Pantophobia
(Here is an advanced warning to all readers that there will be occasional scenes featuring intense violence, blood and gore as well as horror, and to expect frequent use of bad language including the f word and infrequent use of the c word. If none of these issues concern you in any way, read on and enjoy -Codename Deus-)
When Fear Becomes Reality
A young man wandered through a veiled cloud of nothingness. At least, it seemed like that. Wearing a well fitting tuxedo and trousers, black shoes and slicked back black hair, he had the look of a savvy businessman. Indeed, the ID card hung from a chest pocket stated his name as Gregory Salisbury.
Once through the vast rolling mist, he came out into a funfair set in a deep forest. The forest itself would have been pitch black had it not been for the bright, flashing lights on the numerous rides. The branches of the trees swayed in the calming breeze and the loud thumping beats of dance music caused the whole place to throb.
Gregory frowned somewhat. Everything looked so perfect. After all who doesn't like the vibrant atmosphere of a funfair?
Two of the rides, a freefall tower and a Booster ride with seats at either end of the structure dominated the fair and stood tall over the trees. A pendulum ride swung back and forth in the distance straight ahead, while a looping roller coaster sat directly to the left.
Gregory wandered forward into the bustling fair where people permeated every available space. Some bought candy floss or burgers or watched the rides in action. The smell of the food lingered over the entire place.
He spied a young boy and his mother thrust the hook forwards at a hook a duck stand. Another man swung a mallet down at a large button and caused the object inside to rise up a small tower and ring the bell. This resulted in rapturous cheers from a watching audience.
Joyful children rode on a tracked car ride, pretending to steer and excitedly press horns. By now, Gregory was smiling and revelling in the throbbing atmosphere. He always loved the fair.
He remembered taking his children to one every year like it was tradition. He remembered how they loved the atmosphere, embraced the atmosphere and enjoyed the food. What he remembered most fondly though was how his two children loved the rides. They particularly loved the roller coasters in their various shapes and sizes. He remembered standing there with his beautiful wife, proudly watching his twin daughters having the time of their lives. It made his life worth living; it made him see glimpses of happiness in his hard working life. His smile became broad. He had become one with the fair again.
When he looked to the hook a duck stand again, he remembered his children and their delightful faces after winning prizes. Almost everything at the fair triggered a different happy memory.
With that in mind, he headed over to the swinging pendulum ride. With the name Freak Out emblazoned on the ride's colourful backboard, as well as on numerous posts around the ride, it was made obvious of its name.
"G-ge-get ready to scream...!" Yelled the ride operator in the ride's pay booth. The riders screamed as the sixteen seat circular gondola swung beyond horizontal through the air while manically spinning at the same time.
Once the queue of people waiting to pay dispersed, Gregory wandered up to the pay booth. He looked at the ride beginning to slow down in order to usher its next riders.
Digging into his pockets, his smile dissolved. He was sure his wallet or at least some currency was there.
"Don't worry...we'll pretend you paid this time." The young, smiling male operator offered. Gregory looked at him and smiled back in gratitude before heading to the ride waiting area.
With the ride now stationary, laughing previous riders dispersed and melded into the crowds. Gregory's smile broadened and he became giddy with excitement. Despite being so formally dressed, he was not concerned and fully soaked up the atmosphere. However when he was about to step onto the ride's metal platform, the atmosphere changed. The sounds of laughter, screaming and music all faded. The sound of his own heartbeat increased dramatically. Every breath he took echoed through his ear drums and he found himself frozen on the spot.
He looked down in front of him with cold sweat trickling down his face. Looking straight back up at him was a little girl, a lank haired brunette. Most of her face languished behind a thick brown curtain of it but what could be seen was telling.
Innocent brown eyes, a pale face and moist lips showing a smile greeted him. Her hands brushed her tattered white dress and then his suit as she giggled childishly. She took his hand softly and gripped it. Her other arm embraced him as she spoke up.
"Daddy! I've missed you so much! It's been so long!"
Her voice whistled through his ears and kicked his mind into overdrive. His eyes welled up as he crouched before her, prompting her to chime:
"Don't cry, Daddy. I'm here now."
She then embraced him fully, her long hair caressing his face as their noses touched. She giggled and smiled openly with her wet lips and teeth bearing.
