Dark Horses: the Magazine of Weird Fiction No. 9 | October 2022: Dark Horses Magazine, #9 by Wayne Kyle Spitzer

Author:Wayne Kyle Spitzer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: book, books, ebook, ebooks, magazine, magazines, science-fiction, horror, dark fantasy, weird fiction, periodicals, anthology, anthologies, literature, literary, journal, journals, stories, SF, strange, dark, pulp, short, fiction, serials, weird, tales, digest, amazing, other worlds, scary
Publisher: Hobb's End Press
Published: 2022-10-05T00:00:00+00:00

THE SHADOW BOX

Frederick Pangbourne

“Nathan? Is this one of your boxes?” Jennifer Singleton called over her shoulder from the garage. She pushed her long black hair from her face and turned her gaze back to the box.

The attached garage to their newly purchased home was filled with moving boxes of various sizes stacked upon each other like the unfinished construction of some ancient structure. Though they were already residing in the old gothic revival home for a week now, a majority of the cardboard boxes still seemed to be untouched and amassed in the gloomy confines of the garage.

“Nathan? Did you hear me?” She yelled again, but this time keeping her eyes on the peculiar box at her feet. Even under the dim illumination of the dust coated florescent lights, the box was predominant amongst its peers. Unlike the others, which looked fairly clean and free of marks, this odd box, which she guessed could be considered of a medium-sized, was dark and water stained. It even appeared to have slight traces of cobwebbing clinging to its cardboard sides.

She twisted at the waist and looked behind her to the door into the house, which was partially open. She opened her mouth to call again, but decided her effort would most likely be as futile as her first two shouts. The one corner of her mouth twisted upward as she diverted her attention once more to the box. She knew without a doubt that the strange box did not belong to her, and if it was Nathan’s, she wondered from what dank corner he had dug the filthy box up from and what its mysterious contents could possibly be. She threw a glance over her shoulder one last time before taking a knee next to the cardboard container.

The folds of the worn box were sealed with a black tape, which looked as dingy as the box it held together. She pushed her hair from her face again, guiding it behind one ear before she slid the box away from the others for better observation. There was a slight weight to the container. Five pounds? She guessed. Wiping away the dust coating and cobwebs from one side of the box she found were the dark tape started and picked at it with her red painted fingernails. Now that she was closer to the box, she could smell a faintly foul odor. It was as if it were an assorted combination of something dead and flower fragrances swirled into one offensive aroma.

Once the end of the tape had been discovered and its tip peeled away from the cardboard, she carefully began pulling the tape off. She had pulled it halfway from the box when Nathan called her name from inside the house. She sighed heavily and stood up, abandoning the mystery box for the time being.

“I’ve been calling you from the garage. Didn’t you hear me?” She exclaimed as she entered the house and into the brightness of the foyer at the front door.

Nathan appeared from around a corner at the end of the hall.

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