Chapter One The Halloween Festival

Becky ran through the crowded streets of Halloween town, hoping to get a rare glimpse of Jack, the Pumpkin King. Seeing him meant the world to her. He was like a supernatural being that had come down to bless the souls of Halloween town. A rare spectacle if there ever was one. Once in a while as she ran, one of Becky's feet would disconnect and she would have to run back and grab it, hopping along, holding her foot and ankle up so they would reconnect somehow. As she looked around her, Becky noticed that many of Halloween town's inhabitants were going the same direction she was—to the town square. It was always a special event when Halloween occurred, but when Jack became involved, the whole town went into a frenzy. Jack Skellington was the scariest inhabitant of Halloween town, that much Becky knew. But it always seemed like there was something he was hiding from the rest of the world—something he longed to tell them, but couldn't.

When she reached the square, Becky decided she wouldn't get a very good view if she stood amongst the crowd. So she started climbing up the side of a nearby building—the roof was probably the best place for her, anyway. Becky had always been an outcast from society—even in Halloween town, where everyone was a little bizarre; Becky stuck out like a big, sore, blistered thumb in the crowded darkness. No one ever really paid her that much attention. They seemed like fairly nice creatures; just never willing to really talk to her. As Becky climbed up the stone, all these thoughts raced through her head for the millionth time. These thoughts had tortured her almost her entire existence in Halloween town. She was tired of being ignored; of blending in too much with the crowd. Becky wanted something different; something that she couldn't exactly explain.

At reaching the top of the building, Becky raced to the pole at the end, grabbing it and wrapping one leg around it, looking out over the crowd, hoping she hadn't missed anything. Sure enough, she hadn't. The Behemoth was pulling the straw horse into the town square with an unusual scarecrow sitting atop it. The scarecrow just seemed to look out over the crowd, waiting for the right moment to strike. Suddenly, its hand lurched forward for a torch held by a member of the crowd and engulfed the flames, bursting into flames in seconds. It twirled around and looked menacingly to the crowd, causing them to gasp with fright. The scarecrow looked around, soon finding the water fountain in the center of the town square. It jumped from the back of the straw horse and dove head first into the eerily glowing water. This was Becky's favorite part. In seconds, an elegantly dressed skeleton rose out of the water, grinning widely to the Halloween town inhabitants. It spread out its arms as it rose to the height of the snake-like demon at the center of the fountain and looked out over Halloween town, its pride and joy. After a long applause from the audience, the skeleton stepped from its perch.

"Great Halloween, everybody!" exclaimed the jovial-faced Mayor. The mayor was—literally—two-faced. He could be an optimistic, caring, friendly guy one minute, the next; he could be a displeased, huffy little excuse for a man. All that was needed was a quick turn of his head.

"I believe it was our most horrible yet!" the tall skeleton proclaimed. "Thank you, everyone!"

"No; thanks to you, Jack! Without your brilliant leadership…" the mayor expressed as he smiled widely.

"Not at all, mayor!" Jack said modestly. After this remark, Becky couldn't hear anything else. She just watched Jack intently as he reacted to the Halloween town inhabitants' compliments on a job well done. Soon, the creatures had formed a slow-moving mob heading towards Jack as he backed away. The mayor proclaiming, "Hold it! We haven't given out the prizes yet!" soon interrupted Becky's thoughts. "Our first award goes to the vampire for most blood-drained of this single evening!" Becky eyed where Jack was, but was surprised he was gone. She climbed back down the wall and, with her silky black dress and long, mangled hair camouflaging her; she slipped after the spot where he was.

Becky looked around the corner of the wall to find Jack walking the path to the cemetery, the metal gate rising to let him out. Becky crouched down slightly, hoping he wouldn't notice her shape following him. She stayed amidst the shadows on the opposite side of the street from the performers standing in the orange light of a nearby lantern. Becky lankily slipped through the thin iron bars as the gate came down. She tried her best to stay in the shadows behind Jack, making sure he couldn't see her, almost shadow-like.

When Jack reached the cemetery gates, they creaked open. Becky, deciding not to draw attention to her, climbed one of the walls on either side of the gate. She stooped low to the ground, ducking behind headstones and tombs. She finally found a place to sit and watch him without him seeing her—surrounded by the curtain of leaves on the willow tree. As Jack walked past it, Becky pressed against the trunk, hoping he wouldn't see her, closing her eyes and praying. When his elongated shadow passed her by, Becky half-leaned, half-sat against the tree. As Jack began to sing a melancholy song of his yearning for something else out there, Becky felt connected in a way that she couldn't explain. She wasn't even aware he felt this way until now. When Jack walked upon the hill, silhouetted by the moon, Becky felt a true connection. As he walked down and wandered into the forest, Becky was left in stunned silence.

"Oh, Jack, I wish I could help…" Becky murmured as she walked back home. But where was home? Becky surely didn't have one. She didn't even know how she had gotten here. She just remembered she had fallen asleep one night and woke up on the stone streets of Halloween town, and had remained there for what felt like years. Becky climbed back over the wall and decided to wander the streets of Halloween town, hoping she could find some place to stay for the night. But, alas, nowhere looked like what she craved, so she headed back to the cemetery and made herself a small bed out of dried willow leaves and fell into a deep sleep, thinking about ways she could help Jack.

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas". Disney, Touchstone pictures and Tim Burton do, of course!

A/N: For a more physical appearance description of Becky: Becky is a combination of Sally, The Corpse Bride from an upcoming movie in the fall of 2005 from Tim Burton, and my own imagination. She wears a black, slightly ripped dress, has bones for legs and hands, skin stopping short at her wrists. Her hair is a mangled mess; dead flowers scattered in it. Her eyes are wide with curiosity, a small piece of hair escaping her grasp and falling slightly over one eye. A gold locket rests around her neck.