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Black Xmas: NYC; A Fanfiction By Kibby
Topic Started: Feb 24 2013, 02:44 PM (329 Views)
Kibby1313
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Cast of Characters:

Kelli Presley
Joanna Kitt (Melissa’s sister)
Margot Hannon (Lauren’s sister)
Anna Mathis (Dana’s sister)
Bobby Lee (Heather’s Father)
Helen Lee (Heather’s Mother)
Karen Autrey (Kyle’s sister)
Josh Porter (Mrs. Mac’s nephew)
Courtney Hightower (Megan’s married sister)
Adam Agnew (Eve’s brother)
Dan Noel (front desk clerk)
Clement Moore (senior security guard at hotel)
Mike Feliz (NYPD cop, love interest for Kelli)
The Killer

Various minor characters

(Note: This was originally written over a two-week period in 2007, so if the technology references seem odd, just remember that I was attempting to figure out what technology would be like five years into the future. I'll post a chapter a day here until all ten chapters are complete).

BLACK CHRISTMAS: NYC

CHAPTER 1


Running.
Running.
Must keep running!
The girl ran down the hallway of the hospital, smashing into a cart being pushed by an orderly.
The killer grabbed her foot, but the girl was able to kick away.
“Miss?” she heard a voice question.
Must keep running!
She quickly reached a railing and looked down. The fall was at least four stories, and would most likely kill her.
She turned to stare the killer straight in the eyes as he grabbed her throat. She began to…
“Miss?”

Jolted awake, Kelli Presley realized the cab driver was talking to her.
“What?” she questioned.
“You were really asleep there, weren’t you,” said the cabby in his thick New York accent. “Good to catch a catnap around the holidays. Stress and all. I was just askin’ if this was your first trip to Manhattan?”
“Yes,” said Kelli tersely, as she stared out the window.
“Well, la tee da,” thought the cabby. ”Somebody’s not in the Christmas spirit.”
The fact of the matter was, Kelli was never in the Christmas spirit anymore. Not after what happened Christmas Eve 2006. Not after Billy and Agnes Lenz had butchered her friends. She was the only one to survive the tragedy.
There were many days she wished she hadn’t.
Her depression had gotten so bad that her parents thought about having her committed. Her mother and father eventually split up. She finished college at a different school, but had never been able to conquer her depression totally. It had just cost her another good job.
Maybe winning this trip to New York would help set her straight with herself. The therapy had helped a little. The pills helped more, but now she popped them like they were candy from a Pez dispenser. The alcohol also seemed to help, but Kelli knew that none of these was the ultimate answer. She needed closure on that part of her life. She wondered if she would ever get it.


At the Donner Hotel, Dan Noel was busily checking his PDD (personal data device) when a woman in her early to mid-20s approached the front desk.
“Welcome to the Donner,” said Dan, in that fakey I’d-rather-be-anywhere-but-here voice he often employed. “Checking in? May I have your name, please?”
“Yes, Anna Mathis,” the drop-dead gorgeous woman replied.
Suddenly, Dan sprung to attention. “Why yes, Ms. Mathis. We’ve been expecting you. We have the suite ready for you. The number’s on the sleeve of the keycard. Please let us know if there’s anything we can do for you. Marco will help you with your bags.”
“Thank you,” came the short reply. “I assume he will unpack them neatly.”
“Why, yes, ma’am. Marco is the best.” said Dan.
Marco and Anna disappeared into the elevator, headed for the 44th floor.
“Wow. What a *****!” though Dan. He turned to his assistant. “Hey, Joey, cover for me for a minute, would ya. I gotta make a call.”
Joey got up from his laptop screen and assumed the front desk position, while Dan ducked back into a nearby closet.
He quickly dialed his cellphone. “Are they all here?’ said the voice on the other end.
“All but one,” came Dan’s reply. “She’s probably in traffic. Her flight arrived more than an hour ago.”
“Remember, do not start phase 2 until she has arrived,” the hushed voice said. “Contact me then.”
“I will.” Dan said. “Listen, you’re asking a lot of me, here. I’m not sure the money will be enough.”
“Just do as we planned,” the now irritated voice said. “We’ll talk about increasing your compensation later.”
“Fine,” Dan said, equally irritated, as he hung up and headed back to the front desk.


