Butterfly Fetish

The next morning, Shock dragged herself out of bed a little before dawn, hoping to catch Lock in a groggy state so that he wouldn’t be at his sharpest. Barrel didn’t worry her too much. He didn’t seem to have any fine powers of intuition. Using a hand mirror, she checked herself for marks. The old bruise around her neck looked healed enough to go uncovered today. Two, fresh, red lines yelled at her from her inner thigh, but she never wore anything short enough for that to be a problem. Rope burns still decorated her chest and upper arms. Great. It looked like it would be a relatively warm day, but she couldn’t have people asking questions. She went to find a light dress with long sleeves—preferably soft enough that it wouldn’t aggravate any wounds on her back—and then made her way to the stairs.

Those long, thin lines on her thigh and the older ones before them each represented one night she hadn’t made it out to see Oogie. It didn’t matter why she couldn’t make it. The punishment for missing a night or two was probably downright pleasant to what he might do if she returned without completing her mission. That alone helped her ignore the way walking made the two burns pull painfully.

She found Barrel leaning on the railing at the foot of the stairs. When he heard her footsteps, his shoulders tensed and he turned around. At the sight of her, he relaxed, put a finger to his lips, and then gestured for her to come closer. “What?” She whispered when she got close enough.

“You’re up early,” he whispered, grinning.

“Yeah, so?” She whispered back. Barrel looked excited, on the verge of giggling, and she could tell it wasn’t simply her presence at this hour. Before she could inquire further, Lock came out of the kitchen and held a jar of white powder up for them to see. He wore a similar grin, and it widened when he saw Shock. Then he turned and headed for the front door.

“Come on,” Barrel hissed, grabbing the half-witch’s arm and pulling her after Lock.

They hurriedly descended the front steps, and ran to the town square. Orange faintly streaked the dark sky, but the streets were empty. The vampires had already gone in, but everyone else seemed to be asleep. Or at least hadn’t come outside yet. The devil-boy had stopped, crouched behind a brick wall to survey the square. The fountain gurgled away happily, bugs whirred, and rats scrabbled, but there was nothing else. As Shock and Barrel joined him, she whispered, “What are we doing?”

“Pouring this in the fountain,” Lock said, shaking the jar a little for emphasis.

“What is it?”

“The stuff Sally uses to make jellied brains,” Barrel whispered, as Lock had already turned his attention back to the square.

“Cover me,” he whispered.

Shock remembered what that meant. The three rose as a group, keeping in a triangular formation with Lock at the back to obscure the jar in his hands. As they reached the edge of the fountain, Shock and Barrel stepped aside to let Lock through, and then closed back together with their backs to him, watching the main streets. Behind the living shield, Lock carried out the prank. At his signal, the three casually made their way back to the cover of the wall and ducked down to observe their handy work from an escapable distance. The fountain frothed, churning the thickening sludge. A goopy slapping sound replaced the steady patter of water. Before the brighter rays of sun reached over the horizon, the fountain spluttered and stopped.

Again as a group, the three jumped up and fled the scene, heading for the town gate. After they’d squeezed through the bars—a task that had become much more difficult for Barrel these past years—wild laughter suddenly bubbled out of the boys’ throats. Lock doubled over with a hand over his mouth, and Barrel stood with his head back and his hands on his stomach.

“How long do you think it’ll take them to clean that out?” Barrel asked, grinning.

“A good few hours,” Lock answered proudly. “The pump’s probably all clogged with it.”

“You are a master,” Barrel said with exaggerated awe.

“No, no, you flatter me,” Lock answered, putting a hand on his chest and looking away.

“Really. I bow to you, sir,” Barrel said as he bent at the waist.

“Oh, if you insist.” Then the two boys started snickering again.

Shock watched all of this with a small smile, too tired to join in, and too worried about the task that faced her. She wanted to please Oogie. The only stronger desire was to keep him hidden, keep him safe and alive. What if broaching the issue made Lock suspicious? What if Lock went and told Jack, either out of worry or just to be a jerk? And she didn’t exactly want them to discover what her and Oogie had been doing these past weeks… The boys suddenly appeared on either side of her, and she tried not to wince as they clapped her on the back.

“You know, you’re being a bit of a buzz kill,” Barrel said.

“Less of a buzz kill than usual,” Lock pointed out.

“But still more of a buzz kill than she was way back when.”

“Would you two quit saying buzz kill?” Shock said, her smile widening to show teeth. “It’s early. Give me a break.”

“What brings you out here so early, anyway?” Lock asked. “Looking for bugs?”

“Close. I was looking for you.” Beyond her grief, now, the good mood was actually contagious. Barrel snickered, and Lock gave her a playful punch on the shoulder. Light as it was, she had to force down another wince as it struck an already sore area. “What are you doing? Next, I mean.”

