Free Rebecca Besser by The Magic of Christmas Page B

back to the window, he looked down
on the quaint village that was nestled in the arctic glaciers of
the North Pole. What he saw made him gasp in shock as fear gripped
his heart with its icy fingers.
    They had returned.
~
    Santa went through his
duties, and that’s what they felt like to him that night, duties.
Normally it was a pleasure for him to give gifts. This year he
didn’t care. He knew unless a miracle happened Christmas would
cease to exist. What he couldn’t understand was, why wasn’t
Christmas Magic helping now? Why hadn’t it stopped the outbreak?
Was he failing in
some way?
With a heavy heart Santa left beautiful
dolls for good little girls, and skateboards for good little boys.
Thinking of the delight in their eyes when they ran down the stairs
in the morning to find their special gifts, made just for them,
brought a faint smile to his lips and a rose tinge to his waxy
cheeks. He decided right there, right then, this was going to be
the best, most beautiful Christmas ever, even if it killed
him.
With renewed vigor, Santa stood tall, and
marched to the chimney with determination. Yes, Christmas was going
to be wonderful, illness and death would come, but not until after
he had made sure Christmas would shine in the memory of every
person, in every house, that he touched that night!
~
Hammond stood frozen, not quite believing
his eyes. Elf-zombie after elf-zombie came pouring into town,
moaning and waving their arms. It was like some circuit in their
festering brains remembered that they were supposed to be there for
something. In fact, they were supposed to see Santa off, but they
were too late, and it was now too late for the elves that had
arrived on time.
The hungry horde fell on the tired, weak,
healthy elves like they had never eaten before and needed
sustenance so badly that they couldn’t help themselves. Flesh was
bitten and torn off with cruel hands, claws, and teeth. Pale faces
and foggy eyes contrasted with bright red blood as it shot through
the air, spraying everyone. Some of the elf-zombies were cackling
and catching blood drops on their tongues, just like small children
do with snowflakes.
Hammond shuddered. The gore was
unimaginable. He had never seen such violence. That was something
reserved for humans, not elves. They were supposed to be happy,
peaceful beings. This was not their way.
A gleeful moan sounded behind him. Hammond
whirled around to see five of the elf-zombies standing in the
doorway with sadistic grins on their rotting faces. Blood still
speckled their cheeks from the feeding frenzy in the
courtyard.
    “No,” Hammond said,
raising his arm to protect himself as they advanced toward him.
“ No !”
As his back hit the wall, his hand came in
contact with a silver-reindeer-topped cane. Lifting it high over
his head, Hammond let out a wild war cry and slammed it into the
head of the lead zombie. It whimpered and fell to the floor to
bleed out.
Hammond was shocked with himself, and with
the fall of the elf-zombie. Renewed hope warmed his heart. He would
go down fighting. These creatures were not taking Christmas away
that easily. They would pay with their lives.
“You can’t have Christmas,” Hammond yelled
and battled the four remaining foes.
They weren’t fast and they weren’t smart,
so it didn’t take Hammond long to dispose of them. With a crocked
grin and a cocky swagger, he left the dressing room, dispatching
every zombie that was unlucky enough to cross his path. A few other
healthy elves saw what he was doing. Taking up arms, they followed,
and they fought.
~
Santa was on the last leg of his journey.
He had one country left to deliver toys to. He knew it wouldn’t be
long before the children would awaken and the true Magic of
Christmas, joy and love, would be spreading all over the world.
That was his gift to the mass’. It was the only thing that gave him
the strength to go on.
    He returned to the sleigh
after delivering a train set and a teddy bear, after yet