Christmas Evil

A Christmas Treat-1

A Christmas Treat

Janice let out a deep sigh of exhaustion as she turned onto the winding country road which would take her to her last drop-off of the day.

She blamed herself partly for still being on the road this late in the evening.

When she had set off that morning at 7 o’clock she had promised herself a short run before heading home for a hot bath and then heading onto her Aunty Vanessa’s annual Christmas Eve shindig.

Her aunt’s Christmas Eve dos were legendary in their family, and Janice could still remember being taken there as a child by her parents. All the kids would be allowed to stay up late and dance and eat until they were stuffed. Then one by one they would all start to collapse with fatigue before being carried away to Vanessa’s spare room, which she had converted into a huge dormitory with beds crushed up against each other so that all the kids could sleep together.

Now as one of the grown-ups Janice could look forward to a sumptuous spread with copious amounts of alcohol and dancing and partying into the early hours with all her cousins whom she had not seen for ages.

To her it was the perfect way to see in Christmas, and like most of her family she began looking forward to it at the beginning of the month.

But her plans for an early finish were never going to come to fruition, especially not on Christmas Eve.

Every delivery she made was welcomed with an offer of either a glass of sherry or a nice cup of tea. And though Janice had to refuse the alcohol due to being on the road, she found it increasingly harder to deny her old dears the pleasure of her company long enough for them to put the kettle on.

Even if she refused the numerous offers of mince pies and Christmas cake, she still felt too guilty to just knock back her tea and run. Even using the genuine excuse that she had several more deliveries to make and that people were depending on her, some of her customers were set to spend the festive season alone and she was probably the last person they would see during the festive season.

That by itself created a guilt-trip which Janice could not simply shrug off.

With each subsequent visit taking longer than the previous one, it did not take long for Janice to fall way behind her schedule.

Her one comfort now was that at least her final delivery was to a brother and sister, so they at least would have each other for company and she did not have to feel too bad for refusing their offer of hospitality which would doubtless be waiting for her when she arrived.

Janice shivered against the cold. The heater in the stupid van was on the blink again, and it was just her luck that it had decided to pack up completely half way through her rounds.

She took one hand of the wheel to pull her zipper up as high as it would go to try to keep what little body warmth she had left inside trapped.

During her normal working day she delivered meals-on-wheels for the council, and she had a regular clientele, but at least those schedules took into account the amount of time she would spend with each client.

It was not just a case of delivering the food; you had to go in and heat it up for them and make sure that they were capable of feeding themselves as well as at least offering to make them a brew.

Sometimes she even waited long enough to do the washing up.

But this job was not so accommodating.

Delivering Christmas food parcels could be a thankless task when they crammed as many orders onto your delivery as this supermarket did.

There was no physical way to get through them all before dark, no matter how early you set off.

At least not for her!

But then she had to admit that part of the problem was her personality, and the fact that she felt that she was being rude if she just dumped the parcels and ran.

Some of the other drivers used to laugh at her and call her ‘slow coach’ because of how long her round would take.

It was alright for them. Most of them were not the most affable of people so the customers were more reluctant to invite them in in the first place.

Janice had even come to believe that some of them acted that way on purpose so that they could guarantee an early finish.

Janice turned off the road, leaving the comfort of the street lights behind her.

Her last call was a little off the beaten track and the road that led down to the old farm was littered with branches and pot holes which made the going even more precarious.

Janice slowed down as the van lurched and skidded on the dirt track. They had had a huge downpour earlier in the afternoon and the last thing she needed was for her to be stranded if her tyres got stuck in deep mud.

Or worse still, if she blew a tyre on one of the deeper potholes. She knew that the van’s spare was probably not even legal to use, and besides she could definitely do without having to wrestle with the jack out here in the dark and the freezing cold.

Better to be safe rather than sorry.

Janice dropped a gear as the path dipped. She kept the brake covered with her wellington just in case, but in truth she hoped she would not have to use it for fear of losing her grip on the path altogether.

Finally she found her way into the clearing, and she could just see the outline of the farmhouse up ahead.

Thelma Sykes and her brother Wilfred had lived out here for as long as she could remember.

Janice had known them since she was a child. Her parents had often brought her and her brother out to their farm to buy fruit and vegetables as well as logs for their open fire.

Janice had always found the siblings a little strange!

It was never anything specific that she could put her finger on, but more a combination of smaller oddities which combined made her feel uncomfortable around them.

For a start, she remembered them always wearing woollen mittens, even in the middle of summer. And when they spoke they had a matching speech impediment which meant that at the end of each sentence their final word - regardless of what it was - ended with a strange hissing sibilant.

