The Chatty Statue and The Three Doors

Six hands were firmly placed on my back and I was shoved forward. The sky had a few stars but everywhere was pitch black and the only light that could be seen was that of the lamps in the cabin. Three boys egged me on, to walk off into the pitch black of the night, between the tree and into the cold.

"Jeremiah! I know you were weak but are you also a chicken?" Danielle said.

"I am not a chicken, but I can't see anything in the dead of night".

"You can't see anything, even at midday. Stop your complaining and get going ". Trevor said motioning me forward.

"And what if I don't".

"Then we tell everybody, that you came out here to play with yourself" Troy the leader said.

"You wouldn't!".

"Of course, he would "Danielle laughed.

"and we are here to confirm it" Trevor added.

"You will be the laughingstock for the rest of high school, probably your entire life".

"Fine, I am going!".

I wrapped my jacket closer to my body, my hands inside the pockets as I slowly made my way between the trees.

My Geography classmates and I were carried on a trip to the Blue Mountain to be able to read maps and check out the geographical landscapes as they were in real life and how they were represented on the maps. Honestly, it seemed more of a way for our teacher to go on a hike she always wanted to but could not afford. She was more excited about it than everyone else here.

The cold winds caressed my face and I shivered a little. The stars provided some illumination but not a lot, and before I knew it I was lost. I intended to just walk straight for a few minutes and then turn back. My mission was to search the woods for a fabled statue that is said to house some kind of power. It was just another Jamaican myth but my class bullies were determined to find it. As you can see they weren't up to the task themselves and so they sent me.

I am now walking around in the dark freezing my cheeks off searching for a fake idol. I continued walking hoping I would find my way back to the cabin but the longer I walked the more it seemed impossible. My arms and legs were becoming numb. They tell you that it's cold on the blue mountain but no one ever tells you how truly cold it is.

I was dressed in thick sweatpants, a sweater jacket, two pairs of socks, and thin gloves. This was not enough. It only took me tripping four times, walking off the edge five times, walking into a tree twice before I saw the glow of a light up ahead. I was so excited that I finally found the cabin that I started running.

I stubbed my toe three more times and a branch dug into my arm drawing blood but did I care? no. I was safe and I just wanted to be inside the cabin and warm. I ran faster and faster until I was almost out of breath. For a second it appeared as if no matter how fast I ran I could not reach the light.

Despair filled me and I was about to stop running. My eyes glanced around me and I saw that everything was blurred. I got scared, was I going to die, was I on the verge of passing out? Would I then die in the forest from the cold? I dug deep and slowed my pace but continued running.

When I finally arrived at the light I was shocked to see that it wasn't my cabin. What I saw was an open space surrounding my lanterns. Two large statues stood before me, carved to resemble the Tanios on our coat of arms. Statues of all sizes and shapes I could see standing beyond the pillars along with large masks hung on long torches.

I walked into the space.

"Hello! Is anyone here?" I said crawling deeper into the open space. Shockingly I could see but only a few feet in front of me but I could tell that nothing but the statues was in this place. No trees, no water, no cabins, no hill or mountain. It was completely flat.

"Hello! Anyone here" I called out again.

I walked for what felt like a few minutes before seeing a large broad statue standing before me.

"What the hell" I said as I slid my hand over it's smooth surface.

The statue was of a half-man, half-spider creature. I examined it carefully as I walked around it. The whole structure was made from wood and given such detail. The top half was of a muscular black man, with a thick beard, and the color of the wood I assumed was kept the same to represent his color as the bottom half was decorated in colorful paint. Yellow at the top and violet at the side. Four large black dots were found on either side.

"How long are you going to stare at me?". A voice said.

I jumped back. "What!! Who's there...Is that you Spiderman?".

"No. There is another statue with All mighty powers behind you".

I scoff but I peered from the corners of my eyes just in case.

"Where am I?".

"You are technically Everywhere, Nowhere, and Somewhere".

"Oh God, don't tell me you're about to only speak in riddles. That's like the worst kind of talking statue".

"I am not a statue, I am a being too powerful for your understanding, I am just currently immobile".

"So...A Statue".

"Do you want the powers I am about to gift you or not?.

"Powers, like Superpowers? Can you make me able to Fly".

"Why does everyone want to be able to fly, it's not that great, bugs fly into your mouth if you're not careful".

"Says the half Spiderman, wait, are you going turn me into Spiderman?".

"Maybe Power was a wrong choice of words, it would be what you call Magic today".

