Her keys clinked into the ceramic bowl beside the front door, then peeling back her jacket and hanging it up in the open closet nearby. She lazily knocked her boots off to the side before calmly striding through the hallway and into the kitchen. The delicious smell of soupe aux pois greeted her, yearning to fill her growling stomach as she heard the boiling pot on the stove.
"You're home late," Her mother hummed as she sat by the dinner table- not angered or anything, just making an observation.
"Yeah I know, I decided to stop by the bookstore before it closed. Here's the mail..." A pile of envelopes plopped down onto the oak table top. She smiled at her mother and made a chefs kiss motion, dramatically whining,"That smells stupéfiant!"
They both giggled before her mother's eyes roamed down to the stack of mail. "Claudie dear, it looks like there's something for you."
Claudette peered down at the one of the envelopes that had been uncovered after a few on the top slid off from being tossed down. Picking it up, she eagerly tore it open and unfolded the crisp letter from within.
"Dear Claudette Morel, congratulations... it is with great pleasure that we accept you into the Westboro University of Toronto-" She had to refrain from crumpling the paper with excitement, a jolt of lightning bursting straight through Claudette as her arms launched into the air. "Ahhhhhhhh!"
Her mother cheered, the dining chair falling backwards as she ran to go and wrap her arms around her daughter. They had been waiting for this letter for months. It took so long that Claudette was losing hope, thinking they weren't even going to bother to send her a rejection letter- something that would've caused a ridiculous amount of embarrassment for the girl. But thankfully that wasn't the case.
"I actually got in- I can't believe it! This is crazy!" Claudette shouted, dancing back and forth as she held her mother, skimming through the rest of the letter over her shoulder.
It was official- Claudette was going to live out her botanist dreams. After years of struggling through the trivial parts of school and trying to grasp how to learn in a way that accommodated her, it was finally happening. All the hard work of overcoming those challenges had paid off, making Claudette sincerely happy that her mother had pushed her to better her grades all those years ago. Had she not, well, this may have ended in a pile of rejection letters.
"I'm so, so, so proud of you..." Her mom squeezed Claudette tightly and swung her back and forth. "Don't phone your dad, we will surprise him when he gets home from work."
Claudette nodded, calming down for just a moment when she realized that this meant so much more than just classes. It was moving away, furnishing her dorm, getting a part-time job, shopping for her own groceries, taking herself to the doctor and being responsible over her whole life now- but the worst part was living all alone, completely by herself.
Her past was somewhat jaded when it came to her parents. A great deal of her childhood was spent being misunderstood and struggling to find people that were able to deconstruct what went through her head. No one seemed to get it. And that included Claudette's parents, unfortunately.
Yet as time went by, their differences dissolved and soon she found a very healthy, adoring relationship with both her mom and dad. Now standing there she realized she would be spending four years away with nothing but weekends (if that) and holidays with them. College was something Claudette was determined to tackle, yet it stung once it dawned on her how lonely it would be. Her "friend making" abilities were certainly uninspiring, so there wouldn't be much aid in that department.
That's why family meant everything to her.
The longer she thought about it, the more depressed Claudette suddenly became. As her body physically sunk in, her mother backed away and knowingly peered down at her daughter.
"What is it?" She asked her. Claudette refused to meet her gaze as she felt the prick of tears charge her eyes.
"Just..." A ball caught in her throat. "I'm going to miss you and dad."
Like any good parent, the words brought her mother right to tears along with Claudette. She reeled the girl back in and embraced her tightly, giving a light squeeze.
"We aren't going to be far Claudie. And you don't have to worry about always coming to us. Whenever you need me, you just have to call." Her reassurance left the girl sighing in relief, knowing that it would be okay. A pang of sadness still lingered in her belly but it was nearly smoothed over by the sweetness of the prospect. Her mom was right, she could have certainly been shipped off much further away than Toronto. It was only about a six hour drive from Montreal- which meant her body would a hundred percent be aching agonizingly by making the road trip frequently. But it was worth it. She'd do it a thousand times over to spend as much time with her mom and dad as possible.
Claudette wiped her eyes, laughing. "As long as you bring me Creton, I'll be happy."
"Anything for you, dear." Her mom gleamed. She pulled Claudie close, planting a kiss on her forehead gently, hands around her face as she pushed back. There was promise in her eyes as she realized her daughter was finally a young woman, ready to chase her dreams.
And nothing made her more proud than that.
For just a moment, Claudette felt a sweet warmth on her forehead- an intimate and ghostly sensation of her mother's kiss that made her think of that tender memory from a couple years ago. Oh how she wished to be swept back there right now.
Thwump!
