"Silent night!"

That was all I heard echoing from a distance before something landed with a loud thud. 'Silent night', not 'good night'.

The wails, I realised, had died. The night had been silent until this happened.

It didn't take long for me to sniff out the metallic scent of blood. Taking a right turn, I watched my reflections pass by in a blur.

"Dead end," I muttered under my breath. Whirling around, I was momentarily relieved that my Absol finally caught up. I couldn't risk any more dead ends unless my Christmas wish was to die in the hands of a killer who named himself Santa Claus. He was clad in that usual red and white costume, appearing to be a slender Santa Claus. Or maybe, I had been too naughty and this was my punishment.

The Hall of Mirrors was stained with all the crimson liquid, corpses with broken heads and limbs nearly everywhere. The mirror maze had been quite an attraction in Nimbasa's Amusement Park but a game of hide-and-seek was not what I expected the night before Christmas.

Trailing behind the quadruped, we tried our best to be as quiet as we could, to the extent of carrying my black high heels in my hands. Note to self, never wear heels to amusement parks—or anywhere in case of killer emergencies.

"You better watch out, you better not cry! Better not pout, I'm telling you why! Santa Claus is coming," he sang, the broken notes bouncing off the walls. He held the last syllable as I took two turns and heard the shuffling of footsteps nearby. Just before I choked my ears to block off the noise, he concluded,"To you!"

I licked some perspiration off my lips and stopped in front of a mirror. The Disaster Pokémon froze beside me, eyeing me as I stole a glance at her. Gasping for breath, I bent a little and placed my weight on my knees. My Absol bit the heels and flung them somewhere far away, the black mass as if an agile Honchkrow, pecking possibly one or two mirrors with the eerie shatter of glass. I patted her and drew another breath before running again.

"Santa Claus has presents for you! Your wish for a silent night will come true!" He chirped merrily. I could picture his twisted smirk as he plunged a knife or whatever his weapon was into my breasts. I shivered.

Quickly, I kissed my Absol's cheek and hoped she guide me to an exit. She had a better sense of direction, even if it was by a grain of salt. That wasn't an appropriate measurement but who in the sane mind would think clearly? I was the last one Santa Claus was after.

"One moment I thought you were there, the very next while, you had disappeared." He had changed the lyrics of my favourite Christmas song.

Could that mean that he was tricked? Or that he headed for my heels?

No, I mouthed when my Absol's fur stood on end and she snarled. Was he near?

A hint of red in the mirror was directly in front of me. Then, a layer of black emerged above the red, with a bit of yellow. My throat was parched, my blood ran cold and my palms were sweaty. Absol dashed forward before I could whistle to stop her. I wanted to scream something—anything—but the fear had taken my ability to speak. Rooted to the ground, I glimpsed the deathlike pallor of my face in the mirrors, my jaw dropping gradually. My heartbeat hastened. My bulging eyes darted across the mirror to spot the hint of red growing into a semicircle.

Bang!

I thought it was my heart, but it was a gunshot. I wanted to collapse, break down and cry. I couldn't—one wrong move and I would turn up dead.

She lay peacefully asleep. The Disaster Pokémon could not prevent disaster from happening. This was the first for my Absol.

But everything had a first. My first kiss, my first lie, my first nightmare, my first time witnessing a Pokémon die. My Pokémon.

"Silent night," the voice whispered. A step forward with my hands outstretched told me it was a wrong move. Checkmate for Santa Claus. Too late.

My neck was pressed against a bloody knife. My eyes found a strangely yellow hand. It wasn't a human hand.

"Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!" The voice rang in my head. A breath brushed past my ear. In my peripheral vision, I was gazing at an oscillating white pendulum. I gulped. My shoulders tensed. My heart could fall out of its cage any moment.

Shivering, I dared not move.

"Wh-Why are you d-doing this?" I mumbled, slowly regaining composure. Fear is my friend. My friend is fear. Fear is my friend. My friend is fear.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! Merry Kills-mas!"

I bit my lips. My Absol's body lay still.

"Turn." It was an instruction I had no choice but to follow. Spinning on my toes, I shut my eyes tight. "Open your eyes." I obeyed. For once, I had my heart in my mouth. Vertigo was nibbling me.

A Hypno dressed up as Santa Claus stood smiling the widest grin I've ever seen in my life.

No, it doesn't match. A Hypno can't speak. The voice didn't seem like it came right behind me. I pondered for a while, forcing a smile in return. But it can learn. It can confuse me.

The pendulum swung left and right. I averted my gaze to another mirror but it didn't exactly work since the object was reflected in them. Behind me, a shadow shifted. No, there was only one Santa Claus. Could it be my saviour? Saving a damsel in distress?

Gingerly, I made another turn. The hypnosis must have failed, thankfully.

"Ho." It came from behind. The Santa Claus was the Hypno. It had to be.

"You alright?" I pulled myself into the thin arms of a lady. I'd recognise that voice anywhere. I shook my head in response. Her gentle voice calmed me down. "Your Absol... I'm sorry." I shook my head again, tears streaming down.

"Elesa, how did you find me?" I asked.

"Tell you after we deal with the Hypno," the Nimbasa Gym Leader said and sent out her Zebstrika. To her Pokémon, she ordered,"Thunderbolt."

Santa Claus was given quite a shock that he fainted immediately.

"Now, we leave," Elesa told me, giving me an encouraging smile. She got us out of the amusement park and into the Pokémon Centre. It was fast with the fear pushing me to reach the red-roofed building.

Nurse Joy didn't say anything and opened the door to a room. Elesa sat me down on the bed and I realised I had been shivering too much that my tears zigzagged down my cheeks.

She placed a hand on my shoulder and whispered,"Shhh... It'll be fine. I know it's shocking but it'll be fine."

I could not shrug off the strange, concerned look in her eyes. Maybe I was thinking too much. Maybe I just needed to do something after my Absol's death. I needed a funeral for her. Right, a funeral.

"Th-Thank you," I mumbled sheepishly.

Elesa went over to lock the door and returned to my side. "There, there. Now, no one can do anything to you. Feel safer?"

I nodded in silence and watched as she pulled an rosy red apple and a sharp, clean pocket knife out of her pocket. When she noticed me looking, she simply said,"I was about to eat an apple when the staff alerted me about the Merry Kills-mas Eve. You're safe now. It's fine."

I heaved a sigh of relief. This was great. "Do you have a phone? My phone's battery is dead."

"Conveniently, I don't."

Elesa peeled the skin off of the apple and placed it on the pillow.

"You know," she said as she handed me the apple. "Hypnosis is dangerous."

"Glad to escape it." I took a bite into the apple.

She dipped her head and looked at me in the eye. Reaching into her yellow and black blouse, she said,"I got these in my bra."

I don't need to know- I froze.

Metal clanged as they dropped onto the ground. The pocket knives were stained crimson.

"You know, a few scratches like that won't hurt much," she mumbled and took a step toward me. She had the clean pocket knife in her hands. "And, death metal is a wonderful genre."

I was too numb to move.

"Here's something more shocking."

My breaths were quick staccato ones. My heart palpitated fast. I lost grip on the apple.

Elesa's crazed blue eyes. Her heartfelt cackle. Her mouth open to reveal her bloodied teeth.

The knife plunged into my belly button, then briskly making its way up through my heart. I screamed.

"Silent night!"