“So anyway, me and the missus are leaving tomorrow to go see her folks in Boston. That is, if that ice storm they’re forecastin’ misses us,” the cabby droned on to Kelli.
Boston, Kelli thought. That always brought back thoughts of the Deltas. She got out her wallet and looked at picture of her and some of the girls from a happier time. They were all dead. Kelli was all alone.
They never did rebuild the sorority house, even after six years. “Who would ever want to live there anyway?” she thought.
“Live where, Miss?” the cabby asked.
“Oh, just somewhere I used to live when I was in college,” Kelli sighed. She didn’t even realize she had asked the question out loud.
“Well, here we are. The Donner. That’ll be $38.50,” the cabby said matter-of-factly.
Kelli paid and tipped him as a bellhop immediately swooped in to grab her luggage. She entered the hotel and went straight to the front desk. The video board above the desk read, “4:55 Pm, 34 degrees, December 23rd. Forecast….ice with possibly heavy accumulations. Low around 30. cold tomorrow, little temperature change.”
“Vroom. Vroom. Varoooom!” Came a voice from behind her. A little boy wearing dark glasses bumped into her.
“David!” shouted a woman as she came up behind him. “I’m so sorry, ma’am. These new Avatax glasses the kids wear today. They’re completely surrounded by their video games, and don’t even know the world around them still exists. David, what do you say to the nice lady?”
“Sorry,” the little boy mumbled, as he went back to his racing game.
“That’s quite all right,” Kelli said. Her latest pills had taken effect, and she was feeling more even-keeled than she had all day.
“Hello, welcome to the Donner.” said Dan. He recognized Kelli immediately from the photo he had been supplied. “ May I have your name please?”
“Kelli Presley.”
“Why yes, Ms. Presley. Congratulations on winning your trip. Thomas will assist you with your bags. Your suite is all ready. Please contact us if there’s anything we can do to make your stay more enjoyable.”
“Thank you,” Kelli said tersely, as she took the keycard from Dan’s hand.
She and Thomas disappeared into the elevator, and headed for the 45th floor.
Dan waited about 90 seconds to make certain the turbo elevator had gotten them up to the floor, then he asked Joey to again cover for him. Aggravated at the interruption, Joey still sprung to his position like a good little soldier. Dan ducked into a nearby closet.
He rapidly dialed the number. “Is she here?” questioned the mysterious voice.
Dan quickly checked his PDD. “She has arrived at her suite.”
“Very well. Begin phase 2.”
“I want more money.” Dan said.
“Listen, we had an agreement.”
“I don’t give a rat’s *** about our agreement. And I know you keep saying that it can never be traced to me. Well, I think that’s bull****.”
After a long pause, the voice asked, “How much?’”
“Another $150,000.”
Another long pause. “Check your locker in two hours,” said the voice matter-of-factly. “You’ll find a PDD with instructions on how to transfer the money to the account in the Caymans.”
“it had better be there,” threatened Dan.
“I assure you, Mr. Noel. It will be there. Now commence phase 2 immediately.”
Dan closed his cellphone. He took out a specially-designed PDD he had been given. The keyboard folded out into position. Dan logged into the network and entered a pre-determined IP address. He immediately jumped into a secured socket, with a question mark flashing on screen. he keyed in the numbers and word he had been instructed:
12/24/06 Kappa.
He stared at the screen for a moment. Once he hit transmit, there was no turning back. He thought about the money.
His right thumb hit the transmit key.
It had begun.






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SusanAgreesWithYou
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I'll read this soon. Looks interesting.
Edited by SusanAgreesWithYou, Feb 24 2013, 03:15 PM.
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http://w11.zetaboards.com/Death_Awaits/index/

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Just finished this. I really liked it, especially how you handled the dialogue. Great winter feel here. :)
I'm curious as to what Phase II is but it can't be good for Kelli and those others.
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Black Christmas: NYC

Chapter 2


After entering 12/24/06 and hitting Transmit on his PDD, Dan Noel hustled back to the front desk and relieved Joey. Dan knew that timing of this part of the plan was critical. He whipped out his regular PDD and flicked the switch to voice command mode.
“Project Donner grid,” he commanded. A picture of the Donner was projected onto his PDD screen.
“Transfer to laptop. Overlay points of interest.” A much larger view immediately appeared on his laptop screen. Red blips indicated that everyone of interest was in their rooms. Dan sighed. So far, so good. Some frantic moments, however, were sure to happen soon.

Karen Autry stretched out on her luxurious bed. She and her family had never been blessed with much, and had always resented the wealthy sorority girls who would come into their town for a short time, and then would graduate (or more likely get pregnant or flunk out, she thought). It was still hard to take that Kyle had been gone six years, perishing in the fire at the sorority house. She had never heard the whole story, but she always wondered what he was doing there that night.
As for Karen, she had never married. Little Kyle’s death hit her hard, and she had focused in on her work. A chance to interview at a prestigious advertising agency, even on Christmas eve, was too much to pass up.
She flipped through the channels. Dr. Who Christmas Special? Nah. Jeopardy? No. News? Boring! Ciick. Off went the HD. Tomorrow would be her day to shine. She needed her rest.

Across the street from the Donner, most people had headed home from the Barkley Building. They wouldn’t be back until after Christmas. In the offices of Meyers and Wallace, however, the Christmas party was still in full force.
“So then I tell Ted that if he wants it so bad, he’s going to have get down on all fours and bark for it. Oh my, it…was…not…pretty!” an obviously intoxicated Ann Minter was telling her co-workers.
“<cough> Oh, Lord, I can’t believe he < cough > did that!” said her co-worker Jill.
Mr. Wallace opened the door to the room where the party was going on. “ <cough, cough>, Girls, something’s <cough, cough >.”
The women partying could tell it to, as they began to cough.
“<Cough cough cough> Gas! Everybody <cough cough > out!” Mr. Wallace hacked.

At the NYPD Tactical Command Center, red lights started flashing on John Arbethnot’s control board.
His fingers flew across his keyboard. “Oh, ****!” he exclaimed when he saw the readout. He used the instant-on feature to contact his captain.
“Captain. We’ve got a problem. We’ve got a Level Five…make it Six Alert near the Barkley Building. Sensors are showing a buildup of MerraTox.”
The Captain grimaced. MerraTox. Exactly what the terrorists had used in St. Louis and LA three years ago. The NYPD had stopped the attack in New York, but that didn’t make him feel any better about the 2,000 people that died that fateful day.
“What’s the radius?” barked the captain.
“Concentrated at the Barkley and outside, sir. Contained in a two block radius.”
“We won’t take chances.” The captain said. He punched the override alert button on his console, connecting him directly with all NYPD, FDNY and emergency personnel throughout the five boroughs. “This is Captain Rennick at TCC. We have a Level Six alert at the Barkley Building. We need a four block radius shutdown. At present concentrations, limit exposure to forty minutes. No time to evacuate everyone. Just go for sealoffs. Out!” …. And God Help Us All, the Captain added under his breath.

