Chapter #13
Sally stared at him. This was definitely strange. She hugged him one more time, before loyally walking away to find the portal to Halloweentown from whence she came. Jack watched her go, and as he did, he sighed to himself. The fun was about to begin. Just as soon as his slaves appeared. He walked away back toward the sunken ship. He smiled to himself. No Seralicore to tell him what to do. No more "Master" stuff. He was on his own.
He walked onto the ships bow to await his slaves, and the joy inside bubbled to the surface. He felt as though he were floating on a cloud, the joy ran so fast. He left out an echoing, haunting laughter that drove from wall to wall, and bounced into every hidden corner in the room. If he'd laughed any louder, the humans would have heard his screech. A dark shadow appeared, and stood behind him. Angel's flowing black hair emerged from nowhere, as the breeze blew her midnight hair about. Her eyes turned the sourest green Jack had ever seen. Sorrow appeared in her eyes, and tears flowed freely. In the short time she'd known Jack, her feelings for him began to show in her actions. He had yet to notice.
"What have you done...?" She asked quietly. She looked right through him, unable to make eye contact. "What have you done......." She put her head down, and cried. She wrapped her arms around her, her black leather skirt and tank top unable to keep her warm. The lava pool had no effect on her pale skin. The green in her eyes matched the pool, and intensified her sorrow. Her black dragon wings folded around her body, and enclosed it as her tail curled around her legs. The black high tops she wore came together in a "clack" noise that told Jack she was trying to steady herself. The wind picked up, and Jack realized she was causing it.
"I have done nothing my creator has not advised. I am the darkness. I control everyone's dreams in the mortal world, and now, I shall control their very lives!" He sneered at her, and Angel merely looked on in horror. "I don't know who you are, or what you want, but you will remain here with me until the rest of the world joins us in my triumph. The world, as my Master once told me, will never see their beloved sun again."
Angel's mouth dropped, and hung open. Her forked tongue caught in her throat. "How could you?! Why Jack, why?!" She asked. He smiled.
"Because my dear. I can." He whipped the crucifix out of his coat, and slammed it against Angel's chest as though to ward her off. It didn't work, and Jack looked confusedly at the cross. "Oh well. Not all demons are terrified of crosses, eh? Ha! No matter." He grabbed her by the arm, and violently threw her onto the pavement behind the fence. She landed heavily, hitting the ground headfirst. In her collision, Angel lost consciousness, and sunk into the darkness. A dark pool of violet blood surrounded her frame.
Jack watched the entrance for his slaves. When Sally returned, a huge crowd of people emerged, and Sally lead them into the fenced in area. To her astonishment, Jack appeared behind her, and shoved her inside. "Jack!" She screamed. She turned to see him smiling at her through the gate. He kissed the bars to signify that no matter what she did, she was his new toy.
He shook his head. "I'm not the Jack you knew." He smiled again. When he walked away, Sally ran into the crowd, bumping people, and making some of them scream. When she reached the middle, she saw Angel's broken body in the pool of blood. She reached down, and put her head to Sally's chest to hear a heartbeat. It was slow, and labored. She reached down, and lifted Angel from the floor. Looking up, she saw above her the bow of the ship. On the bow, lifting a sword above his head, was Jack. He laughed another maniacal laugh, and mocked her movements as she tried to take Angel to safety. Sally shook her head, as the tears stood in the corners of her eyes. She dare not cry.
As night begins to come down once again, a small foggy smoke develops in the cave, and the air is given a darker, greyer hint than the green. The green melted in with the grey to give it a sickening feel. It swirled around Jack and his upraised sword. When it dawned on Sally that Seralicore was nowhere in sight, she looked up and down, seeing nothing. "Where is she?" She asked herself. Angel coughed.
"She's dead." She sighed. Sally looked down, and Angel took another choking cough. "Jack threw her over the bow of the ship." Sally began to cry in extreme hysterics. Her chokes and sobs echoed among the crowd who in turn, stared at her. To them, this was a sideshow. A game. Something like a haunted house. When Jack lifted up the sword to full height, the green and grey smoke swirled around the blade, making it glow horribly. His laughter caused to mortals to understand that this was no game, and they had met their end.
Jack's moment had finally come. The end was near, he could feel it. Standing above them, the breeze returned blowing his cape out from behind him, and up into the air. He grinned down at them, the sword point now down, the tip resting on the bow. On the end of the sword end, was a pumpkin. Sally's memories washed back to her... The Pumpkin King... Maybe, just maybe, that memory would bring him back to her.
As day came on, and the people stared up at him, someone yelled, "Oh God... It's a skeleton..." The man backed away, and tried to run for an exit. Jack saw him move, and hurled the sword through the air with precise ease. The sword struck him, and sliced right through his ribs. He fell, and did not rise again. Seeing his victory, Jack leaped from the top of the bow, did a front flip, and landed amongst the mass of people who in turn, stepped aside. He walked over, and yanked the sword from the dead mans body.
"Let this be a lesson to all of you. Try to escape. You'll have the very same end." He snapped his fingers, and the man's soul returned to his body in a ghostly mirage. When the man sat up, his eyes stared at nothing, and his skin was pale and sickly. He was dead, and he was a slave to Jack's power. The blade he was holding glowed. The blood on it dissipated as though nothing were there, and as though Jack hadn't killed anyone.
He pulled the man to the edge of the lava pool, and shoved him down. "I've no use of you. The mortals know their place now." Then, he turned, and returned to the top of his throne. Looking down on them, he let another wail escape his lips. He threw back his head, and upraised his arms as though he were giving prayer to a god, and opened his mouth as wide as he dared. He clenched his eyes shut, and swallowed the moment he was about to share.
