Saving Christmas

Darren looked around from the balcony of his flat, people had bags upon bags of their Christmas shopping. He smirked, it was a great year for his killing sprees, no one suspected the missing folks or gave any thought.

"You really are a bagful of joy, Darren." Said his flatmate, Neil.

Darren spun around, a smile planted on his face. He question his statement to which no answer was given. Neil had heard him say that he didn't like Christmas, but missed out one crucial fact, he was a serial killer.

"Is it me or has it gone awfully quiet outside?" Neil asked, approaching the window peering outside.

The streets, once full of Christmas shoppers, had all been deserted. A few people still remained but the floor was littered with bags and the shocked few who remained.

Darren quickly got into the elevator, grabbing his trusty kitchen knife and headed out on the street. Neil joined him a few moments later, it was always a mystery to Darren to why he hadn't killed Neil yet.

He checked through the bags, muttering curse words to himself. Where had they all disappeared to...?

"W...why do you have a k...knife?" Neil stuttered, his eyes locked on to the steel blade.

A grin appeared on Darren's face as he approached his flatmate, "You'll find out."

Harleen had been walking down the street to buy her Christmas shopping, but as soon as she reached the shop, a load of people just disappeared in the blink of an eye. Harleen's eyes widened and she turned and ran up the street in shock, she didn't know what was happening. What the hell is going on?! She thought to herself as she ran.

She turned to see a man examining the scene and then another man stood with him, she saw one of the men had a knife and her eyes widened as she watched the man approach his friend. She quickly ran towards the two and she kicked the knife out of Darren's hand, "Ah ah ah, no killing! There is enough people missing as there is!" She glared at Darren and stood between him and Neil, "Whoever you are... you have some nerve." She growled a little as she spoke.

Darren looked at the woman with annoyance in his eyes as he picked the knife up and put it back into his pocket, maintaining eye contact with both the woman and Neil.

Neil gave the woman a grateful smile.

Darren sighed, about to walk away but stayed to find the answer to Neil's question. He needed to find out where all the shoppers had gone, it intrigued him as much as it mind-boggled him. He narrowed his eyes to something on the pavement, strolled over and stuffed whatever was on the floor into his pocket.

"You have some nerve kicking the knife out of my hand." Darren returned the tone of voice. He gave a quick glance around to see whether anyone else had noticed and thankful that no one else had. "What is your name?"

Silly questions, he had no time for this idle chit-chat, he could kill them both and no one would even know as most of the population had disappeared anyway.

Harleen eyed Darren before looking to Neil and smiling back at him. She quickly looked back to Darren as he asked her for her name. "Harleen... Harleen Quinn. What is your name?" She crossed her arms and sighed. "I have a lot of nerve, especially when you are trying to kill people." She hissed at him slightly with a glare. "Killing isn't the answer to everything, you know. I should know that myself..."

Harleen sighed deeply and looked around, "Do you two have any idea of what the bloody hell is going on?" She asked curiously, "I went to go get my Christmas shopping and then poof, nearly everyone disappeared..."

Darren shrugged, he didn't particularly want to reveal his name to any passing stranger. Harley had a fair point but in his defense, he hadn't revealed to her that he was actually a serial killer, which was a plus.

"I think killing is…cathartic." He replied, smirking.

He watched the woman look around and ask whether he had any clue to all of this…disappearance. It wasn't his doing, otherwise blood would be on the ground. Neil shrugged his shoulder and walked a couple of feet away from his flatmate. "I blinked and they had all disappeared and then my flatmate here tried to bloody kill me!"

Darren sighed, raising his hands. He didn't know what was going on but the need to kill was getting only stronger, he needed to occupy his mind. "What do you think? Aliens? UFOs? Should we just loot from the shops?"

Harleen sighed before looking to Darren, "You are sick... you know that?" She glared slightly before shaking her head and looking to Neil, "Well, aren't you glad I stopped him hey?" She smiled at him gently before looking back to Darren, her glare reappearing.

"It could be aliens, I know plenty of them that could do this sort of thing... Cybermen, Slitheen... I could name them all...." She murmured as she looked around once more and looked to Darren, "Just, don't kill anyone... especially not near me." She growled a little before looking to see if anyone was around.

Neil nodded his head. Darren blew out a long sigh, the air puffing out in a large cloud. "Aliens, huh? You've actually met aliens, but yet you are a human…interesting."

He noted the fact that Harleen may have been around a time traveller and also enjoyed growling at him. "I'm not that kind of killer."

Darren then walked over to Neil, keeping eye contact with the woman, put an arm around his shoulders and walking away slightly, so that they were out of earshot from Harleen. "You know I was only going to open that present on the ground, right? I used to go animal hunting…Its a habit of mine to bring a blade with me…"

"Sure it is…Darren, you didn't seem like you were going to open any presents, more like my throat!" Hissed Neil.

