Through The Hollow
Chapter 14
"What was that back there? You looked like you'd seen a ghost… And I don't mean the good kind." Yulee looked up at the skeleton walking next to her. Jack had remained quiet ever since they had left the theatre. He hadn't spoken to her and he hadn't taken his eyes off of his feet the entire time that they had walked. Counting up the minutes it was clear that they'd been on their feet for about an hour and a half now and the silence was killing Yulee. She couldn't stand for it.
The night around them was quite beautiful. There were quaint little houses that lined along the roads and a school could be seen. In the area that they were currently occupying there were many more children, even for such a late hour.
They wandered up and down the street, going from door to door with large pillowcases and wondrous costumes. Their eyes were bright with excitement and the Halloween spirit. The tiny pitted patter of their feet echoed down the road and merged with the giggles that escaped from their open mouths.
Jack didn't even seem to react to the beauty of the area around them. It was as though the wind even danced towards the drumming of the children's' feet. It was an amazing combination of sounds and actions. Not a bad thought dwelled within their minds. It was simple sun for a simple community. There wasn't really much to go on at that time. Yulee was surprised that Jack hadn't even noticed the sky as of yet. She liked that the most. The stars were clearly visible in the clear night. Hardly any street lamps were on and while that posed a threat to the children wandering the streets it seemed to add to the beauty of the neighbourhood. It was difficult to ignore the wondrous ease that enveloped you whenever you were to look as such a scene. Yet Jack seemed to be able to ignore the entire place and merely wrap himself up in his thoughts. There he would allow his mind to muster quietly as he thought to himself.
Yulee sighed.
"Jack, answer me. Please. I know that something's wrong…" She stopped on the street and looked at her feet. "Friends should be able to talk to one another about problems. I know that you have one because you won't say anything to me. You're ignoring the world and it's not like you to do that…" Yulee looked back up.
Jack had continued down the street in the direction that they had been going. Children ran past him in an attempt to acquire more sweets before the night's end.
Yulee could feel her eye twitch with irritation. Her pulse was plainly visible through the pulsing vein on her temple.
The dark guardian ducked forward, bounding from side to side as she went to gain momentum. She circled around to face Jack's front. When he remained in his transfixed state and said nothing to her she bounded off of the ground and onto his chest. There she took hold of his tuxedo and pulled it up close to her scowling visage. "Listen here you bag of bones! I've been doing the best I can to be a supportive friend tonight but you're really starting to work my nerve! You see this? I'm pulsing veins because of you! Now either you tell me what's wrong or I beat it out of you like a good friend should!"
Jack's eye sockets closed once or twice. He looked around him, slightly confused. AS he shifted his gaze back to Yulee his eyes went wide with bewilderment. Jack scratched his head a little bit. "Hi Yulee. When did we get here? And… did you grow?"
She sank down his front and slumped to the ground in a heap. Her eyes were glazed over and her mouth open with her left eye twitching, noticeably. She rubbed her head as a headache came on. "I don't get you boys at all. One minute you're all moody and the next you're all… 'When did we get here'? I don't understand men at all…"
"Funny. It's the same with most men concerning women." Jack shrugged it off. "I guess it's a perspective thing.
"Yeah… Sure… Perspective." Yulee leapt to her feet. She let her hands rest on her hips as she glared at Jack. "Now you have to tell me what the hell happened in the movie theatre. I don't know what the hell you saw but it looked like it scared you enough to put you into a state of walking shock or something!"
"Walking shock?"
"Well I don't know what to call it! Call it what you will it was freaky nonetheless. It was even freaky in Halloween town standards."
"That is pretty freaky."
"Yeah! So what happened?"
"Well…"
There was a scream from down the street. It echoed around but no one seemed to pay any attention to it. They continued in their candy trips and clung to each other in their groups. Not literally of course but in this manner of speaking. They stayed close to one another and paid little attention to the cries for help as they echoed around the neighbourhood.
