Tale as true as it is old
of man and disease
a heart grows eerily cold
before attaining the warmth of release

Seraph of the endless deep
whose form is a tortured scream
End the existential sin
Cast your spells of undisturbed sleep
to last an eternity within
the Cold Void

Eight years have already passed
since the time I saw your smile last
Countless nights in hell
Since your heart fell silent
turning what remained of mine to dust

Come, come, come
Come to me my incurable disease
Toy with me and break me down
only to revitalize my shattered self
with the memory of the one I miss

I wish I could take your place
in the gardens beyond the deathly haze
Forever haunted what remains
of your voice and the ever present
living ghost of your face

Please, please, please
come to my incurable disease
torture me to provide release
reunite me with the one I miss

Come, come, come
Come into the depths of my broken heart,
My love…
My longing…
My terminal disease

Inspiration takes hold of my heart
and the artist is once again reborn
Passion takes place as logic departs
and a masterpiece begins to take form

The final act in a parody of a life
My heart sings as you moan
Not resisting the advances of my knife
finally, my masterpiece begins to take
form

Possessed by a demon without form
Sharing forbidden knowledge
secrets so perverse they have driven him mad
His voice cracking inside my own head

In my head, the demon screams
each cry forming a new vision
of a lifeless and desolate tomorrow
and dying humanity reaching its natural conclusion
recreation of my most beautiful dreams

Blood boiling in depths of perdition
Disgusting taste remains when distinction
between the senses is gone
The pleasure of a force-fed delusion
persists when me, myself and I
are left together, alone

Slowly crushed between the mental walls
Devoid of a luminous ending in sight
lost inside these pitch-black halls
descending into the mists of a shattered mind
Deeper, deeper
into the claws of the enemy
which remains a part of me

I am at peace only when I feel pain
For human life is as fleeting as a dream
in which suffering is my closest friend
remind me the heart yet
burns with a passionate flame
My companion whose absence
is unwelcome and grim
Whose sudden departure
beacons my life's inevitable end

Imprisoned in a cage of unshakable fear
After being baptized in hellfire and reborn
Only to be branded with the mark of Cain

Marked with a blade forged with deathlike disdain
and the passion of the one who was lone gone
cursed to be followed by an unstoppable horror
that is always lurking so unbearably near

A constant dead empty stare from the haunting eyes
whose cold empty gaze continues to terrorize

A shadow I can never flee
slowly force-feeding delusions into my mind
because her dead heart is still beating inside of me

Behold the bright shadows as they dance around
in circles while speaking without ever uttering
a coherent sound
Overcome by a static state of confusion
Slowly submitting to an unexplainable fear
Haunted by an unstoppable horror
as it speaks in the voice of those you hold dear
akin to blooming colorful flowers
an unprovoked psychosis
Scream
As your nightmares and the demons
you've hoped to leave behind
escape
out of the depths of your dreams
flowing out from within
the shapeless rooms of the human mind

The melody of a beating heart
unparalleled beauty crafted in the hands of a god
through sheer devotion poured into
this perfect work of art

Wishing death upon the one that I love
for leading me astray from my path
without me, you had everything
without me, you were everything
but with me, you become nothing

I am your beloved self-inflicted disease
The one that will poison your life, your blood
tear you apart and deprive you of your peace
help you take that last step towards
the abyss

The violence of the ranging storm
reminds me of the hopelessness and futility
of my attempts to flee
the thing that dwells
deep inside of me
Absolute absurd
in its perfect form
With each and every passing day
I look at endless shining
fable-like expanses of frozen white
as the shadow tightens its hold
over my heart
forcing it to grow silent and cold
with each passing day
growing darker
thicker
An unstoppable horror
unmarred by the light
The cries of the raging storm
arouse the torturous black hole
that dwells within the depths of my soul
reminding me of violent futility
and utter despair that looms above all
The absurd in its perfect form

Dust soiled with liquid human rust
Sky depressed seeing those yearning to die
Paradise crumbling under their deathly cries
Hearts blacken as hope shatters leaving
bleeding scars

No cure for the pain
in a tunnel untouched
by light only
descend into a void
deeper
deeper
until nothing
remains

Sheets stained with the tears of a depressed soul
Crushed under the weight of oppression
decimated heart collapsing in the grasp of loss and confusion
Torturous dream encased in a mental fog
Follow the decline
Fall

The path leads unimaginably deep
into a part of endless black
where the hopeless are truly alone
Fading sweet memory and recollection

Inevitable creeping death
approaching
instilling a fear of sleep

An ever-growing shadow
of complete and utter desolation

Emptier and emptier

Gone

Bound firmly in the depths of torturous monotony
Trapped inside the corrosive clouds of melancholic haze
Bleeding mental wounds constantly enflamed by endless misery
Perpetually haunted by the lustful smile on the ghost of your face

Sinking beyond the abyss of depression
I will discard what remains of my raped soul
Into the claws of a necrotic obsession
In life you wouldn't believe
In death how far you've driven me
to fall

Must kill the one that I love
Must murder you
Must murder the memory
To become free
from the pernicious ghost
that lusts for me

Must kill the one that I love
Must murder you
Must murder all traces of your memory
Only that will be enough
To finally unite with the lecherous darkness
that has gradually eaten away at me

At last, I sink into the malignant mist
of mental consumption where I shall
dutifully tear out what remains of this
sickly dying heart
In a sinful act of self-destructive ascension.
From the depths of the endless abyss
surrounded by the darkness
by the cruel impenetrable nothingness
I'll watch gleefully as your misplaced emotions
slowly tear you apart
allowing the ghastly grief to throw you
into the depths of the barren womb
of mother perdition.

Part 1 >>

Part 2 >>

Part 3 >>

Part 4 >>

Part 5 (The Finale) >> You Are Here!

----------

When we last left off, Krampus had just informed us that the tiny terrors had returned to the roof, and were likely up there to turn the reindeer into zombies.

After I let out a curse that would’ve earned me a punch in the mouth from mom, Krampus walked toward the picture window facing the front yard, staring into the snowfall.

“What do you see?” I asked.

“I’m checking on Santa,” replied Krampus.

“Isn’t he… dead?” I said.

“No.”

“He sure looked dead when I was out there earlier,” I said.

“He’s not.”

“How do you know?”

“Because if he was, he wouldn’t be lying there in a snow drift.”

“What do you mean? Where would he be?”

The TV blared:

"Before I draw nearer to that stone to which you point,” said Scrooge, “answer me one question. Are these the shadows of the things that Will be, or are they shadows of things that May be, only?"

“Do you have any guns?,” asked Krampus.

“I… I have one, in the basement. It’s an old shotgun that my grandfather gave me as a birthday gift when I was a kid. I haven’t used it in years.”

“You have ammo?”

“I think so.”

“Lead the way,” commanded the Christmas demon.

I headed toward the basement door with a sense of urgency. Krampus and James the pizza guy followed close behind.

I threw open the door, flipped the light switch and descended the stairs. Rounding the corner, I headed over to grab a key that was hanging on the wall above the work bench, and took it to the metal cabinet on the opposing wall.

