Sounds from cockroaches fill the room, which awakens a young green dyed-haired witch girl, Amity Blight. She sees a single roach walking around her, causing her to jump upward from her slumber, which scares the bugs away.
"W-What? Where am I?" Amity managed to blur out despite her mind still needing some time to wake up fully. She remembered that not that long ago, she was in her bedroom in the Blight Manor. Staring at the dull gray ceiling as she lay on her bed after a heated argument that she could barely recall. Now in front of her was a door that was underneath a bright light. On her left side was a wall with numerous tally marks, and on her right was a small table with nothing on it, standing in a corner.
With nothing else to see within the empty room she occupies, it seems like the next thing to do was head toward what lies on the other side of the door in front of her. At first, she was hesitant to open the door, but she built up her courage and opened the door with a couple of inner pep talks and deep breaths.
Once entering the other side, it gives a bit of relief that nothing out of the ordinary was sighted, just a common hallway of a house. Everything was seemingly normal, with lamps on the wall surrounded by a couple of picture frames of artwork that Amity assumed the owner of this house collected. Funny enough, she did miss an important detail that was right in front of her. There was a mess at the corner of the hallway just before you would have to head right. She started to slowly make her way toward the trashed area but was distracted by some kind of noise. She couldn't make it out at first until she was just about to go to the right side of the hallway.
"As the Congressional Debate over gun control flares up yet again, we regret to report the murder of the wife and her two children by their husband and father." It was a radio and what it was playing was a news report. Amity was now heading to where the radio was to listen to the information that had caught her attention.
"The father purchased the rifle used in the crime at his local gun store two days earlier. This brutal killing took place while the family was gathered at home on a Sunday afternoon." Strange. Amity wasn't familiar with this particular criminal case but dismissed it at first until she questioned what a rifle was. Was it some kind of staff, or is it a human thing? 'Probably a human thing.' She thought.
"The day of the crime, the father went to the trunk of his car, retrieved the rifle, and shot his wife as she was cleaning up the kitchen after lunch. When his ten-year-old son came to investigate the commotion, the father shot him, too. His six-year-old daughter had the good sense to hide in the bathroom, but reports suggest he lured her out by telling her it was just a game. The girl was found shot once in the chest from point-blank range. The mother, who he shot in the stomach, was pregnant at the time."
"What the…." The now shocked young witch expressed. This was definitely new to her. Although there were thousands of criminal cases around the Boiling Isles, this is something unheard of. Maybe this could be a human event, and if so, did she end up in the human realm?
"There was another family shot to death in the same state last month, and in December last year, a man used a rifle and meat cleaver to murder his entire family. In each case, the perpetrators were fathers. State police say the string of domestic homicides appears unrelated, though it could be part of a larger trend, such as employment, childcare, and other social issues facing the average family." For some reason, this was enough evidence for the shocked pale witch that this may be an event in the human realm. Yet, she still can't shake the thought of this happening anywhere near her presence.
She examines the table in front of her to see some keys, a banana peel, a half-eaten chocolate bar, an ashtray full of cigarettes, and a picture of what appears to be a human family. Maybe they are the owners of the house. She looked above her to see an upstairs area and began to shout for a presence.
"Hello? Is anyone there? I need help!" No answer, just the sound of the loud swinging lamp above her in need of oil and the static of the radio. It seems like Amity is utterly alone in the house, yet she still seeks to see if anybody was with her, but with no signs of a staircase, she pressed onward. A basement-level door was there with a light above it. She entered the room to be shocked.
"Wait, what?" It seems like she was sent back to the beginning of the hallway. She stood there, confused. She tried to open the door that she entered to compare the two hallways just for it to be locked now. This baffled the witch even more. She examines every detail of the hallway's beginning that she ignored the first time due to the radio catching her attention. It looks like everything was the same; the clock still says 23:59, the picture frames didn't change artwork or positions, and the table in the corner was still a mess full of drugs, candy, and pictures of the same human family.
There was something different, however. The door which would lead to the basement area was closed when it was previously opened. Amity tried to open it, but it was locked. The same story goes for the door that seemed to lead to the outside. She decided to next test the first door near the first messy table, but before she could even come close to it, someone or something started banging on the other side of the door.
Amity yelped as she stood there in fear, breathing heavily as she anticipated the door to burst open. Despite that, the door never opens as the banging stops. Amity continues staying there, debating on even seeing if there was something in that room. In the end, she just ran across it. Still staring at the door, waiting for the banging to return, only to hear one of the pictures falling onto the ground, with its glass shattering into multiple pieces.
She jumped at the sound and was quick to pick it up, in fear that she'll upset whoever was in the house with her. Amity paused with the frame at hand. She noticed that there was something behind the artwork, another picture. She removed the first one out of the way to see...a photo of herself at her young age. This shook to her core. ' No one should have this besides our family, ' she thought.
