A Collection of short stories

Short Story #1: Christmas Scare

   The snow was falling lightly outside Ben's house as dusk neared. 

   It was Christmas eve, and everything was set up. The inflatable snowman? Check. The Christmas tree and stockings? Check. Lights on the roof bright enough to see from the International Space Station? Are all the doors locked? Are Annabelle and Luke in bed already? Check, check, and check. 

Ben sighed. It had been a long day. His parents were forced to go to a hotel due to the blizzard conditions that were expected to hit within the next hour, so they had to spend Christmas about an hour away. 

   Keeping the kids busy and entertained throughout Christmas eve was a job alright. Even with help from his girlfriend, Ashley. The kids were like runaway escapees, going every which way to the point we had to lock them in the same room as us. Not really the romantic "date" we expected. We couldn't even watch some of the movies we wanted to watch since the kids would get spooked and cry louder than my neighbor's dog can bark.

   "Being a mom is harder than I thought." Ashley said, plopping down onto the sofa next to me. 

   "Sticker looks nice on you." I grinned, and pulled a Santa sticker off her face.

   "Oh my god I forgot about that!" she said, laughing.

   "So... now that they're asleep..." I grinned evilly. 

   "Stoopppp that's not gonna happen!" she pushed my hand away. 

   "Okay, okay," I said innocently, putting my hands up.

   She opened her mouth to speak but then a loud thud was heard outside, causing her to jump and look outside.

   "Probably just a raccoon or coyote," I said, laughing at her shocked expression. I got up, taking a casual peek out the sliding glass door window leading to the balcony. I saw nothing at first, but when I looked towards the wooden stairs connected to the balcony, I mentally screamed in fear.

   Outside was a man with a mask similar to those of serial killers, and he was holding a gun.

   "Bae, I'm calling the police," I said, taking out my dad's hunting rifle from the hidden closet (he somehow trusted me and I never touched it before). Grabbing my phone from my pocket, I began dialing. 

   "What is it?" she asked, trembling.

   "Armed man," I replied, hoping I didn't sound like some scared little pathetic child while waiting for the phone to pick up. 

   A minute of my girl talking to the dispatcher and me on high alert later, she hung up and said, "police are arriving soon. We should hide right now." 

   "Not before we bring Annabelle and Luke with us!" 

   "Oh right," she said and ran upstairs to wake the kids up.

   Another five minutes later, flashing red and blue lights danced in the bedroom we were hiding in. We peeked out the window to find a small platoon of armed soldiers in a black uniform, red pinpoint lasers sweeping the yard. Several police cars were parked without care on the street, blocking off the property. Several neighbors gathered to watch. From peeking out the window, I could even catch a glimpse of Mr. Wang on the front porch with a phone out, recording the whole thing. 

   A sharp knock frightened everyone. Annabelle screamed in fear. "Open up! Police!" Came a shout from the other door." I got up and quickly opened the door. They came in swiftly and let the guard down temporarily when they realized it was just us. 

   "Come with us." one of them said. "Stay behind me." He said, and we got out of the house quickly. Another policeman waiting outside put a coat over us. I refused for one when the man held out a jacket. The four of us waited in Mr. Wang's house for a while as the police strip-searched the place for a good half hour. 

   "It's them." Mr. Wang informed me and Ashley. 

   "The kids had fallen asleep on the couches already," I said sheepishly. 

   "It's fine, Mr. Wang waved off. You guys can stay over at my place for the night." 

   I walked outside to meet the same policeman who had given us jackets. he looked around uneasily and said, "where are your parents, son?" 

   "At a hotel somewhere. Blizzard."

   He nodded. "Bad news son. our guys couldn't find that serial murder killer dude you had called us to, but Peterson here found something. he jerked a thumb over to a man in full black gear and helmet, who strode over and handed me an envelope, which, in messy handwriting, had something that made me wish that I had accepted the policeman's jacket a while earlier. 

   The note inside said:

               To Del, 

                               Now that you may be safe, safe in the hands of the police, will never mean safety. I will always be out for you. Nothing will protect you. I have never failed to eliminate my victims. Never before, never will. May I wish you good luck and farewell... for now. Merry Christmas to you and your friends and family. 

                                                                                                        - The maestro of murder