“Where the hell is my food?’ shouted Margot Hannon into the receiver.
“Ma’am I assure you that it will be there soon,” came the soothing voice on the other end of the line at room service.
“And you call this a mini-bar? More like a joke, if you ask me. I want a bottle of tequila added to my order, and let’s make it snappy.”
“Yes, ma’am,” came the flummoxed reply.
SLAM. Went the receiver. “Stupid jackasses. Wouldn’t know service if it bit them in the ****!” she thought to herself.
For years, the only person that Margot Hannon had trusted was Margot Hannon. She had disassociated herself from her younger sister Lauren long before that fateful night in 06. It would be six years already tomorrow, she thought. Who gives a **** about any of them? She had her life to live, and if that meant a chance to appear on the Today Show to talk about her latest book, then fine and dandy. She didn’t need anyone else in her life, Margot thought. Anyone except her publicist. And the tequila.

Joanna Kitt stretched out on the sofa in her suite and cried.
Tomorrow was December 24, the worst day of her life.
The day she lost her big sister. The day her world collapsed.
Melissa had meant everything to her. She had been at odds with her parents for so long, it was impossible to remember when it all began. Melissa had always been there for her. Even when she went off to school, she would call her at least three times a week and nurse her through her problems, whether they be boys, school, or something else. Joanna had been a straight A student like her sister until that night. After Melissa died, Joanna’s grades started to drop. By the time she graduated high school, State U was about the only option. Even now, she just muddled through her classes and never developed any serious relationships. She was too afraid.
Even the shopping spree she had won at Macy’s and would take tomorrow didn’t seem all that important. No new anything could bring back Melissa. Even her parents told her it was time to move on, but she just couldn’t let go.

“That’s it. Go…go… “ muttered Dan Noel under his breath as a steady stream of people arrived coughing on the street from the Barkley Building. Ambulances and police cars were now arriving on the scene, and the first HAZMAT team had just pulled up.
Bing-Bong went Dan’s PDD. He scrolled it open. “****,” he thought. Bobby and Helen Lee were on the move in the elevator. And Kelli Pressley was headed down a different elevator.
“Got to keep them from getting outside,” Dan thought.
Bobby and Helen Lee were the first to arrive downstairs. He could see why Bobby was going outside. The pack of Winstons were sticking out of his shirt pocket.
“Mr. and Mrs. Lee, I just want to tell you again what an honor it is to have the two of you here with us at the Donner.” Dan knew he needed all the smarmy charm he could muster to stop them from going outside for a smoke.
“Well, thank ya, son,” said the affable Bobby. “We feel so blessed that we’re gonna help cap off the nation’s needy toy drive this year. What’s goin’ on over there?”
“I don’t know, sir. Could be a gas line problem or something.”
“Could I have your autograph for my nephew? He loves that racing…stuff…you do.” Stupid moron, though Dan. Just keep him here.
“Why sure! What’s his name?”
Think, Dan, think. “Marco, his name’s Marco.” IDIOT!!!!!!!
“Well, let me just get some paper here.” Kelli suddenly appeared out of the other elevator.
“Mrs. Lee!” she exclaimed, as she ran and hugged the woman she had gotten to know so well over the last six years.
“Oh, darlin’” Mrs. Lee said. “It’s so good to see you! What are you doin in New York?”
“I won a trip here for Christmas. What about you two?”
“We’ve been selected as honorary spokespeople for the National Toy Drive Finale,” Mrs. Lee noted.
“Baby, give me a hug,” Mr. Lee said. “How have you been, darlin’?”
“Oh, I’m doing fine,” Kelli lied. Mrs. Lee looked at her questioningly. Over the last six years, they had gotten to know each other very well, and Helen could almost always tell when Kelli was being less than truthful.
A uniformed NYPD officer came running in. “Mike Feliz, NYPD,” he told Dan. “I need you to get all of these people away from the doors. You need to shut off your ventitlation system.”
“Why, what for?” Noel feigned ignorance.
“Just do it. Hurry.”
Dan Noel moved everyone in the lobby away from the doors. He ran behind the front desk.
“Joey, help me. Emergency vent shutdown. Get your key.”
Joey and Dan put their keys in separate locks at their consoles. “On my mark. One, two, THREE!” Both keys turned. The ventilation system was sealed in a matter of seconds.
Officer Feliz looked at his wrist containment band. Orange. If it went to red, he would be stuck in here with the hotel guests. He had to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but this was not how he planned it.
“2504, this is TCC.”
“This is 2504,” responded Feliz.
“Concentrations are higher. Momentary red. Seek shelter now.”
“2504, code 8”, Feliz said, indicating he was safe inside the Donner.
He looked at his wristband. Red. The Donner would be home for a while.
“Looks like that smoke is gonna have to wait,” muttered Bobby Lee.

“This is WNYW. We have late-breaking word of a possible Merratox attack in Manhattan. All residents within a four block radius of the Barkley Building are instructed to stay indoors until further notice. Repeating…there has been a possible Merratox attack in Manhattan.”
Dan Noel smiled behind his check in stand. He was the only one in the now crowded lobby that knew the truth. Soon, he would have his money. Soon he would have a nice fat Cayman Island bank account. When this was all over, he would just take off, and Dan Noel would never be heard from again.

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Forgot the usual reminder that this was written in 2007 to be set in 2012, so if the tech seems a little odd, I was trying to project what it would be like five years in the future, which is now last year.

Confused? Don't worry about it. Just hope you enjoy.

Chapter 3 on Tuesday, and one chapter a day until we are done (10 chapters in all).
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Black Christmas: NYC

Chapter 3


“The PDD is in your locker,” said the mysterious voice on the other end of Dan Noel’s phone. “Wait until the meeting begins in the ballroom before retrieving it.”
“And the money?” questioned Dan in a hushed tone.
“The instructions for the extra $150,000 are in the PDD. You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Noel. Goodbye.”
Noel hung up his cellphone. The lobby of the Donner Hotel was sill crowded with people, milling about and talking about the possible Merratox attack. HD screens throughout the lobby were glued to various local stations reporting on the incident.
Dan was anxious to retrieve his money, but he knew it was best to wait until everyone at the hotel was in the Prancer Ballroom for a briefing before he retrieved the PDD and transferred the funds.

