━━ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍!
❪ the whispering statues ❫

⋆        𝗩𝗔𝗡𝗬𝗔 𝗛𝗔𝗗 𝗟𝗢𝗦𝗧 her best friend, was a part of her life for a long time. She didn't think she would watch Eleanor die, their hopes of growing old together thrown out. When Eleanor's eyes started to close, Vanya knew she had lost her. Her hands started to shake as she rested Eleanor gently on the patio, her blood seeming out of her stomach. Ivan didn't know what to do; Eleanor was one of his new━found friend, and he trusted her, but he knew that Sedona would have never lived. Eleanor died a hero.

On the other hand, Sedona was shaking, and both Abby and William attempted to comfort her, holding their warm hands against her shivering body. She couldn't speak out of shock; her voice was suddenly lost, trapped in the pits of her stomach.

"What should we do━" Abby whispered, but Vanya shook her head, making Abby pause. She stood up slowly from the ground, scrapping her knees slightly on the concrete.

"It's best to leave. Let's move away from here so we can recover. We need to catch our breath and time to come down," Vanya said softly. Ivan looked over at her, wondering what her thoughts were. The group followed Vanya, afraid to challenge her thoughts, knowing that she would never leave if she stayed to mourn over Eleanor.

William wasn't sure where they were, but he knew that Vanya would take them somewhere safe. He craved a moment of uncertainty because, with the amount of running, his leg was begging for rest. Ivan, on the other hand, was battling with himself. He knew that there were many things that he should have done, the constant regrets biting him. He should have given his challenge to Sedona so that he could face death instead of her.

Abby and Sedona were walking together, with Abby holding Sedona by the shoulders as she helped her walk on the stones. Sedona didn't say a word, but Abby knew that the scream buried in her throat was wanting to be released. Sedona's glares to the sky were enough to tell the story, and all Abby could do was support her.

Vanya's mind was racing back and forth, unsure what to say. She knew she shouldn't have left Eleanor behind, her body left out in the cold, but it wouldn't be fair for the others who were left behind. But, god, it was biting her heart already; she couldn't bear the thought of the crows feasting on her dead friend's body. They all spotted a light coming from afar as she took another turn. William was hesitant, but Vanya insisted on it as she continued walking towards it.

William was at the back of the pack as he wanted to ensure he was the first to spot danger. He wanted to step up to the role that he was supposed to be, but it was starting to fall apart. He wasn't strong enough to keep going, barely holding onto the hinges of what was left of his sanity. Ivan dropped behind, falling into William's pace as he walked beside him.

"Do you think where we are going is a bad idea?" Ivan said, and William stayed quiet momentarily before nodding slowly, their feet walking through the tallgrass. It started to sting their legs, but the boys ignored it as the pain was easy to come to them ━ it was bad enough that they were beginning to get used to it.

"I'm not doubting Vanya; however, I've never been in this area before," William spoke quietly as he looked around cautiously. "I'm afraid I am clueless," William continued, his voice dropping into a whisper; his eyes teared up, but he blinked them away quickly. William felt like he was admitting defeat. He didn't know why, but he didn't want to prove that he was a coward.

"Will, not everyone knows everything. It's important to know where your knowledge lies and where it doesn't. It doesn't make you less of a person but more of a human. We all make mistakes," Ivan said as he looked at William. William sighed, processing his words, knowing that he meant the words not in a harsh way. He knew that Ivan was right; he was always right, and William was glad that he was by his side during these dark times.

"Thank you, Ivan, that means a lot," William said as he looked into Ivan's eyes. Ivan subtly nodded, before continuing to walk to where Vanya was leading them to ━ appearing in the far distance as what seemed to be a greenhouse.