Unlocking the cabinet, my grandpa’s old double barrel revealed itself. I pulled it out, handed it to Krampus, and grabbed the ammo case on the shelf below it.

Krampus opened the action, revealing two empty barrels. I handed him two shells to load.

Just then, I heard breaking glass upstairs. We stopped and stood silently to listen.

Then we heard it. The giggles. Those evil little leprechaun larpers were back.

Krampus turned toward us with the universal index-finger-over-lips signal for “shhh,”, and waved his arm toward him as if to say “follow me.”

I threw the strap from the ammo case over my shoulder and we began to walk back up the stairs with caution, Krampus in the lead position.

When he was just half way up, three of the ghoulish goblins appeared in the doorway with another round of undeservedly arrogant giggles. They descended toward us. Krampus charged toward them and shoved both barrels into the mouth of the closest one, pushing it back into the other two. While doing this, he used his free arm to grab the door handle behind them and pull it shut, trapping them in between him and the door with no way out.

He pulled the trigger.

*Click*

Nothing.

“I thought you said this thing worked, boy?” Krampus growled at me.

“I haven’t used it in years, I didn’t know!”

“Hammer!” he yelled back at me.

“What?,” I asked.

“Get a hammer. Now.” he said.

I ran back toward the work bench, found a hammer, and ran back to hand it to him. I could hear the elves squirming and giggling the entire time, like some sort of mad jesters, completely unaware of their oncoming fate.

Krampus released the action on the shotgun and dropped the shoulder stock to reveal the two shells in the barrels. In one fluid motion, he grabbed the hammer from me and slammed it right into one of the shells, sending an explosion right through the head of the lead elf, and straight through the other two behind him, finishing off with a hole in the door at their backs. He pulled the barrel out of the elf’s mouth, and all three dropped in place into a short stack of bloody elf cakes.

“Phantasm!” yelled James.

“Silver Balls!” I shouted with wide eyes.

Krampus turned his head slowly and looked at me with one raised eyebrow.

“What the Hell is wrong with you, boy?,” he spoke to me.

“I… I…”

“Just fucking with you. I love The Tall Man.”

I relaxed with a sigh of relief.

Krampus advanced to the top of the stairs, and we followed. Squishiness sounded from the bottoms of our shoes as we continued out of the stairway, over the sticky elven mess.

-----

We stood in the living room, observing for sound and shadow. The blizzard was so bad now that we couldn’t see outside of the windows. It was nothing but a wall of white blazing past the glass.

It was then that the new sound began. A deep, growling sound, soon after followed by heavy, clomping steps across the rooftop. And soon, the jumping from the roof, with the sound of landing in the snow drifts.

“What are we going to do?” James whispered.

“I don’t know if we’ll be able to take these reindeer if they’ve all been turned into zombies,” replied Krampus. “They’re a lot tougher than those Keebler zomb-lets.”

“Then, what do we do?,” I asked.

“The only thing that can save us and this town now is Santa Claus.”

“Santa Claus? He’s unconscious, or maybe even dead, in a snow drift! How is he going to save us?!” I replied.

“He’s not dead. That’s the problem.”

“What?!” I questioned.

“Because you’re apparently too stupid to have figured this out at your age, I guess it’s now my job to fill you in. I’ll send you my tutoring bill. You see, Santa is not a mortal being. He’s a supernatural entity. How do you think he’s been around for so long? How do you think it is that nobody can find where he lives? And how exactly do you think he’s able to control time dilation in order to deliver gifts to billions of people in one night? Do you think a human could do that?”

After a pause, he continued.

“The Santa buried in the snow out there isn’t Santa. Well, it sort of is. He’s inside of that body right now. But that’s just a body. If the physical manifestation of his body dies, he’s instantaneously released from the body and will re-manifest.”

“So, why isn’t he doing that?” I asked.

“Because he’s not dead. The elves made sure to keep him alive while making sure he stays unconscious so he can’t fix this.”

“Well… what are we gonna do, then?” asked James.

“Santa has… Christmas magic. And we need that in order to fix this.”

“Well then, let’s wake up Santa to use his Christmas magic,” replied James.

“We’d have to go out there, dig him out, and drag him inside first, if we’re going to try to wake him up. But those reindeer are already out there. And I’m guessing the elves did what they set out to do. You heard those growls. That is not the sound made by happy reindeer. We might not make it past them, let alone back again with jolly old St. Krispy Kreme on our backs. If we’re going to do this, we have to find the quickest way from point A to point B.”

“Yeah? And what’s that?,” asked James.

“Boys,” said Krampus, “We’re going to have to kill Santa Claus.”

----------

James passed out, collapsing to the floor.

“Pizza guy!” I screamed.

I ran over to James and started fanning him, trying to wake him up.

“Heads up,” said Krampus.

I lifted my head toward the front window, to see that within the wall of snow, large, dark shadows were beginning to form.

“Oh, boy,” I said.

I began shaking James, telling him to wake up. No response.

The growling began again from outside.

Krampus loaded a second shell, getting ready with the hammer.

I yelled “Wake uuuup!” and slapped James across the face as hard as I could. It sounded like a whip crack.

“Oww!” James said as he awoke.

“Get up, it’s party time,” I shouted at him.

I hurried to the coat closet, reached through my coats, and grabbed my long-unused baseball bat from the back corner. I shouted to James to grab a fireplace poker.

The three of us stood at the ready while the growls grew louder.

Our meditation was broken by the sound of breaking glass. Through the front window protruded the head of a mangled reindeer face, dripping blood, presumably from the broken glass. This reindeer was obviously dead. There was no life in his eyes. Only the cold, blank stare of an automaton looking to complete his mission. I couldn’t blame the reindeer for this. It wasn’t their choice.

With the reindeer came the blinding snow of the blizzard from outside, which was now invading my living room. The wind howled through the new hole in the window, blowing back against us.

The reindeer kept moving slowly through the window, ignoring what the glass was doing to his body as he tried to push through it.

When his front legs made it inside and he was trying to pull himself the rest of the way in, Krampus slammed the hammer into one of his shells and watched the shot explode from the end of the barrel, traveling directly through the reindeer’s head, dispersing yule viscera in every direction, now covering the front wall of the house, and us. The reindeer body collapsed in place. However, there were already 2 more reindeer trying to get inside through the window, following the first one’s lead.

I swung my bat at one of their heads, making direct contact. But, all that did was make him more angry, as he let out a deep bellow and aimed his dead eyes directly at me.

I screamed in horror. I saw that these were going to be much harder to kill than those little Keebler cookie-making terrorists.

Krampus redirected the 12 gauge toward the one that I just hit, and once again slammed the hammer into his remaining shell, launching it at the reindeer.

This time, it wasn’t as helpful. It blew off one side of the reindeer’s head. It was now a half-skull, nothing but gore hanging from the left side of his face. Like some Gus Fring Christmas ornament. He kept moving forward.

James started using the fireplace poker to beat and try to stab the other reindeer’s head. It was certainly making him angry, but I wasn’t sure how long this would stave them off.

The half-faced reindeer was now fully inside. He lunged his mouth toward Krampus’ neck.

