The streets of Brooklyn were dimly illuminated by the street lamps lining the sidewalks. Snow fell gently to the ground, coating the city below in white. It was completely silent, save for the crunching of snow beneath the shoes of a woman walking home. In her hands were shopping bags full of gifts for her friends and family, with Christmas right around the corner.
As she walked, she looked down at her phone, smiling. She continued walking, though after a while, her smile faded away. She had the weirdest feeling that she was being watched. She stopped walking and turned around. Nothing but buildings and empty sidewalks covered in snowy footprints—hers and someone else’s. Her heart skipped a beat as she turned around and picked up the pace. “Calm down, you’re almost home.”
She hurried down the sidewalk, paranoia beginning to set in. She continuously snapped her head back behind her, and noticed that there was a pair of piercing blue eyes alarmingly close behind. Each time she looked back, the eyes got closer and closer.
She was running now, her bags slapping against her sides. She was breathing heavy, mostly from fear. She turned around one last time, and not an inch away from her face were the blue eyes and a black-toothed smile. The woman was about to scream when suddenly, a fist to the temple made everything go black.
The sound of static-ridden “Holly Jolly Christmas” was the first thing she heard. The drip, drop, drip of liquid was the second. What she saw was complete and utter darkness. She stood up and felt around for a light switch on the wall. After a moment, she was successful. Unfortunately, the victory was short lived. The woman let out a horrified scream as the light revealed the decorations in the room.
Hanging from the ceiling was the source of the dripping liquid. Severed bloody human hands were clustered together to form a mistletoe. Over on the mantle of the fireplace were human feet stuffed with candy canes. But the center piece of the room was what really caught her attention.
Various human bodies dripping in blood were tied together in tiers. Their heads were hanging from their arms like ornaments. Lights were strung around them, the festive lights juxtaposed against the cold pale bodies.
Shaking her head as tears began to flow down her face, she backed away from the tree. She turned to run, but ran straight into the arms of the decorator. Their blue eyes had a murderous glint in them, their black teeth revealed in an ear to ear grin. “What? Don’t like my Christmas decorations?” They laughed as their snow white hands held onto the woman, who was trembling in fear. “You know, my tree needs a star, and your eyes are more beautiful than any star I’ve seen.”