Warning: There is some descriptive violence in this piece but it isn't that bad. Just wanted to give a heads up! Enjoyyy~ ;)

It was the night before Christmas and everything had gone to hell. Horrifying things happened and I so desperately ran from them, not trying to look back. I ran and ran, being slowed down by the feet of snow, blanketing the streets and houses around me. Panting heavily and slowly becoming numb to the cold, I headed towards the house with the blinking lights, knowing that it was my only hope of surviving. 

Closer and closer I got to the house, almost relieved at the fact that I would live, is when something stopped me. He fell from the sky, the height of at least five grown men, and his horns as dark as night, and halted my actions. I fell backwards and landed in the snow, to only stare up at the man before me that was sure to kill me - the one they called Krampus.

~~~

*Hours Earlier*

"Ack, why is it so cold?" I shivered, coming into the house of my friend. He closed the door behind me as I took off my boots and wandered into the middle of the room where the rest of the boys were.

"Because I like the cold," Taeil said, sitting far away from the fire. I scoffed wondering how the freak he could not be shivering in weather like this. It was literally below 0 outside and he was wearing a t-shirt.

"You are so weird," I said, shaking my head as I went to sit next to the rest of the boys cuddled around the fire. I squeezed in between Ten and Taeyong. They wrapped the blanket they were sharing around me and huddled close. We pretty much looked like a group of penguins in the middle of winter, trying to build off the heat from one another. I started to rub my hands together, breathing into them to try and warm them up.

"Well we are freezing, can you at least turn it up a bit?" Doyoung asked, glancing over to Taeil. Taeil looked over to see us all shaking and our breathing out turning into little white clouds showing how cold we all were. He chuckled a little and then headed over to the thermostat, changing the temperature. After a few hits of a button he went and sat back down in the same spot.

"T-Thank you," Mark mumbled as he heard the heater kick on in the house. 

"Weenies," He said, causing us to all laugh a little. Within 10 minutes, the house was warmer than before and we were able to take the blanket off and just sit in front of the fire. I watched as the fire ate at the wood, burning it away piece by piece until it was blackened and gone. 

"So, should we start up the movie?" Jaehyun suggested, seeing as our need to be warm was satisfied and we could actually start what we came here to do. It was kind of a tradition of ours to come over to Taeil's house and watch the movie the Polar Express. It was a classic and we never grew tired of it. We would always get hot chocolate and pretend we had little golden tickets (candy bars) as we watched it. 

"Of course, I need my yearly dose of holiday magic so let's put it in and begin," I said, jumping over to the couch. 

"Is someone making hot chocolate?" Ten asked, looking over at the various members that had gone into the kitchen. 

"Already ahead of you!" Mark yelled, holding up the mugs and grinning. 

"Give me lots of marshmallows!" Jaehyun said, staring at the huge flat screen hanging above the fireplace as the opening credits began. 

"Hurry! It is starting!" Doyoung shouted, letting the others know to bring it over.

"Make sure I only have t-"

"Three marshmallows," Taeyong said, handing over my favorite Santa coffee mug. I laughed at his memory of my weird little habit and took it from his hands. It was hot to the touch and was soothing to my cold hands. He sat down beside me, holding a cup of his own, the sweet aroma of the chocolate hitting my nose. I sighed in bliss, loving this moment. The rest came and sat on the floor in front of Taeyong, Taeil, and I and we watched the beginning in content, our eyes lighting up as the movie finally started.

~~~

The kids had just arrived to Christmastown and the three kids were talking to each other. It was one of the more dramatic scenes as they get separated from the group and end up somewhere else entirely. 

As the part of the train starts sliding down the rails, the television suddenly shut off and the lights in the house did as well. Confused, we all looked around to see what had happened.

"What the-"

Doyoung, the closest to the lights had gotten up to look at the switch. He flicked it on and off multiple times before realizing that there was no use. The power had gone out. I tried to turn the television back on as well to find similar results.

"Nothing." I muttered. Concerned, I wondered what to do next when Ten called us all over.

"Uh guys," He started, his voice smaller than usual, "You might want to take a look at this." We all ran over to see what he was so shocked by. Standing by the window with the blinds wide open, I gasped at what I saw.

There must have been at least 8 feet of snow outside and the winds were blowing harshly, scattering the snow even more than if it had just been falling. We could barely see out and there were no obvious signs of life outside. No lights, no signs of cars - nothing. Just snow.

Taeil had went to try the landline he still had for a better connection to call for someone. We waited, hoping that someone would pick up. But after a minute, he placed the phone back down and shook his head.

