His Hyde's Jekyll

Chapter 11. Confessions

Enid began running towards the road, but soon veered in a different direction. Wednesday made no objection-she trusted the other girl's sense of smell to guide them. Sure enough, it wasn't long before she could hear the Hyde's familiar roars in the distance.

As implausible as it seemed, the sounds spurred Enid to run even faster. Wednesday was forced to tighten her grip on her fur to stay seated. Being thrown off the back of a werewolf would be an edifying experience, but it would have to wait for another day.

The screeching roars were ear-splittingly loud now, indicating that the Hyde was just ahead. Enid came to an abrupt halt and twisted her neck to look at Wednesday. It was evident that this was as far as she would take her. Wednesday would have preferred to ride straight into the scene of battle, but Enid was a stickler when it came to her endangering her life. She really did get worked up about the oddest things.

Wednesday slid to the ground. If Enid refused to go any further, there was no point in wasting time. "Go!" she said.

Enid nuzzled her hand, then bounded off into the forest. Wednesday was left with no choice but to follow at her own pace. She had never seen the merit of running, but she could admit now that her judgment had been flawed. Still, how could she have foreseen that she would be tasked with chasing around a hybrid boy-monster to prevent him from murdering innocents?

She found Enid and the Hyde already at each other's throats, rolling around on the forest floor. Vlad and Denis were huddled against a tree, watching the display with wide, terrified eyes. She mentally amended her previous statement. The term "innocents" hardly applied to these two.

Wednesday surveyed them, noting with dissatisfaction that the boys were relatively intact, with the exception of a few scrapes and bruises. How disappointing. It would have been a delightful surprise to find that they had lost a limb or two.

Vlad spotted her and pointed shakily towards Enid and the Hyde. "M-Monsters," he said. "They're monsters!"

"Quit blabbering and get up," she ordered.

They stood on trembling legs. "Now, you," she addressed Denis, "take off your coat and shirt and leave them here. And you," she turned to Vlad, "I'll need your pants, belt, and shoes."

They gawked at her as if she was the one who had the brains of a monkey.

"Are you now deaf as well as dumb?" she asked dryly. "I'd suggest you do as I say. I am half-monster too, you know." She put a malicious emphasis on the words 'half-monster.'

That certainly woke them from their stupor. They hurriedly shed all of their clothing, leaving only their undergarments. She didn't bother to correct their error. It was no fault of hers that they were incapable of following basic instructions.

"Give them to me," she commanded.

They handed over the bundles of clothes, shivering uncontrollably from the near freezing temperatures.

"Good," she said. "You may go."

The boys needed no further encouragement. They turned and fled without looking back.

Wednesday directed her attention to Enid and the Hyde. The Hyde had taken the offensive, with Enid using her claws to fend him off and slowly weaken him. They appeared to be evenly matched for now.

"Enid," she called. "I need you to pin him down so I can get close enough to touch him."

The werewolf shot her a look that clearly said, "Why don't you ask me for the moon while you're at it?" Still, she nodded to show she understood, and began stalking warily towards the Hyde.