5 More Bloody Christmas Horror Stories!

WEBVTT

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My spookies. Here we are again
with another Christmas compilation to bring you fears

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for the New Year's You like that
one, I just made that one up.

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We have five very scary stories all
about Yule Tide terror, ready to

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keep you entertained as you work your
buns off headed towards giving your loved ones

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that perfect gift that they deserve,
or maybe the perfect come uppance your enemies

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deserve. But hey, I'm not
here to judge. I'm just your host

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and narrator, Enrique Kuto, here
to bring you your holiday fear. So

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please kick back and relax, and
don't forget. This isn't the only Christmas

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terror We're going to be publishing this
month. All through December, you'll be

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getting more and more bonus Christmas content
to make sure you have that warm and

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fuzzy feeling, but also a serious
case of the spookies. So, without

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further ado, let's get to the
five stories after these quick words. Christmas

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Cranberries by L. F. Falconer. Ronnie was no longer content with pulling

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the legs off of crickets that bored
him anymore, as did wingless dragonflies and

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taless lizards. So today it was
Fluffy, the long haired tabby with the

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blue collar that jingled softly with the
cat's subtle movements to protect the birds.

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Fluffy's owner, Missus Kent from the
neighboring house, was often known to say

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Fluffy was missus Kent's favorite, and
Ronnie did not like missus Kent, for

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missus Kent was mean. Her mouth
was always turned down in a frown,

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and her eyes glinted like a pirate's. She never missed the opportunity to complain

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to Ronnie's mom when he'd picked the
apples from missus Kent's tree off the single

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branch that overhung the back fence,
and she refused to return any balls that

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accidentally ended up in her yard.
Yes, missus Kent was a mean old

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biddy, So this day Ronnie thought, when he caught Fluffy trespassing, was

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to be Fluffy's last. Ronnie's eyes
gleamed as he firmly held the writhing cat

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beneath the water of his wading pool. He imagined the cat to be missus

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Kent as he kept holding her down
tighter and tighter until she was quite dead

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beneath the shallow water. He smiled
a sweet tang like cranberri's filled his mouth.

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He savored the taste as he shoved
the wet, dead cat into a

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garbage bag and stuffed it into the
trash can in the alley. For a

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long time, Ronnie stared at the
trash can, reveling in satisfaction, relishing

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the taste of cranberries. In all
of his six years of life, he

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could never remember feeling so good that
was in June. By the first of

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September, just one week before his
seventh birthday, Ronnie was beginning to hunger.

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With the need to feel good again, he began to crave the cranberries.

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For his birthday, his father brought
home the puppy, a happy eight

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week old lab Border Collie mix,
At his mother's suggestion. The boy named

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the dog Susie, and within a
few days, Susie was fetching the ball

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Ronnie would toss. Very few were
lost to missus Kent's yard anymore. At

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night, Susie he would curl up
in her crate at the footboard of Ronnie's

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bed, and she rarely woke before
daylight. In the morning, she would

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follow Ronnie like a shadow and wait
patiently outside the closed bathroom door until he

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would let her out in the backyard
to tend to her own duties. When

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Ronnie would come home from school,
Susie would brim with joy and exuberance,

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wagging her entire hindquarters. Four weeks
after Ronnie's birthday, Susie disappeared. Ronnie

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knew where the dog had gone.
Though Susie had done nothing to set Ronnie

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into a fit of anger, the
boy had simply wanted to feel good.

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He had been hungry. He'd wanted
to taste the cranberries. He had taken

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his father's claw hammer out of the
garage. He'd bashed it against Susie's head.

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He'd bashed again and again, each
blow, feeding his hunger, filling

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his mouth with tang until cranberry drool
overflowed and dribbled onto his chin. The

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hunger was seated. He'd tossed the
hammer behind the rose bush, unlatched the

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alley gate, and shoved Susie's little
body into a box in mister Phipps's trash

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can at the end of the block. He would be full for a while.

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Ronnie felt good. Ronnie's mother and
father posted the reward flyers around the

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neighborhood in hopes of inducing the return
of the missing pup. Five days after

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he'd put them up, Ronnie's dad
took the flyers down, even though the

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lost puppy had not been found.
A week before Halloween, Ronnie was blessed

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with a new sister. His mother
had gone to the hospital and came home

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two days later with baby Elizabeth wrapped
in her arms. Grandma Rose and Grandpa

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Sig and Grandpa Paul all came for
the Thanksgiving holiday dinner with much fuss and

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ado over baby Elizabeth. Grandma Rose
clicked her favorite photo, so she said,

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of a smiling Ronnie lovingly holding his
new one month old sister in his

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arms. Little did Grandma Rose know
that when she posed the children for that

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shot, how hungry Ronnie was growing, how Ronnie's bright smile was merely instigated

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by his inner anticipation and his knowledge
of how to feel good, how to

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taste more cranberries. He tried to
fill his hunger at the Thanksgiving feast,

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but the ones from the can were
too sweet. They they weren't the same,

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They did not make him feel good. After dinner, the women gathered

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in the kitchen for the cleanup,
and the men retired to the living room

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in front of the TV. So, Ronnie, Grandpa Paul asked, as

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he settled upon the sofa, what
do you want Santa to bring you for

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Christmas this year? Ronnie scooted forward
in his seat. A baseball bat would

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be nice. He had no desire
for a ball or a glove. A

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shiny red baseball bat red like cranberries. His grin was as wide as his

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eyes. It made Grandpa Paul smile. I always loved baseball as a boy,

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Grandpa Sigg said, loosening his tie. Grandpa Sigg always wore a tie.

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You never know when you'll need to
make a good impression, he always

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said. Ronnie's dad, Jim,
leaned back in his reclae. Santa might

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not come this year. Why not, Jimmy, Grandpa Sig asked. He's

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not short of cash, is he? No? But sometimes it's just best

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if he stays away. Ronnie's dad
muted the TV and set the remote aside.

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Dad, why don't you tell Ronnie
about the Santa you knew as a

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boy. Are you sure? Grandpa
Sig ran his tie back and forth through

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his fingers. Times are different,
and here in America, Santa Claus has

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changed his m O a little.
He's changed his m O a lot,

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Dad, so indulge me and help
me teach the boy a little folklore from

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his heritage. My Ronnie's old enough
to know there's more than one Santa in

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the world. He looked over at
his son and winked, aren't your son.

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Ronnie sat up proudly, Yes I
am, and the boy listened and

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rapped awe as his father's father began
the tail. Well here in America,

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Santa Claus might come accompanied by a
red nosed reindeer. Grandpa sigin toned but

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back where I come from, Santa
or Sami Klaus, as he's known,

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makes his rounds with Schmutzy. Ronnie
giggled at the sound of the name,

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spoken in his grandfather's residual German accent. Is that a Swiss reindeer? He

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asked. Grandpa Sig shook his head
solemnly. No, Schmutzy is Samyklaus evil

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altar. While Samyklaus wears a red
cloak and a tall red hat, Smutzy

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dresses in Suti gray. Samiklaus has
a long white beard, and Smutzy is

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black as cold. Schmutzley's face too, is black as an ink well,

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and his eyes glow red as embers
in a fire. Sammy Klaus leaves treats

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in the shoes of good little children, while Schmutzley beats the naughty children with

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his broom. And with those boys
and girls who've been truly, truly bad,

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he sweeps them into his sack and
spirits them away deep into the wilderness,

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to be eaten and never seen again. Ronnie stared wide eyed. Why

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are you telling the boy that horrible
tale, Grandma Rose asked, coming out

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of the kitchen with a handful of
fresh washed china for the cabinet. There's

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nothing wrong with Ronnie knowing the folklore
of his heritage, Mom, Jim said,

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after all, I grew up with
it, and look how sane I

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turned out. Well, I didn't
approve of your father telling you those stories

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then, and I don't approve of
you scared my grandson with them now.

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It's too late, Jim said,
reaching for the TV remote. The tale

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of Schmultzy has been told. I'm
not scared, Grandma, Ronnie lied,

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after all, this is America.
Santa's changed his mo o. Grandpa Sig

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and Grandpa Paul both laughed. Grandma
Rose shook her head and returned to the

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kitchen. Ronnie stared at the TV. The sound was reinstated, but Ronnie

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didn't hear it. All that filled
his mind was the picture of glowing red

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eyes on a black face, and
the hunger for cranberries faded into the background.

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When Ronnie relayed the story of Samiklaus
and Schmultzy to his friend Jason at

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school, Jason just laughed. It's
not real, Jason said. There's no

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such thing as Santa anyway, It's
only your parents. And that is what

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Ronnie wanted to believe, or at
least that in America there was Sanna,

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not semi cloths, and certainly no
Schmultzy. And maybe he hadn't been that

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naughty though he wanted to be.
He was craving the cranberries, but it

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would have to wait. He couldn't
take any chances before Christmas. Two days

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before Christmas, Ronnie watched, licking
the taste of cranberries on his lips as

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his mother bathed baby Elizabeth in the
infant's tub upon the table top. Can

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I help, he tentatively asked,
after a moment's consideration. Mother nodded,

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of course, Rannie. She handed
the boy the soft washcloth when he stepped

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close. Just gently wash her body, okay. Mother held Elizabeth securely in

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the tub. Ronnie rubbed the cloth
over the baby's soft shoulders and belly and

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imagined grabbing hold of the baby's ankles, whirling her around and flinging her against

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the wall, then jumping up and
down on her body once she hit the

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floor. He imagined skewering her with
the fireplace poker and roasting her like a

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marshmallow. He imagined taking his fingers
and poking them into Elizabeth's wide blue eyes

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and cramming the soaking wet washcloth down
her throat. He licked the tang of

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cranberries away. Here. Mother interrupted
his thoughts. Hold her steady for me

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while I lay out the towel.
Ronnie's hands replaced his mother's beneath Elizabeth's arms.

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He looked up into his mother's eyes. They were smiling. The tang

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in his mouth sweetened. Mother leaned
over to unfold the towel beside the infant's

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tub. Ronnie began to release his
grip. Elizabeth slipped a bit. Could

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she slide all the way down until
she drowned. Ronnie wondered, not likely,

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but perhaps she could slip fast enough
that were he to try to catch

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hold of her again, her tiny
little neck might snap in the process,

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her tiny little neck so skinny in
its frailty trying to hold up her big

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bobbling head, and maybe her big
bobbling head just might pop right off in

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his hands. Pop the cranberry tang
caused a slip of drool to dampen Ronnie's

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chin. His eyes grew wide as
he stared at his sister. He let

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go his grip. Elizabeth started to
slide. Whoa. Mother quickly caught the

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baby before she slipped into the shallow
water, and laughed nervously. She can

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be a little wigglebug, can't.
She almost got away from you. You

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have to be more careful with your
sister, Ronnie, His father spoke from

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the doorway as he entered the room. Yes, Ronnie agreed, taking a

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step back, relieved mother had been
so quick. Christmas was close. He

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couldn't be naughty before Santa came,
but afterwards afterwards he could feel good again.

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On Christmas Eve, he could not
sleep. His stocking was hung,

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but would it be filled? Was
Santa real? Would he come? And

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what about Schmultzy But this was America, of course Santa would come. Santa

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in a red nosed reindeer to presence
under the tree, not red eyed Schmutzli.

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He had been being oh so very
good, even though the hunger for

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Cranberry's was unendurably strong. Elizabeth was
sleeping in her room across the hall.

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Mother and father were sleeping in their
room at the end of the hall.

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Ronnie stared out the dark window to
the starlit night beyond. Please let Santa

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come, he whispered. He only
had to wait until after Santa came.

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He couldn't be bad before Santa came, but afterwards everything would be all right

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and he could feel good again.
After all, this was America, and

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in America, Santa wanted little boys
to feel good. Santa rewarded good with

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presents. Rannie stared at his bedroom
door. Elizabeth was across the hall.

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Mother and father were at the end
of the hall. At the other end

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of the hall, around the corner
in the living room, the brightly lit

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Christmas tree cheerfully winked, awaiting its
yearly night stalking visitor every year. It

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was Santa who came, not Semiklaus, not Schmultzy, This was America.

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Ronnie pulled the blanket up to his
chin and stared out the dark window.

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The tang was in his mouth.
He just wanted to feel good, that's

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all. He didn't want to be
naughty, and there was only one way

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to feel good, and here in
America, Santa brought presents to the good,

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maybe even a baseball bat, bright, shiny and red thunk. He

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could hear the metallic sound of the
bat's impact. Thunk, thunk, hollow

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and resonant, red, gleaming,
slick, gosh. He was so hungry.

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He wanted to feel good, to
feel good for Santa Elizabeth was across

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the hall. He sat up in
bed and stared at the door. Was

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there truly a Santa? If so? Was he American or was he Swiss?

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And had he come yet? Ronnie
laid back down. It was getting

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hard to breathe. His mouth was
full. He needed to feel good.

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When would Santa come so he could
feel good? He needed to know Santa

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had come before he could feel good. He sat back up and dangled his

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feet over the side of the bed. He stared at the door. Elizabeth

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was across the hall. Had Santa
come yet? Ronnie was so very hungry,

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starving he could taste the cranberries he
needed to feel good. Bare feet

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hit the floor, he crept to
the bedroom door, peeked into the hall,

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looked to his parents closed bedroom door, then to Elizabeth's. His hands

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began to sweat. Ronnie eased his
way into the hall without squeaking. The

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door hinges and padded for the living
room. He peeped around the corner into

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the room a wash with twinkling colored
lights, and gasped. Santa was real.

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He had come. The stockings were
bulging filled to the brim. Beneath

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the tree, under a big green
bow was a shimmering red baseball bat,

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the color of cranberries. He crouched
to his hands and knees and crawled for

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the tree hesitantly. His hand touched
the cold illumin that gleamed beneath a barrage

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of twinkling lights. He slowly lifted
it up and gave the bat a loving

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caress. In America, Santa wanted
little boys to feel good. In America,

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Santa rewarded the good. He rewarded
the good with shiny aluminum baseball bats

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to enable the good never to stop. Ronnie wanted to feel good. He

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had waited for so so long.
The sweet tang of cranberries filled his mouth

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as he hugged the red baseball bat
and eased back down the hall. Turning

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the knob to Elizabeth's bedroom door,
he gently pushed it open. He stepped

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inside. Thunk, thunk, thunk, In a gleam of red, the

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bat hit the floor. The flier
Ronnie's father tacked to the electric pole featured

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the smiling face of a seven year
old boy. A reward was being offered

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for any information leading to the missing
boy's whereabouts, but Jim knew no reward

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would ever be paid out. Jim
knew Ronnie had been a bad boy.

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Jim had found the bloody hammer,
matted with dog hair and gore. He

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knew Ronnie had lied about the puppy
running off through the open gate, and

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Jim feared what Ronnie would do with
a shiny new baseball bat. Yes,

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Ronnie was certainly a very bad boy, and very bad boys had to be

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whisked away forever. The Naughty List
by Keith Tomlin, Andy Price, twelve

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00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:21.039
years old went to sleep on Christmas
Eve in a dry, warm bed in

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the Saint Luke's Home for Wayward Youth, and woke up on a cold,

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damp stone floor. He groggily sat
up and looked around the large chamber.

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A dozen other kids about his age
were also waking up, each looking about

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with the same dazed and confused look
that he had. There were three girls

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and ten boys, including Andy,
all wearing their nightclothes. Andy stumbled to

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his feet, reaching out to the
nearby wall to steady himself. The wall

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felt cold against his bare hand.
He looked closer, and it seemed that

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the walls and even the ceiling were
made from ice. A dim luminescence emitted

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from the ice, creating a soft
light that lit the entire chamber. Each

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wall of the square room had tunnels
that led off of it, and the

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tall ceiling had a large circular hole
in the middle. Some kids began milling

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about, exploring the cavern and looking
down the corridors. Others remained seated on

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the floor, unable to believe what
their eyes were telling them, and he

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stood apart against the wall and studied
the other kids. He knew that knowledge

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was power, and he wanted to
gain as much information as possible to ensure

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that he would as always come out
on top. As he studied the kids,

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he began to sort them into categories. Are they weak or strong?

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Are they a threat? Manipulate them
into doing what he wants? How can

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he use them to ensure that he
will win? Whatever sick and twisted game

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this was. All of this came
to Andy as naturally as breathing. He

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always got what he wanted and nothing
stood in his way. No teachers,

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no laws, not even his parents. Andy was born to Greg and Mary

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Price, a young couple living in
Chicago. Greg was a junior architect and

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Mary was a kindergarten teacher. They
had met in a Bible study class and

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soon fell in love. They married
and within a year, Mary gave birth

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to their first child, Andrew or
Andy, as he was lovingly called.

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He was a perfect baby, never
crying, never raising a fuss. When

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he was eight and small pets and
animals started disappear around the neighborhood, no

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one suspected the quiet Price kid.
They put the disappearances down to rumors of

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coyotes roaming the Chicago suburbs. When
Andy was ten and bigger pets began disappearing.

