223 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
223 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
|
|
|||
|
|
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO oOOOO OOOO. OOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
|
|||
|
|
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" .OOOOOO OOOOOo OOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
|
|||
|
|
OOOO oOOOOOOO OOOOOOO. OOOO oOOOO
|
|||
|
|
OOOO .OOOO OOOO OOOOOOOOo OOOO OOOO"
|
|||
|
|
OOOO oOOOO OOOO OOOO "OOOO. OOOO OOOOo .OOOO'
|
|||
|
|
OOOO .OOOO" OOOO OOOO OOOOoOOOO "OOOO. oOOOO
|
|||
|
|
OOOO oOOOOOOO..OOOO OOOO "OOOOOOO OOOOoOOOO"
|
|||
|
|
OOOO .OOOO"""OOOOOOOO OOOO OOOOOO "OOOOOOO'
|
|||
|
|
OOOO oOOOO ""OOOO OOOO "OOOO OOOOOO
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|
|||
|
|
| |
|
|||
|
|
| There Ain't No Justice |
|
|||
|
|
| |
|
|||
|
|
| #54 |
|
|||
|
|
| |
|
|||
|
|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|
|||
|
|
- The Last Christmas -
|
|||
|
|
by Kel'anth
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
It's December again, and all around, people are putting up their
|
|||
|
|
Christmas trees, hanging lights around their windows, stockings above the
|
|||
|
|
fireplace, or anywhere they can find a good place in their apartments.
|
|||
|
|
Silver bells are ringing in the streets. Soon they'll be carolers in the
|
|||
|
|
suburbs, sometimes even here in the city. There aren't a lot of people
|
|||
|
|
brave or stupid enough, to go around outside for hours singing here,
|
|||
|
|
anymore, but every year, there are some of them, somewhere. The TV news
|
|||
|
|
people always catch them for a gooey marshmallow-type story. I've never
|
|||
|
|
really seen them myself. But then, I don't live in the nicest part of the
|
|||
|
|
city.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I'm walking down the street, where for once the people seem almost
|
|||
|
|
kinda happy, who do I see but Santa Claus. I know it's a fake, some old
|
|||
|
|
drunk who can't find another job. I still feel like ripping his guts out.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
A little girl, looks five or six, she's sitting on his lap. She's
|
|||
|
|
smiling and telling Santa what she wants for Christmas this year. She won't
|
|||
|
|
get any of that stuff. Just something cheap and stupid, or maybe even
|
|||
|
|
worse. She doesn't know what Santa's REALLY like. The little boy (her
|
|||
|
|
brother, I guess) has the right idea. He's crying and he won't let go of
|
|||
|
|
his mom and go sit on Santa's lap. He knows to be scared.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
They're all waiting for Santa Claus. And this year, so am I. This
|
|||
|
|
year, I'm ready. This year. The last Christmas.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
***
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I remember when I was little. I believed in Santa. I knew that much of
|
|||
|
|
the truth. But I didn't know him, not at all.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
When I was five, I wrote my Christmas list, in red and green crayons.
|
|||
|
|
It wasn't easy writing that list, I didn't know how to write real well
|
|||
|
|
then. I remember just what I wanted: a new tricycle, a Super NES, and a
|
|||
|
|
million dollars. I closed up the letter, and sent it to Santa at the North
|
|||
|
|
Pole. I went to bed Christmas Eve, visions of sugarplums dancing in my
|
|||
|
|
head, or whatever.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Do you know what I really got for Christmas?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
When I woke up in the morning, and ran to the Christmas tree, I didn't
|
|||
|
|
find any wrapped presents, I found my mother and father. Dead. All I
|
|||
|
|
remember is blood and stuff, and the little bows stuck neatly on top of
|
|||
|
|
their heads, pink for my mother, blue for my father. The cops told me later
|
|||
|
|
they'd both been stabbed through the side of the head with the fireplace
|
|||
|
|
poker.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Right now, I gotta admit the bows were a nice touch. Real
|
|||
|
|
professional.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The other thing I found, that mysteriously got taken off the police
|
|||
|
|
report, was a trail of my parents' blood, leading into the fireplace.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
***
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I wonder if anyone, lately, has REALLY tried to catch Santa. I'm going
|
|||
|
|
to try my best, this Christmas. I spent years saving up for the fancy alarm
|
|||
|
|
system I have now. I spent more years saving up to rent a house this
|
|||
|
|
December, with a fireplace and chimney.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
This thing's really pretty amazing. It's got heat sensors, it's got
|
|||
|
|
some kind of invisible light beams across the front of the fireplace. I
|
|||
|
|
don't really know how it works, but I tested it, it seems to work great.
