α to ζ: The Believers -or- Jesus, Krampus, and Santa Claus Walk Into a Bar

By Sylvan Scott

Kaustubh is a mongoose bartender in an establishment that has become a favorite of costumed heroes. But on Christmas Eve he receives a visitor: running from the dark and trying to stay in the shadows.

With his last customer still in the bar and a coming appointment later in the night, he and his guests come face-to-face with their life's choices on the longest night of the year.

“α to ζ” (“A to Z”) is my name for a story setting that encompasses magic, super-science, and costumed, powered individuals. The world is populated by humanoid animals in addition to humans. And although humans are the most numerous type of people, they comprise only one of roughly sixteen-hundred different, intelligent, mammalian species dating back to at least the last Ice Age.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sylvan Scott
• Release date: Nov 9, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463434772

Sylvan Scott

I wrote about robots. When I was a kid, my first story was about robots that looked like people: the only survivors of a world-wide nuclear war. What can I say? I grew up in the 70's. Since then I've sculpted all manner of stories about all sorts of topics. Science Fiction and Fantasy still remain favorites of mine and, usually, what I can express in speculative fiction I'd rather not express in other formats. I love short stories and am working on making this writing bug that I've harbored for so many years finally work for me. Here goes nothing.

Book preview

L

. Frank

The world-setting (containing Otawatapolis, The Road’s End bar, the Dimension of Y’th, the Great Ossuary Necropolis, The Sixteen Archetypes, The Order of Bone/Osseology, The Protectorate, the Swarm, and other landmarks within this story’s context) as well as the characters of Avatar (aka Kaustubh Lorre), Spots (aka Valeria Flores), Strike-Out (aka Vanson Meers), Mindwipe (aka Clarissa Fontaine), Mother Christmas, Kua-Tai - the Zombie-Master (aka Mei Long), and others are owned by Sylvan Scott/David J Rust. This story may not be shared or edited without the express written permission of the author.

α to ζ:

The Believers -or- Jesus, Krampus, and Santa Claus Walk Into a Bar

©2019 Sylvan Scott

During the holidays, the drunks were always meaner. Culturally enforced holiday cheer and seasonal affective disorder contributed to their daily ordeals. Kaustubh would stand firm, cross his arms, and stare them down. That usually worked. If his ruby-red gaze didn’t do the trick, he could always summon Avatar. When even that wasn’t enough, he would pull down Old Reliable. Even the most ornery drunks respected a big stick of wood. The ocelot running into The Road’s End, however, wasn’t drunk.

Wide-eyed, she slammed through the door, demonic-looking wisps of smoke coiling around her arms. The regulars had gone and two AM had passed. Being the bartender, Kaustubh remained along with the elder Mister Meers. Kaustubh stood behind the bar on its raised platform, so he could look every customer in the eye. People who belonged to the smaller-sized species always had such contrivances when operating in a world with so much size diversity. The short-furred, grey mongoose twitched his whiskers but, otherwise, didn’t show concern.

We’re closed, he said.

The tentacles of mist surrounding