Quote:
Caroling has been a tradition for years, so it’s really no surprise when you hear a soft chorus from outside. What is a surprise is the fact that it’s three in the morning, and the moment they start singing you feel a chill in the air. It’s a song you’ve heard a hundred times before, but something about this version makes you go cold. If you move to the window, you will find no carolers, but the song is loud enough that you know you should be able to see them. They sing one song, and then there is silence. An eerie chill lingers, and your dreams are haunted by strange voices. You’ll probably never be able to hear that song again without feeling a chill.
It was the time of year people nestled with Christmas gifts; where they caught up with friends and extended family to exchange late gifts and prepare for a New Year's party. Yolie, for her part, was up late. She really didn't need to be -- her father and step mother were getting things handled, but Yolie liked helping and she was sitting and working on a drone to celebrate the new year's arrival - a celebration that included popping open a glitter balloon covered in the goo that made things glow for sure, but still a glow. Sure, it wasn't fancy, but it was something, asnd Yolie yawned when she put her screwdriver down by the project drone being modded with the pin. The tune-up was done, now all she needed to do was... was...
The next moment Yolie was aware of the soft, thin strains of Auld Lang Syne jostling her awake from the window. The weather was idyllic - Aud Lang Syne wafted in on the air currents as snowflakes floated by. Christmas lights created soft, ambient lighting - her father must have turned out her light meaning she'd dozed off - and the atmosphere was really quite lovely, except, well...
The song was off. Was it a distortion of the tune? Offcolor lights or the way they blinked? Yolie wasn't sure, but her henshin pen was in her hand quickly before she was taping a spy camera to her favorite drone, sending it out to scout ahead. The drone darted to and fro, and Yolie used the camera to both navigate and look for carollers -- or any source. Her search was, well, awkward -- a very obvious sign from outside her parents enjoyed a healthy love life even now; a stray cat the girl used to herd into the dog door for warmth; even the street was tiody and clear... And the worst was after Auld Lang Syne, it was silent, and Yolie returned the drone soon, going over the footage. Nothing, and nobody, and Yolie shivered, closing her window. Nothing felt right now -- the room was too cold for the time her window was open, the air felt Wrong and it was not from a window-glance at some rather unwanted visuals of her parents -- no, no something was off, and for several minutes she circled the room. The bed, closet, the dresser, the vanity, even her desk began to get searched, the girl wiggling hither and thither. She then moved on to the task of searching the house. The furniture of social areas was first, small gaps and large alike weak to her prying eyes. Cupboards were searched, and then she moved on to her sisters' rooms. Finding nothing, Yolie scowled, and moved.
She should've found the carollers. Nothing was right, everything wrong, and really, she wondered if it was sleep depravation, the young teen walking and crawling into her blankets to grump in the warmth of her nest, and soon she was balled up to sleep, eyes clenched tightly shut as she sighed. Sleep depravation must be the answer, and she was soon entirely out.
Except it would not be restful, and her nightmares were filled with horrid voices, and even more heartwrenching screams.
