The Alien Reindeer's Joy

by Starr Huntress

  The meter would have already sent a warning back to Santa. If Kaelar neglected to check-in, Santa would send someone else and the galactic authorities would be informed. But even if Kaelar went home and called Santa right away, the galactic authorities could take weeks to have this matter wrapped up.

  There was no way he was letting this town lose its joy for weeks—it was too close to Christmas.

  Deciding to take matters into his own hands, Kaelar barreled straight into the four Zalfa, his antlers first. He may get a reprimand for acting without waiting for backup, but Kaelar didn’t care. Taking out four large Zalfa would be difficult, so he aimed for the joy vacuum, hoping to break it.

  But the Zalfa reacted quickly. They had probably been expecting a reilendeer to show up and try to spoil their operation at some point. They crowded around the orb, forming a shield around it to protect it.

  Kaelar used his antlers to catch one of them in the chest and tossed him aside. Another one tackled him, and the two of them went rolling along the ground, each trying to gain the advantage. Kaelar wasn’t trained in combat, nor did he have a weapon, which left him at a distinct disadvantage, but he couldn’t allow the thieves to continue their operation.

  The Zalfa grabbed his shoulders and smashed his head brutally on the ground, then kicked him back several feet, knocking him back into the busy street he had come from.

  By the time Kaelar gained his footing, the Zalfa were already running down the other side of the alley, the orb tightly held in their arms.

  Kaelar leaped forward, intent on pursuing them. In the alley, he hoped to shift into his reindeer form to move faster—possibly even fly after them if the opportunity arose—but he didn’t make it that far.

  In his rush, he wasn’t watching where he was going and he ran straight into a human who was passing by. The woman shrieked as the two of them were upended and went tumbling through the snow.

  A glance at the alley told him that the Zalfa and their joy vacuum were long gone.

  Chapter 6

  Chloe

  Chloe was annoyed.

  One minute, she had been walking down the street, and the next, she was lying down face first in the snow.

  As if this day hadn’t started badly enough.

  Her car had refused to start in the morning and she’d had to take a cab to work. After work, she’d come into town to purchase Christmas presents for the children in the hospital, but the atmosphere in town had been everything but festive. Everyone had been acting grumpy, and even the cashier’s ‘Merry Christmas’ had been said through gritted teeth.

  The more time she had spent in the town, the more she had felt her own joy for the season disappearing, replaced by a gray haze of gloom. Winter was wet and nasty, the people in the town were rude, buying presents was a hassle, and the Christmas lights were far too bright.

  And now, someone had run straight into her and knocked her over.

  Chloe never resorted to swearing, but right now, she almost felt some choice words coming out of her mouth. She tried to move under the weight of the man when she noted a sharp pain in her elbow. She grimaced, and the weight disappeared off her as whoever had hit her scrambled away.

  Annoyed, she looked up. The man was in a reindeer costume with huge, majestic antlers that looked all too real. From what she could see under the costume, he was tall, dark, and muscular. His golden-brown eyes sparkled, and he looked like a perfect mixture of hot and cute.

  Too bad he wasn’t looking at her.

  He was staring down a random alley, which increased her annoyance. He’d just bowled her over, the least he could do was look at her and apologize.

  She groaned as she tried to push herself up and her elbow tweaked painfully. Hopefully, it was just a bruise. But she’d probably have to get it checked at the hospital.

  At her groan, the man suddenly turned to her, quickly coming to his knees beside her on the ground. His eyes widened in recognition… or surprise, as if he couldn’t quite believe what had just happened.

  Well, that made the two of them.

  “Are you okay?” the man asked, his expression turning into concern. “I’m so sorry, I should have looked where I was going.”

  Yes, he should have.

  “I’m alright,” she lied. “What about you? You seemed eager to get somewhere.”

  His face fell. “Not anymore. Here, let me help.”

  He offered her a hand. At least he had some manners.

