A Chill in the Heat of the Night Ch.10 (Wednesday) - Early Access (Patreon)

All characters in this story are over the age of 18.

Abraham stared through the opening that Enid had slipped out of with her accomplice. He overlooked the river, watching the waves careen into the distance, turning around the corner to hide behind a sea of trees. He clutched at his cane, raking his nails over the tip. A faint growl of disapproval slipped out. He felt discomfort in his chest as his heart beat quicker. He twitched before reaching into his pocket with his other hand. He gazed at the two grey pills in his palm before swallowing them. His throat hitched as he gagged on the pills, struggling to get them down. After a few attempts, he was able to consume them and felt a sense of numbness wash over his body.

The pain in his chest was lifted. He sighed and turned around to march down the corridor. Guards lined one side of the wall, while guides stood at attention on the other side. They retained their smiles even after Abraham passed them. Although, their lips quivered slightly whenever he got close to them. The sound of his cane echoed down the long passageway. When he stopped, it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Abraham’s face remained motionless as he slowly turned and faced two guides.

Thomas and Pietro kept their backs straight. Sweat was beginning to form on the side of their foreheads. They tried to stay silent for as long as possible.

‘’Would you like us to get you some coffee, sir?’’

It didn’t last. Pietro couldn’t help but open his mouth and offer his services to the older man.

Abraham pursed his lips and stepped forward. The duo flinched, fearing he would strike them. He did raise his hand at them. However, they were startled when all he did was pat Pietro on the shoulder gently. ‘’That will not be necessary. Though, I thank you for asking.’’

Pietro gulped and forced a smile. ‘’Oh, y-you’re welcome! Sir.’’

Thomas subtly rolled his eyes. His partner was too optimistic. ‘’So…you’re not mad?’’

‘’Why would I be mad?’’

Thomas sighed with relief. ‘’Oh, good. I thought this was going to be a bigger deal. My shift ended over an hour ago and…’’

‘’I asked you a question. Why would I be mad?’’

Despite the gentleness in his voice, Thomas and Pietro’s blood ran cold. He didn’t show them any malice. Yet, the threat lingered. Even the other guides standing nearby were nervous as they tried not to look in their direction. The pair exchanged a worried glance as Abraham patiently waited for a reply. Thomas swallowed the lump in his throat and leaned as far back into the wall as he could. ‘’We…might have mistimed things, so that Enid escaped…’’

‘’Yes, Thirteen escaped,’’ Abraham said in a quiet, yet frosty voice.

Pietro clapped his hands together and bowed his head. ‘’We’re so sorry. It was an accident.’’

‘’You’re right. It was an accident. These things happen. But, accidents need to be corrected. How do you think we should correct this mistake?’’

A spark lit up in Petro’s eyes. ‘’We can find her and bring her back!’’

Abraham hummed in approval and tapped his cane on the floor. ‘’An excellent suggestion. You must right your wrongs. Thirteen is out there in this cruel world. She needs our help. You must be there for her. Bring her back to us so that we may save her from damnation.’’

‘’What about the girl who rescued her?’’ Thomas asked.

There was a fraction of a second where Abraham’s façade slipped. He grit his teeth and clenched his cane tightly. But, he was able to quickly regain composure before anyone noticed. ‘’She did not rescue Thirteen. I don’t know what this girl’s intentions are. She is either ignorant of the risks a werewolf poses, or she is a malevolent individual who plans to use Thirteen for her own wicked intent. Either way, we cannot let her escape without punishment. Bring her to me if you can. All that matters is that Thirteen is back behind these walls.’’

Pietro saluted the elder. ‘’You can count on us! We won’t let you down.’’

Thomas’s reluctance paled in comparison to Pietro’s enthusiasm. He grabbed him by the arm and dragged him down the corridor and towards the exit. A distant roar of thunder reverberated through the walls. When they left, Abraham turned to the rest of his subordinates and raised his arms. ‘’We will save as many as we can from the creatures of the night. This is my promise to all of you. Now, return to your duties. We still have other lost souls in this facility that need to be tended to.’’

