Shannon could hear the commotion out in the hallway. She wanted to call out, to make sure that Amy was okay, but the fear building up inside of her seemed to steal away her voice. Slowly, she edged towards the door, the sounds of the struggle outside growing louder.
What was going on? What was happening to her friend? What had happened to her neighbor? Mrs. Whip was an old bitch, but she didn't deserve to... what? Die? Was she dead?
Just before Shannon's fingers touched the doorknob she heard a shuffling behind her, followed by the faint tinkling of bells. She spun around.
Empty, the apartment was empty. Her heart was racing in her chest, and her breath was coming out in short, harsh bursts.
She heard it again, closer this time, coming from the box of Christmas decorations sitting on the small table that sat outside the kitchenette. Without even realizing it, she was edging towards the box, each step slow, but purposeful. The sounds from the hallway seemed to fade away as her focus zeroed in on the box in front of her. It wasn't until she was barely a foot away from the table that the box shook once. She froze. It shook again, this time more violently, accompanied by that familiar jangling of bells.
"Oh no," she whispered to herself.
Then the box in front of her seemed to explode, showering her with tinsel and ornaments.
-*-
In the hallway Amy was trying to crawl up the stairs, Bobby at her side, his hand holding her arm protectively. He was kicking at the small, elfin creatures that seemed to be pouring out of Mrs. Whip's apartment, their smiling, pointy faces glinting with malicious glee as the lunged at them. Some were able to get a grip on his leg, digging their sharp little nails into the flesh of his calf. One managed sink its pointed teeth into the meat of his thigh. Bobby screamed, reaching down and ripping the invading creature off of him.
He could feel the anger growing inside of him, and with it, Juktha's anger. It seemed to boil, their anger becoming a growing heat in his hands, its power showing through the bright glow now in his eyes. The creature began to struggle, its smile fading as it realized that it had attacked something much stronger than itself.
The heat burned through Bobby's arm, into his hand, where the squirming elf struggled to pry Bobby's tightening fingers. It wasn't working. The elf, struggled and struggled, but the heat soon became too much, and it's porcelain white skin began to bubble and melt. Then, without warning, its little head exploded, splattering Amy and the hallway in a thick, simmering green slime.
"What the fuck..." Amy looked at Bobby, not even attempting to hide her surprise.
"Long story." He grabbed Amy, pushing her up the stairs ahead of him. He hung back watching as the number of elves grew, spilling out of the open door to Mrs. Whip's apartment, and threw the now opened front door.
There were so many of them. Too many. Juktha had dealt with one, but he was out of practice, and so was she. Did they have enough energy to handle all of those things?
The creatures kept their distance, watching him, their beady little eyes tracking his every move. They were going to attack, and soon.
"Kurt, get her into the apartment." Bobby took a step back, but never took his eyes off of the elves. "Now."
Kurt stood at the top of the steps. He took Amy's hand, pulling her towards the door that led into his apartment.
"Come on." He kept his voice soft, low. He could see the panic in her eyes, and he didn't want to make it worse.
He reached the door, knocking hard and rapidly. "Chris, let us in."
The door cracked open, and Chris peaked out. Kurt didn't wait for him to react, and pushed the door open, pulling Amy in behind him. He turned looking at Bobby, begging him to follow. Then they heard the scream coming from downstairs.
"Shannon!" Amy started towards the door, but Kurt stopped her.
"I got this." Bobby shook his head and rushed down the stairs.
Kurt wanted to argue, to follow him out, but he knew it would be useless. Plus, Bobby had ways to defend himself, both with Juktha's power, and the giant battle axe he had brought with him. Amy and Chris had no such protections. All they had was Kurt, and whatever power he and Doctore could muster.
So, Kurt locked the door and turned towards his two current guests.
"Doctore, you ready to do a little healing?" Kurt thought the words, and could instantly feel Doctore agree.
-*-
Shannon stumbled back, feeling claws digging into her ankles, throwing her off balance. The garland and tinsel blinded her, disorienting her. She fell back, her ass hitting the carpet hard. She couldn't see, her hands clutching at the shiny distractions that covered her eyes. She could feel things moving around her, hear their cruel giggles. One of them scratched her hand, and she could feel the warm blood dripping from the now open wound. Another bit her, and she howled.
Then she felt the garland slipping around her neck. She moved as quickly as she could, her hands sliding up and under the piney rope. Just as she had expected, it went tight. She tried to pull back, to free her throat, but those things, those... those fucking elves, were too strong, and too many. The pulled harder, and she could hear them laughing.
Her fingers kept the garland from digging into her neck, but as it grew tighter, she could feel her fingers pressing into the flesh of her neck. She could only hold it off for so long. She struggled, kicking out, feeling her feet connecting with the small bodies. They howled and went flying with each thrash. Finally she was able to get her legs under her, and she pushed herself to her feet, the garland going limp as the small creatures were lifted off the ground.
She pulled the tinsel from her eyes, grabbed the garland, those fucking elves still clutching at both its ends, and swung. First one end smashed into the wall, the elves' bodies exploding on impact, and then the other, the remaining elves doing the same.
The elves scurring around her froze, shocked at their comrades sudden demise. It gave Shannon enough time to move. She rushed into the kitchenette, and grabbed the electric carving knife her mother had given her as a house warming gift. She quickly checked it over. Cordless. Perfect.
One of the creatures lunged at her, and she snatched it out of the air, slammed it down onto the counter, and with a deafening whir, she started up the carver. Quickly she brought the pulsating blade down, the sharp teeth cutting into the elf's squirming torso. It howled, thrashing and scratching at her, but Shannon wasn't letting go. Finally, with a gross slurp the elf's body ripped in half, the momentum of the blade sending it's lower half splattering onto the tile floor.
She turned, blade now covered in thick, green slime, and glared at the foot tall invaders. "You want a fucking piece of me? Come and get it!"
With a high pitched howl the elves started at her, but then, as quickly as their attack had started, it ended. Their small bodies exploded, showering her and her kitchen in their disgusting, fowl green blood.
She glanced up, and standing behind them was her upstairs neighbor, his eyes burning with a fiery glow, his hand outstretched, his palm exposed, his flesh seeming to burn, and yet somehow remain undamaged.
When the elves were dead, their remains dripping from her walls, the glow vanished from her neighbor's eyes, his hand returning to normal. He looked at her, his face now a mask of exhaustion.
"Come on." He took a step back, heading towards the door to her apartment. "It's safer upstairs."
Without a word, she followed him.
-*-
Outside, standing just on the far end of the snow covered parking lot, the demon girl was growing frustrated.
This was not how it was supposed to happen. There were supposed to be more screams, more shouts of pain. Instead her little elves had managed to take out one old woman, and then get turned into a green soupy mess. Something was very wrong in that building, and she realized that if she wanted to get things done, she would have to take care of them herself.
Her eyes scanned the small, two story building. She could sense the remaining life signs of the residents, and they were all focused on one apartment upstairs.
Perfect. She would start there.
With the determination of something much older and much crueler than her appearance would convey, the demon girl started towards the apartment building.
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