The Body

MOSES WAS PRETTY SURE HIS PARENTS HAD BEEN SHOUTING AT HIM FOR THE LAST HALF HOUR. He could hear it vaguely over his blaring music. At first it as about how he was supposed to be at school. Now it was about how he was ignoring them and how disrespectful that was. It was stupid. There was no way they actually thought that their guilt tripping was going to have an effect. If anything, it made Moses more certain that he wouldn't be coming out for a long time.

He didn't give a shit about them. He didn't give a shit about school, either. Because apparently, neither his parents nor the people at school gave a shit about Clem.

As soon as Moses heard about Will Byers, he knew his sister was in danger. Their disappearance was connected. That much was certain. Whatever happened to Will was likely to happen to Clem was well. Yet apparently Moses and Bonnie were the only people who thought that way. Everyone else was distracted by the idea that Will had just tripped into the water. Just wandered his way to a very obvious ledge that everyone in the town knew existed and then...what? Stubbed his toe on a rock and nose dived? He was twelve, not two.

But, sure, no need to worry about the other missing people. There was nothing suspicious about what happened to Will and did not imply things about what might happen to them.

If Clem ended up also tripping into the quarry, Moses was going to throttle someone.

Why did he even expect his parents to care? Moses scoffed. Despite doing their best impression of people who had positive motives behind fostering children, it was obvious to everyone who bothered to look that it was faked. They probably only thought about it based on how much sympathy it would get them.

Finally, they gave up. Or perhaps he'd finally gone deaf like his parents always threatened. Moses didn't really care. At least he didn't have to listen to that bullshit.

That was when the static started. Moses scowled and fiddled with the knobs on his radio. Just his luck, things would screw up right when he wasn't in the mood to deal with them. The thought had barely crossed his mind when he'd touched the radio - and instantly jerked his hand a way. A spark had leapt instantly at the contact. Moses stepped back, cradling his hand.

The lights went nuts. The lights around his room began to flash. Moses turned, trying to follow its movement. The static grew. Soon a voice seemed to break through it. Barely a whisper, barely audible, but recognizable enough that Moses risked the pain moving closer to the radio.

Instead of music, a soft voice asked, "Is anyone there? Please."

"Clem?" Moses muttered.

"Come on, come on, this thing has to work!" Clem sounded close to tears. Moses could hear growling and scraping in the background. "Please, please work. Someone has to be there."

What the hell, what the hell, what the hell? Moses began to panic. Was he going insane? Was this some sort of sadistic hallucination? The worst part was that he couldn't talk about. If Clem, by some strange twist of fate, had intercepted his radio transmission, what could he do? It played music. It just played music.

The lights flashed faster. A scream cut through the static, as clear as if it had been right next to him. A guttural growl followed it. It sounded like his room was being ripped apart. Suddenly, the light shattered. Glass rained from the ceiling. Moses cried out, squeezed his eyes shut, and threw his hands over his head, trying to shield himself. It did little to help.

With that, everything stopped. The radio was simply static. Smoke seeped from its seams, surely from a fire inside. Moses slowly risked opening his eyes. Aside from the glass on the ground, everything seemed...normal.

A knock on his door.

"Tim?" His mother asked. "Are you okay?"

Moses just stared at the door. What the hell happened?

°。°。°。°。°。°。

IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD DAY TO SMOTHER HIMSELF. Of course, Floris couldn't actually do that, so he'd spent most of the morning laid face first in his pillow. Home was the last place he wanted to be at the moment. Unfortunately, so was school. Especially when none of his friends where going. In fact, they weren't even talking to him. Floris had tried to call them over the radio a thousand times. Or something close to it. Yet no response. Why wouldn't they response?

Will was dead. The thought hit without warning. Floris swallowed back a sob. Will was dead. Gone. He would never come back. They would never play D&D together. He wouldn't make a drawing again - a strangely crushing thought. Will had loved his art. For as long as the group had been friends, he had been their artist. Floris was pretty sure he was the only person who'd ever been good at drawing with crayons. And what would happen with Will the Wise? Will had made a whole costume for their campaigns. It had taken him almost as long as it had taken him to build Castle Byers, and it was just as important to him.

Once again, Floris considered trying to call his friends again. One of them had to pick up. Then they could talk, and he didn't have to think about all the things about Will that he missed. But he didn't. What if they thought he was weird? Or worse, got mad at him. He'd only just started to connect with him again, he couldn't risk them pushing him out again. No. Floris would be strong.

That lasted until his radio crackled to life.

"Benny? Benny, do you copy? Over," Mike said.

Floris hurried to grab his radio.

"I'm here!" Floris shouted. at once he realized his mistake, lowering his voice as he continued, "I've been trying to contact you guys forever."

"I know, I know, but I couldn't talk until my mom left. You need to get over here -"

"No shit!"

" - it's about El and Eve."

Floris groaned. The last people he wanted to talk about - let alone to - were El and Eve. They lied. Or mislead them, or whatever, who cared. The point was they had said Will was alive. That they could find him alive and he could be saved. Instead they'd walked them around in a circle and distracted them while he died. What if they hadn't been distracted with them? What if they had been able to find him in time to save him? Instead they were taking care of some weirdos. Admittedly they were cool weirdo, but that wasn't the point! The point was that Floris wasn't going to be forgiving them any time soon.

