Inherent Magic




Like most stories having to do with the supernatural, this one began on a dark and stormy night. The trees howled in the wind, and rain came down in a torrent of icy cold drops. Despite the inclement weather, the moon still peaked out through the clouds, ghostly white and shining with an intensity seen by mortals maybe once a year. Children in costumes roamed the streets, ghosts and ghouls of every size, begging for the delicious nectar the homeowners provided—candy. None were aware of the magic at work on this night, so dark, winds so stormy, rain so…rainy. But I was. Call it the sixth sense, call it whatever you’d like, something was up, and I knew it. Dressed in blue and red spandex, and a matching mask with white eyes, I walked down the street with my friends, who were WAAAY too old to trick-or treat, but that certainly didn’t stop them. “Yo, Darth” I say to my friend Chris, dressed in a large black suit with a long cape and glossy black helmet “Let’s stop a sec. My spidey senses are tingling.” Chris stops, saying bye to our other friends as they keep walking cheerily along. He takes off the helmet, revealing his dark brown hair, and darker brown eyes, much like I had. “What’s up?” he asks curiously. I tilt my head to the side “Don’t you feel it, man? That…vibration in the air?” Chris shakes his head. “You sure you aren’t just feeling the rain?” he asks “’Cause. Y’know. It’s RAINING. Like…really hard.” He puts his helmet back on “I don’t get how you’re doing this in just spandex.” He adds. I shrug “I don’t feel cold, honestly.” Which was weird. I’m six foot two, and skinny as a rail, I should probably be freezing. “Maybe it’s nothing” I say “Let’s keep going.”


The night was still young, and there were plenty of houses left to hit. But the rain made the trip unbearable for most little ones. The streets were starting to clear up quick. I look up at the moon, still shining like a beacon in a sea of clouds, “What the heck is going on…” I look back in front of me, and I’m alone. “Um…Chris??” I ask out loud “Hello? You there, dude?” No answer. I chuckle lightly “Come on man, this isn’t funny, you’re wearing pitch black at night during a storm, how the heck could I POSSIBLY see you?” No reply. Something skitters passed behind me, it’s feet making a clickclickclick noise as it goes. I turn quickly, and catch only a large furry object heading behind a house. “Probably a dog” I mutter, looking ahead once mo—HOLY CRAP! I hit the dirt, just as a massive, eight legged fuzzy beast comes leaping at my face with a hiss. It barely makes it over me, and turns around quickly, it’s fangs glinting in the moonlight. “WHAT THE CRAP IS THIS?!” I yell, quickly getting to my feet and running as fast as I could. Clackclackclack “OH STOP WITH THAT GOD DAMN NOISE!” I call over my shoulder. Next street. Nearly home, take a right. I keep running till I hit the intersection, and turn on a dime, running fast as I can. SMACK! Right into Chris. “Ow!” He says with his voice changer on, making it sound deep “Who dares to walk into the mighty lord vader?” Seriously man? “GIANT SPIDERS!” I yell at him “SUPER FREAKING HUGE!” He laughs “Nice try.” I shake my head, confused and scared “NO! Listen!” Clacklackclackcla— The noises stop. Chris looks around “What was that?” He asks. I look him dead in the eyes of his mask “Giant. Spiders. Hurry!”

We take off down my street, looking for a green brick house. Yeah, I know, painted bricks look dumb, but my parents thought it looked nice. The street was empty, with the exception of me and my friend, and we made it there in record time. “Get the keys!” he says. My heart skips a beat. “SON OF A B**CH!” I yell, stomping on the ground “I LEFT THEM INSIDE!!!” ”THEN KNOCK ON THE DOOR!” Chris yells “HURRY!” I shake my head at him not doing it, and slam against the door “MOM! OPEN THE DOOR! OPEN THE DOOR!” No answer “MOOOOOOOM!” clackclackclackclackclackclack I turn, to see an even larger spider rearing up at us, getting ready to jump. I grab Chris as we both scream, and it leaps at the door, knocking it inward. The house was full of webs. “Oh HELL no!” I yell, leaping onto the spiders back and grabbing the bat we keep by the door “NOBODY WEBS UP MY HOUSE!” SMACK. Pain. Ow. These spider carapaces were HARD. I swing again, this time aiming for the freaky fluffy spider creatures face. I hit home, and a nasty looking green fluid splashes out onto the floor. It’s blood glows, then. “Nasty…” I take the bat a third time, and try to ram it into the spiders skull through the eye-holes I’d made, but it leapt onto the ceiling, throwing me off. Then, with a “HISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS“, it leapt from on the ceiling, onto me. “Oh no!” I say, struggling as it tries to bite me, missing by centimeters “Oh HELL no! I am NOT dying tonight! Chris! Help!” I look to my side, and he was gone. THWAK! the spider bit, missed, and hit the floor. Now was my chance. I push up with all my might and…nothing. “Being human SUCKS!” I say, my anger and tiredness growing “Just...” my head aches “GET OFF OF ME!” My voice sounds loud as thunder and my ears ring with the force. The spider gets launched off, up and through my ceiling, out into the night sky, even. “What the hell?” I say, my voice normal once more “What?!” Chris races down the stairs, holding my dads shotgun “WHAT WAS THAT?” he asks, mask off, and scared as hell. “I shake my head “I have no idea! Hey, can you even shoot that?” He shakes his head, and I extend my hand “Give it here.” He walks over to me and hands me the gun. I examine it, and make sure everything’s as it should be. “You left the safety on. “ I say flatly. “I did?” he replies”, and I laugh “Yeah, ya did. Can’t shoot with the safety on.” Fully loaded, safety off, sights are fine…” I grin wildly “Let’s go get us some spiders.”