Jack jumped to attention instantly. He tore down the street in search of the person that had called out. His legs carried him through the area fast and left Yulee standing on the curb with her crossed arms falling to her side. She glared after him with a look of contempt.
"I try to help you and this is what I get? Sheesh…" Yulee took a breath and allowed the black of her portal to engulf her body. No one saw. Each child and each person was immersed in their candy collecting. They each failed to see the dark guardian disappear before them and vanish into a black tuft of smoke.
---
Jack pulled himself to a stop after skirting around a family on the corner. He stood close to a particularly large house. The wood was painted black yet it was pealing with old age. The windows, which cluttered all around the house, were near all broken or shattered and some seemed to be falling out of place. The door was practically falling off of it hinges. There was a tower to the left of the house but it looked to have a caved in roof and didn't look as though it could support another person setting foot there. It wasn't as bad as a place as it seemed but it could have used an awful lot of work in terms of maintenance.
He took a deep breath and leaned down. Jack let his hands rest on his knees and he caught his breath. He'd run an awfully long way. That voice had carried right down the long road behind him. He'd even had to pass by Malvern, the local high school, to get there. Jack sighed out and straightened himself up.
"Quite a long way to go." Yulee materialized in front of him. "Wouldn't you say so?"
"Can you not do that? You make me all jumpy."
"Think of me as reflex practice. By the way, if you wanted to get here faster you could have just used one of my portals. They're always open to friends."
"But you got here after me."
"I could have gotten here before the scream if I'd wanted to. Plus I'm not out of breath."
"You could have gotten here before the scream?"
Yulee looked up at him. "There are so many things that you have yet to know about Dark Guardians my friend."
Jack patted the young-looking girl on the shoulder. "Be sure to enlighten me when we return."
There was another scream that erupted from within the house. Jack looked around, desperately, at the people in the area. "Why does no one do anything?"
A young girl hurried out of the complex. She screamed as she went. The girl had on a pink dress and was a little bit bulky around the middle. She had brown hair and an awful lot of scars. Or perhaps they were early pimples? Whatever the case she had an awful lots of them. It was plain on her face seeing as she looked up at Jack after crashing into his legs and knocking him to the ground. The little girl looked terrified out of her wits. She merely stared at Jack for a second, he back at her. Yulee remained right side up, tapping her foot lightly on the ground.
"You see Jack? Nothing to worry about. Just a stupid kid getting scared in an old, spooky house. There's nothing worth going after here. That's why no one did anything."
"I'm not a stupid kid!" yelled the child. "I'm real smart!"
"You weren't smart enough for that!" A fit of laughter erupted from with the house. Their eyes glanced up to the second floor, fifth right hand window. There was a small, bald-headed, dark skinned boy. He had a mask, of what they could not see, seated on top of his head. The strap looked to be broken or in two, connectable pieces. His shirt was white but looked to be stained with blood. It was, of course, fake.
The girl leapt to her feet and started in a run back to the house's front door. "Jake you jerk! It was you all along!"
"No it wasn't! It was Brooke!"
The girl hurried back into the house. There was a horrifying sound, like flesh being sliced and then there was the gurgling of a blood filled mouth. Jack and Yulee watched and listened as the girl screamed and stumbled back outside. She tripped over the broken floorboards and fall onto her back, crushing the false, pink, fairy wings that she had on. She slammed her fist onto the deck and screamed out loud. "Brooke! I'm going to kill you!"
"No you won't," came a high, childish voice. It seemed as raspy as it did sweet, which didn't really seem possible, but that's how it was. (This is how my friends described my voice.) "You couldn't catch a turtle if you wanted to!"
"I could too!"
"Could not!"
"Could too!"
"Could not!"
"Too!"
"Not!"
The childish wordplay continued for quite some time as the little girl rose to her feet and wandered back into the house. The two Halloweenies remained on the curb, close to the road, listening to the bickering that went on between the children inside. From what they heard there was also another boy in the building. His name was Michael and, from listening further, they were able to determine that the girl in the fairy costume held the name, Victoria.
