you can occupy my every sigh

Chapter Eighteen

TW: Graphic violence & death - this is the final showdown!

Wednesday opened her eyes, her head pounding and her limbs sore. She blinked, trying to clear the mental fog as she attempted to piece together what had happened before she'd lost consciousness. Flashes of the night flooded her; the pounding of her feet against the forest floor, the deafening overlapping of a million lying voices, and the magical explosion that had decimated the clearing around her. Tyler. Wednesday remembered the vision she'd had of him being knocked out by a strange figure, and dragged off into the night. She tried to sit up, but winced and let out a sharp cry of pain as the injuries from last night caught up to her.

The clearing around her had been completely destroyed, as if a wildfire had passed through, scorching it from the earth. The trees were barren and ashen, the bark peeling off them in long strips. The creek was devoid of all life, dead fish littering the bank, thrown from their home in her rage. It looked like a hurricane had passed through, branches strewn in the charred grass, dirt thrown every which way as her magic had thrown it about. Wednesday had moved through the forest like a natural disaster, leaving destruction and disarray in her wake.

Wednesday gazed down at her hands, seeing the promise ring Tyler had given her in a total state of disarray. Dirt was crammed into the crevices, and there was a small hairline fracture in the metal. Not enough to break it, but a divot all the same. Tears filled Wednesday's eyes as she licked her shirt sleeve, desperately trying to clean it with the cloth. Some of the dirt came off, but most of it stayed trapped within the ring. Just another way she had failed Tyler. Just another way she had spat on his love for her. Wednesday sighed, pressing the heel of her palms against her eyes, tamping down the tears. Now wasn't the time to cry over jewelry.

Wednesday pushed herself up with one hand, heaving herself against a tree to prop her up. She panted with the effort, trying to collect herself and figure out where to move from there. First, she had to find out where Tyler was, and if he was okay. She reached out to the bond, tugging it a few times, but received no response. It was dormant, which made her think Tyler was still unconscious. Since she couldn't reach him now, she needed to contact someone to tell them what had happened. She'd try to head back to school until Tyler woke up, and then she'd follow the bond to his location.

The journey toward campus was excruciatingly slow. Wednesday had to pause every few steps to sag against a rock outcropping or tree, unable to support her own weight. Without her phone, she couldn't contact someone to come and get her. She was alone in the forest, unable to get herself to help; unable to protect Tyler from the cult leader. Wednesday felt completely, utterly helpless. It was a feeling she'd become intimately familiar with in recent weeks. Time and time again her loved ones were put in harm's way, and time and time again she was powerless to help or save them.

Somewhere, Tyler had been kidnapped. Somewhere, Eugene sat in a medically induced coma, on the brink of death. Somewhere, Enid was lying in her new bed with her new roommate and her new best friend, the guilt of their fight eating her up inside. How was this fair? Wednesday was only seventeen, for fuck's sake. How could she be so close to a happiness she'd always thought she'd never attain, and still lose it? How could Wednesday be so close to victory, yet end up losing anyway? Wednesday heaved herself up once again, gritting her teeth with every painful step. She'd be damned if she lost Tyler now, after everything they'd been through.

Progress was slow, but Wednesday was gradually making it closer and closer to campus. With every few steps, she checked on the bond, trying to figure out if Tyler was awake or not. Each time, she was met with the soft light of the dormant bond, meaning Tyler was still unconscious. Wednesday kept walking toward the school, determined to make it there before mid-morning of the next day, considering it was still in the middle of the night and Wednesday was several miles out from Nevermore. She heaved herself along, checking the bond as she did.