Where Spiders Fear to Tread
Chapter 2
"It's him!" they cried. "Arachne!" Barrel called down to her. "Be quiet, try not to make a sound."
Ara looked at them, then nodded. Shock stood and went down the elevator to the Pumpkin King.
Ara hid underneath her bed. Barrel covered up the hole and she was left in darkness. "Jack!" cried Lock. "It's so good to see you! It's been quite some time since you came to us. Or asked us…let's see…hmm…when was the last time you need our help." He was quiet for a moment and then shouted, "Ah-ha! I remember now! You asked us to kidnap the Sandy Claws." Ara listened curiously.
"Santa Clause," corrected the lanky skeleton. "Yes, it has been long hasn't it Boogie Boys?" Lock smiled. 'He seems polite.' Ara thought to herself. 'If only I could see what was going on!' frustrated she tried to listen harder.
"What do we owe this pleasure?" Shock asked, trying to understand why Barrel was being more quiet than usual.
"Nothing that can't be explained, I'm sure." said Jack. "The ghosts told me that someone had told them that I planned to move their corpses and replace the cemetery with a summer home."
"A summer home? Really Jack? Your castle is very nice… do you really need a castle?"
Jack looked at them, "I do not. I do not plan on building one either. The ghosts also told me that it was two of you, though they did not bother to really list you."
"Us? Oh Jack! How could you say such a thing? We've been so good these past years." Lock smiled sarcastically. Shock cackled, and Barrel forced a quick smile.
Jack frowned, "You know, I have been very kind on letting you stay in Halloween Town. After all, I spared you three's lives. Did you forget?"
Lock and Shock frowned. "And those were the days that we still had fun…" said Shock.
The Pumpkin King frowned. "Mischief is always wanted at Halloween Town. Those ghosts could have seriously hurt someone." He sighed and looked at their faces. "I apologize, I was just worried."
"Oh it's natural. We usually do all the mischief. This we didn't though." Lock answered. "Now that we know that that's aside, why don't you sit down Jack? Just like old times,"
"Old times? Well, almost like old times," Jack said and sat down at the table. "We're able to sleep more soundly knowing that danger is dead. Although, that may not be what you wish."
"How's the wife?" asked Barrel, feeling safe now that the conversation was over with.
Jack looked at him rather reproachfully. "She's fine, and the children are too." He added. "Yes, Edward is almost ready to take the throne now, Belladonna is now fifteen, and Cinder is nine."
"How horrifying," said Lock.
"Yes, do you go to school, Shock, with my son?" he asked.
Shock turned red with anger. "Yes." She snapped and then got up to make a cup of nightshade. Jack sighed.
"I must be going. I'm sorry that I have not been able to see you sooner." The lanky skeleton left and they all sighed in relief.
"Alright Barrel, go get Ara." Shock said sipping the bitter tea. Barrel uncovered the hole and Ara climbed out. "Now spill,"
"Nothing really happened. No one could have gotten hurt. He's just overreacting." Said Barrel.
"Except Ara could have been seen. She was seen! What if the ghosts had told Jack about her! We would be in trouble…"
"Trouble?" asked Arachne. "Why trouble?"
"Never you mind. It's adult stuff."
"I'm the same age as you." Ara said. She sighed. "I want to join the Boogie Boys." She said.
Shock spat out the tea and looked at Ara. "Are you serious?" she snapped. "You saw what happened! Now we really have to keep a low profile…if Jack Skellington finds out about you –t"
"So that's the Pumpkin King's name?" Ara asked curiously. Shock angrily sipped her tea again.
"Forget it. It's not going to happen."
.
Ara watched the sun slowly rise, her eyes drooping. She was never allowed to leave during the day. Too many people we out during the day. She slowly crawled downstairs into her room and fell asleep.
Slowly the citizens of Halloween Town began to stir, and the vampires and creatures of the night soon slunk into their homes, or into the shadows. The shops opened and Jack-o-Lantern's candles slowly were put out.
Edward woke up to hear his bat alarm. He smacked the top and then rolled over. He hated it. He always had to be in bed before ten o'clock, and he was almost twenty. It was so demeaning to him. He rolled out of bed and then changed. Slowly, he walked downstairs. He had inherited his father's tall qualities, but he had also inherited his mother's look. He had black hair that was messed up constantly, and dark black eyes. He sighed and entered the throne room. The room, like every day in the year, had jack-o-lanterns lined up in a row. His mother smiled at him with her stitched skin. Her dresses used to be modest, but she soon grew greedy, and her dresses began more exquisite. "Good morning my son!" she cried. "Did you hear the news?" she asked.
"No." he snapped. "I just woke up."
She looked disapproving, "You know Edward," he angrily flashed her a warning look. He hated the name Edward. He preferred the name Ed. "You need to keep up with the news of Halloween Town. You'll take the throne one day, and you'll have to know everything that is happening in Halloween Town." She adjusted her dress and looked at him. "Since you did just wake up, I will tell you. Those awful Boogie Boys tried to strike chaos in the village. Luckily your father stopped it before anything serious could happen.
He scratched his head, "Imagine that."
"Edward!" she cried. He looked at her. "Don't you know this is serious? Those horrible Boogie Boys almost tried to kill me! They almost tried to kill your father when they were younger. Did you know that?" she demanded.
Ed stared at him. "Am I supposed to know that? I thought it happened before you were born. Besides, I'm sure they didn't really try to kill you."
