chapter fifteen!
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IT HAD BEEN WEDNESDAY'S turn to be threatened and scolded by Weems, who had been informed of the girls' antics. To Kamden's surprise and appreciation, Wednesday had told the headmistress that Kamden had nothing to do with any of it, and to leave her out of the scolding.

Weems had instructed Wednesday not to leave the campus until further notice. But of course, she was quick to break the rules - and quick to invite Kamden along.

"You said you got us a ride for this little excursion?" Kamden reminded Wednesday of her earlier words. "Well, I'm glad because I am tired of walking everywhere, I swear, my entire foot is going to turn into one big blister."

Wednesday didn't respond, which was odd enough to make Kamden's playful attitude falter, but not too odd to make her question anything. The two of them approached the red sedan that sat just outside the gates to the school, under the guise of darkness.

Wednesday went around to the passenger side of the vehicle, climbing inside without so much as a word to Kamden. The read haired teen furrowed her brow, many questions filling her mind as she opened the door to the backseat.

She slid inside, coming face to face with an equally confused Tyler behind the wheel. Kamden froze, her face screwing up in disgust, "Wednesday, what is he doing here?"

"Why wouldn't I be here?" Tyler grew more confused, his gaze darting back to Wednesday, seeking answers. "I thought we were on a date."

"A date?" Kamden nearly choked. Anger filled her first, with a fury, but the burning was replaced with a sadness, and she couldn't help herself from slumping down in her seat.

"There's been a change of plans." Wednesday said.

"You lied to me." Kamden snapped.

"Both of us." Tyler corrected her.

"Just drive." Wednesday said, her voice dry.

Without another word, Tyler turned the keys in the ignition and the car slowly rolled down the road, away from the school.

It didn't take too long to arrive at the Gates mansion, but the drive over was a painful one. The tension in the air was so thick it was choking all of the passengers, not to mention the fact that Kamden was trying not to cry the whole time, feeling very caught off guard by Tyler's appearance.

The team of unlikely teens approached the decaying gate, their flashlights lighting up the rusted metal.

"Okay, this is not what I signed up for." Tyler spoke warily, concern sewn into his face as he took in his surroundings.

"Well, I did." Kamden glared at him. "If you're scared you can just sit in the car, the two of us can handle it."

"No, I'm definitely going." He shook his head, taking steps forward, towards Wednesday as she worked on unlocking the gate.

Kamden rolled her eyes, feeling frustrated. Finally, the lock fell apart with a clang, and Wednesday pushed the large gate open. She turned to face the others with a devious look on her face. "Let's go check out the garage."

The three of them crossed the threshold of the gate, padding across the dead grass in the lawn. They came up to the garage, which was enclosed by two wooden doors, held shut with a chain. Wednesday tugged on the chain for a moment, with no luck. Tyler offered to try, but he was equally as unsuccessful.

"Stand back." Kamden spoke up. "I have an idea."

Eyes darting between the two girls, Tyler crept away from the entrance, while Wednesday kept her gaze trained on Kamden.

Slowly, the redhead raised her hand, focusing her anger with how the night was going into her fingertips. Small flames began to flicker from her hands, and she stepped up to the doors. Holding her flaming hands up to the chain, she watched as the metal began to warp, and then melt down the doors.

"Holy shit." Tyler breathed, watching her with wide, impressed eyes. "That's so cool."

After a few more moments, the chain had melted and oozed away from the door handles enough that Kamden could pull them open, immune to the hot metal. With a tight smile, she turned to him and said, "I know."

Kamden was the first to step inside the garage, flipping the light switch in the way upwards, causing the red panel light in the ceiling to flicker to life. Wednesday and Tyler were right on her heels to step into the place, and the three of them split up, all sorting and looking through different areas of the storage space.

Approaching the vehicle in the corner that had a tarp laid over it, Kamden slowly moved to reveal was was underneath. To her shock and horror, right before her sat the same blue Cadillac that had hit the mayor.

"Holy shit, Wednesday." Kamden beckoned her over. "It's the car."

Wednesday's breath hitched, and her fingers trembled as she reached out to touch the shiny paint-job.

"Is that the car that hit the mayor?" Tyler gasped, finally catching on. "Okay, that's it. I'm calling my dad."

"If you do that, I will get expelled." Wednesday told him. "And Kamden probably will too. Everything is under control, we're just looking around."

Warily, Tyler stuffed his phone back into his pocket. Wednesday left the incriminating vehicle, approaching a door in the middle of the wall. It creaked loudly as she swung it open.

All three of them stepped inside, finding themselves in the middle of the old, worn down, mansion. Kamden felt chills run up and down her spine as she looked around at all the spiderwebs and shadowy corners.

They followed Wednesday into a large study, and her flashlight beam darted up to a large framed picture on the wall. Kamden stepped up behind her, looking over the painting, seeing that it was a family portrait.

