SURPRISE! Another chapter in less than 24 hrs. This one has been sitting in my computer biding its time for at least a week. Let's call it a make up for updating late two chapters ago and add it to the Easter special.
I think that I'm addicted to writing because this story is making me go into a spiral. Oh well!
In other news, I'm worried about money. I go to school this fall, and I accidentally missed the deadline for a lot of scholarships, and my dad hasn't had a job in six months. I'm confident we'll figure it out, but I feel really stupid for missing so many opportunities. It really sucks. I can't even get need-based funds because we made too much last year and it's basically a lot of bad timing.
Okay, I'm done ranting. Drop a review, please. I like listening to opinions. I need to go to sleep...
Chapter 22
Second Thoughts
Anna slammed the door when she walked in.
Zeldabourne looked up from her conversation with Harlequin when Anna stormed in, eyes downcast and glaring at the floor.
"The Doctor finished those glasses for you. Jack brought them over."
Anna didn't say anything as she grabbed the cloth case that held her new reading glasses off the counter. It was a rather worrying reaction given how embarrassed she was about being caught "reading" a book upside down the day before. At the very least the skeleton should be happy to read after so long.
"How it go?"
Anna didn't answer and walked right past them without saying anything.
Harlequin and Zeldabourne waited for the slamming of her bedroom door.
"Who was it this time?" Harlequin murmured.
"Reginald wanted to give it a try."
"Oh, I can't see how that possibly could have gone wrong," the demon rolled his eyes with sarcasm.
"At least he tried," Zeldabourne defended the Melting Man. "I don't see you jumping at the chance."
"And end up humiliating myself? No thanks. Word's gotten around. She's one of the worst scarers anyone's ever seen. She's unteachable. She questions everything. Her timing is terrible. It's the overthinking I think. She acts too…human."
"Now, that isn't fair…"
"Isn't it? I overheard Pinik talking. Anna's fantastic with the rope thing and the mimicry. She…um…no one's seen her use the…fire…B-but she's not applying anything else right. There's no enthusiasm in her scares. The only luck anyone's had was when Who taught her all those creepy voices. And of course," he paused, "There was that thing in the square."
Zeldabourne sighed and hung her head. "Will that be one jar of jellied brains or two?" she said tersely.
"Just one," Harlequin muttered before taking his jar and leaving.
A frustrated Zeldabourne batted at one of the spiders before apologizing then stared up at the ceiling.
Anna sat on the window seat, curled up as best as her form would allow. She had her hand outstretched toward her desk where spools of brightly colored thread sat. She twiddled her fingers, and the threads danced through the air, weaving colorful artworks that she would untangle when she felt like it.
The spools were a gift from Harlequin, Sally, and the witches. They all decided to give her something to practice her Trick on.
She tried moving other stuff. It didn't work. After she got these abilities, she spent nearly three days holed up in her room trying to move other things. Anything. The headaches abated quickly the more she practiced.
But her effort was useless. As bizarre as it was, she could only make string or ropes move. Actually, the rule seemed to be that if it was long and cordlike, then she could move it. She made weedy vines from the window planters across the street twist around and scare the cat familiar Trouble by wrapping around his tail when he was sleeping on the roof.
Then, of course, she worked on that prank she pulled on Lock, Shock, and Barrel. That was about a week ago on the 16th and today was the 23nd of November. Those three had yet to retaliate. And they weren't still tied up in their weird treehouse. She checked.
If she tried to move something like fabric, she couldn't unless she focused on the individual threads that made up the material. But that was challenging, and it was hard to keep up with.
It was weird for telepathy to be so specific like that. That's what Anna thought.
She stared out the circular window and jumped at the sound of her door creaking open.
Anna hissed at her own reaction, "Damn it!"
"Hey!" Zeldabourne snapped at Anna's self-loathing swear, "You're getting better."
"I jump at a pin drop. How is that better?"
"Everyone knows you have a little…issue…with fear. It's nothing to be ashamed of."
"I've been here almost a month Zeldabourne. I've been dead almost a month!"
The witch frowned. "Don't yell at me, young lady. I've been dead nearly two centuries."