The collective bowed their heads and were dismissed. The crowd were thinned down to the last few. Abraham glanced over at three guards and beckoned them forward. They obediently approached and stood at attention. The moment everyone else disappeared, Abraham’s smile dropped.

‘’Follow them,’’ he instructed in a quiet voice. ‘’If they are able to locate Thirteen, apprehend her by any means necessary. I don’t care what happens to the other girl, just bring the werewolf back here as soon as possible.’’

‘’Understood,’’ one guard responded.

‘’What about them two?’’ another asked, gesturing to the door Pietro and Thomas exited.

Abraham chewed the inside of his lip in disgust. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure that no one else was listening. ‘’Accidents can happen.’’

XXX

Wednesday coughed violently as she pulled herself out onto a riverbank. Her hands sunk into the mud, making the crawl more difficult than it needed to be. Next to her, she felt Enid having just as much difficulty trying to get out of the water. Violent waves clawed at their feet. The river was gaining speed as the wind howled. It wasn’t until they had come upon a crowded line of trees that they realized it was raining. Their muscles ached as they pulled themselves to their feet and gazed at their surroundings. The castle was nowhere to be found. But, so was any inclination of their whereabouts. Wednesday reached behind her back to retrieve her bag. Unfortunately, she felt nothing.

She stared at the river, watching it twist and turn as far as the eye could see. There was no hope of finding their supplies. She walked back to Enid. ‘’We need to keep moving. We can’t stay by the river. If they’re looking for us, it’ll be the first place they look. The deeper into the woods, the better.’’

Enid nodded. The ceaseless dark abyss of the woods was a pleasant holiday compared to what she had to deal with inside Abraham’s castle. The wolf girl locked eyes with Wednesday…then, she looked around as if searching for something…searching for someone.

‘’Where’s Thing?’’

Wednesday froze. She was so used to having the sentient hand by her side, she assumed he was with them. Scanning their surroundings, they couldn’t find a trace of Thing. Wednesday stared at the river, and panic began to set in. She rushed to the water’s edge and searched for anything breaking through the surface.

Nothing.

‘’Thing!?’’ she called out. ‘’Thing, we’re over here!’’

Her monotone voice was cracking with every call. Seconds morphed into minutes. There was no response. Enid hobbled forward, hoping to her sharp eyes would catch a glimpse of him nearby. But, she had no luck. She sobbed whilst fighting back tears. They refused to believe that Thing was gone. But, the raging river painted a grim picture of the hand’s fate.

Wednesday stiffened. She clenched her fist until her knuckles cracked. ‘’He’ll find us.’’

She stormed into the woods, leaving Enid looking back in puzzlement. She followed the goth girl. ‘’We can’t just leave him…’’

‘’I told you that we can’t stay by the river,’’ Wednesday retorted, refusing to slow down even when Enid caught up with her. ‘’I’m not going risk you getting captured again. It pains me to say this, but we need to alert the authorities. We have to tell them about your experiences. Thing will rendezvous with us later.’’

No one would suspect that Wednesday was hurting inside. Her deadpan demeanour would fool anyone outside of her family…anyone except Enid.

The wolf girl cupped Wednesday’s face and offered a warm smile. ‘’Thing is going to be okay, Wends.’’

Wednesday became momentarily choked up. She quickly turned away and brushed her arm over her eyes. ‘’If you tell Thing that I shed tears for him…’’

‘’I won’t tell a soul,’’ Enid replied.

A hint of a smile flickered from Wednesday. She distracted herself from her bubbling emotions by turning to Enid with a stern expression. ‘’Tell me everything that happened after you were captured.’’

XXX

‘’I should have snapped their necks when I had the chance,’’ Wednesday said.

‘’I’m not saying that they shouldn’t be punished for what they’re doing, but I don’t think that’s the way to go.’’

After giving it some thought, the goth girl came to a new conclusion. ‘’You’re right, that would have been too quick. They deserve a worse fate.’’

