Jack brushed his hands off on his kilt as he stood up, breathing in the petrichor scent. He always loved it after the rainstorms had come through. The world seemed to glow in the warm afternoon light, and he smiled as he watched foxes play with each other. He could hear the other children playing, but he didn't really care to go over and see what the game was. He saw no point. They would only send him away. He didn't need their friendship, anyway. That's what his brother said. Friendship was for weak and sniveling fools. But that didn't stop the longing for friendship from stirring in Jack's breast.
Jack turned away and headed for the woods. He liked the cool shade of the trees in the hot weather, and he could wander for hours, lost in thought. Today, though, he wasn't given this luxury. Ten minutes of walking led him to the bonfire clearing, and to his surprise, Bodach was there and had lit a fire. Jack scowled but before he could leave, Bodach called for him.
"Come here, Jackie. I want to show you something."
Reluctantly, Jack padded over and squatted down. Bodach was playing with fire again. He liked playing with fire. But that was how he'd burned down one of the farmers' fields the year before.
"What are you doing?" Jack asked flatly.
"Watch this," Bodach said.
He leaned forward and stuck his hand into the flames. Jack expected him to scream and jerk back, but he didn't. The flames curled up and around his palm, not leaving a mark. Jack was shocked.
"How are you doing that?"
"I told you, Jackie. We're special," Bodach said excitedly. "They told me that fire would stop hurting once I got used to it, and it did. You should try."
"Fire burns, Bodach," Jack replied, standing up. "I don't want to be burned."
He turned away, but Bodach's hand suddenly clamped onto his wrist, and he was spun around and dragged to the ground.
"Hey! Stop it!" Jack said.
Then he looked up into his brother's eyes and saw that the shadow was back. Instantly, he tried to scramble away, but Bodach held him tightly.
"I asked you to build up your fire resistance, Jackie," Bodach growled. "But you seem to need help with that. I'm happy to assist. Anything for my brother."
Bodach twisted them so that Jack was immobilized beneath him then plucked up his hand.
"No! No, Bodach!" Jack cried, his voice high and frightened. "I'll burn, I'll burn!"
"Not forever, Jackie. Remember that we're special. They said so, and they've never been wrong before."
Jack scrabbled against the ground, high-pitched whimpers coming from his throat. He couldn't move, couldn't buck his brother off. He'd grown stronger the more he talked to them, and it scared Jack. Bodach had always been difficult to get along with, but they were making it worse!
"Please," Jack gasped. "Please don't."
Bodach turned to stare at him thoughtfully then grasped his hand and stuck into into the fire. Pain and heat had Jack screaming as his hand burned in the flames.
"I told you, Jackie," Bodach whispered. "We're special. Look. It's not blistering. Or even turning red."
"Hurts," Jack panted.
"Oh, that'll fade once you get used to it."
He paused and tilted his head then nodded. "It would be quicker that way. Thanks for the idea."
Bodach got off of him, but before he could flee, he was suddenly shoved into the bonfire pit, and his entire body was ablaze. His clothes began to burn. He screamed and screamed as he writhed, the flames hurting so badly yet causing no damage. Bodach stood there and watched him writhe, grinning with glee.
"Special, Jackie. We're special. And soon the pain will be all gone."
Jack only screamed louder as the flames roared up around him, and pain became his only reality...
Jack Skellington jerked awake with a shout, the memory of fire causing his whole body to burn in an almost forgotten way. He sat up, gasping as if he needed to breathe. He peered at his hands in the moonlight to make sure he had no flesh. Even though he was a boneman, he felt the burn as if he still had skin, and he groaned, falling back and placing his hands over his closed eyeholes.
Before he could consider what to do to try and fall asleep again, he heard a terrifying scream. Jack jumped to his feet and bolted to the window. More screams filled the night, and Jack peered out to see what was going on. He saw Squanto first, and he knew something was wrong when he saw the crazed look on his usually stoic face. He was digging into the snow and rubbing it on his skin as if…
"Oh no," Jack moaned, turning his gaze on the others. All the leaders and their wives were doing the same thing. As Jack scrambled into his pants and snagged a robe, Oogie's magnified voice roared across the screams.
"Ginger, what in the name of the sevenfold spirit did you do?!"
Jack ran out into the snowy night, only pausing to grab the book. He flipped to a page with a calming chant and began to murmur under his breath. It didn't help that Patrick was being shaken by Oogie and dangling several feet off the ground. As the chant finished, there was a sigh in the breeze and Oogie paused as the others stopped rubbing themselves with snow. They all blinked in bewilderment as Jack shut the book and tucked it under his arm.
"Let's get inside," he said.
"Not until I find out what this idiot read in the book!" Oogie said, and he gave Patrick a good shake.
"Put him down," Jack said.
