Rebecca Besser Read online

  “Morning, Lyle,” Santa said with a wide grin. “You look much better this morning.”

  “Good morning, Santa. Thanks,” Lyle said, “I feel better. I have some ideas on what can be done for my family.”

  “Do you?” Santa asked, picking up his fork and raising one eyebrow quizzically. “Fill me in while I eat.”

  Excitedly, Lyle jumped into his plan, talking a mile a minute and forgetting about the rest of the food on his plate. He asked about gift ideas and they discussed many options, and right after they’d finished eating they headed over to the workshop to see if they could find.

  Searching for just the right gifts took longer than both of them would have thought. Lyle insisted on selecting more than one present for each Kallalaya and Mandy, scared that he was making the wrong choice and that he would need a backup just in case.

  “Are you ready, Lyle?” Santa asked, standing in the door to the workshop, eager to get things rolling. It was Christmas Eve after all, and he had somewhere he had to be in a few hours. He also had a special plan, but for it to come to fruition, he needed Lyle’s plan to work.

  Lyle looked down at a low work bench – built at elf level – at what he’d chosen; he sighed. “I think so.” He paused and rubbed his forehead with the fingers. “What if none of it’s right? What if the whole plan is wrong? What will I do then?”

  Santa frowned. “You can’t think like that. If it’s what’s in your heart, what you feel is the right thing, then I’m sure it’ll work. Let the Magic of Christmas guide you.”

  Clenching his jaw, Lyle picked up the gifts and turned to the door, and Santa, with determination. “Okay, I’m ready.”

  Together they marched down the main lane of the North Pole, heading toward the hospital where Lyle’s undead wife and daughter were imprisoned like the beasts they were. Elves who were outside, or who spotted them through the windows of their cottages, stopped what they were doing and hurriedly followed behind, creating a procession. It seemed the entire North Pole was rooting for him, and that gave Lyle hope.

  Maybe the Magic of Christmas will be strong enough to save my family, he thought, and for the first time, had hope that things were going to turn out okay.

  That hope fumbled to stay in his heart as Lyle trudged down the halls of the hospital. He stood at the top of the stairs that lead to the basement and the morgue, and looked nervously at the faces around him; they all smiled with encouragement.

  “Go ahead, Lyle,” Santa encouraged and motioned with his arm and hand to the stairwell. “Let Christmas do what it does best – heal the world with hope, happiness, and love.”

  Gulping past the lump in his throat, he took the first step down; the rest quickly followed. Before he knew it he was standing in front of the morgue door, watching his wife and daughter stumble and shamble around the small room, chewing on the bones of one of the elves they’d consumed.

  Looking around, he noticed that most of the elves had followed him down – the ones who could fit in the basement – but they were staying back as two hospital orderlies moved the desk they’d pushed up against the door for reinforcement.

  Once the desk was moved, Lyle laid the gifts on the shining top, looking over what he’d brought. He decided to try his idea on Kally first, because he was more sure of what to give her, and if it worked, there was a good chance it would work on Mandy too. Picking up something he knew she would love, and would make her happy, Lyle turned back to the door.

  “I’m ready,” he said firmly, trying to ignore the butterflies that were having a carnival in his stomach. “Open the door.”

  One of the elves stepped forward and slid a key into the lock, turned it, and stepped back. He nodded toward the door and weakly smiled at Lyle, letting him know that was as much as he was willing to do.

  Lyle knew he would be responsible for opening the door, and when he stepped closer, he was glad it would be his task. Mandy was standing close to the entrance and would have probably ripped him apart if they’d opened the door at that moment. He stood and watched for agonizing minutes before Mandy moved aimlessly away from the door and Kally wandered over.

  Being as quiet as he possibly could, he squatted down and eased the door open slightly. Her head jerked up at the movement and a low hiss escaped her torn and bloody lips. She darted forward with her arms raised, ready to grab her father. He waited until the very last moment and raised the teddy bear with the pink bow he’d been hiding behind the door, in front of him. Her small body collided with the bear and a bright flash lit the morgue. It only lasted a moment, but it blinded everyone. While Lyle was blinking, trying to regain his site, he heard the sweet voice of his little girl.

