The red laser from the drone flashed across Arin's chest.
For a split second, everything froze.
The drone's mechanical voice repeated coldly:
"CAPTURE THE BOY."
Then it fired.
A blue electric blast shot across the room.
Arin barely had time to react.
"OH SH—!"
Before the blast could hit him, a hand suddenly grabbed the back of his jacket and yanked him sideways.
The electric bolt smashed into the wall behind him, sending sparks flying everywhere.
Arin crashed onto the floor.
"What the heck is happening?!" he shouted.
Standing beside him was Maya.
She looked completely calm.
Too calm for someone standing in a dark room with a killer drone floating two meters away.
"Stay down," she said.
Another electric blast fired.
Maya grabbed a small metal object from her jacket and threw it directly at the drone.
The object stuck to the drone with a loud clack.
For half a second nothing happened.
Then—
BOOM.
The drone exploded into pieces.
Metal scraps rained onto the floor.
Arin stared at her in shock.
"WHAT?!"
Maya brushed dust from her sleeve.
"Relax. That was the easy part."
Arin jumped to his feet.
"THE EASY PART?! A flying robot just tried to kidnap me!"
Downstairs, loud footsteps thundered through the house.
Strangers were inside.
His parents shouted in fear.
Arin's heart dropped.
"My parents!"
He ran toward the door, but Maya blocked him.
"Wait."
"Wait?!" Arin yelled. "Are you crazy?!"
Maya looked serious.
"They aren't here for your parents."
"They broke into my house!"
"Yes," Maya said. "Because they want you."
Arin stared at her.
"Okay… I need an explanation right now."
Another loud crash echoed downstairs.
Someone shouted:
"CHECK THE ROOMS!"
Arin panicked.
"Great. Fantastic. Random soldiers are searching my house and you're acting like this is normal!"
Maya grabbed his arm.
"Because it is."
"WHAT?!"
She walked to the broken window and looked outside.
Black vans surrounded the house.
Men in dark uniforms were moving through the snow with weapons.
Drones hovered above the street.
Arin looked out and nearly fainted.
"Holy crap… what did I do?!"
"You existed," Maya replied.
"That doesn't make any sense!"
She turned toward him.
"It will soon."
Footsteps rushed up the stairs.
Someone kicked open the hallway door.
"UPSTAIRS! MOVE!"
Arin whispered loudly,
"They're coming!"
Maya pulled something from her pocket.
A small silver device.
She pressed a button.
A hidden rope suddenly shot from the device and hooked onto the roof above the house.
Arin stared.
"Is that a grappling hook?!"
"Yes."
"WHY DO YOU HAVE A GRAPPLING HOOK?!"
"Because," Maya said calmly, "we're leaving."
She jumped onto the windowsill.
Arin didn't move.
He stared at her like she had completely lost her mind.
"You want me to jump out of my second-floor window?!"
"Yes."
"Are you insane?!"
The bedroom door suddenly shook violently as someone tried to break it down.
"OPEN THE DOOR!"
Arin looked at Maya.
Then at the door.
Then at the broken window.
"Okay… this is the worst day of my life."
Maya grabbed his jacket.
"Jump."
Before he could argue—
She pulled him out the window.
"AAAAAAAA—!"
Arin screamed as they dropped into the freezing snow below.
They rolled across the ground.
Pain shot through his arms.
"OW!"
Maya stood up instantly.
"Get up."
Arin groaned.
"I think my spine just broke."
More agents rushed outside the house.
"THEY'RE OUT BACK!"
Spotlights turned toward them.
Arin panicked.
"Oh great!"
Maya grabbed his arm and started running.
"Move!"
They sprinted across the snowy yard.
Bullets struck the ground behind them.
Arin nearly slipped.
"WHY ARE THEY SHOOTING AT ME?!"
"Because you're important."
"I'M A GUY WHO FAILED HIS MATH TEST LAST WEEK!"
They reached the street.
Suddenly a black motorcycle skidded around the corner and stopped beside them.
The rider wore a helmet.
He shouted,
"GET ON!"
Arin looked at Maya.
"Who the heck is that?!"
"Friend," she said.
"Define friend!"
"Someone who isn't trying to kidnap you."
"Fair point!"
They jumped onto the motorcycle.
The rider accelerated instantly.
The bike shot down the snowy street at insane speed.
Behind them, the agents jumped into vehicles.
Engines roared.
The chase had begun.
Arin held onto the motorcycle seat for dear life.
Wind blasted his face.
"This is insane!" he yelled.
The rider laughed.
"You haven't seen insane yet, kid!"
Maya looked back at the chasing vehicles.
"Three cars. Two drones."
Arin nearly fainted.
"TWO DRONES?!"
The rider pressed a button on the handlebar.
Suddenly the motorcycle released a cloud of smoke behind them.
One drone flew directly into it and crashed into a streetlight.
BOOM.
Arin blinked.
"…Okay that was actually cool."
But the second drone kept chasing them.
Its red laser locked onto Arin again.
"TARGET LOCKED."
Arin screamed.
"NOT AGAIN!"
The drone fired.
The electric blast shot past Arin's head and destroyed a mailbox.
The rider swerved sharply.
"Hold on!"
The motorcycle jumped onto a narrow alley.
Cars couldn't follow there.
But the drone could.
It dove down after them.
Arin looked back in terror.
"That thing REALLY wants me!"
Maya pulled out another small device.
She tossed it into the air.
The device opened into a tiny spinning blade.
It sliced directly into the drone's propeller.
The drone spiraled wildly.
Then crashed into a dumpster.
CRASH.
Silence filled the alley.
The motorcycle slowed down.
Arin breathed heavily.
His heart felt like it might explode.
Finally he spoke.
"…Okay."
He looked at Maya.
"You are explaining EVERYTHING."
Maya removed snow from her hair.
Then she said the sentence that changed Arin's life forever.
"Santa Claus has been kidnapped."
Arin stared at her.
"…You're kidding."
"I'm not."
He laughed nervously.
"This is some crazy prank, right?"
Maya didn't smile.
"The real Santa Claus has been taken by a dangerous organization."
Arin rubbed his forehead.
"Okay. Sure. Why not. Flying robots, secret agents, kidnapped Santa… anything else?"
Maya looked him directly in the eyes.
"Yes."
She spoke quietly.
"And somehow… you're connected to him."
Arin blinked.
"…What?"
The motorcycle rider slowed the bike and turned slightly.
His voice became serious.
"Kid," he said.
"Do you know what the Santa Protocol is?"
Arin shook his head slowly.
"…No."
The rider sighed.
"Then things just got a lot worse."
And somewhere far away…
Inside a massive underground facility…
A tall man in a black coat watched Arin on a giant screen.
His name was Kraven Black.
The leader of the organization that had kidnapped Santa.
He smiled coldly.
"Interesting."
He turned to his soldiers.
"Prepare the next team."
One of them asked,
"You think the boy knows anything?"
Kraven's smile grew darker.
"No."
"But he will soon."
He leaned closer to the screen showing Arin's face.
"Because that boy…"
"…is the key to Santa Claus."
And the chapter ends with Arin realizing…
This nightmare has only just begun.