A/N: So we've officially crossed the threshold of the halfway mark. Everything from here on out is nothing but intense action packed romance moments. I'm not going to lie, if I didn't have a deadline the next five chapters (including this one) would've been separated into about ten, yeah that's how intense they get. I hope you'll stick around till the end because things are about to kick into high gear. Just so you guys known I'm teasing you with the Ethan/Sarah stuff at this point (or am I?). Enjoy! For future updates check out my profile, and if you have any questions send a PM!


A Very Whitechapel Christmas

Chapter 5: Reindeer Games

13th December 2012 (PM)

The students in the hallway parted as Erica strolled by, whether in fear or in respect Benny couldn't tell. Some of them wished her a 'Merry Christmas' and others merely looked away as if they feared for their lives, which when you really thought about made sense. Either way something was definitely up, last week the very mention of the holiday would've sent her into a rage that would ultimately cost the school board hundreds in damages. Today she merely laughed it off or smiled and continued on. The puffball on her Santa hat swung back and forth as she gave each and every one of the boys her 'special smile', it made Benny sick.

He was determined to get answers from her one way or another. He had planned on approaching her yesterday but his Grandma had needed him for their family photo, today however there was nothing that could stop him. He wanted the old Erica back, the one that loved Christmas the one that didn't care what others thought, not the one who hated the holidays or the one who pretended to be something she wasn't. He was determined to reach that part of her personality even if it killed him-which is might.

"Merry Christmas," said Benny with a big smile as he approached her. "You certainly look in a more festive mood than normal."

Erica smiled as she patted her Santa hat. "Thank you, I was afraid you guys weren't going to talk to me after last week."

"I wanted to ask you about that."

"About what?" Her smile was starting to unnerve him, she seemed so calm and collected.

"Why were you so sad last week? You came into school, and almost killed someone because they smelled like gingerbread cookies, and now your going around acting the complete opposite. I know we don't get along, but I'm worried. No one can change that fast overnight."

Erica slammed her locker shut, it was bent from the force. Benny took a step back in fear, her eyes were glowing yellow, but her happy demeanor didn't change. "I don't feel like talking about it right now." She made to leave.

Benny put up his arm to prevent her from going anywhere. "You aren't leaving without telling me what's wrong. Ethan and Sarah think you might be possessed by Coal."

"Who's Coal?" For a moment there was the flicker of something else in her eyes.

"About Ethan's height, black hair, dark circles under his eyes, has two large black wings." Benny noticed Erica's sudden change in expression- he didn't like it. Was it recognition or something else? "He uses feathers to bring things to life, he was the one who destroyed the mall, stole the reindeer, and almost killed Ethan last night. I've seen what he can do. He's dangerous and we need to stop him, but we need the entire team. More importantly we're worried about you. Ethan's going to end up using his telepathy if you won't tell us what's wrong."

Erica took a step back, she was on the verge of tears. "You wouldn't understand."

"What do you mean?" asked Benny confused.

Erica's fangs appeared, on reaction Benny pulled out his spell book, the two stared each other down. There was a tense moment when she appeared as if she was going to bite him and instead turned to leave. "Why do you care about my problems so much?"

"Why?" asked Benny incredulously. "Why? Because you're my friend that's why!"

Erica looked at him there were tears in her eyes. "I hate Christmas because it will eventually mean nothing to me."

"What?"

"You're supposed to spend time with your family and friends, but how can I when everyone I care about is mortal? I'll experience a thousand Christmases and for each and every one of them I'll be alone."

"I thought you wanted to be a vampire. And you'll have Sarah with you."

"Sarah wouldn't understand. She's looking for a cure with Ethan, she doesn't see herself as a vampire. If she somehow turned back into a human then where does that leave me? I'll be alone with people I could care less about. The more I think about it the more I realized that I don't want this."

Benny didn't know what to say, instead he pulled Erica into a hug. She cried into his shoulder. "Maybe you weren't meant to be a vampire, did you ever think about that?"

She shook her head and mumbled something.

"I know you don't like being well not what you are now, but maybe that's the problem. Your trying to hard to fit in somewhere you don't belong."

Erica looked at Benny and wiped away her tears. She said nothing and took a few steps back. "You really think so?"

"You don't have to stay a vampire forever, one day Ethan will find a way to make you human again."

"I'll go back to being nothing, I won't even have my powers." said Erica as she looked down at her hands. "I can't go back to nothing... to being invisible."

