The Missing Horn

It was another busy and typical day at work at the museum downtown, I rambled round upstairs and down along the balconies throughout the nearest exits and museum displays, but I was also on guard as the public patrolled the museum leisurely to view the historic artifacts, relics of the past, ancient exhibits, wax cravings of famous people, statues etc.

I only had the promotion from the job for over a week and it was the best job I could get as I was particularly good with security and other distress handlings. I often do day shifts regularly, though occasionally I mainly take on the night shifts when the museum closes and without any public ongoings, but that was exactly how I liked it to endure the peace and quiet, stress free and usually nap in the day times to allow more to work out and prepare for the shift.

I would be on the night shift tonight, so I brought along my lunch, my equipment of a torch, keys, a taser gun and a watch, my distress signal, and my phone. Later that night when all the civilians left at approximately eight o’ clock, I signed in at the security desk and checked all the security cameras now that I have the app on my phone making it a lot easier now rather than having to go back and forth in at the security desk.

After locking up, I patrolled most of all the areas around the museum upstairs to downstairs. I was unfazed of all the historic and ancient monuments, relics, and other same old artifacts I would pass by constantly every weekday.

Though one particular object of the museum that tended to give me goosebumps and gave the feelings of being uncomfortable even though I wasn’t too afraid of it, was a statue of a Bull. It was withstand just round the corner of the entrance doors, it was set in dark texture, it was the size of a hippopotamus as its body would make a great example of a bludgeon beam, it could be used to batter down a pickup truck (maybe something heavier), the legs and hooves as thick as widened bricks, and it was missing a horn on its head as though it must have been broken accidentally, unless the Bull was made to standout like that since its craving. The Bull statues face baring wide cricket ball eyes, a nose like a large man’s knuckle and a mouth that never saw happiness in the world until its untimely death.

The reason why I felt a little uncomfortable when staring at it for more than a long moment (especially when facing right in front of it), if you imagine staring at its face for too long it was like facing a disturbing terrifying demon of the underworld wanting to possess you to force you to do evil things and turn on your loved ones so eagerly as a thought of darkness, even though I tried to ignore such a thought without gazing upon the statue for a bit long.

The Bull Statue also bared a brass plaque forth of the statue in description of the monument, below it read:

The Chloragg Bull, the last of its kind bred and exhibited in Mexico until extinct in 1909, able to withstand the strength of a dozen men, baring the speed of a horse and endured the strength of a Woolly Mammoth, described by the natives as a living battering ram. Legend says that if one is to take a horn away from the almighty beast, it would be the last sin ever to make.

After reading the information closely leaving me rather baffled with some amusement of hearing such a fairy-tale, I turned back at the bull only momentarily of an eye blink and then moved on away from the creepy Bull statue missing a horn on its head.

After double checking the areas, balconies, and all the rooms of the museum, I went back to my office just to go through some paperwork regarding my wages and hours, until I notice a strange, peculiar small post parcel that was left on the side to see who it was for. I had no idea where it came from or sent it as it had no label written down or even a post stamp to where or which country may have come from. At first, I was reluctant to open the package as it may belong to someone else (like my boss or colleagues) or sent for something important, my mind takes a gamble until without hesitation or second thought unwrap the small parcel, as it was wrapped without a box but sealed firmly.

After opening, it reveals a rather strange, mysterious, and curved looking object, it was something of a bone but out of stone and textured in dark. It weighed over a pound and appeared like a medieval, handmade weapon that was carved from an animal, it was pricked and pointy on one side and sawed and sanded on the other. It may appear to have been some sought of fang that came from an extinct saber-tooted tiger (only slight longer and pointier), or an ancient horn from a rhinoceros that was slain and thawed over a hundred years ago.

Still looking down on it dubiously and examining it all around it closely and twisting it round in my palm, still making me find it difficult to make out or imagine what it even was or who even sent it. “Must be for the boss” I thought presumably to myself, I was just about to place the object back into the envelope, until a thought came as if this object was actually sent as a missing piece to be returned to something of the museum.

