Crunching leaves and heavy thuds could be heard through the forest as the last member of a pack of human killing trolls ran for its life. The troll had a similar build to a gorilla
however, it had no hair on it's body and grey, concrete like skin. It's face was withered and wrinkled. A large bulbous nose, a severe under bite revealing tusk like teeth and mossy green eyes held in it's skull.
A girl is walking through the halls of the school she attends, being avoided like a plague, other students parting around her like a sea of hormones. She arrives at her brother's locker. It is defaced with graffiti and something seems to be moving within it. Opening the locker, the girl is met with her brother, tied and with a red apple stuck in his mouth.
The troll looks back as it runs, hoping beyond hope that it's hunter was not following. Satisfied that nothing was gaining behind it, the troll turned to face forward yet again, being met by a hard red stone like object colliding with its maw, knocking several teeth from it's gums and dislocating the left side of the troll's jaw. The troll was flung backwards into a thick tree trunk, it's thoughts were foggy as it tried to shake off the pain of the earthquake that just struck it. It's assailant adorned itself in a black shirt and leather combat pants. Boots covered the hooves of this creature. Upon it's head protrudes two crimson stumps from it's forehead. Black hair tied into a bun on the back of it's head. It wore a tan trench coat with a modified sleeve to house the large stone fist attached to it.
The girl could not get the names of the ones who did this from her brother, but upon making contact with him, the girl seized up as her head flung back. Her vision, an ability she had yet to master, told her that it was in fact the school's swimming team. It did not take her long to figure out the most fitting form of punishment. Only she was allowed to torment her brother.
It regained focus as it's assailant's crimson form swiftly approached it. Dodging another blow from the creature's stone fist, the strike breaking a chunk out of the tree itself. The troll seized it by the ankles, just below its hands being the concealed cloven hooves, before swinging the creature above it's head and slamming it onto the ground behind it before leaping over it's form, grabbing it by the shoulders and repeating the process, each time creating a small crater in the ground. On the third attempt, the stone hand shot forth, grabbing the troll by it's nose, crushing the cartilage with a sickening crack before swiftly pulling back, tearing the nose, and the surrounding skin from it's face. The troll wailed in agony, only stopping once it's hunter clubbed it in a back handed swing across the face with it's stone limb.
The girl made her way to the school's swimming pool, the team already in practice. Clasped in her hands were two clear bags of piranhas, something the swimming team should've taken note of before antagonizing her further. As the girl dropped the bags into the pool, the fear in the swimming team was primal as they swam as fast as they could to get out of the pool.
As the troll tried to find it's footing, the stone fist was brought down onto the top of it's head, rattling it's body as it was forced to the ground. Being kicked onto it's back, It felt a weight on it's chest as the assailant pressed his knee into it. As it's vision cleared, it was just enough for it to see the fury within the eyes of it's attacker. A punch from it's left hand, made of flesh and bone. Followed by the stone fist that had felled so many of it's kin already. Again and again the troll was struck, until at last the punches ceased with a final right hand, crushing it's left eye socket and shattering the jaw entirely. The red creature stood, looking down on the groaning troll, too weak to retaliate further. The demon reached to it's side, drawing a large revolver from it's holster. It aimed at the creature's head.
Only a few of the boys managed to get to safety. But one unfortunate soul was caught just as he got to the ladder. His screams of agony rang out through the swimming hall.
"Say cheese." The demon joked grimly.
The girl gave a wicked, sadistic smile.
A heavy gunshot rang out through the forest. The troll lies dead. The demon was no where to be seen.
The forest lies empty now. No trolls, no demons. Just the wind, blowing through the ancient bark of trees older than humanity itself. Their roots stained red by the blood of a species that got too arrogant for their own good. Many other creatures that inhabited the forest still wonder what it was that silenced the trees that day. Whose name must be cursed for such a slaughter?
"Hellboy! You awake back there?"
"Yeah, I'm awake."
How could he not be? Hellboy was excited, it had taken a lot of convincing and compromising, but he had finally managed to convince his father, Trevor Bruttenholm, to allow him to go to a school with people his age. He had always dreamed of this, after all of the times he saw the people on TV in their schools with their friends. Finally it was his turn.
Hellboy's life had been an interesting one. Raised to be the world's greatest paranormal investigator and the world's greatest monster hunter. He rarely failed to catch or kill what it was he was hunting. Legends spread of him fairly quickly, through humans and outcasts alike.
Rumours of the world governments making deals with the devil. Theories of a man made beast created to cover up for failed experiments. Some even claimed that he was some kind of cryptid, brought on as a manifestation of humanities fears. Regardless of the theories, one thing remained unchanged throughout them. Whatever this creature was, it hunted monsters.
The outcasts feared him, he was like the boogeyman of the outcast world. It didn't surprise him, he sometimes had to deal with some who got too rowdy or too cocky and violent for their own good. Recently, outcast parents would tell their children if they weren't good, the Devil's Child would come to take them away. He scoffed at such an idea, he's not a kidnapper. Maybe he'd give them a stern talking to or in the the worst possible case... he didn't like to think about it.
"Hey, are we there yet?" He asked his driver from the back seat, looking through the one way windows of the vehicle. The agent, shook his head with a smirk before replying.
"No Red, won't be long now though."
"Good, my legs are going numb back here." Hellboy complained, he hated car rides. As strange as it was, he preferred the garbage truck he was taken in when on more covert missions, much more room to walk around and stretch out.
"Now, remember what the professor said. No getting into trouble here, he had to pull some serious strings to get you into this place so be on your absolute best behaviour. Got it?"
It was less of a question, more of a demand. Hellboy did not listen to many, but he listened to his father. He gave a stoic nod to his driver who sighed in acceptance of the boy's answer.
The drive was mostly quiet after that aside from the radio and the grinding of Hellboy's stoney fingers as he curled and uncurled them out of habit.
Once they reached the school, Hellboy exited the car with his luggage, it wasn't much. A few outfits tailored for him and some cash, courtesy of his father. Hellboy wore a more concealing attire for his first day, hiding as much of himself as he could. Only if you looked really hard could you see the red tint of his skin or the slight protruding of his tail, or even the large right hand he hid beneath his coat.
Making his way to the principal's office, he could hear voices inside, three female, one male. Two of the three females were middle aged while the third was considerably younger. The male was likely similar in age to the eldest females.
Weems was surely expecting him by now and he couldn't wait any longer. He almost wished he had as he knocked on the door with his stone hand. He probably should've tempered his excitement as the knock Hellboy thought would be gentle, splintered the wood, dented the door and rattled the hinges.
The voices became silent. Hellboy listened intently for any sign that he didn't just give someone a heart attack.
After a moment, a voice dared to speak.
"You may enter." One of the older women said. With the authority in her tone, Hellboy would guess it was Weems. Pushing the now very weak door open, Hellboy took in the sight. Weems was behind her desk, looking not at all happy at what just happened to her door. Sat in the seats in front of the table stood the source of the other voices. A woman, a man and a girl. All of which looked very... spooky. Though the girl caught his interest the most. Her expression was blank. Emotionless even. Like her soul was hollowed out. Hellboy made a note to look into that and see if he could get it back for her.
"I... uuuh. Sorry about your door."
"Well, seeing as though you were so eager to meet me today that you had to demolish my door. Why don't you introduce yourself, and please, remove that silly hood."
Weems said, it wasn't every day she met a legend made flesh.
Lifting his gloved left hand, Hellboy slowly brought his hood down behind his neck, his red face on display, his stump like horns ever present and his golden orbs burned with as much fire as ever. His appearance shocking the people present, aside from the girl.