"Seriously? What now?" Floris complained.

"They were able to find Will," Mike insisted.

"Find Will?" Floris muttered. He rolled over so he was sitting on his bed. He could feel his eyes starting to burn. "I thought they already did that. You know, when they lied to us? Over."

"They didn't lie," Mike said. "Dan thinks they saw him at his house, and then he left, and they didn't know it. Over."

"Sure. Did they see a unicorn, too?"

"Benny!"

"What?" Floris grumbled. "No offense, but Lucas is right. You are way too obsessed with those guys. We only kept them around for Will, remember? Shouldn't they be, like, gone?"

"But they - Whatever. Just come to my basement, and we'll show you," Mike said. "And say over when you're done talking. Over and out."

"I don't -"

But Mike's voice had been replaced by static, and he wasn't answering no matter how hard Floris tried. Seriously? Who did Mike think he was? He wasn't just going to run over to Mike's house at his beck and call.

He was going to ride his bike over. Obviously.

°。°。°。°。°。°。

"IT'S INSANE."

Bonnie stared blankly. Insane was a complete understatement. Moses had called her only a few minutes before she was about to go to school and insisted that she had to come over. Right now. Of course Bonnie did - why wouldn't she? - and then she found this. Moses had swept up the glass from his floor, but the broken lights where still above their head, and he still had the fried radio waiting for her.

And, of course, there was Moses's story. That his radio started playing his sister's voice, that she'd been attacked, and then it blew up his lights and radio. There was little reasonable excuse. If it was an hallucination, that could only explain the voice. How could Moses light his radio on fire? Shatter his lights from the inside?

"Maybe it was a power surge?" Bonnie suggested.

It was a strangely specific power surge, though. Limited to one room. Plus, could a power surge interrupt a radio signal?

"We should tell my dad," Bonnie said.

"What?" Moses stared at her. "No way! He'll probably think we're making shit up."

"You have to admit it sounds insane, but he'll at least listen to us."

Bonnie was certain of that. Dad definitely wouldn't believe them. He'd think of a hundred reasons that it wasn't strange at all. She wanted that. Bonnie only realized it when she thought of it, but she wanted that. Some reason that this wasn't strange, that it wasn't a horrible sign for Clem's situation. It would be a comfort.

But it wouldn't help Clem. She swallowed nervously.

"We should talk to Nancy," Bonnie decided.

"Nancy Wheeler?" Moses scoffed. "Why would Nancy Wheeler help us?"

"First of all, because she my friend," Bonnie raised an eyebrow for emphasis. "And second of all, Barb's missing, too, and she's the only one looking for her. Nancy'd be a great help."

Moses frowned and glared at his shoes. Bonnie sighed. She could sympathize with his dislike of bullies like Steve and his friends. Especially after what they had said about him when he wasn't around. But Nancy wasn't like them, and it wasn't fair to blame her and Nancy for their actions. You couldn't define all outcasts like Moses because one or two of them were creeps - just like you couldn't say that popular kids were only popular because they were attractive assholes.

"What about Jonathan? Will's missing, and he was missing first -" Moses protested.

"No way! Not after what he did to Nancy," Bonnie interrupted.

Moses blinked at her. Right. Bonnie could have slapped herself. Of course he didn't know, he probably hadn't even have time to talk to Jonathan. Assuming Jonathan would even tell him the truth in the first place.

"He took pictures of her through a window at one of Steve's parties. While she was changing. And developed the photos, and was going to keep them, " Bonnie explained. Then, because she knew exactly what he'd assume, she added, "It's not just some rumor Steve's spreading or whatever, I saw the pictures. They were super creepy."

Bonnie could see cogs turning in Moses's head. She doubted he wanted to believe that. No one ever wanted to believe their friend would do that kind of thing, especially when they were their only friend and it was the kind of thing made up to bully them. Yet...he didn't instantly accuse her of lying.

"Fine, whatever, there's a phone in the living room you can use," Moses mumbled. "But she's not going to help. Just saying."

Except, turns out, Nancy definitely wanted to help.

°。°。°。°。°。°。

EVE RESISTED THE URGE TO FIDGET. Everyone was staring at them. At El specifically. He didn't know what she'd done. One moment they were allowed in the Wheelers' basement solely off of Dan arguing in their favor and good will. The next Mike was no longer angry with them. In fact, he was fully in agreement that they were innocent and once again the key to finding Will. The last thing Eve wanted was to be the center of their attention again. They were already walking a dangerous line. Once this had seemed like a safe place, but now the opposite was clear.

Yet El wanted to say.

We have to help, El had insisted before they fell asleep. Our fault.

Their fault. They had opened the gate. They had released the monster. Eve knew that meant everything to El. A little part of him felt the same. Yet he'd learned a long time ago to crush that part deep, deep into his heart. They couldn't afford to be self sacrificial. The only thing putting others ahead of themselves had done was get them used and abused. They had to protect themselves first, because no one else would.