“I don’t know,” Lock said, looking around the plane of gray grass outside the gate. “We can’t go back to the scene of the crime for a while, and I have to ditch the evidence, anyway.” He still held the empty jar in one hand.

“We could go throw it in the lake,” Barrel suggested.

“Don’t you think it would be less conspicuous if we filled the jar back up and returned it?” Shock interjected. “I mean, if Sally notices that it’s missing, and she will, how long do you think it would take her to put two and two together? If she doesn’t figure it out anyway. Not many other kids in town would do something like that.”

The two boys looked at each other, and then Lock grinned at her. “See? That’s thinking like the Shock I knew.”

“But how are we going to refill it and sneak it back into the house?” Barrel asked.

“Hm… It’s some kind of starch, isn’t it? Don’t the witches that run that shop keep barrels of it in the storage shed in the back?” Shock said.

“The place we used to steal candy from on Halloween?” Barrel asked.

“Right! We can boost Shock in through the window, she can fill up the jar, and then we’ll have it back before Sally notices anything,” Lock said.

“Why me?”

“You’re smaller.”

“I’m not that much smaller than you. Besides, you’re taller. It would be easier for you to get back out.”

The devil-boy shrugged. “Fine, I’ll do it.”

Shock looked back at Barrel. He was slower, harder to hide, and harder to get through the gate. “Wait here.” There wasn’t any time to explain or wait for the half-ghoul’s response. She grabbed Lock by the wrist, pulled him between the bars after her, and crept around the outer wall of the town, staying in the shade of the dead trees.

As they left the residential area and neared the area with the shops, they caught glimpses of people scurrying toward the square. Good, so everyone was distracted, which meant no one would be watching the shed. It also meant they had to hurry before the Mayor got around to organizing a witch-hunt. Probably pounding on Jack’s door with that distressed face on at this very moment. As it was, they reached the back of the shed without much incident.

The only window was a small square up near the point of the roof for ventilation. Shock hesitated briefly. The plan had been for Lock to climb on her back so he could reach the window. However, the remaining marks from her secret meetings with Oogie might present a problem. At the same time, if she climbed up there, he might catch a glimpse of the burns on her thighs, and that wouldn’t do any good either. When the idea came to her, she knelt down and laced her fingers together to create a step for him.

“Are you sure you can hold me?” Lock whispered eyeing her. “Maybe you should go up.”

“And give you a chance to look up my skirt? Shut up and quit wasting time.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Lock mumbled as he put a foot on her hands, but she caught the light blush on his cheeks.

As he stepped up and his weight suddenly settled on her arms, she realized he was heavier than he looked. Gritting her teeth, she pushed him up until he hooked his elbows over the windowsill and could support more of his own weight. After he pulled himself in up to his waist, he disappeared suddenly and she heard a dull thump. She smothered a snort of laughter on the back of her wrist. All she could do now was wait.

What seemed like an eternity later, but what was probably only thirty minutes, Lock reappeared in the window. “Psst,” he hissed. When she looked up, he handed down the jar and then disappeared back inside. Moments later, a leg swung over the sill, followed by another one, and he jumped, landing in a deft crouch on the ground beside her. “What are they up to?” He whispered.

“I haven’t looked.”

Lock started to peer around the edge of the building, and then jerked back wide-eyed. Shock started to ask him what happened, but he grabbed her and put a hand over her mouth. As she listened, she heard the two witches talking, getting closer and closer to the front of the storage space. After they both heard the door open and shut, the two took off, heading for the back of Jack’s house and climbing over the wall. Again, Shock found herself waiting by the door while Lock ran inside. The prank had been his idea, and it would be less conspicuous if anyone found him in the kitchen going through the cupboards. He had a talent for cooking and often fiddled around in there. Plus, Shock sitting alone on the steps and claiming she had no idea where the other two were would also be met with less suspicion.

When Lock returned, the pair took off again. Before they could get very close to the gate, the sound of someone’s back door opening made them stop and double back. They couldn’t go back past Jack’s house. There wasn’t enough cover past that point. In the end, they found some uneven bricks and scrambled up over the wall. When Shock landed, her dress slid up her legs, and she had to jerk it down again before Lock noticed. She’d thought about wearing tights or even pants, but any constant friction on the burns was unbearable. As she watched Lock pick himself up and dust himself off, she couldn’t help grinning. “Now that was a rush.”

“Yeah,” Lock laughed. “I can’t remember the last time I had to steal something.”

He offered her a hand, but Shock pretended she hadn’t seen it, standing by herself. They went to get Barrel and then headed toward the lake.