"Is having your powers really worth the unhappiness?"

She looked at him and shook her head. When she did a feather appeared in her hand, they both watched as it fell to the ground. Benny smashed it with the heel of his foot.

"Coal gave me that because he could sense how unhappy I was, he used it to make the pain of being alone go away. I couldn't tell anyone about my feelings, I wasn't sure how."

Benny nodded. "It's ok. Erica I want you to know that I'll always be here if you need anything. Even if it's just to talk."

She smiled and nodded, then suddenly gave him a shove backwards. "If you tell anyone that I was crying I swear you'll regret it more than Rory did when he dyed my hair black."

"Good to have you back," said Benny sarcastically. "Wait Rory dyed your hair black?"

Erica was already strolling down the hallway, Benny sighed things were definitely back to normal.


Ethan and Sarah walked down the street together, things were still tense between the two of them. He was feeling a little better about the whole incident from the other day, but he could still see the worry in Sarah's eyes. It was something he wasn't used to.

"I know you don't like the idea that I have the feather," said Ethan trying to break the ice between them. "But I think it's an important part of trying to stop Coal."

"Ethan it tried to kill you," She took a step towards him. "You don't know what it's like to have something like that happen, the whole time I was carrying you back I thought you were going to die."

"Sarah I know the feeling, when you left for summer I wasn't sure you were going to come back. I didn't know what I was going to do, I thought-" He turned red as he remembered the days he spent waiting for her, for some sign she would return. "I thought you were gone for good."

"Ethan that's different, you knew I was ok. You might have died!"

"Sarah I didn't know if were ok!" Ethan was yelling now. "That's why I was so worried. I didn't know anything about you; you could've been staked or killed by another vampire. The sooner we understand Coal the closer we'll get to stopping him."

There was another silence between them. Sarah looked away, and Ethan felt ashamed that he has raised his voice. The lights on the trees around them did little to alleviate their foul mood, but after a while they found themselves staring at the bright blue orbs.

"Where are we going?" asked Sarah after a few minutes passed.

"I want you to meet a friend, that's all." They had reached the entrance of the park when Ethan stopped. "Sarah I'm sorry that I made you worry so much." She said nothing, and Ethan felt his heart sink.

"Are we really not going to talk because I'm too stubborn to admit I made a mistake?" He tried to look her in the eyes.

"Don't do that," said Sarah as she turned around.

"Do what?"

"That puppy dog thing you do, it's-" She caught herself and began to walk in the other direction. Ethan was laughing now.

"Oh come on Sarah!"

A few minutes later they met Ethan's friend Garret, a young artist. He was sketching the lights in the park when they came upon him. They spent a few minutes talking when Ethan suddenly threw his arm over Sarah's shoulder. She felt herself turned red and smiled. For a moment any friction between the two melted, and all that was left was something that couldn't be put into words. Garret smiled and a few minutes later they were on their way.

"What was that all about?" asked Sarah trying to remember that she was mad at him.

"Nothing, I just wanted you to meet him," said Ethan as he walked ahead of her and stopped. "Sarah I really am sorry about the other day."

"Stop that," said Sarah as she turned in the other direction. He was doing the 'puppy thing' again. Ethan appeared in front of her again with a look of sincerity on his face. When Sarah tried to turn she found herself tangled in Ethan and then on the ground. He was on top of her, they were both bright red now.

"You know I really care right?" said Sarah looking up at Ethan, to her it was a whole new perspective on the young teenager.

"Really, like care care?" asked Ethan as he felt his heart race.

"Did you really just ask if I care care about you?" asked Sarah with a little giggle. Ethan groaned at his poor choice of words before flopping onto the ground next to her. He didn't think it was possible but he was sure he had turned redder.

"I really-"

He was cut short by a loud snort. They both looked up, the bronze reindeer was standing in front of them and next to it was Coal. Both teenagers scrambled awkwardly to their feet.

"Greetings Ethan, Sarah. I'm sorry to have ruined your little moment." Coal smiled at each of them. "I'm glad to see your alive and well. I was so worried you might have died in the water."

"You wanted me dead," said Ethan he pulled the knife out of his jacket.

"No," said Coal as he looked up. "I've merely shown people what it means to suffer. Do you really think every single person in this world has a happy Christmas?"

"No," said Sarah. "Not everyone, but who are you to take that away from others?"

"I'm going to accomplish something that even old Kris Kringle would be proud of." He motioned for the reindeer. "Be careful. Even someone of your physical strength will have a hard time holding back something this solidly built."