Courtney Hightower had just arrived at the ballroom when her cell rang.
“Hi, Phillip. How’s the baby?”
“Doing great. Getting all worked up about the tree in the front room,” came the reply from her husband Edward. “The question is, how are YOU?”
“As well as can be expected. They say we may be stuck here for 48 hours, but that there’s plenty of food. The bad thing is they shut off the heat and ventilation, so it’s going to start getting cold.”
“Honey, I know how you feel about Christmas,” noted Ed. “Megan’s been gone for six years now. Can’t we have a nice Christmas together this year?”
Courtney paused. “I…I don’t know, honey. We’ll see when I get back. Love you.”
“Love you, too,” came the reply.
Courtney wasn’t sure if she could ever celebrate Christmas again. She knew that Phil and little Morgan would love her to be home, but every year she had to be away by herself. This year was special, as she had won a trip to New York to see three musicals on Broadway. Phil understood that it was too much to pass up, and he graciously stayed behind to watch the baby, but that there had to come a day when she could move on.

Like the other guests at the hotel, Kelli Presley had now arrived at the Prancer Ballroom for the briefing that the hotel and the NYPD were soon to conduct. She was surprised at seeing Helen and Bobby Lee at the Donner, but what caught her eye next was even more stunning. Across the room, she saw someone who looked remarkably like Dana Mathis, her friend that had died six years ago in the Lenz massacre. Her eyes must be playing tricks, she thought. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to ask.
Kelli walked up to the stranger. “Excuse me, you look familiar.”
The stranger paused, “You have me at a disadvantage. I don’t know you.”
“Did you have a sister named Dana?”
The stranger bristled. “How did you know that?”
Oh, God, thought Kelli, something is not right here. First the Lees, and now this. “You’re Anna Mathis, aren’t you?”
“Yes, but you still didn’t answer my question. How do you know my sister?”
“I’m Kelli Presley.”
Anna Mathis took a step backward and nearly fell over. So this was the survivor. The one that Anna had resented for six long years.
“I don’t know what to say, Kelli.”
“I am so sorry about your sister. She often spoke highly of you,” Kelli lied.
“You’re not a very good liar, are you?” was the swift reply. “for six years I wondered why you survived and Dana didn’t. Why you didn’t at least come to the funeral. Why you never expressed any sympathies until now. Dana and I rarely saw eye to eye, but I loved her dearly. She’s gone, and you are still here.”
Kelli was flabbergasted. She fumbled for her words. “I’m so…so sorry. I should’ve come…just couldn’t bring myself to…you know.”
Anna realized the tone in her voice. “I shouldn’t have said those things, Kelli. I’m sorry.” Kelli thought she could still detect a little “No, I’m Not” in her tone.
“Listen. Anna,” Kelli continued. “Something strange is going on here. You and I are here, and Heather Lee’s parents are here. What are the odds of that?”
Anna looked at her quizzically, “The race car driver?”
“Yes.”
“This is an odd coincidence.” BEEP>BEEP> BEEP> went Anna’s PDD. “Would you excuse me?”

The lobby now cleared of people, Dan Noel went to his locker to retrieve the precious PDD. He opened the locker, and found the PDD lying near the back of the top shelf. He had already made $150,000 on the deal. He was about to double his earnings.
Dan quickly looked around. No one in sight. They were all at the Prancer Ballroom. Good.
He flipped it on and scrolled it open. The screen gave instructions for an IP address, which Dan dutifully entered. Odd, he thought, the PDD feels warm to the touch.
As the PDD connected, Dan watched a tiny Christmas wreath appear. The he saw the words onscreen: “You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I’m telling you why.”
“Aaahhhhhhh,” Dan felt a sharp pain in his hand as two razor sharp appendages dug in. Suddenly, a powerful jolt of electricity shot through Dan. He could barely stand. Another one followed, and another. On the fourth bolt, Dan collapsed. On the fifth charge, Dan’s heart stopped.
The PDD now read, “Santa Claus is coming to KILL!” Then the screen went blank.
A shadowy, masked figure entered the employee locker room and drug Dan to a nearby ventilation shaft. The figure opened the shaft door and dumped Dan’s lifeless corpse down the shaft. He quickly closed the shaft door and left the locker room.
Dan Noel had wanted money, and to never be heard from again. He got one of his wishes.

Kelli started looking around the ballroom for other people she recognized. No luck. Something was up here. Something terrible. She could feel it. As she walked through the room, carefully watching for someone watching her, she stumbled over a table where two young men were seated with their laptops.
“Are you okay?” the first one asked.
“um, Yes. I’m okay,” Kelli said warily. She stared down at the video screen and saw what appeared to be a hand-held camera somewhere near the hotel. “What is that you’re watching?”
“Live NYPD police cam feed. Pretty cool, huh?” said the second young man.
“isn’t that illegal?’ Kelli asked.
“Only if you get caught, “ laughed the first. “I’m sorry, I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Josh, and this is Adam.”
“Nice to meet you.” Kelli said.
“Weirdest thing,” Josh said. “it’s like I know you or something. Come to find out that Adam and I have a connection.”
“That you both like computers?” Kelli offered.
“Well, I’m not THAT good with computers,” laughed Adam. “Josh can rung rings around me.”
“No. it turns out that Adam kinda knew my aunt.”
“Really?’ questioned Kelli half-heartedly as she glanced around the room.
“Well, sorta. My aunt was a sorority housemom to Adam’s sister.”
You could have pushed over Kelli with a feather. “Your aunt’s name. Was it MacHenry?”
The two young men looked at each other. “How the **** did you know that?’ questioned Josh.
“Oh, God, something IS terribly wrong.” said Kelli. “Adam, what was your sister’s name?”
“WAS my sister’s name? What the **** is this? How did you know she was dead?’”
“Please, just tell me her name.”
“Her name was Eve. Eve Agnew. Now what is going on? Are you a psychic or something?”
It was all Kelli could do to keep her composure. “My name is Kelli Presley.” Both of them looked astonished.
“Oh My God. I can’t believe this. This is totally freaking me out,” said Adam.
Josh just sat there and said nothing.
“Guys you both know what tomorrow is. Someone has brought us to this hotel. Look over there. There’s Bobby and Helen Lee, Heather’s parents’. An there’s..” she swirled around but did not see Anna, “or was, I’ve lost her, but Anna Mathis, Dana’s sister is here, too. Something really bad is going on.”
“Ladies and gentleman, if you could take your seats, I’ll begin the briefing,” said the hotel manager, interrupting Kelli.

