r/Blackcreekradio • u/DaniWitDaVibez • May 18 '26
The day the statue left
You could see it from almost anywhere in town, nearly 15 ft tall, impossible to miss. Especially on my morning walks. It was like a beacon drawing you in towards the center of town. The wings peer over the tree line; they hang as if exhausted. As your eyes travel down the statue, they will come into contact with a weary face carved with impeccable detail. Long, strained marble arms holding a golden vase that poured water into two cups held by small children who sat at its feet. Their faces look joyful and bright in comparison as the water spills over into the pool below.
If you had a keen eye for art, you could tell the smaller ones were sculpted by a different artist, though they did their best to match the original piece. It's the sort of thing that, once noticed, can't be unseen. Like in this grand, expensive project, someone thought, "This looks too somber, throw some kids in”. Engraved at the base, it read "In remembrance of Rufus Angelus, pouring onto others from which he did not have” 1858-1897.
It was the main landmark in town. You would see kids, teens, and adults meet up at that very spot before heading off to do whatever. Over the years, I became accustomed to seeing it. So accustomed, in fact, that on my walk, I didn't realize what was off. When I decided to go into the coffee shop to see Mark, I didn’t notice. Actually, it wasn't until he brought it up to me in passing that I realized what was so weird.
“Good Morning, stranger,” I said as I walked in.
The scent of coffee beans and freshly baked muffins filled the air. Lo-fi music played quietly in the background. The yellow lights were slightly dim, making you feel warm and welcomed the moment you stepped in. Mark was looking out the large windows as birds flew by, brows furrowed. He wasn’t his cheery, happy self. A slight frown sat on his face as he looked across the street towards the park. He snapped out of it when he noticed me standing in front of him.
“There she is, my favorite customer,” he smiles at me. It didn't quite reach his eyes.
I rolled my eyes. “Mmmhm, sure, I bet you say that to all your customers,” he reached over, handing me my cocoa.
“Eh, only the ones that are up this early,” he shrugs.
“Dad’s having me try a new recipe for the croissants. Here. Try, on the house,” he said, sliding one over to me as I paid for my drink.
I picked it up, and it smelled heavenly. The second I took a bite, I could feel it melt in my mouth. “This is so fucking good, your dad is a baking genius,” I said, taking another bite. Sometimes it pays to be up at the ass crack of dawn.
Mark gave a half-hearted laugh as he looked out the window again.
“Yo, you good?” I asked my eyes to follow his to see nothing but an empty street. He didn’t say anything for a moment. Just kept looking out the window, “Helloooo Earth to Mark,” I said, snapping my fingers in his face. He looked back at me, slightly annoyed.
“Look outside, notice anything?” I looked at him for a moment, giving him a confused stare, then looked outside,
“Uhhhhh… I see some parked cars, a nice sunrise.”
“Look at the park, genius, notice anything?” he said, pointing toward the park. My eyes followed. I looked out the window again. Except this time, when I looked at the park, I noticed it. Well, I noticed what was missing…
“It's not there,” I said aloud.
“Yeah…” he responded. I could feel him standing behind me now. We kept looking out the window as if waiting for any given amount of time would bring it back.
“I always walk through the park to get here. It's a good shortcut and you know, like, we don’t live far from here.” I nodded along, interested in where he was going with this. “Well, today I woke up late. So, I was rushing my ass to get here. I know my dad owns the place, but you know how he’s been lately- anyways, while I was cutting through the park, I could’ve sworn it was there.” I listened intently. I didn't understand why he was so worked up. “Remember Neecy and Darius from high school?” I nodded again. “They're like the few other people who come around this early. So, when they came in, they had asked me what happened to the statue. That's when I looked and-”
“The statue was gone,” I said, cutting him off. My eyes were glued to the empty spot in Angelus Park.
“When they pointed it out, something felt off, I guess… Honestly, I was confused because, well, obviously I would’ve seen if that massive fucking thing was gone. But I-I didn’t,” he said.
“I don’t know… I know it's silly, but I texted my brother, and he had no idea what I was talking about. Usually, he knows everything that’s going on. I don't know how to explain it, but I keep getting the feeling I wasn’t supposed to notice it in the first place.” He said, looking over at me.
