The Nightmare Before Chirstmas; part 1

Chapter 4

The Nightmare Before Christmas: Part 1

 

Life got increasingly weirder from then on. By the end of November, Jack had decided that not only was he going to celebrate Christmas, but that he was going to take it over! This was the last straw.

“Jack, this is going too far!” I protested. “You’re the Pumpkin King! You rule Halloween, not Christmas!”

He shook his head. “Not anymore I don’t. From now on, it’s Christmas.”

I crossed my arms and looked away from him. “Santa isn’t going to be too happy with that.” I muttered.

Jack paused, and scratched his head. “Hm, you’ve got a point there. I’ll just have to tell Sandy that he can take a vacation this year.”

I sighed. Nothing I said could convince Jack not to go through with this. Or that it was ‘Santa Claus’, not ‘Sandy Claws’. I sighed and looked down at the paper I was sketching on. My drawing was finished. Well, in all reality, it was actually just a tracing of Jack’s favorite picture of himself (he’s not vain; it’s just a really good picture): the one of him standing out by Spiral Hill however many Halloweens ago, a pumpkin in his hand, the full moon casting eerie shadows over the scenery behind him.

But my new picture wasn’t of the Pumpkin King. Oh no, it was of Jack, but in a Santa Claus outfit, and Jack was now referring to himself as Santa Jack. Not Pumpkin King Jack. Santa. In my picture, Spiral Hill and the pumpkin patch were covered in snow, and Jack’s terrifyingly evil expression was one of happiness, with the jack-o-lantern in his hand replaced by a Christmas present. “All right, I’m done.” I sighed. Jack took the picture and beamed at me.

“It’s perfect, Aubrey!” Honestly, I really wasn’t sure whether to take praise in that statement or go and shoot myself for helping Jack with this crazy plot of his. I looked up at his clock. It wasn’t even eleven-thirty yet.

“Jack, what do you need this for, anyway?” I asked. “Sally’s already making your Santa- Sandy Claws outfit.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He was about to answer when a scream cut through the air. Someone was at his door. “Hm, that must be the Mayor.” He said cheerily. “Would you mind getting it Aubrey?”

I sighed once again. It seemed to be all I did when I came to Halloween Town lately. “Yeah. Sure.” ‘Better than sitting up here and helping you destroy Christmas.’ I added to myself.

I slid down the last half of the banister, jumping off at the end and landing on my feet, if not somewhat unsteadily, on Jack’s living room floor. After I regained some of my balance, I made my way to the door. Reaching for the knob, I heard high-pitched giggling, and stopped. Sneaking over to the window, I peered out to see Lock, Shock, and Barrel standing there. My eyes widened. The four of us weren’t on the best terms in the world, mainly because they had tried to kidnap me so many times that I finally fought back. The more serious end results were Barrel’s bloody nose, Lock’s black eye, a large cut on Shock’s forehead where I hit her with a tree branch, and my split lip. The less serious ones included, but were not limited to, bumps, bruises, scratches, bite marks, and one possible concussion when Barrel tripped over Lock (who I’d just pushed down).

Needless to say, we didn’t like each other much.

I felt Jack put a hand on my shoulder. “Something wrong?”

“It’s Boogie’s Boys.” I told him with disgust. “What are they doing here?”

“I invited them.” Jack told me simply. I stared at him, my jaw dropping slightly. “Don’t worry, they’ll behave themselves here.” He opened the door and the three of them walked in.

Lock caught sight of me first, stopping and glaring at me. Shock and Barrel saw me a second later and did the same. I crossed my arms over my chest, returning the looks. A small smile of satisfaction flitted across my features when I saw that I was taller than all three of them. Jack had told me that Oogie had most likely placed them under a ‘no-age’ spell, so that they’d stay the age that they had died at until Oogie himself died. And according to Jack, it was going on almost three hundred years.

Jack stepped between us, stopping the impending fight. “Aubrey, would you stay here while I talk Lock, Shock , and Barrel?” I nodded begrudgingly, and sat down next to the table in the middle of the room, picking up the pencil Jack had left there and beginning to draw on the paper in front of me. He ushered them into the kitchen. Oh yeah, like I wasn’t going to hear him in there.

