"I think it's done..." Michael said looking over the papers he used to put the tree together. It was a fine looking tree to Ana. It had took the poor guy all night to unbend each stem out so they could look full and natural (being stuck inside a box all year long,) and place it round the long pole that shot up from the ground. "Looks wonderful" Ana told him.
The salesmen smiled and took pride in the green tree in front of him. "Thanks!" he told her. "Now to dress it!" Monica said bringing in a ladder with Nicole and Terry. "To bad Andre makes Luda stay cooped up in that store all day to rest" Monica said to the group as they set the metal ladder up by the tree and started to string the red lights Michael thought to use. "Yeah it would be nice for her to see." Nicole supposed as she got to the very top of the ladder to put an angel atop it when she started to shake.
"Watch it Nicole, be careful" Terry told her holding the ladder at the bottom to support his lady friend. Nicole looked down and smiled. "Oh Terry your such a worrier" they both laughed and she was able to get the angel where it should be. But she shook the ladder again trying to come down.
In a flash, Nicole and the ladder feel down and she was on the floor grabbing her leg in tears. "Oh Terry...my leg!" she cried. Ana who was watching ran over to take a look at the damage. "Its going to be okay Nicole, don't worry im going to take a look at her leg." Ana told her. Right behind her came Michael and Monica. "What can we do?" Terry asked. "Just hold her hand" Ana told the young man. Terry smiled at Nicole and took hold of her hand. "It will be okay." he told her again. "You will be..." Ana started pausing to check the girl's leg. "But...I think your leg is broken."
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Back in the electronics store Steve opened his eyes to see a group of blocky shadows moving against the far wall in front of him. At first he wasn't sure what to make of them, could be those damn lovebirds Nicole and Terry (Who names their son that?) darn teens!"Hello? What is it you all? What did Monica make you sing damn Christmas chorals now?" he called out to the shadows.
But no...there was more then two and these things were creeping on him... stalking their prey! He had seen it many times hunting in the fields of Africa. Shooting animals was this things, a rich mans got to right? To his horror it wasn't the group of the mall, it was of the group outside trying, clawing to get in each day. Zombies! Ones that were now running towards him with hungry, shrieking moans and foaming months!
They started to rip at his body. They were tearing his flesh clean off his chest! He couldn't move, the pain was so excruciating he prayed it would end soon, and that he wasn't the only one to have to feel it...he wanted them all to die like he did! "Fuck!" He screamed as one, a female took out his liver and lifted it up to look at it, right before she flung it to her teeth and started to devour it. Staves eyes bugged out of his head before everything went black...
"Hahaha!"
"Yeah this is good!"
"Sure is!"Was that laughing he heard? Wait was he really just attacked? Could he be in Heaven? Hah that even gave him a laugh, Hell was more like the place he was headed. But this place didn't sound like hell...and when everything cleared from the darkness it didn't look like hell...it was the center of Crossroads! Well it could be hell sometimes when that salesman comes up with a plan, or the nurse pulls that moral bullshit she loved to spray out all day! But no this wasn't hell... it wasn't HELL! But what the hell, no pun intended just happened?
The group was all eating dinner close by a rather large green tree, and a row of stockings hung from the counter of Hollowed Grounds. He looked it all over and smirked. Monica didn't do such a bad job on it. It almost felt like Christmas. Ah what the hell! He was hungry and he evidently had a fucking nightmare due to Monica's constant bitching, and was fine now.
"Its kind of sad"
Michael said full from his meal.
"What is?" Kenneth asked still picking on a stake Norma cooked up.
"Steve..." Michael started. I cant believes those things got in and we didn't hear it! I knew we should have fortified this place a bit better"
"Well I for one wont miss him..." Ana told them all. Everyone there seemed to nod in agreement! Those assholes! Steve thought. Well all but Monica who didn't look up when they brought up his name. "I mean what's to miss?" the nurse asked. "His ego got in the way of what might have been a good person inside...deep, deep inside!"
That hurt him a bit...he for sure wasn't THAT bad of an asshole!
"Upset?" A friendly voice asked. Whoever it was came right to his side and stood in alignment to him. Steve turned to see that girl's dad! Frank next to him!
"What the fuck! Your-"
"Dead?" Frank asked with a small smile. He turned his glance over to the young Nicole. His daughter.
"I don't understand I heard you being shot in the head! This isn't right!" Steve told him. Frank now stood face to face with him. "Nothing is Steve," he told him. "Yeah well that's not obvious with the dead walking and all" Steve said moaning to the dead...or not so dead Frank. "I mean your not here either" he told him. Steve rolled his eyes a bit. "Say what Casper?"
Frank shook his head. "Your not here...go on call to them." Steve wasn't going to do that... "Why?" he asked. "Don't you want to prove if im not so wrong?" Frank questioned him. "Nah" Steve told him.
"Yeah well anyways thanks again for this Monica, it was great for all of us" Ana smiled and told the girl.
"Oh...yeah thanks glad you liked It." the always lively Monica spoke low and frail like.
"I'm done with this" Steve said ready to walk away. "You cant Steve this is your life!" Frank told him. Now taking his eyes off Steve and back to the party, and Nicole. "You are lucky enough to still have one...to have a chance even if it's a small one to see the people who are in your life one more day."
Steve could tell the man was longing to hold his daughter, and he wasn't sure how this all added up to him. "Steve don't be a fool and waste what little time you may have left...because when you do indeed pass you wont have it so easy!"
Everyone was gone now, blank...Frank gave him a smile and flashed into the darkness that was overtaking him once more. "Wait!" he called out.
He was back on his sofa. The Zombies were ripping at him again, blood falling out his center like a shower. Ahhhhhhhhhhh God! He screamed into the darkness.
And then everything was silent...