Making Christmas

Mister Jenkins was a very large man, a very giving man, a very cheerful and family and kind man and as long as everyone kept thinking that there was no reason for the press to look a little closer at Mister Jenkins work.

His factory polluted and tipped it into the ocean, his scientist experimented on animals, many a times work colleagues or the competition would simply disappear and not turn up again, but if they did it would be in less the recommendable conditions and Mister Jenkins would be so very sorry.

As he sat back in his wingback chair, with a cigar between his greedy fat lips, a smirk on his face as he looked over his most recent break through. A way to smooth over wrinkles was perfect, never mind the toxic sludge which was dropped into the ocean and poisoned the waters and the fish, he bought his fish out of state for that reason. He knew of some of the things which were going into the sea.

A clatter made him jump and he turned towards his chimney and frowned as he watched the soot tumble and fall out of the chimney before figure tumbled out, covered in dust and cobwebs and soot as he rolled and eventually stopped.

Mister Jenkins had screamed and hid behind his chair, waiting a few moments before poking his head out to see the figure had not moved and was lying in a very uncomfortable and unnatural way.

Where they dead?

Jenkins got up and walked over to the figure looking over the ghostly face and doll costume… he snarled and picked the limp thing up, it's arms swung back loosely.

"Just a damn doll!" he snarled as he looked it over. Was someone trying to scare him? It was heavy for a doll, it was Christmas Eve not Halloween for crying out loud!

He looked the doll over, pale white ghostly face with blink eyes that were also a ghostly white, long red locks hung from its head and it's costume made it more look like a court jester.

He scowled at it. "Creepy looking thing…. what sort of freak would own a cru-"

"I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you.. not a very nice thing to say."

Jenkins looked over to the door way to see a man dressed in a Santa costume, it looked like it had some darker red stains on the suit and the beard.

"Who are you?"

"Father Christmas… or maybe I'm more like Krampus," he mumbled as he tossed him something which fell on the floor.

Jenkins stared at it for a moment. "A… lump of coal?"

"You've been a very bad boy, Mister Jenkins and you're on the naughty list," the Santa smiled at him. "I've come to collect well… we've come to collect…"

As if on cue the doll sprang to life and wrapped one of it's legs around his neck and curled his body around him before twisting completely.

There were a few chocking and clicking sounds before a sudden snap and Mister Jenkins fell to the floor as the doll rolled out of the way.

It lay there for a few seconds before it slowly sat up, body first, no movement with it's arms and then it's head snapped up to look at the Santa across from him.

"You did excellent, Ragdoll."

"It was my pleasure," Ragdoll spoke as he slowly stood up, hunched over and tilting his head to an 180 degrees angle. "He hurt the monkeys, I like monkeys," he mumbled before stretching his arms out and spinning the joints around in large circles, joints clicking and creaking as he did it. "Where to next, Mister Day?"

Julian Day or the Calendar Man as he was also known, smiled at him from behind the beard of the Santa costume, beckoning him to follow out of the house of the now recently departed Mister Jenkins to the van they were using as their sleigh for the evening.

"We need to visit a Mrs… oh I forgot which name she now goes by… she's a bit of a Gold digger you see and her husbands always end up dying mysteriously," he opened the back and lifted a parcel out and lay it in front of Ragdoll. "In you go…"

The raggedy man obliged and put his long legs in first, before he was kneeling in the box, then he bent his back so he lay flat against his legs, his shoulder blades touching his heels and then wrapping his arms around himself, before sliding his head forward onto his chest so he was looking up at the sky and then the lid of the present as Calendar Man picked him up and carried him into the back of the van.

He drove for a few moments, picking up the present Ragdoll was hiding in and lay it on the front porch before he placed some coal in front of the box and rang the door bell.

Julian waited in the van as he heard a scream and then silence before be lowered the van window and Ragdoll slipped inside, rolling his long limbs through the window before he curled up on the seat.

"Now where to good sir?" he smiled behind his mask as Julian pulled up next to an orphanage. "I hope you're not thinking of hurting some kiddies," Doll said lightly but there was an undertone as he watched Day leave the van, carrying a fire axe.

"No, quite different actually. The people who run this have been very very naughty."

There was silence for a moment. "Then good sir I suggest you do hurry and teach the blighters a lesson!"

Julian was already up the steps, opening the door and walking through until he found the office of the one in charge.

"Go away," the old witch hissed. "Santa is supposed to be tomorrow not this evening."

"Now you and I both know, no Santa is coming either days," he swung the axe up above his head. "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year."

Ragdoll was busy gathering the presents and sneaking into the rooms of the children, leaving the little gifts they'd picked up and stolen from naughty children's houses on their way and placing them at the foot of the beds as Calendar Man did his work. Down stairs there was only screams and the sound of an axe swinging. Soon there was just the axe swinging and a squelching sound along with it.

One of the children stirred awake and stared at Ragdoll who stared back and tilted his head again.

"Who are you…?" the child asked sleepily.

"One of Santa's elves… go back to bed."

"Where's Santa?"

"Punishing the witch downstairs."

"Has he given her coal?"

"Oh yes, the biggest lump of coal you'd ever seen little missy, now back to sleep and no peaking until Christmas," he booped her on the nose and she giggled before going back to sleep and then Ragdoll slithered back to the van watching Julian leave, dropping the bloody axe on the way out.

"Good sir where are the pieces? Surly you don't intend to scare the children with a corpse?"

He shook his head and started up the van again. "No, I used her as Christmas decorations, eyes as baubles, guts for tinsel, chunks as advent candles…"

Ragdoll was silent as he listened to Julian list off all the things he used the woman's body parts for, there was a long list, who would've known he'd be so creative and festive and decidedly morbid all in one thought out plan.

Calendar man turned to Ragdoll when he was finished and tilted his head as the other man stared at him for a moment.

"Where did you get the glitter?" was the only question Ragdoll asked of the entire thing.

They worked like this for all of Christmas Eve, Calendar Man living up to his name, Ragdoll being his little helper or sometime Reindeer when the time came, now it was almost midnight and they were going back home listening to various Nightmare Before Christmas songs finding it fitting for what they'd been doing this evening.

"Did you know it's tradition to tell ghost stories at Christmas Eve?" Julian asked and Ragdoll shook his head. "Yes.. not many do it now, I imagine Scarecrow would be rather good at it, wouldn't you agree?"

"Oh yes indeed!"

They fell into silence again save for the song playing in the background as they drove to their next destination.

'Time to give them something fun, they'll talk about for years to come, lets hear a cheer from everyone,'

Calendar man smirked as he drove and the bell struck midnight. "It's Christmas time…."

THE END.

Note: Well it is tradition to tell ghost stories on Christmas Eve... hope you enjoy! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all, expect more stories to come! Probably one for Christmas and Boxing Day and then one for New Years :D

See you all soon, hopefully get all these stories done and finish off 2018 with a bang! Ready to start 2019 with an even bigger bang and a deffinate return to this series :D

Merry Christmas!