Meg cautiously peered around the corner of the ice machine. "Shit- Dwight's taking the thing away."
Then the girl crawled out of Claudette's sight for a second, coming back with the med-kit in her hands.
"He threw it over to us. Thank God for him." Meg huffed out. Claudette didn't really believe in God, yet in that moment she decided it would be worth commending Dwight on his helpfulness, sending a grateful prayer above that his courage existed. He really was putting in the work to keep them all alive.
As she laid against the wall of the gas station, bleeding all over the place while nursing the wound on her chest, Meg thrashed around the med-kit for supplies. It barely had anything leftover after the last trial.
"I don't know how to use any of this stuff Claudette," She confessed a little embarrassed, looking with pleading eyes at the injured girl for any help or direction.
The botanist gestured with her hand to bring the med-kit over. "It's okay... I can... do it myself."
Meg looked surprised. "Are you sure?"
An aching nod had the redhead gently placing the med-kit beside Claudette, who painstakingly reached in and grabbed the leather pouch that held her plant parts. Upon opening it, she dumped the different pieces onto the top lid of the med-kit, plucking out a vibrant green stem with purple flowers on it before handing it to Meg.
"Chew this... then spit it out." Claudette instructed, coming back to the med-kit to grab the alarmingly small amount of gauze that was leftover. "Shit."
She didn't curse often but now was a good enough time to finally let loose after years of swear jars and commitment to speaking clean.
Grinding down the leaves and petals in her mouth, Meg soon spat out a slimy mess of green onto her hand, extending it to Claudette. The botanist scooped up some of it before reaching down underneath her thigh to stick the wet substance in her wound. She hissed as it stung, gritting her teeth and pushing through the pain to pile more in the fresh slice. Eventually Meg's hand was nearly clean save for a few tiny leaves plastered onto her palm, at which time Claudette unraveled the gauze and began wrapping up her leg wound as much as she could. There was only enough for four rotations, which clearly was not a great dressing but it would have to do.
Tying it off, the girl then reached back into the kit to fish out a sterilizing wipe along with two large plasters. With the help of Meg, they cleaned up and treated the hook wound as much as they could. There wasn't enough supplies to do much more of anything, which made Claudette grimace as she thought about her split collarbone.
"Do you think you can wait until we get out?" Asked Meg, knowing that they would be instantly healed upon leaving. Wasting materials over a broken bone didn't make much sense considering they didn't have months to let it heal, so there really wasn't any reason to cater to it. They just had to last long enough to escape.
Claudette thought about it. "Yeah... but let's sling it."
She began undoing the pink denim button up around her battered torso, leaning forward for Meg to carefully pull it off. While met with a flood of pain for doing such a simple task as taking off the shirt, Claudette managed and got the damn thing off after a bit of finesse. It left her wearing the thin turquoise long sleeve that her mother had given the girl as a college acceptance gift a little while after receiving the letter. She hated the sight of blood staining the entire front of it.
"I can take it from here. I broke my arm in middle school," Meg grumbled, taking the denim button up from the botanist. She effortlessly crafted the sling, slapping her knees as she finished. "Are you good?"
With a sigh, Claudette nodded. "Let's find a generator."
Despite working with a disabled arm, Claudette and Meg were able to bust out a second generator with ease.
Heading off to find the next one, the girls ran into Dwight. He heaved out a tremendous breath, hunching over to take a break from what they figured was a long time of running.
"Did he get you at all?" Asked Meg as she examined his body for any wounds. They had so much blood caked all over them that it was hard to determine what was new and what was old.
He shook his head before standing straight. "No, I'm fine. Jake saved me actually."
"How?" Claudette inquired, confused. He had challenged the monster? Honestly, if any of them were to do that, Jake seemed like the most capable in her opinion with Meg coming in at a close second. Both of them were able bodied and determined, which stood out a lot to Claudette. She hoped to be more like the two over time.
"No, he found a flashlight I guess and used it to shine at the Wraith's face. It made him like... freak out and drop me." Dwight recounted the short tale, coming to shrug by the end. So apparently light was a weakness for this one.
They began walking all together, searching around for the third generator.
"So he's on Jake now?" Meg asked, walking ahead of Claudette by Dwight's side. He looked over at the redhead.
"Uh huh." He hummed.
"Hopefully we hear him if he gets hooked."
"Not so sure, the guy is silent even when he's literally getting murdered." Dwight mused, almost sounding like he was making a joke. What a foreign thing, so it seemed to Claudette. She barely could muster up any words at all through the stress and terror of everything, truly believing this all could still possibly be a nightmare. Of course it wasn't but... how could this seriously be real? It was so impossible- almost every single part of it- that she couldn't grasp that this was actually happening to them.
