"Good morning guys. It's finally almost Christmas. Are you all excited?" - Samson asked on the group chat after logging in on the morning of Christmas Eve.

"Is this a rhetorical question?" - Peace

"Yeah what the hell, Sam? Why would we be excited about Christmas? All our lives suck and there isn't really much to celebrate or be excited about." - Darryl

"Woah! Didn't know you both felt that way. What about you Nel, you excited for Christmas, got any plans?" - Samson asked Nelly.

"Sure I'm excited. Tomorrow's gonna make it exactly 11 years since my Dad left me and my Mom. My Pops has been admitted into the hospital because his condition got worse. My Mom is never at home anymore because she's got to work twice as hard to pay his hospital bills and to top it off, I'm still feeling the effects of almost dying last week at Jennifer's cocaine party. So, yeah, I'm excited. Bring on Christmas, the season of bullshit." - Nelly

"Sorry for asking." - Samson texted back.

"Hey don't blame my party for your OD. You are a lightweight who just couldn't handle his Coke." - Jennifer wrote to Nelly.

"Always the last to join the party. So, what about you Jenny? You also not feeling the Christmas spirit?" - Samson texted specifically to Jennifer.

"The Christmas spirit is so overrated. Making snowmen with your pals, singing carols, decorating a tree and opening presents; it's all crap. It's shallow and boring and quite frankly, it's annoying." - Jennifer replied to Samson.

"So... you're also not excited about celebrating Christmas?" - Samson.

"Well, we could still get together and do something fun. Not the regular boring Christmas traditions but something a little different and far more exciting." - Jennifer wrote.

"I like the sound of this. What did you have in mind?" - Darryl wrote to his girlfriend.

"We should hang out, all five of us and do something completely crazy." - Jennifer.

"No way! The last time we did something crazy, I almost died." - Nelly

"Relax Nelly! I'm usually not in support of Jennifer's crazy ideas but I can't be stuck in this house tonight so I need some fun and so do you." - Peace wrote.

"Great! Let's meet up at my place by 5 pm and we'll make some plans on what to do tonight." - Jennifer wrote.

"Sounds good to me." - Samson

"Looking forward to it." - Peace

"Fine but no drugs this time, okay?" - Nelly

"Great. See you guys later." - Darryl.

SAMSON

Samson went offline and went downstairs to begin his morning. He found his mom trying to reach for something on a high shelf but she wasn't tall enough.

"Samson, there you are. Help me bring down this box filled with Christmas decorations." She asked after noticing him.

"Where's Jamie?" Samson asked as he brought down the box.

"He's in the tub" His mother answered.

Samson brought down the box and handed it to his mom. She took it to the living room, opened it up, took out the lights and ornaments and proceeded to place them on the little Christmas tree in the corner of the room.

"Need some help?" Sam asked.

"No, I can do it on my own. I remember the last Christmas we spent with your Dad," She began to say, "Do you remember that crazy idea he had?" She asked with a sad smile on her face.

"You mean the one about having a snowman inside the house? Of course, I remember." Samson also wore a sad smile.

"It melted so fast." She said with a chuckle.

"Almost flooded the house." Samson exaggerated and he and his mom were both laughing.

"I miss him, Mom."

"I do too Sam, but it was his time and he's in a better place now. All we can do is keep his memory alive by living on ourselves."

They both fell silent and the sad memories were beginning to creep in so Samson got up.

"I gotta go take a shower. My friends and I have plans for this evening." Samson informed his mother.

"Well, you'll have to cancel those plans. There's a Christmas Eve party happening at the clinic tonight and you and Jamie are coming with me."

"No, I'm not. You can take Jamie but I'm not going to that." Samson said with certainty.

"Why not?"

"It's a hospital, filled with old sick people. I don't want to go to that. Besides I already told you, I made plans with my friends." Samson said to his mom.

"So you'd rather spend Christmas Eve with your friends than with your own family." She decided to play the emotional blackmail card.

"I'll still spend Christmas with you guys. We just want to do something together, just us, without any of our families." Samson said.

"Well, I don't care. You're coming with me to the clinic." She said authoritatively.

"You can't make me come, Mom, so don't even try," Samson said and walked out on her.

Later in the evening, Samson was ready to go meet up with the group.

"Ok mom, I'm off. You and Jamie have fun, alright?"

"So, you're really not gonna come with us to the clinic?" His mom said, much calmer than she was before.

"You guys will be fine. And we'll spend Christmas morning together, just the three of us. I promise." Samson said and kissed his mom on the forehead.

"Jamie! Have fun and be good, alright little man?" He said to little Jamie, named after their father.

"Sure thing Sam. Have fun too." Jamie said to him.

"Of course, I will," Samson replied and left the house.

NELLY

Nelly went offline and went downstairs to begin his morning. He found his mom crying hysterically and packing a small bag.

"Mom? What's the problem? Why are you crying?" He asked and rushed to her.

"It's your Pops. I got a call from the hospital and they said that he had a minor heart attack and he stopped breathing for a while." She said in tears, stopping to take a breath.

