Rudolph's Retribution

It was the year Christmas didn’t happen. Everything began normal for the North Pole residents, who woke up Christmas Eve morning oblivious that by nightfall, Christmas would be canceled for countless boys and girls worldwide. They went about their business never suspecting that evil was in their midst.

To comprehend the events of that fateful Christmas Eve, we must rewind to a time when Santa’s current reindeer were young before they inherited the responsibility of guiding the sleigh from their parents. Back then, Dunder, Blixem, and Comet were on the North Pole High School’s Polo Team, Dancer, Prancer, and Dasher were on the cross country team, and Cupid and Vixen had cheered as cheerleaders. They were the cool students, members of the in-crowd, trends were set by them and they decided who was hot or not. They were known as the Heirs because the school knew they’d be chosen for the coveted Sleigh Duty when they were older.

Now imagine a gawky, long-legged, clumsy reindeer who transferred to the school and their grade. Sadly, the newbie only spoke with a thick Russian accent as he told the teacher he was from Siberia and had been homeschooled by his mother, then when everyone laughed at him, his nose GLOWED bright RED with embarrassment. Now as if that wasn’t enough reason for them to make fun of the new student, you had his name. They didn’t know nor care that his name was an old family name, passed down through the generations on his mother’s side. Truthfully, they didn’t need any reason other than Rudolph was different AND poor.

So the Heirs pranked Rudolph. They tripped him when he walked by them. Prancer and Cupid stole cookies off his lunch tray and dumped milk on his head. Comet would go out of his way to single Rudolph out and trip him as he walked past. Vixen pretended to like him, only to learn things so the group and she could talk about him behind his back. They refused to play any sports with him. They spread the word that any party including a red-nose freak could count them out, and everyone was too scared to stand up to the Heirs. It got so bad that Rudolph attended High School Graduation with a broken leg and antler from a “fall” down the stairs because Cupid had “accidentally” dropped a soda bottle before Rudolph’s hooves.

The bullying didn’t stop at school. The Heirs took it upon themselves to seek Rudolph out in the town and make fun of him. They ran into him with the carts at the grocery store when he was shopping for his mom. They stole his skateboard. Let Rudolph’s dog out of the backyard so the NP dog catcher would pick the poor pup up. The group even went so far as to put sugar in the tank of his 1970 Scorpion fastback he’d inherited from his grandfather, his mother’s father.

Someone in the group of bullies found out that his father had left his mother for a white-tailed deer the year before, so Rudolph’s mother moved them to her childhood home to live with her sister. So the Heirs spread it all over town, once they knew how uncomfortable they could make Rudolph. They wrote "Son of a White-tail Lover" and other slanders on his locker.

They made Rudolph so miserable that he daydreamed of schemes to exact his vengeance. He was always doodling his plans at school, instead of listening to the teacher and taking notes, so Rudolph’s grades were poor. At night, he awoke to dreams of sweet revenge, only to be disappointed upon opening his soft brown eyes that it was all just fantasy. He lived and breathed retaliation for the last five years.

The day of the incident dawned beautiful as usual, with the sun reflecting off the snow-covered houses. There was a chance of snow by nightfall, which was great for those flying the sleigh that night, it meant that the fog would be light. The snowbirds were chirping their festive sounds, while the town’s residents began to go about their business that Christmas Eve Day.

The Artistic Elves put the finishing touches on the gifts that would go out with the sleigh that night–with a paint stroke here and a wooden peg there, they proudly finished making each doll, wagon, and game. Delicious holiday cakes, Christmas cookies, and candy canes were created by the Pastry Chef Elves, which would be used to stuff the stockings of good boys and girls worldwide. Then there were the Stable Elves and the Reindeer who would guide the sleigh busily preparing for the long flight that would be made that night.

As Mrs. Claus rubbed Santa down with a magical ointment that would aid him upon his flight, keeping him warm throughout the night, the Dockworkers Elves loaded the sleigh with Santa’s phenomenal bottomless bag. The sleigh was almost completely ready, it just needed the Heirs hitched for their first flight. Once they were harnessed, Santa would appear and begin his slow traditional procession to his seat.

What wasn’t known to anyone was that Rudolph had placed a special something on board the sleigh and that once the last of the Heirs was fastened, the timer to his revenge would start its countdown. Forty seconds after they were tethered and twenty-five seconds before Santa should make it to his seat, Rudolph’s special show would start and his revenge would be executed.

Everyone was clapping so loud when Dasher was coupled in the lead place that no one heard the click and burr that followed.

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Santa Claus appears at the entrance to his spacious log cabin.

He waves at all his citizens, with a jolly “Ho, ho, ho!”

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Santa wends his way down the stairs, tossing out early gifts to the elven children gathered around the stairs, as he customarily does each year.

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Santa began to make his way towards where the sleigh was parked, ready for take off.

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Santa stops to shake the North Pole citizens’ hands and hooves.

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Santa notices that the night is unusually foggy and wonders how the Weatherelf could have been so wrong with his forecast. Although the fog has an acrid scent that he can’t place. He calls out for Rudolph, intending to ask him to guide the sleigh that night as an emergency precaution.

3…

2..

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Boom!!!

Fireworks explode in the air!! Poinsettias, stars, and mistletoe shapes decorate the night sky. The crowd begins to, “Oh,” and “Ah.”

Boom!!!

Boom!!!

More fireworks explode, deafening those close to the sleigh and temporarily blinding those in attendance.

Boom!!

The ground shook with each explosion.

Boom!!

Boom!!

Suddenly, blood-curdling screams filled the air. Smoke was everywhere, so no one could see who was screaming, but they could smell why. The smell of burning meat surrounded everyone, so sickly sweet that some of the confused attendees became extremely sick. Panic set in, and the elves and reindeer who still stood, began to stampede, running in all directions.

When the smoke had settled, everyone stood in shock at the carnage that had been caused. Deer and Elves of all sizes and ages were lying everywhere, some moaning while others lay still as death. Santa had been completely flattened, losing a lot of blood, and things didn’t look too good for him. The Emergency Elf Response Team was running from injured elf to reindeer, quickly and efficiently and the North Pole General Hospital was rapidly filling up.

The worst of all was the sight of where the sleigh had been. The runners were still there, but nothing else was where it should have been. Santa’s bag with all its contents was torn asunder, thrown all over the quadrangle, and utterly destroyed. The Finnish pine of Santa’s vehicle was splintered into sharp, jagged little pieces. As for the Heirs, they lay in burning heaps, completely lifeless. They stared into the night sky with their glazed eyes while the falling snow filled their sockets.

Prologue

Many reindeer and elves were injured that night. Several were disabled and unable to work again. Some even lost their lives.

The remaining Elves rebuilt everything and had Christmas Eve ready by the next year.

A new batch of reindeer was chosen to lead the sleigh and trained for the coming Christmas Flight.

Santa fully recovered with the help of his wife, Mrs. Claus. The only repercussion he suffered from that fateful night was a limp he would walk with forever.

As for Rudolph, he’s not been seen since that fateful night. The NPPD questioned Rudolph’s mother, but she refused to tell them anything, claiming that she knew nothing. So the officers made several inquiries around town, turning up rumors. Some claim that Rudolph has gone to live with his dad, others claim that he has returned to Siberia, but most seem to think that he cut his antlers, changed his name, and is living on some tropical island in the Caribbean.