"Come on, Morrie, you know mom and dad would love to see you."
"Stop it, Rue. I'm not coming home for Christmas," Morrigan sighed, itching to hang up the phone.
"I just don't get the big deal - it's one night!" Rue whined, her voice crackling over the phone.
"Look, I didn't get it off. I got new years off, so I'll be up then. You'll understand eventually, when you have to work to live."
This conversation had played out many times as the holidays approached, and Morrigan was getting sick of hearing it. Her sister pleading with her to come home, Morrigan explaining that she can't, and finally, animosity from a teenager.
"I do get it, Morrie! I have a job too! But I put this family first!"
"You're sixteen, you don't get anything yet. Your job supplies you with money for Starbucks, not rent money or gas money," Morrigan retorted.
"You're such a dick."
Morrigan groaned and rubbed her hand down her face, "Don't be like that, Rue. Don't say stuff you don't mean."
"I
do
mean it. If you're not coming home for Christmas, don't bother showing at all. We're better off without you anyway."
Morrigan swallowed, her eyes beginning to sting, "Stop it, Rue. You're hurting my feelings for real."
"Good. I hope you get what you deserve," Rue growled.
"Ok, Rue. I'll talk to you once you've gotten a hold of yourself."
"Fuck you."
Morrigan pulled the phone from her ear.
Yup, she hung up on me
. Frustrated, she tossed the phone down on her bed. Of course Morrigan
wanted
to go home for Christmas, but she really couldn't afford to miss work. She had really been hoping that Rue would understand, but her sister was naive and emotional. Morrigan hoped that eventually Rue would look back on this and get where she was coming from - but she had a feeling it wouldn't be until she herself had to make tough decisions like ruin Christmas or be evicted.
No matter what Morrigan did, it felt like it wasn't enough for her family. Even if she had come, it would have been tense. Rue would have been pissed off about something, her mom would have been sad about something else, and her dad wouldn't have bothered paying attention to the conversation enough to care. So, was it
really
Morrigan who was ruining the holidays by not coming? Or were they doomed from the start? Maybe Rue was right, and all that mattered was showing up.
It didn't really matter anyway. It was twenty days until the twenty fifth, and even with all that time, there was no way she could get rid of this shift. Admittedly, she hadn't really tried to ask for it off, but she wanted to seem dedicated. That's how you get ahead in life, sacrifice.
Morrigan was confident in her choice, and knew her family
would
forgive her. But still,
I hope you get what you deserve
. What an ominous bitch. What she deserved was a raise for working on Christmas.
Morrigan left for the Kitchen, ignoring her phone's beeping. She assumed it was Rue sending more inconsiderate messages to add to the bad note the call had ended on. Morrigan flicked on the kettle and grabbed a mug, deciding she could make her own Christmas spirit with some hot chocolate.
"Shit, it's really coming down out there," Morrigan murmured, watching thick clumps of snowflakes floating down towards the ground.
The water began to boil, fogging the window above it and filling the kitchen with warmth.
"What is that?" Morrigan squinted, wiping the steam from the window. A dark silhouette stood at the edge of her driveway. It looked human in nature, standing on two legs, but the edges of the dark figure appeared to be covered in hair, with horns protruding on top.
"Oh hell no," Morrigan whispered, hurrying to her door to ensure it was locked.
After confirming the door was locked she ran to the bedroom, grabbing her phone, and returned to the kitchen to get eyes on the figure.
"Fuck!" she whimpered, unlocking her phone. The figure was no longer at the end of her driveway, but she could see a trail of footprints in the snow in the direction of her house. One in the shape of a hoof and the other the shape of a foot.
"No, no, no, this is not funny!" Morrigan hastily opened the phone app and began entering the emergency response number.
Before she could finish entering the number, her phone began ringing.
"Rue, this is not a good time! There's a man outside my house!" Morrigan whispered into the phone.
"Let me in."
Morrigan's heart dropped, "Rue? What did you do to my sister?"
"I hope you get what you deserve," the voice replied.
Morrigan's hands were trembling as she listened. The voice was deep and gravelly. It felt unreal, inhuman.
"This is not funny. If this is some kind of sick fucking joke to get me to come home for Christmas, it's definitely not working!"
"Let me in, Morrigan."
Morrigan pulled the phone from her ear to hang it up. She wanted to call the emergency response and get someone to her and to her sister as soon as she could - but her phone was dead. There was no one on the other line - there had been no call at all.
"Let me in, Morrie."
"Oh my God," she sobbed, dropping her phone in panic.
"Fine."
The front door crashed open, tearing part of the frame away as it did. Morrigan fell to the ground, wrapping her arms around her legs in fear. She hoped that if she could make herself small, whatever was out there wouldn't find her, but she knew that was hopeless.
A moment passed before the clunking sound of a single hoof entered Morrigan's house. She covered her mouth with her hand, trying to silence any panicked breathing or sobbing. Morrigan squeezed her eyes shut, hoping it was a dream, hoping she would wake up.
If it's this serious, I'll go home for Christmas!
Silence. The clunking had stopped, and for a moment, Morrigan thought she may have gotten out of whatever nightmare she was trapped in. A cold, sharp finger pressed into the underside of her chin, slowly moving her head up.
"Don't look so scared, Morrie. I'm just going to hurt you," the voice cooed.
Morrigan opened her bleary eyes and locked gaze with the face of a satyr. A half goat half man stood before her, with a long dark mane of hair. Two black and twisted horns grew atop his head, and a tail curled around from behind his fur covered legs. A leather belt rested low on his hips, and a bundle of branches hung loosely from the straps. One of his feet appeared to be rather human, while the other more similar to a goat's and his horrible red eyes bore into Morrigan's soul.
"What
are
you?" Morrigan asked, her voice quivering as she stared at the beast before her.
"I am the Krampus," the beast grinned.
Morrigan laughed shakily, struck with fear and confusion, "The Krampus isn't real."