The briefing began with an explanation of the situation, and how it was hoped that heating and ventilation could be restored soon. The ice storm that had started outside would act to dissipate the Merratox, if that is in fact was what had been released around the Barkley Building.
Kelli only half-listened. She couldn’t begin to process what was going on. Had Billy or Agnes survived? No, that simply wasn’t possible. Then who else would want her and the relatives of those she cared about so much to come together here at the Donner. She looked around the room and had lost site of everyone she knew except for Helen and Bobby Lee. The guys must have moved, and Anna was no where to be seen.
What could possibly be going on? Whatever it was, Kelli vowed she would find out, and fast.

Two security guards were stationed outside the ballroom, when one of their PDDs went off.
Security director Clement Moore switched his PDD to talk mode. “What is it, Charlie?”
The voice on the other end was badly garbled, but it had to be Charlie. “I need…one..someone…outside..trying.”
******, thought Clement. Maybe looters, maybe survivors. “Tom, go help Charlie.”
Tom immediately headed to the lobby, which his PDD indicated the call came from. He arrived to find the lobby deserted. Ice pelted against the front windows.
Hmmm, thought Tom. Maybe Charlie called from somewhere else. The locator function on the PDDs could be affected by weather. He went to raise his PDD to his mouth to call back to Clement.
That’s when Tom felt his throat explode.
A masked figure had just plunged a sharpened carpenter’s awl into his throat, puncturing his vocal cords and leaving Tom gasping for air. The masked figure covered Tom’s mouth until Tom had breather his last. He then drug Tom away from the lobby, lifting him into a nearby opened ventilation shaft, then pushing him until Tom was sent skidding downward toward the hotel sub-basement. The killer closed the vent shaft behind him and crawled through the darkened vent system.

“As you know, we will be short-handed for the duration of the crisis. Be patient, as our staff will be working in twelve hour shifts to accommodate your needs as best they are able,” droned on the manager.
Kelli kept looking around the room. Suddenly, her eyes transfixed on something she thought she would never see again. There was a girl who looked just like Melissa Kitt. It had to be her sister Joanna. That sinks it, she thought. This is all a big setup. But why? Why?
“Thank you all for your patience and understanding,” said Mike Feliz of the NYPD as he took the stage. “I am the only NYPD member present here. While our command center does not expect anything more from this attack, we need to be safe. I just ask that everyone remain calm, and obey my commands if and when I give them.”
Kelli thought that Officer Feliz was cute, but she immediately shook the thought from her mind. She needed time to think.
Whirr. Whirr. Her cellphone was vibrating. She looked at the screen.
INCOMING TEXT MESSAGE, it read.
Kelli hoped maybe Mom or Dad was responding to her calls. Instead, what she saw made her gasp in horror. She started to cry as she read the two word message.
“FAMILY FOREVER”.
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Black Christmas: NYC

Chapter 4


Kelli peered through her tears at the text message. It was TRUE! Someone was setting up all of these people, including her, for something terrible.
She quickly craned her neck and glanced about to see if anyone was using their PDD or cellphone in the room. There were hundreds of people crammed in the ballroom, listening as Officer Mike Feliz finished his part of the briefing. There were simply too many people to be sure.
Very few people knew about the locket inscription FAMILY FOREVER. Kelli still kept the locket with her, even after the six tumultuous years since that fateful Christmas Eve.
Yet there it was on her cellphone text screen. FAMILY FOREVER. She quickly checked for a return path to the sender. No such luck, of course.
“So, please stay safe tonight. On behalf of the NYPD and all the people of New York, we are sorry that such a terrible situation exists, but for you own safety, please stay inside the hotel until the ALL Clear is given by myself or the hotel security director, Mr. Moore,” Feliz said in closing and sat down.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” started the hotel manager again. “The bar will remain open until 1 AM, and all of the usual amenities such as the fitness club will remain open, with the exception of the pool and whirlpool, as we cannot keep them heated with no ventilation. Extra blankets will be available in the lobby at the check-in stand and also at the concierge desk on every fifth floor of the hotel. Together, we will get through this. Thank you.”
As the assembly broke up, Kelli made a beeline for Joanna Kitt, who she had spied earlier in the crowd.
“Joanna, do you remember me?” she questioned.
Joanna thought for a moment, then her eyes widened with recognition. “Oh my God, Kelli! What are you doing here?” Joanna said as she went to hug her.
“We have to talk,” Kelli said quickly. “The Lees are here, Anna Mathis is here. Other relatives of the Kappas are here. Something is terribly wrong.”