Anna's face dropped at she stared at the ground. She dropped her hand, but the threads on her desk continued to dance in the air. There wasn't a picture made yet.
Zeldabourne found it neat how creative Anna was with the thread. Give the girl enough time, and she could weave a painting out of the strings.
She had only kept one so far. It was a picture of Spiral Hill with the moon behind and the graveyard below. There wasn't enough black and white, so halfway through Anna started weaving the lightest blue and the darkest purple they gave her into the work. It made an interesting tinted effect.
"Where's Helgamine," Anna whispered.
"Collecting herbs. How did the lesson go?"
"Awful," Anna glanced up with a frightful scowl, "And don't think I meant that in a 'good' way. You're adjectives are sometimes confusing."
"Elaborate. About the lesson, not the adjectives."
"Mr. Reginald showed me how to hide behind tombstones. Just like the Count tried. And the Werewolf. But I looked stupid and couldn't fit properly. He tried to show me how to fade, but he couldn't explain it in a way I could understand. After he gave up, he just told me to run off out of sight and try circling back around to scare him."
"And…"
"I didn't know how, okay!" Anna stressed. "I really am trying. I swear. But I don't freaking know what I'm even doing."
"I know, dear."
"You're acting like Helgamine right now."
Zeldabourne chuckled, "Really? Most think we act very similar, even after knowing us for so long."
Anna shook her head a tiny bit and brought her knees up to her chest, "No. You're more act-first than Helgamine. And you've got a bit of a temper."
"Oh, do I now?" Zeldabourne chuckled.
"Helgamine is a little more serious. And she listens better."
"Thanks."
Anna grinned sadly. "That just means you're more willing to jump into something without hesitation. I was like that."
"I'm not sure I like that look in your socket, dearie. What are you thinking?"
"It's almost Thanksgiving, right?"
Zeldabourne frowned and rested an arm on Anna's chair, one eye watching the dancing threads. "The turkey freaks?"
"I guess…"
"I don't know when their holiday is. Still seems rather silly to me. I don't understand the appeal of sitting around a table worshipping a dead bird. What could they possibly be doing all year to prepare humans for that?" Zeldabourne looked genuinely confused.
Anna snorted, "It's about being thankful for what you have in life."
"I guess that 'life' part disqualifies us," Zeldabourne scoffed.
Anna shrugged, "Thanksgiving is always on the last Thursday of November, by the way. It doesn't go by date."
"That's…today…" Zeldabourne said slowly.
"Yeah."
Zeldabourne stared, then gasped as she remembered.
"Anna…it's surely isn't so bad that you should be considering…leaving…"
"I can't do anything right…"
"That's not true. You only need to talk with us more. We can figure things out. That's what this town does. Everyone helps each other. But we can't help if you won't ask for anything. You won't talk to us."
"I talk."
Zeldabourne scoffed, "Girly! You lied about being able to read for how long?"
"I can read."
"Oh yes! But you just can't see the pages because you're half blind," Zeldabourne reached over the desk to pick up the newest addition to Anna's possessions and carefully waved the eyeglasses in the air. "You only admitted to needing these when I caught you reading the book the Gatekeeper gave you upside down. And that was only yesterday."
Anna took the glasses with a scowl and tucked them into her jacket's pocket. "I didn't want to worry you. You've done so much already, and I'm just a guest."
Zeldabourne sputtered, "There's no such thing as 'guests' in Halloween! We don't have 'guests.' We never have 'guests.'" The witch paused as she remembered something, but decided not to mention it.
"Look. I don't want to talk about it anymore. It's my choice if I decide to leave. Jack said so."
"Annalise..."
"Don't call me that. Get out, please," Anna implored.
"Are you…homesick? Look, that fight with Jack wasn't that bad."
"Please."
Zeldabourne stood there for a long moment before she turned away.
"You've haven't told anyone about those dreams you mentioned the other day," Zeldabourne said, "Are you ever going to?"
Anna shook her head.
The witch nodded.
Anna didn't look up until Zeldabourne was definitely gone. Then she opened the window.
"Meow?"
"Hi Jasper," Anna muttered. She climbed out her window and stood on the outside overhang roof. She looked back in on the cat.
