บท 88: Strange behavior
The drive went by in silence. Luke thought about how many mutilated people Marilyn needed for the ritual. In addition to getting the blood of Wednesday, a descendant of Goody Addams, she needed mutilated body parts. The murders weren't just for the sake of it.
So, far two people have been killed by the Hyde. An elderly man and a normie high school girl from Jericho. Their bodies had been found mutilated.
The old man was missing his right leg, and the girl was missing her left leg. Following this pattern, Marilyn needs about five mutilated parts of her victims for the ritual.
Two arms, two legs, and a head. Before attacking Wednesday, she must get those parts for the ritual.
'She must murder three people at least. Maybe she also needs a person's torso or organs. I don't know...' thought Luke, looking out the window.
If he were to go by the series Hyde killed a total of six people, but he wouldn't trust this information 100%.
'He didn't manage to kill Rowan, so she was late,' thought Luke. Since the attack, that day Hyde, stopped murdering normies and stopped his killing spree.
Luke, before Marilyn has all the parts needed for the ritual and points to Wednesday he must get enough evidence. So, if Hyde takes longer to murder people all the better for him. The Spellmans look like they won't act and are just watching.
"What are you thinking?" asked Wednesday, looking sideways at Luke, who turned his head and looked at her with an expression of mild surprise.
"What?" asked Wednesday, making eye contact with Luke.
"Weirdly, you ask something, and it doesn't have to do with catastrophic prophecies or serial killers," said Luke.
"What's weird is that you say it like you know me," said Wednesday. She was surprised by her question, but she hid it perfectly. She doesn't know why she asked that question. It seemed like the typical question to set up an irrelevant topic of conversation.
Thing who was on Wednesday's shoulder hidden by the dark jacket started tapping her on the shoulder to ask her what the hell that was. He too was surprised by his mistress' question.
"Shut up, or I'll kill you," Wednesday muttered toward her shoulder.
"It's not that. I mean whenever you talk it's always to say important things... Never mind," Luke said, shaking his head. It was better not to start a stupid argument that would go nowhere.
"I was thinking about the serial killer that's in Jericho," he said, answering the initial question.
Wednesday put aside her anger at her own odd behavior and Thing's tapping. She knew Luke was referring to Hyde, who murdered two people, but since they had a normie in front of them they had to be discreet.
"In addition to killing them, he mutilated them. He ripped off a different leg from each of them. A fetish or..." said Wednesday with a thoughtful attitude.
"Exactly. I don't think he's doing it for a fetish. I'm not 100%, but he didn't seem to have that behavior," Luke said. The last sentence is in a lower tone so only Wednesday heard.
Wednesday nodded in agreement with Luke. She fought the Hyde, and he seemed to be the kind of irrational monster that rendered his victim unrecognizable. Not the kind that would tear off a limb and carry it away as a trophy.
The cab driver frowned in the rearview mirror at the strange boy and girl he was carrying. It was a sensitive subject the murders of the last few weeks. He knew the old man and had driven him around Jericho several times with his cab.
Wednesday noticed the normie's action, so she moved to the middle seat right next to Luke. Their conversation was not to be overheard by a normie, and it was best to be close enough to whisper.
Luke was surprised to be so close to Wednesday, but she didn't seem at all fazed, so he said nothing and waited for her to speak.
"These days in addition to researching Crackstone, I looked for information on the Hyde..." whispered Wednesday. Knowing that the murderer was a Hyde it was the most logical thing to look for information on your enemy.
She didn't think it was a coincidence the appearance of a murderous Hyde just at the same time the prophecy appeared in her that would destroy Nevermore.
"Did you find anything useful?" asked Luke, noticing something strange moving around Wednesday's shoulder.
'Looks like she brought the living hand,' Luke thought.
"Yes. I went back to the Nightshade Society's secret library. Behind a painting of an alumnus, I found a safe. In it was the personal journal of Nathaniel Faulkner,"
"The founder of Nevermore," Luke said, and Wednesday nodded.
"In the journal, he traveled the world cataloging every outcast community. One of them was the Hydes where he included a lot of information," Wednesday said.
There wasn't a lot of public information about the Hydes. It was a sensitive subject because of their aggressive nature. At Nevermore there were no classes about them. There were even students who hopefully only knew the name and that they were some kind of monster.
