chapter four , the body

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Kennedy Theroux's life had fallen apart.

Will Byers was dead and Barbara Holland was missing. And, in a weird way, Kennedy was at the center of it all.

Kennedy was listening to her grandmother ramble on the phone. The woman was saying how she'd be home as soon as she could, but the business she was dealing with was so important that they'd be able to keep the house.

It was the next morning after Will was found.

Kennedy walked through her house grudgingly. Bags were still under her eyes and she barely had the energy to walk down the stairs. When the phone began to ring, her shoulders slouched and she groaned. She took a few steps, letting her feet pat against the wooden floor before she picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Kennedy? Hi, it's Karen Wheeler."

The Theroux girl sucked in a breath. Did something happen to Nancy? Or Mike? "Mrs. Wheeler, hi! Is everything alright?" Kennedy's finger looped in the red cord. She held her breath as she waited for Karen to answer.

"Well, as alright as they can be." Karen said with honesty in her tone. "Mike is staying home today and I'm worried to have him here by himself. I don't know if you're going to school today-"

Kennedy cut off Mrs. Wheeler. "I'm not. I can come watch him while your gone." She suggested. Kennedy needed to get out of this house. She needed a breath of fresh air, even if that was to grieve with Mike Wheeler.

Karen sighed in relief. "That's amazing, honey. I'm so glad we have you. Do you need me to come get you?"

"No, I'll have my friend drop me off," Kennedy looked toward the guest bedroom door, seeing Steve Harrington step out. He had refused to leave her alone after what happened.

Karen Wheeler hung up the phone and stepped toward the basement stairs. "Mike! I'm having Kennedy come over and watch you while I'm gone!" She called out. Mike looked over at the girl in his basement. She had a shaved head and she was wearing his clothes. It was Eleven. A little girl with powers that somehow knew Will was alive.

"Okay!" Mike shouted before turning to Eleven with wide eyes. What was he going to do? Eleven tapped the walkie-talkie Supercom. Mike frowned. Eleven started fiddling with it. Different static flooding the room before one finally played. It was Kennedy, screaming for Will. Mike looked up in confusion, sinking to the ground next to the girl he'd been hiding in his basement. "What is that?"

Eleven looked at the Supercom. "Kennedy." She said, the name rolling off her tongue in an unsure manor. Mike watched as Eleven tapped the number on his wrist. The 011 tattooed into her skin. "Me."

Mike frowned. "What are you talking about?" Eleven pointed at her number, and pointed back at the Supercom. "Do you know Kennedy? Is she- is she like you?" Mike watched as Eleven pursed her lips. She have a single nod. "How do you know? Does she know? Does she know about the bad men?" Eleven shook her head. Kennedy didn't know.

༺❀༻

The front door of the Wheeler house swung open before Kennedy could even knock. The girl looked slightly downwards at Mike Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair, and Dustin Henderson. They all stood in front of her, eyes wide with curiosity, excitement, fear, worry, and annoyance. "You're here!"

Kennedy frowned. "Yeah? I told your mom I would be." She deadpanned. Lucas looked toward Mike, waiting for the Wheeler boy to explain everything.

Dustin gave his usual grin and his eyes lit up. "Hi, Kenny." The Theroux smiled as she patted his shoulder.

"Hi, Rusty Dusty," She hummed as she walked past. The boys stuttered, unsure how to explain their situation. Lucas and Mike quickly ran in Kennedy's direction.

"She called me Rusty Dusty," Dustin swooned. He leaned against the door, sighing loudly.

Kennedy walked into the living room. "I need you to sit down." Mike ushered the girl with reddish hair. Kennedy frowned as she did, sensing the uneasy tension in the room. "Kenny, I need you to do a spit swear." Mike deadpanned.

Things just keep getting more and more bizarre, Kennedy thought as she put her hands in her lap. She was wearing jeans and a plain mauve pink long-sleeve top. She looked between the boys. "Why?"

"Because we have to tell you something life-or-death level important," Mike explained.

