Chapter 24 #2
“I HATE THIS!” I screamed as Rudolph dodged another swipe.
He kicked his legs faster, and the wind swallowed my scream until my cheeks pulled back, exposing my gums to the icy cold.
Tears of panic froze along my face. I shut my eyes as the bravery bled from me.
The lake came into view not long after. My foot slipped from the stirrup, and I screamed so hard I felt my lungs clenched from the lack of oxygen.
Latching both arms around Rudolph’s neck, I carefully slipped my foot back in place and checked to see if Krampus was still following us. Spoiler alert, he was.
“Okay, you got this, Blair. There’s a lake, the monster’s behind us, everything is going to go according to plan if you can get off this death trap of a reindeer.” Taking a deep breath for fortitude, I turned around and sneered at the oncoming kaiju. “Is that all you got, you son of a bitch?!”
Krampus raged, striking out at us yet again. When Rudolph slipped just out of his reach, Krampus slammed his fist on the ground again and again before launching after us onto the ice. His hooves slipped, and he slid forward on hands and knees before clambering upright to give chase.
I guided Rudolph to the center of the lake and turned him around to face the monster. Waving my arms like a lunatic, I taunted, “Your old dusty ass ain’t shit! This is why Mrs. Claus went for Santa. Ain’t nobody want to deal with your slobbering, matted, icicle-hair bullshit!”
I don’t know if it was the shot at his hair or the dig about Mrs. Claus, but Krampus crashed out, lunging in a desperate bid to scoop us up. Rudolph flung us higher in the air, out of his reach. Krampus jumped up, trying to grab us, and the ice cracked beneath his hooves when he slammed down.
Excited, I darted a little closer and spat in his face before rising up again.
Screaming, Krampus stomped his hooves again, then took his sack from his back and swung it at us like a net.
The momentum caused him to slip, and he fell on his ass, only for the ice to crack like spiderwebs beneath him.
His eyes widened before he tried to scramble up.
Alas, the frantic movements only sealed his fate, and the ice broke under his weight, and he plunged into the lake.
Flailing his arms, Krampus tried to grab hold of the ledge, but it broke beneath him.
He grabbed on to the sheet of ice, trying to steady himself, but flipped onto his back, exposing his neck.
“Osid,” I screamed, “now!”
Osid rose from the trees on the back of Blitzen and shot forward.
Reaching out, he snatched the pendant from Krampus’s necklace and flew back out of reach.
He flew up beside me, raising the stolen nose triumphantly.
I threw up my arms and cheered, but it turned midway to a scream when I tilted back a little too far and remembered I was very, very high off the ground.
Locking my arms back around Rudolph’s neck, I smiled. “We did it! We actually did it!”
“Don’t celebrate just yet,” Osid chided, but he wore a smug smile of his own. “Let’s get this back to town and go hang that damn star so we can be done with this.”
“Don’t have to tell me twice.” With a flick of the reins, we were off.
Just then, there was a loud splash behind us.
I only had enough time to see Osid’s eyes widen in fear before he steered his reindeer to ram into me and Rudolph.
Blitzen took the full brunt of the icicle spear, and the poor creature was skewered straight through the chest. They fell from the sky and Osid’s side cracked against the ice, and it was like watching a car crash in slow motion.
My body moved on its own, tugging on the reins until Rudolph dove after him.
I reached out, half sliding off the reindeer to grab Osid by the arm.
The weight of our combined bodies was too much, and Rudolph strained to shoot back into the air.
Krampus launched another icicle into the sky.
Pain erupted in my leg, and I realized too late that it had clipped Rudolph’s side, taking the skin off his flank and shredding half his harness.
The reindeer tried to right himself, but the movement caused the straps of the harness to wrap around his front legs.
Panicked, Rudolph thrashed and shook the rest of the harness loose, causing both Osid and me to plummet out of the air.
Screaming, I held on to him and waited for the ground to meet us.
Rudolph’s saddle caught on the big hand of the clock tower, jerking us both to a stop.
Osid nearly slipped from my grip, and I hooked my legs around his hips to keep hold.
The extra weight caused the clock hand to move from one to four, jerking us with it as the hand moved to a shaky stop.
I looked up to see the strap of the harness was fraying against the harsh metal of the clock hand.
“Shit, shit!” My leg strained to hold his weight, but the damn alien was so heavy I could barely hold on. “Osid, Osid, I need you to help me out here, grab on to something!”
He didn’t answer; instead his head lolled uselessly to the side, his body dangling in my grip.
“Dammit, man, how are you always passing out on me?” Terror, sharp and colder than the ice, froze my tears to my cheeks.
I grabbed his horn and shook it, trying to rouse him.
One of the two straps holding us to the hand snapped, causing us to jerk.
The hand slid down to five. The remaining strap slid farther to the edge.