Zach's Quest: A Tale for Christmas (Chapter Book)

“Matt’s book channels the heart and warmth seen in the Rankin/Bass Productions’ Christmas specials and films. In our ever-changing world, Christmas stories like these are welcomed by parents and children everywhere!”

—Rick Goldschmidt, Official Rankin/Bass Productions Historian/Biographer “This imaginative novel will appeal to young readers who enjoy adventure, fantastic surroundings, and mysterious beings, with a joyous Christmas message to boot!”

—The Children’s Book Review Matt Dragovits’ love of storytelling, combined with his love of the Christmas Season has resulted in the creation of this book, A Tale for Christmas: Zach’s Quest (Chapter Book).

The story is also available as a Gold Mom’s Choice Award Winning picture book, It is his hope this tale helps promote the magic of Christmas while also reminding children of the true reason we celebrate the holiday…the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Matt is a nationally recognized video producer and author. When he is not busy running his video production company, he is writing, drawing, modeling in 3D, and finding other fun ways to breathe life into his characters. Matt lives in Chicago with his wife and three beautiful children. Learn more at www.zachsquest.com.

A Tale for Christmas: Zach’s Quest

One Christmas Zach accidentally breaks the Divine Reactor... the main device that powers Santa’s workshop! It’s 48 hours till Christmas, so Santa sends Zach on a perilous mission to the peak of Mount Frostbite to recover a rare gemstone needed for the Divine Reactor. He braves the harsh arctic environment filled with wild animals, severe weather, and evil goblins. In the end, Zach is forced to make an ultimate decision that will remind even Santa of the true meaning of Christmas.

A Tale for Christmas Zach’s Quest

by Matt Dragovits illustrated by J.J. Varabkanich copyright ©2022 Matt Dragovits All rights reserved. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents, except where noted otherwise, are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any other resemblance to actual people, places or events is entirely coincidental.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any other form or for any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage system, without written permission from Headline Books.

To order additional copies of this book, or for book publishing information, or to contact the author: Headline Kids P. O. Box 52 Terra Alta, WV 26764 Email: mybook@headlinebooks.com www.headlinebooks.com Lucas Kelly—Design/Layout Published by Headline Books Headline Kids is an imprint of Headline Books ISBN-13: 9781951556686

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021945314

PR I N T E D I N T H E U N I T E D STAT E S OF A M E R IC A

This book is dedicated to my three beautiful children...

Angelina, Elizabeth, and Luke May the spirit of Christmas live in your heart always.

C

1

hristmas Eve… the most magical night of the year… it is only two days away and every room in Santa’s workshop is bustling with activity. The elves are joyfully singing as they work their nimble little fingers to build cars, dolls, and other wondrous toys. The rooms are packed wall to wall and floor to ceiling. There is so much activity in the workshop it can only be described as organized chaos.

While all of the other elves work in harmony, one elf seems out of place. This elf is a little shorter than the other elves and his clothes are a bit too big for his wiry frame. His wavy brown hair peeks out through the rim of his green elf cap. He doesn’t seem to mind his clothes are too big. He is too busy staring in wide-eyed wonder at the energy and activity all around him.

His dark brown eyes peer across the floor and he cracks a smile.

Something has caught his attention. On the far side of the room, he sees a mountain of jack-in-the-boxes prepared for wrapping.

Jack-in-the-boxes have always been one of his absolute favorite toys to make. He quickly makes his way across the floor and notices the handle on one of the boxes is not lined up perfectly.

He begins to turn the handle to match all of the others, but as he does, the puppet pops out and startles him. The little elf stumbles and falls right into the mountain of toys. The jack-in-the-boxes crash to the ground and start springing to life in every direction.

To make matters worse, they flip and bounce into other toy piles knocking them over too. Elves scramble across the floor to 5

try and stop the chain event of destruction, but it is too late. In no time at all, the entire work area is a huge mess.

One of the older elves, who is the boss, comes racing out of his office. His eyes dart around the room as he tries to find the source of the destruction. He glances at his clipboard and does a quick headcount. Only one elf is missing. The elf foreman takes off his glasses and rubs the bridge of his nose while sighing. His lips part and he whispers a single name in frustration.

“Zach…”

The little elf races down a series of hallways while repeatedly looking over his shoulder. He can hear angry voices and they are getting closer. He quickly turns the corner and opens the nearest door. He ducks into the dark room and tries not to make a sound.

Zach places his ear to the door and listens intently for the other elves to pass by. Within a few seconds, he can hear voices coming down the hall toward him.

“I think he went this way,” one voice grumbles. “Boy, he’s gonna get it this time.”

6

“Yeah, now we’re behind schedule,” says the other elf. “Santa’s not going to be happy.”

Zach breathes a sigh of relief as the voices pass him by. For now, he hadn’t been caught.

“Darn it,” the misfit elf mumbles to himself. He hadn’t meant to cause the trouble he had, but somehow that never seemed to matter. One way or another, despite his best intentions, he always seemed to mess things up.

Zach waits a few more seconds to make sure the two elves have moved on. Before he exits, he takes a moment to look around the room he had entered. It is dark, but his keen elf vision allows him to recognize he is in one of the largest rooms in the entire workshop. All of the toys in this area have been completed and are ready for wrapping. A complex series of conveyor belts run in every direction. They zigzag from one area of the room to the other so toys can be loaded in the most efficient manner possible. There are multiple small openings in the walls where the conveyor belts lead out of the room so the presents can be loaded onto Santa’s sleigh. Normally, several elves are busy working at this time of day, but they must have been called away to help clean up the jack-in-the-box mess.

As Zach prepares to leave, he notices a brightly colored ball in the distance. He scans the room and sees a wooden rack with an empty spot on one of the higher shelves. Zach hesitates momentarily, then walks over and picks up the ball. He carries it to the shelf and tries to put it back. Unfortunately, he is just too short. Zach looks for a ladder and sees one, but it is very big, and on the far side of the room. Zach frowns. It is probably too big for him to move on his own. Oh, well, he thinks to himself. He focuses his eyes toward the empty spot on the shelf, takes a good grip on the ball, and assumes a basketball player’s stance.

“One… Two… Three….” Zach counts and tosses the ball. It flies through the air and hits the perfect spot on the shelf, but it bounces right back off the shelf since the ball is made of rubber.

7

“Darn it!” Zach grumbles. He quickly grabs the ball and tries again… and misses again. Then he tries one more time… and misses yet again. Zach stares down the length of the room and reconsiders getting the ladder. “One more try,” he says to himself. He takes the best stance he can and lobs the ball with a light touch. It lands perfectly on the shelf. “Yeah!” Zach shouts.

But even as he cheers, the ball continues to roll forward and falls back off the shelf. “Darnit,” Zach growls. He angrily picks up the ball and throws it extra hard at the empty spot on the shelf. This time he completely misses his mark and the ball goes flying into the support bracket for the shelf. The wooden plank shifts forward and the entire row of balls come bouncing to the ground. As they hit the floor, they bounce back up and hit other rows of balls, and pretty soon, there are hundreds of brightly colored balls bouncing around the room. Then one of the balls hits the speed control panel for the conveyors. The belts whir and hum to life as a loud alarm starts to cry out. Bright red and green lights start spinning to alert worker elves to come quickly. Zach pushes his way through the bouncing balls just as a security elf comes running in the door.

8

“Who’s in here?” he shouts. “Show yourself.” He commands as he rushes forward to search the area.

Zach darts between balls and quickly dives onto one of the conveyor belts just as the security elf turns on the lights. Zach lays low on the belt, doing his best to stay hidden. He rides the conveyor system through one of the exit portholes on the far wall, leaving yet another huge mess in his wake.

Angie has just finished tying a perfect ribbon on her 375th doll of the afternoon. She is working at a good pace today. If she keeps up at this rate for the next two days, she will make Santa’s Excellent Elves award for the 12th year in a row. It is an honor many elves aspire to, and quite honestly, most of them achieve.

That is one of the great things about being an elf. Just about all of them work hard and are proud of their accomplishments. Most of the workers in her department would also get the Excellent Elf award, but that didn’t make it any less special. Having Santa appreciate your work was the highest honor any elf could aspire to.

On the far side of the room, where they usually placed finished toys on a conveyor to be sent to shipping, a small elf comes scurrying forward. He runs against the flow of the conveyor belt and he looks quite winded from the effort. Two nearby elves give him a funny look, but go straight back to their work. Zach jumps down off the conveyor, picks up a partially assembled toy from a nearby worktable, and starts to make his way across the room. He whistles a cheery Christmas tune while walking with an innocent stride. Within seconds, he blends back into the busy crowd of hard-working elves. As he weaves in and out of the various workstations, his eyes scan the floor until he finds the person he is looking for.

“Angie,” he calls out while waving happily.

9

Angie looks up and gives a half-hearted smile as she sees Zach coming toward her. Sure, he is smiling brightly, but Angie has known him long enough to realize that if he is here during work time, he is probably hiding from something… or someone.

Still, she can’t help but glance in a nearby mirror to straighten her hair and make sure she looks pretty.

“Hi, Angie!”

“Hello, Zach,” Angie whispers as she glances nervously around the room. “Uhm, shouldn’t you be working? The clock’s ticking, you know.”

Angie points to a large etch-a-sketch clock mounted on the wall. The time shows a countdown to Santa’s Christmas ride.

“I know. I know.” Zach laughs while brushing off her concern.

“I just thought I’d see if you could use a hand. What are you working on?”

“The same thing I’m always working on. I’m making perfect dollies for girls who know how to behave. I’m just about ready to start wrapping the ones I’ve finished. Aren’t you going to be missed in toy making? I heard you guys had a huge order of jackin-the-boxes to fill today.”

“No. I think I’ve helped enough for one day,” Zach answers before leaning over and looking at the wrapping station control panel. He runs his finger across the various dials and buttons to determine just how the machine is used. “Why don’t you come with me for a quick cocoa break?” he asks.

“Sorry, Zach. I just don’t have the time,” Angie replies as she glances over her shoulder once again. She didn’t want to have her supervisor catch her socializing at her post when she still has a lot of work to do.

“Sure you have the time,” Zach replies while waving his hand casually. “We just need to speed this up a little so you can finish your work. I mean, look at this… you only have it set to speed 6.

With both of us here, we should easily be able to handle it at 10.

That way, you’ll be done in no time.”

Before Angie can stop him, Zach cranks the machine up to full throttle. A mechanical arm snaps to life and starts to pick up dolls one by one from the stack of Angie’s completed pile. It 10

moves with precision and swings the dolls over to the packaging area, where two additional arms work to box and wrap them. At first, the arms work in perfect unison, and it looks like the dolls will get wrapped in no time. Zach smiles triumphantly.

“See, I told you.” He laughs. “We elves know how to build our machines.” But as Zach goes to take a bow for his success, the arm collecting the dolls gets tangled with the arm that is tying the ribbon for the boxes. The ribbon binds the two arms together and they start pushing back and forth against one another to try and break free. The force of the two mechanical arms wrestling against each other causes the entire machine to start sputtering and kicking. Angie steps back out of harm’s way. She looks over at the emergency stop button, but she can’t safely reach it. Zach grabs a pair of scissors from Angie’s desk workstation and jumps up onto the ledge. He dives toward the robotic arms and latches his body around them. He rides the arms like a mechanical bull as they continue to kick and jerk. Zach uses all his strength to hold on while frantically cutting away at the ribbon. It is no easy task.

By this time, a small crowd has started to form and they watch as Zach does his best to untangle the massive knots that are tying the two arms together. The machine continues to feed more ribbon and wrapping paper into the air making the situation worse by the moment. Angie is frozen in place. She can’t believe what is going on at her pristine work area. “Zach,” She cries. “You’ve got to stop it!”

“Can’t you see I’m trying?” he shouts, while using all of his strength to break the one arm free. With a loud screech of metal on metal, Zach manages to separate the two arms. They continue to whip around the air wildly, but at least they are free of each other. Zach jumps back to the ground and falls to his knees, exhausted from the effort. But as he tries to catch his breath, one of the arms swings back toward him and grabs him by the ankle.

“Turn the machine off!” He shouts as the arm whips him wildly back and forth. Angie lunges for the emergency stop button, but before she can press it, the arm swings back one final time and hurls Zach into the air. The little elf flies across the room until 11

he comes to an abrupt stop by crashing into the far wall. He falls over ten feet and lands on a moving conveyor belt. The impact stuns him for a moment. He shakes his head and blinks rapidly to try and regain his bearings. Once he clears his head, he peers over the side of the conveyor belt and locates Angie on the work floor below. She has managed to turn off the machine, but smoke is still billowing out from the engine area. Zach starts to run back in her direction to try and help, but the conveyor moves too quickly. It is taking him further and further away from his friend.

The last thing he sees before getting pulled out of the room is Angie staring up at him angrily as a female manager elf comes storming her way.

Outside of Santa’s workshop, the atmosphere is in total contrast to the chaos going on indoors. The winter landscape is peaceful and serene. The sky is clear and bright. Only a handful of soft fluffy clouds are drifting lazily by. On the ground, a small pack of puffins can be seen waddling across the ice. One by one, they dive into a chilly river. In the distance, a polar bear walks across the frozen plane. His attention is drawn to an arctic hare that scurries down a path and dashes across the snow toward the nearby reindeer stables. The arctic hare scavenges amid the piles of straw for any leftover corn to nibble on. Suddenly, the bunny stands on its hind legs and perks up its ears. It looks toward Santa’s castle just as a stained-glass window creaks open and a small elf comes crawling out. Zach quietly shuts the window and slides down the snowdrift before heading toward the reindeer stables.

“Darn it,” he grumbles to himself as he kicks at the snow. The little elf looks frustrated and a little bit scared too. He pauses a moment as he considers where to go and what to do. Everywhere he goes, he seems to cause trouble. At least out here, there is nothing to break, no machines that can malfunction. There are no mountains of toys to topple over. There are no friends to make angry. Zach sighs as he walks toward the stable entrance. He has always loved the reindeer. They are some of his best friends in 12

the world. They don’t ask much of him and he expects little in return. Often an extra handful of corn was all it took to make them happy.

It is a little past noon and the stable elves will be getting ready to head out to lunch. Zach can see a trio of them at the far end of the stable sweeping and cleaning up the pens.

Zach makes sure to keep his distance. He prefers not to talk with anybody right now. He swings open the gate and glances up at a large sign that reads, “DO NOT FEED THE REINDEER.” No worry, Zach thinks. He doesn’t have any food on him anyway.

But, a little petting can’t hurt anything. The reindeer always liked to be brushed.

And so, Zach reaches over and takes one of the grooming brushes off its hook. As he fits the brush strap over his hand, he can hear Prancer grunting for attention. Zach smiles and quickly approaches the reindeer, eager for at least someone to welcome him. As he gets closer, he sees Prancer is grunting while stretching her neck over the stall. The reindeer is trying to get at a half-eaten ear of corn that has rolled outside of her reach. Zach picks up the piece of corn.

“Don’t worry, girl,” he tells her, “I’m here.” And with that, Zach moves the corn toward the reindeer’s hungry mouth. But as he does, one of the larger reindeers shoves forward and chomps it up in a single bite.

“Vixen!” Zach shouts angrily. “You shouldn’t have done that!”

And Prancer agrees. For although Prancer is the smaller of the two, none of Santa’s reindeer were pushovers. Prancer lunges forward with her antlers and challenges Vixen for gobbling up her snack. Vixen responds in kind, and pretty soon, the two of them are shoving back and forth at each other. Zach does his best to separate the two, but each reindeer outweighs him by several hundred pounds. As much as he wants to try and keep them from fighting, it just isn’t safe.

“C’mon,” Zach pleads as he circles around them. “It’s just a piece of corn. I’ll get you some more.”

But Zach’s words cannot be heard. The two reindeer are going at it now. Vixen has backed Prancer into the corner and is trying 13

to put her in her place. But in a last-ditch effort, the smaller reindeer rears up on her hind legs and lunges forward. Vixen backs up quickly but is still struck with all of Prancer’s weight.

The full force of the two reindeer comes crashing back into the gate. When they strike it, the pin in the latch falls loose, and the gate swings wide open. Well, the other reindeer don’t want to miss an opportunity to stretch their legs, and within seconds, Dancer, Cupid, and Donner all sprint through the open gate and start racing across the field.

The commotion does not go unnoticed, and pretty soon, the stable elves can be seen dashing across the field after the runaway reindeer—all the stable elves except one that is. The lead stable elf, who is quite large by elf standards, heads straight toward Zach. The little elf quickly buries himself beneath a mound of hay as the older elf approaches. The large elf quickly inspects the latch and sees this it isn’t broken. He peers from one side of the stable to the other. Zach lies still, trying not to breathe. It seems like an eternity, but after a few seconds, the stable elf closes the gate and runs off to join his fellow elves in rounding up the runaway reindeer.

Zach stays hidden another minute or two. Once he is sure that the coast is clear, he dashes up the snow embankment and creeps back through the stained-glass window, leaving only a trail of footprints in the snow to mark his passing.

14

T

2

he hallway outside of Santa’s office is bustling with activity and gossip. Once again, a certain elf has landed himself in a heap of trouble. All eyes are on Zach as he sits nervously on a hand-carved wooden bench. He is busy twiddling his thumbs while fidgeting from side to side. He is very nervous.

A stream of busy elves continues to pass by. Some give him a look of sympathy and understanding, others nod heads with a smirk, almost as if to say, “That’s what you get!”

Being in this spot is nothing new for Zach. Among all the elves at the workshop, Zach has been called to Santa’s office more than anyone.

Zach giggles to himself, trying to relieve his stress. Hah, he thinks. This bench may as well have a “reserved for Zach” sign on it.

But even this attempt at humor doesn’t help improve his mood. He has been in trouble in the past, but never before has there been a day quite like this. He got into more trouble in just a few hours than he has been in months. And what timing... only two days before Christmas! This is serious. Zach hangs his head in despair. He knows he is in a world of trouble.

As Zach continues to look at the ground, he sees a pair of girl elf boots come walking up to him. There are bright, shiny bells on the toes and perfectly tied knots for the shoelaces. Just above the boots, Zach can see colorful leggings. He knows who it is, but chooses not to lift his head as he speaks.

15

“Sorry about your machine,” he says softly. “I was only trying to help.”

“You’re always trying to help, Zach. I know that,” Angie says kindly as she sits down beside him. “But you have to control yourself. I’m in a lot of trouble now too. And it’s all thanks to you.”

Zach frowns while lifting his head to meet Angie’s eyes. “At least you don’t have to go in front of the big man. I’m gonna get fired for sure. I just know it.”

“Fired?” Angie questions. “I’ve never heard of an elf getting fired before.”

“There’s a first time for everything,” Zach replies solemnly.

Angie places her hand on Zach’s shoulder and gives him a playful nudge. Just be honest. You know Santa has a soft spot for us elves. Just look as sorry as you can and he’ll forgive you. I’m sure of it!”

“I sure hope so,” Zach replies. “I’d hate to miss all the celebrations after the…”

Zach’s sentence is cut short as the door to Santa’s office swings open. He and Angie look over and see a slender business-type elf standing there. His name is Reggie and he is the most serious elf 16

in Santa’s entire workshop. He is taller and thinner than most of the elves and has an excessively pointy nose. Today he is wearing his fancy glasses and an elf suit that looks more lawyer-like than elf-like. By the way he carries himself, you can tell he thinks he is a very important person.

“Santa is ready to see you now,” Reggie says as he motions with his hand for Zach to enter. Angie gives Zach a quick hug and tries to voice more words of encouragement, but the words get caught in her throat. The fact is, she is nervous for Zach, and now that it is time for her friend to face the music, she can’t help but consider what punishment Zach might receive. Could he be fired? The truth is, she didn’t know. And as she steps away and heads back down the hall, she continues to glance over her shoulder anxiously. The last thing she sees is Zach entering Santa’s office with his head hung low as Reggie closes the door tight behind them.

A few hours have passed since Zach went in to see Santa. The little elf is now wandering across the arctic landscape. He has a lot on his mind and wants to distance himself from the other elves.

Zach pauses for a moment as he comes up to the Glacius River. The waters are running quite hard. He kneels and leans forward to see his reflection. His eyes are sunken. They are a bit red and he looks thoroughly miserable. He hadn’t cried, he tells himself. His eyes were just tearing up from the cold. Zach continues to walk upstream until he comes across a series of large rocks resting near the riverbank. He crawls up on top, dusts some of the fresh snow off, and sits down. He pulls his legs up to his chest and wraps his arms around them. He looks toward Santa’s Castle and smiles wearily. Even from this distance, it is such a wondrous sight. Over the years, the castle has grown bigger to meet the demands of all the good children across the world. The entire structure is made of solid stone blocks. Elves sure knew how to build things to last. Along every wall and every tower, there are countless stained glass windows. Brightly lit ice-blue bulbs illuminate the exterior walls, but they pale in comparison 17

to the magnificent natural beauty of the Northern Lights that pulse with majesty behind the castle. The natural beauty fills the sky with so much color and vibrancy that it fills the heart with warmth.

But even more impressive than the Northern Lights is a heavenly beam of energy that radiates down from the Star of Bethlehem. This eternal stream of brilliance runs into a magnificent structure just outside of Santa’s workshop. The site of that glow, which is a signal of God’s pleasure with Santa, the Elves, and everyone who works at the North Pole, is the one thing that always manages to cheer Zach up. And for a moment, it does. Zach smiles at the sight, but that comfort is short-lived, and soon, despite his best efforts to prevent it, the memory of recent events starts pushing back into his head.

In his mind’s eye, Zach can see multiple scowling faces staring at him. He can picture the stable elves, the security guard Elves, and even Angie’s boss. The memories are crystal clear in his mind. He can almost hear their accusations all over again. All of them are angry, and this time, they aren’t holding back.

Yet, despite all of their charges against him, and the considerable damage caused, Santa remained calm and focused. He took all of their words in and weighed the situation out. “So,” Santa said.

“You’re saying Zach managed to do all of that by himself? And you have proof?”

The lead Security Elf pushed the others aside and stepped forward. “Well, no.” He said. “Not real proof. But we all know it was him. He’s the only one who ever does this kind of stuff. He has a naughty sheet as long as my arm.”

The Security Elf stretches out his arm in gesture but realizes that his arm is pretty short. “Actually,” he continues. “Longer than my arm.”

18

“And one of my workers saw him running from the scene,” shouts out the Stable Elf. Santa instantly turns his attention to the outburst. The Stable Elf does his best to stand firm, but he starts to falter. “Well, at least he was pretty sure it was Zach.”

“Well,” Santa asks. “What did he see?”

The Stable Elf responds as confidently as he’s able. “Uhm, he saw an elf with a red and green uniform on. He was about two and a half feet, maybe less.”

“Anything else?” Santa asks.

The Stable Elf thinks for a moment. “Nope. Not really. That’s pretty much it.”

Santa starts to grin and chuckle. He tries to stifle his laughter, but the laugh starts to build in his belly. The Stable Elf looks at him quizzically and that just makes matters worse. Santa struggles to keep his lips held tight, but it is pointless. The laugh continues to grow until he is laughing out loud. “That pretty much describes my entire workforce,” he roars. “Is that it? Do any of you have any real proof it was Zach?”

“One of my workers saw him do it,” calls out a female manager elf. “But she said she doesn’t want to get him in trouble. The rest of the elves only saw Zach trying to fix the machine.”

Santa removes his glasses and uses his thumb and pointer finger to massage the bridge of his nose. “So what you are all saying is that you want me to punish Zach for problems that occurred in each of the work areas that you manage, yet you have no evidence that it was him. Is that what you’re all saying?”

The Stable Elf and the other two Manager Elves all look toward each other in confusion. They don’t know how to respond.

Of course, Santa was right. But they just KNEW it was Zach. It had to have been.

Santa nods his head toward Zach. “And what do you have to say for yourself?”

Zach remains quiet and shuffles his feet nervously. He is unable to meet Santa’s gaze.

“Zach.” Santa continues while leaning down and propping Zach’s chin up to look him in the eyes. “I asked you a question.”

19

Zach looks Santa in the face and sees only the kind, loving, grandfatherly figure he has known since he was a child. He cannot lie. “It’s all true. All of it,” he blurts out. “I didn’t mean to do it. I was just trying to help.” Zach turns his back to Santa and sees the manager elves smiling at his admission. “Please don’t fire me!” he continues.

Santa frowns at first, realizing Zach had done all of this damage in one day. The actions of this single elf caused the entire workshop to get behind schedule. And it was only two days before Christmas. On top of that, Santa knows he needs to make sure he doesn’t disappoint his manager elves. Each of them has worked very hard this year to run a tight ship. If he doesn’t punish Zach accordingly, they would lose team morale and have great difficulty making up for the lost time. Still, though, Santa can’t have any elf thinking that he will be fired for a mistake or two… or even three.

“Fire you?” Santa asks. “I’m not about to fire you. We need every hand we can get at this time of year. But I do need you to think about what you’ve done. You can’t be all things to all people, Zach.” Santa bends over and takes Zach by the wrists.

He forces him to hold his hands palm up. “You can’t have your hands in everything. I want you to take the next hour to think hard about where you feel you fit in our workshop. I want you to think about all the jobs you can do and which you feel you would be best at.” Santa releases Zach’s hands and stands back up to full height. Zach feels small beneath Santa’s gaze, but Santa’s words have a ring of comfort to them, not the harsh discipline he expected. “Once you’ve decided,” he continues. “I want you to come back to me and we can see about getting you started on the right path.”

Zach forces a smile and nods yes in understanding. The other elves in the room look dumbstruck. They were expecting a tongue-lashing for Zach.

Santa looks to them and back to Zach. “And until you decide, I want you to stay away from the workshop. Go somewhere peaceful so you can clear your head.”

20

Zach nods once again in understanding and takes a few steps toward the door. He stops as he hears Santa call to him again.

“You have a lot of energy, Zach. But you don’t always think things through. Let’s see if we can’t channel that energy into something productive… okay?”

