The Vanishing of Will Byers

SOMETHING LURKED IN HAWKINS NATIONAL LABORATORY. Something that had just been released.

Two children had been pulled from their baths - tall tubes of salt water that served as a sensory deprivation tank - and changed back into their hospital gowns. As the crack in the wall that had formed from their connection was being studying, the two were left in there rooms. Number Seven paced his room. While Number Eleven had used her void to search for a strange creature, Seven had been forced to join her, making a mental link to it. It had only been for a few seconds, but it had been enough. The creature had evil lurking inside it. So did the crack in the wall - so strong that Seven didn't have to reach out to its thought, instead having them imposed by something lurking on the other side. Something strangely...familiar. Something bad. Something Seven never, ever, wanted to see.

The blast of alarms proved Seven right far too soon. He reached out to the guards and scientists around him, instantly regretting it. Their thoughts were scrambled messes of fear, panic, and an attempt to comprehend what was happening. Then they cut short. One after one, their thoughts snuffed out as their lives were. Seven screamed, doubling over, head clutched in his hands.

It was the monster - Seven brushed past their thoughts as he searched for someone still alive for more than a moment - and it was tearing its way through the lab. Stared at the door. Panic sent Seven's heart pounding. He was trapped in his room. The doors were locked from the outside. Normally it was hard to convince the workers to let him out, given they know that any thoughts about releasing him where not their own. Now it would be completely impossible.

Perhaps waiting would be best, Seven considered. Maybe the creature would miss him. Maybe it would focus on the people outside and, not seeking for more of a fight, it would flee the lab and into the wild.

What if it didn't, though? What if it ripped through the door and cornered him. Seven had been trained to force control of others, but Papa always kept him weak enough to be fought. Only animals bent to his will without a struggle. And, while this creature seemed animalistic, there was something behind it that was most terribly not. Something thinking, feeling, and fighting violently for destruction.

So Seven reached out to Eleven. He knew she was escaping, her mind lost in the frantic noise outside. He lead her towards him. Eleven didn't take any convincing. She didn't want to leave him behind, and even in her fear, she was searching for him. Seven just needed to get her to the right place.

There was a heavy thud seconds later. The door creaked against its hinges. With a sudden blast of energy, it was thrown from its hinges and slammed into the wall opposite it. It collapsed over Seven's bed. He winced, imagining himself laying there, as he usually did after tests. Eleven stood in the doorway. She heaved for air as blood ran down her nose. Seven realized at once the amount of energy it must have taken from her, a risk in such a situation. At once he ran past her, grabbing her hand as he did, and led the way down the hallway.

In the chaos, no one noticed them. Seven avoided direct confrontation as he led Eleven through the hallways. Once or twice they arrived at a corpse. At which point they turned away. Seven struggled to track the creature, as it seemed to appear and disappear throughout the building, but going towards is massacre would never do well.

Finally they came to an opening. What appeared to be a tunnel. Something Seven had been searching for without even thinking to do so. The two shared a look. In the darkness they couldn't make out what ended the tunnel. A shriek echoed down the hallway behind them, however, making the choice clear. Seven hurried Eleven into the tunnel first. Even if it would be safer to have her at the back, to fight the monster if it followed, Seven had to make sure she got out. If something happened...she had to get out. Whatever happened next, he needed to know that Eleven was safe at least.

°。°。°。°。°。°。

IN THE DEPTH OF HAWKINS, UNAWARE OF THE DANGER HAPPENING ELSE WHERE, THE WHEELER HOUSE HOLD WAS PREPARING FOR THE NIGHT. Dan Wheeler leaned agains the table, film camera in hand. They had gotten it for the last Christmas, and their family was slowly beginning to regret pulling together money for it when it was shoved in their faces every five seconds. Already Dan had been rejected by almost everyone. Nancy shouted at them every time they knocked on her door. She was talking on the phone with Barb or something, talking about Steve or something. Gross. The parents were busy with cooking dinner and fiddling with the television respectively, while Mike had locked him and his friends in the basement for the last hour.

That left one family member to be filmed. Little Holly.

Sat at the table, clenching her crayon tightly in small fists as she ground them into her drawing, Holly was waiting patently for their dinner. Then she would go to bed. It was a school day, so they all had early bed times, Holly's even early given her young age.

And here's my littlest sister, Holly," Dan leaned zoomed in on the girl. "Holly, look at the camera. Look at the camera."

Dan raised a finger and wiggled it to try to get the little girl's attention. Holly raised her head, eyebrows scrunched. She in the middle of drawing a picture. A little house, from the looks of it, the same thing she always drew because she just learned how to do it. This was likely to be the most exciting thing in her entire toddlerhood. Yet Holly seemed perfectly unhappy to be involved.

"She's my favorite sister, because the other one's a big butthead," Dan continued.

"Danelle," Mom interrupted. Dan turned to see her at the stove, in the middle of preparing their dinner. "Don't say that about your sister."

"Mom! You're interrupting my filming," Dan complained. They quickly shut off the camera. It's not like they had captured anything worth while, anyway. "I don't really think Nancy's a butt head —" Even if she really was. "— it just adds drama. Shows don't work when there's no conflict."

"You were going to have to turn it off anyway. Remember —"

"No filming at the table," Dan finished. Which they found deeply unfair. All the best bits happened over dinner. Still, Mom seemed in a mood, so Dan said neither that nor that it was Dan, actually.

There was a series of shouts and thuds from the basement door. Dan rolled their eyes. Mike and his friends were way too into their D&D campaigns. Even called themselves "the Party," like they were some kind of adventuring group, instead of a bunch of dorks sweating up a perfectly good basement. It was just a board game. They didn't need to...throw themselves on the floor. Or whatever they were doing to make so much noise.

Use to, Benjamin Floris would have been down with them, or working with Dan on a new film. But recently Floris had been...distant. He talked to them sometimes. Mostly at school, though, and he often rejected their attempts to hang out outside of that. Dan knew it was because his dad was being a particularly massive douche, which meant it was harder to hide his pain, which meant Floris decided to do the next best thing - hide. Dan tried not to hold it against him. Floris needed time. He'd come back eventually, either when things got better or he was so upset he had too vent.

"Go tell your brother it's time for dinner," Mom said. She raised an eyebrow at the noise. "And that his campaign is over."

