A Very Twisted Christmas

This story begins like any ordinary Christmas story, with a group of friends sitting around a fireplace roasting smores and having fun. One thing I can guarantee you about this story though, is that it is far from any ordinary Christmas story. It begins with fun and games but ends with… well I will let you wait and see…

It all began on Christmas Eve at a snowy lodge, where five close friends hung out on vacation together. All their families had always been quite close. Their parents stayed there with them as expected. Let me introduce these friends briefly: Freddy was an 18-year-old boy with blond curly hair, who was immature, clumsy, and obviously the goofy one. Valentina nicknamed Val was an 18-year-old girl with brown straight hair, who was always looking out for the others, but also mostly the serious one. Alex was a 17-year-old boy with brown curly shoulder length hair and a muscular build, who was the sporty one. Elisabeth nicknamed Lizzie was a 17-year-old girl with blond long straight hair, who was the creative and caring one, while simultaneously being good at sports. Last, there was Nick, an 18-year-old boy with brown short straight slicked back hair, who was smart, and secretive. He was new to the group and had just met them before the trip and his parents had not accompanied him, so he was staying with Freddy and his family. Now, let the story begin: 

As the group sat around the fire, Freddy got up and started to pretend to fall into the fire, since he knew it would get on Val’s nerves, and he loved nothing more than to tease her. 

“Freddy!! Stop messing around! You need to be more careful around the fireplace, you are really gonna trip and fall in the fire if you keep that up!” Val shouted nervously.  

“Stop worrying so much Val, you’ve got to let loose and just chill, ok? The only place I am falling is gonna be in my chair,” Freddy chuckled as he collapsed back into his seat. 

“Don’t tell Val to chill Freddy, remember, chill is not a word in her vocabulary,” Alex chuckled. 

“Ha…ha, very funny guys, of course I know how to chill, I can totally chill, see I am chilling right now,” Val replied tensely. 

“Uh huh… that sure sounds chill,” Nick said sarcastically as he laughed a bit. 

“Ok… fine, maybe I am not that chill, I have just always been a bit, I don’t know, on edge since the accident, you know…” Val said with a sigh.

“Yeah, I get that, falling in that frozen lake must have been quite traumatizing, sorry bout that Val,” Freddy replied, apologetically. 

“Don’t worry Freddy, it’s fine and I’m fine, it just messed with my head I guess,” Val said as she let out another sigh. 

“I know what will cheer you up,” Lizzie said with excitement, “the fireworks!” The fireworks suddenly erupted into the night sky; it was a truly wonderful sight. Just then, Nick’s phone buzzed, and he slipped away from the group silently. 

Freddy slipped onto the two person chair that Val was on, and attempted to put his arm around her shoulder as he spoke, “The fireworks really are quite something, huh Val?”

“Yeah Freddy, for sure,” Val said as she lifted his arm off her shoulder, as she chuckled a bit, “but this is not something, ok?” 

“Aww… one day you will change your mind,” Freddy said slyly.

“Hey uh… Lizzie did you maybe want to…” Alex began as Lizzie interrupted.

“Hey guys, where did Nick go?” she asked concerned. 

“I didn’t even notice he left… I am not sure,” Val replied. 

“I am going to go look for him, you guys enjoy the fireworks,” Lizzie said with a smile. 

“Wait… Lizzie, I wanted to ask you something,” Alex tried to continue. 

“Oh, right, sorry Alex, what did you want to ask me?” Lizzie asked with a grin. 

“Never mind, you better make sure Nick is ok first,” Alex said becoming nervous. 

“Oh ok, I will be right back,” Lizzie said as she skipped out of the room. Nick was inside of the lodge on a phone call with someone. Lizzie came in the room in time to overhear a bit of what Nick was saying.

“Yeah Dad, don’t worry, I will be careful,” he said as he let out a sigh. He then said goodbye and hung up the call. 

“Everything ok Nick? I noticed you left in the middle of the fireworks,” Lizzie asked concerned. 

“Oh uh… yeah, my parents just called to check in and make sure I was all set,” Nick lied, while nervously scratching his neck, since that is not why his father had called. 

“Oh, ok, glad everything is ok, I was worried about you for a moment,” Lizzie smiled with a bit of hesitancy.  

“I know what would make me feel completely better though,” Nick said with a grin. 

“What would that be?” Lizzie asked filled with curiosity. 

“If you would join me for a moonlit walk tonight,” Nick said with a grin. 

“I think I could make that happen,” Lizzie said as she twirled her hair. The two of them walked down the path gazing up at the stars and talking as they went. Alex watched from the balcony of his room with a hurt expression on his face. 

“I was too late to ask her out…” He mumbled to himself. 