Zach turns and smiles widely. He snaps to attention and salutes. He is so relieved to have been given another chance. “Yes, sir,” he calls out. “Yes, sir. I won’t let you down, sir.”

And with that, Zach dashes off toward one of the exits to the castle. The elf managers give Santa a smile and head back off to work. Each of them glances at their watches and picks up their step as they head in different directions. Santa smiles at the sight and glances at the clock himself. When he realizes what time it is, his eyes go wide and he rushes off too. There was no time to waste. Christmas Eve would be here before they knew it.

21

A

3

s Zach comes out of his daydream, he realizes he still hasn’t made a decision. Santa wants him to commit to one job. Santa did more than just want it. He expects it. And Zach wouldn’t let him down.

Zach gets down from the rock he had perched upon and starts to walk along the river. Fresh snow begins to fall as he thinks about the various jobs he might take. He has to make sure it is the right one. Zach knows the one thing he hates more than anything is repetition. Doing the same thing over and over again can’t be an option. He needs to make sure that whatever job he chooses will provide him with new challenges.

Zach thinks about the available jobs at the workshop. He can make toys, bake cookies, wrap presents, or take care of the reindeer. As he considers these jobs, the thoughts of the earlier chaos he created pop back into his mind. “Darn it,” he grumbles.

He picks up some snow, packs it into a snowball, and whips it at the nearest tree. The snowball flies with amazing speed and accuracy. “Boy, I wish there was a job for being able to throw snowballs.” Zach said, laughing to himself. “That is one thing I know I’m really good at!”

Zach smiles as he packs an even tighter snowball. He whips it as hard as he can at an opening in the branches of the tree. The snowball goes straight to the target. Unfortunately, the thump of impact is accompanied by a high-pitched shriek. His snowball has disturbed a resident. In a flurry of motion, a large Arctic Owl comes flying out. It loudly screeches while diving angrily toward

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Zach. The little elf dives for cover to escape the owl’s outstretched talons and lands face first in a snowdrift. When he lifts his head, his vision is a little blurry from all of the snow in his eyes. He takes off his hat and rubs the snow from his face.

As his vision starts to clear, he can make out Santa’s workshop in the distance. He zeroes his attention on the beam of pure light that is running directly from the star of Bethlehem into a mechanical structure just a short distance from the workshop.

“That’s it!” Zach cries excitedly. And within the breadth of a heartbeat, he takes off running. He moves as fast as his short legs will take him. With each step, his smile grows wider and the excitement in his eyes grows. He just knew this was the one job in all of the North Pole that he could do well.

A short distance away, a worker elf named Brent is getting ready for his ten-minute afternoon break. It had been a busy morning and he is ready to kick back for a bit. He reaches up with his sleeve and wipes the sweat from his brow. “Whew!” he huffs. He was beat. He had done everything in his power to guarantee maximum efficiency for the machine. It would work with elf-precision throughout the Christmas rush and beyond.

Brent bends over and tosses his wrench in his toolbox and then continues to put the rest of his tools away. He has just finished calibrating the energy transfer capacitors and it is now time to head back toward the gatehouse for a cup of hot cocoa.

As he rounds the corner, he sees an elf running across the snow toward the post. As the lone elf gets closer, Brent can make out who it is that is racing toward him. What the heck was Zach doing here? Brent thinks to himself. If he is going to have to deal with this little outcast, he may as well have some fun doing it.

Brent continues to the gatehouse and enters. He has to duck as he passes through the doorway so as not to bump his head.

Brent was pretty tall by elf standards, and he has always been proud of that fact. His height made him stand out against the other elves. In addition, he had other attractive features like red hair and blue eyes. He was considered by most to be a near23

perfect elf specimen. It was why he had been given one of the most important jobs at the entire North Pole.

Brent takes a glance in the mirror and runs his fingers through his curly orange locks. He straightens his cap, gives a quick polish to his silver security badge and exits the gatehouse to greet Zach.

“Hey there, runt,” he says, laughing. “Where are you racing to?”

Zach is annoyed by the insult, but he takes it in stride. He had come to expect this kind of behavior from Brent. The two of them had never really gotten along. But Zach knows he has to try and be nice if he is going to make any progress in realizing his goal.

“Uhm, I was headed here,” Zach replies. “I wanted to see how things were going.”

“Shouldn’t you be busy making toys?” Brent smirks. “The clock is ticking. No time to waste.”

“I know. I know.” Zach answers. “But Santa wanted me to….”

“Don’t waste your breath.” Brent cuts in. “The story is all over the workshop already. Everyone knows how you screwed up again. And we all know how Santa went soft on you again.

Sometimes I think the old man is too nice for his own good.”

“He knows what he’s doing,” Zach replies defensively while taking a brave step toward Brent. “And don’t call him ‘old man.’ His name is Santa.”

Brent glances over his shoulder to make sure no one is watching. He steps toward Zach and puffs out his chest, doing his best to use his size and authority to intimidate the smaller elf.

“He wouldn’t care anyway,” Brent states flatly. “He and I are buddies. I do the most important job at the entire North Pole, after all.”

“Next to Santa, of course.” Zach chimes in.

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“No, duh,” Brent responds. “Well, at least it’s the most important elf job anyway.” The tall elf turns away from Zach and steps back toward his post. There were still several things he needed to get done today. “So, what did you want anyway?” he asks.

Zach doesn’t reply. Instead, his gaze goes beyond the gatehouse toward the structure Brent had just been working on. It is the Divine Reactor. Zach had only seen it up close a handful of times in his life. And each time, the image nearly took his breath away. The Divine Reactor is the key to success for Santa’s entire North Pole operation. Without it, Santa has no way to power the workshop. And without power, even elves can’t produce the sheer volume of toys needed to meet the demand of Santa’s list every year.

The Divine Reactor is a large structure. It is nearly twenty times taller than Santa himself. The entire unit is constructed from glass and precious metals. At the top of the structure is a huge stained-glass dome with images of angels in flight circling the perimeter. This dome is constantly glowing since it is the primary contact point for the energy coming in from the Star of Bethlehem. Just below the dome is a large gold ring that has seven metal arms extending outward. At the end of each arm is a highly polished metal dish reflecting light toward the angelic dome. The ring and the arms spin constantly to prevent energy loss by feeding excess heavenly light back into the reactor. Along the sides of the tower are a series of highvoltage panels and circuit breakers. There are dozens of thick cables that run away from the tower toward different sections of Santa’s workshop. The support tower itself has intricate carvings of saints across its entire surface. All of the saints are smiling and looking toward a small door that allows a single person access to the core of the tower. What lay beyond that door Zach could only imagine. But he always wanted to find out.

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Zach’s curiosity forces him to take a step forward, but Brent quickly steps up to block his path.

“Uh uh. No way are you going anywhere near the Divine Reactor.”

“But Santa wants me to find a job that will take advantage of my energy,” Zach argues. “What could be more demanding than helping maintain power for the entire workshop?”

“First of all,” Brent replies as he places his hand firmly on Zach’s chest to prevent him from stepping forward. “The reactor is working perfectly. Second of all, it’s my job to keep the area secure. And thirdly…” Brent pauses before pushing Zach backward. Zach stumbles, but does not fall. “Thirdly, I don’t like you. You’re a screw up.”

“But Santa said….” Zach replies while taking another sheepish step forward.

“Forget it,” Brent states flatly. “There’s no way I’d share my responsibility with someone like you. Now get lost. I’ve got work to do.”

Brent holds his position in front of Zach. He folds his hands behind his back and widens his stance. He stares past Zach as if the little elf weren’t’ even there anymore. In Brent’s mind, this discussion is over.

“C’mon, Brent,” Zach replies a little angrily. “I promise. I just want to look. I won’t touch a thing.”

Brent remains silent.

Zach impatiently waits for Brent to respond, but no answer comes. The little elf stares intently at Brent, then stares toward the Divine Reactor.

He begins to accept the fact he’s not getting in. But he glances past the gatehouse and sees the security fence that runs down the tree line.

Zach smirks as a thought pops into his head. He waves goodbye to Brent and walks off, whistling happily as he leaves.

Brent eyes Zach suspiciously but sighs in relief as the little troublemaker disappears over the snow bluff. At least for now, he would be off bothering someone else.

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Z

4

ach laughs as he weaves in and out of a cluster of pine trees on the far perimeter of the security fence. “I’ll show Brent.”

The little elf pauses and thinks to himself for a minute before glancing back toward the security post. All he wanted to do was see the Divine Reactor. Brent didn’t need to be a jerk about it.

Zach tightens his fists in anger and slowly loosens them as he forces himself to calm down. No, Zach thinks to himself. Brent is just trying to do his job. “Well…” Zach snickers. “What Brent doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

Zach looks back once again to make sure the coast is clear.

Brent was back inside the guardhouse. The big elf would have a very difficult time seeing him from this distance and angle.

Feeling confident in his position, Zach analyzes his surroundings. He eyes up the height of the fence and looks at the nearby pine trees. Once he locates a good candidate, he quickly builds up a mound of snow a few feet in front of it. He steps back a short distance and takes off his belt. He fashions it into a loop at one end and takes a deep breath. He begins to count. “One… Two…” On the count of three, Zach sprints forward with all of his might. As soon as he reaches the snow mound, he propels himself into the air and swings the belt like a lasso. He snags the loop over the tip of a nearby pine tree. Zach’s weight continues to carry him forward and the tree bends nearly in half, creating 27

a huge amount of tension. The tree snaps back into shape and catapults Zach through the air with rocket-like speed.

Zach howls in delight and excitement as he flies through the air. But then he realizes he is flying further and faster than he anticipated. His delight turns to fear and his laughter turns to a gasp as he goes crashing face first down into the snow. He slides for several feet and then lies still on the ground. After a few moments, he slowly rolls over onto his back and catches his breath. He sighs while shaking his head. Stars are dancing wildly before his eyes, but nothing seems to be broken. “Ugghh,” he moans. Not his best performance, but at least the plan worked.

He cleared the fence.

The little elf lifts himself and pats the snow off of his clothing.

Zach realizes he was a bit louder than he planned. He crouches down low and looks back to the gatehouse while holding his breath. No sign of Brent. “Whew.” He hadn’t been seen or heard.

Zach smiles. He was clear to move on. He dashes for the cover of some nearby trees and starts to make his way toward the Divine Reactor.

His anticipation builds with every step. But so does his nervousness. He is pressing his luck. If Brent catches him now, he will be in serious trouble. No time to worry about that now, though. Santa expects him to provide him with an answer, and how can he request to work on the Divine Reactor if he doesn’t even know the basics of how it functions?

As he sneaks closer to the Divine Reactor, Zach hears music emanating from the structure. The complex whirling and spinning of gears and instruments create an almost music-boxlike quality. The sound is most pleasing to the ears. And since elves had such a great sense of hearing to begin with, the music was pure ecstasy. Zach pauses for a moment to enjoy the music.

It’s funny, he thinks. The music changes into different Christmas songs, even though the machine must have to work in a routine pattern all day long. That was a really neat trick. Zach makes a quick mental note. That is one more thing he will need to explore once he gets the job.

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After he listens a short while longer, Zach moves from his hiding place and gets even closer to the small door that allows access to the heart of the Reactor. Brent is now only a few hundred feet away and will easily see him if he steps out into the open. Zach watches intently as Brent marches back and forth in front of the gatehouse. At the end of each pass, Brent looks back toward the Divine Reactor and scans the area. Man, Zach thinks to himself. Have to give him credit. He sure takes his job seriously.

In fact, Brent takes his job so seriously that Zach wonders if he will even be able to sneak in.

But then good fortune smiles on the little elf. A trio of girl elves approaches Brent. They are on a ten-minute break and thought they would see how he is doing. Even from this distance, Zach can see that Brent loves the attention. The larger elf puffs his chest out and boasts about how no one has ever made their way past security since he’s been on the job. He continues to tell them how just today he had to keep the North Pole’s number-one mischief-maker from gaining access.

Zach gets angry after hearing this, but manages to keep his anger in check. The girls have provided the one thing he needed more than anything—a distraction.

As Brent continues to boast, Zach waits for the perfect moment. The girl elves are so focused on Brent they certainly won’t see him. He just needs to wait until… “Now!” In that brief moment, Zach dashes from his hiding spot and makes it to the small door. He enters in a flash and is now totally out of Brent’s sight. He has made it in undetected.

Once Zach passes through the small door, he realizes the chamber is larger on the inside than he imagined. There are multiple warning signs advising anyone who enters to proceed with extreme caution. Signs that read, “Do not touch,” “For emergency use only,” and “For experienced elves only” are posted near various lit control panels. Zach ignores them and moves on to the center of the room. That is where the heart of the Divine Reactor is anyway. He looks up to the ceiling in awe and sees the underside of the stained-glass dome. Heavenly light is pulsing

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with an intense radiance. The energy collects at the bottom of the dome and is channeled into a thick, faceted glass tube. The tube glistens with mesmerizing beauty. It’s as if that glass tube holds the energy of the universe.

Zach stares at the tube for a moment, enjoying the life that dances within its confines. His eyes track the tube as it runs down into a large, golden half-sphere that has a perfectly shaped ruby in its center, pulsing with energy. It looks like the heartbeat of the machine itself. Zach walks closer while shielding his eyes from the intense light. Once he reaches the ruby, he can make out a scene etched into the metal sphere. It is the nativity. Mary is on the left. Joseph is on the right, and baby Jesus is in the center with his arms stretched toward the gemstone, and ultimately toward the energy flowing in from the star of Bethlehem. Just below the ruby, there is text inscribed in the metal that reads. “May the Lord Bless and Keep this Holiday Home so that Children the World Over May Celebrate the Birth of the Savior.”

Zach stares on, awestruck at the energy and beauty of the Divine Reactor. A small tear forms in his eye as he is captured by the love he feels. He had always known that Santa’s workshop was important to children, but to realize that God himself has been such an important part of their daily work is incredibly humbling.

Zach wipes the tear from his eye and starts to explore the various controls for the reactor. There are all kinds of knobs, dials, and control mechanisms alongside diagrams and charts that instruct the operator where to channel the various streams of energy. Different departments within Santa’s workshop have different energy demands at different times during the day, so the system must be regulated to match the ebb and flow of work.

Boy, Zach thinks to himself. This is a lot to keep track of for just one elf. How is Brent supposed to stand guard and monitor all of this at the same time? He could sure use someone like me to help.

As he continues to study the various readings, Zach’s keen elf mind quickly understands what most of the controls are for.

But the more he starts to get a grip on the machine, the more he

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comes to realize that most of the settings are only set to level 8 when they had a maximum capacity of 10. Zach also recognizes the reactor has a huge amount of reserve power just waiting on standby. Realizing that the workshop is running slower than it could, Zach can’t help but recall all of the trouble he caused earlier today. If he could just channel a little more energy to the departments he caused to fall behind, they would be able to catch back up. Maybe that would keep everybody in the workshop from being so mad at him. Zach wrestles with the idea. He knows he shouldn’t risk messing things up further, but he feels confident he understands this machine. It isn’t that complex. He can make things right without anyone even knowing. He isn’t looking for glory. He just wants to help.

Zach takes a quick look back toward the nativity scene. He is not about to let his earlier mistakes ruin Christmas for millions of children. And with the decision made, Zach turns the control dials for Toy manufacturing and wrapping from 8 up to 9.

He stops and stares anxiously as the Divine Reactor starts to glow even brighter. The reserve energy meter dips a little bit, but the machine continues to run steadily.

Zach smiles to himself and begins to walk away. Success. Now all he had to do was go back inside and wait for things to get back to normal. As he goes to leave, Zach sees Brent still talking with the other girl elves. But now, they have turned and are pointing in his direction. He waits for a few minutes, hoping that Brent will send the girls away so he can sneak back in and get to work, but it appears that Brent is enjoying all of the attention.

“Darn it,” Zach grumbles. He needs to get back in to make sure things are improving. He also wants to tell Santa that he has come to a decision. After viewing the Divine Reactor up close, he knows no other job at the North Pole will hold his interest like this amazing device.

Zach glances one more time at the Reactor. As he does, he notices the time. It’s getting later and he doesn’t want to risk the workshop ending the day behind schedule. Zach walks back over and looks at the control dials. He hesitates momentarily

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but shrugs it off and turns the dials to 10 and maxes out their performance.

The Divine Reactor instantly starts to pulse with massive waves of power. The power meters spike into the red as the reserve energy plummets. The large ruby above the nativity scene at the heart of the machine glows brighter and brighter. The energy radiates with such intensity that Zach is forced to shield his eyes.

He reaches for the dials, but the room is flooded with so much light that he cannot see the controls to try and fix things. “No!” He cries. “Not again. Please. Not again.”

Just outside the Divine Reactor, Brent looks up and sees the spinning reflective dishes outside the reactor moving faster and faster as they divert more and more energy back into the core.

“What the…” He questions aloud as rays of light shoot out from the tower’s entrance. The entire machine begins to rumble and the ground quakes. The gears that were previously creating the beautiful Christmas music are now crying out in a high-pitched shriek. The girl elves step away from Brent. “We’ve got to get going.” They cry out in unison as they turn and rush back toward the safety of Santa’s workshop. Brent stands frozen in place. He isn’t sure what is happening, but it sure doesn’t look safe. He wants to move forward to investigate, but he cannot get his legs to move. He knows in his mind that he must investigate, to make things right. But he just can’t get his body to agree.

A short distance away, Santa looks up from where he is busy brushing Dasher at the reindeer stables. His eyes go wide in panic as he sees waves of energy shooting across the winter sky.

He quickly latches the reindeer’s harness to a small personal sled and shouts, “C’mon, Boy! Get us to the Reactor as fast as you can!” In the blink of an eye, Dasher’s powerful muscles spring into action, and all that’s left is a kick-up of snow and a trail of hoof prints leading toward the intense rays of light.

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Inside the reactor, the light is nearly unbearable. Zach is shielding his eyes with his hand while squinting tightly. He uses his free hand to feel along the control panels as he desperately attempts to turn off the reactor. His hands fumble over various knobs and switches until he finally reaches the dial he is searching for. With a sigh of relief, he twists the dial counter-clockwise as hard as he can to turn the energy down to 0. But as he twists, the dial snaps off.

“No!” Zach cries. His hands scramble to try and get a grip on the shaft beneath the broken knob. But it is no use. His fingers cannot get to it. Zach turns in fear as the Reactor continues to pulse with raw power. The red ruby at the heart of the device continues to radiate with energy and the entire Reactor quakes.

Zach is forced further and further from the center of the room as waves of energy pound him back toward the door. The ruby gives off one final massive pulse of power and explodes with so much force that it sends Zach flying through the air out of the Rector chamber and into the winter environment outside.

He hits the ground hard and tumbles end over end until his body comes to rest in a distant snowbank. His body lies still as his senses try to figure out which end is up. When he finally opens his eyes and looks up, all he sees is the image of Santa Claus looking down at him. Santa looks bigger and angrier than Zach has ever seen him. Zach quivers in fear and tears well up within his eyes. He looks to Santa’s right and sees Brent standing there with his arms crossed over his chest. If looks could kill, Zach would be dead right now. Zach struggles to speak. He wants to say he is sorry, but he just can’t find the words. His voice quivers and all he lets out is a sob. He tries to get to his feet but stumbles and falls back to the ground. Santa reaches down to lend a hand.

Zach looks up. He sees that Santa’s expression has changed from anger to sadness and utter disappointment.

Without saying another word, Santa places a hand on Zach’s shoulder and leads him toward the sleigh. They head back toward the workshop, leaving Brent behind. The large elf stands alone in the snow, looking up at the Divine Reactor. The most wondrous 33

creation in all of Santa’s workshop now looks like a giant broken Christmas decoration, and Brent can’t help but feel angry that for the first time in his life, he has failed to do his job.

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5

his is it! The final straw! Brent thinks to himself as he marches angrily toward Santa’s office. It has been over an hour since Zach broke the Divine Reactor, and now everyone is gathering to listen to Santa’s judgment.

In Brent’s eyes, it was bad enough that Zach had a way of messing things up around the entire workshop without ever getting into any real trouble, but now the runt had interfered with the Divine Reactor. It made Brent look bad personally. That could not be allowed. Santa better hold Zach accountable… or else.

Brent continues to storm down the hallway. The other elves clear out of his way in a hurry. He is on a mission and they don’t want to be on the receiving end of his anger. As Brent enters the room, prepared to voice his frustrations, he stops short. There is already a host of other elves in attendance. Some are angry.

Some are worried. Others just don’t know how to respond. Santa is standing in front of his desk, doing his best to calm the crowd while Zach sits to one side looking particularly pitiful.

The entire scene is one of disarray. It is quite unsettling since this is a total contrast to the strict sense of order and organization the elves are used to. To the left side of Santa’s desk is his list.

Normally, he would have already checked it twice by this point in the season, but there are still quite a few names left on the scroll.

To the right side of the desk is a large spinning holographic globe.

The globe has millions of little green dots all over it, signifying the homes that Santa needs to visit. The globe is hovering above a red 35

panel that has the words “Reserve Power Activated” illuminated.

As Brent takes in the entire scene, it is obvious things have been blown way off schedule. Not just for the elves, but the big man himself. Brent pushes forward past the other elves to get a closer view. As he does, he hears multiple elves whispering in hushed tones, saying things like…

“I can’t believe Brent allowed this to happen.”

“That wouldn’t have happened if I had that job. I’d have kept better watch.”

“Poor Brent, I wonder if he’s going to get fired.”

“Serves him right. Thinks he’s too big for his britches anyway!”

Brent is annoyed by the comments, but still, he holds his head high while forcing his way toward the front of the room. Once he gets there, the other elves notice and the comments stop. Santa looks up and sees that Brent has arrived.

“Okay, now that we’re all here,” Santa calls out loudly. “Let’s begin.”

As soon as Santa completes his sentence, Reggie, the lawyerlooking elf who had lectured Zach just hours earlier, steps in front of the crowd and raises his hands. “Since time is of the essence, I will jump right in. The Divine Reactor is broken. And without it, the entire workshop is at a standstill. I think when you combine this act with all of Zach’s previous misconduct, there is only one punishment fitting to match the crimes… banishment!”

The room erupts with a tidal wave of gasps and whispers.

“Did he just say banishment?”

“Oh, my!”

“Nobody has ever been banished in the history of the North Pole!”

“Poor Zach.”

“Serves him right.”

“He’s not bad on purpose. He’s just… Zach.”

Amid the chaotic voices, Santa raises his hand to silence the crowd. “Banishment?” Santa asks. “You’re proceeding right to banishment without even proving it was him.” Santa glances down at Zach. The little elf slowly raises his tear-filled eyes and nods in approval. Brent shoves forward angrily.

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“Proof!” he shouts. “How can there be proof? I’m the only guard. Nobody else made it past the gatehouse today. Zach’s the only one who even came by and you picked him up at the scene.”

“Still,” Santa continues. “If you did not see him do it, it’s your word against his. I won’t banish an elf without proof. We need to be fair.” Santa looks back down toward Zach. “Wouldn’t you agree, Zach?”

Zach looks up and firms his quivering lip. He does his best to stand tall and give Santa a strong response. “Yes.” The bulk of the crowd of elves respond with frustration. It looks like, once again, Zach is going to get away with it. However, Zach isn’t finished.

“Yes,” Zach continues. “Yes, I agree. But it’s true. Brent is right. I did it.”

The room is absolutely quiet. No one knows what to say. This was the last thing the elves expected.

Santa pats Zach on the shoulder and smiles faintly. He is genuinely proud one of his elves dared to be honest when so 37

many were against him. And yet, he still needs to make sure Zach faces the consequences of his actions. What he has done is not something to be taken lightly.

“So you admit it then?” Santa asks.

“Yes,” Zach replies. “Yes, sir. I do.”

“That’s it!” Brent shouts out. “He did it! Banishment! There’s no other option. He ruined Christmas!”

Santa turns to Brent with a stern look. “On your watch, Brent,” he reminds him. “Be careful how quick you are to judge.”

Brent quickly falls silent and averts his eyes.

“So,” Santa continues. “Now that we’ve confirmed it was Zach, punishment would be fair. But can anyone here tell me how banishment will help save Christmas?”

Before anyone can respond, Brent shouts out again.

“Christmas is ruined. He destroyed the Reactor. Without power, we can’t get the job done.” Brent turns to the elves to emphasize his point. “No power… no toys. No toys… no Christmas!”

Santa steps forward and looks down at Brent. The crowd of elves watches in suspense. “Christmas is about more than just presents, Brent,” Santa states solemnly.

Once again, the crowd of elves responds in hushed whispers.

“More than presents?”

“Did Santa just say what I think he said?”

Santa looks out over the crowd and meets the eyes of his devoted workforce. The elves are more than just toymakers. They are his friends. And while they had skills beyond that of most humans when it came to design and manufacturing, most of them had the innocence of children in their hearts and minds.

“Christmas is about selfless giving,” Santa shouts out for all to hear. “God gave his son, Jesus, to us at Christmas. He gives us energy to power our workshop. He loves us more than we could ever know. I’m sure one of you has some idea how we can make things right.”

All the elves break out in discussion. Each of them wants to be the first to come up with an answer that will please Santa.

Only Brent stands still with his arms folded in protest. He has no interest in finding a way to help Zach. He makes a point of 38

casting glares at the elves who are trying to think up something.

The elves are caught between a desire to help Santa and the intimidation of the biggest elf. Yet, despite Brent’s efforts, a single elf steps forward from the crowd. She looks to Santa and then to Zach. She gives her friend a nod of support.

“I might have a way,” she calls out. “The Reactor is broken.

But can it be fixed in time? Maybe Zach can help fix it?”

“I don’t want him within ten miles of my machine!” Brent shouts.

“Your machine?” Santa asks with a stern tone. He takes off his glasses and stares down Brent; the large elf, although imposing to the rest of the elves, is no match for the Big Man. He scowls and takes a step back, knowing full well that he shouldn’t say another word.

Santa takes another moment so that Brent feels the weight of his stare. He turns to the little girl elf that has spoken up. “Go ahead, Angie.”

“I’m just saying,” she continues. “If it’s broken, it can be fixed.