Queen Sally angrily folded her arms. "They did." She hissed. She sighed. "Your grandfather and grandmother are coming over today."
Ed looked disgusted and shuddered. Dr. Finklestein was old, greedy, and selfish. He had made his mother with his own bare hands. His wife was identical to him, but with blonde hair. He was human, but he never understood how. His mother was sewn together from who knows what, and his father was nothing but bones. He didn't want to understand the logic, nor ask. Ed walked away from the throne room and out of the palace.
His sister, Belladonna was flirting with one of the guards. He didn't even bother saying good morning to her. She took more of her father's characteristics, which was not ugly for a girl, since this was Halloween Town. She was short like her mother, and had red hair like her, but had the skeleton body like her father. Cinder was a nice boy, very naïve, and looked like Ed. Many people waved to him as he walked but he didn't reply. He just continued to walk. Once in a while, someone would call out to him, but he didn't bother. He knew all their faces. He knew them all. They never seemed to change, only grow older. He angrily kicked a bat skull. He walked into the forest. He had never gone past the forest. He was not allowed. He hated it. "Dammit." He said. "Damn rules. I'm old enough. I can do whatever I want. I'm almost able to take the throne! Why can't I do whatever I want?" he paced back and forth. He stopped then began to think. He had begun to think about what he had heard earlier. "Boogie Boys." He repeated. The name was familiar. He thought for a few minutes. "Oh yeah." He said snapping his pale fingers. He remembered his father talk about how they were a washed up group. They followed a man named Oogie Boogie, who had tried to kill both his mother, father, and a fat man people called Sandy Claws. After his father had killed him, the Boogie Boys had nothing else to do with their life, so they did all that they could to strike mischief in Halloween Town. He had heard about their pranks. They were legendary. He had only seen one person in the Boogie Boys, and that was Shock. She hated Ed with all her guts in public, but he had felt that she liked him in secret. He sighed. "At least they don't have to follow any rules." He said.
.
Arachne woke up and sat at the table with the others. Slowly the sun began to set. "We have put much thought into this." Shock began sipping her bitter tea. Lock and Barrel nodded. "We have come to an agreement that you can join the Boogie Boys."
"It would be a disgrace for the Oogie Boogie, if his daughter was not in the Boogie Boys. But you have to swear to cause mischief whenever you can." Lock said.
"I will!" she cried happily. "I can't believe it!" she cried. Shock rolled her eyes.
"There are some things that you need to worry about…" she began.
"Don't worry about it Shock. She's smart. She won't get in trouble."
Shock sighed then nodded. "We'll need to get you fitted for a Boogie Boys costume." She said. She didn't like Arachne being in the group. She knew that Lock and Barrel loved Ara more than her, and it made her furious. She had almost started the group, and now she was being excluded. Her cheeks turned red as she pretended to be cheerful.
"Because your name means spider, we think your costume should look like a spider." Said Lock. "Shock will do your fitting. She's better at that stuff than I am. Barrel can barely thread a needle."
"Why can't I? I'm good at threading…I make pretty designs too." Arachne suggested. Shock liked the idea of not making Ara's clothes, so the idea was agreed on. Barrel watched as Shock helped her take her measurements.
"You're going to be more spiderlike than before." He said with his soulless eyes looking at her design. "You can already spin webs out of silk threads. This will be perfect."
She smiled, "It's called web. I can only do that because my father was made of spiders and other things." She said. "Besides, it really comes in handy."
She began to sew black clothes together with great skill and speed. Barrel smiled as he watched the design take place before his eyes. She held it up in no times. "Pays off to be a spider." She answered.
"But you're not a spider. You're only have spider blood in you. If anyone looked at you they would think you're normal." Shock said angrily. She could never sew as well as Arachne could.
"Except for her black hair." Lock answered pulling it teasingly.
"And her red eyes," Barrel added softly. Ara smiled. She put it on the dummy.
"Well, it may be a little tight, but otherwise then it's great!" she cried then stepped back. It was a short dress with a bustle to look like the spider's abdomen. It had silver running along the bustle and the bodice was almost like a captain's coat, with silver buttons and silver thread. She popped a top hat on the dummy and added black lace.
Shock angrily went to her room
.
Ed sighed. His mother had sent servants to go get him. 'Disgusting.' He thought to himself. 'I don't get any alone time.' They walked to the palace just as the sun began to set. He frowned. He wanted to spend time outside. He had never been outside at night unless it was Halloween, and even then, he was heavily guarded by palace servants asking him whether or not he was hungry, or if the festivities were to his liking. He frowned as some of the younger maids batted their eyes lashes at him. 'Even more disgusting.' He thought angrily.
"Oh thank goodness you are here Edward!" Sally said smiling. Ed looked at her. Her stitched smile remained fixed on her face. He shook his head and walked past her. She angrily frowned and her eyes followed him as he walked.
He walked to his room. He angrily closed the door on the servants and lit the candles that were around his room. He walked back to the door and locked it. The click made him feel more free. The candle light swayed in the small draft. It left the room feeling eerie. "Hey Ed, mom wants to see you." Belladonna called from outside the door.
Ed remained silent. "Ed?" she asked. "Are you even in here?"
"Yeah." He answered.
Belladonna angrily repeated, "I said mom wants to see you."
"I'm busy." He said then watched the sun disappear completely behind the large forest. He thought for a moment. He opened the window and the breeze began to whisper to him in a language long forgotten to the race of man. The candles blew out immediately. He inhaled. Then slowly he walked onto the balcony and lowered himself down.