Ethan got Enid settled down and slipped out of the tent.
Wednesday and Selene were already outside waiting, which meant they'd heard enough to know something had happened and neither of them had felt like pretending they were asleep.
"Okay," Ethan said, looking at Selene first. "Whatever attacked those cadets might come back. I need you to stay with Enid and keep an eye on her."
Selene gave a small nod.
"And try to get some rest if you can," he added. "I have a feeling this night is only going to get worse."
Then he looked at Wednesday.
"And I don't suppose there's any version of this where you stay in the tent."
Wednesday looked at him without blinking.
That answered the question.
The answer was no. It had always been no. Asking had simply been a formality.
Selene looked between the two of them, decided she wanted no involvement in whatever this was becoming, and quietly stepped back into the tent.
"Wednesday."
The voice came from behind them.
Morticia stepped out of the darkness and into the faint camp light, elegant as ever, hands folded neatly together.
"How about some mother-daughter time?" she asked warmly.
Wednesday went completely still.
Ethan looked at Morticia. Then at Wednesday. Then back at Morticia, who had apparently chosen the middle of a murder-filled night in the woods as the ideal moment for emotional bonding.
He genuinely had no idea how to process this family.
"I can think of few things more exhausting," Wednesday said flatly.
Morticia smiled faintly, clearly interpreting that as progress. "And yet you continue to survive them, darling."
"I survive infections as well. That does not make me eager to repeat the experience."
Morticia placed a hand lightly against her chest. "You wound me."
"That was the intention."
Ethan quietly took a step back. This felt less like a conversation and more like watching two highly intelligent predators circle each other with passive aggression.
"If you don't mind me asking, where are you going at this hour?" Morticia asked, her tone smooth and curious.
"Given that I very much mind," Wednesday replied evenly, "I fail to see how that question concerns you, mother."
Morticia's smile didn't fade. If anything, it softened slightly, like she found Wednesday's hostility reassuring.
"You know," she said, stepping a little closer, "when I was your age, I used to disappear into the woods at night as well. Usually for séances. Occasionally grave robbing."
"I'm relieved to know recklessness is hereditary," Wednesday replied.
"Wednesday," Morticia said patiently, "there are ten missing cadets, strange noises in the forest, and you're leaving camp in the middle of the night with Ethan. A mother is naturally going to ask questions."
"A normal mother, perhaps."
Morticia placed a hand lightly against her chest. "You say the sweetest things."
Morticia's gaze shifted toward him. "And you, Ethan. Are you at least going to pretend to be a responsible influence?"
"No," Ethan answered immediately.
Morticia nodded once. "Good. Dishonesty ruins relationships."
"As your mother and one of this camp's chaperones, it is my responsibility to know where you're going. So if you insist on wandering into the woods at this hour, I'll be accompanying you," Morticia said smoothly.
Wednesday's expression flattened further, which Ethan was starting to realize meant she was deeply irritated.
"You wouldn't object, would you, Ethan?" Morticia asked pleasantly.
"Oh, I don't mind," Ethan replied.
That earned him a very sharp look from Wednesday.
"You've aligned yourself with the enemy remarkably quickly," Wednesday said coldly, already turning away.
"Family outings are important, darling," Morticia replied as if this were a perfectly normal midnight activity.
"They rank slightly below public executions on my list of enjoyable experiences."
Wednesday picked up her torch from beside the tent entrance and switched it on, the beam cutting through the darkness ahead. Without another word, she started toward the woods, Thing climbing onto her shoulder as naturally as if he belonged there.
Ethan followed after her, hands in his pockets.
Morticia walked beside him with effortless calm, entirely unbothered by the cold air, the darkness, or the fact they were walking into the forest where people had recently died.
The woods swallowed them quickly, torchlight flickering across the trees as branches shifted overhead in the night wind. Wednesday walked ahead without hesitation, moving like she already knew where she was going.
Morticia watched her for a moment, something almost fond in her expression.
"She gets that from me," she said softly.
"She also threatens people more," Ethan replied.
Morticia smiled faintly. "That comes from Gomez."
Wednesday's torch paused over something in the leaves.
She crouched immediately.
An organ lay on the forest floor, dark with blood, half-covered by dirt and crushed foliage.
Morticia stepped beside her and looked down at it with composed interest. "Oh. A pancreas, I believe."
"Partially eaten," Wednesday observed, studying the torn edges. "The attacker either lacked precision or enthusiasm for proper dissection."
Morticia tilted her head slightly. "Messy feeding habits are always disappointing. Gomez once spent an entire winter teaching Pugsley the importance of clean organ removal."
"An unfortunately neglected skill in modern education."
Ethan crouched beside the remains and touched the blood lightly with his fingers. The moment contact settled, the image forced itself into his mind—darkness, a monster.
Tyler.
Ethan's expression hardened slightly as the vision faded.
"Did you find something?" Wednesday asked, watching him closely.
"Yeah," Ethan replied as he stood back up. "It seems Tyler's out of his cell."
***
A/N: And on Patreon, The Boys arc started.
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