Here we go, a slightly different type of Christmas story that, like so many ideas, forced its way into my head quite randomly. It's just going to be a short story, and I'm trying to have it done before the 25th. Anyway, enjoy, and Merry Christmas.

The Power of the Santa
By J Weekley

I

Robert Benson came to when the searing pain in his head managed to push its way through his nerves, striking both his conscious and subconscious mind. He groaned as he opened his eyes, the low light wherever he was proving almost blinding. He shut them again, then tried opening them slowly. Things were a blur, but at least it was no longer a painful blur. Even the pressure in his forehead seemed to be easing away as he focused on the area around him. One thing was obvious: this definitely wasnt the mall. He had seen mall securitys holding rooms on the tour he took when he was first hired, and they were far more cheerful than this place.
The room was dark, with only a low blue shine coming from the floor around the walls. He assumed it was square, but couldnt turn around to tell for certain. That was when he realized that his hands were cuffed behind him, around the back of the chair he had been put in. He heard a door open behind him, and his heartbeat went up. He concentrated on his breathing as one person, then another, walked into the room. The sounds of the steps split, and his two captors circled around to face him. They were both dressed the same way: dark green jumpsuits with deep red, padded vests, heavily loaded webbing belts and black, visored helmets that coned in the back to a gentle point.
Benton found his voicea little shaky, but coming out, at least. Who are you? he managed to ask.
Believe it or not, the shorter of the pair answered, with a distinctly female voice, were ones who seek your assistance.
Benton almost laughed. My assistance? You knock me out, you handcuff me, and now youre asking me for help?
Yes, the other one answered. There are only a few we could ask, but we didnt have much time. You were the first we could find, so youre it.
Only a few of what? Benton asked, not believing a word of what was said. Do you even know what I do? I do mall characters! The Easter Bunny! The star of the latest hit cartoon! Santa Claus! Im a freakin mall Santa!
After a pause, the woman said, In a way, that makes our task easier to explain.
With that, the woman reached up under her chin and undid a strap on her helmet. She slowly pulled it off, revealing an ivory skinned, slightly pointed face with large emerald eyes, framed by thick, shoulder-length black hair. As far as Benson could tell, she looked normalbeautiful, but normal. His jaw loosened, however, when she pulled her hair back to reveal a pair of long, pointed ears.
Oh, god, he sighed, dropping his head. Ive been kidnapped by militant Trekkers.
Hardly, the man said, taking off his own helmet to reveal his tanned face and equally pointed ears. Think about what we just said.
What, that me being a mall Santa would make explaining things easier?
The pair gave no response. They just stood there, watching him.
Suddenly, an incredible idea dawned on Benson. He looked up at them, eyes wide with disbelief. Youre not trying to tell me that youre elves? They smirked. But Christmas elves are supposed to be midgets! You look like something out of a fantasy novel!
We cant be blamed for the inaccuracies that surround Santa Claus, the woman said.
The inaccuracies that surrouwait! You mean Santa Claus is real?
Want to know the truth? she asked. Benson nodded.
She flicked her hand slightly, and the cuffs snapped open and dropped to the floor. Benson rubbed his wrists as he leaned forward, fighting every instinct that told him to get the hell out of there.
The woman leaned against the back wall, getting comfortable for the story. My name is Flora Noel, she began, Captain of the Second Santa Watch assigned to North and Central America. This is my lieutenant, Salax Reaver. The man nodded to Benson, who returned the gesture.
Noel continued. To put it bluntly, everything you know about Santa Claus is a lie. Hes not some hairy, obese geriatric with a penchant for philanthropy. He is, in fact, a demon, summoned to this dimension many centuries ago by a dark sorcerer.
Benson cocked an eyebrow as his strange desire to stay and listen to these obvious nutcases started to ebb away.
He sees you when youre sleeping / He knows when youre awake, Noel went on. Do you really think those lines mean nothing? It was discovered almost immediately after his summoning that Santa could enter and control the minds of the masses. No one was safeno human, elf, or other creature on Earth.
So what happened? Benson asked Why isnt Santa still in control of everyone today?
