Sara's White Christmas

The twinkling lights in the window provided a welcome sight as I walked up the garden path leading to the old farmhouse located just outside my hometown. I took a deep breath of icy cold air as I approached the front door with a holly wreath hanging from the knocker. Why was I so nervous? I knew what was waiting for me inside, and it had only been a couple of months. Still, my heart gave a nervy wrench as I banged on the door asking for entry.

   A few seconds passed before the front door was opened by a young woman my age with long raven coloured hair, wearing a bright blue festive jumper with a short red skirt, dark nylons and a pair of brown leather high heeled boots. She frowned at me before saying curtly, “What time do you call this? Little late for carol singing isn’t it?”

    “Have you already forgotten how bad my singing voice is?” I asked her in return.

     Rachel tried to keep up the act but she failed spectacularly, and with a happy laugh she launched herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck in an embrace that I was all too happy to return. “Merry Christmas Sara!” she announced happily.

   “Merry Christmas to you too Rach,” I answered in return, happy to be reunited with my closest friend in the world after nearly three months apart spent studying in our first semester at university.

    “Hey, has the guest of honour arrived yet?” a voice yelled at me from inside the farmhouse.

    “She certainly has!” I responded as I stepped inside and began unravelling my scarf from around my neck. Before I had a chance to remove my coat Kavita entered the hallway from the kitchen, my Anglo-Indian friend wearing a pair of dark jeans and a stripy blue and white top with pink socks and a purple pashmina around her neck, her long dark hair tumbling past her shoulders.

   “It’s amazing to see you again Sara,” she announced after embracing me. “How’s student life?”

  “Quiet,” I answered. “Nice to only have to be worrying about essay deadlines for once.”

    I finally pulled off my coat revealing my attire to my gathered friends, a stylish ruby red sweater dress with the hem above my knees, which I wore with nude nylons and red flats with ankle straps. My friends appreciated my choice of outfit, including the two women who occupied this house as they also came to greet me.

   “Wow that dress is amazing,” Abigail squeaked as she hugged me.

   “Well now you’re part of the big London world of fashion I thought I’d best step my game up,” I replied as I returned her embrace, noting how incredibly stylish my blonde haired friend looked wearing a deep green, floral print casual dress with expensive, criss cross patterened nylons and matching green flats. I then turned my attention to the second blonde haired woman standing behind her, wearing a white sleeveless turtleneck top, tight fitting blue jeans covering nude nylons. “How’s business Felicity?” I asked.

   “Barely a client in months…It’s a bloody relief,” Felicity laughed as she took her turn to hug me. “You seem to have taken all the trouble to Uni with you.”

   “The only trouble she’s causing ooop noooorrth is stopping men in flatcaps and their wippets in the street with those sexy legs of hers.”

    I laughed. Even with that put-on Yorkshire accent I knew full well who that was. “Hey you’re a Mancunian now Harriet. Technically we should be rivals from now OH MY GOD YOUR HAIR!”

    Harriet smirked as she simply responded, “You like?” holding her hands behind her ears where her red hair used to reach, but had now been completely cut back into a bob cut that only just covered her ears. I’d never seen her with hair that short, and it was a bizarre sight. A good kind of bizarre though. Apart from that she was exactly the same, grinning intensely as she embraced me while once again wearing jeans, red converse high tops and a dark t-shirt.

   “Well we’re all here now!” Felicity announced after the greetings had finished. “The booze is chilled and the pizza is cooking. The only question that now remains, is what Christmas movie we watch first? Home Alone or Love Actually?”

    So the Carrington Reunion Christmas film night began. Felicity had had the idea a few weeks ago, and contacted us all at our respective universities to ask when we were coming back and whether we were free for a catch up. And catch up we did. As we sat, drank, gorged on junk food and watched festive movies we regaled how we were all finding our respective university courses.

