Authors: The Magic of Christmas
Rebecca Besser (5 page)
grin. “You look much better this morning.”
“Good morning, Santa. Thanks,” Lyle said,
“I feel better. I have some ideas on what can be done for my
family.”
“Do you?” Santa asked, picking up his fork
and raising one eyebrow quizzically. “Fill me in while I eat.”
Excitedly, Lyle jumped into his plan,
talking a mile a minute and forgetting about the rest of the food
on his plate. He asked about gift ideas and they discussed many
options, and right after they’d finished eating they headed over to
the workshop to see if they could find.
Searching for just the right gifts took
longer than both of them would have thought. Lyle insisted on
selecting more than one present for each Kallalaya and Mandy,
scared that he was making the wrong choice and that he would need a
backup just in case.
“Are you ready, Lyle?” Santa asked,
standing in the door to the workshop, eager to get things rolling.
It was Christmas Eve after all, and he had somewhere he had to be
in a few hours. He also had a special plan, but for it to come to
fruition, he needed Lyle’s plan to work.
Lyle looked down at a low work bench –
built at elf level – at what he’d chosen; he sighed. “I think so.”
He paused and rubbed his forehead with the fingers. “What if none
of it’s right? What if the whole plan is wrong? What will I do
then?”
Santa frowned. “You can’t think like that.
If it’s what’s in your heart, what you feel is the right thing,
then I’m sure it’ll work. Let the Magic of Christmas guide
you.”
Clenching his jaw, Lyle picked up the gifts
and turned to the door, and Santa, with determination. “Okay, I’m
ready.”
Together they marched down the main lane of
the North Pole, heading toward the hospital where Lyle’s undead
wife and daughter were imprisoned like the beasts they were. Elves
who were outside, or who spotted them through the windows of their
cottages, stopped what they were doing and hurriedly followed
behind, creating a procession. It seemed the entire North Pole was
rooting for him, and that gave Lyle hope.
Maybe the Magic of
Christmas will be strong enough to save my
family
, he thought, and for the first
time, had hope that things were going to turn out okay.
Lyle trudged down the halls of the hospital. He stood at the top of
the stairs that lead to the basement and the morgue, and looked
nervously at the faces around him; they all smiled with
encouragement.
“Go ahead, Lyle,” Santa encouraged and
motioned with his arm and hand to the stairwell. “Let Christmas do
what it does best – heal the world with hope, happiness, and
love.”
Gulping past the lump in his throat, he
took the first step down; the rest quickly followed. Before he knew
it he was standing in front of the morgue door, watching his wife
and daughter stumble and shamble around the small room, chewing on
the bones of one of the elves they’d consumed.
Looking around, he noticed that most of the
elves had followed him down – the ones who could fit in the
basement – but they were staying back as two hospital orderlies
moved the desk they’d pushed up against the door for
reinforcement.
Once the desk was moved, Lyle laid the
gifts on the shining top, looking over what he’d brought. He
decided to try his idea on Kally first, because he was more sure of
what to give her, and if it worked, there was a good chance it
would work on Mandy too. Picking up something he knew she would
love, and would make her happy, Lyle turned back to the door.
“I’m ready,” he said firmly, trying to
ignore the butterflies that were having a carnival in his stomach.
“Open the door.”
One of the elves stepped forward and slid a
key into the lock, turned it, and stepped back. He nodded toward
the door and weakly smiled at Lyle, letting him know that was as
much as he was willing to do.
Lyle knew he would be responsible for
opening the door, and when he stepped closer, he was glad it would
be his task. Mandy was standing close to the entrance and would
have probably ripped him apart if they’d opened the door at that
moment. He stood and watched for agonizing minutes before Mandy
moved aimlessly away from the door and Kally wandered over.
Being as quiet as he possibly could, he
squatted down and eased the door open slightly. Her head jerked up
at the movement and a low hiss escaped her torn and bloody lips.
She darted forward with her arms raised, ready to grab her father.
He waited until the very last moment and raised the teddy bear with
the pink bow he’d been hiding behind the door, in front of him. Her
small body collided with the bear and a bright flash lit the
morgue. It only lasted a moment, but it blinded everyone. While
Lyle was blinking, trying to regain his site, he heard the sweet
voice of his little girl.