Yet there El was. Fiddling with a radio, trying to produce the same noise they had heard the night before. Then it had been a faint song. So come on and let me know. Should I stay or I should I go? Now it was just whimpering. The others sat, cross legged, in a circle around them. They leaned in to listen.

"We keep losing the signal, but you heard it, right?" Mike asked.

"Yeah," Lucas said. "I heard a baby."

Eve glanced across at the boy. Subconsciously, he ran his fingers along the collar of the coat he wore. It was Lucas's. He still hadn't asked for it back - in fact, he'd snapped at Eve for trying to hand it to him. Yet none of the kindness remained from the night before.

Of all the boys, Lucas was the hardest to understand. Dan was consistent - always positive, always trying to find a reason El and Eve were good. They were annoying, but never seemed to betray them. Mike was similar. He'd only snapped at them when he thought they lied about Will (it was the lab, Eve thought. It had to be.) Dustin and Floris were simple. Do things they liked and they wouldn't be mad. They weren't cruel, nor did they seek out reasons to be harsh to the two. They just didn't look for reasons to be nice, either.

Then there was Lucas. One moment he'd insult them (Eve knew his words were insults, even if he didn't know what they meant. He knew that tone) and the next he would give Eve his coat. He'd laugh at a joke Eve didn't even realize was one, then he'd dismiss him seconds later. He didn't understand. It was like walking on egg shell. Like in the lab, where the rules were arbitrary, made up based on what got the scientists the results they wanted. He wanted to like Lucas, but he couldn't. It wasn't safe.

"You obviously tapped into a baby monitor. It's probably the Blackburns' next door," Lucas said.

"Not Blackburns," Eve snapped.

Whoever they were. Eve knew he should have spoken up, but what would they do? Kick them out?

"Uh, did that sound like a baby to you? That was Will!" Mike snapped.

"Yes! It sounds like a baby," Floris said. "Why are we listening to a baby?"

"Okay, so maybe it sounds a little like a baby," Dan admitted. Eve didn't like that. They and Mike were their only defenses at the moment. "But people sound like babies when they whimper. It's a thing. And it definitely sounded like Will last night. He sang."

"It was that weird song he loves," Mike agreed.

"Should I Stay of Should I Go?" Floris suggested.

"Yeah!"

"First of all, it's not weird -"

"El and Eve and Dan heard him," Mike continued, ignoring Floris's protests entirely.

Eve's eyes widened. His first thought was that he hadn't agreed to this. Don't bring him into this. Then he remembered that he'd defended El just moments before, and that he couldn't throw her under the bus. Even if Mike just did. Turning back to Lucas, Eve braced himself for another insult. Another interrogation he didn't know how to answer.

Four of them tried to speak at once.

"Oh, well if the weirdos heard him, then I guess -"

"Not weirdos!"

"If this is a joke, then you guys are total douchebags."

"Are you sure you're on the right channel?" Dustin asked, his voice winning out over the others.

"It's not about the channel," Dan insisted. "It's their superpowers. They're channeling him."

That was true. Somewhat. El and Eve had learned a long time ago that their powers were immensely strong when used in tandem. Both of them were able to view people in their voids, and to some extent channel them. However, Eve was better at connecting at the person's end, while El at theirs. Eve could find them, but struggled to transmit information back. Meanwhile El was the opposite - once she found someone, she could broad cast it through almost any device. But together...together they could make a strong connection.

Strong enough to connect worlds. Eve shuttered at the memory.

"Like...like Professor X," Dustin said.

"Holy shit," Floris said. He seemed to have forgotten his annoyance entirely in the face of a new discovery. "Holy shit! Seriously?"

"Are you actually believing this crap?" Lucas asked, looking between the two.

"I don't know, I mean..." Dustin hesitated, before saying, "Do you remember when Will fell off his bike and broke his finger?"

At once the memory came to all of them, as clear as day. Eve winced slightly as it invaded his conscious. It was the same boy as the image - pale, light brown hair and dark brown eyes - huddled on the ground. The others ran to his side. One hand clutched to his chest, he blinked back his tears and whimpered softly as he tried to tell them he was alright.

"He sounded a lot like that."

"Did you guys not see what I saw?" Lucas snapped.

"Yeah! Will's body! But they have superpowers, Lucas, and you don't think it could be...I dunno, fake? Is that really just so unrealistic to you," Floris replied. The boy swiped his hand across his face. It was almost quick enough to hide the tears that had started in his eyes. "It's like you want him to be dead or something -"

"Of course I don't!" Lucas looked like he'd been slapped.

"Really? Because you seem super insistent about!"

"Guys, stop it!" Dan interrupted. The two glared at each other before turning to look at them. "We heard Will. I know it. Mike knows it. El and Eve know it, and you know it, too. He needs us, and we'll never help him if we don't work together as a team. That's why we're a party."

The group fell silent for a moment. No one quite wanted to look at each other. Eve certainly didn't. El scooted closer to him, leaning against his shoulder. Eve felt himself relax in response. He hadn't even realized he was tense.

"Maybe it's his ghost. Maybe he's haunting us," Dustin suggested.

