With the Holiday season underway, it's time for the second year of our little Christmas tradition! Below you'll find the newest entry in the Santa 3000 Short Story world as my early present to you. This story will stay up until the new year, so enjoy it while you can.
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Santa 3001 Short Story
Dirt rained down through flickering yellow light as bombs exploded and the war raged above. Ephron Kolmel kept working despite the chaos, loading presents into his oversized red bag. At the same time, his team tried to recover the signal with the North Pole or at least local officials. His traditional crimson and white fur coat and cap still hung on the hook while he pulled on orange and red camo that would blend in with the dirt and adobe buildings of the colony.
Between his rhythm of presents and combat gear, the first Santa to be assigned outside of the Sol system watched his team work. Despite the almost nonexistent space beneath the comms desk, Security Chief Yulia Mond had managed to remove the panel and sit facing the exposed wires, her curly blonde hair vailing her face as she worked. The other two members of the team moved in and out of the control center, either carrying more presents or parts.
For a few minutes the bombs ebbed just as he finished loading the last presents that his bag could comfortably carry. Ephron stood and looked around at his team before letting his deep voice break the nervous quiet.
“It doesn’t look like we have the teleporter or radio back online, so it’s time to commit to the mission or head deeper and ride this out. In my opinion, this war is the best reason for us to do our job. Plus, I think we might be able to really make a difference if we’re in the right place at the right time.”
His chief elf set down a pile of presents on one of the loading tables before turning to him, her fear barely controlled under her glare.
“You can’t be serious. Are you planning on going out into a warzone to deliver presents to children who may or may not be near their trees? You really are as insane as the stories that I’ve heard. We’ve barely been here a week and we’ve already spent half of it taking cover from bombs and artillery shelling. Do you really think that you can run this without a teleporter or comms?”
Ephron gave her a sad smile, responding in the soft tone of a parent to a scared child. “Everything will be fine Amira. I’m not sure what stories you’ve heard about me, but there are a few things you should know about me if you didn’t already.”
He reached into the breast pocket on his red and white fur coat and pulled out a tattered, round patch. Its green stitched edge was frayed by long use, but the black skull that was backed by a sword and rifle sat on the olive green field.
“Before taking up the red coat, I spent five years in the U.N. drop legion. I’ve been in a lot of warzones and this one isn’t any worse. I’ll be able to move pretty freely throughout the colony if you can get the comms up and connected to the local defense forces. We’ll want to make sure that they understand what we’re doing.”
For a moment, his team stared back at him before Amira stepped forward to take a closer look at the patch. She turned it over in her fingers, tracing the worn edge and faded front as she spoke, not looking up to meet his gaze.
“You never said anything. Did you mean to hide this from us?”
Ephrom stepped close and placed his hand on the second in command’s shoulder, speaking softly to his new friends.
“I’m sorry that this was hidden from you. I assumed that the council would have told you, especially with this place being our mission. Talking about my time in the military isn’t something I normally talk about, so it never came up in conversation. We don’t have time for a lot of conversation right now, but how about you hold onto that for me until I can get back and answer your questions.”
Before anyone could object, Ephrom picked up the pack of supplies and headed to the bunker's hatch. As he cranked the wheel to unlock the door, he glanced back at the security chief and gave one more request.
“Yulia, let me know when comms are back up. I’m going into the no man's land, so I’d like to not be shot by friendlies. Lock the door behind me and if anything goes wrong, wait to come find me until the sun's up.”
With a click, the door swung open to the ramp up to the surface drastically increasing the sounds of explosions in the distance. This planet’s Santa paused long enough to close the door again before moving up into the warzone that the planet had become over the last few weeks. He hugged the side of the ramp for as long as he could.
When his head popped up over the lip of the raised ramp edge, he had to take a deep breath as he took in the destruction. The street that had once been a warehouse and business sector had transformed into a sea of fire-scorched rubble. Smoke swirled through the empty streets of broken red stone and orange plaster, sending a chill up his spine at the memory of the traffic that had once filled the view in front of him.