  Chloe didn’t understand what exactly made her so angry at everything. It was unlike her to be this annoyed, even in the worst of circumstances.

  She took his hand, trying to taper her annoyance and be grateful for the little things. The moment their hands touched, a distinct warmth spread through her. Slowly, she felt her anger and annoyance melting away.

  He pulled her to her feet with no apparent effort on his part and Chloe found herself slightly breathless—probably from being knocked down. It was definitely not because of the way his muscles moved under his clothes and her side brushed against his chest.

  “I’m Kaelar, by the way.”

  “Chloe,” she said, wondering what had just happened.

  Somehow, her mood had completely changed when she’d touched the man. Had he done something to her?

  The thought brought the memory of the reindeer back to her mind. It had golden-brown eyes too, hadn’t it?

  Quickly, she pulled her hand away from the man. She was starting to imagine things.

  He seemed to think she’d pulled away in anger because his expression turned apologetic again. “I really am sorry. Please, let me help.” He bent down to pick up the shopping bags Chloe had dropped on the snowy ground. “If anything is broken, I’d be happy to replace it.”

  Chloe blinked. The man seemed sincere and truly sorry. She didn’t know why she had doubted him before. Had she suffered a concussion? The fall hadn’t been that hard, but she suddenly felt really confused about what she was feeling—and not only because the guy in front of her was model-hot.

  “Oh, no,” she said, grabbing the bags from him. “No, that’s fine. They’re all packaged pretty well and the snow was soft. I don’t think anything is broken.”

  “I’m glad.” Kaelar smiled and the way his face transformed made her blush. “Do you have a big family? Those are a lot of presents.”

  Chloe laughed, starting to feel more like herself again. “No, not a big family. Most of these are for kids at the hospital. I’m a doctor there.”

  Kaelar smiled, seemingly unsurprised. “I’m—uh—Santa’s helper.” He scratched the base of his decorative antlers sheepishly. “I work for an organization that does charitable works around Christmas time. I’d like to make this up to you. Would it be okay if I came to the hospital sometime? To play with the kids?”

  Chloe stared at him in surprise. He’d already apologized and even offered to pay for anything that was broken, and now he wanted to pay a visit to the hospital, pro-bono?

  “Are you kidding?” she asked. “The kids would love that, especially if you come in this brilliant costume.”

  “Of course.” Kaelar grinned. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. Though I should be the one to thank you.” Chloe found herself smiling. “Most of the kids are having a tough time being away from home this season. I’m hoping to get at least some of them back before Christmas, but that all depends on how they respond.”

  “I understand perfectly,” Kaelar said. “It’s why I like doing what I do.”

  Chloe blushed. Okay, had she really hit her head harder than she’d thought after all? Where had such a perfect guy appeared from?

  He was nice as well as cute, and he liked children.

  He must be taken already, Chloe thought, her heart sinking. All the cute guys who weren’t complete asses were taken. She sighed sadly, wondering if she’d ever find her perfect man.

  Kaelar seemed oblivious to her thoughts. “Can I help you to carry your bags? It’s the least I
can do after running you down like I did.”

  Chloe cocked an eyebrow at him. “Besides visiting the children at the hospital?”

  “Besides that.” Kaelar smiled and she couldn’t help but giggle.

  Who was she to refuse? She could really use the help anyway since she didn’t have her car. She had been just heading to the main road where she would be able to flag down a cab more easily when she had bumped to Kaelar.

  “Thank you.” She smiled at Kaelar as he hoisted most of her shopping bags.

  “Are you sure you’re alright? Apart from being bruised from the fall, that is.”

  “I’m fine, thanks.” Now that she was thinking clearly, it really didn’t seem like anything more than bruising. Why had she exaggerated the fall so much earlier? “I haven’t seen you around town before. Did you just move here?”

  “I’m just passing through.”

  “Oh.” It wouldn’t be polite to ask him if he was single or not. Maybe she could find out in a more normal way. “You got anyone waiting at home for you? A girlfriend?”

