“He is the last pilgrim left. The bus doesn’t run anymore. He’ll most likely walk back. His death is imminent,” Luke whispered, and Wednesday nodded.
All indications were that this normie would die on his way home from the Hyde attack that had not killed anyone in a while.
Luke further expanded his domain and discovered the Hyde in the forest. He had already fought the monster once. He knew him if he saw him. His presence was different and similar to Tyler’s in human form.
‘I wonder if Marilyn injected him with the enhancing drug,’ Luke thought. If so, the Hyde would be more powerful.
“Are we going to let Hyde kill him?” asked Luke, and Wednesday looked at him with her usual blank expression.
“Now you feel sorry for him and want to save him?” asked Wednesday. If the answer were yes, she would be disappointed in Luke.
It never crossed her mind to save the normie. Rowan tried to save them since they were psychic classmates, but this normie was the typical bully that always bothered her and her little brother. She felt no pity, and besides, his death served to confirm some things for her, so it wouldn’t be in vain, though the normie doesn’t know that.
“Of course not, but if the Hyde maims him, it won’t be good for him to have another part for whatever it is he’s looking for,” Luke replied.
“You’re right. It won’t be good for him to take the mutilated part. Once he does, we will attack him. Our objective will be to get the mutilated part out of him,” Wednesday said, and Luke nodded.
“Although we’ll also be able to follow him and see where he goes. Maybe it will lead us to the person controlling it,” Wednesday added with a hand on her chin. She didn’t think she’d be able to get to the bottom of the mystery today.
‘That won’t be good,’ Luke thought. He planned to drag out Crackstone’s return as long as possible, so he could collect evidence more meticulously.
“How will we follow the Hyde? You saw his speed, agility, and his leaps if he wanted to run away,” Luke said.
“Isn’t it obvious? You fly. You flew Rowan the other time. We can do the same,” Wednesday said. Obviously, she wouldn’t ride on Luke’s back like Enid.
“If I want to carry someone with me at high speed, I can’t carry them like Rowan. You should get on my back,” Luke said without lying. To follow the Hyde without losing him, he would have to go at top speed.
If Wednesday got on his back, he could go at his top speed. However, if he had to carry her floating like him, he wouldn’t be able to go as fast. Since he would have to control the flight of two people at maximum speed, and it’s not that advanced yet.
Wednesday was silent in thought. She didn’t like physical contact with people, not even her parents. Going on Luke’s back and hugging him so as not to fall would be something she can’t tolerate. Although of all the people she knows, she feels Luke has the highest possibility for her to do that.
“Change of plans. We’ll just take the mutilated part out of him, so he won’t serve his purpose,” Wednesday said.
“Fine,” Luke said. In a normal situation, he would mock Wednesday by telling her that he doesn’t mind her hugging him, but he’d rather not. If she changes her mind, his plans will go down the drain. His help will make Wednesday solve the mystery super fast, and he doesn’t want that.
Finally, Jonah left Pilgrim World. It was already dark. Since it was winter, it was getting dark earlier than usual. The normie pulled out his cell phone and tried to call a cab, but he had no signal.
“Fucking shitty place,” Jonah muttered, putting his cell phone away and starting to walk along the roadside. He had a long walk ahead of him. The last bus had missed him, and he had no signal to hail a cab.
‘For a relaxing walk, I need my little friend,’ Jonah thought, pulling a cigarette and lighter out of his pocket. He lit it and began to smoke.
‘Is that cannabis?’ thought Luke.
“He knows there’s a killer in Jericho, and the idiot walks around at night on a deserted road getting high. He deserves what’s about to happen to him,” Wednesday commented.
“Don’t be mean. Maybe his stupid brain can’t think of so many things at once, and he forgot about the killer,” Luke commented with a slight smile.
“That’s true. I didn’t think of that possibility,” Wednesday said.
Luke and Wednesday followed Jonah a distance of about ten yards. Their footsteps were unheard thanks to Wednesday’s stealth ability.
Luke widened his domain and noticed the Hyde getting closer and closer to their location. There were no other presences nearby. That was a good sign, as Atlas, Sabrina, and the other three did not follow Tyler in his Hyde form.
This could have been because it was difficult follow him undetected or he was too fast for them.
‘I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the Hyde attacks on this day and in the vicinity of Pilgrim World,’ Luke thought.
Marilyn must have heard that Wednesday left Nevermore today since Professor Normie is his dorm housemaster. Wednesday must have told her where he was headed. So it’s quite a coincidence that the Hyde attacks today.
Marilyn, as a professor at Nevermore, must have easily learned that Luke also left Nevermore today. So this attack by Hyde could have been directed at him, but in the end, Jonah will die. A friend of Tyler’s, the person who will murder him.
Jonah walked calmly as he smoked his marijuana cigarettes. He had no sense of survival whatsoever. Alone on the deserted road beside a darkened forest and a killer on the loose in
town.
At that moment the crack of a branch was heard breaking the silence of the night. A sharp sound that made Jonah stop in his tracks. He turned toward the forest, trying to make out something in the shadows.
Luke and Wednesday also stopped and looked at the forest and Jonah. They knew the moment they had been waiting for had arrived.
‘May you rest in peace,’ Luke thought, looking sideways at Wednesday. He wanted to see the girl’s reaction to a murder happening in front of her very eyes. For him, it would be the first experience of something like this.
“Hello?” called Jonah. There was no answer, just the rustle of the wind through the leaves.
Jonah’s expression changed to one of caution and fear. It seemed to be in the last moments of his life that he realized the situation he was in.
The strange noises continued, a rustle here, a snap there as if something large was moving through the trees.
