Six Years Ago

Chapter 8: The Taper

I started hitting the triangle and my uncle started moving towards me. I held my breath. I kept on hitting the triangle. My uncle was now right in front of me. He was still asleep. My uncle started to stir so I ran in the house and hit the triangle the other way. He went back into the house. I don't know how this was happening or how I thought to tap the triangle, but it was just a feeling I felt in my bones. I grabbed the music box from the counter and ran out.
I ran all the way down the hill to where Ruby was waiting. I shoved the music box into her hands and picked up the triangle after having dropped it on my toe. We walked through the night trying to find our way home in the darkness. The constant yawning of ruby was helping me to stay awake and close to her. When we finally got home it was 3:00 am. I rang Scarlett not realizing that it was only 5:00am there. She answered the phone sleepily.
"Hi Scarlett. I figured out how the triangle works but what does the picture do?" I ask.
'Oh hi Rebecca. Once you have lured the ghost towards you, hold it up and it gets sucked straight in. I've gotta go now bye." She says.
"Okay, thanks bye." I hang up the phone. Well that was pretty simple. I can easily do this. All I have to do is lure the ghost. I went to sleep thinking this was going to be a cinch.

I wake up with the sheets over my head. I never sleep like that. I try to take the sheets off but I can't. I manage to get my head out and then I see that the sheets have been taped to the bed. I slowly shimmy my way out the top of the sheets where the taper foolishly left a gap But there's still one thing. Who did it? After checking the house Nothing had been taken except for an apple. I take out a tub of ice-cream and sit down at the bench. I put spoonful upon spoonful of rich creamy vanilla ice-cream into my mouth. I move it around with my tongue and then swallow, all the while nervously thinking.

After a while of thinking and eating I run out of ice-cream. I get up to go and get some more when I remember Ruby. She is probably struggling in her bed. I kick the door to Ruby's bedroom. Pain shoots up my leg and courses through my body as the door fails to open. I reach my hand to the handle, turn it and limp inside. Ruby's not there.

I run to the bed forgetting my limp and search in the sheets and under the bed.. Nothing. Not a single thing anywhere. No more clothes in Ruby's closet. No more hair ribbons or a brush on the bedside table. Not a single trace of Ruby ever being here. I sit down dazed and confused. My hand slides off my head onto a piece of paper. I look at it. It's a note from Ruby.