  “Daddy? You got me a Mrs. Snuggles!” she wrapped her little arms around the fuzzy plush toy and squeezed it for all she was worth. “Thank you!”

  Mandy, having also been blinded, started to hiss and growl when she heard Kally speaking so close to her. But, since she was rendered blind by the flash, she crashed into the short morgue carts and tables, falling to the floor with her outstretched hands mere inches from her healed daughter.

  Lyle quickly scooped Kally into his arms and closed the door, reveling in the soft warmth of his little girl. His plan had worked! There was hope!

  “Kally, sweetheart,” Lyle murmured, “I have someone I would like you to meet. This is Santa Clause!”

  Kally lifted her head and looked at Santa with an expression of shocked awe. The expression, mixed with the blood and gore that still covered her, was extremely comical.

  “Nice to meet you, Kally,” Santa said. “Would you like to go with a couple of my elves and get dressed in something special and pretty for a big surprise?”

  Kally grinned and nodded excitedly. “Can I bring Mrs. Snuggles with me?”

  “Of course!” Santa said, smiled, and motioned for two female elves, who stepped forward and took charge of Kally as Lyle set her down; he had a hard time letting her go, but a slam against the morgue door reminded him he wasn’t finished with his task yet.

  Taking a deep breath as Kally left his sight, Lyle picked something else up off the table; it was a new laptop. He’d remembered Mandy had been pissed at hers for weeks because it wouldn’t do the stuff she wanted. To him, it was the perfect gift.

  Taking a deep breath, he walked back over to the door; inside Mandy was attacking things at random in her rage. Before he could change his mind, he flung the door open and stepped inside. Instantly she spun in his direction, hissing loudly. In a flash he visually took inventory of the woman he loved. Her wounds were gapping and dripped orangish-red blood onto the floor, making it slippery. Her clothes were torn and tattered, not just from the attack, but from clawing at them herself when they’d gotten caught on the carts and tables when she’d fallen; he could see scraps of fabric on their sharp edges and corners. Bites of her flesh beneath peeked out and he witnessed the rot and the grayish/green hue of her skin; he wondered if she could even be the woman she’d once been, because right now, she wasn’t attractive at all.

  Here goes nothing, he thought and plastered a smile on his face. I sure as hell hope this works!

  Holding out the laptop, he screamed, “Merry Christmas!”

  She grabbed a hold of the computer and yanked it, pulling him and the gift closer, trying to bite him.

  He kicked up an out, hard, catching her in the stomach.

  She stumbled back with a screech.

  He darted for the door and yanked it open.

  “Give me the small velvet box,” he screamed just before Mandy grabbed a hold of his shirt and pulled him back inside.

  He slipped on the mixture of bodily fluids on the floor and went down hard; Mandy landed on top of him. His vision started to go dark, but he fought against unconsciousness.

  “Lyle!” he heard a booming voice yell, and forced himself to open his eyes. “Catch!”

  Santa was standing in the doorway, and just as Lyle opened his eyes, he flung something through the air.r />
  Mandy’s jaws were an inch away from his neck when the box landed in Lyle’s palm.

  With a scared, squeaking, “Merry Christmas!” Lyle slammed the box into the back of Mandy’s head before he passed out cold.

  ~

  Mandy, Lyle, and Kally sat in Santa’s office, waiting for the big surprise he’d told Kally about. They were all holding hands and enjoying each other’s company after all the tragedy that had struck their existence and had almost torn them apart. They jumped when the door flew open.

  “It’s time!” Santa yelled. “Are you ready?”

  They all looked at each other, frowning.

  Lyle stood. “Ready for what?”

  “Ready to help me deliver presents, of course?!” Santa said with a laugh. “I know some foster children who specifically requested your help this year.” He winked at the entire family.

  Kally jumped up and cheered, running to Santa and wrapping her arms around his leg.

  “I really get to help deliver the presents?” she asked, looking up at him with big eyes, full of wonder.

  “Yes, dear,” Santa said, putting his hand lightly on the top of her head and looking down at her. “I couldn’t do it without you.” He looked up at her parents. “How about you two? Are you ready to be Santa’s helpers?”

