The next morning I wake up tired, with no sleep from the night. I couldn't sleep with the uneasy feeling I had. The same one I had when Will was missing. I get dressed in jeans and a red long sleeve shirt. I let my long hair flow down my back. I'm brushing my teeth when I hear my walkie.
"Lily? Lily, do you copy?" I hear Dustin say. I spit out my toothpaste and pick up my walkie.
"I copy, over," I say.
"Great, meet me at the library, ASAP. over."
"Dustin why? Over."
"I have something to show you. Please just meet me, over and out." I sigh and grab my backpack and jump on my bike, racing to the library.
I get there and see Dustin waiting outside for me.
"Took you long enough," he sighs. He grabs my hand and pulls me inside.
"This better be good, Henderson," I say.
"Oh trust me, it is," he says. He begins looking over all the book selves and occasionally will grab a book and hand it to me.
"There," he says handing me the last book. We head to the check-out lady and I set the books on her desk. She looks at Dustin and then looks at the books.
"Mr. Henderson, you know the rules. Five at a time," she says sternly.
"Yep, one two three four, and five," he says counting the books.
"Ten, you already have five books checked out," she says.
"What about Lily?" he asks her.
"Also ten," she says. "Two of those are overdue." I avoid eye contact with her.
"My mistake," Dustin says. "However, we are on a curiosity voyage and I need my paddles to travel. These books are my paddles."
"Five, at, a, time," she says again. Dustin sighs and then looks at the wall pointing to it.
"Are you shitting me?" I say.
"Excuse me?"
"What the hell is -," he says. The librarian turns around and Dustin grabs the book and races out of the library, me on his heels.
"Mr. Henderson!" she yells.
"We need our paddles!" he yells as we leave the building. We step outside and sit on the steps. He starts looking through the books.
"What the hell, Dustin?" I say.
"Last night, I found this in my trash can," he says pulling the ghost trap out of his backpack. He opens it and I look inside to find a gross creature squealing inside.
"Ew! What is that?" I ask as he closes that.
"My question exactly," he says handing me a book. We sit in front of the library and tear through the books. "Dart doesn't like the heat and light by the way and he doesn't need water."
"Dustin, I can't find anything," I say.
"Me neither," he says. We keep looking.
"Holy shit Lily, we discovered a new species. He hands me a book and starts explaining.
"No way," I say.
"Wow," he says looking at Dart.
"Shit Dustin, we're gonna be late for science," I say looking at my watch. We pack up the books and bike to the school.
We park our bikes and run full speed into the school, already 15 minutes late for class. Dustin and I burst into the dark class while Mr. Clark is teaching.
"We are so sorry Mr. Clark," I say panting.
"So sorry sir, please continue with the class, please," Dustin says sitting down.
"Don't mind us," I say. Me and Dustin turn to the boys.
"AV room, after lunch," I say.
"You are never gonna believe what we found," Dustin says. He turns around to Max.
"AV club, lunch," he whispers. I give her a thumbs up.
"Dustin? Lily?" Mr. Clark says. We turn around.
"Yes my lord?" Dustin says.
"Would you two care to join the class now?" he asks us sternly.
"Yes, what page sir?" I ask pulling out my book.
"Page 104," he says.
"104," me and Dustin say in unison flipping to the page.
"The case of Phineas Gage."
"Phineas Gage got it," I say turning to page 104.
"Focus."
"Focusing," Dustin repeats.
"Totally focussing," I say looking at him. Mr. Clark continues teaching and me and Dustin smile at each other with excitement.
~ ~
The bell rings signaling lunch. I rush to the AV room to find that only Dustin is there. We wait until the others show up. He places the ghost trap on the table and opens it. We all look inside to see the strange creature,
"His name is D'Artagnan," Dustin says. He picks Dart up and holds him. "Cute, right?"
"No, not really," I say.
"D'Artagnan?" Mike says.
"Dart for short," Dustin clarifies.
"And he was in your trash?" Max asks.
"Forging for food," Dustin says looking at her. "You want to hold him?"
"No, no," she says shaking her head.
"He doesn't bite," Dustin says passing the creature to her.
"Oh God he's slimy," she says passing it to Lucas.
"Ugh, he's like a living booger," Lucas groans passing it across the table to Will.
"Oh, God," he says passing it to Mike. He holds Dart up to his face to get a better look.
"What is he?" Mike asks us.
"Our question exactly," me and Dustin say. I grab Dart and put him in the middle of some coiled cords. "At first I thought it was some type of Pollywog -," Dustin says.
"Pollywog?" asks Max.
"It's another word for tadpole," I say. She nods in understanding. "Most tadpoles are aquatic, right?"
"Well, Dart, he isn't. He doesn't need water," Dustin explains.
"Yeah but aren't their nonaquatic tadpoles," Lucas asks.
"Terrestrial pollywogs? Yep, two to be exact," I say as Dustin flips through the pages we marked.