Yulee looked down to Jack, he was still seated on the ground where the little girl had knocked him down. "They don't seem like the best of friends now, do they?"
He lightly shook his head into a no.
The dark guardian snapped her fingers with an idea. She pulled Jack to his feet and brushed him off, using her wings to reach higher up. In the area they were in it didn't seem to matter because none of the locals really paid any attention to what they were going. She smiled up at him and seated herself, in her favourite spot, on his left hand shoulder. "This is a good scare spot Jack. Four kids in an old, haunted building? It's a pretty good spot. Much better than where I was thinking of going…"
"Where's that?"
"A casino in Los Vegas."
Jack's face went blank at that. "I'm not sure what a 'casino' is, but ok."
---
Victoria hurried out of the room. She was panting heavily now. The girl leaned down and sat against an extremely dusty wall as she attempted to catch what little breath she could before her stalker came unto her again. It was unnerving playing hide and seek with her friends. Jake was an incredible hider; Michael could climb up to the ceiling and use that as a hiding place if he had truly wanted to. He was pretty tall, even for his age. Then there was Brooke, who always seemed to enjoy seeking more than she did hiding. It was as though she could follow you wherever you went.
Victoria took a deep breath and tried to relax. Wandering in the old house always seemed to give her the creeps. She had never liked going in there but her friends did and she had always wanted to fit in right. Truly, if you were to look at it from a stranger's perspective, she didn't fit in with the group at all. Where she was cautious the others were reckless and they enjoyed going dangerous things. What scared her most was when they would come to her house and ask her if she wanted to go to the beach, in the middle of the night. Of course they hadn't knocked but had, instead, tossed stones at her window until she answered.
She let her hand rest on the ground. It brushed up against something warm and fuzzy. As she turned her head, expecting to see a dust bunny, she found herself screaming out loud in fight.
Crawling over her fingers was the largest mouse that she had ever seen. It could have even been a sewer rat! She was frozen so still that the creature, somehow, avoided running at her scream and wriggled her fingers about. It was as if the rodent enjoyed it greatly. Victoria continued to scream, hoping that someone would come to help her.
The rat was lifted from her skin and put in the pale hands of a small girl. She was much shorter than Victoria and was skinny beyond belief. Her dark brown hair was all about in her face from running and her brown eyes were slowly eyeing the rat over. The girl turned the rodent in her fingers and allowed it to crawl up to her elbow. If it attempted to move further up she would switch it onto the other arm. Victoria watched as the girl rested her brown eyes on her. "Really Victoria. Are you scared of rats?"
"Yes! Duh! Of course I'm scared! They're scary!"
"Rats aren't scary. They're just unlike what you like. You see…" Brooke indicated to the rat's ears. "This little guy is deaf."
"How do you know?"
"When you screamed did didn't notice and you can see that there's dried blood in his left ear…"
"Blood?!"
"Yeah, why? What's wrong with blood?"
"It's blood! Blood! B-L-U-D! Blood!"
Brooke looked a little bit lost for words. She turned her head slightly towards her friend and inched forwards a little bit. The rat remained in her hands as it wriggled within her grasp. But she didn't let it go. Brooke leaned in to Victoria. Of course the hulky girl leaned back more so. She didn't feel like being near Brooke after she had touched a rat! It was a rat!
Brooke extended a finger and tapped Victoria's arm. The girl shrieked and wiped away at the spot with a cloth that she pulled out of her sleeve. She hurriedly wiped at the mark as Brooke stood there, laughing. Victoria frowned at her once she had stopped. "You think that this is funny? It's not!"
"Sure it is. You're it."
Victoria went blank.
"Hey…" came a voice from the main hallway. The two girls's recognized it to be Jake's voice. He seemed confused and slightly distressed. "Who are you? You shouldn't be in here. So leave or we'll call our friends. They know karate and they'll kick your butts."
