Story Time Contest 2!

[Leon Mordecai]

Another (hopefully last) update, I changed the deadline to Friday December 16th, so 3 extra days to come up with a story.

[Rhyzhe]

The Walking Bread...

 

 

 

Night was approaching as Santa Insidious and his group of elves, were beginning to close shop. Among the group of elves, there were few as the rest had died from PB cancer. There was Rye, Smiley, Suri, Mary, Paralyzed, Nuclear, Bread, Lampshade, Frostbitten, Phonicz, Funky, and Brandon. The group locked up the shop and went to bed to get ready for the next day.

 

As morning arrived, and the sun was shining, Insidious turned on his self-made HD flat screen T.V. and flipped towards the new channel. He wanted to see if there were any extraordinary acts of kindness that was being displayed due to the holidays nearing. Instead all he saw was a bleak future filled with despair. Through his T.V. all Insidious could make out was what seemed like Gingerbread Men ganging up of people and tearing them apart. What was even worse to come was the fact that the pieces of delicious foods were tearing their stubby and sugar filled teeth into people. Staring horrified Insidious ran out of his living room to warn his elves. As he ran, he missed an important fact that would later haunt him. The people that were bitten by the Gingerbread Men were turning... First it was the limbs, then the body, and finally the head. The people were slowly becoming Gingerbread Men.

 

Insidious shook each one of his twelve elves awake and told them it was time for war. They all rushed towards the Workshop and began to prepare. They all had knew that one day, something of the sort was to occur. Insidious pressed the emergency button in the control panel of the Workshop and the Workshop had transformed. What was once known as a cheery and jolly little shop where all sorts of joys were made turned into the most secure place on Earth, rivaling the security of even the most well defended places on Earth such as the Steam-Gamers corporation. Suddenly a large screen came out of the back of the wall in the Workshop and it flickered to life. "Caution initiate Self Defense Sequence," said Insidious calmly.

 

A face of an old grumpy man soon appeared onto the screen and replied with "Self Defense Sequence initiated." All the elves stood there stunned as they watched the magic appear before their eyes. Rows of AK-47s, M4s, Negevs, P90s, and even AWPs appeared before them.

 

"It's time to go to war," Insidious muttered. With the limited time they had, all elves rushed to get ready to protect their safe-haven. In this new Pentagon like structure, there was only one way in and one way out. Along the sides of the building were many slits allowing for the group of survivors to shoot down any impending enemies. A couple of days past, and there was no sign of anything approaching, and of course that was until everyone in the fortification heard Smiley's bloodcurdling scream. Everyone rushed to see what had caused this and they found Smiley with her eyes open wide, in a fetal position. Outside along the horizon of snow was many, no innumerable amounts of walking cookie masses. Knowing that if they were to hole up within the building, they would only die and eventually get overrun, Insidious yelled "Get to your stations!" while hurrying along toward the control panel. "Caution, what are our chances of survival?"

 

"I'm afraid there is only a 5% chance of survival," he grimly replied.

 

"I never thought that this would come so early," Insidious stated, looking down with a face full of disbelief. He grabbed himself an AWP, and began walking forward toward one of the windows. All the elves had already gotten their weapon of choice and were beginning to shoot.

 

There was Mary and Suri handling the P90s like pros, spraying away at the horde, trying to chip their numbers. Nuclear, Bread, and Funky were all manning the AK47s and M4s, getting the Global Elite status head-shots one after another. Funky had even seemed as if he was giving a smootch to every single cookie he dinked. Rye, Paralyzed, Lampshade, and Frostbitten were all taking the Negevs as they were all noobs and didn't know how to spray control. Finally, there was Phonicz and Brandon also handling the AWPs, side by side with Insidious. The horde seemed to never end as the group of survivors were shooting for hours on end, with no hope of survival in sight. The Gingerbread Men were finally nearing the establishment, and were beating against the sides of the shop, trying to force their way inside.

 

"Pleaseeeeeeee!!" shouted Phonicz trying his best to gun down every single piece of cookie in sight. Suri let out her war cry in order to boost the morale of the team and try to defend the building for as long as possible. She let out a piercing scream that seemed to have even stunned the Gingerbread Men outside. With her new found power of a stunning scream, Suri shrieked to her hearts delight.

