CHAPTER EIGHT
“WE DO, IN FACT, HAVE A DEAL”
“SO, WHO GAVE YOU THIS TIP-OFF EXACTLY?” Helia asked as her, Nick and Wednesday snuck around the side of the Jericho’s Coroner Offices. She brought her jacket tighter around her, feeling the sharp breeze hitting the back of her neck.
“Eugene,” Wednesday replied simply, the three of them turning up at the sliding door. A few minutes before, Thing had creeped out from Helia’s pocket, heading up into a vent Nick had managed to break through with some help of shifting.
“Are there actually dead bodies in there?” Nick grimaced. He hadn’t exactly signed up for some corpse sight-seeing, and wasn’t willing to anytime soon. “It all gives me the creeps.”
“It’s a Coroner’s Office,” Helia pointed out, telling him there quite obviously was dead bodies.
“We need to know what happened to the man from the meeting house,” Wednesday told them, the three exchanging looks as they continued to wait for the door to open. “That means we have to do our own autopsy. I hope neither of you are weakened at the sight of blood.”
“It’s more dead bodies than blood that I’m weakened by,” Nick commented, taking a deep, shuddering breath.
“We’ll be fine,” Helia assured the girl.
The door in front of them started to creak uneasily, and as soon as it opened the tiniest bit at the bottom, they were each ducking under. Nick was the last to stand up straight, Thing pressing the button to close it just as the back of his shirt passed under. The Coroner’s Office was full of stale air, a certain, rotting smell reaching Helia’s nose. It smelled like a graveyard, but more pungent, the air having been trapped in a contained space for a long time. In front of them, there was an autopsy table, a desk with some filing cabinets and a wall lined with hatches, each one most likely containing dead bodies, frozen still.
“While I do the autopsy, you three find the files of the monster’s other victims and make copies,” Wednesday instructed them immediately, already walking to the fridges lined with corpses.
Thing tapped on the cabinet he was standing on, quite angry.
“Don’t pout,” Wednesday scolded, pulling out her kit from inside her satchel, rolling them out along a medical table. “Your scalpel skills are questionable.”
“So, is this a pastime for you, Addams?” Helia made conversation, her and Nick walking up to the filing cabinets, each opening some up on either side. She searched through the files marked A to G, guessing that the rest of the letters were contained in the other cabinets.
“Indeed,” Wednesday replied, having some trouble speaking after the girl said her last name like that. It disturbed her how one word that she heard all the time affected her so much. “On my 13th birthday my Uncle Fester gave me a cadaver. It was an enjoyable time until Thing decided to get carried away and slice right through the man’s carotid.”
“Your Uncle Fester seems like a shocking guy,” Nick said, Thing getting the message Wednesday was passive-aggressively getting across and crawling over to the two at the filing cabinets.
“He possesses 110 volts of electricity, so I suppose, yes, he is,” Wednesday replied.
Not giving anyone to question what she had just said, Wednesday pulled open one of the corpse freezers, steam falling out to the floor. She looked inside, frowning at the face before shaking her head.
“No.”
She opened yet another further down.
“No.” Though she inhaled deeply, giving a small, appreciative nod. “Magnificent hematoma.”
“I don’t think there’s anything here,” Nick sighed, having stopped looking through his H to O section of the files. He paused suddenly, dragging out a file with the name Glenn Kline written on the top. “Oh, Glenn. Mistook a glass of bleach for a glass of water. Well, that’s not a pretty picture… Ugh.” He pushed it over to Helia to show her the picture.
“Ugh! That’s disgusting!” Helia grimaced, shoving it back towards him, covering her eyes.
Thing looked exasperated with the two of them, tapping against the filing cabinet, saying: ‘I’m going to go check the copy room.’
“Yeah, that’s probably a better idea,” Helia said, Nick tucking the file back into the cabinet.
Thing hopped down from the filing cabinet, disappearing out the double doors and across the corridor, leaving Helia and Nick to watch Wednesday as she continued to search through the body freezers on the other side of the room.
“So what did my mom say last night?” Nick asked, him and Helia wandering over as Wednesday seemed to pull open the right freezer. Laying on the stretcher was the man that scared them back at the original meeting house, but now he looked well and truly dead.
“The usual,” Wednesday replied without any further explanation. Usually, Helia wouldn’t bat an eye, but there was something in the way Wednesday blinked and looked down at the now-dead homeless man that seemed to indicate there was a little bit of disdain for Larissa. “Helia, tape recorder, please.”
“Oh, right,” Helia said, jumping out of her thoughts and scrambling to pull the tape recorder out of the side pocket of her backpack. She passed it over to Wednesday.
Wednesday clicked down the button, speaking into the recorder. “Thursday, 7:23 p.m. The body is that of a 50-year-old male.” She leaned down, looking underneath the sheet that was luckily covering the man’s lower half. “Lacerations and defensive wounds appear on both hands. What remains of the chest and torso indicates a frenzied attack—”
“Oh, my God. I’m gonna puke…” Nick groaned, his face a sickly green as he ducked away, standing back over by the filing cabinets, clutching at his stomach.
“I thought you said you’d be fine,” Wednesday said, dropping her finger off the button, glaring over at Helia across the dead body.
Helia shrugged. “What did you really expect?”
“Hm,” Wednesday hummed, seeing her point. She gave her that one. She pressed down on the corridor once more, ignoring Nick’s dry heaving. “Subject has been almost entirely disemboweled.”
“Could you at least keep it down?” Nick complained, holding a hand over his mouth.
“Jesus Christ, he was really ripped apart, huh?” Helia wondered aloud, ignoring the boy as she ducked down to look as well. While the bleach picture was bad in Glenn Kline’s file, this looked exactly like Rowan’s body, apart from one thing. “Is his… foot missing?”
“What do you mean?” Wednesday questioned, lowering her head down beside Helia’s, her hair brushing the blonde’s cheek. She saw that the man’s foot had infact been amputated, almost like whatever had done it had done it in a hurry. She brought the recorder to her mouth. “This is curious. As Helia has so cleverly spotted, the subject’s left foot is missing. It appears to have been chewed off at the ankle.”
Helia didn’t even have time to feel happy with herself that she had helped out with the investigation when the morgue’s door swung open behind them, making Nick spring back upright in fright. Thing crawled as quickly as he could up to where Helia and Wednesday were standing, their heads slipping back out of the body freezer.
“Have you seen a left foot anywhere?” Wednesday asked, not seeing the hand’s urgency. Thing struggled to speak clearly, Helia and Wednesday furrowing their eyebrows to translate, Nick wandering around weakly, his face still a little pale. “Calm down. Who’s coming?”
All he said was ‘hide’, causing Helia to huff and push the man’s dead body back into the freezer, shutting the door just as fast. Nick seemed to get the idea, his head twisting in all directions before his eyes fell on the vent Thing had got into the building through.