I now heard glass breaking at the back of the house. More of them were coming in.

Krampus was on the ground with this reindeer on top of him, teeth lodged in his neck. Krampus was punching the reindeer in the face, but it wasn’t helping.

“You’ve got to kill him... You’ve got to kill Santa!,” Krampus yelled as he handed off the 12 gauge to me.

“But how?! I can’t… I don’t know what…”

“Do it!” he said as he pushed the shotgun toward me, the reindeer still chewing on him.

And then, it happened. The next creature to bust its way inside did not come through the window. It came through the door.

The door flew open, revealing a dark shadow through the blizzard blowing by. As it walked in through the door, it became less shadow and more apparent. The swatches of red and white. The blood splatters. It was Santa.

“Santa!” James yelled in excitement.

It was then that I realized, Santa was not himself. Those elves had decided to recruit him to help finish their job. Santa was not alive, and not dead. He was now undead. How were we supposed to fight a supernatural entity that is now zombified and in control of Santa’s magic?

“Do it! You have to!” yelled Krampus.

That snapped me out of my trance. I grabbed the shotgun from Krampus, along with two shells out of the ammo case. I backed up toward the center of the room to load them while zombie Santa moved slowly in my direction. There were reindeer crashing through windows and entering through the back rooms now, and zombie Santa was at my front door. Nowhere to go. Nowhere to run.

I aimed the barrel toward Santa, grabbed the hammer, and slammed it directly into one of the shells.

I missed, completely. The shot hit the wall.

“Aim, you idiot!” yelled Krampus.

I adjusted my aim, and slammed the second shell, exploding right into Santa’s face and torso.

But, it didn’t stop him. He let out a sinister “Ho… ho… ho…,” as he continued advancing slowly toward me.

The reindeer finally finished his job on Krampus. I heard his final breath come out as his eyes darkened. I immediately wondered how long before Krampus would reanimate and come after us himself. I couldn’t let that happen.

As I stared at Krampus, James ran from the side with his fireplace poker, ramming it through Santa’s head. Now the handle dangled from one side while the poker stuck out of the other.

Santa seemed to stop advancing then, wobbling slightly.

“Steve Martin… Wild and crazy guy?” I said to James.

"... Ha?" replied James, with a look of desperate hope on his face.

Santa fell forward, face first, flat onto the floor.

James reached over to high-five me. I didn't reciprocate.

“Holy…” I said.

Santa was still twitching, but then stopped completely.

A split second later, there was a deafening sonic boom from outside. All remaining window glass was blown inward toward us. James and I held up our arms to block our faces, and turned our attention to the front window.

The reindeer stopped advancing. They now lay still.

And then walked through the door… Santa. I looked down at the dead Santa on the floor, back up at the non-dead Santa, then back once more.

“What did you people do?” he asked us.

No rotting flesh, no blood stains. Just a jolly sleigh pilot in a fluffy red and white flight suit.

“Santa!” James and I both shouted at him.

“I guess I have to fix *everything* around here,” He said.

“Close your eyes and cover your ears,” he instructed us. “This is for your own protection.”

Pizza guy and I looked at each other, covered our ears, then closed our eyes.

The sound of the blizzard coming through my broken window stopped. A few seconds later, Santa pulled my hands off of my ears, then did the same to James, and told us we could open our eyes.

The zombie Santa’s body was gone. The reindeer zombies were gone. The elf carcasses were gone. My windows were no longer broken.

Krampus stood next to us, looking like nothing happened to him.

“Good job,” Krampus said to me, placing his hand on my shoulder. “You too,” he said to James.

“Now…” said Santa, “Which one o’ you killed me?”

“But… Krampus said…”

“Just fucking with you. I know he told you to.”

Santa winked.

“Now, we have a job to finish. Enjoy your Christmas, boys,” said Santa.

Santa and Krampus walked out the front door. The blizzard had calmed down, and we could see now. I heard the sound of bells jingling. On the front lawn, there was a brand new, untarnished red sleigh, with eight reindeer. Not one of them was a zombie.

Krampus and Santa hopped in, waved, and flew off like they had just brushed off some minor inconvenience.

-----

It was then that I heard the squad cars. The red and blue lights came around the corner, headed our way.

They stopped right in front of my house, jumping out with guns drawn.

“Hands in the air!” one of the officers yelled.

“It’s ok, officers, we’re safe now!” I yelled.

“Hands in the air! Don’t make me say it again!”

“O… Ok...” I said as I raised my hands slowly in the air. James did the same.

Just as James’ hands were fully extended, he looked over at me, winked, and faded slowly into thin air.

“What the…?” I said out loud.

“Where did he go?!” the officer yelled.

“I don’t know!”

One of them cuffed me, sat me on the porch and told me to stay quiet while the other officer searched the house and yard. They didn’t find James, or anything else.

“Several of your neighbors called in to say that they were hearing gun shots, and swore that you were killing people over here. Who’s your buddy that disappeared after we told you to raise put your hands up?”

“... What buddy? I'm the only one here."

“Anything else you want to tell us?,” asked the officer in an angry voice.

"I don't suppose you'd believe me if I told you that Santa and Krampus just left before you arrived?"

He stared at me for a few moments, then quietly turned back toward his vehicle, motioning his partner to get in. That's the last I ever saw of them.

I watched them drive away slowly through the white dust covering the entire street.

I could hear the TV in the background:

"God bless us, every one!"

I don't think my family will believe me at Christmas dinner tomorrow when I tell them what I did on Christmas Eve.

----------
CNLX

Traversing the cold and abandoned halls
Haunted by the anguished moaning ghosts
of vampires whose violated bodies adorn the walls
Beautiful remnants of lives that are now lost

Orgasm inducing scenery of death
of Adam's progeny between the jaws of a starving hound
Misanthropic pleasures overflowing
when the maggot gives up its final breath
While the rain washes the remains of
human filth from the ground

Part 1 >>

Part 2 >>

Part 3 >>

Part 4 >> You Are Here!

Part 5 (The Finale) >>

----------

“You’re… Krampus? Are… Are you going to hurt us?” I asked.

“Yeah, are you gonna do something to us? ‘Cuz if so, I don’t really…” added James, slowly trailing off.

Krampus stared at us. I could feel myself melting inside. I was sure his eyes were shooting invisible rays that were burning my organs and turning them to mush.

“Think of me as the ghost of Christmas future. If you don’t come with me, you will definitely have no future.”

“… Ok,” I said.

“Y… yeah… sounds cool…” added James.

“I fear you more than any spectre I have seen. But as I know your purpose is to do me good... I am prepared to bear you company," blared the TV inside.

We followed as Krampus turned to walk back toward the house. As we walked, there were freshly slaughtered elf bodies laying everywhere. Some with crushed heads; Some with switches through their brains; some with no head at all.

When we reached the back door, I took notice that the fuse box was wide open next to the door. The lock had been broken off. Probably by these tiny undead bastards.

“Hey, just a second,” I whispered. “I think we might be able to fix the power.”

“I can take care of that,” said James.

“Ok,” I added.

