At first, Harry was scared. What if he were stuck this way? He never did finish exploring, and wasn't sure if there was a way this machine would turn him back. He sure hoped so! Why would his father build a machine that could turn living, breathing animals into inanimate objects? And not provide a way to reverse it?
The thought made him hopeful, but also bothered him. Being a curious boy, he couldn't stand not knowing! He wanted to go over to the controls to the booth to check it out again. But he couldn't! He was stuck! All he could do, was stand there in place with a stupid, goofy grin.
"Why did I have to smile?" He thought. "I'm getting sick of smiling!" But there was nothing he could do about that now. He was stuck as a statue!
"A statue! I don't want to be a statue!"
Harry started panicking, almost like you would if you were buried in a coffin. Except he coukdn't move at all! Ecen his vocal chords and wind pipe were cold, hard stone!
Speaking of cold, Harry was cold! He could feel his body temperature had lowered to that of the room's temperature. But his clothes and a blanket were totally out of "reach." He just continued standing there, looking straight ahead at tbe stupid, goofy smile plastered on his hard stone face.
Eventually, his mind started drifting. He was trying to move less and less. At one point, he did grow bored, and wondered why he was just standing here. He decided he wanted to go up and play on his computer. But of course, statues don't move. Not even the tiniest bit. His body remained totally unresponsive. Anfd still that stupid, goofy grin kept staring at him fron the mirror at the front of the booth he was stuck in!
Getting frustrated, he tried to huff his irritation. But of course, the statue that he was remained totally silent. He wanted to cry, but his stone eyeballs renained dry. And still, he continued to outwardly, calmy, stand there. Inwardly struggling against his stone prison. That was his last struggle as his mind went back to being sorta dormant, but still half-aware.
There comes a time when the human mind typically accepts reality and moves on. But that's with a body that can actually move, and allow the mind to engage with the real world and pursue other activities. But a mind trapped inside a statue has no way of interfacing with the world, except for feeling whatever the stone skin feels. Several hours pass, and Harry "FELT SOMETHING!" creeping on his left ear! He could feel it!
Harry's mind was suddenly fully aware again! His ear was tickling, but he was stuck! His stone arm completely motionless! He was totally helpless to whatever decided to crawl on him!
He felt this creepy little bugger crawl onto his face! Unfortunately, his eyesight was stuck looking slightly to his right. His eyeballs incapable of shifting anywhere else! He coukd see a dark blob on his left cheeck, and coukd feel it moving around.....toward's.....eyeball!
He felt the little legs climb closer and closer to his lid. The suddenly, two huge hairy legs appeared in hus vision!
"No, no, NO!"
The big ugly spider climbed over top if his dead stoney eye! Harry would be jumping out of his skin, if he could. But his smooth, soft, clear, youthful boyish skin was smooth, hard, polished stone. He couldn't even blink the damn thing away!
Suddenly, he heard the door to the lab open, and the main lights in the room came on! The room suddenly coming to life again with the sound of the living opening a door, and flipping on a switch that illuminated the workd, scared the living shit out of Harry!
Many things happened at once in his mind:
1) His dad! His very first instinct was to run and hide!
2) Immediately he realized he couldn't! He was stuck! About to be caught red-handed! Harry felt like the hunted that realuzed the hunter knew exactly where he was. His comparisin was to the Anne Frank story he recently had to read, and a movie that went along with it. The monent they heard the soldiers in the house, and the footsteos approaching. Then their hideour bookshelf door being opened. Thats how he felt in this instant.
3) He was naked! Not only was he about to be caught by his father who strictly forbade him to come down here, but that he caught him as s naked statue of his son, with his boyhood poking straight out. A perfectly carved little smooth stone penis.
4) That spider was similarly spooked. It immediately fled from his eyeball, much to Harry's relief, but then made its way to his nose!
All of these things came to pass simultaneously.
Harry heard his father's heavy footsteps on the stairs. There was nowhere for him to run. Nowhere to hide. Indeed, he couldn't do any of those things, even though he desparately tried. He just stood there in his stoney, silent prison with a stupid, goofy smile still on his face the entire time.
"What the?" He heard his father say. "Someone was in here!"
"Oh no! Please! Let me run!" But he couldn't. As usual. He could only stand there, and feel the spider hiding in his nose!
"Someone messing with my Inanimation Machine!" Harry's dad noticed.
Suddenly, the door to the booth was flung ooen, and Harry heard a deep gasp.