And then there was the way that they walked. Both of them appeared to Janice as if they would have been happier crawling around on all fours rather than having to stand up. And that was not just because they each had a rather pronounced stoop; it was far more than that. It was almost as if they were constantly trying to not fall over, as if something was pushing them down from behind.

Unfortunately for both of them, whenever they leaned forward into their stoop both their backs hunched dramatically, and it always appeared to Janice as if they were carrying a sack of something under their clothing.

On the one occasion Janice had mentioned this to her parents she had been severely scolded for making fun of those less fortunate, so she learned to just accept them for the way they were.

That said, she was glad when she was old enough not to have to go shopping each week with her parents. But then when she grew older and learned how to drive, on occasion they would ask her to drive out to the old farm and collect their orders for them.

Janice often had to bite her tongue and just put up with the fact that the old couple freaked her out.

Janice pulled up in front of the main door.

The lights inside looked as if they were emanating from lanterns or candles rather than electric bulbs, and she wondered if perhaps they were in the middle of a power cut.

She sincerely hoped not, because seeing the old couple without electricity would just feed her inner guilt and ruin any chance she had of enjoying her Christmas.

Janice jumped down from the van and trudged around to the back.

Her boots sank in the wet mud so that she had to make an effort to pull each foot free as she walked.

She opened the back of the van and pulled forward the first crate.

Unlike the rest of her deliveries that day which had been mostly made up of Christmas goodies, this one contained nothing but raw meat. The second crate that completed the delivery was just the same.

Janice knew that the old couple kept a small amount of livestock, so she did find it odd that they would order so much meat, especially as it was just the two of them, and neither of them looked as if they had particularly large appetites.

Then it struck her that perhaps they were having a houseful over for the festive season, and that thought gave her cause to smile.

At least then they would not be on their own.

Janice heaved out the first crate and made her way towards the farmhouse door.

Before she reached it, the door flew open and Wilfred was there to greet her with a cheery smile.

“Hello, young Janice, we wondered if you might be making our delivery this year,” he beamed. “All by yourself?”

“I’m afraid so,” Janice puffed, between breaths.

“Let me help you with that,” Wilf smiled as he reached out his arms to take the crate.

Janice noticed the thick woollen mittens, as usual, and smiled to herself.

“Thanks,” she said cheerily, “I’ll just go back and fetch the other one.”

Leaving Wilf to carry his crate inside, Janice returned to the van and unloaded the last of her festive deliveries.

The drive home would only take about half an hour, and she could already feel the welcoming cheer of her hot bath as it soothed and relieved her tired muscles.

Holding the crate in both hands, Janice elbowed the van doors closed.

She turned to make her way into the farmhouse.

In the distance she could see the moon starting to appear in the eastern sky.

The one thing she always loved about being out in the open on a night like this was the vastness of the open sky, and the myriad of stars that appeared so clear and bright, especially on a cold, crisp night such as this.

Sighing contentedly, Janice made her way in through the front door.

Wilf had placed his crate on the kitchen table, so Janice did likewise with hers.

Through the open-plan kitchen and living area, Thelma Sykes was carefully placing some logs on the hearth when Janice entered.

The old lady took hold of one of the fire irons and prodded at the grate, causing the flames to catch the new logs she had just added to the fire. The yellow and blue flames spread across the length of the fireplace, and Janice could feel the welcoming warmth from it from the other side of the room.

“Look who’s here!” Wilf announced.

Thelma turned away from the fire and she beamed when she saw Janice.

“Well hello young Janice,” called the old lady as she walked across the room towards the young girl. “Wilf and I were wondering if you might be making our delivery tonight.” She glanced over at her brother and nodded as if she was very pleased with herself for guessing correctly.

Janice noticed the old lady’s mittens, and tried to conceal her smile.

Thelma walked past Janice, patting her on the arm as she passed. “Oh, I see you’ve brought our Christmas treat, how lovely, we do like something special at this time of year, don’t we Wilf?”

The old man smiled and nodded his head in agreement.

“Are you both having guests over for Christmas?” Janice asked, politely, not wishing to indicate that if they were not, then she had just delivered an awful lot of raw meat for two elderly spinsters.

The old couple laughed to each other.

“No nothing like that,” Thelma grinned, broadly. “Like I say, we just like a special treat at Christmas.”

Janice nodded, not wishing to sound rude by making any further enquiries.

The fire crackled and spat as the flames licked hungrily along the logs.

Janice could feel herself starting to grow tired in the cosy surroundings, and she could imagine herself slumping down in one of the old armchairs in front of the fire and drifting off to sleep.