"Indirana semipalmate," Dustin says.
"And the Adenomera andreae," I say as Dustin finds those two pages.
"One's from India and one's from South America. So how did one end up in my trash?"
"Maybe some scientist brought him here and he escaped?" Max suggests.
"Do you guys see that?" Mike asks. We look at Dart. "Looks like something is moving inside of him." We look closer and Mike moves the lamp over Dart. Dart screeches and we all gasp. He jumps over the cords and Dustin catches him.
"It's okay, it's okay. It got you, little guy. I know you don't like that. It's okay," Dustin says petting Dart.
"Here's the other thing, Replies, they're cold-blooded. Ectothermic, right? They love heat, the sun. Dart hates it, it hurts him," I say.
"So if he's not a pollywog or a reptile .. " Lucas says.
"Then I've discovered a new species," Dustin says while petting Dart. The bell rings and we all jump up. Dustin puts Dart into the trap and we leave the AV room.
"We got to show him to Mr. Clark," Lucas says.
"No, what if he steals my discovery?"
"He's not gonna steal your discovery," Lucas sighs.
"You know, I'm thinking of calling fo calling it Dustonious lilywogus," Dustin says to me.
"Perfect," I say giggling.
"What do you think?" Dustin asks Max.
"I think you're an idiot," she says.
"You know, when I become rich and famous one day, don't come crawling back saying, Oh my god, Dustin, I'm so sorry for being mean to you back in 8th grade, oh my god," Dustin says in a high pitched voice. We laugh and head back to our classes.
School ends and kids run out of the school. I see Mike and Will by their lockers.
"You guys coming? We're gonna go show Mr. Clark," I say. Will looks at me and Mike, fear written across his face.
'What?" Mike asks him.
"It's about D'Artagnan," he says.
"What's wrong with Dart?" I ask.
"After I came back from the upside-down, I threw up some slug thing that was still in my system, and on Halloween night, I heard Dart," Will says.
"Where did you hear Dart?" I ask him. He looks at me and Mike.
"In the upside-down," he whispers. I look at Mike and Will, fear on all of our faces.
"Dammit, Dustin!" I yell. I start sprinting down the hallway to Mr. Clark's classroom, Mike and Will right behind me. I throw the door open and run inside to see the closed trap on the desk.
"Stop!" I yell. I grab the trap. "I'm really sorry Mr. Clark. It was just a stupid prank."
"What the hell are you doing?" Dustin asks.
"I told him to stop I'm so so sorry. We need to go right now," I say looking at everyone.
"Lily!" Dustin exclaims.
"Right now!" I scream rushing out of the room with the trap. The boys follow me into the AV room.
"Party members only," Mike says shutting the door in Max's face. I feel bad, but Max can wait.
"Dart is from the upside-down," Mike says.
"What? Lucas says.
"What do you mean what?" Mike says.
"I don't understand," Lucas says. Max bangs on the door.
"Will saw something that looked like Dart last year," I say.
"He had no tail," Will says. "But then I heard him yesterday, it was the same sound."
"Why didn't you tell us before?" Dustin asks Will.
"I wasn't sure," he says.
"So a coincidence?" Dustin says.
"Or not," I say. "What if when Will was stuck in the Upside down, he somehow acquired True sight."
"True sight?"
"It gives you the power to see into the ethereal plane," Dustin says.
"Elaborate," Lucas groans.
"Maybe these episodes Will keeps having aren't flashbacks at all. Maybe they're real. Maybe Will can somehow see into the upside-down," Mike explains.
"So that would mean -," Lucas says.
"Dart is from the upside-down," I say. Dustin sighs and shakes his head.
"We have to take him to Hopper," Lucas says.
"I agree."
"No, no way. If we take him to Hopper he's as good as dead," Dustin says.
"Maybe he should be dead," Mike says irritated.
"How could you say that?"
"How could you not? He's from the Upside down," Mike says.
"Maybe but that doesn't automatically mean he's bad," Dustin argues.
"That's like saying just because someone is from the Death Star it doesn't make them bad," Mike says.
"We have a bond."
"A bond? Just because he likes nougat?" Mike yells.
"No, because he trusts me!" Dustin yells.
"He trusts you?" Lucas asks.
"Yes, I promised I would take care of him," he says as a loud screeching noise comes from the trap. We all step back a little watching it shake. I can hear Max bang on the door but I ignore it. It continues to shake and it flips itself on the side. Mike picks up the microphone for the heathkit.
"Don't hurt him," Dustin says to Mike.
"Only if he attacks."
"Just open it already," Lucas says. I start to walk forward to grab the remote but Dustin puts his hands in front of me and stops me. He grabs it and holds it out. He flips the switch and a much bigger version of Dart falls out of the trap.
"Holy Shit," I say. We watch as Dart screeches and walks on the table. Something starts to move inside of him and we watch in horror as two legs sprout out of dart leaving a dark red liquid on the table.
