BREAKING THE FANTASY
Written by Gwendolyn Frost.
Earlier that day…
Masha has been looking for Luz and her group after losing them in the woods. The goth was worried sick about them getting lost in Herlock Woods, which is known for the vanishing of many people in the past – least to say that the day before, a murder has been committed within it's boundaries.
While Masha was not a tracker like Hunter, they seem to know the forest very well – having explored it on a daily basis for many years.
For a while, Masha traversed through the woods, believing that the group was enacting some innocent live action roleplay, when in reality…
they were not. And things would only turn stranger for them as they moved forward following some voices they heard in the distance.
Soon enough, the goth stood before a mirror in the middle of the forest. But before they were able to have a closer look… something came out of it. A figure that seemed to move through the looking glass as if it was a thin veil of water that pose no resistance against it. Now, before them was the missing girl. Same blue hair tied in a ponytail that rests over her head like a hand spreading it's locks of hair like fingers, same waitress outfit which they've seen her wearing on those security videos they saw earlier with their friend… there was no doubt. It was her.
Confused, Masha didn't moved a muscle as the waitress looked back at the mirror she came out of while taunting someone she left behind in that Looking Glass world. "Have fun finding a way out!"
Masha felt no fear of encountering the strange young woman in the middle of the woods. Instead, they felt relieved that the young woman was alive and not dead. But that all changed once Koume did something they were not expecting. When raising one of her arms, it began to dissect itself, as if she was in control of every muscle fiber in her body – her arm became a group of tentacles that reached for a long and heavy branch above her head and snapped it with ease. With that same branch, she began to smash the mirror that she came out of, viciously, until there were nothing but a mess of small fragments lying on the ground.
At first, Masha's short scream when she started smashing the mirror was masked by the loud violent act itself. But as soon as the waitress was done, the sound of their heavy breathing alerted her to become aware of the goth's presence.
Horrified, Masha took a step back only to watch the strange young woman turn her head towards them before giving them an unnerving looking smile. "Go home, Masha, shoo!" She said as if she was shooing an animal from her yard.
When hearing their name coming out from her mouth, the goth felt goosebumps that spread across their entire body as they stuttered out a question to her. "H-how d-do y-you know my name?!"
The waitress grinned as she replied. "You've always been wandering these woods, I've just never taken an interest in you."
But when Masha thought things couldn't get any worse for them… Koume's head began to split open, like her arm did just moments before. Her skull cracked, her flesh and hair were pulled apart forming many independent tentacles like the ones they've seen before. Within that head split wide open, bones began to form long sharp teeth in two rows sitting vertically across her head and a loud otherworldly roar came out of it – making the goth to scream with all her might before swiftly turning around to sprint as fast as they could through the forest.
Masha ran as much as they possibly could with those long and heavy gothic-looking boots they wore on their feet, stomping heavily on the ground with watery eyes and a loud, desperate sobbing as they looked back every so often.
At some point, they realized that they were not being followed… by whatever they saw, having figured out that was not the young missing waitress. Whatever it was, it was not human, they thought.
They stopped against a tree while panting heavily, slowly sliding down to the floor to allow their feet to have some rest. They looked down at those shaking hands of them while a haunting voice played out in their thoughts:
'If you ever get to experience something out of the ordinary… you might not find it as exciting as you thought it would be. Trust me.'
Masha's eyes widened when hearing the voice in their thoughts of a memory they thought was lost in time. "Did you… was it… could you… what happened to you?" They whispered as a tear began to descend down their cheek, before more and more of them rained down their face as they clenched their teeth trying to fight those tears back.
Soon a loud and painful cry began to escape their lips as their eyes shut down. "What happened to you?!" They cried out.
Losing the track of time, Masha leaned against that tree until their eyes cried no more. In shock, their body still trembled in fear and in due time they remembered what was out there in the woods, forcing them to stay alert of their surroundings. Every little sound their ears could hear startled them, making their feet to lift from the ground in a small jump when they got back up to their feet.