The question that haunted her was... when would it really end? Death seemed like the only plausible answer, sending a chill through her.
She bumped into Meg's back, looking up and realizing they were halted in front of another generator. The other two started on it right away but Claudette hung back, her curious gaze honing in on a chest tucked away by an adjacent wall. She internally celebrated, hoping to find a fresh med-kit inside.
"I'll be back, there's a chest," She briefly told them before hurrying off to the thing.
Jimmying the lock, Claudette swung open the lid and eagerly peered down at its contents. It had the same variety of junk as the last chests, except the items in this one were more related to garage tools. Cranks, wrenches and what have you littered the base of it. But it was always what laid on top that meant the most. This time around it was a flashlight, much like what was described by Dwight when he recalled Jake taking on the Wraith. Well, if it served as a way to fight back then it would certainly come in handy.
She reached down and grabbed it, going back in afterward to make sure nothing else got looked over.
Deep underneath some random tools was the sliver of a familiar bright purple peeking out at her. Claudette's hand dove in and fetched an identical cloth to the one they'd retrieved last trial- fit with the same ivory tassels and captivating fabric. But she noticed something else that was caught in her grasp...
A silver heart locket dangled innocently, having been caught up in the cloth and subsequently pulled out by the botanist. She looked quizzically at the dainty piece of jewelry, finding that EM was inscribed on the front in a swirly font.
"Hmmmm," She thought aloud. "What were you doing in there?"
Seeing no reason not to, Claudette pocketed both the fabric and the necklace. It was strange, though. Why was there another purple cloth in the chest? Was it meant for something?
She thought long and hard about it, only coming to the conclusion that it was nearly useless other than possibly being used as a clean up rag for blood. But... they all saw how well that went at the campfire with Meg, so that was hardly even applicable. Still, she wasn't satisfied with that answer. If they were being supplied with a mere towel to tidy up, why would it be so important looking?
Unless... Did it work as some sort of offering? This trial they all started together, which didn't happen during the last one. And the only thing that changed was Meg throwing the cloth into the fire- which could have triggered them to begin the trial together instead of apart.
It seemed like a far fetch but it only made sense to Claudette as she sat and pondered, zoning out into the distance when suddenly there was a blur in her vision.
She blinked hard, thinking it was just a smudge on her glasses when she saw it yet again. A shimmering mass was approaching her quickly when-
"Casse-toi!" Claudette shouted impulsively in her language, cursing out what she knew to be the Wraith coming her way. She held up the flashlight and flicked it on, targeting the monster with the beam relentlessly as it curved left and right, trying to avoid the light. Even using her non-dominant hand, the botanist had him tracked perfectly with the flashlight. The light made a burning sound as it gleamed across its skin.
Suddenly the thing released a primal sounding growl that tore through the night, seemingly being forced to uncloak from its invisibility because of the light. It hunched over in anger, still groaning animalistically as puffs of black smoke rose up from its manifested figure. That was all Claudette needed to make a dash for anywhere else but there, hurrying off into an unknown direction away from the generator. Her leg throbbed and her chest pulsated in electric pain from the running but there wasn't much reprieve to be had. If the girl got anymore injured it would be bad news- especially since they were low on medical supplies.
The scrapyard blurred past as she panted hoarsely. Blood seeped down her leg due to how lousy the dressing of gauze was, leaving a trail of redness behind her as she booked it to a building in the distance.
It looked pretty shabby, like an old decrepit shack. The roof was made up of metal scraps and the siding was built with a light colored wood which was now clearly rotting over. On the side was an open doorway, which Claudette made her next goal.
She raced through the threshold of it, pausing inside for just a moment to get a look at the place. To her right was a basement and to her left two lockers and a window, across the way being another doorway- this one fitted with a pallet.
Her feet beat against the floorboards as she got to the other entrance, standing there on the other side where she watched out for the Wraith. If he came in from where she originally entered, then she was going to throw down the pallet and head off to a new spot. If he came around from the side, then she would move into the shack and throw the pallet down from that way. That was less ideal since it would prohibit her line of sight of the Wraith however it still would ensure some distance between herself and the ghostly thing.
Soon enough she could see the slightest amount of light reflect off of his invisible form, trailing the blood pools she was leaving behind right into the shack interior. Claudette clumsily slammed the pallet down using only one arm, escaping off into the junkyard once more without sparing a look behind her.
