BREAKING THE FANTASY
Written by Gwendolyn Frost.
Later that day, Luz and her friends came back home. As they moved into the living room, Luz had to ask Gus and Hunter about the large CRT-TV box they brought back from Litwak's Retro Arcade. "Ok, so remind me why are you guys bringing this home?"
Gus and Hunter were holding the tv together, while it wasn't as big as Luz's flatscreen in the living room - it was way heavier, therefore the both of them were not pulling the weight as easily as it looked. It could be heard in Gus' voice when he replied the effort he was putting into the task. "Down in the basement huff, we were looking through your dad's stuff and I found a bunch of VHS tapes there. So, I've been looking for one of these huff - so that we could watch some of them for movie night! Y'know, like human teens do!"
"Ok." Luz replied with a chuckle. "But… there's an old tv down there in the basement too, y'know!"
"Wait, what?" Hunter stopped in his tracks which made Gus lose balance slightly.
Suddenly, the voice of Camila joined the group when she walked up to them from the kitchen. "Hola, chicos! Comes les fue? How was your day? Did y'all have fun out there?" She asked with a mix of intrigue, excitement… and a little bit of concern since they were still getting all accustomed to the human world. However, just as soon as she finished asking about their day, she noticed the TV they brought back with them. "Where did you get that?"
Luz and Amity -who was standing next to her- did not say anything while they watched Gus answer Camila's question.
"Oh, you see Miss Noceda, we went to the arcade today and Mr Litwak had this old TV just lying there on a corner. H and I asked him if it was ok for us to have it and he agreed." Gus said with a smile, sweating a bit since he was still holding the tv in midair alongside Hunter.
"Ok…" Camila said, raising an eyebrow. "But we already have a CRT-TV down there in the basement."
Hunter was glaring at Gus who smiled nervously at him. "I… didn't know!"
THE LOOKING GLASS
Chapter 3: Oracle
Once the group moved down to the basement, Camila helped Gus set up the new CRT-TV they brought from Litwak's Arcade. The huge box had a large screen reflecting their faces, but they soon noticed that there were no buttons on any of the corners - which was rare for a TV before flatscreens. So once they connected the thing… they were all wondering how are they turning it on without a remote?
Gus and Hunter were looking everywhere they could in front, on the sides and on the back of the TV looking for any button that would turn the TV on without luck. "Well… I guess that's that." Gus said.
"It's ok, Gus. If I had been there to tell you about asking Mr Litwak for the remote, this wouldn't have happened." Luz replied with a sigh as she patted her friend's back. But then realized she may have made a mistake.
"If you have been there?" Camila asked with her arms crossed. "What do you mean by that, Luz?"
Luz gulped nervously. Gladly, Camila wasn't able to see how nervous Luz was since hers and Gus' backs were facing her. But after gaining so much experience coming up with excuses with Masha, she turned around and made something up.
"Yeah… about that. I'm sorry, Amity and I got really distracted playing games. We wanted to win enough tickets to cash in for prizes." Luz said calmly as she showed the batch of bracelets she had on her right wrist.
Camila looked at her with skepticism before moving her head to face Amity who looked a little nervous herself - but supported Luz by showing Camila her own set of bracelets.
When Camila looked back at Luz, she sighed and smiled once more. "Ok, I'm glad you all had so much fun today. But next time, try not to get them out of your sight. When you're out there without me, you're responsible for them. Are we clear?"
"Clear as day!" Luz exclaimed and relaxed once the coast was clear. Camila began to move around the room looking for the other CRT-TV hidden under some boxes on the far right of the room.
"Don't worry, chicos. Movie night is not yet ruined!" Camila said as she revealed to them the TV that has been there the whole time.
"Oh, neat! Thanks Mrs Noceda!" Gus exclaimed.
"Don't thank me just yet. This TV is as old as the one you brought. So, cross your fingers and hope for the best." Camila said with a soft chuckle before she grunted when lifting the large TV all by herself. "Ow, I should really start doing cardio more often… huff!"
Once Gus and Hunter removed the Litwak TV off the short table, Camila placed the other TV on it and Gus helped her set it up. While Camila didn't brought a remote with her, this TV had a bunch of buttons to the right side that allowed you to turn it on, change the channel, lower or increase the volume and the best feature of all was that on the bottom side it had a large rectangular slot where you could insert VHS tapes to watch them.
