Kat Hughes twitched as the bell rang, sharp and insistent, but then relaxed as she looked up at the clock and saw it was 3pm -- home time. That meant it wasn't one of the phantom bells she had been hearing for the past few months. And it wasn't only bells ringing when they shouldn't be -- there were many more spooky things happening to Katherine Hughes.

First of all there was the siren. Kat would hear it when she was walking down the street to or from school, when she was out in town with her friends, sometimes during school, and occasionally she'd even hear it late at night, in her own home. It always sounded like it was coming closer, but when Kat looked around it wasn't there, and when she asked her friends if they could hear it, they shook their heads, giving her worried glances.

Then there was the voice. It was the voice of a little girl, a child of maybe five or six, Kat guessed. It echoed down the corridors at school and down the streets and in her head. It gave her the shivers, and she knew no one else could hear it. Sometimes Kat could make out the words: Hello? it seemed to be saying, Hello? Can you hear me? Is... Is anyone out there? Can you hear me?
Once, when she was alone, Kat had tried replying to it in a whisper: "Hello? I'm here."
You're not Ella, the voice had whispered back, startling Kat out of her wits.
"W-what?" she stammered, but there was no reply.

Thirdly, there was the bright red ribbon that ghosted down the streets, even when there was no wind. It made an uneasy feeling settle in Kat's stomach to watch it. Like it was bad. Like it was dangerous.

And then, lastly, there was the most frightening thing of all. Occasionally, as Katherine was leaving school, she would see a little girl of about five years old, with curly brown hair and a red dress on, run into the road and stop suddenly, falling back as if she was hit by a car. Only there were never any cars on the road when this happened.

Kat knew that people were beginning to notice something was wrong with her. The fifteen-year-old had become jumpy and twitchy and nervous over the past few months, and people were constantly asking her what was wrong. She brushed them off with some excuse or other, but now they were beginning to get more concerned.
"Kat," her best friend, Georgia, had said to her one day as they were walking to school together and Kat had seen the ribbon, "you look like you've seen a ghost. Is everything alright?"
And her family, too, had noticed Kat's sudden odd behaviour. Her mother, brothers, and even step-father were beginning to ask if she was alright. Kat cringed inwardly as she thought of this.

"Hey, Kat, you coming?" Georgia's voice dragged her back to the real world.
"Y-yeah," Kat replied distractedly, hoisting her satchel over her shoulder and following her friend out the classroom door.
The two walked down the corridor and out of school together, discussing weekend plans. Georgia had a swim meet on Saturday, but she was hoping Kat would be allowed to come and stay Saturday night.
"I'll have to check with Mum," Georgia told her as she waved her goodbye. "Well, see you!"
"What? Aren't you walking home with me?"
"Honestly, Kat. What has gotten into you lately? I told you this morning: I've got swimming training today."
"Oh. Right. Sorry. See you."
Georgia waved goodbye once more, then ran off to her mother's car. Kat watched as it drove off, then sighed and turned to walk home. And that was when she saw the girl, more vivid than she'd ever been, run into the road. She looked so real this time: Kat could see her both her curls and her dress blowing in the wind. As the girl stopped suddenly and fell back, as she always did, Kat heard herself cry out: "No!"

Then she clamped a hand over her mouth, realising that others were turning to stare at her. She blushed, not knowing what to do or say. They obviously couldn't see the girl.

Robin Par walked quietly down the long halls as he rubbed his head, it being a very long irritating night. School seemed to finally come to a close as he walked outside with a large but equally satisfying sigh. All night, the long ring of the harmonizing bell rung deep in his ear, a nonstop sound that had no origin nor purpose to anyone else but him. Loud, clear, going as far as giving him a terrible migraine. Adding to that was the equally irritating sound of a siren, a almost eerie ambulance streaming by, coming closer by the second when not a light was seen.

During the same day on the way to school, several symphonies came to him, a voice of a very young little girl--he didn't daydream that much. She as also looking slightly sad but perky, smiling but her eyes always wet, pulling her hand to him and asking him for help. Every time he pulled for her hand, it felt so real, so... alive. At the same time she was always gray and very pale, she looked very much dead. Her features were genuine of beauty with the coming of years but her innocence was almost heart-breaking. When he did see her she always had a different outlook on things which put fear into his bones. Sadly he never spoke to her cause his voice always seemed to just stick in his throat.