We are elves, after all.”

“True enough,” replies Santa. “The only problem is the part that is broken is the central ruby. It shattered from trying to channel too much energy.”

“Can’t we get another one?” Angie asks.

“No, we can’t!” Brent chimes in. “Those rubies can only be found at the top of Mount Frostbite… the highest mountain in all the North Pole. We haven’t needed a new one in centuries.”

“It wouldn’t be hard for Santa.” Angie continues. “Couldn’t you just fly the reindeer up there?” Angie looks to Santa, hoping for a positive response. He nods his head “no” while patting her on the shoulder.

“It’s not that easy, my dear. The weather is so bad up there that it would tire out my reindeer too much. If I take the trip, they might not have the energy to deliver the Christmas presents we’ve already made.”

“Well,” Angie says sadly. “It was just a thought.” Angie looks to Zach with an expression of defeat in her eyes. She did her best.

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“No, we can’t get there that way,” Santa calls out loudly so that all of the elves in attendance can hear him. “It would take a very brave elf with tons of energy, ingenuity, and willpower to make that trip. Maybe we can think of another way.”

“No,” Zach says softly.

Santa looks toward Zach and presses him for a louder response. “Did you say something?”

“I said no,” Zach answers. “There isn’t another way. I ruined Christmas. I should be banished. But if this is a chance to make things right, I have to give it a try.”

“This will be very dangerous, Zach,” Santa warns.

“I know,” Zach responds firmly.

Although he is scared, Zach knows he has to show the others he isn’t a screw up. He has to prove it to himself as well. He points to the countdown on Santa’s wall. “The clock is ticking, sir.”

Santa nods in acceptance. “Okay.”

Angie gasps, “No.” She wanted to help, but not like this. Now her best friend is going to have to risk his life. She might never see him again.

Almost in answer to her fears, Brent steps forward. “No,” he calls out. “It’s not okay.” Brent looks to the other elves trying to gain their support. “Zach just ruined Christmas and now we’re going to count on him to save it. You said we need a brave elf with strength and courage. That should be me! I can save Christmas, Santa. Let me do it.”

As Brent talks, Santa walks over to his desk, opens up a drawer and pulls out a piece of rolled-up parchment. He hands the parchment to Zach. “This mission is Zach’s. It is his responsibility and this map will help guide him on his way.” Santa walks over to Brent and places his hand on the tall elf ’s shoulder. “However, I’m sure he could use a hand. I’d be happy to let you go along with him to help make sure the trip is a success.”

Brent fumes at the suggestion, but controls his anger as best he can. “He’ll just end up getting us both lost, or worse. Let me do it by myself, Santa. I can do this without him.” Brent waves his arms out toward the assembly of elves present. “I can save Christmas for all of us.”

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Santa looks to Brent and then his gaze passes over the full crowd of elves in attendance. The majority of them have an expression of support for what Brent has said. A few of them look unsure of who to support. This was no simple matter. If Zach failed, millions of children would be let down. Santa considers it for a moment while looking back at Zach. The little elf looks fearful yet determined. And as Zach notices the attention he is getting, he sits up taller in his chair, sticks out his chest, tightens his fist, and stiffens his upper lip. He may not be as big as the other elves, but nobody in the workshop had more heart than him.

“No.” Santa finally calls out firmly so that all can hear. “This is Zach’s Quest. He needs to take responsibility for his actions.”

Santa looks over toward Brent. “This isn’t about pride or glory… it’s about…” Santa stops mid-speech as Brent throws down his cap and storms out of the room. The other elves are momentarily stunned to silence, but only for a second.

“Oh my gosh,” whispers one elf. “Brent just walked out on Santa!”

“I can’t believe it, calls out another.”

“He’s gonna be on the naughty list for sure,” whispers yet another.

Santa ignores Brent’s actions and the whispers circulating the room. He walks toward his desk and makes a specific point of stopping at his good and naughty list. He glances at it and walks over to the holographic globe with all of the lit green dots on it. He closes his eyes and massages the bridge of his nose with two pinched fingers. After a moment longer, he looks back to the elves and sits wearily in his seat. “Can someone get me a hot chocolate? Double strength please?”

41

I

6

t has been a full hour since Santa made his decision and now Zach is standing next to Edmund, the chief technology officer in charge of research and development. It was funny, Zach thought, that Edmund had come up with his own title. In short, the title meant that Edmund was responsible for developing new toys.

Edmund had been a friend of Zach’s for a very long time. Both of them have an overly inquisitive nature, even for elves. The problem was that Edmund’s curiosity had led to all types of fantastic new inventions, while Zach’s curiosity led to fantastic new levels of destruction.

Today, Edmund is performing true to form. He is running back and forth between multiple tables of gadgets and gizmos. One minute he is making an adjustment on one toy using a screwdriver and the next, he is looking through a magnifying glass at a software chip for a new computerized toy. Yes, Edmund had many talents; however, being able to focus on one thing at a time was not one of them.

Zach smiles while watching his friend in action. Edmund is close to Zach’s height, but is significantly skinnier. He has 42

straight yellow hair that is constantly messy. He wears oversized glasses that look too big for his face. His pants seem to always be pulled up too high, which allows his green and red striped socks to show. It was as if getting dressed was just not that important to him. It was simply something he had to do in order to get back to work. And the quicker he got dressed, the more time he had for developing new toys.

Today is no different. If anything, the challenge he had been given in the last hour had him more excited than he had been in a long time. Santa himself had given him the assignment and Edmund was not one to shirk away from a challenge. “Okay, we don’t have much time,” he calls out to Zach while motioning for him to come closer.

“So, here’s what I was able to put together for you,” Edmund continues while picking up the first object. “I’ve got a diamondplated pickaxe hammer that will help you climb the mountain and break really hard ice. At the base of the handle is a fourpronged grappling hook that will zip out when you press this button.”

As Edmund points to the button, Zach reaches out to press it. Edmund quickly slaps him on the hand to stop him. “Don’t do that. We’re inside. This thing can shoot hard and fast. You don’t want to point it anywhere near someone.” Edmund continues to go over the device. “Right now, the hooks are collapsed into the handle, but they open up once they start flying. They are connected to this flywheel that will reel the line back in so you can use it to help climb the mountain.

“Neat,” Zach says, smiling.

“Yeah, it is pretty cool,” Edmund says, nodding his head in agreement, “even if I do say so myself.” Edmund smiles and points to the next button. This button here will shoot up flares out of the top of the handle if you get into an emergency or if you need to light up a dark area.”

“What are these?” Zach asks while pointing to the table at what appeared to be a snack.

“Those are exploding popcorn balls.” I figured you could use them to scare away any animals that might come your way.

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They’re not that powerful, but they are pretty loud.” Edmund passes by the popcorn balls and picks up a pair of shoes. “These are some brand new shoes I made for you. They have special traction on the bottom that will help you on really slippery ice.

The top of the mountain can get cold, so the ice gets even harder.

They should help a lot.”

“Thanks.” Zach nods while patting Edmund on the back. It was nice to have a friend looking out for him.

“No problem,” Edmund continues. “And, as I said, it can get really cold up there. So here’s an extra pair of socks.”

“Cool. What do they do?” Zach asks while inspecting them.

“They keep your feet warm,” Edmund says, laughing.

Zach joins Edmund in his laugh while grinning foolishly.

“Well, that is important.”

“Yup,” Edmund agrees while placing his hand on Zach’s shoulder and steering him toward the door.

Zach hesitates and glances back at the table. Edmund looks at him curiously. “Did you need something else?”

“Uhm,” Zach responds. “Did you happen to pack any food or anything?”

Edmund nods. “No, I didn’t. But Angie dropped by with a bag of Oatmeal Raisin cookies for you. She wanted to say goodbye herself, but she was a little too upset.”

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“Too bad,” Zach responds with a frown. “I would have liked to say goodbye.”

“She did say to wish you luck,” Edmund said, smiling.

“Okay then,” Zach replies as he turns toward the door with all his new weapons ready. “I guess that’s it then. Time for me to go.”

And with that, Zach heads out toward the exit of the workshop, leaving Edmund behind. The skinny little elf takes off his glasses and polishes them on his shirt. He walks toward the window and looks out. Way in the distance is a huge mountain range with one particular peak that goes all the way up into the dark clouds, where it disappears from sight.

“Good luck, my friend,” Edmund states softly. “You’re going to need it.”

45

Z

7

ach had only wandered a short distance from Santa’s workshop and already was feeling alone. The wind kicked up and snow was starting to fall again. Although he summoned the bravery to accept the mission, carrying it out was an entirely different matter. Like most other elves, Zach’s only memories were of Santa’s workshop and its immediate surroundings. There was always plenty of work to do, so he never really considered wandering too far away from home. But now, as he looked to the horizon and saw the large mountains looming over him, he realized the massive distance he needed to overcome. He started to have doubts.

Zach glances over his shoulder. If he chose to, he could walk back and hand this job off to Brent. The larger elf was right. He would have a better chance of success and things would go back to normal. Brent would still be the hero and he would be…

The little elf hung his head low. “He would be the troublemaker… the outcast… the misfit.” Zach feels pathetic as he thinks about how the other elves looked at him. He heard their words. He had seen their faces. None of them thought he could do this job. They all expected him to fail.

Zach feels anger at the thought. He clenches his fists and lifts his head high. “No.” He says to himself. “If I’m going to fail, I’m going to do it while trying!” And with that feeling of confidence in his heart, he continues moving on.

It wasn’t long until Zach came up to a small grove of pine trees about a mile from the workshop. As he approaches, Zach 46

hears rustling in the branches. He quickly grabs his hammer and continues forward cautiously.

“Who is it?” He asks. “Who’s there?”

Without a word, another elf pops out from between the trees.

The elf is bundled in a thick jacket with a large hood that hides most of her face. She is carrying a large backpack that looks like it’s stuffed for a mission of weeks instead of two days. As she lowers her hood, Zach can see who it is. It’s Angie, and the little girl elf looks completely terrified.

“It’s… It’s just me, Zach,” she stammers. “I thought you could use a hand.”

Zach smiles while stepping toward her. He helps her pull her hood back up to protect her face from the falling snow. “Thanks, Angie. I do appreciate it, but no.”

“What do you mean, no?” Angie replies in shock. She hadn’t expected to be turned down. “I want to help you.”

“I know you do,” Zach answers. “But I’m already responsible for ruining Christmas. I won’t be responsible for you getting hurt too.”

“But I can help,” Angie answers back quickly.

Zach does not respond. He simply points to Mount Frostbite and lets Angie’s eyes follow. Angie looks at the monstrous mountains and shudders involuntarily in fear.

“This isn’t a game,” Zach states solemnly. “It’s real. I know you want to help and I could probably use all the help I can get. But I won’t risk you getting hurt. I couldn’t live with myself if you did.”

Zach puts his finger under Angie’s chin and lifts her face to meet his eyes. “Now, please… go home. Do what you can to help the effort at the workshop. If I fail, they will need all available hands to get as much work done as possible. And nobody can tie those ribbons and bows like you can.” Zach gives Angie a heartfelt smile. She smiles back, but her expression turns into a frown.

“Stupid Brent,” she grumbles. “He could have helped you. The two of you could have saved Christmas together. This isn’t fair.”

Zach smiles in agreement and gives Angie a quick hug. He uses the flat end of his hammer to nudge her in the direction 47

of Santa’s workshop. She starts to walk away, but after only a few short steps, she turns back and runs up to give Zach one more hug. She takes off a metal poinsettia pin from her lapel and pins it to Zach’s shirt.

“Take this for good luck,” she says with a smile.

Zach frowns a little. “Isn’t that a girl’s pin?”

“It’s a Christmas pin!” Angie corrects him quickly.

Zach looks at the pin awkwardly and looks back at Angie. Her eyes look sad and pleading. “I’m sure I could use the luck,” he replies.

Angie nods in agreement and both remain quiet for an awkward moment until Zach breaks the silence. “Thanks for the cookies.” He finally manages to say.

“You’re welcome,” Angie replies.

“Save me a dance on Christmas Eve?” Zach asks.

Angie nods in approval while wiping a tear from her eye. She turns and dashes off without saying another word. Zach frowns at her departure. He didn’t like seeing her show this much fear for his life. It only confirmed the doubts he already had about this undertaking. “No matter.” He speaks aloud while putting his hammer back into its holster. “I will make it back. I will save Christmas.” Zach looks back toward Santa’s workshop. “You’ll all see. I can do it. I have to do it. I will do it.”

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D

8

ark clouds hang over the peak of Mount Frostbite, thundering with ominous fury. The angry December snowstorm continues to hurl sleet and ice across the mountain’s highest peaks. Frigid winter winds howl with fury as they blow through the cavernous openings of this harsh arctic landscape. The ground is hard and cracked. Large icicle stalactites give a frightful appearance as they hang down over deep cavern openings. The peak of Mount Frostbite is barren and devoid of even the smallest signs of life. Surely this has to be the most desolate place in the entire world.

But while there is no sign of life, a strange beating sound can be heard coming from deep within the bowels of the mountain. The sound can’t be natural. It has too much of a determined rhythm to be occurring by accident. And as the sound vibrations force their way out of one of the many cavern openings, a large sheet of ice and snow on the side of Mount Frostbite begins to give way.

Within seconds a massive avalanche begins. Icy boulders roar down the side of the mountain, devastating everything in their path. Trees crack and splinter beneath the incredible weight.

Massive amounts of snow powder kick up into the air, making the entire scene a blur of primal winter rage.

But just as quickly as the avalanche had begun, it ends. The swirling winds push the powder back to the earth as the boulders come crashing to a stop on the cliffs below. In no time at all, the environment at this extreme altitude returns to normal. Lifeless.

Cold. Barren. Yet if one listened closely over the howling winds, 49

you could still hear the beating of the drum continue in its hypnotic rhythm.

The source of the sound is a race of creatures that are just as magical as the elves. Unfortunately, the power that sustained these beings is dark. As with most of God’s creation, good is often balanced by evil. The same is true at the North Pole.

And while the exterior of Mount Frostbite is ice and snow, the deepest depths of the interior are altogether different. The very heart of Mount Frostbite is incredibly hot. Walls of brimstone and hardened magma form a labyrinth of tunnels that wind up, down, and sideways throughout the center of the entire mountain range—intense waves of heat radiate throughout the corridors. While most creatures would find this heat unbearable, it is the perfect temperature for the fiendish goblins that dwell within the caverns.

Today, as always, it had been Skretch’s job to bang the drum and cause the avalanche. It was just one of the many tasks the other larger goblins made him do daily. Skretch sighs as he makes his way through the complex maze of caverns. This close to the surface, he has to be more careful. For while the depths of Mount Frostbite are hot, the closer you got to the surface, the colder it became and the more likely it was you would encounter snow.

Just once, it would be nice if somebody else had come with Skretch. He got so tired of being alone. The little goblin continues through the caverns until he comes to what appears to be a dead end. He raises his hand and feels along the stone. As he does, a key-shaped birthmark on his right hand begins to glow. The rock beneath his fingers shifts abruptly and opens to another pathway.

Skretch passes through and places his hand along the rock on the other side. Once again, his birthmark glows and the rock seals behind him.

Skretch stares down at his hand. The birthmark is the one thing that made him unique in all of the goblin pack. He is the gatekeeper. He alone is the navigator of the secret tunnels.

It is a job that has always been one of great honor within the goblin race, and often it leads to that goblin becoming leader.

Unfortunately, Skretch had been born a runt. Had it not been 50

for the birthmark, he would have been cast aside altogether. This gift was his birthright and guaranteed he would always be a part of the tribe, even if he was stuck at the bottom of the food chain.

Skretch continues on the path deeper into the mountain.

He pauses a moment near a small river of lava and lets the heat absorb into his green skin. He rubs his hands together and sticks them back into his pockets as he walks. He wears only a pair of tattered pants held up by a length of rope. Deep in these caves, there was no need for additional dress. The small bit of clothing he wore was strictly for decency’s sake.

And even though all of the goblins wore similar tattered clothing, their physical appearance and personalities were vastly different. Some goblins were tall, while others were short. Some were muscular, while others were lean. Some were skinny, while others were fat. One goblin might have hair while another was bald. Some were smart, while most were, well, not so smart. The fact is each goblin had a unique trait that made him stand out from the others. The one thing that did bring them all together 51

was their behavior. For you see, a goblin’s very nature is to be mischievous, aggressive, and all too often, just plain mean.

As Skretch rounds the corner back toward the cave’s great room, he can see his “brothers” are up to their usual antics. Two of the larger goblins, Gorth and Flarg, are fighting each other using makeshift weapons of stone and wood. One holds a club while the other wields an ax. The remaining goblins watch in anticipation, cheering the fight on. They jump and shout while shoving into one another.

“Hack him, Flarg!” shouts one.

“Club him, Gorth!” shouts another.

As the crowd of goblins cheers the combatants on, they get so wrapped up in the violence they start fighting among themselves.

In the blink of an eye, fists are flying and the entire scene turns into chaos. The fighting isn’t so much fueled by anger, as it is simply goblins acting like goblins do.

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“Enough!” shouts a loud hollow voice—the power of the command echoes throughout the caverns.

The fighting instantly stops and all eyes turn toward the back of the cave. The area is nearly pitch black, but one can see a short winding stairway leading up into the shadows if one looks closely. At the peak of the steps is a crude stone-carved throne where a lone figure sits in the darkness. Two glowing green eyes are peering out of the shadows, yet the creature’s full form cannot be seen. This monstrous being is known and feared by goblins everywhere, for he is their master, Grife.

“There will be time for merriment later,” he shouts. “Santa’s workshop is broken, but it can be fixed. Even now, my scouts tell me that a mission is underway to fix their blasted Divine Reactor.”

The goblins shout in protest as Grife slams his clawed fist on the armrest of his stone throne. His glowing green eyes burn with rage. “We cannot let that happen!”

The goblins on the floor beneath Grife shake their weapons and howl in agreement. Grife adds fuel to the fire. “This is the first time in our history that we have a real chance of stopping Christmas,” he continues. “If we take away the toys, we take away the holiday. Children will get mad at Santa and realize it just doesn’t pay to be good. Once that happens, Christmas will be ruined, and evil will flourish!”

The goblins roar even louder as Grife stands and points down at one of the smaller goblins. “Grobbly,” he calls out. “You will lead a team to the surface. Do whatever it takes to stop this elf from succeeding.”

Grobbly bows low in acceptance of the task. “Yes, Master,” he replies. Although he is short in stature, this goblin has a muscular build. He looks more serious and devious than the other goblins. In his hands, he holds a large blade.

It is one of the few weapons in the 53

entire cave that does not look goblin-made and there is a reason for it. The long knife was given to him

by Grife to serve as a symbol of his leadership.

“Do not forget to protect yourself from the snow and ice,” Grife commands.

Grobbly nods in understanding. He rounds up six other goblins and heads toward a large pile of old clothing and boots lying in the corner. The largest and possibly, dumbest of the goblins, Gorth, shoves his way to the front of the line.

Gorth has an incredibly strong upper body, but his legs aren’t too big. His face also seems to be a little too small for his big head.

Yet, despite his awkward appearance, it was well known within the pack to give him a wide birth. You didn’t want to be on the receiving end of his anger. He throws on a shirt and boots and grabs a little cap that he tosses on his head. After he is done getting first dibs on the clothing, the other goblins jump in.

Of course, the last one to get any scraps of clothing is Skretch.

And while the little goblin is still stretching on a pair of big shoes, Grife shouts. “Go now, and do not fail!”

The wily pack of goblins rush toward the exit of the great room. Along the way, Gorth reaches out and snatches Skretch.

“C’mon, runt.” He laughs. “We need our gatekeeper.”

The other goblins join in on the laughter while shoving and kicking at Skretch. They hurry through the twisted corridors, eager to please their master by capturing this lone elf.

A long procession of footprints can be seen in the snow leading toward Mount Frostbite. Zach is still very far off and there is a lot of ground to cover before he even reaches the base of the mountain. So far, he has only really crossed over the arctic plains. But now he is about to reach a heavily wooded area, and 54

the timing couldn’t be worse. The sun is starting to lower on the horizon. It will be dark soon.

“C’mon, Zach,” the little elf tells himself. “Be brave. You can do this. Everyone is counting on you.”

Zach looks up toward Mount Frostbite. He glances at his pocket watch. It reads, “29 hours till Christmas ride.” He pauses a moment as a look of determination sets in his jaw. He takes one hesitant step and then another. He glances one more time at the watch, squeezes it tight, and puts it in his pocket. Lifting his head high, he continues toward the woods.

It doesn’t take long for the wooded area to get dark fast. The tall, dense branches block out the little bit of daylight that is left.

Zach does his best to stay calm. He takes his special hammer in hand and proceeds with caution. He can hear owls hooting in the dark and small creatures scurrying in the brush. The wind whistles through the trees. The woods are full of noises that normally scare humans once the sun has gone down, but to an elf, the sounds of nature are enjoyable. Elves have large ears that pick up sounds human ears can’t. Elves can easily determine what creatures make which sounds. And so far, none of the sounds Zach hears pose any threat. It is safe to move forward.

Zach continues onward, actually comforted by the sounds of the forest. But that changes in a heartbeat when a new frightful sound joins the winter chorus. The howl chills Zach’s blood and momentarily freezes him in fear. His heart races as he slowly forces himself to turn his head. He almost wishes he hadn’t. A large pack of arctic wolves emerging from a thick cluster of trees is just a short distance away. And they look hungry.

Before Zach’s mind even registers what is happening, he runs as fast as possible to get away from the wolves. His legs started carrying him before his mind gave the command. Zach marvels at his instinct for self-preservation.

The quick reaction has given him a lead, but the

55

wolves are right on his heels. And despite how fast he wants to move, his legs can only go so quick. The wolves are closing in on him. He can hear their fierce growling and the snapping of their fangs. There is no way he can beat them in a straight-out dash.

Zach looks to his left and sees a dense growth of trees and brush.

He charges forward and uses his nimble elf agility to weave in and out of the trees and scrub, staying just inches ahead of the wolves’ razor-sharp teeth. As he maneuvers, a thought enters his mind. He quickly hurdles a downed tree while reaching into his pack. He pulls out the popcorn balls and starts to toss them behind him as he runs. The balls explode with a loud series of “BANGS” that startle and disorient the wolves. Zach uses their confusion to his advantage. He continues to race forward until he comes to the end of the woods. Unfortunately, the forest ends at a long, sharp, snowy decline.

“Dang it,” Zach grumbles as he scans the area for any other options. There are none. All he sees is a puffin waddling through the snow just a few feet away. Zach glances back over his shoulder and sees the wolves have gotten over their fear. They are now charging right at him, and if it’s even possible, they seem angrier and more frightening than before.

The little elf darts his eyes around in fear. There is nowhere to run. He is done for. He can’t believe his quest has ended before it even really began. But then, a last-second thought enters his mind. He races over to the puffin, picks it up, and jumps off the ledge just as the largest of the wolves lunges forward and “SNAPS” its fangs. The wolf just misses.

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As both the wolf and Zach drop off the ledge, the elf tucks his legs up and swings the puffin under his feet. He lands on the snowcovered mountainside with the puffin serving as a makeshift snowboard. The two of them careen back and forth wildly down the hill as Zach tries to regain his balance. The puffin, although momentarily scared by Zach’s tactic, actually seems to be having fun. He spreads his little arms wide and prepares to give Zach the ride of his life. Zach looks over his shoulder and sees the pack of wolves at the top of the hill. They are taking their time getting over the ledge, but once they’ve regained their balance, they start running toward him at full speed.

The large wolf that first lunged at Zach still hasn’t regained his footing. He is tumbling headfirst down the hill. At first, Zach is amused at the site, but the snow begins to pack around the wolf as he tumbles. Within a few seconds, the wolf has become a small rolling ball of snow. It slowly continues to grow and gathers more powder getting larger and larger as it rolls.

Zach realizes both the runaway snowball and the rest of the wolf pack are right on his heels. He hasn’t escaped. He has just bought himself a little more time. He quickly scans the surrounding area as his mind thinks frantically for some way to save himself.

In the distance, there are a lot of obstacles to avoid. He looks down at the puffin and smiles. “Okay, buddy,” he shouts. “Let’s at least make these guys work for their dinner.” And with that, Zach carves hard to the right and heads toward a patch of pine trees.

The wolves are hot on Zach’s heels as he enters the small wooded area. The little elf uses all the strength he can muster and weaves hard left and hard right, dodging trees and boulders as he navigates the treacherous terrain. The wolves do their best to keep up, but thanks to Zach’s natural elf agility, he can maneuver past obstacles the wolves can’t. As Zach bunny hops a large boulder, one of the wolves crashes into it headfirst. Next, Zach limbos underneath a fallen pine and the wolf smashes right into it.

Feeling more confident now, Zach laughs as he grabs a low tree branch and pulls hard on it, letting the momentum swing 57

him down and to the side. Three wolves are right behind him as he lets go and the full force of the branch snapping back whacks them in mid-stride. They go flying end over end until they crash into a large patch of frozen thorns. These three wolves give up pursuit as they stumble off, yelping in pain.

These successes fuel Zach’s spirit and for a moment, he feels like he might survive this encounter. But as he looks further down the hill, he can see additional wolves coming down the slope at a sharp angle, trying to cut him off. They will be on top of him in seconds if he doesn’t do something quick.

Just a short distance ahead, Zach sees what appears to be an abandoned mine entrance. There is only a flimsy-looking board covering the entrance. Hanging over the opening of the tunnel, he can see big red words hand-painted on a sign. It reads “YC Peppermint Mine.”

Realizing he has no other options, Zach bends down low on the puffin to pick up speed. He and the little bird accelerate faster and faster toward the mine entrance. Just as they are about to crash into the boarded entrance, one of the arctic wolves leaps right in front of them. The wolf quickly regrets this decision, as he becomes the elf ’s battering ram. The large wolf absorbs the force of the runaway elf and puffin and all three crash through the mine entrance. Zach wobbles to and fro and nearly falls off his surfing bird, but at the last moment, regains his balance and continues to race through the mine. The wolf crashes to the ground and wearily raises his head only to see his prey racing off in the distance. As he closes his eyes to give up, five more of his wolf brethren race past him, still in pursuit of their elusive prey.