They looked around and realized they were about 15 minutes away from the nearest trail leading to Gravesfield's streets, they took a step thinking of going back home until they thought of Vee and Luz.
"They're still out there…" They whispered, as if they were trying to convince themselves to stay to look for them. "I'm scared… I'm so scared right now. But I can't leave them. I might not be able to ever finding my dad… but I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I leave you guys here."
Their feet hurt, their whole body still trembled in fear and their eyes were still sore from crying, but somehow – they found the strength to keep going. Masha ventured themselves back into the forest to look for Vee.
However, that quest was soon interrupted when they heard some voices in the distance. But those voices were not coming from the woods… but from above them.
Up in the sky there were some odd-looking figures swiftly flying towards them. A horrified-looking expression drew itself back on their face as they began to flee away from those figures in the sky. "No, no, no, no! Why is all the paranormal activity happening all at once!" They yelled while they stomped those boots of theirs on the ground once more.
They couldn't make out what those voices were saying, having their ears filled with the desperate stomping from their feet and their heavy panting while trying their best to escape. They zig-zagged through the trees until they hid away under a large tree and when those figures flew past them – they sprinted back on the opposite direction they were going. But those figures were soon back on their pursue.
Masha felt their feet becoming heavier from exhaustion, their legs soon felt cramps that caused them to come into a sudden stop which forced their knees bend as they screamed when they started rolling down on the grass. They made an effort to stop but instead they hit themselves on the head on the way down. When they did come to a stop, there was a numbing noise on their ears as they fastly lost consciousness.
Slowly, the goth's eyes closed while the memory of their father walking into the woods played out in their head… until the sudden voice of Vee was last caught by their ears screaming their name.
"MASHA!"
"Vee?" They mumbled out before everything went black…
THE LOOKING GLASS
Chapter 19: A Paranormal Fascination.
During a young age, Masha became fascinated with the paranormal. Having heard of Gravesfield's witching history through its rich folklore. They craved for the day they would be able to experience the extraordinary, but never in their wildest dreams did they ever thought they would encounter a cosmic entity like the one they just saw in the woods.
Long ago, a young-looking Masha was walking through the streets of Gravesfield. Their hair was longer, their tooth-gap have not formed yet because those front teeth have not grown yet – there was only a void where those teeth should be. They wore the school's uniform, indicating they've just come out from school and they held their backpack on their back as they hurried towards a place in particular; The Little Insmouth Pub.
Outside was a large muscular man with a small black hat over his bald head sweeping the entrance before the young goth greeted them with a grin as he looked down at them.
"Hey! Good afternoon Mister Fish Man!" They said innocently.
The grown man with the large mustache on his face tilted his head. "Masha, I've told ya countless times that my name is Hogan!"
"I know that!" The goth exclaimed as they quickened the pace up to him. "I call you that out of respect because you have so many pictures of you fishing inside that bar."
"Is that so?" Hogan sighed. "I think the word you're lookin' for is Fisherman. I'm not a Fish."
"Oh." Masha said before they rubbed their back of their head with a soft laugh. "That makes a lot more sense. Sorry Mister Fisherman. Would you let me in already?"
"I've also told you that this place ain't for kids." Hogan said while crossing those large muscular arms of his.
"Yeah, I know that too! But one, you're not even open yet. And two, I'm here to see my dad. C'mon, you always give me this speech and you always end up letting me in." Masha said before they looked at the large man with a pleading look on their face, adding a bit of cuteness for overkill. "Pleeeease?"
Hogan sighed in defeat before he let the young goth in. "Hey, Basil, someone's here for ya."
Inside the pub, just like Masha mentioned earlier, the walls were covered with pictures of the wide blue sea. All of those frames featured Hogan and other people that were once his crew, his friends. Loyal companions that one by one start to disappear – telling a story with no words, that at first glance goes unnoticed, until you look closer at them. Fishing is what brought them together, but something else have broken them apart.
Other than those pictures, the place is loaded with the trophies of those fishing adventures that Hogan once had.