"I'm...I'm so sorry, Grace. I tried to be a good father to you and to Sammy. You were my two beautiful little girls and I let you down."
Grace hushed him with a pale finger to his lips. Gregory's tears cascaded down his cheeks until she mopped them away with her dress. It was to no avail however as he began to sob into the white material. It was strange that barely a few minutes ago that he felt on top of the world...how he was suddenly feeling lower than low at the sight of his own daughter.
"Daddy please don't cry. We-we're here at the funfair. We always love the funfair."
Her innocent voice served to sooth him as he leaned back a bit and nodded. All he could hear was their heartbeats beyond their voices. The rest of the fair carried on with blissful ignorance. Everybody was happy. Grace was happy. Everybody except for Gregory. At least his daughter's presence warmed him. She dried his tears as he afforded a slight smile again. After that she clutched his hand lovingly as he stood up. She looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back.
The Freak Out ride started up its motions again with a full battalion of riders. However its pendulum like swoops was all that could be heard. Gregory broadened his smile for his daughter. Grace embraced him and rested her head upon his shoulder. In the soft breeze caused her hair to caress his face. He embraced her in return and felt a sense of calmness. That was, at least, until she drew a sudden breath of surprise.
"Daddy...daddy! What's that behind you? I...I don't like it!"
Her panicked speech caused him to feel uneasy. Then she let go of him and ran off, despite his calling.
"Grace! Grace!"
His voice echoed oddly and he turned around. Behind him, a few metres away sat an Umbreon. It wore a patterned mask reminiscent of Renaissance era doctor's masks, complete with a beak like design. The beak was gold in colour, with black around one eyehole and more gold around the other. The remainder of its patterns were either black or red. It had golden tube extensions to a pair of cylinders on the Umbreon's back, which sat atop tattered black robes tied around its neck and down its back. Draped over its head was a black brim hat that had slits on opposite sides to fit its ears. It also wore a pair of gloves made out of what appeared to be modified syringes, black arm warmers and had glowing white ring like fur markings. Its eyes also illuminated in the eeriest shade of red.
"The Black Plague. Wh-why are you doing this to me?" Greg gasped desperately and fell to his knees. He clasped his hands as if in prayer. The Umbreon apparently known as The Black Plague shook its head.
"God will not save you." Its deep female voice echoed, making the hairs on the back of Greg's neck stand on end. He stood up again, feeling praying would be useless in the current situation. The Umbreon then pointed behind her, towards the roller coaster. Greg obeyed as to not further risk her wrath. Trudging away from the pendulum ride, he found himself in front of the yellow tracked roller coaster. Its loop towered over the ride entrance with the lift hill in the background. Its train full of screaming riders disengaged its chain with a 'clank' before swooping down the first drop at speed. It threw itself into the loop effortlessly with the roar of the track gaining the attention of onlookers.
Greg watched for a moment before looking down at the ride exit. A familiar woman stood there, albeit all pale and ghostly. She was oddly dressed in a white, body hugging nightgown while her messy, lank black hair caressed down most of her body. Her voice could be heard creeping into his ears, though he already knew who it was.
"Greg...Greg? Is that you?"
Her voice echoed somewhat, though he stepped forward all the same.
"Alice..." He muttered aloud and then bumped into another fair patron. Once he and the older man exchanged glares, he continued wandering to the woman until stopping right before her.
"Alice, my beautiful wife. I...I'm so sorry..." He began with tears permeating his eyes again. Her finger to his lips cut him off and hushed him.
"It's OK, Gregory...it's OK. It wasn't your fault. If anything it was all mine." She spoke to him softly and stroked his tear stained cheeks with the palms of her hands. Greg gulped and looked into her eyes with his own, as she did so in return.
"I feel responsible, Alice. I didn't protect you enough and I've felt awful ever since." Greg replied, bitterly about himself. Alice shook her head and hushed him again. However before she could speak again, The Black Plague did so.
"Lies! Do you seriously not remember what happened a year ago?" She spat, convincing Greg to argue back.
"Alice is my wife. I'm not going to accept that she became a criminal. She was confused!"
The Umbreon snarled bitterly and began barking orders instead.
"OK. You want me to remind you, huh? Step back from her."
Greg tried remonstrating.
"But I..."
He was cut off immediately by The Black Plague.
"Silence! I did not ask for an argument. Step back from her."
