My second entry into this year's (hoping it's an annual thing) A Merry Minion Blog Hop for the Dark Fairy Queen and her Minions. The hop has been organised by Laura over at Office Mango, Missy over at marissaames, Nick at talesfromatightrope and Ruth at bullishink.com. It is hoped the entries will form a gorgeous little anthology by those creative people over at blueharvestcreative.com. Enjoy my story and please, read all the other fantastical tales of Christmas by other fabulous authors by clicking on any of the links above. x
Title: Christmas Preparations
Author: Lizzie Koch
eBook: Yes
Dedication: To everyone who enjoys Christmas and family time. This is for you. xx
Christmas Preparations
eBook: Yes
Dedication: To everyone who enjoys Christmas and family time. This is for you. xx
Christmas Preparations
Evie and Leah had done a great job in foraging for holly and
fir cones under the watchful eye of Ben. The pile sat on the table. Lisa heard her girls laughing as they
cleaned up. Her girls’ laughter was infectious but a rarity these days. Looking
at the table, Lisa thought back to the days when she was little and decorated
fir cones in glitter for a table centre piece, using the holly to place carefully
around thick cream candles. Sometimes she would decorate the candles with
images of Father Christmas or angels. Angels were her favourite and at times,
Lisa felt she had her own personal angel looking over her. She had to. After
what she and her family had been through, had survived, here they were, ready
to celebrate Christmas . . . if Lucas came home. There was always an if now.
Lisa wandered over to the boundary of their farm, the winter
sun bright but weak in heat as it was every winter. But she was thankful for it
as it brightened up an otherwise grey world. A light, cooling breeze rolled
over her and brought with it the saltiness of the sea just a mile away. Straining
her ears, she thought she heard the freedom of the waves crashing against the
stony beach.
“Mum, do we have any glitter?”
“I don’t know Evie, you’ll have to look.” They’d only been
at the farm for a month and trying to make it secure was priority rather than searching
for arts and crafts. So far, the farmhouse was proving the sanctuary they needed; a
greenhouse with seasonal fruits and vegetables, a thriving vegetable garden,
two pigs which from the previous owners were pets going by the name plates on
the pen; Salt and Pepper. Once the
boundary was secure, the farm made the ideal home. With vehicles in good working order, they made
runs to the nearby town and beyond.
“I’m sure the boys are fine,” Kelly said, joining Lisa at
the fence. “They know exactly what they’re doing. I've turned the oven on ready.”
Lisa loved Kelly’s optimism; better to have even a pinch of it in this new
world rather than the bucket load of pessimism Lisa carried.
“Mum, look what I found,” Evie shouted, running from the
house, carrying a plastic box. “It’s full of paints, glitter, sequins and look.”
She held up a homemade angel made from a toilet roll, lace and an overload of cotton wool.
“Can we put it
on top of the tree?”
“Sure.” She wiped a tear. “Arg, this is so stupid! But I used
to have a box like that. And now we’re using someone else’s memories, living in
someone else’s home. It feels wrong.”
“The home was empty, like it was waiting for us. We need a
home and to lead a normal life. It’s important for the kids. That’s all that
matters.”
The sound of an engine and tyres on gravel made them both
rigid; never knowing who was driving down towards the farm until the familiar
blue truck came into view.
“Did you get the turkey?” Kelly asked as Lucas and Sam
stepped from the truck.
“Not quite. But got us a chicken or two. They’re flapping in
the sack,” Sam chuckled.
“You mean they’re alive? I can’t deal with that,” Lisa
moaned.
“You’re gonna have to deal with a lot worse; there’s a group
heading this way and I don’t mean chickens,” Lucas said, grabbing his holdall. “Get
everyone ready.” He never used the zed word with Lisa. Even though they were in
the midst of a zombie infestation, the zed word sent her into a blind panic and
that wasn’t good to anyone despite face to zombie combat on many occasions.
“Couldn't you pick them off before you got here?” Lisa
panicked.
“Too many. We’ll be fine here.” The group gathered as Lucas
handed out weapons. With glitter covered hands, Evie grabbed her crude looking
spear with ease and stood at her post as did Leah and Kelly’s teenage son, Ben.“Now remember, the head, you must aim for the head, twice to
make sure. We've all got each other’s backs so the sooner we do this, the
sooner Christmas starts. You good Lisa?” Lucas saw the determination in Lisa’s
eyes but her shaking arm was evident. “I can see them. About twenty of them.”
Lucas rushed back to the truck and surprised everyone as Christmas music blared
out.
It didn’t matter what the circumstances, a blast of Slade
wishing it was Christmas every day, lifted everyone’s spirit as zombies snarled
and gnashed at the fence, clawing only air before dropping with a head split
like a melon.
Silent Night drifted across the farm as the last zombie fell,
piled high against the fence. Lucas walked over to Evie and Leah, both bloody
but unharmed. Holding their hands, Lucas squeezed tight. “Good job girls,” he
whispered, looking over to Lisa. “Seeing as you've just dispatched half a dozen
zombies, I think you can handle the chickens,” he said grinning at her. “Come
on girls, let’s start Christmas.
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