━━━━━━

⋆        𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗡𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗦𝗘 𝗪𝗔𝗦𝗡'𝗧 what they expected, looking at it from afar. It was falling apart from up close, with broken windows and overgrown vines attempting to escape. Shards lay on the ground, forcing them to be cautious of where they stepped. Although the size of the greenhouse was more prominent than a one━story house, there were more opportunities for them to hide in easily. If they needed to hide. When you glanced up to the sky, the starry nights appeared through the cracks of the glass ceiling, roots sprouting from the ground upwards. The greenhouse was in disrepair, but it was better inside than where the monsters were in the manor.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Abby questioned as Vanya shrugged her shoulders. As much as she wanted to lie and say this place would keep them safe, it wasn't honest. She looked around, glancing through trees and broken windows, attempting to see if anyone was approaching the group that posed a threat. Seeing as no one was near, she stepped inside the greenhouse. Sedona sighed, regaining her strength as she and Abby walked together, still intertwined. Ivan helped William walk over the cracked stones as they appeared slippery, limiting his leg's injuries.

The group looked around in awe. In further investigation, the greenhouse was more beautiful on the inside, with marble statues around the greenhouse, and the sound of water could be softly heard, seeing the fountain in the middle. Weeds were growing through the cracked stones, some sprouting flowers. Ivan tilted his head, seeing more of the statues around, and a shiver went down his spine; glancing away from the statues. Something about this place didn't seem right, and Ivan wanted nothing more but to leave this greenhouse immediately.

"There's a bench over there, near the fountain; let's rest up and check for injuries," Vanya said as Ivan nodded softly, leading the group towards where the moonlight shone on the most, where the stone bench rested next to the central fountain.

Sedona sat down first, groaning as she reached for her ribs. Abby immediately reached out to her, worrying that it was fractured, but she didn't want to spring to immediate conclusions. Instead, Abby sat by her side, her tired arms falling at her side, letting her head rest onto Sedona's shoulders. Vanya stood alone, her hands on the fountain's cold marbles, watching the water rippling. She wanted to be free from the clutches of the house, but she knew it wasn't enough to be truly free. So, instead of succumbing to her thoughts, she looked at the statues in silence, ignoring the sensation of being watched. William and Ivan decided to explore the trim area; William was curious to see what this area was hiding, while Ivan was looking for any source of danger.

William headed towards one of the statues ━ an angel━like statue with its hands covering the face. Before he could look at it closer, a twig snapped behind him, causing him to turn around, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. His heart rate quickened before noticing that no one was there. Sighing in relief, he turned back, only to see that the statue in front of him had changed position and now was holding a walking stick. He was confused, glancing down at its engravement, his eyes widening before looking back at the statue. He cocked his head to the side, hobbling backwards to get a more straightforward look at the statue that was now a man instead of an angel.

"Hey, Ivan?"

"Yeah?" Ivan said as William gestured for him to stand next to him. Ivan wasn't sure what William was inquiring about, looking at this statue confused. He stood by his side, seeing the statue. His eyes squinted at first before slowly turning his head towards William, experiencing the same confusion as William. "It's... It's your father?"

"Why is he in this greenhouse?" William spoke before pointing towards the engravement, continuing in a hushed tone. "Look at this; it says his death date. Last time I checked, today was the day he died, so how did this get made in time ━ is this... This house did this; it wants us to be confused and left vulnerable," William said as he sighed, grazing his hand on the stone platform, hesitating to let his palm touch the surface. Ivan noticed this and placed a hand on his shoulder from behind.

"You are nothing like your father, Will. Right now, you have a chance to take the legacy he built and make it yours instead," Ivan whispered, feeling William's body shudder before pausing and straightening his back.

William swallowed his fear, looking back at the statue into his father's eyes. They are the same as when he grew up ━ cold. William reached over to the walking stick and pried it from the statue's hands. It took a bit of strength, but William didn't slow down as he broke the stick out. His shoulder stung with old injuries, but he ignored it as he placed the walking stick in his hand, feeling the familiar weight. He placed it on the ground, feeling the weight taken off his bad knee and at ease. "That's better... Do you reckon we should look around at these statues? If they are as weird as this, I can't imagine what's on the other engravements."

