Wednesday's Week

Blood Shed of Woe

The siren fell, dead.

The other vampire ran to their unconscious sister and began to drag her away. The siren girl, just stared in shock. Something shimmered beside her. The invisible girl revealed herself, tugging on the siren to pull herself away.

"Someone get help!" Enid yelled at them. Where were the judges who were supposed to be posted in the woods? "We have to help him!" She took a step towards the scorpion.

I wrenched her back, "Enid, he is dead." Thing crawled out of my bag. He held the block up. We'd have to capture the scorpion before he hurt anyone else. Thing jumped to the floor. He was going to sacrifice himself. "No! That isn't your job, Thing!" I pulled the block from his fingers. He had already almost died because of me. Thing was one of my best friends. Neither he nor Enid would put their lives on the line. 

"Keep watch, Enid. The danger isn't just coming from the scorpion." I warned her as I met her eyes. Then before either of them could stop me, I ran towards the scorpion. I dove between two of his legs and rolled as his tail began to stab the ground around me. I jumped up, underneath him. He couldn't stab me down her, but he was moving fast in search of me. An idea formed in my thoughts. I needed a distraction to climb him.

I pulled Nero's drawing from my bag. Just as Xavier had instructed, I threw it to the ground. "Wake up!" I ordered. The smaller scorpion rose from the page, made of ink.

It crawled forward to the view of the giant scorpion. I grabbed at its huge leg and began to climb. My foot slipped on its smooth shell. It didn't notice me as it circled the smaller scorpion.

I was on top. The most vulnerable place for his tail. I crawled closer to it's neck. The collar was inches away from my hand.

A different sound from the scorpion setting the forest ablaze caught my attention. On the ground, Enid was in werewolf mode. She was fighting another werewolf. Where had it come from? Why was it attacking? I didn't have time to help. I needed to neutralize this monster.

My fingers wrapped around the collar. The slash across the rune was made with ashwagonda ash. I spit on it and rubbed it away. The rune flickered. Before I could make sure it worked. I threw my block onto the center of its body and jumped off.

I hit the ground, pain shooting through my left arm and leg. It rolled over the pain from catching Xavier and throwing Enid to the ground to make a tremendously painful experience. I let out a scream.

Enid fell to the ground, her werewolf self melting back to her. A person moved toward us both. My vision grew blurry from the pain and smoke. Thing tugged on my sleeve, trying to get me up. I could see a golden halo around their head.

Maybe I had begun to hallucinate but before I passed out, I could have sworn I saw the person's knees buckle and fall to the ground. Something else began to drag me away.

———
[Enid]

Enid woke up, no longer in the forest. It took her a moment to realize where she was. She considered death as she gazed up at a stone ceiling. Pain coursed her body.

"Enid, are you awake?" A familiar voice asked her. Her boyfriend, Ajax. She shot up and almost puked at the wave of nausea that washed over her. He moved to her, supporting her up. They were in Crackstone's crypt and they were not alone.

She moved her head slowly around the room. Xavier, Kent, Eugene, and Thing. "Where is everyone else?" She asked.

"Divina and Bianca are recovering from the swim," Kent answered. He seemed sleepless, probably worried about his twin.

"And Yoko was burned in the dodgeball game," Ajax reminded Enid.

She looked at all of the guys, "And Wednesday?"

They looked around at each other. Xavier stepped forward, "Enid we found you in the woods unconscious. We snuck by the teachers to find you. The forest is on fire and we dragged you to the crypt. We never saw Wednesday."

Enid turned to Thing who was jumping up and down, "And did you ask Thing?" She sat up as her mind fog disappeared.

"We can't understand it- him," Kent complained.

Enid put her hands on her hips, "this is the result of all of you not willing to bridge a language gap!" She scolded and then turned to Thing.

He signed. Laurel Gates took Wednesday.

Enid felt herself go lightheaded. That can't be true! Is she the stalker?

No a blonde girl is. She was the one who shifted into a werewolf.

The one who had attacked Enid out of no where. She gasped and clutched her heart. Ajax grabbed his girlfriends face gently, "Enid! Tell us what happened!"

"Miss Thornhill- Laurel has Wednesday!" Enid exclaimed. "She came out of no where. She isn't the one who's been sabotaging the games though."

Eugene reached for the crypt doors. "We have to save Wednesday!" He threw open the doors and a wave of heat blasted into the crypt. The fire roared outside of the crypt. Sirens blared from a distance.

"We are trapped in here," Xavier spoke sullenly as he pulled Eugene from the door and shut them back in.

Eugene pulled away, "But it's hive code! I can't abandon her!"

"You think I don't want to take my chances in that fire to get her back!" Xavier paused. "We...we want to help her, but we can't if we are burned to a husk."

A solemn silence fell over the group. Their eyes fell to the floor. Enid felt her eyes brim. The smoke that seeped into the crypt burned her eyes further.

"You are alive!" Weems appeared through the wall. "You can't just run into a forest! I thought you were all dead!" She shimmered in the air, taking them all in. "Where is Wednesday?"

Enid stood up and explained everything that had happened to them. She told of the scorpion and it's collar. The dead siren. The random werewolf that had attacked her.

"All of the judges were found unconscious. They are all alive. But before the hunt began, they had been knocked out," Weems explained. "This must be Thornhill's doing."

Enid shook her head, "there is something else here wrong."

"She is targeting Outcasts. It makes the most sense," Weems sighed. "I'm going back to tell the fire fighters where you are at. Sight tight. I won't let you burn."