To Heal All Wounds

Two Years After the War

"God Lucas, write something down for a change," Max scolded.

"Dad and Joyce seemed on edge," El offered. "But not as on edge as this."

"They might be better at hiding it?"

"Maybe, but Mike... dad wouldn't hide anything from me."

"And Mom wouldn't hide something from me," Will agreed. "They either think it's normal anxiety or they weren't really feeling anything out of the ordinary and we were just projecting."

"We did forget a test though," Mike interjected, holding up his notebook and pointing to a circled date. "Chemistry 1. So I wasn't wrong."

"No, you were," Dustin sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "you said we were forgetting two tests."

Mike went back to his notebook and flipped again before announcing, "not a test, but our Lit 2 projects are due today, too."

"Dude..."

"I wasn't wrong, though, Dustin."

"No, you're just an asshole."

The statement earned Dustin a Mike Wheeler eye roll, but he ignored it.

"It's probably nothing, right?" Lucas' confidence did not reach his voice, but all Dustin could do was shrug and nod. It was all any of them could do. It probably was nothing. Just... general teenage anxiety, right? Hesitantly, they all agreed to that, but none of them left the stage convinced. Because if nothing was actually wrong, then why did Dustin still feel like there was something hanging over Hawkins, like a blade ready to fall?

And fall it did.

Stacey Lanham was called to the office first with her things. That was in Dustin's first-period Geometry. Later that day Lucas would add that Alex Granger left at the same time. After that, a student an hour or so was called from multiple classes to leave with their things. By lunch the rumors were flying.

"People are showing back up," Max hissed as she slid into her seat with her own food.

"Showing back up," Mike repeated in question around a mouth full of his sandwich.

"Yeah like... from the dead."

Dustin didn't react at first. No one did. But when Max didn't crack a smile, only glanced around the table for some kind of answer to her announcement, he cussed and ran his hands back through his hair.

"That's what I thought," she answered him, "but they're not like from zombie movies. People are saying that they don't look like they died."

"What like... random people?"

Max shrugged at Lucas.

"It's too early to know for sure. The rumors flying though is that if they vanished in the last six or so years, they're back."

It took a moment, but slowly everyone realized what that meant.

"There are some exceptions, it sounds like, though. The people Vecna killed." Max paused to let the boys catch up before she went on. "Margery Quenton, remember her? The first person Vecna publically killed? She's fine. She showed back up at her mom's house totally normal, and without any clue how she got back to Hawkins."

"Wait, where did you hear this?" Lucas tried to hide the hope in his own voice, but failed.

"Sophie Wallace, who is second cousins with Landon Mills."

Lucas made some gesture for Max to go on, and she did, but not before rolling her eyes.

"Landon Mills' aunt is Margery Quenton's cousin by marriage."