"Maybe," Dan agreed.

"It's not his ghost," Mike said.

He looked at the other two like they'd just said the dumbest thing he'd ever heard.

"So how do you know that?" Lucas asked.

"I just do!" Mike insisted.

"Then what was in that water?"

"I don't know!" Mike said. "All I know is Will is alive. Will is alive! He's out there somewhere, and Dan's right. He needs us. All we have to do is find him."

El continued to mess with the radio. She was even more determined now. Maybe if she got a better connection, maybe if she could get it just like she had the night before...Eve squeezed her hand. When El looked up at him, he shook his head. Too much, he warned. The radio was too small. There was no way she would be able to get a sustained connection from there.

"Need bigger..." Eve tried to remember what it was called. "Radio."

Eve didn't know what compelled him to suggest it. The group was hardly inspiring him to want to help, with how often they talked about them like they were props. Or worse, monster. Yet he did. Maybe it wasn't them. Maybe it was for Will. Will who hid his tears, even in pain. Even when everyone around him had wanted to help.

Will who was just like them.

"Eve's right, we need to get El to a stronger radio. This one barely reaches outside the neighborhood," Mike said.

"Mr. Clarke's heathkit ham shack," Dustin suggested.

"The heathkit's at school," Lucas pointed out. "There is no way we're gonna get the weirdos in there without anyone noticing. Eve? Maybe. Lots of guys have shaved heads. But El...I mean, look at her."

Lucas motioned towards the girl. Everyone turned to look at El.

"I have an idea!" Dan announced.

Eve squinted at them. He hated when people said that.

°。°。°。°。°。°。

THE GOOD NEWS: between Nancy's old clothes and the clothes Dan never wore, they had plenty of clothes to dress El up. The bad news: literally none of them knew how girls where supposed to dress. They knew what Nancy wore, but she was older, as she liked to remind them. At school there was really no constant trend. Not that Dan could see, anyway. So in the end they ended up collected all of the clothes Mom kept telling them they should wear (though they never did) and let El choose.

El studied each piece closely, running her fingers over each to test the fabrics. She seemed drawn to the fancier options. The ones with intricate patterns and bright color, or that were soft and feminine. Finally she settled on a light pink dress. It had intricate lacing on the front of the body, a wide white color, and sleeves that came to puffs at the end. Dan was pretty sure it was a lot fancier than anything they had seen girls wear to school, but it worked.

Make-up was the next step. Mike was instance that all girls wore make-up, and she'd look super weird without it. Dan pointed out that they didn't wear make-up, which Mike only called proof, in his typical annoying brother way. In the end it came down to the fact that El wanted to try it out after it was mentioned.

Really El just seemed to want to try everything.

They sat on the bed, make-up collected between them. Dan squinted at El's face. Mom had tried to get them to wear make-up multiple times, and they'd seen her and Nancy put it on just as often. Yet the most they could think of was awkwardly patting blush on El's cheeks. She flinched away the first time. Though she sat still after, she didn't seem particularly please with it.

"Bad," El decided.

"Yeah..." Dan knitted their brows as they studied lip stick. There was no way they were going to be able to put that on someone else. "Mom's better at it anyway. You can ask her, after we find Will. If you want."

"Pretty?" El asked.

"What?"

"Make-up is...pretty?"

El pointed to herself. Dan shrugged.

"Well, yeah, but you look pretty without it, too. It just..." Dan paused to think. "It's about what makes you feel pretty, you know? That's what my mom says, anyway, and she knows a lot 'bout that kind of stuff."

By then the others had returned. They had gone up into the attic to try to find a wig Mike swore was up there. Turns out, he was actually right.

"How do I look?" Floris asked, the blonde wig draped sideways on his head.

"Like an idiot," Lucas said.

Floris stuck out his tongue. Lucas yanked the wig off his head.

They spent forever trying to get the wig to fit on El's head. Dan and Floris had a little experience with wigs. Floris was the only actor they had, so he often got stuck playing everyone, with different hats and wigs for different characters. But those where borrowed from the drama club. They were poorly made, and they were never trying to make them look good. To their surprise how ever, this wig was surprisingly high quality. A good sign. They had to make it believable.

In the end they loaded the hairline with powder concealer. It...worked. No one was going to be staring at her forehead anyway.

"Why do we even have that?" Dan asked.

Mike shrugged. So useful.

While they were focused on El, they had entirely lost track of Eve. Dan found him going through some of Mike's clothes.

"You can get new clothes, if you want," Dan offered.

Eve startled and turned to look at them. He started for a moment. Dan wished they knew what he was thinking. Sure, Eve could just wear the sweat pants and shirt he'd been wearing. He could just wear anything he wanted. But it didn't seem fair to give El a whole make-over, then not even ask what Eve wanted.

Finally, Eve slowly nodded. They ended up digging through Mike's closet. He complained entire time, but there wasn't much he could do after Eve glared at him.

Not much seemed to impress the boy. Eve studied each of them, only to reject them with various levels of distain. Dan got it. Mike's closet was, like most of them, rather boring. Mom and Dad picked out his and Dan's clothes a lot. Which meant their options where disgustingly limited.

