SC: Um… hi. I know it's taken me forever, but I'm having a little trouble writing lately. It's not that I don't have any ideas, I've just been so busy with school, and Jr. Drum Major tryouts, and exams coming up, that I've had no time to write. But it's done some wonders for my review counts. I think I've gotten more reviews since I've been gone than I usually do when I update the new chapters. Even on Child of a Shinobi, which I haven't written on in MONTHS. But anyway, here's chapter 7 of Welcome to Your So Called Insanity.
Disclaimer: I don't own Lock, Shock, Barrel, Jack, Sally, Halloween Town, or anything related to Nightmare Before Christmas. I do, however, own Aubrey, the Door, and The Towers Mental Hospital and all its residents&employees.
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Chapter 7
Unexpected Hero
-Skellington Manor; May 1, 2002-
"So…" Aubrey started, staring at Jack from across the table. "Have you asked her yet?"
Jack groaned. "Aubrey, not now."
"You've got to ask her eventually! I'll even help!"
"That kind of help I could do without."
Aubrey smiled, unfazed. "I'm sure that was supposed to be an insult in some way, but I really don't care."
Seeing as he wasn't about to win this battle, the Pumpkin King changed tactics. "Didn't Emily come to visit today?"
"Yes, she did, but you're changing the subject." Aubrey snapped, irate. "Jack, you have the ring, you've practiced the speech seventy-six times, you have GOT to ask Sally already."
The door creaked open. "Ask me what?"
Jack jumped up. "If you'd… like to go for a walk with me around town." He rushed. Aubrey rolled her eyes, hitting her head against the table.
"Ow…" She muttered, rubbing her forehead.
Sally peered around Jack. "Are you alright, Aubrey?"
"Fine." She chirped, ignoring the throbbing spot in the middle of her eyes. "I'm gonna head home early, 'kay Jack?"
He nodded, motioning her out. She kicked him lightly as she passed. "Ask. Her." She hissed before walking out.
Jack glowered at the back of the door before turning to Sally, a nervous smile on his face. "So, shall we?" He asked, offering her his arm. She smiled up at him and linked her elbow with his as they walked out.
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Aubrey weaved in and out of the dead Hinterland trees, looking around. "Ugh, where did those stupid birds go?" She muttered, referring to the crows that constantly flew back and forth from the door and the rest of the Hinterlands. She sighed and stomped her foot. "Great, now I'm lost. Now what?" After looking around again, Aubrey lifted a hand, pointing in front of her and closed her eyes. "Eenie, meenie, minie, mo!" She opened her eyes to see that she was now pointing to her right. "That way it is then." She set off, not knowing that she was being watched.
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Lock walked through the Hinterlands, chuckling as he unwrapped the candy in his hands. "This'll teach Shock to break my plunger." He said, popping the mini-chocolate bat in his mouth. He grimaced as he swallowed. 'But she's gonna re-kill me when she finds out I ate all of her chocolate bats.' He shrugged. 'Oh well. Maybe I can blame Barrel.'
"Ugh, where did those stupid birds go?" Lock looked up. He knew that voice… Lock walked over to the trees and peered around one. Aubrey was standing in the clearing just beyond the tree line, searching the sky. She let out a little huff of frustration and stomped her foot. "Great, now I'm lost. Now what?" She glanced around again, and Lock ducked back behind the tree. After a minute, he heard, "Eenie, meenie, minie, mo!" Lock peeked back out to see Aubrey pointing in the direction opposite the one he'd been coming from. "That way it is then." She sighed, walking off.
Lock turned to leave, but stopped as the trees behind him creaked and moaned… without wind. Lock whipped around, and saw that the trees were actually arching their branches TOWARD Aubrey. Lock remembered that Shock had a bag of Tree Poison. Nothing to do with poison, really, but it did make the Hinterland trees very… well, homicidal. A perfectly harmless little prank to pull on people that were already dead… but deadly for someone living!
'That stupid girl's going to get herself killed!' Lock thought. Then, he shook his head. 'Why do I care? Good riddance!'
Lock froze in place, mid-step, as a scream ripped through the forest. It was only too obvious whose. Before he even realized it, Lock had turned around and sprinted down the path.
It took less than ten seconds for him to locate Aubrey. A tree root had curled up around her legs and waist, and was slinking higher like some demented bark-covered snake. Sharp branches were lowering towards her, ready to lift her off the ground, which would've just left her with a few scrapes, if the thick root (roots by this time) hadn't been anchoring her firmly to the ground. If the branches grabbed her now, they'd rip her arms off.
