Chapter 4: Sleigh Ride

It was early morning of December 24th as the racers approached the North Pole, and there was no time to lose. Jack continued pushing on the accelerator and fought his way through the final leg. It wasn't until a dark purple Aston Martin One-77 with the license plate 'BACKWELL' overtook Jack at a high speed.

"Marcus? It can't be..." Jack thought. He knew that his rival, Marcus Backwell, was killed in an accident 5 years ago during the final leg stretch of The Run after his car flipped over from hitting a gate. However, Jack could see from the Aston's rear window that it was a female driver. "Must be his sister or something..."

Jack immediately hits the turbo boost. The heavy snowfall made it difficult to drive through, but he never gave up. He didn't want one related to his rival to help Santa, fearing that they might ruin it for the children around the world. The moment Jack caught up with the One-77, he rams it off the road, making it lose control and eventually crashing into an iced lake.

Then, there it was, the finish line between two giant candy canes. With many of the racers left behind and some having been busted by the police a while back, Jack once again successfully wins another race. Many of the elves and Santa himself approached the Koenigsegg and cheered.

"Oh man, I guess I came here for no reason after all..." One of the disappointed racers said as they were forced to go back where they came from after losing the race.

"Ho! Ho! Ho! Congratulations Jack Rourke! You're our lucky winner!" Santa announces.

"Thanks Santa!"

"Well, time to make your car fly, Mr. Rourke!" One of the elves said as Jack drove into the workshop. After a couple of minutes, the car was ready, fitted with a hover converted suspension similar to the DeLorean in Back to the Future Part 2, a high powered engine for flight use, as well as a red light ornament on the hood, similar to Rudolph's red nose, for guide in the night sky.

"Wow, you elves sure are fast!" Jack commented.

"We sure are! We're trained to build toys and other stuff in a heartbeat."

Santa's sleigh was then connected to the back of Jack's Koenigsegg, all set for the delivery of the gifts. The elves then wished Jack and Santa a good luck.

"Ready for takeoff?" Santa asks Jack.

"Ready!" Jack puts the car in hover-mode and takes off into the night sky. He steps on the gas as the car went at lightning speed, causing a huge sonic boom and time suddenly slowing down around them. Jack was rather confused at first.

"Well, it's not like we can actually deliver all the gifts in one night. We're gonna need to have a lot of time!" Santa explains.

"Oh, I see!" Jack flew across the International Date Line, where it was already night time on Christmas Eve in eastern Asia. Airplanes seemed rather motionless in the night sky, as they moving at a much slower pace after time slowed down for Jack and Santa.

Around the world they went as Jack and Santa worked their way in delivering gifts from Japan all the way to the west coast of the United States and Canada. Finally, the final stop was at Jack's house in San Francisco, where they were about to deliver the last gift for Jenny Rourke.

"Well, this is the final stop! Your daughter really has a huge interest in cars, so I got her this little toy model of your Agera R!" Santa said.

"That nice of you! Apparently my daughter also said that she has always wanted to meet you in person." Jack explains.

"Does she? Well, let's do this!"

They landed in front of Jack's house, where Jenny had already gone to bed. After putting the present underneath the Christmas tree, Santa heads over to Jenny's room and pulls out a pocket clock. He pushes a button, which made time move at a normal pace again. Jenny suddenly wakes up and sees Santa standing next to her in bed.

"S-Santa...?" She muttered.

"Yes Jenny it's me, Santa Claus!"

"Oh my gosh, Santa, it is you!" Jenny then rushes over and gives him a hug.

"Ho ho ho, you sure are a good little girl." Santa smiled. "Thanks to your father, I have now spread the joy of Christmas around the world!"

"You mean, daddy helped you save Christmas?"

"Yes, your daddy is a great man! Make sure you thank him tomorrow morning, and be nice to him and others!"

"I will Santa! Thank you!"

Santa then tucks her back into bed and heads back to his sleigh. He and Jack then heads back to the North Pole as the clock strikes Midnight. Christmas has arrived.

"Thank you so much for helping me, Jack! I really appreciate that!"

"Hey, no problem," Jack gives Santa a handshake. "Pleasure working with you!"

Then, Santa notices his reindeers running in the distance near his workshop, realizing that they have been cured. "Well, looks like everything's back to normal. I think you should go home to your family now, our daughter especially. She is gonna be waiting for you on Christmas morning!"

"Alright then, I guess I'll see you again next year!" Jack hops back into his Koenigsegg Agera R, ready to fly back home. Santa and the elves gathered around to wave goodbye.

"Merry Christmas, Jack!"

"You too, Santa!" The Koenigsegg then takes off into the sky on its way back to San Francisco. It's been a long and wonderful night for Jack Rourke.