Speculative Fiction
NOVEMBER 2017
LAST CHRISTMAS
MIKE MURPHY
Harrison was surprised to see the sheep and goats being walked through the lobby. He approached the front desk. “Excuse me?” he said.
The innkeeper, a tired-looking, white-bearded man, approached him. “I’m afraid I can’t offer you a room,” he said. “We’re full.”
“Excellent!” Harrison replied. “The other inns had vacancies. That’s how I knew they weren’t the right one.”
“You’re happy I have no available rooms?” the confused innkeeper asked.
“I am,” Harrison added. “I’m not actually looking for a room.”
“You’re not here for the census?”
“No, I’m just passing through. I was hoping you might help me locate an old friend. He would have arrived with his wife and a donkey.”
“You mean Joseph of Nazareth?” the innkeeper asked with sudden realization.
“Yes, that’s him!”
“His wife. . . uhm. . .”
“Mary.”
“That’s her name,” the innkeeper returned. “She’s very pregnant.”
“So they are here?” Harrison asked eagerly.
“Well, they’re not staying at the inn. Like I said, we have no vacancies.”
“You’re letting them stay in your barn.”
“Yes, I. . . How did you know that?”
“I’m a good judge of people,” answered Harrison. “I could tell from your face that you wouldn’t deny them some comfort, especially with her being great with child.”
“I felt bad,” the bearded man replied, “but I really have no rooms left.”
“Would it be alright if I paid them a visit?”
“Certainly. The barn is out that door and to the left. I’m not sure if the child has been born yet.”
“Oh, I hope not,” Harrison responded. He thanked the innkeeper and walked out into the night. When he was certain he was alone, he reached into a pocket of his robe, pulled out a gun, and spun the magazine. “No Christmas this year,” he muttered.
#
He opened the creaky barn door. There they were. The people he had come for: Joseph and the still-pregnant Mary. They were sitting on a pile of hay among many farm animals.
Joseph rose and approached Harrison. “Good evening, friend,” he greeted him.
“Who is it, Joseph?” Mary called.
“I’m not sure.”
“I see your wife hasn’t delivered yet,” Harrison went on. “Good.”
“What business is that of yours?”
“It’s why I’m here,” Harrison said, taking out his gun.
“What’s that?” Joseph asked.
“A gun.”
“What does it do?”
“You’ll soon see.”
A sound like many wind chimes grew around them. “Noooooo!” Harrison screamed before vanishing in a swirl of light, leaving the gun behind.
#
He knew where he would be even before he appeared. The computer banks around him flashed a dizzying array of colors while happily beeping. He was on the transport platform, which was locked. His superior, Professor Horowitz, looked furious.
“Back so soon?” Harrison asked innocently.
“It’s a good thing I did come back!” Horowitz exclaimed. “I leave you in charge of the Flashback Project for an hour so I can grab some lunch, and you try to. . . Were you really going to do it?”
“You bet I was!” Harrison answered proudly. “I would have succeeded too if you hadn’t activated the emergency return sequence.”
“You were going to change the past and rid the world of Christmas?”
“Once and for all.”
“Why?”
“We’d be better off without it.”
“That’s your opinion.” Horowitz was amazed at what his subordinate had attempted. “You took it upon yourself to make that decision for everyone on the planet?”
“It’s a worthless holiday – everyone fighting for that last parking spot at the mall, the right-sized sweater, the latest gizmo. And for what? On the 26th, they’re all back to the way they were, knocking their neighbor out of the way to grab those cut-price decorations for next year.”
“Thank God I stopped you!”
“Imagine it, Professor: Without the 25th demanding so much attention, we could devote all that money and effort toward feeding the poor, stopping poverty, and saving the planet from ourselves. All we need is the time, and ridding the world of the Christmas season, while hopefully retaining that same passion to get things done, would give us that time!”
“Noble motives,” Horowitz conceded, “but I won’t allow you to use my time machine to deprive millions of people of a holiday they cherish.” He shook his head in disbelief. “I’ve never celebrated Christmas myself, but I know there’s good in it. It’s worthwhile, and it makes people happy!” He picked up the phone receiver from his nearby desk and dialed an extension. “Security to the lab,” he said.
#
Mary was dumbfounded. “Where did he go?”
“I don’t know,” her husband answered. “He just. . . disappeared.”
“Was it a miracle?”
“It may have been.” Joseph took a few steps forward and bent to retrieve the gun. “What is this he brought with him?” he asked, turning it over in his hands.
“He called it a. . . a gun,” his wife remembered. “What does it do?”
“I don’t have the –” Joseph accidentally fired the weapon. Mary screamed. He dropped it to the ground.
They heard someone running towards the barn. It was Horowitz. He was still in his suit, having rushed to get here in time. “Are you both alright?” he asked urgently.
“I am,” Joseph replied. “Mary?”
“Just frightened,” she answered. “That thing shot fire!”
“May I take it with me?” Horowitz asked. “I’ll see that it never troubles you again.”
“Please do!” Joseph exclaimed.
Horowitz picked up the still-warm gun. “I’ll be leaving now.”
“But we don’t know who you are,” Joseph complained.
“I’m. . . a friend,” Horowitz replied. “Merry Christmas.” Joseph and Mary watched in disbelief as he, after pressing a button on his watch, disappeared.
“Two miracles in one night!” Mary exclaimed.
“Merry what?” Joseph asked.
Mary winced and grabbed at her belly. “Joseph,” she said urgently, “it’s time!”
Mike Murphy has had over 150 audio plays produced in the U.S. and overseas, many for Audible. He's won five Moondance International Film Festival awards in their TV pilot, audio play, short screenplay, and short story categories. His prose work has appeared in several magazines and anthologies. In 2015, his script “The Candy Man” was produced as a short film under the title Dark Chocolate. In 2013, he won the inaugural Marion Thauer Brown Audio Drama Scriptwriting Competition.
Chila: Where did you come up with the idea of "The Last Christmas"? (It's a simple enough tale but with a chilling revelation - what if there *was* no Christmas.)
Mike: The story came from watching too many Christmas specials on TV. Many of the main characters - like the Grinch - want to keep Christmas from coming but fail. I wondered how someone could succeed at that goal and reasoned they would have to go back to the first Christmas. By drastic measures, they could accomplish it there and then.
Chila: Talk about your one or two of your current projects.
Mike: Lots of things going on: Audio scripts, prose tales, a children's book (maybe two), short film scripts, and more. I jump around a lot. I don't want to get stereotyped as someone who writes only X.
Chila: What defining piece of literature do you want to eventually tackle?
Mike: I started a screenplay entitled "Die Laughing" some time ago. Haven't been able to get back to it in some time. Maybe in 2018?
Chila: Where did you come up with the idea of "The Last Christmas"? (It's a simple enough tale but with a chilling revelation - what if there *was* no Christmas.)
Mike: The story came from watching too many Christmas specials on TV. Many of the main characters - like the Grinch - want to keep Christmas from coming but fail. I wondered how someone could succeed at that goal and reasoned they would have to go back to the first Christmas. By drastic measures, they could accomplish it there and then.
Chila: Talk about your one or two of your current projects.
Mike: Lots of things going on: Audio scripts, prose tales, a children's book (maybe two), short film scripts, and more. I jump around a lot. I don't want to get stereotyped as someone who writes only X.
Chila: What defining piece of literature do you want to eventually tackle?
Mike: I started a screenplay entitled "Die Laughing" some time ago. Haven't been able to get back to it in some time. Maybe in 2018?