"Silent night!"
That was all I heard echoing from a distance before something landed with a loud thud. 'Silent night', not 'good night'.
The wails, I realised, had died. The night had been silent until this happened.
It didn't take long for me to sniff out the metallic scent of blood. Taking a right turn, I watched my reflections pass by in a blur.
"Dead end," I muttered under my breath. Whirling around, I was momentarily relieved that my Absol finally caught up. I couldn't risk any more dead ends unless my Christmas wish was to die in the hands of a killer who named himself Santa Claus. He was clad in that usual red and white costume, appearing to be a slender Santa Claus. Or maybe, I had been too naughty and this was my punishment.
The Hall of Mirrors was stained with all the crimson liquid, corpses with broken heads and limbs nearly everywhere. The mirror maze had been quite an attraction in Nimbasa's Amusement Park but a game of hide-and-seek was not what I expected the night before Christmas.
Trailing behind the quadruped, we tried our best to be as quiet as we could, to the extent of carrying my black high heels in my hands. Note to self, never wear heels to amusement parks—or anywhere in case of killer emergencies.
"You better watch out, you better not cry! Better not pout, I'm telling you why! Santa Claus is coming," he sang, the broken notes bouncing off the walls. He held the last syllable as I took two turns and heard the shuffling of footsteps nearby. Just before I choked my ears to block off the noise, he concluded,"To you!"
I licked some perspiration off my lips and stopped in front of a mirror. The Disaster Pokémon froze beside me, eyeing me as I stole a glance at her. Gasping for breath, I bent a little and placed my weight on my knees. My Absol bit the heels and flung them somewhere far away, the black mass as if an agile Honchkrow, pecking possibly one or two mirrors with the eerie shatter of glass. I patted her and drew another breath before running again.
"Santa Claus has presents for you! Your wish for a silent night will come true!" He chirped merrily. I could picture his twisted smirk as he plunged a knife or whatever his weapon was into my breasts. I shivered.
Quickly, I kissed my Absol's cheek and hoped she guide me to an exit. She had a better sense of direction, even if it was by a grain of salt. That wasn't an appropriate measurement but who in the sane mind would think clearly? I was the last one Santa Claus was after.
"One moment I thought you were there, the very next while, you had disappeared." He had changed the lyrics of my favourite Christmas song.
Could that mean that he was tricked? Or that he headed for my heels?
No, I mouthed when my Absol's fur stood on end and she snarled. Was he near?
A hint of red in the mirror was directly in front of me. Then, a layer of black emerged above the red, with a bit of yellow. My throat was parched, my blood ran cold and my palms were sweaty. Absol dashed forward before I could whistle to stop her. I wanted to scream something—anything—but the fear had taken my ability to speak. Rooted to the ground, I glimpsed the deathlike pallor of my face in the mirrors, my jaw dropping gradually. My heartbeat hastened. My bulging eyes darted across the mirror to spot the hint of red growing into a semicircle.
Bang!
I thought it was my heart, but it was a gunshot. I wanted to collapse, break down and cry. I couldn't—one wrong move and I would turn up dead.
She lay peacefully asleep. The Disaster Pokémon could not prevent disaster from happening. This was the first for my Absol.