He moved slowly from one piece of rubble to another, each trip into the open sending a spike of adrenaline as the whistle of distant artillery echoed like the cries of harpies. When he reached a partially open building, he ducked inside to check his gear. His heavy red bag, filled with simple toys and supplies, was shifted from the older shoulder carry to the shoulder straps before checking the webbing that he’d filled with smoke grenades and a combat knife.
He felt unnatural without his rifle and sidearms making his hands itch to hold something, but his oath as a Santa forbade him from taking offensive action. Confident that he knew where everything was, he moved back out into the smoke-filled warzone. For five blocks, he moved like a red wraith through the corporate sector on the far side of the city from the fighting.
The world around him shook as the strikes shifted back towards him as he reached the first river that split up the colony into four parts. For the first time since he’d emerged from his bunker, he spotted movement on the far banks. Civilians scrambled around the cover of the partially destroyed buildings on the bank while soldiers and brave men tried to organize the small fishing and recreational ships to carry everyone they could to the safety of the warehouse district.
A few small groups ran for the beached ships, trying to escape as the artillery shifted to target the shingle beach. For a moment, Ephrom hoped as they sprinted to the fishing boat, only looking away when the pebbles around them began to erupt from incoming artillery rounds. He left cover and sprinted towards the crater-pocked stone bridge just upstream from the refugees.
Not wanting to see the results of this group of runners, he pulled the first smoke grenade from his belt as he reached the edge of the bridge at a full sprint. He yanked the pin out and dropped it onto a small pile of rubble before continuing his run. A pop was the only sound of success as it released a flow of white smoke up to be carried by the wind.
Two more grenades joined the first in a rough line along the bridge. As he reached the halfway point of the bridge, the smoke began to thicken, hiding the river from view as it grew and spread further. It felt like an hour of zigzagging as he wound through the potholes and rubble, not sure of what type of reception he’d receive on the far side. As he reached the main city, a lone soldier poked his head out long enough to motion him into the remains of a church.
Just steps from the doorway, bullets began to hiss past him down the mile-long avenue forcing him to dive into the cover. Inside the high stone walls, a small command center had been set up on the pulpit and tables while pews had been moved to create cover inside the large room. A scarred warrior glanced up from the map table, long enough to meet his gaze and grumble out a greeting.
“Good morning Santa. Good work on the smoke there. I’m sure the people who were able to get over the river will appreciate that. But aren’t you a little early for presents?”
Ephrom gave the old soldier a warm smile before responding with his formal Santa voice.
“Thank you, Captain. After having lost enough friends while fighting to capture this system in the first place, I couldn’t just sit in my bunker and not do anything. I can’t pick up a rifle anymore, but I can take some weight off of your shoulders by pulling civilians out. This year, the most common present will likely be a safe place to ride this out.”
The captain’s face shifted from its normal scowl to a soft smile as he cocked an eyebrow. “A former soldier huh? That clears up how you knew what to do on the smoke run. What unit did you serve in?”
As he responded, Ephrom linked his thumbs with his fingers splayed to look like the wings of a bird across his chest. “I’m a retired Death Raven from the Eighty Eighth Drop Legion. I was attached from the initial jump onto this world until I was wounded at the battle of the Glass Valley. After that, I joined the Santas so that I could still make some kind of difference.”
The Captain responded with a matched gesture, before motioning Ephrom over to the small holo table as he spoke.
“Knowing that even our Santa is a Death Raven is somehow comforting. I’ll happily leave the civilians to you if you’re able to get them somewhere. We’ve just been sending them over the river, but we haven’t been giving them instructions on what to do afterward. Care to fill us in?”
Still smiling at every soldier he passed, Ephrom stepped up to the table and pointed out the six oldest warehouses in the colony.
“These warehouses are all of the old design, including storm bunkers that were designed to protect most of the civilian populace of the city. If we can get the people there, my team is working on moving supplies to each of them while we get this city safe again.”