Greg hesitated and initially refused to distance himself from his wife. All it did was earn the chagrin of the masked Umbreon.
"I said step back...now!" She demanded forcefully. Greg nodded and, with tears in his eyes, slowly took a few steps back.
"I'm...I'm so sorry, Alice." He apologised profusely while he and his wife's eyes were filled with tears.
"Further...!" The Umbreon barked again. Greg took a few more steps back. The roller coaster train thundered through the loop again while other fairgoers were oblivious to Greg, Alice and The Black Plague.
The Umbreon however was not concerned about the joy of the other patrons. Instead, after a moment, Greg's vision began to flicker like a faulty light bulb. After a moment he looked forth again. Alice's white gown, face and hair were spattered with blood. She held a bloodstained butcher knife and on the floor around her were several crumpled bodies. All of them wore smart black tuxedos and bows. All of them were men. All of them were covered in blood while large pools of it merged and resided beneath the bodies.
Greg could hear the sobbing of his wife quietly assaulting his ears. She looked forth at him as if with a sense of guilt or betrayal marking the expression on her face. Her expression caused him to fall to his knees in despair. His hands then covered his face and began sobbing as well.
"I'm sorry, Greg, I'm so sorry." Alice uttered tearfully and dropped the knife she held to the ground. Then she sobbed more openly as well. The Black Plague however had more orders for Greg that she expected him to comply with.
"Turn around and look at me."
"Why? What can you possibly...?"
"I said turn around!"
After his initial protest, Greg obeyed and slowly turned himself around. The masked Umbreon's glowing eyes were so bright they pierced through his vision. She stared at him straight with her eyes like red warning beacons. Greg covered his eyes and grimaced until he found himself in another scenario altogether.
A large table big enough for a banquet sat in the middle of a large room. The table shone beautifully in the light. On top of it were plates, many plates along its entire length. Food laid out on each. Succulent turkey, stuffing, carrots and an assortment of other vegetables sat waiting to be eaten. Christmas puddings sat on more while jars of gravy and custard stood waiting to be poured.
A Christmas tree was propped in a corner, decorated profusely with baubles and golden tinsel. Lights flashed around its branches and lit up the star at its peak. Wrapped presents lay stacked beneath it while red tinsel travelled along all four walls near the ceiling.
The main focus however was on the people. All males wore handsome tuxedos. All females wore beautiful dresses. Even those dancing, most had wine in their hand. The dancing was slow and intimate, to the sounds of jolly Christmas music piped from a sound system. While most danced, five men stood side by side leaned against a bar in another corner. They talked among themselves while slurping beer. They were particularly well dressed in black tuxedos with bows beneath their chins.
An announcer then rang a bell on the table before calling out. He was an old, white haired man with a strong voice.
"Hail family, friends and guests. May I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. More importantly, the food is now ready to be gorged."
The many guests filed for the table, until one was heard screaming. Naturally, the others looked up and many were seen to cover their mouths at what they saw.
The five men talking and drinking at the bar were now on the floor. Blood was pooling around them on the polished wooden floor. Glass was smashed around them and their bodies and suits were dyed red too. One gurgled as his throat was slit and blood flowed from his wound and mouth. Another sat against the bar lifelessly with a deep slash across his abdomen. His entrails spilled through the opening, his cupped hands suggesting he tried to push them back in. The others had multiple bloody stab wounds upon their chests and stomachs.
A crying sound could be heard from behind the bar. The barman was also nowhere to be seen. The crying sounded feminine. It did not sound childlike. It sounded almost guilty or regretful. It drew the curiosity of many guests. Some of them peaked over the counter.
Sure enough, a young woman with lank black hair crouched behind it. To her rear, the barman lay slain with a stab wound in his neck. It had punctured an artery, causing blood to squirt from the fleshy hole.
She wore a blood spattered white nightgown, her hair also tinged with crimson flecks. She held a blood soaked butcher knife in her red stained hand and arm. It was absolutely obvious that she was the perpetrator, but her following words offered reasoning.
"Those men...they...they tried to molest me a few months back. They thought with me being a new employee at their company they could take advantage of me. Make me their sex slave. They even suggested bringing my twin girls along for the ride. How sick and twisted they were. They sat there laughing and fapping in front of me over their idea. I announced my resignation there and then. I thought that would be the end of it.