"Is he dead?" Nelly asked, hoping that the answer would be 'no'.

"No, he's not. They managed to stabilize him so I gotta get there fast."

"No, WE gotta get there fast," Nelly said, wanting to go with her.

"You can't come with me. I need you to run some errands in the house and there are so many chores to take care of." His mom said.

"Pops almost died and you want me to run errands instead of being with him and you?" Nelly asked.

"He's unconscious. He won't even know you're there. If you really want to help, then do as I say and take care of the errands and chores." His mom said dismissively and picked up her purse, ready to leave.

"But Mom..."

"No 'buts' Nelly. Just do as I ask, please?" She said with seriousness and Nelly decided to leave it alone.

"Ok. I'll take care of the house. Go be with Pops and if he wakes up, give him my love." Nelly said.

"I will." She said and left.

Nelly let out a sigh and sat down by the kitchen counter. He picked up the list of chores and errands that his mother had made and saw that there was a lot to be done.

"Well, I guess I better get to work on this." He said frustratedly and stood up to begin.

The work was long and exhausting but after a few hours, he was finally done. He took a shower and a quick nap. When he woke up, he checked the time and saw that it was almost 5 pm so he decided to get going to meet up with the guys.

He picked up his phone and wrote on the group chat.

"Hey, guys. Mom's out and I'm home alone so I guess you'll be seeing me tonight. But seriously, no drugs, ok?" - Nelly wrote.

"Just get your ass over here." - Jennifer wrote back.

He put his phone away, grabbed the house keys and left the house.

"I really hate Christmas." He said before he left.

He had a good reason to hate Christmas because it was on this very day that his father abandoned him and his mom. He had gone out to get a Christmas tree but he never came back. They thought he had an accident or was in trouble but the truth was that he had another family elsewhere and he chose them over this one. Nelly since then, never celebrated Christmas and neither did his mother.

.

.

.

"Ding Dong" The doorbell to Jennifer's house rang and she got up to open it.

"Guys, she's here!" Jennifer shouted out. They had all been waiting for Peace to arrive as she was the only one who wasn't there yet.

"Finally! Now can we get going?" Darryl said in frustration and picked up his jacket.

"Peace, what took you so long?" Samson asked.

"I don't want to talk about it." Peace replied with her arms folded by her side.

"Your parents again?" Nelly asked.

Peace nodded and Jennifer decided to break the tension.

"Enough of all this bad energy. Let's go!" She said with excitement.

"Where are we even going?" Nelly asked.

"You'll see!" Darryl said and smiled at Nelly.

"I don't like that smile, Darryl. That smile isn't making me comfortable." Nelly said worriedly and everyone laughed.

They all got in Jennifer's car and drove off. It was some minutes past six and the sun was almost set. Jennifer drove all the way to the outskirts of town, into the woods until they made it to an old, abandoned building a few miles out of town.

She stopped the car and came out. Darryl also came out of the car and so did Samson and Peace. Nelly, on the other hand, was afraid to leave the car.

"Guys, what are we doing here?" He asked, getting really uncomfortable.

"We're going to celebrate Christmas Eve a little differently tonight...in there!" Jennifer announced and pointed at the creepy building.

"No way! No way in hell am I going in there." Nelly refused.

"Don't be a baby Nel, it's just an old building." Samson made fun of him.

"It's an old building, in the middle of nowhere, in the dead of the night. Only bad things are guaranteed to happen if we go in there." Nelly said, really not wanting to go.

"It's not that bad Nelly," Peace put in, "or are you afraid that it's haunted or something?"

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of," Nelly said.

"You still believe in ghosts?" Jennifer asked with a judgemental smile.

"It's not that I believe in ghosts. It's just that I'm black, and black people don't walk into creepy buildings in the middle of nowhere." Nelly answered.

Just then, an unknown, unseen and unheard presence was slowly walking towards Nelly who was still in the car. It got closer and closer until it was right behind him. Nelly had no idea that it was standing behind him and was still talking about not going into the building.

The figure reached out its hand and slowly moved it to the back of Nelly's head and grabbed his hair while letting out a demonic shriek.

"Oh, Shit! Something's got me!" Nelly said screaming but his friends were all laughing.

"I got you good Nels. You make it way too easy." Samson said from behind Nelly.

"That's not funny Sam. You almost gave me a heart attack." Nelly said to him and came out of the car.

Darryl went to the trunk of the car and brought out a cooler and they all walked to the door of the building.

Samson grabbed the nob and tried to open the door but it was locked.

"It's locked." He announced.

"Not for long," Darryl said and grabbed a rock. He broke the glass panel of the door and stuck his hand in to open the lock. He managed to and they went inside.

The building was old and dusty, filled with broken furniture and a bunch of old stuff. The floorboards were old and creaky and it looked like it could give way at any time.

"Great venue Jennifer." Peace said sarcastically.

"It's not about the venue but about what we'll do in it." She said and took off her backpack.

"What's in the bag?" Samson asked.

"Everything we'll need to make this night a memorable one." She answered.