Finally, there was something that the Pub was missing; people. The place was closed at that point of the day. There was only one man sitting on one of the tables on the back. That man was Basil, Masha's father, who did not shared the same taste for gothic fashion as they did – instead wearing some overalls that seemed washed up and sort of dirty, indicating he just came back from a construction site.
"What? Again? Masha, we've talked about this. Your mom is going to kill me if she finds out that you keep coming here to see me." The man said with a frustrated sigh.
The young goth didn't seem to react to the man when he raised his voice ever so slightly to make a point of how upset he was. "Well, the only way she can find out about it is if you tell her. Are you going to?" They said as they walked up to the table and placed their bag on one of the seats as they looked up at their father.
Basil was still giving Masha a light glare before shaking his head. "If I do… I might lose the right to see you on the weekends. I would be shooting myself in the foot since I've allowed this to happen. I just want you to understand that you're putting me in a lot of trouble when you do this. Did you know that?"
"Yeah, I do. Let's make sure she never finds out, then." Masha said with a grin as they brought their deck of Uno cards to play with before Basil sigh in frustration once more.
"That's not the point! Oh, forget it. Gimme those, I'll deal this time." Basil said as Masha laughed while handing their father the deck of cards, from afar, Hogan was keeping an eye on them behind the bar as he cleaned some glasses with a smile on his face under that large mustache of his, finding the scene happening before him amusing. "It's very suspicious that you always get the better cards."
"I've told you countless times that I don't cheat, dad!" Masha said while still laughing out loud. "You're just bad at the game."
"Uhuh." The man said sarcastically as he allowed himself to grin back at them in a playful manner.
The two started a game of Uno shortly after, neither of them paid attention at anything else other than the game. Once the first round came to an end, Masha had won, like they usually do.
It was then that Hogan approached the two and placed a couple of chocolate milkshakes on their table. "Don't get used to them, this is still no place for a kid." Hogan teased with a soft chuckle as he saw the sparkling eyes on Masha when they saw the shakes before them.
"What do we say, Masha?" Basil said with a grin of his own.
"Thank you for the milkshake, Mister Fisherman!" Masha exclaimed.
"Aye, close enough." Hogan said as he bursts into laughter.
"Thanks, Hogan." Basil said before the larger man shook his mustache masterfully as if he was dismissing him with it rather than shaking his own head.
"Don't mention it." Hogan replied as he got back behind the bar to allow them have room to keep playing Uno for the next hour.
Masha and Basil engaged in conversation every so often about different things. Basil asking about Masha and school, while Masha asked about things related to the job Basil has at the construction site. Until the young goth decided to ask something that they've been meaning to ask for a while.
"Hey, dad. Why do you keep going into the woods during the night?"
The question took Basil by surprise, glancing at Masha directly in the eyes with a nervous look on his face. "What?" Before Masha was able to reply, Basil glanced at Hogan who now has his eyes locked on him, awaiting for where he leads the conversation to.
"Dad, you know mom's house is directly in front of the woods near Victory Trail.
My window is in front of that trail and I've seen you these last couple of weeks go into the woods exactly at midnight." Masha said as they looked over the cards they're holding in their hands as their eyes lock with their father's to hear a response.
The man did his best to pull off a poker face that did not allowed the young goth to read how nervous he was, not because of having to respond to them, but because of the pub owner still listening in into their conversation with a sharp look on his face. "I was looking for Bigfoot." The man said with a grin.
"Uhuh." Masha said sarcastically like their father did earlier. "Get real, dad!"
"Oh, so you don't believe in Bigfoot now?"
"I do believe in Bigfoot. I just find it hardly to believe that you do." Masha said as they tossed a card on the table to keep the game of Uno moving.
"Hey, when did I said that I don't believe in Bigfoot?"
"When I'm listening to my mystery podcasts you always have a wild theory to disprove every story they talk about." Masha said as they narrowed their eyes at their father.
"I do that because I don't want you to blindly believe in everything you hear about. We all need a rational side to us to weed out all the lies out there. Cause believe me, the world is full of lies." Basil said as he tossed a card down.
