Zeke

At the starting line, everyone was ready with their supplies in hand. Each team had been given a red Santa sack and a sealed envelope that contained the list of what they'd need to collect. They couldn't open the envelope until the hunt started.

Alicia hadn't said much to Zeke since they'd separated from Celeste and Sterling and taken their place at the starting line. She had avoided his eye whenever he looked at her, but as soon as he turned away, he could feel her stare at him. There was something on her mind, he could tell. He had a good idea what it was and that it was the last topic he wanted to discuss...

"So," Alicia began, finally breaking her silence. "Nancy is here, huh?"

Zeke flinched. Yep, it was just as he had thought. "That's not important right now. You want to get that prize, don't you? We have to focus."

"If you say so," Alicia muttered, crossing her arms again.

Fortunately, the Mayor appeared then, sauntering down the starting line, eyeing each team. Zeke hoped the scavenger hunt would start soon so they could avoid the topic entirely.

Truth was, even if he did want to talk about it... he had no idea what he would say. He was still reeling from the night before.

The Mayor had backed up from the line and readied something that looked like a one-sided Christmas cracker.

"Alright folks, are you ready?"

The crowd cheered.

"Remember, the winner will be whoever gets the most items on the list within the time allotted! Now!"

The Mayor raised the cracker and gave one end a hard tug. The thing gave a roaring CRACK, and confetti exploded out of it.

"GO!"

The other teams scattered into the night, but Zeke stayed right where he was.

Alicia frowned at him as she tugged on his arm. "Come on! Let's go!"

"Go where, exactly?" he said, tearing into the envelope. "We don't even know what's on the list yet."

Alicia's frown deepened, but she stopped tugging. She came up beside him and looked over his shoulder as he unfolded the list. The list was made up of riddles, with the answers being the things they needed to find.

Alicia began to read the first clue aloud. "Many of me make a man... Hm."

"A snowflake?" Zeke answered.

"Oh, I think you're right!" Alicia cheered. "Okay, that's one."

Zeke moved on to the next riddle. "Come get your just desserts as this goes flinging by! What could that be?"

"A fruitcake, I think?" Alicia suggested. "From the Fruitcake Fling, remember?"

Zeke rolled his eyes and laughed. "How could I forget?"

They went through all the other riddles, figuring them out one by one. As they neared the end of the list, they had come up with various festive solutions, such as a sleigh, ribbon, bells, and a Santa Hat.

But the last one was proving more difficult...

"It has a 'dismal light' about it, a bad _______ in a dark cellar," Alicia read the final clue aloud, her brow creasing in confusion. "What on earth does that mean?"

Zeke looks just as perplexed, though it tickled something in the back of his head. He thought he'd heard that line before...

"I think I know... It's... It's..." he muttered to himself, trying to unearth the memory that kept scratching away in the depths of his mind. "It's on the tip of my tongue!"

"Come on, Scrooge," Alicia teased. "You can do it!"

A spark surged through him. "I've got it!" he cried, then lowered his voice. "It's a lobster."

"A lobster?" Alicia echoed incredulously. "What the heck does a lobster have to do with Christmas?"

"It's a line from A Christmas Carol," Zeke explained. "Dad used to read it to us every Christmas, and that's where I remembered it. But the real question is... where do we find a lobster in Winter Grove?"

"Good question," Alicia said, nodding. "We're not exactly close to the ocean, so not a lot of seafood joints."

"Is there a lobster tank at the steak house?" Zeke offered.

Alicia shook her head. "I don't think so. Also, gross, I don't want to carry a live lobster around."

"Well, we've got to find it," Zeke said. "He said the winner with the most items will win it, and I don't think that many people are going to figure this one out."

Alicia pondered hard for another second before her dark eyes sparked to life. "I know just where we can get a lobster," she said, a smile spreading across her face. "And everything else on our list, too. Come on!"

Without hesitation, she grabbed his hand and led him off into the snowy night.

Delete Created with Sketch.

They reached The Snowball's Chance just as Olly stepped onto the street, about to lock the door behind him.

"Wait!" Alicia cried, breathless from their run.

Olly looked up. As his eyes darted between them, a sly smile spread across his face. "Hello, you two," he said, eyeing Zeke. "Aren't you supposed to be at the Games? Or did you sneak off for a bit of fun?"

His mischievous grin went wider.

Alicia gave a huff and narrowed her eyes at Zeke. "Sterling wanted to be on Celeste's team, so we swapped partners. That's all."

"Ah, I see," Olly said, but he was still grinning away. "Well, then, what can I do for you? What game are you playing tonight?"

"It's a scavenger hunt. That's why we're here," Alicia asked, still glaring at Olly. "Can we borrow some decorations from you?"

Olly's smile fell. "What? No! I don't want you wrecking up my decor! I spent so much time on it..."

"Not the stuff that's currently out," Alicia replied. "I meant the stuff you have in the cellar."

"Oh," Olly said, tapping his lip. "Well, I suppose that'd be okay. As long as you treat it nice and bring it all back."

"Of course!" Alicia cheered.

"Then, alright," Olly said, pushing the door open to let them through. "I'll be gone for a while, so just lock up when you're done. You know where the spare key is."

