𝐅𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐌𝐄, mike wheeler

004

THE BODY

WIND RUSTLES THE piles of leaves around the lake they found the body of Will at the night before. Melanie's messy braided hair flows as strands fly out. Melanie stares at the lake, sitting quietly as she looks.

"Melanie, do you copy?" Mike's voice interrupts the silence as he tries to get through to her through her supercomms.

Melanie doesn't even pick it up, she just turns to look at it. 

"I'm not gonna stop until you answer. Melanie." Mike repeats Melanie's name until she finally responds, "Go away, Mike. I'm not in the mood, alright? Over and out."

"No, not 'out'." Mike demands, "I'm not messing around, okay? This is about Will."

"What about Will? Do you mean about his funeral? Over." Melanie questions, looking down at her feet. The thought of attending a funeral for her friend hurts her more than anything has before.

"Not his funeral, screw his funeral!" Mike yells.

"What?" Melanie calls out, annoyed that he would say that about his friend.

"Just get over here stat. Please. Over and out."

Melanie lowers the antenna, grabbing her bag and her bike, but she doesn't ride. She just walks with it in her hands, wondering what's so important that Mike needs her there.

At Mike's house, he tells the group how he heard Will on the supercomm last night, and that Eleven found him on it. The party is interested in this, so they go to find out what he meant.

The group sits around Eleven as she plays with the supercomm, trying to find Will.

"We keep losing signal, but you heard it, right?" Mike asks.

"Yeah, I heard a baby." Lucas replies.

"What?"

"Mike, you obviously tapped into a baby monitor. It's probably the Blackburns' next door."

"Did that sound like a baby to you? That was Will!"

"Mike..."

"You don't understand, he spoke last night! Word! He was singing that weird song he loves. Even El heard him!"

"Oh, well, if the weirdo heard him then..."

"Are you sure you're on the right channel?" Dustin cuts in.

"I don't think it's about that." Mike tells him, "I think, somehow, she's channeling him."

"Like professor X."

"Are you actually believing this crap?" Lucas asks, annoyed, "Did you guys not see what I saw? They pulled Will's body out of the water. He's dead!"

Melanie's breath hitches again, standing up and walking to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

Melanie can't hear what's going on outside, as she turned the tap on to splash water on her face.

Mike knocks on the door, and tells Melanie the plan on how they're going to make Eleven look normal, then take her to the Heathkit at school so she can channel Will.

Melanie helps Eleven with her makeup, while the boys find a wig and dress for Eleven.

They wait in the hallway for El, when she walks out in a pink dress and blonde wig.

"Wow, you look-" Dustin starts, before Melanie cuts him off.

"Pretty."

El walks to the mirror and looks at herself before she whispers.