Chapter 13

Her short slumber then ended with a feeling of liquid dripping along her cheek. She immediately shot up with a creak from the worn mattress. Surprisingly, she didn't sleep heavily, like the dead do. She tried to remember her dream, it was hard to but she could recall screams of the damned and massive amounts of bloodshed- she didn't have time to think about that right now. She looked around. The cell's walls were corroded somehow and part was covered with many plants that she recognized. Although Enid was nowhere to be found, Wednesday didn't notice, she liked this new cell. She repositioned her body and stood up, but the air around her changed quickly. The floor was no longer there. She felt her braids fly up as the air collided with her and attempted to resist. Although the speed she was descending at made it hard to focus her senses, she could see nothing but a bottomless pit holding her prisoner. She closed her eyes, doing nothing but accept her fate. The pit seemed to swallow her whole, but when she opened her eyes, she was in Nevermore again. It all confused her. How does one feel the sensation of falling while being inside of a finite area? Especially Nevermore? Everything felt off to Wednesday. She roamed the empty halls, looking for someone or something. Anything to reassure her that her mind hadn't already fully come undone.

A crash in the distance made her almost crack a smile, she wasn't the only one here! Wednesday did in fact enjoy being alone, but not to this extent. She enjoyed being able to watch others' miserable lives play out. She began walking towards the area where the crash was heard, but even in the darkness, the blood on the floor was clearly visible, and the squelching of her boots against it was clearly audible. As she continued traversing this new version of Nevermore's hallways, another set of footsteps joined hers, but they weren't nearly as light. It was almost as if someone had weights on their feet- or a giant was walking amongst her. Because she was paying such close attention, she couldn't help but acknowledge how the footsteps were picking up speed, like someone was running- but it soon turned into a more animalistic, blood splashing sprint with each sloppy step. That wasn't a person.

Wednesday's steps then also began to pick up, as the creature's did. She did like to believe that she was powerful, but she wasn't stupid. She stood no chance against such a heavy, inhuman beast. She rushed towards the exit of the school, pushing open the doors. She continued putting distance between her and the school to get a good look, and then turned around. Unlike the inside, The school was damaged beyond belief. Pieces were missing; the remaining parts were scorched and black with ash; the windows were boarded off. Wednesday's mind was in pieces by now. It's surely impossible for such a catastrophic event to happen in such a short amount of time, isn't it? The school had caught her so off guard she didn't fully comprehend the slamming of the monstrous creature's heavy steps. It had rammed itself through the doors, it was dripping blood from it's teeth and claws. It's eyes bulging out, they looked red and irritated. It had a humpback and was a grayish color, though it was hard to tell in the lighting. Wednesday noticed how it's body moved in jolts and twitches, but before she could do anything it had grabbed her. She had no time to comprehend the rest of the details, because it was too late. Keeping her in its vice grasp, she could hardly breathe as she stared into the eyes of the otherworldly thing. Her arms pinned against her body tightly. Any more pressure, and she was sure her bones would snap completely. She could hear the beast pant and growl, this wasn't any monster she had seen before. This thing meant nothing but malice to all whom it was near.

click... click... click... click... click

She heard a new set of footsteps, as she did before.

click... click... click... click... click

Was this another beast arriving to watch as she met her fate?

click... click...

They were...heels. They clicked closer and closer, and she recognized the footsteps somehow. The beast raised it's claws to Wednesday's face, and quickly drew them forward.

Wednesday once more shot up from the bed. The air felt normal. The gray walls were perfectly intact and still gray. For the first time, she was relieved to look at Enid lying down in her bed. That was quite the enjoyable nightmare. The only thing that was the same was the sound of heels clicking.

Wednesday looked over at Enid once again, trying to see if she'd also noticed the obnoxious sound, then sat up to stare at the entrance.

A woman then entered through the entrance, and it was one Wednesday especially wasn't too fond of.

"Hello, Wednesday! Enid!" Principal Weems said in the same happy way she said everything.

"Principal Weems," Wednesday stated, making the older woman smile. "-and what do I owe you for this visit?"

Principal Weems chuckled softly, "Well it's good news, so I shouldn't hear any complaints." She noticed Enid was still sleeping and went over to her cell, "Ms. Sinclair... I hope your schedule won't be too messed up from this."

Enid shot up like a zombie rising from its grave, "What? Huh- Oh, Weems!" The colorful girl then gave a bashful smile, remembering how she was in jail.

"Like I said, I have good news. I've spoken with the sheriff and he's agreed to let you go on account of your good behavior." Principal Weems stepped aside as Sheriff Galpin unlocked Enid's first, then glared at Wednesday before doing the same to her cell, only he looked hesitant to let Wednesday out.

"Eeeee! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Enid exclaimed, jumping and going to hug Principal Weems.

Weems let out another chuckle, "You're welcome, Enid."

The girls walked out to Weems's car, barely exchanging a single glance. Wednesday and Enid sat in the back seats while Weems started the car. "So, I hope that experience helped you two learn." She said, readjusting her mirror in order to see the two newly-released delinquents.

Wednesday looked out the window, uninterested. Meanwhile Enid just smiled, her face lighting up a bit. Weems took the silence as an acceptable answer and they drove back to Nevermore. Luckily, for them it was a day off so they didn't have to worry about getting to class.

The car ride itself was painfully uneventful, and the only thing to note was how the girls would sneak small glances at each other. They wondered where they stood with each other, but both didn't have the courage to ask or mention it. Weems seemed to enjoy watching them both suffer by putting them together, or maybe that was just Wednesday's morbid imagination at work. Maybe Weems really would end up setting a spark in their friendship.