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Day 1
All Wednesday sees is a werewolf with blue eyes staring back at her. They’re in a void of nothingness. Just the two of them. Years of history passing through their eyes in a matter of seconds.
Then the wolf turns and runs into the void.
“Enid!” Wednesday calls out.
The wolf stops at a distance and turns around, looking back at the raven with mournful eyes. Then fades away into the shadows.
Wednesday jolts awake and looks around wildly. She doesn’t remember falling asleep in the side car, but night had arrived, and the harsh wind bites at her face.
“Hey kiddo.” Fester glances over from the driver's seat. “We’re almost at the border. I’ll stop at a motel up there, got a friend who owes me a favor.”
Wednesday didn’t want to stop. She wanted to have found Enid yesterday. But she knows stopping and planning their route into the woods would ultimately save them time in the long run, so she nods in agreement.
At the motel, she stays up all night pouring over maps and notes while her uncle sleeps.
Day 2
“The picture Agnes gave me shows Enid near Swanton two days ago.” Wednesday points at the map of Vermont as Fester and Thing peer over her shoulder. “She’ll need food and water. So she is likely headed toward Lake Champlain.”
“Alrighty! Let’s go find your werewolf!” Fester grins excitedly.
Wednesday scowls and turns away. But she doesn’t deny it.
They spend the entire day scouring the area. Staking out spots. Marking places they’ve covered. Hiking over rough terrain where the bike couldn’t reach. They cover almost 20 square miles. But the lake has nearly 600 miles of shoreline, and there’s no sign of any werewolf in sight.
Wednesday returns to the motel late at night disgruntled, but unsurprised. She hadn’t necessarily expected to find Enid on the first day of the search, even if she had been hopeful.
She has the exact same dream that night.
A void. A werewolf. Blue eyes.
The werewolf runs. Wednesday calls after it. The wolf looks back, then fades away.
Curious.
Day 3
25 miles are searched by the three of them this time. Splitting up to cover more ground and keeping communication through walkie-talkies.
It’s on this day that Wednesday first attempts to use her powers to find the wolf. She touches a tree that didn’t look like anything special, but perhaps there was a small chance Enid had stumbled into it in the past.
Her head snaps back.
A hiker, leaning heavily against the tree. Groaning from exhaustion and dehydration.
That’s all she sees. Nothing to do with a werewolf. She goes to another tree a few yards down and tries again.
A bear, tearing into a deer it had just killed.
Another tree.
A child, screaming from a new bee sting.
Another tree.
A woman, running from the shouts of a man behind her.
On and on this goes for hours. Culminating in Wednesday stumbling to the ground in exhaustion by the end.
Thing scuttles up to her worriedly and points at her cheeks.
“I’m fine,” the seer says quickly, wiping away a black tear.
She returns to the motel with the same failure as the day before. Nerves even more shot from her psychic exertion of the day.
Her dream is the same though.
The void. The wolf. The eye contact. The desperate calling. Then black.
She’s starting to wonder if it was actually a nightmare.
Day 4
“Hey kiddo, maybe you should take it a bit easier?” Fester asks as he catches his niece before she hits the ground from yet another vision.
“I’m fine,” Wednesday insists again. Shaking away the vision she had of a man’s murder in the woods. “Besides, my powers are the best way for us to find Enid.”
“Maybe, but you can’t go around testing out every tree in the woods!”
“I will if I have to!” Wednesday snaps.
Fester glances in surprise at Thing who just shakes his hand. All they can do is continue to follow the seer deeper into the woods. They only cover 17 miles that day.
Wednesday’s dream that night is still the same.
Day 5
Wednesday wakes up to the most atrocious, yet familiar sound she has ever heard.
Enid Sinclair’s alarm. One of Seventeen’s latest hits.
“Turn that horrible noise off,” the seer growls at Thing who was holding Enid’s phone that they had brought.
Thing taps his fingers on the phone.
“I’m not using that heinous device.”
You can’t keep using your powers every day. You need more help, Thing signs, then points at a notification on the phone.
Wednesday grumbles and snatches the device. The message is from Agnes. She clicks on it. The phone unlocks at her touch. She chooses not to dwell on why.
A map of the area pops into view. Marked up with notes the vanisher had found on the internet about the landscape, indicating places that Enid was more or less likely to be based on geography, conditions, and human proximity. It would certainly narrow their search.
“Fine.” If it helped find Enid, even Wednesday Addams would use a phone.
It doesn’t help. Not that day at least. They cover 18 miles of the location Agnes had noted as having the highest probability of finding the werewolf, but there’s not even a single scratch mark or pawprint in sight.
Wednesday hopes she’ll dream about throwing the phone in acid just out of spite. But she only dreams of a void and a werewolf with blue eyes.
Day 6
They try the second highest probability location from Agnes’ map. Still nothing.
They switch motels that night, having covered enough ground that the one they had been staying at becomes too far away.
Wednesday wonders if the change in sleeping scenery will help change her dream. It doesn’t.