"Here we go…" Camila said as she pushed the button to turn the TV on and immediately they were met with the familiar sound of white noise and the cascade of different hues of white and gray illuminating the whole room.
"It works! We did it!" Gus exclaimed.
"Let's go!" Hunter high fived his friend.
Luz, Amity and Willow watched the whole scene and couldn't help but smile and chuckle a little bit. "So, what are we watching?" Willow asked.
"Well, there's plenty we can watch." Gus said as he brought the box full of VHS tapes he found there in the basement, most of which seemed to be a wide collection of science-fiction movies.
Camila chuckled some more. "I got to say that it is kind of surreal that a bunch of witches are so eager to watch science fiction." She said before she brought herself back up to her feet. "Well, I'm going to head upstairs to go make you all some snacks."
"Oh, I'll help you!" Vee exclaimed as she joined Camila before she left upstairs.
"Aww, thank you sweetie." Camila said as both hers and Vee's voices faded up the stairs.
Hunter, Gus and Willow were all on their knees checking out the collection of VHS inside the box - deciding what they should watch. Meanwhile, Luz and Amity were chilling at the couch in front of the TV rumbling with non-stop buzzing of its white noise.
Luz was browsing the internet about the Morton Ranch, finding a small wiki of its own about the case of the Morton family that they've heard from Masha the day before. Other than that, there wasn't really much information about it - only that Herlock Woods, where the farm was located, was the place where a number of people went missing for decades. But the more she looked around, the more she realized that the Mortons case pale in comparison with other more notorious places in the US - such as the case of Skinwalker Ranch where similar things seemed to happen.
Amity had been sitting next to Luz the whole time, so she had noticed she was still not letting the place go for the time being. "Are you still convinced this place is legit?" She asked her girlfriend.
Luz looked up at her from her phone and nibbled on her own lower lip before answering her. "Not completely."
Amity sighed and then rubbed her own arm before looking back at Luz. "Can I tell you something? I mean… without freaking out. I don't want you to get your hopes up. I just…"
Luz noticed Amity was bothered by something. "You can tell me anything, Amity."
"I… saw something there. More like… I think I saw something. I'm not so sure." The pink haired girl confessed.
"What did you think you saw?" Luz asked, not overreacting or freaking out like Amity thought she was going to.
"Remember the entrance?" Amity asked as she locked eyes with Luz. "Remember how Masha avoided stepping on the center of the stairs because that's the place where Thomas Morton's body was found?"
"Yeah." Luz said, feeling goosebumps all of a sudden when reminded that Thomas Morton took his own life on those steps.
"Well, when we were leaving… I forgot about that and I stepped on the center of the stairs. As I walked down… I felt all sorts of emotions. I felt… dread. I felt scared of something I couldn't see. When I turned back to look at the steps I thought I saw something in the corner of my eye but I wasn't able to make out what it was." Amity said as she sighed.
"Ok." Luz said. "Have you experienced something like this before?"
"Not in a long time, no." Amity said and sighed once more. "I mean, y'know that my mother was in the Oracle Track - right? She tried to teach me Oracle Magic when I was young but once she realized I was more gifted doing Abomination Magic she dropped it."
"Oh, I see." Luz said before curiosity got the best of her. "But you did experience something, during that time?"
"Not much." Amity admitted as she pushed aside a lock of pink hair from her face. "I remember that I tried to communicate with a spirit during those sessions but I don't remember ever making progress."
Luz was about to ask something else before she got cut off by Amity.
"Actually…" Amity looked back at Luz. "I remember emotions, not the same emotions I felt in the Morton Ranch… what I felt back home was… sadness. I think I remember my mother asking me to try and communicate with my grandmother. And all I felt was… sadness. I don't know if grandma's spirit was sad because I was a disappointment as an Oracle or something else." Amity looked down once she finished.
"Why would your grandma be disappointed?" Luz blurted out.
Amity was not able to hold a small laugh before she answered. "Because I come from a long line of talented Oracles; the Blights." Amity said while sighing softly. "The name belongs to my mother, not my father. Once my mother and father got married, the Blight Family financed my father's company; under their name - of course."
