The mall was mostly empty as they walked through the corridors. Several shops had already dropped their gates and locked up. It wasn’t a good sign. None of them wanted to think about spending the night under the game’s spell.
As luck would have it, Jeff spotted the shop between a cell service kiosk and a row of quarter machines. At least he guessed it was the same place. He was looking at a large wagon that had an antique store vibe. Above the curtained entry way was the familiar wooden sign that read “The Magic Shop”.
“That’s it!” He gestured. “I mean... It’s different, but that’s the same sign.”
“This does look familiar.” Beth said, pulling her zipper down to get a better look. “Wait... That’s right. You went here while I was looking for a blouse... I think. I don’t remember it being in a wagon though...”
“It wasn’t.” Jeff replied. “The shop I visited was between le-Botique and Shurtz, but that’s the same sign as before.”
“So these folks will be able to turn everyone back?” Beth asked as Jeff pulled open the curtain.
“I hope so...” He replied.
He waited until they were all inside before stepping in after them. He had to push several more curtains aside before finding the familiar old shop that he had browsed earlier that day. It was exactly as he remembered, which was amazing considering how small the new exterior was.
“How is this possible...” Frank asked, stepping further into the relatively enormous space.
“After all that’s happened, surely you’re not still skeptical about this sort of thing.” Abby joked.
“Is there anything I can help you with?”
They all turned to see a young woman sitting behind the register.
“Uh...” Jeff stuttered. “Um, yes... Well. You sold me a game earlier today.”
“Oh, I remember you!” The girl replied. “Let me guess... You enjoyed it so much that you decided to buy another one!”
“That’s not...” Jeff started.
“We’ll you can’t...” She interrupted. “You bought the last one.”
“But... It’s...” Jeff tried...
“You’ll just need to be patient. We get new shipments at the end of each month.”
Before he could say anything else, the shop began to shimmer with tiny bolts of static...