   We learned about Abigail’s nights out with some of London’s top designers, who seemed intrigued by the prospect of creating fashionable clothes for the ever-growing girl snoop market. Rachel had been attending lectures by some of the finest writers Oxford had to offer, and was using adventures as her source of inspiration for her writing. It seemed love was in the air for Kavita, as we’d noticed that she’d been spending a lot of time with a rather handsome bloke called Bruce on her social media. It seemed Harriet had been hit by the love bug too, but she kept her cards close to her chest, not even revealing whether her person of interest was a bloke or a lady. Felicity was still loved up with James, and in fact they were planning to finally make her dream trip to Indonesia, some 8 years after her plans for a gap year failed to materialise.

   The hours seemed to fly and suddenly it was half one in the morning. But no-one wanted the party to end, as Harriet eagerly selected Elf as the next movie and set it running while Felicity poured us a fresh glass of champagne from a newly opened bottle that she’d received from a grateful client. I nestled down into their comfy sofa as I took a sip, and almost instantly my eyes began to feel heavy. The warmth of the fire and the drink in my hand proved an intoxicating mix, and the shrieks of my friends seemed to fade into the background as my eyes closed.

   For how long I snoozed I couldn’t say…but the next thing I knew a sinister, well-spoken voice was singing a Christmas carol into my ear.

   “He came upon the midnight clear
    That devious rogue unknown
    Returning to the mortal Earth
   To bind those snoops of old.”

    …No…no it couldn’t be…

    I looked up and to my absolute horror…

    “Merry Christmas Miss Philips!” Mr White sneered.

     “NNNNNNNMMMMM, NNNNNNMMMMM NNNNTTT YYYYYMMMM!” I screamed as loudly as I could. But my words were curtailed by a strip of tape plastered over my lips. At the sight of my nemesis I attempted to recoil, but I couldn’t move. I looked down and saw that my limbs and torso were now completely enveloped by large red ribbons, like the kind used to decorate presents. They had been wound about my legs at the ankles, knees and about my upper body, blending in very well with the red of my sweater dress, and finally used to secure my wrists behind my back. I couldn’t move, I remained trapped on this sofa staring straight at my old nemesis.

   He still wore his standard outfit of a black bowler hat, dark suit and a white mask concealing his features, but he now wore a red Santa jacket over his suit, and he’d wound some sparkling red tinsel around his bowler hat. I moaned and cried as I stared up at him.

    How…how could he still be alive?

   “Sorry very much for disappearing on you,” Mr White said, as he watched me writhing about desperate to escape. “But I had to stop by for old times sake I already delivered Felicity her gift a few days ago, a nice bottle of champagne from a ‘grateful client’ that I’d laced with plenty of knockout drops. Did a good number on you and your friends it had to be said.”

  My eyes widened. My friends! “Wwwwwrrrr rrrrr ttthhhhhhh?” I demanded angrily.

  “SSSSSSRRRRRRR NNNNNMMMMM!” came a response from behind the sofa. I managed to wriggle myself up so I could peer over the back of the furniture, and my heart sank as I saw Rachel, Abigail, Harriet, Felicity and Kavita just as helpless as I, all bundled together in a tight pile underneath the Christmas tree. Judging from how they were writhing and thrashing around I presumed they were as tightly bound as I, but I couldn’t see because they had all been placed in red coloured sacks, completely concealing their bodies right up to their necks. I could see their various conjoined limbs kicking through the fabric as they all desperately tried to come to my aid, but to no avail. They couldn’t say a word either, as they had all been tapegagged with a large sticker that had the words ‘Do not open till Xmas’ written on it…of bloody course. I presumed correctly that I had been gagged with a similar sticker.

   “Oh it’s good to have a family reunion over the festive period,” Mr White cackled over the sound of Abigail and Kavita’s squeaks. “I’ve come to invite you all to a very special festive party. But first an extra treat, something brought direct from White Rose University. Holly, Ivy, bring in our guests.”

   I reacted in stunned silence as into the room walked Holly and Ivy, the two young women who I had worked for on Santa’s grotto at the local supermarket last Christmas, and had helped put behind bars when it turned out they were involved in a spate of robberies. How Mr White had broken them out of prison I had no idea. The twins said nothing, but smiled deviously as they dropped a very familiar trio of sacked up captives with the rest of my friends.

   The three young women recognised me too, and in doing so renewed their struggles with incredible vigour.