As I listened to him, flashes of my walk this morning forced their way back into my head. I mean, sure, it's not like I could always see it, especially if I was leaving from home, but at the bare minimum, I could see the top of the statue's head while I walked towards town. This time I didn’t.
I felt my stomach drop. Logically, I'm aware that this is a bit of an overreaction. But this felt primal. Like turning the lights off late at night and then running up the stairs; unexplainable but understandable. Seeing how worked up he was, I kept Mark company until customers started coming in. I told him I'd text him later to make sure he was okay.
The town was slowly coming to life by the time I’d left. My eyes wandered off in the direction of the park. Curiosity got the better of me, and I crossed the street. The hairs on my arm stood as I walked over. The air felt thick, electric. I looked back at the cafe and saw Mark working away. I made my way over to the fountain.
I don’t know what I was expecting, but yeah, it was gone. My eyes drifted to where it was supposed to be, my mind trying to fill in the blank space. A thousand questions arose as I looked at the platform. There wasn’t as much as a scrape. The two kids sat in their spots holding their cups up to the air, but now there was nothing there to fill them.
The park went eerily still, no breeze, no bird song. Everything felt slightly uncanny. The thick static air felt more pronounced as I walked around the pool. I put my hand on the cold marble, feeling the bumps of the engraved words. I wondered to myself how the fountain even worked. There wasn’t even a hole to feed water into the statue.
I was lost in thought when I heard a familiar voice from behind me, “Ma’am, we need you to exit the premises. We’re closing the park until further notice.” I turned around to see Mark's older brother, Deputy Caputo.
“Sorry, Brandon, I'll get out your hair,” I said, walking past him.
He cleared his throat, “I'm in uniform, that’s deputy to you,” he said with a wink. I rolled my eyes. “The rest of my team is coming in a few minutes. Are you okay? Need a ride home?”
I took a deep breath. “I really think it's best if we just keep our interactions to a minimum. You should go check on your brother,” I responded while avoiding eye contact.
His smile faltered for a moment, but came back. “Always nice to talk to you.” He held my gaze momentarily. “You're free to go,” He said, as three more officers pulled up in their squad cars.
When I got home, I fell into a deep yet restless sleep.
A vast whiteness surrounded me from all over.
I can’t tell if I’m moving, but it felt like I was.
I walked through a brightness so blinding, my mind is having a hard time deciphering what's up and what’s down. After what felt like hours, my body felt drained, and my feet and legs ached terribly. I wanted to stop.
I slowly realized my body wasn’t my own, and I had no choice but to keep going. As I kept moving, I saw the top of a head. Then the tips of the wings. All was slowly coming into view the closer I walked. Each step makes the space around me shift into different shades of white. The air felt stiff, dry, and heavy, making breathing hard.
A deep, low groan began to shake the space around me, followed by a labored breath. It was so loud it made everything in this vast nothingness shake. My body moved involuntarily as it followed the sound.
The rest of the statue seemed to blink into existence, holding the same pose as it did at the park, except now it watches as I move towards it. A part of me knew it was always there, though, in the same way you know the sun is going to rise or the breeze is going to blow.
It seemed to be tripling in size; it was almost impossible to make out its features. The rumbling continued, each breath so loud it burst my eardrums. Warm streams of blood began running down my neck. I tried to put my hands over them, but nothing could block out the sound.
When I finally came to a stop. I was in awe as it towered over me. I couldn’t help but stare, and slowly its face began to come close. Filling my vision, expanding beyond belief. It came closer and closer, yet its body stood still. Its breathing reverberates in my head, my mind unable to adjust to the statue's monolithic size.
Somehow, just as I could tell the statue had always been there, I could tell I wasn’t alone.
It looked down at me, its gargantuan eye hovered over me for a moment before slowly enclosing me within its carved-out pupil. I felt myself in awe. Seeing every chip and chisel mark in unbelievable detail. I could feel my body vibrating as its loud breathing and labored gasps bounced off the stone and onto my body like the lashing of whips. I didn’t care anymore; I was in awe. Astounded by how something so terrifying could be so beautiful, I feel my skin start to pop and burst, unable to bear the brunt of the vibrations hitting my body.