"Like, seriously life-or-death," Dustin added.

Kennedy looked between each of them as they rambled. "So, are you in or out?" Mike stoof there with his arms to his sides, waiting for the teenage girl to reply.

"Is it gonna get me arrested?" Kennedy asked with a furrowed brow.

"No."

"Definitely."

"Who cares?"

The three boys looked at each other with incredulous looks considering their differing answers. Kennedy sighed, holding her hand in front of her face. Mike grinned with relief. The two of them spit into their hands. Kennedy held out her palm, letting Mike shake it. The teenage girl scrunched her face at the feeling of saliva on her hand and wiped it on her jeans when the shake was over.

Kennedy sighed as she cupped her knees with her hands. "Okay, so what's going on?"

"When Will went missing we found a bald girl with superpowers and there were bad men coming after her." Rambled Mike.

Dustin continued, "And now she's saying that Will isn't really dead and he's hiding somewhere. We might even be able to contact him."

The boy with darker skin spoke up.  "But we need to get to a bigger radio at the middle school." Lucas gestured to the others.

"And she also is now saying you're somehow involved with the bad men, but you don't know about it. Her name's Eleven and she can move things with her mind and gets nosebleeds."

All three boys clamped their mouths shut as they waited for Kennedy's response. She was silent. Dead silent. The hair on the back of Mike's neck stood up. Dustin held his breath. Lucas's shoulders slouched. Kennedy blinked. That was the first thing she did. Slowly, Kennedy inhaled. The crisp November air that followed her into the house seemed to hum inside her lungs. She looked at the boys again, trying to organize her thoughts.

"What?"

Dustin let out the breath he was holding. Mike began to explain once more. "I know it's crazy. But its true! We heard Will on the radio! I heard him! He was singing that song he likes!" Mike exclaimed, stepping toward the teenage babysitter. "Please believe me, Ken. You'll understand when you meet El!"

"When did you hear Will? Wait, how did you hear Will?" Kennedy scrunched her brows and shook her head, trying to think clearly. Why was she entertaining this? Will was found last night. The boy was dead.

"We think she was channeling him somehow. And we think she can do it again but with a stronger radio." Dustin explained to the Theroux.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Except Mr. Clarke's Heathkit's at school. And there is no way we can get the girl in there without anyone noticing." He explained, looking back at Kennedy.

"Why not?"

"Because she looks like a weirdo!"

Kennedy looked at Lucas, not impressed with his answer. She looked between the three boys. They were so sure that what they were saying was true. They truly believe Will was alive. How? She didn't know. But something was clawing at the back of Kennedy Theroux's mind. And it was telling her they might be telling the truth.

Mike and his friends watched Kennedy stand up, wiping her hands on her jeans once more. "Okay, where is this Eleven girl?"

The Wheeler basement was about what Kennedy expected. It looked as messy and chaotic as it always did. It even had its usual scent of boy and junk food. Kennedy turned to her right, pausing at the sight of a small child under a makeshift fort. She was the same age as Mike, Lucas, and Dustin. She had a shaved head, just like Mike said. Her brown eyes were wide and her mouth hung open. Mike trampled down the stairs, pushing in front of Kennedy.

"El, this is Kenny. She's our friend and is going to keep the secret."

Dustin chimed in from the stairs. "She spit swore."

Kennedy gave a small welcoming smile as she stepped closer to Eleven. The girl with buzzed hair tensed up, watching Kennedy's every move. "Hi, El. I'm Kennedy." Eleven watched as the girl with auburn hair stuck her hand out. Eleven didn't budge right away. "I'm only here to help."

Eleven looked at Kennedy's hand, taking it in both of hers. Kennedy frowned as her Eleven turned her arm, facing her palm to the ceiling. Dustin and Lucas shared confused looks, leaning over the stairs to try and get a better look. Eleven looked at a freckle on Kennedy's wrist. "Same." Eleven pointed at the small black dot on Kennedy, then pointed at her own wrist. Kennedy's gaze fell onto the 011 tattooed onto the little girl's skin. Kennedy frowned, not understanding what Eleven meant.