“Hey, over here,” he whisper-called, crouching down beneath the hatch, gesturing that he could boost them all up before climbing up himself. Helia hurried over, stepping up immediately, Nick using as much as his strength as he could to throw her upwards.
Helia managed to grab onto either side of the vent, pulling herself into the dusty metal cavern, leaning back down the hole to help Wednesday up as well. But there was only Nick underneath her when she looked.
“Wednesday, come on,” Helia hissed downwards, finding the girl still standing by the freezers.
A click echoed from down the corridor, alerting them all that the front doors of the coroner’s office had been opened. Wednesday turned back to the girl in the ceiling, shaking her head. “No. There’s no time. You two, hide.”
“What about you?” Helia asked, Nick following the girl’s instructions immediately, climbing up on a shelf, falling sideways into the vent next to Helia.
“I have another plan,” Wednesday assured and Helia knew she had to trust her. She nodded and leant back away from the vent entrance, putting the gate back over the gap.
“You totally like her,” Nick sing-songed from beside Helia, crouched so low that his back was bent at a very odd angle. He looked highly uncomfortable. “You can’t deny it.”
“What? No, I don’t,” Helia whispered back, her forehead creasing. “And, shh. Be quiet.”
“I’m just saying… You should ask her to the Rave’N,” Nick suggested genuinely. “The worst she can do is say no.”
“Have you met Wednesday?” Helia asked him, not even wanting to think about the idea, knowing it wouldn’t end as well as she’d hope. “The worst thing she can do is sneak into my dorm room in the middle of the night and slit my throat for even implying she could have any sort of acknowledgment of my feelings.”
“So you do have feelings?” Nick said, his eyes widening, a teasing smile on his lips.
“Oh, shut it,” Helia shoved him, a thunderous bang reverberating around them. “Shit.”
“Shh. Be quiet,” Nick repeated what she had said earlier, getting him a sneer in return.
Muffled voices could be heard, the doors of the morgue opening, two figures appearing through the cracks in the vent gate. Helia and Nick leaned forward, peering through them, trying to get a better look at what was happening. Helia was also beginning to wonder where Wednesday had disappeared off it, and really hoped she hadn’t just ditched them in here.
“Whatever or whoever is responsible for these killings…” Jericho’s coroner spoke. “In all my years, I’ve never seen injuries quite like them. I thought you should see this before I issued my report on the latest victim. It’s a real noodle-scratcher.”
Footsteps clattered across the floor, stopping just below where Nick and Helia sat. A door opened with a snap, a hiss of steam rising up through the vent grate, Nick stifling a cough painfully in his throat as Helia scrunched up her face in disgust.
“The killer cut off two toes from the victim’s left foot,” the coroner continued to the other figure. “Best guess, they used a surgical saw. The final autopsy report’s still pending.”
“Minute you’re done, send it straight to my desk,” Sheriff Galpin’s voice replied, and Nick looked like he was about to throw up again. “Media blackout on the toes.”
“Sure thing, Sheriff,” the coroner agreed quite happily for a murder case. The door of whatever had caused the horrible stench closed again, Sheriff Galpin’s figure moving towards the doors again, only to be stopped by the coroner’s voice. “Been a busy couple of weeks, huh? At least I’m going out in style. Friday’s my last day.”
“Happy retirement, Doc,” Sheriff Galpin said, trying his hardest to leave politely.
“Gonna surprise Mrs. Anwar with a four-week cruise,” the coroner kept going, much to the disappointment of the sheriff. He let out a wry chuckle. “Excited to trade rib shears for Mai Tais.” Sheriff Galpin looked at him, waiting for him to speak again, but the man only said, “See yourself out. I’ll lock up.”
The sheriff sighed and the morgue’s doors closed behind him, only leaving the coroner standing alone in the middle of the room. There was a second where Helia and Nick let themselves breath, knowing sooner or later they’d be able to get out of this cramped vent. But their wishes came too quickly as the coroner’s eyes caught something by the body freezers.
Helia and Nick’s eyes watched as he bent down to where one of the freezer doors was slightly ajar, muttering something under his breath before pulling it all the way open. Inside, laid stiffly on the stretcher was Wednesday, not a single muscle in her body moving. Nick let out a small squeak, about to say something, but Helia clapped a hand around his mouth, shutting him up. She knew that if anyone could act dead, it would be Wednesday.
“I don’t remember this one coming in,” the coroner mumbled, prodding a finger into the girl’s shallow cheek. “Full rigor. You’ve been dead for a while. Guess you won’t mind waiting another day for me to cut you open.”
He pushed the stretcher back into its freezer, shutting the door behind him. He turned on his heel, humming a song to himself as he happily sauntered back out of the doors and down the corridor, the click of the front doors sounding as he finally, definitely left.
Helia let out a sigh, dropping her hand from Nick’s mouth, the boy finally letting out a constrained shriek. The blonde gave him a look which made him look away in embarrassment, not even realizing he could make a sound that high. In a matter of seconds, the two of them managed to reach the coroner offices’ floor once again, Thing joining them as they wandered up to Wednesday’s freezer. Helia was the one to open it, each of them looking down at her body that was colder than normal, and she almost looked at peace.
“Five more minutes,” Wednesday told them all, a somewhat soft smile gracing her lips that were slowly turning an icy blue. “I was just getting comfortable.”
Helia didn’t know if she could deny a face like that, so she closed the door again.
“The coroner said that the two toes were cut off with a… surgical saw,” Helia said, standing beside Wednesday as they both looked over the investigation board Wednesday seemed to have made overnight. So while Nick was puking his guts out and Helia was restfully sleeping, Wednesday was gathering red yarn and copies of police evidence. “Which is weird. Why chew off the ankle to just get the toes? That’s some freaky shit.”
“I don’t know,” Wednesday frowned, tilting her head ever so slightly to get a better look. Nick was sitting on Enid’s bed on the other side of the room, hugging one of her unicorn plushies, trying to zone out every word they were saying. Enid had given him a bucket just in case and Thing was tapping him on the back every now and them. “It could be a blood sacrifice, but then again, I don’t believe blood witches live around here.”
Helia shook her head at the girl when she gave her a questioning look. “They used to come to Nevermore, back in the 60s or something, but when a whole year of students went missing, people started getting suspicious. Turns out they were trying to summon the Devil. They all got kicked out, the Devil wasn’t too happy to be disturbed.”
“Then we’re back to square one,” Wednesday sighed, but she definitely wasn’t resigned. If anything, being pushed back to the start made her even more determined to figure out the truth.
“When I suggested giving your side of the room a makeover, I did not have Ted Bundy’s Pinterest in mind,” Enid spoke, slowly wandering over from where she had been passing Nick a cold glass of water. Her eyes roamed over the graphic pictures of amputated body parts and cut out organs, turning the same shade of green as Nick.
