Austy Quinn's Christmas Special I

Chapter 5: Carol of the Bells

Snow began to fall again Christmas morning over Alamosa. It was not a sweet falling crystal, but it was something darker. Like it held the true secrets befalling the town.

Ali looked out of her window as she watched the snowflakes grace the pane. She smiled slightly, because it meant Christmas was truly here. She walked out of her hallway, entering her grandparents' living room, where the tree sparkled like a diamond. Her grandparents were still asleep, but she gasped a little when she saw the present nestled under it, in glittering red and black. Was it from Austy? She didn't know, but she wouldn't be surprised if it was. She gleefully opened it, finding a set of bells inside. Bells? That was unusual. They were a shimmering gold, with bright red bows tied around them. They sparkled like the morning sun, and the more she looked at them, the more Ali enjoyed them. She took them to her room, where she closed the door in hopes of not waking her grandparents.

She took the biggest bell in her hand, it was about the size of her fist. She shook it and it tingled. It was a beautiful sound to her, something she absolutely treasured. She took another one and played it softly, the pitch much higher than the big bell.

What was interesting to her, was that she didn't hear the bell ringing. When she would move the bell, it would sound like an angel singing to her in that pitch.

She would move all five and it would sound like an elegant choir. She would shake them and they would sing like the heavens. It was beautiful.

She would try singing with the bells, expecting it to sound gorgeous. But all she heard was her voice sounding horrid compared to the others. Maybe she just needed to sing another song. That was it. Another song.

She played every song she knew how to. She would shake the bells to follow suit, and each time the bells would overpower her. They would get louder, lovelier. Ali felt her heart drop and her breath shorten. She had to sing good. She just had to! She knew she could! She would sing louder and lovelier to match the bells, but they would continue to surpass her skill.

She kept singing until the bells were louder than anything she had heard before. She shut her eyes in pain as she matched, her voice getting increasingly weak.

Her grandparents woke up in a fright, hearing Ali scream. Her grandfather rushed to her room, where he found Ali shaking the bells furiously, her eyes still shut. She had been in there for four hours by herself with those bells. He only heard the slight tingle of the bells as she shook them, but he waved his hand in front of her face, calling her name. She would not look at him as she continued to scream.

He grabbed her and shook her, making her stop. She was crying furiously now as she looked at him. She couldn't make out a word he had said.

She had gone deaf from the voices of the bells.

End of Chapter 5