   “SSSSRRRRRRR!” Alice McCormick, one of my flatmates at White Rose University, stared at me with her eyes wide behind her glasses, her auburn tresses tumbling out from underneath her maroon beanie hat and blending well with the red of the sack.

    “Nnnnnntttt yyyyymmmm,” cried another of my flatmates and my newest friend, Jaz Mobara. She was a black girl of West African descent born and raised in central London, her dark hair wild and frizzy with a real passion for jazz music. Not that she could do much singing with her mouth sealed with a sticker and her body trapped inside a sack. Yet another friend dragged into my feud with the devious Mr White.

   And of course, positioned right beside her.

   “LLLLLLTTT FFFLLLLPPSSS GGGGGMMM!” Vicky roared, shaking her own sack from side to side as she vehemently struggled, her pale freckled face flushing red as she truly exerted herself.

    “Calm down their freckles, can’t have you getting all tuckered out,” Mr White laughed. “Must say though, loving the new hairdo,” he added, referring to how Vicky, within weeks of joining White Rose Uni, had dyed her previously white blonde hair a jet black and changed the style so she now had bangs and a square fringe.

   I writhed about on the sofa as I watched a smirking Holly and Ivy drew close to me. I saw what they were holding in their hands, another of these festive sacks, and guessed it was intended for me. I snorted and growled at them as I was hauled to my feet by the devious twins and put into position.

    “Be a shame to cover up such a sexy dress, but it’s still not a patch on old faithful red hoodie. I miss that thing,” Mr White sneered as Holly and Ivy drew up the sack around my legs.

    “Yyyyyy bbbbbllllwww ttttt ppppp,” I reminded him as the sack was pulled right up to my neck where the tassels were fastened tightly, meaning the only my head and neck were visible with my long brown hair tumbling into the red fabric.

    Mr White seemed to be really enjoying his revenge, sauntering up to me and then holding up my chin with his gloved fingertip. “When I was a lad I desperately wanted a remote controlled-monster truck I saw in a TV advert. Santa never brought me one, guess I’ve got a special place on his naughty list. I could still be salty about it, but then I thought to myself, ‘why take Santa on at his own game and start a delivery company.’ That’s what I’ve been doing these past months. Would you like to see my latest venture?”

   “NNNNNNN WWWWYYYY!” I protested, shaking my head, but I didn’t have much choice. I couldn’t move as Mr White knelt and hauled me into a fireman’s lift, my waist resting on his right shoulder. I kicked and screamed but I could do nothing to stop him from hauling me out of the room and through the gaping front door.

   I was extremely surprised to see that it had started snowing as I was brought outside. In fact a good few inches had fallen in the hours since I’d arrived at the Swann farmhouse. But that wasn’t the biggest surprise. Parked outside right next to my car was a massive sleigh, just like the one used by Santa. Not only that but about eight reindeer were hitched up to it, snorting in the cold winter air and tilting their antlered heads from side to side. I could scarcely believe what I was seeing. Yet I could do nothing to stop Mr White from dumping me in the back of the sleigh, where the sack of presents usually went.

   I had just about enough time to roll over and look up just as another sack was thrown almost on top of me with a muffled squeak. It was Rachel; even though it was dark I could tell it was her because I got a faceful of her long raven hair and recognised the scent of her conditioner. She wriggled about on top of me trying to adjust her position, before Mr White, Holly and Ivy returned carrying the rest of my gang. Soon Abigail, Harriet, Felicity, Kavita, Vicky, Alice and Jaz were bunched up with us. We writhed and strained against our bonds but we couldn’t escape from the back of this sleigh as Mr White took his position in the driving seat, Holly and Ivy on either side.

   “Isn’t it lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you?” Mr White cackled as he took the reins, before giving them a good shake to force the reindeer to set off.

   He didn’t head for the main road, instead he steered the sleigh through the dark snowy forest positioned behind the farmhouse. How he became such an expert sleigh rider I had no idea, but he directed the reindeer through the trees and snowdrifts with incredible control and speed. We seemed to glide through the snowy landscape, being taken further and further away from civilisation. My friends and I huddled together for warmth, the cold wind and whipping snowflakes stinging our cheeks as our exposed and gagged faces had no protection from the elements. I rested my head against Rachel as despair began to overwhelm me. I had hoped these days were behind us all. Why was this happening to us all again?