The reindeer charged. Sarah caught it by the antlers and struggled to stop it. It reared it's head sending her into the bushes. Ethan watched as Coal took the sky leaving them with the statue. It looked at Ethan and charged, Sarah jumped forward trying to hold it at bay.

"Sarah we have to go, you're no match for that thing!" cried Ethan as he began to back away.

"Fine, just be ready to grab my hand and we'll get out of here."

She let go, a moment later she had his hand and a few seconds after that they were at his house. In the distance they heard the cry of the statue.

"We're going to need back up to take that thing down." Said Ethan. "Tomorrow, we'll get Benny, Rory, and even Erica. We need all the power we can get."

Sarah nodded and looked at Ethan.

"Thanks for everything. I want you to know that I wasn't mad at you because you lied, I'm mad because you put yourself in danger without a second thought about how it might affect others, or me."

Ethan looked at her. "I-I'm sorry. I never thought about it that way."

She smiled and they both looked down awkwardly.

"I'll see you tomorrow," said Sarah as she gave him a hug.

"Of course," said Ethan as he placed a quick kiss on her cheek. She turned red as Ethan backed into his house. Sarah stood on the porch and touched her cheek. A moment later she raced off into the night a girlish smile on her face. Ethan leaned against the door, he was smiling too.


14th December 2012 (AM)

Ethan, Erica, Benny and Sarah watched as Rory took a seat at their table, he looked far from happy. It was definitely a unique look for the boy.

"Where have you been?" asked Benny as he took a bit from his sandwich. "It's been like three or four days."

"I came across a dead end while trying to prove Santa exists," said Rory with an unhappy look. "So I did the only thing I could think of. I went chimney hopping."

"Chimney hopping?" asked Sarah.

"I was going down chimneys to see if I could make it through Whitechapel in a few minutes like Santa. Unfortunately I got stuck in one of them."

Benny let out a snort. Rory gave him a heartbroken look as he slumped forward. "I guess it would be hard for Santa to fit down all of those chimney's."

"Keep trying," said Ethan as he tried to cheer up his friend. "You'll find the evidence you need."

Rory smiled and sat up. "Your right! Just because I couldn't do it doesn't mean Santa can't! Besides he has magic!"

Ethan nodded and then looked at all his friends.

"I'm sure you've all heard about the reindeer attacks by now." They nodded. "Good because tonight we're going to put an end to it. This is our last day of school before vacation starts. That means kids will be out later, which means there's a good chance the statue might actually go after someone. We can't let that happen."

"Then we'll stop it!" yelled Rory. "Nothing can stop Team V!"

He gave Erica and Sarah a high five.

"It's strong enough that even Sarah couldn't stop it's charge, we're going to have to work as a team on this one. I've even asked Jane to help us out."

They looked at one another.

"Are you sure?" asked Sarah. "She's still a little young."

"She may be young but she is a spellmaster. She'll be with Benny on the sidelines."

"Wait, what? Me?" asked Benny. "How is that going to work out?

"The plan is to prevent the statue from moving, if we can do that then I might be able to use my powers to get to the feather."

"Are you sure?" asked Erica.

The group looked at her. "Coal put one in me and used it to learn all about Whitechapel's Christmas traditions. Thankfully Benny was able to break the hold it had on me."

"Except it made you happy," said Sarah looking confused. "Why would it do that?"

"I don't understand," said Benny. "From what we've seen they bring things to life, so why didn't it change Erica in the same way it did the tree or Santa?"

"I don't know," said Ethan. "But we're going to figure it out, for now let's focus on stopping the statue. Our goal is to bring it back in one piece, if we have to then we'll destroy it. But I think we'd all prefer that didn't happen."

"Ok, we can do this!" said Benny. "Nothing can stop us! Whitechapel has nothing to fear anymore now that we're working together as a team."

Ethan nodded. "It's time we took the fight to Coal."


14th December 2012 (PM)

Ethan walked through his street with confidence. Even though he appeared to be alone, he knew his friends were all hiding, waiting to spring into action. Both Jane and Benny had casted a sleeping spell on the block, there were going to be no interruptions during this battle. When the clock struck eleven the bronze reindeer appeared, Coal was standing next to it.

"Why do you do this to yourself?"

"I could ask you the same thing Coal," said Ethan. "I know your planning on destroying Christmas on Christmas Eve, and I know it has something to do with those feathers."

