Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Suddenly, Justin found himself the focus of not one, but eight reindeer’s attention.

“We are here to discuss the training of the newest addition to Santa’s sleigh pulling team.” Dasher said, motioning toward him. “Justin, step before the council.”

Justin hesitated, and Lucas put an encouraging hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, everyone’s on your side here. Just answer their questions and we’ll be done in flash!”

Taking a deep breath, Justin stepped forward.

“Justin,” said Dancer. Justin was surprised to see that she and Vixen had antlers just like the bucks. “Speak truly: did you apply for the position of air courier, knowing full well the requirements and responsibilities that would be placed upon you?”

“No!” he answered. Well, yes, but…I didn’t know that meant being turned into a monster!”

“Were you forced, threatened, or otherwise coerced into making this decision?”

“What? No! I just—”

“Who vouches for this buck?” asked Prancer, talking right over him. “Is he strong of heart, brave, and selfless?”

“I…” Justin stared at him in bewilderment. “I have no idea how to answer that.”

“It was Santa’s decision to reveal the Opportunity to him,” Dasher interjected, “and his Knowing is beyond all of us. I put my faith in Santa.”

“Agreed,” chorused the other seven members.

“Tell us of yourself, Justin,” Vixen said, leaning toward him in her seat. “Who were you before you became one of us?”

The finality of her words were like a slap to Justin’s face. It was like she was slamming the door on his old life closed, even while he was trying to squeeze back through it.

“I, um…what do you want to know?” He shrugged, their intense stares making him want to scratch his fur. “I’m twenty years old. I’m an only child. I haven’t talked to my parents since I turned eighteen. I…I don’t like to talk about that.”

Apparently that was enough, because Comet spoke next, “Do you have any experience flying?”

“Heck no!” Justin exclaimed. “I’m terrified of heights!”

That was the first thing he’d said that actually seemed to catch the council’s attention. They all sat a little straighter, their ears perking up with interest.

“Why would someone who’s afraid of heights ever apply to be an air courier?” Blitzen demanded.

“You do know what those words mean, don’t you?” asked Donner.

Justin nodded. The council began to mutter amongst themselves.

Did I just say the wrong thing? Justin thought, sweat running down his forehead, leaving dark trails in his brown fur.

Or maybe it was the right thing to say. He didn’t want to stay here, but it looked like he was the only one who felt that way. The others assumed he was thrilled to be given this special, stupid Opportunity, and were clearly going to try to find whatever reason they could to keep him here.

But if I give them the wrong answers, he thought, the hope inside him slowly rekindling, they’ll send me home and turn me into a human again!

Cupid held up a hand. “Wait! My friends, let us hear him out! Justin, if you are afraid of heights, why did you apply for a job that would require you to be up in the air so often?”

Justin shrugged again. “I was desperate. If I didn’t find a new job by the end of the week, I was going to be thrown out of my apartment. The pay was good, and it said free food and housing. I figured with those kinds of incentives, maybe I could try to overcome my fear.”

To his dismay, the council actually nodded when he said this. He had assumed that if he’d made it sound like he was only interested in money and free food, they might be disappointed in his lack of Christmas charity spirit or whatever. But apparently, all they cared about was that he was willing to try to overcome his fear of heights.

“He has a natural talent,” Dasher said. A small smile rose to his lips. “I found Lucas and Lena out in the corridor, trying desperately to get him down from the ceiling. He has been a reindeer for less than two hours, and yet he has already achieved full levitation—and by sheer instinct, no less!”

“Fascinating,” said Vixen with newfound interest. “It takes most of our recruits at least a week before they can hover even an inch above the ground.”

No, no, no, stop it! Justin thought, his heart racing. What do I have to say to make you idiots hate me?

“This sounds promising,” agreed Donner. “I formally request that Justin be—”

“Not so fast, brother,” Blitzen interrupted him, smirking. “Even after hundreds of years to learn them, you still can’t be trusted to remember the rules.”

Donner sat back in his chair, muttering to himself.

Dancer nodded. “Indeed. Though we trust Santa’s wisdom, we must still be vigilant. There are no lengths the enemy wouldn’t go to if it meant sneaking a spy into our ranks.”

Justin’s ears perked up. “Enemy? What enemy?”

Suddenly, it seemed like the entire Elder Stable had fallen silent. The council shared wary glances with each other.

“There will be time for that later, young buck,” Comet finally said. “For now, let’s focus on happier thoughts.”

“Indeed,” Vixen agreed. “I think we all see a bright and promising future for Justin. He is sure to be a wonderful asset to our team.”

“Then it is decided.” Dasher raised one hand toward Justin. “And all that remains is to swear the oath.”

CRAP, CRAP, CRAP, CRAP, CRAP, CRAAAAAP!

“Justin, do you swear to me, before the whole of the Council of Eight, that you love Christmas with all your heart, and that you will strive to spread that love to willing hearts all across the world?”