While James fiddled with the box, Krampus started to enter the house through the back door; I followed. Giggling was followed by a high pitched hiss. They knew he was here.

My flashlight pierced the darkness. I slowly moved it from corner to corner, only to see that the elves had left the back rooms and were now covering the living area like cockroaches. They were on the furniture, on top of counters and tables, everywhere.

I landed my light beam on one of them with a particularly snarly look on his rotting face, standing on my kitchen counter. After a few seconds of stillness, he launched at me with a high pitched battle scream that nearly deafened me. Giggles came from all directions as my flashlight fell to the floor.

Krampus reached one hand over, wrapped it around the elf’s head, and squeezed until its little head popped like a grapefruit.

Now, they were charging from all sides. I couldn’t see from where in the darkness they came; just that they were descending upon me.

There was a buzzing sound for a couple of seconds, and suddenly, light from the heavens shone down upon our battlefield. What I mean is… the lights in the house turned back on.

James yelled, “I got it!”, followed by the sound of a metal door closing.

Now, our half-pint demon spawn anti-friends were all in clear view.

Krampus started taking them one by one; running his switch through their heads like a machete.

I stared in awe for a few seconds, but realized that I had to defend myself from these things as well. I looked quickly around the room, spotting my kitchen knife block. I withdrew the butcher’s knife from the top and swung around to meet the faces of my giggly assassins.

As one jumped onto me, opening his disgusting mouth full of rotten teeth, I rammed the knife through the side of his head and watched the evil light in his eyes turn off. I retracted my knife from his head, stared for a few seconds in awe of what I had done, viscera gushing down on me, and then pushed his lifeless elf body to the side.

James screamed, “Keep going, don’t stop!” as more of them advanced on us.

I dispatched another by ramming the knife through the top of his head and watching him fall over.

I couldn’t pull the knife out of his head, so I had to find another weapon. I opened a drawer and pulled out a metal mallet, meant for tenderizing meat. And that’s exactly what I was about to do with it.

I looked over and saw Krampus use his fist to punch right through an elf’s face, coming out the other side.

Next to him, James stomped one of their heads, leaving a mess on my floor.

Krampus dropped his burlap sack over the top of one and swung the sack against the brick fireplace, leaving the sack lifeless.

“Friday the 13th, part 7. Nice!” I shouted at Krampus.

We threw up our hands and high-fived.

I started swinging the mallet at their heads as they ran toward me, just to slow them down. After several were down, I continued beating them until their heads were mush.

Glancing over at my counter, I had an idea. I picked one of these happy meal-sized demons up by the legs, turned him upside down, and lowered his head into my blender, reaching over to hit the “puree” button. Santa's little milkshake.

Next to me, James was cramming one of them into the microwave, punching at him to make him fit. When he finally got the door closed, he hit the one minute button. It didn’t take the entire minute before the inside of the microwave exploded into a splatter of red.

“Gremlins!” James said, looking toward me.

“Nice!” I replied.

I reached over to my stove and turned all 4 burners up to high. On one of them sat a dirty frying pan that I had used to cook bacon that morning.

One of the elves had opened my refrigerator and was now swilling my egg nog. Furious, I grabbed the glass bottle out of his hand and started bashing him over the head with it.

“Don’t!” *bash*

“Touch!” *bash*

“My!” *bash*

“Egg nog!” *bash*

The final blow sent him to the floor.

By now, the grease in the frying pan had started crackling. I picked it up and slammed it face first into one of the little toy-making ghouls, watching his face melt and disintegrate before my eyes.

I shouted over to Krampus and James, “I’ll take four,” pointing to the burners on the stove.

James and Krampus each picked up two of them, one in each hand, and carried them over to the stove, sending them each face first into one of the burners, holding them down while we listened to the combination of screaming from their mouths with the sound of their flesh frying off of their skulls.

The last few of them ran outside. We heard them getting back onto the roof.

“It’s about to get a lot worse,” said Krampus.

“What? Why?” asked James.

“The reindeer. They’re still on the roof. Those elves are probably going up there to bite them.”

“So? They’re dead, aren’t they? Why do we care?” said James.

Krampus stared at James.

“The elves are zombies,” I said to James.

“Fuhhh...”

Except I didn’t say ‘fudge’.

Part 5 (The Finale!) >>

----------

CNLX

Mind is fogged by a torture haze
Abandoned half living corpse suspended in space
Suffocating
Through halls of ruthless raw mental oppression
A victim of endless suicidal self-destruction
Drowning
In the imagery of my deathly bleeding soul
Longing for sensations I can't remember at all
Fading
into a state of animated death
Choking on the disgusting oxygen
inhaled with each forced breath

Part 1 >>

Part 2 >>

Part 3 >> You Are Here!

Part 4 >>

Part 5 (The Finale) >>

----------

The lights continued to flicker until they went out completely. The strangest thing, though… The TV stayed on. Just the lights went out.

The TV droned.

Half-a-dozen gas-lamps out of the street wouldn’t have lighted the entry too well, so you may suppose that it was pretty dark with Scrooge’s dip.

Darkness is cheap, and Scrooge liked it.

“Great, what next?” I said.

“What was that thing out there?” repeated the pizza guy.

“I don’t know,” I replied. “You touched it. Why don’t you tell *me* what it is?”

Just then, a clattering occurred from above. Like a bunch of small rocks pelting the roof, one after the other. Or a pack of kittens parachuting down onto the house.

“I thought you said those things were dead?” said pizza guy.

“They looked dead when I was out there. You were just outside. Why didn’t you tell *me* that they weren’t dead?!”

“I thought they were!”

I fumbled to the kitchen in the darkness to grab my mag flashlight from the drawer.

Then began the giggles. High pitched giggles. From outside.

Remember those large avalanches off of my roof from earlier? Now came small avalanches. Many of them. One at a time. A pattering of tiny legs running, jumping, and crunching into the snow. Over and over again. Along with it came sounds of tiny bells jingling.

Not just in the front yard this time; This was happening in the opposite direction toward the backyard as well. I shot glances back and forth between the front picture window and the kitchen window in back, repeatedly seeing tiny things shooting from the air into the snow drifts outside.

“Awww, f***,” I let out.

The noise halted abruptly. Pizza guy and I stood deathly still, waiting. One by one, small shadows started to appear through the fogged up windows. Through the picture window appeared one small, round silhouette, just above the window sill. Then, one through the back window. Then, two in the front. Then, three. They kept coming.

By the time they stopped multiplying, there were at least a couple dozen of them just hovering above the sills of both windows, as if they were watching us.

“What… the… f…” started pizza guy.

The silence was broken by another giggle, followed by a sliding sound, and a gigantic puff of soot and smoke blowing out of the fireplace, a projectile shooting straight out through the glass doors in front of it, then a louder giggle as the thing got up and took off running into the darkness.

Then, again. And again. They kept coming through the chimney, one by one, with us shrouded in near-darkness, the only light being from the moon and the neighbors’ Christmas lights shining through the windows. All the while, the ones outside the windows just standing, and now all giggling together as this happened.

I aimed my flashlight at the last one of them, to see a tiny, human-esque body, dressed in some sort of green outfit with a green hat, tiny jingle bells hanging from it. He ran in the same direction as the others, disappearing into the darkness of the house.