"There was one over there that got my attention," Ivan said as he pointed to the nearby statue. William gave a nod, following Ivan as he took the lead. He took a glance at the group who were gaining their rest, and he felt a pain in his heart. They were getting smaller with every challenge, and he didn't want to watch any of them die anymore. His thoughts were fighting with himself, and the moralities that he once had were no more. William understood why he was the sheep in a pack of wolves now. The house has changed him in ways that couldn't be explained.

When Ivan stopped before the statue, William tilted his head upwards. It was a similar angel statue to what William had noticed first, but some features differed. It appeared younger, almost realistic━like, with an apron around its waist. Despite the young features, the statue has aged centuries, with stone grains throughout its statue and the imperfections of cracks and vines wrapping around the limbs. William reached out, moving the vines that were covering the aged plague. When the name Rosalie Bordeaux appeared, William snapped his head towards Ivan, eyes wide.

"What the fuck is this?"

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say that the statues are our dead friends," Ivan scoffed and inhaled deeply before grabbing the vines that surrounded the statue, but they weren't budging. "There's a statue on the fountain; I don't recognise it," Ivan said as he slowly walked towards it, feeling enchanted by the statue. William watched Ivan, sensing the bewitching feeling around him, and he followed close behind, unsure if he was to follow or not.

"It's a woman━"

"Yeah, but who, exactly? She... She doesn't look like any of our friends."

"The Black Sorceress..." William said, gasping softly as he looked at the statue, the information becoming clearer. He couldn't look into her eyes, feeling goosebumps all over his arms. He looked at Ivan, sensing the same feeling he felt deep down: wrath. William looked at the statue and couldn't help the destruction he felt, wanting to destroy this statue with his own hands. The group who were previously sitting down listened to their conversation, and Vanya raised her eyebrow, looking at the statue. She had been leaning against the fountain the whole time, not realising the feeling that was fuelled by guilt was caused by it.

"These other statues... There are too many of them," Vanya spoke softly as she finally glanced around the greenhouse, prompting Abby and Sedona to stand by from the bench, separating to look at the statues nearby. Abby got close to one, and upon close inspection, she noticed the familiar way the hair fell on the shoulders of the statue, with a telescope hanging on the belt loops. When her head tilted down towards the plague, she screamed, taking a few steps back as she hugged herself. The group rushed over to her, Sedona being the first one by her side.

"What the fuck happened? Are you okay?"

"I just━ I... Look at the plague," Abby whispered as her hand tremored, pointing towards the plague. Sedona slowly leaned forth, her fingers running over the carved stone plague. Her brain froze, stuttering out words that formed no sentences. She looked to the others, hoping they understood this more than she did. The others didn't lean forth, not wanting to know what knowledge she had gained, and yet, Abby was the first to break the silence. "Didn't Eleanor just die?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Vanya said as she stepped towards the plague, Sedona moving aside for her, even if she knew she should have held her back instead. But Sedona understood that Vanya needed closure (even if it meant breaking her heart again).

"What if this... Predicts our death, I mean, that has to make sense, right?" Abby said quietly, rambling as to try to find answers.

"But it wouldn't make sense. The stone has to be set in place, and these statues look like they have been here for years," Ivan responded quickly.

William shook his head, limping forward with the help of his new cane. "This is all fucking bizarre, but we need it to take into account that this manor was recently built, so everything here should be new. We... And I think it's plausible, could expand our time travel theories."

"Time travel? I mean... I would have disagreed with you yesterday, but I can't tonight... It makes sense," Sedona spoke as the others were quiet, trying to take in the information.