   Suddenly through the trees we all saw a light illuminating the way forward, and suddenly the trees parted revealing, to our amazement, a large factory building in the middle of a forest clearing. Mr White was directing the sleigh straight for it, heading for a metal shutter protecting what was presumably the main entrance. He gave a wave of his hand, and at his signal the shutter opened, bright light spilling out onto the sparkling snow. He didn’t slow down, the sleigh moving at full speed as we charged through the entrance. The now bright light dazzled me as I finally felt the sleigh come to a halt.

   Mr White looked over his shoulder at his wriggle bundles before announcing gleefully, “We’re here munchkins. Welcome to where the magic happens.”

    I managed to haul myself up and peer over the edge of the sleigh, and now my amazement really threatened to overwhelm me.

   We seemed to be in some kind of toy workshop, like those depicted in the Christmas movies we’d been watching before Mr White struck. Brightly lit with wooden walls and floors, big piles of presents expertly wrapped with colourful paper and ribbons stashed in the corners, and support pillars resembling candy canes. In the centre were a series of conveyor belts containing half made toys being worked on by…elves!

   Well I presume they were elves, because they weren’t the happy little creatures from the movies. They were sullen and moody, each looking like they meant business with stubbly cheeks, tattooed necks and surprising muscled arms. The toys they were working on weren’t typical toys either. They were working on blindfolds, straps, various gags, painting seasonal patterns on rolls of duct tape; all useful tools for restraining nosy girls like us.

   Nosy girls like those currently adorning the wooden walls of this factory…hundreds of them.

   Each seemed to be restrained in a manner identical to myself and my friends. They had been wound up in ribbons, placed in a red sack drawn up to their necks and gagged with a ‘Do not open till Xmas’ sticker. But to add to their helplessness they were hanging from hooks on the walls, wrapped around special straps woven into the backs of the sacks, keeping them suspended off the ground and unable to do anything more than jiggle and writhe in mid-air. There were women of all backgrounds, ages and nationalities in attendance. Mr White had clearly been busy, even by his standards.

    “You like my Christmas decorations?” Mr White taunted as he saw us all staring in utter shock. “Well I’ve got a special place all set out for you scamps. Giggles, Chuckles, Snortles, lend us a hand will you?”

   He was referring to a trio of his elven accomplices who were passing by. The totally unamused looking elves obliged by hauling Felicity, Harriet, Kavita, Alice, Jaz and Vicky out of the back of the sleigh and hauling them onto their shoulders. Despite their miniature size they easily carried my friends over their shoulders two at a time, while Holly, Ivy and Mr White did the same with Abigail, Rachel and myself respectively.

   As our sacked-up forms were hauled through the factory I took a moment to analyse the other prisoners hanging from the walls. Each of them had a kind of plaque which identified their names and occupation. I first passed by a young woman roughly my age with brown hair a similar shade to my own, but hers wavier and cut shorter. The plaque identified her as being ‘Chelsea Pryce, meddlesome sleuth’. Quite where she had come from I don’t know, but she was writhing about in her sack like a girl possessed. Positioned beside her was a red headed woman identified as being ‘Cheryl Sterling, nosy PI.’ She looked utterly furious and was emitting countless angry words through her own ‘Do not open till Xmas’ sticky gag. I then passed by a small gang of women all wearing glasses identified as the ‘Super Fossil Snoops, Scrounders’ naughty sleuths.’ I watched as the girl with blue hair in pigtails, the woman with short cut brown hair and the shoulder length haired blonde all jiggled around in their sacks as they watched us being hauled past, all of them shouting muffled insults at Mr White as we went. Next to them was a red head and a dark haired gothic looking girl called 'Rebecca and Jennifer, meddlesome dames.' They didn't seem to appreciate being cocooned by these sacks either, jiggling about on their hooks and mewling for release.