"That Gates family." Kamden breathed, clinging onto every detail on the four, well-drawn figures. "Tyler's dad said they were all dead."

"He's right." Wednesday turned to face her, not at all phased by their closeness. "But there has to be a reason that Goody showed me this place. We have to keep looking."

The two girls filed out of the room, back into the hall, but Tyler lingered behind. "Uh, who's Goody?"

When he didn't get a response, he scrambled to catch up with them as they entered another room. Wednesday quickly went over to the floor-to-ceiling bookshelf, starting to skim over some of the book spines.

"This place is giving me the creeps." Tyler shuddered. "Guys, have we seen enough?"

"She's never seen enough." Kamden snapped at him. "Now be quiet."

Wednesday ignored their bickering, instead focusing on the stone pillars that decorated the ornate bookcase. She ran her painted fingertips over the family crest engraved on the top. Suddenly, the shelf began to creak, before the entire wall slid out of the way, revealing a hidden room.

Inside the dark space was a framed painting of Joseph Crackstone, which was almost as large as the whole back wall. There was a mantle beneath him, with dozens of candles sitting atop, some of the wax dripping down, showing that they'd been burned before.

Wednesday approached the hunks of wax, pinching the wicks. She inhaled sharply, facing the others with wide eyes. "They're still warm."

Kamden swallowed hard, feeling real fear start to seize her now.

"Tyler, you check the rest of the ground floor." Wednesday commanded. "Kamden and I will search upstairs."

She started to briskly walk out of the room, with Kamden on her heels, the both of then ignoring Tyler's pleas as he begged them, "Hey, you can't just leave me here alone! Guys? Guys!"

The girls crept up the creaking stairs, stepping into the equally dim, equally cob-webby upstairs. "Okay," Wednesday turned to Kamden. "I go left, you go right."

"I'm feeling a bit uneasy with the idea of splitting up in here." Kamden said, shifting on her feet.

"You didn't say anything when we left Tyler." Wednesday raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, " Kamden waved the sentiment away. "But, I'm talking about us. I think we should stick together."

Wednesday's dark eyes darted up and down, taking in Kamden's entire figure. Finally, she sighed heavily and said, "Fine. Follow me."

The two made their way down the hallway, shining their flashlights into every room, finding nothing but messy bedspreads and cluttered floors.

That is, until they stumbled upon a room that was neat, with the bed made and walls nicely decorated. They entered, separating to investigate different sides of the room. Wednesday approached the dresser, which was furtherest from the door, while Kamden stepped over to the vase full of roses at the bedside, feeling a chill run through her when she realized that they were freshly cut.

"Laurel Gates." Wednesday's soft tone cut through the eerie silence, grabbing Kamden's attention.

The ginger girl approached the brunette, bending down to get on her level as she shone her light at a delicate music box. The initials LG were engraved in gold in the wooden box, and the tiny ballerina inside looked like it might start spinning any second.

"You don't think...?" Kamden voice trailed off, but Wednesday caught onto what she was saying.

Her pigtails swayed as she shook her head, "It's impossible." She said. "She died twenty five years ago, drowned overseas."

"That sounds like a convenient cover-up to me." Kamden said, her voice coming out as a whisper from the fear coursing through her.

Wednesday parted her lips to reply, but was cut off by a loud clanging coming from downstairs. Kamden felt her heart nearly stop, and the two girls slowly faced the noise.

"Let's go." Wednesday rose to her feet and started to walk towards the door.

"Straight for the scary noise." Kamden shivered. "Got it."

The two girls stepped out into the hallway once again, hurrying for the stairwell. Just as they were about to descend, Tyler cried out from below, "Guys! It's here!"

Loud slashing noises followed his warning, accompanied by his screams of pain and a low growling noise.

"Shit, it's the monster." Kamden gasped, starting to panic as the shadow of the beast danced on the wall.

Wednesday grabbed her wrist. "The dumbwaiter." She said, pointing to the cutout in the wall.

The stairs began to creak under the weight of the approaching beast, each step landing with a heavy squelch.

Kamden threw herself inside the tiny dumbwaiter, scooting back as far as she possibly could, desperately grabbed at Wednesday to pull her inside to safety.

Wednesday yanked the door closed just in time, and the monster reached the second floor, growling and heaving loudly as it searched for more prey.

Clasping her hand over her mouth, Kamden willed herself to keep her whimpering down. Fear pulsated through her veins, and she could barely hear the monster's roars over her own racing heartbeat.

Sparks flew from the metal door as claw marks ripped through it. Kamden couldn't help but to scream as the monster pressed it's bulging, bloodshot eyes against the openings that it had just made. It snarled as it stared at the frightened girls.

Suddenly, the dumbwaiter jerked downwards, and Kamden noticed the pully system's rope was started to wear thin. "Wednesday, the rope!"