Even with Zach’s considerable balancing skills, the mine is exceedingly difficult to navigate. He slides up and down icy embankments while dodging large chunks of rock sticking out all over the place. At some points, the roof is high, but in other areas, it becomes really low. On top of that, the tunnels continue to branch in different directions and the deeper he goes into the mine, the darker it gets. Fortunately, elves have great vision, too bad the puffin didn’t.

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As if navigating the dangerous mine wasn’t enough, the sound of howling wolves makes Zach realize he is still in danger.

Zach looks over his shoulder and once again sees the wolves on his heels. He can’t help but be amazed at how motivating hunger could be to an animal.

Up ahead, Zach can see the tunnel splits in two different directions. To the right, it looks well-lit and relatively smooth.

To the left, it is darker and Zach sees gaping holes in the ice and sharp rock formations pointing down from the ceiling and out from the walls. Zach glances back at the wolves and realizes this might be his only chance to lose them. As he reaches the tunnel split, Zach veers left. Three wolves follow him while the other two continue on the clear pathway.

The wolves that followed Zach into the dangerous tunnel do their best to keep up with the elf as their stomachs continue to grumble.

Their strong legs propel them forward. If they could just get a few feet closer, they knew they would have a tasty snack. Just a few more feet…

Zach sees the wolves closing in and takes evasive action. He aims toward some of the larger holes in the ice and starts to bunny hop over them. After he clears the first three holes, he quickly pulls out his hammer and starts striking the sharp rock formations and the wooden support beams to the mineshaft. At first, the hammer simply bounces back, unable to affect the rocks or the wood.

Zach continues to ride the puffin and aims for a large opening in the ice. He pushes off with his foot to gain even greater speed and leaps high into the air. As he does, he swings his hammer with all his might and smashes another wooden support beam. With a loud “CRACK,” the wood splinters and the beam comes crashing down. The wolves do their best to avoid the cave-in, but they are pinned down by a ton of falling ice and rock. Zach looks back

59

and sees the wolves growling from underneath the rubble. They are still alive, but they won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

Zach wipes the sweat from his brow and looks at the puffin.

They share a smile and continue racing down the tunnel. In the distance, Zach can see light. But before they reach the exit, he can see the tunnel takes a sharp dip down, followed by a short cut back up. Zach bends down while racing and pats the puffin on the head. “Get ready to spread those wings, little guy. We’re about to get some major air.”

The puffin looks up toward Zach with an almost human expression of “You’ve got to be kidding.” And as the little bird turns his head back toward the path, both he and Zach hit the drop-off. The two of them go racing down the slope at lightning speed, accelerating faster than either expected. Zach struggles to stay on top of the runaway bird. They reach the bottom of the decline and before either of them knows what happens, they cut back up and shoot off the edge of the incline ramp. Both Zach and the puffin exit the mine as if shot out of a cannon. At first, both are afraid, but the excitement of flying replaces that fear.

The little puffin spreads his wings, which adds to their airtime.

They eventually come sliding back onto the mountainside and continue their descent down the hill. Both of them are smiling from ear to ear after the wild ride.

Their relief is short-lived as a giant shadow rises behind them. They turn to look back and see a monstrous runaway snowball about to come crashing down on them. Zach can’t help but force a laugh despite his fear as he sees several wolf feet and tails sticking out from the snow. Zach realizes he and the puffin can’t outrun the snowball, but as he looks ahead and sees a sharp drop-off right before the river, he realizes he won’t have to. Zach crouches down low and tugs on the puffin’s right wing. The two of them carve extremely sharp to the right. Their speed is way too fast for the maneuver and they tumble headfirst in the snow.

The massive snowball continues rolling past them, flies over the ledge, and lands in the Glacius river with a massive splash.

Within seconds it is caught in the powerful current and swept downstream, taking the remainder of the wolves with it.

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Zach stumbles up to his knees and takes in a deep breath. He rubs the puffin on the head happily. The puffin grins and does its best to rub Zach’s footprints off its back before stumbling off.

“Thanks for the ride!” Zach giggles, but the puffin just looks back in a dazed fashion. The poor little creature is not quite sure what the heck just happened. Zach laughs one more time and makes his way to the ledge. He climbs down and walks to the bank of the river. He scans in each direction for some way to cross.

According to the map Santa had given him, there is supposed to be a bridge around here somewhere. And sure enough, just about a half-mile north, there it was. Zach tightens his belt and starts to trek toward the bridge. He takes a deep breath and fills his chest with the crisp winter air. He has made it past his first trial. And if things went well, that would be the last trouble he’d face before collecting the gem and getting back home. Things were looking up.

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B

9

rent continues to fume as he storms around the gatehouse next to the shut-down Divine Reactor. With the machine broken, there is no reason to guard it. There is no reason to clean it. In all honesty, there is no reason for him to be here, period.

He is feeling incredibly useless. For countless years he has held this post. He knows every inch of the machine. He knows every circuit, every gear, every knob, cog, nut, and bolt. The Divine Reactor is the sole focus of his entire life. He hasn’t built a regular toy in longer than he can remember. If he will be honest with himself, there isn’t a single position in the workshop that he is qualified for anymore. “Hah,” Brent thinks to himself. “This must be what it feels like to be Zach.”

But rather than feel sympathy for Zach, the thought of the little elf makes Brent even angrier. “Zach.” He curses. “If it weren’t for him, I’d be working right now. I’d be overseeing power for the entire workshop. I’d have this place operating at peak efficiency.

I would be important!”

Brent looks up at the idle reactor and shakes his head in disgust. His gaze moves over to the Star of Bethlehem. The star is shining brightly in the Northern sky. Beams of brilliant light are radiating in all directions. For a moment, Brent is humbled beneath the star’s glorious glow. He has always felt a strong connection to the energy coming from the star. He feels the star is a part of him. Unfortunately, Brent misunderstood the true nature of what that power meant. It is not a power given to him,

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but entrusted to him. And even now, as Brent is given a moment of calm and peace, an opportunity to reflect on his actions and how he has behaved, his own selfish nature ruins it. He turns away from the light and looks toward the dark clouds hovering over the distant mountains. Somewhere out there, Zach is doing his best to make things right. The little elf is giving it his all to make amends for the wrong that he has done. Zach is taking responsibility for his actions. And if he succeeds, he will save the day and save Christmas. He will be a hero in the eyes of the entire North Pole.

And heaven help Brent… that is something he just cannot allow.

“No,” Zach cries as he falls to his knees at the sight of the bridge. It has been destroyed. There is no hope of crossing. The elf looks up to the sky in despair. According to his map, there isn’t another bridge for miles and miles. With his short legs and the amount of time he has, there is no way he can cover the distance he needs to in time. What happened? he wonders. Surely Santa would have known if this bridge was out of order. There is no sign of a fire or natural disaster. It looks like the bridge had been torn apart. But what kind of animal could have done that? What animal would want to? It just doesn’t make any sense.

Zach looks upstream and sees large chunks of ice floating toward him in the river’s rapid current. He looks to the sky and sees the sun is ready to dip below the horizon. It is getting late.

He must do something. It doesn’t matter how the bridge was destroyed. The fact is, it was. He needs to get across the river. If he doesn’t, his mission is over.

Without wasting another second, Zach moves a few feet back from the river’s edge. He takes a deep breath, gets a running start, and jumps onto the nearest chunk of ice. As he lands, he loses his footing and nearly slides off the edge into the icy waters. He scrambles to regain his balance and quickly scans for another ice float to jump onto, but they are all too far away. He realizes the river is moving too fast and he leaps back to shore.

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Zach pauses a moment to catch his breath. He scans upstream for another group of ice floats that he might be able to use to cross. None of them look ideal, but he has to try something. He tenses up his stance and gets ready to dash forward. But before he starts, a memory pops into his head. It is an image of Santa Clause from just a few hours earlier. Santa is looking into his eyes, saying, “You have a lot of energy, Zach. But you don’t always think things through.”

“I know,” Zach speaks aloud, as if in answer to his memory.

“But I don’t have the time right now!” And with that, Zach dashes forward again. This time he manages to hop across three of the ice floats before hitting a gap too large to cross. But once again, he is forced to scramble back to the safety of the shore. “Darn it,” he shouts. “I have to get across.”

Santa’s words echo again through Zach’s mind and for once in his life, he lets them sink in. Santa was right. He didn’t take the time to think things through. And if he is to have any chance of succeeding in this mission, he has to work smarter than he has in the past. He can’t afford any more screw-ups. It was time for him to start acting like the elf he knew he wanted to be.

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Zach pauses a moment and analyzes the situation. He surveys the shoreline and looks for anything that might be of use to help him get across. In the distance, he sees a tall tree. He runs down to the tree and quickly climbs up to get a better view of the river and his surroundings. Upstream he can see a tight series of ice chunks floating his way. Downstream he can see that the icy waters pick up speed. The rapids run into a large series of jagged rocks that are jutting up out of the river. On the far bank just before these rapids, Zach can see a patch of tall pine trees.

It will be dangerous, but it can be done.

Zach climbs down the tree and dashes up the bank of the Glacius River as fast as he can. The ice chunks are moving quickly, so he doesn’t have much time. As he runs, he pulls out his hammer and gets ready. As soon as a good-sized ice float moves within range, he leaps onto it. He quickly jumps from float to float and makes it over halfway across the river. He starts to smile as the opposing shoreline comes into view.

But as he makes his next leap and lands on one of the smaller ice chunks, he loses his footing. He nearly slides off the ice into the river, but manages to hook his hammer’s claw into the ice. He scrambles back to his feet just as the current picks up speed. Within seconds he and the ice float will crash into the jagged rocks ahead.

The little elf suppresses his fear and continues with his original plan. He twists the bottom of the hammer’s handle to release the zip line. He starts to swing the prongs in a circle as fast as possible, letting a little more line out as he goes. Just before his ice float hits the rocks, he releases the slack in his line and lets the prongs fly through the air. They wrap around one of the tall pine branches just as his feet are knocked out from under him. Zach 65

starts to fall toward the icy waters, but as he does, he presses the button on his hammer’s handle. The zip line retracts with lightning speed, pulling him in a wide arc over the remaining rocks and onto the shoreline. He tumbles as he reaches solid ground and slowly makes his way to his knees, exhausted by the effort. While catching his breath, he looks up toward the star of Bethlehem and smiles. “Thanks for the help on that one.”

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S

10

even goblins are stomping around a large cavern in anger. Their skin is a pale, sickly shade of green and they are shivering uncontrollably. Most of them are rubbing their hands together to try and stay warm. The clothing they put on for their exploit outside the cave had not kept them warm enough. At least the boots kept them from coming in direct contact with the awful snow.

“Blasted Elf,” Grobbly shouts as he throws more wood into a pile in the center of the cavern. “The runt should be an ice cube right now.” Grobbly pauses and inhales deeply. A red glow quickly builds around his mouth and nose. He holds his breath a moment longer and exhales with a fiery belch. A burst of flame erupts from his mouth and ignites the wood he has gathered.

One of the larger, skinny elves, Spindle by name, nods in agreement while rubbing his arms for warmth.

“That’s what I feel like… an ice cube.”

As the fire begins to burn brighter, Spindle approaches the flame. He removes his gloves and sticks his hands directly into the center of the blaze. But rather than burn his skin, the intense heat simply absorbs into 67

his body. His color changes back to a healthier, darker green. “Ahhh, perfect.”

He smiles.

The other goblins quickly swarm around the fire to bask in the warmth of the flame. Yert, a tall wild-eyed goblin, sticks his entire bald head into the fire and pulls it back while laughing. The few straggly hairs that were on his head are now singed off. The other goblins laugh and cheer him on. Out of all the goblins, Yert looks the craziest. On his one arm, there is a manacle with a broken chain dangling from it. It is obvious that at one time, he must have been locked up. He is wearing a patchwork pair of shorts that look like they were assembled bit by bit. The chaotic pattern is a perfect match for his fractured mind. Yert stares into the flames with a fiery thirst. He steps back a few feet and gets ready to charge the flames. The other goblins continue to cheer him on. He dashes forward, leaps into the air, and hurdles the blaze with ease.

The remaining goblins start to throw more wood on the fire to make it burn higher and higher. Yert laughs wildly while continuing to jump over and over. But, after several successful attempts, Yert trips right in front of the flames. He tumbles head over heels into the fire and lands on his backside. He scrambles to his feet and runs out of the blaze. The other goblins laugh in delight as a smoky trail follows his every step. The crazy goblin’s pants are on fire. He looks around frantically, trying to find a way to extinguish the flame. It’s not that the fire is causing him pain; he just doesn’t want to ruin his pants!

Yert drops to the ground and starts dragging his butt across the cave floor to try and put out the fire. As he does, his hands come in contact with a small chunk of ice that must have fallen

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from the wood they gathered. His fingers begin to steam and smolder. Yert jumps back up to his feet and screams wildly. The pain is unbearable.

The other goblins howl in laughter at the sight. Yert snarls in anger while quickly dashing back to the bonfire. He sinks his hands deep into the flame. Within seconds they return to their normal color and Yert sighs a breath of relief. The remaining goblins continue to laugh when they see a hole burned in the back of his shorts, exposing a view of his bony butt. Yert dashes off to try and find yet another piece of material to add to his patchwork shorts.

While most of the goblins continue to laugh at the whole scene, Gorth pushes forward and addresses Grobbly. “So, what do we do now?” he asks.

Grobbly thinks for a moment while twisting his knife end over end in his hand. “It’s getting late,” he answers. “That elf is going to need rest… and shelter. It won’t be long before he heads toward one of the caves. When he does, he’s ours.”

The wind is picking up as Zach struggles to make his way across a vast open field. The drifts have made the snow incredibly deep and his progress is slow going. On top of that, the sun is nearly below the horizon. Zach knows he only has about 15 minutes of daylight left. Pretty soon, more wolves and other night creatures will be out scavenging for food. He needs to get out of the open. He needs shelter.

Up in the distance, Zach can see several cavern openings along the mountainous hillside. He can make it to the closest one before he loses all his daylight, but only if he moves quickly.

He reaches into his pocket and takes out the snack Angie packed for him. He munches it down in a single gulp and forges ahead.

A pair of silent eyes watch Zach intently from a distance. The little elf got farther than expected. If he keeps moving at this rate, he will make it to Mount Frostbite ahead of schedule.

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The lone figure studies Zach a moment longer as the little elf disappears into the darkness of the mountains. It jumps down from the ledge and begins pursuit.

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A

11

t this time of the year, Santa always felt his youngest— the energy and excitement of the workshop as everyone pulls together to bring joy to the world was a feeling unlike any other. Often, he was so eager for Christmas Eve he found it hard to sleep. Tonight, as he sits at his desk reviewing his naughty and nice lists, he has that same problem. But his lack of sleep isn’t due to his excitement. It is due to his worry. The clock on the wall reads “26 hours till Christmas ride.” The clock is ticking.

Santa sits up from his stool and arches his back. He is stiff— and tired. His mind is truly ready for sleep. Taking off his glasses, he sets them down on his desk and rubs the bridge of his nose with two fingers while fighting back a yawn. He gets up from the stool and starts to walk across the floor. As he reaches the door, Mrs. Claus enters the room. Santa looks up with a look of sadness in his eyes that his wife quickly notices.

“Are you all right, dear?” she asks.

Santa walks up to her and places one hand on her shoulder for support as he bends down to take off one of his boots. “I’m not so sure. Zach needs to learn this lesson, but I don’t want him to get hurt.”

“It is a dangerous world out there,” Mrs. Claus agrees.

“I know,” Santa answers. “But elves are an ingenious lot. I’m trusting he’ll get through this. He’s got a great heart and a keen mind. I just hope…”

Mrs. Claus stops Santa as he prepares to bend down and take 71

off his other boot. She stares intently into his eyes. “Maybe you should go pick him up. You could get him, collect a new gem for the Divine Reactor, and be home in time for some midnight cocoa.”

Santa considers the notion, but brushes it off. He continues

to remove his other boot and tosses it to the floor. He slides on a pair of slippers and walks over to the large French doors that open onto his balcony. He swings them open and walks through; Mrs. Claus follows a few steps behind.

“Was it wrong of me?” he asks. “Was it wrong to make Zach take this trip when I could have picked up the gem myself?”

Santa glances over his shoulder at Mrs. Claus. “I may have to put 72

myself on the naughty list for letting everyone think this was the only way.”

“You did what you felt needed to be done,” Mrs. Claus answers while moving up to stand next to Santa at the balcony railing. “You were right in saying the trip would tire out your reindeer. That was no lie.”

“But they would have still been fine in time for Christmas,” Santa answers back while hanging his head low in shame.

Mrs. Claus takes his hands into hers and turns him toward her. “Let’s not focus on that right now,” she chides softly. “What do you want to do about Zach?”

“For now,” Santa continues. “I have to trust my initial instincts. It won’t be easy for him, but that’s the whole point. He needs to learn patience. He needs to learn how to focus on one task at a time.” Santa forces a soft smile and looks out toward the arctic wilderness. “Besides, I don’t expect he’ll come across anything scarier than a few wild animals.”

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Z

12

ach’s legs are carrying him as fast as they can. Never in his life has he moved so quickly. He has lost all sense of direction. The caves are a labyrinth of twists and turns that seem to go in every possible direction. But it honestly doesn’t matter if he is heading North, South, East, or West anyway. All that matters is that he is running away from THEM. Just what the heck were those creatures anyway? Never before had he seen or even heard of anything like them. They looked like monsters out of a Halloween storybook.

Zach looks over his shoulder as he runs. The goblins are right on his heels and closing fast. He has done his best to weave in and out of the stalactites and stalagmites throughout the caves, but no matter how much of a lead he manages to get, the goblins always reappear. It is as if they can move through the very walls themselves.

As best he can tell, there are about six of the creatures behind him. Two smaller ones are leading the pack. One holds a sharp knife in his hand, while the other one just seems to be along for the ride. If anything, the smallest goblin seems to move the slowest. He is the least interested in pursuit, but for some reason, the other larger goblins push him forward to the front of the pack, forcing him to help lead the way. It is obvious he isn’t their leader, but they need him out front nonetheless. Zach does notice as he runs through the caves the creatures do their best to avoid the ice and snow drifts that cake sections of the walls and floor. At one point, one of the larger goblins bumped into a 74

big icicle and it caused him pain. Zach thought that was curious since the icicle’s point hadn’t stabbed the creature. The ice had simply come in contact with his skin.

Zach’s mind races frantically as the goblins get closer and closer. He will have to do something drastic if he is going to get away. How could he use the little knowledge he has gained to his advantage? He pulls out his hammer. It is the one weapon he has at his disposal. In the distance, he can see a large sheet of ice on the cavern wall. That might be the answer… if he can just make it.

With a desperate surge of strength, Zach closes the distance to the ice. He takes his hammer in a reverse grip and uses the claw end to rake across the surface. Shards of ice and loose snow spray out into the air behind him. The icy particles land right in the eyes of the goblins.

“Aargh,” they shout out as the snow burns and blinds them at the same time. The goblins begin to trip over one another and within seconds, they are a tangled mess of limbs. Zach continues to run through the cavern maze. He dashes to and fro, trying to gain some sense of direction. Finally, up in the distance, he sees an opening that leads out to the night sky. He keeps his legs moving as fast as he’s able. His heart is racing so hard he feels as if it is going to explode. He does his best to keep pace, but he is more tired than he has ever been. Zach sucks the air into his lungs, hoping it will give him the strength to drive forward. The end of the tunnel is just a few feet in front of him. He is going to make it!

But just as he is about to reach the cavern exit… just as he is about to escape… Gorth steps out from one of the side tunnels. Zach slams into the massive goblin with all of his might. Gorth is unphased.

The gigantic goblin quickly wraps his arms around Zach in a bear hug grip and holds him fast.

The little elf struggles to get free, but 75

the effort is useless. Gorth has a vice-like grip. There is no way he is going anywhere.

“You’re a slippery elf. I’ll give you that,” a voice calls out from behind. “But now we’ve got you.”

Zach squirms to look behind him. Gorth turns slightly so Zach can see Grobbly stepping forward with the rest of the goblin pack just a few steps behind.

“Who are you?” Zach asks nervously. “What… what are you?

What do you want with me?”

“It’s not that we want you... not you exactly,” Grobbly answers while bringing his face up close to Zach’s. “But we do know what you’re up to and we were sent to stop you.”

Zach looks confused. And his curiosity begins to stifle his fear. “You know what I’m up to?” he asks. “How?” “Because our master told us so,” Grobbly answers.

“Your master?”

“Yes,” Grobbly answers as Spindle, the tall, skinny, older goblin with straight dark hair steps forward. Spindle hands the shorter goblin a pair of metal cuffs. Grobbly takes the cuffs and begins to fasten them around Zach’s wrists and ankles. Zach looks out toward the exit of the cave. He had been so close to escaping. The sun had just set and the snow was starting to fall again. The cave is going to get even darker than it had been.

Grobbly finishes restraining Zach’s legs and wrists within the cuffs. Once he’s finished, he scans the floor and picks up a large club-like tree branch from the ground. He holds it in front of his mouth while clenching his teeth. A loud grumbling sound quickly builds in Grobbly’s belly. The sound rises through his throat, and as he opens his lips, a ball of flame comes shooting out. The fireball instantly ignites the branch. Grobbly turns to Zach as the flames reflect eerily in his eyes. He points his new torch back toward the depths of the cave and swings it quickly back toward Zach, stopping just inches from the elf ’s face. “Don’t even think about it.” He warns. “There is no escape.”

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Zach recoils from the heat of the torch. And although he is scared, he knows he cannot just go along with these creatures without trying to get free. Millions of children across the planet will be heartbroken if Santa cannot make his Christmas ride. While his mind races to find an answer to his dilemma, Gorth shoves him forward.

“Move it, runt,” he commands.

But before they can even take a step, all attention turns to the rear of the group. One of the shorter, fat goblins named Strumpf has accidentally wandered too close to the cavern opening. A gust of wind is blowing a steady stream of snowflakes in and they are burning his exposed skin.

“OOOOWWWWW!” he shouts while frantically trying to knock the snow from his body. The other goblins laugh hysterically at the site. It is particularly funny since Strumpf can’t reach the snowflakes on his back. Finally, Grobbly steps over and runs the torch close to the fat goblin’s body. Strumpf sighs in relief and shuffles deeper into the cave. Grobbly gives the fat goblin a stern look and heads back toward the tunnels. He signals Gorth.

The large goblin picks up Zach and slings him over his shoulder like a sack. Zach looks up and watches in desperation as the exit to the cave gets smaller and smaller. The goblin pack has him, and God help him, he doesn’t know what they have in store for him.

As the goblins force Zach deeper into the tunnels, a lone figure emerges from a side corridor behind them. It stealthily heads toward the exit of the cave. The moonlight shining in through the opening casts a long shadow across the cavern wall.

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The shadow’s pointy ears are a sure sign this is an elf, but whether it was male or female is impossible to tell. The shadow hesitates momentarily at the exit—then turns and races back into the cavern to follow the creatures and their captive into the darkness.

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T

13

ry as he might, Zach could not break through the ice and stalactite formations that formed the bars of his prison.

He gave up on the effort over an hour ago and since has tossed and turned trying to find a comfortable position on the cavern floor. The rock is hard and cold and there is nothing within reach that might provide him padding or warmth to ease his discomfort.

Zach looks across the way. In the distance, he can see the goblins tossing wood into a large roaring bonfire that is positioned in the center of the open cavern. Even from this distance, Zach can tell the wood they are tossing into the flames is handcrafted.

It’s not just wood from fallen trees. They are pulling this wood from a large scrap heap that consists of metal, cables, bolts, and other construction materials. Zach realizes in that instant he is looking at the remnants of the bridge that used to run across the Glacius River. The little elf nods his head in dismay.

Well, Zach thinks to himself, at least the Goblins aren’t right on top of me. They had to build the fire far enough away so the heat wouldn’t melt the bars of my prison. Zach shivers and tries to keep his teeth from chattering. Too bad, though, he thinks. Even a little heat right now would feel good.

Zach wraps his arms around himself to try and stay warm as he re-positions once again on the hard cave floor. If he could just get a few minutes of sleep, maybe he could develop a plan. The rest would help him think more clearly.

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“Forget it,” a voice calls from above, “Not sleep good tonight.”

Zach jumps up after hearing the voice. He thought he was alone. He quickly looks in the direction of the voice and sees a short, miserable-looking goblin perched on a rock ledge about ten feet above him, just outside of his prison cell. He is Skretch, the runt goblin who led the pack through the caves earlier.

Skretch isn’t small compared to Zach. He’s only an inch or two shorter. He’s just short by goblin standards. The little goblin leans over the ledge while lying on an animal pelt. He does his best to keep his skin from coming in contact with the cold stone.

“What… Who…” Zach stutters. “What did you say?”

“I said you not sleep good tonight,” the little goblin answers.

“Why do you say that?” Zach asks.

“Sleep in cave all my life,” Skretch responds. “Never good.”

Zach eyes the goblin curiously. “How old are you?” he asks.

“133 years old… today,” Skretch answers with a weak smile.

“Today is your birthday?”

“Yep.” Skretch nods.

“On Christmas Eve?” Zach grins.

“Yep.” Skretch nods again.

“That’s kind of cool.” Zach smiles widely.

“If elf it cool,” Skretch answers. “If goblin… stinks!”

Skretch hops down from his perch so he can speak to Zach more easily. Zach grins as he looks at the creature. The small goblin has green freckled skin and large puppy dog eyes. His nose is pointy and his mouth stretches across his face. His ears are lopped over on each side. Most of his clothes are tattered and worn, but he is wearing a nice leather vest that looks like it is the prize of his wardrobe. Zach notices a birthmark on the goblin’s hand that is in the shape of a keyhole.

