An Abnormal Christmas

17: Surrender Or Die

For several moments, Meghan didn't even dare breathe. The covered face of Santa's brother faced her direction. She couldn't tell what he might be thinking. Officer Jyles was rigid in his tight grip, but his brown eyes spoke urgently to her. Only, Meghan couldn't decipher what they were saying.

"What do you want?" Meghan finally whispered, but immediately shook her head. "Nevermind. I know what you want. But I can't..." She didn't continue.

Giving the fawns to him wouldn't ensure her family's safety at all. Meghan had seen enough movies to be suspicious of that thing's intentions. Even with the fawns given to him, he could still kill them all. Nothing could stop him.

Brek grabbed Meghan's hand reassuringly. However, his warm grip was quickly wrenched away from her by a swarm of elves that flooded into the room, yanking them all apart. Ryder hit the ground hard and gasped in pain as Gordon was dragged away from him.

Santa's brother held his hand out to Meghan, with the knife pressing further into Officer Jyles' chest. Meghan swallowed hard, cautiously getting to her feet. The wicked elves around her bared their teeth and scratched at her legs but didn't stop her. She shifted her weight to her good leg, her gaze never leaving the figure before her.

"You want the fawns," she said slowly, her voice cracking. "If they're given to you, would you let us all go?"

She could feel the mens' eyes immediately snap to her, analyzing her carefully. She didn't look at them.

Santa's brother tilted his cloaked head slightly, decaying fingers grabbing her sleeve and pulling her closer. She tensed beneath his touch. She was close enough that she could see a dim light hidden under the hood.

"I can give them to you if you promise you won't hurt us."

"Meghan, what are you doing?" Brek hisses.

Meghan ignored him. A deadly silence fell. A silence only interrupted by small wheezes from Ryder. Meghan's chest tightened painfully at the sound.

Finally, Santa's brother released her sleeve, his familiar raspy moan haunting the air. She stumbled away, biting her lip to keep from groaning in pain. When he bobbed his head in a nod, the air released from her lungs in a slow exhale. "You...You won't hurt u-us?"

He shook his head.

"Good."

An uncertainty fells across the room. Now what?

When Santa's brother pointed at the door, some elves began shoving her toward it. The rest kept Brek and Gordon trapped in place. She met Gordon's pained gaze with her own before they were out of sight.

Santa's brother joined her in the hallway, grasping her shoulders and leading her roughly toward the stairs. The elves gnashed their teeth together excitedly.

"Where are you taking me?" Meghan demanded, trying to hop on her good leg. But his shoves kept her firmly planted on both. She could only limp painfully along.

When they reached the kitchen, Santa's brother shoved her harshly. She didn't catch herself in time and gasped as she fell forward into the counter, sliding to the ground. Tears blurred her vision. The figure loomed over her silently, yanking her to her feet again. She hissed, her shoulder burning. "Y...You are n-nothing more than a bully, aren't y-you?"

When a burst of pain spread across her side, she cried out again, jerking away. The gingerbread-man knife was slowly pulled out from her skin, leaving a deep slit in its place that immediately sent crimson blood to soak into her shirt and plaster it to the wound. Meghan grasped it tightly with a shaking hand, trying to apply pressure.