This story was created in response to the second mask drawn by
(pictured above). Click here to read my story based on the first mask.Amy was fourth in line to enter the imposing mansion. Her eyes scanned the driveway filled with luxury cars. Most of these people were wearing outfits that cost more than what she made in a year. She felt so out of place.
“Next!” a deep voice commanded.
Amy stepped forward, nervously wringing her hands in front of her black dress. Her feet were already hurting in the heels she picked out, but she wanted to fit in so badly that she would have worn anything to look the part.
“Next!”
She shuffled forward again. Each step made her heart rate climb exponentially. She stole another glance at the mansion. The towering exterior was lit by a pair of spotlights in the front lawn, but it was the moonlight that gave the building an eerie glow.
“Next!”
One more person in front of her. She could see two men in suits and identical masks flanking the entrance. The masks had stark white faces with blank expressions. A pair of curved black horns sprouted from the top of each one, providing a haunting contrast.
It was the same mask design she had seen on the invitation they sent her in the mail. The invitation only included an address and two phrases written on the back. One to be said at the beginning of the night, and one to be said at the end of the ceremony.
She could hardly believe she was there. She had spent so long and worked so hard to be recognized by the group, and it was finally about to pay off.
“Next!”
Amy stepped forward. The two men regarded her with empty gazes. The one on the left reached down and picked up a mask just like his from a box on the ground.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“I am nobody,” Amy replied, recalling the first phrase from the invitation.
The man nodded and held out the mask with both hands. Amy took it with shaking hands and slid it over her face. She adjusted the strap in the back until it was nice and tight, and then walked into the main hall.
The interior was dimly lit. Candles graced marble countertops and tables all around her. She made her way through the foyer, passing countless other men and women wearing masks just like hers.
They were politicians, actors, rockstars, and world leaders beneath their masks. The kind of people she would never be in the same room with. After all, Amy was just an accountant at the bank. A regular person with a regular job.
A nobody.
Now that she had her mask though, everything felt equal. The playing field was finally leveled. She could get used to this.
“You must be new,” a voice said. Smooth like velvet.
Amy paused mid-step and turned to face the source of the voice. A masked man bowed slightly as she laid eyes on him. He held glasses of champagne in each hand and extended one toward her.
She could almost feel him smiling beneath the stoic expression on the face of his mask.
“Oh, thank you. I’m Amy, by the way,” she said, taking the glass from him.
“No you’re not,” he said. “You’re nobody, remember? They should have asked you when you walked in.”
Amy cursed under her breath. “Right. Yes. I’m sorry, I’m just so nervous.”
The man lifted his glass up to the mouth of his mask. He tilted the glass carefully, taking a sip through the small opening. Amy wondered why he didn’t just lift it up if he wanted a drink.
The man reached out and brushed her arm with his hand. “There’s no need to be nervous. If you’re here, it’s because you deserve to be.”
Amy took a step back and lifted her mask slightly to take a large swig of her drink.
“So, when does the ceremony start?” she asked.
The man lifted his arm. The sleeve of his suit descended just enough to reveal a designer watch. It looked incredibly expensive.
“Any minute now. I must say, I envy you. There’s nothing quite like your first time.”
Amy didn’t like the way he said that. She looked around the room for any excuse to end the conversation.
A loud ringing suddenly filled the expansive hall. It sounded like a bell. Whatever it was, she was grateful for the excuse to leave.
“I should head in for the ceremony. It was nice meeting you,” she said.
The man nodded. “Likewise.”
Amy followed the movement of the crowd as they funneled through the interior of the mansion. She made their way out the back door into an extravagant backyard.
Several large fire pits burned brightly amongst beautiful sculptures and perfectly manicured hedges that bordered the edges of the space. In the center of the backyard, at the bottom of marble steps, Amy spotted the Grandmaster.
He was dressed in a crimson robe and wore a mask that was different from the others. The horns on it were larger and the face was pointed instead of round.
“Welcome, brothers and sisters! It has been far too long since we have gathered here. Please take your places, I am eager to welcome our newest member.”
Amy froze in place. Her blood ran cold.
Member. As in, just one?
She had assumed there would be others. She looked around as the crowd parted like the Red Sea before Moses. Behind their masks, countless eyes watched her.
“Who are you?” the Grandmaster asked, his voice bellowing across the open space.
“I um…I’m nobody!” Amy shouted back.
She heard a few people in the crowd stifle a laugh.
The Grandmaster extended his arms out to welcome her. “Indeed, but tonight you will become someone. Approach, child. Let me take a look at you.”
Amy walked down the steps and into the grass, trying desperately not to look at the countless other attendees watching her.
The Grandmaster lowered his hands as she approached.
“You have worked very hard to be here,” he said.
Amy nodded. “Yes, and I am so grateful for the opportunity.”
Two acolytes in horned masks and black robes approached from either side of the Grandmaster. One held a metal tray filled with medical tools, and the other carried an identical tray with a curved needle and thread.
Amy felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of the implements. She wasn’t sure what the ceremony entailed, but it didn’t matter.
She wanted this.
The Grandmaster picked up the needle and thread. “This will hurt for a moment, but when the pain subsides, you will no longer be a nobody. You will be a part of something greater than yourself. You will be…” he stared past her, as if locking eyes with something only he could see.
“one of us.”
Amy nodded. “I’m ready.”
The Grandmaster lifted the needle and thread into the air. “Mithrack, God of Many Faces, we call upon you! We offer this empty vessel so that you may fill it with your perfect will. We cover our impure faces with your holy visage, so that you may use us as you see fit.”
The Grandmaster lowered his hands. “Kneel, sister.”
Amy got down on her knees and lifted her head to face the Grandmaster. She watched the needle approaching until it passed her limited peripheral vision.
A moment later, she felt it pierce the edge of her mask, and then her skin.
Is he sewing the mask onto my face?!
She felt the thread slide under her skin and back out again. Another sting, and the process continued. By the time the realization fully set in, the Grandmaster has finished half of the process.
Amy had been holding her breath. She let the air out of her lungs slowly. She reminded her self that she wanted this.
She needed this.
When the Grandmaster was finished, he set down the needle on one of the metal trays and picked up a scalpel. Amy’s eyes went wide as the blade moved past her vision. She felt his hands grip the strap that had been holding the mask on her face.
With one cut, he removed it, and the mask stayed in place. Held aloft by the thread that now wove its way through her skin.
“Arise, sister,” the Grandmaster said.
Amy stood up, her mind still reeling.
“Who are you?” the Grandmaster asked.
Amy smiled beneath her new face as she recalled the second phrase from the invitation.
“I am somebody. A part of a greater whole.”
Thank you for Reading! Here’s Your Musical Pairing
Listen to this after reading, like pairing a glass of wine with dinner.
Sewing it to her face was such a good touch!
This is so unnerving and perfectly executed - a worthy addition to the challenge!
haunting af! im a huge fan of masked ceremonies and secret rituals. im super intrigued by this world too,m why wasn't the man's mask sewn on??? so many questions i love this sm, great job friend!