Jasper and Trouble were the two cats that lived with the Witches. They were both black, but Jasper had blue eyes and Trouble's were green. They really seemed to like Anna, and she gave them treats sometimes.
"Can you do me a favor please?" Anna asked, putting her long hands on the outside of the window to keep her balance.
The cat jumped up on the window and looked down at her questioningly.
"I'm going on a walk by the cauldron."
Jasper glared at her and let out a small hiss.
"I know I'm not allowed. But I really need this, please? You can tell the witches after I do it. I just need you and Trouble to be my look-outs while I'm using it. Actually, I might not use it. I don't know."
The tom just looked at her skeptical.
"I'll…give you my fish tonight…we're having fish tonight, right?"
The cat stared at her for a long moment conflicted before he finally nodded.
"Thanks," Anna smiled and planted a quick kiss on the cat's furry head before dropping down to the street.
She ducked under the window just in case someone saw her fall before slinking off toward the corner of the town center.
It wasn't a busy time, thankfully. The street was empty for the moment as most everyone was out in the back of town or the graveyard practicing scares. Anna didn't feel like joining…
Assignments were almost done being assigned, so monsters were doing their best to be picked for important jobs. No one had mentioned Anna having a job for the next year, so she assumed they were leaving her out for now. It made sense. She would be pretty useless with the scarers.
Anna didn't fully understand what all the jobs were, but she understood that it was common to have multiple responsibilities. Surprisingly enough, not everyone scared every year. There apparently were monsters that were lookouts for Halloween night. All they did was make sure humans didn't get pictures or unintentional help from a passerby. They also coordinated with the others to avoid security cameras. They also listened to police radio. Somehow.
They were known as the sneakiest, from what she understood, so Anna really hoped no one who actually wanted that job was nearby. Except for the cats. They helped with Halloween, and they were always Lookouts, usually partnering with the witches, but they helped everyone.
She couldn't sense anyone watching her as she darted toward the cauldron.
"Show me…" she stopped. Did she really need to look?
"Meow."
She looked down at her feet to see two cats looking up at her.
"I come here almost every day."
It's really not difficult to squeeze in a few minutes where no one would notice her stopping by the cauldron between visits with Sally.
But she hadn't been to Skellington Manor in a couple days.
Trouble nodded.
"No one's mentioned it, so I guess you never told on me."
They both nodded, and Anna got the feeling they didn't really want to get her in trouble if she didn't actually do something.
She hadn't used the cauldron, just stared at the empty water like a brain dead cat.
"But…I've been thinking…I have a chance to go home today. I know I've been enjoying myself and all but…I can't just…leave them."
She thought about everything that had happened so far. The monsters applauded her existence. They gave her clothes. A home. People. They were most certainly trying to give Anna a family. The witches were at least.
But she already had a family.
And then there was what Jack said to her.
He was right. She shouldn't be here. She didn't belong here.
"Show me Jelly Bean."
The cats shared a glance. Animals are very good at sensing what's best. While they knew they would get in serious misfortune with their witches for allowing Anna to watch events in the Real World, there was something bigger at play.
The murky water twisted and sloshed for a moment before coming into focus.
Anna didn't have the heart to break, but something inside her twisted at the sight. This was different than what she had seen before or expected.
Jillian was sitting on the curb outside their house. She was alone and had such a dead look in her eye.
The skeleton watched as a couple kids from school biked past, running over Jillian's feet.
"Hey, watch it!" one kid snapped, stopping their bike.
"Leave her alone, Kim," one boy said to the girl as Jillian looked away and brought her feet closer.
Kim just looked at Jillian for a moment before scoffing. "Mute freak." They rode off, and Jillian just sat there.
"Hey." James sat next to his twin. He glared after the biking kids.
Jillian didn't look up and just picked at her shoelace.
"Mark's waiting. He's going to drive us to the doctor's."
Jillian didn't say anything.
"I know you don't want to go, but mom thinks it will be good for us. Dr. Ramsey might give us candy."
"…"
"Mark's going to wait in the waiting room for us. He hasn't agreed to talk to the shrink either."
Jillian didn't react.