  “Always!” Lyle yelled excitedly with a broad grin on his face.

  “Sure, let’s get going,” Mandy said, with a twinkle in her eye.

  Santa turned and left the room with Kally right behind him. Lyle started to follow, but Mandy slipped her hand into his and held him back; he turned and looked at her with a quizzical expression on his face.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  Mandy smiled and looked down at the heart shaped, pewter locket that hung around her neck. She picked it up with her free hand and opened it; inside were pictures of Lyle and Kally. She looked up at her husband with tears in her eyes.

  “Thank you for saving us,” she whispered as tears spilled from her eyes and down over her cheeks. “You saved us both. You saved our family.” She stopped speaking, too choked up to get any more words out.

  “Shh,” Lyle said and stepped forward, wrapping his arms around his wife. “I love you and Kally. I would do anything for either of you. Now,” he paused and waited until she looked up at him, “let’s go share the Power of a Gift with others and hope the Magic of Christmas thrives for others like it has for us!”

  Arm in arm, they left the room and joined Santa and Kally in the sleigh, to spread love, hope, peace, and joy to the world.

  Both of these stories were written for The Undead That Saved Christmas Charity project, put together by Lyle Perez-Tinics. The Magic of Christmas was included in Volume 1.

  The proceeds from the book sales go to help HUGS buy Christmas presents for foster children.

  Please take the time to check out and buy a copy/ies now!

  Amazon:

  Volume 1 (which contains The Magic of Christmas):

  http://www.amazon.com/Undead-That-Saved-Christmas/dp/1453832661/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323717927&sr=8-1

  Volume 2 (which contains a zombie poem by me):

  http://www.amazon.com/Undead-That-Saved-Christmas-ebook/dp/B005Q4UTR4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1323717927&sr=8-2

  Cover Artist Bio:

  Justin T Coons is a fine artist and illustrator specializing in the macabre, pinup girls and anything “weird.” His artwork have been featured in Morpheus Tales Magazine, Pin Up Perfection Magazine and multiple books including Rebecca Besser’s UNDEAD DRIVE-THRU and Jordan Krall’s forthcoming TENTACLE DEATH TRIP. He recently teamed up with Skurvyink.com which offers T-shirts specializing in Bizarro fiction.

  Justin enjoys monster movies, writing beer reviews, cheeseburgers and side-scrolling video games. He lives in Bristol, Pennsylvania with his beautiful wife Brandy and three children Ludo, Creature and Bump.

  More information and artwork can be found at:

  www.facebook.com/horrorart

  Author Bio:

  Rebecca Besser is the author of the zombie novella, "Undead Drive-Thru," and a graduate of the Institute of Children's Literature. Her work has appeared in the Coshocton Tribune, Irish Story Playhouse, Spaceports & Spidersilk, joyful!, Soft Whispers, Illuminata, Common Threads, Golden Visions Magazine, Stories That Lift, Super Teacher Worksheets, Living Dead Press Presents Magazine (Iss. 1 & 2), FrightFest eMagazine, An Xmas Charity Ebook, and The Undead That Saved Christmas (Vol. 1 & 2) and the Signals From The Void charity anthologies. She has multiple stories in anthologies by Living Dead Press, Wicked East Press, NorGus Press, Pill Hill Press, Hidden Thoughts Press, Knight Watch Press, Coscom Entertainment, and Collaboration of the Dead (projects), and one in an anthology by Post Mortem Press. She also has a poem in an anthology by Naked Snake Press.

  Rebecca is also an editor and has edited: Dark Dreams: Tales of Terror, Dead Worlds 7: Undead Stories, and Book of Cannibals 2: The Hunger from Living Dead Press; Earth's End from Wicked East Press; End of Days: An Apocalyptic Anthology (Vol. 4 & 5/co-edited) from Living Dead Press; and she's currently editing It's Weighing On You Mind from Hidden Thoughts Press, and co-editing Beneath The Pretty Lies from Wicked East Press.

  When she's not busy writing and/or editing, she's formatting book covers, building/maintaining websites, and writing book reviews.

  For more information, visit her website: www.rebeccabesser.com