Barrel landed with a grunt in a pile of snow that sent knives of cold into his body. His wet clothes didn't help matters, and he began shivering. Before he could register anything else, there was a loud cry, and he looked up to see Sally staggering up toward them.
"Jack! They're by the sign! Hurry!" she called.
She hurried up to the three children and began to fuss. Gasping, she grasped Shock's face and peered at the wound left by Behemoth's axe. Lock and Barrel was stunned by the damage. It was a deep wound, so deep that it still wasn't healed, and they could see the muscles in her cheek slowly healing.
"Oh, you poor thing," Sally murmured. "Does it hurt?"
Lock and Barrel were startled as tears welled in Shock's eyes, and the girl nodded miserably. Sally then turned and reached for Lock, who shoved at her hands.
"I'm fine," he said, raising his chin defiantly.
"As long as you're sure," Sally said. Then she turned to Barrel and raised her eyebrows. "What are you covered in?"
Before Barrel could answer, Jack sprinted over and skidded to a stop on his knees beside them. He looked absolutely panicked, and he quickly looked them over. He frowned when he saw Shock's gaping wound, then he looked at Barrel and saw how dirty he was. His brows came together then understanding flashed across his features.
"Oh, Barrel," he said gently, reaching over to brush muck out of Barrel's lank, damp hair. "You didn't need to go to Halloween Town to try and force your powers out. I could have taught you right here. You should have come to me about it."
"N-no, Jack," Barrel chattered. "You don't g-get it. We d-didn't go for that."
"Well then why did you go?" Jack asked.
Barrel looked around in the snow for the book and he began to panic when he didn't see it. He shifted to stand up and search when he felt something hard beneath him. Relief filled him, and he rolled off of the book he'd landed on. For a moment, there was silence as Jack and Sally took in the sight of the ancient, leather-bound book, dark against the snow. Then Jack began to grin, and life came back to his face.
Barrel, shivering worse than ever, spoke through chittering teeth. "It's a p-part of saying s-s-sorry, Jack," he admitted quietly.
Jack turned his gaze on Barrel then gave a whoop and scooped him up. Barrel yelped in surprise as he was tossed into the air and then caught in a fierce hug. Lock and Shock watched, their mouths slightly open as Jack handled Barrel. They weren't sure whether to be indignant at his behavior or glad that Jack wasn't beating the tar out of them.
"How did you find it?" Jack asked, shifting Barrel so that he was holding him against his side as he knelt down to get the book.
"The Boss pulled it off the shelf after he hid us in a pipe. He dropped it before he…" Barrel stopped then swallowed. "Anyway, Bodach couldn't touch it. It hurt him. And I figured if the Boss wanted it and Bodach wanted to get rid of it, that it was very important. So I hid it so Bodach couldn't find it. And then we left to find you."
Jack shook his head and let out a soft laugh. "Well, I can't believe you had the foresight to hide the book. That was a good idea." He looked at Lock and Shock and his face grew serious as he turned back to Barrel. "While I'm pleased you got the book, you three are not to go back to Halloween Town unless accompanied by Oogie or myself. That was very dangerous. If there is anything else we need from there, tell me about it. Okay?"
Lock and Shock glared defiantly, but before they could speak, Barrel answered. "Yes, Jack," he said, lowering his eyes and snuggling against the Pumpkin King.
Jack looked pleased. "Good. Now, let's get you a bath." He glanced over Lock and Shock then spoke to Sally. "Get them some breakfast and have Squanto look over that wound. Then go and find Oogie and tell him to come to my house. He was searching the woods."
Sally nodded. "Of course." She smiled at Lock and Shock and held out her hand. "Come on. You've got to be hungry."
Lock frowned, but Shock obediently took Sally's hand and they followed her toward the lodge. Jack tucked the book under his arm and carried Barrel to his house. Lock and Shock sent a glare after him, but Jack didn't notice. He did notice the tired, blank stare from Barrel. He said nothing. He knew the boy had just had another harrowing experience, and judging by the muck, it involved alligators.
