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Mysterious Carolers (6) : Caroling has been a tradition for years, so it’s not really unusual when you hear a soft chorus from outside. What is unusual is that it’s three in the morning, and the moment they start singing you feel a chill in the air. Maybe it’s a holiday song, maybe it’s not, but whatever it is it’s a song you know before--from this life? From another?--and 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 unnerved.
Three days before Christmas and Idirian couldn't sleep. His mind was always in overdrive during the holiday season, ever since his mom had died. He could barely remember some of the traditions she had started when he was young. His father had quit doing all of it after Gabriella was gone. He did remember baking sugar cookies and decorating them. He and Ainsley still did that. This year, Noa had helped, too. The kitchen had been a mess by the time they had finished, but he and Noa had had fun cleaning up afterward, too.
Decorating the tree had been the first thing they had done on December first. The three of them had spent all day deciding how many lights and strands of tinsel to put on it, and what ornaments to put where. It had been a lot of fun. Noa had put on Christmas carols and made him dance to Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree while she got Ainsley to record it. He smiled at the memory as he poured a cup of the hot chocolate from the pan he had made it in while he mused about memories.
He could hear some kind of music from outside, but put it down to some late night driver playing loud music to stay awake. It slowly became louder, and he could make out Christmas carols. It brought back a memory of his mother making them go caroling when he was about eight. Christmas had always been the one time of year his father had left his wife have a bit more freedom, and was more permissive with her and Idirian. She had actually rented costumes that looked like they were straight out of A Christmas Carol, and they went to an elderly community with some other people in similar costumes to sing Christmas carols for them.
That had been one of his favorite Christmas memories. He could still hear that music from before, getting louder. That didn't seem right. Not if it had just been a car moving past. The voices were almost loud enough for him to hear now, but when he looked out of the window, he didn't see anyone. What the hell kind of group went around singing carols at this time of night? No one was in sight, but he could still hear the singing. There was something off about the music, too. The words and music were right but...somehow, they weren't.
Shoving his feet into a pair of boots and grabbing his jacket, Idirian stepped out. The singing was even louder, and yet he still couldn't see anyone in any direction. At this volume, he should be able to see someone, right? The whole thing was giving him the creeps and with Ainsley and Noa asleep inside, he wasn't taking any chances. He would never let anything happen to them if he could help it. Checking that his knife was still in his jacket, he shut the door behind him and stepped into the snow.
It had been a while since his personal paranoia had driven him to make a perimeter check of the house and grounds, but with that creepy ******** caroling, he couldn't ignore it. The snow was a fresh fall, and it muffled his steps as he moved through it. Those carolers were singing the whole time he walked around the house. The strangest thing was that the volume never changed regardless of where he was. And he hadn't seen tracks through the snow to indicate anyone was there to even be singing. But he wasn't crazy, someone was singing that creepy a** carol that seemed familiar but also felt wrong.
After going around the house and through every area he could think of, that caroling finally began to die down. It left behind a chill that had nothing to do with the winter wind that was blowing through the yard. He hadn't seen people or tracks, so what else could he do? He went back inside still feeling weirded out by the music. Upstairs, he checked on Ainsley who was still sprawled on her bed like a starfish. He could see her chest moving with her breath and relaxed a little. Back in his room, he saw Noa still curled up under his blankets and finally felt like he could fully relax. He didn't think he was going to be getting anymore sleep tonight, but he would be happy just to cuddle Noa until she woke up.
