Chapter 5 - Welcome to Halloween.
The first thing Jack noticed was the sky. It was dark, full of starts that seemed to offer no light. The moon hung full above him, but it was different. This was not the Man in the Moon. It was empty. An empty imitation. And it was with that thought that Jack truly realised what this world was. It was created, imitated, designed to block out everyone. Taking a deep breath, he lowered his head to view his surroundings.
The grass beneath his feet, upon closer inspection, was not simply dark because of the lack of light, it was black in colour. Or maybe dark grey…nope, that was black. Turning around, he notices that behind him where huge, sloping mountains and hills, Bunny's tunnel having opened up at the base of one. For some reason they intimidated Jack. He felt trapped. Like they would close in on him. He shuddered, turning away from the huge boundaries. Looking out into the distance, it took his eyes a moment to adjust to the weak lighting, but just faintly, he could see lights. Her home? He hoped so. If other people lived here, he wasn't sure he wanted to run into them. This was a place dedicated to thrills and horror, after all. Who knew what lived here.
Turning to look around again, he noticed small flowers growing around his feet. Bending down to touch one, he hissed as he felt the give of skin, and blood welling up under his fingertips. Sucking them into his mouth, he looked at the needle-like petals of the flowers, small as daisies, but the center of each a blood red. They seemed to nod at him in the invisible breeze, seeking out the blood the sharp petals had tasted. Jack grimaced as he looked at the small drops of blood still oozing from his fingertips. With a deep breath, he took to the air, trying to get a better look at the source of the lights far away from him before letting the wind carry him forward.
He had barely made it ten meters before he was falling.
"Woah, woah-ow!" Jack hit the ground hard, the grass not easing the fall in any way as he groaned, sitting up. The wind that had been carrying him had just cut off. There was nothing. It was then that Jack began to panic. To really panic It was now that it really kicked it. The fear, the paranoia. Alone. He was alone. If not even the wind could reach him here, then there was nothing. Nothing and no one to protect him. If something went wrong, he was alone. He wouldn't be able to get to any of the others. What if she really was dangerous? What if she really could control wolves and demons? He didn't realise he was hyperventilating until the lightheaded feeling took over.
"Hello?"
Jack looked up.
And then fainted at the sight of a very tall skeleton in a black and white suit.
The winter spirit woke up in an unfamiliar room, furnished with dark stone walls and polished wood flooring, dark (was that oak? Probably) wooden units and a narrow carved wardrobe stood against one wall. A red armchair sat next to the grand four poster bed Jack was currently lying on, buried under sheets and blankets of red and black. An arched window looked out onto the land, and he could see the mountains in the far distance. How had he travelled so far? The wind hadn't brought him. So then…?
The door opened and a young woman's face appeared around the corner. Long red hair and slim fingers. She seemed normal enough. Until Jack looked at her more closely, sitting upright on the bed he was lying on. Where those stitches? Around her mouth and…throat? And her skin, a pale blueish-greyish shade. She looked almost like a...a ragdoll! She smiled when she saw he was awake, her small mouth looking out of place as the stitches moved with her mouth,
"You're awake, thank goodness" once she had stepped into the room, Jack was able to see the stitches and thread covering her arms, legs, even over her collarbone. Out of instinct he looked for his staff. Spotting it in the corner of the room, he tried to struggle out of the heavy blankets trapping him to reach it, before a hand that gave off no bodily warmth was pressed against his shoulder. He flinched without meaning to, but the girl didn't seem to mind. A cup was pushed in front of his face,
"You're still trembling. Here, drink this" Jack could see the trembling in his hands as he took the cup, raising it to his mouth and taking a small sip. It tasted like…snow. Snow and apples and warmth. Before he realised, he had emptied the cup. Setting it down on his lap, he looked at the girl in front of him again. Strangely at a loss for anything to say for once. But he felt calmer now. Relaxed, even. The fear and panic he had been in before just seeming to melt away from him like the frost in summer.
"You pricked yourself on Shrieking Daisies." The winter spirit looked up at the girl's light voice, the ragdoll having sat in the chair next to him. He looked out of the window in the direction of the mountains,
"Those flowers?"
The Ragdoll nodded, "they're a method of protecting the outermost points of this land. If they scratch even the tiniest section of skin, the spores and toxins stored in the needles of their petals release a poison that induces fear, paranoia and panic into its victim. Usually just enough to make them turn back" That explained the sudden despair when he arrived. "Usually it wears off pretty quickly, but something must have triggered a strong reaction in you. You were still thrashing when Jack brought you here" Jack started,
"Wait, Jack?"
"Yes. My name is Sally. I'm a…friend of Jack's. But I suppose I should ask: who are you? We've not had anyone normal find their way here in centuries" she tilted her head at him as she watched him, bright eyed. Like he was a fascinating new species. It was more than a little creepy.
"I'm Jack Frost-" the ragdoll – Sally – gave a gasp, already impossibly wide eyes going even wider, taking up so much more of her face than should have been possible as she leaned towards him, the stitches once again being stretched grotesquely around her mouth as she smiled widely at him,
"You're Jack Frost? Really? I was wondering when you'd be coming. Oh it's so good to see you in person." Jack's confusion must have been evident on his face, for Sally's excitement soon dulled down, "sorry, I suppose I should explain, you see-" she was cut off by the creaking of the door opening again, and Jack took a moment to freeze, but thankfully not screaming (or fainting again, Bunny would never let him live it down if he found out), as the tall skeletal person from before stepped into the room,
"Ah Sally, good to see the boy's awake!" the man (skeleton? What were you supposed to refer to him as?) Stated as he strode into the room, face sporting a wide, toothy grin. He held out a hand to Jack, which he shook out of politeness, the feel of cold, hard bones under his fingers instead of skin making him shudder a little, "Jack Skellington, at your service. And who might you be?" before Jack could answer, Sally did for him,
"This is Jack Frost, Jack" the girl giggled slightly at the strangeness of the two sharing their names, Jack giving a faint chuckle too, the sound dying in his throat as the skeleton turns back to him with a look of curiosity on the white skull,
"Jack Frost? Well, well, well! What a surprise to see a guardian here! Why, there's hasn't been another guardian here since – well you don't need to worry about that. What brings you here, Mr Frost?" Jack looked from one to the other, both their smiling faces staring at him…he felt intimidated. There was something about then that just seem to instil fear even when it was obvious they were friendly enough. It made him feel embarrassed over the request he was about to make. But he was here now, so…
"I wanted to meet Hallow"
As you can quite obviously tell, this chapter throws in a couple of character from 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' (disclaimer: I hold no ownership over any character past Hallow). You will actually be introduced to Hallow in the next chapter, the one after that at the very maximum, and that's if I go overboard with the description of the castle and layout of Hallow's land in the next chapter.
Once again, let me know if there's a trick you wanna see happen to someone, and I'm genuinely really happy that people are enjoying this little story, it makes me smile to know that something I just started because of a conversation with my friend is actually liked and read. Thank you all.