Zach attempts to continue the conversation, hoping to learn more from this goblin who seems so very different from the others. Unfortunately, he isn’t going to be given the chance. One of the larger, fatter goblins named Flarg notices Skretch moving.

Flarg takes a step forward and looks their way. Flarg is an angry goblin who always carries a big club. He is older than most of the other goblins, but his age doesn’t slow him down. He still has 80

powerful muscles and a big gaping jaw that is filled with large teeth. Of all the goblins in the cavern tonight, Flarg is the one Skretch fears the most.

“Hey, runt,” Flarg shouts out. “What are you doing over there?”

“Nothing,” Skretch answers while ducking deeper into the shadows.

“Better not be,” Flarg grumbles. “Just keep an eye on that elf.

He’s our prisoner, not a guest. First, we warm up and rest. Then you open the doors to lead us home.”

Skretch nods up and down rapidly, “I hear.”

The little goblin steps forward into the light, hoping he might get invited to the warmth of the flame. “Who watches next?” he asks.

“Nobody,” Flarg replies.

“Nobody watch him?” Skretch asks in surprise.

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“Yeah.” Flarg laughs. “Nobody is watching him. That’s you… a nobody. You’re watching him all night. Har, Har, Har.” The other goblins join in the laughter as Skretch lowers his head in shame. The little goblin looks to Zach. He is embarrassed at being made the fool once again. Zach looks at him and can’t help but feel sorry for the little outcast.

Skretch notices the pity and rails against it. He stiffens his upper lip and does his best to stand tall. He even sticks out his little chest to look as tough as possible.

“My prisoner for the rest of the night. You Skretch’s prisoner,” he says.

“Guess so,” Zach responds. He bends down and wraps his arms around his legs to try and keep warm. He breathes into his hands, hoping for even the slightest bit of warmth. The little goblin stares at Zach and then back at the goblin pack around the bonfire.

“I know how it feels,” Zach speaks out.

Skretch looks at Zach with curiosity in his eyes. “What?” he asks. “Know how what feels?”

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“To be alone,” Zach responds.

“Not alone. My brothers here with me,” Skretch responds while pointing to the goblins.

“That’s even worse,” Zach responds.

“What you mean?” Skretch questions.

“I’m alone because I’m by myself,” Zach explains. “You’re alone in a crowd. I feel sorry for you.”

Skretch wriggles uncomfortably and looks at Zach angrily.

“No feel sorry for me,” he growls. “Feel sorry for you. Feel sorry for Santa. Feel sorry for boys and girls of whole world. Christmas not come this year. Ruined. Your fault. Yours!”

Although Skretch’s words were spoken in defense and not in real anger, they still have the same effect. Zach lowers his head and begins to sob softly. “I know,” he answers.

Skretch stares at Zach as the little elf continues to weep.

He takes a step closer to study him. Before going in too close, Skretch quickly glances back over his shoulder. The other goblins are huddled close to the fire and even Flarg isn’t paying him any attention. Skretch moves closer and whispers to Zach, “What it like?”

“Being stuck in here?” Zach answers. “It stinks. How do you think it feels?”

“Not that. IT,” Skretch responds.

“It?” Zach questions.

“You know…” Skretch presses.

“What? Christmas?” Zach asks.

“Yes,” Skretch responds, genuinely wanting an answer. “What it like?”

Zach eyes Skretch suspiciously, but realizes just how sincere the little goblin is. “It’s the best,” he finally answers. “It’s a time of giving, a time of fun and laughter with friends and family. It’s a time for presents.”

Skretch smiles from ear to ear and Zach can’t help but grin at the sight. “Presents?” The little goblin asks.

“Yes,” Zach answers. “But most of all, it is a time of joy for the gift that God gave to us.”

“God?” Skretch asks.

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“Yes, God,” Zach answers. “You know, baby Jesus?”

Skretch looks at Zach with a vacant expression.

“You mean you don’t know?” Zach asks in disbelief. “You don’t know who baby Jesus is?”

“I know Christmas time for extra goblin mischief,” Skretch answers in reply.

“But why?” Zach asks. “Why make extra mischief at Christmas?”

“That way always been done,” Skretch answers.

“Well,” Zach continues. “Just so you know. Christmas is a time when we celebrate God sending his Son down to save us.

He’s the best person who ever lived and that’s why we’re all nice to each other. We want to try and be as good and holy as he was so that the world is a better place.”

Skretch nods up and down, thinking he understands. “That why Santa give presents… bribe kids be good?”

Zach stifles a laugh. “No,” he explains, “Santa gives out presents because he’s nice. But he couldn’t do it if God didn’t provide him the power for his workshop. And now I’ve broken it and Christmas is ruined.”

As Zach hears his own spoken words, reality sinks in. It reminds him of just how badly he’s screwed up and how he’s now also failed at his mission. He stops talking and looks away. He doesn’t want the goblin to see his tears. He wipes them away with his sleeve and turns back to the goblin. “Just so you know,” Zach continues. “God loves all of his creations. Even you. I bet even you could get a gift from Santa if you were good.”

Skretch eyes Zach suspiciously and tugs on his vest with as much pride as he can muster. “What make you think I need stuff?” he asks.

Zach looks at Skretch’s tattered clothes and glances back at the other goblins near the fire. They all look healthier and better cared for than him. Skretch understands his point. “So what,” the little goblin replies defensively. “Just go to sleep. Got big day tomorrow. Me lead all of us.” Skretch motions to the goblin pack.

“Me lead all of us through caves. Don’t need silly elf to distract me.”

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And with that, Skretch climbs back up to his perch. Zach gives a faint wave and nestles himself back on the cave floor. He shivers from the cold and tries his best to keep his teeth from chattering. Skretch turns his back to the little elf and wraps the animal pelts around his body to stay warm. He can hear Zach shivering beneath him and he can’t help but think about what the elf had said. Skretch looks back at the elf and then back toward the goblins by the bonfire. They laugh and have fun without him, and Skretch can’t help but realize just how right the elf was.

He was alone in a crowd… and it did hurt.

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t had taken a while, but Zach finally fell asleep. The worry and the stress made it difficult, but eventually, his body gave in to the need for rest.

Several hours ticked away and all was silent in the darkness of the cave. Zach was asleep. The goblins were asleep. All was still.

But something started moving in the shadows. The noise stirred Zach from his slumber, yet his mind was still cloudy.

In his sleepy state, it was taking him a few seconds to piece everything together. Curious, he thinks as he stares over toward the bonfire. The flame is barely burning, yet he feels warmer than he had before.

Zach moves slightly to try and make himself more comfortable on the hard rock floor. As he does, he feels a large fur pelt shift with his weight. So that’s why he wasn’t cold anymore. Zach looks up toward the ledge and sees the little Goblin sleeping soundly. Skretch looks incredibly uncomfortable. He is shivering from the cold and his skin is a pale shade of green. All he has to keep warm is a single small scrap of animal pelt wrapped tightly around his person.

Zach smiles as he realizes the sacrifice Skretch made. The elf has come to understand just how badly these goblin creatures needed to stay warm. It was a truly caring gesture that Skretch had given him the best of his blankets.

The little elf ponders that fact as he closes his eyes and tries to fall back asleep. These creatures all seem evil and it is obvious 86

that Skretch is the whipping boy for all the others. Zach can’t figure out why this little goblin would go out of his way to help him. If the other goblins found out, Skretch would surely be in big trouble.

As Zach thinks on the subject, he starts to drift back to sleep.

But that is cut short as he feels something tugging at his pants pocket. Zach sits up quickly, just in time to see a hand pull back quickly through the “bars” of his prison. The hand is holding a piece of parchment. Zach looks up and smiles when he sees who it is.

“Brent!” he cheers. “Boy, am I glad to see you.”

Brent simply gives Zach a smug look. “This is about where I thought you’d end up. Good thing I came along.”

Zach frowns at the insult, but there was no time for this now.

“Okay, okay, just help me get out of here before they wake up.”

“No,” Brent answers bluntly.

“No?” Zach questions in disbelief.

“It’s too risky,” Brent explains. “If they see you’ve gone missing, they’ll start hunting for you… for us. At least this way, I can make it to Mount Frostbite and get the gemstone. At least I can save Christmas.”

“But what about me?” Zach asks. “These creatures might hurt me.”

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“Hurt you?” Brent grins. “I’d say they might even eat you.”

“Eat me?” Zach gasps.

“That would serve you right,” Brent answers. “I told Santa he shouldn’t have sent you in the first place. Now maybe he’ll trust me a little more in the future.”

“This isn’t funny, Brent,” Zach whispers angrily. His voice becomes more desperate as he realizes the large elf isn’t kidding.

“Please, just let me out of here. Please!”

Brent simply casts a wicked smile and dashes off before Zach can say another word. Zach fumes in anger and starts kicking the stalactites, but they don’t budge an inch. The little elf falls to his knees in desperation. He knew he was in trouble, but he didn’t think he might get eaten. Brent was kidding. He had to have been kidding. But what if?

Zach looks up and starts to examine his prison one more time.

There has to be a way out. He stares at the large lock and chain that holds part of the prison “bars” together. He had already tried to squeeze between every set of bars possible without any luck.

There was only one way out. He has to get the lock open. There is no other way. Zach pats himself down. They had taken his hammer, his gloves, and pretty much everything but the clothes on his back. The only thing he still had on him was the poinsettia pin from Angie. Wait! Zach thinks to himself. The pin!

Zach takes off the pin and quickly bends the point into a complex shape. He wedges it into the lock and within seconds the lock makes a clicking sound and pops open.

Skretch stirs on his ledge at the sound of the lock coming undone, but he does not wake. Zach hesitates while staring at the sleeping goblin. He glances at the little creature and can’t help but feel sorry for him. He looks back at the blanket the little goblin shared. Zach grabs the blanket and quickly scales up the rock to Skretch’s ledge. He tosses the blanket over Skretch, climbs back down, and sneaks over to the larger sleeping goblins. He quickly retrieves his hammer and dashes off after Brent. Hopefully, the big elf wasn’t too far ahead. The race was on!

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The plate was full of cookies and the glass of milk hadn’t been touched. Even though Mrs. Claus brought it in a full 30 minutes ago, Santa hadn’t even nibbled. It was a clear sign of just how concerned he was. Mrs. Claus reaches over and places her hand on her husband’s shoulder. His eyes are fixated on a magic snowball resting in front of him. He is looking into it like a crystal ball, hoping to see Zach materialize within the swirling clouds.

“Any luck?” Mrs. Claus asks.

“No,” Santa answers with a sigh. “No sign of Zach at all. I thought for sure he would be near the peak by now, but there’s no trace of him. It’s like the mountains just swallowed him up.”

“Should I send out a rescue party?”

“And risk having them get lost in this storm too?” Santa responds. “No, I better handle this personally.”

Santa gets up and puts on his jacket. But as he does, one of the chief engineering elves comes dashing in through the door holding a bunch of blueprints and notes. The elf ’s glasses are too big for his face, his jacket buttons are out of alignment, and his shoes are untied. His hair is sticking out from his hat in all different directions. Personal grooming is just not important to him. “Sir!” he shouts out while waving the blueprints. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but we have a problem that requires your immediate attention.”

“Are you sure this can’t wait, Edmund?” Santa asks.

The little elf ’s eyes nearly bulge out of his head in disbelief.

Didn’t he just say how urgent his message was?

“No, sir.” The engineer continues. “This is of the utmost importance.”

Santa nods in understanding and waves for the elf to continue.

“I was reviewing our fall-back plans for your midnight ride when I passed by the stables.” The elf pauses to catch his breath.

“Go on,” Santa asks.

“It’s Dasher.” The elf answers.

“What about Dasher?” Santa asks.

“Well,” the elf continues, “He’s missing.”

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“Missing?” Santa repeats in disbelief. “What do you mean missing?”

“Uhmm,” The elf responds slowly, unsure how he could be more clear. “Well, where he used to be… he isn’t anymore.”

Santa looks dumbfounded. He grabs his jacket and rushes off with the engineer elf. On his way out the door, he glances at Mrs. Claus. “This will have to wait.”

“You go on,” Mrs. Claus answers. “I’ll keep an eye out for Zach.”

Santa nods and races down the hallway with the engineer elf. What more could go wrong today? he thinks to himself as he glances at his wristwatch. It reads. “16 hours till Christmas ride.”

Time is not on his side.

As Santa reaches the stables, the winter storm is coming down full blast. The elves are scrambling to take control of the situation. Two elves can be seen in the distance doing their best to track hoof prints in the snow. Their task is exceptionally difficult, thanks to all of the fresh powder that continues to fall.

Another three elves are inspecting Dasher’s stall. They are going over every square inch, looking for any clue as to what might have happened. Yet another elf is scanning the sky with a set of high-powered binoculars. But even with elf technology at their disposal, the storm is coming down too hard to see anything.

“So, where are we?” Santa asks as he reaches the group.

The stable manager steps forward. He is an older elf who is quite stocky. His hands and skin are worn like leather and his voice has that same aged feel to it.

“Not so good.” He grumbles in frustration. “We’re doing our best, but there’s no sign of Dasher anywhere.”

Santa nods in understanding while taking a moment to inspect Dasher’s stall himself. “Any sign of a struggle?” he asks.

“Any clue at all?”

“Nothing at all to trace, sir,” the stable manager answers, yet there is hesitation in his voice. Santa stares at him and the elf shifts uncomfortably beneath his gaze. He removes his elf cap and fumbles with it in his hands before glancing back up at Santa.

“What else are you not telling me?” Santa asks.

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The stable manager looks up at Santa. He takes a moment to run his fingers through his hair and coughs to clear his throat.

“It’s not just Dasher that’s missing.”

“What?” Santa asks in disbelief. “Who else? Prancer? Vixen?

Don’t even say Rudolph!”

“Comet,” the elf answers. “Along with your personal sled.”

Santa glances over to where his personal sled is usually parked. In his rush to search for Dasher, he hadn’t even realized it was missing.

“Dasher and Comet…” Santa speaks to himself aloud.

“Without them, I won’t be able to get my sleigh off the ground.

There’s just no way. The rest of the team can’t handle all that weight.”

Santa looks down to the stable manager. He isn’t looking for answers from the elf. He honestly doesn’t know what he is looking for. Things are spiraling out of control. They are going from bad to worse and if he doesn’t get a grip on things in short order, the holiday will be ruined for the first time in history. The stress is clear on Santa’s face as the stable manager tries to lighten the mood.

“Not a good time for a joy ride.”

“No,” Santa answers while placing his hand on the elf ’s shoulder.

“It wasn’t any of my men,” the elf states flatly, “I can assure you of that.”

“No.” Santa nods in understanding. “I imagine it wasn’t.”

Santa steps away from the elves and lets them continue their search. As he prepares to head back inside, he pauses to take a long glance toward the Divine Reactor and then toward Mount Frostbite. “No, I imagine it wasn’t one of your men.” He repeats with a sigh.

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he maze of twisting cavern hallways is difficult to navigate, but Zach does well. As he makes his way toward the cave exit, he pauses to catch his breath. The snow is coming down hard. He knew a storm was coming, but this is more than he anticipated. It is difficult to see very far, but less than a mile ahead of him, Zach sees Brent forcing his way through the storm.

He can barely believe his eyes. Brent took Santa’s personal sled!

On top of that, the larger elf was cracking a whip over Dasher’s head to try and drive him forward. The powerful reindeer was doing the best he could, but the wind and snow proved to be a difficult force to overcome even with his considerable strength.

The small elf stomps his foot in frustration. Even though the storm keeps Brent and Dasher grounded so they cannot easily retrieve the gem, the larger elf will certainly get there first. What hope did he have against Brent and Dasher working together?

Zach sits down in the snow and watches as the snowflakes fall all around him. He needs to calm his mind. As he looks to the sky, his eyes track north. Even amid the millions of snowflakes swirling in the winter storm, he can make out the form of the star of Bethlehem. It is a brilliant glowing blur shining in the heavens. Zach feels as he always does when staring at the star… humbled by its presence. It reminds him once again of God’s gift to mankind. But even more than that, it reminds him of the sacrifice God made for us. He sent his only Son, who endured more suffering than any man in all of history. Christ never gave up. He did everything in his power to fulfill his promise to man.

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How could Zach do any less? If Zach was going to fail, he was at least going to fail while trying his best.

And with that thought in mind, the “misfit” elf gets up and pats the snow from his pants. He takes another look out at Brent and Dasher in the distance. The two of them are very hard to make out now, but they are visible. There might still be a chance to catch up. The little elf pauses as the wheels in his head turn— his creative elf mind is working at maximum speed. There has to be some way. Nothing is ever really impossible.

And then the thought comes to him…

He grabs his hammer and dashes back into the cave. He weaves his way through the twisting corridors, making sure to commit this path to memory. He reaches the goblin den in short fashion. Fortunately, they are all still asleep.

Zach dashes to and fro among the goblins. He pulls one of the large blankets off of Gorth and rummages through the pile of bridge parts stacked in the corner. A good portion of the wood has already been burned, but one good board would do the trick.

He grabs the board and also takes a metal pole, a couple lengths of cable, and a few steel pins. It is a lot for his short arms to hold, but he does his best. Once he has everything he needs, Zach heads for the exit.

On his way toward the exit, Zach passes by Skretch’s ledge. He is only a few feet away from where he was held prisoner. As he continues, a length of cable slips out of his hands and snares his feet. Zach trips forward with a loud crash. His heart almost stops in that instant. He looks over toward the goblins and they are all waking up. It only takes them a second to realize something is wrong. They look in his direction and see he is loose.

“Darn it!” Zach shouts as he scrambles to pick up the items he dropped. The goblins quickly grab their weapons and start racing toward him.

Zach thought he moved as fast as possible when the wolves had been chasing him, but now his legs are moving so fast it feels as if they aren’t even touching the ground. The goblins are right on his heels with little Skretch leading the pack. The runt goblin is shouting desperately at Zach. “No! Don’t leave! It my job. They counting on me. My job! No! No! Please don’t go!”

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Zach glances over his shoulder while continuing to weave through the corridors. He can see Skretch right behind him, reaching forward to try and stop him. Another few inches and Skretch would have him in his grip. The look of anguish in the little goblin’s eyes is almost more than Zach can bear.

“I’m sorry,” Zach calls out, “I’m really sorry.”

Despite the pain it causes him, Zach knows he has to escape.

He knows Skretch will receive a harsh punishment for failing at his post, but that can’t be helped. Zach lets a length of wire he is carrying slip from his grip. The wire instantly wraps around Skretch’s legs sending the goblin into a tumble. The remaining larger goblins, who are right behind Skretch, trip over him, giving Zach the precious seconds he needs to escape.

As Zach exits the cavern, he is instantly slammed by the howling winds of the arctic storm. The snow is coming down even harder now. He can no longer see Brent in the distance, but at least he remembers which direction the larger elf had traveled.

Zach pulls his cap down low to protect his eyes from the snow and turns his back to the storm, instantly going to work. He pulls out his hammer and whacks the length of pole into the center of the board. He flips it over and flattens the other side of the pole so it won’t slide back through. He fishes the cable through the length of blanket and fastens it to both ends of the pole with the steel pins. Within seconds he has a crude windsurfing device.

Zach lifts his creation slightly to test it. The wind instantly grabs the sail. It should work.

In the few seconds it took Zach to build the windsurfer, the goblins caught up with him. He can hear their growling, grumbles, and snarls coming from inside the cave. The little elf 94

takes a moment to walk over toward the entrance. The goblins have to keep a safe distance to protect themselves from the snow and ice. They dare not step forward. The little elf smiles. He gives them a wink and a parting goodbye wave and dashes toward the edge of the cliff. Without hesitation, he jumps off the ledge and lets the winter winds fill his sail. Within seconds he is racing down toward the vast expanse of snow and ice, moving toward Brent with the speed of a runaway rocket.

The exhilaration of the ride and the knowledge of his success lift Zach’s spirits. He howls out in delight, shouting in glee as he closes in on Brent. As the swirling winds continue to propel him forward, Zach decides to have a little fun. He twists and turns on the sail, sending it spiraling in all different directions.

He does 360-degree loops and twists. Once again, his natural elf agility pays off. He is able to handle the makeshift surfing device with ease, and for just a minute or two he can forget about the depressing chain-of-events of the past several hours.

But the exhilaration is short-lived. Zach can see the form of Brent and Dasher coming up on the horizon. At his current speed, he would pass by them in no time, And that’s all the time it did take. In only a few seconds Zach whizzed right by them.

He was now in the lead. He should be happy. But the little elf can’t get past what he had just seen. Brent was hip-deep in the snow. His hair and skin were covered with ice. He was snapping on the reins doing his best to drive Dasher forward. But the weight of the heavy snowdrifts had nearly buried the sled. And despite all of his strength, the powerful reindeer could not press forward. Even Dasher’s fur coat was covered with ice and snow.

Their situation was dire and within moments, they would be buried alive.

Zach pulls hard on the cable of his windsurfing device, steering it in a wide arc, looping back around toward Brent and Dasher. As he comes upon them, he angles the nose down and the tip of the windsurfer buries in the snow. The device is temporarily anchored in place. Zach leaps over toward Brent.

“C’mon!” he shouts while pulling Brent out of the small sled.

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Both elves scramble up to Dasher and start digging frantically with their hands to displace enough snow so the large reindeer can get his legs moving again. Dasher pulls with all his might.

He twists and turns, trying to free himself from his icy prison.

Finally, one leg pops forward and then another. That is all it takes.

The powerful reindeer uses all of his strength to lunge forward and free himself. He shakes violently, doing his best to loosen the ice forming all over his fur coat.

“Go Home, Dasher,” Zach shouts while smacking him on the backside and shooing him away. “Go home now!”

Dasher instantly heeds Zach’s command. He uses all the remaining might of his powerful form to pull forward. He starts with a few steps and quickly builds up to a charge. Once at full speed, he leaps into the air. The reindeer struggles to stay in flight, but he gains more altitude over the raging winds with each step. Once he is high enough, he makes a hard turn that causes the sled to twist end over end. As it does, it dumps the snow that was trapped inside, lightening the load. The reindeer continues racing back toward Santa’s Castle. As he flies, Dasher looks back and sees Zach and Brent become little specs on the arctic landscape. In his haste to get back home, Dasher doesn’t notice another flying form fighting its way through the winter winds. But this creature is not heading toward the workshop.

This creature is heading directly toward Zach and Brent.

Brent is already shouting at Zach on the ground below, despite the fact that the smaller elf just saved his life. “Why’d you shoo Dasher away?” he yells. “He was free. He could have helped us!”

Zach ignores Brent while shaking the snow off of his clothes.

“I’m talking to you, runt!” Brent shouts as he moves closer to Zach. The little elf looks up and prepares to speak, but just as he does a large pile of snow comes crashing down right on top of Brent. The snow buries the larger elf so completely that Brent is left standing in the cold, frozen in place. He looks like a living snowman. Zach does his best to stifle a laugh. The snow that Dasher dumped out of the sled couldn’t have landed in a better place. But while Zach finds a great deal of satisfaction in 96

Brent’s humiliation, there are more important things to address right now.

“Give me back my map,” Zach demands while stepping toward Brent.

“What?” Brent asks while shaking the mound of snow off of his body.

“We need to get that gem,” Zach explains. “This is bigger than you or me. We need to work together. Let me see my map.”

Brent stares at Zach suspiciously. He is honestly caught off guard by the determination seen in the little elf ’s eyes. He pulls the map out from his pocket and unfolds it in the snow—both he and Zach pin down the corners to prevent the wind from blowing it away. Zach points to the map and tracks along the route they’ve already covered.

“Okay,” Zach explains. “We’re almost there. If we can get to that peak within the next 4 hours, we should still have enough time to get the gem and get back in time to restore power to the Divine Reactor.”

“But we could have done it even faster with Dasher’s help,” Brent responds angrily. “Why did you shoo him away?”

“Santa will need all his reindeer if we fail,” Zach explains.

“We’re not out of the woods just yet. Plus, we have another means of transportation for now.”

Zach pulls the windsurfing device out of the snow and steadies it as best he’s able as the wind continues to blast them.

“Get on!” he instructs Brent.

The larger elf looks hesitantly at the windsurfing device. But, despite his reservations, he has little choice. He frowns, steps on, and within seconds he and Zach are racing across the arctic plane toward the base of Mount Frostbite.

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he crazy-looking goblin named Yert had been scanning the ice fields ever since the elf had escaped. Although he was not the most reliable goblin in the group, he did have the best vision. Even now, his eyes are peering out of the cave through the billions of snowflakes falling to the earth. And while most of the arctic landscape is a swirling blur of white noise, he can make out two shadowy figures racing across the snow toward the largest mountain in the arctic range.

“I’ve got him!” Yert shouts to his fellow goblins while waving for them to come forward. “I see him!” The other goblins instantly race forward as Yert scans the mountain range and tracks a course back to their current location. “I know where he’s headed,” he screeches while grabbing Strumpf and shaking the fat goblin back and forth wildly. “We can get him! We can get to that mountain without stepping out into that blasted snow!”

The other goblins cheer and roar in support. The game is back on. “To the tunnels!” Grobbly commands while pointing his dagger toward a cave that leads north. The goblins shove past each other in their excitement to re-capture their prey. As they race forward, only the smallest goblin moves forward without any enthusiasm. He is sporting a black eye and he is looking particularly beat-up and pitiful. Yes, Skretch’s heart is not into this mission, but he has no alternative. So he continues to follow the pack, knowing full well that despite the way his brothers treat him, they need him to plot the course through the complex maze of caverns that only a “gatekeeper” goblin could navigate.

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It had only taken about fifteen minutes for the pack to call on Skretch. They stopped at a seemingly dead end. Yert quickly starts to scan the surface of the stone, doing his best to see what only a gatekeeper goblin could act on. “This is the spot,” Yert grumbles. “Skretch. Come. Now!” The little goblin works his way through the crowd.

As he does, Flarg shoves him forward.

“Move it!” the grumpy older goblin commands. Skretch looks back in anger, but there is nothing he can do. He turns back and approaches the wall, scans the surface and traces a complex pattern across the stone. As he does, the birthmark on his hand begins to glow a bright blue.