"Oh?" Masha said as they raised an eyebrow at their father. "Well, yeah, there are plenty of hoaxes out there. I know that. And you are right, we all need a rational side. Which I do. Which is why I still don't believe you are looking for Bigfoot. I'm eight, dad, but not stupid. If you don't want to tell, or can't, it's fine. But don't lie to me." They said with a frown on their face, which made their father sigh.
"Fair enough. You're right, I'm sorry." Basil said as he leaned over with a smile on his face. "But you know I'm doing the best I can to find jobs. And sometimes, I have to do multiple jobs. Some that require me to stay up really late at night. All I can say is that I'm doing the best I can so that I prove to your mother and the state that I can provide for you."
Masha was listening intently to every word he said as they looked up at him with a serious look on their face. "Ok. That sounds a lot more sincere."
"That is the truth, I promise." Basil said as they chuckled softly, his eyes briefly looking at Hogan who's look was not as sharp as before. Both men nodded slightly at each other as if they were having an unspoken word with one another that Masha was not a part of.
"I guess." Masha said while chuckling softly as well. "Dad… do you believe in the paranormal?"
"Hm…" Basil took a few moments to come up with an answer to that question. "To some extent. Why are you so fascinated by the paranormal?"
Masha grinned. "It makes the world a lot more interesting. I'd like to experience something extraordinary someday."
Basil looked at Masha with a raised eyebrow. "Honestly, from experience. If you ever get to experience something out of the ordinary… you might not find it as exciting as you thought it would be. Trust me…"
Hearing those ominous words made Masha to raise a question. "From experience? You mean you've seen something paranormal-like?"
Masha's father flinched in reaction to the question, realizing how careless he was to have said such a thing. "Yeah." He doubled-down, giving Hogan behind the bar a reassuring look on his face.
"You're joking?" Masha said, their curiosity increasing. "Now you gotta tell." They grinned.
Basil gave a soft laugh, putting his cards down on the table. "Do you remember when I went out of town when your grandfather died?"
"Yeah." Masha said as they also put their cards down, taking a break from their game to listen to the story.
"Well, I don't get to talk much about my pops. He was… not the easiest guy to be around with. Honestly, I don't look back fondly on the time I spent living under his roof. I know it sounds mean of me expressing myself this way of him. But I don't regret parting ways with him."
"I'm sorry." Masha said.
"It's ok, it's in the past now." Basil said with a soft chuckle. "When he passed away, I was sad, yeah. But relieved at the same time. I talked to him one last time and that was it. A long chapter in my life was now officially closed. And that got me thinking on my current situation with your mother. I won't tell you any details about it, I just want you to understand that I felt like a hit a low. When I was back in town, I had no longer a home to come back to. So, I had to stay in a motel 10 miles past Gravesfield."
"The one that's near the forest?"
"Precisely." Basil said. "I stayed there one night, but I couldn't sleep. All I could think of was the passing of my pops and you guys. I was reflecting on what happened between my pops and me with you guys and that was driving me crazy all night. Plus, the hotel room was small, it made me feel like the walls were closing in on me. The smell was kinda foggy as well, I did not felt comfortable in that room. I spent hours rolling on the bed, trying to get some sleep. At some point I had to go to the bathroom. I washed my hands and… the thoughts kept pouring in on me. I couldn't get back to bed. I have no idea how long I spent in that bathroom thinking of you and your mom. I simply blacked out, staring into the mirror as I kept exploring ideas on what I could do moving forward. It wasn't until I felt my legs starting to give in that I snapped out of it. And it was then that I realized that I've been staring into my reflection that whole time. I looked back at myself and…"
Masha listened intently, not caring about their surroundings for the time being. When their father mentioned the mirror, their interest was at its peak. And it felt like an eternity when Basil made a long pause.
But they did not interrupted him, they awaited patiently, watching their father's expression changing from serious to a more… disturbed looking one as if he was reexperiencing that story all over again.