“The job I have for you three is top secret. It requires craft, cunning, and mischief.”

Shock giggled. “And we thought you didn't like us, Jack.”

“Absolutely no one is to know about this. Now…” I couldn’t hear what Jack said to them as he started to whisper, but a moment later, the four of them walked out. I purposely turned my gaze to the paper on the table in front of me, continuing to draw. If there was one thing Lock, Shock, and Barrel hated more than my presence, it was having me ignore them.

Jack stopped them as they started to walk out the door, catching Lock by his tail and tugging him lightly back in. “And one more thing- leave that no account Oogie Boogie out of this!”

The three of them had their masks on, but I could almost see the sickly sweet, obviously fake smiles on their faces that came through in their voices. “Whatever you say, Jack.” Barrel chuckled.

“Of course, Jack.” Shock added.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Jack.” Lock assured him. I looked up to see that all three had one of their hands behind their back. I rolled my eyes as they ran out and Jack shut the door.

“Maybe those three aren’t as bad as I thought.” Jack mused to himself.

“You’re joking, right?” I questioned. “They had their fingers crossed, all three of them!”

“Oh, nonsense.” He waved it off. I shook my head, blinking away the tears that were starting to form. Just in time, too, because Jack walked over and looked at my picture. It was another one of the little projects he had me doing; a drawing of my ideal room, Halloween Town style. Honestly, I didn’t know why, but I did it anyway, just to keep him happy.

Besides, it was better than drawing him in a Santa Clause outfit.

“Almost done?” He asked. I nodded, handing him the picture and standing up.

“I’m going over to Dr. Finklestein’s for a while.” I told him, walking outside.

He nodded, examining my picture. “I’ll come and get you in a little while.” I opened the door and walked out, slamming it behind me and going down the stairs.

I stumbled on the last step, falling on my hands and knees. I stood and looked at my stinging palms. “And now I’m bleeding. This must be a really great day.” I muttered, walking off toward the Acid Works. After shoving open the heavy gate, I slid inside, making sure not to step on any of the doctor’s many frogs that were hopping everywhere. I shut it just as quickly, making sure that none of the amphibians tried to escape. Dr. Finklestein’s frogs weren’t exactly normal; they could spit acid, hence why they lived in the Acid Works. Last time one had escaped, it melted the handle of the ax in Behemoth’s head. He wouldn’t come out of the Pumpkin Patch for almost two weeks.

I knocked once before walking inside. Dr. Finklestein would never hear me anyway. I climbed the winding ramp that led up to his lab, peeking inside. The skeleton reindeer Jack had asked him to build were lying on the table, lifeless. Well, technically, they were never actually going to be alive, but I’m not going to get into technicalities.

A whirring noise behind me made me turn around to see Dr. Finklestein. “Ah, Aubrey. I didn’t hear you come in.”

I smiled at him. “You usually don’t.” I moved to the side so he get to his work table. “So, no luck with the reindeer yet?” I asked.

“Not yet.” He confessed, tinkering with one’s skull.

I sat down in a chair sitting in the corner. “Well, you still have a bit… Christmas is still three weeks away.”

Dr. Finklestein turned and looked at me. “Aubrey, Sally is in her room. You’re free to go talk to her.”

I smiled sheepishly at him out and over to Sally’s door, not bothering to knock before running in. Sally looked up from her sewing machine and smiled at me. I grimaced at the red fabric before running over and climbing in her lap. She stroked my hair in an almost motherly way. “No luck, huh?”

I shook my head. “He’s not even listening to me. Jack’s taking this too far, Sally. He gave Boogie’s Boys a ‘special’ job! Boogie’s Boys!”

Sally wrapped me in a hug. Her fabric-like skin was a welcome change from Jack’s stiff, bony hugs, which had become very rare as of late. “It’s all right. Look.” I slid off of her lap, letting her stand and walk over to her door. Peeking out and looking around, she pulled her head back in with a satisfied smile. Walking over to the center of her room, she knelt down and slid one of the floorboards away. Then, she pulled out a large bottle labeled ‘Fog Juice’.