"I brought nuts. You know Anna always brought him nuts cuz he's so 'squirrely.'"
Jillian suddenly slapped the bag out of her brother's hand, spilling half the peanuts.
James groaned, "Why do you have to be like this? You're such a brat sometimes."
Jillian's glare hardened just a bit, but she still didn't say anything.
"I'm going so that mom will stop worrying. At least come for my sake if not hers, please?"
James wasn't as much of a force as Jillian, though always a little serious. But he was mostly a sweet happy kid if he could help it.
Jillian didn't move.
Her brother looked disappointed, "Okay, fine. I'll see you in an hour." He ran off to a nearby running car.
Jillian waited until the car was out of sight before standing up and walking down the street.
She came across the group of kids from earlier. They were in an empty park, their bikes chained to posts nearby.
"Hmm," Anna said with a small fond smile. She leaned her boney elbows on the rim of the cauldron and rested her skull in her hands. "What are you up to kiddo?"
She felt bad that she hadn't been looking in on them. But at the moment, she couldn't care less what Jack thought.
"What do you want?" the stupid girl from earlier snapped as Jillian walked up to her.
The eleven-year-old raised her eyes for the first time, and Anna saw the tears in her eyes.
Anna frowned. What was this? What is she doing?
Suddenly, Jillian punched the girl. Right in the nose.
Anna recoiled in utter shock.
"Why you little—."
"Kim! Don't!"
Anna gasped as the girl slapped her little sister.
The skeleton spirit covered her mouth in horror with both hands as her little eleven-year-old sister was beaten up by that girl even as her friends tried to pull them apart.
"Just fight back," Anna pleaded. She couldn't bear to watch. But she did.
Jillian was just letting the blows come. And she didn't say a single word the entire time.
"Just stop it please!" Anna shouted into the water at the girl who was hurting Jillian. "That's what she wants! Stop it! Don't touch her!"
Anna cried and gripped the cauldron tightly. She wasn't there protecting her sister. This shouldn't be happening. She ignored the frantic meows of cats who couldn't see what was going on.
"S-stop it. Just stop it!" Anna cried and couldn't look away until her little sister was a bruised crying child, black and blue, curled up on the ground.
"Kim! STOP!"
"Get off me," Kim snapped as she threw her friend's arm off. "She started it!"
"She's eleven, you psycho! You're thirteen!"
"…so…"
"That's the Grisholme girl!" the other friend said panicky. "Her sister died in the fire at the school! You're going to get us thrown in jail."
"I don't…" Kim swallowed, backing away from Jillian, "I don't know what came over me...I just…she…"
"Come on let's go!"
"We can't just leave her!"
"We got to go!"
"Don't you dare leave her," Anna snarled, her skeleton voice cracking.
But they couldn't hear her.
"Jelly Bean. Get up. You have to get up," Anna pleaded. "Come on, sis."
But Jillian didn't want to move. She just laid there in the dead grass on a November afternoon, crying.
"Someone help her. Please. Anyone," Anna whispered, shaking.
But no one came.
"I'm sorry, Jelly Bean," Anna whispered into the water. "I'm sorry I wasn't there. I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."
She never felt so helpless before.
Jillian eventually got up and went home, sneaking through the back door and hiding up in her room.
Anna watched as her sister passed by Anna's old room without looking at it and made a beeline for her own bedroom.
The girl sat on her bed and cried into her pillow, ignoring her bruises and bleeding lips.
That did it.
That…did it…
That was the last straw.
"I need to…" Anna whimpered. "I need to get back."
She let go, and the water rippled before the picture faded.
Anna sat down on the ground and sniffled. "What have I done…"
She was a terrible big sister. How could she be so worried about making the monsters here happy by being good at scaring while her little sister is getting herself beat up like that?
"I have to get back," she whispered.
"Meow?"
Anna glanced over her arm at Jasper.
Trouble had already left, most likely to get the witches.
"I know I'm a monster. I know I'm dead. But…"
Jasper twitched his tail and stared at her knowingly. He tilted his head.
"I know Jack said he would help me leave if I wanted," Anna said.
Jasper nodded.