"I won't kill you unless you spill that I had brought a knife to your throat, deal?" Darren eyed him cautiously. Neil nodded hesitantly before both of them walking back to Harleen.

He asked Harleen where she thought everyone had gone, whilst Darren looked puzzled at a piece of paper he had picked up off the ground, it wasn't an Earth language…must have been the kidnappers or an alien shopping list.

"Yes... I am human. I can say different about you though..." Harleen glared at him and sighed. She watched him walk off with his friend and she sighed, looking around in slight boredom until they returned to her hearing range.

Harleen watched Darren but answered Neil: "I have no idea... probably some teleport..." She murmured as she noticed Darren had picked up some foreign piece of paper. She quickly snatched it from him and she looked at it, "I recognize the style but it could say anything... it will mostly likely be a threat to blow up Earth of something." She murmured and passed Darren the paper back.

Ivy wandered the bright sunlit streets and she sighed as she kept away from any people that would point or stare at her weird looks. People easily thought of her as a cosplayer or someone dressed up for Halloween as a plant witch. She sighed and she noticed something happen with the people around her and they disappeared! Ivy's eyes widened in surprise before she noticed three figures; two were obviously male and one was very feminine.

"Hello? Can any of you three please explain what is happening?" She asked curiously before remembering Harleen and she smiled, "Harley?!!" She exclaimed in surprise and she grinned happily and Ivy hugged Harleen tightly, "Oh my mother nature! I have missed my best friend so so much!" She smiled and kissed Harleen's cheek; Ivy was sure that she had no poisonous toxins in her lipstick this time.

"Who the hell is this?" Darren said, slightly stepping away from the plant-lady. "It's freezing cold and you're wearing leaves!"

Neil was too shocked to have said anything, but his eyes flicked between the 'plant-lady' and Harley. Darren narrowed his eyes at the scene in front of him, he quickly read the note and set it in his back pocket.

"Look, you know as much as we…do, which is…" Darren got cut short by Neil's interruption.

"Which is, not much but we are working on it, aren't we?" Neil asked, looking in Darren's direction. "By the way, I'm Neil and this is my flatmate, Darren. What happened to a jacket?"

His last question was directed at the woman who had started kissing Harley and apparently 'reuniting' with her.

Harleen looked towards Ivy and her eyes widened in surprise, "Ivy! Oh my god I have missed you so much!" She said with a grin before looking towards Neil and Darren, "They do have a point Ivy... I am surprised you never freeze in winter..." She sighed before smiling back at Ivy.

"Darren is someone you shouldn't try and be friends with and Neil is a nice guy, so you can be friends with him." Harleen giggled a little with a large smirk which she directed towards Neil. She then looked back to Ivy, "So... do you think this is something that aliens have done?" She tilted her head a little in curiosity.

Ivy looked towards Darren, "I am Ivy." She sighed a little and ignored his remark of her wearing leaves in the freezing cold. Ivy looked towards Neil and she nodded, "I can not wear a jacket over my leaves and besides. I am not wearing leaves, they are a part of me...." She murmured somewhat sadly but she shook it off and looked to her friend Harleen.

"Well, Harley... I can tell what you mean about these two men." She smirked slightly before looking back to the two men, "I think some sort of alien has done this, unsure of what kind. But they do have good enough knowledge to take people." She examined the area as she looked around.

Darren smirked at Ivy, for once not knowing what to say or do. "Aliens…Criminals, probably wanting to hold the planet hostage…I don't know, a space dare? Do aliens even do space dares?"

Neil's eyebrows rose at his flatmate's try at a sense of humor, which was always a sign. Good or bad, he couldn't tell. He also chuckled about the comment Harley had just made.

"Look, if they were clumsy enough to leave this piece of paper--what the? The writing, it changed!" Darren looked at the paper in surprise as the symbols on it began to transform into english writing, it read:

If you want to see any of your loved ones again, turn off the missile launch.

"Loved ones…" Neil started giggling, then into a full laugh. His expression turned serious. "What do they mean by missile launch?"

Darren already knew what this had meant, some space station was acting on some idiot's instructions to blow the ship. The aliens or whoever had done this, took the scientists behind the launch, left the note here and hoped that they wouldn't be blown to bits.

"They're aren't friendly but they are scared stiff, the only hope of survival was that they take the population of Earth and hope that they didn't activate the missiles. Where's the nearest space station controller?" Darren growled, his eyes sweeping the buildings, towering above.

Harleen slightly glared at Neil as he laughed before he got serious. She looked to the piece of paper, "Whatever missile launch they are on about, it will be because of some idiot trying to protect the planet by attacking someone's ship..." She sighed and then looked to Darren, "The closest space station isn't that close it is a few miles away from here..." Then an idea struck Harleen, she peered over at Ivy, "Ivy, could you take us there in your rose flower?" She asked Ivy curiously with a small tilt in her head, she hoped Ivy would let them all in, the rose was big enough to hold all four of them.