"Well what do we do now? Wait it out?" Mark asked, feeling the uncertainty in the air. The snow was no where even near this bad when we started the movie. How did it grow that fast?

"That might be the only thing we can do." Taeyong answered, placing his arms together. "We can't even get out of the house."

"What about from the second floor?" Jaehyun piped. "Could we crawl through one of the windows and go see if we could find something or at least another house nearby?" We all pondered his choice. It wasn't a horrible idea but the thought of going out there was terrifying itself. We all decided to head up and at least take a look. We headed into Taeil's bedroom and noticed that the fall wasn't far. However, the snow was piling up as we spoke in crazy amounts so if someone was going, it would have to be now.

"I think a few of us should go," Doyoung finally said, speaking about the elephant in the room. "Or at least I will. We need to find help. We could freeze to death at this rate since there is no heat in the house." 

"I agree," Ten said. "I will go with you." He went to stand by Doyoung as they started to open up the window.

"Are you guys sure? What if-" I started, more worried about their safety at this point.

"It will be okay, Y/N." Taeyong reassured. "There are houses nearby so they won't be that far away." I nodded slightly, still feeling unsure about it all.

"Here," Taeil then piped, "Take these." In his hands were Walkie-Talkies, the same ones the boys used to play with when they were little. He also brought some jackets since what they were wearing was not going to be warm enough. They both grabbed each item, make sure that the walkies worked before they left. We watched them go out the window and fall down safely in the snow. They then ran away, looking in search of a house.

I turned from the window and went and sat down on the bed, still slightly shivering from the lack of heating in the house. The open window wasn't helping too much either.

After a few minutes of waiting we then heard the walkie go off.

"Taeil?" The voice echoed form the talkie. Taeil brought it up to his lips to respond.

"What's up?"

"We just found a house. It wasn't completely buried quite yet but there appears to be some lights still on. We are going to see if we can find anyone." We all sat in worry, just wanting them to be done with this and come back - safe.

"Alright, be quick." Taeil pressed the button and broadcasted back. He held it tightly in his hand, staring outside. We all looked the same direction, just watching as the snow flew by. 

"I feel like we should be doing something instead of just waiting on them. I-I am going to go see if I can find some candles or something," Mark mumbled, leaving just as quickly as he spoke up. He looked afraid, telling by the way his voice shook when he talked. I wasn't the only one who noticed.

"I am gonna go check on him," Jaehyun said, getting up from the bed and following shortly after. Taeyong, Taeil and I waited by the window waiting for them to respond. Minutes started to fly by and when we hadn't heard from them, I started to get antsy. And just when I thought nothing could get worse, everything went dark.

As if a huge cloud was enveloping the sky, the little light we had from the sun vanished. It was pitch black outside and we couldn't see a thing outside the window. I quickly clinged onto to Taeyong out of fear. Taeil tried to reach Ten and Doyoung.

"Ten? Doyoung?" He talked into the walkie. He waited for a response but did not get one. "Guys! Answer me!" He yelled. I couldn't see him but I could tell he was starting to get scared. "," he mumbled. At that moment, Jaehyun and Mark came back into the room, candles and lighter in hand. Two of them were already lit and I could see the room better already. I let go of Taeyong and immediately went to grab a candle. 

"What happened?" Mark asked. 

"I have no idea. It is like the sun just vanished all of a sudden," I answered, waiting for Jaehyun to light the candle in my hands. He clicked the switch and the tiny flame made contact, making the candle burn brightly.

"That is not possible," Jaehyun responded, stating the obvious. "I mean there is no way. The only thing big enough to do that is the moon. An eclipse or something like that."

"Well this is no moon. It's pitch black. At least with an eclipse we would see something," Taeyong added, taking a candle as well.

"TEN! DOYOUNG! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" Taeil screamed, scaring us all a little at his raised voice. It had been too long since they answered back. Way too long. "Something isn't right..." He trailed off, starting to pace in the room. His thumb went up to his lips and he started to chew on the nail, a nervous habit of his. We were all starting to panic as none of this seemed real. So much snow in only a couple of hours? A weird type of eclipse? And what about-

"H....llo," A voice suddenly spoke from the walkie, making us all jump. Taeil immediately answered back.

"Doyoung?!" 

"He.... attacked.... hurt.... can't.... help...." Static interfering, we were only to make out a few words and none of them sounded good.

"What? We can't hear you!" 

"Man....huge....blood....move.....dark....nowhere," We had no idea what to do. My heart started to palpitate, fearing the situation even more than before. 

"Don't move. I am coming to get you guys." Taeil responded, already getting a jacket on over his hoodie.

