TNBC: Making Christmas

The Hinterlands

In the late night, the skeleton walks thru the bare trees in his melancholic expression.

The white ghost dog barks three times at Jack. Zero was asking for attention. The white ghost dog levitates forth behind the skeleton.

Jack looks at his ghost friend. The skeleton shook his head. "No, Zero. Not now." He said.

Jack looked down, while walking forward. The skeleton touches his skull with his right bony hand. "I'm not in a mood." He muttered.

The white ghost dog was not satisfied. Zero zooms back Jack. The white ghost dog barked once.

Zero growls a little. The white ghost dog stops the skeleton. Zero barks four times at Jack. The white ghost dog was determined.

The skeleton glances at Zero. Jack halts. The skeleton was cheerful at the white ghost canine. "All right, Zero. All right." Jack said.

The skeleton digs inside of his jacket. Jack snaps something. His right bony hand pulls out of his jacket.

It was the one of the skeleton's left rib bone. Jack has played fetch with his white ghost dog before. No matter how many rib bones he throws for Zero, the white ghost dog always return them to him.

The skeleton raises his rib bone high in the air. Jack smiles. "Here you go, boy." He said.

Zero was happier.

Jack threw his left rib bone behind himself hard.

The white ghost canine flies after it.

Zero floats around the woods. The white ghost dog stopped. Zero growled, examining the ground for the left rib bone. The white ghost dog searched near the logs. Zero examines the dead grass. Then, the white ghost dog checks out at the tree.

Zero used his pumpkin nose to find it. The white ghost canine's nose brightens up.

Zero was surprised. The white ghost canine found it inside of the tree. Zero retrieved the left rib bone on his mouth. The white ghost dog barks thru its closed mouth. Zero flew back to Jack.

The skeleton resumed scrolling thru the dreary forest. Jack can't stop thinking about something new for the next Halloween. He was melancholy. "There has to be a new way to make people scream for next year's Halloween. I already risen from the ground like a zombie. I scared them behind the tombstone in the graveyard like a ghost. I even portrayed myself as the vampire." Jack said.

The white ghost dog glanced up. Zero barked two times with his mouth closed.

The skeleton reaches the left rib bone from the white ghost canine. "Thank you, Zero." Jack said.

The skeleton puts his left rib bone back in his jacket. "I need a Halloween that appears to be more frightful. So petrifying. And lots of shrieks involved." Jack uttered.

The skeleton sighs. "It's a bit late to return home about next year's Halloween. Of course, I might as well get some sleep while moving. Just perhaps I will find out about the next Halloween eventually." Jack decided.

His both bony hands covered his face. The skeleton shuts his eyes. Sadly, Jack was so down that he couldn't think deep enough for next year's Halloween.

Jack sleeps walking all night, going straight to the clearing path.

The white ghost dog watches the skeleton on that night.

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

The morning sun rises hours ago. It has brightened the bare woods.

Jack still walks gradually with his bony hands covering his closed eyes.

Zero observed the skeleton like the vulture. The white ghost canine was emotionless yet smiling.

Jack removed his bony hands from his face. The skeleton opens his exhausted eyes. Jack stretches his bony arms. The skeleton yawned. "Where are we?" Jack inquired in his tired voice.

The skeleton rubs his eyes.

The brown leafless trees are different than the black ones.

Jack surveys the area while scrolling. He was confident. "It's someplace new." Jack guessed.

The skeleton walked further thru the tall brown trees.

Zero was worried. The white ghost dog backs up a little bit. Zero barks thrice times. The white ghost canine was afraid.

Jack becomes confused of the unfamiliar place in the Hinterlands. The skeleton enters the clearing area of the seven trees. "What is this?" Jack inquires.

The skeleton has not seen the odd doors on seven trees before.

Jack browses at them.

The Valentine's Day door, St. Patrick's Day door, Easter Day door, Independence Day door, Halloween Day door and Thanksgiving Day door.

The skeleton was interested at first. Then, Jack was perplexed. "What are these doors doing here in the Hinterlands?" The skeleton wondered in his thought.

Jack narrowed his eyes. He was annoyed. "Well whatever the doors are here for...Nothing seems to catch my-" Jack holds his thoughts in reply.

The skeleton blinked his eyes. Jack gasped. The skeleton's skull was blown.

There was the tree with colorful decorations on it.

Jack tilts his head to his right. He was engrossed. Without his eyes, the skeleton appears to be in wonder of the peculiar holiday door.

Jack had not seen other colors before.

In Halloween Town, it was just grayscale with a hint of orange.

The skeleton wanted to know what's behind that odd decorated tree door.

Jack extended his left bony hand. The skeleton touches the gold doorknob. Jack twisted it to the left.

The gold doorknob clicked.

The skeleton opened the unusual tree door.

The wind blew at Jack calmly.

The skeleton checked inside of the tree.

Jack was curious. He sees nothing except the blackness in the tree. The skeleton looks carefully of the tree. Jack stared down of it. He blinked his eyes twice. "I don't see anything in here." The skeleton said.

Jack almost walked away from the festive tree door.

The skeleton was being dragged by something.

Jack was baffled. He stared down of himself.

The skeleton was caught in the whirlwind of snowflakes.

Jack efforts to fight against the strong wind of snow flurries yet failed.

The little snow with wind drags the skeleton to the strange pretty tree.

Jack was stunned. "WHOA!" He hollered.

The skeleton was sucked inside of the tree.

The holiday tree door closes itself.

Zero entered the clearing with seven holiday doors. The white ghost canine was astonished. Zero barked several times, hoping for Jack to respond back.

But the skeleton was not here.

In the swirls of vortex with snowflakes, Jack was being spun around with them. He felt like he was falling down in the rabbit hole.

The skeleton embraces himself. Jack was alarmed. "WHOOOOOOOA!" He screamed.

After lots of times of spinning in the void with snow flurries, the white light brightened the blackest area.

The skeleton have been teleported to the place he has not seen.

Jack landed in the hill of snow.