"But I don't think he seriously thought I would consider it. Do I really need his help to get home?" Anna sneered, "I don't think he wants anything to do with me. I'm tempted to say the feeling's mutual."
Jasper tilted his head the other way.
Anna sighed and leaned back against the cauldron. "Why am I asking you? You can't even talk."
"Just because I don't talk to you or anyone else besides my witch, doesn't mean I can't."
Anna's eyes shot open, and she glared at Jasper. "I've been here a day over three weeks, and you're only just now talking."
"Oh, don't be so insulted. You're only the fourth non-animal creature I've ever spoken to in my life. And using a human voice is harder than you think. You should be honored." The Cat blinked his blue eyes.
"What's the special occasion?" Anna muttered.
"You do not understand how the world works," the cat purred, rubbing against her legs, "And frankly, Trouble and I were getting rather bored of your complaining. 'Oh, woe is me!' "I'm dead!' 'Boo hoo!' You want to go back to the Real World so bad? Good riddance. At least your incessant whining would stop."
"I think I liked you better when you just meowed," Anna snorted.
The cat jumped into her arms, "Come on then."
"Where are we going?"
"Away from here before Trouble comes back with Zelda."
Anna stood up, cradling the cat in her arms.
"Head to the graveyard. And scratch behind my ear, why don't you?" the cat purred, his voice deep and sultry.
"Isn't the graveyard where everyone is?" Anna asked, sneering at the cat.
"They are farther out, near the Pumpkin Head. Probably."
"What's a Pumpkin Head?"
"Three weeks! Has no one taught you anything?"
"…"
"Whatever. If you're leaving it doesn't matter."
"Hey now…."
"What? Having a second thought to your second thoughts?"
"I have half a mind to drop you…" Anna hissed.
"Horrid day Anna!"
Anna looked up at the Gatekeeper, having not noticed how quickly they got to the town gate.
"Oh hi!" Anna smiled. "Horrid day." She glanced down at Jasper who just curled up in her arms and licked his paws.
The Gatekeeper chuckled, "I think you're getting the hang of things. How did your training go today?" He looked at her in pity. Everyone had heard of the fight in the town square, and people wouldn't stop gossiping about what the two skeletons had said. He refused to pry, though. Anna was taking the situation hard as it was.
"Not great…"
"I'll say. I heard you jumped out to scare Reginald and slipped on his goop."
Anna scowled in embarrassment.
"I'm just teasing you, Anna," the Gatekeeper stretched a bit, "Not everyone figures things out quickly. Where are you headed?"
"The..uh…the graveyard."
"Going to practice?"
"Yeah," Anna felt awful about lying to him.
The Gatekeeper looked up at her a little suspiciously. "Is everything alright, Anna?"
"What? Of course. Why do you ask?"
The Raven shrugged. "I can be concerned about you." He noticed the glasses in Anna's pockets. "Hey! They're done!"
"What? Oh yeah. Jack…brought them by today…while I was out."
The Gatekeeper frowned. "Ah. He did. Well? Did you try them on yet?"
Anna set Jasper down and fished her new glasses out of her pocket. She held them up to her eye sockets.
"Very elegant. Very you, Anna. But…"
"Yeah, I know," Anna giggled, "I think we forgot I don't have ears or a nose to keep them on."
Anna let go as a demonstration and had to catch the glasses as they fell off her face.
The Gatekeeper burst out laughing, his laugh loud and very bird-like.
"Did the Doctor realize this?"
"I doubt it."
"Hold on a moment." The Gatekeeper ducked his head into the booth and rummaged around, still giggling like a school girl.
"Try this."
"Tape?" Anna snorted.
"Either that or Finklestein can make a stupid looking elastic band to go around your skull," the Gatekeeper smirked.
Anna snickered and rolled her eyes, not that the Gatekeeper could tell. She took the two piece of clear wrapping tape, deciding not to ask where he got such modern office supplies, and taped the limbs of her reading glasses to the side of her head. There was just enough of a nasal bone to keep the frames from slipping in the front if she didn't tilt her head too much.
"So? What do you think?"
"I believe that it is worth it to invest in a couple of ears. And a nose," the Gatekeeper laughed. "You could call it a face swap."