Margot Hannon walked quickly to the bar just the other side of the lobby. Sleet continued to pelt down on the glass entrance of the hotel. She checked her cell. One text message, from her publicist Rico, marked urgent.
She speed dialed the number as she entered the bar, which she knew would soon be packed with people. “Scotch and soda, fast!” she barked at the barkeep as her call connected with Rico’s home line.
“Rico, what’s so **** urgent?” she said to her publicist.
“So nice to talk to you too, love,” he deadpanned, sarcasm dripping from each word. “It’s about The Today Show.”
“Yes, we need to find a way to get a camera crew down here to interview me, or to get me out of this god-forsaken pit and over to the studio.”
“Love, that’s not possible. No one’s getting into or out of that four block radius because of the Merratox. But that’s not what I called about.”
Margot was getting more perturbed by the minute. Her short fuse was nearing an end.
“So what the **** did you call me about?”
“As I said, the Today Show. Love, I don’t know how this happened, but they never had you booked for tomorrow. You were never scheduled to be on.”
“WHAT!?” Margot shouted into the cellphone. “You booked me yourself.”
“Yes dear, they called me, and every conversation I had with the associate producer led me to believe that you would be on the show, but it turns out the person who claimed to be an associate producer has never worked for The Today Show. It was all a put-on.”
“You mean,” began a now-boiling Margot. “I am trapped in this hotel because someone was pulling a joke!!!?”
“Fraid so, dear. But think about this. You can write about your experiences during the Merratox scare. You’ll make a killing on this!”
All the while, a shadowy figure was watching Margot, planning to make certain of a killing of his own.

Kelli, the Lees and Joanna Kitt tracked down Officer Feliz outside the ballroom.
“Oh yes, I remember seeing some things about the Lenz case. I was right out of the academy at the time,” said Mike Feliz. “But what could that have to do with a Merratox gas attack?”
“Officer Feliz,” began Kelli.
“Call me Mike.”
“Mike, why would all of these people related to this case be brought here at one time? This attack, if there even was one, has to be a trick of some kind to trap us all in this hotel.”
“Mr. Lee,” Mike asks, “do you believe this, too?”
“Somethin’s sure as fire up,” the recently-retired NASCAR driver noted.
“I tell you what. I’ve got a lot of people to account for, and I have to work out some kind of arrangements with the security team at the hotel as to whose going to take which shift. As soon as I have that done, can we meet in the lobby and talk some more?”
“But Mike, we need to..”
“Ms. Presley, I assure you we will talk again soon. Let me get this rest of these things taken care of, and I’ll be with you. Okay?”
“All right,” she said, perturbed. “I’ll be in the bar when you are ready.” He probably thinks we are all crazy, Kelli thought.
What a hot lady, thought Officer Feliz. Too bad she’s nuts.
Of course, he didn’t want to alarm her that one of the security team was missing and had not responded to texts or calls for quite some time. Still, he was probably dealing with something. All the security officer had was a PDD, and weather could play tricks on them. Oh well, thought Mike, can’t hurt to talk to her. We’re going to be stuck here for a while, anyway.

“Adam, Josh. Would you boys care to join us for a drink?” questioned Booby Lee.
“I’ll think I’ll pass, Mr. Lee,” said Josh, Mrs. Mac’s nephew. “I just want to go up to my room.”
“I’ll take a rain check as well,” said Adam Agnew. “I don’t drink. But thank you for the offer.”
“Suit yourselves, boys. Be careful,” Helen Lee cautioned.
Adam and Josh disappeared into the main elevators.
“It’s starting to get cold in here already,” noted Joanna Kitt, who had joined the group.
As the group entered the now-swelling-with-people bar, Kelli jumped as she heard someone come up behind her.
“Ex-term-in-ate! Ex-term-in-ate!” It was a child, wearing those Avataz glasses Kelli had seen earlier. He was so wrapped up in the game he was participating in that he was unaware that he had wandered into the bar.
Inside the bar, the drinks were flowing, but it was oddly quiet as most eyes were staring at the HD coverage of the Merratox attack.
“…and while the NYPD says it is unlikely that it will have to extend the so-called Red Zone any farther, that is small comfort for the thousands who are trapped in their hotels or residences. Lyla Wallace reporting, now back to the studio.”
Suddenly the HD went mute.
“Come on, everybody, “ the barkeep implored. “We’re all stuck her for a while. Let’s make the best of it. Let’s make it a Karaoke Christmas, whataya say?”
There seemed to be little interest from the patrons in singing Christmas Carols
“Who could be doing all this?” asked Kelli of the group. “How can this be happening?”
“Are you sure you saw Billy dead?” asked Joanna.
Kelly bristled at the thought. “He was impaled on a freakin’ Christmas tree! The coroner pronounced him dead. He was dead. Same with Agnes.”
“Then it must be somebody else, somebody we haven’t thought of,” said Helen Lee hurriedly as she nursed her gimlet.
That’s when it struck Kelli. Could it be one of the people who was “supposedly” lured here? Could they be pretending? Everyone seemed genuinely surprised when they talked with her, but still…
Then again, what if it WAS someone else….


Margot Hannon left the bar after her fourth scotch and soda and headed back to her room. She was cold, she was tired and she was ****** off.
She stopped at the concierge desk on the floor below hers for some extra blankets.
“Have a good night,” said the concierge dutifully.
Margot just leered at her and headed onto one of the two glass elevators that headed up from the lobby to various floors. They were used mostly by those wanting a view, as they did not have the turbo capacities of the newer elevators.
As she entered her room, Margot thought she heard something. She turned on the lights. Nothing. Wait, there was something. Someone had left stationery and two calligraphy pens on the desk in the spacious suite.
“Compliments of the staff at the Donner,” the card read.
“Well, they finally did something right!” Margot said. She washed her face and prepared for bed. Odd, she thought, she can still hear noises. The noise sounded like it was coming from outside her window.
Margot quietly got up and went to the curtain. If there was somebody out there this high up, they’d have to be crazy, she thought. Then again, it had been a crazy day.
With a flourish, she quickly swung open the curtains to reveal….an owl!
Crazy ******* owl, thought Margot. She climbed back into bed.

