Chapter 3
When Enid came to, everything hurt. She was cold, naked and covered in blood. She hated blood, and the scariest part was the fact she didn't know how much of it was hers and how much of it was the Hyde's. She felt Thing holding her hand and she squeezed back. She couldn't quite remember all that had happened since she transformed and fought Tyler, only that she fought hard and viciously, the only thing on her mind was protecting Wednesday, avenging Wednesday, and not getting killed in the process. But just as she thought he was going to tear her head off, someone shot him. His father?
She bit her lip, wincing as she slowly stood up and looked for her clothes, finding her pink coat. It was strange. She wanted to be a werewolf like her family, and even though she had come to accept that it might never happen, now that it did, it felt wrong somehow. Of course, her family never had to battle a ferocious monster when they first wolfed out to save their friend after watching them almost die in their arms.
The whole night had been so traumatic and even with Thing there to comfort her, Enid felt so alone. She sobbed as she slowly climbed to her feet. Her whole body ached but she determined that aside from some lacerations and bruises, she wasn't badly injured. Nothing broken. But her soul felt a heavy burden, more than she could bear as everything that had happened crashed into her.
Weems's death. Ms Thornhill and Tyler turning out to be evil. And Joseph Crackstone being brought to life to destroy all the outcasts… Wednesday almost dying. And then she wolfed out for the first time ever. And for all she knew, the battle wasn't even over, and if it was, she had no idea if they won or not. It might've all been for nothing.
She looked up and saw Ajax approach her. He wrapped his arms around her and held her while she leaned into him, soaking in his comforting presence. If he survived and was unhurt, maybe there was hope for the others. For Wednesday.
"Are you OK?"
She shook her head. She was fine, but also not fine. She wasn't OK. And she had a sinking feeling Wednesday wasn't OK either. She just hoped that she was wrong.
She leaned heavily against Ajax as together they headed back to the school. A crowd had formed and her eyes scanned the group of students and staff, looking for Wednesday, but she was nowhere to be found.
"Where's Wednesday?" she asked. Everyone looked so solemn and scared and just when she feared the worst, the crowd parted and she saw Bianca, Eugene and Wednesday emerging from the courtyard.
Her heart beating a mile a minute, Enid rushed to her friend, grateful to see Wednesday was alive and the whole ordeal was finally over. Without thinking, Enid threw her arms around her, completely overwhelmed by the flurry of emotions rushing through her. It wasn't until Wednesday flinched and leaned back that Enid remembered how she felt about hugs. Now that she wasn't inches from death, it made sense that she would resist.
But before Enid could say anything, like express how glad she was to see Wednesday was alive or apologize for disrespecting her boundaries, her eyes met Wednesday's, and suddenly she returned the hug, wrapping her arms around her and quietly holding Enid tightly, and then once she recovered from the shock of Wednesday's gesture, Enid did the same.
They held each other for a while, Enid breaking down in quiet sobs, Wednesday clutching her tight, her body trembling ever so slightly. They were both so overwhelmed and so relieved. For a moment, there was nothing but the two of them and for Enid, in that moment, everything else melted away.
~~WFA~~
"Eugene, look away," Wednesday said, her dark eyes boring holes into Ms. Thornhill as she cowered from the swarm of bees attacking her. She kicked her hard in the face, breaking her nose, and knocking her unconscious. She almost killed Thing, she murdered Principal Weems and was partially responsible for the deaths of innocent people, Eugene almost being one of them, so returning the favour seemed appropriate. But, as much as she wanted to end her life right then and there, Wednesday chose not to. Besides, it was better to let her suffer. After all, she had no remorse about leaving Wednesday to suffer a slow painful death. Plus, she did make a promise to Thing and Wednesday was not one to break her promises.
Laurel Gates was going to pay for her crimes. And if the justice system failed to punish her properly, Wednesday had her own brand of justice. Either way, she wasn't going to let her get away with everything she had done. Wednesday was not going to forget.
Wednesday took a step back and glanced around the courtyard. It was over. Crackstone was gone and Thornhill was indisposed. She just hoped that Enid was able to defeat Tyler.
Enid. She saved her life.