"The boys want to take you somewhere, but we need to put you in a disguise," Kennedy explained, trying to get Eleven back on track. The little girl looked up at Kennedy in curiosity. A smile etched onto Kennedy's lips. "I think I have an idea,"

Eleven followed Kennedy up the stairs and into Nancy Wheeler's bedroom. Kennedy hummed softly as she pointed to the window seat, where Eleven now sat. The girl with auburn hair grabbed pieces off of Nancy's vanity. Mike, Dustin, and Lucas were downstairs sorting through old clothes. The three of them arguing over what a girl would wear.

Kennedy sat in front of Eleven. "This is makeup," Eleven looked down at the box of stuff in front of her. Kennedy picked up a small white thin box, opening it to reveal a pink substance. She then picked up a brush. "I'm going to put this on your cheeks, okay?" Eleven stared. Kennedy dipped the brush into the blush, before swiping it onto Eleven's cheek. Quickly, the strange girl shrunk back, and Kennedy giggled. "It's okay, promise."

Dustin pulled out a blond wig, putting it on his head. "Hey! Look at me!" Lucas pulled out a pink dress, spinning around to see Dustin. Lucas rolled his eyes.

"Wait, that's perfect!" Mike shouted. Dustin yelped as the wig was snatched from his head and the dress was snatched from Lucas. Mike ran up the stairs, making sure Kennedy was given the wig and the dress.

The three boys waited outside of Nancy's room while Kennedy got Eleven situated. Dustin looked over. "Do we know how Kennedy's connected to the bad men?" He asked.

Mike shook his head. "No idea. Maybe its something to do with her parents? Nobody knows about them." He offered the idea as he looked over at Lucas.

"Or maybe the weirdo is just crazy!" Lucas suggested as he pointed at his head. Mike scowled, rolling his eyes.

The door to Nancy's room opened. Mike watched Dustin and Lucas's gaze, before turning around himself. Eleven stood there in the baby pink dress and blond wig. She fiddled with her hands at her sides as she waited for Kennedy to step out of the room with her.

Kennedy beamed as she stepped out, "So, what do we think?" Chirped the teenage girl.

"Wow." Dustin hummed. Lucas pursed his lips as he shared impressed looks with the Henderson. "She looks—"

"Pretty." Mike blurted. A small smile crept onto Eleven's face. Lucas looked at Mike in confusion while Dustin smiled in shock. Kennedy bit her lip to hold back a laugh as Mike shrugged. "Good. You look pretty good."

Eleven walked past the boys to the mirror at the end of the hall. Kennedy looked toward Lucas and Dustin with knowing looks, winking as she nodded in Mike's direction. Eleven looked at herself. The blond hair, the pink dress. She hadn't really looked so...girly before, though she didn't really know what that meant.

"Pretty." She whispered as a smile spread across her face. "Good."

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Kennedy didn't love the idea of riding through Hawkins with a bunch of middle schoolers. However, most people knew she was a babysitter, so nobody would really think much of it. So, when Kennedy pulled out Nancy's old bike and filled the tires up with air (with the help of Lucas), she, the boys, and Eleven made their way to Hawkins Middle School.

Eleven looked around in fascination as she sat on the back of Mike's bike. She hadn't really seen the world. She was fascinated by every shop, every bird, every car. She loved the air on her face. She watched as Kennedy made the boys laugh by doing tricks on the bike. It was something new, something beautiful.

Kennedy lead the kids into the middle school. She was never here, for obvious reasons, unless it was to walk Will home. "Okay, remember, if anyone sees us, look sad." Mike hissed. Kennedy looked around the halls, not paying any mind to Lucas and Dustin sending sad faces toward El. The PA system goes off, their principal speaking.

"Attention students, there will be an assembly to honor Will Byers in the gymnasium now. Do not go to fourth period."