Down the hall, Karen Autrey was finishing up talking to her Dad.
“I’ll be fine,” she noted. “You take care of Mom.”
“Will do,” came her dad’s reply reply. “Will you still get to go to the interview?”
“Well, it’s scheduled for tomorrow, so probably not. I’ll call first thing and see”
“Good luck, hon. We’re both praying for you.”
“I’ll talk to you, tomorrow, Dad. I Love you.”
“Love you too.”
As she closed her eyes to sleep, Karen turned out the light and wondered what the 24th would bring.
She awoke with a start. Something was running in the suite. What was it? Sounded like water in the bathtub. Karen put on her slippers and turned on the lights. She headed to the bathroom.
Why would the water be running? She had turned it off. What else could go wrong on this crazy day?
She opened the bathroom door and hesitantly pulled back the shower curtain. Sure enough, the water was running. Had housekeeping been in during the night? Wait, there was something on the floor of the bathroom. She squinted to see what it was. It was a copy of her resume. Now how did that get there?
Karen Autrey never got an answer. She spun around to see a masked figure raise a cordless drill and plunge in into her neck. She stumbled backward, unable to cry for help. Karen could barely focus. It didn’t matter. All she would have seen is the masked figure plunge the powered drill into her skull not once, but twice.
The killer shut off the power drill. The killer methodically placed it in a trash bag, and then placed it inside a leather bag the masked one was carrying. Out of the leather bag was pulled a folded military body bag. The masked culprit placed Karen’s limp form in the bag, then placed the trash bag with the drill into the body bag as well. The masked murderer then placed a note on the nightstand by the bed. The killed opened a PDD and punched a sequence of numbers. Suddenly the doors leading out into the stairwells on this floor were locked. The killer peered out of the room door. Satisfied that no one was here, the masked murderer lofted Karen’s body bag onto the killer’s shoulder, and walked over to what appeared to be a wall. The killer touched two spots on the wall, and suddenly the wall turned sideways to reveal a narrow utility passageway. The murderer entered the hallway (with the wall closing behind him), then set down the bag. Another number was punched on the PDD, and the seldom used service elevator at the back of the dimly-lit hallway complied and arrived on cue. The killer placed the bag and himself into the elevator, and disappeared into the darkness.

The next room over from Karen Autrey’s had called the front desk complaining of a noise. The tired concierge from one flight down went to take a look. She approached the room door. Locked.
“Ms. Autrey, it’s the concierge. Are you all right?”
Hearing nothing, the concierge was about to head downstairs when something made her stop. There appeared to be a couple of drops of blood on the hallway floor just outside her door.
The concierge paused for a moment, then swiped her master code key into the door lock. It opened, and the concierge walked in.
“Ms. Autrey, you okay?”
The concierge flipped on the lights. More drops of blood near the bathroom door. The concierge knocked.
“Ms. Autrey, are you in there? Are you all right?”
Still no reply. The concierge took a chance and opened the bathroom door. She screamed in horror. Blood was all over the floor.
The concierge turned to see a colorful note on the nightstand. It read, “I’ll have a Blue Christmas without you.”

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Combined the topics to make it easier for people to follow along and to avoid the risk of any parts of it being skipped or lost in the section. :) I'll definitely be catching up on this soon since I really liked the first chapter.
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Black Christmas: NYC

Chapter 5


“Kelli, I understand your concern,” said Officer Mike Feliz as he sipped a cup of coffee at the small lounge just off the Donner Hotel’s lobby. “it would appear as though you all were brought here for different reasons. How or why would someone go to all this trouble?”
Kelli Presley sat staring straight ahead. She had barely heard Mike’s words.
“Kelli?’”
“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just that…I can’t help but think how we all could have escaped six years ago, but we didn’t and now…”
Mike carefully choose his words. “Kelli, six years ago was a traumatic experience no one should have to endure. But it was six years ago. You yourself said Billy and Agnes Lenz are dead. No one else was involved in the…situation.”
“True,” Kelli conceded. “But how do you explain all of us here? And how do you explain a Merratox attack that traps us all in this hotel on the 24th?”
“I can’t, “ said Mike. “but I assure you that myself and the rest of the security team here at the Donner will do whatever is necessary to see to it that you and everyone else is safe. We’re not going to let anything happen.”
The concierge from the 45th floor came screaming madly into the coffee lounge.
“Officer! Officer! You have to help. Somebody’s been killed!”
Both Kelli and Mike took off in a sprint toward the elevators, the concierge hot on their heels.
When they arrived at the 46th floor and opened the door, Mike drew his gun and started in slowly, leaving Kelli and the concierge out in the hallway.
He opened the door to the bathroom, and saw the pool of blood.
“Oh, God,” Mike uttered under his breath.
He returned to the hallway. “You say you were the first one here?” he asked the concierge.
“Yes” she said, visibly shaking.
“Well, that is a lot of blood. But where’s the body? The windows are electronically sealed shut. Isn’t this hallway monitored by video?”
“Who is it?” Kelli interrupted.
“Kelli, please,” Mike cautioned.
“Yes, all the hallways are monitored in the video room on the second floor. Someone is on duty 24/7.”
Then how could..”
“Who IS it?’ demanded Kelli.
Mike looked at her sternly. “Do you know whose room this is?” he asked the concierge.
“Her name was Karen Autrey.”
Kelli fell back against the wall by the room entrance. Tears welled in her eyes.
“Did you know her?’ Mike asked.
“No,” sobbed Kelli. “I knew her brother. He was killed by Billy and Agnes.”
“Come on,” Mike said to Kelli. “We’re going to find Karen, and we’re going to find this killer!”