One thought in particular, the creepy mad looking statue of the Bull that was missing a horn from around the corner where the reception was. After a moment’s thought, I decide if to go and check whether it is the missing horn on the statue, to place it on the tip of the broken horn on its head and if a match, I will inform the boss immediately afterwards.

As I was about to leave the office, a sound occurred out of nowhere at a minor vibration. I paused, goosebumps kicking in, a freezing sea of nerves surrounding my skin as if the air turned freezing in seconds, my heart began to pulse quicker at a slow pace. The sound started at two thumps as though it was trying to barge into a heavy door, until another sound occurred like a horse wearing metal hooves clip-clopping along the granite floor.

I take my torch, distress signal and out of anything else to defend myself, my taser gun. The sounds of the thumping and the click-clocks continued throughout the hallways and from that point on, I knew it wasn’t thieves or trespassers, it was something bigger and aggressive. So before leaving my office to check it out, I also take the mysterious broken weapon-like horn with me as not even a taser gun would help to defend me as my life could be on the line.

I exit my office and skulk through the hallways closely towards the side of the walls, I try my best not to make a sound with my footsteps as if whatever It! was that causing a havoc in the museum without any breakages being heard or touched, I place my distress signal on hold as I edged closer to the corner on my right until I hear as If I was close I could get from around the corner.

I bob my head lightly to take a glance, I didn’t want to believe it with all the sounds of the thunderous breaths of a wild mammal, the click-clocks of the metal hooves and the heavy thump movements of an elephant. No one would even believe me what I saw in the morning or ever at all, imagining if something imaginative was actually real as if a real life Dinosaur was re-breed or a rare sighting of a legendary creature spotted without proof.

Before I even peaked my head out from the side of the wall, I was so utterly surprised yet gobsmacked with my eyes widened and my mouth aghast that it was the statue bull coming to life. Every ramble step the live Bull it took made heavy metal stamps like a hammer on a chisel, its breath as loud as an elephant's toot and its eyes blinked making bizarre clicking noises. Its dark metal one-horned head scampering side to side all around with a heavy breath, seeming as though it was searching for its lost horn in sight. The Bull that was once a statue but still in the form of metal prowled along as though the corridors it was hunting for a particular prey nearby (like myself).

I was only round the corner to where my office was about ten yards away when it came to the approach towards the corridor to where I was hiding. I tried to keep my nerves as composed as possible, but with my heart beating fast, goosebumps crawling round my skin irritably and my hands shaking rapidly effecting my breathing without inhaling to loudly for the bull to hear. I also realised that the package containing the living statue beasts horn exactly the same metal as the bull was still in the security desk.

At that point, I knew the outcome of the Bulls intention would be, it would see me as either a threat or an enemy to try and charge towards me and run me down as an instant kill, remembering how fast and lethal it was when I read the brass plaque, unless it found the lost horn. Now fearing for my life, I would now have to sprint towards my office to not only lock the door firmly, but to barricade it with every heavy object in the office call for emergency services, hopefully that it would arrive on time to save my skin and for the Bull I was unsure, unless it dashed away to escape from the museum leaving its horn behind.

The moment would then come to terms of my intentions of what to do but with the horn in its mail package, I would consider throwing the metal horn out of the office once barricaded to draw of the Bull to satisfy it with the fact that its horn has been found been restored back on would be beyond me entirely.

This would now be my intention to take to get out of this nightmare, this was now it, of I went. I sprint toward the office without hesitation knowing the metal Bull is about to charge round the corner catching my dashing footsteps heard letting out an almighty, horrific, screeching moo as its gallops were drawing nearer and nearer to my destination. I pray my actions for my life go to planned and come out the office alive and unharmed.