"Oh eww…That sounds like a terrible idea."
"I know. Isn't it wonderful?"
Anna plastered on a smile for him. He deserved it.
Besides Sally, the Gatekeeper was one of her first real friends that she made since arriving in Halloween. He was one of those types that was very mature and intelligent half the time but liked to joke around and make others comfortable when he wanted. He apparently didn't talk with other citizens very much because he always wanted to talk to someone about human things, ideas that he got from reading so many books.
That's where Anna and her retained knowledge of the Real world led to daily conversations between them.
"At least now you can actually read the books I give you," the Gatekeeper quipped, "Without secretly using a magnifying glass. I still can't bring myself to understand why you didn't tell anyone you couldn't see for so long."
"I didn't want to be a bother."
"Poppycock."
Anna reached into her jacket, flashing the gray stripes. "The Complete Tales and Poetry by Edgar Allen Poe." She handed the worn down antique book to the Gatekeeper. "You know, when I asked for a hint about what your real name is, I was expecting a little more of a challenge."
"Heh. Just don't wear it out, my dear," the Gatekeeper chuckled. "Names have power."
"What do you me— " Anna was interrupted as Jasper stretched up her leg and dug his claws into her dress pants. "Um..well." She took off the glasses and folded the tape so that it could be reused. "I should go."
The Gatekeeper nodded and pulled the lever. "Just be careful, Anna. And stay out of the Hinterlands!"
"I know."
Stay out of the Hinterlands. That's what everyone has been telling her. Helgamine explained it was those woods Anna had run into when she first woke up. Everyone seemed wary of them, but no one told her why it wasn't safe.
She stopped just outside the gate and looked back at the Gatekeeper.
"Nevermore?"
The Gatekeeper jumped and looked at her in shock.
"Thank you," Anna said genuinely.
The Gatekeeper, The Raven Nevermore, stared at her in worry. "For what?"
"For…being a friend."
The Gatekeeper looked at the skeleton's sad expression, "Anna what are you…"
"Don't worry about it. I'll see you later okay?" Anna flashed him a toothy smile.
The Gatekeeper frowned but nodded and sat back down as he watched Anna walk with one of the witches' cats toward the Pet Cemetery. He was worried and planned to ask Helgamine what was going on, besides the obvious, when he next saw her.
"Where are we going, Jasper?"
"What time is it?"
"I don't know. Noon?"
"Good. Then it's…uh…what's that turkey holiday called again?"
"Thanksgiving?"
"Yes, that."
"Wait," Anna stopped. "What does it being noon have to do with anything?"
Jasper looked at her oddly.
"It gives us time to travel."
"It was the afternoon with Jillian in the cauldron," Anna mentioned. She was really having trouble keeping track of time here.
"If time is different all around the Real World, why should it be the same here?"
"Yeah, I noticed that. Just checking. And you have a good point…"
"Of course I do. And to answer your earlier question, we're going to ask someone for help getting you to Thanksgiving. Then you can get from there to the Real World."
"Who?"
Jasper just jumped atop a tombstone and licked his paw.
"Arf!" the wispy, twisty, mist of a little ghost dog rose from the ground by Anna's feet and growled at the cat.
"Zero!?" Anna snapped, "Why would Zero help me?"
It wasn't that Zero and Anna didn't like each other, the opposite actually after they got over that rib stealing situation, but Zero was Jack's dog. She was trying to avoid Jack.
Zero tilted his head and looked at the cat and the girl questioningly. He then brightened and flew up to lick Anna's face, his strange nose flashing.
Anna snickered, "H-hey stop it! Down Zero."
"Stupid dog."
Zero growled at Jasper again.
Jasper glanced at Anna out the corner of his lazy eyes and stopped speaking English for the moment.
Anna watched patient, yet with confused bewilderment as the cat and dog went back and forth for a couple minutes.
She was a little surprised by how many noises animals actually made when they aren't worried about people.
If Zero's growls were anything to go by, he wasn't very convinced.
Jasper made some more chattering meows, but Zero wasn't having any of it.
Jasper hissed a little, "Hhhhee wants you to convince him to help."