Mike pushes against the Audio Visual Room. He frowned, trying to force his way in. Kennedy rose a brow. "Hey, doofus, I think it's locked." Kennedy pointed out.

"Gee, thanks, Kenny." Mike mumbled sarcastically.

Lucas pushes against the door. Dustin looks toward Eleven. "Hey, do you think you can open it? With your powers?" He asked. Eleven opened her mouth, unsure what to say.

"Boys?" The group went dead silent. Elevens eyes were wide as she looked up at Mr. Clarke, the science teacher. Lucas slammed his back onto the door, Kennedy awkwardly leaned her arm on to Mike's shoulder, and Dustin looked up at their teacher. "Assembly's about to start."

Mike nodded awkwardly, "We know. We're just, you know,"

"Upset." Lucas chuckled, before frowning and solemnly looking at the floor. Kennedy narrowed her eyes at Lucas.

"Yeah, definitely upset."

"We need some alone time."

"To cry." Dustin mumbled as he tried to think of what to say on the spot.

Mr. Clarke nodded, "Yeah, listen, I get it. I do. I know how hard this is, but let's just be there for Will, huh?" Everyone pursed their lips and slowly nodded. "And then," Kennedy watched Mr. Clarke pull out a set of keys and tossed them to Mike. "The Heathkit is all yours for the rest of the day. What do you say?" Everyone smiled and nodded. Mr. Clarke looked up. "Kennedy Theroux! It's been a while."

Kennedy nodded, "Yeah, I'm just here for moral support." She said awkwardly. Mr. Clarke then looked at the unfamiliar blond girl.

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

"Eleven-"

Kennedy talked over the girl, "Eleanor! She's my second cousin." She lied easily. Dustin turned to look at the girl. The boys were impressed with how quickly she lied. "She's here for Will's funeral."

"Ah, well, welcome to Hawkins Middle, Eleanor." Mr. Clarke hummed kindly. "I wish you were here under better circumstances."

Eleven looked back at Kennedy and Mike with uncertainty. "Thank you."

"Uh, where are you from exactly?"

Everyone looked at Eleven. Okay, Kennedy hadn't thought of that one. Mostly because she didn't know much about the situation regarding Eleven outside of the Will situation. "Bad place—"

"Sweden!" Dustin blurted.

Kennedy smiled nervously. "I have a lot of Swedish family."

"She hates it there."

Lucas nodded, "Cold!"

"Subzero." Hummed Dustin as he dropped his hand to his side. Kennedy rolled her eyes at the group, realizing she needs to teach them all to be way better liars.

Mr. Clarke was clearly weirded out by the interaction, but didn't want to push it. "Shall we?"

"Yep!" Kennedy turned away from Mr. Clarke, grabbing onto Mike's shoulder as she did. "You owe me so much after this!"

"I owe you a lot of things!" Mike threw his hands in the air as he looked away from the redhead girl. Kennedy rolled her eyes, pushing away from him.

Principal Coleman stood at the podium in the Hawkins Middle School gymnasium. He spoke into the microphone, "At times like these it is important that we come together as a community." The door swings open, Dustin standing at the front of the group. Everyone in the gym snaps their heads at the group of kids and the teenage girl. Eleven looks around in fascination. She had never seen so many people in one place.

All eyes were on them. The closest people to the dead kid just walked in on their dead friends assembly. Dustin leaned into Lucas. "Abort!" He hissed, turning to run out the door. Lucas grabbed the Henderson by the shoulders, forcing him to turn back to the gym. The four kids made their ways to the bleachers, while Kennedy stood by the door with Mr. Clarke.

