"Fine," Nick said, tone proof he thought the effort an enormous waste of his time. "I wish...I wish I could fly like..."
He struggled, his imagination failing. The machine kept beeping on some sort of countdown. He had mere seconds remaining. "Like a fly," he finished.
The change took place almost instantly, the only visible manifestation for both you and Nick was a glowing green light that seemed to surround Nick before it quickly faded.
Nick faded, too, and disappeared.
"Nick!" You look where your friend stood seconds ago. "Where'd you go?"
As you stepped closer to the vending machine, you heard something buzzing. The sound, faint at first, grew louder.
You blinked in shock when the buzzing coalesced inches from your face into a winged insect hovering doggedly in front of your face. As you listened carefully, some shrill words seemed to rise from the monotonous buzz.
"You idiot! Look at me!" The words didn't sound much like Nick's voice, but the sentiment behind them certainly did. "Fix this!"
Your eyes focus on a tiny fly, probably no bigger than the nail on your pinkie finger, as it used transparent wings laced with black veins to hover in your face.
"Help me!" Nick buzzed louder.
"I don't know what—"
"Can I help you?" An older man had crept upon us without making a sound. He looked small with a face that resembled weathered yellow parchment. His beady eyes in that wrinkled face stared intently at you.
Nick changed course and sped toward the man. "You in charge here?" Nick buzzed.
The man lifted a hand and casually swatted at the fly.
You reacted with horror. "Be careful! That's my friend."
The old man's slash of a mouth in that parchment face might have twisted into a smile. "Oh, he used the machine," the man said.
"Help me!" Nick buzzed again reminding his buddy of an old sci-fi flick he had once watched.
The man took a step closer to you. "Don't you want to try out the machine?"
You looked at Nick buzzing frantically. You look at the machine. "No!" You answer quickly and emphatically.
Nick buzzed the man's head like a kamikaze pilot on a mission. "Listen, old man." His words grew incredibly shrill and high-pitched as they synched with the buzzing of his wing. "If you don't fix me, I am going to sue your ass!"
The old man did not look pleased. You watched as he began to rub his hands together.
"Problem with kids today is that you're never satisfied," he said. "The machine worked perfectly fine, gave your friend his wish, and he dares to threaten me, a poor shop owner."
As the man rubbed his hands together, a ball of greenish light formed.
"I think your friend needs some time to consider the folly of his ways," the old man spoke in a raspy, aggrieved voice.
The ball of energy in the man's hands shot out and enveloped Nick. In an instant, he disappeared.
Your jaw dropped. Had your best friend just been vaporized?
"Don't worry," the old man said. "I will bring him back after he has learned his lesson."
"Where did he go?" You asked nervously.
The old man's dark eyes glowed with a brief red shine as he answered.