"I don't think you should go alone Taeil. What if-" Taeyong started to only be interrupted.

"No. I am going. And I am going by myself. I want you guys to stay here. Lock the doors and the windows and make sure all the lights are off." He started to zip up his hoodie. He then went over to Taeyong and handed him the walkie. "Take this too. I need to be able to contact you guys when I get there so make sure to leave this on." Showing no emotion, he started to open the window and gazed at the snow below.

"How can you be so calm about this?!" I said, noticing how he was acting as usual. "It sounds like something was trying to kill them and you are going to go and save them?! Without any sort of protection?! Tae-"

"Trust me on this one. If this is what I think it is then... It's better if you all stay here." He trailed off just leaving the three of us with more questions unanswered. "And who says I have no protection?" He smirked and pulled out a gun from his pocket. My eyes widened wondering when the hell he got that and where.

"TAEIL!"

"I will be fine, don't worry Y/N. Talk to you on the other side." He then fell from the window and we watched him land below. He got up and quickly ran off in the direction that the other two did before.

Taeyong closed the window and locked it tight, just as Taeil had told us to do. We had decided to go back down stairs and wait for him to respond. We kept the lights off and only one or two candles on to light the area around us. It was really creepy and unsettling in his house and I felt like that at any moment something bad was going to happen.

We had all huddled around the fireplace, taking in what warmth was left from when the fire was put out. None of us dared to speak as we were all terrified. Two of our friends were out there hurt and another was trying to find them. We were all also separated and it wasn't helping the situation.

Taeyong came to sat by me and I gave him a small smile. "It's gonna be okay. They will come back." He said, trying to comfort me. He then grabbed hold of my hand and wrapped it in his, hoping that it would help me calm down. I smiled at the gesture and sighed. Please be okay, I thought. Please.

"Taeyong!" A familiar voice rang from the radio bringing our attention to it. Taeyong picked it up.

"Taeil? Can you hear me?"

"Yes I can. I found both of them and Ten is hurt. Bad. We can't get him help but there are a few supplies over here to help his ease the pain until the road clears." He explained.

"What hurt him?" Taeyong asked, voicing the one question that had been circling in my head since the beginning.

"It's... A long story. But the short version is that this is a monster you do not want to mess with. He is the opposite of the jolly man we all idolize for Christmas. His name is Krampus and every time he appears.. It doesn't end well." I started to freeze up. M-monster? I grabbed the walkie from Taeyong.

"Why did he appear? And why does he want to hurt us?" I asked, curious and frightened. If what Taeil was saying was true, then this was not a random occurrence. This was planned. I waited for his response, my heart beating at miles per minute.

"He came because of me. He wants me." I froze at his words.

"Why?" 

"Because I lived. I wasn't supposed to. Not after-" The walkie clicked off before he could finish. 

"Taeil?" I responded, hoping to hear an answer from him. But I didn't get an answer. I only got one thing. Screams. "Taeil?!" I cried out, fear enveloping my body. Coming in and out, screams and panting kept on coming from the walkie-talkie and I could only think the worse. The walkie then clicked off completely, ending the transmission which only meant one thing. The walkie had been destroyed. I sank down into the couch. "T-They're gone." I whimpered, trying my hardest not to sob.

"Y-You don't know that Y/N," Mark responded, trying to shake this feeling as well. "M-Maybe they got away. Maybe-"

At this moment, we heard a loud sound from outside - as if someone was falling. We all ran to the window and stopped, holding our breath. We could see feet from just above the snow and we knew then who it was. Krampus. We quickly closed the curtains hoping that it didn't see us.

"We need to hide." Taeyong said, already starting to look around for a place. Mark and I followed as we looked, being careful as to not make any sounds. We headed up the stairs back to Taeil's room. His closet was room enough for the three of us and we started to head inside when I stopped just in front of the window. 

"W-wait. Guys, look," I pointed outside to show them lights blinking from far away. I felt hope in that moment as it was the same direction that the boys ran in. They could be trying to tell us that they are okay. That they are alive. "We need get there. It could be them," I asserted, determined to see the three.

"How?" Mark asked, still weary of the daunting figure from earlier.

"We need to make a break for it. We have to go as fast as we can. If we do we can outrun him before he can realize we left the house. We can make it." I looked at both of them to realize that they were as terrified as I was. But, we had to do this. Making sure we saw the creature no where in sight we opened the window and the cold air hit our faces. We covered up with what little Taeil had left in his closest and started the climb down. Step by step, I kept looking around, being cautious as I made it to the bottom. Taeyong was right above me and Mark was about to come down.