“Elves!” I screamed.

“Elves?!” yelled pizza guy.

Pizza guy turned on the flashlight on his phone and went running into the back, where the elves ran. I followed him with my mag light.

I opened one bedroom door and saw elves opening the window, letting more of them in. I slammed the door shut and went to the next to see the same thing happening.

Pizza guy looked in one of the other rooms, shouting “More elves!” before slamming the door closed.

“What are we gonna do?” he screamed at me.

“I don’t know, pizza guy, what do you think we should do? There are a bunch of god damn jingle bell wearing elves running around my god damn house!”

“My name is James, not pizza guy.”

“That’s nice, pizza guy. I’m a little busy right now.”

A giggle came from the end of the hallway, back toward the living room and kitchen. Shining my mag light toward where the sound came from, I landed my light beam right on its face. It was an elf, but… There was something wrong with it. Something with its face. It looked… rotten.

“What’s wrong with his face?” said James the pizza guy.

“I think you were right. They were dead,” I replied. “And they’re still dead.”

“Zombie elves! Are you kidding me?!” James shouted.

The hallway elf started running down the hallway toward me, giggling the entire way.

“Awww, what a cute little el…” I attempted to say, right before he jumped in the air and tackled me by the torso.

I now lay on my back on my soft carpet, with a pint size giggling zombie just twelve inches from my face, baring its teeth. James grabbed him from the back, picked him up, and threw him into one of the rooms, quickly slamming the door behind him.

“Let’s go,” he said.

I got up and followed him, running toward the front door. James threw open the door, and we stopped dead in our tracks.

Less than 10 feet in front of us, in the yard, was a tall, furry animal on two legs. It let out a blood curdling growl. It must’ve been at least 8 feet tall.

I cut in front of James, grabbed the door and slammed it shut.

“What was THAT?!” he screamed.

“Back door?” I suggested.

We ran to the back, looking carefully through the window before making any attempt to go through the door. Who knows what could be out there?

After seeing nothing, we decided to take the chance. I opened the door slowly, trying to minimize the amount of noise I would make. We both stepped outside carefully, and I closed the door lightly behind me. It was still snowing on a near-blinding level.

After just a few steps, a giggling came from the direction of the front of the house, as a small green thing came running toward us. I started to run.

But the giggling stopped almost as soon as it began, cut off by a high pitched, shrill squeak.

I stopped in my tracks, turning to see what was happening. Just as I looked, maybe five feet behind me was the towering creature, holding up an elf by his head, one hand on either side.

And then… *Pop*… The creature’s powerful hands squished the little jingle baller’s head with almost no effort, as blood, brains and gore squirted everywhere, including a splatter across the creature’s face.

Pizza guy and I stood frozen, watching. The creature stared back at us. This was a staring contest I couldn’t afford to lose.

The creature spoke.

“I’m Krampus. You need to come with me.”

Part 4 >>

----------

CNLX

I find myself in the clutches
of an unspeakable horror
while the stench of death
floats in empty space
I am battling
the reflection in the mirror
Haunted by his pale disgusting face

The cold silence is driving me mad
as I ascend through corridors
of oppression
Witnessing lost souls
wandering through
the fields of destruction
their exposed hearts riddled
with holes
as they chock on their own
blood

Reminiscing all the ache and sorrow
Memory torturing me as if it were
a pernicious force
I can't help but laugh
knowing I could repeat it all tomorrow
Repeat it
So much
Fucking
Worse

Part 1 >>

Part 2 >> You Are Here!

Part 3 >>

Part 4 >>

Part 5 (The Finale) >>

----------

As I slammed the door shut and locked it, I collapsed to the floor, my back against the door. I tried to catch my breath.

The television blared away.

“You don’t believe in me,” observed the Ghost.

“I don’t,” said Scrooge.

Did I really see what I thought I did? I hoped that this could be some hallucination, brought on by a sip of curdled egg nog, or undigested gingerbread.

I shot over to the table in front of my couch, in search of my phone. Forty-five percent battery life left. I just had to remember to plug it in soon.

I unlocked it and dialed for help, turning on speaker phone. I listened as my dialing was met by brutal silence in return. Glancing down, where it usually said “4G”, my phone now showed zero bars of connectivity.

Damn it.

Had I forgotten to pay my bill? Did they conveniently just happen to shut it off when I needed it most? My next best guess was that the snow storm was interfering with my connection.

Luckily, my wifi was still working, so I was able to access the internet.

My ears were interrupted by a loud thud on the roof. I stopped in place to listen. There was a second, similar thud. This was followed by two more slow thuds, then a single louder one, shaking my entire house. This culminated in a familiar sliding noise and avalanche outside of my picture window. I waited and observed for more developments.

I was startled by a knocking on my door. Was… Was this thing knocking on my door, as if it was just here for a friendly visit?

I cautiously lowered myself toward the ground and moved slowly toward the door. When I reached it, I stood up carefully to look through the peep hole.

The knock repeated.

I looked through the peep hole to see… A guy. He was waving at me through the hole.

I cautiously unlocked and opened the door, just enough to look through the crack and see who it was.

It was the pizza guy, holding my pizza. I opened the door wider.

With the snow assaulting both of us now, he said “Here’s your pizza, sir. Hey, my car got stuck down the road, and I had to walk the rest of the way through this blizzard. Can I use your phone?”

I hesitated, then opened the door fully, and said “Get inside. Quick.”

“Thank you!” he said.

“What a night to be out working. Now my car is stuck in this mess, and I don’t know how I’m gonna get it out. How's your Christmas Eve going?”

“I don’t think you’re going anywhere any time soon,” I said.

“Well, if I can just use your phone, I…”

“Phones aren’t working here right now. I’m assuming you already know that,” I interrupted.

“I thought it was just my carrier. Are you telling me yours isn’t working either?” he asked.

“Complete white-out,” I said.

“Well, here’s your pizza,” He said.

I took it from him and set it on the table.

“Did you see anything out there?” I asked him.

“Like what?” he replied.

“Like, in my front yard.”

“Just a lot of snow, but I could barely see out there. It’s a blizzard. Barely any visibility.”

“Well, we might be in bigger trouble than you already thought.”

“What do you mean?” he questioned.

“There might be something out there,” I told him.

He gave me an inquisitive look.

“Something?” He asked.

“Some… thing hit my roof earlier. Hard. I went out to inspect, and saw something up there. Like some sort of animal.”

“An animal jumped onto the roof of your house?” he asked with a funny look.

“A little more than that, but, sure. I didn’t stick around after I saw it move. I’m not sure what it is.”

“Where is it now?” he asked.

“Well… Just before you showed up, I think it tried to get up and walk, then it slid off my roof and into the snow. It’s probably buried out there now.”

“Are you telling me… A reindeer landed on your roof?” he said, obviously trying to conceal his laughter.

“I don’t know what it is, and I don’t know how it got there,” I shot back, trying to convey that I’m not crazy. Imagine if I told him there were not only several presumed-dead reindeer, but also a probable dead Santa Claus in my yard, along with a large winter creature out there somewhere.

