Chapter 15: Return to Santa's

We stood in front of the tree in the Main Square. The new one looked immaculate, I couldn’t remember seeing it before so I didn’t know if anyone had noticed it had changed at all. But it seemed to belong there, with all the many presents beneath it

“Ready?” Junior asked with a smile. “Don’t worry about Vonnie, the elves’ll see her in the Main Square and look after her even if the worst happens to us.”

I wasn’t as relaxed as my loving husband appeared to be, but then he had served and lived through a world war. I may have been through a battle, but only via the words written in my own hand, either St Nick or The Magic of Christmas had removed my adventure from my memories and I had only vague dream-like snatches of what had happened, so I couldn’t help having misgivings.

But I was with my husband, I was strong and resolved and this was an attempt by us to be the saviours of my family, even if my family didn’t exist yet. At least we were together.

We grasped the Santa Claus figurine together, my hands over my husband’s and on a countdown of “3-2-1” we thought of our Hollyhock Hill home and that strange familiar room with the green carpet in 2045 as we closed our eyes.

My journal account said I didn’t feel anything the first time and by now I was a veteran of teleporting, even though I still didn’t have the power to generate teleports myself. We must have arrived silently as the room we entered with the green carpet was eerily quiet. I released my grip on Junior’s hand and looked around the room until my eyes locked on Shane’s scarred face.

He was stood there with a knife in his hands sneaking up on James who was dozing in his usual spot on the settee.

“You!” We both exclaimed at the same time. Our eyes were focused on each other as I slipped the paint gun that James had gifted me in the bright yellow (and still slightly wet painted) Secret Santa parcel, while Shane reached out with his other hand to grab James before stabbing him. Only in my peripheral vision could I see Junior trying to get past me, but I feared we would both be too late.

Then, and I could see this in slow motion, two spikes, with red wires attached to them hit Shane in the chest. Instantly he shivered as between three and four milliamperes of electrical charge incapacitated his muscles and he fell to the ground and out of sight behind the settee. At the other end of the electrical cables James was sitting up with the laser gun in his hand.

“Hi, Mums, hi Pops. I wasn’t expecting you, but I was definitely expecting him, so I borrowed one of their tasers and left you Sati’s gun as a present instead. I thought you’d need something to remind you that we kids should learn how to shoot. As you were so vague about things, not just you as the time traveller, but as my Mum over the years, knowing that something was brewing but not quite remembering what or when and therefore covering all the bases by having all your children ... shall we say prepared for this eventuality. I decided that as all the other Saturnalists had gone back to where they came from and this fellow was left behind, that he would carry the can for them all.”

“That’s Shane,” I said, “he was Stephanie’s boyfriend, which is how he got into the North Pole and planted his first portal, then brought others through with him, or the larger portal needed for the monsters may have already been folded up inside, he said he travelled light. Cannot understand how Junior didn’t realise he wasn’t nice.”