Oogie Boogie's Prisoner (Jack x Oogie Boogie Fanfic)

Chapter 6

Jack sets his rose, dried and black, on the nightstand built up of a gnarled root of wood. He found himself to have slept but it was unknown how long. He only knows that he situated himself onto the bed and he had no dreams to reprise from the first misery onto the next.

"I am going mad," Jack said to himself, bringing his knees up to his chin and folding his arms around them. He is quiet and patient, legs stiff from being fixed as he sat next to his friend. Time has passed but he wouldn't know how long. He stares at the door and the twisted grains stare back at him in the shape of a wicked face. Jack found himself to be surrounded by faces; in each crusted rock of the cave, where the nitre sits and where liquid stains, there are watchful eyes made up of two or more dark spots. He felt more alone than he had before- more invaded now, in the mild light, than if he had been consumed whole by shadow. Jack waits and listens. There is no sound. He takes a slow breath and watches the walls for any movement and they are, just as they always have been, completely inanimate.

Jack gets up and curls his fingers on the cold doorknob. He listens and finds it to be quiet and he wonders then if this silence is to be feared. The door opens- it was unlocked, but found that there indeed was a hole for a key but it lacked any locking or unlocking mechanism from the inside. The gambling room, which now took a familiar shape as it laid in disuse with machinery off and without light, seemed to close in on him. If there were a hundred bugs on the wall, all scurrying and scattering in their own crowd and walking over each other, Jack would be just another one that finds itself trapped in its own claustrophobia. There is a hunger which pangs at Jack and a dried tongue, but he does not seek it; instead looking for his friend, this company is the only thing which could bring him comfort. But he was unable to reach him. Oogie Boogie was standing in front of the door, closing it behind him, and he said then:

"Good afternoon, boy,"

Jack blinks slowly and thinks of what that means.

"The doctor is busy right now, don't you worry about seeing him. Now, how are you feelin'?"

Jack looks at the door and at Oogie Boogie, an impenetrable force which pokes dread. "I want to see my friend," he said.

"Worry about yourself, boy."

"I need to see him."

"Let's get you something to eat."

"You're not listening to me. Please, I need to see my friend. No! Don't touch me." Jack smacks at Oogie Boogie, who was extending an escortive hand. He looks down at Jack. "Can you give me this request? For the sake of my comfort and my sanity, if you wish to keep me as a pet, at least give me this and I will be yours."

Oogie Boogie says nothing. His fabrics seem to make a movement- a sort of smile formed, wicked and sharply creased, but relaxed quickly into something smoother. He is amused. Oogie Boogie undoes the latch, looking back at Jack with a glance as it clicks and gives way. He does not open the door immediately but as if reveling in Jack's anxiety- squeezing his fist with the other, holding himself in a tight, nervous grip. His whole body seemed to be curled inwards onto itself. The door is opened not a lot but enough to satisfy the sight of Dr. Finklestein working at the machinery. Jack quickly takes a step, but the door is shut in his path. Jack looks into Oogie Boogie's eyes, thinking him to be cruel.

"He's busy," said Oogie. "but you haven't much else to do. Why don't we take a walk?"

"Walk..?" Jack repeated, unsure of its meaning; walk... To mean where? In this cave, the sharp protrusions of edges where left is indistinguishable from right? Each turn of the corner only leads to the same sights, a nasty familiarity that mangles itself into hatred for it.

"May I offer you my arm," said Oogie. Jack looked at it, and this too filled him with uncertainty. He thought of Dr. Finklestein just behind the door. And though he shuddered at the touch, wrapped elbow onto Oogie Boogie's. He might have asked where to, but did not question further for it would then start a conversation he did not wish to have. Any words at all to fall from Oogie's mouth, bug-filled and wicked, would only make the circumstance more unbearable. Oogie Boogie instructed Jack to close his eyes but it was not sufficient; Oogie held hand over Jack's skull as he was led through the lair- still unknowing of the destination. Something clicked. A heavy din of metal hitting metal. They walked forward and seemed to traverse on an incline. The ground was uneven but solid; made up of scraps with broken bolts and pieces of weld-together things. But at the end of it, when the ground became soft and sandy, there was a breeze. Jack felt it at once and shivered. Oogie Boogie removed his hand and Jack opened his eyes.

The landscape is barren and gray. Swirls of cliffs in the distance and large trees are uprooted. The sun, too, seemed to shine in a way that made everything gray. Jack took a breath of the thin, crisp air. It smelled of split wood and decay. He welcomed it. If it had been another time, Jack would have better enjoyed it. There is nothing. Between the dried grasses and dead thorn bushes, from the branches into the sky, there is nothing. Oogie Boogie, still around his arm, felt more like a chain tethered into his humerus. And yet, if it were not for Oogie keeping him, he would have found himself so light as to be carried by the wind. They walked a short while but did not go far as there was nowhere to go. Their journey stopped at an uprooted tree and it was on the hard trunk that they made seat.

"Are you happy here," asked Oogie.

Jack did not answer. He looked ahead at the dead and dusty landscape and the dried thorns that made up the boundaries of their path. Oogie Boogie let go of Jack's arm and it fell limply at his side.

"I know I ain't too kind," Oogie Boogie began, his voice sincere, "and I know I ain't ever going to be kind. You've been too patient with me, Jack. I thought I was going to lock you in a cage and never let you go, at least until my plan was complete, but I have done something much worse. I have a confession and a proposal, and I must know if you are listening to me. Look at me, Jack."

Oogie Boogie gently tilts Jack's head up. Jack blinks slowly. Oogie Boogie caresses Jack's cheek.

"I will be the king of Halloweentown. Only if you wish it, you do not have to be dethroned. You can join me and we can rule together."

"What if I refuse?" Jack asked stoically.

Oogie Boogie grabs Jack's hand. He places a kiss on the back of it.

"Death, exile, or prison. You are a threat to me, Jack, and your very presence is an opposition to my rule. Be my consort and I will be your slave, your will is my law and I will try to make you happy."

Jack thinks for a moment. He thinks of this offer and the safety of his town, where his friends are awaiting his return. He looks at Oogie Boogie, sitting so close to him and still holding his hand, where he gently rubs circles on the back of it. Jack comes to a conclusion. He leans into Oogie Boogie, offering himself onto him; it is accepted when they both kiss. It left a foul taste in Jack's mouth; pungent and sour, and it lasted longer than it should have. When Jack pulled away, Oogie Boogie hugged him closer. Jack trembled in his grasp. This, too, lasted longer than it should have. When Jack at last broke apart, he felt a shiver.

"What can I do to make you happy," asked Oogie Boogie.

Jack, realizing himself and the state he is in, made only one request:

"Food and drink."