SELENE POV
The wall and the floor were covered in white marble_dusty, yet still shimmering. I imagined how blinding it would be when cleaned.
The contrast between the hard, rough concrete on which we stand and the other side ahead was alarming.
Katherine and Eve stood two feet beside me as I stepped forward, moving down the marble floor. One careful step at a time. It was cold, eerie _ the scent of the earth lingered on the tip of my nose.
At the center stood a heavy door made of thick wood with a flower carving on it, marked with a skull at the handle.
My breath hitched.
With trembling hands, I reached out and gripped it. Putting strength in my arms, I pushed the door open.
Creak.
A massive gold statue of a beautiful woman stood inside. Whoever made the statue must be very talented, every detail crafted with impressive skill. The eyes seemed to sparkle with life.
There was an inscription embedded beneath her feet.
"She seems to be dancing," Katherine said, staring up at the statue. "Her clothes look like the ones we see in TV shows"
I examined her clothes. " True"
Am I being paranoid? Or hallucinating? Why does it feel like that statue just blinked? Twice. "Kathy.. back away from the statue."
Katherine didn't turn. " Why?"
"Just do as I say"
Katherine stepped away from the statue in confusion. " Is something wrong?"
I glanced upwards, Katherine followed my gaze and shivered.
The statue's eyes were staring downwards at us. Like literally. Her gaze pierced like daggers.
I flinched.
Her lips curled up.
"Eve!" I managed to call. " What do we do"
Eve's eyes were glued upwards, her hands gripping her sword. "Turn back"
Bam.
The door closed in our face.
The carved flower glowed faintly, then dimmed.
Why is the door always closing in on us?!
"Why didn't that damn ghost mention anything about this!!"
Fuck.
The statue position has changed.
No longer in a dancing position, she stood perfectly straight, staring directly at us.
My blood ran cold.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
The sound of her feet crushing the marble in each step she took towards us, the vibrations travelling through my bones.
The sound of water running.
I looked down.
Katherine was peeing.
I felt my bladder threatening to betray me too.
Eve's face had gone completely pale.
The statue still had a smile on her face. That grin that filled us with terror.
Smash.
I stared at the place we were standing just a second ago in debris.
We would have been a puddle of blood and meat right now. If we hadn't avoided it.
My heart sank into my stomach.
She missed on purpose.
The statue's head just twisted to the back.
Without turning her body.
Her eyes were amused.
"It's playing with us" I shakily mumbled.
The smile grew wider, showing a hollow mouth.
The sound of my heartbeat thundered in my ears.
Katherine clutched her chest, muttering words I can't understand.
Eve couldn't move, if not for the trembling of her body I would have thought that she had frozen.
My eyes darted from one corner of the room to the other.
The statue slowly got up with its head still twisted in the back staring at us. Her body turned to align with her face.
One word to explain what I felt was: Horror.
Katherine gripped my arm so tightly that it stings. Eve's shaky hand tapped my shoulder, her hand pointing towards the inscription on the platform the statue was on before.
Eve and I locked eyes.
Our eyes were talking since we couldn't move our lips.
I grabbed Katherine's hands.
We ran towards the inscription.
The smile on the statue's face grew thin.
My hands touched the inscription. Not understanding a thing written on it. "Eve do you know what it says?"
"No, I don't," Eve said shakily. "It's an ancient language."
Crunch. Crunch.
"She is coming"
No. No.
I turned back, the statue's gaze met mine.
She tilted her head and grinned.
My stomach twisted.
Can she understand what we're saying?
She lifted her hand and swayed it to the left.
An unknown force.
Flung us to the wall.
Thud.
We crashed to the floor, the cold marble beneath us. Pain lanced through my body.
Ugh. Ngh. Ahh. I gasped and groaned.
Blood seeped through my mouth as I lay on the cold marble floor.
Katherine's nose was bleeding.
Eve's cheek was bruised.
I looked up.
That bitch made of gold was chuckling.
I need to get up.
I must get up.
Get up on your feet.
I winced as I carefully got up from the cold floor. My body was aching all over.
"Who created that monster?" Katherine said between hisses as she used the wall to stand.
Eve used her sword to propel herself up.
"A crazy person, who else?''
The statue just stood there staring at us.
Her eyes were telling us: come on.. try something else.
Entertain it more.
She was enjoying_
Our fear.
Helplessness.
My hands clenched into a fist.
"I think the only way to defeat this… is that inscription" My voice sounded oddly steady, unlike the chaos inside of me.
"None of us understand what it says," Katherine said.
Sera. My lady, it's time for your lessons.
Ugh.
I held my head, a throbbing pain was spreading from my temple.
The air shifted.
I glanced at the Statue and ran towards the inscription.
I don't know why.
But the symbols that were unfamiliar a moment ago, felt familiar.
She didn't stop me.
It just stood. Excited.
Well not for long. Because_
"Hera vi ni caro hasura (May the spell binding the maiden bind her once more)." My voice resonated through the room.
She stiffened.
Her smile disappeared.
Crunch. Crunch. Each step made me tremble. She was coming. She was definitely not happy. Her hands reached out.
I read as fast as I could. "Nasa vuraso warrisona - (Go back to sleep and torment your intruders no more)."
The statue froze.
I grinned, white teeth stained in blood in view.
WHO IS SMILING NOW, BITCH.