"My, my," exclaimed the voice of another girl. She seemed older than them just from her voice. She also seemed slightly different than most girls that they knew from the area. Usually they could tell everyone apart from their voices or name but this one was strange. She was a stranger. "How naughty of you two boys. It's not nice to exclude someone from the fun and games that can reside in an old house. It would be rude to force us to take leave of such a wondrous abode, even though you do not hold custody over it."
"Huh?"
"She means," said Brooke as she wandered into the room with Victoria, "that since we don't live here it's not polite to kick her out like that. And I agree, it's true." Brooke turned to the girl. She gave her once over. The girl was obviously taller than her, almost Michael's height, with skin as pale as hers and hair as black as the night. She had a pair of jeans on underneath a very short cloak and a pair of wings on that seemed to move on their own. Her eyes were bright red, most likely from coloured contacts, and her mouth opened slightly to see fangs.
There was also a man next to her. Yes, a man. He had pale skin, not as pale as the girl's but pale nonetheless. His eyes were a deep blue, possibly even purple. His blonde hair stood up, unevenly, in places around his head. It was a very stylish look but not a practical one for the neighbourhood that they were currently in. His outfit consisted of a black, pin-stripe tuxedo with two folds of fabric dragging from the back. He had a white shirt, clearly visible from the gap in his suit, and a bat collar around his neck. Very festive.
Brooke eyes them both. "But, if you're from around here, you should know that this is our place."
"Is it now?" came the man.
"It is. Every group around here has a place. Why don't you go down the playground and hang out underneath the slide with the dorks?"
There was an eruption of giggling that followed her statement. Brooke smiled wickedly at the man and the girl. Her smile broadened when they turned to leave. She waited as they retreated towards the doorway. The man placed his long, slander fingers over the knob. He turned and was ready to leave. Then he stopped and turned back to her. "Tell you what, we'll play a game of hide-and-go-seek. If we win you allow us to remain in the house. If you, however, beat us, then we will gladly take leave and allow you to continued in you merry pleasure."
"Eh?" came Michael.
"He means that if we win he leaves but if we lose he gets to stay."
"Oh."
Brooke turned back to him. "Ok, what's the catch? There's always something up with strangers. I know that something's on your mind."
"No catch. We just feel like enjoying a night with four fine little children. That's all."
"I'm not totally convinced but ok. You can play with us." She extended her hand towards the man and the girl beside him. They seemed hesitant to shake and Brooke found this odd seeing as they were, obviously, much older. (It's true. That did happen.) But soon the man took her hand and shook it up and down, firmly, once. "Nice to meet you," she said, letting go. "I'm Brooke."
"Likewise, I'm Jack."
"Michael," said Michael.
"Victoria," said Victoria.
"Jake," said Jake.
"Yulee," said the pale girl.
---
Michael took a breath. He could hear Jack in the kitchen, which was nearly three rooms away. The man had a pretty loud, and noticeable voice. He could hear him, not completely clearly but he could nonetheless. Michael looked around him; he was in another main hallways just in front of the living room. There weren't too many good places to hide that would conceal his tall figure. So he took the next best thing. Michael looked up, sure enough there was an old looking chandelier hanging from a beam. There was a hole above the beam that led onto the second floor so it the wood was to snap he wouldn't fall. That place had to be his favourite hiding spot,
Michael took hold of one of the footholds that he and Jake had dug into the walls not 3 weeks ago. They were pretty sturdy so that he was able to climb to the topmost one. There he gripped onto a rope that Brooke and Victoria had securely fastened for him. He was able to them swing himself over to the chandelier and grip onto the beam above it. Michael held on tightly and sat up with triumph.
"Fancy footwork for a kid."
Michael turned to his side. It was the girl from the front hallway. She smiled at him but she wasn't all that far up as he was. Instead she was on the chandelier. Yulee seemed to be able to balance perfectly. "How… how can you do that?"
