Chapter Text
They were getting closer.
Number Five slithered through the forest of the Boiling Isles. She can feel the sharp rocks on her bare scales. It was painful, she can feel gashes forming as the rocks began to chip away at her scales and start to puncture the vulnerable flesh beneath.
But she couldn’t slow down. Not if she wanna survive.
She wondered how any of her kind could endure just moving through the bare forest of the isles in their normal form. But then again, her kind has been extinct for centuries, maybe the forests were different back then.
She wished she had stayed with the others. Sure, they were planning to do horrible things, but at least she would be safer among her kind.
Now she’s all alone. And no one would help her. No one would even know she existed.
Well, at least it would all be over. No more running, no more hiding.
But no matter how much she told herself that, she still ran, she still hide. She doesn’t want to die. She wants to live, not just survive.
She can hear the sounds of hundreds of booted feet pounding through the forest making their way toward her. They were getting closer.
Without thinking, she jumped into a bush and she burst through to the other side, into a massive ravine that she didn’t see.
She screamed as she tumbled her way down the ravine, she tried to grab a hold of anything to stop her fall but it only made it worst.
She landed on a heap at the bottom of the ravine, bruised but miraculously alive.
She looked to the ridge where she had fallen from and she saw that the scouts were already there and they were beginning to make their way to the bottom of the ravine.
She was going to start running again, but then she noticed what was at the bottom of the ravine with her.
It was an intricate wooden door dominated by a large yellow eye. The portal to the Human Realm.
She can hear the voices of the Coven Scouts getting closer and closer, and in her desperation, she didn't think to ask why exactly was the door here. And she opened the door and ran inside.
And then she suddenly found herself in a cage, holding a dead Echo Mouse in her hands. She dropped the mouse, startled. Then she heard His voice and she froze in terror.
“Wake up.”
She snapped awake.
“Are you alright?” A concerned voice asked.
She looked at the other girl, she has dark hair and she was wearing a black dress, but what was interesting about her was not her clothes or her hair. Instead, it was her ears, they were round, unlike most of the witches that she have met. Was she some kind of witch-like demon?
“Who are you?” She couldn’t help but ask.
“I’m Helen, you’re Luz right?”
“Luz?” Number Five said, confused. Then she looked down at her hands and she was surprised to find skin, instead of scales.
Then she finally remembered. She was on Bonesborough trying to lay low and not draw any attention from the Emperor’s Coven when she met her, a human. At the time, she didn’t know her name but she eventually learned it when she made her way through the door and met her mother.
“Yes, I’m Luz.” She said and Helen smiled.
“That’s what I said.” Her smile turned to a concerned frown and she asked, “Are you sure you’re alright?”
“I’m fine. It was just a nightmare.” Humans have nightmares right?
“Well, if you say so. If you need my help, don’t be afraid to come to me, alright?” Helen offered and Number Five nodded.
As Helen climbed down the bunk, she lay back down on the bed.
Earlier that day, before anyone else arrived at the cabin, she had tried going to sleep on the bed. But the mattresses were too soft, it was all wrong. So she removed the mattresses from the bed so she can sleep on the bare wood. It was nothing like sleeping in a cold, dark cave, but it will do.
She looked to where she had placed the mattress and found that it had been moved elsewhere. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be suspicious that ‘Luz’ liked to sleep without a mattress. She would have discarded the blankets too if there wasn’t a risk that part of her body would revert to her basilisk form while she was asleep.
Realizing that she wouldn’t be able to sleep anytime soon, she decide to explore for a bit.
But as she got up, she was startled to see that a boy was lying down on the top of the bunk bed on the opposite side of the cabin. He had darker skin than Luz’s and his dark curly hair obscures his eyes.
He was just lying there, silently. His face was turned to her but she wasn’t sure if she was looking at her. His bangs were too thick to see his eyes, she wondered how he could see through all of that hair.
She thought that maybe he was just asleep, but then he gave her a lazy wave and said, “Sup.”
Not knowing what else to do, Number Five waved back to him and said, “Hello.”
The boy didn’t give her a response, instead, he just laid back on the bed. Number Five’s mouth pursed, had she done something to offend him? Is waving back to someone considered an insult in the Human Realm? Does that mean he was insulting her when he waved at her?
