"This is more of the same." Joyce sighed retuning with more drawings. She took some of her pile and handed them to Marley before giving the rest to Hopper. Hopper inspected each drawing.
"Its nothing its just scribbles."
"Wait." Joyce said stopping him as he looked through the pile, she pointed at a black line at the top of the paper. "These black lines." She grabbed a paper from the pile next to her and put it on top of Hopper paper, the lines seemed to connect with each other. "Look they connect." Joyce looked at the both of them, Hopper sat there examining the paper. "They connect." Joyce repeated.
"Holy mother of god they do." Marley mumbled.
Hopper stood up and pushed the coffee table back to the wall, Marley and Joyce spread out all the papers across the floor and they began sorting them as if they were a puzzle. Joyce went back and forth collecting more papers from Will, she ended up giving him some baking paper since they were running out of normal paper. Marley had to grab some tape from the kitchen to stick park of the puzzle onto the sofa so it could continue.
It took them all a while, but they managed to use each and every piece. The pile in Will's room was getting bigger but they had finished what they had so far. It lead all around the dining room and up a few tables and lamps, Marlow, Hopper and Joyce stared in amazement at the puzzle wondering what it was.
"Does this mean anything to you both?" Hopper questioned.
"No." Marlow and Joyce sighed.
"I mean is it some sort of maze or road?" Joyce suggested. "I mean its sort of forking and branching like... like lighting."
"You think its that storm?" Hopper asked referring to Will's drawing of the shadow monster.
"No the storm he drew was completely different." Joyce started.
"He used red." Marley finished.
"And this is all blue and some weird dirt colour. I mean maybe its roots. Cause remember he was saying it was spreading an-" Joyce started.
"Killing." Hopper finished, he seemed to know something they didn't. "He said the were killing." Hopper grabbed his hat and ran out of the house and drove off.
"Do you know what he meant?" Marley asked.
"No..." Joyce mumbled.
It had been a few hours and Hopper still didn't return. Marlow and Joyce continued putting the papers together, it leaded up the walls and around the rooms. Marley stuck the last paper from her pile on the wall with tape and stood back trying to put what it meant together.
"Sweetie you done in the kitchen?" Joyce called from the dining room.
Marley blinked a few times to get back in reality. "Yeah I'm done. Do you need any help?"
"Just maybe sticking some more up in here please." She replied.
Marley entered the dining room, Joyce was standing on her tippy toes on a chair holding up a piece of baking paper to the wall. "Can you just get some tape please?"
"Yeah sure." Marlow rushed over to the table and brought a chair over and stuck the paper up.
"Thanks Marley. Thanks for coming to help today." Joyce said getting down from the chair.
"No problem I like helping." Marlow replied.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
"Hello?!" Marley heard Mike's voice call. "Will?! Marlow?!"
"I'll just tell him its not the best time." Joyce said walking off to the door. Joyce opened the door slightly so Mike couldn't see inside the house.
"Hey Mike."
"Is Marley or Will here?" Mike questioned.
"You know what, now isn't really a good time." Joyce sighed.
"Are they okay?" Mike questioned. Joyce sighed, she closed the door and talked with Mike outside. After some time she walked back in with Mike behind her.
"Hey Marley i got worried when you didn't come in today, are you alright?" Mike asked walking over to her.
"Yeah I'm fine Mike." She responded.
"What is all this?" Mike questioned looking around.
"Why don't you two talk to Will?" Joyce suggested. "Hang on." She walked into Will's room and after a few seconds walked out to let Marley and Mike in.
Will had stopped drawing, the pile in his room had been moved to the living room by Joyce and she continued to put them together. Will sat looking at them on his bed, he had his pyjama shirt and pants on and was covered in sweat.
"Hey Will. Mike's here to see you." Marley said softly. "Are you hot?" She questioned.
Will nodded his head and Marley walked over and opened his window at the end of his bed and the one behind his desk.
"Hey Will how are you?" Mike asked.
"I'm okay." Will mumbled.
"Why weren't you at school today?" Mike questioned.
Will took a deep breath, then he started to tell Mike everything that had happened. Marley went in to the kitchen to grab a glass of water when she heard her walkie buzzing from he bag, she ran over to her bag and pulled the walkie out.
"Guys this is Dustin again, does anyone copy. This is a code red. I repeat this is a code red. I really need someone to pick up here. Hoppers MIA and I've got a code red."
"Dustin, it's Marley, what's happened."
"Marley listen-" As Dustin spoke Erica's voice came over the top
"Seriously could you please shut up."
"Erica, Erica is Lucas there? Where is he?"
"Don't know, don't care."
"Is he with mike?"
"Like I said I don't know, and I don't care."