"Mom!"

"Danelle."

"Fine," Dan huffed and stood, picking up their camera as they did. "But when I get famous, I'm cutting you out of the biopic."

Mom looked annoyingly unthreatened by that.

Dan tucked their camera safely under one arm, before opening the door gingerly. They was relieved when they weren't hit by a wave of boy locker room smell. In the small area of the basement — a single room with a table, a couch, and a collection of drawing from their campaigns — you never knew what you would get. They arrived at the bottom of the stairs to the room in absolute chaos. Dustin Henderson was pacing the room and muttering to himself while the other three crawled around on the floor like a bunch of idiots. Figuring it would make good footage, they opened their camera for filming, a recess they were blissfully unaware of.

"And here we witness a heard of the elusive nerdus gigantus in their natural habitat," Dan said, in their best narrator voice.

"Dan, go away!" Mike snapped. "We're in the middle of a campaign."

"You mean the end? Mom says you're done."

"What?"

Mike's eyes widened. He looked back at his friends, who were still panicking, and hurried past Dan on the stairs. They yelped as he nearly knocked their camera out of their hands. Unfortunately he was already gone and in an argument with their mom by the time they turned around to shout at him. Instead, Dan tucked it back safely under their arm.

"Hey," Lucas Sinclair's head popped over the railing. "Have you see a die? We lost it."

"I just got here," Dan said with a frown.

"Oh, I got it!" Will Byers — the last member of their group — shouted. They turned to see him holding a die. "Does the seven count?"

"It was a seven?" Lucas asked. From his tone, Dan could guess that wasn't a good thing. "Did Mike see it?"

Will shook his head.

"Then it doesn't count."

Dan headed back upstairs as the boys hurried to get their coats on. They didn't wait until they left. Instead, they headed up to their bed room to put away their things. They passed Nancy's room on the way up.

What Dan had said wasn't technically wrong. Their older sister hadn't always been a butthead. Once Nancy did cool stuff with them. Like play in Mike's campaigns or help Dan with their homework. But now Nancy was an official high school, with a boyfriend and all that. Which meant she didn't have time for her twelve year old siblings. Instead she wanted to talk on the phone with her friends — like she was doing now — about boys and parties, and dumb stuff like that.

"It's time for dinner," Dan said. They didn't wait for Nancy to respond.

As they put away their camera, Dan saw Will Byers bike away from their house. The light in their room flickered. Looking back, it could be considered foreshadowing. At the time it was a mild annoyance.

°。°。°。°。°。°。

NOTHING SEEMED OFF THE DAY CLEMENTINE PRICE DISAPPEARED. Her older brother, Moses, rushed through his morning routine as always. The sooner he finished getting ready, the sooner he got to school. Which was a strange thing among his peers. Most teens despised school for various reasons, from hating the time they felt was wasted on learn to being outcasts bullied viciously by their school mates. Moses had to admit, he felt the same. The teachers hated him and so did the students. However, school wasn't his home, and as much as Moses despised school, being at home is much worse than that.

The family of seven - two parents and their five foster children - ate dinner in relative silence. Most of it was from the parents. Moses ignored this, even as Mom and Dad tried to talk to him, especially when they tried to talk to him. Sometimes what they had to say was nice. Asking how his day was, giving advice on playing his guitar, those sorts of things. Other times, most of the time, it was a lecture. How he needed to wear more appropriate, less aggressive clothing. How he looked to girly. Complaining about how long his hair was getting. The other children got criticism, too, but Moses was their favorite to nag. Especially because he seemed to go against every single one of their preferences.

Moses couldn't wait until he could drive. Then he would be able to leave as soon as he wanted without questions. As it was, Mom would complain until he road the bus with the rest of his siblings. Moses could walk. They couldn't stop him. However, when he did, they would never stop complaining after wards.

So he waited with the others to ride the bus with Clementine. She was bouncing back and forth on her feet. She was excited to get to school, except in her case it had nothing to do with wanting to be outside their home, instead because all her friends were there. Moses didn't understand why. Clem popular in the way middle school children were. When they didn't have to prove themselves and became popular based off the fact they were just nice. A part of him was happy for her. Another worried for what they would mean. Would she stay kind, a be crushed when that lost her her popularity? Or would she grow into the catty bullies that ruled Hawkins High, losing the sweetness that had once earned her so much love?

It was hard to tell. Moses didn't know which idea he hated most.

When they got onto the bus, Moses pushed himself all the way to the back. Where the oldest kid sat, so they could smoke without being noticed. Moses wasn't there for that. It was, however, where he wouldn't get questioned. Clem stopped with an aisle full of her friends. The next time Moses saw her, it was at the school. Her head popped over the back of the seat as she waved to him, and then scurried from the bus and disappearing into the crowd.

Moses stopped to watch her disappear. Despite the crowd, he was able to follow her the entire way to the school door. Only then did he make his way down the street to Hawkins High, feeling confident that Clem had been dropped off at school safely.

°。°。°。°。°。°。

WHEN BENJAMIN FLORIS ARRIVED AT SCHOOL, HE WAS REGRETTING A LOT. The main thing? Not going to his friends Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Floris knew he would be missed, as he had been for the weeks he hadn't joined them, but he couldn't bring himself to show. Dad had been in particular mood lately. The response, Floris suspected, was after he'd gotten painfully drunk in the middle of a store and made a show of himself. Everyone had been whispering about it. Hawkins's old pastor, drunk off his ass, throwing up on some poor cashier. Something he seemed determined to take out of Floris. As if that was somehow his son's fault that he'd embarrassed himself.

Charles Floris was still asleep when Floris left the house. He left a note that he was leaving instead of waking him up. Maybe Dad would be mad a him for doing so, but if Floris did wake him up and that got him mad, it was something he'd have to deal with earlier. Better to put it off. At least that was what Floris liked to think.

School was an issue Floris could deal with fine. There were some glances when he biked into the parking lot in front of Hawkins Middle. That wasn't something that bothering him. Attention was something Floris could work with.

What did catch him off guard was the group of boys standing around the bike stand. The group was scanning the area, seeming to be looking for something. His friends. His friends, Floris noted, except for Will. Dan was the first to notice Floris's arrival, which was when he realized there was no chance to avoid him. They hurried over and practically tackled Floris in a hug. Without even thinking about it, Floris went though the two's secret handshake, then turned to the rest of the group.