 

In the background, Frostbitten was heard yelling toward the horde of Gingerbread Men, "You some bunz!" he yelled, trying to intimidate the mindless swarm.

 

"Caution! Use the Ban Hammer!" exclaimed Insidious, once realizing that the Gingerbread men might actually tear down the shelter. The grumpy looking man on the screen suddenly brightened and smiled with glee. Above the doorway to the shop, a large mallet appeared with large red lettering along the side. It spelt out the word 'BANNED', and it began to fall at a frightening speed and power. The pieces of cookie outside were no match for this secret weapon as they were instantly crushed by it. However, the one flaw was that the Ban Hammer had a limited supply and it would run out of power after some time. The survivors were still in a state of danger.

 

Even after more hours of continuous shooting and killing, there were still many Gingerbread Men coming. It was as if the entire would was pitted against this one little group of survivors. It was them that Insidious and his elves heard the sound of gears slowing down and they realized that their Ban Hammer had run out of steam.

 

This was the worst time for it to fail as a large group of Gingerbread Men were approaching. They were doomed. It was then Brandon threw down his AWP and jumped outside. It was a suicide mission with no pre-planning. Insidious quickly understood Brandon's goal and he yelled out to all his fellow defenders, "Give him cover fire!" Brandon was rushing past all of the zombie like cookies and made it to the backup generator at the back of the shop. He quickly hooked it up to the shop, restoring the power of the Ban Hammer to the fortification once again. However, he realized it was too late for him. He knew there was no way back to get inside of the shop with everyone else, but he wanted to go out guns blazing.

Running back to the front, Brandon was thrown a Negev from above and he laid waste to all the cookies in sight. Nonetheless, even courage and bravery had a limit. Slowly swarming Brandon were a group of Gingerbread Men and he knew it was time.

 

"Good-bye my dear friends," Brandon whispered as he was buried underneath the pile of cookies. A single tear dropped from Mary's right eye as she watched her brother from above.

 

"You will be remembered..." she breathed. All the other defenders looked at him with sympathy, pride, and with tears in their eyes. He was the sacrificial lamb that had saved them. As the group of walking cookies backed away from his body, the defenders all saw the horror that was missed earlier by Insidious. Brandon slowly got up, but he wasn't the same. He was one of them. All the other defenders saw this and their spirits plummeted finally knowing the source of the Gingerbread Men. They knew that it wasn't like the whole world was pitted against them. The whole world was pitted against them. With a firm face, and a P90 in hand, Mary gunned down her once elf comrade, once again restoring some spirit and morale within the team.

 

Trying to help her, Nuclear let out a "REEEEEEEEEEEEEE," while Bread wrote it on a piece of paper as he was mute. This then lead into the group fending off the attackers for the rest of the day and night. By the next morning the group was more sluggish, however the amount of Gingerbread Men were dwindling. There were mountains of bodies strewn across the now crumb filled snows of the North Pole. With only a few Gingerbread Men left, the group quickly finished them all and realized that there were no more. The bad TTT player squad, consisting of Rye, Lampshade, and Paralyzed all let out a sigh of joy as they had lived through this nightmare.

 

"Fucking RDMers," muttered Rye as he took a seat with his body covered in sweat.

 

"Tell me about it" replied Lampshade. Paralyzed looked over his shoulder and saw Smiley still stuck in the fetal position.

 

"Are you fucking kidding me? Were you doing that the whole time?" He exclaimed, with a baffled face.

 

"It's fine" replied Insidious, "She's a girl gamer." They had survived. "Caution, initiate the Wall of Trump." said Insidious. The snow outside began to rumble and soon a very tall and thick wall of steel erupted from the ground and surrounded the building. The group was finally allowed some peace of mind and rest. Soon a cheer began as all the defenders realized that they had achieved victory. Although the rest of the world was most likely over-run, the small group of defenders were able to hold their own and live. With this in mind, the defenders shouted with glee and joy, finally able to enjoy a happy holiday...

