Midnight Carnival (Part 7) The Wax Museum
Welcome back to the next installment of the Midnight Carnival! Here we are at the end of January already and I am only on Part 7 of this tale. I will definitely be extending this one into the month of February. I also want to extend my apologies for a sparse month of Exclusive Content. I'm not quite sure where the time went and hope to devote more soon. But I am also working on some changes that have been preoccupying my time. Stay tuned for new developments!
Back to the story! Part 6 was short and sweet and carried Maya and Emily to and from the tarot card reader. This episode drops them into the Wax Museum! Things are about to heat up as the clock winds down to midnight...
But first, the legal bit:
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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“Where to next?” Maya asked. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at the many booths that lined the path.
Emily frowned. “Shouldn’t we meet the guys?”
Maya spied a building that was transformed for the carnival. She nudged Emily in the ribs. “Isn’t that the wax thing you wanted to see?”
Emily followed her friend’s gaze. She wasn’t sure what building it had been when the amusement park was open, but there was no denying its use now. Outside the double doors were two colossal statues of mythical werewolves. “They look so lifelike,” she whispered.
Maya grinned from ear to ear. “I’m sure once we’re closer they won’t look nearly as impressive.”
A group of people crossed in front of the two blocking her stare. Emily recognized them as the group that had taken their table. One of the men turned his head as they passed and looked pointedly at her chest. Emily crossed her arms self-consciously while looking away quickly.
“I don’t know,” she said to Maya. “Maybe we should see if Alex and Jake want to go.”
Maya rolled her eyes and pulled her cellphone out of her pocket. She quickly sent a text to Jake. She raised her phone and snapped a photo of the building with the werewolves. After clicking send she received an immediate reply. She smiled and clicked her phone off.
“All set,” she said, slipping her phone in her pocket. “They’re just about to board the ride and will meet us after.”
Emily looked at the building and saw another group of people pass them. There didn’t seem to be a line.
“Ok,” she said with a smile. “I want to see those statues up close.”
“Now we’re talking!”
As the two girls approached the building that housed the wax figure display, Emily couldn’t help but shiver. Though this time she wasn’t certain it was merely due to her clothing. The structure, weathered and worn, loomed ominously against the night sky. Its façade, adorned with faded Victorian era decorations, seemed to hold secrets all its own. The dim lighting helped aid to the spooky atmosphere.
As they stood just outside the doors, Emily stopped and looked up at the massive statues. Unlike what Maya had suggested, the closer they were, the more detailed and lifelike they appeared. She hesitated; her eyes drawn to the sky above the figures. Almost centered above the door hung the full moon. She remembered the first tarot card laid on the table. It held a similar image to what she was seeing now.
“The Moon,” she whispered, remembering the name of the card.
Maya looked up before slinging her arm through Emily’s. “I know, right? Perfect for New Year’s Eve!”
“No, that’s—” Emily started then stopped. She smiled instead and hurried to the entrance. She was being paranoid. Just like Maya had said, everything was a set up. Of course, the tarot card reading would be similar to this. The attractions were near each other and would draw people to the wax museum subliminally.
The entrance, framed by ornate iron gates that creaked open with a ghostly moan, revealed a dimly lit corridor. Emily and Maya looked around for a ticket-taker yet saw no one. Stepping further inside, the air grew colder. The scent of dust and aged wax permeated the air, enveloping them like a shroud. A flickering lantern overhead cast sporadic shadows, making the path ahead more labyrinthine.
The first room they entered was a chamber of frozen nightmares. The wax figures, meticulously crafted to resemble creatures of folklore and myth, stood in eerie stillness. The room itself, dimly lit by flickering electric candles, held an unsettling atmosphere. Cobwebs clung to the corners, adding to the ambience.
As they approached the centerpiece of the display, Emily and Maya found themselves face-to-face with a central werewolf statue. This one larger than the two flanking the doors outside. The wax creature, hyper-realistic in detail, sat on a throne, its clawed hands resting on the arms as though it prepared to stand. Its head hung low, yet its eyes met those of Emily and Maya and burned with an intensity that gave it life.
As they stood on the opposite side of the roped off area, it appeared to breathe in a slow, deliberate rhythm giving the illusion of life in the dim light. The effect was both mesmerizing and deeply unsettling, as though the boundary between the living and the waxen afterlife had blurred within that space.
Around the werewolf, an array of other creatures lurked in frozen poses—gnarled witches with twisted wands, winged harpies with eyes that seemed to follow the visitors, and mythical beasts frozen mid-roar. The room exuded a strange energy, as if the creatures were trapped in a spectral dance that transcended time.
As Emily and Maya explored further, the atmosphere thickened with a sense of impending doom. The eyes of the wax figures seemed to bore into their souls, and the air resonated with whispered echoes of forgotten tales. The flickering lanterns cast long, undulating shadows that played tricks on their eyes, creating an unsettling sense that the waxen creatures might come to life when least expected.
Maya’s phone rang, the sound causing both of the girls to screech and jump at the sound. Laughing at their overreaction, Maya answered the call. As they walked hurriedly toward the exit, Emily looked over her shoulder. She couldn't shake the feeling that the wax figures were watching them, waiting for the moment when they would come to life.
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