THE

WORLD

IS

CHANGING
Since the Godfall, the world changed. The world learned that their Gods and Monsters
weren't fiction, and they were told they'd have to find a way to live with them.

Seagarden, a metropolis north to Roselake, was the monster capital; almost half the
population of the town were vampires, werewolves, witches, Gods and demons. The
college was even discussing if it would accept to enroll ghosts next semester.

They were strange times for everyone, and while some did their best to accept the new
kinds to their communities, some groups had other opinions. Hate groups against
demons, robots and magic formed quickly, spreading the word that monsters must die.

Roselake didn't change much, but it was a better place than it was then. Sekki took the
lead of the Sepherd family for a year or two and donated a lot of money to the city.

Scylla Sepherd, a cousin of the Roselake family, freed Sekki of her functions and took
the reins, doing her best to make the town a better place as Mayor, cleaning the
streets of drugs, crime and prostitution. Her wealth and leadership turned the city
around and, for once, Roselake was a place people would actually want to live in.
WE

ARE

STILL

HERE
 OCTOBER 2018

mystery of the wax house

 “Are you scared? Do you want go back?”

“Fuck you, let’s go.”

It was really dark in here. I mean, I knew it was going to be dark but, being actually here,
like, it’s totally not what I thought it would be. Theo tore the planks that boarded the
window; I think the mayor covered the museum shut after the other girls disappeared
back in September. They say the place’s haunted or something and, like, I mean, sure
there’re vampires in my class but, come on, ghosts? That’s stupid, for real.

“What are we even doing here?”,

I shoot.

“Trying to pussy out, Katie?”,

Eva replies.

I grunt. I’m not scared, okay? This is just stupid Eva trying to look cool or something. She’s
the one who thought it would be cool to break into this dirty museum at night. I know
what she’s doing, she’s just trying to impress Theodore and make me look bad. She knows
I don’t like horror films. Not that they scare me, they’re just stupid, that’s it.

Evangeline stops, as if she hit an invisible wall. She stays still; she looks worried.

“Wait, did you guys hear that?”

Ha! Who’s the pussy now, bitch?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”,

I reply.

“Theodore, was that you? Please, it’s not funny!”,

she spurts in a whisper.

“I swear I didn’t do anything, but I didn’t hear nothing either.”,

he speaks nonchalantly.

“I think there’s someone else here.”,

she continues.

“Ghosts?”,
I almost squirm.

“Nah, don’t worry girls, it’s probably some other kids trying to mess with us.”
 “Sorry, Theo”, Eva barks, “but we can’t all turn into some Mexican werewolf if we get
murdered.”

Theo stops abruptly and spins towards Eva. That’s the worst possible thing she could’ve
said, she realizes it but tries to play it cool. Theo clenches his fist, and almost shouts:

“Wendigos are Native American, not Mexican, you piece of shit.”

“Tomayto, Tomahto”,
she shrugs.

It seems he’s going to punch her for a second, but his face twitches from hate to
disappointment. He exhales, turns his back to her and continues walking forward.

“Wow, you’re so racist.”

Creaks.

“Guys, shh! Do you hear that?”

Shit, now I sound like a scared baby.

“What—what is it?”,
Eva’s back to trembling. Now we’re two babies.

We listen.

Thump. Thump. Creeeeaaak.

Someone’s in the next room, definitely. We all look at each other, even Theo isn’t
laughing anymore. We all think the same thing, we’ve all seen Texas Chainsaw Massacre
and we’re all confident about what is the right thing to do.

“You know what, girls? What about we leave? This place sucks.”

“S-Sure, Theo. Let’s get the hell out of here.”,

I agree.

We all slowly walk our way out of the room, as if whatever was in the next room would
forget we’re here if we were quiet enough. We tiptoe our way through, walking back to
where we came in. We came in through the bathroom window, and it’s still not too far
away. We’re almost there, the exit is right there, behind that door. Theo puts his hand
over the handle; we’re out of there, bitches.

But, wait…

Who closed the door?

BANG!
Me and Evangeline found out firsthand that a human head is a lot like a watermelon,
when it’s shot through, I mean. We both look like we had a paint race but instead of
throwing paint at us they threw little bits of brains and shards of skulls at us.

The door slams open in a kick. Some freak in a cowboy hat bursts into the room, a smoking
gun in hand. He’s smirking, like some god damn cartoon character who defeated the
big bad outlaw of the west in a one-on-one duel, or some kid showing off his brand-new
Halloween costume.

“Y’all see me sorry, son, bu’ y’shape was all wrong. Couldn’t work with tha’, see, tha’
dog jus’ won’t hunt, as we say, ain’et?”