Day 7
It’s pouring. Lighting flashes. Thunder rolls. All of the supplies are soaking wet, including the map.
Thing taps Wednesday’s shoulder as she attempts to navigate in the storm. This tree looks familiar.
“All of them look the same!” the seer snaps back.
“No, I think he’s right, kiddo.” Fester points at another tree, one that was already marked by an A that he himself had carved into it with his lightning. “We’ve been here before. We’re going in circles.”
Wednesday crumples the map up so violently that it tears.
They only cover 3 miles that day. And half of it was retracing their own steps.
Thing spends the night taping the map back together while the seer sleeps. He can tell she’s dreaming from the way she twitches uncomfortably. It was quite the shock to him at first, since he never knew the girl to be affected by nightmares. But whatever was plaguing Wednesday in her sleep had been going on for 7 days now.
He has a feeling he knows why.
Day 15
Agnes keeps sending updates. Wednesday never responds. But she always checks, just in case there’s something concrete that could lead her to Enid’s location.
There never is.
Day 20
Wednesday’s crystal ball lights up.
“Mother, I don’t have time for this right now,” Wednesday grunts sharply, holding up the crystal ball as she treks along the shore of the lake.
“We’re just concerned about you sweetheart. Fester says you’re running yourself ragged.”
“I’m fine,” the seer grinds out for what must be the 70th time in two days.
Morticia and Gomez share a knowing glance that makes Wednesday want to hurl the crystal ball in the lake.
“We could get the authorities involved,” Gomez tries.
“No. That will only scare her,” Wednesday insists. It has to be me. I promised her.
Gomez nods solemnly, expecting the answer. “Alright my little stormcloud. Take care of yourself. When you find her, you can bring her here.”
Wednesday inhales deeply and shoves the crystal ball back in her bag. She couldn’t afford to waste anymore time.
Day 29
It’s the first full moon since Enid got stuck as a werewolf. The first full moon where other normal wolves would be able to transform and potentially try to hunt her down.
Wednesday is even more frantic than usual in her search. Desperate to find her roommate before the danger of the evening could unfold.
She uses her powers more than ever before. Eyes practically glued shut in visions throughout the day. Black tears staining her cheeks faster than she could wipe them away.
Thing and Fester physically have to sit her down and force her to eat. But even then, the break only lasts a few minutes.
Wednesday only stops when she collapses on the forest floor in a heap. The full moon already shining high above her.
“Enid.” It’s the last word on the seer’s lips before her world fades to black.
For the first time ever, the dream brings relief rather than despair to Wednesday’s chest. The werewolf is still there in the void. Eyes as blue as ever. And somehow, Wednesday knows it means Enid survived the night.
When the wolf turns and runs away, Wednesday sees blood trickling down its back. Yet it still looks back when she calls out. And for now, that’s enough.
Day 30
Wednesday doesn’t even awaken. Too exhausted from her overuse of powers the day before.
In her dream this time, she swears the wolf nuzzles her cheek. But maybe she’s misremembering.
Day 31
Wednesday pushes the pace faster than ever before, desperate after having missed an entire day on the hunt. They cover 30 miles. It may as well have been zero.
Day 44
Fester falls ill. A rarity in the Addams family. But even he couldn’t keep up the brutal pace his niece was setting.
Wednesday is running a high fever as well. But she goes out anyway, leaving her uncle to rest at the motel.
That night, the wolf presses its snout to her forehead in the dream. It feels cool against her burning skin.
When she awakens, her fever has broken, but her resolve has not. She will find Enid.
Day 56
They finally finish canvasing the perimeter of the lake. There’s nothing. No scratch marks. No paw prints. No fur. Not a single sign of a werewolf.
They had been looking in the wrong place this entire time.
Wednesday almost doesn’t call after Enid in her dream that night. Feeling too much like she had failed her roommate. But the wolf still turns back to look at her anyway, expectantly. As if waiting for her to call out.
Enid.
The word is whispered by the seer both in the dream and in real life.
Fester and Thing choose not to comment on it.
Day 59
Another full moon ravages Wednesday’s sanity. They’re in Berkshire now. Stumbling after a vague lead Agnes had sent two days prior. Having nothing else to go on at this point.
Wednesday knows they’re in the wrong spot when they come across a field. Far too vast and open for an alpha werewolf to hide in, especially on a night where she’d be hunted.
Even still, the seer places her hand on the ground. Calling upon her powers who groan in protest from severe overuse.
Her head snaps back.
There’s a wolf. Sitting there in the field. Staring up at the full moon. It howls, long and loud. Then runs off to hunt.
It’s not a werewolf though. It’s not Enid.
Her head snaps back up. A black tear falls from her eye to the grass below.
For a moment she lets herself believe that it was Enid. Running free under the full moon. Safe.
Fester carries her back to the motel this time.
Enid is in her dreams once again, much to Wednesday’s relief. But this time the wolf walks with a visible limp when it turns away.
It would only be a matter of time before Enid would lose a fight. Wednesday had to find her before the next full moon.