“Don’t mind him.” Helen’s voice called out, “That’s just Barry, he likes to chill.”
He looked at Barry, who didn’t seem to react when Helen mentioned his name. Maybe he just fell asleep, or he was just being rude. In either case, what can she do about it? Confront him? What good would that do? Plus, how would she know if he was being rude, maybe his behavior is normal for humans.
She made her way down her bunk, and head towards Helen who was eating lunch at the table. As she approached, her nose smelled what she was eating and her stomach couldn’t help but growl at the sight of the food. Come to think of it, when was the last time she have eaten? A week ago, maybe. She was only surviving by consuming the ambient magic of the Demon Realm, which does not exist in the magic-less Human Realm.
Though she does smell a bit of magic nearby. Odd. It’s probably coming from herself, after all, she had just left the Demon Realm. Maybe a leftover of the magic of the Boiling Isles is still in her.
“Are you hungry?” Helen asked and Number Five blushed, she must have heard her stomach. “Here, come sit with me.” Helen gestured at the chair next to her.
“Oh, um-. I don’t want to impose.” Number Five said.
“It's fine. I don’t like salad much anyway.” Helen said.
Number Five took her up on her offer and Helen handed her a fork and told her to eat. Looking down at the food, she asked, “Are there any, animals in this”
“’Animals’? Oh, you mean meat? No, no, this is a salad.” Helen said.
Skeptically, she looked down at the food. Then she shrugged and began to eat. There doesn’t seem to be any meat in this, so she continued eating. It was delicious, but as she ate, she looked at Helen, who have basically stopped eating to look into some kind of mirror.
Why was she being nice to her? Does she know her? If she does, would she realize that she and Luz, the real Luz, are different?
She wondered how she can broach the subject without being suspicious. While she wanted to avoid confronting her, she needs to know now before it comes back to bite her in the tail.
“Hey Helen, are we friends?” She mentally groaned, great job Number Five, that isn’t suspicious at all.
Helen seemed taken aback by her question, then she looked contemplative and asked, “Well, do you want to be friends?”
Number Five thought about it, she never had a friend before, not even with the other basilisks, so she would be her first. But can she afford it? Can she trust her? And what would happen if she realized that she wasn’t the real Luz?
She was still unsure, but she nodded. She seemed nice, and maybe she was just being friendly to ‘Luz’, maybe she wouldn’t accept her once she realized who she was.
But she wanna try.
This is her new life, a chance to live. Not just survive.
“Cool.” Helen grinned and they continued eating, well, she was eating while Helen was looking at the strange mirror.
As she ate, she was starting to get curious about that mirror. At first, she thought it was just that, a mirror. But as she looked closer, she began to notice that there were words on the mirror, kinda like the scrolls the witches and demons of the Boiling Isles were using.
Too bad she couldn’t read any of it.
“What is that?” Number Five asked because friends asked their friends what they were doing, right?
Helen enthusiastically showed her what she had been looking at for the past few minutes. She narrowed her eyes at the screen of the human scroll, it was a lot brighter than the scrolls on the Boiling Isles though it wasn’t unbearably bright. And she was able to see its contents, the problem was, she still couldn’t read it.
She really needs to find out how to read, and soon.
“What is it?” She asked.
“It's the Institute,” Helen said eagerly.
“The Institute?” Number Five couldn’t help but ask, hopefully, this isn’t one of those things that the real Luz would know about.
“The Institute of Oddology.” She answered which only confused her more. “They’re this school way out on the other side of the country. They were gathering magic users together to hone their powers. I wanted to enroll in their summer classes so I can learn to be a fortune teller just like my grandma.”
She was skeptical of this Institute. She doesn’t know much about humans before she came to the Human Realm. Most of what she knew came from rumors or hearsay from people who had never been to the Human Realm. Many, well most actually, of what she knew about humans ended up being wrong. But one thing still hasn’t changed.
Humans don’t have any magic.
Sure, some things made her reconsider that idea. But no matter how hard she tried to sniff out magic she couldn’t find any magic anywhere. Not even on their ridiculously complex machines.