As it turned out, of course it wasn't. They called my phone and even knocked on the door to my house every few days. They spewed their desires through the letterbox. They always made sure my husband wasn't there at the time.
They scared me and my little girls. We were terrified. We didn't want to tell my husband, their father. Instead we went to the police. However they were most unhelpful. They told us we needed hard evidence of the harassment. Despite me begging and sobbing, they had none of it. They even told me to move aside for a man querying a minor case at best. Then, of course, they investigated that.
I was devastated. I didn't know what to do. I was backed into a corner with these rabid pests latching onto me more and more. So they post an invite to this party. Again they mention bringing the kids. The venue and date was there so I sought retribution. I am sorry about the barman and guards. May they flourish in the afterlife..."
Everything then blurred away into rolling mist, before Greg found himself back at the funfair. His eyes were wide and his mouth gaped ajar. The revelation hit him like a ten ton steamroller, flattening his senses and turning them into mush. He fell to his knees and placed his hands atop of them. His tears began again and he began to speak up.
"Alice I'm so sorry, baby. I wish you had told...Alice? Alice!"
His shock had escalated further. The bloodstained Alice swayed from beneath the roller coaster track. She was suspended in the air, a rope hanging her from the neck. The very sight of her swaying like a ragdoll both sickened him and caused him to sob into his hands again.
"I never wanted any of this. All I wanted was to be a loving family." He muttered tearfully as he heard the shrill scream of a little girl.
"Mommy!"
Peering through his fingers, he saw a little brunette girl wearing a white dress. She collapsed on her side and cried considerably in devastation. She looked identical to his daughter Grace, but he knew it wasn't her. It was his other daughter, Sammy. Despite barely being able to move through his own emotions, he stumbled over to Sammy and patted her back. Consoling her, she turned her head to look at him as he crouched down. Then, she stood up and embraced him, burying her face into his chest. She resumed sobbing as he embraced her back, while he rested his chin on her shoulder. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he took one last look at his suspended wife hanging from the roller coaster. The sight saddened him further as brief images flashed in his mind. They showed Alice in the same white nightgown, hung by a cable from a ceiling fan. Greg remembered vividly as she swayed motionless from the neck above the dining room table, with a bucket on the floor nearby. The images were backed up by the voice of The Black Plague.
"Two months after she butchered those who harassed her and the kids. Two months after she had slain an innocent barman and two equally innocent guards. She was so afraid to tell you that she decided taking her own life was a better option."
Greg wished he could pluck up the courage to hush the Umbreon up. However it took him a moment to realise he was hugging thin air. Tearfully, he frowned as he looked around frantically for one half of his twin daughters. He spotted her, skittering past the hook a duck stand.
"Sammy! Where are you going?" He asked out loud. It was futile, for he received no answer. He stood up just as carnival music began to creep into his ears. It quickly became warped and creepy, although the rest of the fair's guests were blissfully ignorant of this.
Greg began chasing after Sammy with the music ringing in his ears. She had stopped near the freefall tower, standing tall over the fair and trees. Its car shot up the structure at speed with riders screaming from the sensation. Sammy watched it fall before taking off deeper into the forest. Greg gave chase, but the lights of the funfair soon gave way to a chilling darkness. The trees were practically silhouettes in the blackness, although the unnerving carnival music did not subside.
"Sammy?" He called out in the hope his daughter would hear him. There was nothing but the wind swaying the branches of the trees. He wandered deeper still with twigs crunching underfoot after nearly every step. He squinted and looked around, knowing he was becoming desperate.
A Murkrow then flew overhead with loud squawks, startling him. It scurried through branches with its wings flapping through them all. Greg clasped his heart as if to dull the shock. He didn't get much opportunity to though as the sobbing of a female child could be heard amongst the nearby trees. Greg gasped in surprise and then, bravely, took a few steps in the direction it came from. Plodding footsteps could then be heard scampering along with shrubs being brushed through. He gulped and continued slowly that way. Half of him told him to turn back, but he ignored it entirely.
He placed his hand on a tree and looked beyond it. A small human figure darted between two trees and almost made him call out again. The creepy carnival music finally faded away, but out of it sprang the tolling of a church bell. It assaulted his ears constantly, although did not make his neck hairs stand up as much as what he heard next.