Eve settled on a soft green sweater. That was the only change. A green sweater and another pair of grey sweat pants. Dan gave a small laugh at that. Of course he just wanted a nicer sweater. They knew hardly anything about Eve, and it still felt rather typical of him.

They added a blue coat to El's outfit, and both of them were ready for school.

All of the party had stayed home from school, so there was no worry about rushing. They were already late. In fact, Dan thought, they really only had to get there soon enough that they could both get in and not get kicked out when school closed. Maybe it would be better to arrive between classes. That would keep them hidden within the crowd, making it harder for teachers to pick them out as not belonging. Except that was near impossible to time. They gave them, what, two minutes between classes? They barely had time to go to the bathroom, and there was no way Dan was remembering the exact times classes began and ended.

Besides, they were definitely getting caught. People always got caught. They just had to get out of it without who ever caught them finding out their real motivation. Like spies.

They slipped through one of the side doors. The first thing Dan noticed was that the halls were basically empty. That was worrying. If a teacher caught them, they would definitely get a long lecture about how they where supposed to be in class and how skipping was a waste of their lives, and they'd end up homeless without school.

"Okay, remember, if anyone sees us, look sad," Mike explained.

El and Eve turned to the others, confused. Lucas and Dustin rubbed their eyes in fake crying, which the two mimicked.

"Attention students," the PA system buzzed to life above them. "There will be an assembly to honor Will Byers in the gymnasium now. Do not go to forth period."

That was as good a cover as any, Dan supposed. Especially since teachers would also be stuck in the gym. They got to the audio visual room without a problem. Mike turned the handle, shoved against the door...and nothing happened.

"It's locked," Mike said.

"What?" Lucas went to try the door. No success.

Dustin turned to El. "Hey, do you think you can open it? With your powers."

"No, we need her powers to contact Will, remember?" Dan said.

El further rejected the idea with a shake of her head.

As if their situation couldn't get any worse, Mr. Clarke turned into their hallway. They whipped around to face him. El's eyes widened as Eve quickly stepped in front of her. Meanwhile the party did their best to stand in front of both of them. As if that was going to keep Mr. Clarke from seeing them.

Dan supposed it could be a worse teacher. Mr. Clarke was actually cool. More importantly, he'd believe them if they made something up.

"Boys?" Mr. Clarke looked between them. "Assembly's about to start."

"We know. We're just, you know..." Mike started.

"Upset," Lucas added. Way too cheerfully.

"Yeah, yeah, definitely upset," Dustin stammered out.

Floris promptly came to their rescue. That is to say he broke into big, fat tears. Even Dan was startled, and they knew he could cry on cue. The others turned to stare at him like he'd just gone insane.

"I know we should be there for Will, but - but -" Floris sniffled and wiped his eyes on the back of his sleeve. "Everyone's gonna stare, and it'll be weird, and it's not fair."

"I know. I know it's hard. But let's just be there, and then," Mr. Clarke pull his keys from his pocket and tossed them to Mike. "The Heathkit is yours for the rest of the day. What do you say?"

Of course, they had to agree. There really wasn't any other way to get to the Heathkit short of unlocking the door, running in, and locking Mr.Clarke out. Which was a terrible idea. So Floris cleared up his tears and nodded with the others. They were almost in the clear.

Until Mr. Clarke noticed El and Eve.

"I don't believe we've met. What's your name?" Mr. Clarke asked.

"Ele-" El started.

"Eleanor!" Mike interrupted. "And this is..."

"Even!" Dan offered.

"Yeah, and they're our, uh -"

"Cousins!" Lucas said.

"Second cousins! On different sides," Dustin added, trying to explain the both the questions of why they had never mentioned these 'cousins' and why Eve was asian and El was white.

"They're here for Will's funeral," Mike said.

"Super supportive family," Floris added with a nod. "Came all the way from..."

"Sweden," Dan blurted out.

The group turned to look a them. They gave a subtile shrug and widened their eyes in a silent apology. Floris was the one who suggested to say where they where from, Dan just panicked. Maybe it would have been better to say somewhere within the same country. Maybe this was the worst time to blank on the name of half the states. So? How was that their fault?

"Ah, well, welcome to Hawkins Middle, Eleanor, Evan," Mr. Clarke said. If he found anything suspicious about their claims, he didn't say it. "I wish you were here under better circumstances."

El turned to look at Eve. He was frozen in place. She gently squeezed his hand.

"Thank you," El said.

"Shall we?" Mr. Clarke motioned towards the gym.

The group hurried past him. Other than stopped Floris as he passed to make sure he was alright, Mr. Clarke let them go without question. Dan let out a sigh of relief. They had been way too lucky with that one. They could only hope they hadn't used it all up too soon.

°。°。°。°。°。°。

BONNIE STARED AT THE FUNERAL HOME. Why were they getting Jonathan? More importantly, why were they getting him in the middle of planning his little brother's funeral? That seemed incredibly insensitive. Yet Nancy insisted that they needed to get him, as she had found something weird in the corner of his pictures. Something that looked weirdly like a monster.

"A monster," Moses repeated incredulously. "You saw...a monster."