"Oh wow. How scandalous." Luz joked which brought a soft chuckle out of Amity. "Excuse me for saying this, but granted how much of a… what would be the best word to describe…"
"Manipulative?" Amity smiled. "You were going to say how much of a manipulative witch my mother is? Let's call things like they are." She said with a soft laugh. "Don't worry, Luz. You're not going to upset me for saying it. Because unfortunately… I had to see for myself what kind of witch she really is." She sighed.
"Yeah… I'm sorry about that." Luz said as she held onto Amity's hand and squeezed it. "Why didn't she force you to be an Oracle like her? Like… it seems off character granted everything she has done."
"No, Luz. It is completely in character. Trust me." Amity said as she squeezed Luz's hand back. "It's because she's an Oracle that she does what she does. She may not be what the Blights wanted of her, to be the head of the Oracle Coven - but she's a terrific one. Now, I heard this from my siblings." Amity said with a serious look on her face. "The Blights were one of the wealthiest families in Bonesborough, but before my father they were in serious debts. My mother dated my father at the time and none of the Blights liked him. But my mother convinced them to invest in his ideas once they got married and… poof, they all became filthy rich once more. My mother saw the future in my father. The same way she saw the future in me in the Abomination Track. She doesn't care about traditions, she only cares about status and wealth. That's why she lured Lilith into making me her protegee so one day I would replace her in the Emperor's Coven."
"That is twisted." Luz said in astonishment. "Did Lilith even figure out she was being deceived?"
"No, I think not." Amity sighed. "Lilith tried teaching me all forms of magic during the time that she was mentoring me - but after she cheated on our duel, I just didn't want to keep seeing her."
"Oh, right…" Luz sighed as well when being reminded how both Eda and Lilith inserted themselves on Luz and Amity's witches duel.
"It's ok, Luz. I got over it. Besides, I owe you an apology. You proved me wrong." Amity said as she kissed the back of Luz's hand before squeezing it some more. "You were always meant to be a witch. The best witch I've ever known."
When Luz heard the apology, she blushed heavily and chuckled softly before leaning in to give Amity a small peck on her lips. "Thank you, but you didn't need to apologize for it."
"I did." Amity said before giving a soft laugh. "Also, when we're back home - I need to apologize to King too."
"Oh, yeah. Definitely. I think that's the one thing you should be sorry for! You stepped on his cupcake!" Luz joked and laughed some more. "But… there's something that doesn't add up. If your mother was such a terrific Oracle… how come she didn't foretell what happened?"
"Well, she never taught me anything about fortune. But I did hear her say once that the future is not written in stone. There are many factors that can lead to different outcomes. And in this case, that variable is…" Amity looked at Luz while biting on her lower lip.
"Me." Luz deduced what Amity implied. "Oops?" Luz shrugged with a nervous laugh. "I ruined your future, I'm sorry!"
Amity was not able to hold her own laughter before shaking her head. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Luz. If it wasn't for you, my whole kind would have been killed. It's because of you that we're all still alive." Amity said with a serious look on her face.
Luz was left without words when hearing this. She was grateful for them for sure, but she felt she was only doing what she thought was right. The both of them looked at each other without saying another word before their conversation was brought to an end when Camila and Vee came back down with a tray full of snacks for movie night.
"Hey, chicos. We're back!" Camila exclaimed. With Vee's help, they placed the snacks on a small table on the right side of the couch. The aroma of microwave burritos filled the entire basement, although there was also a bowl full of popcorn and another with nachos and guacamole.
"Oh wow, thanks Mrs Noceda!" Willow said as she approached them.
"Have you figured out what you're going to watch tonight?" Camila asked the group.
Gus was the one who replied by showing them all the VHS tape of: "The Battle of the Worlds! A timeless classic! Or so the box says."
"Ooo! That's a scary one, are you sure you want to watch that one?" Camila asked with a soft chuckle.
"Oh, c'mon mom. Those movies are old." Luz said with a grin. "Back in your time it may have been a scary movie but I bet you those special effects have not aged well." She chuckled.
"Excuse me? My time?! Some of these movies are older than me." Camila laughed softly. "That movie was a bit controversial because some people took its plot as inspiration for a radio hoax where they staged an alien invasion. If I had lived during that time, I would have been terrified."
