Chapter 4: Ghost Laughter
Jack burst out of the Time Keep's tunnel at an amazing speed, the wind right at his heels. He hit the cold mountain air and sucked in a deep fresh breath. The winter spirit had felt trapped inside that place, but now he was free to spread his limbs and toss and tumble in the sky. No more Father Time to boss him around and snap at him as if he was a child, no more stuffy air to make him feel cramped.
Now with the harsh winds at his side, Jack furthered the distance from the Himalayas and headed westward. As he flew, Father Time's first instruction kept ringing through his head. The white vial is in a roaring waterfall. Well, there were a lot of waterfalls on earth, and a great many of them were in fact roaring. That didn't really narrow down his search.
The first one that came to Jack's mind was one in Switzerland, the Rhine Falls. Jack altered his coast slightly and headed towards Europe. As the minutes ticked by, Jack left Asia and approached the attached continent. Jack neared his target, and he touched down when the sound of the roaring falls filled his ears. Jack was relieved to feel that the ground beneath his feet was frozen. That was good, that meant that his powers had more effect in whatever month and year Father Time forced him into.
Jack sprinted the rest of the way to the falls, not bothering to hide in case anyone saw him. Whatever time period he was in, he was sure that no one believed in him. That thought made him slightly depressed, but he shoved that feeling in the back of his head. He needed to focus on the task at hand. He needed to get back home to the rest of the Guardians, and to Jamie.
Minutes passed, and Jack finally reached the Rhine Falls. The roar of the falls overpowered him, and he had to put his hands on his ears before adjusting to the volume of the roar. Once his ears adjusted as much as they could, Jack focused on trying to think of what Father Time meant by housed in the roaring falls.
Well, Jack could only think of one way something could be housed under a waterfall. Jack clenched his staff tightly before leaping off of the ground towards the falls. He floated mid air as he analyzed the waterfalls. He'd have to freeze the falls and search what was behind it. There would most likely be a lot of rock, but maybe there'd be a cave, or even a Keep like Father Time's. And hopefully the white vial would be in said cave.
"Well, here goes nothing." Jack said to himself as he readied his staff.
Jack positioned his staff until he was holding it like a baseball bat. He tested the staff with a couple of swings before nodding his head in contentment. Jack sucked in a deep breath, preparing himself, and then swung the staff as fast as he could at the waterfall.
The contact of the falls and the magical staff caused part of the falls to freeze. Jack's magic travelled upwards like a vine of ivy, freezing anything that it touched. It progressed within seconds until the whole Rhine Falls was frozen over. It had worked, but Jack didn't know how long it would before the water up ahead cracked the ice with its force and made the whole frozen structure topple over.
With that in mind, Jack flew around the colossal structure and searched the backside of the waterfall. He put a freezing, pale hand against the cold rock and scanned the surface, checking every inch he could. To his disappointment, there was no secret passage behind the Rhine Falls. All that was there was smoothed, black rock.
With a dissatisfied humph, Jack flew to a reasonable distance. Just in time, too, as a large crack in his icy foundation appeared. The crack widened, and then the ice structure broke in two, allowing the Rhine Falls to flow freely once again. Jack watched in awe as the ice structure shattered as it hit the base of the falls, only to be assaulted by freezing cold water overhead.
"That was kind of close." Jack stated as he started drifting away with the wind. He put his free hand in his hoodie's pocket while he thought of other waterfalls, but immediately took it out when he felt something small and warm squirming inside. His reaction was fast, and he lost altitude with his little scare. "What the?"
Something small and green shot out of Jack's blue hoodie, only to be followed by the sound of constant fluttering. The object moved quickly, but stopped just in front of Jack's face, which only startled Jack a second time before discovering what the object was. It was Baby Tooth.
"Baby Tooth? How are you here?" Jack asked as he stared at the small fairy, confused.
The small fairy let out a series of pips and squeaks before finally nestling down into Jack's downed hood. Baby Tooth grabbed the sides of the hood before speaking again. Jack was quick to understand what Baby Tooth was saying.
"You were in my hoodie when Father Time pushed me back into time, weren't you?" Jack stated as he looked down at Baby Tooth. "Well, at least I have someone to talk to now. It would have gotten incredibly lonely. Come on, we should check out a few other places while we still can before someone starts to notice all the waterfalls are freezing over."
Baby Tooth let out a small yawn and shook her head to keep herself awake, the gold feather now slightly ruffled up. Baby Tooth settled herself in and then closed her eyes, showing Jack that the small fairy was ready to sleep. Jack let out a small chuckle at the sight and then started to pick up speed with the wind.
"Okay, just one more waterfall. Then we'll head back to Burgess for the day, and search again after nightfall. Jack stated as the wind propelled him forward. He received no answer from the small fairy; her steady breathing was enough for Jack to decipher that she had already fallen asleep. Jack yawned in agreement, a wave of fatigue suddenly sweeping through him. "You're not the only one tired, Baby Tooth. Let's get this over with."
