David Lapage, Jr. has written several short stories and quite a few school papers. He has never been published and looks forward to the day he is. While not writing something, he enjoys watching movies, tinkering in the garage, and geocaching. He is a huge fan of Local H and enjoys reading. He lives in Illinois with his wife and two cats (one that’s a sweetheart and the other’s trouble).
You can find more of his work HERE.
A NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS
by
David Lapage
He was dreaming again.
He was insane with rage. Standing in a house, he looked down at his body. His outfit was covered in soot and blood, the white parts covered in so much blood to make them almost indistinguishable from the red. His boots were splattered in blood. It made him furious.
He looked at the man lying on the floor in front of him. The man was dead. His eyes were extracted and replaced with glass Christmas ornaments. The plate of cookies the man had been holding was shattered and the cookies shoved into his mouth. A glass of milk spilled onto the floor and mixed with a pool of blood. There was a hatchet stuck in the man’s chest.
The dreaming man raised his eyes to the sofa where a woman was slumped. She was wearing Christmas pajamas with images of wrapped presents on them. Her face was frozen in a final gasp for air, and Christmas lights were wrapped tightly around her throat. The lights were still plugged into the wall and blinking with multiple colors. Her face is green, then red, then green again. Looking at her made him angry. He was boiling over with rage.
Next to the Christmas tree was a boy of about 10. His body twisted and broke. Candy canes stuck out from his body like a ghastly holiday porcupine. Blood dripped from the boy’s mouth, and this made the dreaming man even madder. He wanted to hurt something.
He let out a cry of anger that almost seemed jolly. His voice booming, causing his belly to jingle.
He heard a bell behind him. He turned quickly, ready to take out his frustrations on any living thing.
There was a small girl curled up in the corner. She was whimpering and tears streamed down her cheeks. She clutched a stuffed teddy bear to her chest. The bear was wearing a white and red Santa hat and a collar with bells around its neck.
The dreaming man became even more enraged. There seemed to be no limit to how high his temper could get. His heartbeat pounded in his head. Pound, Pound, Pound. Trembling with anger the man reached for the child…
He woke startled. His body was damp with sweat. He had had the nightmare again. He still heard the pounding of his heart.
No. That wasn’t his heart. Someone was at the door.
He looked around the room. The fire in the hearth was getting low but still providing enough light to see by. He stripped the blanket off and sat on the edge of the bed. His feet were on the cold floor.
“Who’s there” he yelled angrily.
“Santa, it’s Bernard,” said the head elf from the other side of the door. “The reindeer are hitched, and your sleigh is loaded. It’s almost time for you to leave on your gift-giving run.”
“I’ll be right there” Santa bellowed. He was so outraged that he had to make this trip. Every year it got worse.
He looked over at his suit hanging on a mannequin. Unlike the suit in his dream, this one was clean and unspoiled. His anger was so strong, and he wondered if the suit would make it through the night without blood being spilled on it.