Tricks

Max had one goal today. Don’t lose Brianna. They had followed her for days, and every single time, she had slipped away like a ghost. Not this time. This time, they were prepared. This time, they weren’t going to let her disappear. What they hadn’t prepared for… Was her pet.

They trailed Brianna through the museum, keeping a careful distance. At first, everything seemed fine. She was focused on the exhibits, completely unaware that they were watching. And then—

One second Jason’s phone was in his pocket. The next it was on the floor, three feet away, screen-up. He stared at it. It skittered across the marble floor in a straight line, as if on a track. “Hey—” He went after it, got a hand on it, and then it was gone again, three feet to the left. He dove for it and hit the floor hard enough to feel it in his teeth.

“Jason?” Josh raised a brow.

Jason scrambled up, flustered. “Did you see that?! My phone just—” But his phone was right beside him, perfectly still, as if it had never moved.

Josh rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure. Your phone just ran away.”

Tyler smirked. “Maybe it’s sick of your terrible music.”

Jason grumbled under his breath, stuffing his phone back into his pocket. Max narrowed his eyes. That had been… weird. Josh took one step and his ankles met each other with a soft, final click. Then BAM! The next thing anyone saw was his shoulder catching the corner of a glass display case on the way down, hard enough to set it rocking on its base. He landed on the marble with a sound that carried to the far end of the room. A docent stopped mid-sentence. A small boy pointed.

Josh groaned, rubbing his face. “What. The. Hell.”

Keira facepalmed. “Josh, how?”

“I don’t know!” he hissed. “My shoelaces just—”

He looked down. His shoelaces were tied into an intricate knot. A knot so tight, so impossibly woven, that there was no way he had done it himself.

His eyes widened. “Okay. Nope. That’s not normal.”

Tyler burst out laughing. “Dude. You just got taken down by your own shoes.”

Josh glared. “Shut up, Tyler.”

Max crossed his arms, his instincts on high alert. Something was wrong. And then the lights flickered. It was just for a second. But when the lights came back on—

Tyler was gone.

“Tyler?” Keira frowned.

They turned and found him inside an antique fire truck exhibit. Inside it. Like he had somehow teleported there.

Tyler stared at them, completely bewildered. “Okay. How did I get here?”

Jason’s eye twitched. “Dude. How did you not notice climbing into that?”

“I didn’t!” Tyler insisted.

Max had had enough. “This isn’t normal,” he muttered, his red eyes flashing with frustration.

Jason pointed accusingly at Brianna, who was still completely unaware of their suffering. “She’s doing something. She has to be.”

Keira looked skeptical. “How? She hasn’t even looked at us.”

Josh groaned, finally untying his shoelaces. “Then what’s messing with us?”

By this point, people were staring. A small group of museum visitors had gathered, whispering amongst themselves. Because what they saw? Was a group of teenagers having an absolute breakdown in the middle of a museum.

Keira tried to grab Max’s arm to pull him aside and missed completely. Her hand phased right through the air where his arm had been. Like he wasn’t even there.

Keira froze. “What the hell—?”

Max stiffened. “What just happened?”

Keira tried again. Her hand passed right through him again. Her entire body tensed. “…Max?”

Max slowly turned, his face dark with confusion and annoyance. “What?”

Keira stared at her hand. Then at him. Then at her hand again. “…I think I just lost the ability to touch you.” Max’s eye twitched.

Jason snorted. “Damn, that’s gotta be rough.”

Max shot him a death glare. Jason just grinned. And then a small child in the crowd pointed at them.

“Mommy, why are those people acting weird?”

Max clenched his fists. “We’re getting played.”

And the worst part? They had no proof. Only the burning feeling that they were being toyed with. And Max? Max was not amused.

Emma had been silent the whole time, quietly observing. But the moment Keira’s hand phased through Max, her entire demeanor changed. Her intuition had already been telling her something was off. Now? Now, she was certain of it.

Emma took one step and her foot kept going. WHOOSH. Her arms went out. Her bag swung wide. Her mouth opened but nothing came out as she crossed the polished floor in total silence no stumbling, no scrambling, just a long, smooth, unstoppable glide until the display case stopped her with a loud, THUD that rattled the glass. A few people gasped. Max blinked. The others stared.

Emma just sat there for a second, processing her life choices. Then, quietly— “…I hate everything.”

Jason wheezed. “Emma, what the hell was that?!”

Emma pressed her forehead against the display case. “I don’t know.”

Tyler lost it. “That was the most graceful disaster I’ve ever seen.” He wiped a fake tear from his eye.

Keira sighed. “That wasn’t just bad luck.”

Max agreed. Because Emma didn’t slip. She didn’t trip. She had glided. As if the laws of physics had simply decided to ignore her.

The moment Emma crashed into that display case, he knew he was next. He just didn’t know how. So he stayed still. He watched. He waited. And then his phone vibrated in his pocket. A message. From an unknown number. Frowning, he pulled it out and checked. Unknown Number: Hope you enjoyed the tour.

Max’s blood ran cold. He whipped around. Scanned the room. But Brianna was nowhere in sight.

Jason noticed his reaction immediately. “What? What happened?”

Max’s grip tightened around his phone. “Nothing,” he muttered.

Keira narrowed her eyes. “You’re lying.”

Josh frowned. “Dude. What happened?”

Max clenched his jaw. Because if he told them, Jason would lose his mind. If he told them, it would confirm what he was already suspecting. That she was watching them. That she knew they were watching her. That this wasn’t just some girl who kept disappearing. That this was a game. And she was winning.

He exhaled sharply, slipping his phone back into his pocket. “We’re leaving.”

Jason scowled. “No way. We’re figuring this out right now—”

Max cut him off, his red eyes flashing. “We’re leaving.”

Because they had already lost this round. And Max was done playing. Max shoved open the doors, his patience hanging by a thread.

Jason grumbled. “Well, that was a waste of time.”

Then—

A siren wailed. The fire alarm. Every single museum visitor turned to stare.

Josh groaned. “Oh, come on—”

Jason froze. Because his backpack was missing.

A museum staff member pointed at them. “Who set off the alarm?”

Max sighed through his teeth. “We’re leaving. Now.”

Meanwhile, from a quiet corner of the museum, Avalis flicked her nine shimmering tails in amusement. Her violet eyes glowed mischievously as she observed the group from afar as they ran out of the museum. Her tricks had been small. Harmless. But oh, so satisfying. With a silent, satisfied huff, she trotted back toward Calista’s side. By the time Max and his friends looked her way—

She was sitting peacefully, as if she had never moved. Completely innocent. And Calista? She had never looked back once. As if she had no idea what had just happened. But then Calista glanced down at Avalis and mouthed “behave”. Avalis blinked up at her. Slow. Innocent. Unbothered.