"Where's Will?" Floris asked.

"No idea," Mike admitted.

"I'm telling you, his mom's right," Lucas said as the group started towards the door. Floris followed. "He probably just went to class early again."

"Or maybe he got eaten by a bear or something," Floris suggested.

Which seemed a lot more realistic than Will going to class early. Who did that? More time stuck inside, practically suffocating in a small room? No thanks. Then again...it was Will. The boy was always following the rules, trying to avoid bringing attention to himself. Plus...

"He's always paranoid Gursky's gonna give him another pop quiz," Dustin said with a laugh.

"What's even the point of pop quizzes, anyways?" Dan complained. "I mean, how are we even supposed to study?"

"You don't. That's the point," Floris said. He waved his hand in a dismissive flourish. "Don't you get it, Danny? School and cruel rhyme for a reason."

Dan shrugged. Despite being a group of 'nerds,' the group had a serious anti-school streak. Maybe it was because the place was so focused on learning, they missed everything else. Like bullies. And the fact that their work load was totally unfair for students who just wanted to enjoy their limited childhoods. Freedom wouldn't last! Why should they be wasting it on thing they didn't even care about taught by people who didn't care about them? Exactly.

"Step right up, ladies and gentlemen," a voice called from behind them. Troy Walsh, with James Dante and Betsy Alonso behind him. Floris groaned and rolled his eyes. This again. "Step right up and get your tickets for the freak show."

You would think the three had better things to do. But they didn't. Ever since school started, they had labeled the Party easy targets and picked on them ruthlessly. There was Troy, their leader, who made most of the jabs and seemed to enjoy bullying the most. James didn't always bully them. Sometimes, when Floris saw him in the hallway alone, he just pretended they didn't exist. But the second he was with Troy, he'd follow anything the boy said, always chiming in at his cues and doing what he said.

Then there was Betsy. Technically he first name was Karen, but everyone called her Betsy. Floris never got why she hung out with the two. They made fun of her constantly. Called her stupid, short, made fun of her for being a girl. So did her female friends, now that Floris thought of it, minus the girl part. But the most Betsy did was argue that she was one of the boys, and as such better than the over emotional girls they mocked, before going on to help them bully others.

"Who do you think would make more money in a freak show?" Troy asked. Going down the line - Lucas, Mike, Dan, Floris, and finally Dustin - he shoved them each as he said, "Midnight, Frogface, Four-Eyes, the Witch, or Toothless."

In response to his own nickname, Floris oooed and wiggled his fingers towards the trio. Only Betsy yelped and scurried back, the boys rolling their eyes at his antics. Unlike the others, which ranged from bigoted - digs at Lucas's race and Dustin's disability - to plain stupid - making jokes about the twins' appearance - 'The Witch of Hawkins' was a nickname Floris embraced. He knew they meant it to make fun of him. Look at that creepy family, and this creepy kid with his alcoholic dad and dead mom. They must be witches! But Floris? He just found it funny. So he played into, joked back, because that meant he could pretend he was in on the joke instead of just being the punch-line.

James looked between the five. He scratched his chin. Betsy leaned over and whispered something. The two nodded together. All to give the effects that they were thinking. If Floris didn't hate them, he'd have called it impressive acting.

"I'd go with Toothless," James finally said, mimicking the lisp Dustin's missing front teeth gave him.

"Hm," Betsy gave a sigh. "I suppose he'll work. Maybe get the Witch to do some magic as a side show."

"I told you a million times, my teeth are coming in. It's called cleidocranial dysplasia," Dustin complained, despite knowing it would only get him bullied harder.

"I told you a million times," James mocked.

Once again, James used the mock voice. Dan startled when it caused the boy to release an obnoxious amount of spit, which barely avoided getting in their face. The others shifted in place. There was no point in trying to leave, since that would make the boys get physical, nor in trying to fight back. Teachers never seemed to care who started it. They didn't care that one group constantly and actively harassed the other. They would punish them both equally. Perhaps punish the Party worse, because...well, Floris just had to look at their friend group to see why. Maybe it was a defeatist attitude, but Floris doubted anyone could really blame them for it.

"Do the arm thing," Troy ordered.

When Dustin hesitated, James snapped at him to obey. In the end, Dustin stripped off his coat and back pack. Stretching his arms out in front of him, he cracked his shoulders as he popped them from their sockets. The bullies let out exaggerated sounds of disgust. Then they shoved through the group and made their way inside.

"Assholes," Lucas muttered.

"Seriously," Floris scoffed. "Don't they have walls to knock their heads against or something?"

"They don't even have a good reason to be bullies. They just are," Dan complained, pushing their glasses up the bridge of their nose.

"I think it's kinda cool," Mike interrupted, clearly about Dustin's disability and not the bullies' lack of personality. "It's like you have superpowers or something. Like Mr. Fantastic."

"Except they're super useless," Dan pointed out.

"Yeah, I can't even fight evil with it," Dustin said.

"So?" Floris shrugged. "We could call you, like, Mr. No-Neck."

"I have a neck, I'm missing my collar bone," Dustin complained.

"Yeh, but No-Collarbone isn't catching at all."

Dustin scoffed. Still, the argument seemed to have lightened his feelings some. The group made their way into Hawkins High, feeling a little better about themselves. They almost forgot that Will was missing. Almost.

°。°。°。°。°。°。

BONNIE OLEN SEEMED TO LIGHT UP THE ROOM. The second she walked into the school, she was already talking to someone. Complimented one kid on their shirt, asked another if they got a hair cut, and then another how their brother was doing, heard they were sick. Energy seemed to bubble through the hallway. People who were once exhausted with even the few moments they'd spent in school suddenly became excited to be there. It didn't even matter who they were. Popular. Weirdos. Band geeks. Art freaks. Bonnie spoke with all of them like her best friend. Or at leasts like someone she enjoy being around - which for some of them felt like a genuine surprise.

Of course, seconds later, Bonnie would flitter on to the next group. Specifically, to Nancy Wheeler and Barbara Holland, who stood by Nancy's locked. The two who, while not quite best friends, had at least reached beyond the general 'friend' status she felt most people fell into. Probably because Nancy's locker was right next to Bonnie's, and Barb shared most of her classes, which meant they had plenty of time to talk.

