Wednesday's Week

Friday's Child is loving and giving

[Enid]

But the time the firefighters reached them in the crypt, they had all been laying on the ground to get out of the thick cloud of smoke that hovered at the top. Enid coughed and coughed, feeling her throat go bone dry. She had to let go of Ajax's hand as a firefighter picked her up.

The fire outside was less ferocious as it had burned many trees away. The night was gone and the morning dawn seemed cruel. The Jericho firefighter put her down on the grass. It was dewey and soaked through her torn leggings. Wednesday's leggings.

Enid watched in a daze as the others climbed out of the forest. Someone wrapped a blanket around her and gave her a cup of water, but she couldn't remember who had done it. She took a sip. It hurt.

A body bag laid by the police car. It was supposed to be hidden from the student's view. Most of the kids had been locked up in their rooms. She could feel their eyes on her from above. Enid inched over to the bag. No one noticed her in the chaos.

She lifted the tarp with one finger. The smell of burnt flesh caused her to puke. "That isn't for your eyes," the sheriff said. He moved around her puke and put the tarp back.

"He died. The siren. But he wasn't burnt to death. The scorpion killed him," she sniffled. "I watched," she said and then felt the puke rise to her throat. She choked it down.

The sheriff sat down beside her. "It's my fault Laurel Gates took Wednesday. I should have arrested her immediately instead of dragging Tyler out of those woods."

Enid looked up at him, "He is your son though. Who could expect you to abandon him."

"You fought him off from killing people," Galpin sighed. "You of all people know he's a monster."

Enid shrugged her shoulders, "So was his mother and you fell in love with her. Tyler talked about his mom to Wednesday a lot. About how he wished he could speak to her. He couldn't always remember her face and that scared him. Tyler had feeling and emotions. He isn't a monster through and through."

Sheriff Galpin stood up and helped Enid to her feet. The other police officers loaded the body bag into the morgue truck. Enid found her way over to her friends.

Eugene, out of adrenaline and shock, was crying. "Wednesday saved my life," he sobbed. "I can't even help her. I've lost my first friend."

Enid wrapped him in a hug, "That's not true! We are going to find out where she took Wednesday."

Xavier took a sip of his water, "How?"

"Let's start in the library," she answered.

They really started in the infirmary where they had to get checked on. The nurse suggested showers that they all took in hopes to wipe away the smoke. Enid tried not to look over at Wednesday's side of the room. What good would crying do? It was just as Wednesday said.

Crying doesn't bring anyone back.

Enid sat down and took a deep breath. What would Wednesday do? If they were going to find her, Laurel would be their trail. And what did they have on Laurel? Her dead family.

Enid scooped up the very sad Thing and made her way to the Nightshade library. She snapped twice and moved down the spiral stair case. They were all supposed to be sleeping. Weems had ordered all students to stay in their dorms. Breakfast would be brought to them. But Enid couldn't stay put.

She wasn't the only one who couldn't. Everyone including Eugene was down there. Yoko moved from the shadows, her arm in a sling. She wrapped Enid in a hug with her other arm. "We are going to find Wednesday," she promised.

Enid stood tall, "Exactly. What we have on Laurel is her brother. A person bound to be in Morticia and Gomez's journals."

Xavier pulled them out. He sat them on the table and turned the lamps on. "Look for Garrett Gates!" Enid ordered and she began to flip through the first journal. They stayed silent for half an hour. Enid ignored the exhaustion pulling on her brain.

"Here," Divina spoke. "In Morticia's journal it says that Garrett left her a note to meet in the Tornado cellar in town."

Ajax creased his eyebrows, "We don't have tornados though."

"But Gates was rich and paranoid. I'm sure he funded the mayor into building one," Enid answered. "Is there a map?"

Bianca shook her head, "No need, I know someone who can get us there." She pulled out her phone and dialed a number.

Leaving the school was task number one. And Bianca's informant took care of that. They snuck out in the early morning air to the back of the school were a white convertible waited. The deceased mayor's son waited for them.

"We are not all fitting in that!" Xavier pointed out.

Enid didn't really want to. She avoided Lucas' gaze. Him and his friends had pranked their dance and then they had bullied her and Lucas had let them. It was Ajax who had yelled at them to leave.

"Look. We are going to have to pile in on each other," Ajax sighed.

This resulted in Xavier in the front with Lucas.

Enid sat on Ajax's lap. Yoko sat across Divina and Kent. Bianca squished the row over and Eugene fit into the small feet area. "We'd better not get pulled over," Xavier sighed as he looked back at them.

"No one is going to pull over my dad's car," Lucas said softly.

Bianca leaned forward, "Let's hurry up." She glared at everyone as she was squished farther against the seat.

No one was out this early in the morning. Jericho resembled a ghost town. The passed the statue that had once been Crackstone. They tore it down and replaced it with the old mayor. Lucas avoided looking at it.

The tornado cellar was located behind the Weathervane. It was two rickety wooded doors into the ground. Enid almost didn't catch it by the strategic shrubbery that covered it. She pulled out her flashlight as the others pulled the door open.

"It will be crowded with too many people. Divina, Kent, Lucas, and Yoko keep watch," Enid found herself ordering before she dived in. The dirt steps led her to a very small room. Someone had been staying in here.

A cot across the ground had a single blanket and a straw pillow. Eugene picked up a can from a pile, "This is salve to put on bee stings. This was definitely Laurel."

They started digging through the room. There was barely anything in here. Xavier and Ajax pulled up the mattress. Enid grabbed the peices of paper on the ground. A pamphlet. "I think we just found them."