"I know it sounds crazy, but...it's like your radio. I can't explain it, but I know what I saw," Nancy explained.

Moses nodded at that. Bonnie couldn't tell if he believed her, or if he just didn't want to keep talking. He had been avoiding that the entire time.

"I'll go in. Since, you know, you guys hate him," Moses said.

If Bonnie didn't know better, she'd have thought he was being snide. Like they didn't have a good reason to dislike Jonathan. Still, Nancy seemed to believe otherwise. She quickly handed the photos over to Moses, explained what she had seen and wanted to show him, and allowed him to head inside. Bonnie sighed. Fine. Nancy seemed to have decided finding Barb was more important than whatever Jonathan had done to her, so she supposed she should follow suit.

Meanwhile, Moses wandered through the funeral home. He resisted the urge to twist the photos in his hands nervously. This kind of place always made him nervously. Especially now that Will was dead and Clem could be next.

Despite being dismissive of Nancy's claim of monsters, he remembered the noises he'd heard over the radio. The way Clem had screamed. It certainly sounded like a monster. But if a moment had attacked Clem while she was talking...Moses shook his head. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't. They would find Clem, and Barb, and take care of whoever had taken them before they could hurt anyone else.

A funeral director was walking Jonathan between different coffins. He was talking about all the different bells and whistles attached to them. Velvet lining, fancy woods, a bunch of nonsense to get already distraught people to fork over money. Jonathan didn't appear to really be listening to anything he said. His face lit up when he spotted Moses, if only by a little.

"Hey..." Jonathan tried to be causal. He did not look casual - he looked like he'd been crying for the last half hour. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," Moses said. It was tempting to ask if Jonathan was okay, but he already knew the answer. Jonathan wasn't likely to appreciate the pity, anyway. So instead he held up the pictures Nancy had handed him. "Nancy Wheeler said she found a monster or something in these. Said you'd know something about it?"

"What?"

Nancy and Bonnie were waiting in the hallway. Jonathan sat next to Nancy on a bench as she pointed out what had caught her attention. Moses had to admit, now that he was looking closer, it definitely looked like something. Almost human, but not quite. A little too stretched.

"It looks like it could be some kind of perspective distortion, but I wasn't using the wide angle," Jonathan said. He tilted the photo in his hand and studied it from different angles. "I don't know. It's weird."

"And you're sure you didn't see anyone else out there?" Nancy asked.

"No. And Barb was there one second and then, um...gone," Jonathan shrugged slightly. "I figured she bolted."

"My dad says that's what the cops think. That she ran away," Bonnie admitted.

"But she wouldn't," Nancy insisted. She turned to look at Bonnie. "I mean, it's Barb. And I went back to Steve's...and I thought I...saw something. Some weird man or...I don't know what it was."

"And Moses heard something over the radio," Bonnie added.

"Yeh, I, um..." Moses hesitated. Could she not have warned him before putting her on the spot? "I was listening to music, and something, I don't know, cut into the signal? There was a lot of growling."

He didn't mention Clem. He didn't want to think about her being there with a monster.

"What'd he look like?" Jonathan asked. The group turned to him, confused. "The man you saw in the woods. What'd he look like?"

"I don't know," Nancy stammered. "It was almost like he...he didn't have -"

"Didn't have a face?" Jonathan finished.

Nancy stared at him. "How did you know that?"

°。°。°。°。°。°。

DUSTIN SLAMMED THE DOOR OPEN. Eve winced at the sound. Even worse, the entire room turned to look at them. A massive room, filled to the brim with people. He thought they were sneaking in. Wasn't that what they promised? They wouldn't have to talk to anyone. Yet not only had they been cornered, they were being dragged into a crowd of strangers.

Eve wanted to run, but El held on tight to his arm. She seemed to understand what he was thinking, even without a word. Okay, El assured in her mind, we are okay. Eve shook his head. He knew she was just trying to comfort him. He didn't like it in the slightest. It was his job to protect her. Even if he appreciated the effort, it just didn't feel right.

The group made their way to the large seats everyone else was sitting on. Eve stared wide-eyed at all the children around them. Suddenly he was glad El was holding on to him. Otherwise he might lose her as they attempting to navigate the sea of legs and people.

"Here," Lucas said as they came across an open row. "The ends less squished."

Eve glanced down at the seats he was talking about. It was right at the end of the row so, with El next to him and Lucas just beyond her, Eve didn't have to sit next to anyone he didn't know. More importantly, El was still with him, even as the others had to go sit somewhere else. He let out a sigh of relief. The last thing he needed right now was to be separated by strangers.

A man stood in the front of the room. He was saying something about what a tragedy Will's death was. That everyone was sad for his loss. Eve wasn't really listening. It was a lot of words that he didn't understand, to start. There was also the fact that someone was giggling behind them. Eve turned to look.

It was a group of three behind them. Two boys and a girl. The boys looked similar, pale with dark brown hair. They could have been related if not for slight differences in their facial features (cousins? Dan had explained they were related to you, but not as closely as siblings.) They even seemed to have the same hair cut - short, with the beginning of a curl at the tips. The girl's hair was also brown, but much lighter and longer. In fact, almost all of the girls had long hair. Eve was beginning to understand why they had put El in a wig.

