House Of Wax : Nick Jones FF ✅

Twenty-Five. 25

Bo reached the door, finding it splintered open, and his anger surged as he discovered the empty room beyond. Determined, he hurried up the stairs.

Inside the gas station's garage, Bo searched through drawers until he found a double-barrel shotgun. With a quick check of the chambers, he found them empty, then located two shotgun shells.

Meanwhile, outside the movie theater, Lilian and Nick crept along the wall, wary of making noise. Nick, holding a wrench, voiced their concern: "Where the fuck is everybody?", while Lilian fretted over Wade and Dalton: "It's been like that since we got here too. I hope everyone's fine." Nick assured her they would locate them as they caught sight of the illuminated church at the end of the road, its organ music drifting faintly.

"There should be a preacher in there. It was a funeral." / "Hah, the closest I'll ever be to a fucking church."

Deciding to investigate, they left their hiding spot and cautiously approached the church, passing by a sporting goods store. Bo burst out of the gas station, his eyes wild with determination, scanning the street and narrowly missing Nick and Lilian as they darted to the other side of the church, disappearing into the shadows.

In the church's parking lot, Nick and Lilian hid behind cars, breathless and unseen. Nick noticed the license plates, all showing outdated stickers. "Look, babe." Reads: April 93. His eyes scan the lot to the other cars' plates: June 96, May 94, Dec 00, March 01.

"They're all out of state." Prompting Lilian to realize they were all from out of state. "What the hell's going on here? {silence} C'mon, watch your step." Perplexed, they hurried toward the church with Nick holding her lower back to guide her. Peering back to see Bo approaching the House of Wax. Sensing an opportunity, Nick urged Lilian to move quickly.

"Go! Go! Go!"

They dashed toward the church's front door and slipped inside. Inside, the congregation remained, oblivious to the chaos outside. Nick and Lilian ran down the center aisle, seeking refuge and answers.

"Somebody, help us!" Nick's cry echoed through the church, but no one turned to aid them. As Lilian scanned the scene, realization dawned on her: the preacher, the mourners, the casket—all identical to what she had seen before.

"There should be a guy up- (silence) there..."

"What the fuck is happening around here!?" Nick's voice quivered with confusion as Lilian approached a pew filled with figures. To her horror, she discovered they were all wax sculptures, eerily lifelike in their sorrowful expressions. She moves closer to an older woman holding a funeral program template, the cover reads: "Farewell o Trudy,"

Drawing closer, Lilian's trembling hand reached out to touch one of the figures, confirming her worst fear—they were real. The dreadful truth sank in: there was no rescue coming. "T-There's a real person under this, r-right? Nick?"

"I can't believe this," Nick muttered, his disbelief mirroring Lilian's.

Their attention then turned to the organ music, emanating not from the instrument but from a concealed speaker on the floor. Lilian hesitated before approaching the open casket, steeling herself to look inside.

Within lay a waxed likeness of Trudy, meticulously crafted yet grotesque in its accuracy. Despite the artistry, the figure's disfigurement from a shotgun blast was evident. Clasped in her hands were two sculpted reptiles—a lizard and a small alligator—bearing the likenesses of Vincent and Bo.

"They're her sons," Lilian murmured as Nick joined her. "What do we do now?" she asked, desperation creeping into her voice.

"Get Dalton and anyone we can. We need wheels and more than just this stupid wrench," Nick replied. He roughly went through his hair as he stressed over the situation, thinking how to get Lilian to safety, somehow hoping his best friend was alive and to get help in a practically abandoned ghost town.

Lilian noticing this, reaches out to hold his arm. Making him move his attention to her as she tried to smile at him that everything was fine. Letting out a sigh, Nick frowned as he only saw how scared she was. He leans down to place a quick kiss on her lips to calm her down.

"Didn't you drive here?" Lilian asked, wanting to have some hope.

"Dalton has the keys," Nick informed her.

With determination, Nick began searching the waxed figures for keys. "C'mon, fuck sake! Someone has to have keys to one of those cars out there. I need some help here babe." Urging Lilian to assist him. It's hard for Lilian, but she starts to obey. Checking the old woman with the bible first. Empty. Moves on to the man next to the woman. She rifles through his pockets.

The wax man's eyes remain locked, fixed straight ahead in a cold stare... They quickly move through everybody but: no luck.

"Damn it!" Nick cursed as their search yielded no results.