It had a note attached on the back, which she noticed due to the photo being see-through with a light nearby. It read " Behind you ." The second Amity finished that sentence, she heard the basement door open. She peeks over the wall to confirm her suspicion, but she begins to hear soft cries behind the door she ran across from. Amity's heart sank into her stomach at the thought that she had to now walk across the hall all the while someone was in that room, sobbing uncontrollably.
Somehow, she managed to gather the courage to stroll across the closed room to not disturb whoever lays behind that door. It seemed to fail as the banging returned, causing Amity to scream. This time the banging was rapid, with the sobbing getting louder as it turned into groans. Amity was now scared shitless as she ran down the staircase below to not spend a second near that banging door. She opened the door and slammed it closed with her back. She falls to the floor as she struggles to maintain her rapid beating heart at the encounter.
Amity looked forward to seeing the same hallway from before. Instead of confusion, anger took control of her emotions. At this point, she was convinced that someone from the Boiling Isles was fucking with her. She stomped her way to where the second floor was viewable to shout.
"Hey dipshit, you think this is fucking funny?! Why don't you show yourself?!" It seemed like whatever was in the house gave a response to her request as the basement door slammed shut with the previous door now wide open. Amity's eyes widened as she saw it opened but was determined to face whoever was on the other side of that room. She bolted to the room, ready to put up a fight. There was no need for a battle as there was nothing but a flashlight, blinking every few seconds.
Confusion yet relief fills Amity's mind at the sight of nothing. She entered the room to pick up the flashlight, feeling like she'll need it for later. Amity examines the space with the bit of lighting that came from the hallway to realize that this was a bathroom, with a bathtub complete with dirty water, a toilet with no water, and a sink that had a mirror above it.
The light from the hallway was cut short when the witch picked up the flashlight to turn it on just for the door to the bathroom to close. It gave Amity a jump, but she was angrier than scared at the event. ' Oh, give me a fucking break. '
"Hey asshole, let me out of the bathroom! Unless you want me to blow the door open!" Amity screamed as she banged and kicked the door, attempting to open it without avail. A soft sob filled the bathroom, it seemed like the crying came from the sink. Unfortunately, Amity shines the light at the sink to have her pupil shrink at the disgusting sight.
In the sink were two bloody fetuses with chicken-like hands and feet with no eyes. Just the mouth so that they can let out cries and moans. Amity was shaken to her very core, with her stomach twisting and turning due to the sickening sight of them. She started to gag and cough as she felt a rush of liquid digested food rise to her throat. Amity rushed to the toilet, causing her to drop her flashlight on her way as she vomited out her dinner. Her grip tightens on the edges of the toilet as her vomit becomes more violent and solid as she cannot remove the memory of the two barely living bloody fetuses.
"This is fucked up...fucked up!" Amity retorts loudly after her puke session softens. Yet there was seemingly no end to the mental torture of one of the Blight's prestigious offspring as Amity could hear a hand be placed on the door handle. She picks up the flashlight to shine on the handle to see it slowly moving; someone was trying to quietly open the door without her knowing. Despite that, the person on the other side soon realizes that the door was locked and begins to violently fidget with the door alongside loud bangs and kicks.
"Stop it! I'm warning you! I will burn you into a crisp!" Amity draws a circle to attempt a fire spell, but the ring breaks, leaving dust on the floor. Magic doesn't work in this...dream? Different reality? Realm? It doesn't matter what this house is, as Amity was left defenseless. Armed with only a flashlight, she starts to shake endlessly in fear. After all, what can she do without magic? What is she if she can't perform any magical spectacle?
She hides in her arms, waiting for sudden death from the angry presence as a single tear comes out. The door was roughly open, to the point of it hitting the wall. What followed was complete silence, no footsteps or groaning, just the sound of the eerie swinging lamp. She looks up to see no one, nothing at all. Once Amity was over the fear that took control of her, now she was utterly confused. She walked out of the bathroom and shouted questions at the interior balcony above her.
"Hey! Who are you?! What is it that you want from me?!" Amity's question seemingly fell on deaf ears as if she was shouting into an empty void. But it did lead to the basement door finally opening. She stared at the dimly lit downstairs for a while until she started to head downstairs. Amity opened the door and was unphased by seeing the same hallway.
Before she could even reach the corner of the hall, she heard similar sobbing and groaning. Not of the bloody, barely formed children, that of an older woman Amity heard before running away from the banging door. She slowly peaked over the wall and what she saw caused her to drop her flashlight. Amity saw a tall decaying woman in a wedding gown, with blood all over her dress, standing there with an awkward stance. The woman's face twisted and turned violently as if it was glitching in and out of reality, yet something about her face seemed familiar. Amity squinted her eyes so she could examine its face, and her jaw dropped.
"M-Mom?..." This thing, this person, whatever it is, had taken her mother's physical appearance. Adding a smile that seemed too broad and too ordinary to be a natural one. It seemed like Amity's mom was staring her down despite her head glitching in place. She tried to reach out to her mother, but the lamp above her went out, yet its moans of pain remain. She reaches out for her flashlight to shine on the spot where her mother was to see no one there, so Amity decides to walk step by step to her exact position, only for the lamp to start working again, with a bunch of cockroaches coming out of the walls and floor. This caused Amity to let out a short shriek of disgust as she avoided the roaches walking in her direction. She made it to the basement door to see a message written above it.