If she was surprised she did a damn good job of not showing it. They had no idea what the creature that stood before them was, by all accounts it was a devil. But what drilled a recognition and somewhat fear into the adults present. Was when this red demon opened his coat, revealing his stone club for a hand. It didn't take long for the adults to put it together that the creature that stood before them was the boogyman for all things supernatural, the hunter of all things wicked and wild. The one that hears a bump in the night, and bumps back twice as hard. The B.P.R.D's best agent and secret weapon.
"Hellboy. You are quite early." Weems said, trying her best to ignore the state of the door.
"I was excited Ma'am. I've never been able to go to a place like this before. Well, not to learn and meet new people anyway. I remember there was this college in Japan that had a revenant killing students."
Before Weems could reply, the girl spoke up.
"What happened to it?"
"I crushed her head with a toilet when the thing smacked me into the school bathrooms. That fight got messy real quick."
Taking a step forward, Hellboy reached his left hand out to shake hers. "Hi, I'm Hellboy." The girl examined his hands, her cold analytical gaze settled on his stone hand, held relaxed at his side. The girl reached out with her right hand, confusing Hellboy. Most people didn't even like to look at his right hand, let alone touch it. The girl's gaze burned into his eyes, an unchanged, stoic expression. Slowly, Hellboy lifted his right hand before gently enveloping her hand in it.
"Wednesday." With that, they shook once before Hellboy opened his hand, releasing her from it's stoney cage. Wednesday noted that the hand was surprisingly warm, despite what it's rocky texture would've suggested.
Hellboy didn't know what to do now, he had fought countless monsters, demons, witches, werewolves and almost every kind of undead you could imagine and yet, he still didn't know how to make small talk with people his age. He prayed for a miracle to save him from this awkwardness. And a miracle he was given as Weems continued to speak.
"As I was saying, Nevermore doesn't usually accept students mid-term, but given Wednesday's perfect grades and your family's long history with the school, not to mention how myself and the board already agreed to allow Hellboy here to begin as well. I've spoken with the board about Wednesday's enrollment and we've made an exception."
The parents looked to each other in gladness, joining hands behind their daughter. The girl in question looked just slightly more mortified than a moment before.
Hellboy stood silent, taking in as much information about the situation as he could. It was clear Wednesday did not want to be here, but why? Before he could ponder further, the woman spoke.
"Larissa, what about Wednesday's, um... therapy sessions? The court ordered them."
Court ordered? What the hell has this girl been up to?
"The school has a relationship with a therapist in Jericho. She can meet twice a week."
"Did you hear that my little storm cloud? You're in excellent hands." The father spoke up. For a dark themed family, this guy seemed alright. It did not take the girl even a moment for her retort.
"We'll see if she survives the first session." This earned a low chuckle from Hellboy, earning him the attention from the room.
"Well, I know who my money is on."
The girl just stared with those haunting eyes, studying him before turning back to Weems.
"I've assigned you to your mother's old dorm. Ophelia Hall."
"Ain't she the girl who off's herself?" Hellboy asked, more to himself than anyone else, but Wednesday replied all the same.
"Yes, after being driven mad by her family." Wednesday confirmed, looking to her mother.
Weems looked to Hellboy now.
"I have had several discussions with your father, Hellboy, and he also believes you should see our therapist as well."
"What the hell?! Why!?" He shouted, his rage flaring as his hand curled into a fist, each finger curled sounding like scraping bricks together. The parents in front of him looked nervous. They had heard the rumours, like many had. Of the rage of the boy from hell, how his fist could crush the hardest stone and shatter the hardest metal. Wednesday, however, felt the ghost of a smirk tug at her lips at the thought of this demon child clubbing Weems to death.
Holding her hand out to him, almost as if to present him, Weems began.
"That. Your temper. Your father tells me you have a hard time controlling it, given your profession. I believe this would lead to many complications in your work. In fact, your father tells me that it has. Often, when you fight and get angry, you kill those you don't even mean to. How many scared creatures are just trying to protect themselves have died in vain to your rage?"
Hellboy thought for a moment, sure he got mad sometimes. Whenever he or whatever teammate he was assigned was hurt, especially. But he hadn't stopped to consider how many of his enemies were just scared. How many he had killed just for acting on the instinct to fight in fear.
"...Fine. I'll go to the damn sessions." He grumbled, unclenching his fist as his shoulders relaxed.
"Excellent, I'll let her know you'll be coming through the week. Now then."
She turned to meet Wednesday's gaze,
"Shall we meet your new roommate?"
Hellboy tagged along for this, he needed to know where he was going and so just followed Weems. No one seemed to protest so he continued. They were going for a couple of minutes before the man spoke up, addressing Hellboy, a plan formed in his head on the only boy he knew that Wednesday even had a slight interest in.
"You know. We have heard a lot about you. A devil child hunting his own kind and whatever else might be bothering the normal world."
"Demons aren't as great as they sound. They usually betray whoever they work with. As for the monsters? I gave them more than a fair warning."
Gomez chuckled lightly.
"You know, we used to tell our little viper about you when she was younger. She would always ask us to tell her about your latest adventure before bed." He smiled fondly at the memories. Of sharing tales about monsters tearing each other apart.
"Oh yeah? Which was her favourite?" He asked the father, eager to keep away the awkward silence. Before he could continue, Wednesday spoke first .
"The witch, Baba Yaga. The story goes you tore out her eyes, beat her into pulp and burned her alive in her own home." Hellboy was surprised at this, that was an over exaggeration if he ever heard one.
"Jeez, is that what people are saying I do? Damn. I need to talk to a publicist to get these stories straightened out."
"Then how did it actually happen?" She asked, not missing a beat.
"We fought in a separate plain of existance for a while, I punched her a lot but it didn't seem to do much. In the end, I managed to shoot her eye out, trapping her in her own realm when a bunch of her power spilled out of her eye socket."
She seemed to accept this answer, but was disappointed at her favourite parts not actually happening.
Reaching the rooms, Weems opened the door, allowing the family and Hellboy inside. Now, Hellboy wasn't the best decorator. His room was mostly a mess of TV's, his workout equipment, his bed and his cats. But he was pretty sure a unicorn threw up in this room.
"It's so... vivid." The father said.
A blonde girl, once sat in front of her laptop, adorned in a blue and black striped uniform. Now skipped to the two new students, before smiling widely at Wednesday.
"Howdy roomie!" The girl greeted joyously.
"Wednesday, this is Enid Sinclair." Weems introduced.
"Are you feeling okay? You look a little...pale." Enid voiced her concern for her new roommate.
"Wednesday always looks half-dead." Gomez confirmed to Enid.
"Oh" she mouthed to Gomez before returning her attention to Wednesday. "Welcome to Ophelia hall." She reached out for a hug, Wednesday promptly took a step back.
"Not a hugger, got it." She said, a little awkwardly.
"Please excuse Wednesday. She's allergic to colour" Morticia spoke, knowing her daughter would not be the one to apologise.
"Oh, wow." Enid began in disbelief. "What happens to you?"
"I break out into hives and then the flesh peels off my bones." She said flatly.
"I saw that happen to a guy in Florida once. He did not have a good time." Hellboy reminisced to himself, earning the attention of not only Wednesday, who really wished she had been there for that, but also Enid who now noticed the red skinned monster hunter.
"Whoa... you're... You're Hellboy." She said in disbelief, she heard of him as most outcasts did. Their parents telling stories of a creature that would kill the things that dwelled in the dark. How if they didn't behave, he would come for them too. If she was being honest, she never believed in the stories. Of a demon who hunted monsters, outcasts and even his own kind. Yet, here he was. Standing before her, at a school of all places.
