"𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥! 𝐈 just found him like this!" Mike says to the group desperately as we all circle around the trembling boy, "I think he's having another episode!"
"Will. Will. Will!" Joyce grabs her son's shoulders shaking lightly, "Sweetie, wake up! It's mom!" Her eyes don't leave Will while the rest of us glance at each other nervously.
"Will, wake up! Can you hear me?" Joyce cries, placing her hand on Will's face, "Will, please, just wake up. Please, wake up!!"
"It's mom! It's me!"
Will's eyes suddenly flash open with a sharp gasp. The rest of us let out sighs of relief, reassured about the well-being of our friend.
The group of us make our way back into Hawkins Middle School, the boys and Max collect their belongings before we head back outside, to go home. Joyce carefully leads Will to their car, her hand on his back, as the rest of us watch with concern.
"Okay, that totally freaked me out." Max breaks our silence, "Did that not freak you guys out?" She asks, turning towards us.
"Two episodes in two days." Lucas states, crossing his arms and ignoring Max.
"It's getting worse." Mike concludes without breaking his gaze from Will and Joyce.
"You think it's True Sight?" Lucas asks the party.
"What's True Sight?" Max asks, confused.
The rest of us glance at each other silently debating whether we should tell the new girl or not. Since it's not my place, I don't say anything.
"It's nothing." Lucas responds casually.
We all watch as the car engine starts and Joyce's green car pulls out of the parking lot. We remain motionless, our gazes following the vehicle in which our friend is in.
|☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆|
The next day, I'm running laps around the gym once again. The tension between Steve and Billy is palpable, quickly becoming evident while they engage in a heated basketball game.
"Alright, alright, alright!" Billy laughs, "King Steve. King Steve, everyone." He gestures towards the boy whose hair doesn't seem to want to stay in one place.
"I like it. Playing tough today." Bill comments, before noticing me watching.
"Jesus! Do you ever stop talking? Come on!" Steve responds, following Billy's gaze to me.
Billy grins mischievously in my direction and sends a suggestive wink before returning his gaze to Steve. My chest buzzes as Steve shoots dangers at Billy, making me wonder if Steve is just being protective or if it's something else.
"What?" Billy laughs again, "You afraid coach is gonna bench you now that I'm here? Huh?" He taunts playfully, only making Steve angrier.
"Or maybe, you're afraid I'm gonna steal your girl?" Billy adds with a smirk, gesturing in my direction.
Steve turns to me, his gentle brown eyes meeting mine for a moment, before Billy's forceful charge knocks him to the ground. Steve lets out a grunt as Billy proceeds to sink a basket. I notice Steve holding his side, a painful expression on his face.
I wince at the whole situation before running over to Steve.
"Hey."
"Hi." Steve grunts out, painfully.
"You okay?" I reach out my hand, and Steve's grasps my own before I bring him back to his feet.
"Never better." Steve gives me a lopsided smile.
Then, the moment suddenly becomes awkward. We both seem to have remembered that we haven't talked to each other since that night. My gaze shifts uncomfortably to the floor, and Steve's gaze remains fixed on me. He looks at me as if he wants to say something, but he can't find the right words. The tension in the air is palpable and my heart races as the silence drags on, the unease of that night still lingering.
"Uh, I—" I start, breaking the silence.
"Why are you avoiding me?" Steve asks finally, cutting me off.
My head quickly whips up at him, my eyes widening with surprise at his question.
"What?"
"You heard me." Steve says, nervously running a hand through his sweaty hair, "Is it because of the last time we spoke?" He asks again.
"I'm not... I'm not avoiding you." I say hesitantly, picking at my fingernails, "Besides, it doesn't matter anymore." I finish and Steve's eyes flash with hurt.
"(Y/n)... You know I love you, I just—"
"Steve... Don't." I whisper, backing away slightly, "Don't do that."
"Do what?" He asks, gently grabbing my arm, trying to keep me from walking away from him, from this, from us.
"You know what." I say, tearing my arm away from his gasp.