"I am really light."
"How'd you get up here?"
"Uh… same way as you did."
"How'd you know about my spot?"
"It looked pretty clear when I came by it."
"Michael." He looked into the hole to see Brooke's pale face. She glanced over at Yulee and then turned back to her friend. "The Jack guy's on the move. He's pretty good from what I can tell, he almost caught Jake. I've hidden Victoria well. Don't move from here unless you really have to."
"Ok."
She turned to Yulee. "And this is a fair game. Don't give out Michael's location or you lose automatically."
"Moi? Why, I wouldn't dream of doing such a despicable act." The lies were clear in her voice but the children ignored them.
Brooke hurried out of the way.
Michael and Yulee were left alone in the hallway. Jack's slowly approaching footsteps, along with the wind blowing outside, was all that could be heard.
---
Jack stalked through the hallways of the old mansion. It was really quite difficult to pinpoint where the children had hidden. Occasionally he would hear the sounds of a child in a room or scurrying from one place to another but by the time he got there they had already left. On more than one account he had heard a child talking loudly. When he followed the sounds of the voice he always came to an empty area. It wasn't until he came to a closet and could still hear the voice did he realize that one of the children, Jake, had the ability to throw his voice. Jack was very impressed. The children were quite good. (We had a lot of practise, lol; no one could ever beat us!)
The 'man' peeped into the living room. He saw plenty of dusty, cloth covered furniture but he never found a trace of the children. It even seemed, when he looked at the floor, that they had cleaned the wood of all dust particles to make for a better game.
It was unnerving to find that mere children could avoid him like that. Jack was, however, having a great deal amount of fun.
Ten minutes passed with still no sign of the children. He had heard them clambering about the house every once and a while. It was obvious that they kept on their toes so as not to have their bodies fall asleep or lose interest in the game. On a number of times he had seen and spoken with Yulee before she ducked away into the shadows once more. She'd given him information on where the children enjoyed hiding the most after watching them. But once he reached there they had already left.
Yulee popped in front of his face. "Do it Jack, come on. Scare them now. It's the perfect time. We can go a spectral sweep of the house. It'll scare everyone out and then I could open a portal beneath their feet and transport them back home. It'll have been the most terrifying things that they would have ever seen! Plus, we'll be doing their parents a favour by having them go home soon."
"I was going to wait a little while longer but I guess you're right. Now would be a good time. All right. I'll do the sweep." Jack clapped his hands together fast. They spread apart slowly, dragging, with them, a stream of silver strands.
The silver threads of light acted light hands. Their claws curled to the festering and decomposed air in the abode. Forms acted on their own and swept down the hallways, slowly. They sank into cracks and moved past cobwebs hanging form the walls and ceilings. There was a great fuss between them and reality as Jack could see his first attempt dissipate after only leaving him. His strands of energy had hardly made it to the end of the hall before they were absorbed by the fowl aura of the complex and what sat around them.
Jack frowned. "They weren't supposed to do that."
"Try it again."
He did so but was met with the same dilemma. He found that he wasn't able to have them go very far. And this time they seemed to have less movement capabilities available to them. They weren't even able to move past a two-meter radius. "
"What's going on?" Jack asked, frustrated. "Why won't my Halloween magic work?"
"Halloween magic?"
They peered up into the rafters. There was a hole just above a beam that supported the chandelier. Inside that hole was one of the children. Her eyes were inquisitive, her hair falling in front of her face. Brooke glared down them, occasionally looking at the places where the magic hands had disappeared. She frowned and turned back to Yulee. "What's Halloween magic? Who are you? Monsters?"
"Uh…"
Jack was never given the chance to give the child a proper answer. At that moment a scream, unlike anything that he had ever heard before, erupted from two floors up. He practically jumped out of his skin. That is, if his skin were real, then he might have done so.
