Sally yawned sitting up in bed as the rays of the pumpkin shaped sun bathed her room in a peaceful orange glow. She stretched her arms looking at the sleeping form of her husband- that wasn't Jack. Terror washed over Sally at once as she slipped from the bed without waking the strange man next to her. She looked in vain for her skeletal husband. What ever this man did with Jack, oh he was about to be more than sorry. Sally felt around the shelf behind her grabbing the first thing she could use as a weapon and running at the sleeping man. Unfortunately, he woke up. He rolled to the left making Sally collide with the bed instead of her intended target. "Are you trying to kill me!?" the man cried sounding as surprised to see Sally as she was to see him.
"WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY HUSBAND!?" Sally yelled tackling the man to the ground. She had underestimated his strength and skill for in moments he had her pinned to the ground. He was almost as quick and strong as her husband.
"WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY WIFE!?" The man responded. Sally bit him hard on the hand and he lost his balance allowing her to pounce on him trying to get the better of him, but he was good. "Where's Sally!?" he gasped between attacks. At last he pushed her backward right into the mirror. Sally jumped up and charged but the man had suddenly become very frightened looking.
"What never seen a rag doll before, human?" Sally asked icily. The man didn't respond he was staring right through her a stunned expression never leaving his pale features. He raised a hand and began moving it looking at the reflecting part of him move with him.
"Turn around." the man said weakly. Sally looked At him as if he were mad, which he probably was by the way he was acting. Sally continued to eye him as she turned to face the mirror looking at... well it looked like her but there wasn't a stitch on her body. Her skin was smooth and not a single thread broke the surface. She did what any Halloween citizen would do in a situation. She waved her arm a few times looking at it in front of her making sure it was real. It was. She let out a scream that was loud enough to wake the remaining dead, if there were any, in Halloween Town.
"But then... if this is me... are you...?" she had stopped screaming but had yet to calm down to the point where complete sentences were able to be formed by her panicked mind. The man nodded gravely. Sally shook her head, she was dreaming! She had to be dreaming!
"Sally it's me...Jack." he said looking at himself running his hand over his face and through his hair. It was the first time Sally had gotten a good look at him. He was still tall, but now pale skin covered his once bony body. He had short white hair that matched the color of his skull and his eyes were the most dazzling blue color.
"Mom!" Sally didn't have time to respond for right at that moment both of her now human children crashed through the door. All of Hally's stitches had vanished and their once Rag Doll youngest daughter was now just as human as her parents. Hally seemed to have made the same mistake that Sally did for she was still fighting the black haired green eyed boy who had come with her, who Sally realized to be Jake, their oldest child and Hally's once skeletal older brother. The room was chaotic. Everyone shouting; trying to get the kids to calm; down no one recognizing anyone.
"EVERYONE JUST CALM DOWN AND BE QUIET!" Jack ordered. At once the room fell silent. "Now everyone, something bad has happened and the only way to fix it is to think logically." It had taken a bit for everyone to realize what had happened, and even after it seemed as if no one wanted to believe it. Sally, who had had the most time to recover from the massive shock, spoke first.
"Is it just us? I mean, if so it could narrow down our theories on what happened." Sally suggested. Jack nodded thoughtfully. But their question was answered before they could even think of a way to fix the problem. A low wail traveled through the town in response to their question. "The Town alarm!" Sally gasped recognizing the panicked screech at once. "Not just us then." Sally muttered looking outside. The sun was no longer Pumpkin shaped, the landscape was become less gray and macabre as the seconds ticked by. "Kids get dressed hurry. We need to get to town Hall!" Sally instructed.
**************
"Jack! Jack Skellington!?" Mayor called hopefully looking across the human faces of the people sitting before him. This was by far the most horrible thing that could have happened, not the good kind of horrible either. Halloween gone human!? They couldn't frighten people looking like this. The door opened again as a different group of now human people arrived . "Jack!? Jack is that you!?" Mayor called hopefully.
"Yes Mayor!" came the reply. Well it sounded like Jack. Mayor decided. He heard gasps from the back that seemed to travel through the crowd as Jack passed them. The lighting was at a poor angle so all Mayor could see was the outline of their leader. Had the Mayor still had two faces his head would have spun when he saw the white haired man before him. "People of Halloween!" Jack called ignoring the stunned looks on everyone's' faces. "This is most certainly a time of worry, but I'm sure there is a way around this. Dr. Finkelstien! Doctor are you here!?"
"Right here Jack!" the Doctor's voice called from somewhere deep within the audience. "Jewel, push me up to Jack." The crowd parted making room for a figure in a wheelchair and a figure pushing it. Even the Doctor had changed dramatically. He was as human as the others were, with dark black hair streaked with gray on either side. His black goggles still hid his eyes, and the eyes of his now blonde human wife Jewel. This was worse than anyone first though.
"Doctor, do you know what caused this?" Jack asked anxiously. "Do you know how to fix this?" The room was still and all eyes were on Dr. Finkelstien. The Doctor was silent for a bit his overly intelligent mind racing trying to find the cause.
