Xylophone

The house was new and well furnished. Clearly, the house was ready to sell but no one would buy it. People who had been to see the place reported strange noises and things moving. That's why Boo had come to investigate, to see if the strange things that were happening were down to a ghost. Then something was thrown at her head and she figured she should leave.

Now they all stood in the hallway. The living room and kitchen were downstairs, the bathroom and bedrooms were upstairs. There was also an attic. Stephen turned to Boo. "Where do you think the thing that hit you came from?"

"I'm pretty sure it was from upstairs."

"Right. Callum, take Freddie and search downstairs. Boo, you search two of the upstairs bedrooms. Me and Rory will search the final bedroom, the bathroom and the attic. Callum, Boo, keep your termini handy."

Callum inhaled quickly. "No problems there."

Callum turned to look at Freddie and signalled for her to follow him. "Eyes open Fred."

She nodded gently as they started walking towards the living room. As Rory, Stephen and Boo approached the stairs, they all heard a faint musical chime. They all stopped abruptly and looked at each other, questioning looks on their faces. The sound came again as they listened and Stephen licked his lips in concentration. The sound was followed by more chimes, different notes.

"What the bloody hell is that?" Callum asked.

Stephen furrowed his eyebrows. "It sounds like... a xylophone."

"A xylophone?" Callum asked incredulously.

"I don't understand," Rory said. "What kind of ghost plays a xylophone?"

"A kid?" Freddie offered.

"I dunno," Boo said. "Would a kid really cause all this trouble?"

"You'd be surprised," Stephen said. "I once met a little girl ghost who told me that she'd thrown her baby brother in a fire because he was making too much noise. Then her mother drowned her."

The whole group went silent as they looked at him. Callum whistled. "Well, shit."

A laugh echoed around the house. It was a high pitched laugh, the laugh of a small child. A little girl. Then the musical chiming stopped. They all felt a shiver run down them. Freddie spoke, her voice shaking gently. "Normally a kid laughing is cute but that was just creepy."

Stephen glanced at the ceiling. "It came from upstairs."

Callum chuckled darkly. "Glad me and Freddie are down here then."

Stephen glanced across at him, worry in his eyes. "After you're done down here, can you come up?"

"Yeah mate."

"Ok." Stephen nodded slowly, assuring himself that it would be ok. "Let's go."

Callum and Freddie walked into the living room, throwing glances back to the small group that slowly ascended the stairs. Then they were out of sight.

Upstairs, Stephen and Rory looked at Boo who nodded to them and they split off to search the rooms. Boo pulled out her terminus and held it front of her while Rory took Stephens hand in hers. She linked her fingers through his, gripping it tightly. They walked into the bedroom at the same time that Boo entered one of the other ones. It was empty. Rory kept checking behind her to make sure nothing crept up behind them. Then they moved to the bathroom. Still nothing. Boo emerged from the second bedroom she checked. "Nothing here," she said.

Stephen nodded and let go of Rory's hand. He leant on the landing rail and called down. "Anything down there?"

"Not a damn thing," Callum called up.

The musical chime sounded through the house again and Stephen, Boo and Rory looked up. It was coming from the attic. Rory shivered. "I don't like xylophones anymore."

Stephen exhaled and called back down. "It's in the attic."

"Wait there. Me and Freddie are coming up." Callum appeared on the stairs a few seconds later, followed closely by Freddie. When they all stood on the landing, the chiming stopped and the laughter returned. Boo looked around at the group slowly. "I really don't like it here anymore."

"So," Stephen said as he approached the hatch to the attic. "Let's do our job and go home."

Rory came up next to him as he opened the hatch and pulled down the ladder. All five of them looked up into the attic above. Rory breathed slowly. "Let me go first."

"Rory-" Stephen began.

She held up her hand to stop him speaking. "I'll go first. If it touches me, it explodes. If I get to the top before that happens I can tell you if the coast is clear or keep it distracted. We all know that the safest option is me going first."