Day 65
Her parents call again.
This time, Wednesday does throw the crystal ball in the lake.
Day 74
They’re in Troy now. Their seventh town in as many days.
They’ve resorted to a method Wednesday absolutely despises. Asking the locals.
“Have you seen this werewolf?” Wednesday slaps the picture of Enid’s wolf down in front of the local sheriff.
“Uh, no.”
The seer grits her teeth. The weeks in the wilderness had done nothing for her patience with social interaction. She points at the picture. “Look again.”
“We don’t have werewolves here,” the sheriff insists.
Wednesday could stab him. “What about anything that could possibly be a werewolf? Scratch marks? Bite marks? Butchers reporting missing meats? Children running from the woods screaming thinking they saw a bear?”
“No.” The sheriff is practically laughing at her at this point. “And even if we did, why should I tell you?”
Fester has to drag his niece out of there before she amputates the sheriff with her pen.
Day 80
For once, Wednesday didn’t mean to use her powers. But when her hand hits the door of an abandoned house on the edge of town, her head snaps back.
“What are we doing out here?”
Unfortunately, Wednesday would recognize that voice anywhere. Tyler.
“I used to know a Hyde who lived here,” Capri frowns at the house. “Seems like he’s moved.”
“That sheriff we overheard earlier. He said something about a terrifying girl looking for a werewolf.”
Capri raises an eyebrow. “Yes?”
Tyler’s eyes grow cold. “We both know who that sounds like.”
“Wednesday Addams is not a priority of mine at the moment.” Capri waves her hand.
“Why is she looking for a werewolf when it’s not a full moon?”
Capri’s silence is as loud of a confirmation as there is.
“Sinclair.” Tyler growls. “That’s why she wolfed out that night in the lab when it wasn’t a full moon. And if Wednesday is looking for her, that means she’s out here. All alone…”
Capri sweeps out of the house. “Like I said, neither Wednesday Addams nor Enid Sinclair are a priority at the moment.’’
Wednesday doesn’t pay her former teacher any attention though, too focused on the look on Tyler’s face. She’s all too familiar with that burning look of hatred. Capri may not want to find Enid, but Tyler certainly did.
Wednesday sucks in a gasping breath from the place where she had fallen to the ground on her knees. Thing scuttles up to her.
“Tyler knows about Enid,” the seer says with wide, panicked eyes.
Thing shakes back and forth worriedly.
“I must find her,” Wednesday says earnestly, climbing to her feet. Before he does.
That night, the raven’s dream is more lucid than ever before.
“Tyler’s looking for you.”
The werewolf just stares back as always, giving no indication that it understood or even heard the words. Why would it? This was only a dream afterall.
The wolf runs off.
“Enid!” Wednesday’s voice sounds pleading, even to her own ears.
When the wolf looks back this time, there’s a hint of something else there. Something that looked like understanding. But the wolf runs off before Wednesday can be sure.
Day 88
Thing squeezes Wednesday’s shoulder almost painfully hard. You must eat.
“No.”
But you need-
“Tonight is another full moon!” Wednesday snaps. “I will not eat or rest until I find her. I strongly advise you to stay out of my way if you wish to keep all your fingers intact.”
Thing doesn’t have to have ears to hear the desperation under the guise of threat. Something was happening that he had never seen before. Wednesday Addams was slowly, painfully, falling apart.
Despair wells up in Thing’s own heart because doesn’t know how to stop it. He could try to force the seer to rest and eat all he wanted. But there was nothing he could do to cure the underlying problem. Nothing he could do to bring back Enid. It made him feel like he had failed the Addams family.
The day continues as it always does on full moons. Wednesday using her powers on every object she finds. Stumbling through the woods, making herself believe there were clues when there are none. Ending with her collapsed on the forest floor again.
They’re too far from town to go back to a motel, so Fester and Thing make camp around the exhausted seer.
Wednesday’s sleep is dreamless. No wolf. No blue eyes. Only darkness.
Day 89
“Enid!” Wednesday shoots up with a gasp, eyes wide with terror. She looks around. Daylight had already broken through the trees.
Along with the sunrise comes the awful truth that hits her with overwhelming force. She hadn’t dreamt of the werewolf last night.
“No…” the raven stumbles to her feet, ignoring the still sleeping Fester and Thing. She races to the nearest tree and presses her hand to it. Calling upon the largest amount of her powers yet in a wave of desperation.
Her head snaps back.
Shadows. That’s all there is. Shadows of animals fighting. One victorious, the other unmoving. She can’t tell what they are, but somewhere deep in her chest, she knows they’re werewolves.
When her head snaps back up, she immediately collapses back to the ground in exhaustion.
Darkness is all Wednesday sees again.
Until, at last, a silhouette appears. The silhouette of a werewolf.
A werewolf with blue eyes and blood dripping from its canines.
It’s the most beautiful sight Wednesday has ever dreamed of.
As always, the wolf runs.
“Enid!”
