glowed red for a moment and the squeaky man burst into flames (Which didn't do him a great deal of harm…what with being dead and all…but was still very uncomfortable.)

"No more interruptions." Murdock stepped back up to the podium.

"As I was saying. There were five of us. There was me…of course…Jack…who I assure you has been taken care of. Mr. Oogie Boogie…" a couple people cringed at the mention of Oogie Boogie's name, much to Murdock's annoyance. "…but…thanks to Jack, he is no longer a problem. Then there are two others. These…are giving me trouble. Now…I will ask from everyone in this room, from now on, that they keep an eye out for these two people…and bring them to me immediately…or tell me of their whereabouts…so that I might take care of them." Murdock gazed at the crowd intensely.

"They are Vik Finkelstein and Miss Violet Shockra Wayward. I want them found…and destroyed. Anyone who…" He paused and glared at someone who was raising a large claw, in the audience.

"What?" Murdock asked angrily.

"Ummm…who?" The creature in the audience looked around uncomfortably for any sort of support.

Murdock's lip curled.

"Ah yes…sorry. Forgot I was dealing with complete idiots. You know them as Doctor Finkelstein and the young trick or treater, Shock."

"Violet Shockra Wayward?" Shock exclaimed. The words felt odd to her. "What did he call me that for?"

Jack nodded, not really paying attention. His eye's wondered from the stage and fell to the back of Sally's head. He frowned. When he had seen her up there he had felt as though his heart had been ripped apart (Of course…he had no actual heart…but in reality…the true heart has absolutely nothing to do with love. Jack felt his symbolic heart breaking.) He had never asked her to marry him. They had been together for almost seven months…but time was no matter to him. He knew that he wanted to be together with her for an eternity. So why didn't he ever ask her?

Another thought struck him with a suddenness so dreadful that he shivered under the emotional weight of it. Even if he somehow found a way to get rid of Murdock he couldn't spend his life with her. He was dying (Or whatever one calls what a dead man does when he becomes no more.) And if he couldn't find a way…then she'd spend eternity with that louse and never know that he ever tried. He cursed himself. How could he let this happen? Why didn't he just tell her what was going on?

Jack watched Sally with the attention that he should have been paying Murdock at that moment. He couldn't tear his eye's off of her. A low rage had consumed him. That madman had taken his talent, his town, and his love. He had a collar on her even!

'I'm so sorry, Sally.' He thought to himself.

Sally was looking down at her fingers, but her eyes had a faraway look that said she was elsewhere. What tore her from daze was the sudden feeling of eyes on her back. She sat up slightly and turned around to look into the benches behind her. To the left she saw a flicker of movement as a hulking figure quickly looked away from her wondering gaze.

Her eyes fell on him. He was wearing a large purple cloak with a hood that was pulled forward and shadowing much of his face, which was bone white. In one bandaged hand he was carrying a walking stick. As far as his facial features went…he was grinning. Sally frowned. There was something odd about the grin. It seemed…fake.

He was bending over, but Sally got the feeling that if he were to stand up straight…he'd be rather tall. As she watched him, his head turned slightly and he met her gaze. The light from on of the candles reflected off of his face…his mask. That was why his grin was so false. He was wearing an eerie theatre styled mask. She watched him for a bit longer as he turned away from her again and looked almost shamefully towards the floor. When he broke their gaze, she turned away as well.

Sally looked back up at the stage towards Murdock, but she wasn't actually seeing him. She was deep in thought. Her nerves built up on her as a plan began to formulate in her mind. She touched the stitching on the wrist of the hand that had Murdock's ring on it and nodded silently to herself.

There…that chapter was a bit longer. Wow…it's almost one o' clock in the morning…I started on this at like…8:00…jeez! Well…I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Wow…I may actually finish this story before Pumpkin Town. I am very grateful for all of your reviews…they make me happy…and I'm glad that I've created a character that you all seem to hate so much 

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