    I began to realise the connection between these women. They were all girl detectives like me (or had been). Each captive seemed to some form of detective, snoop or investigator, and wherever the hell they had come from Mr White had nabbed them and brought them to his secret warehouse. There were a few exceptions, a young woman with short brown hair cut into bangs who was identified as ‘Hayley, shouldn’t have knocked on my front door trying to flog me the Super Snow Shoveller.’ Whatever this super snow shoveller was I could see it resting on the floor underneath her feet as she jiggled in her sack. Another exception included a quartet of young women, three brunettes (one with short hair and the other two long) and a long-haired blonde hanging from the wall, who didn’t seem to be struggling all that much and even seemed to be smiling at each other behind their sticker gags. The plaque on the wall simply read ‘Nanako, Sakura, Midoriko and Misaki, because why the hell not?’

    Finally we were brought to our own allocated slots on Mr White’s wall of collected girl sleuths, as announced by the masked madman gleefully, “Well here we are scamps. Pride of place in the centre of my decorations.”

   One by one we were all hung up on the wall of Mr White’s factory. I was the last to be added, and felt the straps woven into my sack being pulled taught as they supported my weight comfortably. Even consider the fact that I was basically standing on the fabric of the sack with my bound feet the hooks held me fast, and there was nowhere for me to go.

  “So you’re probably wondering what devious scheme I’ve concocted this time,” our captor told us merrily over our angry cries and frustrated squeaks. “Well I’ve moved away from trying to dominate the criminal underworld. I’ve instead started up a nice reputable delivery service.”

   “Thhhhsss sssnnnttt rrrppptttbbblll,” Harriet snorted.

   Mr White ignored her. “I took a leaf out of Santa’s book, and have started delivering gifts to boys and girls across the world during the festive period. However, I’m more interested in delivering gifts to children very much on the naughty list. As for the gifts…well looks like one is being packaged up now.”

    A hooter sounded throughout the factory, and Mr White’s burly elves sprung into position at the end of a large conveyor belt. This was leading from a hatch in the wall covered by a red velvet curtain strewn with festive tinsel and baubles. We watched as the curtain billowed outwards, before a young woman with long blonde hair emerged through it, travelling along the conveyor belt in a sitting position.

    “Wwwttttss gggnnnn nnnn, wwrrrr mmm nnnnn?” this young woman cried out through her own ‘Do not open till Xmas’ gag as she analysed the setting with her keen green eyes. She couldn’t do much to avert this situation due to how she was almost completely ensnared by pink ribbons and bows, wound about her limbs and torso, welding her legs together, holding her hands behind her back, and scrunching her knees up to her chest and chin keeping her in a tight ball shape. Only small sections of her blue skirt suit were visible through the ribbons, and the only part of her body she could move were her head and her dark hose covered feet, which drummed the conveyor belt frantically as she struggled with all her might to escape.

   “Oho, the lovely Dawn Meadows now gets a turn to be sufficiently wrapped up,” Mr White gloated happily. “Take care with her chaps, this one is a special delivery!”

   The burly elves grunted in response, pushing an oversized, pink box to the end of the conveyor belt. The girl called Dawn squealed and shook her head when she saw it, but as packaged as she was she couldn’t do anything to avert the course of this conveyor belt, and when she reached the end she gave a final squeak before she tumbled into the boxes interior and out of sight. The elves worked quickly, pulling a large lid on top of the large box and then drawing oversized ribbons over the package and tying them off into a neat but massive bow. By the time they were done Dawn’s cell resembled a traditional image of a Christmas present box, but one so big the elves needed to wheel it away on a trolley. I managed to catch a quick glimpse of the tag attached to the ribbon, which read in oversized red ink, “To Gerald Sinclair, Merry Christmas, Mr W.”

    Now I began to realise my enemy’s latest scheme. He was kidnapping snoops and sleuths from all over and then delivering them into the hands of their mortal enemies as some kind of sadistic Santa.

   It seemed like the next shift had now begun in earnest. The curtain billowed as the next present appeared. It was a duo this time, a redhead and a blonde, both dressed in glamorous seasonal outfits but barely visible through the layers of ribbons stringently balltying them, as well as holding them back to back. The redhead, referred to by Mr White as Anna Keyer, kicked out with her bright blue high heels in frustration while the blonde, referred to simply as Chrystel, moaned softly through her sticker gag, before they too were unceremoniously dumped into a box, sealed inside and wheeled away with a label addressed to a woman simply called Susan.

