The Journal - A Short Story Collection

The Magician

"How's everyone enjoying the show?!" shouted The Magician into his headset's microphone. The crowd erupted in applause, excited for what's to come next. The Magician beamed back while the curtains behind him closed to change the stage, readying it for the next act.

"What a fantastic crowd!" The Magician continued excitedly. "Now onto our next act! And this one will get interesting! This show has gone well, but there's something missing to spice things up! Volunteers! Audience, can I get a volunteer for my next act?"

Multiple hands rose, including my own. I even stood up, eager to take part in something so brilliant as The Magician's show. After scanning for a few seconds, The Magician's eyes landed upon mine. I felt my heart jump a little at the connection. He looked at me curiously before nodding his head slowly.

"You there!" The Magician shouted, pointed in my direction, "Come up on stage!"

Excitedly, I got up from my seat and made my way to the walkway on my right. Already near the front, maybe 5 rows back, it didn't take long for me to walk down the aisle and up the stairs to the stage. I strolled over to The Magician and stood next to him, facing the audience with a smile.

"What's your name, ma'am?" asked The Magician handing me a microphone.

"Rebecca," I replied now feeling a little nervous being up on stage with so many people looking at me.

"Welcome Rebecca!" said The Magician as he patted me on the back, getting an applause from the crowd, "How are you liking the show so far?"

"It's great," I responded, giving my best smile.

"Wonderful! Are you ready to see the next act?"

"Absolutely."

"Open the curtains!" announced The Magician, pointing behind me.

The curtains slowly rolled back open, revealing a large black box in the middle of the stage. From what I could tell upon first glance, nothing special revealed itself about this box, other than it could fit a human comfortably. After a moment, it occurred to me that this probably would be one of those disappearing tricks magicians did. Trap someone inside, shove a panel in there, then reveal the person was gone. It made me feel better knowing all I had to do was sit in the box. The crowd wouldn't even see me for most of the act. This at least would help my nerves settle a bit.

During this time of thought, The Magician explained the act to the audience, "And now we will put young Rebecca into the box. Hopefully, I will be able to get her back!" The crowd laughed at that remark. I chuckled along as well.

The Magician led me over to the box. He placed his hand on the side of the door and slid down, murmuring something to himself. I couldn't tell what he was saying, but it gave a nice creepy vibe to the act. Then he pulled on the door and it opened the rest of the way on its own. He gestured for me to step inside. I obeyed, sitting down on the seat, which was just an ordinary wooden seat.

"As you can see," started The Magician, "Rebecca is sitting on this chair, in this box with nothing holding her. I will now close the door and make her disappear!"

The door closed, and it immersed me in eternal darkness. I could only rely on my ears to get a sense of what was happening around me. Surprisingly, everything sounded muffled on the outside of the box. The Magician spoke to the audience in garbled nonsense, leaving me to sit wondering what would happen next. I wasn't sure if I needed to do anything on my end for this trick to work, like flipping a switch or slide a panel. The Magician told me nothing.

A slight humming started, bringing me to observe my surroundings. I felt along the walls and noticed a vibration resonating. A quiet voice whispered in my ears. I couldn't make out any of what it said; it wasn't speaking English. For that matter, it wasn't speaking any language I was familiar with. Instead, a deep voice echoed inside my head. I suddenly felt very weak. Symbols illuminated on the walls, but I couldn't comprehend them. I couldn't even keep my eyes open.

At some point I blacked out but couldn't tell for how long. Eventually I awoke to a reality unfathomable. I floated in purple nothingness as black fog rolled around at my feet. There was both a sense of calm around me but a sense of dread in the distance.

In my weightless, senseless state, I watched a shadowy figure float over to me. The closer it got, the quicker my heart beat. A long boney arm reached out from the abyss and touched my temple. Images flashed in my mind at great speed as I felt my body seize up. Electrical zaps ricocheted around my head with searing pain. I screamed.

Colors swam around me. Voices echoed through my head loudly in the same unrecognizable language. A language that slowly became more and more clear. The smell of tar was strong. I felt lightheaded, even nauseous from it. Then in the mist of everything, it stopped.

I floated there in pure darkness. The monster vanished and so did the voices and images. But it left something, engraved into me. I realized something of important value.

It all made sense to me. My purpose was clear.

My vision darkened again, and I could once again hear The Magician. He slowly opened the door, revealing myself to the audience. I ignored the applause as I stared at The Magician. He wasn't the same as I remembered him from before entering the box. What was once human now had pure black eyes that felt like they were staring deep into my soul. His veins bulged black and his smile showed multiple rows of razor sharp teeth. Black fog swirled around his ankles while it seeped out of his eyes, nose, and mouth, slowly falling to the ground.

"How was your experience," The Magician announced to the audience, who were cheering me on.

"Enlightening," I replied as I walked back to my seat without another word.

The Magician finished his show an hour later, after going through the same acts he normally did for his audience. Once I could, I returned home. Glancing in the mirror, I saw my reflection for the first time since leaving for the show. My eyes were black as the night sky. My veins bulged an unusual black. I smiled, revealing an extra set of teeth. Symbols etched into my skin. I felt so energetic I was ready to feast. And feast I would. It's the Master's will.

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this one, I loved writing it!