XIV.

Dali found the light switch and flicked it on so he could see where the voice was coming from.

In the corner of the room there was a man on the ground, his head enclosed in what looked like a wooden toilet.

“Whoa, what the hell?” Dali said. “Santa, is that you?” He knew it was a stupid question. The man was dressed in the traditional red and white Santa suit. Who the hell else could it be?

“Yes, yes! Who are you? Let me out! I can’t move my body!”

Even though his original assignment was to kill Santa, he sort of felt bad for him. The guy was trapped in what looked like a homemade toilet and was paralyzed from the neck down. But that would mean he wasn’t in the house by his own free will. The woman had kidnapped him just like Aleph had suspected. That changed everything.

He walked over to the man, pulled away the black silk that acted as a sort of toilet seat, and peered in.

The man who looked up at him was a far cry from the Santa Claus that Dali imagined. His white beard was covered in red and green globs. His nose was clogged with goo.

“Hold on. I’ll get you out.” But before Dali could do that, something came into the room and ate him.