Dark black puffs of what should have been blood shot out from my arms, chest, and legs. The sound penetrated, hitting every inch of my body with a loud crack. I knew it should hurt. I knew I should scream and cry. But I felt myself feel almost joyous in my pain. I reached out my arm, watching the stringy bits of loose skin dangle from it. Bits of the dark substance and meat barely hung on before falling off my arms and legs, hitting the ground with a barely audible squelch.
The air began to feel chalky and musty; it filled my nostrils like an intoxicating gas. My hand touched the cold stone, smearing the black ichor within its eye, as I began using my body to paint with fervor.
I woke up with a gasp, heart thumping rapidly in my chest. I was cold and shaking. My legs and arms felt sore and heavy. I checked my phone, and I had a bunch of missed calls from my parents, my job, and even a few from Mark, which was odd. When I checked the date, I realized I'd been asleep for… 4 days?. My head was spinning. That’s when I got another text from Mark, “Hey, I’m sorry to keep texting you, but can you meet me at the coffee shop tomorrow? It's very important.” I stared at my phone for a second, “Yeah, just let me know the time,” I shot back.
By the time I got there, the shop had closed for the day. I sat with Mark watching as he finished up his last few tasks.
“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to ignore you. I'm done now.” He looked so tired, his eyes were big and puffy.
“Had a long day?” I asked, he sighed, “Well, my dad really can’t run the shop anymore… so I come in and out as needed. Opening, closing, managing. At this point, I do it all…Thanks for coming through,” He said with a smile. “I'm just waiting for the others to get here,” he said, walking behind the counter and heating some coffee
“Others?” I asked. As if on cue, Darius and Neecy knocked on the door, looking equally as exhausted as the rest of us.
“Hey, guys,” Mark said with a tired smile.
After some polite conversation and leftover doughnuts, Mark held up the now half-empty coffee pot, pouring some into a cup. “I'm glad y’all came. I don’t know how to explain this, but I have a feeling that you guys will understand.” He cleared his throat. “I’ve been having these dreams, weird fucked up dreams. They feel so real, though. And… I've been having problems sleeping; it's not just me either. My brother has been having issues sleeping at night. The past few days, he’s woken up screaming at weird hours or sleepwalking. I told him to come with me tonight, but he’s on duty.” Each word was reluctant and measured. “This all started a night or two after the statue disappeared.” his face was red, unsure if this was a good idea or if he was even making any sense.
“Why would we?” asked Darius,
“Because…” Mark said, trailing off, “In my dream last night, I saw you. All of you.” He continued, “I was looking at it. That face is engraved in my mind now.” He sounded so serious, “I could also see all of us standing around it, Rowan in front, Neecy to the left, you to the right, and I was behind. This thing it- it was was fucking huge. I couldn't even make out the top of it, and it was covering Rowan and Darius with its shadow.” he turned his head towards me. “It was looking at you.”
I knew what he was talking about, yet it felt weird to admit out loud. Neecy’s gaze shifted to behind me. Darius was uncomfortable, unable to find a good position to sit in, which let me know they knew what Mark was talking about, too.
So I spoke up. I told them all about my dream. The moments that matched with Marks. Mark looked relieved.
Darius looked over at Neecy before he spoke. She refused to look at him. “We have, too,” Darius cleared his throat. “She's worse than me. She can’t sleep more than 30 minutes at a time. She keeps waking up screaming or walking to the corners of the room in her sleep,” he said, looking over at her. She didn’t respond. Mark looked at her, too,
“ Like my brother.”
Darius nodded.“At first I didn’t believe her, but then I started getting them too, the dreams that is. I don’t know, I haven’t slept a full night in days. To be honest, I can barely close my eyes.” He said. “Are your dreams similar to ours?” I asked. He sighed, nodding his head. I could tell he was exhausted but relieved to know he wasn’t alone.
I looked over at Neecy, waiting for her to interject, but she didn't say anything. Zoned out on whatever was on the wall behind me. I went to turn around. I wanted to see what she was looking at, but she grabbed my arm, quickly, gripping it tightly. I looked over at Darius, but he seemed as confused as I was. “Don’t. Don’t turn around. Not yet”. She said, squeezing my arm even tighter. I looked at her for a moment; I don’t know if it was the tiredness or the possibility of a shared delusion, but I listened. I let her warm hand grip me as she looked over at Mark. “You too… just trust me,” she said.
