The Nightmare Before Christmas
Fire was everywhere. If Sydney had known what Hell was, she would have thought she was there. The smell of smoldering ash filled her lungs. Through the load cracking of the fire, she could hear the faint screams of two familiar voices. As she moved towards the screams, the fire rose and engulfed her into a tiny cubicle. There was no escape. Suddenly, before her very eyes, a wall of fire began to part. It appeared as if the fire was burning around an invisible sphere. It was more than five times her size. The sphere began to fill with the color white. Two large black holes spiraled into place beside each other on the sphere. They looked hallowed out. Two small black holes took form between the two larger ones. A thin snake-of-a-black-line slithered across the bottom of the sphere from left to right. It curved almost to resemble a smile. Finally, little stitch marks appeared all across the smile.
Sydney's breath stopped as she tried to take it all in. To her eyes, the figure came together as a humongous looking skull. Then the eyes glared and the smile became an evil sneer.
"Who are you?" whimpered Sydney.
The skull gave a deep, evil laugh. "Ha, ha, ha, ha! Beware you foolish mortal. For I am The Pumpkin-"
Sydney awoke. She turned over and felt the cold slush of sweat on her head and pillow. She ran her hand over her forehead and felt the salty dew. She swung her feet over the side of the bed and went to the bathroom. Her footsteps were muffled by the soft "pat pat" of the carpet, but nothing could hide the noise of the sink when she splashed her face. There was a rustle down stairs in the living room. Sydney froze, listening intently. There were a few thuds on the floor, some rapid footsteps, scratching, and then silence. Sydney was in a trance of fear.
Who could that be, she thought. What were they doing? Why now, Christmas Eve? Wait, Christmas Eve!
"Santa!" Sydney gave a loud squeak. She dried her head on the nearest rag and shot out of the bathroom. But of course, brakes aren't something a five-year-old takes into consideration. Sydney tried to stop at the top step of the stairs. That backfired. Her feet tangled, and she rolled and twisted all the way down the flight of stairs. She landed painfully on her face. Sydney lay mangled on the floor for a few seconds. After some involuntary twitching, she stood up, dusted herself off, and tiptoed to the Christmas tree; she didn't want to risk being heard, let alone demolish the tree with her breaks. Sydney walked through the dark house with her hands in front of her. She kept alert for the beaconing light of the Christmas tree. It glowed a rainbow of colors that flashed softly. She turned the corner to the living room and her eyes lit up. There before her was the shimmering Christmas tree, decorated with shinny, pastel ornaments. At the foot of the tree several presents nested cozy and untouched. It was beautiful.
Sydney slowly crept up to the tree. Apparently she was right about Santa's visit. There were many new presents under the tree. Strangely, the presents were wrapped in orange and black paper, Halloween colors, but Sydney didn't notice. She approached a package with her name on it. It was wrapped in orange paper and tied together with silver ribbon. She extended her hand slowly towards the present, and then drew back. She hesitated weather or not to touch it. She knew if she did, she would have the impulse to rip the wrapping to shreds and brake open the box. That's why her dad always had to hide the presents. Once again, Sydney extended her hand slowly to the gift. It hovered a centimeter over the box, for just a moment of hesitation. Her hand finally came down and slowly ran along the smooth surface. The impulse shot through her. The surge ran through her arms, into her fingers, and died at the paper as she tore off the wrapping corner from corner. She jammed her fingers into the lid slot and ripped the top off. The mystery of the present caused her to halt. She put her head close to the opening and tilted the box to her face. Sydney peeked inside. What happened then would change the course of her life forever.
In the gift was a dark object. Sydney hoped it was a doll. She pulled her arm back to reach inside. Just at that moment, the object looked up at her with two piercing red eyes. Sydney's heart jumped into her throat, but not before the dark object jumped out of the box. It leaped over her head and landed hard on the floor. Sydney jerked around to face the creature. It was a small, possessed doll. It looked like an anima monkey, cute and round, but with exceptions. In place of arms were bat-like wings. It had large fangs, black fur, and an evil face.
Standing to be two feet tall, the monkey glared directly at Sydney. Her blood ran cold. Her body shook to the beat of her speeding heart. The doll sniffed the air and gave an evil grin. It smelt her fear. The doll spread it's wings and leapt into the air. It began to flap, recklessly around the room. Things were knocked over. Possessions were broken. Loud crashes went through out the living. Sydney freaked out.
She ran around the living room screaming, " Mommy! Daddy! Mommy! Daddy! Mom-" SMACK! Sydney slammed against the wall. She slowly slid off it, making a sticky sliding noise, and collapsed onto the floor unconscious.
The doll was flying around the dark room and it bumped into the Christmas tree. The tree wobbled, then fell into the empty fireplace. As it fell, the branches caught the gas knob and a fire was ignited. The treetop sizzled for a few minutes, then a flame traveled along the trunk. The little flame eventually became a fat, healthy bon fire. It ate the tree and presents whole. The smell was ghastly, and the sight sick. The fire spread to the carpet, then the curtains, even the walls. The heated fury had expanded throughout the living room. It encased Sydney into a tiny space, which wouldn't stay fire free for long. Sydney's body gave small shivers from the intense heat. There was no escape.
The doll still flapped around the ceiling. It was overly excited by the action. Out of a mysterious act of either heroism, or stupidity, the doll swooped down over Sydney and snatched her small body up in its claws; the same as a bird would do to its prey. The doll could still fly, but the weight of Sydney caused the toy's wings to strain. In a struggle to stay in flight, they both crashed out the livingroom window. The doll wavered in distance from the ground as it flew on. It dropped Sydney in the snow, across the street from her house, while the doll flew off into the night. Just like a bat out of Hell.
Sydney awoke moments later. She sat up and wiped the moisture from her forehead.
She thought she was sweating in her sleep again, but she never got a chance to question where she was, or how she got there. Her eyes were filled with tears as she gazed across the street at her burning home. Noises of the cracking fire, faint screams, and emergency sirens filled the air; it was all muffled to Sydney.
Everything around her was horribly fuzzy, except for the final words of her parents, "…if I die before I wake…" These words were played over and over again in her mind. Sydney's stomach lurched. She held it tight in pain. Sydney bent over and threw up. Immediately after, she fainted again.
The next day, headlines of the imposter Santa on Christmas Eve appeared everywhere around the globe. This was the same imposter that broke into Sydney's house and left the evil present. This was the same evil present the caused Sydney's traumatic experience. This was the same traumatic experience that was completely over looked, in a small article titled "The Nightmare Before Christmas".