“Daddy? You got me a Mrs. Snuggles!” she
wrapped her little arms around the fuzzy plush toy and squeezed it
for all she was worth. “Thank you!”
Mandy, having also been blinded, started to
hiss and growl when she heard Kally speaking so close to her. But,
since she was rendered blind by the flash, she crashed into the
short morgue carts and tables, falling to the floor with her
outstretched hands mere inches from her healed daughter.
Lyle quickly scooped Kally into his arms
and closed the door, reveling in the soft warmth of his little
girl. His plan had worked! There was hope!
“Kally, sweetheart,” Lyle murmured, “I have
someone I would like you to meet. This is Santa Clause!”
Kally lifted her head and looked at Santa
with an expression of shocked awe. The expression, mixed with the
blood and gore that still covered her, was extremely comical.
“Nice to meet you, Kally,” Santa said.
“Would you like to go with a couple of my elves and get dressed in
something special and pretty for a big surprise?”
Kally grinned and nodded excitedly. “Can I
bring Mrs. Snuggles with me?”
“Of course!” Santa said, smiled, and
motioned for two female elves, who stepped forward and took charge
of Kally as Lyle set her down; he had a hard time letting her go,
but a slam against the morgue door reminded him he wasn’t finished
with his task yet.
Taking a deep breath as Kally left his
sight, Lyle picked something else up off the table; it was a new
laptop. He’d remembered Mandy had been pissed at hers for weeks
because it wouldn’t do the stuff she wanted. To him, it was the
perfect gift.
Taking a deep breath, he walked back over
to the door; inside Mandy was attacking things at random in her
rage. Before he could change his mind, he flung the door open and
stepped inside. Instantly she spun in his direction, hissing
loudly. In a flash he visually took inventory of the woman he
loved. Her wounds were gapping and dripped orangish-red blood onto
the floor, making it slippery. Her clothes were torn and tattered,
not just from the attack, but from clawing at them herself when
they’d gotten caught on the carts and tables when she’d fallen; he
could see scraps of fabric on their sharp edges and corners. Bites
of her flesh beneath peeked out and he witnessed the rot and the
grayish/green hue of her skin; he wondered if she could even be the
woman she’d once been, because right now, she wasn’t attractive at
all.
Here goes
nothing
, he thought and plastered a smile
on his face.
I sure as hell hope this
works!
Christmas!”
She grabbed a hold of the computer and
yanked it, pulling him and the gift closer, trying to bite
him.
He kicked up an out, hard, catching her in
the stomach.
She stumbled back with a screech.
He darted for the door and yanked it
open.
“Give me the small velvet box,” he screamed
just before Mandy grabbed a hold of his shirt and pulled him back
inside.
He slipped on the mixture of bodily fluids
on the floor and went down hard; Mandy landed on top of him. His
vision started to go dark, but he fought against
unconsciousness.
“Lyle!” he heard a booming voice yell, and
forced himself to open his eyes. “Catch!”
Santa was standing in the doorway, and just
as Lyle opened his eyes, he flung something through the air.
Mandy’s jaws were an inch away from his
neck when the box landed in Lyle’s palm.
With a scared, squeaking, “Merry
Christmas!” Lyle slammed the box into the back of Mandy’s head
before he passed out cold.
~
Mandy, Lyle, and Kally sat in Santa’s
office, waiting for the big surprise he’d told Kally about. They
were all holding hands and enjoying each other’s company after all
the tragedy that had struck their existence and had almost torn
them apart. They jumped when the door flew open.
“It’s time!” Santa yelled. “Are you
ready?”
They all looked at each other,
frowning.
Lyle stood. “Ready for what?”
“Ready to help me deliver presents, of
course?!” Santa said with a laugh. “I know some foster children who
specifically requested your help this year.” He winked at the
entire family.
Kally jumped up and cheered, running to
Santa and wrapping her arms around his leg.
“I really get to help deliver the
presents?” she asked, looking up at him with big eyes, full of
wonder.
“Yes, dear,” Santa said, putting his hand
lightly on the top of her head and looking down at her. “I couldn’t
do it without you.” He looked up at her parents. “How about you
two? Are you ready to be Santa’s helpers?”