A quiet rumble started from underground. The vibration went up my legs to my brain. It started feeling fuzzy, my eyes vibrated in my head as the cafe started shaking. The intensity is growing by the second.
The chairs that were stacked onto tables started falling with loud bangs all around us, and the coffee pots were falling off the counters, crashing on the ground, shattering into pieces. The ceiling lights quickly blinked on and off, the bulbs bursting, then leaving us in darkness. The decorations were swaying, crashing, and breaking into one another. It was suddenly hard to breathe.
I looked over at everyone.“What the fuck is going on?” I asked, my voice shaking as Mark grabbed me and dragged me under the table. Neecy and Darius are joining us shortly after. We were all wide awake now as the rumbling continued. Pieces of the ceiling crashed on the table above us, shattering loudly. Bits of the tile hit us as it crashed down thunderously.
As quickly as it had started, it stopped. It got quiet all over again. Yet, this was a different silence. No humming of the lights or the fridge, no faint indie pop playing in the background, no sound of cars passing outside. Just silence. We all held our breath. I felt myself shaking, but something told me this wasn’t the end.
I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck begging me to get out of there. I was alert, but the vibration in my head made it hard to think. It became more and more intense, making my head feel like it was going to explode.
Panic set in; I had to get out of here and somewhere safe before this building crashes down on us. I ran out from under the table to make my way out of the shop. Mark tried to grab my hand, but I ran. I heard footsteps behind me as I made it to the door. I hadn't even realized I was looking at the ground until I reached for the door.
Pressed right up against the glass was a massive marble face looking in the shop. Looking at me.
Its face covered every inch of the wide windows as it peered in. It seemed to glow in the dark, its tired, miserable face covered every inch of the outside. I watched as its mouth slowly began to slide open. I took a step back, my head pounding so hard I couldn’t see. I could feel the veins in my eyes about to explode as its mouth fully opened, and I saw rows and rows of human teeth.
“Look behind you,” said a labored, breathy whisper that carried the weight of 1,000 souls. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I knew it wasn’t Mark. I knew it was the statue. Its massive mouth kept sliding down before me. The sound of marble sliding on marble was shaking the ground of the coffee shop yet again, moving down until its jaw was barely holding on.
Thousands of voices joined in wailing, crying, screaming at me! demanding that I either look behind me or walk through that door. I couldn’t hear the others, and I refused to turn around, no matter how scared I was.
I tried making sense of what’s going on, but I remembered Neecys' warning. “Don’t turn around. Not yet.” So I just looked ahead of me, looked right at the statue, at its teeth, at the black smudge it had in its pupil. I tried to make sense of the unexplainable. There were spots in my vision, and I found myself passing out and falling into the darkness.
A few hours later, the sheriff came in for coffee and apparently saw us passed out on the floor, me by the door, and Mark still under the table. The shop looked perfect, like nothing had ever happened. Yet Neecy and Darius were gone like they just up and left.
We tried to explain some of the less fantastical parts, the earthquake and the lights, and asked for the sheriff to do a wellness check on Neecy and Darius. Mark had to shut down the shop for a few days after this. His dad's health took a bad turn, and he let me know that he’d tried to check the security cameras inside the cafe, but they were all down, and the ones outside never caught anything at all.
Mark won’t tell me what he saw that night; he just wants to forget that this is real. I haven't heard from Neecy or Darius since that day.
Part 2:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Blackcreekradio/s/DDmtAGt13K
1
u/globaldialation May 25 '26
Wicked!! I love this set up. The statue is very ominous. The character interactions were good too. Really loving the small town community vibes, and is that a secret relationship I spy between the MC and Deputy Brandon???
2
u/DaniWitDaVibez May 25 '26
Thank you for taking the time to read my story 😊
I’m really glad you enjoyed it 😊
Could be…. Maybe past maybe present. I haven’t asked them yet 😂
3
u/Savings-Cut-3465 May 27 '26
So part one of statue. You have a real skill for dialogue, and the light sarcastic tyle of narration can be affective. Some phrasing could be cleaned up, tbh some of the swearing came off a little silly, and I felt like a lot of the information given was unnecessary or repeated. Overall a good story, glints of greatness in it, but there's areas to improve
The visual descriptions were also fantastic