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.