Medicine ━━ Tyler Galpin

𝟮𝟱. normal things

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
a major sacrifice, but clueless at the time

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     𝐀gnes definitely didn't expect to find Wednesday's dorm room in Ophelia Hall to look like somebody just broke in and wrecked the place. There wasn't any sign of the stoic girl either, and she expected her to be there already if she had even decided to go into town. It only got worse when she saw a pool of fresh blood on the wooden floorboards just below the vintage record player that was coated with the same crimson color.

     Her first thought was to find Uncle Fester. She found him in Eugene's shack, and he wasn't the only one. For some reason, relief washed over her when she saw that Wednesday Addams was unharmed. But Thing wasn't. Her heart doubled back, her feet rushing forward to the table where the bloodied hand sat uncharacteristically still. Then it shifted. A tiny movement that told her he was still, well, alive for a creature like it.

     "What happened?" Agnes breathed, turning around to face the niece and uncle who watched her.

     "The diary is gone," Wednesday said bluntly, but she could tell something in her was different. The girl actually looked like she just stopped crying, but Agnes didn't comment on it.

     "Shit," Agnes muttered under her breath, running a frustrated hand through the knots in her hair. Then she turned to Fester. "The cops found your motorbike, by the way, genius."

     "The sheriff won't be far," Wednesday realized. She looked at her uncle, her expression not changing. "You need to go... Maybe next time, steal something a little less conspicuous."

     "Well, where's the fun in that?" Fester whined.

     His niece shot him a look.

     Fester exhaled, nodding ever so slightly. "All right. I'll lay low here tonight, keep an eye on the patient, and I'll skedaddle in the morning."

     While the two exchanged farewells, Agnes prepared herself for the next few minutes. She let herself out of the shack first, taking a deep breath before she heard the door shut behind her. Wednesday appeared next to her, looking like she might start looking for revenge on whoever stabbed Thing on the wall. The latter slipped her cold hands inside the pockets of her coat, visibly shrugging her shoulders as if asking her, What now?

     "We're going to pay Principal Weems a little visit," Wednesday said firmly.

     Agnes's face hardened with a newfound determination. "Then let's not waste any time."

     Ms. Thornhill found them striding along the hall of Nevermore in the middle of the night, which the teacher wasn't so happy about. Considering they were the most undisciplined students in the academy, she quickly assumed they were up to no good. The air around was thick as the lady guided them to Larissa Weems's office, the two girls letting her because that was their destination in the first place.

     Now they stood in the dim light of the principal's office, Agnes and Wednesday standing side by side with the glow and warmth of the fireplace shining upon them. Ms. Thornhill stayed and stood in the back. Meanwhile, Weems was pacing back and forth in front of her huge fireplace, seemingly uneasy and suspicious by their sudden intrusion. Yet for some reason, Agnes thought the woman seemed to believe them either.

     "I'm guessing it's not some kind of random prank," Weems muttered.

     Agnes shook her head. "Trust me. I've never wanted it to be a prank so bad."