“What is it?” I asked curiously.

Sally smiled at me, almost impishly. “A bottle of Fog Juice. If I poured this into one of the fountains in the square, it would make a fog so thick that there would be no way for Jack to take off.”

I grinned at her. “Do you really think it’ll work?”

“I don’t know, but we can certainly try, hm?” Sally said soothingly, smoothing down my hair again.

I nodded and rested my head on her shoulder. “Yeah.”

.0o0.

The next day, I was helping Sally with some shopping at the Witches’ Shop, considering Jack was too busy overseeing the development of the ‘presents’ he was going to deliver.

There was a loud commotion outside the shop. “What the heck…?” I muttered, running outside. I heard Sally shouting behind me, but I was already halfway to the square before she was even out of the shop.

Lock, Shock, and Barrel had ridden up in their bathtub, a large sack wriggling in it. The trio jumped off, running toward Jack. I, on the other hand, hid behind the wall that almost closed off the shop from the rest of the square. “Jack, Jack! We caught him, we caught him!”

Jack turned around, a delighted grin on his face. “Perfect!” He strode over to the bathtub. “Open it up, quickly!”

Lock and Barrel tugged open the string tied around the mouth of the bag and out shot… a very large pink rabbit? Who was carrying a basket of eggs… the Easter Bunny? What were Lock, Shock, and Barrel doing with the Easter Bunny in a sack?

Jack frowned. “That’s not Sandy Claws.”

In that moment, I realized that Jack had finally gone over the edge. Santa? He’d hired Boogie’s Boys to catch SANTA?!

“It isn’t?” Shock asked.

Barrel looked over at the rabbit. “Then who is it?”

That question was answered by Behemoth, who the bunny was sniffing curiously. “BUNNY!” He yelled, not purposely scaring him into leaping back into the sack with a startled ‘eek!’.

“Not Sandy Claws.” Jack restated, motioning to the quivering bag. “Take him back!”

Lock shrunk away. “We followed your instructions-”

“We went through the door-” Barrel offered, trying to be helpful.

Jack put his hands on his hips. “Which door? There’s more than one! Sandy Claws is through the door shaped like this.” He held out a cookie in the shape of a Christmas tree.

Shock turned to Lock, smacking him with her mask. “I told you!”

Jack, who was obviously getting very annoyed, turned away. When he turned back, he was making a face that terrified me from yards away, letting out a terrible roar. The three stopped fighting, Lock and Barrel hiding behind Shock, who spread her arms out somewhat protectively in front of them. After glaring at them, he turned toward the bag in their bathtub. “I’m very sorry for the inconvenience sir.” He apologized politely. Turning back to Boogie’s Boys, he ordered, “Take him home first! And apologize again!” They nodded, running off, the tub following them. “Be careful with Sandy Claws when you fetch him. Treat him nicely!”

“Got it!” One, Lock, I think, called.

“We’ll get it right.” Shock added.

“Next time!” All three chorused.

As they disappeared on the turning path beyond the gate, Jack turned back to the citizens standing around the square. “All right everyone, let’s all get back to work! There are only a few weeks until Christmas!” Everyone cheered and went back to making their ‘toys’.

I bit my lip and buried my face in Sally’s dress, tears burning trails down my cheeks.

“This time… this time…” The song began behind me.

I had to get out of there before I broke down completely. “I’m going home.” I told Sally, sobbing as I ran off. The song followed me, all the way out to the Hinterlands. And of course, I couldn’t see very well because I was crying, so I ended up tripping. Over what, I don’t know, but I did, and I could taste blood in my mouth. I sat up, wincing as I fingered my split lip. That was going to hurt in the morning. Standing, I looked around. After a year, I’d pretty much figured out how to navigate the confusing Hinterland woods. But since I hadn’t been paying much attention to how I’d been running, I was lost.