But, you want to know what is very unusual? The cute little red ribbon he saw every time he walked from and to school. Several times he tried to grab it before he realized it wasn't there, a trick of the eye perhaps? It was so terrifying seeing it everyday he almost cried some days--those in which were worse than others. When he looked at it, it was like lost hope, like that of a tumbleweed or a call before the storm. The final straw picked of misery, perfect silence befalling each notion of it. Pulses flew through his body with each sight of it, stopping there and watching, waiting, listening to the sirens...

The waiting never did pay off, cause in the end it always ended with her, in the middle of the road. A car passing by her as a faint scream was heard and she returned to be no longer there, a lost memory. Closing his eyes as he walked, the thought of his made him cringe. Stepping on the sidewalk before he looked up, she was there, like usual. Skipping across the street before a car slammed into her and his heart jumped forward before he abruptly bumped into someone, realizing the attention it obtained.

It was a girl, fairly about his age, an inch or so shorter than him. Her body was attractive, very lean with her astounding curves with her slightly tanned skin. Her hair was sunbathed in yellow, stretching down her back, tied up and stunningly mixing in with her lily pad like eyes, almost like perfectly settling in a murky pond.

"Oh please excuse me." He blushed at her as he noticed what she was doing. "If I may ask, what are you doing?" Seeing the attention she got as well as he did as he looked around and tried to collect reality.

Ah, the end of school bell. It was a glorious sound - at least, it used to be. Once upon a time, it signified the end of the school day, and the beginning of photo shoots, parties and things that cost lots of money with friends that had lots of money.

With an inward sigh, Jacob reflected what the bell was now. It was ghostly, it was spooky, it rang at the completely wrong times, and it made him question the paranormal. Jacob had only learnt about the paranormal recently, in his dreaded English class. It was being mixed in with the horror genre they were studying, and things that they had to read and watched reminded him vividly of the events taking place day after day.

"Hey Jake, you workin' tonight?"

Jacob looked up at Casey, flashing a smile. "Photo shoot at 8, babe."

"Damn, was hopin' you'd be free. Oh well, maybe another time." Casey smiled shyly as she lifted up her folder and turned away. Scooping up his own, Jacob slid around the desks and grabbed Casey's arm. She startled, looking up at him curiously as he grinned down at the blonde, a good head shorter then him.

"Tomorrow night, I'll pick you up. Dress for success babe, your my date for a very prestigious party." Leaning down, he kissed the flustered Casey on the lips and left the classroom, and her, to come to terms with what had just occurred. Glancing over his shoulder, Jacob saw Casey running up to her friends for a squeal session about how she had just been kissed by, and was going on a date with, possibly the best looking guy in the year.

Smirking softly, all thoughts of the strange happenings gone from his mind, Jacob flipped open his cell and scrolled down the contacts 'till he reached the number of boss. As he placed the phone to his ear and left school grounds, waiting for the dial tone to end and for Erika to pick up, Jacob glanced across the road to his car. Thats when he saw it, and caught off guard, momentarily forgetting no one else could see her, Jacob called out to the little girl running across the road.

"Oi, kid, get off the damn ro-!" Jacob was cut off as the girl fell, hiding the ground with what Jake assumed was a bone cracking thud. At the same time, a voice in his ear alerted him of the answering of the phone.

"Jacob? Jacob? Answer me, what the hell are you yelling at?"

"Huh? Oh.. S'nothing Erika... Uh, I'll call you back in five, sorry." Flipping his phone shut, Jake ignored the stares he was getting and instead walked the few meters to his car. He lent against the door, running a hand through his hair with a disgruntled sigh.

Kat cried out softly as someone bumped into her, and she turned to see who it was. It was a boy, slightly older than her perhaps, and slightly taller as well. He had pale skin, blue-green eyes, and messy dark brown hair, and Kat noticed a blush colouring his cheeks. She wondered why that was.

"Oh, please excuse me." He said. "If I may ask, what are you doing?"

"Uhh. Just... standing here." Kat lied, staring at the ground. "Why do you ask?"

As she waited for a reply, she fiddled with the cuffs of her school blouse. She had been about to blurt out the truth to him for some bizarre reason beyond her comprehension, but of course, she held it in. Telling someone was just stupid. No matter who she told, they would think her crazy. Maybe she was. Kat had never supposed that she wasn't the only one who could see things that weren't there.

And that's when she heard the shout: someone was yelling, "Get off the damn road!" or something along those lines -- Kat couldn't quite make it out. She lifted her head, eyes seeking out the sound of the voice and saw a good-looking young man -- Year Thirteen, no doubt. He was fairly tall and had dark hair that contrasted nicely to his other features, even if the fringe was slightly emo. Was it him? Nah, couldn't have been. And... who was he yelling at?
Kat looked across the road again, to the spot where the girl had just vanished. Could it be... her?

