Jurgen Gyotespiel

  Andy cursed under his breath as a woman ran into the back of his leg with a stroller. Normally, he would turn around and give her a piece of his mind, but the crowd was pressed so thick around him he could barely move. It seemed he wasn’t the only person who had put off Christmas shopping until the last day, as the mall was busier than he’d ever seen it. Garbled Christmas songs played over the loudspeaker, hurting his ears, and the heaters were on full blast, turning the mall into a furnace.  

  Overheating and on the verge of a panic attack, Andy took action. Seeing a small shop coming up, he shouldered past the couple closest to him, then darted in front of a mall employee pushing a janitor cart. The cart clipped the back of his foot, and Andy stumbled the final few steps into the shop. He took deep breaths, trying to calm his galloping heartbeat. 

  Feeling better, Andy glanced around the small shop. Unlike every other space in the mall, it was devoid of shoppers. There didn’t seem to be much rhyme or reason to what was on offer. Wood carvings, books, and handcrafted bird feeders all carried high price tags. 

  A heavy thump rang out behind him, causing Andy to jump. He turned around, for the first time seeing the hunched old man at the checkout counter.

  “Whoa, what the…” Andy muttered.

  The old man’s skin was drawn tight over sharp cheekbones, giving him a skeletal quality. His sunken eyes were unsettling; large with a sickly yellowish hue. His mouth was twisted into a thin, menacing smile, revealing crooked, uneven teeth. 

  “He… hello there,” Andy said. 

  The old man stared at him, unblinking. He was holding a jumbo-sized meat tenderizer in his hand. Laid out on the counter was a piece of raw meat that looked freshly cut.

  “I am Jurgen Gyotespiel. You have entered my shop.” 

  The man had a heavy German accent. Even as he spoke, that smile never left his face. Andy looked around as he responded. 

  “Ummm, yeah, it seems great,” he said. 

  Jurgen brought the tenderizer down, smacking it into the slab of flesh on his counter. He kept his eyes locked on Andy. All of Andy’s panic from a few moments ago was gone, replaced by a feeling of deep unease. As badly as he wanted to flee, he didn’t want to risk upsetting the strange old man. He turned and scanned the shelves again, looking for something to buy. Never one to spend much time or thought on picking out gifts for his family, Andy picked up the first item he saw that was under twenty dollars. It was a small candle. He took it up to the counter, forcing a smile on his face. 

  “I’ll take this, please.” 

  Jurgen set the tenderizer down and picked up the candle. He turned it over in his hands, studying it. 

  “Who you buy for?” Jurgen asked. 

  “My mother.” 

  The thin smile on Jurgen’s face melted away. 

  “Mother deserves better,” Jurgen said. 

  A flash of hot anger washed over Andy. 

  “Just ring me up, okay pal?” 

  Jurgen froze, those unblinking eyes narrowing. For a moment, Andy considered just leaving, but finally the old man started punching buttons on the register. 

  “Mother deserves better,” Jurgen muttered. 

  The total appeared on the register and Andy tossed the bills on the counter, then snatched the candle, not bothering to wait for his change. He could feel the strange man’s eyes on him as he left the store. 

  This time, Andy was thankful for the press of humanity that greeted him out in the mall. He allowed himself to be carried along with the crowd, glad to be moving away from that creepy store. 

  His next stop was the food court. He waited far too long for a slice of pizza, then found the single open table and sat down to eat. A moment later, he felt a dark presence looming over him. Turning, he saw Jurgen. The man was holding a lunch tray. On it was a skillet, and a boiling black ooze bubbled up over its sides, spilling onto the tray. It smelled foul. 

  “Mother deserves better,” Jurgen said. 

  At his limit, Andy shot to his feet. His first instinct was to shove the old man, but then he noticed the meat tenderizer tucked into his belt.

  “Leave me alone!” Andy yelled. 

  He stormed out of the food court and left the mall entirely. He’d just give the rest of his family members generic gift cards.  

  It wasn’t until around 2 am that Andy finally went to bed that night. He slipped into fitful, strange dreams, until a sharp metallic banging tore him from sleep. His eyes shot open and he heard the sound again. Someone was banging on his front door. Andy grabbed his cell phone and rushed downstairs. He approached the front door, squinting at the video panel mounted beside it that showed him who was outside. 

  It was Jurgen Gyotespiel, meat tenderizer in hand. The old man was staring up at the camera, a smile on his face. 

  Andy took a few steps away, then pulled out his cell phone and called 911. 

  “There’s a crazy man banging on my front door!” Andy yelled, words tumbling over one another.   

  “Calm down, sir, we have an officer in your neighborhood. I’m connecting you to him now,” the 911 operator said. 

  There was a series of clicks and beeps, then heavy breathing. Andy waited a moment, but the officer stayed silent. 

  “Officer? Are you there? I need help!” Andy shouted. 

  The line disconnected. 

  “No no no no no!” Andy yelled. 

  He started to dial again, but stopped when he heard his patio door shatter. A moment later came the crunch of glass as someone entered the home. And then the haunting words Andy knew were next. 

  “Mother deserves better.”