Stone Cold Revenge - Hugs.And.Kisses (ebook reader with android os .TXT) 📗

was definitely ok.

Three flashes of blue light drew their attention. Klondike was the first up, with something between a whine and a growl. He gave himself a fierce shake and went to sniff at Barrel and Kevin. Barrel was next to come to, Klondike was licking at his face and he had to push him off. Kevin soon followed his brother.

"That was weird," Kevin said groggily.

Barrel face palmed, "No duh, genius."

Klondike gave a happy bark and pranced around the group.

Shock gave each of them a hug, "There's just one more thing we have to do."

Medusa gave a fond smile and began to collect the remaing stone potions along the wall. One by one she added other potions to them. The vials smoked and hissed like as the last of the unholy concoctions died. Lastly she took what was left of the antidote and split it into two different bottles.

"Here," Medusa said to Shock, handing her one of them, "Your work here is done."

"Thank you, Medusa," Shock said.

Medusa looked on as the rag tag little family of nightmares pulled themselves together and left. The reaper had been right. They were more competent than they looked. If she hadn't stopped Vincent herself she had no doubt that Lock would have been able to save his family single-handedly. Maybe they were the ones that they needed…


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was unnaturally dark; the moon should have been shinning brightly. Instead the sky was choked with dark clouds. The Hinterlands stood in a dead and chilling silence. Silence pierced by the misplaced sound of a steady heartbeat. The only speck of light to banish the darkness came from a second-hand lantern at the bottom of a bowl-shaped clearing. Five beings stood around the statue of a little girl.

The darkness was temporarily lightened as a blue potion took hold of the little statue. Cold stone melted away into living skin and the heartbeat was accompanied by the sound of shallow, gasping breaths. The girl lied still in her sister's arms.

Suddenly Violet snapped up and screamed, causing Barrel and Kevin jumped back. Lock and Shock held Violet between them as she screamed in a violent tantrum. Screaming eventually gave way to frantic sobbing. Shock held her crying sister until she stopped shivering from the tears. Violet bit back some tears and looked up at Shock.

"Mom? Mom! Mommy I missed you! It was so dark mom. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't breath at all! " Violet cried embracing Shock, she held up a crumpled flower blossom in her hand for Shock to see, "But the flower, it was there, it spoke to me. It spoke and I listened. I can hear them. They talk to me. They talk to me…"

They were too late, Violet had gone mad. Shock held on to her babbling sister. How could this have happened? Alive, but alive in a world where no one would ever understand her. With no parents and no relatives, they would lock her in an asylum until she was cured or longer. Shock could pretend to be alive again, no that wouldn't work. Too many people knew her face and she was still wanted for questioning by the police. They could move, but where in the world could they hide? What if Violet got sick and needed medication? That would mean hospital visits and money.

There was another question that she had saved till the end. What about the others? What about Lock?

Shock looked up to her adoptive family. Barrel, Kevin, Klondike and Lock were kneeling around her looking from her to her rambling sister. Lock looked her in the eyes and she knew, they would never leave her.

"Take care of your sister, no matter what it takes."

No matter what it takes. Shock knew what she had to do. There was no way she could take care of her sister, not while she was alive. Carefully, she opened the silver locket around her neck.

"It's ok Violet, it'll all be over soon."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lock carried her back. It was no problem for him, even if she wasn't so petite. They moved through the Hinterlands slowly, silently sinking in the events that had lead to this. Violet slept soundly in Lock's arms while it was dark. But as the first rays of sun poked its way out of the horizon, she woke up in time to watch the sunrise. When they reached the mansion Violet motioned Lock to put her down. With a side-long glance at Shock he set her on her feet. Finding her balance, Violet walked to the old big tree that used to hold the tree house.

Violet uncurled her fingers and revealed the small withered flower again. She knelt down and dug a small hole. As best as she could, she propped up the flower to plant it. Lifting her head, she looked straight at the smiling jack-o-lantern sun. A breeze picked up and swept over them, Violet took a deep breath and smiled.

Looking down at the sad little flower she said, "Thank you."

She started to get up when she saw a twitch of movement. The flower was the culprit. It twitched and shook back and forth. Color filled out the petals and the stem grew bigger. It grew higher and higher until it was at eye-level with Violet. The others stared in awe. Nothing in Halloween Town had ever grown like that. Never mind looking as healthy and alive as that flower did. Swaying back and forth in front of Violet the flower looked like it was waiting for something.

Shock walked up behind Violet and whispered, "Try giving it a command."

Violet reached out and stroked the flowers petals, "Whatever it is… do it."