"Boo!" Bonnie chirped as she appeared next to the two. She laughed when it make them jump. "What're we talking about?"

"Nancy is becoming popular," Barb said.

"I am not," Nancy complained.

"You are," Barb continued teasingly. Nancy only rolled her eyes. "Nance, seriously, you're gonna be so cool now, it's ridiculous. You better still hand out with me, that's all I'm saying. If you become friends with Tommy H. or Carol -"

"Why would she become friends with them? They're bullies," Bonnie interrupted.

Which was true. Bonnie respected Steve Harrington's right to choose his own friends, or whatever, but really chose the biggest jerks in the school. They were probably two of the very few people Bonnie couldn't find something nice to say about them. Functionally, they were a unit, dating since middle school, and the only people they seemed to care about where each other. Something they didn't even manage to do that, given their weekly relationship drama.

Of course, no one would even be considering Nancy standing them if she wasn't dating Steve Harrington. The reason Barb worried she would be left behind. Something that was partly understandable. It was easy to say that Bonnie was popular, but she stuck around, but she wasn't popular in the way Steve and his friends where. She was 'popular' in the sense that a lot of people knew her and had relatively positive opinions. Steve, Tommy H., Carol, they were popular because people looked up to them. Aspired to be them, thought they were attractive, longed for their perfect lives.

Unsurprisingly, it often lead to them being isolated from everyone in their own little bubble. If Nancy joined them - really joined them - then they'd make her leave behind Barb in a heart beat.

"Exactly! They're gross," Nancy agreed. "Okay, I'm telling you, it was a one time...two time thing."

As soon as she said that, Nancy opened her locker door to find a note. Met Me. Bathroom - Steve was written on a scrap of lined paper in blue ink.

"Welp, guess it's a three time thing now," Bonnie said.

Nancy turned to them with a cheeky smile. Bonnie sighed as the girl hurried off. They really did grow up fast. Steve better not break her heart...or else.

°。°。°。°。°。°。

THE WOODS WERE A STRANGE, FOR BODING PLACE. Seven had never seen so much space before. There were no walls to keep them in, only towering trees that they could easily walk around. Small animals scurried past, pausing for a moment to watch the two, and bird flew above in a wide open sky. It was beautiful. It was also starting to feel uncomfortable. Fallen twigs and branches dug into Seven's bare feet. A chilly wind blew between the trees, easily getting through their thin hospital gown.

Eleven stumbled, pulling Seven to a stop. The two had been holding hands since they left, periodically pulling the other forward. Sleep hung heavy at their eyes. It had been a long time since they had run away. Yet they didn't dare stop walking. Not until they found somewhere to stay safely. Wherever that was. So, of course, they started again.

Soon the trees began too thin. They stumbled out on the side of a road. Across was a small building. It was white, with not much detail to it, except perhaps the stack at the top that produce smoke.

As they watched a man came outside. Eleven tensed and started back towards the tree line. Seven, however, squeezed her hand and squinted at the man. He carried a bag with him. Shifting through his mind, he found no sign of wanting to cause harm. Just to throw out the trash in the bag he was holding. Trash which included food.

Safe, Seven assured, entering Eleven's mind just enough to communicate. The girl turned to him unsure. Still, when the man disappeared back inside and Seven started towards the building, she followed.

The door wasn't locked. They pushed it open easily. Faint music flowed through the building, it's lyrics hard to make out. The room had walls lined with shelves. On each was thousands of jars of things Seven didn't quite recognize. Eleven started towards another door, but Seven pulled her back. He could feel people in there. It was a feeling proven right when they saw the man from before walk past, handing food to a table of people. They hurried past and through a pair of double push doors.

Inside was a strange scent and an even stranger scene. Big machines filled the room. Along with plates next to a cup full of utensils. Seven leaned over to look at them. Some looked like knives. Others strange changes on sticks.

Food! Eleven thought.

Seven turned around to look at the girl. She had found a small basket lined with paper. Inside were long, golden yellow sticks. Eleven tentatively tased one. Her face brightened. Soon enough she was shoving them into her mouth. When Seven arrived next to her, she held out a fistful to him, which he took.

Slowly, Seven tried the food. He startled. There was a slight...sharpness to the taste. Still, it was good, and it was food, so he began to eat like his life depended on it. Which it probably did.

In their excitement, Seven had missed the man noticing them. Until he shouted at them, startling the two. They tried to run. Eleven grabbed the basket as she went, ending up being. The man caught up with them soon enough, though, grabbing the girl and screaming in her face. Seven whipped around. Putting as much force into the man's mind as he could manage in his weakened state, Seven made him release Eleven and stepped away.

It was then the man seemed to really look at them.

"What in the hell?" the man asked.

°。°。°。°。°。°。

MOSES PRICE HESITATED AS HE ENTERED THE LUNCH ROOM. Trying to work your way through the place was like walking into a mine field. Usually, as the year went on and without prompting, people settled into a set seating chart. You only had to worry about wonderers, and they weren't the type to get mad at you for sitting near them. So finding a seat was no longer an issue like it was before. Nor was it what worried Moses at the moment. That title, instead, went to the more complex matter of walking.

Because popular kids often found themselves easily offended by the proximity of others. You didn't just not sit by them. You couldn't walk past them. You couldn't stand near them in line. If the popular kids did not like you, then you were cursed to never so much as breath the same air as them, less you risk meeting them on a bad day an encouring their wrath.

Luckily, Moses skipped the lunch line. Even well into his teenage years, his foster parents insisted on packing him a lunch if he didn't pack his own. So, of course, he packed his own. It was embarrassing to start, and then there was the fact Moses doubted they were doing it out of the kindness of their harts. His theory was pity. It typically was.

Moses weaved his way through the room. It got him some dirty looks when he bumped into Tommy H., who was making a show of himself as he talked. Of course no one noticed the fact that Tommy H. nearly slapped Moses first. He ignored them as he made for the furthest table, hidden into the corner where no one usually sat. No one except Jonathan Byers and Moses Price. The two had been friends for awhile. Once Moses had a crush on the boy - or, well, presumed he had and realized he could have crushes on boys in the process - only for them to become friend instead. Then Clem befriended Will, a school friends style friendship, and the two were practically tied together forever.

