Approximately 78% of the state of Vermont is covered by forest. Diverse in flora and fauna, the large woodland around the town of Jericho and Nevermore Academy is an excellent example. Perhaps more than any other.
These are ancient forests that have witnessed equal parts secrets, horrors and wonders. Refuge of the first outcast communities in dark times, the scene of mysteries and legends and, a couple of years ago, the setting for the action of a murderous monster.
The bear didn't mind any of that.
In the early days of June, its brain, basically driven by instinct, had very basic concerns. Apart from that, the creature considered itself the master of the forest. Only others of its own kind could pose a danger to it, or at least it thought so. The bear was advancing carefree through the trees, sniffing the foliage and thinking about filling its stomach.
To its misfortune, the bear wasn't the only hungry thing in the woods near Nevermore at the moment.
The poor animal didn't see it coming. Claws, sharp and huge, slashed the air and its throat. The bear tried to roar, but only managed to emit a pitiful sound, already beginning to choke on his own blood.. Sitting up on its hind legs, it prepared to fight. But all it managed to do was to receive a clawed blow to its belly that scattered its intestines over the forest floor. More and more strikes landed on the bear and it could barely see the creature attacking. It was too fast.
The bear fell to the ground, its mind clouding over, more a mass of mangled flesh than the whole animal it had been minutes before. The last thing it saw before it died was a huge, dark figure approaching with gaping jaws.
It was nothing personal, just as nature intended, although there was nothing natural about that being. The creature had to eat and the bear was good sustenance. Traveling through different universes required energy.
The being sniffed the air after satiating itself on the bear's flesh. Its true prey was near. The smell of the Addams was unmistakable, after all.
§§§
"What happened to your mother?"
Enid's question had charged the air with tension. Without realizing it, the werewolf had undergone a slight partial transformation. Her eyes glowed golden, her ears had become pointed, thin fur had begun to emerge on the sides of her face, her fangs peeked out from under her lips, her claws were extended, and when she spoke her voice reverberated with a restrained growl.
The twins watched her slightly alarmed. The rest of the Addams were witnessing the scene silently but with great interest.
"Uh... Enid?" muttered Yoko, trying to get her friend's attention but to no avail.
Enid didn't react until a hand rested on her shoulder and a firm voice spoke next to her, "Mia lupa... calm down."
Enid Sinclair gave a small gasp, as if awakening from a trance, and suddenly all signs of a partial transformation vanished leaving the young woman in her baseline human form. Her eyes flashed with surprise as she turned to Wednesday, who held her hand on Enid's shoulder, observing her.
The surprise in Enid turned to concern and guilt as she saw the greater than usual pallor on the twins' faces, who were still watching her with some alarm.
"OMG! I'm so sorry!" the she-wolf said, beginning to apologize, "It's just that the thought of something happening to Friday is..."
"That was...," Theo began.
"Like standing in front of a transformed pack leader," Dora finished, "And in broad daylight! How the hell did you...?"
"I gather there are more divergences between Enid and your father beyond the different sex at birth," said Wednesday, "Are you familiar with the concept of the custos lupus?"
"I'm afraid not," said Theo.
"First time I've heard of it," said Dora, "But I assume it has something to do with what we just witnessed..."
"Certainly, but perhaps it's best to explain it later," said Wednesday, "Now, if you can answer Enid’s question..."
"Right, right," said Theo, "You obviously know our mother, even though you refer to her by her middle name."
"To avoid confusion, darling," Morticia interjected, "They had five extra versions of my daughter present at the same place three months ago."
"Mom never told us she had traveled between dimensions," said Dora, looking at Enid already somewhat calmer, "Although I guess now I know where my middle name comes from."
The young lycanthrope turned back to her brother after glancing around. The rest of the quad was still filled with families and groups of students but everyone seemed to remain immersed in their own affairs, oblivious to the drama at the table there. They nodded to each other in silent agreement.
"Two days ago...," began Dora, "Our mother was kidnapped."
"How?" asked Wednesday, "Friday was cheerful, vivacious and friendly, but she was still an Addams and able to defend herself. It couldn't have been an ordinary kidnapping."
"And it wasn't. At home, in our own living room... We live in a house of our own near the old mansion. A creature broke through the outside wall, knocking it down and jumping into the room," Dora continued.