“Still not as creepy as your stuffed unicorn collection,” Wednesday countered, glaring over to where Nick clutched the exact one she had a distaste for even tighter.
“Is this why you three snuck out last night?” Enid asked. “Some werewolves were talking about some people managing to get through the woods, but they were arguing a lot.”
“That was just Nick complaining about his beauty sleep,” Helia explained, waving a hand flippantly. “He was the one who chose to come along. We didn’t force him.”
Enid glanced back at Nick, grimacing slightly as the boy looked as if he was about to throw up at just the thought of last night. “I see. But where did you go?”
“The three of us and Thing made an unsanctioned trip to the morgue to copy the files of the monster’s victims,” Wednesday said.
“Okay, there are so many levels of ‘ew’ in that statement,” Enid argued in a disgusted tone, giving Helia a pointed expression. The blonde just shrugged, having found she was getting more used to the pictures of body parts the more she looked at them. “I don’t even know where to begin.”
“We need to get inside its head,” Wednesday mumbled to Helia, ignoring Enid’s complaining from behind her. “Discover any patterns or anomalies.”
“Do you think if we found something belonging to the creature, you could use your visions?” Helia wondered, putting the idea out there. Wednesday seemed to contemplate it before smiling the slightest bit in the blonde’s direction, Helia’s heart exploding silently inside her.
“Hello? Are you even listening?” Enid called out. As much as she was happy Helia was managing to make some progress with the Addams girl, she was disapproving of how she was doing it. Helia and Wednesday turned back around to face her again. “This is so disgusting for so many reasons. Have you even seen Nick?”
They all glanced over at the boy who waved a half-hearted hand as he kept his head over the bucket, just in case anything came up again. Helia frowned down at her shoes, feeling guilty while Wednesday held onto her expressionless look.
“It’s a common tactic of the body to avoid things that can cause disease. He’s not actually sick. He’ll be fine,” Wednesday explained, ignoring everyone’s confused faces before pulling down some photos that had been pinned up to the murder board. “We’ve already made a big discovery. Turns out all of the monster’s victims have had body parts surgically removed as Helia has pointed out.” She walked up to Enid, starting to pass over one picture at a time. “The first one a kidney, the second a finger—”
“Wednesday, I don’t feel—” Enid panted for breath, her face turning a pale green once again.
“Oh, no,” Helia muttered, beginning to walk over.
“Third a gallbladder,” Wednesday continued, ignoring her. She turned back to the murder board, going to grab yet another photo. “And the bearded man from the meeting house, two toes.” She placed it in Enid’s hands. “Do you understand what this means?” And she walked back to the board once again. “These murders aren’t mindless—”
“I’ve seen that look,” Helia sighed, hurrying forward as Enid’s knees buckled beneath her. The blonde — already having a lot of practice of catching people when they fell — caught Enid before she hit the wooden floorboards. “Wednesday…”
“He’s collecting trophies like a seasoned serial killer,” Wednesday kept going, oblivious to what was happening behind her. “It’s impressive, actually—” She finally turned back around to face the room, catching sight of Helia struggling to keep Enid upwards and Nick now puking heavily into a bucket, Thing keeping his fringe back.
“We, uh… We have a problem,” Helia commented, opting to lower Enid slowly to the ground, placing a pillow underneath the werewolf’s head.
Wednesday sighed. “Fetch the smelling salts. Again.”
Helia let out a weary breath, but did as she was told, the sound of Nick’s vomiting still echoing from the other side of the room.
“While most plants reward their pollinators with sweet nectar…” Ms. Thornhill stated from the front of the class, Helia twirling a pencil through her fingers as she dozed off. Nick beside her had his head rested on his desk, light snores being heard. “Many carnivorous varieties turn to sexual trickery or deception.”
Xavier leant down to grab a book from his bag, letting out a groan of pain that Wednesday caught, her head turning to look at him with suspicion. Xavier saw her looking at him and mistook her expression for concern. “I tweaked my back fencing.”
“The orchid produces a pheromone that mimics a female insect, luring the males in,” Ms. Thornhill continued, not having heard the disruption. “Now, once the plant is pollinated, what do the male insects get in exchange?”
“Nada. Just like all the guys at the Rave’N,” Bianca commented aloud, the rest of the class letting out a burst of laughter. The loud noise awoke Nick again, the boy wiping at his eyes with a yawn just as Bianca checked to see if he’d heard her. She looked slightly worried once she saw how pale he was and how Helia was checking on him.
“Okay, okay,” Ms. Thornhill tried to calm down the class with a slight chuckle. “I know you’re all excited about Saturday, which is why I haven’t assigned any homework.” There was a rush of cheering through the conservatory. “But I do still need volunteers for the decorating committee.” A handful of people began to raise their hands as Nick lowered his head back down onto the table, Helia gently twisting some of his longer hairs into plaits. “Anyone interested, come and see me up here.”
Those handful of students began to move, the rest packing up their stuff for the end of the lesson, but Helia, Nick and Wednesday didn’t move. Xavier peered down the line of three, raising an eyebrow. “What, you three aren’t gonna volunteer? Aren’t you all pumped about disco balls and spiked punch? There’s even a DJ. MC Blood Suckaz.”
“I’d rather stick needles in my eyes,” Wednesday replied mildly. “I’ll probably do that anyway.”
“Want some company?” Helia asked as their table started to pack up, getting out of their seats much to the discomfort of Nick. “I hate the Rave’N. It’s just kind of the same thing every year. Dancing, drinking, more dancing. It’s just tiring.”
Xavier rolled his eyes at the girl's words. “You know, you could just invite someone and have a little fun.”
“Oh, so when you and Bianca fought for the whole dance last year, that was fun?” Helia retorted, shoving her notebook into her backpack. Nick was tying up the end of the plaits Helia had quite expertly put in his hair. “I don’t think I’ll trust your judgment, thanks.”
Xavier scowled over at her, not seeing why he tried. He shrugged his backpack onto his shoulder, beginning to walk away while simultaneously itching at his neck painfully. Helia and Wednesday caught the action, deep scratches running from beneath his shirt collar.
“I’d say that’s a little suspicious,” Helia said under her breath to Wednesday.
Wednesday leaned towards her. “I’d say you’re right. Care to join me in investigating?”
“Uh, I would, but…” Helia gestured over to Nick, the boy weakly lifting his own satchel onto his shoulder, still slightly shaky. “I’m gonna try and get him to eat something. But you go ahead, you’ll probably get this done quicker without us anyway.”
Wednesday had some thought that it would make it less enjoyable without them, but she shoved it to the back of your mind. “You’re right. I’ll find you later.”
“Okay, good luck,” Helia smiled gently at her, causing the smaller girl’s stomach to flip harder than it had ever done before. Wednesday watched as the blonde gently led Nick out the doors of the conservatory, wondering why the girl was inflicting such a condition on her.