Robin thought it over, he was already a silly boy so just blurted his own worries out, "You didn't per say see a little girl in the road... did you?" Zooming in a bit as he looked at her, imagining she didn't or maybe she'll be a bit of a smart ass and lie. Though all-in-all he was a bit of a smart alec to so he would dismiss it. "I'm sorry maybe I'm just a little tired." Nodding his head to his sides. "I'm sorry to bump into you though. You forgive me darlin'?" He said in a polite perky tone.

In the mean time he started feeling a bit stupid, was he alone? Maybe others could see her to, or maybe he was just being melodramatic and need a brain scan. Now that seemed a bit friendly as he was under a spell and almost fell over, catching his balance on the railing to his side. "Whoops a daisy..." He said softly with a blush, still awaiting an answer.

Jacob frowned slightly as he stared at the concrete footpath. His car was hot behind him, having spent the day soaking up the sun. Scuffing his foot, he felt eyes on him and he looked up, catching the eye of a younger girl. He watched her for a fleeting second, before turning and opening the door to his car. As he was getting in, Jake's phone began vibrating in his pocket, and once more he pulled it out and flipped it open: No Number.

Frowning a bit, Jacob brought the fine to his ear. "Hello?"

"Why didn't you help me? You saw me fall, why didn't you help me? Why?"

The young girls voice seemed not only to emit from the phone, but from all around Jacob, and he froze, his mouth opening and closing silently. Grip loosening on his phone, Jacob allowed it to crash onto the footpath beside his car, his face becoming pale as a sheet.


- - - - - - -

She was flying, flying across that varnished wooden floor. The music played, ringing in her ears, silk sliding over her smooth skin as she danced. Her hand resting in a smooth hand as she was spun out, then brought back in with a flourish. Opening her eyes shyly, her hazel orbs stared into the soft blue ones of her girlfriend, Nic. Jode grinned as they continued to dance. Then the music began to fade...

And as the music faded, so did the scene. Jode could no longer feel the loving grip of Nic's hand on her own and on her waist. Now all she could feel was the soft breeze, the occasional glances of others, and the fence beneath her rear. Opening her eyes with a sigh, Jode glanced up and ahead, her stare resting on two younger students who seemed to be stuck in awkward conversation. For a startling moment, she thought she heard a whisper in her ear, and nearly fell from the fence.

Catching herself before she did, Jode slipped off the fence and hoisted her shoulder bag up further so it was more comfortable. As she did, she stepped forward, intending on walking straight past the two in front of her, but a few words made her pause.

"You didn't per say see a little girl in the road... did you?"

Jode turned her head to the boy, eyes widening slightly. As she went to speak to him, a clutter dragged her attention from the two other students to land on one of the year 13 students. She quirked a brow at him curiously, wondering what had led him to looking at pale as he did.

Kat just stared at the boy, mouth open for a few minutes, struggling to find an answer. "You didn't per say see a little girl in the road... did you?" -- his words echoed in her head. Did that mean... she wasn't the only one?

Kat was about to answer when another boy -- Kat recognised him as a boy in her year, though he wasn't in the same class as her -- wandered over to the small group that had formed around her. As he came closer, Kat noticed his hands were shaking, and then it suddenly clicked in her head who he was. She couldn't remember his name, but he was that new kid, the English kid who was into drugs. Kat shrank away from him just slightly as he spoke: "Did you ... did you see that?"

"N..." Kat stopped herself, about to say no, then changed her mind. "Y-yes."

He looked at everyone for a moment with a large exhaling gasp as he tried to collect himself, "So lets just say we all saw that? What if I added like a red ribbon, or maybe a... bell... siren?" Saying it as if in awkward moment, his eyes bursting wide open and somewhat saying everything as if he would a question. "This is awkward isn't it? Maybe we should all go talk cause I thought I was going crazy but if we all saw the same thing I don't find it a coincidence." Robin complimented as he rubbed his chest for a moment where his heart was.

Finally coming to his senses, Jacob bent down and scooped up his phone. He stared at the screen, swallowing and taking a deep, yet shaky breath. Turning it off, he stuffed it in his pocket and went to close the door, when he once more caught eyes on him. This time he stared back, and because of this he caught the boys words.

"....What if I added like a red ribbon, or maybe a... bell... siren?"

Jacob realized he was shaking, and he struggled to stop the slight tremors running through his body. Shifting his gaze from each face in the odd group, Jacobs gaze landed on the second girl (Kat). Swallowing, Jacob called out to her, his voice giving away to the slightest waver.

