Chapter Text
Luz couldn’t sleep. The winter air was frigid, and nipped at her nose and ears. She’d pull the blanket over herself, but Amity was hogging it, and she didn’t want to disturb her sleep. Everyone else in the room was asleep as well; Gus was bundled up in blankets on the top bunk, and Willow was sprawled out on the makeshift mattress of blankets and pillows on the floor, unapologetically comfortable in her splayed position. Vee was sleeping on the bunk bed above her, tail dangling down to be in Luz’s field of view. Hunter, like many nights before this, left at a late hour when he thought no one else was awake. But Luz was. She always was. Her cruel imagination of what might be taking place in the Demon Realm kept her up, body sluggish but mind wired, if unsharpened. She worried for Eda, King, Gus’s dad, Amity’s siblings and father, Willow’s dads, Lilith, Hooty, and even Steve if she tried hard enough. They were all in danger, and it was all her fault.
Luz turned over to peer at the clock on her nightstand. 2:32 AM. Dammit. There was no way she was getting any sort of sleep any time soon. Her mind raced with worries and doubts, and looking at the empty bottom bunk made her curious about where Hunter was and what he was doing. She often left him to his own, as he always greeted everyone in the morning, and was never much worse for wear than they were. He seemed like he was doing okay, so Luz never felt the need to seek him out when he sneaked out of the room. Tonight was different, for some reason. She was madly uncomfortable in both mind and body, and couldn’t think of a better way to pass the time.
Luz gingerly got herself out of bed, careful not to wake her girlfriend. She put her pink bunny slippers on and quietly made her way out the room, much in the same fashion Hunter had. Luz walked down the hallway, noticing that the kitchen light was on. She peered around the corner, and saw Hunter sitting at the kitchen table, highlighter in hand, a notebook and pencil to the left of the thick book he was annotating. Is this what he did at night? Research? Luz was touched, not realizing that Hunter took it upon himself to try and get everyone home when he thought no one was looking. Luz just stood there, spying on Hunter for a minute or two, taking note of Hunter… taking notes.
He seemed really into the book he was reading. Did he finally find something that might help them? He highlighted another portion of text, before scribbling down notes on the notebook next to him. If his generous annotations were any indication, it seems he might have actually found something after all this time that might help them get home. They’d all been taking near daily trips to the library, searching for a book, alongside hours of internet research, for any clues as to how they might remake a portal to return to the Demon Realm. They reasoned that if Belos had simply wandered in by mistake to the Demon Realm all those millennia ago, there must be a way to return. If Luz were honest with herself, she had been losing a bit of her hope over the past few months they’d been trapped in the Human Realm.
Hunter’s note-taking slowed down, his hand coming to a near standstill. His eyes became glazed over, and his eyelids slowly drooped. His head kerplunked onto the table, neck no longer having the strength to remain upright. Luz cringed a little. She expected Hunter to wake back up from his collision with the wooden surface, but he seemed out cold. Luz quietly made her way toward his side, taking notice of the dark bags beneath his eyes. A bit of drool was already leaking from his slightly parted lips. Luz deliberated whether she should wake him up or not. It seemed like he needed sleep, and while this would probably put a crick in his neck once he woke up, she wasn’t confident he would stay asleep if she made him go to the bedroom to rest.
She shifted her focus to the book he was reading, and read one of the highlighted sections. “lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” That… was a little creepy, and reminded Luz of the cultish Emperor’s Coven, if Luz were honest with herself. What did that have to do with portals? She turned a few pages, and read another highlighted text. “May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.” Ah. This was a Bible. What in the world was Hunter doing with something like this? She turned her attention to the notebook to the left of the Bible, and read a few of his notes. “I’m not sure who God is, or where he lives, but if this book is to be believed, he might have the power to return us home.”
Luz wasn’t sure how to process that. It seemed Hunter actually WAS doing research as to how to return home, but took it in a direction she never expected of him. Or perhaps it was expected? She noticed that some of the verses he highlighted were reminiscent of the way he used to behave under Belos’ rule, and a pit formed in her stomach as she reread the first highlighted text she noticed. “lean not on your own understanding.” It was almost scary how Hunter had practiced such a verse under the thumb of Belos, never questioning his decisions or plans, “Just following orders” as he had once said. Luz noticed a bookmark in the Bible, and turned toward it. On the page was a single highlighted verse that read, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you future and a hope.”