"So far, this place hasn't posed a threat; I think we can rest just a little while longer," Vanya said as she crossed her arms, looking back at the statues again, feeling the sensation of being watched once again, but this time it was less subtle. She glanced around, seeing all the statues in place, but she couldn't help but think that some of them had already moved closer to her. As she had said earlier, there seemed to be too many of them here. Ivan had already made his way to the bench to rest, wanting to take a moment to catch his breath from his fight with Claira earlier, his hands aching ━ not wanting to showcase his pain, being the weak one. Because when you are weak, it's a dangerous game.

━━━━━━

⋆        𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗨𝗧𝗘𝗦 𝗣𝗔𝗦𝗧, 𝗕𝗨𝗧 it seemed like hours.

William started at the fountain, unsure of why this statue so enchanted him after seeing Ivan go through the same process as well. His first thought was that it was his enemy, someone he should be afraid of, but at the same time, it reminded him too much of his mother. As he closed his eyes to rest for a moment, he could hear continuous tapping against a stone surface. William opened them, thinking it was just one of the others investigating something, but then his ears perked on the left, hearing different tapping in that direction.

William slowly stood up, grabbing his walking stick and a tight grip around the handle as he turned towards the direction of the sound and walked slowly. Ivan caught onto this, looked towards where William was walking, and joined him by his side. The girls stayed back at the fountain, cautious to see what they were doing as they watched.

"What did you see?" Ivan said as William was quiet for a moment, standing in one spot as he looked forth, trying to pinpoint where the source of the tapping was. He strained his ears so that he could hear, staring in the dark, thinking that something was nestled in there that called it home.

"I heard something━" William started to speak but paused immediately as he noticed the wind was picking up and the vines were moving. He stepped back cautiously, wanting to get a better comprehensive view. Ivan turned his head towards the group, who were hugging each other in a protectiveness sense. He looked at the vines, noticing the subtle movements, but instead, he was confused.

"Will?" Ivan said as William turned around, seeing Ivan pointing towards the statue of Rosalie, trying to understand what he was talking about. "Wasn't it by the pillars? Those pillars over there?" Ivan whispered, and William took a sharp breath, realising that the statue had moved. He looked at the others and noticed that some were facing other directions, some covering their faces.

Sedona noticed their faces changed from confusion to fear, and she looked around, seeing what caught their eye. When she realised that the Eleanor statue had moved positions, now facing the group, holding the telescope instead. "They moved, didn't they?"

"Just like weeping angels..." Abby said as she stood up, grabbing a broken stick on the ground, wanting to protect herself somewhat. "What's their motive?"

"I'm not sure; they seem to be looking at us but not moving any closer," Ivan said as he walked to the group again before turning to William, noticing that he didn't follow him back. Instead, William walked towards his father's statue. He was desperate to notice any changes in his figure, any attempt to defeat him himself.

It wasn't even two steps closer to the statue where glass shattered above his head, and he dunked to the ground, covering his head from the glass. The greenhouse lamps that hung over them started to flicker as darkness slowly took over the greenhouse. Fear was an old friend, but it had found its home in everyone's bodies by now. William looked up at the ceilings, seeing the cracks caused by what seemed to be a rock that landed nearby William. Confused, he turned his head towards it, only to see one of the statues in its position.

William yelped out, landing on his bottom as he crawled back, surprised to see the statue. Instead of the cold eyes he had seen in these statues, it was familiar ━ that they were warm. They were kind. They were Samuel's.

"Stay away from the statues; they're moving towards us!" Vanya yelled out, and William was brought back to earth as he turned his head towards the group, noticing more statues surrounding his friends. He could sense that there was no more light peering through the cracks of the greenhouse but darkness.

William quickly stood up, taking a couple of stumbles towards the group before succumbing to the fall onto the concrete. He groaned, landing hard on his stomach. Before he could make a move, he felt a brutal hand force grab him by his legs. His face made contact with the ground, blood rushing out of his mouth as William grabbed the roots of the ground, trying to fight back.

Seeing as the distance between them wasn't large, Ivan quickly got to him and got down to the ground, grabbing William's hand. However, the blood that stained his palms made it tough to get a good grip, so he called out to the others to help. They rushed over to grab hold of William, with Sedona being the brave one to grab hold of William's shoulders.

