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Trap

Will looked, able to see them thanks to the light of Jack's dagger and the sand.

"Don't come closer!" He shouted but it was too late, Jack had already started forward. He didn't make it two steps before he triggered the trap and brought down a magical barrier around the group.

Krampus laughed as he stepped out of the shadows. "Did you honestly think you could sneak up on me?" He asked. He tutted at them "You're Grim reapers should have been much quieter if they wanted to spy on me without getting caught and that was before the sand!" He chuckled,

"The sand was about as unsubtle as you guardians, can possibly get."

Jack glared at Krampus "We'll find our way out!" He shouted.

Krampus grinned in the moonlight. "Oh, I'm sure you will," Krampus said. "But not before I escape."

Jane tried to walk through the barrier, but it was much harder than it was to enter a house.

Of course, it was, magic was always harder to manipulate.

She pulled out her scythe and melted it into a dagger, she slashed at the barrier. It didn't shatter at her touch, but it did weaken, she could see the barrier's wall grow thin with every slash.

Krampus just laughed and wasted no time. He walked toward Will, to the boy's credit he tried to run, but the fearlings were on top of him in a moment and held him tightly in place, so he couldn't escape. He was utterly powerless as Krampus picked him up.

"Is this necessary," North argued, trying to break through the barrier.

"Of course." Krampus said, "You know me North, over the top is always better it helps the message to sink in."

Krampus turned toward them, Will struggling under his arm like a sentient football, "I told you the only way you'd free them was to free Sarah, for this I think, I'll up the ante" he said, the maniacal grin never once leaving his face. "Get Me Sara by the end of the first day of the new year, or Will and all the other children I've captured will never be seen again." Then before anyone could do anything, he stepped into the shadows and disappeared.

"Damn." Jane hissed just as she finally broke the barrier. As was typical, they only escaped after Krampus was nowhere to be found.

"Great." Bunny hissed. "He's gone. What are we to do now?"

Jane's dagger-disguised scythe turned into a cellphone, and she mass messaged every Grim that was either reaping or on guard duty.

Warning: Krampus has escaped. Repeat Krampus has escaped. Prepare for the worst.

"What now?" Tooth asked. "Santoff Claussen might be safe, thanks to all those barriers in place, but the others?" She shook her head.

"Sarah's brother." Jack hissed. "If there's anyone else that would cause her to forsake every promise she's made-"

"I know," Jane said. "Travis, Dylan, go to the Jessup's house now."

Jack didn't see them hadn't even realized that they were there, but he did hear and see a rift appear and two boys jump through it.

Jack looked at Jane, "Do you think it will be enough?"

Jane shook her head. "No," she said softly. "But we have to hope."

"Well, I don't know about you, but staying in this dark cave any second longer than I have to." Bunny said he stomped the ground, a little harder than necessary, you, reapers, can find your own ways out I presume."

It was scary how much Jack could tell that Jane was rolling her eyes. "Bunny- "

"My tunnels my rules," Bunny said. "Are you coming?"

Jack hesitated, "I think I could do with some flying." Jack said.

Bunny hesitated before he shrugged. "Suit yourself icicle. Tell your little ankle biter, 'hi,' for me. He said before he disappeared.

"Sorry for him," Jack said, another flash of light appeared as North jumped through his own portal.

Jane shook her head, "Don't worry about it. They don't understand, and I got tired of trying to explain 300 years ago."

"What, after 1 conversation?"

"Yep." Jane said popping the 'p.' She slashed her scythe through the rift. "Come on." She said.

"I have a feeling your daughter will want to see you before things go to shit."

"Please don't Jinx this," Jack begged.

Jane laughed as they went through the portal.

"How are you so happy when things are getting progressively worse," Jack asked, both fascinated and vaguely annoyed.

Jane sobered when they left the portal, "I have to be." Jane said, "If I let my anxiety out every time something troubling happened. I wouldn't be able to do my job."

"I mean… I turned out ok." Jack said, weakly.

Jane looked at Jack, "You got lucky. When a reaper is late or doesn't do their job, souls can get stuck in the body, or just stuck roaming the earth."

"… so, a few places get haunted."

Jane looked at Jack sadly. "Ghosts don't belong on the earth, Jack." She said softly. "To never be seen, never interacted with anyone except by the fellow dead? It hurts."

Jack thought back threw the past 100 years. "Yeah, it does." Jack said. "Why…" Jack asked but he cut off unable to form the question his voice cracking.

"I don't know." Jane said, "My guess is that the higher-ups realized that despite your very obvious death, your time on earth wasn't over, and decided to leave you be."

He thought back all through those 300 years, he wasn't completely alone, Shadowbent had been friendly company. Her furrowed brow, the night before he'd met them had been a hurtful one, a woman had seen him and had run away from a girl who looked exactly like… "I've met you before."

Jane froze… "What?"

"Yeah. You ran away from me. Why?"

Jane's guilt returned, as she remembered what she was talking about. "I feared you were a lot like the guardians. And I was still sore from my first meeting with them" she said. "I'm sorry."

Jack's anger abated slightly. If his first introduction to non-reaper spirits were spirits who got angry at him just because he had an unpleasant job (And it had been). He'd be (and had been) hesitant to befriend others too. "I can't blame you… and… I wasn't completely alone for 300 years." Jack admitted.

"Oh?" Jane asked her heart rising slightly.

"Yeah. Sandman would check up on me on occasion and…" He looked around before whispering in Jane's ear. "I met, werewolves."

Jane stared at Jack, just barely concealing her relief. "Oh?" She breathed.

"Yeah, Shadowbent, was a good friend when I needed to be in contact with someone."

Jane looked down. "I'm glad," Jane said. "Loneliness is a terrible thing."

Then a scream pierced the air.