But Jack's skin was just what Yulee had told him about when they passed through the portals. She had sucked him into the realm to gain a full coat of flesh seeing as he would have to preserve his magic for the Silver Sweep. It was a very effective substance, that made from the intertwined Portalings. Jack was happy that it could coat him and allow him to move freely.
Moving back to the matter at hand…
Jack hurried for the staircase that was not too far away from him. Yulee spread her wings out wide to swoop into the air as quickly as she could. Brooke jumped back as she burst through the floorboards. Wooden planks and splinters were thrown about the area with no regard for where they went. The child covered her face but left one small spot open to watch the dark guardian touch down in front of her and held her to her feet.
"Which person was that?"
"Can't you just tell on your own?"
"All you humans look and sound the same to me! Just tell me who it was and where they are!"
Brooke pointed upwards. "It sounds like Victoria. Then again, it may be nothing…"
The ceiling above them gave way and collapsed to the ground. It shattered through the flooring and demolished the beautiful crystal chandelier in one strike. The crystals toppled to the floor with clinking and clanking. Yulee hurriedly pulled the child out of the way as she hurried along the hallway.
It seemed as though the trail of destruction was following her.
She flew past the staircase and into a study. Yulee dropped the girl hard unto her side. She slammed her shoulders into the door and clapped her hands over the walls. In a fail swoop the entire room was engulfed in a brilliant purple aura that stretched and enjoyed freedom as much as a newborn infant. The hands of her shield moved along the room's walls until it was enclosed completely. The two girls, one not human, were left in a room that remained protected from whatever could have been going on outside.
Yulee sighed. She slumped to the ground. A protective barrier like the one that she had just positioned took an awful lot of magical energy to produce. She felt exhausted and wished that she could fall into a deep sleep then and there. But the human in the room seemed to multiply before her eyes. One, darker in colour, removed himself from underneath a desk and another, taller with many pimples, clambered out of a closet.
She was too weak to bother doing anything about the children. Yulee pulled her legs up close to her chin and sank low in her thoughts. She could feel her consciousness pulling away from her. Soon she would be wrapped in a dream and she would not be able to escape it until her magic had returned to her body. Yulee closed her eyes and allowed her thoughts to drain away from her. Slowly, what recent memories she had were lost to her for the moment.
"Excuse me? Miss Monster?"
"It's Yulee."
"Right. Where's the wizard that was with you?"
"Wizard?"
"The tall man. The one as skinny as a skeleton."
"Skeleton…?" Her eyes jerked open and she stared up at the children in horror. "Jack!"
---
Yulee rushed past him. Jack was only about halfway up the staircase now. He was skipping them fast but there was a large gap between the first and second floors. He hurried as quickly as he could, skipping nearly ten steps as he went. When Yulee rushed past, however, he froze in his tracks. Jack stayed there, unable to move.
The destruction that had followed Yulee to the top of the stairs ceased in its chase. The dust in the area enclosed around the stairs and moved in front of his line of vision. Jack was no longer able to see. The world around him was a complete blur and, if something horrible were to happen, he would be powerless to stop it. If anything happens to those kids… I'll never forgive myself…
Of course the fact that none of this was truly his fault evaded him. The fact that he was there and the children were in danger was all that he could think about. Yulee was in danger too. If she wasn't she could have used a portal by now to come and get him. They could have dropped the children off and hurried back to Halloween town. But no. Yulee did not come for him, which meant that something was amiss in his world. Yet Jack remained oblivious to what could threaten him, a Halloweenie.
As he looked back up again he found that the dust and grime had not disappeared from his line of vision. Infuriated, Jack hurriedly placed his hands across his chest like a mummy would have. He raised his arms upwards, still crossed, so that his wrists touch to his forehead. From that point he pushed his hands outwards and to the sides. The dust seemed to follow him and it moved to the side so that he could, once more, see.
Although, at the time, Jack wasn't entirely sure that he really wished to see what stood before him.
