Chapter 3: Where'd Everyone Go, and What Has Happened?

Mick caught up to James bent down on his knee. "James, you good." 

James looked back and saw Mick, and took a couple seconds before answering. "Ya, pant pant, I'm good. Just pant, outa breath. Wow, I do not exercise enough." 

"Why're you out of breath?" 

"I ran everywhere but can't find Santa." 

"Dude, I just found a decimated nut cracker." 

"Pause, Say again? I don't know why but for some reason that sentence make me chuckle. Ha. Sorry go on, I'm a child at heart." 

"Ya, not the time. I think something is wrong here. I am getting a real bad feeling about this." 

"Watch out!" 

All of a sudden James lunged forward towards Mick and they both tumbled towards the ground. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Mick saw a snowball zooming by. Maybe it's Santa. (An aside for the reader, fyi, it's not). "What'd you do that for. It's just a snowball." 

"Sorry, I just got a really bad feeling all of a sudden." 

"Not that I don't appreciate you preventing me from getting pelted by snow, just that this seems a little overexcess-". 

When another snowball landed next to them their conversation was halted in its tracks, they snowball when it collided with the ground, shatter into millions of pieces. 

"That's no snowball, it's an iceball. Take cover!" said James. 

The two ran for the hills and sprinted away until they no longer felt the presence of projectiles through the air, then they stopped for a sec. 

"Ok, ya, that feeling you had about something here being wrong. I'm just going to go ahead and say you were right on the money," said James. 

"Ok, what's our plan of action?" 

"I have a plan, it's action." 

"..." 

"Sorry, I've always wanted to say that since I saw Avengers." 

"Valid. But I think it's plan of attack" 

"What?" 

"The quote, you misremembered it. No way, I don't believe you. There's no way I am wrong." James said as he pulled out his phone and turned it on. "Never mind, let's change the subject, come on, let's focus." 

"You look it up?" 

"Huh?" 

"I said, did you look it up, find out I was right, and then try to very obviously change the subject." 

"No ofc not. We're in the North Pole stupid, there's no service, but fine, you want the truth, I remembered you were right while I was looking at my phone. You happy.?!" 

"Yes. But seriously, what should we do." 

"uhhh, ooh. I got a plan." 

"I swear, if you're trying to recreate the moment so you can say it aga-" 

"No. I'm not an idiot, I know the moments passed." 

"Wait, then, you have an actual plan?!" 

"Yup, it's a doozy. Only someone slightly unhinged with a hint of creativity could come up with it. Don't worry, it'll be great, they'll never see it coming." James took out a notebook from his bag... Oops, wait, forgot to mention. This James character guy, like pretty obsessed with his bag, never leaves home without it. 99% of the time wholly unnecessary and just a minor nuisance, but this 1% of the time is when it comes really in handy. Okay, now back to the story... and a pencil from his pocket and wrote a series of things down on a piece of paper and then ripped it in half. "We're right next to Santa's workshop, duh, try to get all of these items and meet me back here in an hour. If we split up, I think we can actually pull it off and get everything ready before ice not so nice comes after us. Break." 

"Fine, but be careful." 

"Come on, we got me, an engineer, and you an environmental scientist."... Ok, I'm sure this person is reading this story, probably the first, if they didn't now who this was based off of by now, then they definitely do now... " can cook something up here." 

Congrats! On getting this far. We are almost done now. This is not part of the story but a congrats to any friend of mine who has gotten this far, you have my respect. 

Mick took a look at the list as they were walking in separate directions, and it said 

DUCK! I noticed some people trying to sneak up behind us. Meat me at the behind Santa's workshop, and take a evasive root. 

As soon as Mick read that he sunk to the ground and turned around as a barrage of snowballs were launched over his head. He ran down the hill and took hundreds of turns. Normally this would bother him, but Mick was pleased to see that a snowstorm was heading this way. As the snow picked up it became harder for him to find his path, but it also became harder to track someone. He took every turn he could and hates to admit it got lost for a bit. "being lost while you're being chased isn't that bad, that means the person chasing you is like double lost, right? I'm going to tell myself that's true." Eventually Mick had found his way to the back of the workshop and found James huddled there next to a fire, trying to keep it going with old notebook paper. 

"Good, your safe." 

"What was that? Couldn't have told me earlier that we were being followed?" 

"Look, I made an assumption that they were after the both of us, and thereby the best way for us to get away was to separate and half how much focus they could place on either of us. If I had told you right away, they would've heard and never would have let us get that far. I am sorry for not being able to say anything earlier tho." 

"All good, let's get to work. And btw, we aren't actually going to separate to get the stuff right? Cause that's a horrible idea." 

"Of course not, I've seen a horror movie before. But even without that, it makes like zero sense to separate when in hostile territory surrounded by an unknown enemy. Ya, it might take a bit longer to find us apart, but it also makes it easier to apprehend you when they do find you if you're by yourself." 

"Good, same page then. Please tell me that plan of yours was real tho." 

"Oh, its real, and I might have downplayed how insanely awesome it is to make them underestimate us. When I was going down the hill on my side, I got a peak at what they were. They looked like snowmen almost, but shinier. I assume Christmas magic brought them to life personally because they all have top hats on." 

"I mean, ya, that is the obvious conclusion" 

"Also, I didn't get a good enough look, but I coulda sworn I saw a man in a red coat and a red hat with a white bob with them. It looked like he was being held prisoner. If he's not behind this, then there are only two other people I know who could have done it. I doubt Mrs. Clause did this, so it must be" James whispered into Mick's ears and he looked startled. 

"But I've never heard a story about him." 

"Ya, many haven't. I wouldn't know if it hadn't been for yesterday. He had 1 too many glasses of nog and let it slip. And I think I know why this is happening too if that's the case. Let's get cooking." 

"Ya." 

James and Mick pried open a window in the back and then went inside the workshop. The found some clear tape and put it at the bottom of all the entrances. They then put jingle bells on all of the windowsills so that they'd be knocked over if anyone tried to pry them open like they had done. They then placed a pot on the stove in the kitchen and poured oil in it. They then got an ice cube and used a knife to make a small hole in it. They then put a candle in that hole and placed the ice on the oil, so that as the candles flame got lower the ice cube would melt allowing the candle to light the oil on fire. The oil will then shoot smoke in exhaust pipe above the stove. After it was set up, both James and Mick ran for the other side of the house and got their plan in order. They had procured a bunch of snowballs and hoisted them on the roof, and were preparing for what was to come next.