"Please tell him it's super important, please tell him I have a code-
"Code red" Erica cut off
"Yep exactly!"
"Mmm-hmm" said Erica "I got a code For you instead it's called code shut your mouth." There was static over the walkie as Erica turned it off
"Erica!" Dustin yelled
"Dustin?" Asked Marley
"Just meet me at Mikes."
"Mikes here- Marley started but before she could finish Dustin shut of the walkie. Marlow picked up her bag and walked into the lounge where Joyce was.
"Joyce I have to go, Dustin needs help with something." Lied Marley
"Of course sweetie." Said Joyce "thanks for your help today." Marley smiled and walked in to Wills room.
"Dustin has a code red we have to go!" Exclaimed Marley.
Marley found herself riding down the road towards mikes by herself, Joyce hadn't let Will go, and Mike offers to stay with him. She soon pulled in to Mikes driveway and saw Dustin talking to Ted wheeler. She couldn't help but laugh as Ted had to ask Karen where mike was. Marley smiled as she walked up.
"Hi mr wheeler, hey Dustin ." She greeted with a smile as Dustin kept talking.
"Nancy, what about Nancy?" Asked Dustin
"Karen where's Nancy?" Called Ted "
"Ally's." Karen called
Ally's" said Ted turning back "our children don't live here anymore, you didn't know that?"
"Seriously." Mumbled Dustin
"Am I done here?" Asked Ted
"Son of a bitch your really know help at all, you know that?"
"Hey language." Called Ted as Marley grabbed a hold of Dustin's jumper and pulled him over to there bikes, just as Steve's car pulled up.
"Steve." Called Dusting dragging Marley over "are those for mr. Or mrs. Wheeler?"
"No" said Steve confused
"Good!" Said Dustin grabbing them
"Hey what the hell? hey!" Asked Steve
"Nancy isn't home." Said Dustin
"Where is she?" Asked Steve
"Doesn't matter." Said Dustin walking over to Steve's car "we have bigger problems than your love life."
"Do you still have that bat?" Asked Dustin opening the back door to Steve's car
"What bat?" Asked Steve confused
"The one with the nails in it"
"Why?" Asked Steve, Marley nodded as she still had know idea what was going on
"I'll explain on the way." Said Dustin climbing in the car "now!" He added Steve and Marley both nodded and ran round to the front of the car.
Night soon fell and they sat in silence listening to the radio when Steve turned to Dustin
"Wait a sec, how big?" He questioned
"First it was like that." Said Dustin holding his two fingers about 10 centimetres apart "then this big." He said holding his hands about 30 centimetres apart
"I swear to god, man, it's just some little lizard, ok."
"It's not a fucking lizard." Said Marley
"How do you know?" Asked Steve raising his voice slightly Marley sunk back in to her seat, Steve's yelling reminded her of her mum
"Sorry Marley-" Steve began as Dustin started speaking over the top of him
"How do I know it's not?" Asked Dustin
"How do you know it's not just a lizard?"
"Because his face opened up, and he ate my cat." Said Dustin Steve opened his mouth to say something but for the first time was lost for words. It didn't take long before they were at Dustin's.
Steve opens up the boot and pulled out the bat, before Dustin led them over to the basement.
Steve shone the torch over the look while Dustin and Marley stood to the side
"I don't here shit." Said Steve
"He's in there." Said Dustin, Steve glanced over at him before gently tapping the bat on the door, nothing happened, Steve lifted the bat again, this time bringing down harder so it made a bang.
"Alright listen, kid. I swear, if this is some sort of Halloween prank, your dead." Said Steve shining the torch in Dustin's eyes.
"It's not." Said Dustin, Steve looked over to Marlow and he could tell that she was worried and unsure.
"Alright." Agreed Steve
"It's not a prank." Dusting reassured "now get that out my face!"
"You got a key for this thing?" Asked Steve lowering the torch, Dustin nodded.
Steve threw the two doors open and sat on top of the stairs, dusting and Marley appeared and Dustin shown his torch down
"Let me see that." Said Steve grabbing the torch
"He must be further down." Said Dustin as they were unable to see him.
"I'll stay up here in case he try's to escape." Said Dustin
"Me too." Said Marley, Steve glanced at Dustin And shook his head letting out a sigh.
"Steve?" Called Dustin peering over the edge as Steve had been down the a while
"Steve, what's going on down there?" Asked Marley he shown the torch up marking them Both jump.
"Get down here." He said, Marley and Dustin both looked at each other and ran down the stairs. Steve held up his bat, on the end was something long sliming. Marley and Dustin instantly knew it was from dart.
"Oh shit." Mumbled Dustin as Steve shown the torch on a hole in the wall, they all bobbed down in front of the hole and peered into it.
"No way." Said Dustin "no way."