  Yeah, normal. Totally normal to ask about girlfriends right away.

  Chloe’s cheeks flushed crimson, but Kaelar only chuckled.

  “No, it’s just me,” he said. “Maybe someday… But for now, I’m happy to focus on my work.” Kaelar gave her a searching look. “What about you?”

  Chloe shrugged. “Same here. It’s just me and my work. My mother won’t let me rest about it. She keeps pushing me to put work aside and start a family.”

  “You don’t want that?”

  “I do. I really do.” She sighed. “I guess I just haven’t found the right person yet. So, what do you do when you’re not doing Christmas work?”

  Kaelar hesitated. “I try to help people. I like to think I make this planet a better place.”

  It was strange phrasing—‘this planet’ rather than the common ‘this world’—but Chloe didn’t think much of that. More interesting was the fact that Kaelar seemed reluctant to tell her exactly what he did.

  Why would that be? She doubted he did anything bad or shameful, from what little she’d gleaned about him since he first knocked her down, but it only made him more mysterious.

  Chloe found herself wanting to know more about him. They reached the main road, but she tried to come up with excuses as to why she should keep walking with Kaelar.

  She really couldn’t think of any good reason, though, and reluctantly came to a stop.

  “This is me.”

  “Where’s your car?”

  She cocked an eyebrow. “How do you know I have a car?”

  Kaelar blushed. “I guess I just assumed.”

  “You assumed right, but the car decided it was too cold to come to work today, so I’m taking a taxi.”

  “Oh, okay then. Well, I’ll stop by the hospital sometime tomorrow. Any time in particular?”

  “Most of the kids’ families take a break in the afternoon to get some errands done, so maybe around two?”

  “Perfect.” Kaelar smiled. “I will see you then, Dr. Wilson.”

  Chloe smiled and waved him goodbye. It was only after Kaelar had handed her the bags and walked off that she realized she’d never told him her last name.

  Chapter 7

  Kaelar

  Kaelar watched to make sure Chloe got into a taxi alright. She was favoring her right elbow and he hoped she wasn’t too badly hurt from the fall. The dose of joy he’d given her should have lifted her spirits a bit—she had clearly been hit by the Zalfa’s vacuum as well—and he knew she’d have plenty of help for any injury at work.

  Still, the thought that she was hurt because of him pierced his heart.

  The moment their eyes had met at the hospital, Kaelar had known she was special. Now, when they’d finally had a chance to talk, that thought had only been confirmed. For a moment, he’d been reduced to a stumbling fool. He hadn’t been sure what to say or do as he’d introduced himself and offered to visit the hospital.

  Of course, offering to visit the hospital should have been a tactical decision on his part. He wanted to have access to the children so he could deliver joy, but none of that had been on his mind at the time. He’d genuinely wanted to make up his blunder to the doctor, and he hadn’t known what else to offer.

  He also found that he wanted to see her again…

  The base of his antlers tingled and he scratched them. She was so beautiful and kind, inside and out. Not many humans had a soul as pure and good as Chloe seemed to have. It was people like her that made Kaelar’s job a joy to do, literally.

  Some days, when he was feeling dejected and frustrated with humanity, he wondered if any of it was worth doing—if he was making any difference.

  So far, he’d always come to the same conclusion. Some humans are good, some are bad. The bad ones tended to shout louder, but in reality, there really were far more good ones than bad ones. Spreading joy to those who deserved it was a gift.

  Kaelar sighed. Except for talking with Chloe, this day had had a terrible start. As much as he might want to stand around all day and daydream about the doctor, Kaelar had things to do.

  He didn’t think he would be able to collect any joy from the town today since the Zalfa had vacuumed it clean. So, he walked until he was sure that he was out of the sight of humans and shifted to his reindeer form. Then, he flew the rest of the way back to his cabin.

  There were about a dozen messages waiting for him on his computer. Instead of answering them all individually, Kaelar dialed Santa’s number.

