If you are a person who loves action and expects some every time the bad guy appears, you should just skip this chapter.
Pitch watched from the shadows, the kids all dressed-up in costumes and looking merry, carrying fancy bags for trick-or-treating, almost like it was Easter. Pitch found it extremely annoying; it was Halloween, it was supposed to be an endless night of ghost stories and scary tales, not merry-making and sweet-hunting!
The world misunderstood fear and the darkness. Pitch didn't create darkness, it had existed on its own. Shadows were formed if there was an obstruction of light. And fear... well, people couldn't live without fears, could they? Then the world would just be a paradise. There were times when fear was spread to teach as well, just like a parent instructing their kids not to go out late at night or the Boogeyman will find them, but it was just mainly for their own good.
Pitch had been misunderstood and it truly got on his nerves. The worst of it all was when the Man in the Moon sent forth the Guardians, to fill the world with dreams, hope and wonder. Childhood was meant to be filled with sweet memories and nothing more. It angered him even more to know that the Guardians think themselves so incredibly important. He was shunned into the shadows, into hiding, with only the Nightmares accompanying him. That was only recently. He had spent quite an eternity trying to perfect the method of turning dreams into nightmares. And when he succeeded, the Guardians were there to bring him down. And no one believed in the Boogeyman anymore.
Well, not exactly no one. There were still continents where the Guardians' influence had not spread to. And the children, of course, the ones who helped the Guardians defeat him about seven years back. They stopped believing in him that day, but as they grew older, and thought about the battle, they couldn't help remembering him and believing he was real. Without his presence, there would've been no battle. Not all of them again, though. Some of them had completely forgotten or dismissed it all as an epic dream save for that infuriating pest of a boy, Jamie Bennett, and a friend of his, Cupcake.
He still enjoyed changing dreams into nightmares in secret, though. Not every child truly deserved the nights of peaceful slumber they get all the time.
From the shadows, Pitch noticed a familiar face in a crowd of people gathered in a house, which was swarming with costumed people. It was one of the kids who had helped the Guardians defeat him seven years back. What was his name? Caleb?
He crept towards the house and glared at all the merriment, staying in the shadows. His gaze sweeped over the guests who remained completely oblivious to his presence, even as he edged closer to the light, and it landed on a certain boy, sitting in a corner, poring over something. For a moment Pitch's heart (if he even had one) skipped a beat, thinking it was Jack Frost, but upon closer scrutiny, he realised it wasn't. However, it wasn't someone he didn't know.
Pitch blended in amongst the guests, though it really wasn't necessary as hardly anyone could see him, save for several kids running around. A couple of them noticed and complimented him, earning themselves a glare, which scared them away almost immediately.
The boy seemed to notice his presence, for he looked up. Pitch turned and half-sneered, half-glared at him. Jamie's expression was one of shock, horror, and something else Pitch couldn't quite discern. He leaped to his feet.
"What are you doing here?" Jamie half-yelled, attracting the attention of passing guests, who looked at him curiously.
"Are you quite alright, boy?" asked a lady, gazing at him with concern. "Maybe you should go in..."
"I'm fine," Jamie replied, trying to act nonchalant, as his eyes kept flicking over to where the Boogeyman stood, turning, about to head off. "Just, er, trying to..." The lady raised an eyebrow. "Trying to get into character!" he finally blurted out. "You see, I'm part of the school's drama club and uh..."
The lady broke into a smile. "How dedicated! Now, I must be going..." She hurried off.
Jamie turned back to the spirit. "What are you doing here?" he asked, in a low voice, scowling. "Didn't we defeat you years ago?"
Pitch sneered at the boy. "I am a spirit. I can live forever."
"Yeah, but not here," Jamie spat, remembering to keep his voice low. "And people don't believe in the Boogeyman anymore. You're supposed to disappear or something." He surveyed his surroundings. "Jack is somewhere. So you'd better clear off. Go back to the shadows where you belong."
"Grew up, didn't you? You're not so afraid anymore, I see. And defiant... I never realised, even though I've been watching you all these years. Things always seem different from the shadows." Pitch tried to sound confident, but the furtive glances he cast quickly around at the mention of Jack's name gave him away.
As Pitch's form traveled across the lawn to a darker corner, Jamie noticed that he seemed different. In appearance. He was almost like a shadow, almost translucent. Jamie gathered up his things and walked over to the side of the lawn. "I was never afraid," he responded. "And I know you're weak. I can see it."
"I see you've grown to be pretty brilliant as well, but not so brilliant." He whirled around and faced the boy. "Do you know how it feels like to live in the shadows, in the darkness, and be ignored by everyone?"