"Over here!" Shouted a voice that could only belong to one person. Claudette reared to the left, nearing the slumped Jake Park who sat on a few tires that were stacked up. He held a gloved hand over a fresh slice in his belly, not looking to be quite as bad as the one he'd previously received from the Trapper. However in his shoulder was a good ol' hole punch, the gift of a hook.
He smiled with a bloody set of teeth. "Go hide, I'll take care of him. Just give me your flashlight." Gesturing down at the beamer, grabbing a hold of it before she could even accept the offer.
Claudette tightened her grip on it. Not so fast. "No? You're hurt?"
Jake twisted his face in confusion. "Have you seen yourself?"
She ignored him because, well, touché. Quickly she prodded. "When were you on the hook? Who got you off?"
Another bloodied grin. "Myself."
"What?" The girl said in disbelief. This guy was fucking nuts. She didn't dwell on the fact long, however. "Let's distract him so Dwight and Meg can finish the gens."
An unsatisfied sigh escaped him. "Fine, but let me have the flashlight."
He pulled on it but Claudette persisted. "I can handle it just fine."
"I don't want you to hurt yourself." He argued while pointing at her busted up shoulder, yanking on the flashlight again.
"Ow! Jake!" The girl flinched and yelped at how hard he pulled on it, causing him to drop his hand apologetically. He stood up, looking through her glasses with sincere eyes.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to-" His words rushed out. Claudette narrowed her eyes with a somewhat mischievous look climbing onto her face. Then he realized it. "It didn't hurt you, did it?"
She shook her head, pulling the flashlight close to her. "That'll teach you."
From over his shoulder the girl could see the Wraith yet again, silently approaching them while cloaked beneath its invisibility that reflected the moonlight. Claudette jumped to the side so that the flashlight could be pointed past Jake and quickly flipped the switch on. The beam penetrated the Wraith's exterior, resulting in the familiar burning sound as it stunned the beast into another fit of howls that left him standing still and uncloaked.
"Let's move!" Jake shouted, putting his hand on Claudette's back to get her to flee along with him. They ran side by side past a sea of junk and debris while trying to find a good spot to stun the killer again.
Jake flashed a look over his shoulder, cursing. "Damnit, he's gaining on us!"
With the amount of times the Wraith had been abused by their flashlights, Claudette knew that it would be bloodthirsty for sure. A pang of anxiety pounced on her, making the girl become frightened and lose her breath more easily. The wounds on her body were getting to be far too painful to sprint at max speed, slowing her down with ragged breaths pumping out of her.
"Just go!" She commanded Jake, slugging along at a dangerously torpid jog. He almost looked offended as he turned back, spotting the Wraith nearly within spitting distance.
Not taking no for an answer, Jake tore the flashlight from her hand and flicked it on to distract the Wraith in the same way he'd done before to help out Dwight.
This time it didn't bother cloaking up, so Jake had to aim perfectly for the thing's eyes.
"Run!" He shouted at Claudette, still beaming the Wraith that came closer and closer. She looked back in pain. Some part of her couldn't just leave him there to get hooked yet again because he wanted to protect her. As sweet as it was, Claudette wasn't the type to let people do anything for her at their own expense. And in her mind it was better to have one weak and severely injured link rather than two- so with that she turned around and mustered up whatever bravery she had in order to do what was right.
The Wraith, now almost directly in front of Jake, began winding up its razor-like weapon to strike.
Jake continued to back away in a hurriedly, still beaming the monster with every last drop of juice the flashlight could offer. But the Wraith was adapting, clearly looking down and ducking around to avoid the light, getting ready to attack at the right moment- which was now.
As soon as the blade came down and Jake braced for the impact, Claudette threw herself right into its course and bodied the damage that would've been dealt to her companion.
She screamed and fell to the ground in a rough thud, hand racing to her lower back where the new bloody laceration was. Tears immediately burst from her eyes, streaming down her face and into the grass below.
Warily peering up, she watched as Jake's face contorted into that of a horrified look- realizing what Claudette had done for him but wishing she didn't. She gave little care as to what he thought, it was only right.
A strong arm picked her up, eliciting another bout of whimpers from the girl as she recognized the familiar motion of being slung up onto the killer's shoulder- headed right back to the hook.
Jake stood by, waiting with the flashlight to hopefully save Claudette in the same way he had done for Dwight. But when he clicked the switch, it turned on for a second before going dead. The batteries were toast.
Claudette slowly let her eyes close shut just for a moment, thinking about her mom and how terrified she would be to know what sort of torture her daughter had been subjected to. But then she thought about what she just did, sacrificing herself for Jake and hoped that maybe if her mom had known about that one she would at least be somewhat proud.
It was, after all, the only thing that ever kept Claudie going. She just wanted to make the people around her proud.