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Some neighbors did begin to point fingers
at that odd Price child who always

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seemed to be watching them with a
hint of a knowing smile on his young

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face. His parents never suspected their
son was anything but a perfect little angel,

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at least not until they brought home
their second child, Susan, when

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Andy was eleven. Little accidents began
to happen to the baby. Mysterious bruises

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appeared, and they twice found the
baby choking, having somehow swallowed a marble

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and a coin. The final incident
was when the crib tipped over during the

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night, and the resulting injury require
ed Susan to have surgery. When his

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00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:10.839
parents began to suspect that Andy maybe
behind these accidents, an electrical outlet started

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a fire that only Andy survived.
Loud, eerie music, reminiscent of the

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00:26:17.960 --> 00:26:22.480
tune you would hear from a Jack
in the box toy began drifting down from

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the hole in the ceiling. It
slowly increased in volume until it shook the

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00:26:27.279 --> 00:26:33.839
walls. This went on for so
long that Andy thought his ear drums would

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shatter. He pressed his palms against
his ears and fell to the floor,

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screaming for it to stop, and
suddenly it did. A few heartbeats later,

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a high pitched voice began reciting a
poem in a hypnotic sing song voice.

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00:26:52.359 --> 00:26:57.839
Judgment passed, Trial done, judged, naughty everyone, no games,

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00:26:57.960 --> 00:27:04.839
no rules, no h referee.
Two choices, fight or flee survived the

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00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:10.200
night? Only two ways, kill
the monster or escape the maze. The

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00:27:10.279 --> 00:27:15.000
voice stopped, but the echoes rang
along the corridors for minutes before finally fading

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00:27:15.039 --> 00:27:21.480
away. Andy struggled to his feet
as a grinding sound like an old rusty

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gate being opened, shook the room. Seconds later, a massive creature dropped

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from the hole, landing heavily on
the floor. The creature stood up straight,

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twice as tall as Andy. It
had an apelike body that was covered

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00:27:38.559 --> 00:27:45.720
with long white fur. It roared, opening its oversized mouth to reveal rows

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00:27:47.759 --> 00:27:53.599
of razor sharp teeth. The creature's
long arms flexed as its powerful muscles rippled

272
00:27:53.640 --> 00:28:00.519
beneath the long hair. Each hand
had long fingers that were tipped with wickedly

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00:28:00.640 --> 00:28:10.119
sharp claws. The creature slowly swiveled
its massive head to survey its surroundings.

274
00:28:10.240 --> 00:28:12.799
Most of the children, who had
been shocked by the reveal of the monster,

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00:28:12.960 --> 00:28:18.920
snapped to life and began running for
the nearest tunnel. This seemed to

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00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:23.960
amuse the creature, and it threw
back its head and roared again, this

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00:28:25.119 --> 00:28:30.400
time in anticipation of the hunt.
When the creature first appeared, Andy had

278
00:28:30.440 --> 00:28:36.880
slid along the wall and ducked into
a side passage. He peered out around

279
00:28:36.880 --> 00:28:45.079
the corner and watched the chamber quickly
empty of children except for two. One

280
00:28:45.119 --> 00:28:48.400
of the younger looking kids, a
petite girl dressed in a pink nightgown,

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00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:53.240
had curled into a ball on the
ground and kept repeating this is not happening,

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00:28:53.839 --> 00:28:59.640
over and over again. The other
kid, a red haired boy,

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00:28:59.680 --> 00:29:03.720
stood pressed against the wall, his
face filled with horror and disbelief. A

284
00:29:03.839 --> 00:29:08.720
large wet stain had appeared on his
Marvel's Superhero pajama bottoms, running from his

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00:29:08.839 --> 00:29:14.519
crotch to his ankles. The creature
clicked his tongue as it walked over to

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00:29:14.559 --> 00:29:19.319
the boy that was standing. It
seemed to smile as it gently reached out

287
00:29:19.359 --> 00:29:26.720
one claw hand and slowly wrapped it
around the boy's chest. It pulled him

288
00:29:26.839 --> 00:29:32.200
close and stared in his eyes before
it raised his other hand and flicked a

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00:29:32.279 --> 00:29:37.839
finger out, slicing the boy's throat. It seized the boy's head in its

290
00:29:37.880 --> 00:29:42.440
free hand and bent it back,
like snapping open a pixie stick. It

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00:29:42.599 --> 00:29:47.920
raised the child above his head and
let the blood flow into its mouth,

292
00:29:48.240 --> 00:29:52.799
blood splattering all over the creature's face
and chest. When the blood stopped,

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the creature flung the lifeless body across
the cavern. As the creature turned to

294
00:29:59.480 --> 00:30:03.400
face the gl on the ground,
she began chanting, this is not happening,

295
00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:08.839
louder and more frantic. The creature's
arm shot out and grabbed her by

296
00:30:08.880 --> 00:30:14.720
the ankle. In one smooth motion, it whipped its arm around, slamming

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00:30:14.759 --> 00:30:18.359
the girl's head into the wall.
It split open and splattered blood, bone,

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00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:23.519
and brains all over the room.
As the creature began to feed,

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Andy's mind raced, searching for possibilities
of how to control the situation. He

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00:30:30.640 --> 00:30:33.519
had always known what to say and
do to ensure that he got what he

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00:30:33.599 --> 00:30:41.960
wanted. Now his mind came back
with nothing except panic. This was new

302
00:30:41.000 --> 00:30:48.000
to him. Andy had never before
tasted fear. He turned and ran.

303
00:30:48.799 --> 00:30:52.960
The passages were wide, at least
eight feet across, and not quite as

304
00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:56.759
tall as the starting chamber. Side
tunnels ran off of this one in seemingly

305
00:30:56.880 --> 00:31:02.799
random intervals. Echoes seemed to have
a life of their own and reverberated all

306
00:31:02.839 --> 00:31:06.839
around Andy. He heard the echo
of the girl chanting, this is not

307
00:31:07.000 --> 00:31:11.519
happening, as well as the wet, hollow thunk of her head hitting the

308
00:31:11.599 --> 00:31:18.200
ice. He could also hear echoes
of something large moving quickly. Andy felt

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00:31:18.279 --> 00:31:22.480
disoriented and began choosing passages at random, trying to put as much distance between

310
00:31:22.519 --> 00:31:26.680
him and that creature as possible.
More screams echoed through the halls as the

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00:31:26.720 --> 00:31:33.799
creature found another victim. After a
few minutes, Andy paused, gasping for

312
00:31:33.880 --> 00:31:37.079
breath. As he looked down a
side tunnel. He noticed that it opened

313
00:31:37.160 --> 00:31:44.759
up into a room. He skulked
along that corridor and peered around the corner.

314
00:31:45.799 --> 00:31:48.200
The room was large and had ceilings
as tall as the first chamber.

315
00:31:49.240 --> 00:31:56.200
Along the far wall was a wooden
rack with metal items arrayed along its length.

316
00:31:56.079 --> 00:32:01.000
It took Andy a moment to realize
what was on the rack. Swords,

317
00:32:01.759 --> 00:32:07.240
Andy whispered. As Andy took a
few steps forward, a boy dressed

318
00:32:07.240 --> 00:32:13.400
in transformers pajamas charged into the room. Run it's coming, he yelled once

319
00:32:13.480 --> 00:32:19.079
again. Andy turned and ran.
Andy didn't know how long he ran.

320
00:32:19.839 --> 00:32:25.079
It seemed like days. He heard
screams echoing all around him, unclear if

321
00:32:25.119 --> 00:32:31.319
they were old screams echoing their way
back around or new ones. He ran

322
00:32:31.359 --> 00:32:36.559
out of one tunnel into a larger
corridor and had to immediately duck as the

323
00:32:36.640 --> 00:32:40.039
largest of the children tried to take
his head off with a sword. You

324
00:32:40.160 --> 00:32:44.200
stay away. I don't trust you, and I'll kill anyone that gets too

325
00:32:44.200 --> 00:32:46.799
close to me. The boy screamed, swinging his sword in the air as

326
00:32:46.799 --> 00:32:52.680
he backed away from Andy. He
moved past a side tunnel when a blur

327
00:32:52.799 --> 00:32:57.079
of white sprang out of it.
The creature leaped at the boy, pinning

328
00:32:57.160 --> 00:33:00.200
him to the ground. It began
to tear limbs off the large boy like

329
00:33:00.240 --> 00:33:06.759
a child might wings off a fly. Andy ran. After a few minutes,

330
00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:10.480
Andy ran into a chamber with four
children standing in a semicircle, each

331
00:33:10.599 --> 00:33:15.240
holding a short spear. The tallest
of the kids pointed to a wooden rack

332
00:33:15.279 --> 00:33:20.319
of spears behind them, saying,
hey, kid, grab a weapon.

333
00:33:20.759 --> 00:33:24.519
We're gonna kill that damn thing.
Andy ran to the rack and snatched one

334
00:33:24.599 --> 00:33:29.480
up. Nodding at the tall boy, he walked over to the left side

335
00:33:29.480 --> 00:33:34.680
of the phalanx, making sure he
was closest to the exit. The kids

336
00:33:34.759 --> 00:33:38.640
stood at the ready, watching for
the creature. As ready as they were.

337
00:33:38.960 --> 00:33:44.160
The attack happened so quickly only the
tall kid was able to bring his

338
00:33:44.240 --> 00:33:47.440
spear up to attack. The creature
burst out of the tunnel that Andy had

339
00:33:47.440 --> 00:33:52.119
come through and smashed into the circle
of kids. Tall kid was able to

340
00:33:52.160 --> 00:33:55.839
put a spear in the side of
the creature, but the powerful beast barely

341
00:33:55.960 --> 00:34:01.640
noticed. The creature knocked over two
defenders with one powerful blow and grabbed tall

342
00:34:01.759 --> 00:34:07.960
kid in the other hand. Andy
turned and ran, panting with effort.

343
00:34:08.440 --> 00:34:13.559
Andy ran as fast as he could. Looking back, he saw one of

344
00:34:13.599 --> 00:34:17.079
the other defenders, a young girl
with long hair, wearing sweatpants and a

345
00:34:17.119 --> 00:34:22.559
shirt with a peace sign. She
ran up alongside him, matching his speed

346
00:34:22.039 --> 00:34:28.519
and gave a small nod. Andy
nodded back. They ran together for a

347
00:34:28.519 --> 00:34:32.760
few seconds before he heard the creature
roar and felt the ground shake as the

348
00:34:32.760 --> 00:34:37.519
beast pursued them. Andy didn't dare
look, but he could tell the creature

349
00:34:37.599 --> 00:34:43.199
was gaining fast. The girl gave
him another quick look and a shrug as

350
00:34:43.280 --> 00:34:46.920
she increased her speed and began to
pull away from him. Andy tried to

351
00:34:46.960 --> 00:34:52.920
dig deeper, but he had nothing
left. The creature was getting closer and

352
00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:58.159
he was running out of options.
He then realized that he was still holding

353
00:34:58.199 --> 00:35:02.239
the spear. His mind started to
race through the potentials. Attacking the creature

354
00:35:02.280 --> 00:35:07.599
with it would do nothing except get
him killed. He could drop it and

355
00:35:07.679 --> 00:35:13.280
hope that it increases his speed,
or as soon as his mind came up

356
00:35:13.320 --> 00:35:17.119
with the third possibility, he acted
without even fully realizing what he was going

357
00:35:17.159 --> 00:35:22.199
to do. He thrust the spear
forward as he ran, and just barely

358
00:35:22.719 --> 00:35:25.599
he was able to catch the girl
in the back of her thigh with the

359
00:35:25.679 --> 00:35:30.639
tip. It wasn't a deep wound, but it was just enough to make

360
00:35:30.679 --> 00:35:35.400
her stumble and fall. He ran
past without looking down at her. A

361
00:35:35.440 --> 00:35:40.440
few strides later, her scream and
the sound of snapping bones echoed in the

362
00:35:40.480 --> 00:35:46.599
hallway. The passageway led to another
room. Andy ran into it and stopped

363
00:35:46.639 --> 00:35:52.599
for a second to catch his breath. He felt the ground shake and knew

364
00:35:52.679 --> 00:35:57.400
the creature was making its way down
the hall towards him. Just as Andy

365
00:35:57.519 --> 00:36:02.199
was about to run down another passageway, the kid with the Transformer pajamas came

366
00:36:02.320 --> 00:36:07.599
stumbling into the room. He held
a wounded arm and was panting heavily.

367
00:36:08.039 --> 00:36:14.039
Hey kid, Andy said, I
owe you one from earlier. This way

368
00:36:14.119 --> 00:36:16.039
is safe. I'll catch up to
you in a second. I just need

369
00:36:16.079 --> 00:36:22.119
to catch my breath. Andy pointed
back the way he just came. Thanks,

370
00:36:22.840 --> 00:36:25.960
the Transformer kid said, as he
started moving down the corridor that Andy

371
00:36:27.119 --> 00:36:31.719
just exited. As Andy turned down
another passage, he smiled as he heard

372
00:36:31.840 --> 00:36:39.960
screams and a beastly roar of triumph. Minutes or maybe hours later, Andy

373
00:36:40.079 --> 00:36:45.400
was cold to the bone and could
not control his shivering, but he kept

374
00:36:45.480 --> 00:36:50.400
running. His feet were leaving bloody
footprints with every step, but he was

375
00:36:50.519 --> 00:36:55.679
numb to that, as he was
numb to everything else. He ran without

376
00:36:55.719 --> 00:37:01.519
thinking, letting his subconscious guide him
through the maid. After an incalculable amount

377
00:37:01.559 --> 00:37:07.000
of time, he entered into a
large oval room, bigger than any other

378
00:37:07.079 --> 00:37:12.199
he had seen so far. He
slowed down as he noticed that there were

379
00:37:12.199 --> 00:37:17.000
no other corridors leading off of this
room. As he walked further into the

380
00:37:17.039 --> 00:37:23.679
massive chamber, he noticed a door
at the far end Andy approached the door.

381
00:37:24.119 --> 00:37:30.239
A painted sign that hung over it
had a single word written exit.

382
00:37:30.559 --> 00:37:35.719
Andy reached out and placed his hand
on the wood of the door. It

383
00:37:35.800 --> 00:37:40.199
felt real. A tear ran down
Andy's cheek as he realized that this was

384
00:37:40.239 --> 00:37:47.760
not an illusion. He slowly turned
the door handle and the door clicked and

385
00:37:47.880 --> 00:37:53.119
began to open. A sharp,
icy breeze blew in from the outside,

386
00:37:53.480 --> 00:38:00.000
and Andy started to take a step
forward to cross the threshold. He suddenly

387
00:38:00.199 --> 00:38:07.159
stopped when he noticed shapes in the
darkness outside. Dozens and dozens of little

388
00:38:07.360 --> 00:38:14.840
humanoid creatures stood around the outside of
the exit door. Andy could feel all

389
00:38:14.920 --> 00:38:21.000
of their eyes on him. Is
this a trick? Andy yelled at them,

390
00:38:21.239 --> 00:38:25.159
but did not get a reply.
Andy tried to think to push back

391
00:38:25.239 --> 00:38:30.960
the fog and fatigue that clouded his
mind. Shaking his head, Andy realized

392
00:38:31.000 --> 00:38:37.719
that there was only one choice and
started once again to step through the door.

393
00:38:38.519 --> 00:38:44.039
As he lifted his foot, a
powerful hand grabbed him around his waist

394
00:38:44.239 --> 00:38:47.400
and lifted him in the air.
He was spun around to face the creature.

395
00:38:47.679 --> 00:38:52.760
Its black eyes drilled into his mind, his soul. It seemed to

396
00:38:52.920 --> 00:39:00.280
smile as it drew him closer.
The thing opened its mouth and, with

397
00:39:00.400 --> 00:39:08.440
a deep rumble, croaked out a
single word, naughty. That was the

398
00:39:08.519 --> 00:39:15.079
last thing that Andy heard before the
creature's teeth tore his head from his body.

399
00:39:15.320 --> 00:39:21.920
The creature greedily fed and tossed the
corpse behind him as it started to

400
00:39:21.960 --> 00:39:27.599
move back into the bowels of the
maze. As Andy's lifeless body hit the

401
00:39:27.679 --> 00:39:32.119
floor, the sound of bells echoed
through the maze. The creature grabbed its

402
00:39:32.159 --> 00:39:37.039
massive head and fell to the floor. As it slumped over, the little

403
00:39:37.119 --> 00:39:43.960
humanoid creatures began to flood into the
room. These little creatures, known to

404
00:39:44.079 --> 00:39:50.639
some as elves, formed a circle
around the fallen monster. When the bells

405
00:39:50.679 --> 00:39:55.360
stopped ringing, the elves began to
chant in their high pitched voices, chanting

406
00:39:55.440 --> 00:40:02.639
ancient and powerful words long forgotten by
humanity. As the chanting grew louder,

407
00:40:04.320 --> 00:40:09.000
the white fur that covered the creature's
body began to turn black and crumble into

408
00:40:09.079 --> 00:40:15.239
ash. Its bare skin started to
smoke, giving off waves of intense heat.