"Well, I'm pretty sure that we can handle it." Luz said with a smug look on her face.
Some time after, the group had all moved into positions. With Camila and Vee sitting next to each other on the left side of the couch with Luz and Amity on the right side. Under the couple was Willow laying on the floor with Gus in the middle and Hunter on the opposite side.
Movie night was going smoothly. There was a microwave burrito for everyone so those were the ones to go first during the first half of the movie.
It was during the introduction of the movie that Camila fell asleep. The exhaustion from work at the Animal Hospital got the best of her.
Luz and Amity did not eat much snacks after eating their burritos, so the tray was soon laying on the floor with Gus, Hunter and Willow who gradually consumed the rest of the snacks throughout the movie.
Fortunately, Camila was deep asleep by then - so she was not able to watch Luz cover her eyes and yelp at certain scenes during the movie. Even at one time she jumped to her side towards Amity's arms, which made the pink haired witch hold her fist in triumph - loving each moment of the movie from this point on while rubbing her girlfriend's arm to calm her down.
None of the witches seem to be that scared of the movie, they grew up in the Boiling Isles after all. But that didn't mean they were bored. All their eyes were glued to the screen, watching those odd-looking flying saucers floating through the streets, destroying everything in its path.
Vee was the one that fell asleep next. More than an hour later, Willow fell next. By this time, Gus and Hunter were starting to feel drowsy themselves. Yawning every now and then.
Once Luz made Amity's arms her home, she felt comfortable enough to fall asleep while leaning against her girlfriend. Amity herself was feeling exhausted shortly after Luz fell asleep. The last thing she remembers was the saucer growing limbs, like tentacles and then, complete darkness.
The next time Amity opened her eyes she saw an orb where she could see her own reflection. But what she saw staring back at her was a young and naive looking version of herself with her hair dyed green. Her big yellow eyes blinked before she heard the voices of her siblings next to her.
"Y'know that if you keep staring at it like that the spirits will pull you from the legs down under your bed, right?" A young Edric said with a smirk.
"Do not!" Young Amity exclaimed.
"Leave her alone, Edric." Young Emira said. "You know Mittens still needs to sleep with a light spell in her room."
Amity puffed her cheeks in pure anger.
Edric snorted when watching Amity get so upset. "Oh, she's doing it again!" He then mocked her by puffing his own cheeks just like her which made Emira laugh harder.
"Edric, Emira!" The voice of Odahlia echoed through the room which made the twins gag on their laughter and look back at their mother in fear. "Leave us alone, please. Go do… your Illusion thing. That's what you both are good for."
"Yes… mother." Edric and Emira said before hurrying their way out of the room.
Young Amity was left alone with her mother who looked down on her with a smile while rubbing the jewel on her chest with her hand.
"Are you ready for our Oracle lesson, Mittens?" Odahlia asked with a condescending smile on her face.
"Yes, mother." Amity said as she nibbled on her lower lip. "But… do I have to? I'm not good at it."
"Well, it doesn't really matter if you're not good at it. What matters is finding what you're talented for. Like your siblings and their… illusions." Odahlia said as she rolled her eyes.
Amity looked back at the Orb before Odahlia rubbed the top of it to cast a Oracle spell on it which caused it to glow slightly as if millions of stars in a foggy blue deep cosmic space were all blinking at distinct intervals.
"What do you see, Amity?" Odahlia asked as Young Amity stared into the Orb while tilting her head.
"All I see is stars…"
"Are you sure about that?" Odahlia asked.
Amity looked deeper, but once she leaned forward she was startled by all the stars inside that Orb extinguishing at the same time replacing them with a cloud of different shades of gray that emitted an incessant sound… the sound of white noise that was making Young Amity cover her ears before she woke up in the Human Realm once more.
Present Amity woke up in the basement, with her friends all deep asleep on the couch and on the floor. It seemed that what got Amity awake was that loud sound that the CRT-TV emitted.
The movie was over and everyone didn't seem to mind the loud sound of the TV. Amity yawned softly and looked at Luz who was still deeply asleep against her. She nudged her slightly as she whispered softly. "Hey, Luz. Movie is over. Luz?"