Despite their situation, Enid found herself laughing at Wednesday’s threat. At this stage in their relationship, she had grown used to her macabre tone. Although…what was their relationship? Enid wanted to consider it further, but her brain was still rattled by everything that she had experienced over the last day or so. She was still trying to process Abraham’s operation. Even after explaining it all to Wednesday, it still felt like she was trapped in a nightmare that she couldn’t wake up from. The only comfort she felt was having Wednesday here with her. Her heart sang as she thought about how her roommate swooped in to save her. She felt like a princess being rescued from the dragon’s castle by a dashing hero. Wednesday might not have been the typical knight in shining armour, but she wouldn’t change a single thing about her.

They had been walking for close to an hour. The sound of the river was now a distant memory. But, they faced a new challenge. The rain had become more violent. A storm was upon them. The trees couldn’t help them as a furious wind lashed at them. Lightning flashed across the night sky and thunder roared mightily. The girls could feel their feet sinking into the damp muddy grass. It was becoming a struggle to see a few feet in front of them because of the intensity of the rain. Enid covered her face and looked to her left. She could barely see Wednesday despite their closeness.

‘’We need to find shelter!’’ she shouted.

Wednesday wanted to march on. Frolicking in the middle of a storm was usually a soothing activity for her. This storm was particularly violent. She was willing to test her odds against mother nature’s fury. But, she wasn’t going to take that chance with Enid here. She just got her back. Wednesday had no intention of losing her again. Thing’s absence wasn’t helping either. Wednesday kept assuring herself that they would be reunited. However, if they were struggling in the storm, she could only imagine the torture that Thing was going through.

And it wouldn’t be the good kind of torture.

Wednesday surveyed the area and saw a large tree with a hollow trunk nearby. ‘’There!’’ she pointed at it.

Enid saw where Wednesday was going and followed. They reached out to take each other’s hand. With the other person’s help, they were able to huddle inside the semi-enclosed space. It wasn’t the perfect shelter. But, it did subdue the wind and the rain to a satisfactory degree. They were finally able to rest and recover. Enid sighed heavily and found herself leaning on Wednesday. When she realized this, she backed away. ‘’Sorry.’’

Without warning, Wednesday wrapped her arm around Enid’s shoulder and pulled her closer. Her expression was as glum as ever. Although, Enid thought she had detected the faint hint of a blush creeping across the goth’s cheek. The darkness made it impossible to confirm.

‘’I’m not against you touching me,’’ Wednesday said. ‘’We’ve done much more explicit things to each other.’’

‘’I know. I just don’t want to disturb your boundaries,’’ Enid looked up at the sky. She felt tense watching the storm. However, being with Wednesday made things more manageable. She was even able to enjoy the beauty of the natural spectacle. ‘’Is it weird that I think watching thunder and lightning is kind of soothing?’’

Wednesday quirked her brow. ‘’You’re asking me of all people?’’

Enid gasped. ‘’Wends, is that sarcasm I hear?’’

‘’I will not confirm or deny it.’’

They stayed close for heat. It surprised Enid whenever she felt how warm Wednesday would get. They had been in scenarios where things were hotter between them. Somehow, this intimate moment made her more flustered than any of the times when they made love. Enid snuggled up to Wednesday. She tried to think happy thoughts. She tried to relish her freedom. But, thinking about being out here whilst others were being caged like animals tugged at her heart. She quietly sobbed and buried her head into Wednesday’s neck.

‘’We have to go back,’’ she whispered. ‘’There are other werewolves locked up. I don’t know if Abraham really doing this out of some stupid attempt to save us, but he’s just going to end up killing them all. I wish we could go back and save them.’’

‘’We will,’’ Wednesday stated. ‘’But, there’s not much we can do for them without weapons or support. Abraham’s operation will burn to the ground. I can promise you that.’’

Her words did offer Enid a little bit of encouragement. But, she could tell that the wolf girl was still troubled by it all. Wednesday wasn’t sure what the best course of action was to comfort Enid, so she did the first thing that came to mind. She kissed Enid atop the head. It was a small gesture that lasted no more than a second. Yet, it was able to give Enid her biggest smile since their last time together.

While they couldn’t exactly define their relationship at this current moment in time, they knew that whatever they faced next, they would face it together.