"Daddy...daddy..." A young voice chimed. It echoed throughout the vicinity around him and the source of the voice. Greg gasped but forced himself to proceed forth again.
Shrubs swayed unnaturally in front nearby, indicating a presence. He trudged that way, hearing more twigs snap beneath his boots. Glowing red eyes appeared in the darkness. While distant, Greg knew who they belonged to. He tried to ignore them and focus on finding Sammy or even Grace.
His eyes darted to the left and then the right as he trawled onwards. He even looked behind him once or twice, but there was nothing out of the ordinary.
A moment later, he reached an open clearing with trees and shrubs surrounding on all sides like an exotic arena. The crowing of Murkrow sounded from above, but the audible crying drew most of Greg's attention. A little girl with a white dress sat crumpled against a tree. Her brown hair covered her face and she sat with her knees up, arms embracing them. She rocked back and forth continuously in her bouts of sobbing and made no attempt to look up.
Greg crouched down in front of her and attempted to offer her his warmth.
"Sammy? Are you OK? What's...?" He was cut off as he heard the sound of a creaking branch. He hesitated as it was nearby, just up to his left. Slowly, he dared to look up. When he did, his hand clasped tight to his mouth in grief. Immediately his tears cascaded down his face once again. It was Grace, albeit completely lifeless suspended from the branch a few feet in the air. A rope was tied tightly around her neck and sealed to the branch. Hauntingly, her pale face and eyes stared right back at him with blood dripping from the corner of her mouth.
"Do you remember how this happened, Greg?" The voice of The Black Plague resonated again. She appeared from the nearby shrubs, her eyes still glowing through the holes of her mask. They were staring at him again though, that much was certain. Then she seemed to examine the Murkrow above, flying around in a circle behind one another. She deduced that there were six of them. She seemed to wander off shortly after, leaving Greg to grieve and ponder again. He wondered why she would have posed him with such a question. However, he then heard fading footsteps and looked in front of him. Sammy had disappeared. The footsteps must have been hers. He stood up, wiping his eyes free of tears. He then approached the hanging, motionless Grace. Trying to keep it together, he embraced her body for a few moments.
"Oh Grace I'm so sorry...so sorry."
His words were soft but slow and shaky. Images flashed in his mind again, this time featuring Grace. How she was in her pink shaded bedroom, a cable wrapped tightly around her neck. How she jumped from her bed and hung suspended from the ceiling light. How she struggled and swayed in the air for a few seconds before her neck loudly snapped. Finally, how she swayed even after death.
Greg clutched his head momentarily before he drew himself away from Grace. He had a wayward daughter to find and the church bell still blasted through his ear drums. So with that in mind, he took off after Sammy. He heard shrubs being brushed through and began running in that direction. Whatever he feared could happen in the forest he pushed aside in order to find his remaining twin.
"Sammy where are you?!" He yelled out to no avail. Twigs snapped under his thunderous running steps back through the forest. His steps kicked up dust in the dark while the tolling bell became ominously louder and louder.
He stopped momentarily, looked to his right and sure enough, there was another clearing. One that looked like a meadow, albeit overlooked by a beautiful cathedral. Its large bell tower tolled proudly and finally Greg could match the sound with the sight. The cathedral's weather worn structure and intricately colourful arch windows pleased the eye. The daisies, buttercups, tulips and roses did even more so as they caressed the lush long blades of grass. He then spotted Sammy running towards the cathedral through the grass itself. Like running through crops of corn, Greg lurched forward in an effort to give chase. While wading through the grass, he heard the voices of his two girls mingling in his mind.
"Daddy will this really take me to mommy?"
"Will it hurt, daddy?"
"OK, daddy. We believe you."
"We'll miss you, daddy!"
Their voices made him tear up as he trudged through the grass. Moving blades of it out of the way, he could barely see through it all and beyond. He hoped he was still heading in the right direction. A pair of glowing red eyes appeared in the grass ahead. Greg sidestepped before continuing, with the voices of Grace and Sammy piping up again.
"We hope you find peace, daddy."
"You are the best daddy in the world."
"We hope you come see us soon. We love you!"
Just as the voices subsided, so did the grass. Finally the doorway to the cathedral stood before him. Tears still rolled down his cheeks as a sudden sharp pain shot through his stomach.