Skretch pauses a moment as the pattern on the rock also begins to glow. He pushes the boulder forward and the rock moves easily beneath his touch and a doorway appears before them.

“There we go,” Skretch smiles as he waves his hand for the goblins to pass. Without any hesitation, the goblins shove past him and enter into an area of the caverns where tunnels stretch in every conceivable direction. Leading into each tunnel are metal tracks with empty mining carts parked all over the place.

The goblins pile into one of the larger carts with an old metal carving of a griffon head on the back of it. While most of the goblins fit in, there just isn’t room for all of them. The fatter goblin named Strumpf stands at the edge of a platform, unsure of what he should do.

“Make room,” he grumbles.

The other goblins shift as best they can, but they only free up a small amount of space. Strumpf shrugs his shoulders and jumps forward. His stubby legs barely propel him at all and he nearly falls on his face. Gorth reaches out and catches him as the momentum shoves the cart forward faster than intended.

“Not so fast!” Spindle shouts as he reaches for the brake.

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Grobbly grabs Spindle by the wrist and pulls his hand back.

“No time to waste,” the goblin leader commands.

In response to Grobbly’s comment, Yert reaches forward and laughs wildly while snapping off the brake handle entirely. This forces the cart into a total freefall as they head down a very steep decline.

The goblins cling to each other as the cart races down the rails with lightning speed. Once it finishes going down one hill, it swings back up and bends around another. Yert continues to laugh in maniacal delight as Strumpf bends over the side and tries to keep from throwing up. The two larger goblins, Gorth and Spindle, duck down low, so they don’t whack their heads on the low ceilings. Flarg, the older goblin, simply folds his arms across his chest like this is no big deal. He has been on this track before. Only one goblin seems to actually enjoy the ride. Skretch is hanging off the back of the cart, smiling from ear to ear. Just why he enjoyed the speed and power of this wild ride he did not know. All he did know is that it was fun, and for once in his life, he was going to just relax and enjoy the ride.

Deep in the depths of the mountain, the Goblin King sits at his throne of carved stone. The monstrous creature holds a glowing black orb in his lap. He waves his hand over the top of the globe and a large view of the mountains comes into view on its surface. Grife focuses on the landscape and watches as two small images head directly toward one another. As he continues to watch with deep interest, he sees one of the images approaching the base of Mount Frostbite while the other image continues to move toward them through the mountain range. Grife sets the orb down at his side and closes his eyes. Things had not proceeded as he planned, but that would be settled soon… very soon.

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ven at their breakneck speed, it takes Zach and Brent quite a while to cover the vast expanse of ice and snow leading to Mount Frostbite. The surfing device Zach crafted is performing wonderfully. But as he and Brent near their final destination, the wind dies down unexpectedly, causing the tip of the board to bury its nose in the snow. The momentum sends Zach and Brent flying through the air until they crash into a snowbank at the base of the mountain.

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“Nice driving,” Brent grumbles as he dusts the snow out of his hair.

“Hey,” Zach replies defensively. “I got us here, didn’t I?” “So what,” Brent answers with a sneer. He cocks his head back to look up the side of the mountain and motions for Zach to follow his gaze. “We’ll never make it in time.”

Zach looks up and realizes Brent’s statement has merit. Now that they are up close, the mountain is so much bigger than he imagined. On top of that, the first thirty feet is sheer ice. After that, the mountain cuts back in and forms a ledge. Even with Zach’s specially crafted shoes, there is no way he is going to be able to scale it.

“Darn it,” Zach grumbles as he starts to run along the base of the mountain, looking for anything to latch onto… any place he might get a foothold. But there is nothing. He tries, again and again, to get the shoes to find traction on the ice, but it is just too slick. Next, he pulls out his pickaxe and starts swinging and scraping at the ice, trying to etch a groove into it. The hammer does the trick, and Zach is able to get one foothold, but as he tries to create another groove further up, he realizes the folly of his plan. There is no way to create more footholds along the way for him to scale the entire wall. Brent watches in amusement as Zach slumps down in the snow. The little elf is out of breath and feeling defeated.

“It’s no use,” Brent tells him. “We might as well just head back.”

Zach looks at Brent with a frown. He did not want to admit defeat. He jumps back to his feet and starts scraping again and again. As he does, he accidentally presses the button on the ax handle that sends the grappling hook shooting out. It just barely misses Brent.

“Oh, my gosh!” Zach shouts with glee. “I almost forgot!”

“Forgot what? Brent asks.

Zach doesn’t respond. He simply presses the button, so the grappling hook recoils. He takes a few steps back and looks for a good spot on the mountain. He raises his arm in the air and presses the button again. The grappling hook flies through the 103

air and digs its teeth into the side of the mountain just above the ice ledge. Zach turns to Brent and gives him a wink and smile.

He grips the pickaxe handle firmly with both hands and presses the button again. The line recoils and pulls Zach into the air with lightning speed. The little elf becomes a blur of motion against the icy backdrop of the mountain. The next thing Brent sees is Zach smiling as he peers down at him from atop the ice ledge.

“That’s what!” Zach yells down.

Brent’s eyes are wide with wonder. He can’t believe what just happened. At first, he looks excited, but that emotion quickly changes to anger. “What about me?” he shouts.

Zach considers Brent’s question.

“I’m not sure,” Zach replies. “I’m not sure I can trust you.

And you will slow me down.”

Brent fumes at the comment. “You can’t make it without me!” he shouts. ‘You’re not strong enough. You just want all the glory for yourself!”

Zach stares down at Brent with anger in his eyes. He is sick of being talked down to. He is tired of being the whipping boy. “No more,” he tells himself.

“I am to strong enough!” Zach shouts over the blustering winds. “I’m clever enough too. It’s not just strength that makes an elf important. It’s how smart we are!”

“Smart won’t do you any good when those goblins show up again,” Brent replies.

“And strength isn’t going to help you get up this ledge,” Zach counters.

Both elves stare at each other. Neither of them wants to budge.

But as the stare-down continues, Zach glances at his watch. They are wasting valuable time.

“Okay,” Zach shouts down. “We don’t have time for this. I can use your help. But you need my help too. Let’s do this like Santa suggested in the first place. Together. Okay?”

Brent stares up at Zach from his position on the ground. He doesn’t like the situation, but there is nothing he can do about it. He slides one hand behind his back and crosses his fingers.

“Okay,” he shouts. “Deal!”

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Zach nods in approval and quickly gets to work.

He leaves the grappling hook wedged in the ice and tosses the handle and line down to Brent. “Get a good grip and then press the button,” Zach shouts.

Brent does as he is told and before he knows what’s happening, he is whisked through the air. It takes all of his strength to hold on, but in the blink of an eye, he is on the icy ledge with Zach. Zach looks up at the larger elf with a bit of nervousness in his eyes. It takes Brent a second, but he realizes what Zach is concerned about.

Brent has the pickaxe. He already has the map, and now he is past the main obstacle that has to be overcome to reach the gem. Brent considers his options a second, but then smirks and tosses the pickaxe back to Zach.

“Okay, you lead the way,” Brent commands. “I was never good with maps anyway.”

Zach nods in agreement and shoots the pickaxe line up to the next level of the mountain. He reaches his hand out to Brent.

“Let’s see how strong this line really is.”

Brent nods, takes a step forward and locks grip with Zach.

“Worth a shot,” he says, laughing.

Zach presses the button and the handle reels the line back in, pulling both elves up to the next level at lightning speed. “Gotta love elf tech!” Zach shouts in excitement.

In his magical snowball, Santa watches with earnest as Zach and Brent continue to scale Mount Frostbite. They are making 105

good time now, but it will still be incredibly close. He pulls back his sleeve and glances at his watch. It reads eight hours till the Christmas ride. Santa reaches over to his plate of cookies, picks up a ginger snap and takes a big bite. His appetite is starting to return and that is a good sign. If his elves succeed in this mission, he will need his strength. It was, after all, Christmas Eve, and he has a long night ahead of him.

Santa turns as he hears the door open. It is Mrs. Claus bringing him a cup of hot cocoa. She gives it to him and glances at the magic snowglobe. She smiles warmly after seeing the two elves working together to scale the mountain. “Never count an elf out,” she says with a comforting smile.

“No,” Santa replies. “I guess not, but we are cutting it a bit close. I never meant to risk missing our Christmas ride. I just wanted to teach Zach a valuable lesson. If Dasher and Comet don’t return in time….”

“I thought at least one of the reindeer would have been with them,” Mrs. Claus answers.

“So did I,” Santa nods while pointing to the globe. “But the two of them are right there. There’s not a reindeer in sight.”

“You don’t think….” Mrs. Claus starts to say.

“I just don’t know,” Santa answers quickly, not even wanting to entertain the idea that one of his prized reindeer could have been hurt… or worse.

Mrs. Claus puts a comforting hand on Santa’s shoulder. He looks back at her and places his hand on top of hers. As he does, the phone rings. Santa picks it up and a high-pitched voice can be heard talking excitedly on the other end.

“He did!” Santa shouts out in excitement while nearly leaping out of his chair. “Is he okay?”

Mrs. Claus leans closer, trying to hear what is being said.

Santa simply smiles at her while continuing to talk, “How soon can it be repaired?” Santa reaches for his jacket. “I’m on my way.”

Santa hangs up the phone and smiles widely at Mrs. Claus.

“Good News,” he exclaims. “Dasher just arrived. He’s a bit exhausted and needs some food and water, but he’ll be okay. My

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personal sled was connected to him. It’s been damaged, but the elves have started the repairs.”

“Fantastic!” Mrs. Claus hugs her husband. He hugs her back quickly but then steps away. He is too excited to hold still.

“Yes, it is fantastic,” he answers. “But we still need to get those boys home, find Comet, and get the gem to power up the workshop!”

Mrs. Claus extends a drink and cookie to Santa. “Then I guess you better get moving. Here, you’ll need your energy.”

Santa quickly gobbles down the cookie and chugs the hot cocoa. He lets out an unexpected burp and then laughs at himself.

Mrs. Claus gives him a reprimanding look at first, but then joins him in his laughter. Things were starting to look up.

Santa dashes out of the room as Mrs. Claus walks over and settles down in his chair to look into the snowglobe. She sees the two elves continuing to scale Mount Frostbite. “Good luck, boys,” she whispers.

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Z

18

ach and Brent pause for a breath as they reach a large plateau near the peak of Mount Frostbite. For the moment, the wind died down and the snow stopped falling. The two elves take a second to survey their surroundings. There are multiple cave openings to choose from.

“We’re nearly there,” Zach says between heavy breaths. It was not an easy climb. “We need to go inside the mountain to mine a gem.”

“Which entrance should we take?” Brent asks impatiently.

Zach opens up the map and starts to scan it. Brent moves closer and looks over his shoulder. As the two of them stare at the map trying to chart their course, a fireball goes flying just inches over their heads, singing Brent’s cap. Zach sees the hot embers and starts to smack at them furiously before they ignite into flame. In the process, he manages to smack Brent around a bit too. The larger elf steps back. “Okay, okay,” he shouts. “I think you got it.”

As Brent finishes his sentence, another fireball strikes the ground next to them, followed by another. Zach and Brent dash for cover behind a nearby snow mound as the entire plateau becomes lit up with fireballs. Amid the smoke-filled area, Grobbly, the leader of the goblin pack, emerges. He is laughing as smoke wafts up from his mouth. “Har, har, har,” he says, laughing. “Just what I was hungry for… flaming elf!”

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As Grobbly laughs, the other goblins pop into view from the various cave openings. Yert, the crazy goblin, leaps down from a high ledge with a devious look in his eyes. “I want mine well done,” he snickers. And with that, Yert’s stomach begins to grumble. The noise quickly builds and rumbles up his throat until it explodes out of his mouth in a burst of flame.

“We’ve got to get out of here!” Zach shouts to Brent, but the larger elf doesn’t budge, he is frozen in fear. Zach tugs on his arm, doing his best to get Brent to move. “Brent!” he shouts. “We have to get moving! We have to escape!”

Despite Zach’s best efforts, Brent remains frozen in place. He cannot summon the courage to respond. Zach takes his map and wedges it into Brent’s belt loop. He then grabs Brent by the collar and pulls him down low so they can see eye to eye. “Brent,” he pleads. “You have to get a gemstone to Santa. Millions of kids are counting on us. I’m going to draw their fire. When I do, you make a run for it.” Zach points toward one cave entrance in particular. “You see that tunnel, the center one? You have to go down that one. All the others will lead you away from the gems.

They’re decoys.”

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The information Zach is sharing slowly starts to sink in.

Brent nods in understanding. He reaches down and gets a good hold on the map. Zach peers over the snow mound and sees the goblins pressing forward. He rushes a short distance to a neighboring snow mound and pokes his head up. He sticks out his tongue, puts his thumbs in his ears, and flaps his hands in a kid-like gesture to taunt the approaching goblins. “I’m right here, you ugly, smelly toads. I’m right here,” he shouts.

The goblins all focus their attention on Zach and start to burp fireballs in his direction. Zach dodges them with ease at first, but the sheer number of fireballs coming at him starts to make it difficult. As Zach continues to avoid the deadly flames, Brent circles around behind the goblins and makes his way toward the center cave opening that leads to the gemstone mine.

Zach continues to weave, jump, bend, flip, and twist to avoid all of the fireballs coming at him. But the goblins split up to try and surround him. As they do, Zach gets an idea. He rushes right up the middle between the two packs of goblins. Not realizing what he is up to, the goblins continue to shoot their fireballs as fast as they can, but in doing so, they start shooting toward each other in a deadly crossfire.

Strumpf, the fattest goblin, lets loose a massive fireball belch that blasts across the battlefield and hits Gorth right in the face.

The force of the fireball knocks Gorth off his feet and he lands smack dab in the middle of a large snowbank. Gorth jumps back up and runs around in circles howling in pain. His hair and clothing are singed, but otherwise, he is unhurt from the fireball blast. It is then Zach remembers the snow itself caused the pain Gorth is in.

“Oh, yeah!” Zach snickers to himself.

Zach casts a sly grin as he continues to weave in between the flying fireballs. He shouts to Brent just as the larger elf is prepared to enter the cave, “Hold on, Brent! Help me! We can take them!”

Brent pauses and looks down at the little elf he always called “runt.” He is amazed as he watches Zach hold his own against a full pack of nightmarish goblins.

“Watch!” The little elf shouts in excitement. Zach reaches down and scoops up some snow. He quickly packs a snowball 110

and whips it at Grobbly, just as the leader of the goblin pack is prepared to burp out another fireball. The timing of the throw is perfect. The snowball hits the fireball just before it leaves Grobbly’s throat. Snow sprays all over Grobbly’s face causing him to dance around in pain and anger. “Yeeeoooowwwwwccchhhh!” he cries.

The other goblins laugh at first, but then realize Grobbly is really in pain. They all start to burp fireballs as fast as they are able. Zach evades their fire as best he can, but the entire ice plateau is ablaze.

“Brent!” Zach shouts while trying to fend off the attack. “I need your help. Now!” The larger elf looks down from the ledge at Zach. The little elf is pinned down and the goblins are closing in on him. Brent glances at the map he has in his hand and then toward the cave entrance. “Sorry, Zach,” he replies. “But, as you said, this is more important than either of us.”

With these last words still ringing in Zach’s ears, Brent enters the cave and leaves the little elf alone to fight the full pack of angry goblins. Zach quickly ducks low and starts making snowballs as fast as his hands will let him. “Darn it!” he grumbles. Zach knows full well there is no way he can fight the entire pack by himself.

Sure, he told Brent to do what he did, but he couldn’t help feel that if the situation were reversed he would have stayed.

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Zach peeks up over the snow mound and sees goblins closing in from all sides. He quickly makes the sign of a cross and then leaps up on top of the snow mound. He whips the snowballs with all his might. If he was going down, he was taking as many goblins with him as possible.

The sudden attack, combined with the speed and accuracy of Zach’s aim, catches the goblins off guard. Gorth, Yert, and Spindle all get hit repeatedly. But as Zach takes aim at the next closest goblin, he realizes it is Skretch. He pauses momentarily, unable to strike the goblin he felt kinship toward. In that moment of indecision, Grobbly sneaks up from Zach’s blindside and knocks him to the ground. Two of the other goblins, ignoring the pain of the snow, quickly pin Zach as Grobbly prepares to smash him with a giant rock. At the same time, Gorth prepares to burp out a massive fireball.

Zach squints his eyes while struggling to break free, fearing the impending impact.

The sound of the outside battle fades from Brent’s ears as he runs deeper into the caverns of Mount Frostbite. He isn’t proud he left Zach to his fate, but more important things are at stake. If he is quick enough, Brent knows he can still retrieve a gem and get it to Santa in time. He can still save the day.

The larger elf continues to run down the stony corridors, but as he comes up to a split in the tunnel, he quickly opens the map and tries to figure out just where he is. When Zach said to take the center tunnel, he thought it would take him straight to the gem mine. He didn’t realize there were going to be more twists and turns.

“Shoot!” Brent gripes as he runs his finger across multiple dotted lines. No matter how he looks at the map, it just doesn’t

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make sense to him. There are too many paths to choose from. His heart begins to race and he quickly breaks a sweat. The pressure is on and if he makes the wrong decision, he will certainly get lost.

Brent looks at the map one final time and then rolls it back up. He dashes off to the left, hoping he is making the right choice.

Back on the ice plateau, Gorth watches eagerly as his fireball is about to crush the elf who dared attack him and his brothers.

But just as the flame is about to strike Zach, a flashing blur streaks across the winter sky. The fireball is knocked off course and crashes into a nearby snowbank. Zach looks up in disbelief and sees his friend Angie leap off Comet. The large reindeer stands tall as smoke trails up off the antler he used to divert Gorth’s blast. Comet flexes his powerful muscles and snorts in a challenge at the approaching goblins. Angie runs toward Zach while scooping up snow and packing it into a ball.

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“Angie?” Zach stammers in disbelief. “What? How? Huh?” “It looked like you could use a hand,” Angie says, smiling as she grabs Zach and pulls him behind the protective form of Comet.

“Gladly.” Zach grins as he and Angie start packing more snowballs and stuffing them into their pockets. Comet stands tall above them and continues to deflect the incoming fireballs.

“You ready for this?” Zach asks as he prepares to engage in the ultimate snowball battle. Angie gives him a wicked smile and nods her head excitedly.

“Well,” Zach continues. “Then Let’s Play!”

Zach and Angie dash across the battlefield with a nimbleness the goblins cannot hope to match. Grobbly, Yert, Gorth, Flarg, Spindle, and Strumpf get blasted over and over. They do their best to return fire, but as they do, they are repeatedly struck.

Only Skretch, the littlest goblin, remains free of injury.

“Retreat!” Grobbly finally commands when it becomes apparent this is a losing battle. The goblin pack all rush toward the center cave entrance that leads to the gemstone mine. Zach and Angie continue to pelt them in their butts as they flee. But just as they are about to exit, Grobbly turns and points his finger 114

angrily at them. “You think you’ve won!” he shouts. “But you haven’t.” Grobbly motions to the other goblins and they all roar in unison. They are each gearing up for a massive fireball belch.

Zach and Angie hold back, waiting to dodge the attack. But it never comes. Instead, the goblins turn their heads upward at the last second and aim their fireballs at an overhead ice shelf. The multiple fireballs blast the ledge and it explodes into a million pieces. The goblins dash into the cave entrance just before a landslide of rock, snow, and ice comes crashing down, blocking the cave opening permanently.

“No!” Zach cries as he rushes forward and starts pulling away pieces of rock and ice from the massive pile of rubble. “We were so close!”

Angie steps forward to console Zach but then suddenly raises her arm. “Look out!” she warns.

Angie winds up and prepares to throw. Zach looks at where she is aiming and sees Skretch peaking out from behind a small rocky mound.

“No,” Zach instructs her while lunging forward to block her throw. “Don’t.”

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Angie looks at Zach in amazement. Zach turns and addresses the little goblin. “Skretch,” he calls out, “Skretch, it’s all right.

Come out. We won’t hurt you.”

Skretch takes a step forward, but Comet snorts and the little goblin hesitates. Zach turns to the large reindeer and puts both hands up in a calming fashion. “Comet. It’s okay,” he says calmly.

“Don’t’ worry. He’s okay.”

Zach extends his hand toward Skretch and the little goblin slowly steps forward.

“You could have hit me,” Skretch asks curiously. “You could have hit me with snow. Could have hurt me. Didn’t… why?”

“I didn’t want to hurt you,” Zach explains.

Zach steps closer to Skretch and notices he has a black eye and other bruises. “Looks like somebody else did enough of that anyway.”

“Was punishment,” Skretch explains. “Should not have let free. Elf should not have escaped. My fault.”

“I’m sorry,” Zach answers sincerely.

“Not elf fault,” Skretch answers. “Me didn’t want you free. Elf smarter than Skretch. Brother goblins stronger than Skretch.”

The little goblin looks to the heavens and his big blue eyes look sad beyond measure. “Skretch useless.”

Zach and Angie look toward each other, unsure of how to respond. Skretch notices their gaze and wipes the tear from his eye. He turns away. “Me no use,” he continues. “Worthless creation.”

Angie steps past Zach toward Skretch. She, too, has tears in her eyes. She can’t help but feel the goblin’s pain. And although she is a little scared since Skretch is bigger than her, she can’t help but feel a deep sense of pity for the creature. She places a comforting hand on Skretch’s shoulder. “Nobody is useless,” she whispers. “God doesn’t make anything that is useless.”

Skretch turns and eyes her curiously. Now that she has his attention, she continues, “Why, I bet you have all sorts of potential inside you that you aren’t even aware of.”

“Potential?” Skretch asks hesitantly. “Me have potential? You think?”

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“I do,” Angie answers firmly.

“And so do I,” Zach chimes in.

“For really?” Skretch asks again as a small smile starts to work its way across his face.

Both Angie and Zach speak at the same time while nodding up and down. “Really.”

Zach turns to the blocked cavern entrance and tries to make a point to the goblin. “You think I’m smart,” he explains. “But I don’t know nearly as much about caves as you do.”

“What good that?” Skretch asks.

Zach pauses and thinks for a second. He needed to be careful how he explained this. “It might be a lot of good. I mean, how did you get ahead of me? I raced across this entire valley with the wind at my back and you still beat me here.”

“That easy,” Skretch explains while grinning sheepishly.

“Tunnels. Secret tunnels. Only goblins know. Not even Santa can see inside our mountains!”

“So,” Zach continues. “The map I had. It said only the center tunnel could lead me to the gems.”

“Bah!” Skretch grunts.

“Bah?” Angie asks excitedly. “You mean that’s not true?”

“All tunnels lead to each other,” Skretch explains. “Just need open doors.”

“Doors?” Zach asks.

“Doors.” Skretch nods while raising his hand to show off his keyhole birthmark.

The elves aren’t sure what the significance of the birthmark is, but they did realize Skretch was stating he knew his way around the caverns.

“So, you can lead us to the gems?” Angie asks. “You know how to get there?”

“Yes. Could if wanted,” Skretch answers while turning away from her. What they were asking was not some small request.

“Will you?” She asks while turning him back to face her. She gives him the warmest smile possible and Zach steps forward to join her.

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Skretch considers what they are asking. He rubs his fingers across his black eye to emphasize his point. “No,” he finally answers. “Would be punished. Grife not be pleased. Grife worse than brothers.”

“Grife?” Zach asks.

“Goblin leader,” Skretch explains. “Want Christmas ruined.

Master told him so.”

Angie looks to Zach and then back at Skretch. This was all new to her and she wanted to make sure she was following this.

“Let me get this straight,” she says. “Your boss, Grife, who is the goblin leader, wants to spoil Christmas because his master wants him to?”

“Yes.” Skretch nods.

“Well,” Angie continues. “Who’s his boss?”

Skretch doesn’t say the name aloud. He simply looks toward the ground repeatedly. He then points his fingers behind his head like devil horns and makes a scary face while sticking his tongue out.

“You mean?” Angie asks in fear.

“Goblins follow Grife,” Skretch explains. “Grife follows master.” Skretch then averts his eyes to the ground again.

Zach gulps while trying to suppress a chill. “I guess we know why he’d want to try and ruin Christmas then, huh?”

“No!” Angie cries aloud as the realization of this information sinks in. “Zach!” she cries. “This is more than just stopping toys from being made. He’s trying to ruin the celebration of Christ’s Birth!”

Angie gets a panicked look in her eyes. She grabs Zach by the jacket and shakes him nervously. “Zach!” she continues. “We have to stop him! We have to! We have to tell Santa! He’ll know what to do!”

“We will,” Zach answers unconvincingly while trying to calm her. “I hope we will,” he continues.

“We have to!” Angie shouts.

“Angie!” Zach replies while trying to calm her. “People will still celebrate Christmas without the toys. Maybe it will even remind them about the true reason for celebrating.”

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Without warning, Angie punches Zach as hard as she can in the arm.

“Ouch!” he yells. “What?”

“Of course, adults will still celebrate. They know better.”

Angie explains. “But millions of children will still be crushed and that sadness will make the parents question why Santa didn’t come. Santa is one of the best forces for good on this planet, and if he can be stopped….”

Zach follows her train of thought, “…then even adults will question how powerful evil is.”

“Yes,” Angie whispers. “So, you see. We cannot fail.”

Angie reaches over and grabs Skretch by the arm. She tugs to lead him toward the cave. The little goblin doesn’t budge an inch.

“Skretch?” Zach asks.

“No,” Skretch answers.

“We need you, Skretch,” Zach pleads.

“No,” Skretch answers defiantly. “Punishment even worse.”

The goblin runs his hand over his bruised face once again.

“Santa can protect you,” Zach chimes in.

Skretch looks at Zach in disbelief. Zach had his attention.

Angie sees this and jumps right in.

“He will, Skretch,” she cries out joyously. “Oh, please believe us, Skretch. I just know he will!”

Skretch darts his view back and forth between Zach and Angie, unable to believe what they are saying. “Santa protect Skretch?” he repeats. “No one ever stick up for Skretch.”

