Ea nocte, qua expergiscuntur larvae

Wednesday had been sitting in Nightshade's library for five hours now, but she still couldn't find the book she needed. Today is the thirty-first of October - which means that if she doesn’t find what she’s looking for before sunset, something terrible will happen. What exactly, she herself did not know exactly - she had seen the Big Book of Ritual only once, and managed to remember about the ominous resurrection ritual performed on Halloween night, for which the hair of three living people is used. And a week ago, someone kidnapped three people dear to her at once - and left each without an impressive strand of hair. That day she was terribly worried, and could not find a place for herself, she raised the ears of all the police and Sheriff Jericho - but the kidnapped Xavier, Enid and Pugsley simultaneously woke up at midnight, in the forest not far from the school, and all three of them came to the dormitory, being completely unharmed . Except for the sloppily cut hair and a slight memory lapse. Of course, there was still hope that this was just a coincidence and someone’s ridiculous joke - but, to be honest, it was hard to believe. Perhaps she was worrying in vain, and the criminal who kidnapped her loved ones just wants to resurrect someone who is dear to him, and this ritual will not harm anyone in the world. But there was always a chance that Xavier, Enid and Pugsley would become victims of the ritual - it all depended on the subtleties that were described in that damned book that seemed to have fallen through the ground. With every hour in the library, Wednesday's excitement grew, rolling in waves, forcing her to use all her resources to find what she needed at any cost. Find and save her loved ones, no matter the cost. Some rustling was heard from behind - at first, being deeply immersed in her own thoughts, she shuddered, but quickly recognized the barely audible patter of fingers - this Thing entered the library, most likely fulfilling her instructions. “Thing!” She smiled slightly, hoping for a favorable outcome of his investigation. “Tell me what you learned!” “I entered the police station, as you asked,” her friend began tapping out messages. “I found case materials from a week ago. It seems that no one particularly wants to investigate the temporary disappearance of people. They are safe and sound.” “They don’t remember anything that happened to them!” Wednesday exclaimed indignantly. “What if they are already under some kind of spell!” “You know, normies don’t really like to conduct the affairs of outcasts,” the Thing tapped his fingers. “But I did discover something interesting!” “What?” Wednesday was bouncing slightly in her chair impatiently. “There, among the evidence, there is a weighty book called the Big Book of Ritual,” the Thing hastily explained, while Wednesday held her breath, waiting for answers to the questions tormenting her. “I leafed through it and found this ritual there. It looks like the criminal actually used the guys' hair to resurrect someone.” “Tell me everything that is written there, Thing! And as much detail as possible!” “To resurrect a deceased person, seven days before Halloween, it is necessary to collect the hair of the three most dear people of his killer, at least that’s how I understood it,” said the Thing. “Then, on Halloween night, a ritual is performed in which, in fact, this hair is used. Someone will cast spells all night, and at dawn the deceased will be resurrected, and the owners of this hair will take their last breath.” Everything went cold in my chest. Last breath? That is, her loved ones have less than a day to live? To her clumsy younger brother Pugsley... Enid, always sparkling with joy... And to such a dear one, who became the closest person to her, Xavier... No, not him! There must be some way out! Something she missed... We need to somehow stop the criminal and prevent this horror from happening! Probably, her face reflected the whole range of emotions that she was experiencing, because the Thing became quiet and carefully watched her. She was constrained by such an unpleasant, sticky fear - of losing the people dearest to her. Always cold with everyone, never getting attached to anyone - now, more than ever, she understood that there have long been people in the world who are truly dear to her. Most of all, she was afraid for Xavier - over the past year and a half, despite the former confidence that falling in love would never touch her, she had reached a level of spiritual intimacy with him that would have certainly frightened her before. And, although she had long ago realized that she was deeply mired in this quagmire called “love,” Xavier still did not know about it. She continued to assure him that all this was not serious for her, although in fact she was just frightened by the thought that in reality they could not be more serious. And why did some crazy person need to kidnap Xavier? Exactly her lover... Her best friend... And her brother... “Wait, did you say that you need the hair of the three closest people to the killer of the resurrected person?” Wednesday exclaimed, only now understanding the meaning of the words she had just heard. “That is, I killed the one who is going to be resurrected?” The Thing twisted his hand in a gesture of agreement, and then began to tap out his story again. “If we understand everything correctly, then you have a chance to resist this,” he began. “The same book says that a killer can, using a special counter-spell, save his loved ones and prevent the ritual from happening. Only I couldn’t read what exactly needed to be done or steal the book - the sheriff almost discovered me, so I had to urgently leave everything as it was and run away!” Wednesday's eyes lit up with hope and excitement. And although the fear for her loved ones was still quite strong, now at least it was clear what needed to be done - as soon as the working day of the police station ended, she would immediately get in there, find this book and interfere with the upcoming ritual. “Wednesday,” the Thing suddenly began with some doubt.“ I understand that you are going to go to the police station now... But Xavier... He was preparing for the upcom ing date... You haven’t forgotten, have you?”