Jack brought Barrel inside his house and set the boy down in the bathroom. "Get that costume off and I'll wash it for you. Can you take a bath by yourself?"
Barrel blinked at him then nodded. "I think so."
"Okay. Let me run you a bath then."
While the water was running, Jack filled up a small tub and got some soap as Barrel struggled out of his wet costume, which was stiff from the cold. Jack helped the boy into the tub then turned off the water and handed him a bar of peppermint soap. Barrel smiled up at him then began to wash. Jack turned his attention to the filthy costume and got to work. That was how Oogie found them ten minutes later. He burst in the front door, angry and frightened.
"Jack?"
"In the bathroom," Jack said calmly.
Barrel didn't even have the energy or desire to tense up as Oogie stormed in, fire in his eyeholes. He opened his mouth to begin a lecture when Jack spoke.
"Think before you speak, Crawly. He's had a rough time."
"Rough how?" Oogie snarled.
"Alligators."
That certainly made a difference. Oogie turned to look at Barrel, who was quietly scrubbing his hair with the soap, and he noticed the half-dead look in the boy's tired eyes. He took a deep breath and relaxed a bit before he spoke.
"You okay?"
"I think so. How's Shock?"
"It's healing. She said it's an axe wound."
"Behemoth must have gotten her," Jack said.
"Yep," Oogie said. Then he sighed. "Lock and Shock didn't tell me why you went. They just wanted to know what Jack was doing with you. So I'm gonna ask you once. Why did you go to Halloween Town?"
"We had to get the book," Barrel replied.
Oogie stiffened. "Book? What book?" He looked at Jack. "Not the book?"
Jack pointed into the main room, and Oogie turned and lumbered over to find his copy of the book. He walked back in, looking shellshocked.
"How did Bodach not get it?" he asked blankly.
Jack explained what Barrel had told him about hiding it as he finished washing Barrel's costume. Then he stood up and helped Barrel out of the bath and into a big green towel. He sent Barrel to stand by the fire while he layered waves of heat over the costume to dry it off. Oogie simply stared in wonder at his youngest charge as Barrel gazed into the flickering flames.
"Okay, Barrel," Jack said, going over to stand by him. "Your costume is clean and dry."
Barrel took it with a murmured thanks and dried himself off. He got dressed, a bit steadier than he'd been, before he sat down and hugged his knees. Oogie wilted a bit then walked over and plopped on the floor, pulling Barrel into his lap. Barrel relaxed against him and sighed.
"I need to tell you something we saw there," Barrel said somberly.
Jack raised his brows. "Should I leave?"
"No. You need to hear it. We saw Dr. Finkelstein."
Jack suddenly looked weak and sank into a chair. Oogie wrapped his arms tightly around Barrel.
"Go on, Barrel. What did you see?" he prompted.
"He looked all scared and weak. He came downstairs while we were in the hiding place and started looking in the bookshelves and in the potion cabinet."
"He was looking for the book?" Jack asked, his voice hoarse and small. There was a smidgeon of hope, just a tiny seed.
"Maybe. Coulda been looking for something for Bodach," Oogie said grimly.
Jack wilted and covered his face with his hand, letting out a distressed groan. Barrel looked over and saw the firelight reflecting off a single tear as it trailed down his white cheek. The boy was fascinated. He'd never seen Jack cry before. In fact, if he'd been asked, he would have said it was impossible for him to shed tears. Just like it was for Oogie. Then he remembered the moment his Boss was talking about Jack and the doctor, the moment that it felt as if his heart was in his throat. For a few seconds, it looked as if his cloth was getting damp, as if Oogie had been a single word away from crying. In that moment, Barrel suddenly made a connection that Jack and Oogie could cry. They just didn't very much. And Barrel wanted to stop there just so that Jack wouldn't cry. But Oogie squeezed him.