I wasn’t completely sure what the heck was going on, but y’know, in times like this, you know what they say. Keep on truckin’. My house was wrapped in web like a dang nest, and I wasn’t going to stick around till the owners returned. I had to find my parents. Or maybe the military. Yeah, I liked that idea. Rain was coming down in buckets as we stepped outside, making it hard to hear, and definitely hard to see. Chris groans behind me, then sneezes. “Stupid rain” he says, nervously messing with his hands. I’d decided to keep the shotgun, until he calmed down a little bit. Though, in all honesty, I shouldn’t be as calm as I was. Hisssss…Clackclackclack Crap. Chris practically pushes me out into the middle of the street, shaking in fear. I look around cautiously, my finger near, but not quite on the trigger. “Never touch the trigger unless you’re about to shoot.”, I heard my dads words echo throughout my mind. Click…click… I pull up and turn quickly, causing Chris to fall to the ground in panic, and pull the trigger. The shotgun roars in the night, and the spider goes limp with a hiss, the slug smashing into its head. I exhale, and cycle a new slug into the chamber, the empty shell falling onto the ground, and onto Chris. “YEEEEEOOOOWCH!” Chris yells, flinging the shell onto the ground, and grabbing the back of his neck “Crap man, why’d you do that?” he says, standing up, looking genuinely upset and hurt. “Sorry man…lemme see it.” Chris turns, and lifts his hand, wincing as the cold rain smacks against a pretty nasty looking burn. “Bleck..” I say, “that looks pretty bad. Tell me” I take the shotgun in my left hand, and poke it with my right “how badly does that hur--what?” I couldn’t believe it. The burn just…wiped away, where I touched it. Gone. Poof. “What?” Chris asks “What’d I do?” Bull crap…this has gotta be a dream, or something. I shake my head, then slap the back of his neck, the burn disappearing completely. “You’re fine.” I say, getting kinda sick of this magical crap or whatever it was. I mean, cool as it may be, without knowing AT ALL how to use it…? Well, that’s like being given a gun, and not knowing what to do with it. Chris turns around and looks at me, his face that of confusion. “Dude…you OK? I mean…you seem kinda angry.” I shrug, relaying what I just thought to him. “I guess you’re right.” He says. “But hey, we’ve read plenty of books with magic in ’em. So we know, it’s gotta be word based, emotion based, or completely random. It seemed to happen when I was hurt, and when you were attacked…so we can cross out random.” I nod “Seems sensible. And It can’t be word based, otherwise, that would make ‘off’ and ‘see’ super awesome magic words.” He nods now “So that leaves emotio--” He stops suddenly, as a large black figure tackles him to the ground, rearing up to bite. I extend my hand, and yell something incoherent, an angry blue flame flying from my hands, hissing in the rain, and smashing into the spider, igniting the fine hairs all over its body. It shrieks in agony, and thrashes about on the ground, the rain extinguishing the fire. I raise the shotgun in my left arm, and aim, firing. The spider goes limp. Chris is staring blankly at the sky “N-n-n-n-nnnnn….”he stutters “D..dd-d-definitely…emotion…” I help him up, still seething with rage. He pulls his arm away “Dude, your hands are MOLTEN.” I sigh “Sorry Chris. Look. Let’s keep going. Take the shotgun.” I toss it to him, and he catches it “I think I’m good for now. We’ll head for the police department, just around the corner. “ He smiles weakly “Anything to get out of this rain. Lead the way…”

It was an uneventful walk after that. Chris and I were constantly alert, looking every which way. We turned, and were instantly greeted by police barricades, and flashing lights. No sirens. So sound must draw the spiders in. Two men in full on SWAT gear escort me and Chris beyond the barrier, and confiscate the shotgun. Inside the building, we find various people, all shaken and wet, looking like they’ve seen the incarnation of death himself. Me and Chris search through the crowd, and eventually, find my parents--and his--sitting together, chatting. “…So that’s why it’s important that your son stick with mine.” I hear my dad saying to Chris’. “I see.” His dad says “Then let’s--ahhh!” he says, noticing Chris and I. “Hey boys! Thank god you’re safe!” My dad stands up and looks me over. “You alright Spidey? “ I nod. Man, I nod a lot. My dad laughs, and the room darkens, and a terrible tearing sound, and multiple wet-sounding impacts sound form all around me. Fear clouds my mind. “Well” my dad says, his voice suddenly inhuman, and high pitched “You’re about to be dead, child!” he rushes at me, and the world goes black.
“Holy crap!” I yell, shooting up in bed, soaked in sweat. “What a…what a terrible dream..!” I’m shaking, and cold. I look at the alarm clock in my room. The electric, neon blue lights tell me it’s only three a.m. I groan. “UUUUGHHH!” I wrap myself up in a blanket, and cover my head with a pillow “Stupid freaking dreams…!”

To be Continued…?