An Abnormal Christmas

18: Merry Christmas

The first thing Meghan registered when she came to was that the pain in her body had shifted to different locations. It was no longer burning away at her back, neck, and arm. The pain was now back in her fractured leg, with the skin tight from the familiar bandage that had vanished when she time traveled. As she shifted slightly, another familiar burst of pain tortured her side. Her hand moved to press against the wound. Her hand was no longer severed.

She managed to force herself up into a sitting position, panic overtaking her. Were any of them dead? Santa had said that the magic in the diadem wasn't fully developed, and that only a handful of things changed in the past would effect the future. If any of them died, they won't be here...

The panic heightened briefly when she was unable to see anybody across the vast entrance to the mansion. But then she found them, still fighting the mutated elves. Gordon and Carly were side-by-side, slicing with their weapons and dodging returned blows. Officer Jyles and Brek were near her. Officer Jyles was shooting more elves. The loud gunshots made Meghan wince as they echoed in the room.

She clambered to her feet, gasping in pain and leading everybody's eyes to her.

"Meghan!" Gordon called, clearly relieved, but his tone quickly changed to panic. "Where were you? Where's Santa's-?"

"Dead," she answered plainly, voice quivering. Her family was alive. She wanted to collapse again in relief, but even with Santa's brother gone, the elves were still living.

She didn't hesitate in joining the fight. Scooping up the knife Brek slid to her, she limped forward, feeling beads of sweat running along her hairline. The stickiness of blood plastering her shirt to her side was uncomfortable, but the pain was beginning to numb. After taking a knife to the back and losing her whole hand, the small puncture in her side wasn't as agonizing. But she was aware that she still needed medical assistance. All of them probably did. Especially Ryder. Her stomach churned at the thought of him. Was he okay? Was he still alive?

The elves snarls mixed with the sharp gunshots, ringing through the spacious area. It didn't take long before the large number of elves was minimized to only a few. And somewhere in the hacking and killing, Meghan noticed Brek exchange brief words with Gordon before disappearing from the entryway. Only then did Meghan remember that Gwen still hadn't been found. She could only hope that she was okay.

"Honey, are you alright?" Meghan croaked to Carly at one point, sweeping her into a brief hug. The vision of Carly bleeding through her back on the floor crossed her mind. She swallowed thickly.

"Y-Yeah," was her daughter's stammered reply.

Meghan nodded, grunting at the sharp pain in her good leg as an elf got too close. She kicked it over, shoving her knife into its neck. The gurgles and gasps had begun to stop bothering her, and she watched emotionlessly as it writhed around before falling limp. Her hand trembled, but as she pulled the knife back out, a steady stream of courage pumped from her heart.

She didn't even realize until the last screech of pain from an elf died that no more of the tiny creatures lived and breathed. She turned in a slow circle, swallowing again before dropping her knife. Gordon was walking hastily toward her. He dropped his own knife before pulling her into an embrace, enveloping her in his arms. She cringed in pain, but wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

"Are you okay?" he murmured into her ear, breathing heavily.

"Yeah," she replied unsteadily, resting her forehead on his shoulder. "He's gone. We killed him."

"We?"

She didn't answer, instead pulling away to hug Carly again. Officer Jyles was speaking into his cellphone, pacing back and forth between the small bodies littering the floor. His face was pale but firm, his pistol still in his hand. Empty bullet packets were strewn on the floor.