Eventually all of them went back to their own rooms for the night, or did they? The next morning when they all awoke, they went to the fireplace area to exchange gifts, have some cookies, and have fun. Like always, Freddy made his jokes and teased Val. He bought her a pair of socks as a joke and watched her unwrap her gift and chuckle. She unwrapped the very untidily wrapped present and couldn’t help but laugh.

“Socks… really Freddy?” 

“I was just kidding; this is what I really got you,” he said with a smile as he presented to her a beautifully and elegantly wrapped box. Val unwrapped it cautiously, with her face full of excitement. When she unwrapped it, she noticed it was a piece of jewelry. She opened the box anxiously and looked at the beautiful necklace that was inside. 

“Wow Freddy, you really outdid yourself this year! I love it! Thank you so much!” Val exclaimed as her face lit up with joy and delight then asked, “It’s just a gift from one friend to another, right,” emphasizing the word friend. 

“Of course, a current friend, and future boyfriend,” Freddy teased with a grin. 

“Ha ha…Freddy, that is never gonna happen,” Val said with a sigh, “You need to understand that.” 

“Guys, sorry to break up whatever this is, but have either of you seen Lizzie or Nick?” Alex asked feeling sick to his stomach with worry. He had called Lizzie five times, with no answer. 

“Now that you mention that I haven’t seen either of them since last night,” Val said, her face becoming pale as she began to worry. 

“I saw them leave for a walk together last night,” Alex said, with obvious jealousy. 

“Guys, I am sure they are fine, at least they are together and not alone,” Freddy said feeling hopeful. 

“That’s what I am worried about…” Alex began. 

“What? That Nick is stealing your girl?” Val asked. 

“My girl?” Alex asked pretending to not know what Val was talking about. 

“Oh Alex, don’t play dumb, it is obvious that you like her,” Val said with a grin. 

“Fine I like her, but I am not saying that because of jealousy! I mean, think about it, how well do you guys know Nick? I mean, we only knew him for like a week before taking him on this trip with us,” Alex asked, feeling worried. 

“Dude, just chill, maybe they got lost in the dark, we will go search for them,” Freddy said reassuringly. 

“That doesn’t answer my question!” Alex exclaimed then said, “You’re probably right though, I am just really worried about her,” he sighed feeling a little better. He just couldn’t fight the feeling that something was horribly wrong.

The three of them told the parents that Lizzie had slept over with Val in her room, and that Nick had slept over with Alex, when the parents asked where they had been. They then told the parents that all of them were going for a walk and that Lizzie and Nick had gone ahead of them to wait for them there. They grabbed some flashlights, food rations, and water for the hike, and set out to go looking for the two of them. 

They searched and searched along the paths, they called their names and joked and laughed. 

“Guys, this is not a time to joke and laugh! Lizzie and Nick are both still missing!” Alex said before sighing and staring at the ground in frustration. 

“Yeah, you’re right, sorry but Freddy just can’t stay serious for longer than five minutes,” Val said giving Freddy a look.  

“Footprints!! They go off the path right there,” Alex exclaimed and pointed out. 

“Yeah, but it starts with two sets and changes to one…” Freddy said as his face switched from his normal goofy grin, to being as pale as a sheet. 

“See! I knew it! Nick is not good news! He must have… maybe he…” Alex realized that he should really be upset about this and couldn’t finish the sentence as he began to tear up. 

“I… I’ve known Lizzie since… we were five, if anything happens to her, I don’t know what I’ll do,” Alex said as he let tears roll down his face. 

“We will find her, Alex,” Val said putting her hand on Alex’s shoulder.

“I hope so…” Alex said with a sigh. 

They spent the day of Christmas following the footprints and tracks, which also showed a little sled like object had been pulled along, probably with Lizzie in a bag on top of it. Suddenly, they came upon a log cabin that looked eerie and abandoned. The cabin sat hunched beneath the weight of endless snow, a solitary dark blotch in the middle of the vast, empty forest. The roof, sagging and burdened with a thick blanket of snow, casted deep shadows over the ground. Around it, the snow lay undisturbed, pristine, save for a few erratic tracks — fresh footprints, hurried and uneven — which led up to the door, then vanished into the woods beyond, swallowed by the white expanse.

The door was slightly ajar, the wood warped and cracked with age. From within, the faintest flicker of light seeped through the cracks, a sickly, yellow glow that barely touched the snow outside. It was the kind of light that feels wrong, unnatural, like something trying to hide in plain sight. There was an air of quiet menace surrounding the place, as though even the cabin was afraid of what might happen next.

Inside, the atmosphere was thick, oppressive, and the air carried a bitter chill, despite the small fire that crackled weakly in the corner. 