 

Special thanks to @Suri, @smiley, @Rye, @FunkyFingers, @Frostbitten, @LampShade, @Bread, @Nuclear Onion, @Insidious, @Paralyzed, @marymurder, @Caution @Brandon, and @Phonicz

 

[Exk]

Here's the mess of a story that my brain had created a few days ago. I decided to try writing up this concept at 3 AM instead of studying/sleeping/doing anything more productive so hopefully it somewhat flows alright...

 

 

You Can’t Escape Christmas

 

“W-Where am I…?” I thought to myself.

 

My vision began clearing and I felt a wave of soreness spread across my body. I looked up and saw four figures huddled up muttering to themselves. As I gained full consciousness, I realized my arms were chained up and my legs were tied together. I didn’t know why I was here, or what was happening.

 

“What am I doing here? Why am I tied up?!” I screamed at the apparitions.

 

“You have betrayed S.A.N.T.A and attempted a rebellion.” The first figure replied.

 

I stared at the group, uncertain of what they meant. I remembered the last thing I was doing. I was sitting with my family, chilling by the T.V. and watching the Christmas celebration. I wanted to leave because I hated Christmas with a passion, and I had told my family that I was going to go for a walk. After I walked out, I blacked out and woke up here.

 

“S.A.N.T.A? Rebellion? What are you talking about?!” I responded. “I just wanted to go for a walk… and avoid the celebration.”

 

“You have disrespected the sacred tradition known as Christmas by avoiding participation. You have shown signs of rebellion by requesting the cancellation of Christmas in your family. Your clear hatred towards Christmas will no longer be tolerated.” The second figure said.

 

“Your wish to no longer celebrate Christmas will be granted though!” The third figure chuckled. “You will never have to celebrate Christmas again.”

 

“Never celebrate Christmas again? How?” I inquired.

 

I didn’t like the way they all chuckled. The group moved closer towards me while continuing their snicker.

 

“We know you don’t understand what is happening, so I’ll give you your final Christmas present: the knowledge of what is happening.” The fourth figure said. “Five years ago, we took over this pathetic town and made it self-sufficient. Everyone has jobs now and everyone has a purpose. Christmas is their purpose. They produce to supply presents towards their own families and celebrate this wonderful holiday. Each family also produces a present to give towards Santa, the jolly man that is worshiped on this holiday. We, the four of us, are S.A.N.T.A.”

 

“You’re S.A.N.T.A? So you’re the group that represents the Santa that’s been mooching off our money?” I asked. “Who the fuck do you think you are, leeching off all of us?!”

 

“Heheheee…” The third figure laughed. “You aren’t in the position to swear at us.”

 

“We created this sense of security for this society.” The fourth figure said. “This happy society is our creation. We can do whatever we want, and we deserve every present given to us.”

 

“After all, we’re the reason your society didn’t destroy itself.” The first figure chimed in.

 

“Before us, your friends, families, and neighbors were going to be jobless, and abandoned. The American government had built a wall around you guys to isolate and contain your failure.” The fourth figure continued. “We saved you, at the cost of your own memory. We brainwashed your entire community so that all of you would worship your savior: Santa. With that, we provided jobs, supplies, and life.”

 

“The fact that you defy Christmas shows that the brainwash is fading. So it’s time to dispose of you.” The second figure stated.

 

I was confused, and terrified. I didn’t want to celebrate Christmas because it felt redundant. Buying gifts for my family just to receive gifts from them... It didn't make sense! On top of that, we had to give a thousand dollar gift every year to some random figure known as Santa. It was ridiculous.

 

“Wait, I can change!” I yelled as the four figures grabbed me and began dragging me towards a door.

 

“Well, it’s time to put you where the other defects have gone.” The fourth figure said. “There is no change. Once you’ve broken your spell, there is no way back.”

 

“You can permanently defy Christmas in here!” The third figure joyfully said. “Just look at all the friends you’ll make!”

 

Inside the room was a bunch of bones, and tattered clothes. There were remains that stacked up upon each other. The walls were white and an extreme chill blasted outward from the room. They lifted me up and tossed me in.

 

“Pleas-“ I attempted to yell.

 

The group stared back at me as the door closed.