Aubrey was so busy trying to break free of the tree roots, which were stronger than she had expected –more like steel than wood- that she hardly noticed Lock until he'd stomped on the roots slinking around her body and pushed her to the ground. Stars exploded in her vision as her head slammed against the ground. A whimper escaped her lips, but immediately ceased as Lock clapped his hand over her mouth.
"Shut up!" He hissed. "Do you WANT to get killed?" She shook her head. "Than be quiet and hold still." Lock looked over his shoulder. The trees seemed confused. Their prey had seemingly disappeared. The branches retreated to their usual positions, and the roots sunk back into the ground. Lock let out a sigh of relief, then…
"AAAAHHH!" Aubrey let out a shriek as the trees attacked Lock, viciously ripping into his back and arms. It all came to a sudden halt nearly a minute later as the trees stiffened into their usual looming positions, unmoving.
Aubrey quickly scooted out from under Lock, her eyes widening as she saw the tears in his back. "Holy shit…" She whispered.
"That bad?" Lock asked, groaning as he tried to get up.
Hesitating, Aubrey knelt down and pulled one of Lock's arms over her shoulders. "Let me help."
Lock looked up at her, startled. "What?"
She flashed him a soft smile. "You just saved me, so I figure this is the least I can do." She slid her other arm around his chest. "Okay, this is probably going to hurt." She warned, pulling him up with a grunt of effort. Lock winced as he stood up.
Once Aubrey was sure that Lock could stand on his own, she pulled her arms away, wiping of the blood from Lock's back off of her arm with her jeans. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, of course. Just peachy." Lock answered sarcastically, supporting himself with one of the trees that had just pummeled him.
He let out a yelp as he felt something wipe his back, going over one of the cuts painfully. He turned around to see Aubrey standing behind him with what looked like a washcloth in her hand. "What are you doing?!"
"Seeing how bad the cuts are." Aubrey retorted. "I don't care if you're already dead, it can still get infected." Lock knew that was true; god only knows how many times one of Boogie's Boys had to go to Dr. Finklestein because they'd let an open wound fester to long. "Now turn back around."
Lock did so, and Aubrey went back to wiping away the blood, apologizing every time Lock so much as winced.
"I'm telling you, someone set it off." Lock froze. That was Shock's voice!
"Yeah, but can't we just wait to hear about it later? I mean, it's already obvious who did it, so why get ourselves actually caught?"
"Barrel, you're such a wimp." Lock grabbed Aubrey's wrist and shoved her down underneath a tangle of roots that protruded from a nearby hillside.
"Stay here." He hissed. She nodded, having heard Shock and Barrel's voices as well.
"Lock?" Shock asked incredulously. "YOU set off my trap?"
The devil winced as he shrugged. "Yeah, what of it?"
"God, you're such a moron! I told you which part of the woods it was!"
Lock snorted. "Forgive me for forgetting which of the EXACTLY IDENTICAL trees you cursed."
The witch threw her hands into the air. "Ugh! Stupid boys…"
"Hey!" Barrel protested, running to catch up with her. "Shock, wait up!" Lock didn't let out the breath he'd been holding until both of them were out of sight. He walked over to Aubrey's hiding place and helped her out.
"You were going to that tree, right?" He asked. She nodded. "C'mon then." He started walking off. Aubrey didn't move. Lock turned around. "Do you want to get out of here or not?"
Aubrey hurried to catch up with him.
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"There it is, see?" Lock pointed at the tree, which was sitting peacefully in its clearing as usual, having no idea what had just happened to its user. Because, well, it's a tree. Lock turned to walk away.
"Hey, Lock?" He stopped and looked over his shoulder at Aubrey.
"What is it now?"
Aubrey's gaze fell from his face to the ground and then back to his face. "Thanks. For doing all that for me today." She said before turning and running off toward the tree. Lock watched in a stunned silence as she pulled the door open and climbed through.
She had thanked him. Lock had never had ANYONE thank him for anything, ever. And, of all the people, it was AUBREY. The girl who he prided himself for hating more than he did Shock. The girl who'd given him a black eye with her delicate little artist hands (instead of tripping him onto the floor with his own tail like Shock and Barrel did). He turned back toward the Tree House.
"You're welcome." He muttered as he walked off.
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SC: Yes, I know. It's short. Almost as short as Lock.
Lock: HEY!
SC: I kid, I kid! Anyway, the next chapter'll be longer, I promise. But you've got the beginning of a budding romance here! That makes up for the length (or lack thereof), right? Read and review please!
Ja ne!
SC