409
00:40:15.760 --> 00:40:22.880
The skin rippled and pulsated and soon
began to flow like lava, forming

410
00:40:22.960 --> 00:40:28.679
a mound on the floor. As
the mound cooled, the skin hardened into

411
00:40:28.719 --> 00:40:35.559
a shell into a cocoon. As
one, the elves stopped their chant.

412
00:40:36.199 --> 00:40:44.000
They stood silent and unmoving, watching
the cocoon in awe. The minutes stretched

413
00:40:44.039 --> 00:40:50.079
on, the silence in the chamber
was deafening, until suddenly a large crack

414
00:40:50.719 --> 00:40:55.679
echoed throughout the room as the cocoon
split open on top. The elves sprang

415
00:40:55.840 --> 00:41:01.159
into motion. Most of the elves
clapped, cheered, and danced. A

416
00:41:01.239 --> 00:41:07.039
few ran forward with small hammers and
chisels and delicately began to chip away at

417
00:41:07.119 --> 00:41:14.119
the shell of the cocoon, reverently
handling every small piece they chipped off to

418
00:41:14.199 --> 00:41:19.960
the other elves, who carefully carried
it through the exit door. After minutes

419
00:41:19.960 --> 00:41:24.199
of chiseling, the side of the
cocoon burst open, spilling its contents onto

420
00:41:24.239 --> 00:41:30.760
the stone floor. Gallons of thick, greenish yellow liquid poured from the hole,

421
00:41:30.920 --> 00:41:36.679
and with a splash, a tall, rotund man with a long white

422
00:41:36.800 --> 00:41:42.480
beard slid from the cocoon on to
the floor. A large group of elves

423
00:41:42.559 --> 00:41:46.719
rushed forward, some cleaning up the
liquid with towels, others gently wrapping the

424
00:41:46.840 --> 00:41:52.480
man in heavy blankets and carrying them
out into the cold, dark night.

425
00:41:53.639 --> 00:42:00.880
Santa Claus opened his eyes and looked
around the room stifled a yawn. His

426
00:42:01.039 --> 00:42:07.199
face turned from confusion to concern when
he noticed that the room was filled with

427
00:42:07.239 --> 00:42:15.480
his little helpers. Why hello,
everyone, is something wrong? Santa said

428
00:42:15.719 --> 00:42:22.000
in his deep booming voice, his
hand stroking his long white beard. One

429
00:42:22.079 --> 00:42:27.880
elf stepped forward and gave a small
bow. In a high pitched, squeaky

430
00:42:27.960 --> 00:42:30.800
tone, he said, we're sorry
to wake you, Santa, but it's

431
00:42:30.880 --> 00:42:37.119
Christmas Eve. And Christmas Eve,
Santa interrupted. He leaped out of bed,

432
00:42:37.320 --> 00:42:43.599
almost knocking over a score of elves. I overslept again. Prepare the

433
00:42:43.639 --> 00:42:46.679
sledge, gather the gifts. I
have millions of good little boys and girls

434
00:42:46.719 --> 00:42:52.079
to visit tonight. The elves cheered
as Santa grabbed his black boots off the

435
00:42:52.159 --> 00:42:58.639
floor and rushed out of the room. The elves kept cheering as they followed

436
00:42:58.679 --> 00:43:04.800
Santa out of the bedroom, all
except one. This elf walked over to

437
00:43:04.880 --> 00:43:10.119
a small writing desk and sat down. He removed a quill pen and a

438
00:43:10.159 --> 00:43:15.960
parchment from a drawer. Dipping the
pen into an inkwell, he wrote naughty

439
00:43:16.920 --> 00:43:22.800
across the top of the paper in
a smooth, elegant font. He then

440
00:43:22.960 --> 00:43:29.559
drew thirteen lines underneath it. He
put the pen down and sat there waiting

441
00:43:30.880 --> 00:43:37.320
waiting for the new list of naughty
boys and girls for next Christmas Eve.

442
00:43:45.440 --> 00:43:54.880
Lady Frankenstein by Rob Fields. December
twenty third was the absolute biggest Christmas shopping

443
00:43:54.960 --> 00:44:00.559
day in Strickfield. Usually, most
everyone was out shopping. Strickfield Town Center

444
00:44:00.599 --> 00:44:06.519
Mall was even packed the one season
of the year when it usually was.

445
00:44:07.239 --> 00:44:12.440
However, there was one person who
had other plans during the holiday season.

446
00:44:13.480 --> 00:44:16.559
Just outside the village limits, in
an old mansion that was thought to be

447
00:44:16.639 --> 00:44:23.199
abandoned, Vincent Frankenstein was alone in
a third floor laboratory and working on an

448
00:44:23.239 --> 00:44:28.920
experiment that was on a large slab. He had just finished to fixing the

449
00:44:29.039 --> 00:44:34.320
hands to the lifeless female body.
As he admired his work, he knew

450
00:44:34.320 --> 00:44:38.760
that his female creation would correct many
of the flaws that had plagued his ancestor,

451
00:44:39.199 --> 00:44:45.920
Henry Frankenstein many years ago. After
finding Henry's thought to be lost journals

452
00:44:46.239 --> 00:44:52.639
and studying them over immensely, Vincent
had started work on trying to rediscover and

453
00:44:52.880 --> 00:44:58.480
harness that great ultraviolet ray that was
said to have brought life to all things

454
00:44:58.519 --> 00:45:02.039
living. Vincent's His first experiment was
on a cat that had been hit by

455
00:45:02.079 --> 00:45:07.119
a car. Vincent fixed the body
up as best he could. He achieved

456
00:45:07.159 --> 00:45:12.679
success in turning the ray on the
cat and restoring life to it after he

457
00:45:12.719 --> 00:45:16.679
had performed many tests on it.
The cat had not shown any hostile tendencies.

458
00:45:17.360 --> 00:45:22.599
In fact, it acted as if
it had never died and even took

459
00:45:22.719 --> 00:45:28.119
nourishment upon its rebirth. Vincent had
succeeded in restoring a dog to life with

460
00:45:28.239 --> 00:45:32.679
the same results, one experiment after
another. Vincent would continue his research until

461
00:45:32.719 --> 00:45:39.280
he was absolutely certain that his updated
process worked flawlessly. Once he felt that

462
00:45:39.320 --> 00:45:43.920
he had compiled enough data, he
decided that he would do what Henry had

463
00:45:43.920 --> 00:45:50.519
accomplished on two occasions, to create
a human being from dead parts and endow

464
00:45:50.599 --> 00:45:57.320
the amalgamation with life. Like his
great ancestor before him, he secured fresh

465
00:45:57.360 --> 00:46:01.639
body parts for his creation anywhere he
could obtain them. It had taken Vincent

466
00:46:01.679 --> 00:46:06.920
a great deal of time and a
lot of preservation, but he had nearly

467
00:46:07.039 --> 00:46:12.840
completed a female body. All that
was missing was a perfect head, and

468
00:46:12.920 --> 00:46:16.920
this part was where Vincent would exercise
the utmost caution, for he remembered that

469
00:46:17.039 --> 00:46:22.840
Henry's first creation had turned out for
the worst. Henry had unknowingly placed the

470
00:46:22.840 --> 00:46:29.840
brain of a dead criminal within the
head of what became known as Frankenstein's Monster

471
00:46:30.880 --> 00:46:37.119
or simply just Frankenstein. Yes,
Henry's first creation had killed many people,

472
00:46:37.440 --> 00:46:42.159
including a little girl who was playing
by the water near her village. Vincent

473
00:46:42.559 --> 00:46:46.400
could not allow such a mistake to
be made a second time. Henry had

474
00:46:46.440 --> 00:46:52.039
also recorded in another journal that he, with the help of one doctor Septimus

475
00:46:52.039 --> 00:46:57.440
Pretorius, had created a female of
his own to be a companion and mate

476
00:46:57.840 --> 00:47:01.599
for the original creation. However,
the female creation had come to reject her

477
00:47:01.599 --> 00:47:07.239
potential mate and was believed to be
destroyed in an explosion. Vincent had thought

478
00:47:07.280 --> 00:47:13.519
ahead and removed his creation's reproductive system
to make her sterile so that his creation

479
00:47:13.760 --> 00:47:20.480
could not produce potentially dangerous offspring.
Vincent had read in Strickfield's local newspaper that

480
00:47:20.559 --> 00:47:24.639
a young woman from north Ridgeway had
recently passed away due to an extreme loss

481
00:47:24.639 --> 00:47:29.920
of blood. He was certain that
the head would be in great physical condition

482
00:47:30.400 --> 00:47:35.559
and would be perfect for his creation. That night, he had gone to

483
00:47:35.639 --> 00:47:40.639
North Ridgeway Memorial Hospital. After disengaging
the security cameras, Vincent made his way

484
00:47:40.679 --> 00:47:46.519
to the morgue and found the naked
female body with his perfect head. When

485
00:47:46.639 --> 00:47:52.519
Vincent thoroughly examined the body of Annabeth
Winter's, he couldn't understand what had caused

486
00:47:52.519 --> 00:47:59.119
this once living, beautiful girl to
die from such an extreme loss of blood.

487
00:48:00.320 --> 00:48:04.519
His research on Annabeth Winters showed that
she had been a top level athlete

488
00:48:04.559 --> 00:48:10.079
from North Ridgeway University, so she
was not a dangerous criminal. Vincent's creation

489
00:48:10.199 --> 00:48:16.519
would have the perfect head and brain
of Annabeth Winters. It had taken Vincent

490
00:48:16.599 --> 00:48:22.480
a great deal of time to properly
attach the spinal cord to the brain of

491
00:48:22.480 --> 00:48:28.800
Annabeth Winters. Upon successful completion,
he stitched the flesh together to finish,

492
00:48:28.840 --> 00:48:32.519
making the head a part of the
body. Vincent hooked up the completed body

493
00:48:32.559 --> 00:48:38.480
to the multiple machines to both inject
and conduct the circulation of blood. All

494
00:48:38.519 --> 00:48:44.639
he needed now was the perfect storm
to grant him that one jolt of powerful

495
00:48:44.719 --> 00:48:51.920
lightning in conjunction with his ultraviolet ray
to bring his creation to life. His

496
00:48:52.039 --> 00:48:57.440
Christmas wish couldn't have been granted soon
enough. This Christmas season just happened to

497
00:48:57.480 --> 00:49:05.559
be unseasonably warm, guaranteeing a green
holiday Vincent heard the loud rumbling and knew

498
00:49:06.079 --> 00:49:10.320
that he needed to act quickly.
After he finished wrapping the body in special

499
00:49:10.400 --> 00:49:16.360
bandages to help evenly distribute the forthcoming
electrical current, all was ready, He

500
00:49:16.440 --> 00:49:21.599
threw the switches to both open the
panel in the roof and send the body

501
00:49:21.719 --> 00:49:27.800
upward until it was outside and exposed
to the storm. Vincent monitored his instruments

502
00:49:27.800 --> 00:49:32.159
closely. When the needles and digital
displays spiked in their readings, he knew

503
00:49:32.159 --> 00:49:36.800
that the lightning had struck the rods
at each corner of the slab and had

504
00:49:36.840 --> 00:49:40.840
sent millions of volts throughout the body. In conjunction with the ultraviolet ray that

505
00:49:40.920 --> 00:49:46.280
he had mounted just above. Vincent
brought the body back down, closing the

506
00:49:46.360 --> 00:49:52.599
roof panel. When the slab was
back on the floor again, Vincent waited

507
00:49:52.639 --> 00:49:58.119
for any sign of movement. He
didn't have to wait long when a hand

508
00:49:58.920 --> 00:50:06.880
started to move. It's alive,
he gasped. It's alive. My god,

509
00:50:07.800 --> 00:50:13.039
I've succeeded. He took his scissors
and proceeded to cut the wrappings to

510
00:50:13.079 --> 00:50:16.960
reveal the creation's head. Then he
cut the wrappings to reveal her hands and

511
00:50:17.039 --> 00:50:22.800
feet. It struck him odd that
the creation's stitched areas were quickly healing up

512
00:50:22.840 --> 00:50:29.840
into a single, unified flesh.
He heard his creation moaning and knew that

513
00:50:29.960 --> 00:50:35.000
she was scared. He looked into
the beautiful face of his creation. It's

514
00:50:35.039 --> 00:50:38.679
all right, You're going to be
just fine. I'll take very good care

515
00:50:38.719 --> 00:50:45.440
of you. The Creation regarded her
creator for a moment and screamed. Then

516
00:50:45.519 --> 00:50:52.679
she started heaving. Vincent saw that
his creation was angry, now very angry.

517
00:50:52.400 --> 00:50:58.159
She screamed again to show her rage. Then Vincent noticed that the Creation's

518
00:50:58.199 --> 00:51:04.119
eyes were glowing red. It was
during her third scream, one for freedom,

519
00:51:04.320 --> 00:51:07.079
that she broke the iron shackles that
had secured her wrists and ankles to

520
00:51:07.159 --> 00:51:13.559
the slab. No stop. Vincent
held out his hands to try to take

521
00:51:13.599 --> 00:51:16.840
hold of her to calm her down. The Creation quickly grabbed a heavy table

522
00:51:16.920 --> 00:51:22.039
nearby and flung it at her creator. He ducked to avoid serious injury.

523
00:51:22.519 --> 00:51:28.119
When Vincent got to his feet,
the Creation screamed with rage again. Seeing

524
00:51:28.199 --> 00:51:31.679
the door to her right, she
proceeded to walk to it to her freedom.

525
00:51:32.440 --> 00:51:37.880
Stop. Vincent yelled at her.
When the Creation had reached the door,

526
00:51:37.000 --> 00:51:42.000
she found it was locked. She
smashed her fists through the thick wooden

527
00:51:42.039 --> 00:51:45.480
door as if it were brittle.
It was then when Vincent saw the full

528
00:51:45.559 --> 00:51:54.199
length mirror near the control panel,
the creature had no reflection. It was

529
00:51:54.280 --> 00:52:00.559
then that Vincent Frankenstein had gotten his
answer as to why the body of Annabeth

530
00:52:00.599 --> 00:52:07.880
Winters was in such good condition in
spite of a loss of blood. The

531
00:52:07.960 --> 00:52:14.159
young woman had been sired by a
vampire. In utilizing her head, Vincent

532
00:52:14.199 --> 00:52:17.400
had made an even worse mistake than
what Henry before him had made. No,

533
00:52:17.840 --> 00:52:22.679
he had not given his creation the
brain of a dead criminal. He

534
00:52:22.760 --> 00:52:29.920
had given his creation the head of
a newborn vampire. The creation easily smashed

535
00:52:29.960 --> 00:52:34.000
through the French doors and walked down
the steps to the front yard to continue

536
00:52:34.079 --> 00:52:39.960
her escape. The rain poured on
her seemingly mummified body. The Creation relished

537
00:52:39.960 --> 00:52:44.800
her freedom in spite of the weather. She came to a dirt path and

538
00:52:44.920 --> 00:52:50.440
walked it for several minutes before she
arrived at a road. Seeing a sign

539
00:52:50.480 --> 00:52:55.079
with an arrow that pointed left,
she turned in that direction and headed to

540
00:52:55.199 --> 00:53:00.719
Strickfield. The roads were deserted as
she walked to her destination. When she

541
00:53:00.960 --> 00:53:07.679
entered the Strickfield village, limits,
she noticed that every house was bright with

542
00:53:07.840 --> 00:53:15.800
Christmas lights and decorations. There were
even houses with animatronics doing their programmed actions.

543
00:53:15.440 --> 00:53:23.119
As the Creation stared at this winter
wonderland, she started to become uncomfortable.

544
00:53:24.280 --> 00:53:29.840
She growled and clutched her throat.
She looked and saw a man working

545
00:53:29.880 --> 00:53:35.639
to replace a few bulbs in a
string of Christmas lights. She hissed with

546
00:53:35.719 --> 00:53:39.679
delight and began to make her way
towards the man. When she reached him,

547
00:53:40.079 --> 00:53:45.760
the man saw her bare feet and
looked up at her bandaged body.