On the back of the door in red letters a sign read: UNFORTUNATELY, YOU CAN'T ESCAPE CHRISTMAS

 

 

[FunkyFingers]

A Hint of Bloody Deception In The Holiday Air

 

 

 

 

It was Dec 1, in a small town in rural New York. Upon waking up, a young boy lay in his bed, bundled under his polkadot blanket. A smile gradually implanted itself upon the boy's lips, as he realized that Winter and Christmas were approaching. As he began to get out of his bed, he gazed out his window and pictured snow covering a frozen ground, and the jagged branches of the tree’s outside. For this boy, he was not so affectionate and joyful about the upcoming season and holidays’ for the reasons that most children are. He did not desire Christmas presents, for he had never received one, nor given one. He and his family could barely scrape together enough money to put food on the table, led alone worry about celebrating the holidays to a typical “American standard”. For him, he loved the beauty of the pale-white snow, the vibrant red and green Christmas lights that would be hung from houses, stores, and churches. He longed for feeling of the dry, bitter, and frostbitten air that would flow through his clothing, and cause his throat to be dried up each time he awoke from sleep. Despite the boys’ longing for snow, his section of NY hadn’t received so much as flurry for years, and unfortunately, that wasn’t the only thing not going in the boys favor.

 

Exactly 5 years ago, the boy's twin brother had mysteriously gone missing on his way to school. At the time, the boys’ were 8 years old, and since their family lived a little under a mile from their school, they would walk each morning and afternoon, to and from school. That morning however, the young boy had been sick, and was not going to be attending school that day, so his twin was forced to walk alone. No one knows exactly what happened on that lonesome walk to school, but the twin didn’t make it to school, and hasn’t been seen since.

 

A little over three weeks had passed, and it was now early morning on Dec 24, Christmas Eve. To no one’s surprise, there still hadn’t been even a glimmer of snow, however, that didn’t keep anyone out of the holiday spirits. Even the young boy and his family, who had nothing, were still in a rather joyful mood. The young boy, who was out of bed early, was ready to follow his daily routine of walking into town and observing all of the festive events taking place. He threw on his shoes, and put on the heaviest jacket he owned, which was basically a torn up sweater, and leapt out the door.

 

All was normal and well on his trek to town, until he saw something laying on the sidewalk. As he approached it, he saw that it was a piece of paper. He bent down, picked it up, and read what was written on it. It said, “Damien”, and it was written in red ink. Instantly the boy gasped, and felt as if he was going to pass out. Damien, the name written on that piece of paper, was his twins name. He had no idea who would have placed that there. Possibly some of the kids at school who bullied him at school and knew his daily walking routine, maybe it was just left there by accident and it wasn’t meant, or maybe it was left by the man or woman who may have kidnapped his twin. As he observed the piece of paper once more, he looked at the red ink, and noticed something odd about it. It was kind of sticky, and looked exactly how dried blood would look. Slowly he licked his finger, pressed it against the red ink, and then put his finger back onto his tongue. Terrified at this point, he realized that it was most definitely blood that the name was written in.

 

The boy, who was now sobbing, had no idea what to do. So, in the hopes that this was some sort of prank, he continued his walk into town, and was hoping that the Christmas spirit that could be found within the town would cheer him up and take his mind off of what had just happened.

 

Now, the boy had almost made it to town, and with the help of the ornaments and decorations that were placed on the houses that he passed by, he was successfully distracted from what had happened earlier. That was until he spotted it. It was distinctly placed on the village sign that said, “Welcome to the village of Steam Gamers”. It was… another piece of paper with red writing on it. The agony, fear, and shock that the boy had experienced when he had found the first piece of paper had returned. He slowly walked up to the village sign and plucked the piece of paper off of it. The boy was so frightened, that he was shaking, and every hair on his arms and legs were sticking up.

 

Once again, upon the paper, “Damien”, was written in blood, except this time, there was an arrow pointing further into the direction of the town. As if that wasn’t enough to scare the living shit out of the young boy, there was also a green and blue winter hat underneath the village sign. And that particular green and blue hat, was the hat that the boy’s twin brother was wearing on the morning he went missing. It was now clear to the boy that this was no prank, and as much as he wanted to go to the police with this information and evidence, he felt that the kidnapper was watching him, and if he made any attempt to go the police, the chances of his twin being alive would drop even further than they were currently.