Luz grew uncomfortable with the connections she was forming, but couldn’t come to a sure conclusion until she spoke with Hunter in the morning. She turned around to leave the kitchen, but she unexpectedly bumped into someone. Luz let out a little squeak to accompany Camila’s ‘oof’. What the heck was her mom doing up at this hour? She hadn’t been awake for long, if her crusty eyes and disheveled sleep wear were any indication.
“Luz, what the heck are you doing up at this hour?” her mom seemed to parrot her thoughts. Luz hurriedly shushed her mom, gesturing to the sleeping teen beside her. Camila grew a little sheepish, before taking notice of what Hunter had been doing. She took the Bible and flipped it around so that she could read what he highlighted, humming as she did so. After a few seconds, she returned the Bible to its original position, before regarding Luz.
“You know, I never knew he was religious…” Camila trailed off, trying to find a train of thought that would lead her to the concern that was now plaguing her, that Hunter felt forced to stay up till 3 in the morning when no one else was awake just so he could practice his religion in peace. Did he not feel safe doing so around others? Now that she thought about it, she did catch him praying a few times before, though every time she greeted him he was taken aback, immediately unclasping his hands and regarding Camila with a nervous expression. Camila only grew more concerned as she recalled this, realizing that her worries might actually be founded. Luz seemed to regard her with a curious expression, before responding to her.
“I don’t think he’s actually religious… no. That’s not right. I should say I don’t think he’s Christian. Back in the Demon Realm, Belos convinced everyone on the Isles of the ‘Titan’s will’,” Luz said while air-quoting her fingers, “He managed to make mostly everyone believe that the Titan was still alive, somehow. Hunter…” geeze, she really didn’t want to say that he basically grew up in a cult without Hunter awake to give his own input. She instead settled for, “Hunter bought into it, too. He thought the Titan gave him some sort of purpose in his line of work, before his uncle went all cray-cray and tried to kill everyone,” Luz explained. Camila processed her words for a few moments, before rubbing her eyes sleepily.
“Perhaps he’s trying to find that sort of purpose again? His uncle was Belos, right? And Belos is a human?” she questioned, at which Luz nodded her head in affirmation. Camila continued.
“I don’t like that guy one bit, from the stories you’ve told me. But I suspect that Hunter might be missing that connection he had with the Titan, and wants to find something similar while he’s here,” Camila articulated. Luz looked thoughtful for a few moments before she shook her head.
“Nah. Read his notes. He thinks God is some person he can just find and talk to. He thinks that God can help us back ho- back to the Demon Realm. Not in any sort of divine way, more like someone who has a lot of power, like a wise old person in a fairy tale. I’m worried that Hunter’s wasting his time reading that book. He’s highlighted a LOT of text, by the way, so he’s been at it for a long while,” Luz summarized her thoughts regarding her brief reading of Hunter’s annotations.
“Are you sure it can’t be a bit of both? I read some of his highlights, and not all of them pertain to making a portal or anything. Tell you what. I’m going to carry Hunter to the living room couch, so he doesn’t sleep wrong. In the morning, when the others are off doing their research, or whatever it is you guys do, I’ll hold Hunter aside so I can have a talk with him. Does that sound fair?” Camila suggested. Luz seemed complacent in response to her words, and nodded her head yes, before letting out a yawn.
“You need to get to sleep, Mija. It’s late, and it’s your turn to go to school tomorrow. Why don’t you head to bed now?” Camila suggested. Luz hugged her goodnight, before making her leave. Camila gingerly took Hunter into her arms, careful not to jostle him too much, and carried him over to the couch, before lying him gently upon it. She took a blanket from the closet, and draped it across him. As she watched the steady rise and fall of his chest, she pondered what she would say to him tomorrow. This was a touchy subject for many, and Camila especially didn’t know how to breach it with someone who, if she understood correctly, basically grew up in a cult. Camila let out another yawn, growing tired. She’d think about it more in the morning.