548
00:53:46.039 --> 00:53:52.079
Listen, you get the hell off
my property, he grumbled, not unless

549
00:53:52.079 --> 00:53:57.559
you want me to call the The
man fought to break her iron grip as

550
00:53:57.559 --> 00:54:01.559
she held his coat and hair.
She tilted his head back to fully expose

551
00:54:01.599 --> 00:54:07.719
his neck, before opening her mouth
to reveal her sharp fangs. The man

552
00:54:07.920 --> 00:54:14.000
screamed as she bit into his neck
and began to drink. The Creation felt

553
00:54:14.039 --> 00:54:19.920
herself becoming stronger and more vibrant with
each swallow of blood. When she was

554
00:54:19.960 --> 00:54:24.079
finished, she shoved the corpse away
from her. The Creation heard other sounds

555
00:54:24.119 --> 00:54:30.960
nearby, mainly a car engine.
She looked and saw the car in another

556
00:54:30.000 --> 00:54:36.920
person's yard. That had damaged an
animatronic Santa Claus. Shortly after, four

557
00:54:37.039 --> 00:54:39.599
high school kids, two boys and
two girls, got out of the car.

558
00:54:40.079 --> 00:54:45.719
One of the girls pointed to the
vandalized Santa Fuck you, Principal van

559
00:54:45.800 --> 00:54:50.800
Deste. The other girl kicked the
Santa head that had fallen at her feet.

560
00:54:51.360 --> 00:54:55.039
Yeah, go get fucked you,
motherfucker. One of the guys pointed

561
00:54:55.039 --> 00:55:00.559
to the house. Hey, we
should see if Principal van Diste his home,

562
00:55:00.440 --> 00:55:05.320
then we can smash his door in
and kill his ass. The other

563
00:55:05.360 --> 00:55:08.280
guy muttered, I can't believe that
son of a bitch expelled us from high

564
00:55:08.320 --> 00:55:15.199
school just because Stevie tripped little alien
Donnerly in the hallway yesterday. The girl

565
00:55:15.280 --> 00:55:20.199
named Stevie turned and shoved the guy. And then that fucking bitch, Bella

566
00:55:20.280 --> 00:55:23.679
Tabon beat the shit out of me
for it. Bella Tavon beat the shit

567
00:55:23.719 --> 00:55:28.519
out of all of us. The
other girl yelled, but Principal van dest

568
00:55:28.599 --> 00:55:34.440
expels us. I say we beat
the living shit out of Van Deste,

569
00:55:35.119 --> 00:55:40.000
then we find Bella Tabon and fucking
kill her ass too. Stevie slapped the

570
00:55:40.079 --> 00:55:45.920
other girl on her arm quickly,
Hey, look, The four of them

571
00:55:45.960 --> 00:55:50.960
turned their attention to the Creation.
One of the guys started laughing when he

572
00:55:51.000 --> 00:55:57.880
saw her staring at them from nearby. Is that bitch dressed up like a

573
00:55:58.000 --> 00:56:00.960
like a mummy? The other guy
yelled to her, Hey, airhead,

574
00:56:01.320 --> 00:56:07.480
Halloween was two months ago. It's
not trick or treat weekend, bitch,

575
00:56:07.960 --> 00:56:13.159
Stevie added, none of these houses
are giving out candy, but will beat

576
00:56:13.239 --> 00:56:17.159
your fucking ass if you don't fuck
off. The other girl further added when

577
00:56:17.199 --> 00:56:22.199
the Creation wouldn't walk away, they
got back into their car. The guy

578
00:56:22.360 --> 00:56:28.880
driving turned the wheel towards the Creation
and hit the gas. Yeah, run

579
00:56:28.920 --> 00:56:34.000
that fucking bitch over, Stevie yelled. The Creation didn't look the least bit

580
00:56:34.039 --> 00:56:38.840
afraid. In fact, her eyes
glowed hot as she screamed with rage and

581
00:56:39.039 --> 00:56:44.039
raised her fists. As the car
was about to hit her. The Creation

582
00:56:44.199 --> 00:56:47.039
brought her fists down on the car's
hood and hit it with enough force to

583
00:56:47.119 --> 00:56:52.920
both stop the car dead in its
tracks and make the rear end go way

584
00:56:52.960 --> 00:56:59.639
off road and slam back down just
as hard. The Creation moved the vehicle

585
00:57:00.079 --> 00:57:04.360
and saw the four enemies who had
pissed her off. They were moaning in

586
00:57:04.480 --> 00:57:07.639
pain. The girls in the back
were bleeding from their heads. As for

587
00:57:07.719 --> 00:57:12.440
the guys up front, they were
both on the hood after crashing through the

588
00:57:12.480 --> 00:57:16.519
windshield. Together. She could smell
how delicious the red leaking liquid from their

589
00:57:16.559 --> 00:57:22.800
wounds was and grabbed the driver.
He screamed as the Creation drank him dry.

590
00:57:23.800 --> 00:57:29.599
After tossing him aside, she grabbed
the other guy and drank him up.

591
00:57:30.280 --> 00:57:35.800
That left only the two girls now. The Creation moved to the passenger's

592
00:57:35.880 --> 00:57:40.400
side and ripped the door off.
She reached inside and pulled the girl next

593
00:57:40.400 --> 00:57:45.360
to Stevie out. She held her
by her hair with one hand. With

594
00:57:45.480 --> 00:57:49.519
the other, she grabbed the neck
of her turtle neck sweater. The girl

595
00:57:49.599 --> 00:57:54.119
cried out when she felt the Creation's
fingers pierce her flesh. She screamed as

596
00:57:54.159 --> 00:57:59.679
the Creation pulled down fast, ripping
the front of her turtleneck sweater away past

597
00:57:59.719 --> 00:58:05.239
her stomach, tearing all the flesh
beyond with it. The Creation threw the

598
00:58:05.280 --> 00:58:09.519
girl onto her back, leaving her
vital organs exposed as blood pulled around the

599
00:58:09.599 --> 00:58:15.280
body. Stevie saw this and screamed
in terror. The Creation heard her and

600
00:58:15.480 --> 00:58:21.360
screamed with rage yet again. She
moved to the driver's side door and ripped

601
00:58:21.360 --> 00:58:25.440
it off, throwing it aside.
She reached in and grabbed Stevie. She

602
00:58:25.599 --> 00:58:31.559
pulled her out of the car and
held her where she stood. What are

603
00:58:31.679 --> 00:58:37.159
you, Stevie choked out. As
the Creation moved her hands to the sides

604
00:58:37.199 --> 00:58:43.079
of Stevie's head to crush her skull
in. She felt two sharp jabs on

605
00:58:43.119 --> 00:58:47.480
her shoulder blade. She screamed as
she felt the voltage go through her entire

606
00:58:47.559 --> 00:58:53.280
body, making her release Stevie.
When the Creation refused to fall, the

607
00:58:53.360 --> 00:59:00.559
voltage only seemed to increase. She
turned and saw Vincent Franken's Stein at the

608
00:59:00.559 --> 00:59:05.280
other end of the taser rifle.
She grabbed the cables and yanked hard enough

609
00:59:05.320 --> 00:59:07.840
to pull the rifle away from him. When the rifle landed in front of

610
00:59:07.880 --> 00:59:13.440
her, she stomped on it with
one bare foot to snap it in two.

611
00:59:13.760 --> 00:59:19.199
You are my Creation, stop this
at once, Vincent yelled. The

612
00:59:19.280 --> 00:59:23.280
Creation screamed with rage and stretched her
hands out into claws. As she was

613
00:59:23.360 --> 00:59:29.840
ready to attack Vincent. They both
heard a low moan from Stevie. Seeing

614
00:59:29.840 --> 00:59:34.119
that the Creation was distracted, Vincent
rushed at her and threw his body into

615
00:59:34.159 --> 00:59:37.440
her to knock her down. He
moved quickly and lifted Stevie into his arms.

616
00:59:37.519 --> 00:59:43.159
As the Creation suddenly sat up,
Vincent ran as fast as he could

617
00:59:43.360 --> 00:59:49.079
and threw some nearby yards. Fortunately
he knew Strickfield quite well. The Creation

618
00:59:49.199 --> 00:59:52.960
would not catch him and Stevie so
quickly, at least not so long as

619
00:59:52.960 --> 00:59:59.880
she hadn't yet understood all of her
potential vampiric powers. The Creation, frustrated

620
01:00:00.199 --> 01:00:04.519
that she had lost her two victims, looked up and screamed so loudly that

621
01:00:04.559 --> 01:00:09.519
anything of a fragile nature nearby would
either break or crack. When she finished,

622
01:00:09.880 --> 01:00:22.480
she turned and continued walking through Strickfield. The next morning, Christmas Eve,

623
01:00:22.239 --> 01:00:28.239
the Creation awakened and left the abandoned
barn that she had taken shelter in.

624
01:00:29.320 --> 01:00:32.440
It had finally stopped raining, but
it was quite cloudy and chilly.

625
01:00:34.280 --> 01:00:38.760
She seemed disoriented at how much more
light was outside compared to the darkness of

626
01:00:38.840 --> 01:00:45.519
the night before. Just the same
she began to walk again. The Creation

627
01:00:45.679 --> 01:00:51.760
would find its way to Strickfield Town
Center Mall. The Creation walked in and

628
01:00:51.880 --> 01:00:55.440
saw that many people were going in
and out of the stores or doing business

629
01:00:55.440 --> 01:01:01.239
with vendors at kiosks. But what
really intrigued her at that moment were the

630
01:01:01.320 --> 01:01:08.079
many little versions of the people.
As she watched the smaller people move about,

631
01:01:08.199 --> 01:01:15.679
her facial expression softened until Hey,
you, you can't be in here

632
01:01:15.679 --> 01:01:21.880
without any shoes on. You're gonna
have to leave. The Creation glanced to

633
01:01:21.920 --> 01:01:25.559
see a fat security guard next to
her. She ignored him and started walking

634
01:01:25.599 --> 01:01:31.920
again. Hey. The guard grumbled
and grabbed her arm. The Creation screamed

635
01:01:31.960 --> 01:01:37.800
in anger before she grabbed him and
sank her fangs into his throat, which

636
01:01:37.840 --> 01:01:44.480
caused panic among the shoppers who saw. After tossing the body aside, she

637
01:01:44.599 --> 01:01:47.559
screamed at the people and went for
them. She had killed and drank two

638
01:01:47.639 --> 01:01:52.599
more before a little boy had crossed
in front of her. The Creation picked

639
01:01:52.679 --> 01:01:59.000
up the boy. Stop. The
mother called out, please, don't hurt

640
01:01:59.000 --> 01:02:04.840
my baby. The creation looked at
the woman only for a moment before returning

641
01:02:04.880 --> 01:02:10.800
her attention to the boy. After
examining the boy, she finally lowered him

642
01:02:12.480 --> 01:02:16.000
and let him go. The mother
quickly snatched up her son and ran as

643
01:02:16.039 --> 01:02:22.760
fast as she could. Suddenly,
two police officers appeared with their guns drawn.

644
01:02:22.400 --> 01:02:28.639
The Creations screamed at them as they
fired at her to their disbelief.

645
01:02:29.079 --> 01:02:34.199
The officers found their bullets were useless. She was on them the moment their

646
01:02:34.239 --> 01:02:37.880
guns were empty. After she drained
them of their blood, she made her

647
01:02:37.920 --> 01:02:46.480
way through the mall. Many families
scrambled to flee once they saw her.

648
01:02:46.800 --> 01:02:52.079
A few of the boldest dared to
try and fight the Creation, only for

649
01:02:52.159 --> 01:02:57.480
her to drink them up. Another
fat security guard tried to take her down,

650
01:02:57.760 --> 01:03:01.760
but was quickly and easily thrown with
one hand right through the Little Santa's

651
01:03:01.800 --> 01:03:07.239
House at the center Court. It
seemed as if the Creation would continue her

652
01:03:07.320 --> 01:03:13.599
reign of terror at the mall,
but she reached the main doors and smashed

653
01:03:13.679 --> 01:03:19.079
right through them to finally leave.
Some of the police ran after her to

654
01:03:19.159 --> 01:03:23.119
try and subdue her, but they
would find their efforts to be futile.

655
01:03:23.840 --> 01:03:30.400
These officers were most fortunate that the
Creation only smashed them to the parking lot

656
01:03:30.679 --> 01:03:37.559
and left them with their lives.
She screamed at them before she turned and

657
01:03:37.719 --> 01:03:45.199
continued on her way. Stevie opened
her eyes and awoke to find herself covered

658
01:03:45.280 --> 01:03:50.239
up in a four post bed.
She saw that she was wearing a gown

659
01:03:50.480 --> 01:03:54.639
and felt that she had a bandage
wrapped around her forehead. She felt a

660
01:03:54.679 --> 01:04:00.039
little scared as she looked around and
wondered where she was. It's all right,

661
01:04:00.800 --> 01:04:05.440
Vincent said to her as he entered
the room. Where the fuck am

662
01:04:05.480 --> 01:04:12.119
I, Stevie demanded, You're in
my home, young lady. I treated

663
01:04:12.159 --> 01:04:15.440
your head room and put you to
bed so you could rest. Stevie shrieked

664
01:04:15.440 --> 01:04:23.639
and pointed in a random direction that
thing. Vincent sighed, sadly, she's

665
01:04:23.639 --> 01:04:27.000
still out there. I'm afraid.
I went out to try and find her,

666
01:04:27.039 --> 01:04:33.119
but was unsuccessful. Stevie understood immediately
and pointed an accusing finger at him.

667
01:04:33.880 --> 01:04:39.960
You created that motherfucking thing. She
sprang out of bed, fucking why.

668
01:04:41.199 --> 01:04:45.119
Vincent held up his hands. I
am truly sorry for what she did

669
01:04:45.159 --> 01:04:48.559
to you and your friends, and
nothing I can do will ever make up

670
01:04:48.599 --> 01:04:53.639
for that. I'll have to carry
every death she's caused with me for the

671
01:04:53.679 --> 01:04:59.480
rest of my life. He lowered
his hands and sighed, I only wanted

672
01:04:59.480 --> 01:05:02.840
to be able to create life from
death, the way my ancestor did many

673
01:05:03.840 --> 01:05:11.239
many years ago. Vincent explained everything
to Stevie. The more he explained,

674
01:05:11.280 --> 01:05:15.199
the more Stevie became furious. She
finally screamed at the top of her lungs

675
01:05:15.239 --> 01:05:19.239
and lunged at Vincent. She took
him down and screamed more as she threw

676
01:05:19.320 --> 01:05:24.239
fist after fist at him. Finally, she fell off him and heaved,

677
01:05:24.719 --> 01:05:29.840
God, damn you, God damn
you. Yes, perhaps God himself will

678
01:05:29.960 --> 01:05:33.800
damn me to hell for what I've
done. Vincent agreed, but I still

679
01:05:33.840 --> 01:05:39.639
have to find my creation just the
same. But how the fuck will you

680
01:05:39.840 --> 01:05:44.559
kill her? Asshole? Stevie mocked
him. You fucked up by putting the

681
01:05:44.599 --> 01:05:49.360
head of a vampire on her.
Vincent sat up and faced her. You

682
01:05:49.440 --> 01:05:56.239
believe in vampires, Stevie sneered in
disgust. I was raped by one and

683
01:05:56.320 --> 01:06:00.639
survived. I ended up killing his
mother fucking ass after he tried to sire

684
01:06:00.719 --> 01:06:04.159
me. She moved on to her
knees and glared at Vincent with anticipation.

685
01:06:05.239 --> 01:06:10.920
I'm definitely gonna help you kill that
fucking thing. When Stevie saw that Vincent

686
01:06:11.039 --> 01:06:14.800
was apprehensive, she growled and attacked
him, getting on top of him again.

687
01:06:15.599 --> 01:06:18.559
When he looked up at her,
she glared down at him. You

688
01:06:18.679 --> 01:06:25.119
listen to me, motherfucker. She
pointed in a random direction. That fucking

689
01:06:25.559 --> 01:06:30.559
thing killed my friends. It damn
near killed me. How many more people

690
01:06:30.599 --> 01:06:33.679
do you think she's going to kill
right fucking now? Huh, they're all

691
01:06:33.679 --> 01:06:40.840
on your fucking head. Okay,
okay, Vincent conceded, I was hoping

692
01:06:40.880 --> 01:06:44.920
to take her alive so that maybe
I can fix her. Stevie got off

693
01:06:45.000 --> 01:06:47.880
Vincent and stood up. There is
no fixing her. You know it,

694
01:06:48.000 --> 01:06:53.519
and I know it. Vincent got
up and faced Stevie. I'll get you

695
01:06:53.599 --> 01:06:57.960
some fresh clothes, then we'll go
look for my creation. Stevie continued to

696
01:06:58.000 --> 01:07:03.440
glare at him with distrust as he
left her room. The Creation walked onto

697
01:07:03.480 --> 01:07:10.880
the Strickfield University grounds and looked at
the Christmas decorations. She didn't understand why

698
01:07:10.920 --> 01:07:15.199
there were so many brightly colored lights, the multiple snowmen, or even the

699
01:07:15.280 --> 01:07:19.159
fat men wearing red and white suits. She really didn't understand too much,

700
01:07:19.239 --> 01:07:24.599
except that people were after her,
that she needed to feed on their blood,

701
01:07:24.840 --> 01:07:30.039
and that she now felt certain desires
growing inside her. The Creation continued

702
01:07:30.079 --> 01:07:35.159
walking the campus, but she didn't
see anybody. Of course, she couldn't

703
01:07:35.199 --> 01:07:40.320
have known that nearly every student had
left Strickfield University for the holiday break.

