The last time the Polar Express ran was the year everything went wrong

CHAPTER ONE

2013

"So, Shaney-" I already knew I wasn't going to like what the next words out of her mouth were going to be. I didn't even like the first two - I hated be called Shaney.

"No." I denied before she could even finish in that pathetic pleading tone.

"But, you-" She blinked her big brown eyes at me and fluttered her lashes.

"Don't care." I shrugged, pushing Peggy off me none too lightly and getting up, reaching for my boxers on the floor.

"Why not?" Peggy huffed and I could feel her glaring at me.

"This is sex, Peggy, not a relationship. I don't do relationships." I told er not for the first time either.

"Who's Peggy?" The girl asked, sounding scandalised now. "My name is Anna."

"Huh." I mused before shrugging again and finding the rest of my clothes. "Still just sex."

"And who's Miley?" Peggy-Anna demanded angrily, apparently girls don't like it when I call them the wrong name for three months. But, that wasn't the part I was focussed on.

"I dunno." I tried to play it cool, the mere mention of the name made me sweat bullets.

"You say her name in your sleep." Anna accused as I got dressed.

"No, I don't." I denied, though I knew it was a lie. It wasn't the first time I'd been told I do that; it happened around this time of year for the last five years.

"Yes, you do, don't lie to me Shane!" Anna started to raise her voice.

"The fuck does it matter?" I asked, starting to angry myself. I didn't like being told what to do. "We're not dating, Anna, you don't get to be jealous, or tell me what to do." I shoved my shoes on roughly. "Look, you're a relationship girl." I sighed, I'd been wanting to drop her from my list for a while now. She was always trying to rope me into doing things with her. Things that weren't sex. "So why don't we just stop this and you go get a relationship guy that you can boss around." I suggest none too kindly.

That night I sat in my penthouse condo with a bottle of bourbon even though I couldn't legally drink for another two years. I did this every year at Christmas time. It was December 1st and just like the year I was 14 I was having the nightmares again. Except when they start it was almost every night for five months. I took a swig of bourbon and sank into my couch with a sigh.

2008

"Stupid carollers." I muttered, glaring at the group that was going door-to-door on Christmas Eve. "Let's see how you like this?" I twisted my hands around my baseball bat, creeping behind the trees until I was close enough to hear their whiney voices spewing out sickly Christmas songs. It was practically vomit inducing. I stepped out and swung my bat violently, cherishing in the sound of metal connecting with metal as I hit a mailbox which started the screaming. I ran forward, swinging at all the mailboxes and light poles leading up to the group as they scattered, running for their pathetic lives whilst I laughed.

I continued on to the park when I was finished terrorising the neighbourhood, I couldn't be bothered going back 'home' tonight. It'd just mean waking up alone and abandoned on Christmas anyway so there was no point. I sat in the tunnel at the playground and stuck my head out the end, looking up at the stars. I didn't care that it was snowing and I was only wearing jeans and a hoodie, or that Christmas was only about ten minutes away and I was in a park. No-one was here to tell me what to do or dote all their stupid ass attention on some stupid toddler because their first kid was an admitted mistake. They weren't even in the county this year which is why they hadn't sent the cops out to fetch their little delinquent and keep me from messing up their perfect reputation.

"Shit!" I swore, squinting my eyes against the bright light headed straight for me, growing bigger by the second. I jumped up and held my bat tightly; if it was cops I could outrun them, but if it was someone else from the streets I wasn't letting them get the jump on me. I slunk into the darkness, retreating away from the playground. A horn sounded and I frowned; what the Hell? That was a train horn and I was nowhere near a train track!

The light got closer and became more defined, showing the pointed front with a gold bell hanging from the top.

"Fuck!" I turned tail and started running as fast as I could. I don't know how the Hell there was a train here, or what the Hell it was doing, but I wasn't going to stick around long enough for it to run over me just to find out. The problem was though, that the ground was slippery with snow and ice and no matter where I went the train followed until I fell on the icy grass. I hissed as my arm scraped along a patch of rocks on the ground and curled in on myself to do what little I could to protect myself as the train came roaring towards me.

I held my breath and squeezed my eyes shut as the train screeched on tracks that had never been in the park before and there everything stopped. Still. Frozen.

"ALL ABOARD!" A voice yelled and I uncurled, looking around as I jumped up. "ALL ABOARD!" The man yelled again, waving a lantern around as he walked along the side of the train. I backed up, prepared to start running again at any second. The man stopped ten feet from me. I held my breath, gripping my baseball bat and ignoring the sting in my arm. "Well? Are you coming?" The man asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world

"Who are you?" I demanded, glaring as venomously as I could manage.

"The conductor, of course." He said, I rolled my eyes, he didn't have to treat me like a toddler.

"Don't play dumb." I growled out, my breath coming in white puffs ahead of me. "Who the Hell are you? What is that thing? How did it get here?"

"I am the conductor and this." He paused for dramatic effect, but it just made me glare more. "Is the Polar Express!" He threw out an arm in presentation. "Now, are you coming?"

"Yeah, right." I scoffed, circling away from the train, but keeping the man at the same distance. "What? As soon as I get on the freaky ghost train you drug me and I wake up naked in some creepy motel?" I guessed with a sneer.

"Young man, we are going to the North Pole in a warm vessel with food and company; if you do not wish to join in the hospitality you are more than welcome to remain here and suffer undoubted frostbite." The man frown at me,, sounding condescending as he stepped back towards the train. He hopped back onto a step and looked at me expectantly. How did he know I was alone? He was start to creep me, but in the corner of my eye I could see kids leaning out of the train to see what the hold up was. Kids. No adults, just dozens of kids in pajamas.

"I'm not three, Dude, you need something better than the North Pole to fool me." Although the idea of being around others for Christmas was definitely more appealing than wandering the streets alone or going back to the stupid house and being alone whilst my parents were off their perfect little planned Angel of a brat that didn't ruin their lives. He just ruined mine.

"Well, I can't force you." The man shook his head and lifted the lantern, ready to signal the driver.

"Woah." I held one hand up whilst the other held the bat. "Someone has to make sure you're not some psycho whose gonna murder those kids." I narrowed my eyes at him as I jumped up onto the train and pushed past, finding myself stepping into a warming, brightly glowing compartment.

2013

I shook my head clear of the fuzzy memory; that was exactly the thing I was trying not to remember. I growled lowly and through my two-thirds empty bourbon at the fire place, watching with sick satisfaction as it went up in flames. I couldn't wait for this whole stupid holiday to be over; no more Christmas, no more memories, no more nightmares... No more Miley. I hadn't seen or heard from the girl in five years, but that didn't stop her from plaguing my dreams and thoughts every December.

Not that it would be difficult to find out what she was up to; she was on practically every billboard and music chart in the country. Concerts that sold out in minutes, singles on all the charts, token boy bander on her arm. All I'd have to do to find out about her was look out my freaking window. It wasn't easy when she was everywhere, but I'd learned to block it out. The first time I saw an ad for her CD on TV I almost a fit right there and I'd started having the dreams again. But, I stayed the fuck away from her!

I could open her up to that night again; I may be a mean bastard, but she'd been the exception to the rule since I stepped onto that train five years ago.


Okay, so this is the other Christmas idea I got. Obviously I got this idea from The Polar Express. It's not really an overly cheerful story so far, and I'm not too sure how it will end up, but I thought I'd give it a shot.

This story is about the last time the Polar Express ran (5 years ago), the year that everything that could go wrong. Did go wrong.

5 Reviews if you want this one continued as well!

Smiler For Joe!