"Yeah, I uh, I'm off duty for the semester. Wanted to give civvie life a try." He said with a shrug and a smirk. Hoping the admittance to not being on the hunt would be enough to ease her. Stepping forward, she still gave a smile before holding her arms out.
"Welcome to Nevermore!" Stepping toward the demon and wrapping her arms around him under his arms in a tight hug. Hellboy reciprocated by doing the same, making sure his stone hand was careful around her spine. He rarely got hugs since he got bigger, he still liked them though. These days the closest he got was when he suplexed an ogre off a cliff into a ravine somewhere in Scotland.
"Wow, you're really warm. And you smell like roasted peanuts!" She said in glee.
Hellboy knew how he smelled, anyone who got close enough to him told him that. It baffles him, it's not like he ate them regularly. He hadn't even realised that he'd wrapped his tail around one of her ankles before she squealed in excitement.
"Oh. My. God. You have a tail! That is so cool!" She beamed, making sure to get a good look at it before discharging the hug.
"Yeah, it's alright." He replied with a friendly smirk. His tail returning behind him, Wednesday noticed the slight wag the tail now seemed to have.
"I'm glad to see you're already making friends Hellboy." Weems said with a smile, she seemed relieved.
"Now, Wednesday. Luckily we've special ordered you a uniform. Hellboy, we have made the necessary modifications to yours. The adjustments were mostly done to your right sleeves." She informed them. Enid was a little confused for a moment, before noticing what Weems was referring to. The large club like limb hanging from the boy's arm, she had assumed from pictures that was a weapon. She hadn't even considered that it was his actual hand!
"Enid, please take Wednesday and Hellboy to the registrar's office to pick them up along with a copy of their schedule, and give them a tour along the way."
As Enid beamed at the thought, Wednesday turned to her parents, both smiling, and glared at them. Their smiles quickly faded as she spoke nothing to them before leaving. As Enid skipped after her happily, Hellboy gave a quick nod to the adults present before making his way after them, his booted hooves thudding on the ground as he walked after them.
Making their way down some stairs, Enid began giving out info for her impromptu tour.
"Nevermore was founded in 1791 to educate people like us. Outcasts, freaks, monsters, fill in your favourite marginalised group here."
"You got any demons here? I'm not a fan of 'em"
Hellboy asked, he hated demons. He hated being one. But most of all, he hated what being a demon meant, that he was made to be evil. Hellboy hoped his creator kept the receipt.
"Nope! You're only one here this semester HB." Enid replied cheerily.
Hellboy was grateful for the info, giving a curt nod. Wednesday was not so satiated.
"You can save the sanitised sales pitch. I don't plan on staying here for long." Her voice as sharp and emotionless as ever
"Why not?" Enid asked, this school was perfect for people like them. Why wouldn't she want to stay?
"This was my parents' idea. Oh look, there's my mother smirking at me."
"Fencing team captain? Nice. I was always more for boxing." Hellboy stated, trying his best to ease the tension that Enid was obviously feeling if her half 'totally done with this' / 'I really need the bathroom' expression was any indication. It did not seem to work as Wednesday continued.
"They've been looking for any excuse to send me here. It's all a part of their nefarious, yet completely obvious plan."
"What plan?" Enid asked, eager for new gossip. Hellboy didn't care much, it wasn't his place to tell her she should or shouldn't be like her parents. They seemed nice enough though. Maybe that isn't her thing. He listened as the conversation continued.
"To turn me into a version of themselves."
"In that case, perhaps you can clear something up." She starts walking away so Hellboy and Wednesday follow after. "Rumour's been swirling around that you killed a kid at your old school, and your parents pulled Strings to get you off." She said, quickly yet cautiously as to not invoke the wrath of this possible murderer.
"Actually it was two kids but who's counting?" Wednesday answered as she walked off. Enid did not look relieved at that, turning to Hellboy who was just a step behind her.
"Relax." He said gently bumping her shoulder with his stone hand. "I'll look out for ya." He finished with a smirk. This seemed to ease her for now as they followed after Wednesday.
"Oh by the way. I've been listening to the gossip and everyone at this school has heard that you hunt outcasts and you've been sent here to kill someone but can't say who." She said, hoping not to get a similar answer to Wednesday. The girl in question, kept an ear open for his answer.
"I don't hunt them specifically, that's never been my job." He tried to reassure her.
"Then what is?" Wednesday asked, as sharp as a knife. Hellboy knew he was going to get flak for this but it was better to do it now.
"I get a call from my bosses telling me there is a problem to deal with. I'm given a briefing and then sent to deal with it. They aren't too picky on how I get it done most of the time so long as there isn't a problem any more. Sometimes it's ghosts, other times it's mindless living death machines. And yes... sometimes." He paused for a moment, looking at Enid. "It's Outcasts. Sometimes... they're not that interested it talking it out. They don't live much longer after that to regret it. It's not a nice truth but it is the truth."
Wednesday, studied him for a moment. Trying to tell if he was lying. After a few very uncomfortable seconds, Wednesday spoke.
"So, you excuse what you do under the guise of it being 'just a job'. It isn't a wonder people fear you when you're so ditatched. I hope to reach that level of callousness one day." Turning, she continued ahead. Hellboy looked to Enid.
"This is... ok wow, uum. This is a lot to take in right now. Let's just... get on with the tour and pretend this never happened?" Hellboy nodded in agreement. He should've just kept his mouth shut.
Exiting to an outdoor area, Enid began once again. The previous conversation forced to the back of her mind.
"Welcome to the quad." She said, stood between Wednesday and Hellboy. The former seeming to be all too willing to add a snarky comment.
"It's a Pentagon."
"Is it really that important? I'm more concerned how no body seems to have watered that damn tree."
Enid ignored Hellboy's comment for now, seeming to finally be fed up with Wednesday's attitude.
"The whole snarky goth girl thing might have worked in normie school, but here things are different."
"Is that aside from all of the monsters running around here?" Hellboy never meant to be offensive, he was just blunt with how he asks. Afterall, that's all he's ever called them.
"Very hypocritical coming from one who looks like the Devil's spawn." Wednesday was quick to point out. Hellboy found it hard to argue.
"If the boot fits I guess." He replied, not really looking to get into a debate he knew he'd fight her over.
Finally getting back to a topic she was good at, Enid began once again. Making sure to get both of their attention.
"Let me give you a Wiki on Nevermore's social scene."
"I'm not interested in participating in tribal adolescent clichés."
"I have no idea what either of you just said." Hellboy said, hoping that someone would explain to him what exactly a Wiki is and what is tribal about a bunch of students studying and getting into half thought out relationships.
"Well, use it to fill your obviously bottomless pit of distain. And you, HB, can use it to understand the types of people we've got here. You probably don't meet many who don't want to kill you."
"You don't know the half of it."
She continued with a smile, hands behind her back, Wednesday's were held in front of her while Hellboy's were at his sides. A real hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil of hand positions.
"There are many flavours of Outcasts here, but the four main cliques are Fangs, Furs, Stoners and Scales."
Hellboy barely needed a moment to figure out what each of these outcasts were. He'd been hunting them long enough after all. The only surprise is if the Furs turned out to be Sasquatches. Now THAT, was a weird weekend.
Despite his thoughts, Enid continued as he and Wednesday listened.
"Those are the Fangs, AKA-"
"Vampires." Hellboy interrupted, eyeing them with caution and an eagerness to get his holy water.