"I felt that my reflection was about to talk to me. I don't know why, I don't know how. I just felt… that was about to happen. And I didn't want to be a part of it. My instinct told me, I needed to get out of there. I could almost hear the voice saying: NOW, you got to leave now! I rushed as fast as I could out of that bathroom and shut the door. Nothing else happened that night, least to say – I couldn't sleep at all. Until the morning after."
"Wow!" Masha said with the widest grin on their face as they felt goosebumps all over their body. "You did not just came up with this story?"
"No, it's true." Basil said with a soft laugh. "Do you still think the paranormal is exciting?"
"Of course!"
"Don't you… feel even a little bit scared of experiencing something like this?"
"Nope." Masha said with a large grin once more. "As a matter of fact, I think it'd be cool to experience something like that!"
"Well, you sure are brave." Basil said with a soft laugh.
"Brave indeed." Hogan spoke for the first time in so long, chuckling as well behind that mustache of his.
"I promise you, dad. When I'm old enough, I will explore this world looking for experiences like this and document them for everyone to see. Nothing will face me!" Masha said with a confident look on their face.
"Nothing, huh?"
"Nothing."
By now, whatever triggered this memory in Masha's dream began to overlap with many others. Starting from where she once last saw their father one that very same night walking into the woods that would mark the beginning of Masha's long search for their father in Herlock Woods.
While their fascination with the paranormal started with an innocent thought of experiencing the extraordinary, it became an obsession for finding the truth to what happened to their father that night.
That young naive goth sitting in that Pub was no longer eight, they were fourteen years old now. Their confidence wiped once they started to see that horrifying thing in the woods that split it's head open and growled so fiercely at them.
Their muffled screams couldn't be heard, there was nothing but a void, a see-through looking glass that reflected nothing but what they feared most… until they woke up.
The light quickly filled those eyes of theirs, slowly opening until they were able to see a figure leaning on them. Their hair long and pink, with their eyes glowing white. This figure was someone they knew. It was Amity, Luz's girlfriend. But while they knew who this person was… the situation was outside of their understanding. And granted they just experienced something out of this world. The sight of Amity's eyes glowing made their whole body to shake like it did when they saw that thing…
"STOP!" Masha exclaimed as they pushed Amity off of them which caused her to snap out of her trance.
"Get away from me!"
Amity grunted when she landed on her back while Luz moved forward, trying to calm Masha down but they fought her off before she was able to lay a hand on them.
"Masha, calm down! It's us!"
The goth used every bit of strength in them to get themselves back up to their feet to start running off into the woods as Luz tried to stop them.
"It's us, Masha! We're not going to hurt you!"
"Stay away!" Masha exclaimed with tears running down their cheeks as they ran off a few feet away from the group, their instinct kicking in just like their father did all those years before.
"Masha!" Vee's voice finally made the goth stop in their tracks.
Slowly, the goth looked back at the group who all seemed concerned about them. "Vee?"
"We're not going to hurt you. We were trying to help you…" The Basilisk said, still in her human form which Masha was used to.
"I-it's you… right? It's you?" Masha asked before she took a step forward.
"It's me." Vee said as she took a few steps forward towards her friend, a few tears forming on her eyes. "You fell and hit your head. We were trying to help you. We didn't mean all of this to happen."
"Y-you…" Masha was stuttering once more, their whole body was still shaking. "Y-you… y-you were tr-trying to do something to me…?" Masha said as they looked at Amity who nervously look back at them when she saw the goth turning their face towards her.
"Uh… right." Amity blushed, rubbing the back of her head as she looked at Luz.
"I trust them." Luz whispered, gently squeezing her girlfriend's hand as the pink-haired witch looked at her friends -Willow and Gus- before she looked back at Masha with a serious look on her face. "I think… you're aware something is not right?"
Masha bit their lower lip as they looked down for a brief moment before they gathered the courage to ask. "W-who are you guys…?"
While Vee's expression was that of insecurity. The rest were looking at each other before Amity decided to break the news to to the other human.
"We are witches."
End of the chapter.