She had to go back and make sure Enid was OK. As strong as Enid was, it was her first time transforming into a werewolf. If anything happened to her, Wednesday wasn't sure she could live with herself. She didn't think she could handle another one of her friends getting hurt or worse because of her. This was exactly why she thought friends were a liability because she was not a fan of this sort of worry.
As she turned to head back into the woods, the courtyard seemed to be spinning and she dizzily grabbed onto one of the broken tables for balance. She had been running on enough adrenaline to almost forget that she left a good portion of her blood supply in Crackstone's crypt, but now she was feeling the effects of blood loss.
"Are you OK, Wednesday?" Eugene asked. "You don't look so good."
"I'm fine."
"You sure, Addams?" Bianca challenged, "Because what I'm seeing is a lot of blood and you look paler than usual and that's saying a lot."
Wednesday nodded. She knew how to navigate dizziness. Some of her more intense visions had the unfortunate side effect of vertigo. It rarely lasted more than a few minutes, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. This was different, but she could manage. Besides, the throbbing sting from the hole in her shoulder and gash in her palm from the broken sword was enough to keep her from passing out – at least for now. She just needed a minute.
"What do we do with her?" Bianca asked, tilting her chin towards Ms. Thornhill.
Wednesday's first thought was to take her to Crackstone's crypt and chain her up like she did to her and leave her to rot, but she just replied, "She's not waking up any time soon. The authorities can take care of her."
"I can't believe sweet Ms. Thornhill would be a murderer," Bianca said.
"Well, you know the old saying about homicidal maniacs…" Wednesday shrugged.
"What's that?"
"They look just like everyone else," she replied, as though it was obvious.
Still leaning against the broken table, Wednesday took a slow breath in and out, trying to will the courtyard to stop spinning long enough to get out of there and help Enid while still appearing as though nothing was wrong.
"You sure you're OK, Wednesday?" Eugene asked.
"I should be asking you that," she retorted, annoyed that her attempt to appear like she was fine clearly failed, "what are you doing out of the hospital? You should be resting."
"You were in trouble. Hive code."
"Right," she nodded, "well, it was very foolish of you. You could've gotten yourself killed."
"You're welcome," Eugene beamed, knowing exactly what she was really saying. She spared him a small smile.
"And I suppose I also owe you a thank you, Bianca, for that assist with Crackstone."
"Don't mention it," Bianca shrugged. “Anytime, Addams.”
Wednesday's eyes darted up at Bianca with curiosity and then at Eugene. It was rather surreal to think about, and humbling. Bianca was supposed to be her rival – they weren’t friends, and Eugene had just woken up from a coma and yet they had her back – they didn’t even hesitate. Without their help, she probably would have failed and would've actually died this time around.
Though she still felt dizzy and shaky, it had subsided enough that Wednesday was ready to get moving and she wasn’t sure how long that window would last before she reached the end of her endurance. She was looking forward to the night being over, wanting nothing more than to retreat away from everyone, get cleaned up and sleep. She was beyond exhausted and there was way too much for her to process.
But first, she had to know that Enid was OK.
"We should go check on everyone…let them know it's over."
Bianca and Eugene nodded and the three of them walked side-by-side to the muster point where the students and staff were gathered. They looked scared and confused, most of them having no idea what was going on. But the crowd parted and revealed a shell-shocked looking Enid being escorted by Ajax. Wednesday froze, alarmed by the state she was in, but when Enid saw her, she rushed towards her and threw her arms around her.
Wednesday recoiled from the sudden bear hug and instinctively pulled away. The reaction was pure reflex. Enid looked so disheveled and overwhelmed, her hair matted with dirt and debris, her face covered in bloody gashes and it was all because she wolfed out and battled a literal monster to save Wednesday's life. Wednesday didn't know how to process that or what to do or how to make it right. Enid smiled at her, on the verge of tears, looking like she had been to Hell and back.
In a way, they both had.
While her instinct was to pull away from physical affection, Wednesday could see in Enid's eyes how much she needed this. Her expression softened and she wrapped her arms around her.
After everything Enid had done for her, she owed it to her to show her gratitude.
Wednesday was not a hugger, but for Enid, she would give her this.
But when Enid returned the hug, Wednesday found herself clutching her tighter, closing her eyes and burrowing her face into Enid's shoulder. Enid needed this, and maybe, just maybe Wednesday needed it too.