Calm and Calamity

Chapter 35

"No," said the young woman. "It's not ready."

"Okay..." Corinna smirked, feeling how hot Harmony's cheeks were when she gave them a quick kiss before finishing her breakfast. After she washed her bowl and spoon, Corinna went down into the basement to where she kept her own book of memories. The white notebook was hidden underneath a hollow floorboard. She retrieved it then packed it into her rucksack along with anything she would need for the day. Returning to the surface, Corinna said to Harmony and Calixte, "just going to see Salim. I'll see you two at the settlement."

Harmony and Calixte responded with their goodbyes and got back to reading their appropriate books.

Closing the door behind her, Corinna flicked her finger underneath her jaw, and her body was consumed in yellow light as she transformed into the golden knight. Though there was no longer a danger, what with all of the prisoners in the sector being a part of the peace treaty, Corinna still decided to be cautious if anyone new from other sectors met her along the way to the construction site. There was also the bonus of how fast she was in this form. She may have said that she would avoid violence until it was a last resort, but that did not mean she wouldn't use the mask for anything else. Bending her knees, the golden knight jumped and propelled herself high in the air, soaring over great distances until she landed back onto the sand.

Eventually, she reached the settlement and heard screaming and yelling. Corinna passed by the group of children huddled together, flinching whenever someone raised their voice but still watched out of curiosity.

Riley exited her house, followed by a hesitant Clarence. "What's going on?" asked Riley.

"I don't know," replied Corinna as she headed towards where the commotion originated- Klei, Dex, Kai, and Wendy's house, where the three men stood in front of it, yelling and shouting at each other.

"This is all your fault!" Dex towered over Klei, his eyes cold and stern. "If you hadn't been so preoccupied with those water nymphs and actually visited her-"

"I couldn't leave them alone!" Klei snapped back. "They need someone to be constantly watching them-"

"You had plenty of other people to do that! It was the same when we first met, and you didn't trust me to look after Wendy. You can't trust anyone-"

"It was only for one day! I was going to see Wendy today!"

"And it's too late now! You were always her favourite, and you abandoned her!"

"Stop!" Kai stepped in between the two men, pushing them back away from each other in fear of it getting physical. "We're all at fault, alright? She needed time to settle in and being comfortable in a new place, but we didn't help at all; we didn't keep her company enough-"

"I visited!" Dex glared at Klei.

The copper-haired man shook his head. "We should never have moved. It was too much for her."

"Just thought that she would like not having to live in a cave." Dex sighed.

Klei raised his head. "We have to find her."

"No shit," said Dex, then bit down on his lip in regret. "Sorry, yeah..."

His eyes widening, Klei looked around at the settlement. "We need to make sure everyone else isn't hurt." He dashed off to knock on peoples doors.

"I'll get Reggie," said Kai. "He'll be able to track her scent down." Then he left and headed towards the campsite where Salim's tent was pitched up.

Corinna slowly approached Dex, the man gazing down at the ground, his fist clenched. "What happened?" she asked softly.

"We only just found out." The man's face scrunched up as he answered, "Wendy... Wendy is gone."

He showed her inside Wendy's bedroom. Scattered across the floor were small balls of stuffing from Wendy's soft toy animals and scraps of their material, and the fluffy white rug. Two of the legs to the wooden bed had been snapped off, and a sizable chunk of the mattress missing and torn off. But what Corinna saw first was the gaping hole in the brick wall where the wendigo had been chained to.

Corinna picked up a short length of the metal chain from the floor and saw that it had not been broken by force but rather bitten off. "What could have done this? Did something take her?"

Dex shook his head. "It was Wendy. She... ate the chain and everything else." He recovered the soft toy rabbit that was now only a severed head.

They returned outside and overheard Klei frantically asking Riley and Clarence if they heard anything last night and if Jackson was still alive and in one piece, which was answered when the large bulking man appeared in his pyjamas at the front door.

"Why are you asking if we have any missing body parts?" Clarence squeaked. "What's going on?"

"Did someone turn into a monster and got peckish last night?" asked Riley with none of the concern that Clarence held. Instead, there was a smile on her lips. "Is it the fish-boy? No, wait, the mole-rat lady?"

Klei sighed in both relief and frustration. He joined back with Dex and Corinna. "No one here saw her, which is good that she didn't hurt anyone, but... where could she have gone?"

"I think I know where," replied Dex.

*

The wendigo entered the cave, ducking as her head almost knocked against the low ceiling. Had it always been so small? Her bedroom looked huge in comparison. But that didn't matter anymore. She wouldn't have to return to that place again. She was where she wanted to be now, back in the place where everything was okay, where the four of them were together.

Reaching the end of the cave, the wendigo sat down and smiled, gazing around at her home.

But her smile faded, and instead, tears streamed down her gaunt face.

Why wasn't she happy? This place was supposed to make her happy.

Why?

Why?

She looked at the empty spaces beside her, where Klei, Kai, and Dex would have slept.

They've found other people to be with. They have already moved on and left her behind. So, she should move on too.

The hunger was clawing at her from the inside, groaning and howling, demanding to be fed.

Sniffling, the wendigo scratched at the cave walls, the sandstone crumbling and a clump of it breaking off. She picked it up with her trembling hands and sunk her teeth into it.