Free Rebecca Besser by The Magic of Christmas

 
     
     
     
     
     
    The Magic
    of
    Christmas
    And the sequel, The Power of a Gift
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Copyrights owned by Rebecca Besser, 2010/2011.
    Art Copyrights owned by Justin T. Coons, 2010.
    All rights reserved .
    Smashwords Edition.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Table of Contents
     
    THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS
     
    THE POWER OF A GIFT
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    THE MAGIC OF
CHRISTMAS
by Rebecca Besser
     
     
“Hammond, where is everyone? Only half the
elves are here today.”
“They’re sick, Santa,” Hammond said with a
heavy sigh, as he too looked out over the workshop floor. “Ever
since Royce came back from cutting down Christmas trees with a
strange bite, more and more elves are getting ill.”
Santa crossed his arms and frowned. “Will
we still meet our quota for toys? I can’t have children going
without presents.”
“If we work longer shifts we should be able
to make it,” Hammond said, looking at a spread sheet that was on
his clipboard. “It’s going to be close. If anyone else gets sick
then we might fail.”
“Failure is not an option,” Santa said
sternly. “Do what needs done. After Christmas everyone can
rest.”
Hammond watched as Santa walked away. He
hadn’t mentioned that the illness was the strangest he had ever
seen. Santa didn’t need the extra stress right now, as he was still
going over the Naughty & Nice List.
Turning toward the workshop, Hammond got on
the intercom and announced the shifts that would be needed to
ensure Christmas came on time.
~
“Hold him down!” Dr. Jim screamed. “If he
bites anyone, they’ll get sick, too. We already have too many of
these biters!”
“I’m trying, sir,” Milly said just before
the patient broke loose and took a chunk out of her arm with his
teeth. She screamed as blood shot everywhere, her eyes huge with
pain and shock.
Dr. Jim growled and grabbed the patient’s
arm, slamming it down on the table and securing it with tinsel
rope. “Milly, go get that bandaged and then admit yourself to the
Holly Wing. You’re now infected with the disease.”
Milly took a deep, shaky breath with tears
in her eyes. She had seen what happened to the infected and didn’t
want it to happen to her. Her eyes pleaded with Dr. Jim, begging
him to let her stay, to say she wasn’t infected.
Dr. Jim took a deep breath and softened his
tone. “Maybe we’ll figure something out. Maybe we’ll be able to
stop it. But you know as well as I do that you’ll try to infect
someone else once it takes hold. We have to be careful. Go and get
looked after. I’ll come check on you when I get done here.”
Milly nodded, her tears sliding down her
round, cheery cheeks that were already starting to pale. She
scurried out through the brightly painted red and white striped
doors.
As they swung shut, Dr. Jim bowed his head
and said a quick prayer, asking God to save them all. He knew that
this was a hopeless cause. There was no stopping the infection. He
pulled up his sleeve and looked at the pussy teeth marks that were
turning his arm purple. Soon he would be one of these flesh eaters,
one of the walking dead.
The room started to spin and Dr. Jim clung
to the table that held the elf who had already turned. The gnashing
of the patient’s teeth and the incessant moans began to fade as Dr.
Jim fell to the floor.
~
    Two days later, Santa sat
in his office, staring out the window. He watched white, fluffy
snowflakes float down from the grey, overcast sky, without really
seeing them. He had finished the Naughty & Nice List yesterday.
Today, he had read the medical report from the hospital.
Ninety-eight percent of the elves were sick or dead. He feared
after delivering presents tonight he would come back to nothing.
This might be the last Christmas ever, but at least there would be
gifts this year.
Hammond knocked on the door before
entering. “Santa, we’ll be ready right on time. There were enough
of us left to load