"Blah, blah, blah, blah. Oh, he was such a great student. Oh, he's going to leave a hole in the community," one of the boys mocked.

The other boy laughed, but the girl wrinkled her nose.

"He died, Troy," the girl said.

"So?" The mocking boy, Troy, scoffed. "Don't be such a girl. He had it coming. My dad said -"

The girl groaned and rolled her eyes. She turned away, face red. Troy continued to whisper his jokes to the boy next to him, but he wasn't listening anymore, instead watching the girl nervously.

"Mouthbreather," El whispered. Eve turned to see her watching the boys as well.

They waited in silence until a bell rang. The entire crowd stood and left at once, and Eve had to be careful to keep close to the group. Especially because Mike was marching off in the entirely wrong direction. Directly, Eve noticed, towards the boys from before. The girl had left them. Standing on his toes to look over the crowd, Eve spotted her heading towards one of the door.

"Hey! Hey!" Mike called as he followed the boys. Neither seemed to notice. "Hey, Troy!"

The two turned to face them. El started to go to Mike, but Eve held her back. Need to help, she insisted. Eve only shook his head at her. He could feel a confrontation brewing. El's powers were the only things she had to defend herself. The last thing they needed was to get exposed because of a fight. Mike would be on his own.

"You...you think this is funny?" Mike snapped.

"What'd you say, Wheeler?" Troy asked.

By now the others had found them. They watched from a distance. Eve could feel the anxiety creeping into their minds. They were as uncomfortable as he was, he realized. That did nothing to comfort him.

"I saw you guys laughing over there. And I think that's a real messed up thing to do," Mike said. He was trying so to be assertive, but it failed.

"Yeah!" Floris added. Unlike the others, he'd risked coming to stand next to Mike. At once Mike straightened his shoulders, as if that would somehow give him more confidence. "You know, douchebag isn't a personality trait, right?"

"It's none of your business, witch," Troy said, shoving Floris slightly.

"Last time I check, Will was my friend, so I'm pretty sure it is," Floris replied. Unlike Mike, he actually seemed confident in what he was saying.

"Didn't you freaks listen to the counselor? Grief shows itself in funny ways," the second boy said.

"Besides, what's there to be sad about, anyway?" Troy added, "Will's in fairyland now, right? Flying around with all the other little fairies. All happy and gay!"

Eve didn't understand what Troy was trying to imply. It must not have been good, however, as Floris responded with a cry and a fist to the boy's nose. Troy stumbled back clutching his face. He hit the ground hard. Instead of retaliating, as Eve had expected, the second boy turned to look at Troy.

Troy scrambled to his feet. He screamed something Eve didn't entirely catch. Because half way through his lunge, he froze in place. Eve turned to see El glaring at him. Blood trickled from her nose. At the same time, a wet spot grew in the front of Troy's pants, spreading down his leg. Troy's eyes widened.

From the crowd, someone shouted, "Dude, Troy peed himself!"

A wave of laughter went through the crowd. Everyone hurried off. With a last glance back, Eve could see that not even Troy's friend stuck around to check on him.

°。°。°。°。°。°。

THEY RETURNED TO WHERE THE WHOLE PHOTO PROBLEM BEGAN. Hawkins High School's developing room. Everything was bathed in red light. The group watched as Jonathan slipped the photo into a machine. Bonnie knitted her brows. She hadn't the foggiest idea what half of these things were doing, nor how they could help them.

"And you're..." Nancy prompted.

"Brightening. Enlarging," Jonathan said.

"Okay, but how -" Bonnie started.

"Just let him work, okay?" Moses interrupted. "He knows what he's doing."

Bonnie shrugged. She wasn't trying to insinuate he didn't. She just wanted to know.

"Did you mom say anything else?" Nancy asked.

Right. The reason they even got Jonathan to come in the first place. Apparently, Joyce Byers had been insisting that she had seen a faceless monster in the wall. Put an ax through the wall and everything. Bonnie felt a wave of sympathy for the woman. The town had never been kind to the family. Now she had lost her twelve year old son, people were making rumors about his brother killing him, and a monster could be stalking her.

Jonathan only grunted in response.

"Like, um, where it might have gone to, or..." Nancy continued.

"No," Jonathan shook his head slightly. "Just that it came out of the wall."

The machine dinged. Jonathan pulled out the new paper and slipped it onto developing fluid. The group watched as he titled the tray, waiting for the image to appear.

"Have you been...doing this a long time?" Nancy asked.

Bonnie shot Nancy a look while Moses raised an eyebrow at the two. Long ago she had realized that Nancy hated silences. Almost every break in conversation was an awkward one. However, literally every part of Jonathan's body language - from his hunched shoulders to his short responses - made it clear he didn't want to be talking to her.

"What?" Jonathan asked.

"Photography," Nancy prompted.

"Yeah," Jonathan muttered, "I mean, I guess I'd rather observe people than, you know..."

"Talk to them?"

"I know, it's weird."

"No, no."

