Psycho's Ho-Ho Horrors

Seasons Beatings

Seasons Beatings

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I stood in the darkest corner of the shopping district, waiting for a likely victim to show themselves. It was getting late, but a few of the stores were still open. I was looking for a procrastinator, someone who'd waited until the last possible moment to do their Christmas shopping.

The night air was cold and frigid, cutting straight through my winter apparel. Their was snow on the ground, but it wasn't white and pretty. The heavy foot traffic and passing vehicles had smashed the glistening snow into a mucky brown slush. My feet were wet and freezing, the cold of ground penetrating my old, holey shoes.

Everything I wore was ragged, and clearly overused. I didn't have the income most of the snobbish world did, so spending $50 on a single pair of pants seemed outlandish to me.

I couldn't afford Christmas this year, or the year before. I hated the sympathetic looks my family gave me when I would show up to the Christmas gathering empty handed. They knew I was flat broke, and insisted that my inability to buy gifts didn't matter. They claimed my presence was enough, which was probably true. Christmas was the only time I visited my family. I wanted to protect them from my lifestyle choices.

This year would be different though. I had stalked around parking lots all month, waiting for people to leave their vehicles behind so that I could rob them of the gifts they already bought. I'd managed to stash thousands of dollars worth of gifts in my small studio apartment, but it wasn't enough. I needed cash to buy some expensive liquor for the party, and a car to transport the gifts there.

Finally, I saw him. A middle aged man wearing a business suite. He was leaving a jewelry store, so I new he had to have a decent amount of cash. I followed him casually to his vehicle, which was an expensive looking sports car.

He parked in the back of the car lot, where there were no lights. I smiled to myself at his foolishness. Surely he would expect to be robbed, but still, perhaps he thought he was too good for misfortune to befall him.

Just as he went to open his door, I shoved him from the side. He hadn't seen me coming, and so he fell to the ground with little effort on my part. Quickly I moved closer, raising my torn shoe above his face, and began stomping on his head continuously. My attack was brutal and effective. After roughly a dozen savage stomps, his body fell limp. A few more kicks and his chest stopped rising with his breath.

His face was swollen and bruised. The purple and blue clashing with the red flowing from a large gash on his skull. The effect was quite dramatic. Though blood poured freely from his head and pooled on the asphalt below, his suite was largely untouched.

Glancing around, I saw no one had stumbled upon my crime scene just yet, and bent down to collect his clothes. The suite was only slightly large on me, and so I doubted anyone would question whether or not it was really mine.

Once I was dressed in my new outfit, I fumbled around in the dark to locate the keys he dropped when I initially attacked him. It only took me a few moments to find them under the car, and hurried to pop the trunk. I stuffed the now mostly naked corpse into the storage space, and turned my attention to the drivers seat.

I felt something in the suites inner pocket, and curiously reached in to see what the object was. I pulled out a small black velvet box which held the most exquisite engagement ring I had ever seen. The main stone was large and crystal clear, obviously a high grade diamond. Pink diamonds adorned the gold band, encircling the entire ring. It was magnificent.

I thought about the woman he'd bought the stunning piece of jewelry for, and only wondered for a moment if she truly deserved such a masterpiece. Then my thoughts drifted to my younger sister. I was known as a robber, and drug dealer. I killed a few people, but that part of my lifestyle wasn't as well known. My sister knew about all of it however, but she never turned her back on me. I knew it pained her to see the decisions I made, but she was still there for me regardless, even though I only saw her once a year.

She would receive the ring as a Christmas gift. She deserved it more than whoever the business man had meant it for. I was sure of it. When I finished gawking at the marvelous piece of jewelry my gaze drifted to the inside lid of the box where a note was attached.

Elizabeth Mercer, would you marry me?

My heart jumped into my throat, and I couldn't breath properly. For Christmas I'd murdered my sisters lover, and stolen her ring.

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What did you think? All comments, critiques, thoughts, & reactions are welcomed.

Dedication goes to @aquarius1_d for coming up with that last concept twist. Brought the story together I think ^_^

Please, don't forget to vote! It's very encouraging.