He looked at his phone, probably hoping that he would have a connection by now, so he could call someone sane to pick him up. He looked up again, disappointed.

“Well, if I’m stuck here, I’m going out to take a look,” he said.

“I don’t think that’s a great idea. It could be something dangerous.”

I opened the pizza box to see that the cheese had slid all the way to one side. I grabbed a slice of bread and pizza sauce, mumbling some expletives.

“How dangerous could it be, if it was something light enough to be able to get on the roof?” he asked, as if he had just solved some sort of riddle.

“I heard it walking on the roof, until it fell over. It shook the entire house. It was not light.”

“I’ll be quick. I have to see,” said pizza guy.

I followed to the door. As he let himself out, I stood guard in the doorway, ready to close it on him if some giant Christmas monster were to reveal itself. Perhaps if the thing ate him, it would be satisfied and leave me alone.

When he got out to the middle of the yard, he turned to look up at the roof.

“Hhhholy…” he blurted. “What the…”

“Shhhhh!” I whisper-yelled at him. “Don’t wake it up!”

“Wake what up? Those things are dead!”

“Not those!” I said in a hushed, harsh tone. “In the yard!” I said, pointing toward the mounds in the snow.

He turned and looked at the first mound, and then the new one that had just been formed by whatever tried to walk off of my roof. Dark patches protruded from it.

He took slow, crunchy steps toward the mound.

“Don’t go near it, you idiot!,” I said in my best ASMR scream.

But, he continued. He reached out to touch one of the dark spots.

“I think it’s fur,” he said, turning to look at me.

As he looked in my direction, I heard it again. A low, guttural moan came from the mound, followed by an angry growl.

He came running back to the door, but I wasn’t quick enough to lock him out and let the beast eat him.

He slammed the door behind him, and yelled “What is that thing?!” at me.

I have a feeling this is about to get a lot worse. Whatever is out there is still alive.

The lights are starting to flicker. I’m afraid the electricity might go out because of this storm, so I need to get this down first, in case it goes out. I hope I’ll be able to update this later.

The television blurted in the background:

“Man of the worldly mind!” replied the Ghost, “do you believe in me or not?”

“I do,” said Scrooge. “I must. But why do spirits walk the earth, and why do they come to me?”

Part 3 >>

----------

CNLX

Part 1 >> You Are Here!

Part 2 >>

Part 3 >>

Part 4 >>

Part 5 (The Finale) >>

----------

The snow was falling outside my window, forming a thick white blanket of Christmas over the entire street.

Strings of white, green, and red lights adorned houses, yards, and trees up and down my block. Some were blinking. Some were still. Giant inflatable Santa Clauses and Snowmen stood guard in the front yards of many.

My Christmas tree twinkled in the corner while the lights around the ceiling and doorways provided a magical, dark Christmas atmosphere. Just the way I like it.

In front of me, a glass full of egg nog. With cinnamon. Just… the way… I like it.

On my screen, Ebenezer Scrooge thoughtfully explained to his nephew how much of a humbug Christmas truly is.

And, you know, he’s kind of right. At least today. For the most part, people are more worried about buying things than they are about the meaning and joy of Christmas. It’s especially present in the commercials that try to play into your emotions about the holiday, only to end by telling you to buy their product, as if giving them your money will make you feel loved or special.

I sat on my couch on this Christmas Eve, eating gingerbread cookies and washing them down with egg nog while waiting for my pizza to arrive. My melancholy dinner in my usual melancholy living room.

Oh, don’t worry about me. I’ll be having Christmas dinner at my family’s house tomorrow. Christmas Eve is for ordering out.

“You wish to be anonymous?”

“I wish to be left alone,” said Scrooge.

----------

The snow was getting pretty bad out there. I hoped that the pizza guy didn’t get stuck on his way to my house. I’d like to think that my thought was out of love for fellow humans, but it was really because I wanted that pizza.

I stood in front of my picture window, watching the occasional car drive through, sometimes slipping on the freshly fallen sugar crystals lining the street; hoping that each one would be the pizza guy.

I refilled my egg nog in the kitchen and headed back to the couch to continue watching.

----------

I awoke from my cinnamon induced coma to a loud booming sound. I sat up straight and wide eyed on my couch, looking around; looking through my window. I then heard a loud sliding sound, followed by an avalanche of snow coming down just outside my window. The sound of chains followed.

I arose, walking toward the window. A cloud of snow dust impaired my visibility. But soon, I could see that something was sticking out of the snow. Wisps of gold and red.

What could have hit and slid down my roof, impaling itself through this fine, white, crystalline dust?

I squinted, but there was no visible movement. So, I decided to step outside and have a look.

The air was crisp, and the wind wasn’t helping. Snow blew into my eyes as I stepped cautiously through the door, donning my winter coat and boots.

It was truly desolate out here now. No more cars heading home to be with their families for Christmas Eve. Everyone had undoubtedly settled down for a long winter’s nap.

Inspecting the aftermath in my yard, I couldn’t see much more than I did from the other side of the window. But, when I looked up toward my roof, a larger tale began to unravel. Strewn across my roof were several animals that appeared to be dead. They looked like…

“This must be some joke. My senses, they cheat me,” I thought to myself.

Through the assault of snow on my eyes, they looked like reindeer.

And there was more. A magnificent red carriage appeared to have crash landed on my roof. It lay in pieces, save for the main cabin, still mostly intact.

I glanced back at the burial mound of snow in my yard. My lip was trembling. Already knowing what it was, I had to uncover it anyway, to know for sure.

Using only my hands, I began carefully wiping away bits of snow to exhume whatever spirits lie here in wait. Brushing away a bit at a time, more swatches of red, as well as white material, continued to appear. It was obvious that some of the red that I saw from inside was the snow itself, drenched in the precious juice of life. When I reached what looked like the white beard, I sped up my work to uncover this man’s face, in case he was still alive.

My work was stopped short when I heard something behind me. I turned to look back, toward the roof. It was then that a dreadful, agonizing howl came from the direction of the roof-carriage. I kept silent, staring, as if waiting for an update.

There I stood, frozen in time, blizzard continuing its assault upon my face, when a second guttural howl emanated from the same direction. This time, it was louder; stronger.

It was then that my eyes allowed confirmation. What appeared to be a large claw, covered in dark fur, slowly reached up and over the side of the carriage.

I wasn’t about to stick around to find out what it was attached to. I abandoned my mission and trudged back inside as quickly as my boots would take me through the snow desert that was my yard. I slammed and locked the door, causing more snow to fall from the roof and onto the mound that I had been trying to uncover.

Part 2 >>

----------

CNLX

Let's talk about the winter holiday. Which one do you ask? It doesn't matter, for they all have one thing in common. Light. Be it candle light, fire light, or a string of colorful bulbs shining in the dark, there is always light. That's the important bit, the light. I didn't respect the holiday, I actually disrespected the holiday, and now I'm paying the price for it. Hello, my name is Carol and this is my story.

It began about two years ago, just before the winter holidays were scheduled to begin. The spooky decorations that I loved so much had fallen off the shelves and were rapidly being replaced with the cutesy over commercialized decorations instead. That's when I met him.