"Observing people isn't weird," Bonnie admitted. "Now taking pictures of them -"

"I'm really sorry about that, by the way," Jonathan said quickly, like he was afraid it wouldn't come out if he said it any slower. He risked glancing at Nancy. "I was looking for Will, and I didn't realize you where in the shot or - or...you know...until..."

"Until Steve saw it," Moses finished. He scoffed. "But of course, King Steve assumed the worst."

"That's it," Nancy interrupted. "That's what I saw."

At first Bonnie thought she was trying to distract them. Then she looked back at the image and saw it. What looked like a figure, looming in the corner. It was a skeletal figure, bony arms and a protruding rib cage. Where the head and face were supposed to be seemed to just be a ball, hidden half in shadow.

"My mom, I thought she was crazy," Jonathan said. "'Cause she said...that's not Will's body. That he's alive."

"But if she's right about the monster, then she could be right about him," Bonnie realized.

"And if he's alive," Nancy continued.

"Then Barbara, and Clem," Jonathan said, "They could be, too."

°。°。°。°。°。°。

THE GROUP RUSHED BACK TO THE AUDIO VISUAL ROOM. Floris laughed the entire way. Troy peed himself. He peed himself. They all knew El had squeezed his bladder or something, but that wasn't what it looked like to the rest of the crowd. It looked like Troy had picked a fight with the Witch of Hawkins and ended up pissing himself in fear. Floris could already imagine how it was being added to his legend. The Witch of Hawkins could make people piss themselves now. It was gonna be sick.

They collected around the Hamshack. It looked just as cool this time as when Mr. Clarke first unveiled it. Maybe cooler. Because this time it wasn't just a radio that could reach all around the world, it could contact their friends.

El was sat in the chair in front of the Hamshack. Eve stood to her. As Mike tuned the radio to static, they both closed their eyes. In the dim light, Floris could see their eyes darting below their eyelids. The two held hands, their fingers intertwined. Despite his previous skepticism, Floris couldn't help but feel an excitement building. This could be it. They might really find Will. He could really be alive.

"They're doing it, they're finding him," Mike whispered.

"This is crazy," Dustin said.

"Superhero shit," Dan whispered.

"Do you think we'll be able to talk to him?" Floris asked. "Let him know we're looking?"

"Calm down. They just close their eyes," Lucas said.

Calm down? Floris scoffed. Who could be calm about this?

Seconds later, the bulb above them went out with a snap. They were plunged into darkness. Floris squirmed in place. The two were doing something, alright. He just hoped it would actually get them to Will.

A clanging seemed to come through the static. They leaned in close to hear it. At first it sounded like it was just a strange change in the noise, but closer Floris could tell it was something of its own. Something on the other side of the radio. It intensified. Like ti was coming closer to them. Floris held his breath. Then, a voice:

"Mom?"

"Will!" Floris cried. "That's Will!"

"No way," Lucas whispered.

"I told you," Dan said. "Superheroes."

"Mom. Please..." Will continued.

Floris scrambled for the mic. They all shouted into it at once. A flurry of voices, all trying to contact him. Yet none of them seemed to come through. The thudding continued and Will only called for his mom. Panic was rising. Why couldn't he hear them? The Hamshack reached Australia, but it couldn't transmit to wherever Will was? How were they supposed to find out where he was if they couldn't even ask? If he didn't know they were there?

There was a growl. A low, inhuman growl. The group shared a look.

"It's coming!" Will shouted.

The Demogorgon. It had to be.

"It's like home, but it's so dark...it's so dark and empty!" Will was sobbing now. Floris almost did the same. "And it's cold! Mom? Mom!"

A fuse blew in the back of the Hamshack. Sparks will the air as the radio burst into flames. The light above them flickered back on as El and Eve opened their eyes. El slumped in her chair as Eve leaned against it. Dustin ran for a fire extinguisher. Floris just stood, frozen. he couldn't believe it. They had contacted Will...for nothing. They hadn't been able to help him, they couldn't even talk to him, and something could be killing him at this very moment.

There wasn't time to think, however. The fire alarm was blaring through the school. They needed to get out of there. Now.

Was going to save this to post with other chapters over time. But then Wattpad imploded my computer, so now I'm posting it. Both because there is a slight possibility it will take the entire break to fix my computer, and because I just needed some damn positivity at the moment. ;-;

Chapter-wise, Jonathan really went and made everything awkward with his stupid photos. I had always assumed he'd accidentally taken a picture of her while taking pictures of Steve's house — which is creepy, but like...not "takes pictures of people getting undress/having sex" creepy. But no. In the scene he admits to doing it on purpose to, like, tell what she's secretly thinking or whatever. Then has the gall to mock Nancy later about it.

So I went with my, superior, conclusion. Because, Jesus Christ, why are they making Jonathan's active creepy behavior out to be like a misunderstanding???

Similarly, I am struggling so hard trying to make scenes for Moses/Nancy and Bonnie/Steve. Which I knew would be a problem for Bonnie/Steve, since he needed to do his season 2 development, and I planned for their development to happen then, but Moses/Nancy should be starting soon? And it's just not? Mentally shaking my narrative and demanding to know why it won't listen to me.