“Is that you guys? Lucas? Carter?” asked Jonah, stepping to the side and moving closer to the forest. With his friends, they always played these kinds of practical jokes.
“It’s not funny, come on out!” exclaimed Jonah angrily as he walked deeper into the forest.
Receiving no sign of his friends, he was about to turn around and head back to the safety of the road, but a deafening roar rented the air, chilling his blood. “GRAAARHH!” A monstrous figure emerged from the trees, its red eyes glowing with inhuman ferocity. It was a beast with grayish skin and claws sharp as knives.
Jonah tried to scream, but the sound caught in his throat as Hyde lunged at him with terrifying speed. The attack was swift and brutal.
The Hyde lunged at the boy, its claws tearing into flesh and its fangs sinking deep. Jonah fell to the ground, his body shaking with pain and terror. The Hyde continued to tear him apart from the ground without stopping.
Wednesday’s dark eyes didn’t blink once as the monster leaped at the normie and began to tear him apart. Luke next to her wore an equally unchanging expression. His blue eyes reflected the same indifference Wednesday felt. To Wednesday, this was nothing more than confirmation of the Hyde theory. As for Luke, he already knew about the theory, but he had no plans to save a normie he didn’t know.
Thing who was on Wednesday’s shoulder seemed to have more of a reaction than the two of
them.
‘It wasn’t Walker or Carter. It’s your other friend,’ Luke thought. He wondered how Tyler would feel when he returned to human form. He remembered all the people he’d killed. He was a real psychopath, as he enjoyed that, but now he killed one of his school friends. He might come to feel a little guilt, though Luke doubts it.
In a moment of curiosity, Wednesday looked away from Luke. It was rare for her to be curious about another person, but there was something about Luke that appealed to her, a coldness and sadism that mirrored her own.
She wanted to see how he reacted to this scene. To her interest, Luke didn’t look away or show
a flicker of compassion. His expression was indifferent like hers.
Luke noticed Wednesday’s gaze and turned his head slightly to meet her eyes. A spark of recognition passed between them. It was an unusual connection, but a connection
nonetheless.
They both looked forward again without saying a word. The Hyde had already finished his kill. Jonah’s torso was mangled, and his eyes were bloodshot and lifeless.
The Hyde roared triumphantly and then did what Wednesday and Luke expected. He slashed his claws across Jonah’s right arm. His demeanor was much more careful as he cut off the arm. “The theory is correct. He needs his victim’s limbs for a purpose,” Luke said. Wednesday nodded, “Yes, it is just as we suspected. It seems he has no use for using the same limbs as a victim. His murders have a purpose,”
Without a word, they both lunged toward the Hyde. Wednesday already materialized her dark
scythe. She made a slash, and a black blast went into the torso of the Hyde, who had not detected the presence of two people.
He was surprised. He trusted his sense of smell and had not noticed anyone. The slash of darkness made a gash in his torso. The Hyde grunted in pain and let go of the arm he was holding very carefully between his teeth.
The arm before it hit the ground flew towards Luke and floated close to him.
“We can’t give you this, sorry,” Luke said with a slight smile. The best way to see if Hyde increased his power was to fight him.
The Hyde restrained his urge to jump up and immediately attack the strangers who stole part
of his prey. He recognized them both. The two people who had almost murdered him the last time he went out to assassinate.
Their auras were scarier than last time for some reason. They were looking at him as if he were
their prey.
Luke bent his knees slightly and was about to throw himself at the monster without fear. However, the Hyde turned around and jumped more than ten meters, disappearing into the forest. With his domain, he watched as the Hyde fled at a very fast and agile pace.
“…” The place was strangely silent.
‘Afraid or unwilling to fight Wednesday?’ wondered Luke. Wednesday is supposed to be saved
for last. They must first collect the mutilated parts of several people for the ritual before they
need her blood.
“What do we do with the body? We can’t just leave it here. Maybe he’ll come back,” Luke commented, a little disappointed that he couldn’t fight.
“We can’t call the police either. We’re too suspicious,” Wednesday said, and they both fell
silent, thinking.
“I have an idea,” said Wednesday after a few seconds.
“What is it?” asked Luke.
“With your telekinesis, apply pressure to the body. Compressing it more and more until it is
unrecognizable. That way the Hyde, or rather the person controlling him, will have no use for it,” Wednesday replied without doubting what she said for a second.
“Oh, I hadn’t thought of using telekinesis for something like that. It’s a good idea,” Luke
said.
“All I’m saying is a good idea,” said Wednesday.
Luke sent Jonah’s arm toward his body. Then he felt the corpse with his telekinesis. He began
to apply pressure. Jonah’s body, including his arm, lifted off the ground. Bones began to creak and break under the immense invisible force. Flesh compressed and distorted, internal organs crushed into a grotesque jumble. The sound of bones breaking and flesh tearing filled the air. Wednesday watched curiously.
Jonah’s body was transformed into an unrecognizable mass. Flesh and bones became more
and more compressed, twisting and crushing into a grotesque circle of mangled flesh with no trace of its original form.
Wednesday, with a precise cut of her scythe, opened a hole in the ground. With several more blows, she made a deep hole so that no dog could smell the mass of meat.
Luke deposited the mass of meat in the hole and closed the hole with the previous soil.
Leveling the ground, leaving no trace of what had happened.
Luke and Wednesday were silent for a moment longer. Then, without a word, they turned and
walked away from the site. Their silhouettes faded into the darkness, leaving behind the murder scene and Jonah’s unrecognizable body.
As they walked back to Nevermore, Wednesday took one last look at Luke, feeling that strange attraction to him. She had found someone as dark and twisted as she was, and somewhere
deep in her mind, that connection sparked something she rarely indulged: curiosity.
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