Justin opened his mouth to agree. What else could he do? It was almost like he could feel fate itself pulling the words out of his mouth.

Unless…

“I can’t,” he finally said.

Again, the council sat rigid in their chairs with shock.

“What do you mean,” Dancer asked slowly, “that you can’t?”

This was it. Justin could feel it. The next words out of his mouth would be the ones to either send him home, or trap him here in this weird, furry hell forever.

“I can’t make that oath,” Justin answered just as slowly, picking his words as carefully as possibly, “because I…”

The council waited, staring at him.

“...hate Christmas.”

A resounding gasp rang out from one end of the council to the other. All eight reindeer stared at Justin in disbelief, their mouths hanging open, looking for all the world like deer who had been paralyzed by the high beams of an oncoming truck.

Yes! he thought. Now to finish the job!

“I’m only in this mess because of Christmas,” he went on. “I lost my job on Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year. Less than a day after everyone celebrates the things they’re thankful for, they turn into monsters fueled by greed! They nearly killed me, and they ended up costing me my only source of income!”

Lucas put his hand on Justin’s arm. “Justin, what are you doing?”

Justin slapped his hand away. He was close. Too close to stop now! This was his ticket home, and he wasn’t going to spend a moment longer here than he had to!

“And why do they do that?” he yelled, glaring accusingly at each member of the council in turn. “Because of Christmas! Everyone sings about tidings of comfort and joy, and they talk about how the best present is getting to spend time with your family, but that’s all bull! All anyone cares about these days are presents, presents, presents! And don’t tell me I’m wrong! I mean, what is it you all do here again? Do you feed the hungry? Build shelters for the homeless? No! You give toys to kids who already have parents buying them whatever they want! You’re just adding to the problem, making it wor—”

“ENOUGH!”

Dasher’s warm and friendly voice had disappeared, replaced with the deep, ominous tone he had spoken about Santa’s Knowing with. He was standing, his walking stick raised as if he were about to attack Justin with it. Slowly, he sat back down, looking a thousand years older than he had a minute ago.

Yeah, that ought to do it, Justin thought with satisfaction.

“The light in him has died,” Blitzen whispered in shock.

“Lightless one!” Vixen agreed.

“But that’s impossible,” argued Comet. “Santa would never give the Opportunity to someone whose light had gone out!”

“Did you hear what he just said?” Dancer demanded. “Nobody with even a spark of light in their heart could ever say such horrible things!”

“Then what do we do?” asked Donner.

Dancer hesitated, then looked to Dasher. “Yes. What do we do?”

Dasher didn’t answer. He had his eyes closed and his hands folded on top of his walking stick, as if praying to someone.

“You could send me home,” Justin suggested.

Seven pairs of eyes snapped to look at him, and he took a step back in shock. Their warm and welcoming demeanor had vanished. Now they looked at him as if he were…

The enemy.

“Young buck,” Donner said through clenched teeth, “I don’t think you understand the situation you’re in.”

“If I can’t swear the oath,” Justin argued, “then you can’t put me on the team. That means you have to turn me back and—”

“THERE IS NO GOING HOME!” Blitzen shouted at the top of his lungs.

Justin stepped back, shocked down to his very core. His head spun, those words echoing again and again in his mind.

There was…

No…

Going home?

“Accepting the Opportunity doesn’t just bring you to Val Luminara and turn you into a reindeer,” Dancer said, her voice strained. “It erases all trace of you from the human world! Even if we could turn you back and send you home, you would find yourself in a world that didn’t know your name. Your own parents wouldn’t even remember that you had ever been born.”

Horror washed over Justin, and his knees began to shake. No going home? Nobody remembered him? He collapsed on his hands and knees, tears running down his cheeks. No, it couldn’t be. They were lying, or this was all a nightmare, or…or…

My life is over, and I can never get it back, he thought. Memories of his family, who he hadn’t spoken to in two years, flashed through his mind. Memories of his friends. Of working for Willy-Mart. Even his smelly, claustrophobic apartment seemed like the proverbial paradise that he hadn’t known he’d had until he lost it.

He froze.

And I just hacked off the people who were trying to help me make a new home here, he realized, the full depth of his screwup finally dawning on him. In desperation, he turned to look at Lucas, hoping to find at least a little bit of support, but the other deer was looking at him with just as much betrayal as the council.

“Dasher, please,” Comet begged him. “You’re our leader. You always know what to do.”

“This could be exactly what we’ve always feared,” added Vixen. “The enemy could be using this buck as a spy.”

“Or an assassin!” Blitzen interjected.

“Lead us, Dasher! Tell us what to do!”

Finally, Dasher opened his eyes and looked at Justin, who lay on his hands and knees before the council, fighting not to cry like a newborn baby.

“We must train him,” he said softly, “and make him part of the team.”

The other seven members looked at Dasher, horrified.

“Wha…But…” Donner stammered. “But he’s…”

“We trust in Santa!” Dasher declared, his voice firmer now. “Just as we always have! His Knowing is beyond our comprehension. It was he who gave Justin the Opportunity. There must have been a reason for it!”