 

No longer willing or wanting to be distracted and bothered by the Christmas decorations that that he passed, the young boy nervously continued his march towards the direction that the arrow had pointed. As others passed him, they would stare and even laugh in some cases at his tiny body plowing through crowds of people, while he was trembling and weeping. The young boy did not make notice to the remarks and gestures others were giving him though. He was completely locked in on getting to the location where his brother may currently be. While he was passing through Town Square, he spotted another piece of paper. This time the piece of paper was placed in a Christmas tree, and the dark-red colored blood made it look like an ornament of some sort. However this time, the paper was different. It no longer contained the name “Damien” on it. It just contained an arrow, that was pointing into the only ally that didn’t have any sort of Christmas lighting. Despite this, the young boy was no longer affected by the pieces of paper, for he was ready to rescue his brother, if possible.

 

Inside the alley, the boy could see a drawing on one of the doors. At first, the boy had to glance away, for it was too disgusting to look at. It was a picture of his brother inside of a cage, being given away as a Christmas present. Although it was just a hand drawn picture, it was scarring to the boys still innocent mind and eyes.

 

Upon recovering from the image, the boy took 3 deep breaths, and sprinted into the alley, swinging the door open, and dashing into the house. Once inside, the boy didn’t know what to do. Everything inside house was normal, and actually quite calming. There were stockings under the fireplace, a Christmas tree that was nicely decorated, and reefs all across the house. On top of that, the house smelled like freshly made gingerbread cookies.

 

The boy began to wonder whether this was a prank after all until, he felt something sticky under his shoe. Something that was wettish and sticky. He looked down, and instantly regretting doing so. There were bloody footprints all over the floor that led to the staircase of the house’s cellar. The cellar was the only thing that was lit in the entire house, and from it, echoed softly playing Christmas music.

 

As he began to go down the stairs, the music grew louder and louder, and he began to hear the cries of a small child who sounded like someone who being beat. The boy leapt off the final step, ready to engage anyone who was down there. But, to his surprise no one was there, and the cries he had heard a moment ago had ceased. He looked around frantically for anything that might lead him to his brother. That was when…. he saw the door.

 

This door was not ordinary in the slightest. It was vandalized with writing that spelled out, “HELP”, and, “HE’S COMING FOR US”, and underneath, was a pool of blood that led into the room behind the door. The boy now not only feared for the life of his brother, but was indescribably scared for his. Despite that, he prepared to bust through the door and do whatever needed to be done to save himself and his brother. He softly counted to three. “One...Two...Three”, he said, and then he busted through the door, unleashing a loud battle cry.

 

The boy was greeted with a loud shout of, “SURPRISE!”, as he busted through the door. Twenty-five people must have been inside that room awaiting his arrival, and none wanted to hurt him. In fact, the room was extensively decorated with party equipment, and everyone in the room was decorated in fancy Christmas colored clothing. Amongst those people were some members of the police force that he recognized, his parents, with which he had no idea as to how they managed to get here without him noticing, some of his parents friends, and his brother, Damien.

 

The boy stood there, unable to move from the amount of confusion and shock he was in. Noticing him in this state, the police chief approached him and explained to him what was going on. He told about how they had rescued his brother from his kidnapper weeks ago, but his parents had asked them to keep the boy hidden until Christmas, where they would then throw a surprise party for Damien, and reveal his existence to him. He also explained as to how the weird bloody papers and footprints were traps to lead him unsuspecting to them.

 

The boy continued to stand there motionless as he was still in shock. It took him 2 minutes to gasp out, “What the actual fuck is wrong with you people”. The party guests then laughed open heartedly and said “We knew you’d understand. Merry Christmas!”. The boy did not move one muscle for the rest of that Christmas Eve night, and he was so mentally fucked up from this that he didn’t even notice that it was snowing outside, for the first in years. Whereas the other party goers (his family, Damien, and the other guests), continued to celebrate merrily.