Anna looked down at the ghost dog, who was looking up at her expectantly. She sighed.
"Hear me out, Zero. Please," Anna said, kneeling on the graveyard dirt in front of him, "My family needs me. I just watched my little sister purposely get herself beat up. She's only eleven."
Zero's ear perked, and he frowned, whimpering. He didn't like the idea of a child getting hurt.
"I've been trying to keep an eye on them, my family, but I'm missing things. I haven't seen anything important. I can't tell if they're okay. My timing is terrible, and the cauldron isn't showing me what I need to see. But today, I saw my little sister be thrown around like trash." Anna's voice cracked as she tried to keep from weeping pathetically.
"If that happened to her, then I don't know what's going on with James—my brother, or Mark, or my parents. Please, Zero. I don't know how you can help, but…" She squeezed her eyes shut and refused to cry anymore. "I need to see them for myself. I need to be there for them. I shouldn't be here."
Anna looked up when Zero nudged her hand and the dog whined.
He nodded.
"Why?" she whispered.
Zero whimpered and whined again.
Jasper translated.
"He said…he doesn't want you to cry…" the cat said, then lowered his voice even more as what Zero said next disturbed even him. "You look like Jack when he cries…Zero hates it when Jack cries."
Anna looked at the animals. She couldn't imagine Jack ever crying, about anything.
"…T-thank you Zero."
Zero grinned and yipped happily, tugging at Anna's sleeve to pull her up.
Zero let go and flew around, signaling Anna to follow him.
Anna quick stepped after the dog. "What are…where are we going? And how does Zero know how to get to the Real World."
"There are more than one way out of Halloween Town," Jasper said, hopping across tombstones before jumping onto Anna's shoulders. "Usually, we can only leave on Halloween night, but I thought of a loophole. Jack already told you it."
"Leave on someone else's Holiday. It's Thanksgiving Day now. I still don't understand how 'leaving' works. But how do we even get to…um…."
"I think they would call…it…Thanksgiving Town. And Zero knows the way."
"How?" Anna asked the dog.
Zero looked behind at her for a long moment and gave the cat a pleading glare.
"It's a…long story…" Jasper chuckled.
"Is that...embarrassment I hear?"
"No! …J-just follow the ghost."
Anna did just that.
They passed by Spiral Hill and Anna noticed the Jack O' Lanterns growing by the strange landmark.
She stepped in something squishy and looked down to see a terribly rotted pumpkin. That was odd. She could have sworn there were many more healthy ones the last time she was in this area. She shook the gunk off her shoe, a little annoyed that her pants were so dressy styled.
Anna suddenly stopped short as she came under a twisty shadow and the path ended.
Zero stopped and circled back around when he noticed she wasn't following him anymore.
"Arf?"
Anna stared up at the twisty dead tree limbs. "We…have to go into the forest?"
"What were you expecting? The lake?"
Anna ignored the sarcasm and shuffled, "Everyone's been telling me to stay out of the Hinterlands."
"For good reason. I didn't say this wouldn't be dangerous," Jasper scoffed.
"And you're still hanging around with me? What's dangerous about this place?"
"…Things live here."
"Well, that's cryptic."
"Things that prey on human fear."
"...I'm not human."
"Humans make human fear. But what do you think we are."
"…Fears…"
"Exactly. Plus, it'll be dark soon. There are several things you don't want to be when entering the Hinterlands."
"And what are those?"
"A Human mind. And a monster who can't be scarier than the nightmares. And someone traveling at night."
"…I see the problem."
"Do you now? Then you're aware that everyone knows you think like a human?"
Anna stared at the woods. There was that fear again… the kind she hated. The kind that wanted to keep her from doing anything.
"You can always turn around…" Jasper said nonchalantly.
Anna glared at the cat lounging on her shoulder.
"I'm going home," she said with a level of finality, though her voice wavered, "I'm not supposed to be here. Lead the way, Zero."
Ok. This makes up for a temporary slow down until finals at school are done. I'll write to de-stress, but I'm not going to churn out a chapter a day. It will go down to a week. Next chapter? I'm going to shoot for next Monday, but I'll probably finish before then.