"Will Byers' death is an unimaginable tragedy." Principal Coleman recited as he looked at the students of Hawkins Middle School. Kennedy crossed her arms, uncomfortable. She wondered what Nancy was doing right now. Did she talk to the police yet? What about Jonathan? Maybe Nancy mentioned Jonathan was there and he'd talk to the police too. Maybe Steve's house would be investigated. "Will was an exceptional student and a wonderful friend to all of us. It's impossible to express the hole his loss will leave in our community." Mike and his friends looked around the gym, staring at the other classmates. "I'd like to introduce you to Sandy Sloane.
She's a local grief counselor from the church over in Jonesboro." Eleven looked at Dustin, who gave her a friendly grin. "But before she comes up here, I just want those of you who are having trouble dealing with this tragic loss,"

"Look at these fakers." Mike Wheeler mumbled. He looked at their classmates with a scowl.

Lucas looked around. "They probably didn't even know his name till today." The sound of laughing caused Lucas and Mike to look down the bleachers. Two boys named Troy and James laughed as they spoke.

"Who is interested in this? This is so stupid." Troy began mocking the principal, his friend quietly laughing with him. Eleven leaned down the row to watch, Dustin clamping his mouth shut. "Oh, he was such a great student. Oh, he's going to leave a hole in the community."

Eleven was quiet. "Mouth breather." She mumbled. Mike looked over at her, almost surprised Eleven picked up on the meaning. He had called Troy and James that the day prior.

Kennedy kept her arms crossed as she tried to listen through the entire assembly. Mr. Clarke asked her if she was supposed to be in class, and she explained she had gotten excused by her grandmother. He nodded in understanding, bringing his attention back to the Principal.

The school bell rang, and the cluster of students made their way down the bleachers. Kennedy started making her way towards the kids, but noticed Mike turned away. Kennedy's gaze followed the two bullies, seeing Mike finally approaching them. "Hey, Troy!" The two boys turned around, seeing Mike and his friends, "You think this is funny?" Okay, to be honest, Mike wasn't usually the type to stand up to bullies. Especially James and Troy. However, this was different. They weren't picking on him, shoving him around. They were laughing about Will. Who, as far as these two knew, was dead.

"What'd you say, Wheeler?"

Kennedy walked closer, listening to Mike. He was stammering. He was scared, but he wasn't stepping down. "I saw you guys laughing over there. And I think that's a real messed up thing to do." Lucas and Dustin were sharing nervous looks. This couldn't go well, could it?

"Didn't you listen to the counselor, Wheeler?" Asked James. "Grief shows itself in funny ways." Students had began to gather around. Kennedy pushed past some, trying to actually get to the boys and Eleven.

Troy continued to talk. "Besides, what's there to be sad about, anyway? Will's in fairyland now, right? Flying around with all the other little fairies." He mocked. Mike kept a straight face as he stared. "All happy and gay!" James and Troy continued to laugh as they turned to walk away. They made imitating sounds, singing songs as they did. Kennedy's eyes widened as she watched Mike. He took a few quick strides, before shoving Troy to the ground. Kennedy shoved past the rest of the kids, standing next to Eleven as she watched Troy snap his head back to Mike. "You're dead, Wheeler. Dead!"

"Mike!" Kennedy called out, running in the boys direction. Troy took two large steps in Mike's direction, ready to charge at him when he suddenly stops. Kennedy stumbles, her hands landing on Mike's shoulders as she watches in confusion. Dustin and Lucas look at each other, then back at the boy who'd been tormenting them forever. Kennedy's eyes widenas she looks at Troy's pants, seeing a wet stain form.

"Dude, Troy peed himself!"

Students began to laugh. Dustin giggled as he looked at Lucas. Kennedy tried to hold back a smile, but she really couldn't. Mike and Kennedy looked back at Eleven, who stared at the boy before back at Mike. She gave a small smile, wiping the blood from her nose and walking toward Lucas and Dustin.

"Hey! What's going on here!"

Kennedy grabbed Mike's arm. "Abort! Abort!" She waved her arms wildly at Mike and his friends, the five of them running in the direction of the exit with the heard of students.

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Kennedy stood on the otherside of the desk. She watched Mike start setting up the radio in front of him. Eleven sat in the red chair, the three boys surrounding her. "Now what?" Kennedy asked as she looked at the radio in confusion.