"Did he find it?"
Barrel shook his head and reluctantly spoke. "He took a potion."
"Color? Vial shape?" Oogie asked at once.
"Purple. And it was a thin cylindrical vial with a blue cork."
"Walking potion," both men said at the same time.
"Go on Barrel," Jack said.
Barrel hesitated. "He started crying and asking why he did this, why he went to Bodach when he knew all the bad stuff he did to you."
Jack sat up a little straighter. "He did?" Barrel nodded. "And then what happened?"
"Then Bodach came downstairs and asked what he was doing. And then he got mad at the doctor and hurt him and told him that he wanted to do some kind of experiments on him. Then he was dragged away." Barrel looked earnestly at Jack's face. "He kept saying he was sorry to you."
Jack let out a breath and leaned back. "He regrets it."
"So what? Doesn't change the fact that he did it," Oogie said stubbornly.
"We all make mistakes, Crawly."
"This is one hell of a mistake, Jack!" Oogie exclaimed. "And he did know better!"
Jack stared at Oogie for a moment then looked down at his lap. "You don't even try anymore, do you?"
Oogie hesitated. "Don't see what good it'll do. He never liked me anyway."
"I know. I know. And he'll say the same about you. And you'll counter with a slur about his scars, and he'll snap that you're not a real person, and off you'll go again."
Oogie peered at Jack in astonishment. "Do we really do that every time?"
"Oh no. There are different ones. But we've been around so long they just repeat every once in a while."
Oogie squeezed Barrel and stood up, lumbering over to Jack. "I'm sorry, Jackie."
"I know."
"I'll try again."
Jack only gave Oogie a resigned, tired look before he stood up and walked over to grab the book. Oogie was wounded, and he hunched over a bit. Then he saw Barrel watching him, and he smiled a little. It was sad.
"How about some breakfast?"
"Breakfast sounds good, Boss," Barrel said. He peeked over at Jack, who was flipping through the heavy parchment pages of the book, then leaned over. "He does understand."
Oogie smiled and saw Jack chuckle out of the corner of his eyehole. "I know. That don't mean it doesn't hurt him though."
"I guess that's true. But he's stuck around this long, right?"
Oogie laughed and Jack shook his head with a smile, snapping the book shut. He tucked it under his arm and gestured for Oogie and Barrel to follow him. Barrel walked out into the snow and looked up at Jack.
"Do you think there'll be some of those yummy potatoes?" he asked.
"Mashed potatoes aren't a breakfast food," Jack said.
"Oh. What is?" Barrel shrugged. "It's been so long, you know."
"About three hundred years for you three, I think," Jack agreed. "But Carol makes excellent chocolate chip pancakes. And there should be plenty of bacon and eggs."
Barrel frowned. "I think mama used to cook me eggs for breakfast. Papa would always say that pork is too expensive. We raised our own chickens though."
"Oh really? My village herded sheep. We had a lot of shepherds."
Barrel smiled and nodded. Oogie watched the two of them, pleased and surprised by Barrel's willingness to be open about his human life, especially with Jack of all people. As they made their way to the lodge, Oogie marveled to himself that somehow Bodach had driven the children toward Jack instead of away from him. At least Barrel was settling into a more amicable role with Jack. Hopefully the other two would follow suit.
"We'll have breakfast then we'll talk about the book with the others and figure out what else we can do," Jack said, and Oogie glanced over.
"Sure, Creepy. But I want some of them pancakes."
Barrel giggled. "Me, too! I love chocolate! But I thought you said chocolate wasn't for breakfast."
Jack laughed. "Get out of that one," he challenged.
Oogie shoved him as he scrambled to figure out what to say to Barrel and the others to stop them from demanding candy bars for breakfast every morning. For the moment, there was a reprieve from fear and anxiety, and they were going to make the most of it.