Author's Note: And I'm back! Sorry for the delay, but (hopefully) this chapter will be worth the wait. It's definitely a big one. Without further ado, enjoy!
Chapter 12
Enid began running towards the road, but soon veered in a different direction. Wednesday made no objection—she trusted the other girl's sense of smell to guide them. Sure enough, it wasn't long before she could hear the Hyde's familiar roars in the distance.
As implausible as it seemed, the sounds spurred Enid to run even faster. Wednesday was forced to tighten her grip on her fur to stay seated. Being thrown off the back of a werewolf would be an edifying experience, but it would have to wait for another day.
The screeching roars were ear-splittingly loud now, indicating that the Hyde was just ahead. Enid came to an abrupt halt and twisted her neck to look at Wednesday. It was evident that this was as far as she would take her. Wednesday would have preferred to ride straight into the scene of battle, but Enid was a stickler when it came to her endangering her life. She really did get worked up about the oddest things.
Wednesday slid to the ground. If Enid refused to go any further, there was no point in wasting time. "Go," she said.
Enid nuzzled her hand, then bounded off into the forest. Wednesday was left with no choice but to follow at her own pace. She had never seen the merit of running, but she could admit now that her judgment had been flawed. Still, how could she have foreseen that she would be tasked with chasing around a hybrid boy-monster to prevent him from murdering innocents?
She found Enid and the Hyde already at each other's throats, rolling around on the forest floor. Vlad and Denis were huddled against a tree, watching the display with wide, terrified eyes. She mentally amended her previous statement. The term "innocents" hardly applied to these two.
Wednesday surveyed them, noting with dissatisfaction that the boys were relatively intact, with the exception of a few scrapes and bruises. How disappointing. It would have been a delightful surprise to find that they had lost a limb or two.
Vlad spotted her and pointed shakily towards Enid and the Hyde. "M-Monsters," he said. "They're monsters!"
"Quit blabbering and get up," she ordered.
They stood on trembling legs. "Now, you," she addressed Denis, "take off your coat and shirt and leave them here. And you," she turned to Vlad, "I'll need your pants, belt, and shoes."
They gawked at her as if she was the one who had the brains of a monkey.
"Are you now deaf as well as dumb?" she asked dryly. "I'd suggest you do as I say. I am half-monster, you know." She put a malicious emphasis on the words 'half-monster.'
That certainly woke them from their stupor. They hurriedly shed all of their clothing, leaving only their undergarments. She didn't bother to correct their error. It was no fault of hers that they were incapable of following basic instructions.
"Give them to me," she commanded.
They handed over the bundles of clothes, shivering uncontrollably from the near freezing temperatures.
"Good," she said. "You may go."
The boys needed no further encouragement. They turned and fled without looking back.
Wednesday directed her attention to Enid and the Hyde. The Hyde had taken the
offensive, with Enid using her claws to fend him off and slowly weaken him. They appeared to be evenly matched for now.
"Enid," she called. "I need you to pin him down so I can get close enough to touch him."
The werewolf shot her a look that clearly said, "Why don't you ask me for the moon while you're at it?" Still, she nodded to show she understood, and began stalking warily towards the Hyde.
The creature threw himself at her, but Enid was quicker. She lunged at the Hyde's legs, sinking her teeth deep into his right thigh. He snarled as he was knocked off balance and sent thrashing to the ground.
Wednesday swiftly closed in on the Hyde, reaching for one of his clawed hands. But as soon as she made contact, he tore himself free from her grip, slicing a deep gash in her palm. Enid gave a distressed yelp.
"I'm fine, Enid," she said through gritted teeth. "It's just a scratch."
She tried again, but this time she was hit squarely in the stomach by the Hyde's flailing arm. She was thrown onto her back, feeling as if all of the air had been vacuumed from her lungs. Well, she thought as she stared at a pearly gray sky, this was proceeding poorly.
By the time she regained her footing, the Hyde had flung Enid off and they were wrestling and crashing into trees once more. It seemed that she would need to try another tactic.
Unfortunately, she had neglected to bring her knives with her—or any weapon for that matter. Her coat was always well-stocked with darts, daggers, and a myriad of other deadly devices, but she had failed to bring that as well. She saw for the first time how greatly her vision had shaken her. She had told herself she was still in control, but obviously she was mistaken. She had allowed haste to overshadow logic, and now she was paying the price.
She deliberated whether Enid could be convinced to attack her, but immediately discarded the idea. Wednesday Addams would be caught wearing neon colors before Enid would purposely bring her harm. She doubted that the other girl would sit idly while she impaled herself with a stick either. She truly did get worked up about the oddest things.
The Hyde was gaining the upper hand now—his larger size and reach giving him an advantage. He threw Enid viciously into a tree, leaving the werewolf struggling to stand. Even so, Enid was the more agile of the two and one well-aimed bite at the Hyde's jugular is all it would take to end him.
If this fight was prolonged much longer, one of them would die. Wednesday refused to accept either option. She was an avaricious person by nature, and she would not allow Enid or Tyler to be taken from her.
But what could she do? As if in answer, a small voice that sounded suspiciously like her mother whispered at the back of her mind. She attempted to silence it, but the voice was incessant—not unlike if her mother had been there in the flesh.
She finally gave in with a vexed sigh, she, feeling like a criminal resigning themselves to the gallows. She would not be accused again of failing to explore every possibility. All other methods had failed, so it was only logical to test this avenue. It was only logical, but if her mother turned out to be correct...
"Enid, that's enough," she said. "Stand down and let me speak to him."
Enid's eyes swiveled to her, then back to the Hyde. She growled softly, vocalizing her opinion of Wednesday's plan.