He stepped into the room, shaking his head, but he brightened when he saw us. We were
frozen in place, still trying to process what the fuck just happened. He stared at us,
excited.

“Then, any of ya two li’l darlin’s will be jus’ perfect.”

He’s standing still, but we don’t even need to know what the hell is going on because
the same thought passes through our heads: we must get the fuck out of here.

Since the freak is blocking the door, we can’t reach the exit, so we pick our doors and
run as far as we could. I immediately lose Eva, but right now I have to think about myself:
this bitch can figure something out on her own.

Right now, I really wish I’ve taken a look at a floor map so I could know where the damn
exit is, but then, even if I did, I’m pretty sure it’s locked from the outside. I’ll have to sneak
pass that cowboy and leave by the same way I came in, but for now I’ll have to hide
behind this platform. It seems I’m in the main room of the museum, it looks like there was
a lot of mannequins here, most of it is gone. They all miss limbs, most of them don’t even
have a head. There are a lot of stuff in here, or there used to be, at least. I imagine a
couple of clothes and items used to be in those glass displays before someone smashed
them. I imagine the guy in the cowboy costumed is the one who looted the place.

“Psst.”

I jump.

Who was that?

“Little lady, over here. I’m not going to hurt you.”,

a stranger whispered.
I look over my shoulder: it’s one of the mannequins, talking to me. Am I going insane? I
feel like I’m turning insane. I mean robots are a thing now, so is he some advanced
animatronic? He holds his hand toward me, I grab it to stand myself up. His hand is hard,
like plastic. Or, rather, wax…

Oh, I get it now. Wax statues. Wait, what?

“My name is Rudolph, but you must stay quiet. If he hears you… we’ll be in big trouble.”

“Do you know how I can leave? I need to find an exit.”

No time to stay quiet, I have to hurry myself out of here.

“Didn’t you come here with a friend?”

“That bitch can figure an exit herself.”

Sorry not sorry.

“Oh, uh, okay then… Let’s just… wait here a bit, okay? He’s looking for you right now,
it’s safer here…”

I don’t like it, but I nod; I think he knows what he’s doing better than me. I can wait here
a bit, don’t have much of a choice anyway. So, I am not in a “mannequin room”, those
were all wax statues. I look closely at those statues, or what remains of them, and it’s
clearer now; it’s as if someone melted their limbs off. I look over at Rudolph, was that
what he was afraid off? Poor guy.

He notices my looking around the room, he sighs.

“Jethro he… he’s not himself these days… that’s why you shouldn’t have come here.
Haven’t you heard about the girls who disappeared here?”

“Yeah but… we thought it was some freaky bullshit or something…”

“Oh.”
He looks away, his face is hard to read, but it’s posted somewhere between confusion
and disgust. I’m ashamed, so I try to change the subject.

“Why didn’t he do to you what he did to the others?”

I look around the room, Rudolph is clearly the only statue completely intact.

“Well, uh… I don’t know… but when he’ll run out of wax, I suppose…”

I feel bad for the man, that must be terrifying for him. It’d be like being a slice of swiss
cheese and looking at a fondue.

Bad analogy.

We waited for a good ten minutes, silently. My heart is racing the entire time, but if I’m
hearing correctly, it seems the cowboy is further in the museum. That means I’m clear for
exit, but maybe that statue knows a better way out.

“Listen, sir, I think now’s a good time to get out. Do you know where’s the nearest exit?”

“No, no… wait a bit more, it’s dangerous…”

“No, it’s now or never, if you can’t help me, I’ll figure something myself.”

I stand up and try to walk away, but he grabs my wrist aggressively.

“Ouch—what the hell are you doing??”

“S-Sorry! But you cannot leave, not now… Not now…”

“You’re being weird, let me go!”

“N-No!”

His grasp tightens. Something’s wrong.

 “Let me go!”

I’m not even whispering anymore, the cowboy creep definitely heard me. I need to
leave, but this fucking guy won’t let me go. I try to struggle out of his arm, but he raises
the other. I see tears running up to his eyes, he’s shaking from head to toe. Oh shit.

Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit.

“Y-You don’t have to do this, Rudolph! P-Please, just let me go!”

I wish I didn’t sound so desperate but I am. I’m panicking. I’m so scared. I’m so scared.

“I can’t—I have to, or else he’ll do to me what he did to…”

He stops, shuts his eyes.

“Lloyd.”,
his voice trembles.

He looks over my shoulder, I turn my head and follow his glare. He’s staring at a small
platform. It’s almost completely empty, except for the feet, standing as the ghost of what
used to be there.