The Fangs looked their way for a moment, their glasses covered eyes landing on Hellboy. In response, the paranormal investigator lifted his stone fist, knuckles facing them.
"If that's human blood, I'm coming after you." He warned, many looked away at that although some chose to hiss, fangs on show for him. With a scowl, his eyes narrowed. "Just try it, I'll rip those fangs out of your heads."
Wednesday remained silent at that, studying the way Hellboy chose to interact with them and the response he gave. Why did he care about humans that much that he would threaten someone as soon as he saw them? Shouldn't he be more comfortable than anyone here? These questions stirred in her mind as Enid continued.
"Uuuh, yeah. Some of them have literally been here for decades." She leaned in to Wednesday for the last part. Hellboy assumed for dramatic effect.
Continuing, Hellboy spotted a group of students with a rougher appearance and wild hair.
"That bunch of knuckleheads are Furs, AKA werewolves. Like me" As they passed, the group howled to Enid. It sounded different when they were human, but Hellboy knew that pitch was a greeting.
"Full moons get pretty loud around here. That's when Furs wolf out. I suggest you pick up noise-canceling headphones."
"I hunted with a pack of werewolves once." He said, reminiscing.
Both girls turned to him, Enid spoke first.
"Whoa, that is so cool! What was it like!?"
"It wasn't as great as it sounded. Kinda sad actually. One of the pack went feral, his family didn't know what was wrong. But they needed my help to bring him down. When I caught him, his mind was gone. He was snarling and foaming at the mouth, even after the full moon was over. I brought him to his family and left. I don't know what happened to him, but when I left, there was a fresh grave that wasn't there when I arrived."
"They killed him?" Wednesday asked, Hellboy noted that as sharp as she was she could be incredibly blunt when she wanted to be.
"I never saw it happen, but that seems the most likely outcome."
Taking a moment of silence for a member of her kind, she pushed down the sadness of it before returning to the tour. She was about to introduce another kind of outcast, but Wednesday cut her off.
"I'm assuming Scales are sirens?"
"You catch on quick." Enid responded.
"Sirens. I've only ever dealt with them a few times. The trick is to shut em up as fast as you can, punching them in the throat to paralyze their vocalchords if you can get close enough. You can disrupt their song with a louder noise, I've found that death metal works the best, the chaos of it disrupts their harmony... Or be deaf. Either works."
Wednesday took the impromptu lesson to heart, if she could use it against a future enemy, then it was worth committing to memory.
Enid was not exactly too sure what to do with the info, but the way he said it was like second nature to him. Almost like a well engraved instinct. Nevertheless, she continued.
"And that girl, Bianca Barclay is the closest thing Nevermore has to royalty."
"Bianca Barclay? Did Stan Lee name her or something?" Hellboy chuckled, Enid stifled a laugh at his childishness. Wednesday didn't see the humour in it. She didn't read comics.
Getting back on track, Enid continued with the gossip.
"Although her crown's been slipping lately. She used to date our resident tortured artist, Xavier Thorpe. But they broke up at the beginning of the semester. Reason unknown."
Hellboy called bull crap, he had heard of things like this. Especially with sirens. They use their voice to lure people in and only when the victim finally realises they're manipulated do they ditch the Scale. He wouldn't tell Enid though, let her keep guessing. It's more fun figuring it out for yourself.
"Fascinating."
"I know right? My vlog is, like, the number one source for Nevermore gossip"
Hellboy couldn't help but wonder what the Hell a vlog is. Was it some kind of newspaper? He preferred the comic strips. His thoughts were interrupted at a new voice, male, an inch taller than Hellboy himself. Not that it mattered, He's fought way bigger and still won.
"Yo, Enid! You're not gonna believe the dirt I heard about your new roommate and the other late starter. She eats human flesh, totally chowed down on that kid she murdered. And the new guy is a demon that's come to drag everyone's soul to Hell. You better watch your back."
Before Hellboy could gently inform this jackass of his misinformation by giving him a less than friendly punch in the face, Wednesday spoke first after Enid stepped to the side, revealing yhe pair.
"Quite the contrary. I actually fillet the bodies of my victims, then feed them to my menagerie of pets."
"And seriously dude. Demons need to be summoned most of the time for that. Unless they were just trying to mess around, they wouldn't waste their time on some school kids."
The scrawny guy looked stunned, both newcomers standing in front of him. One with the haunting eyes of the reaper himself, and the other with burning orbs that threatened to blister with it's gaze alone.
After Enid had regained her composure after she nearly gave up out of frustration, she began introductions.
"Ajax, this is my new roommate, Wednesday. And this is Hellboy, he is the other new starter."
"Woah, you're in black and white. Like a living Instagram filter. And you're like a High-school mascot." Hellboy, genuinely didn't know how to respond to that, it was a first for him. As he was processing that comment, Enid continued.
"Ignore him. Gorgons spend way too much time getting stoned." She said, lightly pushing him away as she got between him and the new students." He's cute but clueless. It's a small school. There wasn't much online about you. And all anyone can find on you Hellboy is just rumour and speculation." She said, addressing Wednesday first before moving on to the investigator.
"You should really get on Insta, Snapchat and TikTok." Enid said, an overabundance of enthusiasm flowing from her. This did not endear to Wednesday however.
"I find social media to be a soul-sucking void of meaningless affirmation." She said, as hollow and resolute as ever before turning and walking away. Enid gave a nod behind her before turning to Hellboy hopefully.
"I'll try, but I'm not allowed tech that isn't specially made. I keep breaking the damn screens on every phone I've had... stupid glass." He muttered the last part. Enid looked disappointed for a moment before cheering up again, playfully punching his left shoulder. It's ok HB, I'll see you later in class right?"
"Count on it." He confirmed before giving a quick, two-fingered salute before heading in the direction Wednesday went in.
Some time later, Hellboy emerged at the front of the school along with Wednesday. Both in their new uniforms. Wednesday's was, predictably black. Hellboy's mimicked his favourite hunting attire, the blazer being tan while his pants were black. He was provided a pair of more formal boots and he was provided sleevless white shirts to pair with his blazer. He was still struggling with the tie as he made his way toward the agent, standing dutifully at the car, smirking at Hellboy's inconvenience.
"Why do people wear these damn things, it's just a fancy noose for crying out loud." He grumbled. The agent made his way to Hellboy, assisting him with his struggles.
"There, that wasn't so hard was it?" The agent asked with a knowing smile.
"Yeah, thanks Cliff." He begrudgingly answered, feeling more than embarrassed at needing help with something.
"No problem. Now, remember what your father said, under no circumstance are you to cause trouble here. He was treading thin ice just suggesting to let you go here, so be on you best behaviour. Got it?" He asked. He knew what Hellboy was like, he worked with him long enough.
"OK. I got it, tell pops I said hi."
"I will, he'll be checking up at the end of the week to see how you're settling in. See you around Red."
"Great. Be seein' ya Cliff."
"Be seein' you Hellboy." He said before handing Hellboy a case of beer he knew Hellboy liked. Before the demon could say anything about how his father didn't want him drinking, the agent held his finger to his lips with a smirk. Hellboy returned the smirk before heading back to his dorm.
With that, Cliff got into the car and drove away, leaving the demon child with a hammer for a hand alone in a school of monsters.
It turned out that, due to his reputation, Hellboy was provided his own room, allowing him plenty of space and the free reign to decorate how he wished.
"This is gonna be great!" He yelled to himself, his hopes high for the foreseeable future as he settled in for the night.
'This is so lame.' He thought as he sat through a math lesson.