"We were all present," said Theo, "Dad tried to fight it off, lunging with his claws outstretched against that thing, but being broad daylight and without a moon he couldn't do much."
"Mom tried to get us out of the room, but before we knew it that thing pounced on her."
"It didn't try to hurt her. It just held her down and then...the monster was like a living shadow. The moment it grabbed our mother it began to dissolve and lose its form, enveloping her body and suddenly...", Theo paused, as if trying to find the right words, "It was as if that thing turned into a portal of shadows and swallowed our mother and then vanished itself."
"What happened after that?" asked Wednesday, keeping her hand on Enid's shoulder. She had noticed the tension reappearing in her she-wolf's body as she heard the story.
"Other than Dad being consumed with worry and fear?" asked Dora, "This brainiac doing his thing," she said, pointing at Theo.
"Although we are twins, Dora is the only one who has inherited the lupine genes," the boy explained, "I on the other hand am more like... a warlock of sorts."
"Oh, like Uncle Archibald," Gomez commented, before Morticia put a finger to his lips.
"Chss, let the children continue, dear."
Theo cast a grateful glance at his grandmother. Well, at his grandmother's variant.
"The thing is, I knew instinctively that what we had seen was some kind of magical transportation, and a more complex one than usual," the boy went on to explain.
"The initial idea was to contact Grandmama," continued Dora, "But our grandparents and she were on a journey with Uncle Fester... a lost temple in the Amazon or something, cut off from communication altogether..."
"So Dad shipped out to go get them, leaving us at the mansion with Uncle Pug, Lurch and Thing," said Theo, "That's when after a day of consulting the family library and some of Grandmama's personal writings I discovered that shadow creatures, regardless of what kind they are, often move between different planes of the same reality or between different dimensions."
"So this genius decided against waiting and improvised a ritual on his own to go in search of our mother ourselves, and... well, it didn't go well.", Dora finished.
"You created a ritual out of nothing in just a couple of days?" asked Wednesday, "That's impressive, even if the results weren't fully optimal."
"About that... I'm not entirely sure, but I think I have an idea of what might have happened," said Theo.
"Pray tell."
"The transit ritual is like a reverse summoning, it was supposed to take us to wherever our mother was. But I think wherever she is must be a place beyond my capabilities or protected against magical incursions... so the spell self-corrected and sent us to the last place visited by our mother outside her own dimension."
"Ours," Enid said, crestfallen, "God, this is it... shadow monsters from other dimensions, Friday kidnapped and taken to God knows where... What are we going to do?"
Silence reigned for a few moments after Enid's question. Glances were exchanged, as if everyone was waiting for someone to say something, propose something... And sure enough, someone did.
"We're going to attend the graduation ceremony," Wednesday said.
"Wednesday, what...," began Enid, before Wednesday interrupted her in the same way Morticia had done with Gomez a few moments before. Despite her nerves and the fact that they had already done rather more serious things than just laying a finger on her lips, the she-wolf couldn't help the deep blush coloring her cheeks.
"We need time. The twins need to rest and we can't dive in head first without knowing everything that's at stake," Wednesday said, "So we'll attend the ceremony. We'll talk to everyone and see who can contribute something," she turned to her parents, "and just in case, contact our Grandmama, my instinct tells me we'll need her."
"We'll get right on it, my little storm," said Gomez.
"If you need explosives...," Pugsley began.
Wednesday nodded and avoided smiling as her brother jumped up and down at the thought of being able to make use of his expertise.
The Addams turned to Enid, who was now watching her own claws thoughtfully.
"It looks like our last day at Nevermore is going to be as memorable or more so than the first," said Wednesday, "I'm afraid we won't be able to attend the party tonight. I'm sorry, Enid, I know you put a lot of time and effort into organizing it."
Enid turned her gaze back to Wednesday. There was a fire in her eyes that caused a pleasant shiver to run through the Addams' body.
"Fuck the party, Wednesday," Enid said, "They've captured our Friday. Let's go find her and then you'll teach me what's the most painful way to rip off the head of the person responsible."
Oh mio bellissimo sole, thought Wednesday, I love it when you burn with righteous fury.
NOTES
Translations:
Mia lupa (italian): My she-wolf.
custos lupus (latin): guardian wolf.
mio bellissimo sole (italian): my beautiful sun.
No comments:
Post a Comment