The children slid down a small hill through a mound of snow, the cold slicing into their dead flesh like knives. Shaking themselves out, they looked up to see the beautiful sign proclaiming their location: Christmas Town. A bunch of Elves were playing, throwing snowballs and laughing. The children were unnoticed as they stood up, shivering with cold and shaking from what they'd just experienced. They looked around, unsure of what to do. Then a female Elf noticed them, and she looked startled as she hurried over.
"Hello there. I'm Candy," she said, her sweet voice high and cheery.
"We need Jack," Barrel said through chattering teeth.
"Of course. Come along."
The children followed her to the largest house, and she opened the door and led them inside. The warmth that flooded over them made them all sigh with delight. It reminded them of life in a good way. The sound of merry voices, mostly masculine, came from a large table. The leaders sat in large, shiny wooden chairs, laughing and chattering as if the world was no different. Sitting in one of the chairs, his back to them, was Jack's tall, thin frame.
"Jack!" Shock shrieked.
Everybody jumped, including Candy, who had been trying to get the children to go warm up by the fire. Jack stood and spun around, looking over the three children. Shock and concern filled his face, and he hurried over and knelt down.
"What's wrong? Did Oogie send you?"
The mention of their boss was too much. Shock burst into tears, and then the boys began to wail and sob. Jack was even more alarmed, and he hesitated, wondering what to do. Sally came over at once and joined Jack on the floor.
"Carol, some cocoa please," she said. Her blue hands brushed Shock's clean hair away from her face. "You three are very cold. Come and warm up."
Sally led the three children over to the fire while the Holiday leaders watched curiously. They weren't too fond of the three mischief makers, but the children seemed truly distressed. Carol dashed into the kitchen and came back a minute later with a large plate of cookies. She was trailed by Candy and two other female Elves. The women fussed over the children until they calmed down. With mugs of cocoa in their laps and sugar cookies being shoved into their hands, the children soon settled into the bright red, overstuffed sofa, though they were oddly subdued. Jack stood back, sipping coffee and watching the three children. At last, he felt they were ready.
"Now, did something happen to Oogie?" Jack asked gently. "Was there an accident?"
Shock and Lock glanced at each other, a surge of guilt rushing over them at the reminder that it wasn't an accident but a purposeful act of revenge. Barrel spoke for them.
"He's gone," he said.
"Gone?" Sally asked. "On a trip?"
"No, that's not what they mean," Jack said. He peered intently at the children. "How?"
"He was drowned," Barrel said, clutching the mug of hot chocolate. "We knew the boss didn't like water, but we never knew why…"
Jack softened as Lock and Shock shivered. "It's impossible to breathe through wet cloth. And even bugs can drown," he said gently. "But no worries. I can stitch him up, good as new."
"No, you can't," Barrel said solemnly.
"Oh? And why is that?" Jack's smile was amused as he studied Barrel.
"Because the bad man said he wants to hurt you, too."
The smile dropped off Jack's face, and he stood up abruptly, a flash of fire appearing in his eyes. The room went silent as the mood shifted at once into something much more serious.
"What happened?" he asked, a hard edge to his voice.
"We were with the boss and he got all panicky when he looked outside," Barrel said. "He freaked out and dragged us down to his Lair, which we're never allowed in unless he tells us we can be there, and only with him. He hid us in some kind of pipe behind a cage of rats and told us not to even breathe."
"How is that—" Eros began, but Jack cut in.
"They're dead. Breathing is optional. Go on, Barrel."
Jack began to pace as Barrel continued. "This weird shadow guy came down as the Boss was flipping through this really old book, and he and Oogie got into a fight, kinda, because they didn't really shout. And… and then he broke the pipes and there was so much water, and Oogie was all wet and started gasping, but he couldn't breathe, and he went down and didn't get up again."
"What happened next?" Jack pressed as Barrel swiped at his eyes.
"Jack, please, give him a moment," Sally said.
"I need to know, Sally," Jack said, turning to gaze at her and the other Holiday leaders. "Barrel, what happened next?"
"The boss told us not to move, so we didn't until we knew he was gone, and we went to find you, but you weren't at Town Hall, and there was nobody around town. Then Alex saw us, and he was a bat, and he told us to come get you then he flew away and the shadow man chased him and Alex screamed. We ran to the Hinterlands and came here as fast as we could."
Jack stopped his feverish pacing and stood straight, his hands clasped in front of him. He looked strange, almost hesitant.
"Do you happen to remember a name?" Jack asked, a plea in his tone.
Barrel thought for a moment. "Bodach," he said finally. "The boss said his name was Bodach."
