Oh, Deadly Night: Dead Oaks

By Rena Marin and Skylar McKinzie

Christmas has come to the sleepy, little town of Dead Oaks. The children's laughter fills the streets as the joy of the season distracts the townspeople of the horrors they have recently faced. But joy never lasts long in Dead Oaks.

Christmas Eve night doesn't bring the gifts and happiness they expect. Instead, something evil walks the streets while the town slumbers. It has come home for revenge. It feeds on their sadness. Most of all, it has returned for the children.

Will the darkest night in Dead Oaks history ever end or will the evil find a way to sleigh them all?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Crazy Ink
• Release date: Dec 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393340294

Book preview

Diagram Description automatically generated

Evil Comes Home for Christmas...

Prologue

Christmas Morning, 1949

Dead Oaks, North Carolina

THE MORNING SUNSHINE filtered through the hand sewn, peach colored curtains hanging in the bedroom of Nora Jean Filbert and her husband Bob. The house lay silent, the blanket of snow in the yard helping keep the quiet calm of a mountain winter intact. Slowly, Nora Jean’s eyes fluttered open, then immediately squinted in avoidance of the sun glaring in her eyes. Using her hand as a shield, Nora Jean turned her head, hoping to block out the unwanted intrusion.

Nora Jean didn’t normally sleep in. It was unheard of. She had always been a woman who was up before daylight, making breakfast for Bob and the kids before they started their day. On this day, she didn’t feel like moving. The only thing she wanted to do was snuggle in the thick blanket her mother had made for them when they were married and avoid anything having to do with the waking world. She knew she couldn’t though. It wasn’t fair to her family. They needed her to get their days started. It was just the way her world worked.

Slipping out from under the covers she felt the cold in the house settle into her bones instantly. The first thing she would need to do would be add firewood. As a mother, the idea of her babies getting out of bed in a cold house didn’t sit well with her. It never had. It had always been a struggle fighting the cold in the mountains, but her family loved Dead Oaks and would never consider living anywhere else.

The Filbert family had never been considered one of the rich families in town. No, Nora Jean’s husband worked hard for everything they had. There were times when they struggled to keep food on the table for their two kids, Robert, Jr. and Meredith, but they survived. They always did. The help of their neighbors was another thing about the little mountain town the entire Filbert family loved.

Stepping into the living room, Nora Jean noticed the fire had gone completely out. She couldn’t remember the last time that had happened. Normally, Bob would make sure the fire was well stoked and things stayed comfortable through the late-night hours. Wrapping her arms around herself, she moved toward the hearth, when her eyes fell upon the small, yet cutely decorated Christmas tree in the corner. Suddenly, the night before came rushing back to her in a whirl of emotion that made her grip the back of their hand-me-down sofa to stay on her feet.

She, Bob, and the kids had sat around the fire telling Christmas stories and drinking her homemade hot cocoa. Little Meredith sang carols, while Robert Jr. teased her for it. They had laughed together while they waited for bedtime. When Bob announced it was time to go up, the children didn’t argue. No, they were too excited for the following morning and the hope of gifts that awaited.

The gifts were still under the tree. That wasn’t normal. Nora Jean knew her babies and knew they would’ve been up at the crack of dawn, ready to tear open the plain, brown wrappings she used. Bob always said spending money for fancy Christmas paper was useless. She knew he was right but still hated having to use something so ordinary for the kids.

Not worrying about the cold fireplace, Nora Jean turned and raced toward the back of the house. The kids each had a room. They were small, but enough for them to have their privacy and be happy. Reaching Meredith’s room first, she threw open the door. The small bedroom window was open, the night’s snow lightly piled on the floor. The room itself was bitter cold, enough to make the woman shiver visibly. Pulling back the covers, Nora Jean bit her lip trying not to cry. Her baby girl wasn’t there.

In a rush, hoping to find both her children safe and sound in Robert Jr.’s room, she scurried across the hall repeating her previous actions. As the door banged against the wall, more snow drifted from the windowsill, falling onto the hardwood floor beneath it. That’s when her eyes saw the one thing she had been hoping she wouldn’t. There, on the snow covering the window, were crimson stains she knew in her heart was blood.

Praying to see her children outside the window, she threw herself across the room, not caring that Robert Jr.’s toys hadn’t been put away. Peering outside, she threw her hands over her mouth and let a cry of agony take her. Her voice wasn’t the only one filling the air on that Christmas morning, though. All around the town of Dead Oaks, families were waking to find children missing. The only clue left behind, besides the droplets of crimson leading out their doors and windows, was the message scrawled in blood in each of the chosen family’s lawns.

Jus

I came for what was promised. Now, the children of Dead Oaks are finally where they belong, with me. Merry Christmas!

Deck the Halls

Present Day

Dead Oaks, NC

Caleb Rollins took his time driving around the town he was sworn to protect. The people in the streets, the kids running around, and the festive feel in the air made it necessary. The town of Dead Oaks always came alive at Christmas time. It was one of the few times of the year people tried to put all the bad things in the world behind them and focus on the love and joy in their lives. That was especially hard to do in Dead Oaks, but it could be done.

Tossing a wave to passersby, he couldn’t help but smile when greetings were offered. Hey, Sheriff Rollins had a real nice ring to it. Although he wasn’t set to step into his new position until after the new year, the retirement of the town’s previous sheriff moved the timeline up a bit and the mayor had no choice but to officially instate Caleb as the town’s new lead protector.

Pulling down Main Street, Caleb noticed the crowd gathered by the giant oak tree already decorated for the holiday season. The big tree, one of the few in town that seemed strong enough to live, was a fixture this time of year. The Women’s Auxiliary always saw to its decoration and worked tirelessly, all through the Christmas season, to ensure no one destroyed the handmade ornaments. It was also the job of the local sheriff’s department to keep vandals at bay. It never failed, every year, some group of teenagers hoped to make a name for themselves by claiming an ornament or two.

Caleb! Caleb!

Hearing his name being shouted through the crowd, Caleb slowed his cruiser enough to spot Rosie Turner, one of the town’s most notorious flirts, waving her arms frantically as she ran down the sidewalk. Curious as to what she needed, he pulled the car over to the curb and waited.

Rosie, is everything alright? he asked as she made it to his car, panting slightly.

Rosie was a year or so older than Caleb himself. During the years since they graduated high school, she’d been married twice and had three kids of her