“Tonight, ten unlucky individuals will risk everything to go back to the way things were,,” a male announcer said with enthusiasm through the studio speakers. “Each contender will be given a case with a predetermined transformation in it, some of them good, most of them bad. One by one each person will open their case, making a guess as to what's inside.” The announcer continued. “Guess correctly and nothing bad happens, guess incorrectly and your luck’s run out.”
Tara listened nervously as she sat at the far end of the first row. She was absent when the others made their deals to get their bodies back, not that she could reclaim hers after it was turned into a trophy. This was the only way to get it back but how much was she about to risk for it.
“One lucky individual will be selected to choose which cases to open along the way. Giving them the best shot of correctly guessing…. WHAT’S IN THE CASE.” An invisible audience yelled out that last part. “Please welcome your host, Zariah!”
Half of the people in the contestants booth didn’t recognise Zariah’s name. Though when they flew down from the rafters with their butterfly wings they recognised who they had previously been.
“Thank you,” Zariah bowed to their victims. They gave them that same toothy grin. “Bring out the cases!” They, instructed making a grand gesture to a red curtain in the middle of the stage. Out came ten identical looking women with wavy blonde hair, red glittery dresses and high heels. They walked in unison with only the number cases telling them apart.
“Let’s see who will be playing the lead tonight,” Zariah summoned a black hat that matched her dress and put her hand in it. “Alice!” she called out. As a woman in the middle of the second row stood up and came onto the stage.
Alice reminded Tara of her former body, just with less muscles, a pointier chin and a wider mouth. She wondered how Alice had been transformed to agree to play this game, not considering that some of the contenders were playing for others.
“Please choose a case,” Zariah gestured to the case girls.
“Number three,” Alice answered.
“Now let’s see what we’re playing for,” Zariah said as the case girls handed the remaining cases. The cases were handed out in number order starting with number one on the opposite end of the booth from Tara. Had Alice chosen a higher number, Tara would’ve been handed case number five but ended up with six instead.
A board with a list of changes appeared to the left of Tara positioned so they could all read it. Highlighted in red were; An Inanimate Object, A Creepy Crawly, Petrification and Animal. Highlighted in blue; Body alteration, Case Girl Swap, Swap places with the contestant. Finally highlighted in Green; A million dollars, Revert to normal and three wishes.
“How this works is you ask someone to open their case, if they guess wrong on red or blue they undergo that transformation. If they guess correctly on red nothing happens; on blue they get to choose if they take it or not. With the greens, it’s the opposite, a wrong guess means they miss out, a correct guess means they win that prize.”
Alice looked at Zariah and at her case. “So what do I get as the contestant?” she asked, thinking in terms of a regular game show.
“A fifty/fifty of guessing correctly,” Zariah smirked before pausing to think. “Some of those transformations are quite broad so you also get to pick what they are.” Zariah decided on the spot. “Now who are you going to choose first?”
“Lucky number 7,” Alice pointed towards a tall looking man with short brown hair and a light beard.
“Bradley,” Zariah smiled. “What do you think you have? Now you might be tempted to pick a green you want and end up with a red you don’t want,” They warned.
Bradley paused for a moment as he looked at the options on the board. “I’m going to go with a reversion,” Bradley answered as they opened the case to reveal exactly what they asked for.
“Bradley, congratulations!” Zariah couldn’t believe the luck to guess correctly on the first case. “Your family has been restored to their true forms.” Bradley was crying.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he kept repeating himself.
“You may go,” Zariah clicked their fingers and Bradley was gone. They then looked at the faces of everyone else in the studio. “Well tough luck for the rest of you,” Zariah shrugged and turned to Alice. “Choose the next case.”
“Number One,” Alice said a little more deflated.
“I believe I have an animal,” Tamara stated. She chose the animal case as she didn’t want to be turned into one. She regretted that choice as the case revealed the second green showing one million dollars.
“Well you’re not rich, but you’re not a dog either. Though your boyfriend will remain one as it’s time for you to go,” Zariah dismissed Tamara. “That’s two greens down already, can you make it a third?” They turned to Alice.
“Number 8,” Alice pointed to another man.
“Ben, what do you think you have?” Zariah grinned.
“Let’s go for three greens, I have the three wishes,” Ben said confidently as they opened their case to reveal a petrification.
“Ooh too bad,” Zariah pouted. “Alice, what kind of material would you like Ben to be?”
“Gold,” Alice said with little hesitation. She didn’t choose his fate but she could make sure he was worth something.
“You have thirty seconds to come onto the stage and make a pose,” Zariah informed Ben. “Unless you want to be sitting down for eternity.”