"Magic??... And what's the catch" I asked skeptically. " Nothing in this life is free".

"The price is not that steep, it will be minuscule compared to the level of Magic you will receive but before I can give you that power I have two questions. Answer correctly and the magic is yours to do as you please.

"Hold on let me think about this".

I turned my back. This is a little strange, isn't it? One, a statue in the middle of the forest is offering me magic powers. Two, He technically hasn't even told me what the catch is and Three, how sure am I that this isn't me making a deal with the devil for my soul?.

"He could be the devil in disguise in an attempt to get my soul" I screamed internally the words sinking in.

"Hey, Half Spiderman!".

"Accepting my proposal?".

"This isn't a ploy to take my soul is it?".

" I assure you not ".

"Neither is it to steal my body, you're giving me a very Orochimaru vibe and I don't like it".

"I don't want your body either".

Okay well, I might as well give it a try, it makes no sense to lose my non-existent hair over it when I don't know what the questions are.

"Okay, let's do this".

"Okay, Question One!" He said in a big dramatic way and the space around us changed into this old timely game show. I was behind a podium and the Spiderman had a microphone in his frozen hand pointed towards his mouth. Lights beamed down on us both and I could barely make out the empty seat for the audience but when the sign for applause started blinking I heard voices of persons cheering.

"If you were given All mighty power, how would you take revenge on your three bullies?".

"How do you know about them?".

Three doors rose to the right of me which bore the numbers 1, 2, and 3 on them. I stood there and thought of what I would do.

I thought about the questions carefully and imagined conjuring another me, badly bruised and beaten and on the verge of death, and have him walk out of the forest to fall dead right in front of them and then have the ghost rise from my body.

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, Door number one opened and my thoughts were projected inside. I saw the ghost shouting in a ghostly voice.

"You have caused my death and now I shall take my revenge".

Then flew towards the boys. They were scared that they couldn't move and I only saw their pants front begin to soak with pee. The site was so amusing that I couldn't help but laugh.

"Very interesting".

He didn't say anything else and he stood silent and I remembered that there were two other doors... Seems that this question came with a part B and C. I closed my eyes again and thought of another plan.

This time, I had my clone walk out of the forest perfectly fine, with a statue in his hand, very excited and clutching the statue, very proud of himself that he found what he was sent to find. Just as the thought began to form, Door number two started to open and my thoughts once again appeared in the door.

I saw my three classmates walk up to me and demand the statue but I wouldn't give it to them, so the two boys held me while the other ripped the statue from my hand. A fist connected with my stomach and I was released to fall to the floor clutching my stomach. A huge grin appeared on my face as the boys stood over me laughing.

"Thank God", that you are so predictable," I said coughing.

"What?!" they said in unison.

"The statue is cursed" I chuckled.

"You're lying, there is no way you would have taken up a cursed statue, you're a coward," Troy said.

"Well normally I wouldn't, but the statue said the only way to get rid of the curse is to have someone willingly take it and I knew if I refused to give it to you, you would just have to have it. They will be here for what is theirs, I hope you have fun being eaten alive.

The me that's watching it all unfold from the woods conjured some ghostly figures and beastly shadows and sent them running around the boys in the forest. Trees and bushes started to rustle and the boys jumped.

"They are here" the clone started to laugh.

" Troy started to shove the statue into Danielle's hands but he wouldn't take it and they all started to have a back-and-forth tussle of pushing the statue at each other.

The ghost appeared first, white and pale emerging from the forest, and then it was the shadow beast. They moved quickly and in no time they stood before the boys. Their pants front started to get wet and as the ghost raised their hands and the shadow beast opened its mouth, they all fainted.

The image faded and even I was surprised at what I saw.. It was hilarious but I thought I could do better.

Just then door number three opened and the image started.

It showed a scene not as elaborate as the ones before but definitely, it was more sinister. It showed me walking from the forest, a little battered but okay, I didn't have a statue in my hand or anything. The boys laughed they walked up to me and pointed fingers.

"I knew you couldn't do it" Troy laughed

"He isn't called Weakling for nothing," Danielle said.

"I bet he just went into the forest and waited, then came back out" Trevor added.

"You are right," I said as I pulled the guys in close with each arm and gave them a tight hug, then walked off to their leader and clapped him on the shoulder, and said. "You would have found it if you went, I'm sure of it".

He flashed my hand off his shoulder and turned to walk away".