XXX

Shock sat on a gnarly root dangling her feet in the water, watching Lock and Barrel swim. It was already noon, and she still couldn’t get up the nerve to mention Oogie Boogie. Feeling mildly depressed over her position, she swung her legs, watching the murky liquid swirl around her ankles. The ripples fanned out and clashed with a line of approaching ripples. Shock looked up to see Barrel paddling toward her.

“We’re going to see who can make the biggest splash. You sure you don’t want to come?”

“I don’t want to walk home in wet clothes,” she said with a small, amused smile.

“You can borrow my shirt. It’ll cover you enough.”

Not enough to hide her legs sufficiently. “I’m fine.” An idea formed in her head, though. “Where is Lock?” Barrel pointed at a tree a few yards away, and she spotted the red shape shimmying up the trunk, almost like a lizard. He wouldn’t be able to hear them and judging by the branch that seemed to be his target, she had time. The half-ghoul would be easy to talk to alone. “Barrel?”

“Hm?” He looked up at her.

“I don’t know if it’s been long enough to bring this up. I don’t know if it will ever be long enough…”

“What?”

She forced herself to stay calm and just get it out. If she sounded as reluctant as she felt, it might raise suspicion. “Do you, or did you, ever miss Oogie Boogie?”

Barrel stared across the lake in Lock’s direction, eyes distant. Finally he said, “Some, I guess. I missed being able to do whatever I wanted, but living with the Pumpkin King is so… cushy. Not a bad tradeoff.”

“What about Lock?” She asked, looking at the boy in question. As he climbed out on the limb like a sloth, he stopped to wave with one hand. The pair by the shore waved back.

“You’ll have to ask him. I don’t think he likes one better than the other, though.”

“Why?” She kept watching as Lock released his hold on the branch and plummeted into the water with a happy shout.

“Eh, you know how he is. Lock hates being boxed in, and rules are rules. Doesn’t matter who’s making ‘em.”

“A golden cage is still a cage…” Shock mumbled.

“Huh?” Barrel stared.

“Nothing. Just a saying.” Silence fell as Lock swam over, and she was pleased with how the conversation had gone. She had enough information to satisfy Oogie for now, and Lock never had to-

“Do you miss him?” Barrel asked suddenly.

“Miss who?” Lock, now in earshot asked.

Barrel!

“We were talking about Oogie Boogie,” the larger boy said.

Shut UP, Barrel!

“Oh.” Lock’s usually gelled bangs were plastered to his face with water. He brushed them out of his eyes and leaned against the bank on the other side of Shock’s perch. Barrel continued to stare at her, waiting for a response.

“I did. Not anymore.” To her credit, that was the truth. No time to miss him when she saw him almost every day.

“Can’t say I blame you,” Lock shrugged. “Guy could be a real tyrant.”

“How so?” Shock said. “Aside from feeding him, I don’t think he could’ve cared less what we did.”

“That’s what I mean, though. Either we spent hours catching all those damn little bugs and things, or we had to wrestle something big into the bathtub. Just to maybe tide him over for a couple days. I’m surprised there’s any life left in the Hinterlands. And don’t forget all those scavenger hunts he sent us on.”

The half-witch couldn’t help laughing. “Be fair. He didn’t eat that much, and it couldn’t have been easy being stuck down there all the time. Besides, you had as much fun with those scavenger hunts as we did.”

“Why should it have been completely on us to entertain him?” The devil-boy looked out across the lake. “If he wanted out that badly, he could’ve asked for help.”

Shock’s eyebrows drew together. “What kind of help do you mean?”

His head snapped sideways and his red eyes flicked back and forth between Shock and Barrel, finally settling on Shock. “I don’t know. You’re the one who used the word ‘stuck.’”

“So? If he never came out, he must have been stuck, right?” She eyed Lock suspiciously, trying to make it look like curiosity.

“Right, then, and if he was stuck, he would’ve needed help to get out.” He met her gaze with equal intensity, each daring the other to look away first.

“Who cares anyway, right?” Barrel interrupted. “It doesn’t matter now.”

While she wanted to push farther and find out what Lock seemed to be hiding, she decided letting go of the subject would be safer. She had enough information for now. As long as Oogie didn’t launch some plan to bring them back into the fold. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

“Anyway, that splash sucked,” Barrel continued, grinning at Lock. “I could do better than that from the bank.”

“And you’re damn lucky, too, tubby. You aren’t making it up that tree any time soon.”

“I could, and I bet I can climb higher than you.”

The rest of their conversation faded as Barrel took off to prove Lock wrong, and Lock followed to egg him on. Even as Lock treaded water and watched Barrel drag himself up the tree, the devil-boy kept glancing over his shoulder at Shock. Seemed she wasn’t the only one with something to hide. Was prying worth risking her secret? Probably not.