Alicia gave a cry of joy and leaped on Olly, squeezing him into a quick hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Olly hugged her back. He used the opportunity to whisper something in Alicia's ear that made her leap back and punch him in the arm.

"It's not like that!"

Olly just laughed, then leveled a stare in Zeke's direction, his mischievous smirk curling the corners of his mouth like the Grinch.

"Whatever you say," he said, snickering as he stepped aside. "I'll be off now. Have fun, you two!"

As Zeke passed him by, he raised a quizzical eyebrow. There was something Olly seemed to know that he didn't... But Olly just kept smiling, keeping his secrets to himself.

Once they were inside, Olly locked the door behind them.

Alicia wasted no time shedding her coat and throwing it on the nearest bar stool. Zeke followed her cue, taking his own jacket off.

"What did he say to you?" Zeke asked.

Alicia whipped around to look at him. Her cheeks were darker, though it could've been from the biting cold, but her eyes had a wild look to them, as though she had been caught doing something bad.

"N-Nothing," she sputtered. "It was, uh, an inside joke."

Zeke cocked another eyebrow. He nodded, but he could tell she wasn't telling the entire truth. Maybe he'd pester her about it later over drinks once this was all done...

Then he remembered Nancy was waiting for him, and all those plans crumbled. He steeled his jaw and forced it all from his mind.

"Where's the cellar?" he asked, changing the subject.

"This way," Alicia said, leading him deeper into the establishment.

The cellar door was tucked into the back corner, right next to the bar. The door was pretty old and banged up, and there was a sizable rock sitting by the door.

Alicia tapped it with her foot and muttered to herself. "I guess this is what we'll use to prop open the door."

"Why does the door need to be propped open?"

"The place is old," Alicia said, yanking on the door handle. It didn't budge. "The door sometimes gets... stuck." She wrenched on it again and again but still had no luck.

"Allow me—" Zeke offered.

"I've got it," Alicia said, brushing him off. She gave one last great pull...

The door sprang open. Alicia stumbled back, about to fall. Zeke leapt forward—

He caught Alicia just in time, wrapping her in his arms and pulling her to his chest. This close, she was so warm and soft...

It took Alicia a second to realize where she was. When she looked up at him, her eyes were starry. Her cheeks flushed once again, and this time, he was certain it was not from the cold.

"S-Sorry!" she cried, quickly pushing away from him. "It was an accident!"

"Of course it was," Zeke said, chuckling to himself. "Guess you were right about the door getting stuck."

But Alicia didn't seem as amused. She was busy straightening her ice-blue sweater dress. Zeke couldn't help but notice how good it looked on her, hugging her curves and complimenting her dark skin.

She looked at him, her dark eyes now settled and resolute... almost sad.

His face felt suddenly warm. He looked away and cleared his throat.

"We should get going," he said. "Time is a factor."

"Right," Alicia agreed. "It's all down here."

She held the door open and pushed the rock into position with her foot. It slid a bit before settling, wobbling on the uneven floor.

"Are you sure it'll hold?" Zeke asked, eyeing it.

"We won't be long," Alicia said, picking up their Santa sack and heading down the dark stairs. "At least, I hope not."

Zeke stared down the stairwell after her. It looked pretty grim down there. And dark. Very dark. He swallowed and followed after her. He took only a few steps before he walked into what felt like a wall of ice, sending instant shivers shaking through him. His teeth chattered, and he wrapped his arms around himself, wishing he'd left his coat on.

Alicia had already reached the bottom of the stairs. She tugged on a string hanging from the ceiling, and in an instant, the space lit up with the thousand twinkle lights. Despite the dank nature of the room, it almost looked cheery... Especially as Zeke laid eyes on what the room held.

An enormous stockpile of Christmas decorations.

And on top of everything sat...

A hot pink glittery lobster.

Now he understood why Alicia had led him here.

"I think we'll be able to find what we need down here," Alicia said, grinning as she took in Zeke's amazement.

"How much Christmas stuff does one person need?" Zeke muttered to himself as they stepped further into the cellar.

"According to Olly," Alicia said with a laugh as she readied the Santa sack. "All of it."

Zeke began to sort through the items, comparing them to their answers on the list. The lobster was the first to go in the sack before he moved on to digging into a massive pile of what appeared to be tree skirts. "The man has a problem."

Alicia laughed. "That may be true, but as far as vices go, I think hoarding Christmas decorations is a pretty safe one."

Another shiver shook through Zeke. It was frigid down here. It probably didn't help that the weather outside was even chillier than usual.

"I guess this place must do pretty well if he can afford to amass this collection," Zeke said, picking up the pace. If they found everything in here and got out of here ASAP, they had a good chance of winning. Plus, he was starting to lose the feeling in his fingers.

"Despite his eccentricities, Olly is good at what he does. Just like Sterling."

Zeke could no longer argue with that, though that brought Sterling's hot chocolate to mind. He wished he had a hot mug of it right now to wrap his freezing hands around it.

All the more reason to hurry and get out of here—

Overhead, a strange scraping noise rang out, followed by a booming slam of the door.

"Oh no," Alicia groaned. "Not again!"

She dropped the Santa sack and ran up the stairs. Zeke abandoned his search and followed after her. He found her shoving on the door, but it wouldn't budge. As she turned back to him, her expression grim, he understood immediately.

They were stuck down here.

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