|
|||
|
|
And I don't think Santa could possibly expect me to have such expensive
|
|||
|
|
stuff, in fact, he thinks he's made sure of it.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The bedroom's like some kinda fort. I got guns, I got a bulletproof
|
|||
|
|
vest on, I got grenades, the works, really. I bet I could kill all the pigs
|
|||
|
|
in town with this junk. But I'm saving it for someone special.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I turned out the light now, and I'm waiting here in the dark. He'll be
|
|||
|
|
here, I know he'll be here. I bet he'll be armed too. But he can't bring a
|
|||
|
|
bazooka down the chimney with him, can he? I just don't know.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
***
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
You know all those kids that you hear about sometimes, the ones that
|
|||
|
|
have like 50 foster parents because none of them were any good? Well,
|
|||
|
|
that's me. None of my relatives were alive, only one grandmom, and she was
|
|||
|
|
in an old folks home. I got stuck with the foster shit. One of my fake
|
|||
|
|
stupid dads made me stand in a corner for hours, and everyone else ate
|
|||
|
|
dinner, and they watched TV and stuff, and if I moved or I tried to look at
|
|||
|
|
anything he would punch me in the back of the head. He just made me stand
|
|||
|
|
there, the bastard, and finally I was too tired and I just couldn't stand
|
|||
|
|
up, I started to fall down and he hit me again, I just SCREAMED, "I CAN'T
|
|||
|
|
STAND UP ANYMORE, I JUST CAN'T!" He hit me again but his wife made him
|
|||
|
|
stop, she came down and said she couldn't sleep with the screaming and
|
|||
|
|
would he please call it a night? And they weren't the worst ones, there
|
|||
|
|
were a lot worse, one guy...well, I just don't want to talk about it
|
|||
|
|
anymore. You probably heard it all before anyway, some news special or
|
|||
|
|
something, and you said too bad then, but you didn't really care so why
|
|||
|
|
should you care now?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
But anyway, I ran away from home alot. One time they didn't catch me,
|
|||
|
|
the "folks" didn't even report it, I guess. I guess they caught hell for it
|
|||
|
|
when I disappeared, I hope so, they deserved it. I was 17, just out of high
|
|||
|
|
school, when I finally got away. I got into drug dealing, it was the only
|
|||
|
|
way I could make money, I couldn't get a "real" job, I thought they'd send
|
|||
|
|
me back.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I made enough money, I guess. A lot, really, but I spent a lot of it
|
|||
|
|
on stuff like whores, when I shoulda spent more on weapons and stuff. I
|
|||
|
|
gave it up when I was 19. I was thinking of being a pimp, but I decided not
|
|||
|
|
to, I thought, well, it's no use breaking alot of laws, I was lucky, the
|
|||
|
|
reason I gave up drug dealing is I almost got arrested, I don't want that
|
|||
|
|
to happen again, it would ruin my plans. You see, I was already planning to
|
|||
|
|
kill Santa Claus.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I got a REAL job, at a McDonalds, and I waited, until I had enough
|
|||
|
|
money to afford this stuff, and that's where I am now. Waiting for Santa
|
|||
|
|
like some little kid, only THIS little kid's got GUNS.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
***
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Well, it's over now. All the waiting, and everything. I'll tell you
|
|||
|
|
how it all turned out.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
At 12:30 in the morning, the alarm went off, and I went downstairs
|
|||
|
|
with my assault rifle. Yeah, it was Santa all right. He seemed like he was
|
|||
|
|
expecting me. He shoulda been, with the alarms and everything, right?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Well, I pointed the gun at him, and I said, "Sit down, Santa. We're
|
|||
|
|
gonna have a nice, long, chat, and then I'm gonna kill you. If you try to
|
|||
|
|
get away, or you won't talk, then you'll just die sooner, so you better
|
|||
|
|
talk."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
He sat down and he fucking SMILED. He said, "Well, child, what so you
|
|||
|
|
want to talk about?"