Looking up, I watched the crows. They were all flying directly to my left, which meant that’s where the door was. I followed the bird’s path from the ground, watching them leave back to their usual roosts once I’d reached the door. With a sigh, and after wiping as much of the blood off my face as I could, I turned the pumpkin’s nose and hopped through.

I was right; the first thing I felt when I woke up was my throbbing lip. I touched it gingerly. Pulling my fingers back, I examined them closely in the dim light. ‘Well, at least there isn’t any blood.’ I sighed and snuggled deeper under my flimsy sheets, closing my eyes, even though I knew I wasn’t going to get anymore sleep.

But I couldn’t even fake sleeping, for a second later, the lights in our room clicked on. Letting out a groan, I placed my pillow over my head, but it was rudely yanked away a moment later. “Aubrey.” Sandy’s voice whispered next to my ear. I groaned and swatted blindly at her. A thin hand grasped my wrist. “Aubrey, I know you’re awake. Please. It’s important.”

I sat up as I realized that Sandy’s voice was trembling terribly. “Wha’s goin’ on?” I asked, yawning a little.

“Dr. McIntire died last night.”

I froze mid-stretch and stared at her face, her emerald eyes wide with terror. “Say what now?”

“He died last night. It was from internal hem… hemorging…”

“Internal hemorrhaging?”

Sandy nodded. “Yeah, in his brain.”

My breath hitched in my chest. Do you want to die, Aubrey?

No, but I wish you would.

 

“They said that it must’ve been happening for weeks. He was complaining that his head hurt and just keeled over. Betsy, you know, the girl down the hall who thinks she’s a bird? Well, she woke up and saw it and she had to be sedated, but she woke like half the building up while they tried to calm her down.”

I’m sorry; I seem to be getting a migraine. You can go. ‘Oh my god…’ I thought, clutching my sheets, my nails digging into my palms through the thin cloth. I took a shuddering breath. I had  killed him. It was my fault.

“What?” Sandy asked. I hadn’t realized that I’d spoken.

“I killed him.” I repeated. “I wished he was dead, and now he is.”

“Aubrey… you didn’t kill him. It’s not your fault.” Sandy pulled me to her chest and hugged me tightly. “There’s no way you could have done anything.”

For some reason, that didn’t make me feel better.

The next day, we had a new doctor. His name was Mitchell Anderson, and he didn’t look much younger than Dr. McIntire had been. His orange-red hair had streaks of silver in it, and there were fine lines around his eyes and across his forehead.

But I had bigger worries than a new doctor. Jack was actually succeeding in every aspect of his plan, including the reindeer. Dr. Finklestein had gotten them to ‘live’ and to fly, so on December twenty-fourth, tonight, they would be ready to pull Jack’s coffin sleigh. Yes, COFFIN.

The day started with the denizens of Halloween Town loading up his sleigh with the presents that they’d created. Jack was having Sally make the final adjustments to his Sandy Claws suit. I was sitting on a stool to the side while she fixed the white cuff on his right sleeve, and she was trying one more time to convince Jack to stop this before it got any worse. “You don’t look like yourself, Jack, not at all.” She sighed, pushing the thread through the red fabric.

Jack smiled at her. “I know, isn’t it wonderful? It couldn’t be more wonderful!”

Sally held up his picture, the one that I had traced for him. “But you’re the Pumpkin King!” She protested.

Jack took the picture and broke it over his knee. “Not anymore. And I feel so much better now!”

Sally sighed and picked up her needle, continuing to sew. “Jack, I know you think something’s missing, but-”

“Ow!” Jack stuck his finger in his mouth; Sally had pricked it with the needle.

“Sorry!” Sally apologized quickly as Jack looked in the mirror next to him.

Studying his appearance carefully, he scratched his head. “You’re right, Sally. Something is missing. But what? I’ve got the beard, the coat, the boots-”

He was cut off by three very unwelcome (in my book) voices chiming, “Jack, Jack! This time we bagged him!” Everyone in the square looked up as Lock, Shock, Barrel, and their bathtub walked into the town square, a very large, plastic bag sitting in the bathtub.

“This time we really did!” Lock said proudly.

“He sure is big Jack.” Barrel sighed from his spot on top of the sack.

