legends · 4 min read ·
Sold Out
A group chat from a gig shows seven friends being counted into an audience that does not seem to exist.
**Group chat: "Row L 🎟️ Harbourside Night" (7 members)**
· · ·
**Mina:** ok we're in. Row L, seats 12–18. Who has the wristbands
**Jonah:** me. it says we can't leave the stalls once the house lights drop
**Priscilla:** why would we leave
**Lou:** the ticket says "Doors 23:45. Performance 23:58. Please remain in your seat for the duration."
**Jonah:** 23:58 is a weird start time
**Priscilla:** the band is called Quiet Hours. it's meant to be weird
· · ·
**Ticket platform notice (sent to all attendees)**
*Thank you for purchasing Harbourside Night. Keep your wristband visible. Do not leave the auditorium during performance. Attendance is recorded.*
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**Mina:** the app says 1,400 sold. the room looks like 40 people
**Lou:** the balcony is dark, probably just the lights
**Jonah:** every seat has a card that says "Please don't count the audience." it's printed really neatly
**Mina:** I counted. 40
**Lou:** I'm not counting anymore
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**Mina:** single chair on stage, microphone stand. Row L is empty except us. I think we're the front row now
**Priscilla:** why is the chair angled at us
**Jonah:** it's not angled. I'm not checking
**Mina:** lights are going down. it's 23:58. no music
**Mina:** someone walked on. woman in a long dark coat, back to us. she's sitting down. no instrument
**Jonah:** she turned around
**Priscilla:** she has my hair. the same cut I got on Tuesday
**Lou:** that's not funny
**Priscilla:** I'm not joking. I'm looking at it
**Mina:** she leaned into the microphone. she's saying a number
**Jonah:** what number
**Mina:** "one"
· · ·
**Ticket platform notice**
*Attendance check: 7 of 7 present. Thank you for remaining in your seat.*
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**Lou:** she says "two." it's not coming through the speakers. it's coming from the seat behind me
**Priscilla:** nobody's behind you
**Lou:** I know. I can feel breath on my neck, and it's counting in time with my pulse
**Mina:** the exit is behind us, the sign is lit. I'm going to walk up the aisle
· · ·
**Mina:** I'm in the aisle. four rows. the exit sign hasn't moved. I keep walking and it stays the same distance off, the way a streetlight does when you're driving a straight road. Her voice is behind me, saying "three." It lands right on my neck
**Lou:** mina don't stop
**Mina:** I'm not stopping. I'm not going faster either. I just can't get closer
**Mina:** the sign says ROW L now. it's above me
**Priscilla:** you walked back to row L
**Mina:** I walked away from it
· · ·
**Ticket platform notice**
*Please remain in your seat. Attendance: 6 of 7 present.*
· · ·
**Jonah:** who's missing
**Priscilla:** mina
**Lou:** she was in the aisle. the aisle's empty now
**Jonah:** the wristband is warm. it says 00:58 and it's counting up. nobody here knows what it's counting toward
**Priscilla:** I think they only let us go at zero
**Lou:** how long is zero
**Jonah:** long enough that I've been reading the seat cards. Each one has a number on the back. Mine says 4. Lou's says 5. Priscilla's says 6. Yours, Mina, says 3. The one on stage says 1. Nobody has a 2. Nobody has a 7 either
**Priscilla:** why aren't we all in order
**Jonah:** because the chair in the balcony is the only one that's empty
· · ·
**Mina (new device)**
I'm up in the balcony, seat 12, row L, the same numbers. I can see all of you, very small. You're all facing the stage, and nobody's moving, and the woman in the dark coat is still counting, very softly, with her head down.
I'm not sure I'm the one who walked up the aisle. The seat I'm in is warm, and I don't remember sitting in it. Someone has left a card on the armrest. It says *Please remain in your seat.* It has my handwriting on it.
Please stay where you are. The set is almost over. I think I'm the only one who can see that the exit is still behind you, and still exactly as far away as it was.
· · ·
**Ticket platform notice**
*Performance complete. Thank you for attending Harbourside Night. Please remain in your seat until the house lights are restored.*
*Attendance: 7 of 7 present.*
· · ·
**Priscilla:** house lights are coming up. everyone's seated. where's mina
**Lou:** balcony. she's not waving
**Jonah:** the stage is empty. the balcony seat is empty too, now that I look. the card on it has changed. it says "1"
**Lou:** it doesn't matter. the chair on stage has someone in it again
**Priscilla:** who
**Lou:** me. I'm on stage. I'm sitting in the chair with a microphone, and the audience is looking up at me, and the number in my lap is 1, and I'm supposed to say the next one
**Jonah:** don't
**Lou:** I'm not going to say it. I'm just going to hold the card. It's the only thing in this building that hasn't moved
· · ·
**[Group chat ended. 7 members. Final message from Lou, 00:58:12:]**
*The card in my lap is warm. I'm keeping my seat. Somebody else has to stand up.*