The video board displayed nearly 240 cameras throughout the hotel. Erin Palmer was on duty.
“You can expand any of these cameras into a full screen image?” Mike Feliz asked.
“Certainly. Anytime,” said Erin. She demonstrated using the gift shop camera.
“How far back do your records go as to what each camera sees?”
“All the records for each camera are stored on a Kelvin disk. We send the disks off once a month to headquarters in London.”
“Can you pull up the cameras for floor forty-six from around midnight?” Mike asked.
“Sure,” Erin said as she reached for a Kelvin disk and inserted the large, glistening disk into the player. Kelli stood back and watched as Erin manipulated the images on screen. “You know,” Erin whispered to Mike, “when this is all over, I can show you some other videos from around here. Some very interesting videos.”
Mike smiled, but shook his head no. The cameras from the forty-sixth floor were now displaying. Erin fast forwarded through them. “That’s weird,’ she noted.
“What is?” asked Kelli.
“Well, it’s just that its like the images stopped at 11:45 Pm, then picked back up again at 12:20 AM. There’s a gap.”
“Are you saying somebody erased the tape?” asked Mike.
“Nobody erases tape anymore, silly.” said Erin. “No, it’s like a glitch. Like somebody stopped the system for 35 minutes. But that’s impossible.”
“Unless you did it,” thought Kelli.
“Try the cameras from the lobby from earlier in the evening,” Mike directed.
Erin complied. “What the ****, there’s a gap on them, too.”
“Erin, I need you find where those missing minutes are. Call my cell as soon as you have something,” Mike noted.
Kelli looked back at Erin. Was she in on all this?


Anna Mathis entered the lobby from the glass fronted elevators.. It was the wee hours of the 24th, but she couldn’t sleep. Not with all the commotion going on in that room. She had heard a woman had been murdered, but she didn’t know who.
She passed by Charlie, the security guard. He smiled at her as he walked past. He and Clem were concerned about the whereabouts of Tom. He hadn’t checked in in hours, and there was no place for him to go. Of course, he may have curled up with a bottle of booze and hid out, like he often did. Charlie never did know where Tom went when he went on one of his benders. He also didn’t know why Clem kept him on the payroll.
“Tom, come in,” he said into his PDD. No dice. It’d be just like Tom to shirk his duties when the hotel needed him most, thought Charlie as he made his rounds.
Charlie had just checked the business offices and pool area. All quiet. Now to check the gym and settle back for a long shift. With the security staff caught short-handed just before a shift change, he and Clem would have to hold down the fort until this Merrawhatever business was over with.
Charlie opened the gym door and flipped on the light switch. Nothing. “Great, maintenance is ticked as is, now they’ve got an electrical problem, too,” thought Charlie. He turned on his flashlight and entered the gym. It had the usual exercise bikes, steppers, etc. plus plenty of weights. Pretty boring as far as hotel gyms go.
Charlie swung his light around as he walked through the gym. All quiet. Charlie liked it all quiet.
From behind Charlie a gloved hand carry a 50-pound weight slammed the weight into Charlie’s skull. Over. And over. And over.
Charlie liked it all quiet. He would get his wish…forever.


Kelli and the Lees stood in the hallway talking with Mike. “Darling, why don’t you just stay in our room tonight?” Helen Lee said. “We’ve got a suite. You can have the other bedroom.”
“Go ahead, Kelli,” Mike advised. “Try to get some rest.”
Kelli followed Mike a couple of steps as he went to leave. “I’m sorry if I was a bit…over the top, you know when we found Karen.”
“Hey, it’s okay, Mike said, taking her hand. “Murders are always scary, but it’s especially bad when it’s someone you know, or sorta know. We will find whoever did this. You get some rest.”
Kelli’s eyes followed him as he went to the elevator door, then entered. “I hope your right,” she though to herself.

Courtney Hightower rolled over. She couldn’t sleep. She stared at the clock. 2:55 AM. So much for her wonderful Broadway musical trip.
She knew she should have stayed home with Phillip and the baby. It’s just that Christmas had always been so hard for her. Megan and her had always cared for each other, even when it seemed like the whole world was against them. Now it was just her, and it seemed to be all uphill.
Ping-pong. Ping-pong. It was her PDD. INCOMING TEXT MESSAGE.
Who would be sending me a message now?
“This is to confirm your seat at tonight’s performance of Sweeney Todd, as well as your backstage pass. We look forward to seeing you at the Orpheum Theatre.”
Courtney just chuckled. Fat chance she would get to see that show. And she did so enjoy Sweeney Todd, too.
Ping-Pong. Ping-Pong. INCOMING TEXT MESSAGE.
“Hey beautiful, where are you?” read the message.
Courtney smiled a broad smile. Phil hadn’t played that game in a long time. She scrolled out the keypad. ‘In Your Heart.” She typed. “Where are you?”
She waited a moment. The reply came.
“Under your bed.”
Before she could do anything, a gloved hand reached up and grabbed Courtney by the neck. The killer picked up Courtney and smashed her head against the wall. With the killer’s other hand, the masked one whipped out a barber’s straight razor, just like Sweeney Todd would use, and sliced a straight line down Courtney’s jugular. Her limp body fell to the floor below. The killer removed a note from the killer’s pocket and placed it on the nightstand. It read, “I’ll be so blue thinking about you.”
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GreatNorthern
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I just caught up to this and am really loving your style of writing! The dialogue is real, the kills are great, there's a lot of intelligence put in it, and I'm compelled to see what happens in the next chapter (zombiethumbsup) I especially love how short and quick the story is.
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