With this sudden feeling of tiredness, Jack hurried his pace, making the winds stronger to carry him further and faster. Switzerland fell behind the two immortal beings rather quickly, and soon Jack found himself deep within France. Jack sweeped through the country, looking for any sight that gave away a waterfall nearby. After half an hour of flying low over the European country, Jack heard the roar of water.
Jack homed in on the sound and soon found himself in a thick forested area, away from any signs of civilizations. The waterfall was small in size, but the sheer amount of water that fell made Jack's ears ring with white noise. This was definitely a possibility. Jack grip on his staff tightened as he prepared himself to freeze a waterfall again. The winter spirit glanced down on Baby Tooth to see if she was safe and secure and was glad to see the fairy snuggling with his hood.
Without a second hesitation, Jack swung his magical staff and hit the roaring waterfall. Again, vine like designs froze the water wherever they went, but it took much more time than it did at the Rhine Falls. They stopped only halfway through, leaving only part of the falls frozen solid. Jack frowned at that and ultimately was forced to give another swing at the tip of the falls, and then a third. Seconds later, the waterfall was frozen solid.
The ice that formed was brittle, and was not Jack's best work. Jack looked at it carefully before letting out a yawn. He was growing tired quickly, and that fatigue was affecting his powers greatly. From the look of the ice, Jack could tell that he wouldn't have that much time before it shattered like glass.
There was a small crevice between the ice and the cliff from which the water had fallen from. Jack squeezed through it carefully, making sure that Baby Tooth remained stationary. Without much room to move around, Jack was quick to check for any secret passageways. Once he was satisfied that there were none, Jack left without giving the frozen waterfall a second glance. The sound of breaking ice was all the hint he needed that his work was destroyed in a matter of seconds.
Jack was true to his words to a sleeping Baby Tooth and altered his course to take them to Burgess. He traveled westward again, keeping his staff close to his body to pick up his pace. All the while, Jack grew more fatigued as he traveled with the winds. Soon, he had great difficulty keeping his head up, and more than once found himself drifting off course and towards the ground at an alarming speed.
At this pace, Jack knew he had to get home before passing out over the Atlantic Ocean that was under him. He was losing altitude every so often, and Jack could soon see his reflection over the churned waters. He could even feel the spray of the ocean on his cool face, and Jack forced himself to gain altitude out of slight fear. That last thing he needed was a bath in the ocean when he was too tired to lift a finger.
After what felt like forever, Jack saw the ocean disappear and land under his feet. It wouldn't take more than a few minutes before he reached Burgess. Now that Jack knew he was getting closer to his home, the winter spirit took this time to look at the towns he was passing by. They didn't look modern, as most buildings were made of either brick or logs. That meant that Jack was either close to the time when he was human or just afterwards. If Jack had to guess, then maybe late 1700's.
Finally, Burgess came to his view. Jack let out a relieved choke and descended onto one of the small town's roofs. He was too tired to let the wind carry him the few hundred yards to the Pond and decided that walking was much more feasible. As he walked across the wooden roof, Jack took in the town as he had major culture shock.
The town consisted of twelve log buildings, another one in the midst of erection despite the bitter winter the town was in. Three fires made up the town square, the older men and woman huddled around the fire as they conversed. There were children playing in the snow, surrounded in multiple layers of fabric to keep themselves warm. Jack looked down at this, wondering why everyone was up when morning was just around the corner.
Then he remembered. He had just traveled over Europe and the Atlantic Ocean in about half an hour. It was to be morning there in a matter of hours, but here it was just late evening. The time change had messed him up, making his plan to search at night while sleep what little sleep he needed at day now redundant.
But honestly, Jack wasn't complaining. From what Jack felt like, he was going to sleep long and hard.
Jack started making his way over to the Pond by jumping from rooftop to rooftop silently. Soon, the Pond was just in his line of sight, and he let out a small sigh of relief. He was about to leave the distance, but stopped when he heard soft, but growing in volume bickering underneath where he stood. Jack couldn't help his curiosity and hugged the roof before crawling on all fours stealthily like a spider. Jack poked his head out from the safety of the roof and looked downwards.
He had heard bickering. It was between a young man and his woman. They spoke his harsh tones, the woman poking at the man's chest every so often. It was clear to Jack that they were having a petty argument. Jack watched with tired enthusiasm for a second before an idea sparked in his mind.
Much to everyone's belief and sometimes discomfort, even North's, Jack Frost did have a naughty, mischievous side to his personality. And this couple was just going to experience it.
Slowly, Jack took his staff and held it just above the unknowing couple's heads. He positioned it carefully before waving the Sheppard's hook around in a clockwise manner. With just a tight squeeze from his hands, a wave of magic traveled through the staff towards the hook. A large heap of snow appeared out of thin air before hastily falling downwards.
The result was a cry from the woman and a stream of cusses from the man. They were covered from head to toe in wet, sticky snow. Jack couldn't help but bellow a laugh out before picking himself up straight. Jack looked to see if Baby Tooth had awoken from his laugh, but noticed that she hadn't.
"Aw man, Baby Tooth. I wish you could've seen that." Jack said aloud to the small fairy.
