Santa's Newest Reindeer (9 page)

about one hundred hours by car. That’s ninety-six hours divided

by twenty-four hours in a day, and that equals four full days.

Today is December 20, right? If we get there in four days, we

will never get back before Christmas Eve,” he argued. He was

good with numbers and logic, but Ellie couldn’t care less: she

was strong willed, a bit stubborn, and that was that!

“I’m going with you,” he demanded, as he shook his fist in

her face. Although he had the route planned as she’d told him

to do, she never asked to see it.

“Do you have money?” he quizzed.

: 65
:

De n is t rom

“Enough,” she retorted.

“Do you know how you are going to get there?” he coyly

inquired.

“Nope. That’s your job, and I know you have the map. I

saw you pull it from your pocket.” She tightened her lips and

wrinkled her nose at him.

“Let’s go before you wake the whole house,” Will huffed.

They made their way to the back door, unlocked it, sneaked

out, and closed it behind them. The coldness seized their lungs

and nipped their earlobes. The moon’s beam caught their

hunched shadows gliding over the ivory landscape as they

slinked single-file toward the garage door. Snow devils filled

their footprints, and gusty winds pushed them faster than they

could stagger. Will reached back and grabbed Ellie’s fluttering

scarf and pulled her along, ensuring that she would not lose

her way in the blinding snow fog.

Will reached the garage side door first, followed closely by

Ellie, struggling to keep up with her brother’s pace. Her scarf

tightened around her neck, causing Ellie to gasp for breath.

They panted and rested against the side door. As Will opened

it, they stumbled inward, nearly falling over each other. The biting wind followed them until they could push the door closed.

They leaned against the door, waiting for the whistling wind

to mount a second charge. The wind pushed back, whisking a

small draft under the door. Ellie and Will sighed in relief.

: 66
:

“We need to get movin’. We are losing time and soon it will be

daylight,” Will pleaded.

Will loaded the backpacks, snow shovels, and red gas cans into

the little, yellow cargo snow sled. Ellie fueled the snowmobile

while Will checked the battery, spark plug, oil level, and a small toolbox. She grunted as she lifted the survival kit off the workbench and arranged it on the cargo snow sled next to the other

items Will had previously stowed there. Together they stretched

bungee cords tightly around and over all the supplies to ensure

they would not lose anything during their long trip to Santa’s

Village at North Pole, Alaska. The cargo snow sled squatted sadly under its burden. They exchanged high-fives and looked about

to see if they had missed something. After some pushing and

shoving, the cargo snow sled was hitched to the snowmobile.

“You said it is 2,835 miles to North Pole, Alaska, from our

house in Holly Valley, Idaho. Now, can you tell me how we are

going to get there, and are you sure we can get there in time

to tell Santa Claus our problem?” Ellie quizzed.

: 67
:

De n is t rom

Will pulled the map from his pocket and placed it on the

workbench. “We will travel diagonally through Washington

and cross into Canada at Vancouver, British Columbia. Our

journey will take us northward through BC into Alaska. As you

can see, North Pole, Alaska, is just the other side of Fairbanks.”

He retraced the route for her, highlighting the itinerary with

a red pen.

“All yours,” he said gladly, giving her the map. “And, by the

way, I left a note informing Mom and Dad of our plans. I didn’t

want them to wake up, find us gone, and think we had been

kidnapped. They’ll probably worry anyway.”

“What did you tell them? Why didn’t you tell me?” Ellie

asked in an agitated manner.

“I told them we were going to find Santa at North Pole,

Alaska, to ask for his help in resolving the problem with the

city fathers and that we would be home in time for Christmas

Eve dinner, and not to worry, and for them to call us on your

cell phone in the morning. You did take her cell phone, didn’t

you? Did I leave anything out?”

Receiving no rebuttal, Will quietly hoisted the large overhead

garage door and noticed several small, child-like footprints in

the snow that led to the side window, but he shrugged it off as

snow rabbits that inhabited the neighbor’s woodpile.

Ellie steered the snow machine and cargo snow sled while

Will pushed. He feared that starting the engine so close to

the house would awaken their parents and grandparents. The

recreational toys inched closer to the garage opening as they

grunted and redoubled their efforts.

“Push, Ellie, push,” growled Will, exerting more strength

into his effort.

: 68
:

s a n ta' s n e w e s t r e i n Deer

“I’m givin’ it all I got,” exclaimed Ellie, grunting and groaning.

No matter how hard they huffed and puffed, the snow machine

and cargo snow sled wouldn’t budge.

Gasping for breath, they stood up and gave each other a

puzzled look as to what was hindering the snowmobile and its

cargo snow sled from rolling out of the garage onto the snowy

driveway. If they could just get the two machines onto the

snow, they would slide easily. Ellie and Will walked down the

opposite sides of the snowmobile and cargo snow sled, meet-

ing at the tailgate. Their eyes followed the skid marks, looking

for a rock or stick that might have gotten caught in the tracks.

They were so intent that they didn’t look up.

“Whoa! What in the world?”

Their hearts nearly tore through their ribcages, and adrena-

line shocked their bodies into contorted maneuvers experienced

by those who slip on a patch of ice and hopelessly try to recover their footing. They grabbed for anything in the air, and their

feet stretched for something firm, preferably soft.