It was the same boy from the movie theatre. Not the kind one with the blonde hair but the devious looking one with the black hair. Although Jack knew he was trouble he couldn't help but feel as though the child wasn't a true threat to him. He seemed just like a little lost boy, searching for his mother he was. To any person he was merely a young lad who seemed to wish for a home and a warm fire to curl up to.
Jack was near certain that the child couldn't recognize him like that. He was, after all, in a human guise and connecting him to the skeleton that so many had seen in the theatre didn't seem possible. Then again, that child being there didn't seem possible.
The boy cocked his head to the side as he stared at Jack. He smiled slightly. Jack forced a smile back at him but found it difficult. For a strange reason, which seemed to elude him, he found that the child filled him with anger. Jack felt as though he had seen the boy before but he found it impossible to pinpoint where. He felt as though it was from when he had been alive but that didn't seem possible seeing as the boy would have to be more and 200 years old. But if the boy was from that time and had been able to preserve himself through witchcraft or whatnot Jack still wouldn't have been able to remember him completely with his living memories deteriorating so rapidly.
"You want to take it from me?"
"What?" Jack stood on the stairs, confused. He stared up at the boy, wishing to know what it was that he meant. He truly had no clue as to what the poor child was referring to.
"You want to take it from me?" he repeated. "I've worked so hard to earn up such a life as what I have and yet you come and seem to fit what everyone would wish for. It's a good factor that they are all bumbling fools. Otherwise they could have appointed you on the spot had they known about the great power that you hold within your form I must admit that it was hidden quite well. I searched all over the time stream. Even then I couldn't find you. But then, just last year, you appeared in Halloween Town and my blessings became apparent to me."
"Great… Power? Wait. How do you know about Halloween Town?"
"Oh, I know all kinds of things my dear Jack."
"How do you know my name?"
"Like I said, I know a great many things. An awful lot more than you. But unlike you I wasn't so good when it came to my relations. My own subconscious seemed to draw me into the shadows and then you were there. You were like the light. We could have been wondrous friends, you and I, had you not turned your back on me and become the coward that you truly are."
"But, I don't remember you. I don't remember. When did we meet?"
"Ah, yes. The Mind Shatter. It works oh so quickly on you Jack. That only proves once more how powerful you are and why I must do this."
"Do what?" Jack could feel something horrible coming his way.
"Why, destroy you of course." The boy placed a hand on the decorated railing on the staircase. The banister creaked under his weight but he paid little attention to it. "You see, Jack. Your presence in Halloween Town poses a great threat to my plan. If I am to do as I wish with the world then I cannot have someone like you living as a Halloweenie. It couldn't be good for me at all. Now, if you were a ghost, now that could also be a threat. It's possible that you may come back to bite me in the back…"
"People can't come back from being a ghost."
The boy laughed out loud. He seemed to relish the talk with Jack. That fact made him seem more like a child than ever before. He flexed his hands in front of his face. Jack could see small claws protruding from within the flesh beneath his fingernails. "Hmm… I guess most people could believe that to be true. You should consult Yulee about it. Oh wait. You won't be able to do such a thing…"
Jack stepped down a stair.
"Well," the boy said, pulling himself up and off of the railing, "I must regrettably inform you that I have to leave now. There is a long list of things that I am afraid I must attend to and you being here is simply troublesome. No offence Jack. Its just business. Consider this a gift back for the one you gave to me all those years ago…"
"Bu I don't remember!"
The boy shrugged. He stood at the top of the stairs, pushing one foot further away from the other and preparing himself in a traditional duel pose. He blew his long, dark bangs out of his face and smirked at Jack. With his left hand he held his right wrist outwards towards Jack. Blue sparks of light curled up and down his fingers, moving along his arm to the very tips. Jack could clearly see the power in his force.
He turned and attempted to run.
"I don't think so Jack!" The boy hurled his arm backwards and thrust it forwards with all his might. The crack that emanated from that one attack echoed through the building, causing the rafters to shake with unease.