Then in a blink of an eye, I bolted towards the five-yard sprint towards the office with my life depending on it and the sound of the Bulls gore that could virtually screech through the earholes of a deathly capture, snorting like a ghastly demon charging towards my footsteps. I made it to the office locking the door with key the padlock included sealed and the office blinds shut all within three seconds, but safety would be out of reach and of discomfort. All of a sudden, BASH* BASH* the office walls were being crashed and battered through, the bull was a battering ram through the office walls trying to breach in on me, the sounds of the large, dark metal Bull trying to belch and smash down the door attached with the walls was virtually disturbing almost of an impacting boulder set of from a trebuchet.

Panicking in complete fear and not knowing what to do, I tried to call on the office telephone for emergency service but no reply or call back was made. I barricaded the door with anything heavy and strong I could get hold of in the office, I bustled and thrust the office desk onto the door including hoisting a metal cabinet, the office chair piled on top and without thinking it would even be heavy enough, an air circulator.

But the live statue Bull just kept charging and barging towards the office walls and the door on the verge of busted through, the heavy office furniture and equipment managed to bare some time to hold but it wouldn’t be enough or perhaps long until the Bull would smash through to tumble down and demolish the office walls now that the door was shattering within. By now I am creeping backwards nudging to the back of the wall with all fear streaming through my colds veins so filled with goosebumps and a face of consternation with my eyes never leaving the erupting walls and door being slammed back and forth by the wild beastly mammal. I slid from the wall onto the floor, wishing that the whole ground could swallow me up to escape the office I’m trapped in.

Until the package containing the mysterious metal horn dropped on the floor, caught one of my eyes. BOOSH* BASH* by now I could see one of the metal horns stabbing through the door cracked and wrecked up and the shattering of the glass peering down, it was as though a large dark spear was hurtled in of a rhinos horn. Without thought or hesitation, rip open the package unveiling the metal horn thinking that the beastly live statue of a mammal could leave me be if it claimed one of its horns back.

By now the Bull was about three more charges and barrages away from toppling the walls and door down to break in, as I could now almost see the head of the metal Bull with the blinds showing minor gaps partially displaying the but in view. A deep breath was concealed so vastly and desperately, I launch a shoulder back preparing to throw and hurl the dark metal horn through the smashed glass window just managing to nudge through the damaged blinds forced through.

After the raging wild Bull took one last smash towards the walls that would by now plummet the walls and door down, the barrages of impacting barricades stopped as a snort of a wailing moo noise rasping through the office occurred and gallops began to fade down along the corridors out of ear reach until an uncomfortable silence transpired. My goosebumps never left and my heartbeats knocking in my chest, still shaken up after what had just happen, the lights began to dimmer slightly as I curled up into a ball in the corner feeling frigid and intense as no other sounds was heard or occurred, hours passed by as I waited for the sunrise feeling like it would be eternity before I would ever see daylight again or hope for a miracle of help to happen on time.

Until at last daybreak appeared and the relief by now has seemed to take place as nothing else was heard outside the office. Tired and cautious I was when I leaned up from the corner, I carefully remove the office furniture aside to get towards the wrecked flawed office door and the walls blemished and almost busted through that could easily collapse with the collide of a car crash. The moment I reach for the office door handle to open, the door toppled with a slamming impact, I slowly and guardedly peer through the office and out through the museum halls, even peaking behind the corners make sure no other disturbance would unfold.

The sound of the Bull statue seemed to have died out as nothing else was heard passing by tentatively with the ancient monuments, artifacts and other wax cravings hoping that they too would not come alive to startle me sharp and hard. By now I have re-entered the main hallways leading up to the main entrance of the museum as I could now hear the sounds of traffic glaring through but in a shocking state, the Bull statue was missing from its statue stand and gone. The main entrance of the doors left open as it must have escaped through the doors, it must have been out there on the run not knowing what its intension would be.

“I am so fired” my first words were that came out my mouth, though whether I would be fired or not I know what I witnessed and heard of the beastly live statue, I don’t know if anyone would believe me explaining my story having to explain to the Police. The night that had shaken me up and terrified me for the rest of my life giving me nightmares ever since. I had even given away a metal horn to save my skin and the crazed metal Bull spared me for it. From my eyes only I know and seen what I saw if others think I’m crazy, at least I live to see another day.