A Horrible Dream (Post Six)

It was hard to see, what with everyone crowding around the small object, but eventually he was able to find a spot over Sam's shoulder to get a peak.  The thing was dark.  Very dark.  So black that it seemed to suck up any light around it.  Two tiny purple specks shined out of the murky lump like eyes in the night.  He could see what looked like arms carved in to it that curled around its sides to cradle what could have been a belly.  Besides that, there was little detail to the thing.  Most of it seemed to be covered in rough chisel marks.  It looked like a half-finished carving of something, but what it was supposed to be was a mystery.

It made him shiver to stare at it for too long.  However, it had this mesmerizing sense about it, like nothing he had ever seen before.  Apparently Marla felt the same way.  She had already turned and was busying herself with picking cobwebs off her jeans, every once in a while stealing a glance back at it.  Beth was chewing her lip, her eyes darting around the room but always coming back to the strange lump.  She seemed nervous.

"Well, I'm going back down stairs.  I want my beer."  Jack yawned and scratched his head, taking one more long look before making his way to the door.  Hesitation followed him, and he turned more than once before leaving the room.  Marla was quick to follow him.

Sam seemed to be the only one who could stand to stare at it.  She seemed lost, sucked in to those purple orbs.  She didn't even look up when Jack made his announcement.  Goosebumps prickled her skin and her breathing seemed shallow.  Every once in a while she seemed to mouth something but no sounds left her.

"Sam?... Sam?"  It took a nudge on the shoulder to pull her from her thoughts.

"Wh-what?"  She turned and blinked like a light had just been turned on.  "I must have zoned out..." She looked back at the statue, rubbing her arms like she was cold.  This time it didn't seem to grab her.  Instead she turned quickly, visibly uncomfortable.  "I've never seen that thing before.  I wonder how it got in there.  I don't think grandma or grandpa knew how to carve and it wasn't like them to collect stuff like that... Heh, that certainly doesn't remind me of 1950's style!"  She chuckled nervously, staring at the thing out of the corner of her eye.  "I... I think I should take this home with us and see if mom knows anything about it."

"Alright, well I'm heading back downstairs to see what Marla and Jack are up to.  He might be passed out on the floor again by now..."  He smiled at her before continuing, "Besides, I'm hungry.  I think it's time to get those hotdogs cooking."  Beth perked up at that.

"Yeah... Now that I think about it, I'm pretty hungry too."  Sam rubbed her stomach.  "Go get it started and I'll meet you down there.  You know where everything is at, right?"  She smiled at his nod.  "Great.  Just give me a second and I'll be there.  I have to put that door back in."  She motioned to the opening for the crawlspace.

"I can get that if yo-"

She waved him away.  "Nah, it's a little tricky to get in there right.  Never did fit well.  It'll just take me a second."

He nodded and smiled again.  "As you wish."  He loved throwing that line into conversations whenever possible.  Taking one last look around, he turned for the door and the stairs beyond.  Beth was right behind him.

"That thing was so creepy."  Her voice was hushed and she kept glancing behind her like they were being followed.  "I don't know what it was, but it just felt so strange to stare at it.  It made my skin crawl"  She seemed to shudder with the memory.

"Yeah, that thing is a little creepy, isn't it?  I don't really think it's anything though.  It just looks like a project that someone forgot about.  People make creepy stuff all the time."  He absentmindedly rubbed at the tender lump on his head as they walked, wincing every now and then.  "Man, I really took a good hit thanks to you..."

Beth frowned at him.  "You don't have to rub it in, you know.  Maybe if you weren't so easily spooked it wouldn't have happened."

"You mean, maybe if YOU weren't so easily spooked."   He gave her a sarcastic smile with a sidelong glance.  She huffed and hurried down the stairs before him, leaving him in the hallway alone.

He noticed how eerily quiet it was all of a sudden.  The rain must have stopped.  Taking a quick moment at the top of the stairs, his eyes fell on the door to the bedroom where they had left Sam.  She must have already fitted the door for there wasn't a single sound coming from the room.  It crossed his mind to wait for her but after a few seconds he got impatient.  His stomach was talking to him and telling him that Sam could fend for herself; sustenance was more important.  With a shrug he turned and headed down the stairs.