He'll Be Coming Down The Chimney Down Novels & Stories

I will my fingers to stillness again. “No, that’s-” My voice catches a moment, unsteady. My gaze drops—briefly, to the fire pits running down the center of the runner in the domed hall.The flames lick and pop as if they enjoy themselves, bright and careless. Heat drifts upward in lazy waves, perfuming the air with smoke and resin, but the marble beneath my slippers stays cold anyway. This winter's chill always finds a way in–through stone, through bone, through the smallest seams—no matter how many fires burn, no matter how I feed now.

I can't let her die. "CHELSEY!" I scream, hoping to hear her. "CHELSEY!" I call once more. Before a response can be heard, a supporting beam suddenly falls. I manage to dodge it, however, notice my exit has now become blocked. Ignoring that fact, I decided to venture on. I truly have no choice now. Hopefully, I can find another way out after. "CHEL-SEY!" I yell in between coughs. Breathing has become much more difficult as the flames continue to rise. I crouch down, hoping to stay below the smoke.

“Let’s go down. I want to see the arcade.” He chuckled. “Not really going to let it pass, huh?” “Yes, and then, dinner later!”

Zeke starts coughing, rushing to the door, pounding with both fists. ZEKE: (shouting) Open the door! Please! There’s someone here! He slams his shoulder against the door — useless. Smoke curls under the cracks. The temperature rises. Above him, the wooden ceiling creaks. ZEKE (V.O.): Am I... going to die? I don’t want to die... Flames burst from the ceiling. A burning beam crashes down, narrowly missing him. Zeke collapses to his knees, coughing violently. Tears blur his vision.

Brianna says, running a hand through my hair. “Why are we waiting in line when we could just wait for him at home by the fireplace?” That way, we could eat chocolate chip cookies and drink milk together—hoping the elves don’t steal my cookies. “Because this way, he can hear what you want today and then bring it to you on Christmas by coming through the chimneys,” my sister says, smiling. But her smile doesn’t look too sure. It’s the same smile she makes when she’s trying to convince our parents she’s innocent about something.

I wanted to ignore the feeling between my legs and just walk out to my car, but I guess pussy couldn’t just let me. So I turned and went in search of the white bearded chimney guy. He sat in a sleigh chair, which looked kinda comfortable , held two kids,on his knee and was the Santa imitation voice and laughing loudly asking them what they wanted for Christmas. I stood still biting my lips and hoping my eyes are hiding my sexual desires as much as I am holding myself from sitting on his laps and straddling his legs. His eyes locked with mine,I’m pretty sure the intensity of my eyes were boring into his head.

He dragged me toward the open ventilation shaft. He slid down the opening first, his boots scraping against the iron rungs as he descended at a terrifying speed. I followed him, my numb fingers barely gripping the cold metal as I climbed down into the dark chimney. The air down here was already getting thinner, the lack of oxygen making my head light and my chest tight. The roar of the diesel engine below was deafening now. We reached the bottom of the ladder, dropping onto the gravel of the abandoned subway tracks. Fifty yards away, the yellow locomotive was slowly crawling forward, its wheels spinning on the rusted steel rails, throwing off massive sparks that illuminated the dark tunnel.

Dmitry hissed. He reached into the flue, his powerful hand locking around a retreating leather boot. With a violent, single-jointed jerk of his arm, he dragged the figure backward out of the chimney. The young apprentice hit the stone floor with a dull, breath-robbing thud, scattering soot and burning embers across the room.

"She is cleaning the plates with oil before putting in new metal. If you stay in the chimney, the strong chemical will take off the silver from your ribs." Elara tried to brace her heels against the ribbed iron wall of the chimney, but her feet were part of the eighth leaf now, her boots flattened into two square, three-inch lead tabs that were keyed to the sorting machine's guide-rails. Above her head the yellow light did not come back. Instead, a cold white flood of chemical came down the chimney. It hit her shoulders with a sound, turning her skin into a thick soapy lather that started to dissolve the tracks on her father's paper.

' 'Best of luck, although I'm sure you don't need it. 'Thanks. I should be fine, but I'm still anxious to make a good impression.' Together with the snow outside, the aroma of cocoa makes for pure Christmas nostalgia. The only things missing are sleigh bells and a grandparent snoring in a corner chair. 'How about you?' she asks. 'What do you do in this backward northern hamlet?' 'I'm a chimney sweep.' Really? 'No.' 'Damn it. I'm not normally that gullible, I swear.'