Nick laid back on his bed as Helia started to clean up his room a bit. She knew that Kent wasn’t exactly one for cleanliness seeing as his side was a tip, but when Nick finally felt a little better, she knew he’d be complaining constantly if the dorm room was a disaster. Nick was munching on a Kit Kat as he watched her work her way around the room, folding shirts and pants and placing them into the dresser drawers.
“You know, I was serious about what I said in the vent last night,” Nick said through a mouthful of chocolate, a bit more color in his face now. “I know you don’t like going to the Rave’N, but don’t you think you’d have fun with Wednesday?”
“She doesn’t really know how to have fun,” Helia chuckled, closing the drawer and leaning back on it, picking up one of the random minifigures Nick had laid out over the countertop. “But it’s not like I haven’t considered it, alright?”
“And…?” Nick led on.
“I’m not going to ask her,” Helia deadpanned, making the boy bow his head with a sigh. “Look, I just don’t want to annoy her with my feelings or something. I mean, she didn’t ask for them. If I told her, she’d just be upset that there was something distracting her from her investigation. That’s the only reason she stayed here.”
“Your feelings aren’t a burden, Helia,” Nick told her, finishing off his Kit Kat and throwing the wrapper in the trash beside him. He leaned forward, patting the bed sheet, indicating for Helia to sit down in front of him. Helia sighed, but did as she was told. “Even if she knew about your feelings, I think she’d be mild about them at worst. At best, she’d return them, but… Obviously, you’re being very pessimistic right now so we don’t have to go down that path.”
“Wednesday’s different though,” Helia breathed, laying down beside Nick, resting her head on his shoulder comfortably. “I don’t know… She’s unpredictable. And I like that. But it makes the whole asking her thing a lot harder. I don’t know what to expect.”
“Then find out,” Nick said as if it were obvious. Seeing her weary expression, Nick paused a moment before adding, “I’ll make you a deal.”
“What kind of deal?” Helia asked, leaning up to face him.
“If you ask out Wednesday…” he started, her eyes squinting a little. “I’ll ask out Bianca.”
Helia eyed him suspiciously. “You’re really gonna do that?”
“I’ve been thinking about it,” Nick shrugged, trying to act nonchalant, but the red rising to his cheeks gave him away. A small, excited smile itched Helia’s lips. “And I know you don’t like her because of what she did and everything, and I don’t particularly like her for that either, but… I don’t know. After that night at the Harvest Festival, I saw something different there. She’s nice to me, you know? But I completely understand if you don’t want me to ask her out.”
“Dude, you’re not backing out of it now,” Helia told him, shaking her head with a smirk. “Besides, it’s not my choice who you like, that’s all you. And, while, yes, I’m not exactly her biggest fan, I guess I can… push that aside for you.” Nick raised his head a little, seeming happy, but she stopped him swiftly. “As long as she treats you right, okay? The second she’s mean to you, I’m kicking her ass.”
“I appreciate the concern,” Nick chuckled lightly. He held out a hand, raising his eyebrows over at Helia. “So… Do we have a deal, Abbott?”
“We do, in fact, have a deal, Weems.”
And they shook hands.
Wednesday had followed Xavier out into the woods, stopping herself between some pine trees as he entered an old shed. It sat on the outskirts of the lake and it looked as if it could fall down in one harsh blow of wind. As she stood and waited, there was a small bit of uncomfortableness Wednesday just couldn’t shake. She supposed she had been investigating with others for so long that she hadn’t gotten used to it, gotten too sheltered. Being alone — she guessed she had Thing at her side — it felt worse than she remembered. It was beginning to be something she didn’t enjoy, not anymore.
A few moments later, Xavier exited out of the old shed, peeking around the sides of the door, checking to make sure no one was watching. He didn’t look good enough, not catching sight of Wednesday between the branches, and he slunk back off towards the school.
“We need to do this,” Wednesday sighed once she was sure Xavier was completely gone. “Xavier didn’t get those scratches from fencing. He’s hiding something.”
Thing seemed to agree with her, slipping back into her satchel. Wednesday took a look to her right and left before walking swiftly across the clearing, slipping into the shed without a second to spare. Inside was dark and murky, dust spiraling down in the low light, moss and mold building up in every window pane. She headed into the middle of the room, pulling down on the light switch hanging from the ceiling, a bulb brightening above her. Suddenly, Wednesday was surrounded by sketches and paintings and drawings of the exact same creature she, Helia and Nick had seen at the meeting house.
They were all done in different media, precise down to the hairs covering its flesh. It was obsessive how many pictures were laid or hung or stood up around the shed, each one’s eyes staring into Wednesday’s soul. If she actually had one.
“I suppose every artist needs a muse,” Wednesday commented to herself, seeing that a hunch had turned into evidence. She leaned forward, picking up some smaller sheets of paper, each covered in chalk. Both had the face of the creature drawn on it. “Xavier, you just became that much more interesting.”
She turned the light bulb back off, tucking the two notebook sheets into her blazer, ready to show Helia and Nick later. She made her way out of the doors, checking around her to make sure she wasn’t going to get caught and then closed them behind her. Wednesday began to walk away, hoping to get back to the school to catch Nick and Helia before they headed to Jericho with Enid, but she hadn’t suspected she had her own moves used on herself.
“Wednesday,” Xavier’s voice called from behind her. Seems Xavier had been watching her from the trees as well. She sighed and turned around.
“Xavier,” she greeted as casually as she could. “Hello.”
“What are you doing?” Xavier asked, obviously suspicious.
“Nothing,” she replied quickly, thinking up an excuse. “I just saw you come out this way. What is this place?”
“It’s kind of my private art studio,” Xavier explained, emphasizing the ‘private’. “I cleared it out, fixed it up, so Weems let me use it.”
“How very entrepreneurial,” Wednesday congratulated with no geniality. “I would love to see inside. Why don’t you give me a tour?”
Xavier paused for a second before shaking his head with a clear of his throat. “Not right now. It’s a total mess.”
“I shadowed a crime scene photographer last summer,” Wednesday countered. She was sure Xavier would be easy to break. Helia would be proud. “I’m not easily fazed.”
“Maybe another time,” Xavier said, stopping Wednesday’s plans in their tracks as he sidetracked the conversation. “Why were you looking for me?”
“I…” Wednesday may have gotten herself a little stuck. “I wanted to go over Ms. Thornhill’s homework assignment.”
“She didn’t give us homework. Remember?” Xavier raised his eyebrows. “Besides, wouldn’t you rather go over that with your other friends?”
“They had prior engagements,” Wednesday said.
Xavier frowned. “So why are you really out here then?” As Wednesday continued to be unable to answer, finally somewhat speechless, Xavier took an opportunity. He leaned forward a little, a teasing smile slowly appearing on his face. “Is this about a certain dance that makes you want to poke needles into your eyes, perhaps? I’m all ears.”
