The Markus Party

CHAPTER 2, THE DREAM

Ian stepped forward. "They're not." He stammered while touching the one directly before him. "They're just turned in our direction like...a welcome parade. They are statues after all." Ian spoke for the group's benefit, but even his words weren't very convincing.

The décor was light here. Small coffee tables with two little chairs on occasion, all white. And in the middle, on the white carpet, were the statues. There was definitely something off about how they were arranged. All their eyes were directed at the staircase and if you were to stand at a very specific spot, as one of them discovered, all of them would be looking directly at you. They were captured in expressions of fear, anger, and near insanity. It was very frightening. They all felt it. And, as far as Jasmine could count, there were about fifty of them, maybe forty, almost the same exact number as the interns. Was it truly a welcome, avant-garde art, or something else? The only thing that put them at ease was how spread out they were, lined neatly across the whole corridor. They were also pure white, without an inch of dirt, giving them a more innocent appearance.

The interns started walking in cautiously, watching the statues closely, and clinging to the walls. Once they were past a couple of them, and none of the heads turned to follow, they relaxed somewhat. This was Lucy's fault, they all thought, for spreading silly ideas around. It wasn't long before they were back to their cheerful selves exploring the corridor.

A couple of them started posing next to the statues, getting a ton of laughs. Others picked them up to admire their make. Like the ones by the gate, and those in the gardens, they were almost lifelike in quality. The artist must have been one in a century. Strangely though, the statues' moods also got darker. The further away you went from the staircase the more heinous and malicious the expressions became. The previous statues only had a glare, the next group a scold, the next a grimace, and the last looked about ready to pick up a knife and plunge in for the kill.

"Creepy!" Ian murmured.

"It's like a haunted house." Peter couldn't hide his joy. "It's brilliant!" His thoughts turned inwards with a look of amusement. "That's the dream." A light flickered in his eyes and by now he was the only one left enjoying the display.

"What? Living in a haunted house?" Ian asked.

"No. Being invited to a haunted house. Don't you know? You never want to live in one." Peter stared at Ian acting a little hurt as if it bothered him that his best friend didn't understand the difference. Ian stared back with a confused expression the way he always did when Peter said something unexpected. Then, just as easily the two started giggling talking about one statue in particular. The one nearest the blue door.

"This one looks like the fairest scarer." Ian remarked.

"Then, let the haunting commence." Peter announced.

While in that happy mood, hands reached out and touched them both. They jumped slightly and turned to meet Lucy's panic and Jasmine's smirk. Peter turned away, but Ian kept looking on, knowing exactly what she was going to say based on her expression.

"What if it is...a haunted house?" Lucy asked, worried. "I swear I saw the statue outside move while we drove up." A strange doubt was seeping into her, screaming that everything was not okay.

"So, what are you saying Lucy?" Jasmine turned to her friend. "Statues can move now and probably Dracula knows about it. He just has to keep it a secret from Peter Pan who is in an alliance with Santa Clause and Humpty Dumpty to save Eragon, Gandalf, and a Fairy." Peter and Ian burst out laughing. Peter was the loudest until he saw Lucy's hurt look. He shrugged, smiling soothingly at her, and faced forward.

"You are right. I am being ridiculous. But why would he arrange his statues out like this?" Lucy asked again, almost pleading.

"You saw the guy. He's just a lunatic with a great home." Peter volunteered. "Besides, look, here we are at the end of this disturbing corridor and not one of them has done anything out of the ordinary." He smiled at her. A part of him was smiling at his use of the word ordinary. What was ordinary for statues anyway? The other part of him just loved to smile at her. It was a bad habit that he couldn't shake but needed to, because she always seemed to take it the wrong way. She didn't know it, and he wouldn't tell, but she had a mind for mystery. "Unless they jump at us. Let's wait and watch." They laughed again, more so when Peter lined them up to look at the statues.