704
01:07:41.199 --> 01:07:45.800
She screamed in frustration at not getting
what she desired. She approached a nearby

705
01:07:45.840 --> 01:07:49.159
animatronic Santa Claus and sent its head
flying right off its shoulders with a quick

706
01:07:49.199 --> 01:07:56.599
punch. She reached inside its open
neck to kill it some more. The

707
01:07:56.679 --> 01:08:00.679
creation screamed and became angrier as the
high vaultage surged through her body. She

708
01:08:00.800 --> 01:08:06.559
stopped the voltage by ripping the animatronic
Santa in half. Jesus Christ, what

709
01:08:06.599 --> 01:08:11.960
are you doing, someone called out
to her. The creation was ready to

710
01:08:11.960 --> 01:08:17.640
scream at the person, but she
quickly stopped and calmed down. She allowed

711
01:08:17.680 --> 01:08:24.800
the chunky guy with glasses to approach
her. You you all right? She

712
01:08:24.880 --> 01:08:29.920
didn't answer, but continued to look
him over. Wow, you sure are

713
01:08:30.079 --> 01:08:33.239
tall. He looked down at her
bare feet, and you don't even need

714
01:08:33.279 --> 01:08:40.479
heels. Then he saw that her
wet bandages had parted enough in several places

715
01:08:40.520 --> 01:08:45.840
to reveal that she didn't have any
clothing on underneath at all. Hey,

716
01:08:45.479 --> 01:08:49.920
you can't stay out here looking like
that if the police see you. He

717
01:08:49.960 --> 01:08:55.239
took her hand. Come on,
my house is just over there. I

718
01:08:55.279 --> 01:08:58.880
can give you something to wear.
Out of my sister's room. The creation

719
01:08:59.039 --> 01:09:02.319
allowed the guy to lead her off
campus and to the nearby house. Where

720
01:09:02.319 --> 01:09:06.439
he lived with his family. He
brought her inside and took her upstairs to

721
01:09:06.520 --> 01:09:11.479
his bedroom. My parents aren't home, but I'll take care of you.

722
01:09:12.600 --> 01:09:16.479
Listen, do you have a name? When she still didn't answer him,

723
01:09:16.479 --> 01:09:23.880
he pointed to himself, I'm Reggie, Reggie. When she remained silent,

724
01:09:23.960 --> 01:09:28.199
he motioned for her to stay.
I'll get a scissor in some clothes.

725
01:09:28.840 --> 01:09:32.840
The Creation waited until Reggie returned with
the promised items. He set the clothes

726
01:09:32.880 --> 01:09:36.399
on his desk and proceeded to use
the scissors to cut off her bandages.

727
01:09:38.159 --> 01:09:44.159
After several minutes, he had her
completely naked. You know what, maybe

728
01:09:44.199 --> 01:09:50.840
you should take a shower first,
Reggie suggested the bathroom. The Creation seized

729
01:09:50.880 --> 01:09:59.039
Reggie and kissed him hungrily. Reggie
couldn't believe his luck and kissed her back.

730
01:09:59.680 --> 01:10:01.880
She ripped his t shirt off like
it was tissue paper and sat down

731
01:10:01.880 --> 01:10:08.079
on the bed. Reggie looked down
at the beautiful naked creation who truly truly

732
01:10:08.159 --> 01:10:13.239
desired him. She growled and ripped
his jeans open. He eased her onto

733
01:10:13.279 --> 01:10:20.880
her back, got naked and climbed
on top of her. Reggie had finished

734
01:10:20.960 --> 01:10:26.640
drying the Creation off after giving her
a shower. Then he dressed her in

735
01:10:26.680 --> 01:10:30.840
his sister's clothing. Even though the
items fit, they were still too small

736
01:10:30.880 --> 01:10:35.439
for her. The t shirt revealed
her full stomach, and the jeans were

737
01:10:35.479 --> 01:10:41.640
more like Capri's. The Creation looked
at him and attempted to smile for the

738
01:10:41.680 --> 01:10:46.239
first time ever. Then she took
his hand and held it between her two

739
01:10:46.279 --> 01:10:53.079
hands. She closed her eyes and
let him kiss her lips again. He

740
01:10:53.119 --> 01:10:59.760
sat down next to her and admired
her. I can't believe we just had

741
01:10:59.760 --> 01:11:05.119
said, Reggie told her, this
sort of thing just doesn't happen to me.

742
01:11:06.359 --> 01:11:12.720
The Creation smiled for him a second
time. Then she quickly turned her

743
01:11:12.760 --> 01:11:18.760
head when she heard noises coming from
downstairs somebody's home. Reggie explained, don't

744
01:11:18.800 --> 01:11:25.319
worry, nobody's gonna hurt you.
The Creation wouldn't release his hand. Only

745
01:11:25.359 --> 01:11:29.760
when he assured her that he would
return did she let him go. He

746
01:11:29.800 --> 01:11:34.560
opened the door and headed downstairs.
The Creation heard talking, but she couldn't

747
01:11:34.640 --> 01:11:40.800
understand the words. It wasn't long
after that she heard quick movements on the

748
01:11:40.840 --> 01:11:45.159
stairs, along with Reggie yelling something
was wrong. She stood up and moved

749
01:11:45.199 --> 01:11:49.560
to the door. She walked right
through it turning it into boards and kindling.

750
01:11:49.960 --> 01:11:54.359
She turned to see Vincent, Frankenstein, and Stevie in the hallway.

751
01:11:54.960 --> 01:12:00.199
She screamed angrily and moved at them. Oh shit, Stevie shrieked. She

752
01:12:00.359 --> 01:12:05.960
raised her shotgun and blasted the Creation
and the shoulder. No, Reggie yelled.

753
01:12:06.319 --> 01:12:12.600
The Creation only jerked back on its
impacted shoulder and showed Stevie just how

754
01:12:12.720 --> 01:12:18.199
fast she could heal. Stevie and
Vincent quickly moved back downstairs. They hadn't

755
01:12:18.199 --> 01:12:24.920
counted on the Creation leaping all the
way down the stairway. Stevie cried out

756
01:12:24.920 --> 01:12:28.520
in fright as the Creation suddenly grabbed
her and put her right through the front

757
01:12:28.600 --> 01:12:31.920
door. Then she turned to face
Vincent and Reggie. For a moment,

758
01:12:32.439 --> 01:12:38.439
she seemed to convey betrayal towards Reggie. When she saw him shaking his head.

759
01:12:38.520 --> 01:12:44.000
Quickly, she realized he was innocent. Her Creator and the girl had

760
01:12:44.000 --> 01:12:48.199
found her somehow. Vincent raised his
hands in front of him. Let me

761
01:12:48.239 --> 01:12:51.520
take you home. I can fix
you. Please don't be like this,

762
01:12:51.960 --> 01:12:58.319
no more killing, Please just come
with me. The Creation still didn't understand

763
01:12:58.399 --> 01:13:01.600
him, but she screamed with hatred
at him. She was about to grab

764
01:13:01.680 --> 01:13:05.439
him. When she took another shotgun
blast, this time in the back.

765
01:13:06.039 --> 01:13:11.840
The Creation turned to see Stevie.
Come and get me, you fucking bitch,

766
01:13:12.439 --> 01:13:15.800
she called out. As she turned
and ran, the Creation screamed and

767
01:13:15.920 --> 01:13:20.760
darted outside. It hadn't taken the
Creation long to almost be upon Stevie.

768
01:13:21.199 --> 01:13:26.399
Suddenly she felt Vincent jumping onto her
back. As she was about to grab

769
01:13:26.479 --> 01:13:30.760
him, she felt the sharpness of
a needle going into her shoulder, followed

770
01:13:30.760 --> 01:13:35.720
by something squirting out. Vincent dropped
off her back and stuck her with a

771
01:13:35.760 --> 01:13:43.079
second needle. The Creation fell to
her knees and then onto her side.

772
01:13:43.239 --> 01:13:45.359
We don't have much time, Stevie. Let's get her back to the lab,

773
01:13:45.760 --> 01:13:49.560
Vincent said. I can't believe I'm
agreeing to let you try and fix

774
01:13:49.600 --> 01:13:55.279
her. Stevie muttered, you should
just fucking kill her. When Stevie saw

775
01:13:55.359 --> 01:13:59.039
Reggie coming outside, she pointed right
at him. Shut the fuck up and

776
01:13:59.119 --> 01:14:02.640
get back inside, you fucking fat
fuckstick. What are you gonna do with

777
01:14:02.680 --> 01:14:08.359
her? He demanded. When Stevie
raised the shotgun to him and pumped it,

778
01:14:08.760 --> 01:14:18.399
he quickly squealed and darted back inside. The Creation opened her eyes and

779
01:14:18.439 --> 01:14:24.399
felt as if she was moving,
yet she found she was incapacitated. She

780
01:14:24.520 --> 01:14:29.119
looked up and saw the sky was
moving fast. She clinched her teeth and

781
01:14:29.199 --> 01:14:33.279
found the chain securing her wouldn't give. She growled through her teeth as she

782
01:14:33.319 --> 01:14:39.680
exerted her strength again. This time
the chains broke in several places. She

783
01:14:39.840 --> 01:14:44.039
moved to her feet and leaped from
the pickup truck. As soon as she

784
01:14:44.159 --> 01:14:46.319
landed on her bare feet, she
heard the truck break to a halt.

785
01:14:47.079 --> 01:14:53.439
Vincent and Stevie got out. The
Creation looked at them and screamed the loudest

786
01:14:53.479 --> 01:14:57.000
she had ever screamed. The two
of them tried to get back into the

787
01:14:57.000 --> 01:15:00.840
truck, but the Creation moved to
it quickly. She eased, lifted the

788
01:15:00.880 --> 01:15:03.079
truck, and threw it right off
the side of the bridge they were on.

789
01:15:04.039 --> 01:15:10.039
The truck soon made a huge splash
in the Castallia River, where the

790
01:15:10.159 --> 01:15:15.079
raging waters would carry it away.
Vincent and Stevie turned to run, but

791
01:15:15.159 --> 01:15:19.359
the Creation only had to leap to
catch them. She backed them up to

792
01:15:19.399 --> 01:15:24.399
the edge of the bridge. It
would take a combined desperate attempt for them

793
01:15:24.439 --> 01:15:30.039
to survive. As Vincent injected the
Creation with his last two tranquilizers, and

794
01:15:30.159 --> 01:15:34.039
Stevie placed her shotgun under the Creation's
chin and blasted the top of her head

795
01:15:34.079 --> 01:15:40.000
off. The Creation staggered back and
fell off the side of the bridge.

796
01:15:40.039 --> 01:15:45.119
She dropped into the Castalia River,
where the raging waters quickly carried her body

797
01:15:45.159 --> 01:15:50.880
away. You think we stopped her, Stevie asked quickly. Vincent sighed,

798
01:15:53.239 --> 01:16:01.720
I don't know. I just don't
know. On Christmas morning, the Creation

799
01:16:01.840 --> 01:16:06.720
had awakened. She didn't know how
long she had been unconscious, but she

800
01:16:06.800 --> 01:16:12.199
was lying on the side of the
river. She slowly pulled herself to her

801
01:16:12.239 --> 01:16:16.800
feet and felt her head, which
was fully restored. She didn't understand how

802
01:16:16.840 --> 01:16:21.600
she had survived, and she really
didn't care. There was only one thing

803
01:16:21.720 --> 01:16:27.520
that Creation did care about, and
put her hands on her swollen belly.

804
01:16:28.479 --> 01:16:34.000
Vincent Frankenstein hadn't counted on the Creation's
vampiric healing factor restoring the ovaries that he

805
01:16:34.039 --> 01:16:41.720
had removed prior to giving her life. On Christmas Eve, she had conceived

806
01:16:41.800 --> 01:16:47.039
life with Reggie. Later on Christmas
Day, her first child would be born,

807
01:16:48.119 --> 01:17:09.680
the first child of a superior New
race. All I Want for Christmas

808
01:17:10.600 --> 01:17:21.119
by Morgan Moore, a deathly chill
blows through the night as light snow falls

809
01:17:21.560 --> 01:17:30.439
and gently blankets the ground. Cemetery
gates creek open another gust of December wind,

810
01:17:30.520 --> 01:17:34.720
blowing out of the hollowed grounds.
As they do so, the man

811
01:17:34.760 --> 01:17:41.119
who unlocked and opened the gates removes
the key from the lock. In his

812
01:17:41.199 --> 01:17:45.560
other hand is a shovel. He
looks into the cemetery and takes a deep

813
01:17:45.680 --> 01:17:53.119
breath, releasing it along with a
sigh before walking in. The man in

814
01:17:53.239 --> 01:18:00.640
question was Jebediah Hawkins. Jebediah was
a gravekeeper for the cemetery. He had

815
01:18:00.680 --> 01:18:06.800
a wife and a little girl.
His reason for being in the cemetery tonight

816
01:18:08.479 --> 01:18:15.039
would never be anything of question,
but it was Christmas Eve. Nobody worked

817
01:18:15.039 --> 01:18:21.800
in the cemetery on Christmas Eve or
day. Jebediah walked through the cemetery,

818
01:18:23.479 --> 01:18:30.359
never wavering on his path. He
was on a mission tonight, one he

819
01:18:30.520 --> 01:18:38.880
intended to complete. A few days
ago, Jebediah was working a day shift.

820
01:18:39.479 --> 01:18:42.760
While he was cleaning in the funeral
home that rested on the grounds,

821
01:18:42.800 --> 01:18:48.680
he spotted something that took his breath
away. It was the body of a

822
01:18:48.720 --> 01:18:55.760
six year old girl, the same
age as his daughter. In her hands

823
01:18:55.880 --> 01:19:00.880
was a Tressie doll. Trecie dolls
were the new toy of the year,

824
01:19:00.560 --> 01:19:06.720
selling like hotcakes, coming and going
lickety split. Every little girl wanted one,

825
01:19:06.760 --> 01:19:13.359
including Jebediah's daughter. Like many other
parents, Jebediah and his wife had

826
01:19:13.399 --> 01:19:17.560
no luck finding the doll. Their
daughter's birthday went by without her getting one.

827
01:19:18.399 --> 01:19:23.520
It broke the Hawkins' hearts to not
be able to get the one thing

828
01:19:23.640 --> 01:19:28.119
their daughter wanted, the one thing
she asked for in a childhood where she

829
01:19:28.439 --> 01:19:32.520
rarely, if ever, asked for
anything. The two agreed that if either

830
01:19:32.560 --> 01:19:36.319
of them found a trecy, that
if they could, they would buy it

831
01:19:36.359 --> 01:19:43.720
on the spot. Unfortunately, their
town was small, filled almost exclusively with

832
01:19:43.880 --> 01:19:47.920
small self phoned stores. Stocks of
the doll came and went in the blink

833
01:19:47.960 --> 01:19:53.760
of an eye, and out of
town trips proved no better. The couple

834
01:19:53.840 --> 01:20:00.920
had just given up hope as Christmas
approached, melancholic and ready to disappoint their

835
01:20:00.000 --> 01:20:08.640
daughter, until Jebediah laid his eyes
on the Tressie doll clutched in the dead

836
01:20:08.680 --> 01:20:15.600
girl's hands. Tragic, isn't it? The undertaker asked, huh. Jebediah

837
01:20:15.680 --> 01:20:18.960
asked. In response, poor Lass
fell off a horse she was riding and

838
01:20:19.000 --> 01:20:25.880
got trampled to death right before Christmas. To boot such a shame, the

839
01:20:25.960 --> 01:20:32.640
undertaker explained as he walked away.
Yeah, a real shame, Jebediah answered.