"Of course I do, you kept and still keep talking about it, but I don't care. You're not welcomed here." After a pause, he added, "Even if it is Halloween."
"Ah, the eve of Samhain, when every child is fearful, expecting apparitions to pop up," Pitch half-sighed. "You have no idea how exhilarating it is. So just let me have my share of fun."
With that, he vanished. Taken aback, Jamie stood there for several moments, unsure where the spirit had gone and unsure what to do. The next second, he was racing through the horde of guests, searching frantically for Jack. Where had the winter spirit gone to? He turned to a group of passing kids and stopped them.
"Have you seen a teenager about my height and built, dressed exactly like me?" Jamie asked.
The kids shrugged. "Nope, but good luck hunting him down!" They ran off, and Jamie left in the opposite direction.
"Jamie, what happened?"
The 17- year old whirled around to see his sister, looking at him with that infuriating curious look. "Pitch is here." He got to the point. "Have you seen Jack?"
Sophie shook her head no, before laughing. "What a coward you are. It's just a dumb spirit. You can't even handle him. I'm starting to wonder if you were even involved in the battle years ago."
"Very funny, Sophie, but I..."
"It's Halloween. Let him be."
Jamie stared at his sister. "Has he possessed you?" He grabbed Sophie by the shoulders and shook her slightly. "Wake up, Sophie!"
"Geez, relax!" Sophie snapped, pushing her brother away. "I think you're the one who's possessed. For all you know it was probably your overactive imagination making you think you saw Pitch Black. Anyway, like I said, it's Halloween. Let him be. Everyone is keeping their 'ghost' guard up tonight, whether some spooky dark spirit who can turn dreams into nightmares is around or not."
Jamie was not convinced. "I don't think so, Sophie. What if he manages to gain power again? What if he threatens us all again? A few kids could see him!"
"Big deal. Come on, stop worrying about it. What with costumed people and ghost stories at midnight, everyone will be having nightmares tonight, whether Pitch Black wants them to or not. Can you please stop worrying about it for a minute?"
Jamie reluctantly followed his sister, keeping a watch out for both Pitch and Jack. He saw neither. Throughout the party, however, there were several unearthly disturbances to which there could only be one explanation. It then struck Jamie how low Pitch had sunk, having to resort to invoking fear in people through ghost stories.
"Sandman will be out of business tonight, that's for sure," Sophie said, with a wink, as the party drew to a close, at around after midnight. They were finally joined by the winter spirit.
"Where have you been?" Jamie asked, instantly.
"With the kids, of course," Jack responded, his eyes twinkling. "You can't expect to just sit with you and watch as you pore over your work, can you? It's no fun to just sit around."
"Did you feel a strange presence tonight?" Jamie inquired.
Jack's expression changed. "Pitch. He's here. You knew?"
"I saw him."
"He's terribly weak. I guess he's pretty harmless right now. Anyway, it is Halloween."
"It was Halloween," Sophie corrected, as they searched for Caleb and Claude to bid them good night and to thank them. "It's past midnight."
Jamie rolled his eyes. "You have absolutely no imagination," he said, annoyed. He turned back to Jack, though making it not seem so obvious. "So, what about Pitch, Jack?"
Jack smirked. "I'll inform Sandy. He'll make sure Pitch doesn't get back up. The other Guardians will be notified as well, so don't you worry, Jamie. We defeated him once. We can defeat him again."
"You talk as though there's going to be a furious battle," Sophie spoke, but Jamie chose to ignore her.
"Well, he did seem pretty weak. Perhaps..."
They spotted the twins at that moment and hurried over. After a bunch of 'thank you's and 'good night's, the siblings left with Monty, the way they came.
Jamie glanced out the window at the buildings they passed, most shrouded in darkness, while others such as shops had lit signboards. His thoughts wandered, going over the events of the evening. He hadn't thought he would see the Boogeyman again. And if he did, he would expect some sort of ferocious battle to ensue. However, he was quite certain Sandy would be pretty 'out of business', as Sophie put it, that night, as his mind wandered to the ghost stories he had heard earlier.
But then again, what was a world without fear and darkness?
"Hey, Soph," he called, quietly.
"What is it?" Sophie asked, stifling a yawn.
"If opposites attract in real life as well as they do in science, why is it, do you think, that good and evil are always at each other's necks?"
There was a short silence as Sophie ruminated. "Well, I guess they keep each other intact," she finally said. "You know, like balance each other out?" She yawned again. "Wake me up when we reach home." She prepared to drift off.
"We are home," Jamie said, as the car pulled to a halt outside their house.
I'm not good at writing action, trust me. So, forgive me. :-P