The flower shot up suddenly, causing both Violet and Shock to jump back. Becoming a vine instead of a stem, the flower began to wrap itself up the old tree, new flowers blooming out of the vine, the first blossom grew bigger and bigger as it rose. It climbed up until blossom rested at the base of the fork in the tree where the tree house used to be. Violet stepped closer to the tree and put her hand on the trunk.

Shock walked up behind her and placed a hand on Violet's shoulder and whispered, "What do you feel?"

"I don't know. It's the same thing I felt when I was… trapped. The tree, I think it's sad, like it's missing something." Violet looked back at the sun, then at the flower. Inhaling deeply she turned her focus on the tree. To everyone's amazement the bark around Violets hand began to turn brown instead of gray. The color spread throughout the trunk and up the branches. Red and orange leaves began to sprout out of the once desolate limbs. Without taking her eyes off the tree Violet started talking, almost to herself, "The plants, they want the same things we do. They want to grow, to live, to thrive. Sunshine, a cool breeze, feeling something with your hand, we take that for granted every day. When it was taken away from me, the only thing I could feel was that flower. I held on to that feeling. Maybe that's why I'm not crazy right now. Just now, when I planted the flower, like I promised it I would, I felt everything I had been missing. And I felt… grateful. Somehow the flower felt what I was feeling. That's what made it strong."

Above, new branches where growing like crazy. But they weren't growing wild; they were twisting and bending with one another, forming strange shapes and forms. The flower had joined in and grew more vines into the branches. Before the quartet realized it, they where staring at a very familiar sight.

"Is that…" Lock said.

"It can't be…" Barrel

"It is." Shock said.

Violet felt the bark under her hand begin to move. It was pushing outward, her hand curled around a wooden bar. More bars pushed their way outward up the tree forming a natural latter. Her eyes followed it up the tree.

"It's a tree house." Violet said simply.

Shock hugged her sister tightly, "It's not just a tree house. It's the tree house. Violet, thank you! You're so strong. No witch has ever made something grow like that."

"Really?" Violet said eyes sparkling.

"Yes! You have power I've never seen before, because it comes from you. When I gave you the antidote I thought that the little girl I met in the graveyard wouldn't be there. So I did a terrible thing to you. I killed you," Shock started tearing, "But even though you spent days without anything, you're ok. You were ok and I killed you. Could you ever forgive me?"

Violet pulled back a little, but it wasn't to stop the hug. It was to wipe away her sister's tears. "Of course I forgive you. You saved me. The only reason why that guy got me was because I was alone. When mom and dad died, there wasn't anyone to take care of me. Some social worker put me in a foster home for the night. She said that I was going to some new home far away. But I didn't want to. So I snuck out. I went into the graveyard to say goodbye to you. I was running away.

She looked her older sister square in the eyes, "I'm glad I'm dead. I would have never found this place, or you. But you know what? There's one thing I still need to do. Could you help me?"

Shock hugged her sister tightly, "Anything."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Within the next hour all of Halloween Town was covered with little purple flowers, a bouquet on every doorstep. The boys, with no small amount of threats from Shock, swallowed their pride and carried dozens of bouquets through town. For some reason the whole of Halloween Town had gathered in Town Square. Excited conversations and muttering filled the morning air.

"What's going on?" Lock wondered out loud.

Tut sprang up from behind a low wall with an insidious, gossiping look in his eyes, "YOU HAVEN'T HEARD YET? It's the baby! The baby's finally here! It's a GIRL!"

Dancing a little dance over the most exciting piece of gossip to enter the town since Shock pushed Kevin out a window, Tut scurried off to find anyone who hadn't heard yet.

"Just like she said…" Shock muttered in awe.

"What was that?" Lock asked her.

"Nothing," Shock said sheepishly, "Come on! Let's see if we can visit her."

"We can bring her flowers!" Violet cheered.

In small groups, the citizens of Halloween were let through the slim door to Skellington manor for a short visit. After waiting in the line for a good while, Shock and family were at the front of the line. Unfortunately, the person who so happened to be letting people in, was none other than their enemy arch-nemesis, the Mayor. The distasteful scowl on his sad-face said everything; of course, the Mayor had to say something anyway.

"What are you vagabonds doing here?" Mayor said, this voice thick with years of hate.

"Why else would we be here, Mayor," Shock responded, taking charge of the situation before someone (Kevin) said something stupid, "Is there something wrong with that?"

"Like I'm about to let you in, why don't you all just-" Mayor's eyes fell on Violet, "Who are you?"

"I'm Violet! Shock's little sister! I'm a witch now!" Violet said cheerfully.

"Now? A day before Halloween? Something that