Episode 6 – Fire and Betrayal
524 Words
The Cooper triplets slipped out of Santa’s chambers with the shredded Naughty List clutched in their fists. The snowy night was silent, yet the air around them buzzed with something unseen. The voice whispered again, sliding into their thoughts like venom.
“It is not enough. Tear down his heart. Burn the factory. Burn it all.”
Eddy’s face hardened, jaw clenched with fury. “He never cared for us. All those years of silence—this is his punishment.”
“Wait,” Lenny protested, fear flickering in his eyes. “We’ve gone far enough. We should leave before anyone notices.”
“Yeah,” Denny added, his voice cracking. “We destroyed the list. Isn’t that enough?”
But Eddy was already walking, his steps heavy with anger. “Enough? No. You think sweaters and scraps of love are enough? You think we deserve to be forgotten year after year while the world celebrates without us? No, brothers. Tonight, the world learns how it feels to be rejected.”
The factory loomed before them, alive with light and song. Through its windows, elves worked tirelessly, hammering, stitching, wrapping. Magic shimmered in the air, binding wood and paint into toys that would bring joy to children across the world.
To Eddy, the sight was sickening.
He broke from his brothers and stormed toward the massive gas tanks at the side of the building. His small hands twisted the valves with unnatural strength, as though the dark voice guided him. Metal groaned. The pipes swelled as pressure built inside.
“Eddy, stop!” Lenny cried, grabbing his arm. “This isn’t right!”
Eddy shook him off violently. “Right? What has ‘right’ ever given us? Father abandoned us. Mother died for us. Gran resents us. And Santa—Santa mocks us with his silence! If we can’t have joy, no one will.”
Denny’s voice wavered. “But destroying this… it makes us no better than the monster they say we are.”
Eddy turned on him, eyes blazing. “Don’t talk about monsters, Denny. You tore the list yourself. You wanted revenge too. Admit it—you’re tired of being nothing!”
The pipes bulged, hissing with dangerous force. Sparks danced along the copper as the factory’s engines churned. The air thickened with gas.
“Step back!” Eddy roared, yanking the last valve.
The world seemed to hold its breath. Then—ignition. A spark leapt from the metal, kissing the gas-filled air. Fire erupted, racing through the pipes like a living beast. The factory blazed, flames devouring wood and stone.
The elves’ joyous songs turned to screams. Towers crumbled. Machinery collapsed. The air shook with the roar of an explosion so fierce it split the night sky.
The boys ran, the fire’s glow chasing them across the snow. Behind them, Santa’s factory—the heart of Christmas—collapsed in flames.
And in the distance, a pair of red eyes glimmered in the darkness. Santa had seen.
His face twisted in sorrow and rage. The children had done what even the Grinch had never achieved.
Christmas had been betrayed.
- Writer
