Kat's Hypnosis (image and short story) - Exclusive

Kat’s Hypnosis

Your friend Kat didn’t believe in all that hypnosis nonsense, so all she could do was sneer and scoff at the fair’s magic show. You were determined to convince her though, so when the self-proclaimed magician asked for an “assistant” from the audience, you volunteered Kat. Of course, she was confident it was all a sham, so aside from a little eye rolling, she acquiesced and went up on the stage in front of the hundred-or-so people in the audience. She snarkily went along with the performer's requests, sure he would embarrass himself when his hypnosis trick didn’t work so easily on a rational, critical-thinker such as herself.

“When I count to three, you’re going to fall into a trance,” the magician said self-assuredly to Kat, who was seated on a stool in the middle of the stage.

“That’s ridiculous, but yeah, SURE,” Kat said with a cheeky smirk.

“One...two...THREE!”

To “oohs” and “aahs” from the audience, as soon as the word “three” left the performer’s mouth, Kat’s previously cocky, snarky attitude had all but disappeared, replaced with a vacant expression and a calmed demeanor. She stared blankly over the heads of the wowed crowd, as you chuckled to yourself -- by this point, you had already pulled out your phone to record the radical transformation, along with countless others.

“It looks like our little doubter may have been a little overconfident, huh folks?” the magician said with a playful smile, to scattered chuckles from the crowd. “She did say this whole thing was ridiculous... Well, what kind of RIDICULOUS thing could we convince her to do, now that she’s more suggestible? Maybe something just a little embarrassing, like...make her smell her own sock?!”

The suggestion was met with uproarious laughter from the crowd, and you couldn’t help but let a chuckle of your own slip out -- seeing your cocky best friend get proven so wrong was quite satisfying. But you also felt a strange twinge in your chest -- a mix of second-hand embarrassment, and a subtle twang of excitement. You considered turning off the recording on your phone, but everyone else was still doing it... All the while, Kat was still up there, teetering slightly in her seat, and you could see the slight trail of drool start to slip out over the crest of her lower lip, before descending into a long string ending into the lap of her green shorts.

“It’s been quite hot out there today,” the magician said as he innocently put his hands up. “From a cursory glance, our volunteer Kat has worked up quite a sweat – so I’m pretty sure without our little hypno spell, she’d be revolted at the mere mention of this challenge! It’s a good thing her mind is a lot more pliable now, right folks?”

Another laugh emanated from the audience.

“Okay, Kat!” the magician exclaimed, his gestures performative as he strutted over to his new assistant. “You are now under my hypnotic spell! Just to convince any vestigial naysayers in the crowd, I would like you to now reach down, and pull off one of your sneakers!”

Kat did as she was told. She brought one knee up to her chest, resting her foot on the edge of the stool as she began to untie the laces of the chunky platform sneaker, her gaze blankly aiming forward. She cupped the heel of the shoe in one hand, and with a momentary struggle, pulled the sneaker off, and dropped it to the ground with a thud that echoed throughout the massive show tent interior.

More wowed “oohs” and “aahs” came from the fixated audience, upon seeing the magician’s command translate perfectly into Kat’s action. Your hands trembled slightly, the view through the camera wobbling just a bit as the nervousness in your chest bubbled up a bit more.

“Very good, Kat!” the magician said with visible pride. “Now, don’t stop there – why don’t you take off your sock for me? Oh, and be sure to show it off to the audience, so they know it’s not a trick!”

Kat once again did as she was told. She hooked her index finger into the cuff of the off-white sock, and pulled. There was a brief moment of resistance as the sock was pulled down her arch, as if the wet fabric was desperately clinging to her foot (or was it perhaps Kat’s independent thought desperately trying to scrape through the hypnotic control?) – regardless, after such a minor, split-second delay, the sock cleared Kat’s toes. Your seat was close enough to the stage where you could notice the vibrant green polish that decorated Kat’s toenails, although it was starting to chip a bit – due in no small part, you were sure, to her feet spending hours in hot, sweaty shoes and socks over the course of the summer so far.

“Very good, Kat, very good!” the magician said with a big smile plastered over his face – the crowd was still letting out noises of enjoyment, surprise, and anticipation. “Let’s move on to the next and final step, shall we? I want you to listen, and I want you to listen closely.” He cleared his throat and leaned in a bit to Kat’s expressionless face. “The audience and I want you to SMELL YOUR SOCK. Understood?”

For the first time since being subject to hypnotic control, Kat spoke, letting out a small, nearly-inaudible “Yes,” that you were sure didn’t make it to the attendees in the back. As the single word slipped from her mouth, in a monotonous tone that could barely be ascribed to her typical bubbly, cheeky voice, you felt those nerves reach a height in your chest – was she really going to do this?

A loud exclamation from the surrounding crowd echoed as Kat answered the question that had flickered into your mind. She brought the damp white sock in her hand right up to her face, oriented the slightly-dirtied surface toward her blushed facial features, pressed it up against her freckled nose and mouth, and took a deep, long sniff – THAT you were sure was heard by the attendees in the back of the crowd. That nervous bubbling in your chest rode over a crest, as a wave of both second-hand shame and excitement tingled its way through your body. Claps, cheering, and vibrant laughter rose out of the crowd, almost as if it was getting pulled out of them by the sheer ridiculousness of the scenario. Phones everywhere were recording video, photos were being taken, and although you didn’t know it yet, posts were already being uploaded to social media about the “dorky but kinda cute girl in glasses at the fair was just hypnotized and made to smell her own stinky socks, LOL”.

The magician, dramatic as ever, took a deep bow for the crowd. The clapping and laughter continued to swell around you, as you finally clicked the “stop” button on your phone, ending the recording and slipping the phone back into your pocket, feeling like if you could hide the phone away, the embarrassment would also disappear. True, you did feel that Kat kind of deserved this, with her snotty and cocky attitude, but how would she react when she came to, and was face to face with the near-a-hundred attendees that had witnessed her embarrassing performance – not to mention finding out about the dozens of posts making their way online that would feature videos and images of the event?

As Kat continued to breathe in the scent of her socks, the smell of which you could only imagine, the magician started up the conclusion to his performance, preparing to pull Kat out of the hypnosis. You weren’t sure of precisely how the events were going to unfold, but once she was freed, you were confident about one thing:

Kat was going to KILL YOU.