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I almost shot him RIGHT THEN. But I made myself smile back at him, and
|
|||
|
|
I said, "I'm not your child, and I think you know what I want to talk
|
|||
|
|
about. Or maybe you don't remember. Maybe you kill so many damn people you
|
|||
|
|
just can't remember them all. Poor Santa. But you killed my mom and dad.
|
|||
|
|
Remember the little pink and blue bows? I thought that was very
|
|||
|
|
professional. I figured you must kill alot of folks, right?"
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
"Absolutely.", he said.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I was expecting that, and I said, "But WHY??"
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
"Because you ARE my child. My son. Before you could be my child, I had
|
|||
|
|
to get rid of those pretenders."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
"I'm no one's child any more, bastard."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
"Ah, but you are. I've had others to raise you in my place. Your
|
|||
|
|
brothers and your sisters. They raised you to be like me. They raised you
|
|||
|
|
to HATE. I see it in you now, my son."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
"I'M NOT YOUR FUCKING SON!!!!"
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
"Don't deny it. Please don't tell me you don't know who I am. It's not
|
|||
|
|
that hard to figure out. I only switched two letters. Didn't you ever
|
|||
|
|
wonder why you never see Santa and Satan at the same time? Why we both wear
|
|||
|
|
red? How such a fat man could get down a skinny little chimney, where he
|
|||
|
|
gets magic flying reindeer? I am Satan, and you are my son."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I was really angry, and I was so angry that I shot him. He started
|
|||
|
|
laughing. I shot him again. He laughed louder. He started to fucking MELT,
|
|||
|
|
and soon all that was left was this spooky-looking thing, like a ghost you
|
|||
|
|
see on TV, only made of fire.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I kept shooting at him, but he only laughed, and he flew up the
|
|||
|
|
chimney again. He left me there, and I was thinking. I guess I really am
|
|||
|
|
his son. I keep looking back on my life now, and thinking how people are
|
|||
|
|
dope addicts now because of me, and the guy I killed once when I was 18.
|
|||
|
|
And how I tried to shoot him. And, well, he's right, I'm just like him. I'm
|
|||
|
|
as bad as my "folks". And I don't want to be his son, but I am, I'm just
|
|||
|
|
like him, and I can't help it anymore.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I figure, I got all these weapons, and I don't got anybody to use them
|
|||
|
|
on, or, I got only one guy. And why not? I can't kill him, but I can kill
|
|||
|
|
his family, just like he killed mine. Look out, Dad, I'm coming home for
|
|||
|
|
Christmas.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
If it can't be the last Christmas, it'll at least be mine.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
<20> <20><> <20>
|
|||
|
|
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20> <20> <20>
|
|||
|
|
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>۲<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><>
|
|||
|
|
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20>
|
|||
|
|
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
|
|||
|
|
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
|
|||
|
|
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20> <20>
|
|||
|
|
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
|
|||
|
|
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
|
|||
|
|
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
|
|||
|
|
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
|
|||
|
|
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> Phoenix Modernz Systems: 908/830-TANJ
|
|||
|
|
<EFBFBD>۱<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> The Syndicate: 908/506-6651
|
|||
|
|
<EFBFBD>۱<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> The Matrix BBS: 908/905-6691
|
|||
|
|
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> First United Church Kalisti: 602/753-3784
|
|||
|
|
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> The Cell: 817/870-1060
|
|||
|
|
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
|
|||
|
|
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
|
|||
|
|
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
|
|||
|
|
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20> <20>
|
|||
|
|
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
|
|||
|
|
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>
|
|||
|
|
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20>
|
|||
|
|
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>۲<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20><>
|
|||
|
|
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> <20> <20> <20>
|