Jack's Daughter

The Hanging Tree

🎧Are you, are you coming to the tree? They strung up a man they say he murdered three. Strange things are happening beneath the hanging tree...🎧

We walked to the far edge of HalloweenTown. There was a black mist surrounding us, I couldn't see more than a few inches in front of my face!

I felt swinging vines overhead, each one raking my back like long fingernails, pulling at my stitches.

I kept walking, following Jane and my father who were dragging Leo. They stopped at a gigantic tree in the middle of the forest. It was the biggest tree I had ever seen in my entire life!

"This, is the Hanging Tree." Jack said, introducing me to the tree like it was a person. I just nodded.

"Who has come?" I heard a deep rumbling voice announce. I jumped as the ground shook. "Jack The Pumpkin King."

"Ahh the lovely Jack. I would bow to you but I don't want to cause an earthquake." It laughed, causing the entire ground to shake.

It had two huge orange eyes and a smile so deep it looked like the night sky above. "What is the pleasure?" It asked, looking at all of us.

"We need you to hold a prisoner for now. We will retrieve him when we want." Jane said, pushing Leo forward. "Hmmm. I can't promise his safety. But I can hang him if you'd like." "No. Don't kill him." I yelled, getting ready to strike.

"Ahh. No my dear child, I will not kill him. Allow me to demonstrate." The tree said. I felt a large rush around me. I saw two nooses wrap around Leo's wrists. Several more nooses appeared and made a sort of bed for Leo.

I realized now that it wasn't branches that scraped my back earlier, but instead nooses. I shivered, clanking my bones together.

"You see, I can see the heart of a person, dead or alive. I can tell when to kill them and when to spare them." The tree said, Leo was dragged to the top of the tree's head.

"And he has but one dark spot in his heart." The tree said, looking directly at me. I felt as if the tree could stare directly into my chest and crossed my arms. The tree laughed.

"Thank you, Mortimus." Jack whispered, I could only hear it because I was close to the tree. "Happy to be of service." The tree bowed slightly.

"You...you can't just leave me here!" Leo yelled. "We can for now." Jane snapped.

"Jack." Mortimus said quickly. I was surprised how well it could whisper for such a massive tree. I inched closer, but not noticeably. "There is someone among you who will betray you. They won't show their true colors until they have to." He whispered before falling silent.

We all walked toward the edge of the forest and toward the gates.