brontide ; stranger things

TWENTY-ONE

Selcouth (adj.)

unfamiliar, rare, strange, and yet marvelous

-Collie's Word of the Day #5

•••

AN hour later, the others lead Collie and Eleven into a small room within the warehouse where photographs and newspaper clippings were taped on the wall. They were of random men and women, some in lab coats or at parties or with friends.

"These are the bad men, as you call them," said Kali as she gazed up at the pictures. "The ones we believe are still alive. Do you know any of them?"

Collie took in the X marks slashed over some faces, immediately understanding what they meant. Those people were dead.

"Him," Eleven said after a moment. She stepped forward and grabbed a news clipping from the wall of a chubby man. Looking over her shoulder, Collie recognized him as the man who helped torture Eleven's mother. "He hurt Mama."

Kali tilted her head to the side. "His name is Ray Caroll. And he did more than hurt your mother. The bad men like Ray, they know about us. It's made them hard to track. But maybe not anymore."

Soon, everyone sat and watched as Eleven attempted to find Caroll, a bandana covering her eyes. Collie decided to sit out, still feeling drained from earlier.

  Eleven snarled after a moment and ripped the news clipping in half, dropping the pieces at her sides. She pulled off the bandana and looked to Kali and Collie, giving them a nod. She'd found him.

Dottie retrieved a phone book and flicked through the pages, popping her gum lazily. "Gramercy Apartments. Washington and Bethel. That's gotta be it, right?"

Kali grabbed the book from her and stared at it thoughtfully. "Lilburn. Where is that?"

"About an hour east," said Funshine. Mick rolled her eyes and retorted,

"We don't even have a new ride!"

"So we switch plates," Kali said, leaning forward. Collie could tell she was getting excited. "We have plates, right?"

Axel nodded his head. "Yeah. It's risky, though."

"Where's the fun if there's no risk?" asked Kali with a devious smirk. "We want to give my sisters a memorable first day, right?"

Collie giggled as Kali thew an arm around her neck, pulling her in for a side hug. She was beginning to like these people more and more.

One by one, the others all voiced their agreement, throwing around grins and laughs. Now it was time to get to work.

At once, everyone stood and began to prepare. Kali grabbed Collie and Eleven by the shoulders, smiling as she took them back upstairs.

Never in Collie's life did she ever think she would look like she did half an hour later. Kali and Dottie equipped her with a black leather jacket and combat boots, her old band T-shirt and sneakers discarded.

Heavy black eyeliner winged her menacing gaze, her lips were painted a dark purple, and her hair was tied back in a scruffy braid. Gloves were tugged onto her hands and chokers were tied around her neck, all the color of darkness.