840
01:20:33.319 --> 01:20:38.800
The next day, Jebediah watched as
the girl was buried, the Tressie

841
01:20:38.840 --> 01:20:44.760
doll still in her hands. When
he asked why they kept it, the

842
01:20:44.840 --> 01:20:50.279
undertaker told him that girl and doll
went everywhere together like they were the best

843
01:20:50.279 --> 01:20:56.000
of friends. Her parents thought it
would be appropriate then that she went off

844
01:20:56.000 --> 01:21:00.439
to heaven with a friend so she
wouldn't be lonely. It didn't take long

845
01:21:00.640 --> 01:21:12.600
for Jebediah to formulate his plan.
Jebediah approached the grave of the little girl,

846
01:21:13.399 --> 01:21:17.159
more snow and wind blew around him, the cold cutting through to his

847
01:21:17.279 --> 01:21:24.920
bones. Am I really about to
do this? He thought. He wanted

848
01:21:24.960 --> 01:21:29.520
to give his daughter a great Christmas, give her the one thing she asked

849
01:21:29.560 --> 01:21:34.600
for. Can I do this?
His answer was an earth piercing yes,

850
01:21:35.039 --> 01:21:41.239
as he stabbed the shovel into the
ground. He repeats the action again and

851
01:21:41.359 --> 01:21:45.560
again, throwing snow covered dirt off
to the side as he works his way

852
01:21:45.640 --> 01:21:50.880
deeper. Into the little girl's grave. Jebediah's mind blocked out all thoughts of

853
01:21:50.920 --> 01:21:56.960
the dead child he saw only a
few days ago, instead conjuring up the

854
01:21:57.039 --> 01:22:01.760
image of his daughter with the doll
laying happily a few hours from now on

855
01:22:01.880 --> 01:22:06.840
Christmas Day. He thought of him
and his wife sitting by the fire come

856
01:22:06.960 --> 01:22:14.720
nightfall, an extra happy Christmas behind
them. It was these thoughts that kept

857
01:22:14.800 --> 01:22:19.720
Jebediah busy until he felt the shovel
head slam into the coffin. Jebediah looked

858
01:22:19.760 --> 01:22:26.720
down at the small box. A
gust of wind blew by and threw dirt

859
01:22:26.760 --> 01:22:30.960
down onto Jebediah and the coffin,
almost as if the universe was telling him

860
01:22:31.800 --> 01:22:40.720
to stop. I can't stop,
not now. Jebediah started to stab the

861
01:22:40.760 --> 01:22:45.960
coffin with the shovel. As the
head struck the casket repeatedly, wood splintered

862
01:22:45.000 --> 01:22:50.920
and flew up. Jebediah kept at
it for minutes before finally punching a hole

863
01:22:51.479 --> 01:22:58.680
through the coffin. He stared down
into the breach and saw the little girl's

864
01:22:58.680 --> 01:23:04.039
face and the doll. The desperate
father tossed the shovel out of the grave

865
01:23:04.199 --> 01:23:11.279
and knelt down beside the coffin.
Jebediah gulped as he stared down at the

866
01:23:11.319 --> 01:23:19.279
girl's corpse. He reached into the
coffin, grabbed the doll, and pulled

867
01:23:19.359 --> 01:23:28.399
up. Nothing budged. Jebediah tried
again, but nothing moved. He looked

868
01:23:28.439 --> 01:23:32.840
closer as he kept trying to pull
the doll out. The doll was clasped

869
01:23:32.920 --> 01:23:39.800
so tightly in her hands that it
wouldn't budge. Every tug got him nowhere

870
01:23:39.840 --> 01:23:45.479
closer to getting the tressy doll.
The night was moving on and the temperature

871
01:23:45.960 --> 01:23:51.560
was dropping. Soon it would be
midnight Christmas. If he didn't get the

872
01:23:51.600 --> 01:23:58.720
doll back home in time, then
Christmas would be ruined. Jebediah braced a

873
01:23:58.800 --> 01:24:02.039
foot against the coffin and grabbed the
doll with both hands. He put all

874
01:24:02.159 --> 01:24:11.680
his strength into one big tug.
The doll came free, and so did

875
01:24:11.720 --> 01:24:18.479
the hands of the little girl.
Still gripping the doll. Jebediah stared in

876
01:24:18.560 --> 01:24:23.520
horror at the image. He pried
the hands off the doll and threw them

877
01:24:23.560 --> 01:24:30.159
back into the coffin. Jebediah stared
down into the hole, into the coffin

878
01:24:30.199 --> 01:24:34.520
and at the dead little girl.
Her hands laying on opposite ends of her

879
01:24:34.520 --> 01:24:41.640
body. The more he looked at
her, the more she started to remind

880
01:24:41.720 --> 01:24:47.920
him of his own daughter. Jebediah
felt a tinge of regret for what he'd

881
01:24:47.920 --> 01:24:54.720
done. What if his daughter was
dead and someone dug up her body to

882
01:24:54.800 --> 01:25:00.159
get something. He looked down at
the doll. All of this, all

883
01:25:00.199 --> 01:25:05.600
of this fuss over a simple little
doll. Jebediah stretched his arms out,

884
01:25:05.920 --> 01:25:11.359
hands trembling as he told himself he
couldn't take it. He closed his eyes,

885
01:25:11.439 --> 01:25:15.880
unable to bear looking at the corpse. The man tried to conjure up

886
01:25:15.920 --> 01:25:21.640
images more pleasant. What came to
him was the image of his daughter on

887
01:25:21.800 --> 01:25:30.840
Christmas morning, playing with her new
tressy doll. Jebediah opened his eyes and

888
01:25:30.960 --> 01:25:34.600
looked at the doll. He had
to go through with it, he told

889
01:25:34.640 --> 01:25:44.800
himself, for his little girl.
Sorry, Jebediah said to the dead girl.

890
01:25:45.479 --> 01:25:48.760
He climbed out of the grave and
set the doll down before picking up

891
01:25:48.800 --> 01:25:55.199
the shovel. Quickly, he filled
the hole back up with dirt, grabbed

892
01:25:55.199 --> 01:26:00.720
the doll, and high tailed it
out of the cemetery into his car and

893
01:26:00.880 --> 01:26:11.199
sped away into the night. Jebediah
snuck into his house, being careful not

894
01:26:11.359 --> 01:26:15.880
to make too much noise. He
headed to the kitchen and turned on a

895
01:26:15.920 --> 01:26:20.520
small light above the sink. Jeb
placed the doll down, took off his

896
01:26:20.640 --> 01:26:25.880
coat, and picked the doll back
up with a flick of his wrist.

897
01:26:26.159 --> 01:26:30.520
Jebediah turned on the water and started
to clean the doll. After some time,

898
01:26:30.600 --> 01:26:34.680
the doll was clean of all dirt
and Jebediah managed to get out some

899
01:26:34.800 --> 01:26:40.680
of the stench of earth. He
smiled at the tressy and placed it on

900
01:26:40.680 --> 01:26:46.159
the kitchen table. Now to get
you wrapped up, Jebediah said, triumphantly.

901
01:26:47.199 --> 01:26:51.560
Jebediah walked out of the kitchen and
started heading to his wife's sewing room.

902
01:26:53.159 --> 01:26:59.960
The grandfather clock in the living room
struck midnight. It was Christmas.

903
01:27:00.039 --> 01:27:06.760
Yes, Jebediah stopped as the clock
chimed and looked at the Christmas tree.

904
01:27:08.079 --> 01:27:13.319
Suddenly, a microburst assaulted the Hawkins
house. The windows burst open and wind

905
01:27:13.399 --> 01:27:16.840
and snow assaulted Jebediah. He tried
to get to the windows, but is

906
01:27:16.920 --> 01:27:21.079
throated by how strong the wind is. Next, he attempted to retreat to

907
01:27:21.119 --> 01:27:25.920
the sewing room, but a gust
of wind blew through the windows inside the

908
01:27:26.000 --> 01:27:30.920
room and slammed Jebediah to the ground. He tried to stand up, but

909
01:27:31.079 --> 01:27:38.479
found that he couldn't. Instead,
he crawled his way back into the kitchen.

910
01:27:39.399 --> 01:27:45.000
Upon entering the kitchen, the wind
stopped. The house felt deathly cold.

911
01:27:45.199 --> 01:27:51.479
As Jebediah stood up cautiously, he
went to call out for his family,

912
01:27:53.319 --> 01:28:00.880
but found he couldn't due to a
tightening pressure on his throat. Jebediah

913
01:28:00.880 --> 01:28:05.920
looked down at his neck and found
a disembodied hand clasped around it. He

914
01:28:06.039 --> 01:28:10.600
grabbed hold of the hand and tore
it off of him, bits of flesh

915
01:28:10.640 --> 01:28:14.359
and blood going with it. Jeb
threw it to the ground and stomped as

916
01:28:14.439 --> 01:28:18.279
hard as he could on it,
crushing it in a single blow. A

917
01:28:18.359 --> 01:28:26.079
shrill mix of a cry and laugh
rang in Jebediah's ears. He spun around

918
01:28:26.119 --> 01:28:30.399
to find the ghostly image of the
little Girl from the Grave hovering in his

919
01:28:30.560 --> 01:28:38.079
kitchen. Jebediah gasped in disbelief at
what was in front of him. What

920
01:28:39.760 --> 01:28:45.680
you're dead, he cried, Give
it back. The spirit demanded, give

921
01:28:45.720 --> 01:28:51.520
what back? My friend? The
ghastly girl screamed, loud enough to shatter

922
01:28:51.640 --> 01:29:00.319
windows. Jebediah stood confused until he
remembered what the undertaker had said. That

923
01:29:00.439 --> 01:29:05.159
girl and doll went everywhere together like
they were the best of friends. Her

924
01:29:05.199 --> 01:29:09.640
parents thought it would be appropriate then
that she went off to heaven with a

925
01:29:09.680 --> 01:29:15.119
friend so she wouldn't be lonely.
The doll. It was that damned doll.

926
01:29:15.119 --> 01:29:19.319
Jebediah stared up at the table.
How could a doll have made this

927
01:29:19.520 --> 01:29:26.880
happen, he asked himself. He
looked at the girl. You don't understand

928
01:29:27.520 --> 01:29:30.720
my daughter. She wants it,
needs it. You'll have plenty of friends

929
01:29:30.800 --> 01:29:34.399
up in heaven. Can't you allow
a little girl to know the happiness you

930
01:29:34.520 --> 01:29:41.600
knew with it? Jebediah pleaded.
The girl answers with her other detached hand

931
01:29:41.840 --> 01:29:46.000
grabbing hold of Jebediah's face, its
nails digging into his flesh. He grabbed

932
01:29:46.039 --> 01:29:50.159
hold of the hand and once more
freed himself, his face bearing gashes that

933
01:29:50.199 --> 01:29:56.359
would scar. Jebediah quickly got to
his feet and grabbed the Tresse doll off

934
01:29:56.399 --> 01:30:00.600
the table and ran from the kitchen. Jebediah Aiah ran into the living room

935
01:30:01.000 --> 01:30:05.880
as he tried to approach the stairs, the ghost appeared. She brought down

936
01:30:05.920 --> 01:30:10.600
everything she could in the living room
to stop him in his path, books,

937
01:30:10.800 --> 01:30:15.359
furniture, anything and everything. But
Jebediah persevered. Finally he reached the

938
01:30:15.399 --> 01:30:20.479
stairs and ascended them to the second
floor. The house started to shake.

939
01:30:20.680 --> 01:30:26.560
A deafening cry of anguish and rage
echoed through the house. Jebediah sprinted towards

940
01:30:26.560 --> 01:30:30.640
his daughter's room. No an avalanche
of snow fell upon the Hawkins house.

941
01:30:31.239 --> 01:30:36.319
Jebediah screamed as the force brought down
the roof. The second floor collapsed onto

942
01:30:36.319 --> 01:30:45.760
the first, leaving the house completely
and utterly demolished. Jebediah bolted awake,

943
01:30:46.159 --> 01:30:51.079
gasping for air. Despite the wintry
cold, he was drenched in sweat.

944
01:30:51.920 --> 01:30:57.439
Honey, what is it, his
wife asked in a panic. She rubbed

945
01:30:57.439 --> 01:31:00.720
the small of his back, and
the sensation of feeling tough much brought comfort

946
01:31:00.840 --> 01:31:04.279
to him. He looked at his
wife and embraced her in a tight,

947
01:31:04.720 --> 01:31:11.840
near violent hug. Missus Hawkins returned
the gesture. Jebediah broke the embrace and

948
01:31:11.960 --> 01:31:16.199
ran out of their bedroom and into
his daughters. She wasn't there downstairs,

949
01:31:16.640 --> 01:31:21.560
he exclaimed. Jebediah ran downstairs,
with his wife not too far behind him.

950
01:31:21.800 --> 01:31:26.600
When they reached the living room,
the couple found their daughter sitting by

951
01:31:26.600 --> 01:31:30.680
the Christmas tree. She turned and
looked at her parents with a smile.

952
01:31:30.680 --> 01:31:36.840
Jebediah sighed in relief. What kept
you sleepy heads waiting? It's Christmas?

953
01:31:38.439 --> 01:31:43.319
The daughter said, yes, yes, it is. Jebediah said, with

954
01:31:43.399 --> 01:31:48.920
a huge smile. It was all
a dream, he told himself. Mister

955
01:31:49.039 --> 01:31:54.439
and missus Hawkins sat on their couch
while their daughter began to open presence.

956
01:31:55.479 --> 01:32:00.960
Jebediah kissed his wife and the two
shared smiles and I love youse. From

957
01:32:00.960 --> 01:32:10.359
the outside looking in, the Hawkins
were having a perfect Christmas. But outside

958
01:32:10.600 --> 01:32:15.319
in a blackened ethereal plane, the
little girl sat and looked through the roof

959
01:32:15.760 --> 01:32:23.079
and into the house. She grinned, well, Tressy, it looks like

960
01:32:23.159 --> 01:32:30.880
we have some new friends forever and
ever. Merry Christmas, she told her

961
01:32:30.920 --> 01:32:38.600
doll, giving it a big hug
before returning her gaze to her brand new

962
01:32:38.640 --> 01:32:58.279
toys. Blood on the Snow by
Shane Niggliavanka. The cold numbed the man's

963
01:32:58.279 --> 01:33:02.920
feet, the snow nearly to his
knees. There was nobody to be seen.

964
01:33:03.760 --> 01:33:09.880
It was a blizzard on Christmas Eve. Only fools and lunatics would be

965
01:33:09.920 --> 01:33:14.680
on the road tonight. He could
have sworn he'd seen a sign. What

966
01:33:14.760 --> 01:33:18.680
the hell was it called VIA's Roadhouse. He could go for a nice,

967
01:33:18.760 --> 01:33:26.279
juicy burger and some fries, though
he really doubted they'd be open. I

968
01:33:26.279 --> 01:33:30.800
don't think you saw it. The
man didn't turn. He didn't want to

969
01:33:30.840 --> 01:33:33.960
give Simon the satisfaction. This is
a fine mess you've gotten us in.

970
01:33:34.600 --> 01:33:39.239
Simon moaned, we should go back. We have a job to do.

971
01:33:42.720 --> 01:33:47.319
Away down the road, the man
stopped an abandoned car sat alongside the shoulder,

972
01:33:47.880 --> 01:33:53.840
covered by the steady snowfall. Brushing
the snow off the driver's side window,

973
01:33:54.479 --> 01:34:00.319
the man peered inside. The interior
was bathed in a faint red hugh.

974
01:34:00.680 --> 01:34:04.840
The car was empty save for a
cell phone sitting on the passenger side

975
01:34:04.880 --> 01:34:12.800
seat, a red depleted battery symbol
on its screen. There were words written

976
01:34:12.840 --> 01:34:17.720
on the inside of the windshield in
what appeared to be red lipstick. The

977
01:34:17.800 --> 01:34:24.680
woods are lovely, dark and deep, Simon read. The man backed away

978
01:34:24.680 --> 01:34:30.960
from the car, looking around strange, Simon observed, look at the snow.

979
01:34:31.039 --> 01:34:34.920
He pointed to the snow in front
of the car. Through the covering

980
01:34:34.960 --> 01:34:40.600
of fresh snow, two sets of
footprints were still visible, one from the

981
01:34:40.640 --> 01:34:45.680
car and one approaching. It looks
like a struggle, maybe, Simon noted.

982
01:34:46.600 --> 01:34:49.880
Indeed, it looked like a scuffle
of some kind happened where the two

983
01:34:49.880 --> 01:34:56.520
sets of footprints came together. I
think you're right, the man answered,

984
01:34:57.119 --> 01:35:02.199
Finally he speaks the The man ignored
his companion. The second set came from

985
01:35:02.199 --> 01:35:08.000
a head, then one left and
headed through the woods. The man was

986
01:35:08.079 --> 01:35:12.800
tempted to see where the footprints led, but his feet ached and the road

987
01:35:12.920 --> 01:35:20.720
promised a glimmer of shelter and warmth. Angela really wanted to go home,

988
01:35:21.399 --> 01:35:26.600
not that she had much to go
home too in her little apartment. Yet

989
01:35:26.800 --> 01:35:30.000
it was a hell of a lot
better than waiting tables at the roadhouse.

990
01:35:30.760 --> 01:35:33.920
Vera was paying her extra for Christmas
Eve, and Angela needed the money if

991
01:35:34.000 --> 01:35:39.239
she was ever going to leave Dylansville. There was a small group tonight,

992
01:35:39.800 --> 01:35:45.800
three regulars, stew the cook and
Vera. Man. Look at that shit

993
01:35:45.920 --> 01:35:49.920
come down. I think it's nice, Billy Vera said, gonna have a

994
01:35:49.960 --> 01:35:57.239
white Christmas. Billy scoffed, Fuck
Christmas, you're just an old scrooge.

