Christmas Eve (OG version)

🎄6🎄

Over the music outside, a loud voice sounded. "You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I'm telling you why, because Santa Claus is coming to town..." Shannon moved closer to Jaxon, barely consolable as she wet his shirt with her frightened tears.

Jaxon didn't know what to do. His whole life with Shannon was flashing before his eyes. The time when she lost her first tooth and Jaxon showed her how to put it under her pillow for the tooth fairy; the day he showed her how to ride a bike; confessing his crush on her; the kiss they had had not a few hours prior.

He remembered the day they told each other they would be together forever at a young age.

Now that he was in this position Jaxon felt like maybe that wouldn't be the case.

The if only's circled around in his head, but he tried to brush them off. We're going to get out. We're going to get out safe. He chanted to himself.

"I want Jaxon and I to live happily ever after. Just like in the fairy tales." He remembered the happy and smiling Shannon from a few hours prior saying, right after they had taken a picture on his phone.

Wait. My phone.

He pulled himself up to pat his pockets for his phone. Upon feeling the rectangular object in his back pocket, he pulled it out and opened it up. The photo of him and Shannon kissing illuminated the darkness. Something as simple as a phone had felt like a miracle.

Unlocking the phone, he opened up the call app and began to dial the emergency services number. Shannon had by now looked up to see what he was doing and felt a wave of relief wash over her as she saw the number he dialled on his phone. The two of them had been so caught up with running away, they hadn't even realised they could call the police.

The dial tone sounded in Jaxon's ears, and he shut his eyes tightly, praying someone would pick up.

"911, emergency services speaking, what's your emergency?" A monotone woman's voice came from the speaker of the phone. Jaxon nearly vomited in relief. "M-My girlfriend and I-I, we're – there's a serial killer here at the mall-" Jaxon gushed into the phone quietly, holding his hand over the microphone and his mouth.

"Hold on, you're in a mall with your girlfriend and there's a serial killer in there... is this a prank?" The woman accused.

Jungkook sighed heavily, wanting to break down and cry right then and there.

"No!" He hissed into the phone. "We're – We're at West End mall, hiding in the staff room on level three. There's a guy in here that's cut out all the lights, and he killed someone and put their body into a box! You've got to help us, ma'am! I don't want to die!" He ended with a small cry.

The line was silent for a minute, and Jaxon's heart dropped at the thought of the woman hanging up on him. Before he could check, however, he heard something.

"Merry Christmas, Jaxon."

Jaxon immediately threw the phone across the room as if it was a hot coal. Shannon, who had finally ceased sobbing, looked up at him.

"What's wrong, Jaxon?" She asked.

Jaxon gulped down the fear he had, trying to be strong for her. "Phone's dead." He managed, but his shaking body said differently. She pulled him in tighter, hoping she would comfort him now in the cold dark room. Pulling her arm out of one of the sleeves of his jacket, she put it over his shoulder. He rested his head on her shoulder, shaking. The closer they were the better.

Jaxon didn't know what would happen now.

Would the killer find them?

The answer was made clear when the two of them heard loud footsteps outside the door of the room. Shannon wanted to pull Jaxon closer, but he got up, shakily grasping for something in the dark cupboard beside them.

Upon finding a wooden mop, he pointed it at the door. It was pathetic, but that's all he had. A whispering voice came from behind the door. "I've watched you when you're sleeping, now I'll put you to your bed, I know that you've been very bad and it's time it has to end..." It sung quietly in a screechy voice, sounding unlike a man or a woman.

For the umpteenth time that day, Jaxon wanted to hurl. His heart was booming, his hands surrounding the handle of the mop were shaking, and his lips trembling. No amount of horror movies could have prepared him for this trauma.

Shannon, unsure of what to do but feeling suddenly courageous, darted across the room to grab Jaxon's phone, noticing it was still very much alive. She opened it, using it as a flashlight so Jungkook could see. Jaxon pushed her behind him with his arm, hoping he would be able to save her.

"Silent night, Holy night, I have come, time to run..." The terrifying singing came again, making the couple flinch. The footsteps were getting louder and closer, echoing through the hallway behind the door. At this point Jaxon just wanted to go out and confront it, but he was too afraid of what it was. He didn't think it was human.

Suddenly, a loud banging came from the door. "THIS WILL BE A VERY SCARY CHRISTMAS, BECAUSE I HAVE FOUND YOU ON MY LIST! THIS WILL BE A VERY SCARY CHRISTMAS!" The thing screamed like some sort of evil spirit as it smashed on the door.

Shannon screamed, but Jaxon was frozen in fear, waiting for the moment the door would be broken open and a frightening creature would enter and kill them both.

However, it did not.

For some reason it stopped banging on the door. They could hear its footsteps again as it walked away, and they still heard it singing, but it grew distant. Frozen in confusion and fear, Shannon noticed a note underneath the door.

She looked at Jaxon in concern and noticed that his expression mirrored hers. Being the braver of the two, Jaxon dropped his pathetic weapon and went to retrieve the note. He saw the words scrawled in red ink under the flashlight of his phone: You're on my list, Jaxon. You're on my list, Shannon. This Christmas time, you will be the gift!

Jaxon dropped the note, which landed on the flip side, hoping if he did it would erase the words from his mind. But nothing could remove them. Shannon hurriedly retrieved the note from the floor, curious as to what it said.

DON'T LOOK IN THE CUPBOARD. The smudged red ink read.

Shannon looked at Jaxon in horror as she showed him the note. Jaxon tried to swallow his fear as they both turned to look at the cupboard beside them.

Instead of looking in the cupboard, Jaxon picked up his mop and headed for the door. Pulling apart his protective encasement around the door, he turned to Shannon and motioned for her to come closer.

Slowly opening the lock, he peeked outside. Still looking outside, he wiggled his finger for her to follow him. Instead of doing so, she grabbed his hands.

"We're safest here, Jaxon." She tried to convince him.

"No. We need to get out of here." He whispered back without looking at her.

"Jaxon, the police are coming, I'm sure of it. We should stay here."

He turned back to her. "They're not coming. It's just us. I want out of here, Shannon. I want to go home." He grasped her hand and pulled her through the doorway. This time, Shannon didn't push him away.

Sneaking around carefully, Jaxon and Shannon managed to make it to the end of the hallway where the stair case was. The sounds of painful moans and screams echoed through the level, but Jaxon was sure they would get out. He just had to sneak over to the next set of stairs and then they would make it to the first level, and run out the door.

Or he could just run. And that's what he did.