He pulled his bag off of his back and began to pull out the colorfully wrapped packages, setting them on the table with a wink. “I called in some favors on the present delivery and most of these are for your team. I hope ammo and medical supplies are what you had on your list this year. Once you guys grab these, I’ll head out and see about pulling non-combatants out if you can point me in the right direction.”
A few soldiers stepped forward and began to take the boxes. When the military presents were given out, he turned back to the sand table before him. The captain pointed to the southern quarter of the city, where the Narleth lines had pressed across the other river.
“We’ve managed to get the civilians out of the city center and north, but we weren’t able to clear the south before their initial push partially cut us off from them. We can’t get in there at strength, but you might have more luck. I’ll let my troops know what you’re doing so that you don’t meet with any resistance as you head in that direction. Good luck Santa.”
The captain gave Ephrom a salute of dismissal before turning back to the planning that he’d been working on. Ephrom turned and headed to the back door of the church that led to a narrow alley that would supply cover for him to make his way south. As he stepped to the opening, he turned back to the huddled soldiers. “Good luck boys, make tomorrow a Merry Christmas.”
He moved low as he jogged down the alley, keeping his head low so that he couldn’t be seen by any Narleth snipers. It took him about a minute to reach the first cross street, its wide straight thoroughfare feeling like a death trap as he crept closer. On the far side, another narrow alley sat five feet to the right of a straight line.
The smoke from the bridge drifted and looped through the street, giving him just enough cover to maybe make the run safely. He shifted his weight to his toes and took a deep breath before sprinting towards the far alley, dodging rubles and potholes as best he could. Bullets split the air just inches behind him as he dove behind the red sandstone wall.
After a moment to collect himself, he pushed himself up and continued the jog towards the people who needed his help. For the next fifteen minutes, he weaved through alleys and the occasional street, barely dodging bullets and the occasional mortar shell that seemed to be dropping behind the human positions that were broken into a few blocks to his east. As he approached the break in the battle lines, Ephrom slowed to a careful walk.
Gunshots rang out over the walls and channels as he drew closer, the sounds of battle sending a chill up his spine. Instinct caused him to drop to a crouch as he activated his old combat radio and spoke as quietly as his throat mic let him.
“Regional defense lines, this is Santa. Approaching from your rear from the north. I’ve been requested to move into the contested area and try to locate any remaining civilians. Please confirm positions and any potential places that I can cross.”
For an eternal moment, the radio hissed back, before a tense female voice crackled back in return.
“Merry Christmas Eve, Santa. You’re good to approach. Command told us about your mission and we’ve managed to close off the bulge to give you a line through. If you move up to Seventh Street, we’ve set up a fixed position with a rubble wall to allow us to move. That should give you a path through.”
He thanked the speaker quickly before changing his path to work back towards the river. As he slipped up beside the soldiers that crouched low behind stone walls and abandoned vehicles, Ephrom pulled a few more of his resupply presents from his pack, dropping them off where they were most needed. In the middle of the fortifications, he paused to drop off a few boxes of ammo at the machine gun team.
Through the gun slit, he could see the advancing hairy beings, their armor, and uniforms barely fitting over their thick black fur and ebony horns. The bovine-like aliens had never seemed natural to Ephrom, but it seemed so much worse when he was basically unarmed. He shook his head and turned to press on as the machine gun opened up on the next wave of the semi-feral aliens.
As he cleared the lines of human troops with a single wish of luck to the soldiers, he entered contested territory. Sounds of fighting echoed down the streets and allies, but no one was visible close by. With his back pressed against one of the few buildings that still remained intact, he pulled out a map of the city to pick his first place to check. His finger ran in a circle around his position, stopping at the buildings that could possibly be places where people would have gathered to take shelter.
A building stood out in his search and he took off in that direction without another thought. It took him closer to the sounds of fighting, but this would be the worst place to let fall before it had cleared. He sprinted around the final corner before the school came into view, its nearest walls collapsed from an artillery shell.
Bullets sparked and ricocheted off of the walls around him as he sprinted through the new opening of the building. With his hand on the hilt of his knife, he crept through dust covered remains of a classroom. As he pushed into the hallway, he called out just loud enough for his voice to carry through the open school.