After several months, we elves began to develop a resistance to his control, Reaver explain. And we were able to use our magic to create wards for human. Several humanmostly sorcerersalso had a natural immunity, which we still dont understand. Regardless, we needed to find a way to defeat Santa. Hes too powerful to kill, and sending him back to his dimension wasnt a viable answer, as another Santa-demon wouldve just forced his way through. Our only option was to seal him.
It took ten High Elf Priests and the fourteen most powerful human sorcerers in the world, but we managed to subdue him to the point where we could transport him to the North Pole for the final seal.
Why the North Pole?
Theres an energy that encircles the Earth in a spectrum far beyond what human equipment can currently detect, Noel answered. The energy peaks at the poles, but, as you might guess, the two peaks have opposite effects. The peak at the North Pole was the one that suited our needs. Santa was sealed there, and we built a fortress around him.
Benson leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. So, where does the whole presents thing come in? I dont suppose the real Saint Nicholas had anything to do with that?
Despite the attribution, no, Noel said. The seal doesnt completely halt Santas power. He considers it a game to try to get parents to get their children what they want, whether they celebrate Christmas or not. Something about greedy children being more susceptible to his influence.
For a moment, Benson remained still in his chair. Then, he took a deep breath and asked, Okay, now for the big questions. What do you want, and why me?
Noel wasted no time in explaining. Santas seal is beginning to fade. We noticed him trying to push into our minds early last year. As for why we chose you, your being a mall Santa has nothing to do with itaside from being something of an irony. No, Mr. Benton, we chose you because you are a direct descendant of one of the sorcerers who sealed Santa the first time all those years ago. We need you to re-seal him.
It took two seconds for Benson to make up his mind.
He stood up, saying, Im outta here.
Reaver crossed his arms. You cant go anywhere, Mr. Benson.
And why not? Benson demanded. You said I was the first one you found. That means there are other descendants, right?
Yes, Noel said.
So why not ask one of them?
It took nearly two years to find you! At the rate Santas power is growing, we wont have two more years to find another!
If you elves are so powerful, why cant you seal him?
Weve tried. He was called by human magic, which means he can only be sealed by human magic.
What about my commitments? What about my job?
You dont have to worry about that, Reaver said. As far as the mall is concerned, some random kid gave you a real bad case of the flu, and you wont be in for the rest of week, maybe longer.
Bensons jaw bobbed up and down as he stood there, staring incredulously at the two elves, trying to think of somethinganythinghe could use as an argument. It took a while, but something came to him. I dont know how you expect me to seal Santa. I dont know the first thing about magic!
Not a problem, Noel said. Ninety percent of magic is subconscious, anyway. Well show you how to start, and your body will figure out the rest.
Try as he might, Benson could come up with no other excuses. Truth be told, a small part of himthe part that had managed to get him to sit through the elves whole storywas excited by the prospect of an adventure to the North Pole. It must have been the same part that made him glad to put on the Santa suit every morning, or the stuffy cartoon character costumes, or that damned sweltering Easter Bunny outfit. It was a simple existence, and it paid enough for him to just make ends meet. Hed never been ambitious, choosing to just drift through life instead. Hed never thought of himself as hero materialhe was a tad overweight, his short gray hair was slowly balding away, and the most exercise he got was the walk to his car after getting off work. Yet, here he was, being given the chance to fulfill his destiny andof all thingssave Christmas. It just figured something like this would happen.
With a sigh, Benson said. Okay, Ill do it.
Noel clapped her hands. Excellent! Come with us, Mr. Benson. Well get you suited up.
Benson followed them out of the room into an equally dimly lit hallway, where Reaver broke away from them and started off in the opposite direction. How long? he asked Noel.
Thirty minutes, she replied without turning around.
As he continued to follow Noel a few paces back, Benson told the small adventurous voice in his mind, If I dont survive this, Im going to kill you.

To Be Continued...