Chapter #11
The time came later in the day when Seralicore returned. In her hand, she carried a very off-beat looking whip. "If you come quietly, I will not have to use this." Jack squirmed, the crucifix still across his chest. By now, the burning had ceased, but Jack was feeling pretty weak. His ribs hurt, which was odd, because generally he didn't feel pain. The pain he felt at that point, was worse than his actual death. Seralicore giggled an evil little giggle.
"I don't care what you do... Just make sure Sally doesn't get hurt." He clenched his teeth. The cuffs were wearing down the bone on his wrists and ankles. She smiled.
"Now Jack. Why would I do that?" He glared. She came over, and uncuffed him. Jack rubbed his wrists and ankles. "Come. The time is now. You will now come with me. We have something we need to do." She pulled him along, and into a room that was completely cloaked in black. The smell of basement coated the air, and the floor itself reminded him of such. He'd scared plenty of little kids that way. Most of his Halloween's were spent hanging in basements ready to jump out at the closest little kid, but this time... He despised it.
A long tube stood in the middle. It went from the floor to the roof, and inside was the green liquid from outside that ate away at the ship's exterior like acid. It churned inside the tube, and wire's protruded from the glass. They hooked up to a computer that of which had plenty of controls and knobs to turn. Jack had a certain feeling...
"Am I supposed to...?" She slapped him across the face, knocking him to the ground. Her eyes had a dangerous glow.
"Do not speak fool! The worst mistake you could make in here, is disrupting that goo. The moment you step in here, the silence must be taken to advantage. Think of it as a soufflé. One loud yell, and it explodes." Jack stared dumbstruck at her. He pulled himself up, and followed her to a huge tunnel that lead from where the computer room was, to the goo tank. Jack looked at it, and Seralicore nodded. "The door is open. Go through, and when you get to the door, go in. The wires will automatically join to you where they need to be. When that happens, I'll turn the computer on, and all will become black."
Jack got another sinking feeling... A huge, black hole grew in his chest. He felt cold toward the world. He suddenly felt very bitter about what Sally had done, and hated Angel for leaving him again. However... Something occurred to him. What he was feeling, came from the goo! Hmm... This reminded him of the Ghostbusters. Moron's always ruined his scare plans... There it went again! Jack reached into his pocket, and pulled out the crucifix. Clutching it in his grip, he suddenly felt the darkness and cold dissipate. Ah ha! That was Seralicore's plan!
He smirked sarcastically as he walked up to the tank. Something was going to happen. Something bad. But the cross Angel had given him was becoming something he put his complete faith in. Nothing was going to touch him. Down the tunnel, Jack came upon the door. In he went. The ooze pulling him inside, as the different wires came towards him.
They joined to his arms, cheeks, stomach, and all else that may have needed electronic assistance. He peeked out the tank to watch Seralicore push a big blue button. The wires tightened. There was no more slack. He couldn't move if he tried. He began to panic. The cross was still clutched in his grip. When Angel appeared, Seralicore had not seen her. It was as though she were a ghost. Right now, he was terrified that she would see and know what he cross was for. He clutched it all the tighter in his fear, and the fear subsided again.
Seralicore threw him one vicious glance before the wires threw huge charges of electricity through his bones. They shook him, and for a moment, he thought he'd fall apart. The sting began to make him numb, and all he felt after that was a slight vibration. His sight began to blank out. Seralicore was right. Everything was going black. In the back of his mind, he thought one thing. He was going to die. Again.
Before he knew it, the darkness was swathed around him, and he felt no pain. It was just as it was when he first died, and went to Halloweentown to claim his crown. But then, something seemed to feel very wrong inside. The cold pit began to grow tremendously, and no matter how hard he clutched the crucifix, nothing happened to sedate it. It grew too fast.
A hate so deep it could shatter stone appeared where his heart should have been. The hate began to grow into such a storm he thought he'd burst. At last, he awoke, and in order to release his rage, he smashed the glass that held the ooze. He heard Seralicore give a shriek, and watched again as she took a turn for him. She reached out, grabbed him, and pulled him out of the room. Her scream caused the goo to become restless and it exploded as soon as they got out of the room. Broken glass, and chips of wood flew from the site, and nicked Jack's bones. Seralicore was cut and bleeding in places, but nothing serious.
After everything went calm, Jack lost all mind. He was completely under Seralicore's control. He looked at the crucifix in his hand, and merely put it in his coat pocket for a purpose unknown. Seralicore noticed his change, and let out a squeal of glee. "Finally! Finally!! No one can stop me now!" She let out a series of hysteric laughter before helping Jack to his feet. "Let's go my friend. We have so much to do."
She pulled him to the human world, where once again he saw the little kids playing in the street. His memory began to come back a little. Enough to know who he was, but not enough to pull him out of his dementia. A twisted grin crossed his face, and his eye socket's narrowed evilly. A plan was coming to his mind. Seralicore stared at him fondly, like a mother would to a child. He looked to her. She smiled, and pointed to the children. "Kill one."
Blindly, Jack wandered behind a bush to wait for one of them to come near enough. They played a game of Tag as far as Jack could see, along with a side game of Hide And Seek. Seralicore stood in an alley, and watched.
One of the children headed straight for the bush in which to hide in. Jack tensed, waiting for the moment to spring. The light was fading. It was dark twilight. No one could have seen the kid run behind the bush. No one heard him scream as Jack pounced, and scared him literally to death. And no one saw Seralicore drag his body to the local river.