“And heavy!” Shock whined.

“Let me out!” The person in the bag yelled. The trio pulled open the strings and out poked the head of the one and only Santa Claus.

Jack looked like he had been sent to Heaven. “Sandy Claws… in person! What a pleasure to meet you!” He took Santa’s hand to shake it, looking surprised. “Why, you have hands! You don’t have claws at all.” I was dumbfounded; I couldn’t believe that Jack believed his own lie.

Santa pushed his hat out of his eyes, looking around confusedly. “Where am I?”

“Surprised, aren’t you?” Jack asked excitedly. “I knew you would be. You don’t have to worry about Christmas this year.”

That startled him. “What?”

“Consider this a vacation, Sandy. A reward. It’s your turn to take it easy.” Jack told him.

“But there must be some mistake!” Santa protested.

Jack either was too busy with his daydreaming or just ignored his protest. “See that he’s comfortable.” He ordered Lock, Shock, and Barrel. He stopped them before they shoved Santa back in the bag. “Just a second fellows!” He studied the old man for a second. “Of course! That’s what I’m missing!” He swiped the hat off of Santa’s head.

“But you can’t just-” Santa started before he was shoved back in the bag. “Where are we going?!” He questioned as the three walked off. I turned to Sally as Jack started practicing his ‘ho ho ho’.

“I’m going after them.” I told her.

Sally’s eyes widened. “What? But you can’t! It’s too dangerous.”

“I have to Sally. I have to find out where they’re taking him.” After a moment, she nodded and hugged me, sending me off. Jack didn’t even notice me when I went passed him, even though I purposely bumped into him.

I caught up to Lock, Shock, and Barrel just before they reached the Hinterlands. “Where are we taking him?” Barrel asked, still sitting on top of the sack.

“Where?” Shock repeated, since she obviously didn’t know either.

There was a thoughtful pause. “To Oogie Boogie, of course. There isn’t anywhere in the whole world more comfortable than that and Jack said to make him comfortable, didn’t he?”

“Yes, he did.” Shock and Barrel giggled.

“Haven’t you heard of peace on earth and good will toward men?” Santa called from the sack.

“No!” The three of them replied. I heard someone chuckle, and then whisper something. All three laughed evilly, and started walking again. I ran after them, hiding (somewhat poorly) behind the dense trees whenever one would stop to look back. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that they were a little paranoid. I made a mental note to remember to laugh at that later; right now, I couldn’t risk making ANY noise.

Twenty minutes later, I found out where they were taking him. A crooked, twisted old tree with a crude looking tree house stuck in its branches. Slowly, I back away from the path, running back to town.

I could just see the gates when the fog began to float out of the fountains like smoke, curling around the citizens, who were to busy listening to the Mayor to notice yet. I ran around the edge of the crowd to Sally, who was standing apart from the crowd, near on of the smaller fountains. I smiled up at her. “It’s working!” She nodded, happily, and both of us looked up to Jack, who was now just barely visible through the thick fog.

The Mayor tried to continue his speech, despite the shrinking visibility factor. “You who have eh, devastated the souls of the living...”

Jack finally seemed to realize how bad the fog was. “Oh no! We can’t take off in this. The reindeer can’t see an inch in front of their noses.” Traitorously, I smiled in glee. It had worked!

Disappointed murmurs cut through the crowd. “This fog’s as thick as… as…” One of the Vampire Brother’s started.

“Jellied brains!” The Cyclops finished.

“Thicker!” The Vampires corrected.

Jack laid his head in his hands. “There go all of my hopes, my precious plans, my glorious dreams…”

“There goes Christmas.” Corpse Kid snuffled, wiping at his sewn up eyes.

That’s when I heard a bark, and saw a bright light flying over the crowd. I gasped. “Oh, Zero, no…” I groaned.

“No Zero, down boy…” Jack sighed, before doing a double take. “My, what a brilliant nose you have… the better to light my way! To the head of the team, Zero! We’re off!”

“Jack, no!” Sally protested, but she was unheard over the crowd’s cheers as Jack’s sleigh lifted into the air.