995
01:35:58.079 --> 01:36:00.840
The old black man, sitting at
the bar set before taking a shot of

996
01:36:00.880 --> 01:36:05.840
whiskey, got that right, Marvin, Billy laughed. He won't see me

997
01:36:05.920 --> 01:36:14.000
wishing anybody a merry Christmas. I
remember one Christmas, the old man mused.

998
01:36:14.039 --> 01:36:17.760
For a moment, twenty years back, we didn't have snow until January.

999
01:36:18.960 --> 01:36:24.600
That's global warming for you. Angela
spoke up, Fuck global warming,

1000
01:36:25.079 --> 01:36:29.520
Billy grumbled. Verus scolded, every
other word out of your mouth is either

1001
01:36:29.600 --> 01:36:32.560
fuck shit or damn well. Hell, I guess I need my mouth washed

1002
01:36:32.600 --> 01:36:38.560
with fucking soap. This brought a
chuckle from another of the regulars. Don't

1003
01:36:38.640 --> 01:36:43.560
encourage him, Donnie Vera said.
Donnie, a heavy set, bald man,

1004
01:36:43.720 --> 01:36:46.640
sat at the end of the bar. Earlier tonight. I saw the

1005
01:36:46.720 --> 01:36:51.520
strangest looking light coming out of the
woods. Made me feel weird just seeing

1006
01:36:51.600 --> 01:36:58.479
it, Donnie said, softly.
What it looked like, strange green color,

1007
01:36:58.680 --> 01:37:04.079
like nothing i'd before. Probably some
kids snowmobile and got fancy new headlights

1008
01:37:04.159 --> 01:37:10.840
or something, Billy said dismissively.
The front door opened. It banged hard

1009
01:37:10.880 --> 01:37:15.880
against the wall, startling Angela.
A man in a black leather jacket stood

1010
01:37:15.920 --> 01:37:20.159
in the entrance, brushing snow off
his goatee. Get in here, he

1011
01:37:20.279 --> 01:37:26.640
ordered. A woman carrying a young
girl entered. She flashed a meek smile.

1012
01:37:27.960 --> 01:37:31.159
Warm in here, the woman smiled. Won't be for long if you

1013
01:37:31.279 --> 01:37:34.680
keep the door open, Billy said, earning a glare from the man.

1014
01:37:35.880 --> 01:37:41.279
What brings you folks out on Christmas
Eve? Vera asked? The woman.

1015
01:37:41.399 --> 01:37:45.880
Set the girl down. We were
visiting my mother. Ollie thought we could

1016
01:37:45.880 --> 01:37:49.159
beat the storm home. Vera sat
them at one of the booths. What

1017
01:37:49.279 --> 01:37:54.039
can I get you, folks?
The woman looked at the girl. What

1018
01:37:54.119 --> 01:38:00.680
do you want? Hun uh?
Hot chocolate? Vera smiled, can do?

1019
01:38:00.680 --> 01:38:05.079
Got a beer? Ali asked,
not tonight? The woman said,

1020
01:38:05.479 --> 01:38:11.119
you promised. I'll drink what I
want Marie. Marie looked at Vera.

1021
01:38:11.680 --> 01:38:15.880
I'll have a hot chocolate too.
You folks hungry, I'll have Angela bring

1022
01:38:15.920 --> 01:38:20.479
you some menus. Sure, sure, Ali said, whatever, Hey,

1023
01:38:20.600 --> 01:38:25.560
Vera. Donnie spoke up. A
hot chocolate sounds good, I'll have one

1024
01:38:25.600 --> 01:38:30.840
too. Donnie slid off the barstool
he'd been keeping warm. Hafting up his

1025
01:38:30.960 --> 01:38:34.359
loose fitting pants, he walked over
to the table with the newcomers. Mama,

1026
01:38:34.880 --> 01:38:39.039
are we going to be home in
time for Santa? The little girl

1027
01:38:39.079 --> 01:38:44.119
asked Marie. I'm not sure,
honey. Will Santa still bring stuff if

1028
01:38:44.119 --> 01:38:47.199
we're not home? He won't come
if you're a bad girl and keep making

1029
01:38:47.279 --> 01:38:53.479
noise, Ali warned her. Donnie
tried to make small talk. Quite a

1030
01:38:53.600 --> 01:38:58.840
night out. Huh terrible, Marie
answered. Donnie smiled and waved to the

1031
01:38:58.880 --> 01:39:02.880
girl. What's it's your name?
Little one? Haley? The girl responded,

1032
01:39:02.920 --> 01:39:08.319
looking worried. Why don't you leave
us alone? Man, Ali's eyes

1033
01:39:08.399 --> 01:39:14.119
narrowed to slits. Mind your own
business. Sure, sorry. The door

1034
01:39:14.119 --> 01:39:17.640
opened again, letting in a whirlwind
of snow. The man stood there at

1035
01:39:17.640 --> 01:39:21.720
its center. He stepped into the
roadhouse, slamming the door shut in Simon's

1036
01:39:21.760 --> 01:39:28.119
face. Hey wait, Simon protested. Before the door closed, The man

1037
01:39:28.159 --> 01:39:31.439
felt their eyes on him as he
went over to a corner booth. From

1038
01:39:31.439 --> 01:39:36.840
here he had a good view of
the roadhouse. Angela approached him, looking

1039
01:39:36.920 --> 01:39:43.920
a little apprehensive. Merry Christmas,
she smiled, Can I get you something

1040
01:39:43.920 --> 01:39:46.960
to drink? Or bring you a
menu? A coke and a cheeseburger with

1041
01:39:47.039 --> 01:39:54.079
fries and make it bloody right.
She left, and after a moment,

1042
01:39:54.479 --> 01:39:58.840
Simon slumped into the seat opposite him, brushing snow from his shoulders and hair.

1043
01:40:00.239 --> 01:40:03.880
Funny, Simon bitched, I thought, so order anything for me?

1044
01:40:04.760 --> 01:40:11.800
No figures. Donnie sidled up to
the man's table. The place is jumping

1045
01:40:11.840 --> 01:40:16.000
tonight, have some car trouble.
I don't want to do this. Donnie

1046
01:40:16.039 --> 01:40:24.279
looked perplexed. What don't want?
What this? The man said, talking

1047
01:40:24.880 --> 01:40:29.840
go away. A heavy set man, his hair pulled back into a ponytail,

1048
01:40:29.920 --> 01:40:34.000
leaned his head out of the kitchen. Verra Angela, why do you

1049
01:40:34.079 --> 01:40:39.720
get me some rolls from storage?
The man sat watching the others as he

1050
01:40:39.760 --> 01:40:44.000
waited for his food. Donnie went
back to his barstool and began talking to

1051
01:40:44.039 --> 01:40:47.359
Marvin Angela. The waitress brought a
tray with food and drinks to the family

1052
01:40:47.399 --> 01:40:53.600
sitting near the entrance. Another patron, Angela called him Billy was playing a

1053
01:40:53.600 --> 01:40:59.359
pinball machine. The man felt the
tiredness creeping up on him. How long

1054
01:40:59.359 --> 01:41:03.920
had it been since he'd slept?
His eyelids grew heavy as weariness began to

1055
01:41:04.000 --> 01:41:10.520
conquer him. His head drooped forward. His eyes snapped open again as a

1056
01:41:10.560 --> 01:41:14.840
scream ripped through the roadhouse. Vera
screamed again, tears running down her,

1057
01:41:14.840 --> 01:41:20.800
red cheeks, out back dead.
Stu and Angela comforted Vera as Billy questioned

1058
01:41:20.800 --> 01:41:24.800
her, what the hell are you
talking about? Woman? Who's dead?

1059
01:41:25.960 --> 01:41:30.640
A man? I don't know who? By the storeroom. Billy and Stu

1060
01:41:30.800 --> 01:41:35.359
left to go look, as Angela
sat holding Vera's hand. That's crazy,

1061
01:41:35.479 --> 01:41:41.199
huh A dead guy, Donnie asked
Marvin, who was busy pouring himself another

1062
01:41:41.279 --> 01:41:45.960
drink. Lots of crazy shit in
the world these days, boys. The

1063
01:41:45.039 --> 01:41:49.600
man got up. He felt a
nagging itch in his head. Simon was

1064
01:41:49.640 --> 01:41:55.600
gone and there was a dead man
he had to see, had to know,

1065
01:41:56.760 --> 01:42:00.760
Donnie called after him as he walked
by. You going, mister,

1066
01:42:00.680 --> 01:42:10.439
to see a dead body. The
storeroom was a separate building behind the roadhouse.

1067
01:42:11.039 --> 01:42:15.399
Billy and Stu were staring at the
body when he found them. Never

1068
01:42:15.439 --> 01:42:20.199
seen this fella before. Stu was
saying, shit, me neither. The

1069
01:42:20.239 --> 01:42:27.640
body sat its back against the storeroom's
wall, partially covered in snow. Well

1070
01:42:28.239 --> 01:42:30.960
he's dead, all right, the
man said, startling Billy and Stu.

1071
01:42:31.680 --> 01:42:36.399
Fuck, don't do that, dude, Billy warned, almost shit him,

1072
01:42:38.439 --> 01:42:43.439
know him? Mister, Stu asked. The man shook his head. It

1073
01:42:43.520 --> 01:42:48.720
wasn't anyone he recognized, a small
blessing anyway. No, but I did

1074
01:42:48.760 --> 01:42:55.119
see an abandoned car down the road. Maybe it was his. Stu pondered,

1075
01:42:55.119 --> 01:43:00.319
this tidbit could be? Could be
anybody check him for eye? You

1076
01:43:00.399 --> 01:43:06.279
mean, like touch him. Billy
shivered at the thought. Billy and Stu

1077
01:43:06.479 --> 01:43:11.800
looked at the man stepping out of
the way. Billy motioned to the body,

1078
01:43:12.680 --> 01:43:15.640
be my guest. The man knelt
in front of the body. The

1079
01:43:15.680 --> 01:43:21.039
dead man's eyes were wide, a
horrified expression etched on his face. Holy

1080
01:43:21.199 --> 01:43:27.840
hell, Stu exclaimed, what killed
him? Billy asked, his voice wavering.

1081
01:43:28.680 --> 01:43:32.119
The man brushed more snow off the
body. There were no visible marks

1082
01:43:32.239 --> 01:43:39.840
or wounds anywhere, no clue.
The man searched the body. Should you

1083
01:43:39.880 --> 01:43:45.479
be touching him? Stu asked,
he could have something. The man found

1084
01:43:45.479 --> 01:43:49.159
a wallet. Inside was fifty dollars, a picture of a woman and a

1085
01:43:49.239 --> 01:43:56.279
driver's license. Adam Hunter, he
said, out loud, Merry Christmas.

1086
01:43:56.359 --> 01:44:00.239
Stu stroked his stubby chin. Uh, what do we do with him?

1087
01:44:01.159 --> 01:44:05.000
Leave him here? The man said, he ain't going anywhere, and he'll

1088
01:44:05.039 --> 01:44:12.600
be frozen, no smell. Suppose
you're right. The man slipped the wallet

1089
01:44:12.680 --> 01:44:20.880
back into the corpse's pocket before heading
back in with Billy and Stu. Inside,

1090
01:44:21.039 --> 01:44:26.000
not much had changed. Angela sat
in one of the booths with Vera.

1091
01:44:26.640 --> 01:44:30.359
Donnie sat at the bar, annoying. Marvin and the family were still

1092
01:44:30.399 --> 01:44:35.039
seated where they were previous. Angela
looked up as they entered. Is he?

1093
01:44:35.920 --> 01:44:44.359
Billy nodded, was was he?
You know, murdered? Well,

1094
01:44:44.399 --> 01:44:48.079
that's tough to say, really,
Stu said, we should call the cops.

1095
01:44:48.119 --> 01:44:53.720
I think Vera needs a doctor.
I'm fine, Vera said, wiping

1096
01:44:53.760 --> 01:44:58.159
her bloodshot eyes. I've never seen
that kind of look on a man's face

1097
01:44:58.199 --> 01:45:02.800
before. Billy said, so down
at the bar. If if he was

1098
01:45:03.600 --> 01:45:10.800
killed, Vera stammered, that means
somebody did it. She looked at the

1099
01:45:10.840 --> 01:45:15.520
others. An uneasy hush fell over
everybody. The man felt the other's eyes

1100
01:45:15.600 --> 01:45:21.520
on him. What, well,
you aren't from around here, Stu said,

1101
01:45:23.159 --> 01:45:27.680
neither are they. The man pointed
to the family. They got a

1102
01:45:27.800 --> 01:45:32.600
kid. Billy spoke up, besides, you seemed mighty comfortable around that body,

1103
01:45:33.560 --> 01:45:40.119
right, Stu nodded. The man
felt sweat trickle down his brow.

1104
01:45:40.640 --> 01:45:46.199
Maybe you're a maniac, Donnie answered, A serial killer. He looked suspicious.

1105
01:45:46.720 --> 01:45:53.159
Vera observed, look at him sweatin'
you're all being a bunch of idiots,

1106
01:45:53.680 --> 01:45:58.159
Marvin stated, before taking another shot
of whiskey. The man shook his

1107
01:45:58.239 --> 01:46:02.800
head. I didn't kill that man. Where was Simon? The man thought

1108
01:46:03.119 --> 01:46:08.279
he could really use him right about
now. We should call the cops.

1109
01:46:08.720 --> 01:46:12.800
Angela suggested they can handle it.
We don't know if he did anything.

1110
01:46:13.479 --> 01:46:16.159
Marie stood up. We should at
least lock him up, especially with my

1111
01:46:16.279 --> 01:46:21.960
daughter here. I agree, Billy
said, Look, you muskrat love listening?

1112
01:46:23.039 --> 01:46:27.600
Motherfucker's The man looked at Marie and
her daughter. Pardon my French,

1113
01:46:28.199 --> 01:46:30.960
I didn't kill that guy. In
fact, how do we know it wasn't

1114
01:46:31.000 --> 01:46:38.000
one of you assholes? Marvin started
laughing. He's got you there. Angela

1115
01:46:38.079 --> 01:46:42.640
stood taking out her phone. Everybody
calmed down. I'm gonna call the cops.

1116
01:46:42.960 --> 01:46:45.600
They can sort it all out.
Stu seemed to be swayed by this.

1117
01:46:46.199 --> 01:46:51.479
Yeah, let them deal with it, Billy grumbled, fine. He

1118
01:46:51.520 --> 01:46:57.239
looked at the man coldly. Vera
went behind the bar. Why don't I

1119
01:46:57.479 --> 01:47:00.640
make us all some coffee? The
man sat in one of the booths,

1120
01:47:00.960 --> 01:47:08.159
looking out the window, watching the
snowfall crap. Angela complained, all I'm

1121
01:47:08.159 --> 01:47:11.640
getting is a recording. All the
lines must be busy from the storm.

1122
01:47:12.680 --> 01:47:17.159
Angela want to help me with the
coffee? Vera asked, coming, Angela

1123
01:47:17.239 --> 01:47:21.640
answered, can I get a beer? Ali hollered, If we're going to

1124
01:47:21.720 --> 01:47:26.800
be stuck here, might as well
enjoy it. Haley tugged at her mother's

1125
01:47:26.840 --> 01:47:31.279
sleeve. Mama, Mama, I
got a pee. Marie looked at Ali,

1126
01:47:31.399 --> 01:47:36.920
unsure. I'm not sure, honey, Ali grumbled, take her give

1127
01:47:36.960 --> 01:47:43.479
me some quiet. Taking Haley by
the hand, Marie asked Annie directions to

1128
01:47:43.520 --> 01:47:47.079
the restrooms. The man watched them
go by. He sat, wishing he

1129
01:47:47.159 --> 01:47:53.520
was anywhere but here on Christmas night. It was obvious most of the people

1130
01:47:53.600 --> 01:47:57.159
here were ready to pin that dead
man on him, but he didn't give

1131
01:47:57.199 --> 01:48:00.039
a shit about any of them.
There was a job to do. The

1132
01:48:00.119 --> 01:48:06.039
lights flickered rapidly before going out.
There were murmurs of shock, confusion,

1133
01:48:06.079 --> 01:48:11.640
and anger from the patrons and staff. STU spoke up, trying to calm

1134
01:48:11.680 --> 01:48:15.520
everyone. Storm probably knocked out some
power lines. Don't worry, I got

1135
01:48:15.560 --> 01:48:21.479
a generator out back. Then from
somewhere in the roadhouse, somebody screamed.

1136
01:48:23.439 --> 01:48:27.720
The man felt somebody rush by him
in the dark. The others called out.

