The Box

A box sits in the center of the warehouse.

In the warehouse, a sense of being watched washes over me. I can see no farther than my own nose in this darkness. Suddenly, a massive rectangular shape materializes above, transforming into a screen.

A news anchor's voice fills the air, cutting through the silence while the light only illuminates the screen. Somehow, my view of the room is completely obscured by what appears to be a blank darkness. The anchor appears to be covering the Local News:

"Good evening, I'm Jenn Spencer, and this is our top story. Authorities are looking for five missing persons wanted for questioning. Elijah Ellis and his alleged girlfriend, Camilla King, were seen hastily leaving a house connected to an ongoing investigation in a late model Toyota. As they sped away, they collided with Sharon Travis' vehicle, the wife of Claxton's Mayor, Trenton Travis. Chad Travis, their son, and Claire Travis, their daughter, were passengers in the car during the accident."

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Witnesses in an adjacent parking lot described an eerie occurrence where the collision of 2 cars made noise and both vehicles vanished into thin air. This was reported but thought to be a hoax. An officer on the scene found evidence that pointed otherwise.

Detective Tom Ackland’s face reflects utter confusion, mirroring my own thoughts.

"The strange thing is, there's no trace of the cars at the crash site—no wreckage, no debris. It's like they vanished into thin air, as if they were never here," he muses, his voice tinged with bewilderment. “There are strange vertical burn marks on nearby trees of what appear to be arrows, pointing up or down.”

“If anyone knows the whereabouts of these persons of interest, please contact the Claxton Police Department. Your call will remain confidential and a reward will be included for any information that leads to their location.”

The screen abruptly flashes blinding white, revealing a haunting sight. Hundreds of figures fix their gazes upward, while a few shadowy figures float above us, their bodies hunched forward. The attention of the crowd shifts from above to me, their stares penetrating my soul. A deep rumble resonates from below, growing louder...

...until darkness engulfs everything.

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I stand there, shuddering, dripping fear. Total silence and darkness surround me until I hear a singular, human hum. Another hum chimes in followed by another, culminating in a very short-lived but terrifying crescendo.

A rectangular, halogen light fixture begins to radiate in the far left corner of the warehouse, swinging slowly from side to side. I can see that I am alone, with the box.

In an instant flash, I am directly in front of the box, the halogen light begins to sway faster. It is now closed and has a note on top that says, “Open Me.”

My hands are no longer in my control. I open the box to find another box. I open the box to find another box. I open the box to find another box. Before I even realized, I sped up and began throwing the boxes behind me. Each box produced a louder thud than the one before and suddenly, my hands stopped. The box is filled with a black and seemingly viscous swirl. I turn around to find the entire warehouse filled with empty boxes.

I look back to see that the box is gone. I turn back around to find the warehouse is now empty again. A freestanding ladder extends upward, revealing a sea of windows who dare ascend and look up.

A small, red brick lay right beside the ladder.