"Oi, you. Yeah, you, come here for a minute will ya?" Jacob made a beckoning motion with his hand as he swung his legs out of his car and stood up, leaning against the warm metal. Jacob waited 'till she had moved over to him, before asking in a hoarse whisper.

"Whats... Whats going on? Did you see 'er... That little girl? That voice?" Jake suppressed a shudder, glancing about uneasily.

-_-_-_

Jode listened to the few exchanges, going seemingly unnoticed by the group - not that she entirely minded. Pursing her lips, Jode waited 'till the boy who she stood behind (Robin) was finished speaking before touching him on the shoulder fleetingly to get his attention.

"Uh... Excuse me, but um... Would it matter if I mentioned I've seen and heard all those things? They've been getting worse, lately... I just assumed it was stress and/or insanity, though... But if I'm not the only one..."

Turning around to see another notch of beauty he smiled, "I don't know. Maybe we're not insane, maybe we were also secretly operated upon and are all partially disillusion from an usual... SCIENCE PROJECT!" His silly side coming out for a moment as he got serious again, "That is just a joke but I do find it unusual we all see the same things. There are no odds or just plain old coincidences." He noted as he looked at the girl, "Yeah. They have been getting worse for me to, everywhere I go... all night." Touching his head, still somewhat having a migraine.

Kat was about to answer English Druggie Kid when her attention was dragged away by someone calling her, "Oi, you. Yeah, you, come here for a minute will ya?"

Kat looked up -- it was the handsome Year Thirteen she had seen earlier. Swallowing and somehow finding her old, self-confident self (which had been buried inside her since she'd first started seeing and hearing things), she moved away from the group toward him.

"Whats... Whats going on? Did you see 'er... That little girl? That voice?" he asked her in a whisper as she arrived.

Kat stared at him. "Yeah. You, too, I take it." she replied, sounding much like her old self. She relaxed the tiniest bit. "Look, there's some more of us, over there..." she jerked her head in the direction of the small group, "I think you should come and join us."

Leaving that decision to him, Kat turned and started off back toward the group. How many were there, now? Five?
Returning to the group, Kat said, "Hey, listen, everyone. There's another guy who can see and hear the same things we all can, it seems. I think... I don't mean to be pushy or anything here, but I think we should all introduce ourselves before we do anything else. I'm Katherine, or Kat, whichever you prefer."
She gave a small smile, relaxing somewhat. That was more like the old Kat. It helped her immensely to know she wasn't alone.

Turning his attention back to the girl, "I-I'm Robin. Just plain Robin here." He mused as he looked at the others. "Nice to meet you Kat." Putting his hand out to her, trying to be a bit nice. At the same time he looked in the road to see another ribbon, floating in the--wait there was no breeze. It just hovered around in an annoying fashion, getting by far irritated as his eyes were caught from Kat to the street. "Wow..." He said to himself before turning back to her.

Kat shook Robin's hand briefly, before turning to the druggie kid, who now had a cigarette dangling from his mouth. Fighting back a grimace, she said to him, "Hey, you. What's your name?"

While she waited to see if she was going to get a reply, Kat tried to think of somewhere they could go to discuss things. Maybe they could all go back to her place... no, though her parents were pretty lax, she knew they would be comfortable having a whole bunch of strangers in their living room. There was the cafe Kat and her friends liked to hang out in... but admittedly, she was worried that she'd run into someone from school there.
Then Kat remembered the town library, which had recently opened up a cafe of its own. Kat had been there once with her parents, and it seemed quite nice.

If or when the druggie kid gave her an answer, Kat decided she'd suggest heading there.

"Katherine Hughes. Or Kat, as I said before." That was something of a stab at him for not paying attention, though she disguised it cleverly in her tone: she spoke with what sounded like a genuinely friendly tone of voice. Rubbing a hand up and down her arm, something Kat did when she was considering something, she spoke.

"Anyway. I was thinking: seems like something very strange has happened... is happening, I should say... to all of us." She looked around at the group. "If you all want to discuss it somewhere more private, the library has opened up a new cafe which seems pretty good. Is everyone interested?"

While she waited for replies from them all, Kat scanned the small group, trying to put the names to the faces so she wouldn't forget. Robin was the boy who had bumped into her, and Jacob was the handsome Year Thirteen who had spoken to her before. The druggie was called Eli, and the girl with the interestingly-coloured hair... what was her name? Jade... Jodie... Jode, that was it. Interesting name, too.