Wednesday thought about it. As much as any romantic feelings went for Xavier, the idea made her want to vomit as Nick had done all last night. It made her stomach churn horribly. But the possibility that she could find out more about a potential serial killer… that was mildly intriguing. She was sure she could handle a dance for the sake of the investigation.
“Are you really going to make me ask?” Wednesday said with no emotion. If she was really going to do this, she was going to make it clear it wasn’t romantically.
“Oh, absolutely,” Xavier kept teasing. Wednesday was growing extremely weary of the boy.
She looked for an ounce of motivation to speak the words she found were like poison in her mouth. “Would you…” It really felt as if she was going to vomit. “Would—” She could taste the acid in her throat. “Would you possibly consider going to the Rave’N dance with a certain…” She couldn’t finish the sentence. “Would— Would you go to the dance with me?”
Xavier chuckled at her obvious struggle, making her dread the choice she had made even more. “Yes, Wednesday, I would love to go to the dance with you. I thought you’d never ask. If I’m being honest, I thought you’d be going with a Helia.”
Wednesday eyebrows furrowed, but she didn’t want to question it. She didn’t want to be standing there like that any longer, she felt humiliated. She stormed off back to the school, cursing herself for being so clumsy as to be caught. She had really thrown herself into this situation, and now she had to live with it.
Helia, Nick, Wednesday and Enid stood before a brightly colored dress shop in the middle of Jericho, Helia not liking the sound of this plan. She took a glance over at Wednesday beside her, seeing that she looked just as horrified by the idea of getting dressed up as her. But that also meant she wasn’t exactly in the best mood. Helia had to choose her moment wisely if she wanted to ask her to the dance.
“What kind of dystopian hellscape is this?” Wednesday asked, the disgust apparent in her tone.
Flower vines traveled up and down the door, large bushels of silk and tissue paper sat in the picture windows, dresses hung up on mannequins. Each dress was a different shade of pink, but Helia could see inside that there was a tiny section cut off for darker colors, but they were mostly for the suits.
“Our first group shopping spree!” Enid exclaimed, shaking Nick haphazardly. “The dance committee’s suggesting all white to match the theme, but that’s not gonna fly with us.”
“Well, I have more pressing business than to worry about a dress for a dance I don’t want to attend,” Wednesday informed, turning away from the shop to protect her eyes.
“Yeah, can I join you on that?” Helia questioned, giving one last distasteful look in the store’s direction before turning to face the others. “I don’t really feel like shopping right now. Especially in that place.”
“But I thought we were bonding,” Enid frowned, obviously upset. Helia sort of felt bad, but she didn’t think she could muster enough energy to actually pretend to care about the dance.
“I feel we’ll only slow you down,” Wednesday said, managing to get Helia out of the trip at the same time. “You’re a gazelle. We wounded fawns. Cut us loose and go run with the pack.”
Enid looked between the students giggling before hurrying into the shop and the others, an excited smile creeping up to her lips. “Are you sure?”
Wednesday nodded, making the smile on the werewolf’s face grow. She began to head to the door, but suddenly Nick jolted into action, thinking up a plan.
“Oh, wait, Enid!” Nick called after her, making the girl stop on her way up to the shop and Wednesday and Helia to stop on their way to escape. “Could I come with? I kind of need a new suit anyway, I’ve grown out of my old one.”
“Of course,” Enid squealed, clapping her hands happily. She wrapped an arm around his, dragging him beside her. “I have a perfect idea. You’re going to love it.”
Helia glared after Nick, his head turning to face her. ‘You’ve got this,’ he mouthed, sending her subtle thumbs up. She returned with the finger, growing every unfond of the new cupid role he had taken on.
“So where are we headed?” Helia asked, not entirely sure. At this point, Wednesday was her GPS, when she didn’t know where she was going, Wednesday would tell her. Or Wednesday would force her to go somewhere if she was planning on staying put.
“The police station,” Wednesday told her and that made the blonde a little worried. “I followed Xavier after herbology, and found he had an art studio on the edge of the lake.”
“Oh, yeah,” Helia nodded. “Weems let him have the permission, but only once he washed all of the school shuttles. It was pretty funny watching him spend about two days doing that.”
“Yes, well, he caught me and—” Wednesday was about to say what had been paining her since that morning, but Thing started tapping hard on her shoulder. “Will you stop?” She looked down at the hand, but he was pointing up to a picture window of a store beside her.
Turns out it was Uriah’s Heap. Helia turned to look as well, seeing a beautiful dress unlike the ones at the shop Enid had shown them. It was black with gold specks along the thrills. She turned her head to look at Wednesday, and she couldn’t help but think she would look beautiful in it. Wednesday glanced back at Helia, and she could feel heat rising to her cheeks at the way the blonde looked at her. With pure adoration. She could see it in her eyes. And there was that weird feeling in her stomach that made her lose her breath.
“Wednesday, I…” Helia began, finally having built up enough courage, but, of course, they were interrupted before she said another thing.
“Hi, Helia, Wednesday,” Dr. Kinbott greeted, the two girls practically jumping away from each other, as if they had been caught. The woman looked between the two of them curiously for a moment before picking up her broad smile again. She looked up at the dress in the window. “That dress will certainly turn some heads. Or maybe it already has.”
Helia felt Dr. Kinbott’s eyes on her and the blonde turned a deep red, biting down on her lip as she turned her head down to her shoes.
Wednesday swallowed before replying, “Are you collecting more exotic trinkets for your office?”
“Those are souvenirs from my travels,” Dr. Kinbott corrected her politely. Even outside of the office, she was still acting like a therapist. “That’s how I step outside of my comfort zone. Speaking of which, are you two going to the Rave’N this weekend?”
“It’s not really your business when you’re not being our therapist,” Helia countered, still slightly stung with embarrassment after that last comment.
“I guess we can add lashing out to our conversation topics,” Dr. Kinbott smiled serenely, and Helia rolled her eyes, knowing she had dug herself into that hole.
Helia took Wednesday’s arm, pulling her away from Kinbott with a scowl, not wanting to have to talk to her longer than she paid her to. They took off down the street corner, but Wednesday stopped her as they reached the corner by the police station. Helia was confused as Wednesday gripped her sleeve tightly, slightly worried as to why they weren’t walking.
“What were you going to say before?” Wednesday asked, mildly curious.
“Oh, uh…” Helia stammered. She hadn’t expected her to care if she was being honest. She had actually been hoping she didn’t. She wasn’t sure if she could go through with this deal. “It was sort of stupid, I don’t… Um.”
Wednesday started to get concerned by the girl’s lack of eye contact and inability to speak a proper sentence. Maybe she had been drugged. That would be a twist. It would definitely give Wednesday a reason to not attend the dance.
“I was wondering if…” Helia paused again, but this time she took a deep breath, balancing herself. When she opened her eyes, she was able to look at Wednesday directly. “If maybe you wanted to come with me to the dance?”
