Nightmare Before School Starts

Do you know what day sucks more than a Monday? The Sunday before school starts. The last day of freedom for 185 days. Everyone is always trying to get their day done. Their summer all finished. Me? Noo. It's chores, chores, chores, cleaning, and more chores. My dad is a huuuge clean freak. He says "More school, more friends, more sleepovers, cleaner home, better impressions." Then he pats my head and walks away.

So, chores. It's hot, and my last chore. is to sweep off the back patio, front patio, and driveway. I live in Nevada with nothing but pine trees and pine needles.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand, looking at the sky. I set the broom down and started scooping the debris into the black garbage bag. I felt kind of nauseous so I reached for my water bottle. I blinked and my arm looked different. It had a long black and white pin-stripped sleeve on and my hand looked like bones. The bottle looked like. . . I blinked again and my vision was looking at the sky. It was dark with a full yellow moon. I attempted to stand, but my knees buckled from under me. I heard a crack and instantly my head started throbbing.

I opened my eyes, staring the pile of pine needles in the face. I sat up and touched where I expected blood. Nope. Sighing, I finished my chore and told my father I was going on a bike ride, making sure to bring extra water.

Bad idea Skia. I peddled down the road and skid to a stop. I skid a little too well and flung myself into a tree. My vision went blurry and I found myself too weak to stand. Suddenly my vision cleared, but I was in a different place. Some very familiar faces lingered above me. The blue-green female face frowned while the white rounded face smiled with black teeth and black eyes. I screamed, jumped up, and tried to punch the smiling face. It dodged my hit easily (which was a total surprise to me)  just by standing to its full height. It was skinny and tall, with a black and white pin-stripped tuxedo. Whatever wasn't covered was bone. Instead of a tie it wore a bat. It was about 2 feet taller than me (I'm 5 foot 5) and one foot taller than the blue-green-skinned lady. She wore a dress made of old rags with red hair (redder than mine). Her skin was sewed together, reminding me of Frankenstein.

"Now Jack." Her voice was like silk. It was comforting but bone chilling at the same time. "No need to scare her. She just got here."

"But Dear, it is oh so fun" His voice made me want to squirm in my skin. He bore those empty eye sockets into me and smiled wider. "And funny as hell."

"Jaaaack!" A wailing voice echoed around the black brick walls surrounding us. "Wee need yoou!" A two-faced, very fat and short guy ran/waddled up to us. Literally, one side of his face was white and the other pale. They kept turning to switch the face his mood matched.

With sudden realization, I felt myself sinking back into unconsciousness. I was falling backward, hearing the girl say "Guys she's going to-" but I hit the ground before they could catch me. My last coherent thought was:

Oh God. I'm in Halloween Town.

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I opened my eyes for the millionth time today. It was pitch black, so I can't tell if my eyes really are open or not. I sat up, quickly regretting it. A sharp pain started at the base of my neck and traveled down my spine and up to my forehead. It literally felt like someone was jabbing daggers all the way down to the hilt everywhere on my body.

I got up anyway. I shuffled around, finding various pieces of furniture with my shins. A pulling on my ankle demanded for my attention. Carefully, I bent down to touch it. A metal ring connecting to a chain was pulled tight. I yanked and discovered it also connected to the bed I was just on.

"Great." I say out loud. I hug my knees and rest my chin on them. I wait for daylight.

It takes a while but I finally see the first glimpse of light through a window. It wasn't much but at least I could see better.

My head snapped over to the only door, for it was being unlocked. The tall skeleton stepped in and walked by me like I wasn't there. A floating transparent dog with a glowing red nose followed him closely. It eyed me suspiciously. The light was turned on and the semi-familiar room showed. None of this was very surprisimg anymore. I've seen it all before. But it was only a movie, so this has to be a dream.

Jack Skellington finally walked over to me and unlocked the cuff on my ankle. I stood and was ready to punch him, when he handed me a plate of food.

"Ms. Sally insisted."

I sat down on the couch and started to munch on the carrots and tomatoes. Jack sat across from me.

"Do you talk at all?"

I just starred at him.

"You humans are boring. Only on Halloween you are descently fun. Fun to scare."

"You know you aren't that scary." His smirk  melted while mine formed.

"That wasn't a very smart thing to say to the Pumpkin King."

I shrugged. "Most people have forgotten about you. Your one appearance in a movie was so long ago. I'm 16 now. Your movie came out when I was only 3. I only remember you because my mom loved to watch that movie. . ." My voice trailed off, leaving a puzzled look on Jack's white face.

"What happened to your mother, child?"

I kept my eyes on my half eaten plate. "She died" I whispered barely audible.

Jack sat forward, studying my face. I tried hard not to cry or show emotion but the softened look on Jack's originally stern features told me I failed.

"Oh child. In all my life I have never seen someone with so much grief bottled up inside-"

This made me furious. I stood up in protost, knocking food everywhere, causing the dog to growl. "I am NOT weak! I have no grief anymore! I am a strong, independent young woman. Now can you please tell me why I am here?!"

"That, my dear, is something you'll have to figure out yourself before you leave." His sly grin burned itself into my mind.

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This is going to be a short story. For Halloween. Hope you liked it.

please comment and vote.  I like lots of comments. Criticism will make it better.

thank you

~Grace W.