 

 

THE END

 

[Prez]

Ooh this is a good theme, I'll get writing

[Leon Mordecai]

Friendly reminder that the contest ends in a week

Also added an ak47 redline to first place prize

[Leon Mordecai]

Quick reminder that the last day to submit a story is this friday, dec 16th so if you havent submit a story asap

[bb_pls]

Here's my story

 

SG’s secret Christmas

 

It was the day of Christmas and SL4DE had just opened his eyes to his favourite day of the year. Filled with thrill to unwrap his gift, he ran down the stairs in a swift. Thereafter summoning the others, he dashed towards the Christmas tree and moved away the feathers. Overcome with glee, to unwrap the presents which awaited them three. Only to be disappointed by the gift they received. I guess you could say, all of them had been deceived. SL4DE obtained a bad hitbox registration – while that was not in his imagination. Vick received more complaints from Akumu which was not listed on his menu. Matt unwrapped feedbacks about the Minecraft head removal which in the end, did'nt went into withdrawal. Christmas cards which they opened increased their grief, were people from servers, yelling about their disbelief. Several hours later, the Christmas feast was finished while the others were still famished. As SL4DE presented his feast for them to admire, which he claimed was his only desire. He did not notice Jflithy and Reid in the corner, abusing the autohop and using it to ruin his honour. Then the aftermath arrived before they knew it, soon their feast was lost to those bandits! Jflithy and Reid, the bandits in their prime were known as double trouble and to stay clear at all times. Soon after the faggots left, the three switched on their computer in unrest. Their frowns soon turned upside down when they logged into the sg server. Merry as they were, when more and more entered the server. So, to make the most of your Christmas, there’s only one way, anyone can enjoy playing on sg, even when u can't say the n-word.

 

[Valk]

Ice Ice Baby

 

Don't kill me @Leon Mordecai

 

 

 

It was a snowy and chilly day, downtown Weebtown. Shops were closing for the night. Levi was walking by himself when suddenly, a fight breaks out between some weird looking people on the street. Then boom, the street seemed to explode and everything turned to a blur. It seemed to last forever. So many noises and bright lights. The fight seemed to be moving down the road. Then out of the corner of his eye he saw something that would change his life forever.

It was flying though the sky, but it was not. It was gliding on ice, no, it was surfing on ice. Levi thought to himself, “Is that Frozone? No, it can’t be. It has boobs.” As she comes closer he could see that she didn’t look anything like Frozone. She seemed he had caught her eye as well. She shyly smiled causing her to lose her footing and fall off her ice platform. Levi rushed to save her, but she froze into a snowball causing Levi to tumble and fall flat. When he opened his eyes, he saw her up close for the first time.

She had taken off her big fur coat and put it on Levi while he was sitting up. Levi just kept gawking at her. The way her thick brown hair laid on her hair was framed so well by her glasses. She was the most stunning, angelic, and dazzling person he had ever seen. He felt guilty of the others at home that he was betraying, but unlike them she was real. Nervously Levi asked, “Hi, my name is Levi.” She giggled a bit and then said, “My name is Meri.” Levi with his blushing checks, bashfully turns his face away. Meri cheerfully says “You’re cute.” Levi’s heart just fluttered away.

“Hey, here’s my number. I’ve got to get back to the battle,” says Meri. “Here comes BitchBoi69 and Ms. Happy.” Levi looks at the two newcomers running towards them. BitchBoi69 was a muscular man with a thick grey beard and Ms. Happy was a slender blur. In a flash of bright light Ms. Happy appeared right in front him. Giggling she says “What did you find Meri here.” “Nothing, let’s get a move on,” Meri says while blushing. BitchBoi69 finally arrives to the scene and immediately Ms. Happy says, “About time slowpoke.” BitchBoi69 glares at her and replies, “I would be faster if I had one of those things.” BitchBoi69 points at Ms. Happy’s chest.

“You two go on, I’ll be right behind you.” Says Meri. BitchBoi69 shrugs and starts to run from the way he came from. Ms. Happy winks and runs off. Meri turns back to Levi and states, “I better be off.” Her face got closer to his. She bent her neck slightly and gave Levi a little peck on the check. Blushing she rushed off. Levi just sat there and stuck his arm as to wave her bye, but it was like all the energy had been drained from him. He laid down, wrap in her coat, and gazing off into the sky thinking about what just happened.