Out of everything, Wednesday hadn’t expected that. Maybe she should have. But, yet, it still made her breath stop completely. And for the second time that day, she was speechless. She could feel a small urge in her stomach, the same one that flipped everytime Helia did practically anything, telling her to say yes. But she couldn’t. She was already going with Xavier, as much as she wished she wasn’t, and that was helping the investigation. Wednesday was unsure how her going to the dance with Helia would benefit the girl.
“I was actually going to say earlier…” Wednesday began, seeing the mix of embarrassment and shock of what she had done lingering on Helia’s face. Her not speaking was only prolonging her suffering. Usually she would enjoy that, but there was something different with this girl. “I’m actually already going with Xavier.”
“Oh,” Helia replied, stuck in place. There was a silence as cars passed by them, and the reality of what had just happened hit Helia. “Oh… right. Yeah, that… that makes sense. Honestly, it was just an idea. I didn’t…” She put a hand on her head, trying to get her thoughts straight. She was stupid for taking the deal. “Yeah, no, it’s fine.” Her smile was strained.
“Okay, um…” Wednesday spoke, not even she could process her thoughts.
“So we should get going to the police station,” Helia steamed ahead, turning on her heel, walking across the road. In the mess of awkwardness, somehow their roles had reversed. Helia was speeding them up and Wednesday was lagging behind in a haze of confusion.
Helia was hoping they could both just forget what had happened, mostly for her sake.
Wednesday slammed down one of the pictures she had found in Xavier’s art studio onto Sheriff Galpin’s desk, Helia standing a little bit behind her. Sheriff Galpin looked between the two teenagers in slight confusion on how they had managed to bypass the receptionist and get into his office without anyone batting an eye.
“We all know there’s a monster out there,” Wednesday said, getting straight to business. It was one of averting her mind away from what happened out on the corner of the street. “If we’re going to stop it, I think it’s time we all put our differences aside and work together.”
“And this is your stake for me to deal you in?” Sheriff Galpin asked, staring at the drawing the girl had given him. “Especially with something that involves a former murderer?”
“Aw, I hadn’t realized we’d gone from present murderer to former murderer,” Helia smiled sarcastically, the sheriff sending her a glare in response.
The sheriff grunted, sliding out a photo from underneath a book on his desk. He took a glance between the two pictures, scrutinizing them before shaking his head. “I’m sorry, you gotta do better than that. You got some nice detail though.”
“Neither of us drew it,” Wednesday informed him, taking Xavier’s picture back.
Sheriff Galpin paused. “Well, I need to know who did.”
“I don’t believe that’s exactly your business if we’re not working with you,” Helia said, stepping up in line with Wednesday, crossing her arms. “I mean, unless you’re willing to change your mind.”
“Why would I share information about an ongoing murder investigation with two high school kids?” the man asked, leaning back in his chair with a weary sigh.
“Because we go to Nevermore and you don’t,” Wednesday told him. “Don’t you want eyes and ears behind those ivy-covered walls? I’m sure we can get Nick on board, then you’ve even got the principal’s son on your side. A shifter no less.”
Sheriff Galpin studied them for a moment, but their faces didn’t change. “Listen, Velma and Daphne, why don’t you and the Scooby Gang stick to your homework and leave investigating to the professionals.”
“Maybe because the professionals aren’t doing a thing,” Helia said snarkily.
Sheriff Galpin leaned up onto his elbows, opening his mouth to give her a piece of mind, but a buzz from his answer machine disrupted the conversation. The man scowled for a moment before pressing a button. “What?”
“Mayor Walker’s on line two,” a woman replied from the front desk. The sheriff let out a frustrated groan. The two girls saw this as their chance to disappear. “He’s looking for an update.”
“Hey, Abbott, Addams,” Sheriff Galpin called, causing them both to stop on their way out into the corridor. He beckoned them back. “Let me see that sketch again.” Wednesday passed the drawing back over, Galpin snatching it. “The person who drew this, that your suspect?”
Wednesday nodded while Helia kept up a stony glare.
“When you bring me some concrete evidence, maybe we’ll talk,” he told them, passing it back over once again. The two began to leave as he picked up the receiver. “Yes, Mayor. Everything’s going splendidly.”
Nick sipped on his strawberry milkshake as he sat in the booth beside Enid, Davina and Yoko sitting across from them. He had to admit, whether he wanted to or not, he’d actually had a lot of fun shopping with them. They had managed to pick him out a suit that he found genuinely perfect, even if that had involved them pushing him in and out of the changing rooms.
“So, who is the new outfit for, Nick?” Yoko asked, leaning across the table with a curious expression. Nick nearly started choking on his milkshake, causing the other girls to laugh. “I’m taking that as there is someone that it’s for.”
“I… guess…” Nick said through coughs, averting his eyes, bashful.
“Spill,” Enid told him, looking especially intrigued.
“I, uh, um… You’ve got to promise to keep it between us,” Nick decided, thinking that these three could be trusted. When you wanted things to keep secret, usually it did. Unless someone got bored. But he hoped the Rave’N kept people talking until he actually asked Bianca. “I like Bianca and I wanna ask her out, but… yeah. That’s sort of it.”
Yoko and Enid squealed with each other over the table, nearly knocking over their coffees in the process. Davina being the more calm out of the three, raised her eyebrows. “I can totally see it. You two would be really cute together.” She leaned forward, lowering her voice. “You seriously can’t tell her I said this, but she has been super down since the whole Xavier thing. But the night after you and her spent the Harvest Festival together, she would not stop talking about it. She’ll definitely say yes if you ask her to the dance.”
“I guess that’s a relief,” Nick sighed, a little happier, but the embarrassment still lingered on his face. “I’ve kind of made a deal with Helia about it.”
“Who’s she asking out then?” Yoko questioned, twirling her hair.
“Oh, I can’t say,” Nick shook his head quickly.
“I think I have an idea,” Enid smirked, curling her hand around her mouth and whispering into Nick’s ear. “Wednesday?” Nick nodded subtly. Enid was squealing once again.
“Okay, now you’ve got to share with the group,” Davina said, stretching out her arms, but her face fell slightly as she caught someone wandering towards their booth. They all turned their heads in that direction, finding one of the normie kids that Wednesday and Helia had beaten up twice now. He looked awkward as he stood in front of their table, staring between each of the stares he was getting.
“Is it okay if I talk to Enid?” he asked, slightly nervous as their stares turned to glares.
“Alright. Listen here, buddy—” Nick began, raising out of his seat, pointing a finger at the boy, but Enid grabbed him by the shoulder, sitting him back down again.