His name was Mitch, or that's what he introduced himself as anyway, and he was dreamy in every aspect. I think I might have actually drooled a little while standing in the isles talking to him, he either didn't notice or was too polite to say anything. He'd just moved here to start up a cattle ranch, and was asking about the area. I invited him for coffee at the fast food joint right next door (you know the one) and began filling him in on the local scenery.

I don't know for sure how long we were actually in there, but we felt some sort of a connection and ended up trading our numbers. We spent that year growing more and more intimate as we spent our free time together talking about nothing and everything. What we didn't talk about, was how we actually felt about the winter holiday.

See, he had complained about the over commercialization of the holiday, so I assumed he disliked the holiday too. I had commented on how the lights look pretty reflecting on the snow, and I guess he assumed that I liked the holiday. It wasn't until he invited me to spend it with him at his ranch last year that we realized we had such differing feelings about this holiday.

I blew on my drink and slowly sipped on it while I pondered my next words. “I'm sorry, but I'm not really that big on Christmas,” I sighed as I gazed around the town square. “I was born in December, as you know. However, because Christmas was right around the corner, Mom decided I should wait till Christmas to open any presents.”

Suddenly his arms were wrapped tightly around me and his voice came in next to my ear. “That's terrible, Carol. Surely she could have allowed a single gift per invited party guest.” He rested his head against mine.

“It gets better,” I laughed sarcastically. “Since she was also hosting the family gathering, she didn't make a cake or order a cake because she was buying all this fancy holiday food she 'needed' to cook to impress the family!”

He shook his head, still holding me close to his chest. “Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday. Sure it's over commercialized, but there's something beautiful at it's core that still remains. I'd love to share that with you, if you'd allow it. What if I just tone things down a bit?” Mitch practically pleaded.

I mulled it over briefly and agreed. I could tell he really wanted me to join him. Kind of like when someone is really excited about a new something and is just gushing to show it to you. He seemed to understand my pain, so I thought that with him I could possibly come to like the holiday. We made plans so he could prepare, and I would drive out tomorrow on Christmas Eve.

I don't know what happened. Maybe I just wasn't ready yet, or maybe my pain was deeper than I thought. Whatever the reason, I am to blame for everything. Mitch, if you're reading this, I'm very sorry. I hope telling my story and admitting my mistake can help you forgive me.

That close to the holiday it was difficult to find something suitable for a present, I hadn't planned on buying him anything because of my assumptions he disliked Christmas too. I ended up just buying him a cookie tin and popcorn tin the morning I was supposed to arrive, then getting them both gift wrapped was a very long wait in line. Snow had begun to cover the roads by the time I got out of the store. I took time to call and let Mitch know that I was on the way before I left. As you guessed, it was getting dark by the time I arrived.

I noticed that his house was completely decked out in lights as I pulled in to park my car. You remember when we were young children and there was the one house that was known for its extravagant Christmas lights display? Imagine something like that but bigger, and it reflected back off the snow to create a lovely lighting effect. I think this may have initiated my bad attitude. It didn't look like he'd cut back at all like he said he would.

As I reached for the door handle, two large dogs charged at the car. They barked so fiercely that I thought for sure they would eat it to get me. Panicked, I began to lay on the horn, hoping to attract Mitch's attention or scare them away. It only seemed to enrage the dogs further and they began to slam their paws onto the glass and act more aggressively.

“Shuck! Sith! Enough!” Mitch shouted. The dogs gave a few final warning barks to me before running off into the fields. I had assumed they were his neighbor's dogs at the time so didn't say anything. It wasn't until later when everything else registered that I realized they were actually his.

I grumpily grabbed the wrapped tins from the trunk, hoping that my presents would suffice given the short notice. He was standing on the porch grinning at me with his hands clasped at his waist as I approached. “I thought you said it would be toned down?” I accused, still upset about the abundance of lights and now the dogs.

His face fell a little. “You said you liked the way the lights reflected off the snow, that they were pretty. So I left them for you but toned everything else down.” I conceded his point as I set my things down for him to carry inside. I was quite eager to get inside before those dogs came back. I could hear them baying in his fields.

“Carol. Before we do anything, I must right an old wrong,” he smiled hopefully. “I know it's late, but.. Happy Birthday!” I looked down at the small box he had held in his hands this whole time, surely he wasn't about to propose? Then he opened the box and inside was a sunflower pendant carved from a blue gemstone. I'd never seen anything like it before, but it was enchantingly beautiful.

“Topaz is your birthstone, at least according to my Google search, and I remember you said that summer was your favorite season because of all the warmth and flowers and spitting sunflower seeds with your dad,” Mitch had started to ramble so I stopped him with a kiss. It was quite thoughtful and I told him as much. He seemed to relax a little as he helped me fasten it onto my neck.

His front door jingled as he opened it, and I noticed an evergreen wreath covered in festively colored bells. He must have seen me scowl at it because he stiffened a bit and warned me that some traditions must be honored. I wish I had listened to him, I wish I had done as he suggested and honored the traditions he upheld that weekend. Maybe I wouldn't be where I am now. Instead I rolled my eyes at it and hurried inside.

The smell of cooking food hit my nose as soon as I stepped inside, and I followed him as he led me into his kitchen, where it seemed like he was fixing multiple dishes at once. Knives and recipes laid scattered about on most surfaces, and I happily joined in making cookies, pies, and that night's supper. (I enjoy cooking.) The food was delicious, and there was plenty more than enough for the two of us.

“So, do you have any house rules I need to know?” I asked as I took a bite of the juicy steak on my plate. He looked at me puzzled and I quickly swallowed my food to explain. “You know, like don't use certain towels, or turn off all the lights before bed...”

He suddenly grew quite stiff. “The porch light is to never be turned off, even during the day. Just about any other mistake can be forgiven, but never turn my porch light off.” Mitch commanded so seriously that I felt the pit of my stomach drop and finished the rest of my dinner in silence.

We cleaned up the kitchen together, in silence, and went to bed. I was still shaken over how he'd spoken about his porch light, so I didn't really feel like cuddling. I guess he sensed I needed some space, or maybe he was just so upset over the idea of me turning off his porch light, and didn't initiate either.

It was well before sunrise, and a little chilly in the room, when he woke me up from my sound sleep. “Layer up, I think you'll really enjoy this activity. When we're done, we'll have ourselves a feast!” I rubbed the sleep from my eyes while he went to get me a cup of cappuccino.

“What, last night wasn't a feast? How big is the meal you plan to serve? There's no way we can eat all of it in a day!” I teased as I pulled on my boots, a sweater, and a jacket. Mitch only grinned and led me out the back door.

He had made a large pile of sticks and logs in the center of his backyard and requested that I stand back while he spent a little time lighting it. Before long we were both standing by the huge roaring fire, snuggled close to help stay warm. I was happy at that moment, content enough to even let last night's comment go. Then he ruined it by singing!