It was much later into the morning, Hellboy was in a car with Weems as she took him into Jericho to see the shrink that was supposed to help with Hellboy's anger issues. Apparently, Wednesday's session would be sometime after his. Although he wasn't looking forward to the meeting, he would rather do this than go back to the torture of math class. He knew it wouldn't be exciting but Heaven above did it have to be so boring!?
"Dr. Kimbott's office is on the second floor." The voice of his principal snapped him from his thoughts. Looking at the building, it was rather plain if Hellboy was being honest. "Please remember, she is only trying to help. She may not understand all that you are feeling, but she will certainly try." She finished as Hellboy made to exit the car.
"I'll try." He said, after taking a moment to think on what she said. "Thanks for the ride. Don't wait up, I'm probably going to wander for awhile after this session is done. Get my bearings and all that."
Weems seemed troubled for a moment before smiling. "Please just try not to cause trouble with the locals. They already do not enjoy our presence very much."
"If they don't start it, I won't finish it."
"I suppose that is as much as I can ask. Although, I would recommend the Weathervane for your first stop. They make wonderful hot chocolate." She smiled as she saw the temptation in the demon's eyes.
"I do like hot chocolate." He said, mostly to himself before looking to Weems with a grin. "I'll check it out. See you around teach." He closed the car door as he made his way inside.
"I've read several reports on your history, provided by Professor Bruttenholm who has taken the role of your adoptive father."
Dr.Kimbott said, as she took her seat, opposite from Hellboy.
"It's pronounced 'Broom'. And drop that 'adoptive' crap. He's my Dad, plain and simple."
"I was also given the reports on why your father believes you need these sessions. Along with the situations that have caused his concern. Some of them were quite... disturbing. So, to begin our first session. I would like us to get to know each other better. This is a safe space, to discuss whatever you're feeling, thinking or if anything is bothering you. We can talk about it. And I promise, It won't leave this room." She said with a kind smile.
"Well, uhh... how would these sessions normally start? Hellboy has had many first experiences, mostly involved in fighting new monsters, but therapy was a problem he couldn't just punch away.
"Well, to start off. I would like to know a bit more about you, since as far as i know you're one of a kind. So, what's your favourite colour?"
Hellboy laughed at that. Kimbott smiled at his now relaxed state over the tension he was obviously feeling when he walked in. While Hellboy thought it was a joke, Kimbott waited expectantly.
"Wait, really?" He asked through the remains of a chuckle.
"Of course. I said I want to get to know you, what better place to start?" She was being genuine. The first 10 minutes of the session went similarly to the first question. She would ask him of his favourite food, movies and his preffered hobbies (monster hunting not included) and even his family, there weren't many. Yet he spoke only praise about them. It continued like this until finally getting to more recent situations.
"So, how has your transition to Nevermore been? I can't imagine it was very easy, having your entire lifestyle changed from the excitement of a paranormal investigator to an ordinary school student."
"Ordinary? That's a laugh. I don't know if you've noticed, but at least most of them look human, but this?." He waves his right hand in front of his face several times before resting it on his lap. "Is something I can't change or hide."
"Would you change it if you could?" Kimbott asked. Trying to understand the head space her less than average patient was in.
"In a heartbeat." Was his reply. It was resolute and sure.
"What is wrong with how you look?" She asked with genuine curiosity. She could not see anything wrong with him.
Hellboy gave her a deadpanned look, as he pointed to his skin, horns, tail and his right hand. "Lady, I'm a freak that doesn't even blend with other freaks. The only time, The ONLY time I feel normal, is when I'm fighting something that looks even more of a monster than I do. The only time I feel I belong is when I'm body checking an ogre, or beating down some ancient creature that's been terrorising the population for centuries. The only time I feel human, is when I'm fighting something worse than I am!" He was getting frustrated, he had never considered going to anyone to vent these thoughts to before. So why was he spilling his guts now.
"You want to be human?"
"More than anything. At least then I could walk down the street without people thinking I've come to take their souls."
"Is that why you file your horns?" She asked, finally pointing out the stumps on his head.
"Yeah."
"To fit in with the world you guard in relative secret. That's a very admirable quality."
"It doesn't change what I am."
"And what exactly are you?" She asked with concern. Wanting to know what he thought of himself.
"Lady, if you've never picked up a bible, or ever go into a store to buy crappy Halloween decorations, I'm a demon, horns and all." He lamented, as he looked to his lap, not wanting to meet her gaze. He didn't need sympathy.
She gave a solemn chuckle at that remark.
"Something funny doc?" Hellboy asked, his anger rising as his right hand clenched into a fist out of instinct.
"Nothing in particular. But, seeing as you are the expert on this subject, I would like to know, what is a demon?"
This question threw Hellboy for a loop. He had never actually had to answer that question before.
"What do you mean what's a demon? They're hellspawn... like me."
Kimbott took a moment to observe Hellboy's downtrodden look.
"Then... what makes a demon?" She asked. Smiling slightly at the confusion on Hellboy's face
"What do you mean? I just told ya." His voice had a tinge of annoyance at being made confused.
"You've told me what a demon is. You didn't tell me what makes one." She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She waited patiently as Hellboy sat there, at a loss for words. What makes a demon? He'd never actually given it any thought other than, scum form the pits of Hell.
"I... don't know." He admitted quietly, as if the very thought of the world's greatest paranormal investigator being stumped on a topic he was supposed to be the best at embarrassed him to near silence. He slumped forward, elbows resting on their respective thigh as he looked to the floor in contemplation.
Kimbott smiled as a mother would with a deeply confused and upset child. She reached froward and softly placed her hand upon his stone knuckles. She didn't need to be gentle, Hellboy would not have felt any pain, but she treated that stone hand as if it were made of glass anyway. It felt nice. "That's fine. It's ok to not know something. But what I think isn't ok is to label yourself something when you don't know what makes that thing itself."
Hellboy sat their in contemplation, going over the question in his mind. No matter what he did, he couldn't find an answer that didn't involve him. As Kimbott softly went over his brick-like knuckles with her thumb, she spoke again.
"I'm starting to believe that the source of your anger is coming from a place of self hate. Something you can't lash out at and thus, you lash out at whatever else causes that anger instead. It looks like our session is up now, but I would like you to think on something before our next meeting. You say you hate what you are and that you want to be more human. But you don't seem to fully know what you're calling yourself. So, if you can't answer what makes a demon, then I'd like you to try and answer what makes a human." What makes a human? He'd given that even less thought. He just knew he wasn't one.
"Alright, Dr.Kimbott. I'll give it a shot."
"Thank you, Hellboy. I'll be looking forward to our next session." As Hellboy stood in the doorway, about to leave, he turned to Kimbott one last time.
"Call me Red... most of my friends do." He finished before closing the door behind him before she could respond. But he did notice her smile before he left.
It's been some time after his session with Dr.Kimbott, and that question she asked has been burning in his mind ever since. He hardly even enjoyed his hot chocolate, and he even got extra marshmallows, too! Didn't help that a little while after he sat down, one of the machines broke. The guy manning the counter didn't seem to have any idea what he was doing. Hellboy didn't think much of him, didn't even learn his name. Just ordered his drink and sat down. Every so often, the townsfolk would send a strange look his way, he answered with his own glare and they soon looked away. He had been so deep in thought that he hadn't even registered the guy at the counter being scared by something. The red monster hunter just stared out the window at the passing world, still finding it odd that they could see him without freaking out. He just assumed everyone was used to weird around here.
It wasn't until someone sat opposite him that he was pulled from his own mind.
