𝔸𝕥 𝕊𝕚𝕩𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕊𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕤

ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴄʀᴇᴀᴍ ⑤

"They sound like they're coming from the village down the road. But you can't tell anything beyond that. What do you do?"

Will hesitated, thinking. Mike was always a good dungeon master, but that day he seemed even more climactic. He made the situation feel like there were truly lives at stake.

"That trader did say there were rumors of a devil swine in the forest," Dustin pointed out.

Will shrugged. "I used all my spells against that wood golem..."

Lucas crossed his arms. "We need to rest first. We can't help anyone if we get killed ourselves."

"We can't just leave people who are in trouble," Will protested.

"I'm not saying we leave forever, but we need to be at full strength. Devil swine are bad news."

Dustin glanced at them both sheepishly. "I don't want innocent people to get eaten by devil swine... but I don't want us to get eaten either."

The boys usually took opposing sides during a game. Will chose for the selfless, heartfelt options; saving people or helping old ladies in side quests. Lucas chose the logical, reasonable options that were less dangerous but left other people at risk. And Dustin ping-ponged from either side, analyzing both. They most likely would've quit playing a while ago if it hadn't been for Mike.

"Figure it out, guys," Mike ordered, his voice reverting back to normal. He seemed annoyed at their indecisiveness...(Will hoped he wasn't annoyed at him). Mike glanced at Will; they made eye contact again. Will refused to think he was blushing. Nope.

"Just remember..."

༶•┈┈┈•༶

"... if you don't help them, who will?"

Will's memory was cut short by the sound of screaming once more.

"NANCY!"

It was perhaps the most terrifying sound he'd ever heard a person make; a sound of raw fear and pain. All of the nerves in Will's body screamed at him to run away from the danger, but pure instinct pushed him forward.

Next to him, Tyler looked around frantically, searching for the source of the screams. "What is that?" he asked, eyes wide like a deer in headlights.

Will had no idea. It sounded like a person, someone in trouble. Had they been kidnapped by the monster too? "I..."

The wail rang out again, crying out the name "NANCY!"

Tyler's body seemed to curl in on itself, then he suddenly bolted, dashing toward the source of the screaming.

"Tyler!" Will yelled, lunging into a sprint and hurrying after him. They charged across the street, slipping across the vine-covered roads and slimy sidewalks.

"This way!" Tyler called over his shoulder, dodging a metal trash can coated in slime strings and toward a large house that seemed familiar to Will; he realized they were running through Loch Nora, a wealthy neighborhood he'd ridden past on his bike a handful of times.

As they headed toward the back of the house, the screaming suddenly cut off, as if the person crying out for help had suddenly been silenced.

Tyler skidded to a stop on the mucky grass, Will nearly crashing into him at the abrupt change. He was breathing hard, chest moving up and down, like hauling heavy blocks of air through his lungs. Will was gasping for air as well, then a sudden tickle in his throat made him cough into his arm once again. Before, he would've dismissed it as allergies. Now, as he looked around at the particles floating around in the dark, opaque sky, he wondered if maybe it was more than that...