Which Monster Is Worse?

Fall Comes At A Price

LATE AUGUST - One Week After Adam's Death

Wanda laid on the couch asleep in the living room at three in the afternoon. Early that morning, she convinced herself to shower and change into something other than his clothes by simply making them look exactly like she wanted with the wave of her hand.

She paused at the realization of how easily she used her powers before staring down at her hands for a moment. She caught sight of blood under her fingernails that she somehow missed and rushed over to the sink and quickly turned on the water to scrub it away which led her to finally clean the cabin of the dishes used to cook that morning, somehow convincing herself to get the ones from the room from their breakfast in bed.

The first time being in the room and the scene before her made her break down, destroying the room in the process. With no furniture left in the room to salvage, the dresser thrown at an angle where it broke part of the window, she opted for the couch and the bottom of a bottle quickly followed by nightmares.

The constant replay of the moment she lost Adam, being powerless to save him, burying him the morning after, never failed to make her thrash in her sleep and wake up screaming his name until she cried herself back to sleep with the help of another bottle.

Why did you take him from me!?!

Why him!?!!

I hate you!!!!!

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- SEPTEMBER - A Month After Adam's Death -

Wanda found herself actually cooking dinner. Nothing special, just something small that reminded her of her parents and brother. She dished the soup out into a bowl and when she looked up she swore she saw him out among the trees-

"Adam?" She asked softly and in a blink he was gone. She shook her head as she grabbed her bowl and forced herself to sit down in the living room. She had been through this time and time again so she knew the rules to give herself. Breathe.

Over the course of the month, she had made herself leave the house at least every few days. She went to the school and began to fix it up in an attempt to give herself some semblance of a purpose by starting with the damage done from the massacre, fixing the courtyard, and beginning on her own small mission.

She began gathering the files of all the people who died in the massacre and planned to make a memorial.

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"Baby.....Adam....I really hoped we'd never make it here." She began, sitting at his grave when she finally realized he wasn't coming back.

"That maybe the world would let me be selfish and let me have you." She said softly, rambling like she always did when she had to verbalize her feelings. She didn't realize how much she relied on that connection until he was gone, no noise for miles, none even close to his connection with her.

"You know I'm not good with my words so I will be quoting someone." She paused as if she was waiting for a signature line from him, making her swallow hard.

"I remembered you would always tease me about it." She answered the empty space, her eyes tearing up slightly as she forced herself to calm down.

"Anyways, My Love...'Please, let him be soft. I know you made him with gunmetal bones and wolf's teeth. I know you made him to be a warrior, a soldier, a hero." She took a deep breath, glancing at his cross and not far to his right, Anna's.

"But even gunmetal can warp, and even a wolf's teeth can dull, and I do not want to see him break the way old and worn and overused things do." Her eyes looked up to the horizon, seeing the sky go from soft oranges to red.

"I do not want to see him go up in flames the way all heroes do, and end up as martyrs." She stated, feeling her eyes fill with tears.

"I know that you will tell me that the world needs him. The world needs his heart, and his faith, and his courage, and his strength, and his bones...and his teeth....and his blood...."She had to stop for a moment and close her eyes. "And his voice and his-" She struggled to refocus for a moment as she stared into the trees.

"The world needs anything he will give them." Her eyes focused on movement in the distance and she shook her head, standing to her feet.

"Damn the world, and damn you too. Damn anyone that ever asked anything of him, damn anyone that ever took anything from him, damn anyone that ever prayed to his name. You know that he will give them everything until there is nothing left of him-" She choked softly as her emotions began weighing heavily.

"But the imprint of dust where his feet once trod." She shook her head as the Beast disappeared in the distance, still a haunting presence to this day.

"You know that he will bear the world like Atlas until his shoulders collapse and his knees buckle and he is crushed by all he used to carry."

Wanda collapsed onto her bottom, her legs out to her side with one on its side and the other bent with her foot planted. Her weight shifted to her hand pressed into the earth.

"Dear God, you have already made an Atlas. You have already made an Achilles and an Icarus and a Hercules. You have already made a sacrificial lamb of your Son. You have already made so many heroes, and you can make another again." She finally broke shifting forward, her forehead meeting the dirt.

"You can have your pick of heroes." Tears ran freely down her face. "So please, I beg you- he is all that I have, and you have so many heroes and the world has so many more. Let him be soft, and let him be mine."

Wanda didn't leave until a few hours later. She was glad that she had done it but admittedly, it hurt. It was anything but simple and yet she had done it before. She could surely do it again.

-OCTOBER - Two Months Since Adam's Death -

Wanda sat in the room. She had fixed it, finally deciding to stop sleeping on the couch. The bed frame was made of thick oak wood making it more stable than the previous bed. The window was repaired and the end tables, dresser, and corner chair were replaced and a vanity was added. All of them had a wood homey feel to them making her smile as she moved to stand by the window. She wore one of Adam's button ups with the sleeves rolled up, and leggings with her hair in a messy bun.

A cup of coffee rested between her fingers as she sipped the drink slowly though she almost choked on her drink as she saw a streak of movement run by. She set the glass on the vanity and quickly grabbed the shotgun from beside the bed, making a beeline for the front door where she saw the form rush back in a certain direction. She swung open the door, and moved outside to investigate.

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Hope you guys are enjoying!

Also, the material Wanda quotes here is an actual poem, content credited to author of course.

- 01/10/2022