Determined

A Christmas Shocker

A continuous flurry of sleet and snow encumbered the Christmas shoppers as they trudged doggedly through winter’s hazardous yield. Buses and taxi’s negotiated the icy city centre road, designated for public transport only, with due care and attention while prospective passengers huddled protectively beneath the Perspex bus shelters that lined the frozen pavement.

Bags of freshly purchased gifts were clasped tightly in gloved hands as their bearers squinted through the blizzard in the hope of seeing the arrival of their respective carriages to salvation from the storm. The spirit of Christmas cheer was subdued beneath the yearning for hearth and home and the denizens grumbled and complained of lapse punctuality and the many tribulations of the season.

Despite the arduous conditions the couple who are the subject of our story were stood by a square plastic bin, (the sort erected for public use that have a removable metal interior and are emblazoned with the cities crest), between the stops with their bodies shrouded in thick hooded coats, woollen gloves and beanie hats, as they laughed and joked together.

Their names were Austin Davis and Jennifer Windsor and they were very much in love before the events that transpired that day changed the course of their lives.

It began when a man dressed as Santa Claus walked by as if to pass them, but then stopped and looked at Jennifer quizzically, as if recognising her. He stared as he stood from the walkway that led from bus stops to the indoor shopping market, across the allocated green space that was now shrouded in freezing white; a bell in one hand and a ream of magazines he hoped to sell in the other.

‘Big issue!’ he yelled absently, still focused on the woman as shoppers milled back and forth between them.

Jennifer glanced toward the festively dressed vagrant and inadvertently caught his gaze. The man smiled his recognition from beneath his beard, but Jennifer had turned her attention back to Austin before she noticed.

Jennifer was struck by a moment of intense discomfort at the unintentional eye contact and looked purposefully toward her boyfriend until it passed. But to no avail- she could see from her peripheral vision that the forlorn looking Santa Claus was now approaching her.

‘Jennifer?’ he asked as he walked to where Jennifer leaned on the garbage disposal unit, ‘is it really you?’

Austin looked to the man in bemusement while Jennifer replied,

‘Excuse me? Do I know you?’

The man raised his bell holding hand noisily to his chin and then pulled down his false beard to reveal a rugged, unshaven face,

‘It’s me- Mike,’ he told her from an almost toothless mouth

Jennifer stared for a moment before she realised who the homeless man was and said, in varying degrees of feigned interest and excitement,

‘Mike? Mike Chamberlain? Oh my God! How are you?’

Mike took a step back and nodded his head toward the magazines in his hand,

‘Not too well actually, but hey- it’s really great to see you!’

Jennifer stood from the bin to face Mike and she sighed unhappily,

‘It’s great to see you too- I’m sorry that things aren’t so good for you, but stay strong eh?’

Mike’s crestfallen stare told her that it would be otherwise so Jennifer interjected to change the course of the subject,

‘Hey Mike- this is Austin, my fiancé,’ she said, glancing hopefully up at the well padded man.

Mike tucked the bell under his opposite arm and extended his hand toward Austin,

‘Hey there Austin- good to meet you again,’ he offered with a gummy smile.

Austin took Mike’s hand in greeting, but looked to Jennifer with confusion as he asked both,

‘I don’t think we’ve met before, have we?’

Jennifer looked to Mike who shook his head in self-ridicule,

‘Oh yeah- of course we haven’t. Sorry my man- you remind me of someone I used to know.’

Austin flashed a bemused look between Mike and Jennifer and in doing so passed the baton back to his lover. An awkward silence followed that was broken by Jennifer,

‘So- have you been up to much since I last saw you?’

Mike placed the bell between his thighs and fumbled in his bright red pants pocket to retrieve a ten box of cheap cigarettes as he answered the question,

‘It’s been a decade of craziness to be honest Jen. It’s been ten years of hell to be frank, but it’ll be over soon enough.’

Mike held Jennifer’s concerned gaze; lighting his smoke as he watched the dual implications of his words sink in. He saw her expression darken as she recalled it had been ten years since they broke up, though Mike was more interested in the effect that his implications of pending mortality had upon her. He sighed wistfully as he saw her eyelids flutter and she brought down the mask of self-protection he found so endearing. Her ‘armour’, she called it; the line of defence he had grown to know and love in the three blissful years he had shared with her until it had finally been directed at him.