But instead of saying that, she asked, “So why are you here then?” If she wanted to go to that institute for the summer, then why was she on ‘summer camp’?
“Well, my parents found out about it, and they thought it was a waste of time. So instead they sent me here, so I can learn to ‘be normal’.” She looked crestfallen as she told her that and Number Five frowned.
So that’s what this place was for. She found it odd that humans have a place that teaches people to ‘be normal’. But then again, she came from a place where witches and demons willfully restrict their magic to appease a corpse.
“I’m sorry.” Number Five told her. She knows that humans don’t have any magic but still, a dream was a dream. She was dreaming of having a life outside of a cage, and she was willing to do anything to get it. Even steal another person’s identity and live in their place.
“It's alright.” She doesn’t look like she was over it, but she doesn’t want to confront her about it so she stayed silent. “So how about you? What are you in for?” She asked jokingly.
Number Five smiled uneasily, she wasn’t sure why Luz’s mother sent her daughter here. Something about a book. But in her opinion, that isn’t enough to get a mother to ship her daughter away. Well, at least it doesn’t seem like she was that kind of mother.
“I’m not sure.” She said honestly and to her surprise, Helen snorted.
“You’re not sure which was the reason you got sent here?” Helen smiled and giggled, “That makes sense. I only started going to Gravesfield last semester and let's just say you kinda deserved your reputation.”
She then went on and enthusiastically retold the tale of Luz’s antics. From starting a panic after she faked how she gutted herself, to sneaking thousands of spiders from inside a pigeon's corpse. Personally, she doesn’t understand why that was such a big deal. Those things were normal in the magic school that she snuck into.
But then again, humans don’t have magic. So their idea of normal and her idea of normal might be completely different.
“Oh wow, I didn’t know I caused that much trouble.” Number Five said, attempting to sound contemplative.
“It's fine, looking back, it was kinda hilarious,” Helen said.
They talked some more, with Number Five attempting to fish for as much information about Luz as she can without sounding suspicious. And the more she learned about Luz, the more she realized something.
Luz was supposedly a girl who loved fantasy so much that she couldn’t help but try to make the stories she read into reality. While she, her impostor, came from a world, not unlike the one in her books, and she was running away from it towards a mundane reality.
They couldn’t be more different from one another. The real Luz would have loved the Demon Realm.
She decided to step out of the cabin for a bit and explore the camp.
. . .
The camp was a lot smaller than Bonesborough, though that makes sense, it was only a summer camp after all. The cabins and buildings were all made of wood, and while she doesn’t know much about architecture, she was pretty sure that without magic, none of these buildings would survive a single afternoon of Boiling Rains.
The camp was arranged neatly, with the cabins located on one side of the camp and another side having the administration and learning facilities, with a wide grass field separating both areas.
The whole camp was surrounded by a chainlink fence with the main entrance located in the administration areas. Though there are other smaller entrances around the camp.
Number Five doesn’t know how long she was walking around the camp, observing the campers and their parents arrive at the camp.
It was odd, she had no idea what to expect but she was still surprised to see that even without magic, the humans didn’t seem to behave any differently from witchlings.
But of course, it was entirely possible that what she was seeing here isn’t normal human behavior. After all, this place was supposed to teach people how to be normal.
She mulled that over. And think, maybe this was a great opportunity. If she knew how normal humans behave, then she will be able to blend in easier. And what better place to learn than here?
She had planned to stay here only for a bit and then sneak out into the night. While so far, the people she met were all nice, especially Luz’s mom, she doesn’t want to stay any longer than she needed to. What if the real Luz comes back? What if people start to notice how different she was from the real Luz?
She couldn’t risk it.
But when she found out what this camp was supposed to be for, well, she can’t just throw away this opportunity.
Maybe she can stay here for a bit and learn as much as possible. And then, when Luz comes back, she would sneak away and take another form and disappear.
It was risky, but most of the risks she has taken have paid off. What’s one more?
Plus, it's not like she has any other place to go. So running away would just be another risk. At least this risk has the potential of paying off.
She was making her way back to the cabin when she spots two parents in front of the cabin, arguing with their son. A boy with strangely-colored hair(A/N: can somebody please tell me what color it was called) with square-rimmed glasses. Their argument was so heated that she can hear them even from where she was standing.