    Then came some names I recognised. A duo by the names of Becky and Emmy. I’d read about their adventures online, and it seemed that their own snooping exploits had drawn the attention of Mr White. The athletic blonde and the glamorous brunette were wrapped up in back to back ballties exactly as Keyer and Chrystel had been, both wearing colourful, seasonal jumpers with reindeer antler headbands in their hair. They cried furiously through their gags (Becky especially) and strained against their ribbon bonds as the conveyor belt trundled them ever closer to the gaping box at the end. But their protests were in vain. In they fell, the box lid was fastened in place, and the label addressed to a mysterious individual called Zion.

   I didn’t think he could have nabbed many more girl detectives, but boy was I proved wrong when all the members of the Drake Detective Agency appeared on the conveyor belt. They, much like the CGDA, had recently gone their separate ways as life took them to different parts of the country, but Mr White had reunited them, quite literally. Molly, Caroline, Jemma, Gina, Alex and Steffi were held fast by ribbons in a tightly fastened ring, their bodies all held in ballties and moaning in futility behind their gags. The biggest box of them all was waiting to catch them. I think Molly saw me just as they reached the end of the conveyor belt, and she gave a desperate cry of “SSSSRRRRR!” before she and her five friends tumbled into a box addressed simply to ‘The Kreeps.’

   Slowly but surely the damsel production line trundled along, The captive women who had once adorned the walls one by one were packaged up ready for delivery. Soon only me and my gang of writhing Carrington Captives remained. Mr White started to pace up and down in front of us, like a child trying to figure out which present to unwrap under the Christmas tree first.

   “Just us again, as it should be,” Mr White cackled happily. “It’s been a long few months, as I figured out just how to get even with you lot for ruining my master plan. Particularly you Sara sweetheart. You managed to wriggle your way out of my most devious, depraved scheme yet, you little Houdini you. Well, it’s time for your reward.”

   He clicked his fingers, and Holly and Ivy appeared, working together to pick me off of my hook and haul my sacked form to the ground by Mr White’s feet. He gleefully knelt beside me and grabbing my chin he forced me to gaze back at the forms of my bound and entrapped friends. “I was wondering just what kind of Christmas gift I could give to a chum as dear as yourself. I could have just left you in a death trap like the good old days. But then I realised how deliciously ironic it would be if those closest to you did it themselves.”

   He then clicked his fingers, and from the ceiling above the heads of my friends several hatches were revealed. Through these metal crane like instruments descended, each of them ominously holding a mask in their clutches.

   A plain white Mr White Mask.

   I watched as Rachel, Abigail, Harriet, Felicity, Kavita, Vicky, Alice and Jaz recoiled and shook their heads as these masks descended, coming to a halt level with their faces. They realised what was to happen at the same time as me, but there was nothing they could do as these descending masks came to halt just inches away from their terrified faces. Then they were pushed closer and closer by the cranes, the metal arms adjusting to every which way my desperate friends turned their heads.

    Then, with frightening synchronization, the masks were successfully applied over the faces of the captives, concealing their horrified expressions. There was suddenly a loud whirring sound, like the sound of something being downloaded, and the metal arms of the cranes began to glow a deep shade of scarlet. As this happened my friend’s struggles lessened until they reached the point where they were not moving at all. They just stayed perfectly still as whatever horrible procedure Mr White had subjected them to was completed.

   Mr White then clicked his fingers, and like some kind of magic spell the sacks and bonds that had previously held my friends dissipated in a flash of white light, dazzling me. After reopening my eyes I looked and saw them stood in a regimented line, like they were being lined up for military inspection. The plain white Mr White masks were firmly fixed over their faces, and they weren’t making a sound.

   “I hope this works otherwise this is going to be seriously embarrassing,” Mr White remarked, before turning to my friends and barking, “Give me a thumbs up if you serve me!”