“But the enemy…” said Vixen.

“No,” Dancer butted in, “he’s right. There have always been times when we didn’t understand what Santa meant for us to do, but we did it anyway. Has that ever steered us wrong?”

“If we don’t trust Santa in this,” Dasher whispered, “then we will never truly trust him again.”

The council fell silent. Justin stared at them, not sure what to think.

“Donner,” Dasher spoke up again, “you expressed interest in Justin being on your—”

“No!” Donner spat vehemently. “If we must train the buck, then so be it. But I will not have him poisoning the ears and hearts of my fliers!”

The others nodded.

“Then whose unit will he be in?” Dasher asked. “He can not be trained without a mentor, and he can not learn teamwork without teammates.”

“Let him be in your unit, Dasher,” Comet said. “If you’re so insistent that he be trained, then it’s only fair that you be the one to do it.”

Dasher looked at Justin for a long, tense moment, and then bowed his head.

“I can not,” he said sorrowfully.

Again, there was silence. This time it stretched for several minutes. That was the worst part for Justin, because it meant there was nothing to distract him from his own thoughts. What would happen if nobody agreed to train him? He didn’t want to be trained—he still didn’t even want to be here—but it was looking more and more like that was the only option he had. If that didn’t happen, then what? He didn’t exist in his world anymore. If they decided he shouldn’t exist in theirs either, then where did that leave him? Would they execute him? Or would he just…fade into nothingness?

“I will do it.”

Justin jerked his head up to see who had spoken. Vixen was still in her chair, but the rigid way she sat and the clawlike way she clutched the armrests made it clear that she was having to force every word out of her mouth when she would much rather remain silent.

“I will train the buck,” she said again. “He will be in my unit, but…”

She leaned forward, her eyes glinting.

“...if I so much as think that my fliers’ lights are wavering, then I won’t hesitate to do what’s necessary to protect them.”

Justin let out the breath he had been holding. It was done. The decision had been made, but he didn’t feel the least bit comforted by it.

“So be it,” Dasher agreed wearily. “And who will be this buck’s Rider?”

Everyone’s eyes turned to someone behind Justin, and he craned his neck around to see Lena standing there, looking completely lost.

“I- I was going to ask…” she said, eyes wide with uncertainty. “After last time, I- I wanted another chance, but…a lightless one?”

“You do not have to accept,” Dasher consoled her. “However, we can not guarantee that you will be selected again if you—”

“I’ll do it!” Lena said, squaring her shoulders and clenching her fists. “I don’t like it, but I’ll do it!”

“Very well, then.” Dasher turned back to Justin. “Lightless one, your training will begin tomorrow. Christmas is only a little more than a month away, so you will have to learn quickly. Listen to Vixen, obey her every command, and you may yet find that your life here will be a pleasant one.”

He turned to look at the other councilmembers.

“I choose to trust in Santa’s Knowing, as I hope will all of you. I choose to believe that this will benefit us. Perhaps, if we nurture him properly, the buck’s light might even be rekindled. Let this meeting of the Council of Eight be adjourned.”

He pounded his walking stick on the floor again, and the councilmembers rose to go their separate ways, several of them taking to the air. Vixen stalked over to where Justin knelt, her hooves making an ominous clack against the wood with every step.

“Do not make me regret my decision today, lightless one,” she said coldly. “Lucas, show him to the Aviary and get him bedded down for the night.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Lucas said, his voice hoarse. Without another word, Vixen rose into the air and flew away.

Justin finally managed to stand up, feeling strangely numb after everything that had happened. So, this was his life now, whether he liked it or not. Given the options between sitting around and moping, or looking his new future in the eye and moving forward…

Well, he still wanted to mope. He just didn’t want to do it here.

“I- I’m sorry,” he said, walking over to where Lucas and Lena waited. “I didn’t mean to—”

“Don’t talk to me!” Lena snapped, the betrayal burning in her eyes. Before Justin could respond, she walked to the edge of the platform and jumped off. Justin gasped—they were several hundred feet in the air—but she grabbed one of the nearby support beams and slid down it.

“Lucas?” he asked, turning to the other buck. “Do…Do you hate me too?”

“Hate you? Nah! You just need a little time to warm up to things around here.” Lucas gave him a grin, but Justin could see straight through it. Lucas was just as disgusted by him as the council. If Vixen hadn’t specifically ordered him to take Justin to the Aviary, he wouldn’t even still be here. “Anyway, come on. Let’s find you somewhere to get some sleep.”

He put his hand on Justin’s back, and they rose up off the ground again. This time, Justin clenched his eyes shut, but couldn’t stop a high pitched whine from escaping his lips as they rushed upwards and through a skylight, out into the cool night air.

The first day of my new life, Justin thought miserably as the wind whipped through his fur, and I’ve already screwed up everything I possibly could.