After a few minutes, Levi stood up and started to walk home. Suddenly Levi felt a cool breeze. He looked at the trees and saw that the leaves weren’t moving. He looked back to where he was walking, then without warning a figure popped up in front of him. She looked like she just bought everything from an apple store. She said “I’ll taking that.” Grapping Meri’s coat from him, send him spinning around. She stopped him and caressed on the other cheek with her lips. “The name is Brenda. Boop.” She says as she pokes him on the nose. Then like the way she appeared. She disappeared into thin air. Levi’s head blurred after that. What would happen next?

 

 

[shoiep]

A little more serious story compared to everyone else.

 

Enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

To My Little Brother

 

Despite the passing of the times, I always seemed to return to this town once a year. I didn't have to. I knew the risks. I knew that each trip could cost me my life. I didn't care. There wasn't a compelling supernatural force that coerced me. It was as if it was an instinct driven into my brain by some hypnotist with a grudge. It still didn't matter though. I just wanted to visit.

 

It's been years since it happened. No one saw it coming. It just happened. In what one would call an ironic twist of events, it seemed that someone, some country, some power of the world decided to play a cruel joke on humanity. It's all hearsay but it's believed that they were somehow hiding the development of a biochemical weapon for decades and finally chose to release it the week before Christmas. Still to this day, no one knows why they did it. Maybe, it was just their sick idea of a Christmas gift for the world. The virus rapidly spread infecting millions in a short period of time. The symptoms were latent at first but would result in sudden death. No one knew what was happening until it was too late. Millions started dying around the world. The CDC reported that victims suffer from dementia and sudden memory deterioration when nearing death. If a natural death occurs while a person is infected, the virus is likely able to become airborne as the corpse rots. In order to prevent this, the infected must die from an outside force such as blunt damage, stab wounds, or a bullet to the head.

 

I was the only surviving member of my family when Christmas came.

 

I was snuffling as I walked.

 

"It's cold."

 

I let out a slow breath just to see the frosty smoke the warm air would cause. I continued to walk through the empty streets of a frozen Nebraska. I decided to take the usual route. It was a pretty long walk to get to the town going this way but it gave me time to think, whether I wanted to or not. As I neared the town, I started to notice more and more footprints in the snow.

 

"No.."

 

There was no doubt in my mind that the militia was here. I grit my teeth and began running. With each step, I gasped for more and more air. I couldn't stop. Soon, the neighborhood I grew up in came into view. I was right. There were countless soldiers patrolling the area. I was filled with an insurmountable anger. I clenched my fists as hard as I could. The rage then turned into feelings of restless inevitability. I knew it would happen sooner or later. They always made their round trips to get rid of any infected stragglers they could find. I just couldn't accept it until now. I shake my head and rid myself of such thoughts. I knew the risks.

 

"At least if I die here, I'll be able to see you again."

 

I grip the straps of my backpack and begin walking toward the neighborhood. I try to stay as close to the shadows as I could. A mistake could cost me my life. I've heard countless stories of men being gunned down on sight by the militia. Something about trying to stop the virus from spreading further. A fine joke if I've ever heard one. Somehow, I managed to sneak through the streets and was nearing my destination.

 

As I moved toward the old house sitting on the outskirts of the town, memories of my time on these streets began flooding back. The memories were vivid, too vivid. Almost everyday, I would come out here with my brother and watch him skateboard. He enjoyed skateboarding and I enjoyed watching him practice his tricks. As he got better and better, I began forming my own interest in skateboarding. I wanted to try it. One day, I asked him if I could get on the board. Of course, he let me. I never fell harder in my life. As soon as I placed my foot on the board, it shot forward and I fell onto my back. I kept trying to balance on the board but fell every time. My brother always told me never to give up.

 

"Every time you fall, you just get right back up. It's nothing to worry about. Just try a little harder each time and you'll get it. Don't give up."

 

The memory quickly fades as I near the old house. It really hasn't changed at all. I sneak around to the back of the house and find the back door. I take off my backpack and unzip one of the pockets. I reach into it searching for the key. I feel the familiar shape through the tips of my gloves and pull it out. It was a copy my brother made for me so I could sneak in or out of the house when I wanted to. The letter J was etched into the bow. I put the backpack back on and unlock the door.

 

As I walked through the doorway into the house, a familiar scent greeted me. I looked around.

 

"It really hasn't changed at all." I said aloud to no one in particular.