She doesn’t want to get caught up in their argument so she snuck around them, careful not to let herself be seen, and made her way to the door. Though even as she tried to get inside as quickly as possible, she still couldn’t help but overhear what they were saying.
“I don’t want to waste my whole summer here.” The boy said to his parents, sounding angry and frustrated.
His father crossed his arms and sternly said, “So you would rather waste your whole summer in front of a screen.”
His mother, much more gently, said, “Look, we’re just worried about you. Your whole world is your games and you don’t have many friends outside of it. We’re just concerned that you might end up like Luz.”
“I’m already ending up like Luz, didn’t she get sent here too? At least she did something to deserve it.” The boy said bitterly and Number Five managed to get through the door before she hear more.
She closed the door behind her, sighing in relief that she was able to avoid getting dragged into their argument. She has a feeling that that boy doesn’t like her, or rather, Luz, much.
Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to spend any time with him.
“Hey Luz, are you alright?” Helen asked, it looked like she were in the middle of unpacking her bags.
“I’m fine, I’m fine.” She reassured her, “Do you need any help?”
“Well, if you want to. But it's not like I have much to unpack anyway. It's fine if you have anything else better to do.” Helen said.
“Well, I don’t have anything else to do anyway. Plus this is a great way to get to know you better.” She said genuinely.
She sat down on the bed with her to help her sort out her clothes. They would have finished unpacking faster if they didn’t stop to talk every few seconds. But that was fine, they weren’t in a hurry.
Helen, predictably, was the one leading their conversation. She can’t exactly tell her any stories about her life on the run, or her time in the Conformatorium. Helen’s stories were random, from her time with her grandmother, to a visit to another human city called New York. But they have given her a pretty good picture of what life on the Human Realm was like.
It felt strange to be here like this. Literally, just a few hours ago, she was alone and on the run. Now, she was in another world, with a new identity and now a new friend too. It felt like she was dreaming, it wouldn’t be the first time.
But it was real, somehow, she was here.
She stopped herself before she could start celebrating. Because while she was no longer on the run from the Emperor’s Coven, she was still hiding. They might not have any use for a creature like her, but she doesn’t want to risk being found out. She heard that they apparently burn witches at the stake. What will they do to a basilisk?
She shivered just thinking about it.
She turned to the door when she heard it open, and she was shocked to see the boy from earlier, the one who was arguing with their parents, enter the cabin. She wonder what she was doing here when she realized that there were 2 bunk beds in the cabins, four beds for four people.
Oh no.
Helen didn’t seem to have any reservations about the boy as she was as she immediately got up to greet him. “Hello new kid, welcome to Cabin 7.” The boy didn’t reply so she just kept going. “I’m Helen, that’s Barry.”
“Sup.” Number Five barely suppressed a squeak as she heard Barry’s voice. She didn’t realize that he was still here. Heck, it didn’t even look like he moved from his spot earlier.
“And that’s Luz.” She gave him an awkward wave, and she was a little dismayed to see how he scowled at her while Helen’s back was turned.
“I’m Greg.” He responded. Oddly enough, he sounded shy as he said that.
“Well Greg, do you need help with your bags? I just finished unpacking.” Helen offered and Greg shook his head.
“No, no, I can manage,” Greg said.
“Well, tell us if you need any help alright?”
Greg head towards the last vacant bed and he set his bag down and began unpacking. Number Five joined Helen at the table, and careful to keep his voice low, she asked Helen, “What’s wrong with him?”
Helen shrugged and said, “I don’t know. Maybe he’s just shy.”
Maybe, but that still doesn’t explain how he scowled when he saw her. Maybe he knows the real Luz, it sure sounded like he does. She hopes not, she was lucky that her mother didn’t notice anything, but she doesn’t know if she can keep this up for a whole summer.
Come to think of it, what is ‘summer’? How long was she supposed to stay here? A week, a day, a month, a whole year?
Well, that probably wouldn’t matter when Luz comes back. Hopefully, she doesn’t come back so soon. She just needs to stay long enough to learn what she needs to learn. And after that, she can finally live.
END OF CHAPTER 1 . . .