   To my utter horror, they all gave my nemesis a firm thumbs up in perfect timing, like a type of fascist salute. I couldn’t believe it. My friends had been brainwashed. “Nnnnnmmmm, wwwwttt hhhvvv yyyyy ddddnnn?” I cried through my gag.

   “What I’ve done is finally figured out how best to get even with you,” Mr White sneered, understanding my muffled plea. “Threatening to kill your chums didn’t work, so I thought of trying some other way of breaking your heart. What better way than to convert those you care most about to my cause, to brainwash and turn them against you? To see that they spend the rest of their lives as shadows of their former selves?”

    “NNNNNMMM PPLLLSSSS!” I begged, writhing about in my sack trying anything to escape.

    But Mr White was now in full flow, cackling like a hyena as the warehouse seemed to melt away into a deep, dark void, the scene twisting into a dark new landscape, with a wide moon and a thick mist swirling through the floor. I suddenly realised that without realising my bonds and outfit had changed. No longer was I trapped in a sack and bound with ribbons, but I was stringently tied with ropes wound all about my body and gagged with duct tape wound about my head and hair. My red sweater dress had also transformed back into my old red hoodie, denim hotpants, dark nylons and purple converse combination.

   But the shock of experiencing this was nothing compared to the terror I experienced when I realised where I now was. On the top of the Calderwell Reservoir. The same place where a few months ago Mr White and I had had our fateful showdown. Where he had plunged to what I believed to be his death. The scene was the same, with me lying on the wall of the reservoir and Mr White in full costume prancing about on the edge. The big difference was that now my mask wearing, brainwashed friends were also in attendance moving into a tight ring to surround my trussed-up form.

    “Here we are again Sara dear,” Mr White chortled. “They say the criminal always returns to the scene of the crime. Tell me, do you feel any remorse at all? Do you feel even the slightest twinge of guilt for what you did to me? Taking responsibility for taking a life is pretty rough. I’m wondering how a good little girl like you is coping?”

   ‘I was not responsible,’ a voice in my head repeated again and again. ‘I didn’t pull the trigger, I was defending me and my friends.’

   But it was as if he could read my thoughts. “Keep telling yourself that Sara Philips. You tried to end my life, but the jokes on you. I’ll never be gone. I’ll always be haunting you, always hiding in the shadows waiting to strike, always plotting to take away everything from you and your friends. Care for a demonstration? Grab her girls!”

   “WWWWWWTTTT, NNNNMMMM!” I screamed as my brainwashed friends moved forward as one, each grabbing a different part of my body and lifting me up into the air. I cried out and thrashed, pleading with them to recognise me. But none of them responded. They were all lost to me, my cries failing to penetrate the masks hiding their faces.

    Mr White stood to one side as they carried me right to the edge of the reservoir, giggling like a giddy schoolkid. He then said “Well enjoy the rest of your life Sara Philips. Descending into darkness is a lot of fun really, I look forward to seeing you at the bottom!”

   He then clicked his fingers, and at that signal my friends threw my bound body over the side of the Calderwell Reservoir.

   I screamed as I fell, the inertia causing my stomach to wrench and turn as I fell down and down and down. I lost sight of them all, soon all around me was nothing but a swirling fog of darkness. There was no end to this pit. I just continued to plummet deeper into the void, falling so deep there was no hope that I would ever come out…



   …And then I woke up…screaming…

   “NO. NO GET AWAY FROM ME!” I cried as I sat bolt upright, consumed by raw terror with sweat seeming to drench every part of my skin.

   “Sara, Sara can you hear me? You aren’t in danger!” a voice cried, trying to pierce through the veil of my own fear.

   “NO, LEAVE MY FRIENDS ALONE!” I continued to shout, looking all around the strangely familiar room but unable to clear my head from the fear I was experiencing.

    Suddenly a pair of hands gently clasped my cheeks, and a reassuringly familiar face with deep blue eyes appeared in my vision. Rachel held me steadily as she said, “Sara it’s OK. You’re safe. We’re at Felicity and Abigail’s house. You fell asleep during the movie. You were just dreaming.”