“We will,” Zach promises.

“Yes, we will,” Angie agrees. “And I promise Santa will too.

He can see the truth in every heart. He KNOWS if you’re bad or good. And we can see that you are good. But we’ve got to hurry.”

Skretch ignores the urgency in Angie’s voice. “Me? Good?” he simply repeats while picking at his tattered clothing.

“Skretch,” Angie says while placing her hand on the goblin’s shoulder. “I bet Santa would even have presents for you if you help us.”

Skretch’s eyes nearly bulge out of his head at the idea.

“Presents?” he repeats excitedly. “For me?”

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“Yeah,” Zach jumps in. “I bet he would give you all kinds of….”

Before Zach can finish his sentence, Skretch picks up Angie and tosses her over his shoulder. He then moves with amazing speed up the hill toward one of the other cave entrances. Zach falls in step behind, relieved Skretch is now on their side. Angie waves toward Comet as they depart.

“Comet,” she commands. “Stay right here. We’ll be back as soon as we can.”

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B

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rent was lost. The blasted cave had too many twists and turns. At this point, he doesn’t have a clue what direction he should go. He has the map held out in front of him as he does his best to make sense of the complicated diagram. It finally dawns on him that abandoning Zach might not have been the best decision after all.

It didn’t take Skretch long to get Zach and Angie on course.

Even though the main tunnel leading to the gemstone mine had been caved-in, Skretch charted an alternate course that circled them back in the right direction. But, as they come to a dead end, Zach and Angie look at each other in confusion. Skretch doesn’t notice. Instead, he does what is natural to him. He reaches up his hand and traces an intricate pattern on the rock. The keyhole birthmark on his hand begins to glow and so does the pattern on the rock. Skretch reaches forward and gives a slight push. The rock moves to the side with ease, opening up a new tunnel for the trio to move down.

“Skretch!” Angie shouts in wide-eyed wonder. “You did it!

We’re in!”

Skretch smiles from cheek to cheek. Never before had someone complimented him for his special talent. The glee seen in his eyes and his expression makes Angie feel warm inside. She can’t help but giggle.

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“What so funny?” Skretch asks seriously, even though his expression of wonder makes him look even more adorable to Angie.

“Nothing,” she responds. “You just looked so cute.”

“Cute?” Skretch repeats while he scrunches his nose in confusion.

The expression was too much for either Angie or Zach to bear. Both of them burst out laughing. Skretch just holds his ground without saying a word. He is confused, but he enjoys the fact his new friends seem to be enjoying his company. Zach reaches forward and pats Skretch on the back.

“Lead the way, buddy,” he says, laughing.

Skretch smiles and starts down the pathway at a brisk pace. He weaves from tunnel to tunnel without even needing to consider which route to choose. He knows the ins and outs of the intricate cavern maze like the back of his hand. All the while, he maintains his smile while whispering to himself. “Skretch cute. Me cute.”

Brent is frustrated to no end. Once again, he has the map spread out across the cavern floor and is doing his best to make sense of it. However, it is now obvious he has traveled well outside of the known pathways plotted on the map. He picks up the parchment and crumbles it into a ball before tossing it to the side in anger. “Blasted map-makers!” he shouts. “This is useless.”

As Brent fumes in anger, he hears voices approaching from the distance. He quickly ducks into the shadows, afraid the goblins found a way in and are coming his way. He holds his breath while he tries to control his fear. Fortunately for Brent, as the voices come closer, he realizes they are elf voices. Brent holds his position in the shadows as Zach, Angie, and Skretch appear on the path right in front of him. Zach instantly notices the discarded map.

“Brent came this way,” he points out.

“But why would he toss it aside?” Angie asks.

“He must have already recovered a gemstone,” Zach answers in defeat.

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Skretch quickly brushes that notion aside. “Nope. Not here,” he explains. “Gemstone deeper in cave. The little goblin reaches up and pulls a small gemstone off the wall. “These too small. Big ones deeper.”

“Then why would he throw it away?” Angie asks again.

“He must not have been able to read it,” Zach explains. “He was having trouble earlier too. He’s probably lost down here.”

“Serves him right!” Angie sneers while crossing her arms across her chest for emphasis.

“Yes,” Zach agrees. “He does deserve it. But I don’t want him to run into what’s his name….” Zach turns to Skretch. “Grife?”

The little goblin cowers at the mention of the goblin leader’s name and nods his head up and down. “No,” Skretch agrees. “Not want run into Grife. Definitely no.”

Zach takes a second to pick up Santa’s map. He folds it neatly and puts it in his pocket. He then glances at his watch. It reads, “Four hours till Christmas ride.”

“We have to hurry,” Zach exclaims. “We’re running out of time.”

Skretch picks up the pace and both Zach and Angie follow in line.

Brent allows them to get a small lead and then follows a short distance behind. They might think he was out of this game, but he wasn’t. Not by a long shot.

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A

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monstrous roar echoes through the bowels of Mount Frostbite. Grife is not pleased. The massive goblin king rises from his ancient throne and points down from the shadows at his battered goblin pack. They cower on their knees at the base of the stairwell. None of them dare look up to meet their master’s angry gaze.

“You failed!” he shouts out from the darkness. “How could you fail? It was a single lowly elf against all of you and you couldn’t stop him?”

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Grobbly lifts his head to answer for the group. “There were others,” he explains.

“Yes,” Grife sneers in contempt. “A little girl, I believe.”

The goblins hang their heads even lower in shame.

“And where is Skretch?” Grife asks while scanning the group.

“Where is my gatekeeper?”

Grobbly steps forward with hands outstretched in submission.

“We lost him during the battle. We do not know,” he explains.

Grife extends his large, clawed hand from out of the shadows and points to the bonfire. As he does, the flames grow in intensity.

Smoke billows into a massive cloud and an image appears within the darkness. Skretch can be seen running down a cavern hallway.

A few seconds later, Zach and Angie can be seen following him.

“Traitor!” Grobbly shouts in anger.

Flarg stands and roars, “Backstabber!”

Grife dismisses their rage, “I will deal with Skretch later. The elf is near the gem quarry.”

Grobbly hobbles forward and bows down low, “I will not fail you again,” he promises. “We will stop him this time.”

The other goblins step forward to join Grobbly, hoping to please their master. Whether they did this out of fear or from a real desire to succeed didn’t matter. Grife had enough of their failures.

“No, you won’t,” he commands. “The elf is mine!”

Grife steps out from the darkness and the lesser goblins cower. His monstrous form intimidates them all. The Goblin King is significantly bigger than even the largest among them and he is much more frightening. His eyes glow with rage. Two short horns stick out from the front of his head while a bony ridge runs down his forehead and over the bridge of his nose until it comes to an end as an extension of his jaw. He towers over them while stretching out his huge black, leathery wings.

The goblins on the ground step back even further at the sight of their master. Grife takes one massive leap from the top of the stone stairwell and lands with thunderous force just a few inches in front of them. The goblins scramble backward while bowing down low before him. None of them want to be on the receiving 125

end of his fury. Grife stares at them for only a moment and then continues forward, walking directly into the flames of the bonfire. The flames instantly flow into his frame, causing his skin to glow. He flaps his wings to fan the flames, causing the blaze to roar even higher. Within seconds, Grife absorbs all the heat and energy of the bonfire and all that remains is ash. He steps out and walks directly into the tunnels, not even taking a second to look back at his goblin servants.

The goblin pack stares at the extinguished bonfire for a moment and then glances back toward the tunnel that Grife just traveled down.

“So now what do we do?” Strumpf asks.

Spindle sits down and takes his boots off. He wiggles his long, bony toes and leans back to get comfortable. “I say we just let Grife handle it. We’ve done what we could.”

Gorth sits down next to Spindle and sets down his weapon.

“Yeah. I’m beat.”

Yert doesn’t say a word. He simply laughs and starts gathering up wood to start the bonfire again.

Grobbly looks at all of them and then puts his knife back into the sheath at his side. He shrugs and then nods in agreement. “I guess that would be okay.”

The remaining goblins sit down too. None of them have anything to say, or anything to do for that matter.

“This is kind of boring, though,” Strumpf finally blurts out.

“Isn’t there something we could do?”

Grobbly looks around the cavern and answers. “I don’t know.

Skretch isn’t even here to pick on.”

The remaining goblins stare at each other for a moment.

They are sizing each other up. Every last one of them tries to determine who should be the new whipping boy in their pecking order. Eventually, all eyes rest on the fat goblin named Strumpf.

As Strumpf realizes he is the target of their attention, he gets up and starts backing away while holding his hands out in front of him for protection. “Now hold on there. Wait a minute, guys.

Guys… guys…”

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But it’s too late. The goblins all start moving toward him and pretty soon, the chase is on. The goblins laugh and shout as they give chase, glad to have something a little less serious than elfchasing to focus on.

The hour is late and Santa is worried. It isn’t just the Christmas ride that is on his mind; it is the safety of Zach, Brent, and now Angie.

His spirits are lifted slightly as he approaches a team of elves putting the finishing touches on the repairs to his personal sled.

Blitzen is already harnessed up front. As far as reindeer go, Blitzen isn’t the largest, but every inch of this reindeer was designed for speed. He was, in fact, the fastest of the team.

Santa approaches Blitzen and gives him a wink. The reindeer nods in turn and then scratches his front hooves off the ice. He is ready for some action.

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Santa turns to see his lead stable elf standing proudly at his side. The elf has a long checklist in his hand that is filled out. “All ready, sir,” he says, smiling.

Santa pats him on the shoulder and then steps into the sled.

“Well done. And not a moment too soon,” he replies.

Without another word, Santa snaps the reins and shouts out loud, “On Blitzen!”

That was all the reindeer needed to hear. He pulls the sled forward with a mighty lurch and starts to run across the snowy plane with incredible speed. With one final thrust, he launches into the wind. Santa holds on tight as the sled speeds through the air. No matter how many times he traveled with Blitzen, he was always amazed at the speed this reindeer could generate.

“That’s my boy!” he shouts eagerly into the evening sky.

Santa snaps the reins once again, causing Blitzen to dip his head and prepare to accelerate even faster. The powerful reindeer takes in a deep breath and charges with all his strength. He races across the skyline like a bolt of lightning. As Santa looks over the side of his sled, the ground below becomes a blur. Wind rushes through his beard as fresh snowflakes kiss his cheeks. He can’t help but crack a smile. At this rate, they would reach Mount Frostbite in no time.

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ach is out of breath. His body is exhausted. The lack of sleep combined with everything he has been through has him ready to collapse. But somehow, he manages to force himself to keep moving. He realizes how late the hour is and he can’t help but feel a growing sense of worry. If they didn’t get to the gems soon, it would be too late.

The good thing is that once Skretch decided to help them, the goblin hadn’t stopped moving. And the way the goblin weaved in and out of corridors, it was hard to keep up with him. It was only when Skretch needed to stop at dead ends that Zach and Angie had been able to catch up.

Angie and Zach watch Skretch as he traces yet another intricate pattern on the stone. They had seen him do this several times to get to their current location, but each time he did it, the act still amazed them. Once again, the keyhole tattoo on Skretch’s hand glows and so does the pattern he traces on the rock. The little goblin gives a slight push, and the cave wall seems to come alive. Rock tumbles aside and an opening forms. This time though, the opening is quite narrow. It is just wide enough for Skretch, Zach, and Angie to squeeze through. Zach and Angie’s eyes glisten in wonder as they look at the large open courtyard Skretch has led them into. From wall to wall, there are glistening stones reflecting light off one other. The beauty is overwhelming.

Zach starts to tremble at the sight and he falls to his knees in relief. Angie places her hand on his shoulder. He turns and looks 129

up at her while giving her a weary smile. “We’ve made it,” he sighs. “We made it!”

Angie can’t help but smile from ear to ear as she shares in Zach’s joy. The light of the glittering gemstones reflects in her big brown eyes. “It’s soooooo beautiful,” she says in awe.

Zach gets up from his knees and pulls his hammer from the holster on his hip. He marches over to the wall and prepares to pry off a gemstone. But as he gets up close, he realizes most of the gemstones are much smaller than the gemstone needed for the Divine Reactor. There are only a few really large gems and they are at the top of the cavern ceiling.

Angie follows Zach’s gaze and understands the problem.

“How are we going to get up there?” she asks.

Zach grips his hammer firmly and nods. “With a little help from elf tech,” he answers. With that, Zach starts to swing his special hammer in a circle with all the force he can muster. Once he feels like he has enough momentum, he presses the button releasing the grappling hook. The metal prongs whisk high into the air and bury themselves deep in the ceiling of the cavern.

Zach gulps as he realizes how far he is about to travel. But before he lets fear get a hold of him, he presses the button again and the hammer handle retracts the line, whisking him toward the ceiling at alarming speed. Angie and Skretch gasp in amazement as they see Zach disappear.

As they look to the cavern ceiling, they see their friend dangling from the line. There is only one problem. Zach is now high enough, but the gems are just beyond his reach.

“Darn it!” Zach grumbles as he reaches desperately for the large gems that are only a few feet outside his grasp. The little elf kicks and gyrates to try and gain some sort of momentum. If he could just swing a little closer, he knew he could pry one out.

He struggles desperately, but his muscles are exhausted. In truth, it was taking all of his strength just to hold on to the hammer’s handle.

“You can do it!” Skretch shouts from the ground below. The little goblin can see better than Angie. He knows just how close Zach is.

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“C’mon, Zach!” Angie joins in. “You’ve made it this far. You can’t give up now!”

Zach struggles to swing and he starts to move slightly. He kicks his feet hard and sways back and forth a little more.

Skretch nods to Angie, letting her know Zach is making progress.

“Prove Santa right!” Angie shouts as loud as she can. “He believes in you!”

Zach hears the cheers coming from below. And although he is exhausted beyond measure, he continues to struggle. He swings closer and closer to the gems. “Almost there…” he murmurs to himself.

Angie and Skretch hold their breath in anticipation. Zach is so close. Neither of them dares to make a sound. You could cut the tension with a knife.

But then the entire cave is filled with a horrible roar unlike any Angie has ever heard before. She turns to Skretch and sees the little Goblin’s skin has lost almost all its color. His eyes are wide with fear and he is trembling.

“What was that?” Angie asks.

But the little goblin does not move.

Angie grabs him and shakes him. “What was that?” she repeats as the roar can be heard again. This time it sounds even closer.

“Grife…” Skretch mumbles as he stares blankly into Angie’s eyes.

At the realization Grife is headed their way, Skretch dashes toward the cavern exit. Angie runs after him and tackles him to the ground. “No, Skretch!” she pleads. “Please! We need you to help us get out of these mountains.”

Skretch ignores Angie’s plead for help. He scratches and claws at the earth, struggling to get away. Angie does her best to keep him from escaping. Yet, despite her best efforts, Skretch drags her along the ground behind him. “No,” The little goblin shouts while pulling her further toward the exit. “Grife will hurt.

Grife is pain.”

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Angie can see that Skretch is just about to reach the small opening that leads out of the gemstone quarry. Tears are flooding from her eyes as she realizes they will fail in their mission if she doesn’t do something. Without Skretch, they would be lost in these caverns. And on top of that, they would have to face whatever this thing Grife was. She has to stop him. “We can’t do this without you, Skretch!” she pleads. “You are important to us.”

The little girl elf cries out in desperation as loud as she can. “You matter!”

Upon hearing Angie’s last words, Skretch hesitates. He is torn. It is the first time in his long life that someone has really and truly needed him. He turns back to look at Angie. She wipes the tears from her eyes and it causes the dirt to smudge across her cheek. Skretch reaches down and wipes the dirt free. He wants to help. He does. But if he did, the punishment would be worse than anything he has ever experienced. He doesn’t know what to do…

Up above, Zach is still struggling to reach the gems. Whatever that sound was, he didn’t want to meet the creature that made it.

The exhausted elf uses every ounce of willpower he has left and swings as hard as he can. He gains only a little more momentum, but it is enough to carry him over to the wall. He quickly reaches out and latches on to a jagged rock. Once he has a grip, he can see several large gems just a few inches to his side. But now he has another problem. He is using one hand to hold on to the hammer handle and the other hand is holding on to the rock that keeps him anchored to the wall. As Zach wrestles with his situation, another monstrous roar echoes through the cavern. The creature has to be close now. Zach could only assume the terrible sound was coming from the monster Skretch called Grife.

“Oh, to heck with it!” Zach shouts. He opens his mouth as wide as he can and bites down hard on the largest gem. It takes quite a bit of tugging, but the gem does come loose.

Without wasting another second, Zach lets go of the wall and presses the button on the hammer’s handle. The zip-line quickly lowers him to the ground. As soon as he plants his feet, Zach snaps the line to get the metal anchors to release from the ceiling, but the claws don’t come loose. Zach snaps the line again, but 132

they are stuck firm. He doesn’t want to leave the hammer, but as he hears another roar coming from behind, the decision is made for him. He turns and makes a quick dash for the exit.

Zach looks over his shoulder as he runs and sees the monstrous form of the winged goblin racing toward him. In that instant, the little elf realizes why Skretch has been so afraid of the Goblin King. Zach hadn’t believed demons like this existed in real life. He thought they were the stuff of nightmares and scary bedtime stories. But Grife was all-too-real.

Zach turns his head away from the beast while holding the gem tight in his grip. He wills his legs to move faster and faster.

As Zach gets closer to the exit, he realizes something is wrong.

Skretch is standing in front of the exit blocking Angie. The girl elf is doing her best to shove past him, but Skretch isn’t budging.

“Skretch!” Grife roars. “Hold them fast. They must not escape!”

In that instant, Zach realizes Skretch’s fear of Grife is greater than his loyalty to them. The little goblin is doing his best to prevent them from escaping.

Zach knows he has no other choice. He lowers his head and races forward as fast as he can, ready to do his best to barrel through Skretch.

Angie continues to plead, “Skretch, please, oh please,” she begs. “Don’t let it end like this.” But instead of shoving and pushing Skretch, Angie does the unexpected. She hugs him and kisses him on the cheek. Skretch looks at her and his eyes soften for a moment, but then he tenses back up and stares toward Grife with firm resolve.

The demon is right on top of Zach. Both of them are about to collide with Angie and Skretch. The Goblin King’s claws are outstretched. His talons are sharp and ready, eager to dish out punishment to both the elves and the runt goblin that had shown him disloyalty.

Zach can feel the massive goblin bearing down on him. He knows he is just about out of time. With a last surge of strength, he lunges forward with all the force he can muster. He braces himself for impact, ready to crash into Skretch in the hope of knocking a path clear.

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But instead of ramming into Angie and Skretch, Zach flies through the open air. He crashes onto the cavern floor with a painful thud. And as he scrambles to get up, Skretch quickly grabs him by his collar and shoves him out of Grife’s reach. The large goblin roars in anger as he reaches desperately for the two elves.

It takes Zach’s dazed mind a second to realize what has happened.

Skretch stepped back through the narrow opening at the last possible second and pulled Angie with him. The three of them are now just inches beyond Grife’s reach, but it is enough. The large goblin is scratching and clawing at the rocky doorway that is too narrow for him to pass through. “Skretch!” he rages. “Open this doorway at once!”

The little goblin locks eyes with his master and steps forward.

Angie reaches at his arm to prevent him from taking action, but Skretch brushes it aside casually. He gives her an assuring look and then steps toward Grife. The smaller goblin begins to trace 134

an intricate pattern on the wall as the keyhole birthmark on his hand glows. Grife smiles in anticipation, eager to destroy the elves and, along with them, their hopes for saving the Christmas holiday. Skretch finishes his pattern and pushes on the wall. But rather than feel the doorway opening for passage, Grife feels the walls start to close in on him. He quickly withdraws his massive frame, just barely avoiding being crushed between walls of rock and stone.

The little goblin places his hand on the rock as he continues to hear Grife rage in anger from the other side of the wall. Skretch has just made a decision for which there is no going back. He turns to look at the two elves he is now bound to. Both of them look beaten up and worn out. They are covered in dirt. They certainly didn’t look capable of defending themselves or him against Grife if the demon ever caught up with them, but it didn’t matter. What Skretch does see in the elves’ expression is both respect and admiration. In their faint smiles, Skretch realizes he has finally found true friendship.

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ust what the heck was that?” Brent wonders. Grife’s roars of anger sent chills running up the large elf ’s spine. He had been following Zach and Angie and done his best to stay out of sight. From his position on one of the upper cavern walkways, he hadn’t been able to see what happened in the gem cavern. All he knew was he didn’t want to run into whoever or whatever was making that noise.

The larger elf lay in silent wait for Zach. And although Brent is cold, hungry, and tired, he holds perfectly still. For his plan to work, he cannot be detected.

His patience pays off. Within seconds he can see Zach and Angie running behind Skretch. The little goblin is moving at a frantic pace. All three of them are running so quickly that once Brent sees them, he must start moving at full speed just to keep up. The cave tunnels twist and turn, and a couple of times, Brent nearly loses them. It is no wonder that when the cave exit comes into view a few hundred feet ahead of them, he heaves a deep sigh of relief. Now that he knows how to exit the mountain, he can set his plan into action.

Skretch finally starts to slow his pace as he leads the elves toward the exit. He can no longer hear Grife shouting from deep within the mountain. They just might escape after all.

Once outside, Zach immediately starts whistling and shouting as loud as he can. “Comet!” he yells. “Comet!”

Zach’s command is instantly answered as Comet comes running toward him. Zach reaches out and grabs the reins. He 136

steals a second to glance at his watch before jumping onto the reindeer’s back. It is late, and it is going to be close, but they would make it. They were going to succeed!

Zach’s brief moment of happiness is shattered as he hears a loud thumping sound followed by an intense cry of pain. Zach turns to see Skretch frantically trying to dust snow off of his skin.

“It burns,” the goblin cries. “Ouch… burns. It burns!”

Angie rushes forward and helps brush the snow off Skretch, but as she does, another snowball pelts the goblin right upside the head. Skretch cries out again. Angie turns to confront the source of their attack. There, standing on an icy ledge is Brent.

The large elf has a pile of snowballs at his side, and without saying a word, he starts throwing them as fast as he can at the gatekeeper goblin. Upon seeing Skretch under attack, Zach leaps off Comet and starts running toward his goblin friend to try and defend him.

“Stop it!” Angie shouts as she does her best to shield Skretch from the attack. But even without sharing the goblin’s sensitivity to cold, the snowballs hurt. Brent is very strong and he isn’t far away. Angie and Skretch are forced to back up as the snowballs continue to rain down upon them. Eventually, though, they back themselves into a corner.

And that is what Brent had been waiting for. He picks up a few more snowballs and continues to hurl them as he rushes forward. After throwing his last snowball, Brent snaps off two large icicles and throws them like spears at Angie and Skretch.

The icicles don’t hit either of them, but they do spike into the snow just a few inches in front of their feet.

“Brent, Stop it, I said!” Angie shouts as she bends over to make a snowball.

Zach, who has now reached Angie and Skretch, follows her lead. He packs a snowball of his own and whips it at Brent. The larger elf dodges it and then hurls another icicle spear. This time the spear nearly strikes Angie. It pierces the side of her dress and pins her to the wall of the mountain. Zach tries to pry the icicle loose as Brent races forward on the overhead ledge. He stops directly above the group and picks up a thick wooden club. He 137

swings it like a bat and starts striking many large icicles hanging above Zach, Angie, and Skretch. As the icicles begin to snap and fall, Zach pushes Angie and Skretch closer to the wall while he dives backward. The icicles land right in front of Angie and Skretch, pinning them next to the wall. There is no room for them to escape.

Zach quickly grabs the icicle bars and tries to snap them, but they are just too thick. He tries to wedge them loose from the ground, but they are just too heavy. He instinctively reaches for his hammer and then remembers he left it in the gemstone cavern. He looks at Angie, who is doing her best to keep Skretch from bumping into either the snow-covered mountain wall or the icicles. Neither she nor Skretch will be coming up with a solution to their imprisonment either.

“What are you doing?” Zach shouts as Brent leaps down from the ledge.

“I’m taking back the honor that is rightfully mine.” the larger elf responds as he steps forward. Brent towers over Zach and he does his best to remind the little elf of that fact. “Now hand it over, runt.”

Zach tightens his grip on the gemstone in his pocket while forcing a stiff upper lip in defiance. “Brent,” he tries to explain.

“You don’t understand. We don’t have time.”

“Oh, I understand,” Brent answers with a sneer. “You made me look like a fool, and now I’m going to correct that. Santa and the whole workshop will respect me again when I bring the gemstone back.”

Zach nods his head from left to right. “No,” he answers defiantly. “It’s ours to bring back. We earned it.” The little elf looks back toward his friends, acknowledging how much help they had been. But as he turns his head back toward Brent, he is struck in the eye by a sucker punch from the large elf. The force of the blow sends Zach reeling. He stumbles a short distance and then falls to the ground, striking his head against the hard ice.

“Brent!” Angie shouts. “This isn’t the way elves are supposed to act!”

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Angie grabs the icicles and does her best to squeeze between them, but it’s too tight. Next, she tries to shake them loose, but they are held firm. Skretch watches as she does her best to free them. He looks at his own goblin hands, which look much stronger than hers. He tightens his lip in preparation for the pain and then grabs the icicles too. He struggles with all his strength while fighting back against the pain the ice causes him. He loosens his grip for just a second and then prepares to grab hold again, but Angie stops him. “No,” she says while looking at the blisters forming on his goblin fingers. “They’re too thick. We’re just not strong enough.”

Brent laughs after witnessing Skretch’s failed attempt. He walks toward them and easily snaps off part of one of the larger icicles. “Brent,” Angie pleads while reaching her hand through the icicle bars to grab his sleeve. “Please don’t do this.”

Brent pauses while looking at Angie and Skretch. Part of him didn’t like what he was doing. He wasn’t proud of his actions, but it needed to be done. If Zach saved Christmas, then things would be forever changed at the workshop. That was something he could not allow. He just wanted things to return to normal.

And if this is what he had to do to make that happen, then so be it.

