[Christmas Bonus!] Reindeer Games by Rhonda Eudaly
I originally published this 200 word short story with Apex Digest. It’s no longer available there. So, Merry Christmas. It’s kinda dark. Kinda quirky. You can read it below or download it in a .ZIP file (which contains both PDF and EPUB) by clinking Reindeer Games.
Feel free to do both. If you wish to share the file with friends, please share the LINK not the actual file. It’ll make my Christmas merrier that way.
For those wanting instant gratification…I give you…
Reindeer Games by Rhonda Eudaly
Everyone’s heard of the nine major reindeer. They’re the stuff of song and legend, especially the red-nosed one. But here’s the story you haven’t heard… Rudolph wasn’t the altruistic savior everyone made him out to be. I know the truth. He was a tool.
You see, it all started in R&D – because let’s face it, the Elves, not just in it for the toys and cookies. Genetic engineering is huge at the North Pole – no Oversight Committees. Besides, come on, flying reindeer? Those aren’t natural. And Rudolph wasn’t an “accident of birth”, either. The Meteorology Department knew that foggy night was coming, and they were preparing for years. Not all the experiments were successful. Some of those reindeer went… wrong. That’s the Christmas story you don’t hear.
What did happen to all those “mistakes”? Well, the Reindeer Games? Well, too many don’t come back from them. And some of us? Well, Santa has to have something for the Naughty Kids to have nightmares about and nothing and no one is wasted at the North Pole.
So, be good for goodness sake. Sometimes those jingling hooves on your roof on Christmas Eve aren’t bringing Christmas Joy.