The bag was filled with all kinds of drugs, some scary Christmas storybooks, an electric lamp, a lighter, a flashlight, an MP3 player and some condoms.

"The cooler has beer and vodka in it, so help yourselves," Jennifer said.

"I'm okay with having some beer but I'm not doing any drugs, and what are the condoms for?" Nelly asked.

"It's going to be a long cold night. Who knows? We might need it." Jennifer answered and winked at Darryl.

The little party began and it didn't take long for the guys to get wasted. They were all dancing to loud music and drinking heavily. Darryl and Jennifer immediately began making out in the corner like they always did. Nelly who was sceptical about being here and doing drugs was already having a good time with a blunt in his hand.

After a little while, Jennifer lowered the music to the disappointment of everyone else.

"Yo J-Lo, what gives?" Nelly asked, already wasted.

"We can't just dance all night, we need to do something a little more exciting," Jennifer said.

"Like what?" Peace asked, rolling her eyes.

"How about we play a little truth or dare?" She asked with a naughty smile.

"I don't like it when friends play truth or dare. You find out about things you wish you didn't know." Samson said, not liking the idea.

"Yeah, I agree. It's probably not a good idea." Darryl said.

Peace immediately realized that Darryl didn't want to play because he didn't want to have to admit his problems at home or talk about some other secrets which made her feel a strong urge to want to play just so she could out him in front of everyone.

"I'm up for it and so is Nelly." Peace said.

"I am?" Nelly asked.

"Yes, you are. Or are you also scared of Truth Or Dare like these two girls over here?" She said rhetorically, pointing at Sam and Darryl, taking a shot at their masculinity to manipulate them to play.

The two guys both stared at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

"Fine, let's do it."

They all took a seat wherever they could and Jennifer decided to ask first.

"Samson! Truth or Dare?" Jennifer asked.

"Dare," Samson said boldly.

"Ohh! Starting strong, I like it." Jennifer complimented.

"I dare you to..." She thought about what to say and her eyes caught sight of Peace, "...make out with Peace for one whole minute."

"Yeah, I'm not doing that." Samson refused. He liked Peace as a friend but he wasn't attracted to her in that way.

"You have to do it, Sam, there's no backing out," Jennifer told him.

"It's okay Sam. Come on, let's do it." Peace told him.

Samson went to her and they kissed for an entire minute. While they kissed, Darryl was visibly upset about it although he tried to hide it.

"Nicely done you two. Darryl, it's your turn." Jennifer said.

"Peace! Truth or Dare?" He asked.

"Truth." Peace answered.

"Do you wish your parents were divorced?" Darryl asked, to everyone's surprise, but Peace played it cool, acting like the question didn't bother her.

"Yes, I do. They spend more time arguing with themselves than they do with their children. To be honest, my sisters' lives and mine would be so much better if they weren't together anymore." Peace said coldly which made everyone awkward.

"Ok," Jennifer said, "Samson, your turn."

Samson looked at Nelly and smiled. "Nelly," he said, "Truth or Dare?"

"Oh c'mon man, not me." Nelly groaned.

"Truth or Dare buddy?" Samson asked again.

"Show him that you're not scared, Nelly," Darryl said encouragingly.

"Alright. Dare!" Nelly answered.

"I dare you to take any intact item in this room, destroy it with your bare hands and burn it."

"Are you serious? Burn it, right here, indoors?" Nelly wasn't sure he heard right.

"I'm serious Nels. Let's see what you got."

"Fine," Nelly said in defiance and got up. He was a man on a mission to prove a point.

Nelly found a locked wooden box under the dormant fireplace and took it out. He placed it in the corner of the large room and looked at Samson for approval.

"Yes, that will do. Destroy it." Samson ordered.

"But we don't even know what's in there. What if it's valuable or something?" Nelly tried to stall.

"Stop stalling Nelly and just do it." Peace said to him.

Nelly smashed the box several times on the floor but it just wouldn't break.

"It's not breaking guys," He said in frustration.

"Just light it on fire then," Darryl suggested.

Nelly took some vodka and the lighter they used to smoke. He poured the liquid on the box and lit it on fire.

"Yeah. You did it man" Darryl said with approval while Jennifer applauded him.

Nelly had a victorious smile on his face but that smile quickly vanished when the wind suddenly blasted the door wide open. The wind blew in rapidly, bringing fallen leaves along with it and a ghoulish sound filled the room.

"Guys, what's happening?" Jennifer screamed with her hands over her face for protection.

"I don't know," Darryl replied.

The door slammed shut and the wind suddenly ceased. Nelly stared at the door in panic.

"Guys, what was that?" He asked and turned around but his friends were all gone without a trace.

"Guys? Guys?" He called out worriedly and realized that they must be playing a prank on him.

"Very funny guys. You can come out now." He said but no one answered.

A hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder from behind and he thought it was Samson.

"That's not gonna work on me twice." He said and turned around to what could only be described as the devil himself.

The creature roared at Nelly, with its bloodshot eyes and pale skin. Nelly screamed in terror as the creature grabbed him and took a huge bite out of his neck.