Patrick McNulty

A horror fan since childhood, a geek by nature, and a jokester by heart, Ian believes Entertainment, no matter what form it takes, combined with laughter, is the best medicine to combat life's challenges. His favourite movies amongst many others are Aliens, The Thing, LOTR, and Star Wars. 
He is a father and is currently living in Melbourne, Australia with his partner, son, two stepdaughters and 4 cats, which is enough of a horror story on its own.

You can follow his exploits on Facebook at Ian Gielen - Author

THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT

by

Ian Gielen

Jake was sitting on the couch, finishing up a not-so-healthy dinner of chips and chicken strips, when the news report flashed onto the TV screen. The reporter was describing yet another scene of violence inside the Penn Square Mall that afternoon, the same mall where he was due to begin his shift within the hour. As it was Christmas Eve, he expected a relatively quiet night, but the report of the mall shopfronts being vandalized suggested otherwise.

Downing the last of his glass of coke, he sighed and shook his head in disgust as he rose from the couch and headed to the sink to clean up. Despite anticipating a long night, he was determined to not let the negativity that had engulfed the city in the weeks leading up to Christmas affect him.

The latest incident was just one of many that had been plaguing the city. Gang shootouts, robberies, and muggings had increased tenfold in the last few months. That, along with the rise in cost of living, including increases in rent, electricity, gas, food, and fuel, had likewise contributed to the increase in homelessness among the population. The entire city had a gloomy atmosphere, with the negativity of its people almost tangible. Hell, there were a few times where Jake had witnessed fights break out over the smallest things and he thought he had seen shimmers of energy behind the angry parties. Despite recognizing it as his imagination running rampant, he couldn't shake the notion that something lay at the root of the city's distress.

Breaking free from his thoughts, he snatched his keys and headed towards his van. Thirty minutes later, he was on his way down the hall in the mall, pushing his cleaning cart towards the shop fronts he had seen on TV. Much to his relief, he discovered that the glass had already been replaced and the shattered remnants of the storefront had been swept aside into a pile.

Whistling “All I Want for Christmas Is You” to himself, he grabbed a garbage bag from his trolley, and began the cleanup operation, filling up two heavy-duty bags full of broken glass and finishing up by mopping the floor to remove the boot prints left there by the workers who had replaced the glass. Jake disposed of the bags in the dumpsters behind the mall and was heading down the corridor to the bathrooms with his trolley when he heard the shattering of glass, followed by an alarm.

Jake muttered a curse and moved backward, reaching for the walkie-talkie attached to his trolley to summon security. Out of nowhere, a guard materialized at the end of the corridor, backing into it cautiously. He held a gun and pointed it at an unseen target outside of Jake's vision.

Following the guard, three figures emerged, each holding a gun. The three seemed to be in their late teens, their grins in stark contrast to the guard's pale, fear-filled expression.

The lead teenager brandished his weapon at the guard, taunting him.

"You gonna shoot me? There’s three of us and one of you. I’m not a mathematician, but it doesn’t take a genius to know what would happen.” His two friends chuckled with amusement, their pockets filled with jewelry boxes, one of which fell from the teenager behind the leader, scattering expensive baubles on the floor.

"Shit," he grumbled while reaching down to grab the box, resulting in more boxes spilling to the floor.

“You idiot!” Enraged, the leader hit the teenager's head with the gun's butt, causing the trigger finger to twitch and the gun to discharge a shot into the corridor wall.

Jake ran, hiding behind the meagre cart for protection, as the panicked guard began shooting, hitting the teenager who was bent over picking up the stolen items, causing him to fall motionless to the ground.

Peering through the gaps in the cart, Jakes's jaw dropped in astonishment as shimmering forms materialized behind each of the remaining shooters. As the forms became visible, a stream of energy seemed to drain from each participant of the firefight, causing the teens and guard to grow visibly angrier. When he saw them in their entirety, Jake had to cover his mouth to avoid screaming.

The three creatures resembled elves in their demonic forms. Their faces, thin and angular, looked as if they were crafted from bone, with eyes and mouths that resembled bottomless pits, pulling Jake in deeper the more he stared. They resembled Santa in a caricature-like manner, with bony beards and bloated, red-veined bellies. The skin seemed wet and slimy in appearance. Each one of them possessed bags that seemed to be fashioned from the same skin, featuring visibly throbbing red veins.

The energy streams kept flowing from the men into thin chutes in the sacks, with the veins pulsing eagerly.

The two remaining teens, unable to see the creatures Jake saw, advanced angrily and paid no attention to the bullets flying past them. Jake crouched down, narrowly avoiding the bullets that flew past the cart. Echoes of cries of pain reverberated down the hall, as the hail of bullets abruptly ended with bodies thudding onto the floor.

After a brief period of silence, Jake cautiously peered through the gaps in the cart. Immediately, he scrambled backward with a cry of fear as one creature leaped onto the top of the cart, while the other two creatures advanced slowly towards him.

In one motion, the sacks of the three creatures opened, propelling beams of energy toward Jake. In a matter of seconds, he felt his senses disappear as anger took over. His blood literally boiled, causing vessels to burst and organs to cook, resulting in blood spilling from every orifice as he crumpled to the ground, his body unable to cope with the energy directed into it. His final recollection was the creatures singing Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" in an eerily high-pitched tone before darkness engulfed him.