The beast turns back to look at her with a more feral look than Wednesday had ever seen. Then fades away.
Day 94
Wednesday thought that after seeing a hazy vision of Enid the other day, they would be closer. But in truth, she’d never felt further. It seemed as if they’d covered every possible inch of ground in Vermont, and yet there was still so much more to go.
For the first time in 94 days, a treacherous thought creeps into Wednesday’s mind. What if I never find her?
The very idea has her lashing out even more than usual at her companions.
“Thing! Hold the compass out further!”
“Hey kiddo,” Fester tries to say gently. “Go easy on him. It’s hard in this storm.”
“A little snow should not matter,” Wednesday growls, grabbing the hand roughly.
“We can hardly see out here. Perhaps if we waited for the storm to pass we could save more time-”
“We’re not waiting for anything!” the seer snaps.
“Kiddo-”
“No!” Wednesday whips around and glares at her uncle. A rare occurrence considering how well they usually got along. “If you two want to stay behind, then fine.”
“Wednesday-”
“In fact, I think you should. You’ve only been slowing me down this entire time anyway!”
Fester and Thing glance at each other. Both well aware the seer would probably be dead from her own relentless pace if they hadn’t been with her the last three months.
“Wednesday, come on, you know-”
“Uncle.” Wednesday is shaking at this point. Whether from the cold or rage or grief she’s unsure. “Just…go.”
“I’m not-”
“Please.”
They all hear it. The pure desperation in Wednesday’s voice. The desperation to be alone. Alone to unravel.
Fester looks forlornly at his niece before giving her a small nod. The Addams family curse could truly be devastating.
“I will make sure everything is prepared for your return, kiddo.” Fester picks up his things and resolves to come looking for the seer with an entire search party in a few days time if necessary.
Wednesday is only silent as she watches her uncle turn and leave.
“You too,” she growls at Thing.
The hand stays put.
“Now!”
Thing scuttles off after Fester.
Wednesday camps in a cave that night that barely provides shelter from the bitter storm. She only hopes Enid found a more decent resting place than her.
Sleep overtakes her unwillingly. The dream, as always, starts the same.
All Wednesday sees is a werewolf with blue eyes staring back at her. They’re in a void of nothingness. Just the two of them. Years of history passing through their eyes in a matter of seconds.
Then the wolf turns and runs into the void.
“Enid!” Wednesday calls out.
This time. For the first time ever. The wolf doesn’t look back.
The seer wakes with a jolt, a single thought on her mind.
She’s never sleeping again.
Day 95
Despite pretending not to care about anything, Wednesday knows the count exactly. 95 days. That’s how long it’s been.
Long enough for the daylight to grow frustratingly short. Long enough for the air to turn dangerously cold. Long enough for the Canadian border to now be covered in deep snow.
Long enough for her to lose her mind.
She pushes her exhaustion out of the way, not caring that she had only slept a few hours. The storm had broken, so she packs her bag and sets off.
It’s already midday when she feels a rustling in her bag. She turns around in surprise to see Thing climbing out, apparently having come back and stowed himself away while she was sleeping.
“I told you to leave,” Wednesday says murderously.
No.
“Thing, I swear-”
Go ahead and cut my fingers off all you want. I am still not leaving, Thing signs.
Wednesday considers burying the hand in the snow and leaving him there. But she was just so tired. And maybe a part of her, deep down, was glad she wasn’t completely alone.
She turns angrily from the hand, but lets him stay on her shoulder, which Thing takes as a win.
She makes camp that night just so Thing wouldn’t get on her case. But she doesn’t sleep. Too scared of having the same dream again. The one where Enid doesn’t look back at her.
Too scared that it meant she was too late. That her friend was lost for good.
Day 96
Thing taps the seer’s shoulder urgently. You need to rest.
“I don’t need rest,” Wednesday hisses, continuing to trudge on long after the light of day had faded.
Thing taps again. You haven’t slept in two days.
“I’m fine!”
The hand pounds his fist this time. You won’t find her if you’re collapsed somewhere in the woods.
Wednesday shoves Thing off her shoulder into the snow and keeps walking. The hand trails dejectedly behind.
She pulls out Enid’s phone and opens Agnes’ latest message that had just come in this morning when she got a brief moment of service. Another blurry photo of something that could possibly pass as a werewolf. Taken not far from here by a drone.
The battery on the phone was dying. Wednesday hadn’t been to any motel to charge it since she sent her uncle away. And the extra battery pack Agnes had given her was also almost out of life too. It hardly mattered anyway. This photo felt like Wednesday’s last hope either way.
After more miles of walking in the dark, she comes across a clearing. It looks exactly like the one in the picture Agnes had sent. But of course there’s nothing. No tracks, no claw marks, no sign of any werewolf.
Wednesday wants to hurl the phone into the nearest tree. Wants to scream in despair. Wants to cry. She does none of these things of course. None of them would help her find Enid.