"Now, Enid. If you wish to prove yourself as my best friend, I need you to trust me."
Enid hesitated, but eventually backed away from the Hyde. Every ounce of her form
bristled with reluctance, but it was enough.
Wednesday approached the Hyde slowly. He stared at her like a wary beast, eyes showing no glimmer of recognition.
"You win, Tyler." She spoke quietly, knowing that the Hyde's sensitive ears would pick
up her voice easily.
"If your intention was to get inside my head like an insidious worm, you've succeeded. You once named me a cockroach, but you're a parasite. I've tried every possible means to rid myself of you, yet nothing has been effective."
The Hyde shied away from her, but she pressed forward, studiously ignoring the twisted knot of fear in her stomach. The bitter feeling was not one she was well-acquainted with.
"Victory is yours," she repeated. "Call me weak or foolish if you wish, but I cannot tolerate futile actions, and it has become glaringly evident that remaining in denial is just that."
She swallowed, struggling to continue. It's three simple words, she told herself irritably. An arbitrary combination of sounds that even a toddler could utter with ease. So why was this proving to be more difficult than assembling a torture rack without an instruction manual?
The Hyde had calmed slightly, his enraged roars dwindling away. He studied her with an almost curious expression.
She drew a breath. "I love you, Tyler Galpin. This feeling won't go away, and I loathe you for it." She spat the words venomously, as if they were a curse. And who was to say that they weren't? She wasn't like Enid and so many others. Things like relationships and love didn't come naturally to her. She would only hurt him in the end—that was her specialty, after all.
She had already wounded him more times than she could count. Perhaps it was already too late. Perhaps Tyler had decided that it was enough—that he was done with her. She wouldn't blame him. If she were in his position, she would be looking for creatively violent ways to make the other person suffer.
The Hyde gazed at her, head cocked slightly to the side, as though deep in thought. She faced him, feeling bare and exposed, like she had stripped off every one of her defenses and laid them at his feet. She knew that it would be best if he rejected her, yet the possibility was terrifying. Wednesday Addams—terrified of being rejected by a boy. How utterly humiliating.
The Hyde stepped closer, extending his arm towards her tentatively. She reached out with her uninjured hand, savoring the feeling of his leathery fingers curled around hers. Recognition flooded his eyes—along with another emotion she had come to know well.
The transformation was triggered, his bones cracking and shifting under his skin until it was just Tyler again. The feel of his hand in hers was different, but the love reflected in his eyes never changed. Love for her, as ridiculous as that seemed.
"Wednesday..." He wavered for a moment before his knees gave way. She moved quickly to break his fall, lowering him gently to the ground.
Enid trotted over, holding Vlad and Denis' clothes gingerly between her teeth. Wednesday took them with a nod of acknowledgement. Enid nuzzled her hand once more before retreating, leaving her and Tyler alone.
Wednesday set the clothes beside him, then turned to give him privacy. For the first time she was grateful for his strange sense of propriety. She was ready to seize at anything to avoid facing what had just transpired.
But all too soon, he said, "You can turn around now." His voice, though bone weary, held
a definite note of eagerness.
She obeyed reluctantly. The clothes Tyler wore were several sizes too large, and his eyes
were heavily ringed with exhaustion, but she still couldn't stop herself from drinking in the sight of him.
"Wednesday..." he began. "I—"
"So, it seems that it worked."
A look of befuddlement crossed his face. "What?"
"The idea came from my mother, unfortunately. According to her, confessions of love are essentially a form of mind-control. I deemed it worth a try."
The pain that entered his eyes bothered her more than she would have ever imagined possible. "So, everything you said—you didn't mean any of it? It was all just part of another one of your plans?"
This was her last chance to undo the damage, to climb back inside her fortress and lock the gate for good. That was the logical choice, the safe choice. It was likely even the best choice for Tyler's future.
But as she looked at his crestfallen expression, she found herself shaking her head. "No. It wouldn't have worked if I hadn't meant it." There was no evidence to support that claim, yet she instinctively knew that it was true.
He chewed on his lower lip. He seemed hesitant—as if he was still too afraid to believe it. "Then...you actually, I mean—"
"Stop rambling and say it, Tyler."
He blushed profusely. "So, you really love me?" The query was soft, tentative even, but the hope in his voice was undeniable.
She felt her own cheeks color, her controlled façade slipping away. She imbued brusqueness into her voice in an effort to regain some of her lost dignity. "That's what I said. You know I dislike repeating myself."
"Then...can I kiss you?"
Her heart skipped a beat, but she forced herself to meet his gaze evenly. "I already told you that you don't have to ask permission for every—"
His lips sealed over hers, cutting off the rest of her words. The kiss took her breath away and made her head spin in a rather alarming manner. Enid would probably say she had been 'swept off her feet,' but Wednesday preferred to avoid such sappy terminology. Her feet were still planted firmly on the ground, thank you very much. True, she couldn't seem to think of anything besides the sensation of Tyler's lips on hers at the moment, but...
She groaned inwardly. This was a nightmare. If the sudden onset of heart arrythmia and asthma-like symptoms didn't kill her, the mortification surely would.
Author's Note 2: I'm not going to lie—writing this chapter was a struggle. Wednesday and emotions just don't mix very well, what can I say. I tried to keep her as in-character as possible, while still conveying the extent of her feelings for Tyler. I hope it (somewhat) worked. Anyways, we are getting close to the end now! Only one more chapter, and then the epilogue. As always, thank you for reading and please leave a review to let me know what you think. I continue to be amazed by the support for this story—I truly can't thank you all enough!
