Here's a little something special for the holidays, hoping all of you readers out there will have a Merry Christmas. So, without further ado…
Prequel Heroix:
Adventure of The Polar Express
Chapter 1: Christmas Eve, 5 Years Ago
5 years ago, young Maxwell 'Max' McGrath was laying quietly in his bed. 'On Christmas Eve, many years ago, my cousins and I lay quietly in our beds. We did not rustle the sheets. We breathe slowly and silently. We were listening for a sound I was afraid I'd never hear again. The ringing bells of Santa's sleigh.' Just then, a small jingle woke Max from his sleep. As the jingling continued, he got up from his bed and walked over to his window. As he looked out, he accidentally placed his arms on the furnace, accidentally burning his forearms. "Ouch!" He yelped quietly, rubbing his arms. He rubbed the fog off his window and looked outside. Out there, he saw nothing but the snow covered neighboring houses and the snowman he and his cousins built. Just then, he heard the jingling sound again, coming from outside his bedroom. As he snuck his way towards his door, he accidentally kicked his baseball, which bounced off his toy bulldozer and hit the metal disk on the furnace, causing him to freeze a bit. His cousins, Yeager and Zad, stirred in their sleep at the noise, but drifted back to sleep. When the noise finally died down, Max snuck over to the door and crept out of his shared room.
As he crept down the stairs, he peeked down to the living room to see if Santa was there. But to his disappointment, there weren't any presents under the tree, the stockings were empty, and the milk and cookies he and his cousins left for Santa were still sitting on the table. He sighed in sadness, thinking that Santa wasn't coming. But then, he heard the jingling again. He looked towards the kitchen and saw a shadow in the light, resembling Santa Clause. Max stared in shock, thinking that it was really Santa Clause himself. But then, the shadow suddenly shifted into 4. "Okay, girls, you've had your water. Now let's get you upstairs and into bed with the boys." The voice of his uncle Forge Ferrus said. "But, but, but, but we have to…" Vandana tried to say. Max quickly and quietly hurried back up the stairs. As he closed the door to his shared room, he looked through his keyhole as he listened to his cousins, Vandana, Wandella and Xena talk with their parents, Forge and Amelia, and his mother, Molly. "He said that Santa would have to travel faster than the speed of light to get to everyone's houses in one night." Xena said. "So?" Forge asked. "And to hold everyone's presents, his sleigh would have to be bigger than an ocean liner." Vandana said. Max started feeling guilty for saying such things to his own cousins. "Oh, Max said that? Well, he was just kidding you. He knows there's a Santa." Amelia said. "He said he wasn't sure. He wasn't sure if Santa was for real." Wandella said. Now Max's guilt got even stronger. 'When did I ever stop believing Santa was real or not?' He thought. "Of course, Santa's for real. He's as real as Christmas itself." Forge said. "But he won't come until you're all sound asleep, young ladies." Molly said, kissing Vandana, Wandella and Xena on the cheeks as they lied down into their beds. "Yes. Sweet dreams, my little angels." Amelia said as she and Molly left. "Santa will be here before you know it. So, go to sleep." Forge said as he turned off their lamp. But as he closed the door, Max saw a Santa hat with a bell on the tip sticking out of his pocket.
After they left, Max was deep within his thoughts now. Being careful not to wake Yeager and Zad, he got his flashlight, went over to his drawers and pulled out some hidden shames on his growing disbeliefs. One was a picture from the mall when Xena pulled the fake beard from the mall Santa. The second was a newspaper clipping of mall Santas going on strike. And the third and final was a post magazine with a boy on the cover in shock after discovering a Santa costume in his parents' closet. Thinking again, he pointed his flashlight over to his alphabet world books on the shelf over his desk. He walked over, pulled out the book titled N-O, sat down and looked through the pages until he got to the page on the North Pole. "Stark, barren…devoid of life." He read, starting to believe nothing could live in the North Pole. Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming. He shut the book and put everything away before hopping back into his bed. He quickly closed his eyes, pretending to sleep as Forge, Amelia and Molly walked in. "He's gotta be asleep by now." Forge whispered. "Poor Max. He used to stay awake all night, waiting for Santa." Molly whispered. "I'm starting to think those days are…just about over." Amelia whispered with regret as they walked to Max's bed. "Oh, that would be sad if it were true. Especially to his father." Molly whispered. "Yeah. The end of the magic." Forge whispered. Max's eyes opened as he said that before closing them again. "Merry Christmas, sweetheart." Molly whispered, kissing Max on the cheek. Max opened his eyes as he watched them leave through the furnace's panel's reflection. "I'd say he's out like a light. An express train wouldn't wake him or his cousins up now." Forge whispered as they closed the door.
'End of the magic?' Max thought in confusion as he turned and looked up at his ceiling. He wondered what his uncle meant by that. He looked over at his clock as it ticked. Deciding to just sleep on it, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. The ticking of his clock echoed in his ears. Until suddenly, the ticking stopped and was replaced by another jingle and a rattling noise.