Enid. The only word that had been on her mind for 96 days. How had she let this happen? She should’ve known Enid would do something ridiculously noble like this to save her. She should’ve personally locked up the wolf in her cell herself just to ensure no one could let her out until after the full moon. She should’ve instructed Agnes never to involve the werewolf on a case, ever.
Wednesday drops to her knees in the snow. She’s beyond tired. But she can’t sleep. She can’t go back to that dream. She can’t admit defeat. She can’t let Enid go.
“Where are you?” It’s whispered to the wind. Quiet. Broken.
Thing scuttles up her shoulder and pats it soothingly. For once, the seer lets the hand offer comfort.
After a long while, she finally forces herself to her feet and scours the perimeter of the clearing. Despite her fatigue, her senses are still sharp, motivated by the fact that Enid was still out there. She had to still be out there. Somewhere, alone. Something Wednesday had promised she would never be.
The scratch marks on the tree blend in so well that she almost misses them, but they shine out when the moon hits them just right. She scrambles forward. Those weren’t bear marks. They were made by something far larger and infinitely more powerful.
She holds up her hand to touch the marks.
Thing yanks at her pant leg. You can’t use your powers again. They will consume you.
Wednesday grits her teeth. It was true that her last use of powers had caused her worst vision induced seizure yet. Resulting in her waking up gasping for breath, black tears staining the white stripes on her shirt. She could feel her sanity on the edge of collapse then, and any further use could push her over that brink for good.
“I don’t care,” Wednesday growls, kicking Thing away. This was the closest she had ever been to Enid. She could feel it. Blowing out her psychic abilities and potentially her sanity would be worth any little clue she could find.
She places her hand on the claw marks.
Her head snaps back.
Her taunt body spins in her most violent vision induced seizure yet. Black tears staining her cheeks again before she collapses face first into the snow.
Thing is by her side immediately, anxiously rolling her a bit to make sure she could breathe. Meanwhile the seer remains completely unconscious, shaking violently.
Wednesday’s episode when she had the vision of Enid’s death was nothing compared to this. This was true psychic exhaustion. The type her mother said had brought about Ophelia’s demise.
And she sees…darkness. Only darkness.
Perhaps she was dead.
Then something flickers in front of her. A werewolf.
So maybe she wasn’t dead, maybe she was just asleep, having the same recurring nightmare yet again. Or maybe this was just her own version of hell. Forever destined to watch herself fail the werewolf over and over again.
The dream starts out as it always does.
Yellow-blue eyes stare back at her. She can see Enid in them. Giving her that tortured, earnest, affectionate look that had so often rattled her for almost two years now. Though she suspects her own eyes reflect a similar sentiment.
Then, as always, the werewolf turns and runs off.
“Enid!” Wednesday calls out.
The werewolf doesn’t turn around.
Wednesday runs after it, but she can’t keep up. The wolf fades completely from view.
That was how her last dream ended. But this time, for the first time ever, the scene changes.
She’s back in their dorm now. Sunshine filters through the split window. It’s warm. Comforting. A shock to Wednesday’s system that had only known bitter cold and darkness for 96 days.
It feels like home.
Then she sees why.
Enid Sinclair stands there in the middle of their room just as Wednesday remembered her. Piercing blue eyes and a blinding smile, wearing the same red hoodie as the day Wednesday last saw her. The only difference is that her blonde hair is longer now, with faded dye, the only indication that any time had passed.
Wednesday suddenly wonders if she did in fact die and accidentally went to heaven rather than hell.
“Only you would leave psychic scar tissue in a body swap.”
The first words she hears from her best friend in over three months slam into Wednesday’s chest. That voice. She had almost forgotten the sound of it. And yet, it was so achingly familiar. So achingly perfect. As if Enid was actually right there.
“W-What?”
Enid smiles wider, amusement in her eyes. Though something far more desperate and raw lingers under the surface as well. “Did the great Wednesday Addams just stutter?”
Wednesday scowls on instinct. “What are you doing here?”
“Uh, I live here. Remember?”
How easily they fell back into their old banter. Even in dreams.
“Leave.”
The blonde raises an eyebrow. “And here I thought I’d get a warmer welcome upon my return. Maybe even a hug.”
The seer grits her teeth. “We are in our room at some unknown date and time which I know not to be possible. You have not returned. Now leave.”
Enid gives Wednesday a far too knowing look for a shadow from a dream. She takes a hesitant step toward the seer, as if approaching a wounded animal. “Why do you want me to leave, Wends?”
The nickname hurts. It felt real. Too real. Wednesday needed to wake up. “Because you are distracting me from my goal.”
“Your goal?”
“Yes.”
“Which is?”
“To find you.” The words slip out easily. Yet Wednesday suddenly feels embarrassed by them, which is ridiculous since this was just all in her head.
Enid’s smile softens as she takes another step forward. In the seer’s space now on her side of the room. “You did find me, Wends.”
“This is a dream,” Wednesday insists stubbornly. She was not going to let her psychic exhaustion give her false hope or let her stray from her mission.
“Is it?”
“Yes.”
“Prove it.”