"Hurry!" I yelled quietly. He nodded and started to descend. But then the worst happened. As if knowing of our plans, Krampus had somehow managed to get inside the house and grabbed Mark by his throat, as if it was an easy task for him. I gasped, terrified. He then squeezed his fingers together and I heard the crack of Mark's neck as he went limp. He lft him go and I watched as he fell on the ground, landing right in front of me. 

Not able to move, I moved back to see that Krampus was gone and my friend was dead. Taeyong then started to pull at me.

"Come on. We need to go! NOW!" He grabbed my wrist and pulled me along with him, tears flowing out of my eyes as the image of Mark was forever burned into my head. We tried to run as fast as we could but the snow was slowing us down after a while. Fatigued, I came to a halt. I breathed for air as I wiped the tears from my face. 

"Come on, Y/N! We need to keep on going. We are almost there!" Taeyong started to run in front of me again, leaving me by myself. After a second, I chased after him knowing that he hadn't gotten too far ahead of me. I kept on going but I couldn't find him. He was in front of me only a minute before and now he was gone. Against my every thought telling me not to, I called for his name.

"Taeyong!" My breath visible, I huffed as I kept on in the direction in the lights. I was almost there when something stopped me. In the snow I saw the last thing I wanted to see. Blood. Unknowingly, my feet followed it, and I eventually got to the end of the trail. The blood started to pool and that is when I saw him. Taeyong.

I choked, bringing my hands up to my face as I stared at his. A huge claw mark was at his side, indicating that this was the work of him. Losing all sensibility, I had to leave him and go towards my only sense of hope.

I ran and ran, being slowed down by the feet of snow, blanketing the streets and houses around me. Panting heavily and slowly becoming numb to the cold, I headed towards the house with the blinking lights, knowing that it was my only hope of surviving.

Closer and closer I got to the house, almost relieved at the fact that I would live, is when something stopped me. He fell from the sky, the height of at least five grown men, and his horns as dark as night, and halted my actions. I fell backwards and landed in the snow, to only stare up at the man before me that was sure to kill me - the one they called Krampus.

I tried to crawl backwards, my feet kicking up snow but he only inched closer. I saw a flash of his pointed teeth as he grinned, haunting me to my core. I knew then that this was it. I looked one last time in the direction of the lights and smiled lightly. At least they can get away if they are still there. I can distract them. Determined, I glanced back up at the man and stared him down, daring him to attack me. As if sensing my change, he stopped and started to laugh.

"Oh child," He started, his chest moving up and down as he laughed deeply. "Only one can live. And you seem to think that it won't be you. I have destroyed all your friends and there has to be one left to remember. One left to never forget." As he talked, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Trying not to give it away, I noticed it to be Taeil. My heart skipped, happy to see him alive and skipped again to see what he was holding - his gun. He was covered in blood and nothing but hatred burned in his eyes. I glanced back up at the man, knowing that I was going to have to distract him for this to work.

"Why? You should have killed me instead!" I yelled. Krampus seemed taken aback by that and pondered for a second. Taeil grew closer.

"I guess I could have..." He trailed off. I waited for Taeil to continue. Closer and closer. He was only feet away now and he stopped, pointing the gun at Krampus's head. Shoot, I thought. Shoot!

"But then, you wouldn't have been able to see this," And at that moment, Krampus turned around and grabbed Taeil by his throat. Taeil shot the gun but failed. 

"NO!" I cried out but it was no use. Krampus turned back to look at me and smirked. As if acting on my emotions he then used his other hand and grabbed at Taeil's feet. I watched in horror as Taeil squirmed and then it was the end. He snapped him in half - like a twig. Both of his hands opened at the same time and I watched him fall, what was left of him. Unable to stop, I sobbed loudly, mortified. Krampus then turned and inched closer to me, lifting a finger under my chin. I gazed up at him, tears clouding my vision.

"Never forget child. Never. Or I will come back. And next time - you won't be the survivor." And then he vanished into the night, leaving me alone. I placed my hands into my face and let the tears fall. Everyone I loved was gone and now only I was left to know what had happened this night. 

As if magic, I suddenly heard sirens. I lifted my head up to see that the sky was no longer dark and that there was a ambulance coming up behind me. 

Paramedics ran up to me, asking if I was alright and I said nothing. I let them take me away and place me at the end of the ambulance. I stared ahead, drowning out the world around me. People had found my friend's bodies and hid them away, far out of sight. Out of mine. 

As I stared around at this massacre I knew then that this night would haunt me forever and I would always remember the name that took my life away from me, destroying my world in an instance. The devil of Christmas.

Krampus.