"But he cast a—"
"I know he cast a Dream Weaver spell, Oogie!" Jack snapped. "Now let's go inside! We are causing a scene! Go get the children and Sally and bring them to the lodge. Am I understood?"
Oogie took a deep breath and set Patrick down. "Fine. But this ain't over, Ginger!"
Patrick staggered away and grasped Aileen's hand, his face pale. Oogie stomped away toward the cottage he shared with the children, and Jack sighed.
"Jack, I didn't mean—" Patrick began shakily.
"Inside. Now."
Jack ushered them all into the main lodge, and they all sat around, shellshocked. Jack set the book down and huffed, tapping his fingers on the cover. The children came in with Oogie and Sally behind them. The Bogeyman had his arm around her, and she looked unwell. Jack walked over and got her settled in a chair. He handed out cookies and heated up cocoa as everybody sat and stared into the fire. When they were comfortable, Jack walked over to the book and picked it up.
"Patrick," he said in a low voice. "Did you read one of the spells out loud?"
Patrick swallowed. "Yes. But I didn't know, Jack."
"Well, you are going to learn." Jack opened the book and flipped through it. "You have magic in your blood, Patrick, and that's why it worked. If any of the elves had tried it, it wouldn't have worked. But this is a lesson: never, ever read a spell aloud unless you're trying to cast it. Ever. This book is powerful. There are things in here that could be devastating if accidentally cast. You are very lucky that it was only a Dream Weaver spell."
"What does it do?" Squanto asked.
"Depends on which one it was." Jack turned the book around. "Was it this one?"
Patrick scanned the page. "No."
Jack flipped a page. "This one?"
"No."
It took several pages before Patrick pointed. "That one."
Jack turned the book back around and scanned the page. He shook his head, a smile upturning his mouth. "You are very, very lucky, Patrick. This is the shortest one."
"That's good, right?"
"Yes," Jack said. "It will last for three nights and allows those it is cast upon to share dreams. Or in this case, a night terror."
"That was a night terror?" Sally asked in a tiny voice.
Jack softened. "Unfortunately so. I know it's not pleasant." Sally didn't respond, clutching at her cocoa. Jack began to pace again. "Well, we can't go and face my brother for at least four nights. We need to be well-rested. So I guess I don't have to draw as fast."
"Wait," Sam said nervously. "Isn't there a way to reverse the spell?"
Jack stopped and turned to stare at his friends. They all looked stressed and nervous. He sympathized, but there was no stopping it now.
"There is a way," Jack admitted. "But it's not possible right now."
"Whatever it is, we'll do it," Squanto said, his hands trembling.
"In that case I need a volunteer to cut out the liver of a basilisk between midnight and three in the morning on the night of a full moon."
Silence. Then Sally sighed. "The full moon is two weeks away. It really isn't possible."
Jack snapped the book shut and shrugged. "No. So there's no use complaining. We'll just have a rough few days. So, have a snack, calm down, then we'll try to sleep again."
There was a tense silence as Jack looked around. Everybody looked so tired, and he shook his head.
"Promise me you'll never read a spell aloud again. Not without knowing what it does."
They all readily agreed, and Jack settled down and sipped at his cocoa as the others murmured softly to each other. The children were already falling asleep again, and Oogie looked unbothered. Sally was trembling, while everybody else looked petrified. Time didn't stop, and it became apparent that none of the leaders or Sally wanted to go back to sleep. Jack finally stood up.
"Well, back to bed."
"Oh, no thank you," Sam said, his rugged features rather pale.
A stern look appeared on Jack's face, and he crossed his arms. "You are not avoiding sleep for three days. So you will get up, go to your houses, and go to bed. There is no avoiding this. It will take much longer to recover if you don't get any sleep."
"Will there be another night terror?" Psyche asked.
"I don't know," Jack replied. "Night terrors are far stronger than dreams and could override any pleasant ones. But perhaps it won't happen again. We'll soon find out. Now, to bed!" His expression softened as he looked at them. "All of you. Come on now. There's no avoiding the inevitable."
With great reluctance, they stood up and meandered toward the houses Sandy had built for them. Sally remained seated, and Oogie trundled over to Jack.
"Gotta get the troublemakers in bed. They're sleepin' already."
"Get to it then. See you tomorrow."
Oogie laughed. "It is tomorrow, Jack."
Jack smiled a little. "Good point. See you later then." He walked over to Sally and knelt down. "Sally?" he prodded gently. "Sally, you need to get to bed."
"I don't want to," she murmured.
"I know," Jack said. "Come on. I'll help you get settled."
He pulled her to her feet and guided her out into the snow, leaving Oogie to rouse the three children and help them back to bed. Soon after, everybody was settled into bed, and despite their best efforts, they faded back into sleep almost before they could stop themselves.
A flash of red eyes and a maniacal laugh sounded out, and Jack's screams echoed in their minds as they were immediately sucked into a new night terror.
