"A Christmas Criminal" - Part 37

 37
Tom sits in his cramped container

 puzzling over the meaning of the latest apparition.

The first two were about Christmas Past and Present

and could easily be explained as products of his imagination

concocted out of his own insecurities and guilt 

The third seemed to refer to Christmases to come

and a situation disturbingly similar to his own right now.
Trapped in a box with a plug in his ass, if not a spring. 
That thought shot sent a spasm of fear through his bowls

but it couldn't be literally true - could it?

Eventually Tom sleeps, the fire dies down,
light filters through the curtains heralding the dawn.
.

Mitchell HG37 - After Lunch

Tom is awoken by excited voices. 
The hour of his reckoning is near.
The agonising pain in his stiffened limbs 
makes that prospect seem quite welcome.

But the Christmas conventions in this affluent home 
require that he waits and suffers a little longer.
Hungrily he listens to the sounds of eating 
spicing and prolonging his torment.

(continued)

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"A Christmas Criminal" - Part 36

Tom awakes with a start, a clock is striking

He counts the chimes wondering how long he has slept

They seem to go on and on, is it was striking 12 again?

That had been the signal for two apparitions earlier tonight
Surely that can't happen inside the box?

But he is wrong.
He becomes aware of a dim ghostly presence 
It is inside the box with him.
A certain poised tension.

Then suddenly the lid of the box bursts open above him
a figure shoots past him up and out through the gap
precariously balanced on the top of a sort of spring.

Mitchell HG36 - Jack in the Box

Tom recognises who it is, it's his friend Jack

his one-time mentor in the gentle arts of thievery
and of breaking and entering.

That was before Tom reformed his life
and got himself a wife and a job.

Jack disappeared last Christmas,

left town with the Police after him it was rumoured.
He'd gone to London.

As the apparition fades along with it's ghostly message

Tom suddenly becomes acutely conscious of the plug in his ass

It moves with perspiration of his body inside the hot box.
He wonders what it's purpose is
....and why did Jack really disappear?

A terrible fear of the unknown grips Tom.
He is suddenly desperate to get out of the box,
but scared of what is waiting outside
and what will happen to him then.

To be continued

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"A Christmas Criminal" - Part 35

With Tom's efforts and exertions in the confined space of the box
it soon begins to feel quite warm and stuffy
partly because the ventilation holes have been
covered by gift wrapping paper.

Mitchell HG35 - Sleep

It is late and Tom's body aches
from the punishment he has taken
He is feeling quite drowsy
and his brain is telling him
that if he can't get out
 he might as well sleep
until the house owner comes
to do with him whatever he intends.

So eventually Tom nods off and dreams.....

"Twas the night before Christmas
When all through the house
Not a creature was stirring
Not even a mouse"

continued

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"A Christmas Criminal" - Part 34

Left alone, Tom tries again to break out of the box

He finds it's of very sturdy construction

Squashed tightly inside he can't change position 

or angle his limbs to apply any force.

Totally frustrated he shakes his body in rage

But even then the box hardly moves. 

The dangling label trembles imperceptibly.
His angry shouting is heard by no-one 

Mitchell HG34 - Daddy's Cock Up

After half an hour the cramped position takes it's toll

Pain begins to seep into his arms, his legs, his back

He hears the clock strike two and thinks of his son

Who will be waking about now hoping to find presents.

But tonight ...

♪♫ ♪♫ He's the little boy that Santa Clause forgot,
And goodness knows, he didn't want a lot.

 I'm so sorry for that laddie, for tonight he's lost his daddy,
The little boy That Santa Clause forgot. ♪♫♪♫

A tear trickles down Tom's cheek.

continued

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"A Christmas Criminal" - Part 33

Mitchell HG33 - You can't leave me!

Sealed inside the box Tom can still hear noises

The Security men are doing things and talking.

He tentatively pushes against the lid with his knees

It feels more solid than he expected.

He calls out, asking to be released,

hoping it's just a prank they are playing.

Then he hears the sound of a door slamming

followed by a profound silence. 

continued

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"A Christmas Criminal" - Part 32

Mitchell HG32 - Packaged Up

Tom has learned by now that defying or resisting

these Security Guards can have painful consequences. 

He confines himself to verbal protests 

(You can't do this! Please don't! I'll make you pay! etc etc)

as they fold him into the confines of the box 

They cram his last toe in and fit the lid on top,

plunging him into near darkness relieved only by

the light coming in through 3 small round holes

which are obviously there for ventilation.

 

There are lots of scuffing noises on the outside of the box,

presumably the Security men are making it secure, trying to

but Tom's confident he can break out once they've gone.

For the sake of form, he continues to shout to be let out.

He feels  the box being lifted and then put down again

There are more scuffles and the rustling of paper.

Then the three light holes are covered, leaving a dim blueness.

Tom recognises the sound of sticky tape being applied.

He realises he's being gift wrapped!

continued
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"A Christmas Criminal" - Part 31

 The Security men return looking very pleased.

It looks like they've been cleared to go home.

Tom hopes he can go now too.

The security men explain.

"The Police still won't come to get you, not on Christmas Day .

 We can't put you into our temporary custody suite back at base either, same reason.

But we won't babysit you any longer, we've got homes to go to you know!".

Tom nods, his hopes of freedom rise.

"Unfortunately the house owner won't agree to let you off with a warning.

 So we have to turn you over to him, that's the procedure.

He can sort you out when he gets back, which will be in the morning".

"So do you want me to wait here for him?" asks Tom  incredulously.

As soon as they're gone, he'll just find some clothes upstairs and walk.

"Yes," replies the Security man, "he's given very clear instructions about it"

They take Tom's arm and propel him towards the debris of his visit.

The kitchen chair lies on the ground where it was tipped over earlier

Tom thinks, 'they're going to  tie me up again, but I can still escape'.

Mitchell HG31 Gift Box

But he's wrong, they take him to the box 

which he opened when he arrived and found to be empty.

It's still standing amongst the torn and screwed up wrapping paper.

'Get in" says the guard.

"No!" cries Tom "You can't do that!"

"That's our instructions" says the Security man impassively.

continued
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