On instinct, Wednesday does the first thing that comes to mind to do so. She reaches out her hand to touch Enid’s shoulder, fully expecting it to go through her body like a ghost. But it lands on firm muscle and bone. Real warmth seeping into the seer’s fingertips.
Wednesday inhales sharply. “That’s not…this is still a dream.”
“Yeah?” Enid mutters. Stepping closer still. Leaning into the hand on her shoulder.
Wednesday smells strawberry perfume. Maybe she had officially lost her mind.
Enid slowly lifts her hand and lightly traces her thumb along Wednesday’s jaw. The same place she had traced when she patched Wednesday up after Crackstone. The same place she had traced when Wednesday had fallen from a window at Willow Hill.
The seer feels the touch in her very soul.
“It’s good to see you, Wednesday.” The words are whispered by the blonde as she gazes back into deep brown eyes, tears forming in her own blue ones. “I-Its been so long.”
Wednesday’s breath is shakier than ever. She wants to tumble into the wolf’s arms. Wants to grasp her and never let her go. Wants to sob in overwhelming relief. But she doesn’t. Because she’d only be doing that to a shadow, not the real Enid. Not her Enid.
“Stop.” The word is pure pain on Wednesday’s lips. A part of her wants to stay here forever. To once again be in a world where Enid Sinclair was with her. Found.
Enid smiles sadly and lets her hand fall from the seer’s face. But she doesn’t step back. “Don’t use your powers again. I’m not sure what will happen if you do.”
“I will do whatever it takes to find you,” Wednesday says through gritted teeth. May as well admit her devotion to fake Enid.
Fake Enid’s reaction is so real though. Eyes glistening. Lips trembling. Wry smile full of something that went beyond just affection. “I know, Wednesday. God, do I know.”
Wednesday thinks Enid is talking about more than just her commitment to finding her. But she has no idea what to do with that. Truly this was the most harrowing vision she has had to date.
Enid leans in ever closer, her lips by Wednesday’s ear.
“So wake up.”
“Enid!” Wednesday bolts upright. She glances around the clearing, ignoring the black stains in the snow from her tears. There was no one else there. Not even Thing, who had likely gone to get help.
When she finally gets her bearings, a wave of disappointment floods her chest. No, more than disappointment, despair. A tiny part of her had thought that maybe, just maybe, her dream had been real. It felt so real. But of course, it wasn’t. She was still alone in the frigid dark woods. No werewolf in sight.
She trudges to her feet, wiping away blood she feels on her cheek from a cut she got in her fall. She looks back at the claw marks on the tree. Marks she was sure belonged to her roommate. She was so close now, she had to try. One last time.
She raises her hand to the marks. If this killed her, it would be worth it.
An unseen force comes out of nowhere and knocks her back to the ground face first.
Wednesday’s survival instincts kick in before any coherent thought does. She grabs a knife from her sleeve and rolls on her back to face her attacker. Before she can get any further though, a giant paw is pressed to her arm, pinning it against the snow. Another paw rests heavily on her chest.
She blinks dazedly. Then the world comes back into focus. Her world comes back into focus. Sharp canines. Soft fur. Blue eyes. Inches away.
“...Enid?”
Wednesday would recognize those eyes anywhere. In any lifetime. Yet after months of searching, and slowly losing her mind in the process, she has trouble fully believing this is real.
She raises her hand hesitantly to touch the side of the werewolf’s snout.
Her powers glitch. Flashing between visions of human Enid smiling at her and wolf Enid staring at her.
“I told you, you found me.”
Wednesday swears she hears it directly in her head.
She rests her other hand on the other side of the wolf’s snout now.
More flashes between human and wolf forms.
“It’s good to see you, Wednesday.”
It rings clearly in the seer’s ears.
She looks deeply back into the blue eyes of the werewolf. Chest heaving, throat tight with every emotion she had held back for 96 days. Then Wednesday finally, finally lets herself believe the truth.
“I found you.” The words are whispered shakily, for only the two of them to hear.
The werewolf closes its eyes and buries its head in the raven’s shoulder. Practically lying on top of the small girl. For once, Wednesday welcomes it, tugging the wolf that much closer by its neck into the embrace.
For the first time in 96 days, Wednesday Addams feels whole again.
They lie like that for an indefinite amount of time. Both too overwhelmed and exhausted to move. It’s only when the wolf eventually starts whining that Wednesday pulls away to examine Enid closer. She curses herself when she sees what she finds. The wolf had a nasty long gash on her torso. Something Wednesday had neglected to notice during the overwhelming emotions of their reunion.
“Sit down.” Wednesday commands sharply, pushing the wolf off of her and leaving no room for argument.
The wolf whimpers at the loss of contact but does as it's told.
Wednesday grabs her first aid kit and examines the wound further. “It’s not too deep. But this will hurt.”
Enid huffs as if to say, no duh.
It almost brings a smile to Wednesday’s lips. Because even in wolf form, Enid was so incredibly Enid. Her roommate. Her best friend. And so much more.