It was hard to see what was hurting William, but then he felt the grip around William's legs tighten, confirming his suspicions that the vines were the culprit. The pain was agonising, and William couldn't help but bite his tongue from screaming out. The copper taste lining his mouth was enough for William to know he was losing. William tried one more try as he grabbed another crack in the ground.

"Quick! Grab something to break the vines!" Ivan yelled out, and Abby ran towards the vines, attempting to pull them off William.

However, a second set of vines grabbed Abby, quickly dragging her away from the group. She screamed out as she frantically tried to grab something to hold on to. Sedona turned to Vanya with fear, and she quickly understood as she got up and ran towards Abby. The vines were malicious and restrained one of Abby's legs and her wrist, making her immobile.

"Hold on, Abby!" Vanya said as she grabbed Abby's arm, careful to ensure she didn't get taken by the vines, too.

She noticed one of the broken glass shards, and she gripped it and made haste to slash away the vines wrapping around Abby's left arm. Luckily, they started to tear away, and Abby's arm was freed. Vanya turned to do the leg portion, letting her body control her mind. It was physical, and her body ached, but she wasn't letting another friend die already.

Vanya helped Abby up, and Abby hastily hugged her before pointing towards the Black Sorceress' statue. "Her staff is sharp; we can use it on William's vines; they're too thick for a glass shard!"

"Hurry guys! We're losing here!" Ivan shouted, placing one of his legs in between stones so that he could have more strength holding onto William. Sedona did the same on the opposite side, gripping William's shoulders. However, she could feel herself losing her grip.

Abby jumped onto the bench and started to pull on the staff with the help of Vanya, who pulled from the bottom. Her muscles ached as she strained herself, but she put aside the pain. The two girls pulled as the staff started to break from the stone platform. They did one final big tug as the staff broke, making Abby nearly stumble off the bench. Vanya reached up to stabilise her as she helped her down.

Abby ran with the staff in hand towards William and raised it above her head, smashing it down onto the vines like a machete. Abby could feel rage coursing through her blood, and she channelled it by destroying the vines individually. Stone pieces were flying everywhere off the staff piece, but the vines were starting to loosen.

William strained one more time as Ivan pulled him close to him, sweat dripping down his forehead. Vanya joined Abby's side as she reached down to the vines, ripping them apart with her bare hands, not worried about the consequences. One by one, the vines started to die and wither around William's legs, and then the vines slithered away back into the darkness, and William was freed.

William groaned as Ivan helped sit him up, but the pain was forever remembered as he looked down at his legs, seeing one was scarred with the vines while the other, which had been brutally damaged throughout the night, was essentially giving out. The blood leaked from the old bandages, and fresh cuts were torn at the skin.

"Come on! We have to get out of here!" Vanya said as she pointed to the vines creeping up the walls, some moving towards the group as they rebuilt themselves. The statues were also starting to move towards the group, and the group weren't waiting around to see if they were friendly despite never having attacked them. It was almost as if they were only inflicting paranoia.

Ivan placed his hands under William's arms, helping him reach his feet. William groaned as he couldn't stand, probably, his knees bending, but he bit his lip as he took deep breaths, ready to move regardless. Abby bent down and grabbed William's cane for him as the group approached the entrance, not knowing where to go next.

The house wasn't finished toying with them ━ wanting vengeance.

𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐒!
✶ omg!! a 2024 update!! our first one at that too!! i am so, so proud of this chapter, and i honestly really hope y'all enjoy this one, because there has been some major changes in this chapter. i wanted to revisit the idea of the statues and weeping angels, and use it in a form of paranoia instead of violence! we are back to writing this book again, and i am looking to finish it soon, as i've been planning behind the scenes for the next book :)) and folks, our chapter update is now at FOUR MORE CHAPTERS!!

𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗞𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚!