Chapter 4

Ah yay! I'm working on it again!~

Down below the surface. Down in the deepest depth of darkness, something was stirring. The walls seemed to be shifting, like shadows lurking. And that was exactly what they were. Shadows lined the walls and brought the underground cave to life. In the center of them all was the Nightmare King. A sly grin crept across his lips. Everything was starting to fall into place. All he needed to do was lure the blasted Winter Spirit down into his lair and keep him there. After that, the plan would finally be able to be carried out.

His yellow eyes slid slowly down to his feet where a child lay. It was Jamie. Jamie was unaware of where he was or what was going on. The black sand still dusted across his eyes. Jamie flinched a bit and groaned. "Oh, come now boy! There is nothing to be afraid of…." His grin widened more so. "Oh but wait, there is. Fear itself." Pitch wanted to teach Jamie a lesson for making him look like a fool before. All those children deserved to pay. But if he took them all, then it would have gotten the attention of all the Guardians. He didn't want that to happen just yet. Right now he just needed the attention of one.

Jack soared through the brisk air. In the back of his mind, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Once he got to Burgess, he hoped that his fears were just that and nothing more. If anything happened to Jamie, Jack would never forgive himself. It was partly his fault Jamie got wrapped up in all of this.

Finally, the tops of the buildings were in sight. The flight home had never felt that long before. As he flew over the town, everything looked to be normal. This set his mind slightly at ease. As he approached Jamie's neighborhood, he started to scan the area. He could see a familiar group of children playing down in the snow. All minus one….

Jack eased off and slowly drifted down. His feet gracefully landed on the wooden plank of a fence. He knelt down and rested one arm on his thigh. At first the children didn't notice him because they were too engulfed in their snowball fight. Jack raised a hand to his lips and blew gently into his palm. A snowball began to form.

Cupcake raised her arm, ready to release a ball. Just then, a snowball struck her on the back of her head. She turned around, she didn't have her usual scowl but a softer look. She chucked the snowball in her hand at Jack, it hit him square on the shoulder. All he could do was chuckle softly. He stood up and began to float down. "Jack! It's been a while!" The children all shouted and ran over to greet the Guardian. But before the merriment could continue, Jack still needed to know where Jamie was. His brow furrowed.

"Have any of you seen Jamie?" The children looked to each other and shook their heads. "We haven't seen him for a couple of days now." Pippa shook her head. "Maybe they went on a little trip! I'm sure they'll be back soon." She smiled and then turned back to the battlefield. "Come on guys! We gotta settle the score!" The rest of the gang waved to Jack and returned to throwing snowballs at each other.

Jack smiled and waved them off. Something still felt off. Well, he hadn't checked Jamie's house yet. Maybe he was there!

Jack landed gently on the rooftop of the Bennett house. He sat silently for a few minutes. The house was unusually quiet. Usually at this time, Sophie was chasing the dog and causing a ruckus and Jamie sometimes joined in. Their mother would chase after them, sometimes laughing sometimes asking them for quiet.

He climbed down onto Jamie's windowsill and took a look inside. Everything was dark. Jack lifted the window open and hopped down inside. His eyes quickly scanned the room, but there was no sign of the boy anywhere. Maybe he was somewhere else in the house and if not, maybe he was really on a trip. But Jack was sure Pippa would at least know and she didn't sound too sure.

The winter spirit decided to go check around the house. Next stop would be Sophie's room. At first, he cracked the door open just slightly. Usually, he didn't hesitate to enter the girl's room, but there was a pit forming in his gut that kept nagging at him and he was afraid of what he would see. He pushed the door open a little further.

Sophie was there, asleep in her bed. This was curious because it was the afternoon...why would she still be in bed? Jack crept over to the side of her bed and knelt down next to her. He noticed something strange resting on her cheek. He raised his hand up to her face and gently wiped away the strange residue. "No...it couldn't be." Jack mumbled to himself. The residue was black sand. He recognized the emotions that came to him as soon as he touched the nightmare sand. Jack's heart sank. "Sophie! Hey, Sophie! Wake up!" He nudged her to try and wake her, but no response.

Jack got to his feet quickly and rushed through the house to find Jamie. But instead of Jamie, he found Jamie's mother. She was reclined on the couch...there was also nightmare sand dusted over her eyes. At the mother's feet was the dog, black sand dusted the animal's eyes as well. Jack's heart began to race, where was Jamie?

After a search of the entire house, Jack knew, Pitch was back. But how? He couldn't have had much power after the last battle. That didn't matter at the moment, what mattered was Jamie's safety. Jack feared that the Nightmare King had done something with his friend.

Jack had searched the surrounding area of the Bennett house. He ventured to the open wooded area where he used to spend all of his time alone, where he called home. There was still no trace of his friend.

Meanwhile, in a bush, a bubbling black figure watched the frantic Guardian search. It changed shape depending on the direction Jack was headed. It was getting ready to make its move. "That's it...let the fear grow inside of you!" Pitch cackled. He was down in his lair, observing Jack. He had vision of the scene through the eyes of the bubbling black mass. "Just need to wait for the right moment...when his emotions are at their peak. That is when he will be most vulnerable." The Nightmare King's grin grew wide. "I have waited too long for you, Jack." He rose a hand and snapped his fingers. The bubbling mass on the surface reacted and began to slither out from the bush it was hiding it.

Jack's heart started to race. His breath grew short. Fear swept over his mind. Why would Pitch take Jamie? This wasn't his fight. Where could he have taken Jamie? Wouldn't the Man in the Moon have seen this happening? The thoughts continued to race through his mind. He was unaware of his surroundings as he walked through the trees. Even though his eyes were scanning the area, he never felt the presence of the black mass.

It slithered behind him. As time went on, the mass became larger in size. With every step, the bubbling minion grew, until finally, it would be ready.

"Get ready everyone, we are about to have company…" Pitch rumbled below. He snapped his fingers again. Jamie grunted as his brow furrowed. The nightmare was beginning to get more intense. It was as if Jamie was aware of the events taking place but could do nothing to stop it.

The minion rose up behind Jack. Jack saw the shadow of something block the sun behind him. He stopped and turned on his heel to see a huge wall of black sand standing tall over him. The Guardian raised his staff and was getting ready to attack when the black sand came crashing down on him, engulfing him in darkness.

To be continued! Till next time~