"You should be grateful you know even that much. Your gift is what's taken you this far and it can only carry you for so long."

"Your leaving a trail of clues behind- why?"

"I want to see how close Icarus can get to the sun before he burns."

"Funny, I'm not the one with wings."

Coal snapped his fingers and the reindeer charged. Both Sarah and Erica fell out of the sky and ran forward. Each one of them grabbed an antler and held the statue at bay. They were slowly being pushed back when Rory fell out of the sky and right onto the thing's head. It was slammed into the ground.

Benny and Jane appeared from the upper window of Ethan's house chanting a spell. The ground turned to mud and the reindeer began to sink in. The three vampires all took a step back. Benny chanted another spell, the ground hardened. The statue was stuck in place.

"Ah yeah!" said Rory as he jumped up. "In your face!"

Coal didn't look in the least bit worried. The statue began to struggle against the cement, it's head swinging back and forth.

"Ethan do your thing!" cried Erica.

"I can't when it's moving it's head like that!" yelled Ethan as the reindeer suddenly broke free. It charged at Ethan. He dove to the side and felt a hot pain run through his leg, it had clipped him. Erica and Rory both attacked the statue. Sarah helped Ethan up and to his front porch.

"Stay here," said Sarah before joining her friends. Rory was knocked backwards onto the ground by one of the hooves, he wasn't moving. The reindeer almost crushed him, Benny blasted it sideways. Erica and Sarah took to opportunity to knock it to the ground. While it was struggling to get up Ethan limped over to Rory, he was out cold.

"Come on," said Ethan as he smacked the blonde's face. "Get up."

Once the reindeer was on it's feet, it charged after the two boys. Sarah caught the thing by the antlers and struggled to hold it back. It was beginning to tear through her hands. Erica ran forward and punched it as hard as she could. Sarah used the momentum to throw it to the side.

"What happened to not walking anymore?" asked Sarah as she ran over to Ethan's side.

"Sorry," said Ethan.

"Can you two flirt later?" asked Erica as she picked up Rory. "We have bigger problems to worry about."

They nodded, and Sarah picked Ethan up. They retreated into the house, outside the statue was getting back up. Benny and Jane were blasting it with several different spells.

"Be careful," said Ethan as Sarah placed him next to the window. She nodded and together with Erica headed back outside. The reindeer was waiting for them on the lawn, a large dent was visible on it's side.

"We're going to have to destroy it," said Sarah. "I don't think we have any other choice."

"Be careful," said Erica as she held up her hand, it was bruised. "That thing is solid."

"I have an idea. Benny, Jane get ready to freeze it's head ok?"

"Got it!" cried the two spell masters from the second story window.

Sarah ran forward and slid across the ground and right under the statue. Taking in a deep breathe and using both both feet she kicked the reindeer on the lower half of it's stomach. It tipped forward and when it did Benny and Jane froze the head to the ground. Erica realizing Sarah's plan took to the sky and came crashing down. Dust and debris filled the air, she had come down with enough force to bend the middle of the body at a strange angle.

A feather fell out from the creature onto the ground and Erica slammed her foot down on top of it. Inside the house Ethan let out a groan as the voice of an older man rang through his mind.

"I wanted to believe they would come visit me, and they didn't come. I've given them everything and they can't even take the time to visit their father during Christmas."

Coal took to the skies. He looked more entertained than anything else. Erica was about to take off after him when Sarah held her back.

"We'll get him another time. We're both hurt." Sarah and Erica's hand were cut and torn from where they'd hit the statue. It would take them a few days to heal but they had done it. They had bested Coal. When Sarah limped into the house, Ethan limped over to her.

"Sarah your hurt!"

"Your not doing much better yourself."

They embraced and helped each other to the sofa. Erica limped in and sighed. "What about me?"

Benny appeared at the stop of the stairs and swept her off her feet. "How's that?"

Erica shrugged. "It's actually nice."

Rory slowly got up and looked around, he saw Ethan and Sarah holding hands on the sofa, then Benny carrying Erica over to a chair.

"I must be some kind of alternate dimension." He passed out again.


15th December 2012

The city seemed unnaturally quiet as the bronze reindeer statue was found smashed in the middle of the park. It was Ethan's idea to move it, the less anything could be linked him and the other the better. Benny and Jane had tried to repair the statue but it was beyond their abilities, for now Whitechapel would have to go without it.

Despite their victory, it was beginning to feel less and less like Christmas.