“Don’t worry. I can handle him,” Enid assured them all, and Nick sighed, following Yoko and Davina out of the booth to sit somewhere else. He lunged suddenly at the normie as he walked past, the boy jumping back with a gulp. When Nick only rolled his eyes, the normie tried to chuckle nervously, not entirely sure if that was just some sort of scare tactic or if he actually meant it as a threat. He could never tell with the Nevermore kids.
Nick sat back down in the next booth over, still holding onto his strawberry milkshake, his new suit folded carefully in a bag. He glanced back over seeing Enid already smirking mischievously at the normie. “What do you think he wants?”
“He’s had his eye on Enid for a while now,” Davina told him, pursing her lips. “You can never tell what the normies want. Usually it’s not good.”
“I think she’ll do okay,” Nick said, already seeing that Enid was smiling.
Helia hurried her footsteps back out of the police station, Wednesday trying her hardest to keep up with her. It was quickly disconcerting how something had so quickly shifted from one simple question and answer. As they passed onto the corner once again, the smaller girl managed to grab a hold of Helia’s sleeve, pulling her to a stop.
“Can we talk about—” Wednesday tried. She didn’t want this tension getting in the way of the investigation. She also didn’t want the pain that now engulfed her chest, maybe it was guilt. That was something she had never felt before. She hated it.
However, she didn’t get the chance to get rid of any of it because yet another unwanted boy was in front of her. She couldn’t understand how they were starting to stack up like dead flies.
“Don’t want to ask what trouble you two are in now,” Tyler spoke as he appeared from around the corner, apparently unaware of the fact that the two girls were in the middle of a conversation. Helia felt slightly glad for his presence, because she didn’t know if she wanted to talk about what had happened just yet.
“Nothing we can’t handle,” Wednesday replied, not letting go of Helia’s sleeve.
Helia sighed and managed to maneuver out of Wednesday’s grasp. “I’ll, uh, leave you two to it. I need to go find Nick anyway.” She looked in Wednesday’s direction, but didn’t look her in the eye. “I’ll see you later, I guess.”
Wednesday watched the girl go with a small sigh. The blonde wasn’t angry or jealous, she could at least tell that much. There was just something very sad about her. Wednesday had noticed that Helia had the ability to share her feelings with others around her, like if she was happy, you could be happy too. Wednesday didn’t enjoy the feeling of happiness, but it was rather infectious when around Helia.
“Uh, Wednesday?” Tyler said, leaning to the side to stand in her eyeline. Wednesday blinked for a moment, realizing she had been watching the empty space where Helia had walked off for a longer time than she had anticipated.
“Sorry. You were saying?” Wednesday said, clearing her throat and pushing the thoughts that had been consuming her to the back of her mind.
“I was just wondering about the Rave’N this weekend,” Tyler smiled lightly. Wednesday surveyed him, already nervous where this was going. The Rave’N wasn’t exactly her hottest topic right now. “It was all the buzz at the Weathervane today.”
“I must be the only one not obsessed with this stupid dance,” Wednesday mumbled, more to herself than Tyler. She really had too much on her mind.
Tyler looked at her, his forehead creasing. “So, you’re not going?”
Wednesday paused for a moment before admitting, “Actually, I was forced to ask someone as an act of self-preservation. It sort of… had a domino-effect on other things.”
“Sure, that happens. I guess,” Tyler chuckled, sounding unsure. “So, who is it? Helia?”
“No,” Wednesday replied quickly. Had Tyler somehow overheard their conversation earlier or was she just missing something very obvious? “Xavier.”
Tyler’s previous look of light-heartedness dropped into something else. “Got it. Hope you two have fun.”
He brushed past her and Wednesday’s eyebrows furrowed. “I’m not sure why you’re upset.”
“Yeah, that’s kind of the problem,” Tyler told her, turning back to look at her. “I mean, call me crazy, Wednesday, but you keep giving me these signals.”
Wednesday was now more confused than before. She would remember giving out signals, that was, if she actually had. “It’s not my fault I can’t interpret your emotional Morse code.”
“Then let me spell it out,” Tyler said. His reaction to the Xavier situation was more what Wednesday would have expected, and it only made Helia more of an anomaly. “I thought we liked each other, but then you pull something like this, and I have no idea where I stand. Am I in the ‘more-than-friend zone’ or just a pawn in some game you’re playing?”
Wednesday wasn’t sure how to answer that. In truth, it would be the latter, but to keep someone as a useful cog in your plan, you couldn’t just say that. “I don’t know how to answer that.”
“Thanks for clearing that up,” Tyler nodded, trying to not let his voice shake. “I guess, give me a call if you ever work it out.”
Wednesday watched him walk away, but she didn’t stand around this time. She had more work to do, but she didn’t think it would involve Helia this time.
“Where’s Helia?” Wednesday asked quietly as she stuck the pictures of the body parts to the murder board once again, now inside the Beehive hut. Nick stood beside her, having decided to accompany her as he didn’t have anything better to do today.
“Uh, she’s busy,” Nick replied, not explaining any further. Helia had told him what had happened with Wednesday and Enid was all the more willing to watch some Netflix with her like she had done with her on the night Ajax didn’t turn up for their date. “Busy with things.”
“Oh,” Wednesday frowned, and Nick wondered why there was a hint of sadness in Wednesday’s voice. If she did want to go with Helia, she could have asked her first. Or she could have turned Xavier down, it was pretty clear she didn’t want to go with him anyway.
“So why did you have to bring it here?” Eugene announced his presence as he came back from sorting out some beehives outside, the door closing behind him. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, looking over the pictures without the slightest bit of worry.
“Enid wouldn’t let me keep it in our room,” Wednesday explained, once again trying her hardest to push the Helia situation out of her brain. It was a wonder how the blonde had managed to wedge herself into her life.
“No worries,” Eugene smiled happily. “Mi colmena es su colmena.”
“I don’t know what that means,” Nick said under his breath and Wednesday gave him a blank stare, and he got his cue to just be quiet.
“I assume this is the creature that’s been rampaging in the woods,” Eugene analyzed one of Xavier’s stolen paintings closer, not having heard the taller boy before.
“How’d you know about it, bud?” Nick asked, standing up from where he had been leaning on a counter, wandering over. He kept his eyes averted from the gory photos, not wanting a relapse of what happened last night.
“Rumors,” Eugene explained flippantly. “Mr. Fitts banned me from bug-hunting until further notice. Claimed a bear was on the loose, which I knew was a lie. Didn’t match their hibernation schedules.” Eugene seemed to have remembered something, turning to the two taller kids. “Speaking of monsters who don’t match their descriptions, could you give this to Helia?” He picked up a jar of honey, trying to push it towards Nick and Wednesday. “Put in a good word for me? I hear she’s still sans date for the Rave’N.”
“Eugene,” Wednesday warned with a glare. There was that sour taste in her mouth again. Nick kept silent, repressing a laugh that was bubbling up his throat.
Eugene sighed sadly, looking between the both of them. “I know the chances of her asking me are next to zero, but I don’t care. I’ll keep putting myself out there until Helia finally… sees me.”