There was an intense moment of silence as Jack's face went blank. Then a sudden explosion of flames roared from the fireplace, twisting and turning red, black, and purple as it flared. Everybody screamed and dove away, but before anything else happened, Jack stumbled back and hit the wall. As the flames died away, leaving nothing but ash and coals in the grate, the Pumpkin King slid down the wall and stared at nothing. Another silence, this one tinged with horror. Sandy hurried forward.
"Jack? Jack, what's wrong?" he asked, pressing a hand to his face. He jerked his hand back. "Carol! Water! He's burning up!"
Carol came bustling out of the kitchen with a cool rag and a bowl of water. She began to wipe down Jack's face, which was so hot that steam rose from the contact with the cold water. Sally knelt down beside Jack and touched him gently, unbothered by the heat.
"Jack? What's wrong, Jack?" she asked.
Jack said nothing for several minutes, lost in his own thoughts. Everything was swirling like the pattern of the Hinterlands as he sat there, dead to the world and unaware of the concerned voices around him. How could he have gotten in? How could the protection have failed? It was nearly impossible for anybody else to get in, let alone him! He'd already taken out Oogie, and from what Barrel had reported, he was inside the town. No doubt he'd captured all the townsfolk by now, and they would do anything he wanted. He had so much control over them simply because they were dead, or undead as it were. This was supposed to be their second chance, and Bodach was ruining it.
Jack started as he was shaken rather violently, and he blinked up into Squanto's dark eyes. "What?" he asked faintly.
"Drink this," Squanto ordered, holding up a glass of brandy.
Jack grasped the glass and tossed it back at once. The sharp burn of alcohol roused him, and he began to cool down as it relaxed him. He noticed the others all around him, their eyes clouded with concern, and he was aware that Sally was talking.
"Jack?" she asked gently. "What's wrong?"
Jack didn't answer, pushing himself to his feet. He looked around then walked toward the children, who looked terrified and a bit guilty.
"You're sure it was Bodach?" Jack asked, his voice steady despite the panic that clawed at the inside of his skull.
"Yes, Jack," Barrel said. "I didn't know you had a brother."
The others went silent at that admission. "Brother?" Sandy asked.
"How could you tell?" Eros asked, stunned by the news.
"He looked an awful lot like Jack," Shock said slowly.
"Even had a suit and everything," Lock agreed.
Jack had stopped listening after the confirmation of the name. He began to pace again, less frantic but more determined. He turned to the children after a few passes.
"You said Oogie was drowned in the Lair?"
"Yes," Barrel replied again.
Another bout of pacing then Jack straightened up, a grim determination in his face. "Well then. I guess I have to go. I'll be back. Maybe."
He strode toward the door, and Sam hurried to hold the door shut. "We'll come with you," he said firmly.
Jack shook his head. "Stay here. Watch over Sally and the children. This is something I have to do alone. The fewer, the better. He might not even know I'm there if I go alone."
"Jack," Sally said, her big eyes frightened at the look on her fiancé's face.
"Watch the children, please," Jack said calmly. "I'll be back in an hour. Maybe."
He pried Sam's hand off the door with ease then pushed him back. As soon as he shut the door, Sandy turned and whistled for an Elf. One showed up.
"Yes, sir?" he asked in a high voice.
"Bring my sack of presents, Whizzer," he ordered.
"We're going then?" Patrick asked.
"Did you see the look on his face?" Bunny demanded. "Of course we're going!"
"Whatever is going on between him and his brother, it's bad," Eros said. "His emotions basically just broke for a moment. That's never good."
"Get me a flowerpot then. Can't grow clovers in the snow," Patrick said.
As the grownups bustled around, Barrel downed the rest of his hot chocolate and slipped down onto the floor. He stole on quiet feet across the room and out the front door. Lock and Shock hurried after him. Nobody noticed them leaving in the commotion. Barrel searched the snow, easily found Jack's surprisingly small footprints, and followed the tracks as they led into the pine tree forest that surrounded Christmas Town. Lock and Shock managed to catch up.
"What are you doing?" Lock asked, surprised; usually he or Shock led the trio in instances like this.
"Going to help Jack," Barrel said calmly.
"What for?"
"Because he's going to need help and the grownups are slow about it," Barrel replied. "Besides, we know the Treehouse better than any of them. They won't know how to get down to the Lair."
"But why?" Shock asked.
Barrel continued to follow the footprints through the bone-chilling snow. His feet were going numb, but that didn't matter. What mattered was helping Jack.
"Because you know as well as I do that this whole mess is our fault. And so if we can help Jack, we should."
Lock and Shock didn't have a reply, and they burned with shame and guilt as they followed their companion. Barrel hadn't wanted to go as far as they had, and he'd been right. And yet again, for what seemed like the thousandth time in their undead afterlives, Barrel was the first one to take responsibility for their actions. So Lock and Shock meekly followed after Barrel, aware once again that Barrel, while shorter and slower and less mischievous, was better than them in a way that was far beyond their understanding.