Chapter Text
The sound of the pencil tapping erratically with the ticking of the wall clock bothered the small child's headache.
"Shock, could you recall what happened after Jack's disappearance? Your reaction to it?"
She really didn't want to be here anymore. Seeing her therapist left a bad taste in her mouth, she gave an exasperated sigh, she might as well get this over with.
Shock looked up from her twiddled fingers to her doctor. He was an elder poltergeist, set to forever haunt his office and he had no choice.
"Where do I begin?"
"Wherever you feel comfortable, how much you want to tell me depends on you."
She looked at the clock behind him, they have an hour. The more she tells, the faster she'll get out of here.
"Fine. The night when Jack disappeared and the festival ended."
The monsters and ghouls of the town retired for the day as the sun slowly rose into the gloomy sky. Shock was sitting on the edge of the stage, knocking her feet against the wood. Her friends over to her as they rested on the steps.
"Hey Shock." Barrel spoke up while stuffing his face with stale popcorn. " We were going to raid the leftover food from the stands then head home. Want to come?" He gestured to himself and Lock. Shock shook her head, "Nah. You guys go ahead. I think I'm going to stay here a little longer."
Lock stood up and shrugged his shoulders, "suit yourself. See you at home." He headed for the first stand he could get his hands on. Before Barrel followed, he rested his hand on Shock's shoulder with his non buttered hand. "I'll save you a box of chocolate covered spiders."
She smiled tiredly at him, "thanks. I'll be home soon."
Barrel lept of the stage with a popcorn trail behind him.
Shock pulled up her legs, bending them in to place her crossed arms onto her knees. What's going to happen now?
Her boss, gone.
Jack? Possibly going to be gone as well.
The sun shines a light that caught her eye. Something in the dead unkept grass and she couldn't ignore it, getting up from the wooden floor, she went to investigate. Her unkept hair shielded her from the blinding light until she stopped in her tracks when she close enough.
She moved her raven locks to see what was before her, looking up from her short view. It was the projector and on the ground was the roll of film. The tape peeling off it read, 'Macabre'. Her eyes were wide when she dropped to her knees.
"Jack's film." She picked up the film and held it as if it was treasure she discovered. Her own treasure. Jack..
Her head turned over to the set projector.
Jack is gone.. but.
She turned back to the film in her hands and her fingers gripped at the edges of it.
His legacy won't be.
Shock walked the rest of her way home with the film under her arm and both hands lugging the heavy projector by the handle. When she knocked on the door, Barrel had answered it but with disbelief ridden on his face.
"I know what you're going to say and-"
"Whatever, we can watch it again if you want." Barrel waved it off, he grabbed the film from under his arm and brought it inside. "I'll call Lock to come help."
She hid her grow grin with a small snicker, "thanks again."
They all sat on the couch together, having snacks as the movie played. Lock was honest when he spoke up about the movie being good for what it was. Barrel was getting his hands sticky with all the stolen candy but nodded with whatever Lock was saying. Shock watched in awe, mostly for whenever Jack came on screen, she couldn't help that he was so breathtaking. When the movie ended, Barrel and Lock fell asleep with their backs against each other. Shock looked over them and chuckled, she reached over a blanket on the floor and draped it over their bodies.
She peeked outside of the small window that overlooked the town. The morning is almost over, it's best to rest until the evening comes. Before leaving to her room, she glanced at the film that rolled in the projector. Shock decided to take it with her for her safe keeping.
She walked into her room, leading towards her small nightstand and opening the drawer. Under everything inside it there was a bat key. Of course Barrel and Lock were aware of it in her drawer when they snoop in her room, those nosy bastards. But never her boss. Oogie never knew about this key and he never will.
She took it out of its hidden spot, going into her closet and she sat at the end of it. Her hand felt for a knob and the key unlocked the key hole under it. It creaked open, a hidden crawlspace. She mostly used it for her precious items and things Barrel and Lock didn't want people to find. Shock grabbed the film from under her arm and pushed it deep into the space, just right next to Jack's suit she prized dearly. Closing the door and locking it shut.
She'll have to hide this key soon, her hand reached for one of her other dresses. She pulled at the loose ribbons on a black dress, squeezing the edge of the ribbon through the hole of the key and she tied it around her neck. She pulled up the collar of her dress to keep it obscured from anyone around her.
Now, on to her other plan she had while walking her. She just need to find another candy bag and the wagon.
Shock walked into town with the red wagon behind her and a large candy bag placed inside of it. She hummed a small tuned down the road as she pulled up to Jack's house. She saw that the gate and front door were left open for the public to just walk in. Luckily for her everyone was asleep at this time, it was the afternoon after Halloween anyways. She struggled to get the wheels up the patio but she eventually made it at the door.
Shock peeks in into the crack of the door with caution before entering. Judging by the silence, it's safe to assume no one is home.
Now Shock knows that ransacking Jack's house is dangerous and is aware it's one of the most idiotic things she'll ever do but..