"(Y/n)—"
"I'm meeting up with Nancy and Jonathan." I cut him off abruptly, "I'll see you later." I add, before pivoting and walking towards the girls locker room.
"(Y/n)! Come on, we need to talk about it!" Steve shouts at me from across the gym, causing the basketball team to glance at him funny.
A few tears, slip from my eyes, before get myself together and wipe my cheeks with a steady hand.
After a quick shower, I swiftly pack up my bag and take a deep breath before I walk out the door.
|☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆|
Jonathan, Nancy, and I put our scheme into motion, as we patiently wait on a bench at the local park we instructed Barb's mother to meet us at. Even though, our actual plan didn't even require her here.
A cool but pleasant breeze blows all around us, and my gaze falls on Jonathan whose knee bobs up and down rapidly, betraying his anxious state. I pick at my cuticles and bite my nails in response to the anxiety within me. My hearts beats faster and faster with anticipation. This better work. It has to work.
With my eyes fixed upon the children playing, I notice their playful and carefree spirits, the sheer happiness they exude. As I remember those days from my youth, I can't help but smile softly, the warmth of the memories causing my heart to swell with affection.
"It's 15 past." Nancy comments, glancing at the both of us after checking her watch.
"Yeah, I know." Jonathan replies, rubbing his thighs nervously, "Just give him time." He adds, trying to reassure us, before I spot a suspicious looking man.
"That guy." I nod in the man holding a newspaper's direction, who seems to be talking into an earpiece, or a device on his shoulder, "There."
"What?" Jonathan asks confused, not catching on.
"He just... talked to himself." Nancy says, noticing the same thing as me.
The man glances up at us and we not-so-casually look away, attempting to look at random things around us.
My senses suddenly heighten, causing me to be highly observant, and I notice everything about me. The cheerful activity of the children becomes more menacing to my ears, and I start to feel everyone's eyes on us, sensing their stares. This fills me with apprehension and makes me squirm in my seat, uncomfortably. When I notice Nancy and Jonathan also whipping their heads around frantically, my worries further intensify. Finally, I spot a man with a briefcase and I feel a shiver down my spine.
"I think we should go." Nancy says abruptly, reading my mind.
Standing up, we quickly make our way back to Jonathan's car. The people we kept an eye on earlier follow closer behind us. Though, they try to be subtle, attempting to not give themselves away, but considering all that the three of us have been though, it's hard not to notice.
With my grip tight around my jacket, Nancy, Jonathan, and I finally reach his car. We manage to get inside without incident, yet the car doesn't seem to want to start. The "bad men" are nearing with increasing urgency, causing a flash of fear to rush though me. I frantically urge Jonathan to get the car started as my chest tightens.
Then, there's a sudden knock on Nancy's window.
"Trouble with your car, miss?" The man that had been reading the newspaper asks with a grin, "I can give you three a lift if you like."
The three of us glance at each other with worried expressions as the rest of the suspicious people slowly approach the car.
I few more knocks on the window catch our attention again.
"You sure you don't need that ride?" The man asks with the same shit-eating grin.
|☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆|
"Hey! Hey assholes!" Nancy shouts, right at the security camera located inside the room we're currently locked in at Hawkins Lab, "Let us out of here!"
The door suddenly opens revealing a man in a white lab coat. Jonathan and I abruptly stand up our defensive positions ready.
"Oh," The man says curiously, "It's not very pleasant in here, is it?" He asks, causing me to let out a scoff.
"Sorry about that," He shrugs, glancing at my annoyed expression, "Hospitality is not our strong suit." The man continues, waving his hands in the air.
"You know, scientists and all." He says and none of us say a word, "Yeah. Okay." The man, Doctor Owens, says lifting up his sleeve to check his watch.
"You up for a little walk?" He asks, gesturing his hand out the door before walking through it.
Nancy, Jonathan, and I all glance at each other with suspicion, before Dr. Owens speaks again.
"I'm assuming you're behind me."
The three of us quickly follow him through the lab.
"Men of science have made abundant mistakes of every kind. George Sarton said that." Owens says as we walk behind him, "Do you guys know who George Sarton is? Doesn't really matter." He rants on.