"Wednesday? I thought you'd be in your session with Kimbott by now." The devil child spoke to his...friend? Acquaintance? He wasn't actually sure.
"You are going to win your bet." She said dryly. As she sipped her quad. Hellboy was never allowed too much caffeine. A demon with that much energy was never a good idea.
"Alright, how'd you sneak out?" Hellboy asked with an amused sigh.
"How do you know I did?" She was sceptical of the boy's skill in deduction. He seemed too carefree and distracted most of the time she had met him. Nothing at all like her.
"Weems said she was picking you up after she dropped me off. I saw her leave in the direction of Nevermore. Now her car is parked in front of Kimbott's office again, and she just took off with Kimbott, I can only assume because you disappeared. She dropped you off, saw you inside, you went into the session, and from their snuck away somehow... The throne room?"
Wednesday was... surprised, to say the least. In the short time of her being there, he had already picked apart her plan. He had brain and brawn. He would be a troubling adversary if it came down to it.
Before she could address his question, three teens wearing pilgrim costumes walked into the café, and made straight toward them. They hadn't even spoken to him, and Hellboy already knew he hated them.
"What's a Nevermore freak doing out in the wild?" The first boy asked, his tone laced with distain. The second boy spoke next.
"This is our booth." He said, pointing to the table the outcasts were sat at. Hellboy tried to insult the way the boys were dressed, but Wednesday beat him to it.
"Why are you three dressed like religious fanatics?"
"We're pilgrims." One of the boys said like it was obvious.
"Not the kind you're thinking of ya needle necked dope. The pilgrims were invaders and butchers. Most of them were witches who, for all intents, weren't too bad back then. Wasn't till some superstitious nut jobs with belts in places there shouldn't be belts, decided to torch em." Hellboy finished, quite angry now. He often wondered where the world would be if the power of these witches were nutured by people that could show even a glimmer of kindness instead of being killed on sight or suspicion.
"We work at Pilgrim world." The final boy said, placing a flyer on the table. Hellboy took one look and scoffed. Wednesday took the flyer over to her side of the table before continuing her verbal assault.
"It takes a special kind of stupid to devote an entire theme park to zealots responsible for mass genocide." Hellboy chuckled at the rage in the last boy's face.
"My dad owns Pilgrim World. Who you calling stupid?"
Wednesday looked at him, unperturbed.
"If the buckled shoe fits." She said, giving him a glare that could make a corpse shiver.
"The apple can't fall far from the tree pal." Hellboy added with a smirk. Wednesday felt the side of her mouth tug upward at that, but she quickly buried it into the look of indifference she had almost trademarked at this point.
"Guys, back off." A voice Hellboy recognised as the guy at the counter, spoke up from behind the Pilgrim Hellboy dubbed 'Pot Belly' in his head.
"Stay out for this, Galpin." The boy closest to Hellboy warned. The demon in question was about ready to scrap by now as Wednesday spoke up.
"Yes, stay out of this. You too Hellboy." She said, standing smoothly, almost as if she were made of smoke before looking the third boy right in his eyes. Hellboy returned to his drink, it had gone colder, but that didn't make it less tasty.
"So tell me, freak... you ever been with a normie?" The boy subject to Wednesday's glare said, Hellboy hoped that didn't mean what he thought it meant.
"I've never found one that could handle me." She replied factually. Hellboy nearly choked on his drink in a deep chuckle. Wednesday ignored this as she continued her staredown.
"...Boo." She leaned in, causing the boy to jump back in surprise. Pot Belly then tried to grab her shoulder from behind. Wednesday swiftly removed his hand by destabilising his elbow with her arm before, driving her knee into his groin. After he recovered himself, he tried to strike Wednesday in the face, she side stepped the attack, allowing it to pass by into the face of the punk she scared first. She then grabbed Pot Belly's arm. A cracking noise was heard as she threw him into the punk closest to the door. 'Henry Stickmin' as Hellboy thought, was up to bat next, both of his wild punches were easily dodged by the very wirey Wednesday. After taking a step back, she spun into a leaping roundhouse kick which sent the last of them to the floor. All of them laying in pain, their groans audible from around the café.
Hellboy whistled.
"Damn, and I thought I could fight." Before finishing his drink, making sure to leave no marshmallows left.
"So, where'd you learn those, kung-fu moves?" Galpin cautiously asked as he stood next to her. She eyed her prey like a vulture. Hellboy kept his eye on the streets. He saw Weems heading their way. "Aw crap." He whispered.
"My uncle taught me. He spent five years in a Tibetan Monestary."
"Was he a monk?" Galpin asked in disbelief.
"Prisoner." She finished, leaving no room for question.
All three of them turned to the door as a sherrif walked in.
"Dad!" Galpin said with surprise.
"Tyler, what the hell is going on here?" He asked his son, eyeing the devil in the booth, fishing in his mug with his large stone finger to scrape away the remains of his sugary treats before licking it off. It had a grittier feel to it, causing him to shake his head in discomfort before standing, matching Tyler's height.
"They were harassing a customer, and she put them in their place."
"This little thing took down three boys? Did you help her?" The sheriff asked in disbelief.
"He didn't need to. Turns out she's more of a fighter than those jag offs combined." Hellboy spoke, just wanting to leave now. He had a comfy bed to take a nap in. The sheriff glared at the demon and he returned it in full. The sheriff went to speak again, but was stopped as Weems finally entered.
"Apologies sheriff, this one slipped away from me." She referred to Wednesday. "And Hellboy was just taking a tour of the town while he was out." She tried to diffuse the situation.
"Hellboy? What kind of a name is that?" The sheriff snorted.
"It's my name jack ass." Hellboy retorted with furrowed brows. The two were then locked in an angry staring contest. Tyler hoped they wouldn't come to blows, especially seeing the whammer that turned out to be the demon's hand. Wednesday could not hope more that Hellboy would punch the sheriff through a window.
"Now now Hellboy, no need for that. Come along now, you too Miss Addams." Weems said, almost sounding desperate. Hellboy noticed she was almost relieved as he got outside, her mood dropped once the sheriff clocked onto something though.
"Wait a minute, hang on. You're an Addams? Don't tell me Gomez Addams is your father? That man belong behind bars for murder. Guessin' the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I'm gonna keep my eye on you." He pointed at Wednesday.
Weems was sufficiently done with this as she turned Wednesday around and walked outside, guiding both the girl in question and Hellboy toward her car.
They were in the woods by the time Weems managed to finally vent her frustrations.
"The first day and you're already on sheriff Galpin's radar. Wish I could say I was surprised."
Hellboy didn't know what he did wrong, he just drank hot chocolate.
"What did he mean about my father?" Inquired the upcoming author to Weems.
"I have no idea, but a word of advice. Stop making enemies and start making a few friends. You're going to need them."
"I know some skeletons you might get along with. Those bone heads could drink a giant under the table." Hellboy chuckled from the back seat. Wednesday shot him a glare.
"I can think of twenty three far more efficient ways of destroying my liver."
"Hey, don't judge 'em till you've met 'em. Besides, the only other paranormal things I've seen around here are the fairies. Don't tell them your name... in fact don't tell them anyone's name, it gives them power over you."
Before the conversation could continue into something Hellboy actually knew something about. Weems, spotted a car crash further down the road.
"Looks like an accident." Weems said, getting the attention of the passengers. "I hope the driver's OK." Weems said with concern.
"He's dead. Broke his neck." Wednesday spoke with much less pity.
"Damn, hope it was quick at least." Hellboy grimaced. He scanned the area as quickly as possible to ensure no supernatural influence was present.
