The Diseased Heart

Chapter 8

I could feel in my instincts that the sun had now set, and the janitor's rolling cart was nowhere to be heard. I also couldn't smell any lingering people, so I carefully blinked and allowed my sight to return.

I yawned and stretched lightly, it had been a much less busy day today in the museum, and I had to assume the buzz of the new exhibit was wearing off. I really hoped so, because that might mean there would be fewer and fewer people here during the day, which would be great for my instincts.

I was just about to unlock the glass door and leave to see one of the exhibits I hadn't been to yet, when I suddenly heard muffled chattering and footsteps from just down the hall. Were there still people here?!

I quickly went back to my position, but remained looking around, my eyes being black helped with this, because no one could see my eyes moving unless they looked very closely and noticed my clouded pupils. I watched as three faint shadows stretched across the floor in the dim overhead lights, along with a flashlight beam.

I could hear them talking, they sounded like young kids, whispering as though they were doing something shady. Based on how you seem to have broken into a museum at night, you are indeed being shady. The group was arguing among themselves, as one wanted to leave, while another said everything would be fine.

Before much longer, the three kids walked in. I had fully expected this as their voiced grew louder over the past few minutes. The flashlight was covered with fabric around the top, both spreading out the light more and dimming it. One girl there was familiar for some reason, I had to assume she was a regular during the day and I had seen her without realizing. The other two I didn't recognize.

They all scampered around the room, looking things over as if it being nighttime would transform the items in the cases. The boy was closest, he had dark brown hair which was pulled back into a short ponytail, and looked around my age. The jacket he was wearing had a logo I didn't recognize, but it looked like some sort of school club to me. He scanned the flashlight around the walls, an uneasy look on his face, "This place is creepy enough during the day, I didn't know it was even possible for it to get worse."

One girl chuckled from where she stared at the Crawler skull. Her hair was a pale brown and came to about the center of her back, with a few bleached streaks. She turned around, and I was able to see that she wore glasses, and alsp looked about the same age as myself, "Well, Crawlers are nocturnal, right? Maybe the spirit of it in the room is making you scared or something, I mean you're the closest one to it."

The boy nodded, "I guess," his tone suggested he knew she was half joking. He moved the flashlight from the adjacent wall to illuminate myself, and I held back a growl of pain at the light, it was painful enough I had to resist the urge to squint. They all seemed to be watching me, as if I would jump at them at any moment.

The three came closer, and the boy saw the latch on the glass door, which I only now realized I forgot to lock again, "Hey, this opens!"

The girls watched as he slid the door open and climbed in beside me. Shit.

The familiar girl spoke up, now she was closer I could see her better. She had short black hair and faded freckles, she was wearing a color block style hoodie. There wasn't anything about her that stood out to me as to why she would be familiar and not the other two, other than she looked slightly younger. "I really don't think that's a good idea, that thing is like three hundred years old, what if you break something? We already shouldn't be here, if something happens my dad will kill you."

"I doubt it's that fragile, Olive. It's just a statue, you really think it's a real Crawler? It's gotta be a mannequin or something."

"Well yeah, of course it's real. They could never make a replica that good and detailed. Get out before she eats you, Jack."

He shrugged his shoulders, "People can do anything if they try hard enough with replicas, and besides, you said yourself that your dad gave you a key so you could come here whenever, so what's the issue?"

Olive crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, "Jack. I said he gave me a key incase I forgot something here so I could grab it. We aren't supposed be be here at night, and definitely should not be walking into cases!"

They couldn't tell, but I was watching their every move as he came closer with the light. He looked at the girls before grabbing my forearm. I kept myself rigid as to not give any hints, but he was pushing his limits. He seemed smug at first, but yanked his arm back quickly with a shocked expression.

The girl who I had not yet gotten the name of stepped forward, "Are you okay? What happened?"

He nodded, looking back up at my face, "Yeah, just...I didn't expect them to feel real...like, they're warm. I'm pretty sure it's just from the air in this case being more humid than out there, but it's...it's creepy."

Olive paled, "It isn't that much more humid in there. Jack, I think-"

She was cut off, "What? That he just touched a real Crawler? Olive, it's either a mannequin or a dead body."

Gritting her teeth, Olive retorted, "I know that, Maple. I just meant...something's off, right?"

Jack hopped down and slid the case closed behind him. He and Maple were joking about me being alive, at Olive's expense. Saying that he was now cursed by my spirit and would be haunted. Olive seemed to be visibly trying to not show her frustration.

I decided to have some fun with these little rule breakers. Not to mention Maple and Jack seemed a bit like jerks.

When their backs were turned, I very slowly stretched out one Crawler leg and slid the door open carefully. They didn't notice as they left the room. This was my chance, so I hopped out and climbed up the wall, before quickly knocking over an empty stand, causing a loud thunk to echo around. I hid in the rafters, listening to their sudden frightened whispering.

They cautiously came back, the flashlight beam stretched across the floor to the toppled stand. Olive was visibly shocked, and Maple took the light and moved it to the now open, and empty, case I was standing in before. They all utterly freaked out.

Jack shakily moved the beam around the room, "Where...where did it go? Where the hell did it go?!"

Olive was looking around frantically too. I quickly bolted across the ceiling to where he had already checked with the light, causing him to whip the light to where I just was at the loud creak, before looking around with it again, now more on edge.

"Ohh my God Jack you really did awaken some sort of spirit or ghost! You woke up the zombie Crawler!"

"Sh-Shut up, Maple!"

"I told you two it was real!"

I chuckled, letting the ominous gargly sound echo to them. The light now moved around the room again, with Jack growing more anxious every second. Olive looked around the ceiling, "Where are you?"

The way she said it seemed like she was asking the question more to herself than to me, like you may ask a fly in your house as you try to swat it. It made me realize she was hardly afraid. Uneasy and ready to bolt, yes, but she wasn't afraid of me. Maybe she actually believed the plaque?

I continued jumping around the rafters, staying out of sight while causing their fear to grow, I could smell it off them by this point. Maple ran from the room after she looked up and must have seen my silhouette, the other two quickly followed her lead. I jumped down and began following them from the ceiling. My goal wasn't to scare them completely, maybe give them a ghost story to tell, and get some of my own pent up boredom out in the process.

I chased them around the halls of the museum, they were running fast, but I was barely trying. They ran into a separate room and closed the door behind them. I chuckled and turned, hopping down to the floor and sitting with my back against the opposite wall, facing the door. Running and hiding? You guys didn't even actually see me yet, just heard some ghosty noises.

I slung my arm over my one knee and watched the door. They may be in there for a while.