She sneers, "I just can't help myself."
Shock decides to check inside the kitchen first, searching through the cabinets, the fridge, every drawer but there was nothing worth stealing other than what seemed to be Jack's favorite mug (which she now stole). Though the jar of nightshade she had found might be useful for later.
She went to the living room next, there were portraits of the skeleton hanged on the striped walls, she picked her favorite one out of all of them. Shock sprawled upon the jet black turfted loveseat, oh how she wishes that she could steal furniture and yet it was too risky.
"Hmm." She pondered about it, "Maybe when he doesn't return for a long while.. I'll make another visit."
She stepped down from the seat and continued her exploring.
At this point of her search, the bag was half full. Full of small things Jack kept as his own such as a few books from his library, his small collection of ties, spare glasses and a biography he never finished writing. Shock pulled the weighted wagon into Jack's bedroom. Now this was the room she had be careful with, she couldn't take too much and she didn't want to take too little. Her choices were limited.
She observed around the room, she had enough clothes as it is so the closet was off limits as well as his drawers. Shock went over to Skellington's resting place. She snatched a pillow from off his bed, catching a whiff of it and she shivered hard enough to shake bones. Nothing wrong with taking one.
As she stuffed the pillow into the filling up bag, her head turned to the nightstand next to the bed.
"It's 3:00pm already.. I really need to hurry back." Then her view of the clock switched down to the drawer of the nightstand. She knew what was inside of it and yet her hand wanted to reach for it anyways. Her hand shook when she held the small knob of it, she found herself slightly sweating when she slowly opened it. The photographs she recognized and haunted her dreams that formed into nightmares.
No.
Shock shut the drawer. She refuses see this side of him. Nor does she want to believe it. She grabbed the handle of the wagon and she rolled it out of the room.
Just as she was planning to leave, she decided to make one last stop to the basement. While coming over here she was excited to see the set that 'Macabre' took place on. She left the wagon in the middle of the main room and lock picked the door. She took her time on the stairs since there were so many of them until she reached the other door. It took longer for her to crack it open but once she did, she didn't regret it.
The underground set was glamorous to her, Shock's eyes nearly sparkling taking in the sight of it all. It was the shabby basement setting that was mostly viewed in the movie but it was enough for her. Once she had enough, she rushed to the other rooms. The auditorium was impressive as the main set, then she saw the smaller set.
"I remember this is where he plans to kidnap the victim." Shock recalled as she drags a hand on the couch. There was some spots of cotton on the floor though she chose to ignore that.
When she went back to the main set, there was a small break room on the side she spotted. Once she got in, it wasn't the most exciting thing but that didn't bother her. What did was something left on the table. She stepped on to a chair to reach it, curse her child like height, laid on it was a stack of papers. Shock held it in her hand and she took a sharp gasp of air.
"This.. th-this is the original script." Her fingers flipped through the multiple pages of Jack's written script for this movie. A letter slips out of the final page. She takes notice of it as she sets the script down to rip open the envelope.
Opening the letter, seeing this was Jack's handwriting. Shock read aloud,
'They found me, which means I can't return to my humble home anymore. I am not dead nor alive. Find me as I know I'm something you can't prevent seeing. You can't avoid me as much as you can't avoid coming here.'
Her voice started stumbling at the last words, 'Jack Skellington'. This couldn't be.. Jack couldn't have planned to come back, until he planted this here on Halloween night.
"He knew he was going to disappear all along." She answered herself. Peeking into the envelope, there was photograph inside of it. Shock pulled it out and what the picture caught nearly make her lose all the candy she ate earlier. The photo contained a graphic image of a woman sleeping on the floor with cotton seeping out of her cuts along her body, she looks abused and touched by someone she couldn't believe done this to an innocent woman. Shock recognized this lady in the photo, she encountered her with one of her meetings with Jack.
Shock looked on the back of the picture and something was written on the back, with messy writing it said, 'I'm out there.' But where? She flipped the photo back to the red hair doll on front. He wouldn't.. do this, would he? Wait.
Where is this room.
The background behind her is stained, chains on the walls and nearly pitch dark save from the flash on the camera. This has to be somewhere in the house. Shock placed the photo and the letter back into the letter before slipping it into her hat. She picked up the script and took it with her to search for the unknown basement.
Seeing as she almost opened up every room in the basement, her options were down to retracing her steps. This led her back to the door that opened up the underground set. Before going into it, there was a door on the side. It was locked though luckily Shock had the upper hand into unlocking it, it opened with a loud squeak of the door hinge but what it had inside was louder.
The scene spoke the many tales of Jack's victims.
There was rusty chains on the wall and floor, stains that were scrubbed consistently yet the damage was made already and the smell burned Shock's nose, making tears form in her eyes. She slammed it shut, her breathing was skipping from inhaling. Stepping back from the door and she fled for the exit.
She wished her curiosity can finally kill her now.