Chapter #14
Once again, a cold darkness overwhelmed the room. Jack stared into every face. He sat atop his perch at the bow of the destroyed ship, elbows resting on his knees, and savored every shudder that went through them. He smiled, as a young girl watched him intently, eyes wide. He waved to her, and when he did, she flinched. He smiled again. Perfect.
A cold fog rolled around them, mixed with the green light. The grey smoke was disappearing. Jack supposed maybe it was Seralicore trying to annoy him. Stupid ghost. He'd see her in Halloweentown. He was waiting. Waiting for the full moon to appear in the mortal world, so that he could finally make his move. The sword had magic. Magic that would allow him to claim everything. Their souls, their lives, there peace.
From the top, he could see Sally resting on the ground on her knees. Most of the mortals were so exhausted they huddled close, and tried to sleep on top of one another for warmth. He laughed at them. Across Sally's legs rested Angel, her limp body caked in dried blood. Sally wept to herself, and tried not to show her fear. The choke was coming into her throat.
She stole a glance at him. He stared her right in the eyes. Ashamed, she turned her gaze away. How could he possibly do this? And it was her fault! She was in on the whole plan... Letting her kill him was the best mercy she could have given him. And herself.
As the night aged on, the lime-light began to cool down. A chill made the freezing mortals even colder than what they were, so that even piled on top of one another, they were ice. Some of them did not sleep for fear of Jack descending to hurt them. A few glared up at him in sullen rage. Jack ignored them all. The little girl caught his eye again. Once again, he threw her a demented grin, and waved. She did not turn away. "Brat." He scoffed.
Through a hole in the side of the ship filled with water, Jack saw an image of the mortal world. Above, their moon shown high. Clear, and crisp. He could see every crater. Now was the time. Now was the time to make his move. If he was to claim his authority, he was to do it now.
He rose to his feet, making every mortal on the ground stand up in their terror. He pulled the sword from its sheath. The blade glinted its sickly green, and the smoke again coiled around it. His grin widened clear up to his eyes like it sometimes did. Looking down on everyone, Jack pointed the blade to a man right up front. As he did so, the ground shook, the walls made a loud crack noise, and the ship rocked violently. The man made one loud howl before falling over and landing on the pavement. In order to promote more torment, Jack pointed his blade at the fence surrounding them, and produced a jagged hole that opened only to the slime. He laughed mockingly at them. Sally looked up in sick terror. She could not believe this! If Seralicore were still alive, she would have killed her herself!
"How...?" She murmured. The girl that started up at Jack, now stared over at Sally who was holding Angel. Something made Sally turn to her. But what, she did not know. The girl stared as though she were dumb, but Sally paid her no more attention.
"Ha ha ha!!!!" He laughed, and pointed his blade at a young woman holding a baby. She looked up at him, tears streaming from her eyes like rivers flowing to the ocean. She clutched the baby in her arms, and looked down into the bundle the infant was wrapped in. Silently, she put her lips to the baby's forehead. She fell to her knees, her black dress wrapping around her ankles. The baby didn't make a sound. As soon as Jack pointed his blade at her, she didn't either.
Another was a 7 year old girl wearing nothing but rags. She came here hoping to find a place to live, and start again. Instead, she met a bloody death on top of one of the barbed wire rings atop the fence as she was trying to escape Jack's wrath. Sally watched as the thousands of people staggered over one another, many committing suicide by jumping off the side where Jack blew a hole. Their screams and moans filled the room, and the cracks and earthquakes caused every time Jack pointed the blade at someone or something rattled Sally's hearing.
Angel still did not stir. Sally was beginning to wonder if she would ever wake up. She wasn't dead yet, as long as her chest still heaved its weak heave. But Sally was beginning to lose her faith. Jack's flowing cloak caught in the wind, and blew behind him as his slim form was seen again with the sword raised above his head. He jeered down at Sally, and he sneered as she stared up at him in hate. Something inside Sally snapped.
She could take this no more. This was not the Jack she knew or loved. Hugging Angel to her chest, she looked down at her. "This will be stopped." She hugged Angel, the one who tried to help him. "I love you Jack, but not like this."
She stood, and stared Jack in the eyes. The girl that was staring at her, now stared back up at Jack again. He looked down at her. This kid was getting on his nerves. He glared at her, and she still did not turn from his gaze. Instead, she narrowed her eyes. This made him angry. Swirling the blade above his head threateningly, he forced all the smoke and lime-light in the room into a thundering hurricane, knocking people down, and hurling sharp objects that hit several people. The girl fought against the gale. When she hit the ground, and hung to the edge of the blown out hole, Jack seemed satisfied. She clung for life, crying as she could not pull herself up.
Sally watched the girl, and forced herself between holding onto Angel, or helping her. She let go of Angel, lying her gently to the ground, and ran to the hole. She held out her hand, and the girl silently took it. But, as she was a rag doll, Sally's arm began to come loose. She began to panic, as the girl was struggling to hold on. At the last minute, Sally's arm came off, and the girl plunged to the goo below holding onto her arm.
"Noo!!!" Sally screamed. She dove off the side of the hole, it wasn't the first time she'd jumped off of something, and dove toward the girl. This was the one time she needed to hide her fear. She didn't even know why. All she knew, was that the girl had something important to do with Jack, and that she had to be caught so that whatever she was meant to do, was done.
As the girl looked up at Sally, she pointed upward toward the top of the ship where Jack now stood. The lime-light illuminated his face again, and the smoke roiled across. Sally took a moment to looked up, before focusing back on the girl. She reached down to grab her, and when she did, a sword pierced Sally's other hand.
