Krampus Plot, part IV

[lady_bols]

 She crawled out of the tent on her hands and knees, gritting her teeth.  The ground was hard packed dirt, and the air smelled clean and fresh. It was dark, and they were under a brilliant desert night sky.

"Oh, Ichabod.  Look."

Comments

[lady_bols]

"So long as they don't involve anything that's trying to kill us or steal our souls, I'm fine with that."

She does eventually pass the torch to him.

"Does any of this look familiar to you?"

[1stwitness]

Ichabod peers at it in the flickering light.

"Not particularly. Some of it might be old German, but there again it might not."

[lady_bols]

"I was thinking Greek. I'm hoping we don't run into a Minotaur."

She keeps walking, slower now than before. She's clearly feeling the effects of the last few hours? Days? It's been so long, she couldn't tell how much time had passed.

"Though this still isn't as much of a Labyrinth as the Library was."

They do come to a right angle turn, and there's a dim light at the end of the tunnel.

"Is that -- oh God, I don't want to get my hopes up. Is that a door out?"

[1stwitness]

"A minotaur would be traditional", he agrees wryly, then squints ahead. "It's certainly something worth a closer look."

[lady_bols]

She tentatively leads the way, wishing she still had her gun. (Wishing Gene was here to spur her on by calling her something ridiculous like a Girl.)

"Look."

It's a door framed in iron, with vertical bars the size of her wrist, spaced far enough apart she can see out, but no farther. Beyond lies a very familiar forest.

[1stwitness]

"Milliways", he says on a sigh of relief. "If we can just get the door open... I don't suppose you have anything like a lockpick?"

[lady_bols]

"I don't see any lock. It looks like it's sealed shut. Oy! Anyone out there! Help!"

She shouts at the top of her lungs, utterly uncaring of how much it hurts. If someone is looking for them, maybe they'll hear.

[1stwitness]

He joins in, at the top of his voice.

"KATRINA! SECURITY!"

[anti_kringle]

There is a rattle of chains.

[lady_bols]

Alex falls back from the door, pressing herself flat against the wall.

"Ichabod..."

[1stwitness]

"Yes", he says grimly, standing his ground. "But if we can't get out, it can't get in. I hope."

[anti_kringle]

The rattle comes closer, as does the uneven gait of the monster.

Pad, clack. Pad, clack. Pad, clack.

[lady_bols]

Alex falls back again, one hand unconsciously covering her throat.

"Yes, but the chains," she hisses. "Get back from the door, please."

[1stwitness]

"I have a shotgun", he points out, but backs away from the door anyway, just a few feet while never taking his eyes off the outside.

[lady_bols]

"Wait do you hear that?"

She leans a bit closer.

"Is that -- sleigh bells?"

[1stwitness]

"...I do believe it is." He approaches the door again, peering through the bars. "How odd."

[lady_bols]

She joins him, watching the scene unfold.

"Father Christmas?"

She can't do much more than watch, gobsmacked.

[1stwitness]

Ichabod blinks at this scene in confusion.

"...well, he was reputedly a saint, originally..."

[lady_bols]

"Father Christmas, is a demon fighter?"

[1stwitness]

"Not that I've ever heard, but... apparently so. And rather good at it, too."

[lady_bols]

Alex turns away as Kringle goes sprawling on the ice, leaning on Ichabod's shoulder.

"I can't watch. Tell me what's happening."

[1stwitness]

"...apparently our demon can summon fire", Ichabod says, watching. "But... wait. He has just broken one of the chains with a staff."

[lady_bols]

Alex peeks over his shoulder, just in time to watch Krampus go sprawling in the snow.

"Yes! Get him! Wait, is he stuffing him in a sack?"

[1stwitness]

Ichabod laughs, almost a cheer.

"Yes, I think he is. Poetic justice."

[lady_bols]

Alex laughs, too, forgetting her ribs for the moment.

The door clangs in the frame, and something releases, letting the gate swing open.

"Oh thank heavens."

[Cont'd here.]