Benjamin McFadden The Death of Santa Claus

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inside of his chest& He also took note of the odd surroundings, the stacked cars
that formed the maze they ran through. What was going on? How was any of this
possible? He wanted to believe that it was a dream, but he knew that it was not.
He saw that the girl, Tryst, ran ahead of them, leading them on a path
through the automotive labyrinth that may or may not have been familiar to her.
Who was she? How had she come out of his dreams? What had she told him, that
he was some sort of hero meant to save her people?
Kris suddenly found himself nearly colliding with Tryst, for she had
stopped dead in front of him and the others. They all came up short, and Kris saw
immediately why Tryst had stopped. One of the oily creatures had cut them off
and stood before them. Turning quickly, Kris saw that the other was behind
them; they had been boxed in easily.
This way, Tryst grunted, cutting into a side passage that Kris was sure
had not been there a moment before. But then, why should that surprise him
when the maze of cars was supposed to be a normal parking lot?
Kris had never been more frightened in his life, he was sure of that; it
shamed him as Gwen glanced at him worriedly from time to time as if she meant
to protect him. Shouldn t he be the one protecting her?
Kris began to seek a certain resolve in his mind. It was obvious that they
could not run from these creatures. He had to take a stand.
He stopped abruptly and turned to face the creatures that leaped toward
him; his heart beat wildly and his knees shook beyond his control, but he stood,
ready to fight. The creatures were inhumanly fast and bonelessly agile, but they
were not large, were smaller than he, in fact. Certainly he could overcome one,
delay it enough to help give the others a chance.
The creatures, each having leaped atop a stack of cars on both sides of
the path, paused, crouching on all fours, shifting back and forth at the knees
fluidly as they seemed to consider this unusual behavior on the part of their prey.
They were probably accustomed to their victims running in fear. But it seemed at
least one of the two man-things decided that prey standing still was even better
than prey running. It sprang, dropping and landing jointlessly a few yards away
from Kris. With little loss of momentum, it immediately leaped toward him&
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The Death of Santa Claus
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No! John cried out, rushing in from behind Kris to slam into the
creature with his shoulder, taking it by surprise and knocking it backward. It
rolled to its feet with unnatural grace, recovering instantly.
C mon, idiot! John yelled, grabbing Kris and dragging him on down
the path among the cars. What are you thinking?
Kris shuddered, shivered with reaction as his body counteracted his
adrenaline rush and he felt like collapsing. I wasn t. I guess I was too busy
being scared out of my&
He was unable to finish the sentence as a weight slammed into him from
behind and he was borne to the ground. The breath whooshed out of him as his
chest hit the asphalt forcefully; he gulped for air in a panic as he scrambled
instinctively to roll onto his back to better protect himself from the creature that
sought his life. He was barely able to move at all, he found, as the man-creature
was incredibly strong, and he was surprised when it did not immediately go for
his throat. Calming somewhat, he saw that it held him down with a knee in his
back and a hand on his shoulder while it simultaneously restrained John by
clamping both of his hands behind his back with its incredibly long fingers. He
and John were less than children in comparison to the abomination s strength.
The creature s partner approached Tryst, ignoring Gwen as an
inconsequential factor. As it neared the mysterious dark-haired girl, it reached to
the small of its back and produced a small, silver-blue blade, apparently pulling
the weapon from its very skin.
Kris and John both struggled hugely, but in vain, and Kris screamed in
frustrated impotence as John hurled threats and curses. Gwen bravely interposed
herself between the creature and Tryst, but it merely grabbed her shoulder and
cast her aside. She collided with the cars that formed the wall of the corridor and
slumped to the ground dazedly. Tryst stood, seeming ready to fight to the death,
casting about, perhaps for more tricks of the malleable surroundings to help her
escape, but it was hopeless.
At that point, Kris would have thought that the group of them had used
up their share of miracles or luck or whatever had carried them safely through
that nightmare thus far, but they were not through yet. As the creature came close
to her, Tryst struck at it with her fist, but it caught her wrist, twisting her arm and
wrenching a gasp from her throat as it poised the silver blade near her throat. But
before it could carry through with its cut, a new player joined the game.
Stop! ordered a cold voice, and Kris stretched his neck to see its owner
poised atop the cars above Tryst and her would-be killer.
The voice belonged to yet another creature, this one similar in basic
makeup to the others, but possessed of significant differences. This new creature
was a liquid red, like blood, and was female in basic form, with slim waist,
curved hips, and featureless breasts. The thing had no hair or face and resembled
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B.A.McFadden
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a woman in a glossy red bodysuit, just as the man-creatures resembled men in
black body suits.
Do not harm any of these children if you value even the semblance of [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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