She thoroughly cleans and bandages the wound. To Enid’s credit, she hardly flinches under the treatment. Though Wednesday hates to think that means the wolf was used to pain at this point.
“Are there any more wounds?”
The wolf simply stares back.
“Enid.”
Reluctantly the wolf turns and holds out one of its paws. Covered in nasty scratches.
Wednesday grits her teeth and goes about patching that up as well. When she’s done, the wolf insists it has no more injuries, but Wednesday doesn’t rest until she’s checked over Enid herself.
She packs away the first aid kit and leans up against a tree. Suddenly feeling exhausted again, though this time more from overwhelming relief than anything else. The wolf curls up right next to her and nuzzles her shoulder with its snout.
Wednesday pulls out a large thick blanket from her bag and tosses it over the werewolf, causing the beast to purr happily. Though it still continues to nuzzle her shoulder.
The raven sighs and lifts up her hand. Immediately Enid takes the invitation and rests her head in the girl’s lap.
Wednesday can’t help but run her fingers through soft fur, causing the wolf’s eyes to start to droop at the action.
“I will find a way to change you back.” Wednesday says it more to herself than anyone else, but the wolf’s eyes snap back open anyway and peer up at her.
“I know.”
The seer inhales sharply at the voice in her head. “I don’t know how you keep doing that.”
Enid snorts as if to say, you’re not the only super smart, powerful one here.
Wednesday lets a small smile finally come to her lips. The first one in 96 days. She swears the werewolf is grinning up at her as well.
They sit in comfortable silence for a while. Simply basking in each other's presence. Wednesday scratches behind the wolf’s ears lightly as both their eyes begin to close again.
“Sleep, mi lobo.” She doesn’t even care if Enid understands the nickname.
Wednesday doesn’t remember falling into darkness. All she knows is when she opens her eyes again. She’s back in their dorm. In the same vision.
“Do you believe this is real now?” Enid’s already right in front of her this time. Sunlight filtering through her long blonde hair.
Wednesday only stares for a moment. “You made a compelling argument.”
Enid’s responding grin is blinding.
“I still don’t understand though,” Wednesday continues. “We should not be able to communicate like this.”
“And we shouldn’t have been able to swap bodies either, but that happened,” Enid rightfully points out.
“Yes, but that involved a supernatural force. Explainable. But this-”
“Do you always have to question everything, Wends?”
The seer only frowns back.
“Maybe some things are just unexplainable.” The blonde takes a small step forward, her gaze turning serious as her voice lowers. “Inevitable even.”
The hammering of Wednesday’s heartbeat confirms the reality of the situation. Enid was right. Some things were inevitable. Like this. Like them.
“I never stopped looking,” Wednesday says quietly. Suddenly wanting Enid to know that she had never been abandoned.
Enid nods and bites her trembling lip. “I know. 96 days.”
Wednesday has no idea how the wolf kept count. But she’s learning to stop questioning. “You kept running.”
“I’m sorry.”
Wednesday didn’t expect that to be enough. But somehow it is.
“I didn’t even know where I was going,” Enid admits. “It was like I was stumbling in the dark. Slowly losing myself further and further inside my wolf. Until you touched the mark I left on that tree. Then I saw you. In my mind. Here. Guess you’re actually the light at the end of my tunnel afterall.”
Wednesday doesn’t know what that means. But her breath still hitches at it anyway.
“I dreamed about you.” The words come from the seer’s mouth without her meaning to say them. Instantly her cheeks feel flushed with warmth.
“Yeah?” Enid asks in a slightly teasing, but still soft tone.
“You always ran.”
“Yeah…but I always looked back when you called.”
Wednesday’s eyes snap up. “You…shared that same dream.”
“For 94 days. Until you stopped sleeping 2 days ago. Which was not okay by the way.”
Wednesday disregards the chastisement, still trying to wrap her mind around their shared mental connection. “That shouldn’t be possible.”
“Like I said, psychic scar tissue. But, I think you always kinda knew, didn’t you?” Enid challenges, stepping slightly closer.
Wednesday searches her brain for the answer. Now that she let herself think about it, perhaps it was true. Perhaps she had always known. It was why she was so desperate to see the werewolf in her dreams on nights of the full moon to know she was safe.
Still, something gnaws at the seer’s chest as she thinks about it. “You didn’t look back when I called for you the last time.”
“I know,” the blonde’s face falls. “I was…scared.”
Wednesday’s eyebrows furrow. “Of me finding you?”
“Of how you’d find me. I-I could feel myself slipping into being a wolf forever. And I…didn’t want you to see that.”
Wednesday stares, uncomprehending as to why Enid was afraid of that. As far as she’s concerned, she’d cherish any state that she found the wolf in.
Enid swallows through her tears and continues. “But then you used your powers that last time. And suddenly you were right there in front of me. Calling me away from my own darkness. And…I could feel you dying, Wednesday.”
“That’s not-”
“I couldn’t let that happen,” Enid says with the utmost earnestness. “So I knew I had to find you before you used them again.”