In the center, a man sat in the rickety chair, with his back to the hearth. His face was not visible by the low light, but his posture was unnerving: rigid, still, as though he was waiting. 

Tied to the table legs on the floor across from him were two figures, both pale with fear. Their wrists were bound tightly with coarse rope. Their eyes were flickering between the man who watched them and the dim corners of the room. The girl, which was clearly Lizzie, shivered uncontrollably, despite the cold being less of a threat than the presence of the man watching them. The other figure, it was impossible to tell, since the room was darker in that area. Lizzie looked over at the person in the chair and gazed at him. His expression was one of cold indifference. His hand rested loosely on a crude, rusted knife that lay on the table beside him, but his fingers twitched occasionally, as if expecting something, or someone to come in at any moment…

Alex peeked in, and upon seeing Lizzie, rushed at the person in the chair, expecting it to be Nick. However, it was not Nick; it was a grown man in his late forties, with a brown beard, brown shorter hair, and a very muscular build. As Alex rushed at him, the man grabbed the knife and held it in the air facing Alex’s stomach area, causing him to run into the knife. 

“Alex!!” Lizzie screamed in urgency and distress, as Alex shouted in pain upon feeling the blade penetrating his skin.

“This was my battle, it was not supposed to involve you guys,” the other person said as tears flowed down his face. He could not wipe them due to his hands being tied, and had to just let them cascade down and follow the path from his eyes to the floor. 

“Well, it is too late for that now my friend,” The man said as he grinned sinisterly, “pity you made such nice friends that came looking for you. Now I have to take care of them as well.” 

Val and Freddy watched from outside in utter horror, trying to figure out what to do next.

The man set Alex down on the floor beside Lizzie and the other person, which was Nick! The man put a lot of paper towels on the wound to help slow the bleeding. He then rushed out the room to make a phone call. 

“Nick, Lizzie, what is going on? Who is he?” Alex asked while grunting in pain. 

“Yeah Nick… perhaps you should explain, I still don’t know quite what happened, or why,” Lizzie said nervously as her eyes darted about the room making sure that the man did not return. 

“I guess…” Nick sighed, “It all began one day when I was walking home from school. I was supposed to go straight home, but I heard a shout from one of the alleys and ran to see if someone needed help. When I arrived however, I was too late. There was a limp figure on the floor, and a guy with a gun in his hands looking directly at me. I ran as fast as I could, and managed to lose him eventually, but not before he shouted, ‘If you tell anyone, I will find you no matter where you go, mark my words boy!’ but  I told my parents and the police what happened, and was put under witness protection. We all thought everything was ok, till we started seeing someone outside of my school sometimes, and it was a guy in a hoodie. I suspected it was him but couldn’t be sure. I ran into you guys, and once I got to know you, I was glad to finally have some friends. When you invited me to come to the lodge with you guys, I thought I could be safe and feel normal for a little bit, so I said yes. I had no idea he would follow me here! I didn’t want any of you to get involved. You have to believe me! I am so sorry!” he said sadly as more tears ricocheted down his cheeks. 

“I believe you Nick, we will get out of here somehow…” Lizzie said glancing about the room. 

Alex lay there silently, with momentary grunts of pain. He occasionally would stick his finger in the wound so that the pain would prevent his consciousness from drifting. 

“I hope so…” He sighed then continued relaying what had happened to Alex, “when Lizzy and I went for our walk he must have seen us and followed, I… I can’t believe I did this to you guys,” he said as the tears continued cascading down his face. Just then the man returned. 

“Just so you kids know, this man, has a name, and it’s Owen Grady,” he said while seeing the scared looks on their faces. “Now don’t play all innocent on me, you went to the cops,” he said glancing at Nick, “and you saw my face and know my name, so what is to stop you from doing the same?” He asked pulling out his gun. “Now I am going to do what I should have a long time ago,” he said, cocking the gun. At this point he was standing in front of them with his back to the door.

Freddy ran in at full speed and rammed Owen in the back with all his might, knocking him to the floor and causing him to drop the gun. Val ran over and grabbed the gun, holding it at Owen’s head. There were sirens outside, indicating the arrival of the police and the ambulance that Val and Freddy had called. 

The police arrested Owen, and untied Lizzie and Nick, making sure they were okay. The kids explained everything to their parents, getting an obvious scolding for lying. In all the drama Freddy finally convinced Val to be his girlfriend. Lizzie went to spend Christmas with Alex since she felt nobody should spend Christmas alone. They exchanged gifts, and had fun, even though he was hurt. He finally confessed his feelings to Lizzie, who realized she felt the same. Nick eventually made things right with all of them, and truly became a part of their friend group, with no more secrets.