Wednesday's Week

Through rocks, trees, and woes

Xavier was on the raft. I stood at the shore beside Ajax and Enid, out of breath and aching. My whole chest burst in pain. "You really tried to catch him?" Enid asked in shock.

He was rowing as fast as he could. He wasn't far behind. I tried to breath. "I just needed to break his fall."

"Well you broke yourself!" She cried. "And I need you for our hunt!"

I turned to Ajax who was soaked in water. He put a hand up, "Don't ask. I would have rather had Enid punch me."

"We should head back to the graveyard now," I stated. We didn't quite move until we saw Xavier safely to shore.

Enid hovered around my face, scanning for injury, "So someone cut the line?"

I led them back to the graveyard, "With a ninja star or some form of circular blade."

Ajax shook, trying to get the water off of him, "Do you think finding the blade would give us some insight?"

I cocked my head to the side in thought, "Absolutely. It just might take years to find it in that huge grass area." But I did want to find it. Maybe my visions would tell me who it belonged to. "Either way, someone is tampering with the games, trying to kill people."

As we neared the graveyard, Weems noticed my limp. She floated over quickly. "What's wrong?" Her genuine concern surprised me.

"The zip line was cut and I caught Xavier," I explained.

She gasped and did circles around me. "We need to get you to the infirmary immediately."

I put a hand up, "Unnecessary. If I couldn't take a little pain, all of those late night torture practice was useless."

After a few minutes of buzzed conversations, the first of the contestants could be seen. Throwing their whole self into it in the front of everyone was Xavier. I could see his black eye from here as well as the bees that still swarmed him. They pushed on his back and his arms, their small bodies doing their best to encourage him. Eugene smiled when he saw his little friends.

The other runners were on his heels. They would overtake him if he didn't go faster. I couldn't help myself. I took a step forward. "Run faster Xavier!" I found myself yelling. He threw in one last burst of energy and threw himself across the finish line.

The Nevermore students screamed in excitement, swarming him just like the bees. They picked him up and held him in the air. I could see his face was contorted in pain.

When they finally placed him down, I approached. "You'd better heal for tomorrows duel."

He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. "Nero helped me across the tight rope. He's a great clamp." He gave me the paper. "You saved my life, Wednesday. I believe that makes us tied."

"Check your math. I've saved you three times. You've saved me twice," I corrected him.

Xavier winked and hobbled off.

Eugene came up to me, "You'd better tell me what's going on. It's hive code." He said as the bees climbed into his pocket.

I raised an eyebrow, "About what?"

"Wednesday Addams always knows something is up. And I am her trusty side kick." He proudly poked his own chest.

Moments like these made me think of Pugsly far more. All though, Eugene proved his worth and his own protection. "There is a danger to this school and the students and it's stalking me."

He pushed his glasses up, "Then we should do some investigating."

We had lunch next and then Dodgeball where Kent and Yoko would go. Yoko assured everyone she could do two competitions. And I knew she wanted to prove her worth.

Eugene and I separated from the group and went to the beehives. I opened the creaking door to see someone was waiting for us.

Thing sat on the table, flipping through Goody's Book of Shadows. He waved me over. Look at this.

He had turned to the page that Laurel had used to raise Joseph Crackstone. It was crammed with small cursive handwriting. Riddles, curses, ingredients, and instructions. He rested a finger at the bottom of the page.

"Dead things aren't supposed to live again. The exception is zombies and ghosts. Each have a heavy price," I read aloud.

Eugene leaned over, "Then what is the price?"

"Goody loves to talk in complex riddles and confusing answers. It looks like her diary is like that too," I noted. I would have to come to terms that I'd never get an easy answer from her. Even after she sacrificed her spirit to heal me, she was still making everything extra difficult.

Thing flipped the pages more and then turned to me. You can't be a ghost without a living relative to keep you anchored.

I opened Folkner's diary and filtered through the pages. I found the page I had marked. The Necromancy red ink page. My finger ran down the page. "Not just a relative. To achieve her status of total shape and even ability to hold things, Weems has a descendant."

"She has a child?" Eugene asked incredulously. "Are they going to Nevermore?"

I shook my head. We would have learned that by now. "Weem's child could be just a baby. Or even older. She was my mother's age, but my parents waited a few years before they decided to share the love."

We sat down to scan the books more thoroughly.

A frantic knock pounded against the bee shed. I slammed the books shut as Eugene ran for the door. It was Ajax. "The dodgeballs! The vampires.....covered in sacrament oil!"

I grabbed his shoulders tightly and made him stop moving around. "Ajax, what happened?"

"Someone covered the dodgeballs in catholic sacrament oil. It burned the vampires. Yoko, Marcus, and a bunch from the Eternal school!" He explained more clearly.

I needed to get my hands on one of the dodgeballs. Thing jumped into my backpack as I slung it over my shoulder and chased after Ajax. Eugene followed close behind.

We followed the trail to the front of the school. A car with blaring sirens came flying by and stopped by the doors.

I paused on the grass. Sheriff Galpin stepped out of the car. Tyler's dad made direct eye contact with me.