He fell to his knees as the pain quickly spread throughout his entire body. He looked up before him, above the cathedral doors. His eyes widened and moistened one more time at what he saw, repeating his apologies once more.
"Oh Sammy...I'm...I'm so sorry..." He muttered solemnly, his eyes clasped to her lifeless body. Wrapped around her neck was a rope and she swayed, hanging, in the air. Her pale face and eyes stared right at him as blood dripped from the corner of her mouth on the opposite side that had earlier inflicted Grace.
Once again, images flashed of her in his mind. Depicting her with a cable around her neck and wrapped tightly, it showed her jumping from her bed and struggling as she swayed, suspended. The sound of her neck snapping was sickening, as she swayed above a group of smiling stuffed animals. The sight was harrowing, but then Greg suddenly started coughing violently. He clasped his hand to his mouth and when he stopped just as unceremoniously, he withdrew his hand. With his palm in front of his face, he noted drops of blood upon it. He widened his eyes just as another sharp pain coursed through his entire torso. Slowly, he looked down to witness his entire chest and stomach burst open. With skin and blood flying through the air, it exposed his flesh and guts. His entrails began to spill out of him just as The Black Plague sat and watched nearby while he bled out all over the floor.
The scenery then jarred and changed without warning. No longer in front of a cathedral, he was instead on the golden sands of a beach. It was night time and a biting wind flew in from the nearby sea. His blood was dying the sand red in front of him, his intestines coiling in steaming loops atop of it. His beating heart was exposed but its actual throbs were slowing dramatically. The Black Plague still sat nearby, albeit without glowing eyes. They were blood red and glaring right at him, watching morbidly. She then spied the promenade beside the beach with its bright lights and Christmas decorations. How the coloured lights and stars lit up in sequence as they hung between the lampposts. How a long suspension bridge posed an artful silhouette in the distance, backed by towering and well lit skyscrapers.
Finally, she looked back at Greg just in time to see him collapse lifelessly on his side. She sighed as she came over and closed his motionless eyes. Then she sat beside him and despite him having passed on, spoke to him in the manner of a one way conversation.
"So in the end you get what you want...don't you, Gregory Salisbury. You were a well paid executive at MorenoCorp with a comfortable life. You had great friends and a loving family. Then your wife gets a cushy receptionist job at a car dealership. Its higher ups try and take advantage of her when she wins employee of the month. They became jealous and make sexual advances. She doesn't tell you at any point. They become more obsessive and threaten sexual advances on your twin little girls. She still doesn't tell you and a few months down the line she gatecrashes a Christmas party. She slaughters her targets plus two innocents after resigning from her job. She goes into meltdown but still refuses to digress to you.
She gets arrested on the suspicion of murder. She is locked up in a cell for two days. You bail her out on the agreement of self defence. You know she's a potential criminal but she says nothing. You both start arguing for the first time in your ten year marriage. She reaches breaking point. One day, on Christmas Eve, you and the kids return home to find her lifeless, hanging from a ceiling fan. You are all devastated. Christmas Day is solemn; New Year's Eve is her funeral. You become a washed up alcoholic. You resign from your job to take care of the kids. Two months pass by. Then, one drunken night you tell your kids there's a way to see their mother again. You have two cable lengths, one of which your wife used to commit suicide. You meet them in their bedroom and announce that you can't go with them. After hugs and tearful goodbyes, you tie the cables around their necks and to the ceiling lights. They jump from their beds at your instruction and you watch them struggle. Then their necks snap violently and you tell them they're on their way to mother. Then you break down in a heap and cry for hours.
At that point you make a pact with me, a criminal and state that you want to be reunited with your family for the festive season. So I curse you with the Anger sin and tell you to ignore the rules of the game: get angry within the three days and you will die...violently.
So you do as I say and here we are now. You, lying motionless and me getting cold and wet from the wind and the sea. That'll worsen my odours some more so thanks for that.
I do hope your soul finds peace as your body is washed away in these salty waters. May you reunite with your family again in the afterlife. For what it's worth, Gregory Salisbury...Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year wherever you may go..."
(Author's Note: OK so it's not the cheeriest festive fiction the world has ever known, but I like to do things a little differently. This story was designed from the outset to be disturbing, creepy and in ways hard hitting too. All the same, for those who have made it to this point, may I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year)