Ben rushed to the stage as the tips of his extremities and hair had already begun to transform. He looked at his golden hands out in front of him, he opened his mouth and froze. He was now a golden statue wearing clothes.
“I’ll work out what to do with him later,” Zariah said as they dismissed Ben into parts unknown. “Moving on,”
Alice felt bad for Ben but he did try to claim the wishes she desperately needed. “Case number two,” she pointed to the first row.
“I have the animal,” Liana stated, hoping it wasn’t anything worse. Inside her case was the first blue, which simply said case girl. If she had guessed correctly she would’ve had a choice if she wanted to be one or not, though with the incorrect guess it was out of her control. In a blink of an eye, Liana was now on the stage standing behind Zariah and Alice unable to move except to smile.
“Congradulations Peter, your contract has ended, enjoy your new life,” Zariah dismissed Liana before they could protest. Liana could only watch and smile as a guy had taken her body and her boyfriend would remain a toy in her closet.
“Case four,” Alice pointed to the last woman on the bottom row.
“I hope I have three wishes,” Cheryl begged for the case to give her something good. Instead she got one of the worst choices yet, she would soon become an inanimate object. “Please no… I have a family…” Cheryl begged.
“You better choose quickly before I choose something for you,” Zariah warned Alice as she saw her hesitating.
“A portrait,” Alice stated feeling bad for the woman, at least this way she could look like herself, assuming that was her original form.
Cheryl was now permanently a picture of their mother, now hanging above the stairs watching as her swapped around family lived their new lives, without knowing she was there.
“We’re half way there,” Zariah pointed out. “Two reds still remain, who will go next?”
“Him,” Alice pointed in Tara’s direction for a second she thought she was chosen but it was the person behind her instead.
“People have already guessed this one, so I hope I’m right, I have the animal,” Ian answered. He opened the case to find that he was half right, he was going to be a creature but one a lot smaller than he would’ve liked.
“Tough break,” Zariah almost felt bad for him. Alice did too as she couldn’t even decide what to turn him into. So she let the transformation choose itself. Only Tiffany noticed he had turned into a cockroach as she let out a squeal and raised her legs as Ian went scurrying off. “Well that’s the worst one out of the way,” Zariah shrugged.
“Now it’s your turn,” Alice pointed to Tara, seeing that she thought she had been chosen before.
Tara looked at the board, she had a good shot coming out with something good. She didn’t know what body change meant and hoped it included gender. “Animal,” she said confidently, it was the one thing she didn’t want to happen to her and unlike Ian she didn’t need to worry about becoming a bug. Tara opened the case and her eyes lit up with excitement and guilt. She swapped places with Alice. Now Alice would spend her life as Caleb instead.
“What? No… this isn’t happening…” Alice said in disbelief as she patted down her body. Zariah then sent her back to Caleb’s house.
“Well Tara, it looks like you caught a break,” Zariah patted her on the back. “Now you get to decide who’s next.”
“Her,” Tara pointed out the last woman in the booth.
Tiffany nodded. She didn’t want to be an animal, but everyone who chose that ended up in a bad position, so she went with the best option on the board. “I’m going to take the three wishes,” she stated. “Oh my god, oh my god, oh, my god!” she screamed as she opened up her case.
“Before we continue let me make this clear,” Zariah put her arm up. “These three wishes are personal wishes, they are only to affect you and anyone in your life I might’ve changed. You can’t wish for world peace or for everyone here to have a happy ending.”
“I wish to have the powers to transform my friends, family and partners,” Tiffany began.
“Well that’s three different things, so that counts as all your wishes,” Zariah cut her off and sent her on her way. They then turned to Tara. “She’s going to be trouble with those powers, I highly recommend avoiding her.” Zariah then moved towards the booth. “It now comes down to a fifty-fifty, how this will work is you’ll both say what’s in your case and we’ll open them at the same time.”
“Animal,” Tara said without hesitation, if she had body change she could live with that as this wasn’t her body. Animal on the other hand was out of the question.
The man that had been sitting next to her up until she swapped with Alice pondered for a moment before also picking animal.
Tara and the other man both opened their case at the same time, revealing Tara had the animal and the guy had the body change.
“He can become a woman,” Tara took the gamble that he was also the wrong gender like she was earlier. Unfortunately she wouldn’t find out as Zariah returned them to their new lives before they could respond.
The sad thing is Tara didn’t even know what Alice was playing for, if it was for herself or for a family member. She felt bad for the woman as well as the others in the game but they all knew they were playing for keeps, Tara was just lucky to get a body similarly looking to her old one. She was now a little shorter and less toned than she would’ve liked to be. She could at least change that last part. Now she just had to work out where she lived and what she did for a living.