Awake and Alive
Dear diary, it's been a week since the incident and I'm already feeling much better. I'm not completely recovered, but I started seeing a therapist and I'm connecting with everyone again. It's a start, and I'm honestly proud of myself for how far I've come. Reaching out really does go a long way.
Some nights are hard. I'm sleeping better, but sometimes I'll have nightmares about drowning which makes sense since I've been under a lot of pressure lately. It's okay though because I'll usually just go sleep in my Mom's room or Amity will be right in the bed next to me to help if she sees me suddenly wake up crying and looking terrified...Yeah, I know that's not normal. I'm starting to feel bad having to rely on everyone so much.
Am I being selfish? I hope not…I just have a lot of emotions to process and I'm very sensitive. My therapist said this is all normal and that I need to trust the process. I just need to remind myself that I'm not a burden and my family and friends are always happy to help.
Alright, that's enough doom and gloom. Let's focus on the positives. Tonight we're going on a Halloween hayride and Amity and I are cosplaying as Azura and Hecate. I'm excited, but nervous. Part of me feels like something bad's going to happen, but maybe that's just my anxiety creeping back in. I don't know…
No Luz, don't let your fears get the best of you. Tonight's going to be a fun night with my friends. I'm not going to let my intrusive thoughts ruin that for everyone.
Luz puts her laptop away and gets up, heading down from her room and into the living room. She's already in her Azura costume and it's giving her a sense of confidence she hasn't felt in a long time.
Luz joins everyone in the living room, impressed with all their costumes. She walks up to Amity and holds her hand.
"Ready to go, my heroic Good Witch Azura?" Amity asked.
"Ready as I'll ever be." Luz replied.
Everyone gets in the car and Camila starts driving.
Luz and Amity sit next to each other and Luz stares out the window in silence, that feeling of dread staying with her as she watches the road pass by.
Amity takes Luz's hand and she immediately comes back to reality after zoning out.
"Hey, it's going to be okay. I know it's been a while since you've been out of the house, but we're all here to support you. Hecate never leaves Azura's side." Amity said.
"Thanks Amity. You're right, it'll be okay. I'm sorry, I'm not going to let my own issues get in the way of us having a fun Halloween." Luz replied.
Amity feels bad, she doesn't want Luz to think she needs to hide her struggles for everyone else's sake.
Before Amity can respond, they arrive and they all get into the hayride cart. Luz is starting to feel on edge again, especially hearing the story of the two witch hunter brothers and Evelyn who resembles Eda. It's a lot to process.
Once the hayride ends, Luz gets up and starts walking towards the forest alone, but Amity stops her. She seems to be lost in her own world again and that worries Amity. She knows it's a trauma response and that something must have triggered her.
"Luz, is everything okay?" Amity asked.
Luz looks at the forest, then back at Amity with a tired smile.
"I'm fine. Just zoning out a little. You know me and my overactive imagination, sometimes I just get lost in a daydream." Luz replied.
Amity knows something's up, but she tries to be supportive.
"Okay. Just let me know if you need anything." Amity said.
Luz nods and Amity goes to join the group. She decides she's going to talk with Camila about Luz.
Suddenly, Hunter sees what he thinks is Belos in the forest and pulls Luz aside.
"Hunter, what's going on?" Luz asked.
"It's him. He's here. I saw him this time! It wasn't in my head after all. You believe me, right?" Hunter asked.
"Well, how can you be sure? What would he be doing here?" Luz asked.
"Titan blood. I'm not supposed to tell, but the secret code that guy mentioned, it's a puzzle, a Rebus we found in the shack. Amity thinks it leads to Titan blood." Hunter explained.
Luz is even more confused and a bit frustrated that no one told her about any of this.
"Titan blood, puzzles, Amity? Why didn't anyone say anything?" Luz asked.
"You and your Mom do so much for us, we wanted to do something for you. Plus, after everything you've been through, Amity didn't want to get your hopes up if it turned out it was all for nothing." Hunter replied.
Luz knows Amity's just protecting her, but she's sad she doesn't trust her enough to share this important information.
"Hey, where's Luz and Hunter?" Amity asked.
Luz freezes up for a moment, but shakes off the dread and gets serious.
"We need to find the Titan blood first, just to make sure. I don't want to freak anyone out yet." Luz said.
"You don't believe me yet, do you? Fine, I'll prove he's here. Flapjack, can you get the Rebus?" Hunter asked.
Flapjack looks at Hunter suspiciously and with concern.
"I'll say that again. Get the Rebus!" Hunter said.
Flapjack flies away afraid, but does what Hunter says.
"Hey, what the heck?" Luz asked.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me." Hunter replied.
Flapjack gets the Rebus and brings it back to Hunter.
Luz wants to question why Hunter's acting so strange and aggressive, but she decides to ignore it for now. There are more important things to worry about.
Luz and Hunter run off into the forest together. Luz is afraid, but after playing it safe for so long and having everyone be so overprotective of her, she wants the thrill of adventure again.
Suddenly, Hunter starts running faster. Luz tries to catch up but ends up losing him in the fog. Then she thinks and realizes something important about Titan's blood, so she takes out a drawing of a light glyph and tries to activate it.
To Luz's surprise, it works and the light in her eyes illuminates as she watches the light float in the air. She makes more, leading her way through the darkness and towards the Titan's blood.
Then, Luz sees Hunter, standing alone, so she uses an ice glyph to go across the lake and catch up. She can tell something's wrong, but she doesn't question it. Her tunnel vision for finding the Titan's blood and getting back to the Boiling Isles blinds her to the warning signs all around her.
"Hunter, are you okay? Did you see Belos?" Luz asked.
"Oh no, just my imagination playing tricks again. Why don't you find the Titan blood while I find my palisman. Little guy got spooked off." Hunter replied.
"Good idea. All this Belos talk has me on edge." Luz replied.
"Have you found the blood yet?" Hunter asked.
Luz can tell something's going on with Hunter and she doesn't like it. A familiar feeling of fear comes over her as she begins to put the pieces together.
"I'm on it. I just have to…" Luz said.
Luz sees Flapjack lying on the ground shaking with fear.
"Flapjack, why do you look so scared?" Luz asked.
Luz's heart starts pounding faster as she begins to realize someone else is here with her, not just Hunter. Then she hears an ominous voice coming from behind her.
"Luz…Did you use an ice glyph to get here? Your magic is working." Belos said.
Suddenly, Luz hears her friends and family calling for her, but she's too afraid to call out for help. She turns around and faces Hunter who's been possessed by Belos.
"I saw you. Glyphs do work here." Belos said.
Luz stands there frozen with fear, watching helplessly as he mocks her. She tries to be brave, wishing she would have seen the signs before Hunter was completely overtaken by his abuser, but now it's too late.
"You…You survived!" Luz replied.
"I did. Thanks again for all the help, Luz. But I don't need you anymore." Belos said.
Suddenly, Belos strikes at Luz. She dodges the attack and gets out of the way just in time. Then she gets up off the ground and starts fighting back, she's not going to let Belos win this time.
Belos digs up a vial of Titan blood out of the ground, so Luz uses pointed ice glyph to knock it out of his hand.
"It's over Belos. We're fighting back and this time, you're going wish you never existed." Luz said.