It was one of the rare times Moses actually bonded with someone. Usually he just found them annoying.

Jonathan was already at his seat. Like Moses, he didn't buy lunches. Unlike Moses, the reason was simply that his family never had the money to do so. It was something that they didn't talk about a lot. Jonathan didn't like to emphasis his family's poorness. No one ever sympathized, anyway, they just made fun of him.

There was never a day when Jonathan seemed comfortable around others. The bigger the crowd, the more uncomfortable he grew. Yet someone he seemed even more uncomfortable. A sandwich sat in front of him. As Moses ate his own food however, Jonathan just turned his food over and over. He went to ate it, and then put it down, and then seemed to reconsider once again. Moses side eyed him the entire time. It was tempting to ask him what was wrong. It was also pretty obvious that Jonathan wouldn't open up just because Moses asked.

So instead, he waited.

Finally, however, Jonathan asked, "Did Will visit you guys last night?"

"Uh, no?" Moses blinked. "Why would he come over?"

"I meant...I guess..." Jonathan shrugged. "He didn't come home last night. Mom called all of his close friends, but he didn't stay with any of them, so I hoped..."

Moses frowned. He didn't like the sound of that. Of course they would call his close friends. From what he saw of Will, which admittedly wasn't much, and what he'd heard from Clem and Jonathan, Will wasn't the sort to run away. The only way that would happen was if he spent the night with one of his friends, deciding to rebel against the fact that it was a school night.

Unless something had happened. Will was a victim of bullying. Would he, convinced he was a drain on his family by cruel words, have run away? Or worse - been hurt by those bullies?

"I'll as Clem," Moses said at once. Then, not wanting to give Jonathan false hope, he admitted, "But I don't think he'd have told her much. They're not super close, you know, I can't believe he'd tell her anything he wouldn't tell you."

"That's what I thought..." Jonathan muttered.

Moses shook his head. He could hear the guilt in Jonathan's voice and, more importantly, the fact that assuring him otherwise wouldn't do anything to help.

°。°。°。°。°。°。

DAN FIDGETED ALL THROUGH EIGHTH PERIOD. They didn't mean to. It was science, which meant they had Mr.Clarke, which meant it was approximately the best class of the day. But by then they had grown antsy. Will was still missing. He hadn't shown up in any of the classes he was supposed to. Which meant he hadn't come late. Nor had he gone home. Will Byers was missing and the school expected Dan to just sit through it like it was nothing.

Sure, maybe Will would have missed other classes. It didn't seem right, but it was possible. But not science. Science was the only class all of the boys shared together. It was the time they all met to ride their bikes home together or, like today, gathered for AV Club. Plus there was Mr. Clarke. The only teacher in this place who seemed to teach them not because he wanted some weird power trip over the children, but because he genuinely wanted them to learn. He was a nerd, like them, and loved science. Even if Dan wasn't as big on science as his friends, he still found himself enjoying it.

And so did Will.

Mr. Clarke was still talking when the bell rang. Unfortunately for him and fortunately for them, he wasn't the 'the doesn't dismiss you, I do' sort, and everyone promptly ignored him to leave for the day. Everyone except the Party. They ran to the front of the class. As the others left, Dan spotted Floris trying to leave with them. Then he noticed he'd been spotted and trudged back to the group. Dan bounced on his feet, excited at this development.

"So, did it come?" Mike asked when Mr. Clarke turned back to them.

"Sorry, boys. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but..." Mr.Clarke said sadly. Or attempted to say sadly, as a smile broke across his face seconds later. "It came."

The group cheered. They had been waiting for weeks for their new radio to come it.

A moment later, their excitement was cut short by a slammed door. The group whipped around to see Salem Clarke standing in the door way, looking rather like a deer in headlights. He slowly looked between his father, the group, and then back to his father. Salem slowly straightened and cross hims arms over his chest.

"I wanted to let you know I was on my way home," Salem grumbled, avoiding the boys' gazes, and his father's in the process.

"I'll be home after AV Club tonight. There should be some left overs in the fridge if you get hungry before then, and you can call Jen if you don't want to be home alone," Mr. Clarke said. With a smile he added, "Or you could join us. I'm sure we wouldn't mind an extra member."

At once the group nodded. Salem was a bit of weird kid, for various reasons, and often he was rude and blunt. But he was practically their friend despite that. More than once Salem had defended them from bullies. The best part was that, somehow, Salem actually managed to scare them off. Probably because he wasn't scared to punch them, rules be damned.

Still, Salem refused. He seemed quick to get out of there. Dan was hurt for a little bit, bit was promptly comforted with the fact that their new radio was here.

The group ran for the AV room. On the table was it. The Heathkit ham shack. A state of the art radio set up. At once Mike ran forwards and took the seat in front of it. The others huddled around him, trying to get their hands on whatever part of the radio they could. Lucas fiddled with the nobs as Mike pulled the headphones over his ears.

"I bet you can talk to New York on this thing," Dustin said, turning one of the nobs.

"Think bigger," Mr.Clarke said.

"California?" Lucas asked.

"Bigger."

"The moon!" Floris suggested.

"Okay, not that big," Mr.Clarke said with a laugh. "Try places on Earth."

Floris pouted. It was a little disappointing, Dan supposed, even though they were pretty sure no one was even up there. Unless there were alien. It would be cool to contact aliens. They could imagine that news headline. Local High School AV Club Makes First Contact. No one would bully them after that - they literally discovered aliens!

"Australia?" Mike said.

In response, Mr.Clarke nodded.

"Oh, man!" Lucas cheered. "When Will sees this, he's totally gonna blow his shit."

"Lucas!" Mr. Clarke scolded.

Lucas turned to apologize. Of course, Mr.Clarke managed to look mad for an entire second, which in Dan's opinion was pretty impressive. How could someone be mad when they had a super cool radio right in front of them? Exactly. Totally impossible!

"We could be, like, super spies!" Dan said.

"Hello, this is Mike Wheeler," Mike said into the radio in the most disgusting Australian accident Dan thought they'd ever heard. "President of Hawkins Middle AV Club."

Dustin promptly yanked the headphones off Mike's head and shoved him aside.