“And if she never does?” Wednesday raised an eyebrow. That felt like more of a threat, at least from Nick’s perspective.
“She will,” Eugene said confidently. “I’m playing the long game. My moms say people will appreciate me when I’m older. I know, they’re probably just trying to make me feel better, but—”
“Oh, buddy,” Nick breathed out, shaking his head. He placed a pitying hand on the smaller boy’s shoulder. “If you keep doing this, this long game’s gonna turn into a never-ending game. She’s not into our type.”
“Beekeepers?” Eugene asked, innocently.
Nick couldn’t help but feel bad about being the one to break it to him. “She doesn’t like guys, Eugene.”
“She doesn’t?” Wednesday wondered aloud, closing her mouth tightly once she had realized that hadn’t been in her brain. It seems so many thoughts were up there, they were starting to fall out without her control.
Nick decided to ignore that for her sake, looking back at Eugene’s sad expression. “Look, she sees you, you know? Just maybe not in the way you wanted. But she enjoys being your friend.”
“She does?” Eugene peaked up a little. He shoved the honey forward again. “Could you still give this to her? I know she enjoys honey on her toast for breakfast.”
“Uh, sure,” Nick nodded, not entirely sure if what he had said had gotten through, but he took the jar nonetheless.
“So, I’m guessing with all of this Rave’N negativity, you two don’t have dates?” Eugene asked, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose again.
Wednesday’s eyes widened as she remembered. “Actually, I do. Xavier.”
“And I’m planning to ask out Bianca,” Nick admitted, tangling his fingers together.
“I see,” Eugene frowned.
“It’s not like I like Xavier,” Wednesday spoke quickly, wanting to defend herself hurriedly. Nick raised an eyebrow at her behavior. “I just have ulterior motives. The sketches are the closest thing I have to a lead to try and stop this thing.”
“Is that it, or…?” Nick questioned, his voice trailing off.
Wednesday gave him a dangerous glare over her shoulder. “Not another word.”
“Alright, then,” Nick agreed, leaning back against the counter.
Eugene ignored their antics, looking closer at a specific sketch of Xavier’s. “That circle…” He pointed out the one that was made from red chalk, Wednesday and Nick turning their heads back in his direction. “I think I know where that is.”
“Show us,” Wednesday said immediately, jumping at the opportunity.
Nick supposed he was coming along.
They started journeying through the woods with Eugene taking the lead. Nick stumbled over stray tree roots, leaning on a tree for a second to catch his breath, Wednesday waiting beside him, fighting an instinct coming from the pit of her stomach.
“Have you talked to Helia?” Wednesday asked, not meeting the boy's eyes as they carried on walking, trying to act as if she couldn’t care less whether he had.
Nick looked at the girl with uncertainty. “I have. I know what happened.”
“Then you know I didn’t mean to make her upset,” Wednesday made sure. This guilt was really a tricky thing to work around, especially when it kept getting in her way.
“I know,” Nick said, shrugging. He wasn’t saying much on the subject. “If you really want to know how she’s feeling, you should just talk to her. But just so you know, she’s currently not investigating because she is actually busy. It’s not because of you.”
“Okay,” Wednesday said, letting out a short breath. Her stomach started to calm down a little, the guilt flooding back down her throat. Against all better judgment, she said, “Thank you.”
“It’s no problem,” Nick replied with a light smile.
“Guys! Up here!” Eugene’s voice called, alerting the two of them that they had lagged behind further than either of them realized.
The two of them hurried up the side of a steep hill, finding a dark entrance at the foot of a deep cavern, the hole dug into the ground. Wednesday dug into her blazer, pulling out Xavier’s drawing and holding it out in front of them all.
“It’s definitely a match,” Wednesday attested, putting the drawing away just as fast as she had pulled it out. Nick had barely even seen it. “What were you doing out here?”
“Collecting specimens,” Eugene explained. “This place is ground zero for horny gypsy moths.” Nick looked at him bemused, the boy now eyeing the cave with concern. “You think it’s in there?”
Wednesday shrugged. “Only one way to find out.”
“Great. Another death trap,” Nick muttered under her breath, following after the other two to the mouth of the cave. It seemed to delve deep into the earth, twisting so they couldn’t see the end.
“I’m not a huge fan of enclosed spaces,” Eugene admitted, his voice echoing around the walls of the cavern. He backed away a couple of steps, nearly bumping into Nick. “I’m claustrophobic.”
“If you hear me screaming bloody murder, there’s a good chance I’m just enjoying myself,” Wednesday informed him. “If you hear Nicholas screaming bloody murder, go for help. Preferably Helia.”
Nick sighed wearily as he walked in after Wednesday, realizing he hadn’t been given a choice in the matter. The darkness overwhelmed his eyes, his school shoes sinking into the mud under his feet. It seemed the rain had sunk down here a lot, practically making quicksand. Behind him, there was a tap on his shoulder, and Nick let out a strangled gasp, finding Eugene following him.
“Jesus, man!” Nick gasped for breath, clutching at his chest as he fell against the cave wall.
“Sorry!” Eugene apologized quickly.
Wednesday had pulled out a flashlight while the two boy’s messed around, pointing it around the walls, a small smile gracing her lips. “This is definitely its lair.”
Nick stood back upright, taking a step forward, but something cracked under his foot. He looked down with his own phone flashlight, nearly letting out another scream upon finding a snapped bone underneath his sneaker. Scattered all over the cave’s floor were skeletons of various animals, some large, some small, all equally terrifying.
“What in the actual fuck?” Nick squeaked, holding his phone tighter.
“Are those human?” Eugene ventured slowly, unsure if he wanted to know the answer.
Wednesday crouched down, finding a skull at her feet. She picked it up and immediately clocked the size of the horns and gradient of the jawline. “No, I think it’s got a taste for venison.”
“How lovely,” Nick grimaced as he hopped around the bones, trying not to break anymore. “I’m more of a fan of chicken myself, but whatever floats its boat.”
Eugene walked up to the other side of the cave, shining his own flashlight up to the stone wall, metal chains bolted to the wall. They looked as if they were meant to trap someone’s hands to the wall. “Check this out.”
Nick and Wednesday turned up at his side, shining their own flashlights to the wall. With more light, they could now see the scratches that accompanied the chains, so deep in the stone that they looked as if they could begin to make a new cavern. Something glinted in the corner of Wednesday’s eyes, and she found a claw dug deep into the floor.
“Yahtzee,” Wednesday said, crouching down in front of it.
“What-zee?” Nick questioned, his fear turning to confusion.
Wednesday brought out a dagger, stabbing the blade into the hole beside the claw, managing to dig it out from where it was stuck. “Concrete proof.”
She held it up in the flashlight’s beam, exchanging a victorious look with the two boys. At least something had gone right today.