Suddenly, Amity was startled by the immediate silence that shrouded the basement when the TV turned off by itself. But just when Amity was thinking all this was strange already, the white noise came back… except it wasn't coming from the TV whose screen was still pitch black. The sound was all coming from everyone's eyes which they all opened on cue.
Gasping, Amity looked at Luz who's eyes were filled with the foggy snow of pixels that once filled the TV screen just a second ago.
"This… is a dream. I'm dreaming." Amity whispered to herself before all those eyes illuminating the room shut down just as quickly as they opened early. Leaving the pink haired girl in the dark basement all by herself.
"Luz?! Luz?! Where are you?! Willow?! Mrs Noceda?! Vee?! Anyone?!" Amity panicked, she couldn't see anything. She stumbled upon boxes and furniture until the light of the TV came back on, alongside the unnerving sound of white noise. But this wasn't coming from the TV they used to watch the movie… this was coming from the CRT-TV that Gus and Hunter brought from the arcade early in the day.
Amity stared at the TV laying on the ground a few inches away from her. The screen was the only source of light in the entire room. The loud buzzing sound of its white noise alongside this magnetic sound that gradually increased in volume the more steps she took towards seemed to be luring her in.
Once she was close enough, the CRT-TV's white noise and magnetic sound faded when the channels started to flip by themselves. She could make out images on the screen once the channels were flipping, but it was hard to see what they were supposed to be due to the erratic rain of pixels still present. The sound wasn't any better, she could hear voices coming from the TV - but it was all a mix of voices cracking in between the incessant white noise.
"This is all a dream…" Amity whispered to herself. "Relax, this is all a dream… there is no magic in the Human Realm. This has to be a dream."
Suddenly, the pink haired girl's words of reassurance were interrupted by the loud magnetic noise coming back, buzzing on her ears and making her clench her teeth and shut her eyes in pain while covering her ears as she dropped to her knees.
"Stop!" Amity pleaded as she pressed her forehead on the floor while covering her pointy ears as tight as she could. "Who are you?!"
"Wellzzzzz, zzshe never zztaught me about shhhfortune. But I did zzshhear her shhhay once that zzzthe future izzzz not shhhwritten in stone. There are many bssstmany shhhfactors that can lead to diffssshhh outcomezzz. And in thissshhh cazzze the variable variable variable variable izzzz…" Amity was able to recognize her own voice coming from the rectangular box while still emitting that annoying sound that almost made her ears bleed.
"Who are you?!" Amity screamed as she looked at the TV.
"Me." Luz's voice came out of the TV while it was still playing the conversation she had with Luz earlier tonight.
"If this is a dream, then I want to wake up!" Amity raised her voice as much as she could as she brought herself back to her feet with her hands still tightly covering her ears. "But if it's not… then whatever that's trying to communicate something… better speak up now!"
"Whatzzz do you zzzzeeee, Amity?" Odahlia's voice came from the TV now, which only infuriated the pink haired girl more.
Amity screamed in anger as she dropped down to her knees and attempted to push the TV with her hands, but once they touched the screen she yelped when she passed through it into a different place. She fell a couple of feet down as if she had just rolled over some stairs into a wooden floored room that was just as pitch black as the one she came from.
Once her bright yellow eyes adjusted, Amity was able to make out her surroundings aided by what little moonlight was seeping through the curtains on the walls covering the windows. There were a couple of couches facing each other in opposing walls. In the wall in front of her there was a door on the left side corner connecting to another room. And to her back there was a chimney where there seemed to be no fire lit - but there was a little bit of smoke left as if the fire was recently snuffed out.
Amity recognized this place. It was the Morton Ranch's living room. She had been there earlier that day. Except that place she explored earlier was in ruins.
Before Amity was able to say anything… she spotted someone standing on a corner on the right to the chimney. This person was perhaps a few inches taller than she was, his head and facial hair were all in different shades of gray indicating he was an old man. His clothes reflected a different era of the Human Realm. His eyes were white and there was a rather ominous aura around him - which made Amity realize that this… was a spirit.
"You are Thomas Morton, aren't you?" Amity asked as she kept her distance by taking a step back from the mysterious figure. "Are you the one who's doing all this? Why did you bring me here?"
The spirit of Thomas Morton shook his head in response.