"OH SHIT!" Me and Lucas yell backing up. Dart looks at us and lets out a familiar screech. Mike goes to hit Dart with the microphone but Dustin stops him. Dart jumps off the table and we watch as he heads for the door. The door swings open to reveal a confused and pissed-off Max. She looks at Dart coming towards her and backs up.
"What the -," she says as he leaves the room.
"Oh shit," Dustin says running forward to catch him. I follow but Dustin ends up falling into Max and Lucas onto me.
"Where did he go?" Mike asks looking down the hallway.
"What was that?" Max asks standing up.
"That was Dart," I grunt as I shove Lucas off of me.
"What?"
"You let him escape," Mike yells at Max.
"Why did you attack him?" Dustin yells at Mike, shoving him.
"Come on," Mike says pushing Dustin away. I follow Mike down the hallway as we look for Dart.
"Don't you hurt him! Don't you hurt him!" Dustin yells after us. I take out my walkie and me and Mike search for Dart.
"East is clear. No sign of Dart," I say into the walkie. We head up some stairs.
"Where'd you go you, little bastard?" Mike mumbles looking around.
"West is clear too. Will?" I hear Dustin say in the walkie.
"South is clear. Lucas?" Will responds. "Anything?"
"Nothing," Lucas says.
Me and Mike walk into the dark auditorium and we look around. We turn when we see and hear the back door swinging open and closed. Mike looks at me and holds out his hand. I take it and he leads me over to the door. We walk into the dark and quiet locker room. Mike looks over and grabs a broomstick. I roll my eyes a little at him. We slowly walk deeper into the room. We hear some objects clatter and he nods at me. We jump around the corner to see Max.
"What the hell are you doing?" She asks us.
"What the hell are you doing?" Mike asks back. "Why are you in here?"
"I'm looking for dart," she says.
"This is the boy's room," he says.
"Lily's in here," Max points out.
"That's different," he says. "You should go home." He throws down the broomstick and storms out of the locker room. I roll my eyes and scoff as he leaves.
"Come on," I say to Max, and me and her follow Mike out.
"Why do you hate me so much?" Max asks him.
"I don't hate you. How can I hate you? I don't even know you."
"But you don't want me in your party."
"Correct."
"Why not?"
"Because you're annoying. And we don't need another party member. I'm our paladin, Wills our Cleric, Dustin's our Bard, Lucas is our Ranger, Lilys our Warlord, and El's our Mage."
"El? Who's El?"
"Someone. No one," Mike says.
"Someone or no one?"
"She was in our party a long time ago, but she moved away," Mike says. I can tell he's trying not to think of El.
"She was a Mage?" Max asks as she hops on her skateboard and chases Mike. "What could she do like magic tricks or something? I could be your Zoomer."
"That's not even a real thing."
"It could be." Max hops on her skateboard and skates around me and Mike. "See? Zoomer."
"Mind-blowing," Mike says sarcastically.
"Come on you know you're impressed," she says.
"I am," I say. Mike rolls his eyes.
"I don't see any tricks, you're just going around in a circle," Mike points out.
"If it's so easy, you try," I say.
"No."
"Why not?" Max asks still skating.
"I don't know how."
"So then you admit it's kinda impressive," Max giggles.
"I think if I spent all day practicing then I could do it."
"I would give you a million bucks if you could," I say.
"Okay, you're making me dizzy. Please just stop."
"I'll stop when I can join your Party."
"Come on just stop," Mike sighs kinda smiling.
"It's a simple question, am I in or out?" Max asks.
"In," I say putting my hand up like a vote. Mike and me watch her waiting for him to answer. All of a sudden, Max falls flat on her back and the skateboard flies out from under her.
"Max are you okay?" I ask helping her up.
"Jesus are you alright?"
"Yeah, yeah I think so," she says standing up.
"What happened?" I ask her.
"I don't know. It felt like a magnet pulling on my board. I know that sounds crazy," she says going to pick up her board. Me and Mike look at each other, thinking the same thing. We look at the door and rush over to it. We throw it open and look down the hallway. We look at each other.
"I thought -," I say.
"Yeah, me too," he says sadly. He pulls me into a hug as we think of El. We sigh and pull apart and I grab my walkie from the auditorium.
"Guys," Will says on the Walkie. Me and Mike put it up to our ears to listen. "I found him."
"Where?" Dustin chimes in.
"In the bathroom. By Mr. Salerno's." Will says.
"Copy that," I say. Me and Mike start sprinting down the hallways to the bathrooms. We rush in along with Lucas and Max.
"Where's Dart?" Mike asks out of breath.
"I don't know. Not here," Dustin says.
"What?" Mike asks starting to look in all the stalls.
"He said by Salerno's, right?" Max asks.
"Yeah, maybe Will has him," Dustin shrugs.
"Where is Will?" I ask. We look at each other and I notice Will's walkie on the ground. I pick it up and look at Mike.