“Always!” Lyle yelled excitedly with a
broad grin on his face.
“Sure, let’s get going,” Mandy said, with a
twinkle in her eye.
Santa turned and left the room with Kally
right behind him. Lyle started to follow, but Mandy slipped her
hand into his and held him back; he turned and looked at her with a
quizzical expression on his face.
“What is it?” he asked.
Mandy smiled and looked down at the heart
shaped, pewter locket that hung around her neck. She picked it up
with her free hand and opened it; inside were pictures of Lyle and
Kally. She looked up at her husband with tears in her eyes.
“Thank you for saving us,” she whispered as
tears spilled from her eyes and down over her cheeks. “You saved us
both. You saved our family.” She stopped speaking, too choked up to
get any more words out.
“Shh,” Lyle said and stepped forward,
wrapping his arms around his wife. “I love you and Kally. I would
do anything for either of you. Now,” he paused and waited until she
looked up at him, “let’s go share the Power of a Gift with others
and hope the Magic of Christmas thrives for others like it has for
us!”
Arm in arm, they left the room and joined
Santa and Kally in the sleigh, to spread love, hope, peace, and joy
to the world.
Both of these stories were
written for The Undead That Saved Christmas Charity project, put
together by Lyle Perez-Tinics. The Magic of Christmas was included
in Volume 1.
The proceeds from the book
sales go to help HUGS buy Christmas presents for foster
children.
Please take the time to check out and buy a copy/ies
now!
Amazon:
Volume 1 (which contains The Magic of
Christmas):
http://www.amazon.com/Undead-That-Saved-Christmas/dp/1453832661/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323717927&sr=8-1
Volume 2 (which contains a
zombie poem by me):
Cover Artist Bio:
Justin T Coons is a fine
artist and illustrator specializing in the macabre, pinup girls and
anything “weird.” His artwork have been featured in Morpheus Tales
Magazine, Pin Up Perfection Magazine and multiple books including
Rebecca Besser’s UNDEAD DRIVE-THRU and Jordan Krall’s forthcoming
TENTACLE DEATH TRIP. He recently teamed up with Skurvyink.com which
offers T-shirts specializing in Bizarro fiction.
Justin enjoys monster movies, writing beer reviews, cheeseburgers
and side-scrolling video games. He lives in Bristol, Pennsylvania
with his beautiful wife Brandy and three children Ludo, Creature
and Bump.
More information and artwork can be found
at:
www.facebook.com/horrorart
Author Bio:
Rebecca Besser is the
author of the zombie novella, "Undead Drive-Thru," and a graduate
of the Institute of Children's Literature. Her work has appeared in
the Coshocton Tribune, Irish Story Playhouse, Spaceports &
Spidersilk, joyful!, Soft Whispers, Illuminata, Common Threads,
Golden Visions Magazine, Stories That Lift, Super Teacher
Worksheets, Living Dead Press Presents Magazine (Iss. 1 & 2),
FrightFest eMagazine, An Xmas Charity Ebook, and The Undead That
Saved Christmas (Vol. 1 & 2) and the Signals From The Void
charity anthologies. She has multiple stories in anthologies by
Living Dead Press, Wicked East Press, NorGus Press, Pill Hill
Press, Hidden Thoughts Press, Knight Watch Press, Coscom
Entertainment, and Collaboration of the Dead (projects), and one in
an anthology by Post Mortem Press. She also has a poem in an
anthology by Naked Snake Press.
Rebecca is also an editor and has edited: Dark Dreams: Tales of
Terror, Dead Worlds 7: Undead Stories, and Book of Cannibals 2: The
Hunger from Living Dead Press; Earth's End from Wicked East Press;
End of Days: An Apocalyptic Anthology (Vol. 4 & 5/co-edited)
from Living Dead Press; and she's currently editing It's Weighing
On You Mind from Hidden Thoughts Press, and co-editing Beneath The
Pretty Lies from Wicked East Press.
When she's not busy writing and/or editing, she's formatting book
covers, building/maintaining websites, and writing book
reviews.
For more information, visit her website:
www.rebeccabesser.com