Dying Time (7 page)

A
child
,
or
a
parent
?
He
liked
either
one
.
The
adults
would
stand
open
mouth
;
not
believing
what
they
were
seeing
.
That
always
gave
him
a
good
laugh
,
sometimes
he
gave
them
a
chocolate
just
to
see
them
squirm
.
If
it
was
a
child
,
they’d
look
at
him
,
wide
eyed
with
awe
and
joy
.
He’d
give
them
a
candy
cane
,
or
small
toy
;
pat
them
on
the
head
,
and
send
them
to
bed
. 

He
turned
smiling
,
ready
to
give
them
a
kindly
chuckle
and
tell
them
they
should
be
asleep
.
His
smile
dropped
from
his
face
when
he
saw
the
person
.

It
was
a
woman
,
dressed
liked
she
had
just
gotten
home
from
a
work
.
A
white
blouse
that
was
stained
a
dark
red
.
Black
pants
ripped
and
shredded
below
the
knees
.
Santa
couldn’t
see
any
rosy
cheeks
,
unless
you
counted
the
blood
that
covered
her
face
.
She
screamed
at
him
,
he
screamed
back
.

Santa
didn’t
know
what
to
do
.
This
had
never
happened
before
.
She
slammed
into
him
,
throwing
him
into
the
tree
he
had
just
repaired
.
Santa
yelled
for
help
,
as
she
bit
his
arm
. 
He
felt
the
teeth
and
panicked
.
Using
all
of
his
strength
,
that
lay
hidden
just
under
a
thick
layer
of
fat
,
he
threw
her
off
of
him
.

She
landed
on
her
back
,
but
jumped
up
quickly
.
Santa
reached
desperately
for
anything
he
could
use
.
His
fingers
circled
around
the
bat
.
The
woman
charged
him
screaming
again
.
Santa
swung
the
bat
one
handed
.
There
was
a
terrific
thwack
,
as
her
head
connected
with
the
bat
.

She
fell
like
a
rock
to
the
floor
.

“
Eggnog
and
Mistletoe
,
”
Santa
swore
.
“What
has
happened
here
?
”
 

The
door
shook
as
someone
or
something
hit
it
.
More
thumps
,
and
bangs
,
and
moans
came
from
behind
the
door
.
A
much
smaller
thump
was
heard
,
coming
from
the
hallway
leading
to
the
good
little
boys
room
. 

Santa
grabbed
his
sack
,
and
headed
for
the
heat
register
.
He
hurriedly
crossed
his
eyes
,
and
tapped
his
nose
,
heading
back
to
the
roof
at
top
speed
.
Feeling
the
cold
air
once
more
against
his
face
,
he
didn’t
give
himself
a
chance
to
let
the
dizziness
pass
.
He
opened
his
eyes
and
headed
for
the
sleigh
.

Where
was
the
sleigh
?

He
looked
around
the
rooftop
.
The
door
was
ripped
open
. 
He
heard
a
groan
coming
from
his
left
.
Santa
turned
and
saw
a
man
kneeling
beside
the
prone
Twinkle
.
A
pool
of
blood
surrounded
them
. 

The
man
paid
no
attention
as
Santa
snuck
up
behind
him
still
holding
the
bat
. 
A
loud
thump
,
and
the
man
fell
over
. 

Santa
knelt
beside
Twinkle
Toes
.
“Oh
my
poor
friend
.
I
should
have
listened
to
you
,
”
he
moaned
.
“I’m
so
sorry
this
happened
.
”
 

Even
as
Santa
mourned
,
Twinkles
body
and
his
gaudy
green
,
red
,
white
,
yellow
,
and
blue
clothes
,
slowly
evaporated
,
turning
into
bright
golden
light
.
It
circled
Santa
,
once
,
and
then
again
before
vanishing
into
the
sky
. 

Santa
pulled
a
whistle
out
of
his
pocket
,
and
blew
it
as
hard
as
he
could
.
He
could
just
hear
the
faint
sound
of
bells
as
his
sled
came
towards
him
,
from
wherever
the
reindeer
had
fled
.
They
came
into
sight
as
the
moans
of
the
zombies
erupted
from
the
stairwell
. 

Santa
ran
to
the
edge
of
the
roof
.
“Boys
we’re
doing
a
fiery
exit
here
!
”
he
shouted
.
“You
know
the
drill
,
DON’T
STOP
!
”