"I'm sorry Jack, but nothing like this has ever happened." The Doctor said with a shrug. Commotion began to arise from the frightened citizens. Staying human was not an appealing option. "But I assure you I will work on nothing else until I find a way to fix this mess. Until I get this thing fixed though I guess we'll just have to get used to being human."
"But we don't know how to be human!" cried someone who was probably, at one time, one of the witches. That sparked a rise from the audience as well. Jack sighed as the people of Halloween raved to their neighbors about how no one knew how to be human. Indeed it was something few in their town had ever been faced with.
"Ok, ok calm down everyone!" Jack ordered making the noise level drop at once. "Now how many of you were human at one time." A few hands went into the air: Dr. Jekyll, Flora and Miles, Sadako and Samara, several of the big names in horror history. And three hands he did not expect to see went into the air: Lock, Shock, and Barrel. Ignoring this for the time being Jack continued his plan. "Now how many of you remember how to be human?" At once every hand that had risen fell. Jack sighed shaking his head. Sally, seeing her husbands despair, decided to make a suggestion.
"Jack, what about the mortal girls?" Sally suggested. "They still are human so maybe they could be of some help?" Jack's eyes lit up, obviously pleased with Sally's suggestion. The mortal girls didn't attend town meetings under normal circumstances, so finding them could be difficult.
"Great idea Sally! Dr. Jekyll, you and Sadako Yamamura find the mortal girls and bring them here. Tell them its urgent." Two figures obediently left the Town Hall in search of the only people who knew how to be human. It seemed to take the searchers forever to find the mortals, in the meantime everyone was experimenting to see just how much power they had had taken from them, the answer: all of it. After what seemed like years the doors opened revealing five figures two of whom sat down. "Kaitlin, Zoë, Page? Great to see you girls come up here." Jack called. Uncertainly the three figures that had remained standing advanced forward reaching the stage in what felt to Jack like hours. He could understand why they were uncertain of what to do, but he didn't have the time to wait.
"Mr. Skellington?" the first girl on stage asked. She was undoubtedly Kaitlin, the youngest of the three her long dark brown hair covering one eye and they other bright blue eye was hidden behind a pair of glasses. Jack nodded his human features grave though he was still having trouble becoming accustomed to having skin.
"Is this some kind of joke?" asked the oldest of the mortal girls, Zoë, as she followed Kaitlin's lead, her short extremely curly brown hair hung just above her shoulders. She was taller than Kaitlin, but she too wore glasses that magnified her bright green eyes. "I mean we heard an explanation from Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Yamamura but I thought they were kidding."
"No Zoë, I'm afraid we aren't joking." Jack said wishing with all his might he could be. "That's why we need you girls. We need you to show us how to be... alive." the last words tasted fowl to him. He had always wanted change but this was way too much for him.
"It's not so bad!" Page said brightly as she ran up on stage behind her friends her short straight blonde hair swishing forward as she came to a sudden halt. "I mean, being alive is almost just like being dead. Well, except without your powers, and your digestive systems have changed, and now you're more prone to hot and cold temperatures..." she said her light blue eyes looking thoughtful.
"But just like it! Really!" Zoë finished her tone sarcastically bright as she mocked Page's last comment. Page failed to catch this, still lost in her own thoughts trying to find all of the differences between being alive and dead.
"Zoë, you aren't helping." Kaitlin said at last. "Ok well, for starters you're solid now, everyone has to use the door." she began. "And no more super strength, super speed, anything like that. And most of the things you used to eat won't cooperate with your new digestive systems. Especially the vampires, no more drinking blood, they have enough of it now that they're alive." There were loud and angry gasps from the audience upon hearing these words.
"No powers?! No food!? We're all going to die aren't we!?" cried one panicked citizen. This started an uproar from the human audience. Jack had to calm them all down again but it was getting harder and harder to do.
"Now everyone the key is not to panic, we'll be here to help and-" Kaitlin began but Page cut her off.
"Actually you could die." Page said loud enough to quell the audience.
"Page I don't think that's such a good ide-" again Kaitlin was cut off by her blonde companion.
"Cause now you can get sick."
"Page." her companions warned.
"And since your prone to hot and cold now you can catch a cold. Which will turn into the flu."
"Um.. Page!"
"And that will turn into pneumonia."
"Page!"
"Which will end in a massive pneumonic plague sweeping Halloween Town and of course inevitable death and-"
"PAGE!"
"Yes?"
"THAT'S ENOUGH! You are NOT helping!" Zoë and Kaitlin shouted together. Page fell silent as she was told but they were a bit late in quieting her. The Town Hall had fallen completely silent and all eyes were on the stage in the center. Even Jack was looking nervous.
"Ok everyone, don't take anything my companion said into account please!" Kaitlin called with little effect. "Look, if you need help we'll be here to assist you whenever you need it. You can find us at school or just about anywhere." she sighed turning back to her two friends. "This is going to be a very long day."