“Enid.” Wednesday mournfully watches copious tears escape the wolf’s eyes. Fingers itching to brush them away.
The blonde wipes her cheeks. “I won’t let you die for me, Wednesday. I hate that you almost did.”
The silence between them is only filled by the occasional sniffle from the wolf.
“That hate is mutual,” Wednesday finally admits. “You were not supposed to dig me out that night.”
“I wasn’t going to let you die!”
“Well you should’ve!” Wednesday snaps.
Enid shakes her head. “H-How can you even say that?”
Wednesday’s lip trembles as she tears her gaze away from the blonde and looks out their window.
“...Wends?” Enid implores softly.
“96 days, Enid.” Wednesday’s voice is hoarse, far from her usual calm, unaffected tone. “I-I thought…”
For the first time ever, Enid sees Wednesday Addams blink. She knows why.
“Hey.” The wolf reaches out a hand to gently turn the seer’s face back toward her and is immediately overwhelmed by the raw emotion in those brown eyes. She knows the truth then once and for all. Wednesday cared for her deeply. Maybe even loved her. And maybe Enid loved her just as much right back.
“I’m here now,” Enid whispers.
Wednesday takes a shaky inhale, trying to pull herself back together. “Don’t run again.”
“I won’t. I promise.” Enid holds up her pinky finger, mirroring the last action the raven ever saw her perform in human form over three months ago.
It nearly breaks Wednesday all over again.
Enid quickly drops her hand.
“Wends, I…” the wolf searches for the words. But what do you say to someone that spent the last 96 days chasing you? What do you say to someone you sacrificed everything for only for them to return the favor? What do you say to someone that has become your entire world at the tender age of 17?
For the first time ever, Wednesday fills the silence for Enid. “Thing said he missed you.”
The response is instantaneous. A brilliant smile and tearful eyes. “I missed him too.”
Wednesday stares back at her roommate. Her best friend. Her wolf.
“I missed you.”
The words Wednesday Addams had never said in her entire life fall as a rough whisper from her lips.
More tears stream down Enid’s face as she continues to stroke the seer’s cheek.
“So wake up.”
Day 97
Wednesday’s eyes flutter open. It takes a second for her to take in her surroundings. When she does, she only realizes one thing.
She’s completely and utterly alone.
No werewolf next to her. No tracks in freshly fallen snow. No blanket she had covered them both with. Had she imagined it all?
“Enid?” She jumps up and starts looking around desperately. Running out into the clearing for any clues. Any sign that she hadn’t truly gone mad.
“Enid!”
The scream echoes throughout empty woods.
Nothing responds.
Wednesday feels her knees start to buckle. Feels a sob well up in her throat. So it had all been a dream.
“E-Enid…” she says in a strangled whisper.
.
.
.
.
.
“Howdy roomie.”
The world freezes on its axis.
Wednesday turns around in slow motion, unsure if she believes her own ears. Then she’s unsure if she believes her own eyes.
Because there, dressed in all black, was a very real, very human, Enid Sinclair.
They stare at each other a few yards away as the sunrise begins to light up the clearing.
Enid breaks first, smiling tearfully. “I missed you too.”
Wednesday doesn’t know when she started running. All she knows is one minute she’s standing there. The next she’s pulling her roommate into her arms and clutching onto her desperately.
Enid returns the hug just as fiercely. And it’s so warm, so comforting, so Enid, that Wednesday knows with absolute certainty this is real.
A single tear escapes the seer’s eye and lands on the wolf’s shoulder as they continue to embrace. Not a black tear, a clear one. The first and only real tear Wednesday has shed throughout this entire ordeal.
Wednesday feels Enid’s own tears seeping through her jacket. But she doesn’t care. The entire world could be burning down and she wouldn’t care about that either. The only thing that mattered was the girl in her arms.
After what feels like hours, Enid finally pulls back slightly to look at her roommate. She lifts her hand to run along Wednesday’s jaw again, tracing the same spot she had in the dream. This time in real life.
“You found me.”
Wednesday thinks her entire body is shaking. But her voice is firm. “I think it was more the other way around.”
Enid laughs then. And it’s the best sound Wednesday has heard in 97 days.
There’s so much to talk about. Like how much they had both been willing to sacrifice to get to this moment. Like why Enid picked out Wednesday’s clothes to wear rather than her own, even though Wednesday brought them. Like the nickname Wednesday had called the wolf earlier. Like how their psychic connection reflected their emotions.
Those could be conversations for another day though. When they were more emotionally ready to handle it. For now, only one thing mattered.
Neither of them were alone anymore.
Enid closes her eyes and leans her forehead gently to Wednesday’s. Trying to process the moment.
Wednesday allows it, closing her eyes as well.
“Wednesday.”
“Enid.”
All Wednesday sees is a werewolf with blue eyes staring back at her.
This time though, the werewolf doesn’t run.
This time, Wednesday doesn’t have to call out for her.
This time, the wolf stays.