Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays (2)

Jeff had just come back from a mission, and was back in the kitchen, cleaning his knife. He had taken his blood-stained hoodie off as well, and it sat in the sink, cold water running over it. It was probably the most Jeff had ever washed it. He slowly ran his fingers over the metal, careful so it wouldn't cut him. He watched the blood mix with the water as it slowly circled into the drain.

Beautiful.

Sally and Ben sat at the table, and had been talking about their plans for decorating the household. Sally wanted to go all out and buy a Christmas tree, but Ben disagreed.

"No one's gonna want to decorate it!" He argued.

"I will! And so will Toby," Sally insisted. Ben shook his head. "Ok, fine, but who's gonna go and buy the tree? We don't have any money!"

"Toby has a hatchet, we can go outside and cut one down, we live in a forest!"

"Toby can't be trusted to do anything and you know it!" Ben shot back, jabbing his finger at her, and Sally had to agree with that one. "What if Tim-"

"I don't get what's so important about some damn tree, " Jeff interjected, glancing over at them. "Why don't you just decorate the house instead?"

Ben threw his hands into the air, "That's what I was saying!" He turned back to Sally, "See? I'm right!" Sally huffed, putting her head on her hand in defeat. "Fine," She finally agreed. "But I get to help pick out everything."

Jeff shook his head. He didn't really care about Christmas, it always seemed like too much work for him. But he could put up with a couple decorations around the house, god knows it needed some "holiday cheer", Aka someone to dust the hell outta the place. As long as Jeff didn't have to cough up some extra money for some bullshit holiday, he was fine. Just 'cause it was cold as fuck out didn't mean he was gonna go out of his way to buy anyone presents or whatever.

Somewhere in the house, a door slammed, causing everyone to jump. A moment later, Laughing Jack entered the kitchen. He was hunched over, and his eyes were dark as they surveyed the room, landing on Sally and Ben. They went quiet, not making eye contact. He huffed, and went to the cabinets. Jeff finished cleaning his knife, and put it to the side as he began to wring it out. It's not like he could hang it outside to dry when it was snowing.

After a moment, Sally and Ben continued talking. Ben took out a paper and pencil, asking, "So what kind of decorations do you want?"

Sally thought for a moment. "Garland, we can hang that up on the ceiling. And, oh! What about those red flowers, Poinsettias?" She rambled happily. Ben hurriedly wrote them down, nodding.

Sally tapped her fingers on the table. "What if we made cookies? Do you think Santa would come here?" The room slowed to a stop. Jeff paused what he was doing, cocking his head every so slightly to listen. Ben stopped writing, trying to think of a response that wouldn't hurt her.

"I-uh, Sally..."He paused, biting his lip. "I don't think, no, I mean, maybe, but-"

"No." Jack interrupted. Jeff turned his head to look at Jack. He had to cover his mouth to keep from smiling. No fucking way. Was Laughing Jack seriously gonna tell Sally that Santa wasn't real? For a brief second, he thought about stopping it, but... he had to fuckin' see this. Besides, Sally would've found out Christmas day anyway.

"No, "Jack said again, a smile starting to form on his face, showing off his razor sharp teeth as he laid the cup he was holding on the counter. "Santa can't come here."

Sally narrowed her eyes. She knew full well not to trust Jack, but her fear and curiosity got the better of her. "Why?" She asked softly.

Ben stood up. "Jack, don't you dare!" He said furiously, his red pupils glowing. Jack barely even glanced at him as he came closer, bending down to look Sally in the eye.

"Because, Sally dear," He said in a quiet, low voice, "You, are a bad person."

Sally's eyes widened. "No I'm not. I haven't done anything wrong," she whispered. Jack's grin softened, trying to look more sympathetic. Instead, he looked like a cat persuading a mouse into it's claws. "Oh, Sally, Sally, Sally," He said to her in a pitying tone. " How can one be good when they are friends with murderers?"

"But I don't murder," She protested, leaning forward slightly. She had fallen into his trap, hanging onto every word.

"Maybe not, maybe not..." he trailed off, looking to the side, where Ben stood, speechless. Sally followed his gaze. "You only live with us, call us your friends, your family. You look away when we clean our blood spattered clothes, talk about how much fun it all is. No, Sally, you don't agree with what we do, when was the last time you tried to stop us?" It was all said innocently, as if he didn't know the meaning behind the words he spoke.

Ben's eyes narrowed. "Get out." He growled. Jack's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree, and he stood back up to his full height, towering above the both of them. "I'll leave you two to your planning then," he said, staring at Ben with amusement, "I'm sure Christmas will be a blast this year." And with that, he walked out of the kitchen, humming.

Silence. Neither Ben or Jeff had expected that. Sally's lip quivered, looking down. "He's right." She whispered. Ben tried to comfort her, but she shook her head. "No, I'm not- I don't blame you guys. You have your own reasons for what you do, and If I didn't agree with it I shouldn't have stayed, and lived with you guys. It makes sense." She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She looked like she wanted to say something, but instead she turned and left the room.

Ben glared at Jeff. "Why didn't you stop him?" He accused. Jeff shrugged. "What difference would I have made? The truth hurts." He picked up his hoodie, which was still soaking. Ben snorted in disgust. "She's a kid. Jack wasn't being truthful, he was being a fucking jerk. You're the closest to that prick, you should have done something." He cracked his knuckles, sparks of electricity flying through his fingers.

Jeff picked up his knife again, putting it in his pocket. "So? You're closest to Sally. Maybe you should have stopped him." Then he left like the others, wondering absentmindedly if there was a dryer in the mansion. Ben watched him go, his anger growing. No one here seemed to remember what it was like to be a kid anymore, he thought.