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Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/2067631-Ticklish-Magic-2
Rated: 13+ · Short Story · Fantasy · #2067631
Jessica tries to figure out why her roommate is acting so strange.
Jessica was once again arguing with herself on what to do. About a month ago, she encouraged her best friend and roommate Tiffany to check out a garage sale to cheer her up after a hard day of work. Tiffany tended to take interest in old, often obscure things so it wasn't much of a surprise when she was buying an old trunk and dragging it all the way back to the dorm. Jessica figured this was just the typical kind of affair for her friend, but things started getting strange after she left Tiffany alone in the dorm for one night to go to a party. This wasn't out of the ordinary, Tiffany would normally do anything she could to avoid social events and didn't seem to mind having the dorm to herself, but something had happened to her that night. When Jessica returned the next morning she found her friend kneeling by the box and frantically looking at every angle of the thing. When Jessica asked about it, Tiffany seemed to start talking about some sort of nightmare she had the other night before showing her the magician's props she found in the trunk. The find was exciting but from the way she described everything, she could have sworn Tiffany thought it was real. For a while, things were normal again, It wasn't like Tiffany to lie, but this story was so crazy that Jessica couldn't believe any bit of it. What was stranger was when she noticed the holes in the sides of the box, she could only assume that Tiffany put those in herself for whatever reason. After that day, things seemed to go back to normal for a while. That is, until Jessica encountered something she couldn't quite explain. It was another late night out with some of her other friends, when she remembered an exam she needed to study for and rushed back for the dorm early. As she approached the door, she heard something she almost never did, Tiffany laughing. It was frantic too, as if she was almost out of breath. When Jessica tried to get inside, the door wouldn't budge. She didn't think Tiffany would have locked it and the key nearly broke off in the lock when she tried it. She resorted to pounding on the door, shouting for Tiffany to answer until the laughter came to a halt. A few moments later the door slid open on its own and Tiffany was laying motionless in bed. She was breathing, but out cold. Jessica was already debating if any of this had actually happened or if she was just more tired than she thought and was hearing things. It was then that she noticed something that made her skin crawl. For a split second, she could have sworn the trunk just moved on its own.

Ever since that night, she was too nervous to even look at the trunk. All she wanted was to get rid of it, but Tiffany had become attached to the thing. There was nothing she could do about it while Tiffany was still in the dorm, and she only ever left with Jessica to the diner where they worked. Jessica hadn't told anyone else of that night, and didn't even bring it up to Tiffany. Something had to be done about this, and as Spring Break rolled around, Jessica found the perfect opportunity when Tiffany told her that she would be spending it back home with her family. Still unable to drive herself, she asked Jessica for a ride before she went off partying, as she usually does.

The drive was a long one, but Jessica didn't care as she was putting a plan together in her head for when she returned to the dorm. Tiffany turned to her. "Thanks again for this." she said with a meek smile.

Jessica was barely paying attention to anything but the road. "h-huh? Oh, of course, of course!"

Tiffany gave her a bit of a worried look? "Are you okay? You aren't sick or anything are you?"

"No, not at all!" She quickly replied. Tiffany thought something about her friend seemed off from her usual self, but she didn't pay much mind to it as she approached the house and retrieved her bags from the back. "See you in a week I guess", she said before making her way to the front door.

"Bye." Jessica replied simply as she waited for her to head inside, before speeding off back to the dorm as quick as she could. It was a few hours before she made it back, as traffic composed of partiers hadn't helped things much. Jessica hoped she could wrap this up quick so she could join them before things get too insane on the road. She ran back to the dorm and searched through her pockets until she could find the key. When she went to use it however, she found the door to be unlocked. She could have sworn that she locked it before leaving, but figured that it must have been a simple mistake. At least anyone who would have tried stealing anything is already on their way to the beach. She opened the door and saw it in it's usual spot on the opposite wall, there was the trunk.

She moved slowly towards it. Ever since the morning after bringing back to the dorm, it had always seemed unnerving in a way. Those holes were still cut into the sides. It was anyone's guess at what compelled Tiffany to make those, if it even was her. Jessica tried not to think about it much more. She bent over and tried lifting it...but it wouldn't budge. "the hell...?" she spoke softly to herself. She kept trying to move it, but it felt as if it was fused to the ground. She took a breath and sat on the bed for a moment. If she tried lifting this thing any longer, she would throw out her back. She knew for a fact that it wasn't that heavy before, as she and Tiffany had been able to lift it before. She didn't think it could be that much heavier with just one person. She then began to wonder if anything may have been added to it since she last had contact. Tiffany showed her all the magician's props that were inside, was it possible that she started expanding on the collection? She rarely left the dorm, and Jessica would have noticed any packages. Nonetheless, she decided to take a look inside. It was all the same stuff Tiffany had shown her before. She did find something she hadn't noticed before at the bottom, but it was just a pair of gloves. Confusion began to sit in. The more she thought about it, the more she remembered that night where she couldn't get in. These thoughts were starting to creep Jessica out so she made her way to the door. When she tried to turn the knob, it wouldn't budge though. No matter how much pressure she applied, the door wouldn't open. As she tried to fix it, she failed to notice the trunk slowly opening again behind her.