"How can you tell from this angle?" She questioned the troubled student. Wednesday remained silent as she and Hellboy got a look at the man's corpse. His neck was bent in an unnatural angle, his vertebrae visible under the stretched skin.
Back in his room, Hellboy had set up everything to his liking. Several TV'S were placed around, he liked to watch different things at once sometimes. It serves like white noise when he is working on something else. Right now, he was curling his oversized dumbell in his left hand while smoking a large Cuban cigar. He had to sneak those past even Cliff. He was in his comfy black shorts for the night, his bare and bulky chest on display as well as his muscled legs and cloven hooves. Hellboy's physique was if a strongman wanted to be lean. His body was built to tank hits and dish them twice as hard. During his workout however, he heard a strange noise over his TV'S. Putting his dumbbell down and turning his TV'S off, he listened closely. Someone, somewhere was playing music. Given the dark theme of said music, Hellboy had a good guess as to who was playing it. Putting on a fresh pair of shorts and his trench coat, Hellboy head out in search of the source.
He found the source, in front of a half coloured window in the pattern of a spider's web, Wednesday was playing an instrument. Hellboy would be damned if he knew what kind. But, he figured he'd say hello. But an idea popped into his head as he smirked.
Hellboy began his ascent with a large leap, onto the arch of one of the doors. His stone fingers easily finding grip in the grooves of the carvings. When he was a child, he loved climbing. Until everyone started calling him a red monkey, he stopped soon after. Making his way up, he noticed the pace of the music dying down, she was almost done, his plan would have been for nothing! Speeding up, he finally made his way to a set of arches beneath her Dora's balcony. He took notice of the small ledge leaning outward. He left into one of the arches, kicking off of it with his hoof to gain more height. His stone fingers scraped against the ledge as he barely held on. Grabbing it with his other hand, he managed to get high enough to hear Wednesday speaking to someone.
"No I don't really feel better. Not just because Hellboy has been struggling to climb the wall for the last sixty seconds. There's just something wrong with this place. Not just because it's a school."
He mentally facepalmed himself as he grabbed onto a gargoyles face, almost crushing it in his stronger fingers before heaving himself over the small wall.
She kept a level stare at him as he chuckled meakly. "How'd you know I was comin' up?"
"Enid was right. You do smell like roasted peanuts. You also have the refined subtly of a bull in a China shop. I could hear your fingers scraping against the stone as you came up." She listed his errors.
"Damn, no wonder I never get put on stealth ops." He tried to joke. Wednesday continued her glare.
"Why are you here? Boys aren't allowed in these dorms."
"Are Hellboys allowed?" He gave a small smile.
"She didn't say." She did not seem amused.
Looking over to her sheet music, Hellboy took notice of the severed hand. It was covered in stitches and closed the music. Trying to lighten the mood, Hellboy lifted his right hand, as if to show it off.
"Don't suppose you were mine at some point?" He chuckled. The hand responded with a 'so, so' gesture.
The sound of a door opening got Hellboy's attention, ready to find a good excuse as to why he had snuck up a building just to see his... friend? He still wasn't sure.
Enid was more than a little surprised to see Hellboy standing in front of Wednesday. But, she smiled nonetheless. She was just glad she might have a regular conversation with him.
"Hi HB! how've you been?" She asked with a smile.
"I haven't been stabbed, cursed or had a train run over the top of my head yet. So I'll call that a win." He smiled back, Wednesday noted the return of his wagging tail. If Enid saw it, she didn't acknowledge it. Speaking of her, she finally asked what she came out here for. She turned to Wednesday.
"How the hell did you get that oversized violin out the window?" She asked, looking back to window in question, maybe she missed something.
"I had an extra hand." Wednesday gave her usual answer without giving an answer.
The hand waved with its fingers at the new girl.
"Whoa. Where's the rest of him?"
If Hellboy had to guess, he'd wager a homonculus gone wrong, only giving life to the hand. They were never usually proportionate to a human though. He'd ask the hand about it later.
"It's one of the great Addams family mysteries." Wednesday answered as she placed down her instrument. As she did so, Hellboy began to lean on the wall that separated them from a nasty drop. He closed his eyes as he listened to the werewolves howl. It was a familiar sound to him, almost comforting. Like a lullaby you only hear when you're young. He was deep in his reminiscing when he heard Enid begin lamenting.
"She says there's a chance I may never... you know." She finished quietly.
"Y'know, there's no shame being a late bloomer. I see this kinda stuff a lot, pups scared that they'll never grow their furs and then BAM!" He slams his left hand onto the wall. "They're howls are keeping the town up every full moon." He finished with a grin before gently nudging her shoulder. She smiled for a moment, a small spark in her hopes that he was right. Her mood died quickly as she turned to look over the balcony.
"Thanks HB. But it should've happened by now. Everyone else in my family can, all the werewolves here can... except me."
Hellboy had no response to that. He was never the best at tact. Punching monsters was easy, punching bad feeling was not.
"What happens if you don't?" Wednesday spoke from behind the pair, walking toward them before standing between them.
"I'd become a lone wolf." Enid wore a brave face, but Hellboy could tell she had been trying to come to terms with that as a likely possibility. Hellboy knew this was a possibility. He'd fought and killed many of them who couldn't take the loneliness anymore and started murdering anyone the could get their claws into. Wednesday did not catch onto this however.
"Sounds perfect."
"Are you kidding me? My life would be officially over. I'd be kicked out of my family pack with no prospect of finding a mate." She was starting to get a bit choked up now, this has obviously been bothering her for some time. Hellboy didn't like her sad, he preffered that peppy puppy who smiled a lot and couldn't stop talking about the latest gossip. Wednesday continued to be oblivious to Enids strife.
"I'm failing to see the problem here."
"I could die alone!" Enid was beginning to get agitated at Wednesday's lack of sympathy.
"That depends on how good your friends are." Hellboy mumbled, looking out over the horizon. He spaced out, losing himself in his thoughts as he stared at the full moon. 'What makes a man?' That damn question has been burning in his mind since the session with Kimbott. He threw that question around in his mind over and over again. Yet no answer came forth. It wasn't until a tap on his shoulder brought him from his thoughts.
It was Wednesday, looking up at him with her always neutral face.
"I require your help." The way she said it almost made it sound like there was no choice in the matter.
"I'm not helping you kill Weems." He said with a smirk, crossing his arms.
"A shame, but not what I need. I'm going to escape from this hormonal prison and I need you to help Thing contact my ride." She spoke as if she was giving militaristic commands. Wait, what thing?
As he though that, the hand from earlier climbed his arm and rested on his shoulder.
"Where am I taking him."
"Tyler Galpin's house. He's agreed to get me out of here."
Hellboy looked to Thing upon his left shoulder.
"I'll have him back by midnight." Hellboy grinned at his joke, raising his stone fist to his shoulder, allowing Thing to fist bump it.
The rest of the week flew by for the investigator. The weekend hit him like a truck, mostly because of the harvest festival that he was thoroughly enjoying. He didn't wear anything fancy, just black shirt tucked into his black jeans that covered the laces of his boots. He hated them, but it was better than getting sluge on his hooves. He even signed an autograph for a young boy who was apparently a fan. It got him giddy just thinking that he had fans. He had seen Wednesday waiting by Enid for Tyler to finish talking with his father. She spotted him for a moment, he gave her a two fingered salute before wandering off. It had been some time since then, Hellboy had gotten bored of the rides and banned from the test your strength after he punched it. He had started wandering around in the woods, hoping he'd find a monster. Didn't have to be anything huge, he just wanted something familiar to him. What he got, was the sound of agonizing screams.