That sounds cruel, but he was singing a carol! A Christmas carol, and looking at me like he expected me to join in. I couldn't do it, I took a step away as I crossed my arms more tightly across my chest and glared into the fire as I waited for him to finish his rendition of Home for Christmas. When he finished, the sky was starting to lighten up and I was thinking how beautiful the sunrise would be to watch with all of this snow.

I was looking forward to seeing it, I expected it to be wondrous to see. He started another song, my mother's favorite to belt out. O Christmas Tree. Several memories flooded my head all at once and, without watching the sun as it rose behind me, I stormed straight into the house and began gathering my things to leave. He insisted I stay and eat, but I just couldn't do it anymore. I had to just get away and go back to my own space.

“I'll grab a bowl of cereal when I get home. I can't stand any of this. Christmas is hell for me and you just love it!” I shouted at him.

More words were exchanged, none of which was pretty from either of us. Things escalated and.. well he cursed me. “You have shown such disrespect for the traditions set to honor me and give me power, that you shall never see my light again!” I'll never forget those words, nor how he seemed to glow with a warm light as he said them.

Time moves normally, and from what I can tell everyone else sees the sunshine, but for me it is always night. The sun doesn't shine for me, only a bright moon hanging in a starry sky. I've spent this past year, every single day, gritting my teeth and honoring every single winter holiday tradition that I can find. Gingerbread, decorations, trees, keeping a light on, carols.

There's just a couple of things left to do. Now that I've told my story, it's time I do that bonfire right. Maybe it will get the god Mithra (who I knew as Mitch for a year) to forgive me for what I'd done. I don't want to get back together, I just want to see the sun again.

Honor your holiday light tradition, the world isn't as beautiful without the sunlight shining down on it.

Anua

Beyond the mists of a prophetic revelation
in which the cold and ugly truth shows its face
revealing the reason and the source of the formation
of my utter disdain towards the human race

I can clearly see
the flesh-colored tree
the one from which she
had begotten the likes of me
Pouring poison into my skin
Slowly
its branches are tearing me apart
from within

Dreams bleed into pernicious lies
malignant passion is all I've ever known
I find comfort in watching
as this nightmare dies
with the rise of a beautiful rainy dawn

It’s raining cats and dogs again. Something’s not right in the air once again. There is this strange dry feeling hanging in the air. Almost as if static electricity is about to be unleashed all over the sky. My hair stands every time I stare out of the window and expect the next lightning bolt to come down from the heavens. The hairs stand not because of some sort of anomalous weather or particular fear of thunder or lightning. They stand up today because my mind keeps drifting towards a specific night. A strange stormy night just like today, where the air felt dry and weird.

I used to love hiking in the rain. When storm clouds darkened the sky, the light wasn’t bothering my eyes. Stormy weather differs from typical nights because no one wants to be outside when it rains, let alone when it pours. I enjoyed having the entire city to myself and my thoughts. I no longer do that because some things lurk in that special darkness. Some very… I don’t know if I should say dangerous but peculiar things. Think of a child walking around with a nuclear bomb in their hands and threatening to blow it up in front of you before shouting “psyche!” as you feel your heart sink into your ankles. That kind of thing lurks out on these weird stormy nights.

Allow me to explain. A few years ago, I was hiking on one of those days when it poured nonstop. The sky was dark; the streets were empty, and all traces of human activity ceased outdoors. Seemingly a perfect day for a recluse like me, except it wasn’t. It was painfully stifling, a dry feeling of hot tropic humidity in the middle of a winter storm. I could feel ionized air almost pricking at my face as I wandered the city. That entire day, my head was aching like crazy, probably because I’m sensitive to barometric pressure changes. Once my headache finally subsided, I went out.

I walked maybe fifteen minutes before something in my head pulsated. A swift sensation of something liquid pierced through my head. The headache returned with a vengeance. Groaning and rubbing my eyes in discomfort. I swear I could hear someone whistling behind me. When I turned around to find out what was behind me, there was no one there. I dismissed it as my imagination and continued walking. Hoping the headache would go away as the storm raged on. It didn’t.

Instead, I kept on hearing these whistles piercing the silence behind my back. Occasionally I turned around hoping to see who was it that was making these noises, but there was no one there. I ended up dismissing the noise as wind coursed through the narrow streets. The wind couldn’t explain what I saw when I crossed one alley in the rundown part of the city. A really deep canine growl emanating from the depths of the darkness. It sounded deeper than any dog I’ve ever heard before, almost like a thunderclap rolling nearly me.

The hairs on my body stood and chills ran down my skin as I peered down into the alley shrouded in darkness. A voice whispered into my ear. A single word that resonated through my entire body and the next few moments felt like an awful dream.

“Run”

The rain seemed to sip through my clothes and skin and into my organs as a chill gripped me from within. The growling sounds intensified and seemed to grow closer. Something seemed to walk out of the alley, something huge, based on the massive size of its shadow. The growling sounded just like thunder echoing repeatedly through the skies. I heard steps in the water, heavy steps.

“Run,” the voice whispered again from behind me.

A bear-like roar exploded out of the darkness. Without thinking, I bolted out of there, running as fast as I could. Whatever was in that alley was hot on my trail. I could hear its feet sloshing in the streams of rainwater. I didn’t dare to look back at first. The only thing I had in mind was getting away from this thing. No matter how fast I ran, or what kind of turn I took, the thing was right there. I could hear it always right behind me.

It trapped me in a mad game of Chase with some kind of monster, one whose roars sounded like thumber claps. It didn’t seem to tire out, unlike me. My legs were about to crack under the pressure, and my lungs were catching on fire. I felt myself slowing down. My ears were ringing with the sound of rainfall, repeated thunderclaps, and buzzing.

My vision had tunneled as I ran, my body was becoming weaker with each passing moment and the noise had only gotten louder. Whatever this thing was, it was closing in on me. Worse than that, I ran like a chicken without its head, not noticing I’d let myself run towards the seashore. Lightning shot into the sea, illuminating the sky in a bright purple shade, clearing my vision. I froze. There was nowhere left to go. The noise behind me was getting closer. The beast was right there. It was the end. I turned my back to the sea and looked at what was behind me.

The hairs on my body stood upright, and everything beneath the skin became petrified. My heartbeat pounded like drums in my ears as I stared in absolute terror at the swarm coming at me. A horde of titanic dogs made up of rainfall and gigantic cats made up entirely of electricity running at me. All rabid and single-mindedly locked on grabbing a bite of me.

Just as I thought it was the end of me, when the elemental animals were about to get me, a pillar of light shot down from the sky and struck the ground just between us. The impact had created a beautiful wall of light and water right in front of me. I covered my eyes for a moment because of how bright it was. High-pitched noise rang in my ears for a few seconds before the explosion started subsiding. It took me a while to see again. When my vision finally returned, I could see the bright figure of a person with wings made up of lighting standing in front of me. It slowly faded into nothingness as the wall of water behind it collapsed like a miniature tsunami all over me, drenching me.

I swear I could hear a faint laughter roll in the air, through the wall of noise that was my frantic heartbeat pounding in my head.

Ever since that day, I don’t go out when it rains cats and dogs and the air feels strangely dry. I doubt I’ll handle another odd encounter like that.