"You didn't?"
"No…" Thomas Morton said his voice had an ethereal sound to it. "The square-headed man did… he said you could help."
"Help? How? Wait… what square-headed man?" Amity asked as she dared to take a few steps towards the spirit.
"There is something in the woods." Thomas Morton's spirit said in that ethereal voice of his. "It was there when I was alive and is still there now."
"What do you mean?"
"You came here looking for answers. There is a bright door out there in the woods that allows that thing to cross by… you and your friend seem to be looking for it. Please… you got to shut that door or else…" Thomas Morton's voice shut and the spirit seemed to be on edge as he scanned the ceiling as if he heard something.
"Unless what?" Amity asked.
The spirit seemed to fade out of existence at this point as he put his index finger against his own mouth, telling Amity to remain silent.
"Wait! Stop! Where is that door?!" Amity exclaimed before she was startled by the sound of the door behind her slamming shut. Now before her, was a living version of Thomas Morton as if she was looking through a recording of the past in that room.
Thomas Morton looked lively and no longer ethereal in appearance. Although he wore the same clothing he wore in spirit form. This was him, no doubt. He was holding a rifle as he hid himself in the darkest corner in the room while Amity heard a different sound which made the whole house shake.
Both Amity and Thomas Morton's heads were following the sound of something crawling on the roof of the house. Whatever it was, it seemed heavy - forcing dust and splinters to fall on the floor from the floor above them. The crawling seemed to come to a stop on the opposite wall where Thomas Morton was hiding. The man tried to gather every bit of strength in him so that he wouldn't lose it right there and then. But the fear in his eyes was visible.
For nearly a minute, there was nothing but silence. But whatever thing they heard was still out there, they both knew - because of the faint sound of; 'fu fu fu fu…'
"Thomas?" The voice of what Amity thought was a female whispered to the man from the outside of the house. "Hey, Thomas!" Now the voice seemed to go from high to low almost in an instant, now it sounded like the voice of a man. "Thomas. Hey Thomas…" Every word seemed to be attached to a different voice.
Amity was petrified in pure horror as she watched Thomas Morton's last moments before her very own eyes. She gasped when the sound of a claw tapping at the glass of the window echoed throughout the room.
"Thomas…" It spoke, every few words the voice of this thing kept changing as if they were from voices it had stolen. "You know that I can break in at any time I want. These thin walls cannot protect you. I don't want to break in, Thomas. You know that… you can make this come to an end. You just need to answer me…" The voice cracked a soft unnerving chuckle that made Thomas Morton's hands shake while they held the rifle with all his might.
When that voice finished bargaining with Thomas Morton, the whole room was filled with silence and the rather unsettling sound of; 'fu fu fu fu.'
The thing waited a few more minutes, it knew that Thomas Morton was literally inches away from it. If it wanted, it would have smashed that wall and taken Thomas with it deep into the forest where no one would ever see him again. But it didn't…
"Thomas… why do you resist? Why do you hide from me? Fu… Better yet, why are you still living here if you're so scared of me? Why don't leave, Thomas? Don't you want to join… the rest?" The thing spoke, its voice ever-changing from one person to another before it became distorted near the very end.
For hours, Amity was not able to escape from this nightmare. The thing crawled from one side of the wall to the other, to the ceiling, to the opposite side where it tried to peer in through the curtains with no success until… the sunlight drew it away. The thing hurried off the roof before its heavy limbs carried it away from the Morton Ranch and got lost deep in the woods.
Thomas Morton survived that night… but Amity watched as he left the room and walked outside a minute later… she heard the sound of the rifle go off. She didn't follow Thomas Morton, she stayed inside the house, choosing not to watch the inevitable ill fate of the man once known as Thomas Morton.
Once Amity shut her eyes when the gun went off, she woke up in the basement surrounded by all of her friends still there and the CRT-TV emitting that annoying white noise still.
Amity looked around in the darkness, her eyes finding Luz still leaning against her with her own arm still holding her close to her. For minutes, Amity stared into the darkness, still somewhat disturbed by the dream she experienced. Was it a dream? She wondered, it all felt too real.
But rather than pondering all night on it, she closed her eyes and succumbed into a deep sleep that went undisturbed for the rest of the night.
End of the chapter.