Of course, the fairy didn't respond to Jack. Jack shrugged his shoulders in a tired fashion before finally making his way to the Pond. He hopped from roof to roof, still letting out streams chuckles occasionally, until he reached the Pond.
Jack was quick to pick a resting place. A high branch on a sturdy tree called to him, and Jack was all too eager to jump up the tree and rest his tired head. Jack sat down on the branch, his back on the trunk and held tightly onto his staff. Jack closed his eyes and then he was out cold in a matter of seconds.
That laugh.
It was the laugh. It was the laugh that she thought that she would never hear again. That mischievous chuckle that had filled her days nonstop. That laugh that had stopped all too soon two months ago.
She had been on her way back from visiting the butcher in the village when that sound stopped Pippa cold in her tracks. She almost dropped her newly bought venison in the process as he body instantly froze. She stopped breathing for a second so she could solely focus on the faint laugh that was playing with her mind.
Before she knew it, one word escaped from her lips. "Jack?"
The next thing that Pippa realized was that she was running as fast as she could through the dense snow, towards the sound that continued to haunt her. She clung to the wrapped venison in one of her hands while holding her woolen coat close to her body with the other. Her heartbeat was beating at a fast pace, fast enough for it to ring through her ears. It didn't matter; she had to know whether she was really hearing Jack's laugh or if her mind was once again playing tricks.
Soon Pippa stumbled on Robert and Susan Williams as she turned a corner, who were somehow covered in snow from head to foot. Susan looked rather miserable as she tried to get as much snow off of her while Robert just lost his temper and stomped away. She eyed them for only a second, wondering how that much snow could have covered the two adults. It hadn't snowed in Burgess for almost two weeks; the only snow that remained was the thick, compacted snow on the ground.
But Pippa couldn't think about snow any longer. Another ripple of her dead brother's laugh erupted again, and this time Pippa could pinpoint the direction it was coming from. She broke out into a run again, following the laugh as quickly as possible. It was difficult following it, as every time Pippa heard Jack's laugh, it had changed position, and she would have to catch up to it.
As she ran, she heard the laugh grew louder. She was getting closer to the source. Pippa couldn't help but get her hopes up. What she hoped for, Pippa didn't know what exactly. That her brother was alive? Yes, she wished that. She wished that her brother was with her again. That she had one last chance to be with him.
She wished that her brother hadn't drowned.
The young girl was forced to stop in between two log buildings to catch her breath. She bent over as she sucked in fresh, cold air. The laugh had stopped, but she still knew the direction from where it last was. She just had to find it.
Just as she was about to run off again, the sound of something running on wood caught her attention. Pippa looked upward at the log buildings, wondering if there was an animal up on the roof chasing a bird or a small squirrel. The sound grew closer and faster, and Pippa wondered what on earth could be running at that speed.
Her question was answered as she saw the shape of a person jump the gap between buildings. A stunning twenty foot gap that made her suck in a sharp breath of amazement. Pippa couldn't get a good look at who it was, but her instincts told her to follow whoever it was. She couldn't help but think that it was Jackson.
She tried her hardest to follow the sound of the person's feet on the wooden roofs, but all too soon the noise faded away. And then Pippa was alone again, running through the town blindly.
Pippa stopped at the edge of town, seeing the openness of the fields nearby. The pond where her brother had drowned was just out of sight, hiding from a bend in the road. There was no one in the vicinity, no one that the laugh could originate from. Pippa froze from where she was, feeling her eyes grow teary. She had gotten her hopes up yet again, only to have them shattered.
Jack was gone; she'd just have to accept it. The laughter she heard, it was just in her head. A ghost of the laughter she used to hear every day in some sense. She had had trouble accepting Jack's death soon after the incident, and would still dream that he was with her, laughing and playing tricks. And it was only recently that she started hearing his laughter once again, echoing around her whenever she least expected it.
But this time, the ghost laughter was the clearest Pippa has ever heard it.
"Jack. Please, I wish you were here. Please come home." Pippa thought miserably to herself as she let out a depressed sigh. But Jack wasn't going home; it was just her, Mother and Father now. "Well, at least I can see home from here. Mother will probably be worried sick if I waste any more time. "
She paused for a second, binding herself up again before heading down the road ahead of her. She moved slowly, walking down the road at a pace that best fitted her mood. She stopped when she noticed that the overcast overhead disappeared, revealing a waxing moon. She looked up at it for a second, letting out a small sigh as she gazed at it.
However, that small sigh turned into a gasp when something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Pippa snapped her head to the direction of the movement, only to see a dark blue blur move at a fast pace up a distant tree. It was large, larger than any animal that could climb a tree with that speed. It was human shaped; Pippa had had a good enough look to see that. But people couldn't move that fast, Pippa was sure.
Her thoughts turned dark as she thought of monsters. In Pippa's mind, monsters could certainly climb up trees with that speed. Her heartbeat started going again, but in fear this time instead of physical exertion. The young child's breaths came erratic, and Pippa wanted nothing more than the safety of a warm home and her Mother's gentle embrace. With that in mind, Pippa hurried down the road, giving neither the trees nor the Pond a second glance as she passed them.