1137
01:48:28.199 --> 01:48:32.039
After several minutes of darkness and uncertainty, Angela appeared, holding her cellphone

1138
01:48:32.039 --> 01:48:38.039
to light the way. They followed
Angela to the women's bathroom. Vera stood

1139
01:48:38.039 --> 01:48:43.520
with a shaken Marie and Hayley in
there. Via motioned to the middle stall,

1140
01:48:44.239 --> 01:48:48.640
shining the light into the stall they
crowded around. Sitting there, slumped

1141
01:48:48.640 --> 01:48:54.960
on the toilet was a dead woman. She wore an ugly Christmas sweater,

1142
01:48:55.199 --> 01:49:01.119
made uglier by the blood frozen to
it from her slashed throat. Written behind

1143
01:49:01.159 --> 01:49:10.319
her in blood, it read,
but I have promises to keep holy shit.

1144
01:49:11.000 --> 01:49:15.560
Donnie gasped. Vera took Marie and
Haley out of there. Who is

1145
01:49:15.640 --> 01:49:23.000
she fucked? If I know?
Stu replied, she's been dead awhile the

1146
01:49:23.079 --> 01:49:28.000
man pointed out. After some debate, they agreed to leave the woman sitting

1147
01:49:28.079 --> 01:49:32.000
there, best not to disturb any
evidence. Back at the bar, they

1148
01:49:32.039 --> 01:49:36.279
found Marie and Haley sitting together in
a booth. Vera had lit a couple

1149
01:49:36.319 --> 01:49:43.319
of kerosene lanterns, giving the interior
a soft glow. Deep shadows lurked at

1150
01:49:43.319 --> 01:49:48.920
the fringes of the light. Coffee's
ready, Vera informed them. Stu exhaled,

1151
01:49:49.079 --> 01:49:54.720
His breath was visible in the lantern
light. I'm going out to start

1152
01:49:54.720 --> 01:49:59.560
the generator, he said, pulling
on a heavy jacket. Are you going

1153
01:49:59.560 --> 01:50:03.920
out there alone? Donnie asked.
Stu reached under the bar, pulling out

1154
01:50:03.960 --> 01:50:15.199
a pump shotgun. Not alone.
Fia and Angela handed out mugs of hot

1155
01:50:15.239 --> 01:50:19.479
coffee. The man took one,
watching the steam rise off it. He

1156
01:50:19.560 --> 01:50:24.600
felt too nervous to drink. He
was used to being in control, and

1157
01:50:24.720 --> 01:50:28.359
now he was stuck in the middle
of nowhere. There were two dead bodies,

1158
01:50:28.680 --> 01:50:33.640
and Simon was missing. He needed
Simon. The man didn't even notice

1159
01:50:33.640 --> 01:50:39.399
the lights flickering back to life until
Donnie clapped. We can warm up a

1160
01:50:39.439 --> 01:50:44.199
little, at least, Vera said, rubbing her hands together. Vera and

1161
01:50:44.239 --> 01:50:47.359
Angela went back to the kitchen.
The others hung by the bar, talking

1162
01:50:47.399 --> 01:50:53.439
amongst themselves, Save for Ali,
Marie and their girl. The man kept

1163
01:50:53.479 --> 01:50:59.279
to himself, not trusting any of
them. Minutes went by before Vera emerged

1164
01:50:59.279 --> 01:51:03.319
from the kitchen with Angela, both
holding trays of sandwiches. Where's Stu,

1165
01:51:04.199 --> 01:51:11.319
Vera asked, looking around. There
was a murmur among them as they realized

1166
01:51:11.880 --> 01:51:18.600
he hadn't returned. Four of them
went out the man, Vera, Billy

1167
01:51:18.920 --> 01:51:25.439
and Angela. The wind began to
batter them with cold and snow. Vera

1168
01:51:25.520 --> 01:51:29.800
guided them around the back of the
storeroom to a small shed. She let

1169
01:51:29.840 --> 01:51:34.840
out a startled gasp as they neared
the structure. There laying in the snow

1170
01:51:35.800 --> 01:51:42.239
was what once could have been called
a human being, but as of now

1171
01:51:42.600 --> 01:51:47.439
it was akin to a charcoal briquette. A few feet away lay Stu's shotgun.

1172
01:51:48.399 --> 01:51:55.359
Written on the shed in charred black
substance, it read and miles to

1173
01:51:55.479 --> 01:52:00.039
go before I sleep. Somebody was
playing a game with them, the man

1174
01:52:00.159 --> 01:52:05.920
thought. Vera had to steady yourself. Who would do this? The man

1175
01:52:05.960 --> 01:52:12.600
looked down at the snow covered ground. Well, besides our fresh tracks and

1176
01:52:12.680 --> 01:52:17.279
stews, there are only one other
set, all of them coming from the

1177
01:52:17.319 --> 01:52:25.119
back door. We were all together, Billy observed, except for he looked

1178
01:52:25.119 --> 01:52:30.279
at Angela, and Vera had to
be one of you. Angela looked at

1179
01:52:30.279 --> 01:52:34.600
Billy with a hurt expression. Why
would I you had eyes on stew all

1180
01:52:34.640 --> 01:52:40.279
the time? Vera accused, laughing
at his jokes all the time, fawning

1181
01:52:40.319 --> 01:52:44.359
all over him, trying to steal
him away from me. Your nuts.

1182
01:52:44.840 --> 01:52:50.199
Angela spat jealous, old bitch.
Angela slapped Vera across the face. Vera

1183
01:52:50.199 --> 01:52:55.880
retaliated by clawing at Angela's face with
her long nails. Billy stepped in,

1184
01:52:56.000 --> 01:53:00.039
pushing them apart. While this was
going on, the man made his move.

1185
01:53:00.840 --> 01:53:05.279
The three were so preoccupied with their
argument they'd paid no attention to him.

1186
01:53:05.880 --> 01:53:12.399
He'd charged forward, scooping up the
shotgun. Enough of this Jerry Springer

1187
01:53:12.479 --> 01:53:19.119
bullshit. He leveled the shotgun on
the three. Get inside over there,

1188
01:53:19.760 --> 01:53:25.640
The man ordered, sit down.
What the hell, Ali blurted out.

1189
01:53:25.640 --> 01:53:30.720
As they entered, what's going on? Marvin asked Stu's dead? Vera said,

1190
01:53:31.319 --> 01:53:36.800
burned alive. We don't know it
was him. Angela argued, who

1191
01:53:36.840 --> 01:53:44.079
the hell else would it be?
Vera growled sit. The man ordered Vera

1192
01:53:44.119 --> 01:53:47.920
and Angela sat, but Billy resisted. Look, dude, don't go ordering

1193
01:53:48.000 --> 01:53:51.840
us around and waving that shotgun in
our The man drove the butt of the

1194
01:53:51.840 --> 01:53:57.439
shotgun into Billy's stomach, dropping him
to his knees. The others let out

1195
01:53:57.479 --> 01:54:00.439
a startled gasp. Now with that
folly out of the way, Billy,

1196
01:54:00.920 --> 01:54:05.920
I got a little something I'd like
to try cool with that. Billy nodded,

1197
01:54:06.319 --> 01:54:13.279
glaring at the man. Angela,
hold out your hands. Marvin shook

1198
01:54:13.279 --> 01:54:17.840
his head. He's loco. Angela
trembling, held her hands out in front

1199
01:54:17.880 --> 01:54:23.760
of her. Don't worry, the
man reassured her. Okay, Billy,

1200
01:54:24.279 --> 01:54:30.720
smell her hands. Motherfucking what,
Billy exclaimed, Go ahead, take a

1201
01:54:30.720 --> 01:54:36.479
whiff. Angela blushed as Billy,
still on his knees, smelled her hands.

1202
01:54:36.960 --> 01:54:42.319
What's it smell like, the man
asked. Billy shook his head.

1203
01:54:43.159 --> 01:54:47.079
I don't know, peppermint, I
guess. Okay, Now do the same

1204
01:54:47.119 --> 01:54:53.159
with Vera. Ali spoke up,
What the fuck is this supposed to prove

1205
01:54:53.640 --> 01:54:59.199
you getting your rocks off or something? Stu was dowsed with gasoline and burned

1206
01:55:00.119 --> 01:55:03.000
into bed. Whoever did it,
their hands stink of it. Billy knelt

1207
01:55:03.000 --> 01:55:11.119
in front of Vera whatever man.
Before he could sniff her palms, Vera

1208
01:55:11.279 --> 01:55:15.000
leaped on him, Pulling a knife
out of her jacket. She stabbed Billy

1209
01:55:15.079 --> 01:55:18.520
in the chest. The others screamed
in horror and shock. The man aimed

1210
01:55:18.560 --> 01:55:23.760
at Vera, his finger at the
trigger. Marvin and Donnie stumbled into his

1211
01:55:23.800 --> 01:55:27.399
line of fire. The two struggled
to restrain Vera. Get out of my

1212
01:55:27.520 --> 01:55:31.079
way, the man shouted. Vera
slashed at Marvin, forcing him to back

1213
01:55:31.159 --> 01:55:34.920
off. Donnie managed to knock the
knife from Vera's hand, but the crazed

1214
01:55:34.960 --> 01:55:40.000
woman grabbed him by the throat.
She locked eyes with the confused Donnie and

1215
01:55:40.079 --> 01:55:43.359
they both screamed, but he managed
to shove her head into the corner of

1216
01:55:43.399 --> 01:55:47.279
a nearby table. She crumpled to
the floor, as did Donnie, breathing

1217
01:55:47.439 --> 01:55:54.800
heavily. Everyone remained frozen in place
for a moment in shock. Angela moved

1218
01:55:54.840 --> 01:56:00.119
first and began checking Billy, then
Vera. They're dead, she said,

1219
01:56:00.159 --> 01:56:05.520
with a heavy sigh. The man
looked over at Marvin. You okay,

1220
01:56:05.560 --> 01:56:12.039
old man, I'm fine, Just
a little nick He looked at the small

1221
01:56:12.079 --> 01:56:16.239
gash on his arm, and don't
call me old man, Marvin grumbled,

1222
01:56:16.880 --> 01:56:23.079
what about him? The man motioned
to Donnie. Donnie started to stand a

1223
01:56:23.119 --> 01:56:28.880
bit shaky. You okay, Donnie, Angela asked. He cracked his neck,

1224
01:56:29.840 --> 01:56:33.840
Just dandy, that was fucked up. The little girl was sobbing as

1225
01:56:33.880 --> 01:56:39.960
Marie tried to comfort her. Alie
stood taking in the scene. Was that

1226
01:56:40.079 --> 01:56:44.520
crazy bitch the killer? He walked
over to the bodies. I need another

1227
01:56:44.600 --> 01:56:50.279
drink, I guess, Angela answered. The man watched them, still holding

1228
01:56:50.359 --> 01:56:56.800
the shotgun. She had to be
Donnie added, gasoline smell on her hands.

1229
01:56:57.720 --> 01:57:01.079
We have to get the sheriff out
here, Marvin said. Angela sighed,

1230
01:57:01.600 --> 01:57:05.600
I just want to go home and
sleep. Miles to go before you

1231
01:57:05.720 --> 01:57:13.199
sleep. Donnie said, what the
man said? What did you just say?

1232
01:57:14.439 --> 01:57:16.239
Nothing? Nothing at all. I
just want to sleep, too,

1233
01:57:16.800 --> 01:57:20.840
Donnie answered. Ali went to the
bar, taking a bottle of scotch.

1234
01:57:21.720 --> 01:57:26.760
I don't think they'll mind. He
walked by Donnie, who grabbed the bottle

1235
01:57:26.760 --> 01:57:30.720
from his hand. Give me some. Donnie gulped some of the scotch.

1236
01:57:30.800 --> 01:57:36.359
Down, hey, asshole, Ali
complained, that was mine. Donnie hammered

1237
01:57:36.359 --> 01:57:43.159
Ali in the head with the bottle
once, twice, three times. Fine,

1238
01:57:43.600 --> 01:57:48.119
have it. Ali fell dead to
the floor, his body a bloody

1239
01:57:48.159 --> 01:57:53.680
mess. The man opened fire,
the thunder of his shotgun echoing through the

1240
01:57:53.760 --> 01:57:58.399
roadhouse. Donnie was already moving before
he'd fire. The slug missed all but

1241
01:57:58.479 --> 01:58:01.600
the big man's arm grazing. Donnie
yanked a startled Marie from her seat,

1242
01:58:01.680 --> 01:58:06.720
holding her by the throat in front
of him. Fire away, Donnie laughed,

1243
01:58:08.720 --> 01:58:14.000
Who are you, the man asked, A sleeper? A traveler?

1244
01:58:14.479 --> 01:58:19.079
Donnie answered, I've been wandering forever, but your bodies are so weak.

1245
01:58:20.199 --> 01:58:27.680
Let her go, the man ordered, Why we're playing? He tightened his

1246
01:58:27.720 --> 01:58:31.680
grip on Marie. It's the only
thing that makes this life interesting. Yeah,

1247
01:58:31.720 --> 01:58:35.159
but you don't want to go running
around in that fat asshole anymore,

1248
01:58:35.199 --> 01:58:41.399
do you? The thing inside?
Donnie pondered that for a moment. What

1249
01:58:41.439 --> 01:58:46.880
are you offering me? The man
offered, Let them go? Sure,

1250
01:58:47.520 --> 01:58:53.920
why not, he laughed, Drop
the gun and come here. Angela stood

1251
01:58:53.920 --> 01:58:59.159
next to the man. Don't do
it, trust me, he reassured her.

1252
01:58:59.199 --> 01:59:03.119
As he dropped the shotgun to the
ground, he stepped forward. The

1253
01:59:03.159 --> 01:59:09.680
others watched as Donnie took him by
the head. They locked eyes. Pains

1254
01:59:09.800 --> 01:59:13.920
seared through every fiber of his being. For what seemed like an eternity of

1255
01:59:13.960 --> 01:59:18.039
agony, he felt every inch of
his mind assaulted. Finally it ended,

1256
01:59:18.199 --> 01:59:23.399
and Donnie collapsed to the floor,
moaning in pain. Marie grabbed her daughter

1257
01:59:23.439 --> 01:59:28.199
and held her. The man braced
himself against a table. Your head is

1258
01:59:28.239 --> 01:59:32.520
filled with so much static, the
thing said. Are you okay? Angela

1259
01:59:32.560 --> 01:59:36.880
asked, stay away. The man
warned, I can't hold on to myself.

1260
01:59:38.600 --> 01:59:43.840
He felt it laughing in his head. I'm here for you. Simon

1261
01:59:43.880 --> 01:59:48.239
stood in the doorway of the roadhouse. Simon, I knew you hadn't left

1262
01:59:48.279 --> 01:59:54.039
me, the man smiled. Angela
looked at the others and then the man.

1263
01:59:55.199 --> 01:59:58.800
Who are you talking to? The
man pointed to the shotgun on the

1264
01:59:58.840 --> 02:00:02.479
floor. If I come back,
use it. I won't be me.

1265
02:00:03.920 --> 02:00:17.840
He stepped out into the cold.
It was hard to see. The wind

1266
02:00:17.920 --> 02:00:24.239
and snow assaulted his senses. He
could feel the presence inside him. He

1267
02:00:24.319 --> 02:00:29.279
won't hold me for long, it
taunted. I'll go back kill the rest.

1268
02:00:30.800 --> 02:00:34.199
You're just another voice in my head. The man responded, I've lived

1269
02:00:34.239 --> 02:00:39.880
with so many in there for as
long as I can remember. He trudged

1270
02:00:39.920 --> 02:00:44.319
through the snow. His body was
tired, but Simon beckoned him on.

1271
02:00:45.600 --> 02:00:49.119
The bitter cold clawed at his body. Is the thing inside clawed at his

1272
02:00:49.239 --> 02:00:55.640
soul. He'd find a place somewhere
out here, far away from anybody else,

1273
02:00:57.199 --> 02:01:05.159
miles to go before we leap.
Well, my dear listeners, I

1274
02:01:05.199 --> 02:01:09.279
hope this episode has given you a
lot to think about as you listen to

1275
02:01:09.359 --> 02:01:14.479
some of the best stories we've published
at Christmas time. But of course there's

1276
02:01:14.560 --> 02:01:18.520
even more to come where that came
from. So make sure you're subscribed to

1277
02:01:18.560 --> 02:01:25.119
Weekly Spooky on your favorite podcasting app. The scares, Oh, they won't

1278
02:01:25.159 --> 02:01:30.000
stop coming anytime soon. We're going
to be publishing whole audio books, no

1279
02:01:30.119 --> 02:01:33.800
vellas, and so much more.
So Weekly Spooky'll make sure there's always something

1280
02:01:33.880 --> 02:01:40.319
under the tree just for you and
for me. Well, my gift is

1281
02:01:40.359 --> 02:01:45.479
simply your presence. Your presence is
a present. So until next time,

1282
02:01:45.520 --> 02:01:51.039
Dear Spooky, stay warm, but
stay scared, and I'll be talking to

1283
02:01:51.079 --> 02:01:54.479
you before you realize it.