The Night They Shot Santa

(continued)

Hey, something seems to be going on.

I just heard an explosion! And another. They're getting closer.

I don't think of myself as a cowardly guy, but something is going on and I think that maybe I'd be better off watching it from somewhere safer.

Like behind the sled I keep here as a back-up.

Another explosion. The building is shaking and the room is filled with smoke.

"Santa?!?!" I hear a voice call out loudly. It's Dasher. I'd know that raspy, growling reindeer voice anywhere. I peer up over the edge of the sleigh, or what's left of it.

The explosion has ripped a 10 foot hole in the wall where the door used to be and smoke is filling the garage. Small piles of supplies have caught fire and debris continues to rain down from the ceiling.

For some confusing reason, the whole place smells like reindeer poop.

And there, standing in the middle of all this chaos, wearing a backpack, night vision gear and a helmet with holes for his antlers, is Dancer, the most welcome sight I've ever seen.

"Come on, boss" he says "we're here to rescue you!"

"Dancer!" I scream as I pull myself from under the debris of what used to be my back-up sled. "You can't rescue me yet. They've got Candy. We have to find her! I'm not going anywhere without her."

Dancer smiled. "Got ya covered, Boss."

And then, and I swear I'll never see anything more lovely if I live to be a thousand years old, was a sight that all but stopped my heart. Flying though the air as a pair were Comet and Blitzen, and between them they carried my beautiful wife.

She never fails to take my breath away, this wife of mine.

I've been married to Candy for over 100 years now and it amazes me that she could still pass for twenty four. Her eyes are still as bright, and still hold the same sparkle as the did the the first time I laid eyes on her, and unlike the white-haired fellow I've become, her beautiful locks haven't seen so much as a single strand of gray. She tells me it's my eyes that are going, but I sometimes really wonder if she hasn't made herself a deal for a little "elvish magic". She is far and away the most lovely creature I have ever had the blessing to have in my life. She's not only the reason I do what I do, but she is also what gives me the strength to do it.

As I helped her from her perch atop the two reindeers I took her in my arms. The pain, hurt and frustration of the last two weeks disappeared like they were hit with wallop of fairy dust. For the first time in days, I felt truly jolly again.

"Now Dancer," I said as I held her in my arms, "you can rescue me."

"'Wish I could boss," Dancer replied from across the room, where he stood examining my ruined sled "but I think we got a problem with transportation." I turned to look at the sled. He was right - it was nothing more than a pile of twisted rubble at this point. We had reindeer who could fly, but they were too small to carry people very far on their backs. If only we had another sled.

Dancer used his nose to switch on a walkie-talking strapped to his shoulder - "Team leader - we've blown the door and gotten to our package as well - but Rudy - we've got a problem. And it's a really big problem."