Chapter 2:

"JACK!"

Jack Skellington poked his skull out of his study window.

"Jaaaaaaaaack!" cried Acacia, waving her arms about and nearly knocking a low-flying Witch sister off her broom.

"Acacia! What is it?"

Acacia paused. "Can I come in?" she shouted in response.

The Pumpkin King scratched his head with one bony finger.

"Of course!" he cried "But why?"

The girl climbed the steep steps to Jack's house. "I'll explain inside."

Acacia sat down in one of Jack's chairs, and told him about the old cemetery

"Jack, you know the old cemetery? And Spiral Hill?"
She paused but left him no time to answer before continuing

"Well, I was wandering around there yesterday because, nobody had been there in ages. And when I was walking through Behemoth's pumpkin patch, I realised that there were no pumpkins. Why?"

Jack had been trying to interrupt for a while, and said

"Well, you see Acacia, the reason there are no pumpkins is…is because…how do I put it?"

He tapped his skull, searching for a way to say whatever it was. He sighed deeply.

"Our town is dying Acacia."

"What?"

She couldn't believe her ears. Surely Jack, the Pumpkin King, ruler of Halloween Town, defeater of Oogie Boogie (twice!) could do something about it!

"The pumpkins are gone because there's nothing to grow them on." He continued softly and sadly. "The town itself survives on the fear and chills of humans but, sadly, no-one is scared anymore. I've tried and tried to make each Halloween more frightening, more terrifying than the last, but it's just no use

"Acacia, what's happened to Spiral Hill?"

Acacia paused, she knew Jack was partial to that part of Halloween Town. He and Sally alike.

"Jack, it's…it's dead. But I-I didn't know it was living, Jack."

The Pumpkin King rose from the chair, went over to the window and hung his head.

But suddenly, Acacia had a great idea. A brilliant idea. Better than bone biscuits, as she said herself.

"But Jack. What if someone were to go to the human world and scare the living daylights out of them. Someone from this town? Would that make a difference?"

He turned to face her. It was amazing how much emotion two empty sockets could show. But he could see the simple genius of it too.

Unfortunatley,Acacia knew that look. The look that said no-way-that's-way-too-dangerous-for-a-young-dead-girl-like-you.She got it a lot of the time, she can't go into Lock, Shock and Barrel's abandoned hideout, she can't climb onto the Mayor's roof to look for Zero, she can't explore the forest beyond the newer graveyard.

But it couldn't stop her. And Jack Skellington surely couldn't stop Acacia Changé. King or not.