A blue jet of power was thrust forwards, traveling towards Jack with such speed that the skeleton was surprised it didn't slice directly through him. The collision force, however, peeled away at his artificial skin. Jack's bare bone became visible once more. Yet that remained the least of his worries.
He was sent forwards with such force that he came into contact with the wall and crumpled to the floor in a heap. Jack struggled to stay awake. He pushed himself up and off of the ground. His legs seemed unmovable. As he glanced down towards them be found that one of his legs bone had fallen off and lay strew among the wooden boards. His other bone looked to be broken. Where the first could easily be put back on the broken one would need time to heal. But then Jack didn't figure that he had too much time for it to heal. Turning his attention upwards he saw the boy advancing down the staircase towards him.
"Poor, weak Jack. If only you knew of what you could do. I must admit however. I am quite impressed with how little damage you took. If it were anybody else then they would have shattered to pieces. You, one the other hand, merely took some damage to your legs. Very good. For you, of course, not for me. No. Anyways, I feel that its time for you to go Jack."
"I'd rather not actually."
"You have no choice." The child laughed as he stretched his arms to the ceiling. He let out a jet of blue orbs, which coated the wood and seemed to pull it downwards. It was as though gravity was bending to his will. "Good bye Jack. My old friend."
Old friend?
The ceiling came down.
Pain engulfed him.
Nothing.
"Jack!"
His eyes jerked open at Yulee's voice. As he looked at his surroundings he discovered that he was completely submerged in the rubble of the house. He felt utterly crushed under it all and yet there he was, able to think. He couldn't talk because of the fact that debris could have fallen into his open mouth but he was able to move his right arm. This proved useful because then he was able to reach over and grip his missing leg.
"There you are!"
A tugging came to the back of his collar and he was pulled into a black mass. It engulfed around his form. He had no hands. He had no arms. He had no body. He was a mere conscious floating amiss in the void that was Yulee's portal world.
Jack felt himself fall to the ground. He fell out of the portal beside Yulee and groaned in pain. His body came back into view, as well as the pain that erupted unto his legs. The skeleton opened his eyes wide, happy that he had them, and stared into the gaping faces of dozens of Halloweenies. He felt uncomfortable being the centre of attention.
Leon appeared beside him. The mummy leaned down to his friend. "The human world can be brutal nowadays I hear. You all right, Jack?"
"Save for the fact that my legs feel as though they are ablaze, yes. Just fine."
Leon smirked slightly.
"What am I? Chop liver?"
Leon and Jack turned their attention to Yulee. She was on the ground, looking more pale than normal. Her face was covered in beads of sweat and her hair was matted down on her head with the wet that covered her. Yulee glared at them both. She clutched her head with one hand and used the other to try and steady herself as she wobbled slightly. "I tell you. If I were quiet you'd never know that I was here."
Jack smiled.
---
Brooke: Oh, a twist. Who is this strange boy? Why does he know Jack? How old is this kid? I wish I could be that old! Anyways, this chapter was based on something that sort of happened to me. Yes, my friends and me were playing in an old mansion close to where I used to live. Yes, two people did appear on our territory. Yes, one was a boy and the other a girl. Yes, the boy was dressed like Jack. Yes, the girl was dressed like Yulee. No, their names were not Jack and Yulee. Their names were actually Charles and Terry; they were two teenagers that I knew from the high school. (Very nice people). Anyways. No, the house did not collapse. No, the strange boy with black hair did not appear. Yes, we were that good at hide-and-go-seek. No, there was no magic involved in the night and, for anyone wondering, yes, we won the game!
Jack: Reviews to speak for! First if from… wait… no new reviews?
Brooke: What? Come on peoples. I haven't updated for a while so that plenty time to review. I don't like to pressure people for reviews but this is ridiculous. I like reading your reviews. Sometimes I even take advice from them to improve on chapters to come… Oh well… Enjoy FanFiction!