"Compared to the other two, this one is a little disappointing," The Half Spiderman said.

"Wait, it's not finished yet," I replied.

Time sped up periodically, sometimes minutes, hours, or days. It showed the three boys being haunted by a figure they just could never see. Voices are what they heard at what seems to be at random times. At first, it was around other people and then when they were at their most vulnerable.

The voice would whisper "Hey" and they would assume it was someone messing with them. Then it developed into that voices at night and the things it would say would only get creepier.

The boys were losing their minds and it wouldn't be long before they would do anything to have the voices stop.

"Impressive, I must say that you surprised me with that last one".

"Wasn't it a little too much?" I asked.

May I ask what the additional punishment for having the voices stop is...".

"I haven't thought about it".

"Well let me suggest, The naked run around the school in ritualistic attire that barely covered their bits. That's usually a lifetime of embarrassment" half Spiderman said giggling.

"Wait, that sounds like I am getting the magic".

"Well you are halfway there".

Question Two!!

You are running for your life, let's say during the time of slavery. You have just dashed through the fields at night and you come across a fork in the road.

Standing before you is a black man on one path and a white man on the next. If you should ask which path is the correct one to escape. One man will tell you the truth while the other will lie to you! I thought a door would open to show me the riddle but before I knew it my legs gave way beneath me and I started to fall. I landed into pitch blackness, I was surrounded by what felt like tall sugarcane, suddenly torches lit up the night and I felt deep dread in my heart.

Something in me said "Run" and I didn't question it. I dashed through the cane field as fast as I could, as the sound of men and dogs got closer. I didn't know what was happening but I knew if I was caught that would be the end of me.

I ran and I ran until the distance between us became noticeable but they didn't stop their pursuit. I ran until I came upon a fork in the road. Two men stood before me and they gave me a choice. One path leads to freedom and the other leads to more men chasing me that would eventually catch me. Each man shouted that I needed to make a decision fast and that I should only trust them as the other man was lying to me.

One man looked more like me, with dark skin, dirty raggedy clothing, and marks all over his skin in the form of bruises while the other man was a pale complexion. He wore a white shirt, karki pants, and simple shoes. I couldn't make out much more of the men's features as the light each held was very dim.

"Choose now!" They bellowed.

Isn't the obvious answer the black man, what harm would he want to cause to his own but if it was that simple a solution then this wouldn't be so difficult. Despite the color of his skin, he could be trying to help me after all, there were people of fair complexion that assisted with our freedom.

"Choose!" they demanded.

Maybe I am thinking about this wrong, That Half-Spiderman seems to like tricks the most, could the whole slavery setup be a distraction? Let me think, what is the goal here?

"To choose the guy that would lead me to safety".

One guy is telling the truth while the other one is lying to me.

How would I find out which one is the one lying to me?

I can't just ask which one is lying to me the one that lying would simply lie.

I tapped my chin.

It's a 50-50 chance, I could choose the right one if I simply guess.

"No I can't do that, the prize is too great" I rubbed my head furiously. "What if I reverse the question".

You're running out of time... Choose now!".

"Not before this question" I moved close to each and asked the question.

Black man: He would say that you should choose my path.

White guy: He would say that you should choose his path.

I stepped back.

"Sorry Blacky, Not Today!!".

I didn't even hesitate a second more, I grabbed the white man's arm and ran down his path.

"Did you ask him the same question you asked me?"...

"Yes I asked both of you, Which path would the next guy say leads to my freedom".

"Whichever door you both chose was the wrong door".

"Marvelous, A trick question for a trick question".

"Half Spiderman...what are you doing here, where did the white man go?".

That was an illusion, just a piece of my many lives. That young man was my son.

"You were human at one point," I said shocked.

"Many times and many other times I came into this world as a spider".

What was that like?" I asked inquisitively.

That's a story for another time. Right now it's time to collect your prize and be on your way.

"So soon" after everything had finished, looking back it was fun.

I am glad to hear you say that as your life is about to get a whole lot of fun" he said and I could feel the sly grin on his statue face.

"but before you go tell me what door will you choose".

"Hmmm as a thank you for the magic, I'll choose one that you seem to like most".

"Fantastic, Oh and before you go let me share this trick with you to get yourself out of a tight jam.

"Thank you," I said, and as I said the words I felt myself falling again.

I woke up in the forest, the sun was rising but my body was deathly cold. I heard persons shouting my name and I pushed the words from my dry mouth.

"He's over here!".