Twelve Days of Christmas Horror, page 8
Enough of being a small, measly morsel who has no conviction and no hope and no life.
Enough of accepting being a weekend dad.
Enough of allowing the man who stole my wife to judge me.
Enough of this stupid fucking monster in my house.
“Let him go,” I say, and I can hear it in my voice; I can hear the strength, the buzz, the confidence. I can hear who I want to be.
I take another few steps down.
If I stretched, I could reach out and touch it now.
“Give him back.”
Reach out and take–
“I said, give him back!”
I step forward and I find myself on the bottom step.
I see my boy’s tears.
I see the face of Krampus. The face of Christmas evil. The face of everything that I hate about this damn holiday.
“I will not ask again.”
It seems to smile.
And I charge at it, closing my eyes, screaming, putting everything I have into it.
My head clatters the wall.
I am on my knees.
I open my eyes. Henry sits in front of me.
I look behind me and the creature is gone.
And never make me have to return…
I take my child in my arms and we cry together.
I apologise. I start by listing things I am sorry for, such as for not trying harder, for not being there for him, for not fighting for joint custody. Then I run out of things and I just keep saying the words over and over:
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
And we never forget what we’ve learnt.
And, by next Christmas, we decide that I will have him for the afternoon, and Boxing Day too.
She leaves him to come back to me. She says she sees the man she always wanted.
I tell her she can go fuck herself.
And, on Christmas Eve, just as we do every other year, we Track Santa.
And we place a little Krampus ornament atop the fireplace.
A new tradition we create.
A tradition that ensures we never forget.
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Also by Rick Wood
The Sensitives:
Book One – The Sensitives
Book Two – My Exorcism Killed Me
Book Three – Close to Death
Book Four – Demon’s Daughter
Book Five – Questions for the Devil
Book Six - Repent
Book Seven - The Resurgence
Chronicles of the Infected
Book One – Finding Her
Book Two – Finding Hope
Book Three – Finding Home
Shutter House
Shutter House
Prequel Book One - This Book is Full of Bodies
Cia Rose:
Book One – After the Devil Has Won
Book Two – After the End Has Begun
Book Three - After the Living Have Lost
Standalones:
When Liberty Dies
I Do Not Belong
Death of the Honeymoon
Twelve Days of Christmas Horror
Sean Mallon:
Book One – The Art of Murder
Book Two – Redemption of the Hopeless
The Edward King Series:
Book One – I Have the Sight
Book Two – Descendant of Hell
Book Three – An Exorcist Possessed
Book Four – Blood of Hope
Book Five – The World Ends Tonight
About the Author
Rick Wood is a British writer born in Cheltenham.
His love for writing came at an early age, as did his battle with mental health. After defeating his demons, he grew up and became a stand-up comedian, then a drama and English teacher, before giving it all up to become a full-time author.
He now lives in Loughborough, where he divides his time between watching horror, reading horror, and writing horror.
Copyright © 2019 by Rick Wood Publishing
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Also available by Rick Wood…
Rick Wood, Twelve Days of Christmas Horror
