Museum Of Living Statues Pt. 4

Museum of Living Statues Pt. 4

TRIGGER WARNING: Character death, manipulation, and creepy ending.

This was my final project for my creative writing class, and I was pleased with how it turned out, so please enjoy!

(This is a little longer than the other parts, but I couldn’t find a good place to stop it, so there will only be one other part after this)

“Perfect, dear, you’re doing great! Now, as soon as I flip this switch the molding material will fill your mouth. Don’t panic now, breathe through your nose and you’ll be just fine!”

Before I could say anything, they pulled me roughly to my feet and lead me to a large, intimidating iron door. The door had a complicated-looking mechanism that they pulled right open and I found myself in a room that very much resembled a dungeon. At that moment, my body was screaming at me to get the hell out of there as fast as I could, but all I could do was tremble.

“U-um…” I managed to squeak out, “I’m not so sure about this anymore…” Their face changed to one of sadness.

“Well, I’m sorry dear, the paperwork is already filled out. Besides, with your looks and stature I think it’s clear that this is what you’re meant to do.” They leaned in and kissed me on the cheek while squeezing my shoulders reassuringly, and I felt the knot in my stomach loosen a bit as I managed to give a small smile in return.

“That’s the spirit, handsome. Now, if you’ll just come right over here I’ll get you situated with the casting machine.

“T-the what? I thought I would just be standing there or something while an artist, like, made the statue?” I asked in confusion.

“Oh, don’t worry dear, we have our own unique way of doing things. This allows us to create the lifelike statues that we have become renowned for. If you’ll just follow me over here I can show you!” They led me over to a large sheet of metal leaning back at a slight angle, and I noticed immediately the hand and ankle shackled that were built in to the stand.

“Why are there handcuffs?” I asked, my brain numb.

“Well, we wouldn’t want you to fall out, now would we?” Their laugh was music, and I felt compelled to obey the sound. I hesitantly, and awkwardly, stood on the bottom platform and leaned back so that I was reclining back against the board. The receptionist fastened the buckles securely, perhaps a little too securely, I thought as I felt the thick leather digging into my wrists and ankles. I glanced up to see a large round bucket positioned over my head. The next thing I noticed was the steam rising out from it and my heart began to pound again. The receptionist seemed to sense my concern.

“Don’t worry handsome, we’ve done this thousands of times and we’ve never messed up once.” They reached out to stroke my cheek, and gave me one more kiss which made the butterflies in my stomach relax. “Now, this next part might feel a little strange or uncomfortable, but you’ll just have to bear with me!” They walked behind my stand and grabbed a large canister with a hose coming out of it.

“This is what we’re going to be using to take the mold of your mouth,” She held up the end of the hose, “open up your mouth nice and wide for me dear, we need to make sure to get those pearly whites as accurately as possible! It’s best to close your eyes if you’re nervous dear.” I swallowed all of my fears and shut my eyes tightly as they placed the tube into my mouth.