‘Are you okay Mike? You sound really down,’ she asked- her masquerade of concern as unshakable as ever.

Mike then grimaced as he stemmed a rising tide of venom toward Jennifer’s muse, who added optimistically,

‘It’s Christmas man- you should relax a bit and enjoy the celebrations!’

Mike looked up to Austin and, with barely disguised disdain said,

‘I’m a pagan atheist- I don’t really celebrate Christmas.’

Jennifer took to the task of diffusing any potential conflict and asked Mike- in a sham of interest,

‘Do you still believe in all that stuff?’

Mike seemingly took the bait and replied self-effacingly,

‘Yeah- I guess I’m a die hard!’

‘Sounds like you’re living hard my friend,’ Austin interrupted with concern etched across his reddened expression.

Mike looked to the ice encrusted floor solemnly and said in conformation,

‘Yeah, yeah- I know man. It’s just stuff I can’t get out of my head, but it won’t be for much longer.’

Austin bit on his bottom lip as he looked sympathetically to the bedraggled Father Christmas,

‘Look Mike- you sound suicidal- maybe you should get some help. Talk to someone dude.’

Mike’s head snapped around so that he was eye to eye with Austin,

‘I’m talking to you aren’t I?’ he said somewhat aggressively then calmed to add, ‘there’s nothing that can help any of us Austin- it’s just destiny at play.’

Austin appeared to grow in stature at this ambiguous claim and he frowned deeply as he asked,

‘Excuse me?’

Jennifer patted Austin’s inflated chest to calm him and spoke severely to Mike.

‘Maybe you should go home Mike.’

Mike grinned magnanimously and held up the Big Issue magazines,

‘They don’t give these to people with homes Jen.’

‘Well, I think you should just leave us alone then. It was nice to see you and all, but you’re acting a bit too weird for my liking.’

Mike continued to grin and he yelled,

‘None of us are going home Jen- we’re going to die together.’

Austin lurched forward on hearing this and pointed to Mike in warning,

‘What’s your problem, man?’

Those in the shelter nearby turned inquisitively toward the scene as Jennifer stood between the men and told Mike,

‘Please stop this Mike or I’ll have to get help.’

Mike shrugged away the suggestion and looked up the road to his right,

‘It’s almost time Jen… just like it was before. The three of us will be together until you choose your soul mate’

Austin shoved Jennifer gently to one side and pushed Mike hard in the chest, causing him to slide back at the force,

‘Back the f**k off you crazy b*****d!’ Austin shouted angrily, violent intent brimming at the forefront of his thoughts.

Mike looked unconcerned and told his assailant,

‘It doesn’t matter what you say or do Austin- you can’t avoid this. We have died in invasions, in trenches- on trains, planes and auto-wrecks. I knew this day would come… I have dreamt it a thousand times since she told me it was over…’

Jennifer made to say something in interruption, but then realised that Mike was no longer speaking and that his attention was elsewhere. He was watching the road intently- a smile of acknowledgement enhancing the glare of his expectant eyes. It was as if he were preparing to greet some long lost friend who approached from behind her.

Austin was troubled by this too and in tandem the couple turned to follow the direction of Mike’s gaze only to see the out of control double deck bus lurching toward them as it slid unstoppably on the ice. Austin, who was nearest the roadside, had his face forced back in the direction of his partner as the large windscreen simultaneously shattered his skull and snapped his neck- his broken body sent hurtling by the force of impact in the same instance.

Jennifer did not have time to avoid the subsequent collision- in fact she could not react in any way other than to close her eyes in futile denial of the truth that Mike had predicted. Too late she remembered the cycle of lifetimes to which Mike had referred and that perpetuated this love triangle. She recalled the many times she had taken both as successive lovers and how it always ended in a similar fashion. Too late to do anything except accept the fate that had come to claim her as Austin, then the bus ploughed into her and Mike.

The last thing the entity known as Jennifer Anne Windsor heard was the maniacal laughter of a homeless man dressed as Saint Nicholas and his insane scream of,

‘We’ll always die together!’

And three inherently entwined souls did indeed perish amidst the ice and snow while their killer shuddered and wept at the wheel of the vehicle she commanded.

In the very near future the three would be born anew into connected lifetimes of turmoil and tragedy where premature love, loss and mortality awaited them once again.

 

 

 

Author's Note

An attempt to write a Christmas horror/mystery. Needs some work- any advice will be gratefully recieved!