"She'll find him." Mike answered plainly. Kennedy looked at the radio in curiosity, tilting her head. "Right, El?" The blond girl looked up at Kennedy, who gave a soft and gentle nod. Eleven's hands grazed the table as she slowly closed her eyes. She focused on the radio frequencies.

An uneasy feeling crawled up Kennedy's spine. She began to inquire if she'd rather be with Nancy looking for Barb or these three looking for Will. She didn't know. Kennedy could see Eleven's eyes move under her eyelids. This girl had superpowers. Real life superpowers. Then Kennedy remembered what Mike had told her. Eleven said Kennedy was involved with the Bad Men. What did that mean? Who were the Bad Men? Kennedy could ask the young girl, but Eleven wasn't the best communicator.

"She's doing it! She's finding him!" Said Mike.

"This is crazy."

Lucas looked at his two friends. "Calm down. She just closed her eyes." As if jinxing himself, the light above the group goes out.

"What the," Kennedy trailed off as she looked around the dark room. Her attention was brought back to the radio. There was something. A noise. Clanging of some kind. The boys leaned in closer to listen. Kennedy frowned as she did he same. "What is that?"

CLANG. CLANG. CLANG. Kennedy gripped the table tightly as she listened to a faint noise. What was it? She slowly looked up at Eleven, seeing the girls eyes were still closed.

"Mom?"

Kennedy nearly sobbed in disbelief. The sound of Will's voice caused everyone to look at each other in shock. "No way!" Lucas gasped.

"Mom! Please!"

Kennedy felt tears roll down her cheeks. She sunk to the ground, her elbows on the table as she put her hands in her hair. Will was alive. He was somewhere out there. His screams for Joyce caused the girl with auburn hair to close her eyes tightly.

"Will!"

"Will, it's us! Are you there?"

"Can you hear us? We're here!"

The three boys shouted for Will, but the Byers boy only shouted for his mom. "Why can't he hear us?" Asked Lucas.

"I don't know!"

Kennedy sucked in a breath as she heard a sound in the radio. "Guys." She mumbled softly. The three boys looked at Kennedy. Her eyes were wide and her knuckles were white. "He's not alone."

Soon enough, Will's voice became more full of fear. "Mom, it's coming!" Kennedy wondered how he was talking to Joyce. Did she hear him on the radio too? "It's like home, but it's so dark. It's so dark and empty. And it's cold!" Kennedy pursed her lips as she tried to fight back tears. He was so scared. They couldn't do anything."Mom? Mom!"

Kennedy grabbed the microphone, "Will? Will, it's Kenny!" She shouted. She had to let him know she heard him. She needed to find him.

"Mom, please!"

Kennedy sucked in a breath as she felt tears running down her face. "Will!" She cried.

Suddenly, the radio began to blow. Electric shocks from the radio caused the three boys to jump back. Kennedy fell to the floor, groaning in pain as she did. The light above them turned on, and Eleven opened her eyes. A fire started. Kennedys scrambled to the fire hydrant in the corner, pushing Dustin out of her way. Eleven dazily watched as Kennedy put out the flames, but the school alarms echoed around the,

"El, are you okay?" Mike asked the girl. Lucas gasped in surprise. Elevens face was pale and her nose was bleeding heavily. She looked sick. Kennedy dropped the fire hydrant, looking over. "Can you move?"

Eleven blankly stared at him. Kennedy walked around the chair, pulling Eleven up. Eleven wasn't more than 90 pounds, but Kennedy struggled as she carried the blond. Mike ran to the door, unlocking it.

"Come on!" Dustin shouted as they ran a different direction than fleeing classmates. Kennedy grunted, adjusting the girl in her arms as they made their way out of the middle school without being seen.

Kennedy had no idea what to expect. She had no idea what she and these kids had stumbled upon. She didn't know what took Will, or where he was. She just knew that it had to have been the same thing to take Barb. And if he was alive, maybe she was too.

Kennedy Theroux was in for a hell of a ride.

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