The Oxford Set
The old year ended, and the new year began, in a rather macabre way.
It all started on Christmas morning when the Jones family gathered in the Old Vicarage, a large fifteenth-century house deep in the heart of the Glevumshire countryside. It has a reputation for being the most haunted building in the world.
That’s not what was strange; Cressida and Duncan Jones, the property owners, were aware of that fact when they moved in; what was actually strange was an object gifted as a Christmas present.
”I saw it in Kai’s antique shop in Jorvik and thought of you,” Dylan Jones, a plucky treasure hunter with Golden Retriever energy, said to his brother Ben, a subdued historian with major Sloth energy, as he examined the rather scruffy teddy bear in his hands.
“You’ve certainly won points for originality,” Ben said as he turned the bear over, scrutinising each strand of fur.
“He was just sitting there on a chest of drawers with a little note saying ‘buy me now- twenty per cent off’, so I thought ‘, why not?’” Dylan said.
”It looks pretty creepy, though,” Alice Jones, Ben’s wife, said as she looked at the bear over Ben’s shoulders.
”Funny, you should say that, actually,” Dylan said, “Kai told me after I bought it that he hadn’t written the note. It wasn’t his handwriting.”
”So someone else, whoever they were, desperately wanted you to buy it?” Ben asked.
”Kinda makes me sick looking at it,” Alice said, grimacing at the bear.
”I tried to warn him against giving it to you,” Scarlett, Dylan’s wife, said, placing an arm around her husband. “But he wouldn’t listen.”
“Better than giving them another case of wine, though, ain’t it, babe?” Dylan said.
”If you say so,” Scarlett said, smirking at Dylan before drawing her attention to another family member.
”I’ll display it on here until it’s time to take it back to Laeppa,” Ben said, propping the bear on top of a chest of drawers conveniently in the living room.
”If you think we’re gonna have that thing in Porthysek, forget it,” Alice said, glaring at the bear with her arms crossed.
”Perhaps we shouldn’t be so quick to judge, Alice; we may yet warm to the bear,” Ben said.
”He isn’t Paddington, Ben,” Alice said. “Or Winnie the Pooh, for that matter.”
”No, but he may be their equally endearing cousin,” Ben said.
”Somehow, I don’t think so,” Alice said before walking away to distract herself with a banal conversation with other family members.
Ben himself had entirely forgotten about the bear until he heard the unmistakable voice of his mother, Victoria, say, “Oh, isn’t that adorable.”
Ben and the rest of the room turned towards Victoria, who was looking at the bear.
The bear now held a small note with words written in cursive.
”The bear’s wishing us a merry Christmas! What a lovely touch, Cressida.”
Cressida, Victoria’s sister-in-law, tilted her head and furrowed her brow.
”I didn’t put that there. I’ve never seen it before.”
Victoria beamed at Cressida. “Well, it’s jolly wonderful of whoever did it.”
A blank face appeared on the other people in the room, who shrugged and glanced at each other.
Alice stared at her husband, an eyebrow raised towards her fridge.
”That’s the same handwriting as the first note I saw when I bought it,” Dylan said.
Ben gazed at his brother, aghast. His eyes bulged, and his jaw dropped to the floor.
”Told you not to buy it,” Scarlett said, turning away from Dylan and taking a sip of a Cabernet Sauvignon that she no doubt had recommended herself.
Ben rubbed his hands, his eyes darting around the room.
”Right, I suddenly fancy a mince pie somehow.”
Ben marched towards a small table displaying a delectable range of festive pastries.
Another Christmas came and went, and it was time for Ben, Dylan, and their direct family to return to the old parental home in Laeppa.
Ben had placed the bear in the boot of his car, much to his wife’s disapproval.
Although the ursine was out of sight, Ben and Alice still felt its presence during the almost two-hour journey.
Alice stared out the window, her arms crossed as she watched fields and trees whoosh by.
Ever the safe driver, Ben’s eyes focused solely on the road before him, but he knew something wasn’t right with his wife.
Alice’s arms wrapped around her stomach as she rocked gently back and forth in her seat.
Ben’s eyes briefly revolved in Alice’s direction and back towards the road.
”Are you alright, Alice,” Ben said.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Alice said. “I’m just… ready to go home.”
”Very well,” Ben said. “We should be there soon enough.”
Silence fell for a few miles, but Alice’s stomach was churning.
She felt a tingling sensation in her limbs.
Eventually, she broke into the stillness.
”I think we should go into a lay-by and throw the toy into a ditch,” Alice said.
Ben scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. Dylan gave us the toy as a gift.”
“But that thing is evil, Ben, I’m sure of it,” Alice said. “Dil didn’t know what he was buying.”
”We’ll keep the bear for a trial period,” Ben said. “If the situation worsens, we shall dispose of it then.”
”Fine,” Alice said. “I just hope we don’t regret this.”
“I’m sure we won’t, darling,” Ben said.
Alice began to relax as the car drove down a narrow, one-track lane beside a family side of a garden of large topiary Yew trees and the muddy grey sixteenth-century house that belonged to her parents-in-law, where her husband once lived when he was a boy.
When the car stopped in the muddy field on the other side of the house, Alice felt dizzy as she exited the vehicle.
Ben casually opened the boot of his car and took out the bear and one of his suitcases. Alice recoiled at the site of the toy.
The bear was holding another note in its paws.
Ben scrutinised the note; the car boot is stuffy and cramped, and Austin Healey is not a good car brand.
He felt a shiver down his spine as he read the note. He was rather fond of his choice of classic car and could fend off people who told him he should’ve bought an Aston Martin DB5, but the idea that he had an inferior car still haunted him.
He scrunched up the note and placed it in his pocket.
Dylan rushed over to his brother.