    I focused Rachel, and when I realised that she was real my panic began to subside. I then turned my eyes away from her and looked around the room, taking in the now glowing embers of the fire and the paused movie, and could see Abigail, Harriet, Felicity and Kavita gathered around me with looks of concern on their faces. I’d clearly given them the fright of their lives.

     The images conjured by my subconscious were incredibly hard to forget, and I felt my body shaking from the fear I’d experienced, and could feel the tears pinpricking my eyes as I leant forward and held my face in my hands. “Oh God…I’m sorry you all had to go through that.”

   “Don’t be daft,” Harriet told me firmly as she sat beside me and put a reassuring arm around my shoulder, while Felicity whispered something to Abigail after which she left the room in a hurry.

   Kavita looked at me in concern as she knelt beside Rachel in front of me. “You were…dreaming about him weren’t you?”

   I nodded. “I can’t stop them,” I sighed emotionally. “These past few months I’ve just had these recurring nightmares. I keep on reliving that moment on the Calderwell Reservoir. I can’t get the image of that bastard out of my head. I feel so stupid”

   “Sara it’s OK, it’s totally understandable,” Rachel reassured me. “No-one should ever have to go through what you did. But remember, he’s gone now. There’s no way he can ever hurt you again.”

   “But is he?” I blurted before I could stop myself, the secret fears that had tormented me in my sleep these past months rising to the surface. “They never found his body. What if he did survive? What if he’s still out there…planning to come after us again?”

   “Sara, the sod is dead,” Harriet reminded me. “He got shot in the chest and fell off a bloody dam. No-one survives that.”

    I knew that. I knew that logically there was no way Mr White could ever hurt me or my friends again. But the fear of what he had been capable of, and that final lack of certainty was tormenting me whenever I tried to get to sleep.

   At that moment Abigail returned, clutching a gift wrapped present which she brought over to me. Felicity joined her and said, “We were going to give this to you to unwarp on Christmas day, but I think you could do with opening it now.” I took the present from Abigail’s hands and tentatively removed the wrapping paper. As their gift was revealed I found myself having to swallow an emotional lump in my throat.

   It was a picture in an expensive frame, one which contained a picture of us all. I recognised it as being from a BBQ we’d held at Harriet’s a few weeks after the showdown at the reservoir. A picture of all of us together, me, Rachel, Abigail, Harriet, Felicity and Kavita, linked arm in arm with broad smiles on our faces, the summer sun shining down on us. I remembered that day fondly. It had been one hell of a party, with us staying up until three in the morning enjoying the warm summer night lying on the grass staring at the night’s sky, talking optimistically about what our future might have in store.

   “We got one for all of you,” Abigail announced to the room. “We wanted to give you all something to remember all of the good times we had together, and remind you all that we’re always here for you if you need us.”

   “So here’s what you do Sara,” Felicity advised. “You put that picture on your bedside table, and whenever you next have a nightmare, you look long and hard at that picture, and remember that we have something that Mr White could never take away from you. You remember that we are always with you, and we always have your back.”

    “You don’t have any reason to be scared, not with us around,” Kavita told me.

    “And while we may now be apart in terms of distance, you can always call me, anywhere, anytime,” Rachel told me, taking my hands in hers.

    I suddenly felt very emotional. The fear just evaporated and was replaced by a deep sense of gratitude and happiness. Boy had I needed that. I smiled at them all and said, “It’s an amazing present. One of the best ever. Thank you so much.”

   Harriet instantly responded with one of her cheeky smiles and said, “It’s OK, I know you’d rather have had a giftwrapped Chris Evans, you don’t have to be polite.”

   “Why, can I expect that under my tree from yourself on Christmas morning?” I laughed.

   “Now that would be impressive,” Rachel seconded.

   “Well technically the Kreeps do owe me a favour,” Harriet joked. With that the mood lifted, and it was as if my nightmare had never happened.

   I didn’t get a giftwrapped Captain America under my tree on Christmas morning. But I did get something far more precious. Peace from the nightmares that had plagued me for months. The weeks I spent back home during my Christmas break were full of joy, fun and happiness. And when I did eventually return to White Rose University to continue my studies in the new year, the picture of the CGDA took pride of place on my bedside table.