As Hellboy ran to the sounds of screaming, it led him deeper into the forest. The screams echoed around him as well as the snarls of some unseen beast, making it hard to find his way, but he did. He didn't like what he saw, a large, misshapen hunch backed creature with long limbs and a flat face with bulbous eyes that glowed a dull orange and its teeth like rotting pins. It was tearing into Rowan, Hellboy didn't know the guy personally, but he couldn't have deserved this fate. Wednesday was slumped by a tree, likely in shock of what was happening. It was hard to make out from the distance. It turned to her, blood dripping from its claws as it snarled.
"No, you don't!" Hellboy roared, tackling the creature off of the ground before they both slammed back into the mud. The creature's thrashing limbs tried to remove the demon that was trying to get his footing on the monster's chest to keep it down. A slash from its left hand attempted to claw the amber eyes from Hellboy's head.
It was met with stone as Hellboy's right forearm met the claws before they reached his head. Pushing the creature's hand back caused Hellboy's arm to be stretched out, allowing him to wind up for a hard right punch to the creature's left cheek. As the punch connected, it sounded like a slab of meat being hit with a sledgehammer as the creature's head was thrown back.
"Not so fun when they can fight back, huh!?"
The force was enough to slam the creature's head into the ground hard enough to form a dent in the mud. To Hellboy's surprise, however, whatever this thing was, was already back on the attack. Even giants would crumble under his right hand. This might not go as planned.
"Oh crap." The devil boy said as a new fury at being struck was brought forth from the creature. It dug its right claws into the left side of Hellboy's torso. The pain causes him to gasp and groan in an attempt to stifle a full-on scream.
Taking the opportunity of the red hunter's pain, it once again attempted to slash out at him with its left hand. This time, it was not given the courtesy of a block as stone knuckles met the creature's fingers in Hellboy's retaliation. Hellboy heard cracking. He knew something was broken. This was his chance. Grabbing the right forearm, whose claws still dug into his side, Hellboy repeatedly stomped on the creature's face, each time distracting it enough for Hellboy to rip the claws from his side.
Taking advantage of his hands being occupied, the creature used the forearm of it's broken hand to smack Hellboy away and into a tree, further away from Wednesday, who was now at the side of Rowan's corpse, overlooking the fight. Hellboy's back connected with the trunk before he fell to the ground chest first. He didn't know if the cracking noise was the tree or his back.
Either way, the fight wasn't done yet. He attempted to get to his feet, only getting onto a knee before the creature was once again upon him, grabbing him by his right shoulder before lifting him to his hooves. It then began to strike Hellboy repeatedly. Straights, hooks, back hands, even clubbing the top of his head. It was during this beating that Hellboy took note of something despite the haze his mind was in from the pain. There was blood. HIS blood. It sprayed from his mouth, poured from a gash above his left eyebrow, leaked from his nose, and spilled from his bloody side as the creature continued it's assault. Now, he was pissed. No one makes him bleed.
"Screw this and screw you!"
As the creature attempted another punch to his face, Hellboy met it once again with his stone hand. He did not stop there however, as the creature pulled back for a moment to deal with this pain, Hellboy delivered a heavy left handed punch into the creature's stomach, making it curl up at the force. Following this, Hellboy delivered a right hook, rattling the creature's jaw and staggering it onto all fours. He brought his fist back as aback handed strike into the creature's temple, putting its head in the perfect position for Hellboy to deliver the mightiest uppercut he could into the monster's chin. The very force of it lifting the monster from the ground and flinging it back, smashing into a tree along the way that scrapped bark from it before landing hard, forming a ditch as the creature skid along the ground.
Hellboy panted, trying to catch his breath despite the searing pain in his side and the stinging he could feel on his face. Did he do it? Did he win? Looking over to the crumpled form of the creature, Hellboy cursed his luck as it began to shakily stand. Once it was on its feet, it turned to him. Snarling with a mouthful of broken teeth and a dislocated jaw, it violently pushed back into place.
He looked over at Wednesday, who now looked at him in... panic? And here he thought she didn't care. Looking back to the creature that snarled at him, Hellboy spoke.
"Alright, ugly, I dont know what the hell you are. But you're going down!"
With that, Hellboy charged toward his enemy, the creature doing the same. Once Hellboy was within arms reach, the brawl began once again. Hellboy knew he had to end this now. He would have to use his tried and tested method.
Punching the damn thing over and over again.
The creature raised its left fist, formed from gnarled fingers, and swung in an over hand punch aimed for Hellboy's head. Hellboy side stepped right to avoid this, countering with a right-handed body shot. The creature wheezed at the attack, air being forced from its lungs as the stone knuckles dug into its diaphragm. Hellboy followed with a left jab to the monster's cheek, swinging its head and knocking spittle from its mouth. The monster quickly recovered and swung a right hook across Hellboy's head. He barely remained on his hooves, the strike actually turning him around. He tried to spin to his left, hoping to build speed for his stone fist to deliver one of the hardest haymakers that he could. The monster had other plans. It grabbed the turned around Hellboy by his shoulders, swinging him above its head before slamming him chest first into the ground behind it. Hellboy did not get the chance to recover as the creature threw him a short distance into the air above it, grabbing his ankles and swinging him across the trunk of a tree before slamming him down hard onto his back.
The creature lifted him again to repeat the beating, Hellboy had other plans, however. As the creature raised him up, Hellboy delivered a swift left-handed hook into the creature's eye, causing it to release him, wailing in pain and clutching its eye. Using his rising momentum, however, Hellboy found his way onto the monster's back. It tried to claw him off with its right hand, Hellboy responded by grabbing it in his mountain like fist and bringing its arm across its throat. Having it in a lock, he repeatedly stomped on the creature's neck, eager to break it despite its thrashing. The creature's movements slowed, a lack of air will do that to you. Hellboy leapt down to the right of the creature, still holding its hand in his vice-like grip, using its own arm to flip the creature. It tried to catch its fall, landing on its hands and knees. It looked up, barely making out a red blur as Hellboy delivered a right haymaker between the creature's eyes. The monster was thrown back over 60 feet, skidding along the ground twice before finally, its malformed body stopped in the darkness. Hellboy waited a moment, silently daring the creature to rise again.
It did not.
Satisfied with his work, Hellboy began to saunter his way over to Wednesday, taking one final cautionary glance at the creature...
It was gone.
"You've got to be kidding me." Hellboy growled, searching within the dark, analysing every shadow for the beast to reappear. Nothing came, Hellboy was not satisfied with that. It was alive, and God knows where. He would have to deal with that later. He needed to check on Wednesday and then get himself patched up. He staggered over to her crouched position when just a few feet from her, Hellboy's vision began to darken as his head felt fuzzy, placing his hand to the gushing wound in his side, it didn't take a genius to figure out why.
"Oh... crap."
Hellboy collapses into unconsciousness as the darkness takes him, his last sight being Wednesday attempting to catch him.
END OF CHAPTER!
HOLY FUCKING SHIT! 12769 WORDS! That is my high score by far.
This is a new story I'm trying, it should be easier to write for, even if it takes a while. I love Hellboy. The concept of fighting fate isn't new, but the way it is handled in the comics and in the movies is funking amazing to me. I think it's because Hellboy is treated like an everyday working man, not too bothered about the end of the road, he's just trying to enjoy the trip and take his own paths even when things try to push him down theirs.
Anyway, I'm done for the night. I hope you all are doing well. I will see you whenever I next see you.
MERRY FUCKING CHRISTMAS!