"The point is, mistakes have been made. Yes." He finally finishes, before Nancy speaks.
"Mistakes?" Nancy asks, inferring that there was more than just "mistakes" going on here at Hawkins Lab.
"Yes." The man responds casually.
"You killed Barbra." Nancy replies angrily as she clutches her satchel tightly.
"Abundant mistakes, but, the men involved with those mistakes, the ones responsible for what happened to your brother and Miss Holland's death. They're gone." Dr Owens explains as we walk though some lab spaces, causing interest to peak inside me, "They're gone and for better for worse I'm the schmuck they brought in to make things better."
I notice the yellow-tinted rooms filled with scientists experimenting as we pass by.
"But I can't make things better without your help." Owens points towards us.
"You mean without us shutting up?" Nancy rolls her eyes and clenching her jaw tightly
"She's tough, this one." Dr. Owens says, glancing back at us, "You guys been together long?" He asks Jonathan casually and I smile slightly.
"We're not together." Jonathan replies hesitantly, and my grin widens a little.
"Wanna see what really killed your friend?" Dr. Owens moves on quickly, leading us into a giant metal door, "Teddy, I brought you an audience today. I hope you don't mind." He says to one of the workers in the room.
"The more the merrier, sir." The man, Teddy, replies.
Nancy, Jonathan, and I approach the gate that El opened last year, as Dr. Owens gestures towards it.
"It'd call it one hell of a mistake." Dr. Owens says casually, "Wouldn't you?" He asks as we stare though the window.
My mouth drops open as I stare at the gate, remembering when I'd gone though the tree. It looked exactly like that. Slimy, scary, not to be messed with. Yet here we are.
"See the thing is, we can't seem to erase our mistake... but we can stop it from spreading." Dr. Owens explains, "It's like, it's like pulling weeds." He uses his hands to make a pulling motion.
"But imagine for a moment if a foreign state, lets say the Soviets... If they heard about our mistake... do you think they would even consider that a mistake?" Dr. Owens continues, gesturing to the gate.
"What if they try to replicate that?" He ponders, making Jonathan and I glance at each other with worry.
I glance back at Teddy, who is dressed in protective hazmat gear as he exits a large metal door past the protection of the glass in front of us.
"The more attention we bring to ourselves, the more... the more people like Hollands know the truth." Nancy turns towards the scientist at the mention of Barb's family, "The more likely that scenario becomes."
"You see why I have to stop the truth from spreading, too." Dr. Owens says, "Just, same as those weeds there." He points towards the weeds Teddy is approaching.
"By whatever means necessary."
Flames emit on the other side of the glass causing the weeds to screech in pain and slowly slither away from the fire.
"So, we understand each other now, don't we?"
|☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆|
Jonathan drops me off at my house and after a long and traumatizing day all I really want to do is sleep. Unfortunately, as soon as I walk through the door, Dustin is sitting on the living room couch with a troubled expression.
"Dustin, what happened?" I ask, equally as worried from his expression.
"Uh."
"Dustin." I send him a warning look, placing my hands on my hips, "What did you do?"
"Just follow me." My brother replies shortly and I sigh before following him to his room.
Dustin leads me towards his turtle tank and I notice it's covered with an appalling slimy and somewhat green substance. I turn to my sibling, about to comment about the revolting sight before me, but a thundering screech emits from behind Dustin's chair.
With curiosity and concern taking over me, my pointed gaze turns towards Dustin and he responds with a guilty look of embarrassment. We proceed to cautiously move towards the chair, and as we inch closer, I notice a disturbing trail of blood along the floor, it's deep color pronounced on Dustin's carpet.
I peel over the chair and gasp as I'm meet with a stomach-churning sight. A loathsome creature, it's appearance too horrid to describe, yet it's oddly familiar. It's devouring something and with a closer look I'm even more horrified. The beast's victim is Mews, the source of blood coating the carpet.
"Dustin!!!"
|☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆|
Author's Note
I hope you enjoyed! Thank you for all your support! I can't believe this story has 1k reads!