When she finally did turn around, she could barely react before the box snapped around her, leaving only her head and feet sticking out of the holes that had been cut into it. Jessica immediately started screaming. This was something out of some kind of horror movie. She tried to kick and punch her way out of the box, but it proved to be ineffective. Trying to kick actually caused her to trip and nearly fall to the ground. However, halfway down, she actually started rising, levitating into the air with the trunk that held her captive. "Oh my god! Oh my god, somebody help me!" she shouted with no one able to hear her. Swinging her head back and forth, her cap fell to the ground, looking for it for a moment, she saw the pile of props that had been dumped out of the trunk before it's attack. Much like the trunk on that night, the pile started moving, emerging from it were the gloves she found earlier, one of which was holding the saw. This caused a sudden flashback to a game she and Tiffany used to play when they were kids. Terror filled her as she suddenly realized why the holes were there instead of just trapping all of her inside. "No...nonono, don't you dare!" She called out to the hands that approached her. Unfortunately this plea fell on deaf, and rather nonexistent ears. The saw came suddenly, cutting through as she watched in blind terror. She was preparing for an incredible sharp pain and shut her eyes. She was cringing as she imagined the saw coming close only for the sound to suddenly stop. She didn't open her eyes for about another solid minute until she felt as if the trunk was moving, and an odd breeze that moved with it. Opening a single eye, she saw that the trunk had been left on her bed and the saw removed. She was almost relieved until she looked to her right and saw the truth, her feet kicking from the other side of the trunk, separated from her upper half and resting on Tiffany's bed. The shock of the whole situation was too much to take. With the realization of her own legs across the room from her, she barely stayed conscious for a minute, passing out almost immediately.

When Jessica finally awoke, it was dark out. She tried to get up, only to find herself still trapped within the box. She didn't want to look, but eventually tilted her head to the right to see what she feared to be confirmed. Her lower half still rested apart from her on her roommate's bed. Something was different this time though. She was barefoot. She wiggled her toes a bit to once again confirm that this pair of feet belonged to her. She couldn't find her shoes or socks anywhere from her limited field of vision in the box. She spoke softly to herself, still panicked on the inside. "Is...is this what's been happening to Tiff?...no no no, this has gotta be some kinda dream, some kinda NIGHTMARE!....I wish I was at the beach right now..." She kept trying to think that whatever this is will be over soon. Last time she saw Tiffany she was definitely in one piece, this can't be permanent! She attempted to keep her mind on the beach and the rest of Spring break, trying to keep a positive attitude. The jokes that came to mind about wearing a two-piece didn't help.

Just as she was adjusting to things, her current worst nightmare reappeared. The hands that halved her in the first place were back. She reacted as calmly as she could. "YOU LITTLE BASTARDS! GIVE ME MY LEGS BACK RIGHT NOW BEFORE I START TEARING OFF YOUR FINGERS!" They didn't seem to notice (or just didn't care) about her rage. "oooohhhh...come on! I was supposed to meet Clara and the others hours ago!" Still ignoring her, the hands hovered towards her lower half. Jessica hadn't yet caught on to their intentions and looked on a bit confused. It wasn't until a stroke of the finger down her sole that things began to clear up. "W-wait! Anything but that! Don't!" Her pleas turned to an insane laughing fit as the hands began wriggling their fingers across her soles and toes, much like they had with Tiffany in the past. She tried curling her toes and swinging her feet from side to side in order to throw them off, but they weren't discouraged. The laughter would continue for a while, with minutes turning into hours quickly. Unlike Tiffany, Jessica hated being tickled. She was extremely ticklish, so much so that her usual response was to sucker punch anyone she didn't trust if they tried. Unfortunately, it didn't look like that response would be too effective here. As the torment continued, she couldn't help but flail around as much as she could inside the boxes. This eventually got to the point of the boxes moving each time part of her smacked the side of them. She was laughing too hard to notice her top half nearing the edge of the bed. She tried asking them to stop once more as kindly as she could. "OH MY GODAHAHAHAHA! STAHAHAHAP! STAHAHAPTHIS SHIT RIHAHAHA-RIGHT NOW!"

And with one last burst of laughter and one last push, the upper half of the box went sliding off the bed, smashing around her upon impact with the ground. As soon as it did, the hands stopped and fell in place, once again as empty gloves. As Jessica caught her breath and opened her eyes again, letting a couple last giggles escape, she thought it was over. Picking up a piece, she realized that she had broken the trunk. She was actually quite relieved, seeing as her reason for coming back in the first place was getting rid of this thing anyway. That was until she looked down and realize that her body just kind of...stopped...at her midriff. There was no blood or anything, but she still let out a short shout before covering her mouth. Looking over to Tiffany's bed slowly, she saw her feet, still sticking out of the other half of the trunk. moving her toes, she began to realize that missing out on Spring Break would be the least of her worries...
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