“Is anyone here? This is Santa and I’m here to help get you to safety.”
For several moments, only silence answered him as he slowly advanced deeper into the building. Near the center of the building, the library sat with doors open. From deep inside a few wimpers echoed out to catch his attention. Ephrom slowly advanced, using the walls and bookshelves to supply cover.
Near the back was a reading area filled with couches and other comfortable chairs. Bright colors of pillows and the couch fabric were muted by the dim light and the dust that blanketed everything. Several of the furniture pieces had been moved to form a simple fort near the back corner.
Behind the wall of neon green and yellow, whispers and whimpers gave away whoever was trying to hide. Holding his hands up so that the people behind the barrier could see them, he slowly approached, keeping his voice light as he spoke.
“I know this isn’t the Christmas Eve that you all were hoping for, but I’m here to try and get you to safety so that your Christmas Day will be better. Can I approach your fort?”
Hushed whispers drifted from inside the furniture fort, all of the voices sounding like children. A boy who looked to be about twelve popped his head up over the couch that formed the center of the front wall. He scowled out at Ephrom for a moment before his eyes lit up as he recognized the man in front of him.
“Santa! I can’t believe it’s you. Can you really get back to our parents for Christmas?”
Ephrom forced a smile and went into his full Santa persona, letting out a belly laugh before speaking.
“Yes, young man. I’m here to get you to the safe Christmas party that we’ve been planning. I’m not sure where your parents are, but everyone was invited to the party. How many of you are in the fort?”
Three more heads popped up from behind the furniture, the faces of the two girls and one boy looking from six to nine years old. Ephrom made sure to give each of the children a warm smile before activating his local radio to the local defense force.
“Defense command, this is Santa. I have four children at the Greenhome Elementary School. We’re going to be pulling out in about a minute, but we’re going to need some covering fire to pin down some shooters on Seventh. If we can, we'll aim for the river from here and make our way up the river road.”
A quick confirmation came to his earpiece as he shifted a few of the chairs to let the children out. He walked to the library door and glanced out quickly before moving back to kneel before the kids.
“I know that you’ve all been good kids this year, but because of the bad guys out there, I need to confirm your names. Can you help me out with that?”
The oldest boy stepped out of the fort and introduced the other children as they emerged. “I’m Jamal and this is my sister Layla. We were here for a library event with Huda and Salah. The teachers helped us build the fort before leaving to try and get help.”
Ephrom smiled at Jamal as he placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “I take it you’re the leader of the group? How about you help me get everyone organized with all of their things. As soon as we can, we need to leave here and get to the river.”
Jamal gave the Santa a serious nod before turning back to the fort and the other children. For the next few minutes, the children gathered everything that they’d brought with them along with a few extra books. When they were ready, Ephrom knelt in front of all four of them again and kept his voice light despite the weight of his warning.
“We’re about to go out into a dangerous area so I need you to follow what I tell you. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t have fun. If you do a good job, there will be extra presents for you tomorrow morning. The best one at this game will get a special present as well.”
The children all nodded and the youngest boy danced a little with excitement. Their excitement despite the danger was enough to force a genuine smile across Ephrom’s face. He stood and led the children back towards the only safe exit in the building. As they reached the classroom with the hole in it, he activated his radio again.
“Santa is ready to move. Please confirm the best exfil direction and let us know when we’re able to move.”
After a moment the same voice crackled back over the radio in response.
“Good copy Santa. We’re moving ahead of your position now. You should be able to take Seventh for two blocks then cut over to the river access road. Once there, we’ll have a riverboat waiting for you there.”
When the all too familiar sound of human rifles, Ephrom stepped out to make sure that they wouldn’t get fired on. When nothing came, he turned back to the children and gave them a sly smile as he spoke over the sounds of gunfire.
“Do any of you think that you can beat me to the corner store? I’ll race you there.”