Will crashed into the garden tools hanging on the side wall,

while Ellie’s backpedaling landed her near the front skis and

split her lip on the way down. Afraid to open her eyes, she lay

motionless as her pounding heart coursed through her body

like the world’s wildest roller coaster. Her lower lip throbbed

and was wet with blood. She pressed her hand over her lip and

felt a warm liquid oozing down her chin. She nearly gagged.

Will struggled to find his footing as chicken wire, garden

hoses, and a bicycle pinned him against the snowmobile’s

track. Blindly, he flailed about, flinging his arms and kick-

ing his feet until he was able to roll to his knees. During the

: 69
:

De n is t rom

calamity, the overhead door closed and they were hostages

in their own garage.

“Ellie?”

“Will?”

“Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho! Oh what fun!” A high-pitched sound

filled the room with loud laughter.

Nobody laughs like that! At least I
’
ve never heard anyone laugh
like that.
Ellie tried to recall where and when she had heard such a laugh, but no name came to her.

The twins didn’t move a muscle, fearing immediate discovery.

They opened their eyes, looking left then right, but didn’t see

anyone or anything.

“You surely are a sight for sore eyes,” shrieked the shrill

voice. “How do you think you will ever get to the North Pole

when you can’t even get out of your own garage? Ha, ha, ha!

Ho, ho, ho! Oh what fun!”

The twins looked upward to where they thought the squeaky

voice originated. They nodded to each other, signaling that it

was okay to stand up slowly.

“Hi! My name is Jeepers, like in Jeepers Creepers.” The

diminutive man leaped to his feet and stood atop the snow-

mobile. “I know, I know. You are Ellie, and you are Will,” he

chuckled, jumping onto the stowed cargo. He motioned Ellie

to the rear of the cargo snow sled. He put his hands on his hips

and looked at both of them.

“You are the little man who was at City Hall. You opened

the doors and later handed my dad an envelope. When I was

leaving, I saw you standing on the stage wearing the elf-like

uniform you have on now,” Ellie said in awe, inspecting him

from his tam to his booties.

: 70
:

s a n ta' s n e w e s t r e i n Deer

“Who are you, and where do you come from?” demanded

Will, gaining more courage since he was taller and bigger than

the little man.

Jeepers pushed the green tam to the back of his head, reveal-

ing a ruddy complexion, pointed nose, and small, round mouth.

It looked like his thick sideburns had been transplanted onto

his face from his head. Looking them squarely in the eyes, he

threw his hands skyward, palms up, then thrust his stubby legs

forward and landed on one of the backpacks.

“I am one of Santa’s most trusted elves. We, the most trusted

ones, become elves-in-residence. We live among you in your

communities. I am the elf-in-residence for Holly Valley. I

have lived here a long, long time—way before you were born.

Frankly, I remember your dad and mom when they were chil-

dren. Besides, how do you think Santa finds out if boys and

girls have been naughty or nice?”

“Huh?” Ellie and Will said in unison, bewildered by what

they were seeing and hearing.

“I’ll let you in on a little secret. We travel everywhere—all

around the world—making a list and checking it twice Then we

send our report to Mrs. Claus at Santa’s Village at the North

Pole. She compiles a lengthy list of those boys and girls whose

houses Santa Claus will visit on Christmas Eve. Now you are

sworn to secrecy, forever! Plus, there are more secrets I will share with you later. But, we must go.” He waved his index finger back

and forth in their faces. “Ha, ha, ha! Ho, ho, ho! Oh what fun!”

The twins were no longer afraid of the elf. What he said

made sense, for they had listened to their parents and grand-

parents read about Santa and all his little helper elves. After all,

: 71
:

De n is t rom

grandparents could be trusted, and if they said Santa and the

elves were real, who were they to question Gramps and Grams?

Ellie and Will knew, deep within their hearts, that Santa existed because they believed in Santa Claus, and they were afraid that

Santa might not visit their home if they doubted his existence.

So they were more than wil ing to accept this short person,

known as Jeepers Creepers, was a real, live elf. They needed all

the help they could get.

“Jeepers, you know what has happened to our Christmas

and New Year’s celebration in Holly Valley. Does Santa know?”

Ellie’s green eyes began tearing up as she studied the elf ’s face.

“Yes, he does, and he has directed me to take both of you to

the North Pole to see what we can do about it. We need to hurry,

as we are wasting darkness, and we do not have much time.” He

pointed to the garage door, and it magically opened without

any visible means of assistance. They pushed the snowmobile

and cargo snow sled back into the garage. Magically, the two

units seemed to float back into the garage without their help.

“Grab your backpacks! That’s all you’ll need. Come,” he com-

manded with a direct voice, and they obeyed.

The trio stepped into the starry night. As quickly as they

lifted one of their boots, the swirling snow devils filled their

footprints. The gusty winds aided and abetted their staggers. As

they neared the street, Jeepers waved his left hand in a circular motion over his head, and the overhead garage door closed. It

was a moment of blind trust for the twins. Fear told them to

turn back, but courage won the debate. They paused in their

tracks for one more glance back at their house. It looked so

warm and safe. They were leaving all they knew for the unknown.

: 72
:

s a n ta' s n e w e s t r e i n Deer

Would they ever see their dad, mom, and grandparents again?

Tears froze instantly on their cheeks.