 

I walk through the kitchen and enter the living room. The plastic Christmas tree—its decorations—they were unmoved—unaffected by the pandemic. I sit down beside the tree and look around the room inspecting the decorations placed on the walls. Looking at this, you would never believe me if I told you that hundreds of thousands of people were dying every day outside.

 

I was suddenly brought back to reality. I could hear the sound of several footsteps congregating outside the house. My heart dropped into my stomach. I felt like throwing up. The soldiers knew I was here and they've finally come for me. I would die here and there would be nothing I could do about it. I thought I had accepted the risk of death when I came here.

 

I didn't want to die.

 

I scrambled onto my feet and made my way to the stairs. As I was running up the stairs, I tripped. Someone grabbed my leg. I turn over and look down and try to kick off whatever was holding on to me. I desperately try to crawl up the stairs. I had to escape.

 

"I HEARD HIM. MOVE IN. GO GO GO!"

 

One of the soldiers kicked down the door and several others began rushing in. They were coming for me. I have to hide. I scramble into one of the bedrooms on the second floor. Out of all the rooms I could have chosen, I ended up in my brother's. I hear the footsteps underneath me. I take a deep breath and try to calm down. I collect myself and end up hiding inside the closet. I try to slow my breathing and make as little noise as possible.

 

I can hear the soldiers searching around the house for me.

 

"Nothing here."

 

"Roger."

 

"It's clear here too."

 

"Someone go check upstairs."

 

"On it."

 

They're coming for me. They're going to find me. I try to scoot myself into the corner a bit more as to get as far away from the door as possible. I feel something hit against my back as I back up. It felt like a box. I slowly try to turn my body around so I could grab and move the box. I froze when I saw it. It was wrapped. It was fairly thin and rectangular with a purple bow stuck to the side. There was a slip of paper taped to the front.

 

"For Jason."

 

I didn't care about the soldiers anymore. I open the closet door and take the box out with me. I sit on the floor next to the bed. Layer by layer, I hurriedly ripped apart the wrapping. There was a box within the box. It was slightly smaller but had the same rectangular shape. A sheet of paper slid out of the box. It was a letter.

 

"To my little brother,

 

If you're reading this, you probably just ripped apart my present to you.

 

Don't worry, I got the paper for cheap. I'm sure you already got some awesome presents so far but I know that mine will be the best one yet. Probably.

 

(Hopefully, Dad didn't get you a present that would blow mine out of the water. I doubt it though. Haha.)

 

Anyways, I know how you really wanted to learn how to skateboard so I thought it would be awesome if you had your own board. I've been saving up a bit of my allowance so I could get this for you. I chose all the parts myself, only the best for my little brother.

 

When it stops snowing and gets warmer, it'll be training time.

 

We'll get you riding in no time. Just always remember: every time you fall, you just get right back up. It's nothing to worry about. Just try a little harder each time and you'll get it. Don't give up."

 

I was awkwardly sniffing in an attempt to hold back my tears. My hands were shaking as I reached for the end of the box. I pull back the tab and opened it. I pulled out whatever was inside. It was a sleek black skateboard with white wheels just like the one he rode. The underside of the deck had the name "Jason" inscribed onto it in white lettering. I couldn't hold it back anymore. The overwhelming emotions I felt, the inevitability of my death to the soldiers coming for me, after all these years, I decided to accept whatever fate had in store for me. The tears wouldn't cease to flow. I held the board close to my chest and threw away my pride. I could hear the footsteps from outside the room grow louder and louder. I knew the risks. I knew this trip would cost me my life. I didn't care. I held my brother's gift as tightly as I could. I notice one of the soldiers standing in the doorway to the room.

 

"He's in here!"

 

I try to take a deep breath. I prepared myself. I looked over to the soldier who had his gun drawn and aimed at me. The tears wouldn't stop flowing but I couldn't help but smile for some reason. Before I died, I had to get something off my chest.

 

"Hey.. Mr. Soldier. Wanna know the worst part about all of this?"

 

I take a short breath.

 

"I don't even remember my brother's name."

 

I close my eyes, still smiling.

 

The soldier put his finger on the trigger and began to pull.

 

I take a deep breath.

 

"It's cold, isn't it?"

 

*Bang*