Not waiting to see if the kids followed, he took off at a jog towards the store that had lost most of its windows to the earlier fighting. After a few feet, he glanced over his shoulder and saw the four children hot on his trail. It took a few minutes for the crew of escapees to reach the crossroad that would give them safety from direct fire. Jamal reached the corner first, his sister towed by her hand around the corner as her excited giggles finally reached Ephrom’s ears.
The other two children sprinted around the corner just a few seconds later, sending a wave of relief through the Santa. He activated the channel with the defense team and let them know about their new status before turning back to the children.
“Defense command, Santa, and HVTs are clear of the combat zone. Headed to the beach now. Please let the boat know that we’re on our way.”
A quick confirmation was all that Ephrom received before the sounds of the ongoing attack shifted again to press the enemy further. He turned back to the kids and began to walk towards the service road that allowed the local stores to directly access the beaches.
“We’re almost safely out of here kids, stay quiet, but we can just walk. Once we’re at the beach, we just need to take a boat over to the party. Are you guys ready to celebrate Christmas?”
The younger children beamed with excitement as the older two glanced at each other, concerned gazes telling everything Ephrom needed to know. On the far side of the buildings the pebble beach sprawled before them, pocked with artillery craters. Several boats zipped up and down the quarter-mile-wide river, dodging plumbs of water where the randomly fired shells hit.
Ephrom pulled his flashlight off his Kevlar webbing and flashed it at the boats until one of the rescue vessels flashed its light back in his direction. He stepped forward and rolled several smoke grenades out onto the beach, letting a thick wall of smoke blanket their path. The boat slipped up on the beach with a soft scratching sound as it appeared through the smoke.
The two oldest children pulled the others with them as the group ran to the beached craft, letting Ephrom lift them up onto it as they got close. Artillery shells whistled overhead and erupted throughout the smoke-filled area. With a hard push from Ephrom, the rubber boat was sent back into the river as he jumped on board.
As he pushed himself up on the side of the boat, an artillery shell slammed into the beach just feet from them. The explosion flipped him over the side face first as a sharp knife of pain cut through his right tricep. He struggled to stay conscious as he hit the hard plastic bottom and the pain tried to take him.
With a jolt, the small craft lept to full power, weaving back upriver to a more secure stretch of beach on the far bank. Ephrom twisted and pulled his body underneath him before looking up to see what had happened. Between the two wood planks that were the boat's only seats, the four children huddled together in fear.
He kept low as he got to his feet and moved over the children, hiding the pain that crippled his right arm behind a smile. When he’d settled onto the front bench, he glanced down at the passengers and began a conversation over the roar of the engines and wind.
“So, now that we’re almost safe, how about you all tell me what you want most for Christmas. Depending on what it is, I’ll do my best to make it happen. I think you’ve all earned a spot on the nice list today alone.”
The two youngest children seemed to put their fear aside as they shifted from panic to excitement at the thought of gifts. The younger girl, Layla, was nearly bouncing in her seat as glanced up at her brother before glancing up at Santa.
“I want a new doll. I have a few already, but I want one that looks like she’s from our planet. The three that I have all look like they’re from Earth or Mars.”
Ephrom smiled down at her, the girl's excitement dulling the pain that crept through his old man's body. He may have once been a soldier, but today had made it clear that he definitely wasn’t a soldier now.
“That seems like a spectacular idea. It’s really important to have a doll that looks like you. What do you want for Christmas, Huda?”
For the next few minutes, the group talked about Christmas presents as the boat bobbed and weaved back upriver until they reached the only branch that cut through the city. They banked up the stream that was just deep enough to let them travel it safely. Just a block from the warehouses that formed the only safe zone in the city, the boat ground up the beach to be greeted by a dozen civilians who rushed forward to help them unload.
As the children were set down on the pebbled beach, Ephrom smiled down at them one more time as he addressed them.
“You children were very brave today. Go and enjoy the party and I’ll see you soon. Be good for my elves and the other adults and you’ll have a happy Christmas tomorrow morning. There are still a lot of children on the other side of the river that need my help and I’m going back over to help them.”
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