Callum, Boo and Freddie nodded while Stephen opened and shut his mouth a few times. He searched desperately for a logical argument to her reasoning, any excuse he could think of to keep her from going in there first but he couldn't think of one. She was right. He sighed. "Ok. But I'm right behind you."

"We all are," Freddie said behind her. She smiled around at them and took Stephens hand and gave it a squeeze before she stepped onto the ladder and climbed into the attic.

The first thing she noticed was the xylophone lying in the middle of the room. There were windows here letting in some light. But it was December and late afternoon, so the light was dim. She pulled herself up from the ladder and heard Stephen coming up behind her. She quickly glanced around the room. She could see nothing. "I think it's ok for you to come up."

Stephen was in the room a second later and was followed quickly by Callum, Boo and Freddie. The room was full of various objects, pile of boxes and old furniture, and they all quickly realised that the little girl could be hiding behind any of them. "Ok," Stephen whispered. "Fan out. Cover the room and be careful."

They all walked slowly, floorboards creaking beneath their feet. Rory stopped by a full length mirror and looked at her reflection. It was a distorted view because the mirror had long been smashed and big shards of glass were missing. Just ahead of her, Stephen was giving quiet instructions. "Everyone without a terminus, stay close to someone with one. Freddie, get by Callum or Boo. I'll stay by Rory." He turned around to face her as he spoke and she watched his face change from minor worry to absolute outright terror. Her blood ran cold. He was looking behind her. His eyes widened but he reacted immediately. "RORY!"

Everyone whirled around as he screamed, including Rory, who reacted impulsively. She held out her hand.

She didn't take in much about the little girl behind her. The light enveloped them too quickly. What she did notice was the pink Victorian dress she wore, the ringlets of her hair, the dark smile she had, and the shard of glass she held in her hand, raised threateningly. She suddenly became aware that if Stephen hadn't turned around and screamed a warning, that shard of glass would've been buried in her back. And then she realised why his face had been one of terror. The little girl didn't scare him. Neither did the shard of glass. It was the sight of her, his wife, about to die, that brought about the fear etched in every one of his features.

Her arm shook as she made contact with the girl but it didn't hurt her like it sometimes did. Perhaps she was numb. The light was bright but she had known it to be brighter. And then the floral smell, the oh so familiar smell of burning flowers, filled the room. The girl was gone and she felt herself falling.

She didn't meet the ground. She felt arms around her, holding her up, holding her steady. Stephen stood behind her, his arms around her middle and when she turned to face him, she saw a tear slip down his cheek. She put her hands on his chest, holding herself steady. He breathed in deeply as his hands went to her face. After a moment of just looking at her, his arms enveloped her and pulled her into an embrace. His hand was on the back of her head and he gently stroked her hair as he kissed the top of her head. "Oh god," she heard him whisper against her hair. "I thought it was too late..."

She wrapped her arms around his middle and pulled herself closer still. Boo, Callum and Freddie stood back and watched as Stephen frantically held Rory close to him, relieved that she was alive.

An hour later, Rory and Stephen sat in their flat. Boo, Callum and Freddie had gone back to the Waterloo flat after checking that Rory was ok. Rory sat with her legs tucked beneath her, nestled against Stephen whose arm was around her protectively. Her head lay against his chest and she listened to the soothing sound of his heartbeat. It sure as hell beat the sound of a xylophone. Stephens fingers lightly caressed her arm. "Are you sure you're alright?"

She sat up slowly and looked at him. "I'm fine. I promise."

He considered her for a moment and smiled before placing a soft kiss on her lips. "Is there anything you would like? Hot chocolate? Iced tea?"

She smiled softly as she lay her forehead against his. Outside, a light snow began to fall. She whispered gently. "I would like, in this order, a hot chocolate, a large meal, to cuddle up with you on the couch as we watch a movie and for you to take me upstairs and make passionate love to me."

He chuckled and kissed her forehead. "That can very easily be arranged my love."