The words had barely left her mouth when the fraying rope ripped in two, and the girls were sent plummeting to the ground. The dumbwaiter landed against the bottom of the shaft roughly, sending both of them flying out into the unfamiliar basement.

Kamden tucked her knees under herself as she tried to sit up, clutching at her aching back, coughing from the dust that was conjured up from the landing.

Wednesday got to her feet first, rushing over to turn on the light in the middle of the room. Kamden struggled to her feet, stumbling over to the pigtailed girl's side, gasping when she laid eyes on the scene before them.

A metal table sat in the center of the space, adorned with a white sheet and a butcher's knife - both of them covered in dried blood. The horrors continued with the contents of the shelves that were pressed against the back wall. Gallon jars were spread out, all of them filled to the brim with a murky liquid, and all of them had a different body part floating inside. One had a finger, one had an ear, one even had a whole foot.

Silence ruled over the two girls as they stared in horror, but the quiet was short lived, soon being interrupted by rough banging against the roof. The shaking in the ceiling, alerted the girls to large chains that were hung up above. They looked like they were meant to hold something. Something big, something violent.

Suddenly, the basement door was kicked open, and the wood splintered into pieces. Kamden sprinted over to the back wall, climbing onto one of the shelves to reach the small vent window. "Wednesday, this way!"

She shoved it open, pulling herself through it and out into open air. She collapsed onto her side, exhausted from fear. Her peace only lasted a moment though, because she quickly realized that Wednesday hadn't followed her.

Scrambling back over to the window, she yanked it open, sticking her head back down into the basement. "What the hell are you doing?" She screamed upon seeing Wednesday looking through the contents of the jars. Meanwhile, the Hyde thundered down the stairs, headed straight for the raven-haired girl.

"These are the missing body parts from the monster's victims!" Wednesday yelled back, still not budging.

"No shit!" Kamden shrieked. "Now get the hell out of there!"

At her words, Wednesday sprinted towards the window. Kamden stuck her arms out, letting Wednesday use her as leverage to escape. The Hyde roared as it ran for its target, but Kamden gave Wednesday a particularly strong yank, pulling her out of harms way just in time.

The two girls stumbled away from the window, both of them breathing heavy from the scuffle.

"Are you okay?" Wednesday asked, still holding onto Kamden's arms.

The more her fear wore off, the angrier Kamden became. "Yeah, whatever." She muttered.

Wednesday took a step closer. "What's wrong, I -"

"What's wrong?" Kamden scoffed. "What's wrong? What's wrong is that you lied to me. Again. You brought me here under false pretenses, and we literally almost died!"

"We didn't." Wednesday blinked, taken aback by this outburst of emotion.

"But we almost did!" Kamden snapped. "How much more do you think you can put me through? Do you even care if you put me in danger?"

"What was all that about how you admired my bravery and wanted to help me." Wednesday crossed her arms, now ready to return Kamden's snappy attitude.

The fiery haired girl pointed an accusatory finger at her. "Stop deflecting! God, just take responsibility for all the shit that you put everyone around you through. I wanted to help you, yes, that's true, but you don't get to treat me like I'm just some sidekick who helps you on your missions. I am my own person, and I have feelings and a life!"

"Kamden, I -" Wednesday was interrupted by a wounded cry coming from the front of the mansion. Her angry eyes faded into recognition and fear. "Tyler."

As Wednesday began to sprint towards the entrance, Kamden yelled after her, "Oh, yeah, that's great. Go take care of your boyfriend! Leave me behind like you always do!"

Wednesday ignored her, and as soon as she rounded the corner, Kamden let her shoulders slump down and her guard collapse. She swiped at her damp eyes, embarrassed to even be crying. Slowly, she started to make her way to the front of the property as well.

She made her way to the arched entryway, finding Wednesday bent over an injured Tyler. Blood dripped from three large claw marks engraved into his chest, and his shirt was shredded from the attack.

Kamden sucked in a breath, speaking with concern before she could think who she was talking to, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Tyler nodded, wincing slightly. "I'm fine, I just need to - "

In a blur, another figure joined them in the entryway. Kamden stopped her fists from flying out when she saw that it was Xavier.

Everyone grew confused at his arrival, and Wednesday asked, "Where did you even come from?"

He didn't reply to this, he just pulled the scarf that was flung over his neck off, holding it out to Tyler. "Take this."

Wednesday took the scarf, using it to wipe away some of the blood while Tyler gasped in pain. Xavier furrowed his brow, "What happened to him?"

Exchanging a wary glance, Kamden, Wednesday and Tyler clamped their mouths shut, withholding the truth from Xavier, who was riding on the coattails of a suspiciously timed arrival.

•••

hello everybody!

LONG AWAITED UPDATE!! thank you so much for reading! i hope you enjoyed!

i wrote this a while back, and i don't really know why it took so long for me to publish it. i got a little busy and it just slipped my mind 😔

please vote, comment, and follow me if you'd like, to be notified when i update!

~ catie