”Mate, I’m sorry about the bear,” Dylan said. “If you want, give it to me, and I’ll swap it for something else.”
“That’d be awesome, Dylan, thanks,” Alice said.
“That is a kind offer, Dylan,” Ben said. “But we are going to keep the bear. We mustn’t be afraid of a stuffed animal.”
“Sure. Whatever you want, mate,” Dylan said.
Alice glared at Ben as she wheeled her case towards the house.
Ben marched on ahead with his, seemingly unfazed by the bear he carried under his arm.
The dark, candlelit interior of the house, with its oak panelling, did nothing to make the teddy appear friendly.
Until Michael and Victoria’s offspring and their spouses were ready to return home, the bear sat propped up on a chest of drawers in the tapestry-lined long gallery.
When the Joneses stepped through the gallery, they did so as quickly as possible without giving the bear a second glance.
Dylan, however, was foolish enough to acknowledge the toy long enough to notice it had written another note in cursive.
He ground to a halt to read it.
Treasure hunting is not a viable career option; read the note.
”Eh?” Dylan said as he read the note.
He scowled. How dare a children’s toy criticise his choice of occupation. The bear didn’t know how often he risked his life to share lost treasure with the world.
He grabbed the bear and marched into one of the living rooms, where a roaring fire was.
Ben, reclining in an armchair beside the fire, saw immediately what his brother was doing and leapt up in front of him.
”What the hell are you doing?!” Ben said.
“The bear’s demonic, mate,” Dylan said. “I’ve got to kill it.”
”Do it,” Alice said, rushing to the two men. “Whatever’s possessing that thing, it’s not good.”
”What on earth are you on about?” Ben said. “Nothing is possessing the bear.”
”It is,” Alice said. “Probably a serial killer or some other criminal.”
Ben gently took hold of the bear and cuddled it.
“This is precisely why we should leave the bear alone,” Ben said. It is simply a toy; we mustn’t let it drive us insane.”
Ben waltzed out of the room, holding the bear.
Alice and Dylan glanced at each other and then went about their business.
New Year’s Eve had arrived, and as the Jones gathered round the TV in one of the small candlelit living areas in the house to wait for Big Ben to chime, Scarlett glowered as she drank her wine.
“What’s wrong, poppet?” Victoria said. “Upset that the year is over?”
”No,” Scarlett said. “It’s that friggin’ bear; it told me that Alain Milliat Merlot is not worth the hefty price tag!”
Victoria gave her daughter-in-law a light cuddle.
”Oh darling,” Victoria said. “That isn’t right at all; we adore your choice of wine.”
”I know,” Scarlett said. “Everybody does; they go mad for it at the Northanger Hotel.”
”I was gonna cast it in the fire, but Ben took it away from me,” Dylan said.
”Because it is partially my gift, and you are all afraid of it for no apparent reason,” Ben said.
”Then who is writing the notes aimed explicitly at hurting us?” Alice said.
”Well… for that, I cannot answer,” Ben said.
All eyes were on him, each wet orb filled with malice.
Ben laughed awkwardly.
” I didn’t do it,” Ben said. “You all know my handwriting.”
”That leaves only one possible explanation,” Alice said. “A malevolent spirit haunts the bear.”
”I think you’ll find it’s a little early to jump to that conclusion,” Ben said.
Alice’s back hit her armchair as she shifted away from Ben, her arms crossed.
”All of you, shush!” Victoria said. “It’s happening.”
The whole family counted to zero and cheered as Big Ben entered the New Year.
After the spectacular fireworks display and the annual rendition of Auld Lang Syne, the Joneses bid each other goodnight and went to bed.
As Ben hurried back to his bedroom, he glanced at the bear.
It was holding another note. This time, it said; she deserves better.
Ben stared at it with inflated eyes.
He froze into place, his mouth dropping to the floor.
Ben took a deep breath, and a scowl appeared on his face.
He ripped the note into several pieces and threw them on the floor.
”What’s the matter, babe?” Alice said as she caught up with him.
Ben clocked his wife and composed himself.
”Nothing, darling,” Ben said. “I’m just tired, ready for bed and all.”
Alice glanced at the bear, clutching no note this time, and returned to Ben.
”Sure thing, hun,” Alice said. “Let’s get some shut-eye together.”
Alice placed an arm around Ben’s back and guided him towards their room, leaving the bear to stare blankly at the wall opposite it.
“Do you mind keeping the bear?” Ben asked his father, Micheal, as he put his suitcases back in the car. “Alice doesn’t it in the car with her.”
”No, of course not,” Micheal said, retrieving the bear from Ben. “But what are we going to do with it?”
“Whatever you see fit,” Ben said. “Maybe even give it to Dwight so he can send it back home to America to his father, who can give it to the incoming President as an inauguration gift.”
A devious grin appeared on Micheal’s face. “Yes. That could be a good idea.”
”Right,” Ben said, banging the car boot door shut, “we’re off.”
”Shall we see you back at ours at Easter?” Victoria asked her son.
“Unless other plans arise, yes,” Ben said.
“Although we are overdue a trip down to yours,” Micheal said. “I could with some sea air.”
A warm smile appeared on Ben’s face. “Come whenever you like,” Ben said. “You’re always welcome.”
With that, Ben and Alice bid goodbye to the rest of the family and drove back to their cottage in Cornwall.
The four-hour journey home was peaceful, primarily because the bear was far away. All oppressive energies disappeared once Ben and Alice were back in their living room listening to the crashing waves outside.
A week or so later, Dylan gave Ben and Alice a book each as compensation for his previous mistake.
As for the bear, it sat alone in a dark cupboard deep inside Victoria and Micheal’s house until they had decided how exactly to get rid of it.
The Robinsonverse 