" FORGIVE ME, AMITY. THERE'S A MONSTER INSIDE OF ME "
She pondered on what this meant and who wrote it. Her mother, perhaps? Or someone close to Amity? Her thoughts linger until Amity opens the door to see the hallway darken, besides the light that shines from the lamp across the corner. The news report from before started to play once again, but this time with more static than before. This bothered Amity a bit as she was a perfectionist and walked her way to adjust its tune.
" DON'T TOUCH THAT DIAL NOW. WE'RE JUST GETTING STARTED. " The radio screamed out, acknowledging Amity's existence. It sounded like the man that was giving out the report. The fact that this man knew Amity's presence caused her to look around for any cameras, even the radio.
" You can't trust the tap water. " The radio talked once more. All Amity could do is stare at it as she was deeply disturbed at how it could break the 4th walk. She can hear soft breathing from all around her during this, but it sounded like the person breathing was struggling. As if something or someone was choking them.
"204863, " the numbers the radio screamed out sounded oddly familiar to her. Amity tried to pinpoint why she recognized those specific numbers. Maybe it was a codec she remembers from long ago. Or even a print number of one of the Good Witch Azura books. But her thoughts were cut short.
"Look behind you. I SAID, LOOK BEHIND YOU " The sounds of the breathing have gotten louder, and the sounds of the familiar groans return as this was said. Amity could feel the breaths on her shoulder and a hand playing with her green-dyed hair. She didn't move, not a muscle. She didn't even let out a single breath as she was utterly shell-shocked.
"LOOK BEHIND YOU," The man spoke as a hand was placed on Amity's shoulder, causing her instinct to look behind her. She let out a blood-curdling scream at the sight of her mother's face right in front of her.
Her mother's face was deeply bruised, with cut marks all over her face alongside a burn mark on her neck. Her eyes were completely black with bloody tear stains that ran across her cheek. Her hair is a mess, with her hair being all over the place as it contains aged blood. What didn't make this any less terrifying was that she was very tall, so tall that her head touched the lamp above them.
Amity booked it to where she entered. She began to fidget with the door handle and cursed at herself for being fast enough. It wasn't locked. The handle just refuses to cooperate with Amity's desperation to escape. The last thing she heard was loud, rapid footsteps heading towards her. Amity turns and screams at her mother, glitching and twitching as she simply walks fast to her. She was braced to be killed on the spot, awaiting the sudden release of death, but it went uncalled for.
The next thing Amity knew was that she was being choked by her monstrous-looking mother. Her mother drags and hits Amity against the wall causing her to yelp in pain and lose more oxygen. Amity tried to break her mother's grip by punching her arm with little to no success. As she tries to breathe the little air she could, her world starts to get dark, with her punches getting weaker and weaker. Amity's time was beginning to be shortened as her nerves slowly shut down due to the little oxygen. But before she could lose consciousness.
SNAP
Amity's mother broke her neck. Her eyes jotted open due to the shock of the snap, and her body became lifeless. Yet oddly, she still had some level of sense, although she should be dead. She could see, hear, and feel but couldn't move her body nor speak. It was as if she was in deep sleep paralysis despite having a broken neck.
Her mother let go of her throat, causing her to fall lifelessly onto the floor with Amity's new view of her arms and the hallway walls. Pain traveled through Amity's nerve system as she could hear the tearing and munching of her flesh, all caused by her mother. She wanted to scream, wanted to move and run away, begged her mother to stop as she cried, but all she could do was lay there being lunch. Facing the wall that was now covered with her blood.
"MOM, STOP!... What the…" Amity screamed as she woke up. She was back to where she started, the room with the numerous tally marks. She sat there for a moment to take everything in with her hand rubbing her head. She looked at her body to see no signs of her flesh being torn apart or any bite marks. She was physically fine, but mentally, she was utterly scarred for life. Tears started to form, which was the start of her sobbing for what seemed like minutes. She curled up into a ball as she violently shakes at the thought of the monster she saw.
She was always uneasy about her mother, Odalia Blight. After all, she, alongside her father, Alador Blight, are one of the most powerful witches in the Boiling Isles. Not just for their magical talent but also for how much power they have over the general public. So much that they could have someone be rejected by the school of their dreams. An example of this was when they threatened Amity to make sure that Willow would never attend Hexside if she continued her friendship with Willow. They stood tall as they threatened her, which would give any small child a sense of being powerless against adults. But this monster was on a whole other level that Amity had never seen before.
It was too much for a young witch with no magical abilities in this 'reality.' A reality that seemingly sends Amity to an endless spiral of hallways that connect to one another. A symbol of her losing grasp of the world she once lived in. However, for Amity, it seems like this was her new home.