Wednesday began to relate information about Hyde to Luke during the drive. In his journal, Nathaniel explained that Hyde lies dormant within the outcasts until they are either unleashed by a traumatic event or unlocked through a chemical stimulus or hypnosis. If the latter, they form strong bonds with their liberators, whom they see as their masters.
Some outcasts are Hydes and never release their monstrous form living as normies, albeit with enhanced physical abilities like the other outcasts.
'It's pretty much the same as in the series, just slight changes. I'm surprised she's telling me,' Luke thought. It's the first time Wednesday has talked to him this much.
The difference was that Wednesday found the diary much earlier compared to the series. She didn't need her Uncle Fester's help.
"So. What do you think?" asked Wednesday, finishing telling Luke everything about the Hyde's.
"From the information you gave me, it's pretty obvious. A puppet master is controlling that monster. The murders have a purpose. That's why he must order Hyde to mutilate his victims and take the mutilated part with him," Luke whispered back.
"Exactly. I think so too," Wednesday said. It was good to have someone smart pick up on things quickly like she did.
"To be sure, we should wait for the third victim. If that person is mutilated, this theory we can take as true," she added.
'No need. That's true, although I would have confirmed the theory that way too,' Luke thought with a nod.
Just then they arrived at Pilgrim World which had several people lined up. Not that many though, as the day was horrible, and it wasn't the best time of year for sightseeing.
Luke and Wednesday half-paid and got out of the cab. They both looked toward the pilgrim settlement.
"Here we are. For a reenactment it's not bad at all," Luke commented, looking straight ahead.
"Let's get in line and get it over with as soon as possible," said Wednesday, walking toward the line. She didn't like being in a place that killed the mostly outcast natives and treated them like friendly settlers.
The entrance is marked by a tall, rustic wooden gate flanked by two primitive-looking watchtowers. A sign above the gate reads "Pilgrim World" and below it hangs a banner welcoming visitors.
The line moved quickly. They encountered a middle-aged woman dressed as a pilgrim sitting at an old wooden table.
"Each individual ticket costs $29.95. If you are a couple there is a 15% discount. You pay in total $50," said the woman in a tired voice. She seemed to be fed up with this job.
"We are coup-
Before Luke could finish his sentence, Wednesday elbowed him in the ribs. Luckily, Luke with his haki managed to catch her elbow which, although small, was aimed at a sensitive area. If she had hit him, he would have felt a sharp pain and coughed for several minutes.
"What are you doing, love?" said Luke with a smile.
"Shut up. We're not a couple. Two single tickets," Wednesday said nonchalantly, retracting her elbow and pulling out money.
'It's hard for her expression to change,' Luke thought, pulling out his wallet to pay for the ticket.
The woman said nothing. She didn't have the energy for weird teenage nonsense. She took the money and gave them two tickets.
"We could have saved five bucks each," Luke complained as he walked into the venue next to Wednesday.
"For a famous writer, you're pretty cheap," Wednesday said, looking around the venue.
Inside the compound, wooden buildings with slanted roofs and weathered shingles are visible. The structures appear crudely and functionally built, with a design that reflects 17th-century architecture. In addition to people in normal dress, there were others dressed in period clothing bringing the town to life.
"I'm not cheap. If I can save I'd rather do it. It was just pretending for a few seconds. I doubt the pilgrim lady could have read your expression and realized we were a fake couple." said Luke, shaking his head. Wednesday remained silent.
"If the lady was suspicious, we could have held hands for a few seconds and saved ourselves ten dollars," Luke added with a slight smile.
"I'll give you ten dollars if you'll shut up and drop the subject," Wednesday said with a slight frown.
"Fine," Luke said, holding out his hand.
Wednesday looked at Luke's palm unable to believe how shameless this kid was. Sighing internally, she pulled out a tenner and placed it in Luke's hand.
"You sure are annoying when you want to be. Come on, let's stop wasting time," Wednesday said.
'She's still a human who can get pissed off,' Luke thought, pocketing the ten dollars and following Wednesday.
Thing, who was hiding on Wednesday's shoulder, couldn't believe everything that happened since he got in the cab. First Wednesday's question to Luke starting a casual conversation. Then Wednesday's approach, although this was so the normie wouldn't hear them. Now Wednesday giving him ten bucks instead of sending this guy to hell like she always does.
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