Part 1
Christmas
Eve was one of the most cherished events in Ron’s family. Anticipation, great
meals, closeness with those that want the best for you and would never do you
harm. After a great workout with his older brother Mike followed by a delicious
pasta made by his mother, Ron was content to settle into bed and catch up on
his reading before falling asleep, basking in the covers away from the snowy
cold outside.
Ron’s
family was big, but very close. They were the kind that did extravagant (if
sometimes goofy) photoshoots together and had an annual vacation. This year
they’d be taking a ski trip in Spain together, and Ron was beyond excited at
the prospect of thrashing his siblings in a race again down the slopes. Iris
and John, Ron’s parents, were in their late 40s now though both still looked
fantastic due to their healthy lifestyles. His older brother Mike was someone
that he always looked up to for his great character. His 3 sisters were a
varied trio. Laurie was a geeky type like Ron, whilst Analise was an
athletic-sporty type, and Carol was a fashionista and occasionally bratty.
Regarding Carol, Ron was glad that she was now an adult and would have little
choice but to clear up her spoilt act. However, he loved her all the same.
Everything
seemed to be at peace. Ron was truly exhausted after such a busy day. He
finished the chapter, dropped the book, switched off the lights and went to bed
early while the rest of the family continued to enjoy their night. All was
well… for now.
5
minutes had passed. It would seem that the perfect calm of the night was
interrupted. A crackling came from the window. Ron switched his bedside lamp on
and went to investigate. There was a frost on the window that painted it white,
as if paper had been laid out on the opposite side. Ron touched it and grimaced
at the chill and threw his hand back like he’d touched a hot stove. Gently, he
opened it up and expected to see a blizzard on the other side. Instead, he was
greeted by a most unexpected sight.
Santa.
Standing in the street, looking his way. Every kid in Ron’s family was an
adult, so this was no act of his father’s. Not unless he was carrying out some
unusual joke.
“Hey!
What are you doing out there in the cold? Dad?!”
Ron
really wanted to believe it was his father. If it wasn’t, it meant something
was really off. ‘Santa’ walked closer to the window, providing Ron with a
better glimpse. This wasn’t his dad, or anyone else he knew. It wasn’t even a
human being…
The
humanoid creature looked like a walking corpse. It had dry, wrinkly gret skin.
Its eyes glowed cadmium yellow. It had long thin white hair spread about in
disorganised, matted clumps. Its fingers were long and ended with knife-like
nails. Ron caught it smiling, deviously. Inside its mouth were pointed teeth
spaced half-inches away from one another, and a purple tongue coated in what
looked like a teal coat of mould. Whatever this thing was, it wasn’t human, and
that smile didn’t suggest that this visit was friendly.
Suddenly,
the creature in the Santa costume took a great leap and launched itself several
yards through the air towards Ron’s bedroom window like a missile. In fright, Ron
twisted and flipped, landing on the floor and almost injuring himself in the
process as the creature flew into the room. Expecting a loud crash as it hit
his wardrobe, instead the creature seemingly brought itself to a halt mid-air
then floated in place like an angel. Clearly though, this was no angel.
“Ho ho
ho!” the creature said to Ron in a raspy, throaty voice. “Merry Christmas!”
Ron was
about to scream. He didn’t know what to make of the situation. As he inhaled,
the creature lunged towards him and put its wrinkled hand over Ron’s mouth. The
skin tasted of rotten fruitcake. Being in no position to talk, or move, Ron did
what he could to get control of himself and let events proceed, although that
couldn’t stop his shivering from almost falling out of control.
“I’m
Santa Claus! Ho ho ho!” the creature exclaimed in the nasty voice with an
otherwise jolly tone.
If this
truly was Santa Claus, he wasn’t what Ron’s family had raised him with. The
attire was perfect, but none of the friendly vibe or charming appearance was
here. On the contrary, this was the ugliest and most terrifying entity that Ron
had ever seen in his entire life. Not knowing what this thing was and having
concern for his family’s welfare, Ron’s terrified brain started to conjure
images of the cruel things this entity might do to him and his family. It then
started to reveal its intentions.