The larger elf pulls his sleeve out of Angie’s grip and marches over toward Zach. From his position on the ground, Zach can barely make out the blurred image of the larger elf stepping toward him. The blow to his head has rattled him. But even in his dazed state, Zach does his best to defend himself. He scrambles over to a nearby ice shelf and snaps off a short icicle of his own.

He points it nervously at Brent as the larger elf continues to close in on him.

“Don’t do this, Brent,” Zach shouts as forcefully as he can.

Without saying a word, Brent lunges in at Zach and starts the attack. Zach defends himself as best he can. His small form allows him to maneuver and dodge the larger elf ’s somewhat clumsy, if not forceful, fighting style. But despite his ability to evade Brent’s attack, Zach is unable to launch an attack of his

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own. All he can do is continue to back away as Brent presses forward, all the while driving both of them to higher and higher ground.

Back in their icicle prison, Angie and Skretch continue to try and break free. Skretch has resorted to kicking at the icicles, but it isn’t doing any good at all. The only thing they managed to do by this point was break off the icicle that pinned Angie’s dress to the wall.

An idea pops into Skretch’s head. It is so simple he should have thought of it right away. “Stand back,” he commands while moving Angie into a position behind him. He begins to make a “hawker” sound while breathing in and out deeply. A red glow starts to emit from his mouth. It quickly gains in intensity and within seconds, Angie can feel the heat coming off of Skretch’s body. Suddenly flames burst out of the “runt” goblin’s mouth

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as he burps out a massive fireball that incinerates the icicles.

Skretch turns toward Angie as smoke seeps out from his nostrils and mouth. He gives her that funny ear-to-ear smile and then shrugs. Angie nods her head in satisfaction, grabs him by the hand, and then both of them dash off to try and help Zach.

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s Angie and Skretch catch up to Zach and Brent, they see the two elves in a heated battle. The fight has driven them over a massive icy bridge that rises above a deep chasm.

Zach is doing his best to hold his own, but it is clear Brent has the upper hand. The smaller elf continues to retreat as the more powerful elf presses forward. But good fortune shines on Zach.

As Brent lunges to strike an overhead blow, Zach dodges and kicks out with his boot, hitting Brent in the shin. The blow forces Brent to lose his footing and he falls backward on the ice. As he hits the ground, his icicle sword slips out of his hand. Zach wastes no time. He rushes in and points his sharp icicle right in Brent’s face.

“It’s over, Brent. Give up.”

Brent grimaces in anger. He has no other choice than to surrender. He nods in defeat and signals for Zach to give him a hand back to his feet. Zach

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reaches forward but is rewarded for his kindness with further betrayal from Brent. The larger elf twists Zach’s wrist painfully and wrenches the smaller elf ’s weight forward. Even with the special traction boots Edmund made for him, Zach can’t keep his footing. He slips forward and slides off the side of the ice bridge.

Only the strength of Brent’s grip prevents him from falling into the chasm.

“The gem,” Bent commands. “Give it to me now!”

Zach is terrified. He is so high up he can’t even see the ground.

The world below is masked beneath a thick layer of cloud and fog.

“Please, Brent,” Zach pleads. “Pull me up.”

“I said now!” Brent demands while reaching down with his free hand, eager to take possession of the gem.

Zach reaches into his pocket and grabs the gem. Even with all the fear surging through his system, it is hard to hand over.

He doesn’t want to give it up. He has worked so hard. But as he looks up at the expression on Brent’s face, he can tell the larger elf isn’t kidding.

With a sigh of defeat, Zach hands the gem over to Brent. As soon as the larger elf has it in his possession, he starts to lift Zach back up.

But then he stops. From Zach’s perspective, he can see Brent’s eyes go wide. The large elf ’s body stiffens. Brent is looking at something behind Zach and his grip begins to loosen.

“Brent!” Zach shouts. “What are you doing?” Zach attempts to look over his shoulder while also doing his best to hold on to Brent’s hand. But it is no use. The larger elf is paralyzed. “Brent!

No!” Zach pleads while struggling with all his might to hold on.

Despite his best efforts, Zach loses his grip and plummets into the chasm.

As soon as Zach slips from his grasp, Brent snaps to awareness, but it is too late. “Zach! No!” the large elf cries. He reaches desperately into the air, wishing he could lift Zach back up by sheer force of will. His mind can’t even begin to process what has just happened. He is responsible for the death of a fellow elf. “What have I done?” Brent cries as he collapses to his knees in anguish.

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Brent is not alone in his despair. Angie and Skretch also saw Zach slip from Brent’s grip.

They saw him plummet to his doom. Angie falls to her knees as tears overtake her. Skretch’s legs go weak, and he, too, buckles to the ground.

The terrifying sensation of falling floods Zach’s senses. He never expected his quest would end this way. And as he realizes this was it… he hopes the end will come quickly and it won’t hurt.

As he falls toward the earth, it only takes Zach a fraction of a second to realize what spooked Brent. The massive form of Grife, the winged goblin, comes rushing past him. The demon is moving with incredible speed and has no intention of slowing down.

From his position above, Brent sees Grife continue to fly toward him. The large elf does his best to scramble across the icy bridge, but it is no use. Grife slams into it with the force of a runaway freight train, shattering it into a million pieces. The impact knocks Brent off his feet and he barely avoids falling into the chasm.

The image of Grife attacking Brent is the last thing Zach sees.

His small body continues to fall and within seconds, all he sees is a thick blanket of fog and clouds rushing past him. Zach closes his eyes in both fear and despair. Not only is he not going to survive this mission, but now, it is also a certainty the Divine Reactor will not be repaired. He has failed in every sense of the word. Yet, despite the overwhelming sense of defeat consuming him, Zach starts to mouth a silent prayer.

Before he can even say “Amen,” Zach receives an answer. The answer hits him so hard it makes his head spin. He has stopped falling and is moving back up through the fog toward the clear 144

sky. He landed on something strangely both hard and soft. It takes him a moment to realize what has happened. But as a warm tongue licks his face and nudges him into a good position on his back, the reality of his situation becomes crystal clear.

“Comet!” Zach shouts in joy and relief. “Boy, do I owe you one!”

Zach quickly adjusts himself to get a more secure position on Comet’s back and gives his reindeer friend a massive hug. The large reindeer nods in acceptance and continues to run on the wind with all his might. This fight with Grife is far from over.

Brent doesn’t know what that monstrous thing is flying toward him and he doesn’t care. All he feels is an all-consuming drive to escape as his feet scramble to get off the remaining bit of the ice bridge. His mind races with a million different thoughts.

How will he explain Zach’s death to Santa? Why was this creature after him? How can he possibly get back down the mountain without a reindeer or Zach’s hammer? Will he survive at all?

As the large elf stumbles down the last few feet of the bridge back to solid ground, Angie and Skretch instantly attack him.

“Brent!” Angie cries as she strikes him repeatedly. A torrent of tears flow down the little elf girl’s face as she continues to hit the much larger elf. “How could you do that? How could you let Zach fall?”

Despite Angie’s efforts, Brent shoves her aside and then charges past Skretch. He scans the mountainside for some way to escape. But other than the cave entrances, there is nowhere to go. He looks over his shoulder and sees Grife closing in on him.

He turns tail and runs toward one of the smaller cave openings hoping the large goblin won’t follow.

Angie and Skretch don’t know what hits them as Grife rams into them. The impact sends Angie flying into a hard patch of ice, knocking her out cold. Skretch receives even worse as Grife takes the opportunity to strike the little goblin with a powerful fist. The force of the blow knocks Skretch through the air and into a large snow mound. The moment his skin comes in contact 145

with the white powder, it starts to fade into a sickly color. Skretch struggles to get up, but stars dance before his eyes while his skin burns like fire. And while he does his best to push past the pain, it is more than he can bear. The little goblin collapses in the snow, unable to go any further. Both he and Angie are out of this fight.

The cave entrance is in sight. If he can just make it a few more feet, he will be able to escape. At least that’s what Brent thought a split second before Grife swept in and scooped him up.

“No!” the large elf cries as he pounds at Grife’s powerful claws.

The demon laughs at the elf ’s futile efforts. True, Brent was large for an elf, but he is no match for the Goblin King. Grife continues to fly higher and higher and as Brent looks to the ground below, he realizes even if he could break free, he is now way too high in the air to survive a fall from this height. All he can do now is look up at the monster that has him in its clutches. And as he stares at the demon, Grife turns and meets his gaze.

“Little fool,” Grife sneers. “You cannot hurt me. It is over.

You have lost. Your Savior shall receive no celebration this year.

I have won.”

As Brent listens to Grife’s taunts, he can’t help but reach into his pocket and grip the gemstone. He disobeyed Santa. He hurt Angie and Skretch. He let Zach die and now it was all for nothing.

A deep sense of shame and regret overcomes the once-popular elf and he starts to weep at the knowledge of all the bad things he has done. He feels an overwhelming sense of hopelessness as the demon continues to laugh.

All seems lost as Brent hangs his head in despair. But then both his and Grife’s worlds are turned upside down as a powerful blow sends them spinning through the sky. Grife loses his grip on Brent and the large elf starts to plummet toward the earth.

Brent turns a sickly shade of yellow as his stomach twists and turns. He feels like he is about to throw up. But even as fear and sickness overtake him, he can’t help but realize this is the same fate he left Zach to. Perhaps justice is being served.

But Brent’s freefall is suddenly stopped short as Grife once again captures him in his grip. This time Grife has latched on 146

using the clawed talons of his feet. The demon starts flapping his wings forcefully. He rapidly picks up speed while continuing to gain altitude.

As Brent regains his sense of up and down and the world comes back into focus, he begins to understand what happened.

Comet has arrived and an elf is riding him. It is Zach! He is alive!

Not only that, but the large reindeer rammed Grife full force with his antlers. Comet is angry and he is on the attack.

Grife turns in mid-flight to face Comet as the reindeer charges once again. Comet attacks with hooves, teeth, and antlers. He uses every weapon at his disposal to try and save Brent. Grife latches on to Comet’s antlers with his mighty claws and tries to wrestle the reindeer down. Comet fights back, but it’s not easy. Grife is incredibly strong. The demon releases one hand for a fraction of a second so he can claw Comet across the face and tries to follow up with another blow, but Comet is ready. He opens his mouth and bites Grife hard. Grife struggles to remove his hand while howling in pain. Comet holds tight while trying to shake off the impact of the Goblin King’s previous blow.

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Grife and Comet continue to battle fiercely. Neither gives an inch. Grife finally manages to free his hand from Comet’s mouth, but as he does, Comet kicks out hard with his front legs, hitting Grife square in the stomach. Grife buckles forward in pain, but uses the opportunity to lunge forward and ram his head into Comet’s. Both creatures are momentarily dazed but continue to fight. As they do, Grife attempts to grab Comet by the reins. He hopes to use them to wrangle the powerful reindeer down to the ground. But as he reaches for the reins they become tangled in one of his wings. The leather rein wraps around Grife’s wing so tightly it makes it impossible for the demon to keep flapping it.

With one wing pinned back, Grife is no longer able to support his flight. He begins to plummet to the frozen earth below, pulling Comet, Zach, and Brent along with him.

Zach scrambles to hold on to Comet’s back as he stares at the ground below. He can see the Glacius River beneath them and it is getting closer by the second. All of them are going to be crushed within moments if the reins aren’t freed. Comet and Grife are too busy fighting each other to even focus on the ground. Brent is still trapped in Grife’s talons. The larger elf isn’t going to be any help at all. Zach knows if any of them are to survive, it is up to him. He takes a deep breath and leaps from Comet’s back onto Grife’s leg.

“Brent,” he shouts, “hand me the gemstone.”

Brent looks at Zach, barely able to register what is being said.

“I said hand me the gemstone!” Zach cries as he shakes Brent violently.

Brent snaps out of it and hands Zach the gemstone. Zach grabs it and instantly starts using its sharp point to strike the knuckles of Grife’s clawed feet. The demon’s grip loosens and Zach pries Brent free. The two elves climb up and over Grife’s wings before leaping back onto Comet’s back.

“Thanks!” Brent sighs as he tries to catch his breath. Zach nods a “you’re welcome,” but quickly turns his attention back to Comet and Grife. He shouts as loud as he can over the wind rushing past their ears. They only have a few seconds left before hitting the ground.

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“We have to get free!” Zach shouts before leaping once again into the fray. He dodges Grife’s claws and Comet’s antlers while hacking away at the harness straps with the sharp edge of the gemstone. He looks over his shoulder and realizes they are about to crash into the Glacius River. He continues to cut frantically and finally, the band snaps free. Grife is separated from Comet.

But as the reindeer and the goblin come apart, the loose harness strap still connected to Grife’s wing wraps around Zach’s leg and pulls him down. Both Grife and Zach continue in their descent while Comet and Brent fly free.

“Zach!” Brent cries while reaching desperately for the little elf.

As Grife and Zach plummet, the demon is focused solely on freeing his bound wing. Comet flies as close to them as possible as Brent reaches out to help.

Zach looks over his shoulder and realizes there is no more time. In a selfless act, he tosses the gemstone to Brent and nods in acceptance of his fate. He turns his attention to Grife and leaps into the demon’s face and starts pounding away with his fists. The impact of his blows doesn’t cause the goblin any real damage, but it does prevent him from freeing himself. If Zach couldn’t save Christmas himself, he would at least prevent this monster from hurting anyone else in the future.

Time seems to stand still as Zach takes one last glance to the sky. He can see Comet and Brent turning off in time, so they don’t crash into the river. Just over their shoulder, he can see the Star of Bethlehem shining brightly. The sight gives Zach one last moment of comfort. He has succeeded in his mission! Despite all the odds… despite what everyone thought… he succeeded!

The knowledge of his achievement gives Zach strength to accept his end as both he and the demon crash into the Glacius River with the force of a runaway comet.

As the two combatants sink into the icy waters, Grife’s skin instantly hardens and cracks. Despite all of his power, the demon cannot withstand the intense cold of the arctic depths.

He struggles to swim toward the surface, but his massive weight continues to pull both him and Zach down. The Goblin King gives one final howl of rage as the icy waters overtake him.

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Now that Grife is finally still, Zach scrambles to free himself.

It only takes him a few seconds to loosen the reins. He swims with all the strength he has left toward the surface, but the raging waters of the Glacius River whip his small body in all directions.

His breath is running short as he struggles to get topside. He continues to swim toward the light as hard and fast as his arms will take him. He is nearly out of air and the distance is just too far. His vision starts to fade to black. Despite his best efforts, his little body just has no more strength to give.

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anta peers over the left side of his sled toward the ground below, hoping desperately to see some sign of Zach. On the right side of the sled sits Angie and Skretch. Both of them are also scanning in all directions.

As they search, Brent comes riding up on Comet. Tears are flowing from his eyes as he looks at Santa. “Still nothing, sir.”

Santa nods in understanding even as he continues to search.

His old eyes are sunken and tired. Never in the history of his workshop has an elf died. Zach’s death is his fault. He should have known better. Santa wipes away his tears as he looks back at Angie. He wants to say sorry. He wants to tell her he never meant it to come to this. But he can’t say it just yet. If he says that now, it will mean there is no hope left. And he has to hope. He has to believe they will find his little misfit elf.

Suddenly Skretch jumps up from the seat and starts pointing into the distance. “There!” Skretch shouts. “Down there!”

Santa and the elves all look in the direction Skretch is pointing, but none of them can see a thing. Skretch just continues to point while shouting. “There!” he shouts excitedly. “Down there. Right there.”

“I don’t see anything,” Angie shouts as she rubs the tears from her eyes. Hoping to force herself to see what Skretch is pointing at.”

“I don’t see anything either,” Brent shouts while leaning forward on Comet’s back.

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Skretch is visibly frustrated. He jumps right next to Santa, grabs him by the head, and aims his vision while pointing at an incredibly small spot floating down the Glacius River. “There!”

Skretch shouts. “Right there!”

Santa nods and snaps the reins. Blitzen races forward so quickly it knocks all of them back in their seats. Within seconds they are right on top of Zach. Brent and Skretch work together and quickly tie a rope around Skretch’s waist. Brent lowers the little goblin down so he can retrieve Zach. Santa turns toward Angie and hands her the reins. He tenderly takes the ice-cold elf and rests him on his lap. He removes his coat and wraps it around Zach to try and warm him up. He looks up and shouts, “Blitzen… run like the wind!”

It didn’t take long to get back to the workshop, but it felt like an eternity for Angie. Even now, as she stands here with Santa, Brent, and Skretch, she can’t stop shaking. Her eyes are focused on the doctor elf speaking softly to Santa.

“It’s not good,” the doctor whispers solemnly.

Upon hearing these words, Angie rushes forward. “No,” she cries. “He’s got to make it, doc. He has to!”

Angie falls to her knees and weeps uncontrollably. She reaches up and takes Zach’s lifeless hand in hers. She strokes it gently before looking back toward Brent.

The large elf looks miserable. He, too, has been crying. The guilt he feels is worse than anything he has ever felt before. And then he remembers. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the gemstone. He looks at it a moment and realizes how foolish he has been. He was willing to trade Zach, a fellow elf, for this stupid piece of rock.

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Brent bows his head in shame and then takes a step toward Santa. He slowly reaches his hand up and hands over the gem. “Zach did succeed, Santa. He managed to get the gem. He saved Christmas.”

Santa accepts the gem with a half-hearted smile.

“Good job,” he says softly.

“Good job to all of you.”

Upon hearing these words, Brent dashes out of the room. The shame is more than he can bear. Santa looks toward the others in confusion, hoping for some explanation, but neither Angie nor Skretch are ready to tell the tale just yet. Angie simply looks up and tells Santa what he needs to hear. “Santa, you have to go. The kids are counting on you. We’ll keep an eye on Zach.”

Skretch nods in agreement.

“Go,” Angie continues. “Please.”

Santa places his hand on Zach’s chest and heaves a heavy sob.

“I’m so sorry, Zach. So sorry…”

Santa wipes the tears from his eyes and slowly exits the room.

He makes his way through the workshop… out the front door… along the perimeter fence, and up to the Divine Reactor. When he reaches the magical device, his eyes focus on the nativity scene etched into the metal right below the old gemstone. Santa reaches into his pocket, pulls out the new gemstone, and fits it into the housing.

Santa falls to his knees and begins to pray as the machine bursts to life. Within seconds the workshop behind him comes alive. Energy starts to flow and channels into all the various departments. Inside the workshop, elves race through the halls, working as fast as their nimble fingers will go. There are still toys to finish, wrapping that needs to be done, along with packing it all up for the Christmas ride.

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The energy and new life in the workshop are lost on Santa.

He finishes his prayers and then turns back to the warehouse.

His heart is heavy. This Christmas ride will be the longest night of his life.

As he approaches the entrance to his castle, Santa takes one last moment to look at the star of Bethlehem. The star begins to pulse and glow with an almost blinding heavenly light. Suddenly, a massive surge of energy radiates down from the star and flows directly into the Divine Reactor. Santa stares at it awestruck.

He watches intently as this one specific pulse of energy travels through the device and exits along a power line that leads directly toward the elf hospital. As the energy passes through the wall and out of sight, Santa takes off running as fast as he can.

The busy workshop hallways erupt into further chaos as Santa comes barreling through. Toys and elves get bumped aside as he races toward the hospital. Just as he rounds the corner, he sees the pulse of light travel through the wall and into the medical device connected to Zach. The energy instantly flows into Zach and his body is wrapped in a heavenly glow. His skin 154

color begins to warm instantly and he starts to move slightly as the glow fades away.

“Zach?” Angie cries while nudging his arm. “Zach?”

The little elf slowly opens his eyes.

That is all she needed to see. Angie lunges forward and hugs Zach with all her might. Skretch jumps up and down with glee while smiling widely. Santa leans up against the wall. His breath has been taken away. Mrs. Claus enters, surrounded by Brent, Edmund, and a small army of other elves eager to see what is going on.

Santa takes a moment to regain his composure. He has just witnessed an honest-to-goodness miracle. He slowly makes his way through the elf crowd and places a hand on Mrs. Claus’ shoulder. She turns and gives him a warm, comforting smile.

Santa continues toward Zach and kneels at his little elf ’s side. He takes Zach’s hand in his and pats it softly. “My prayer has been answered,” he speaks softly. “This year, even Santa has been given a gift for Christmas!”

Santa reaches over and hugs Zach tenderly. He then allows the elf to lie back down, but Zach won’t have it. Zach attempts to get up all on his own. Angie steps in and puts a restraining hand on his shoulder.

“Wait,” she says in protest. “What are you doing? You’re still hurt.”

Zach gives her one of his patented grins and then winks.

“Actually,” he continues while leaping out of the hospital bed as if he didn’t have a pain in the world. “I’m not! Not anymore!”

The other elves stare on awestruck.

Mrs. Claus makes a sign of the cross and raises her eyes to the heavens. Santa lets out a cheerful laugh. The entire room erupts in laughter and cheers! “So be it,” Santa commands. “We’ve got work to do!”

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“Yes, we do!” Zach agrees. He turns to Brent and gives him a serious nod, “Right?”

Brent lunges forward and bear hugs Zach. “Right!” he agrees.

Zach is standing next to Santa’s sled. He glances at his watch.

It reads two minutes till the Christmas ride. They couldn’t have cut it any closer, but they made it. A host of worker elves are scrambling all around, doing their best to make sure every last toy is in Santa’s sled. The big man is already in the driver’s seat, taking one last look over his list. All of the reindeer are harnessed, ready for their annual flight.

Santa turns toward Zach, Angie, and Brent. The past fourty-eight hours changed all of them, and for the better. Truly the spirit of Christmas was alive and well. Then Santa turns toward Skretch. He can’t help but pay special attention to the little goblin. Skretch is staring in awe at everything that is going on.

And even though many of the elves also stare at him in curiosity, it doesn’t bother him one bit.

He is just enjoying all of this way too much to notice.

Skretch’s attention is diverted when Santa stands and looks directly at him. The little goblin isn’t sure if he has done something wrong. He begins to fidget nervously. But then, Santa reaches into his bag, pulls out a large shiny wrapped present, and tosses it directly to Skretch.

“I’d like to present the first gift of Christmas!” Santa shouts for all to hear.

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Skretch smiles from ear to ear as he looks at everyone staring at him.

“Well, open it, silly!” Angie laughs.

Skretch doesn’t need any more instruction. He tears off the wrapping paper as quickly as he can. He rips open the box and lifts out his gift. His eyes open even wider as he stares at the thoughtful gift in admiration.

The other elves giggle as Skretch puts the gift over his body to check the fit. It is a full-body suit made out of a very thin, flexible rubber. It will easily fit under his clothes while keeping him warm and protecting him from the snow. Skretch looks up at Santa as a tear forms in his eye.

“I thought if you are going to live here,” Santa says, chuckling, “we’d better find a way to keep you comfy.”

Skretch looks up at Santa with admiration. “Thank you,” he says sincerely.

“No,” Santa responds. “Thank you. Without your help, we wouldn’t even be celebrating this year.”

The large group of elves begin to clap and wildly cheer, which causes Skretch to smile even wider at their praise. Zach steps up and gives his goblin friend a nod. “You better hurry up and put that on if you want to go for a ride!”

Skretch looks up at Santa in disbelief.

Santa nods, letting Skretch know Zach is serious.

Skretch disappears behind some trees and reappears with the suit underneath his clothing in less time than it seems humanly possible.

Zach takes his hand and reaches out with his other hand for Angie. She steps up with a smile and the three of them climb into Santa’s sleigh.

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With a snap of the reins, Santa’s reindeer start running across the snow. The sleigh rapidly picks up speed and within seconds they are airborne. The two elves and the little goblin smile in wide-eyed wonder as they fly beneath the glowing rays of the Star of Bethlehem, ready to help Santa bring peace and goodwill to the children of the world as, once again, we celebrate the birth of Christ.

The End

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Acknowledgments I would like to take a moment to thank my Mother and Father for giving me (and my four brothers and four sisters!) a true love and appreciation of the Christmas Season.

I would also like to thank Rankin Bass for producing such amazing family films that instilled the real magic of Santa Claus, his flying reindeer, the elves, and all the rest of the winter wonderland at the North Pole.

To my good friend, Jeffrey Varab, I would like to say thank you for all of your hard work in bringing life to the characters within this book. The outstanding quality of your artwork continues to amaze me.

Finally, I would like to thank my wife and children for having the same love for Christ and the Christmas Season in their hearts. Every year is magic, and every year I am thankful for the joy you all bring into my life.

And to you, the reader, it is my hope that this book helps you share some of that same Christmas magic with your friends and family every December 25th.

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“Matt’s book channels the heart and warmth seen in the Rankin/Bass Productions’ Christmas specials and films. In our ever-changing world, Christmas stories like these are welcomed by parents and children everywhere!”

—Rick Goldschmidt, Official Rankin/Bass Productions Historian/Biographer “This imaginative novel will appeal to young readers who enjoy adventure, fantastic surroundings, and mysterious beings, with a joyous Christmas message to boot!”

—The Children’s Book Review Matt Dragovits’ love of storytelling, combined with his love of the Christmas Season has resulted in the creation of this book, A Tale for Christmas: Zach’s Quest (Chapter Book).

The story is also available as a Gold Mom’s Choice Award Winning picture book, It is his hope this tale helps promote the magic of Christmas while also reminding children of the true reason we celebrate the holiday…the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Matt is a nationally recognized video producer and author. When he is not busy running his video production company, he is writing, drawing, modeling in 3D, and finding other fun ways to breathe life into his characters. Matt lives in Chicago with his wife and three beautiful children. Learn more at www.zachsquest.com.

A Tale for Christmas: Zach’s Quest

One Christmas Zach accidentally breaks the Divine Reactor... the main device that powers Santa’s workshop! It’s 48 hours till Christmas, so Santa sends Zach on a perilous mission to the peak of Mount Frostbite to recover a rare gemstone needed for the Divine Reactor. He braves the harsh arctic environment filled with wild animals, severe weather, and evil goblins. In the end, Zach is forced to make an ultimate decision that will remind even Santa of the true meaning of Christmas.