“I’m very sorry, I’m sure you are a very sweet girl.”
It takes a while, but I eventually wake up. That wax guy really knocked me out good. I’m
tied up. I look around me, it’s dark but a few candles light up the room. I look like I’m
sitting at a dining table. There are a few other people around me. I see a lot of others,
girls and boys, their face burnt beyond recognition. Dead.

Fuck.

This place look like a reconstruction of an old timey house, it’s probably further in the
museum. The cowboy’s in the room, he has probably been for a while now, I just haven’t
noticed him. As soon as he sees me looking around, he approaches me, smiling. I’m still
dazed but I can tell he looks delighted.

“There y’are, darlin’. I’s afraid Rudolph knocked ya out for good…”

He approaches his face towards mine to examine my it. He’s so close I can feel his breath.

“Yes, yes… See, I didn’ think I’d hafta git you, y’friend here was lookin’ pretty perfect
bu’, well, did ya know she’d be one of those— ah wha’s tha’ word, uh— wizards? Yes,
an’a feisty one at tha’. Almost blew ma face off, but y’know wha’s the wizard’s
weakness? Tha gun.”

He laughs at his own joke, a bit too much. I look over at Evangeline; her face was shot
at so much it’s now beyond recognizable, I wouldn’t even have known it was her if it
wasn’t for her slutty summer dress.

What a slut.

“Do y’sing, darlin’?”

What?

I don’t know how to answer, I only stare at him blankly. He slams his fist on the table. I
jump.

“Are ya jus' plain battered in y'upstairs department? Ya partner over there, asked her
tha same thing but she ain’t was singing as much as she was caterwaulin’. Let’s hope
y’do better, aight? I ask again: y’sing?”
 “Y-yes!”,
I say, startled.

“Good, then. Sing lil’ darlin’, sing.”

He’s looking straight at me, and every ounce of my brain is telling me not to do what he
wants me to do, to not give him the satisfaction, but a little gleam of hope in me believes
he might let me go if I do, so I open my mouth and I hold a note. I don’t know if that’s
enough, but he looks pleased.

“Good, how a-bout words? Do y’know Home on the Range? One hell of a good song.”

I have no idea what he’s talking about. He pulls a guitar from under the table, scratch it
a few times to see if it’s tuned. The guitar looked past century; I’m impressed it still works.
He puts a foot on the table and clears his throat.

“Just sing afta’ me, ‘kay?”

♫Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam.

Where the deer and the antelope play♫

Without thinking, I repeat.

“Good! Good!”,
he continues.

♫Where seldom is heard a discouraging word

And the skies are not cloudy all day♫

Once more.

He claps like a child who just saw a puppet show. I am so confused. He wipes a tear.

“Just like the ol’ times, ain’et? You’re goin’ t’be swell!”

He walks to a stove where a pot is boiling. He stirs it a few times and picks it up with a
ladle before dropping the liquid back in the pot. I can see what it is now: wax. Boiling hot
wax.

“Y’all look a lot like her, y’know? But ya nose ain’t quite it, nah. At least y’all’s eyes are
the good ones, tha’s something I wouldn’ know how t’change.”
He puts the pot on a chariot and pulls it toward me, a ladle in hand. He continues;

“I’ve tried makin’ a statue of her much like I am, I thought tha’ if I modeled my family,
they’d come back t’me. Figure I was missin’ a lil’ somethin’; magic. Tha’s why I had to
switch for tha more… lively canvas.”

I think I’m understanding what’s happening. I try to struggle out of my bonds, but that
cowboy really know show to tie a good knot. I’m powerless.

“The issue’s tha’ they ain’t last all tha’ long… Tha’s why I hafta keep makin’ ‘em. It’s tha
lot o’work, but for tha’ family, it’s worth it.”

He stirs the pot one last time before dripping in his ladle. I’m trembling so much I could
faint.

“I’ might hur’ at first, but after a couple minutes y’all face will be numb. Y’won’t feel a
thang. I think.”

He pours the first drops. It’s scalding hot. I scream at the top of my lungs, hoping someone
will hear me and pull me out of this nightmare. At every drop I’m hoping I’ll wake up, that
this is just a very fucked up dream and that my face isn’t really melting. It feels like it lasts
hours. Eventually my face does get numb, so does my whole body. I can’t feel a thing
anymore, I’m pulled into a trance as this wax creature molds me a new nose, new lips.
The wax is still dripping, I’m not even sure it looks like anything.

He finishes the look with a hat. I can barely see anything now, but I think I can figure out
a smile on his face, and few tears of joy down his cheeks.
“Welcome home, Annalise.”