“I’ve
been watching you all year, and I can say without question that you’ve been a
naughty boy. Very naughty indeed. All that giantess porn you’ve been watching.
Completely improper! Also doesn’t help that you told a few lies to every
relative under this roof, and that you peeped on your sister Analise while she
was taking a shower!”
Despite
how scared he was, Ron couldn’t help but feel a touch of shame on that final
point.
Its
hand still on Ron’s mouth, the creature stared intently into his eyes. With a long
exhale, the creature breathed a stinky gas right into his face. Suddenly, Ron
felt disoriented. His vision started to get blurry until he passed out
entirely, not unlike being put under general anaesthesia. He was totally
knocked out.
Without
any knowledge of how long he was unconscious, Ron woke up. Everything seemed….
Big. Very big. It took several seconds for the young man to collect himself and
realize what was happening. It wasn’t that everything had turned large. It was
him. Ron was not tiny! And from what he could gather he estimated that he was a
half-inch tall at most! His bed, his closet, his table, all of his furniture
towered over him like buildings. His room was like the size of a small town to
him now. As his mind wandered for the next few seconds, trying to contain the
fear and panic in the process, he moved his attention back to the real issue at
hand. The Santa creature.
Ron
looked up and saw the creature, which from his perspective he couldn’t even
provide an accurate estimate of how tall it was, but it had to be at least a
few hundred feet. It was bad enough that this vicious, nefarious, ugly creature
had invaded his home and terrorized him. It standing above him like Godzilla
added layers of terror that he had never been able to conceive of. Ron was
paralyzed with fear, shivering, slightly tearing up, all while still feeling
mildly disoriented. He was this to end, whatever it was.
“Ho ho
ho!” the creature guffawed. “You wanted to be small? Well, you got your wish!
Though I don’t think this naughty LITTLE boy is gonna like how it’s gonna be.
Hopefully what happens next is a lesson to you! Be careful what you wish for
and don’t be a nasty LITTLE pervert!”
Ron was
further horrified, and also angered by the creature’s emphasis on the word
‘little.’ Powerless as he was, he had to speak up.
“What
the fuck did you do to me, you fucking demon! Change me back now!”
“Why so
upset bad boy?! Isn’t this what you wanted? You’re naughtier than I thought.
Perverted AND ungrateful! Well, I know exactly what to do now! Ho ho ho!”
What
even was going on with the Santa act, Ron thought. Though it was hardly the
primary concern. Speaking up hadn’t helped him, and he even suspected that it
had made the situation worse. He didn’t like what the giant Santa monster had
in mind for him, but protesting it was clearly useless. He remained silent.
“Now,
naughty LITTLE Ron, I don’t want you to look so scared!” it said. Ron could
hardly feel otherwise given the situation. “It’s not me you have to be afraid
of!”
Things
were truly getting cryptic. What was the monster getting at?
The
monster continued to speak in the same cheery demeanor. “You’ll see that at
times those we cherish the very most can become the stuff of nightmares! Under
the right conditions of course!”
It didn’t
take long for Ron to work out what this meant. It had something to do with his
family. But what? Was he going to shrink them too? Was he going to be kidnapped
with his family not knowing where he went? There was no question about it that
Christmas was now ruined.
“HO!
HO! HO!” the creature bellowed loudly, loud enough for everyone in the
household to hear. And yet, there was no reaction from anybody besides Ron. The
magic had created a sealed vacuumed of sound. It then bent over and picked Ron
up, gripping the terrified tiny man between two thin, wrinkly fingers. With its
other hand it snapped its fingers, turning them both invisible, and headed out
of the bedroom and into the hall. Petrified about what was to come and full of
questions, Ron could do nothing but wait and see what ‘Santa Claus’ had brought
him for Christmas this year.