"Hello, this is Dustin, and this is the secretary and treasurer of Hawkins Middle AV Club. Do you eat kangaroos for breakfast?" Dustin said, somehow beating Mike in the bad accident department.

Floris, of course, promptly took the headphones next and said, "And this is Benjamin Floris! I don't do anything, but I'm definitely the hottest one here, so that's gotta count for something."

Lucas went for the headphones as the group was busy laughing. The excitement was cut short, however, when the principal appeared in the doorway. Even worse. The chief of police, Jim Hopper, stood behind him. Floris swallowed nervously and Dan glanced towards him. They knew he hadn't done anything wrong. At least not this time. And while usually Floris responded to the man with a cheeky comment, his serious expression made even Dan want to hide under the table instead of talk to him.

So, of course, that was exactly what they wanted them to do.

"Sorry to interrupt, but may I borrow Michael, Lucas, Dustin, Danelle, and Benjamin?" the principal asked.

Of course, the answer was yes. The group was funneled down to the principals office, where the reason for their visit was revealed. Will was missing. Missing missing.

At once the group began to talk over each other. They were in a total panic. What did they mean, Will was missing? What happened? Where had he gone? Did they find anything? They all tried to give various things they thought would help. Where he road his bike home. Places he liked to hide when scared. The fact that he could hide, and was really, really good at it. That he might be scared of them, and that they need to be careful. Everything seemed to jump together. Dan could barely hear their own words, let alone what the others were saying.

Finally, Chief Hopper snapped, "Okay, okay, okay. One at a time, all right?"

The group fell silent. Still, Dan fought the urge to wriggle in their seat. They hated this. They should be out looking for Will! What if something happened to him. Bad things.

"You," Hopper nodded to Mike. "You said he takes what?"

"Mirkwood," Mike answered.

"Mirkwood," Hopper repeated. He turned to the other officer - Callahan, his badge read. "Have you ever heard of Mirkwood?"

"I have not. That sounds made up to me," Callahan said.

"No, it's from Lord of the Rings," Lucas said.

"Well, The Hobbit," Dustin corrected.

"I'm, like, 99% sure it's in both," Dan said.

"And who cares?" Floris said. "Don't tell him, it's not our fault he's uncultured."

"You know what?" Callahan started. It almost sounded intimidating until he finished the sentence with, "That's very mean of you. Some of us have better things to do than watch movies."

Dan looked away and tightened their lips to avoid laughing. Hopper ran a hand down his face, clearly exasperated. They slapped Floris's arm to keep him from making a comment about how they were books. It worked. Sort of. Because instead of correcting Callahan on what media the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit were, he said something at least a thousand times worse.

"Yeah, I get it," Floris nodded in mock sympathy. "Like, for example, I've been really busy doing your mom lately. Missed so many movies."

The group let out a shared groan of annoyance. Callahan turned to Hopper and motioned to the boy. Clearly offended and waiting for the chief to scold Floris. Hopper, who was as use to this as the Party was, could only shake his head.

"That's enough. What'd I just say? One at a damn time," Hopper said, leaning forwards. Once again, he nodded to Mike. "You."

"Mirkwood, it's a real road. It's just the name that's made up. It's where Cornwallis and Kerley meet," Mike explained.

"Yeah, all right, I think I know that -" Hopper started.

"We can show you, if you want."

"I said that I know it!"

"We can help look."

The group nodded. Of course they could! Who knew Will better than his friends? And besides, that always worked in movies. Adults were crap at their job, so it was up to kids to fix it. It would be fun. Dan nodded at the idea. Their own little adventure. They'd travel through the wood, searching high and low, and in the end? They would find Will and return him hope with an awesome story to tell. Sort of like finding aliens. Just cooler, because it meant they got to save their friend from whatever horrible evils had befallen him.

"No," Hopper said. At once they all began to protest. They had to help! They couldn't just wait around while Will was missing. Hopper silenced them with a glare. "No. After school, you are all to go home. Immediately. That means no biking around looking for your friend, no investigating, no nonsense. This isn't some Lord of the Rings book."

"The Hobbit," Dustin corrected.

"Shut up!" Lucas hissed.

Lucas reached over Mike, slapping Dustin in the arm. Dustin responded. Soon the two had begun a slap fight, Mike jostled in the middle. Dan and Floris watched on from the side. Suddenly they weren't so mad they were the ones who got stuck in the extra chairs, which had to be brought in due to lack of couch space.

"Do I make myself clear?" Hopper said softly. They all fell silent and turned to him as he stood to tower over them. "Do I make myself...clear?"

They all nodded. There wasn't much else they could do.

°。°。°。°。°。°。

SEVEN POKED AT THE FOOD IN FRONT OF HIM. A hamburger, the man called it. He didn't quite trust it. The man hadn't exactly given them any reason to be suspicious of him. Instead he'd given them shirt to replace their hospital gown - both printed with Benny's Burgers, bright yellow, and too big for their small forms. They were soft, though. Much softer than the gowns or the bath uniforms. Seven would even call them comfortable. And the man's thoughts hadn't been too suspicious. In fact, he'd been very nice. It was just...he could never be too careful. Bad things happened when he wasn't too careful.

Eleven, meanwhile, ate quickly. She shoved as much food into her mouth as she could managed without choking. Seven didn't stop her. She would need to regain energy. So while she ate, Seven kept an eye on the man who sat across from them.

"Geez," the man muttered to himself. "Your parents forget to feed you."

Neither child responded. Eleven because she was focused on the hamburger, fascinated by the new taste. Seven because he was still trying to work out what would be save to tell the man. Their parents? It was a word that seemed completely foreign to him. He did remember the workers talking about their parents, once, and he mentioned people feeding them. Was it people who were supposed to take care of them? Like Papa, and the lab workers? The answer was yes, in that case.

But what would happen if Seven said that? Would the man tell someone? Would he call the lab? It was too much to consider. Too much to risk just to answer right now.

"Is that why you ran away?" The man asked.

Seven shuttered slightly. Forgetting to - or choosing not to - feed them was the least of Papa's crimes. The horrible experiment. The monster that had nearly killed them. No. That wasn't why they ran away.

"They, uh...they hurt you?" the man said.