  Marie, the manager who had sent him the meter, answered the video call, her expression concerned.

  “Kaelar! I was beginning to get worried. We’ve been getting all sorts of warnings from that meter. Is it true? Is there a rogue?”

  “Something like that. Maybe worse.” In truth, Kaelar couldn’t decide which was worse and he didn’t really care to try. “They were Zalfa, Marie. It looks like they’ve found a way to replicate our ability to pull joy and store it, but they’re abusing it, taking directly from people rather than just gathering excess. I expect they intend to sell it.”

  Marie cursed under her breath. “Zalfa. Kaelar, this is bad. Rogues, we know how to deal with. We have a protocol in place, no matter how much we may not like it. This… this is something entirely new. Hang on. This is above my pay grade.”

  A few minutes later, Santa himself was sitting in front of the screen. He looked little like humans thought he did. He wasn’t fat or bearded—he was tall with well-kempt silvery hair, tan skin, and bright blue eyes.

  Of course, that was just his preferred form. He wasn’t reilendeer, but he was a shapeshifter nonetheless.

  “Kaelar. Thank you for your vigilance. Tell me everything.”

  It didn’t take long for Kaelar to relate everything he’d seen. By the time he was done, Santa was frowning, his hands clenched on the desk.

  “Santa? What should I do?”

  “I’m going to contact the galactic authorities at once. They will handle this.”

  “That’ll take weeks and you know it. We need to do something now.”

  “Most of my employees are reilendeer, Kaelar. Your people aren’t fighters. What would you have me do? We distribute joy. We’re not a military force.”

  “There has to be something! These people—Santa, they don’t deserve this. I have to act.”

  Santa fixed him with a stern look. “Listen to me, Kaelar. I don’t want you to let your heart get away from your head. If you think there’s something you can do to stop these people without getting hurt, do it. But I don’t want to have to send someone to collect your body. Do you understand?”

  “I understand,” Kaelar said seriously. “I’d not like for my body to have to be collected either. I’ll be careful, I promise.”

  Santa regarded him for a long moment, then finally nodded. “Do you want me to send backup? I can pull some people from other places and send them to you.”

  Kaelar considere
d it. Backup would be welcome, but Christmas was such an important season. He didn’t want humans to suffer because their joy wasn’t being delivered as it should be.

  “No, that’s alright. I’ll call if I need help and I promise not to do anything too risky. The Zalfa will no doubt have superior weaponry, which means attacking them head-on would be foolish. I’ll try to be sneaky.”

  Santa nodded. “Be careful, Kaelar. Unlike humans, the Zalfa will recognize you for what you are, even if you’re in your reindeer form.”

  “I know. I’ll watch out. Can I keep the meter for now?”

  “Of course. Keep it set to send us updates. If you don’t check-in for more than twenty-four hours, I’m going to send in a rescue team.”

  “Thanks, Santa.” Kaelar smiled, though there wasn’t really anything to smile about in this situation. “I’d better get to it, then. Can you let my colleagues in the nearby towns know? Of the Zalfa threat, of course, but I may also need to range farther to get the joy I need.”

  “Of course. If the Zalfa stray to other towns as well, we need to be careful. As for collecting joy in other areas, go help yourself. There should be plenty of it around this time of the year.”

  “Thank you, Santa.”

  They hung up and Kaelar spent the next few minutes sewing a bigger pocket in his reindeer costume to carry the meter. It would keep doing the readings automatically, though he made sure to turn the sound off.

  Next, he shifted to his reindeer form and flew over to the next town some miles away. He wondered if the Zalfa would target these towns as well. It might not be a smart move for them to vacuum several towns empty since that could alert the human authorities, but you never knew what criminals were capable of.

  With a bitter taste in his mouth, Kaelar settled down behind a hill. He walked the rest of the way in his human form, complete with his reindeer costume.

  As he approached the town, a sudden worry appeared in his mind. Could the Zalfa have already been here?