Those words made Seven freeze. They were just a little too close to the truth. From the reluctance to say the words, Seven could tell it wasn't a comment that made the man happy, but feelings could be faked. The lab workers faked them all the time. Papa was a master of it. How pointed it was put him on edge. Was the man trying to scope them out? Get them to admit the truth, trick them, so they could be snatched back up?

"You went to the hospital, you met, you got scared, you ran off, you wound up here, is that it?" the man continued. Seven shrunk, slightly. He didn't like the annoyance in his tone.

He especially didn't like when the man grabbed the food from El, who startled at the suddenness of it. At once, without thinking, Seven grabbed the man's wrist to stop him.

"No," Seven snapped.

"So you do talk," the man said. "I'll give this back, all right? And you can have as much as you want, both of you. Maybe even some ice cream. But you gotta answer a few of my questions first, all right?"

Seven narrowed his eyes. Then man was cleverer than he'd given him credit for. He didn't like that.

"All right..." Seven said slowly, letting go of the man and sitting back in his seat. Mentally, however, he told Eleven to be careful, and planned to do the same. The man had proven himself willing to trick them. He couldn't be trusted.

"Let's start with the easy stuff," the man held out his hand. "My name's Benny. Benny Hammond."

It wasn't a name Seven recognized from the lab. That was a good start. Even if it could be fake.

"See? Like this. Here."

Benny took Eleven's hand in his. Slowly, he moved it up and down. He reached out to do the same with Seven's, but the boy snapped it away. He didn't want to be touched. To his relief, Benny didn't try again. Instead he held up his hands before putting them in his lap.

"Nice to meet you," Benny said, "And you are?"

The two stared. Neither seemed to know how to respond. Instinctively they moved to hide the numbers on their wrists. Mentally they were in agreement. They didn't trust the man. Not because he was bad, but because he didn't know, and all adults were ultimately threats. It didn't quite work though. Eleven accidentally kept her wrist on the table too long. Benny turned it, spotting the 011 printed on it. His face fell. It struck Seven then just how unhappy he seemed at this.

"Eleven? What's that mean?" Benny asked.

This confused Seven. The man seemed...upset. Very upset. No one had ever been upset at their tattoos before. It was simply how they were tracked. The lab needed to remember which was which, back when there were more of them (where had the others gone, Seven wondered. It was a thought that often confused him. He felt like he should know...)

"No," Eleven finally said.

"'No'?" Benny repeated. "No, what?"

Eleven only stared.

"All right. I guess no more food, then.

Seven shook his head at Eleven, but that was enough to win the girl over. She quickly blurted out the number, bringing Benny's attention - and his food - back to them.

"Yeah. What's it mean?" Benny asked.

"Eleven," Eleven pointed towards herself.

"All right, then," Benny nodded. He was shaking, Seven realized, as he turned towards the boy. "And...you have one as well?"

Seven clasped his hand tightly over his own number. He wouldn't let Benny see it. He wouldn't, he wouldn't, he wouldn't. His panic must have been obvious, as Benny moved to comfort him.

"It's all right. You don't have to show me," Benny assured. He passed the food back to them. "Here you go. Take it easy."

With that, Benny disappeared into the back. Seven watched him the entire way. The man seemed nice. He wanted to trust him. He just wasn't sure if he could...

°。°。°。°。°。°。

DINNER WAS...AWKWARD. Even Holly seemed to notice. She picked at her food at watched, waiting for something to happen. Dan had never related to the young girl more. They wondered if this was what people meant when they said tension they could cut with a knife. Except it was worse. Dan was pretty sure this was tension you could see, catch, cut up, and eat with your chicken. Everyone seemed to be waiting. Waiting for the right moment to say something they wanted to.

Mike was the first one to speak.

"We should be out there right now," he insisted. "We should be helping look for him."

"We've been over this, Mike, the chief says —" Mom started.

"I don't care what the chief says!" Mike interrupted.

"Michael!"

"Mike's right," Dan interjected quickly. "Everyone knows you shouldn't listen to authority. That's why it's a common theme in so many movies. I mean, what if the main characters in Jaws had listen to Larry Vaughn? Bruce woulda won and the movie woulda sucked."

"When did you watch Jaws?" Mom asked.

Right. Dan wasn't supposed to mention that. They quickly shut up and poked at their chicken. Mom was very particular about what they could or could not watch. Nothing with inappropriate content. Which meant Mom had nixed the idea as soon as she took one look at the poster and heard it was about shark attacks.

"None of this matters!" Mike interrupted, accidentally saving Dan from answering. "What matters is we have to do something. Will could be in danger."

"More of a reason to stay put," Mom said.

"Mom!"

"End of discussion."

Since Mom used her Very Serious voice, Dan decided there was no good in arguing. It seemed Mike had realized the same. He sighed and looked down at his plate. No one else met Mom's eyes as she glared around the table. Suddenly, Dan wasn't very hungry.

Truthfully, Dan didn't understand why their mom was so against them helping. The search party was a nice gesture, but a bunch of strangers wasn't going to do anything. In what story was the world saved by the nameless extras? It needed to be his friends. They were better equipped. The party knew Will. If he was hiding, he might trust them enough to come out. Or they could know where he would be, or signs of him being taken. All everyone else could do was walk around in circles.

"So," Nancy suddenly started. Oh, no. Dan didn't like where this was going. "Me, Barbara, and Bonnie are gonna study at Barb's house tonight. That's cool, right?"

"No, not cool," Mom said.

"What? Why not?" Nancy demanded.

"Why do you think?" Mom shook her head. "Am I speaking Chinese in this house? Until we know Will is okay, no one leaves."

"This is such bullshit!" Nancy blurted out, earning a vague scolding from Dad, the first words he's said all dinner. "So we're under house arrest? Just because Mike's friend got lost on the way home from —"

"Wait, this is Will's fault?" Mike interrupted.

"You know, if anyone should be worried Nancy, it's you. You're like the perfect horror movie protagonist, if there's a murderer out there, you're totally getting stabbed," Dan pointed out.

"Nancy, take that back," Mom scolded. "Dan, stop talking about your sister getting stabbed."

"No!"

"I'm just saying!"

"You're just pissed off 'cause you wanna hang out with Steve," Mike said.

The table fell silent. Dan oooed and averted their gazed from their parents' surprised faces. In the moment, they had forgotten that Steve was supposed to be a secret. Clearly Mike had as well. While Nancy glared him down, he turned to their parents with wide eyes.

"Steve?" Dad asked.

"Who is Steve?" Mom asked.

Was it too late to pretend he was just a friend?

"Her new boyfriend," Mike blurted out.

Too late. Dan once again cursed the no camera at the table rule. The conflict was practically writing itself.

"You are such a douchebag, Mike!" Nancy snapped.

"Language!" Dad scolded.

"Now slam something and storm off," Dan added at the same time.

Nancy turned to her, looking rather offended. "Is this a joke to you?"

"No," Dan quickly shook their head. And it was true. "I just think it'll add to the effect."

Nancy did storm off. She ignored Mom trying to call her to come back. Holly let out a small whimper. Mom tried to comfort her. Dan suddenly remembered the girl was still there, in her high chair, watching all of this happen. It must have been pretty weird.

"You see, Michael? You see what happens?" Dad said.

Dan nodded. It was about time he said something oblivious and completely disconnected from the emotions of everyone around him. Mike would get mad and start saying he was the only one who cared about Will in three...two...

"What happens when what?" Mike shouted. Holly squeaked mid way through drinking her juice. "I'm the only one acting normal here! I'm the only one that cares about Will!"

Now Dad would, not understanding why they were upset in the first place, respond as if Mike was being completely dramatic. Preferably with a side of making himself the victim. Maybe claim that Mike is wrong while behaving in a way that proved him correct.

"That is really unfair, son," Dad said as he stuffed another piece of chicken into his mouth. "We care."

Mike promptly stormed off. Well.

"I hope you're enjoying your chicken, Ted," Mom said. Then she stormed off as well, taking Holly with her.

"What did I do?" Dad called after her. He turned to Dan, still sitting across from him. "What'd I do?"

"No idea. I guess it's my turn, 'night, Dad," Dan stood and slammed their cup down. In the most upset tone they could manage, they shouted, "I'm so mad! Bullshit!"

With that, Dan turned and marched out of the room, leaving Dad behind to figure out what had just happened. They thought that had turned out pretty well, all things considered.

°。°。°。°。°。°。

THE MAN HAD BEEN HONEST. As soon as they finished eating, Benny brought out tubs of cold stuff called ice cream. There were three different flavors - vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate. He let them try each, then pick out the ones they wanted. Eleven got strawberry and Seven got chocolate. Not that it mattered. Using the spoons they were giving and sitting on one of Benny's counters, they happily traded flavors as they ate. They did a lot of things happily at the moment. Seven was surprised by that. For the first time in years, he was really happy. Truly happy, without the threat of it being snatched away at any moment.

Benny was washing dishes across from them. Seven had asked to help awhile back. He'd been compelled to, feeling they had to do something to earn their keep. Instead of accepting, the man insisted he go back to eating. It had surprised Seven. He didn't question it, though, only wondered about it in his mind.

"You like that ice cream, huh?" Benny asked. Eleven answered with a wide smile. Seeing it, Seven couldn't help but do the same. "Smile looks good on you two."

The two frowned this time. Smile wasn't one of the words the lab had thought to teach them. And why would they? It wasn't like they expected any of the children to be doing it often.

"You know, smile?" Benny turned up the corners of his mouth, as the two had done.

Eleven mimicked him. She liked the man, Seven noted. And he couldn't blame her, as Benny had begun to grow on him as well. Nothing about him seemed like the lab. They were clean, meticulous, orderly. Always cold and in control. Benny wasn't. He got messy as he cleaned up their plates. He joked with them and, whenever something scared them, was assuring and comforting. Once again Seven found himself hoping Benny was good. That he was safe, and they could stay with him, and it was that easy to escape. Because, if Benny wasn't good, if someone so kind to them was bad, then Seven didn't know who to trust.

There was a knock on the door. The two startled and whipped towards the noise. Benny was unfazed, however.

"All right. You just sit tight," Benny said as he started out into the main area. "Whoever it is, I'll tell 'em to go away real quick, all right?"

Benny really liked the words 'all right,' Seven noted. People were like that. Even in the lab, Seven had noticed that people something repeated words often. He thought about that as he didn't sit tight as all. Instead he hurried over to the window that opened into the main room. Seven stood on the tips of his toes, watching as Benny opened the door. He leaned over and spoke with someone in the door.

When he moved to motion towards them, Seven spotted the woman. His eyes widened. He recognized her. From the lab.

At once Seven ran back to Eleven. She was starting to grow suspicious as well, and panic grew on her face as he dragged her from the counter. Bad men, Seven warned mentally. Bad men are here.

The words were punctuated by a gun shot. A small noise, one that could barely be noticed if they didn't see the woman standing there with the weapon. Eleven startled. Through the window they saw Benny fall. At once the two broke into a sprint for the back exit. Where a group of guards where waiting. They aimed guns at the two.

Seven lowered his head. He forced his way into the guards minds, making them lower their weapons and stand still. As he did, Eleven jerked her head to the side, sending various items towards them. Then, for extra measure, she threw them against the walls. Without waiting to see if they were all right - Seven winced when he used the word Benny had said so often it ingrained itself into his psyche - and ran for the wall of trees. Seven only looked back long enough to see all of the vans that had collected around Benny's Burgers.

They fled through the woods. No longer was their path clear and meandering. Seven didn't even wait to keep himself from cutting up his feet. Heavy rain began to fall at some point. Seven didn't know or care, even as it soaked them to their bones. They needed to get away. Far, far away. That was the only way they would be safe.

Eleven pulled him to a stop, however. Something was moving in the distance. Something in front of them, something Seven had almost missed, a thought that made him panic. They almost ran right into danger.

Suddenly, beams of light broke through the darkness. The two leaned away and squinted through the brightness at a group of shapes. Not the large shapes of the guards, but small ones. Their size. Children.

The first chapter! Like with Playing Monster, I will be uploading this with an episode per chapter. At least for season 1 - 2, maybe three. But probably not in season 4, where ever episode is over an hour.

I know some characters don't get the most attention. Mainly Bonnie. However, she will be a bigger part in the next episode. However, when the chapter is 10,249 words long (not counting the author's note. 10,336 with it.) I needed to focus on what moved the plot forwards.