"we don't want to get in trouble, it would be an unnecessary hassle."

—

the young girl that sat on the couch breathed heavily while staring at the ground. thunder rumbled as the four kids continued to stare at her until mike spoke up.

"is there a number we can call for your parents?" he asked and erin shook her head.

"mike," she tried to interrupt quietly but he didn't, nor did the other two boys, hear.

"where's your hair? do you have cancer?" dustin asked and erin threw her hands in the air, annoyed, causing a look from the girl.

"did you run away?" lucas asked the next question.

"lucas," erin interrupted a little louder in a different tone. the three boys elected to ignore her and she shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"are you in some kind of trouble?" mike asked and lucas started to ease forward to touch the girl's shirt.

"is that blood?" he asked. mike stepped forward and slapped his hand, making the girl lean back sharply.

"stop it! you're freaking her out!" mike said.

"she's freaking me out!" lucas persisted.

"i bet she's deaf." dustin said suddenly, as if the idea was genius. he stepped forward and clapped at her, making her bounce back into the couch.

dustin looked to his friends. "not deaf." he said.

"alright, that's enough, all right? she's just scared and cold." mike said looking at all three of them before looking at the girl. the thunder crashed as mike went to his laundry basket and pulled out some clean clothes.

thunder rumbled again as the girl clenched her eyes shut and shivered. erin stared at her as she remembered of how she used to do that not long ago, because she believed that thunder brought monsters.

mike walked back over. "here, these are clean. okay?" he said, handing them to her. she gingerly took them and looked at them before softly rubbing them against her cheek. erin's heart slightly melted and it showed on her face as the girl did so.

the girl slid off the jacket before she started to stand up and take off her shirt, which is the only thing she was wearing.

erin quickly stepped forward as the boys turned around and shouted, "oh my god, no, and woah" over and over again. she held the girl's hands in hers which were placed on top of the unknown girl's covered thighs. the girl stared at her with wide eyes as erin rolled her eyes at the boys in the back.

"see, over there?" erin pointed to the basement bathroom. "that's a bathroom." she felt at a loss of words until mike turned back around.

"privacy. get it?" he asked pointing as well and the girl looked to dustin and lucas and then back to erin and mike.

she seemed embarrassed as she turned and picked up the clothes from the couch and made her way around the table. erin shook her head and gave a look of annoyance and disappointment at dustin and lucas as she followed.

the girl walked into the bathroom, taking a look around while mike hesitatingly stood with his hand up to his mouth and his leg bouncing. erin stared at the girl in wonder, a sense of familiarity coming to her.

mike started to close the door but the girl grabbed it to stop him. erin raised her eyebrows. "you don't want it closed?" mike asked and the girl looked them up and down.

"no." she softly spoke and erin's eyebrows raised even higher.

"oh, so you can speak." he lightly laughed and erin slightly smiled at the scene. "okay, well..." he trailed off, starting to close the door a little. "um, how about we just keep the door... just like this." he said finally just letting it stay open a little.

"is that better?" he asked.

"yes." the girl said and mike nodded while giving the girl a comforting smile. he turned away, nodding at erin. erin turned to the girl who's eyes were on her. erin smiled at her softly before turning away and following mike. erin stood between dustin and mike as the boys started to talk.

"this is mental." dustin stated.

"at least she can talk." mike protested.

"she said 'no' and 'yes'. your three-year old sister says more." lucas sighed.

dustin looked at them like they were missing a point. "she tried to get naked." he said.

"there's something seriously wrong with her." lucas sighed and erin raised an eyebrow. "

"i wouldn't go as far to say that, lucas," lucas cut her off with a shake of his head.

"like wrong in the head." erin bit her tongue.

dustin was still stuck on the topic of the girl trying to take off her shirt. "she just went like.." dustin said and then proceeded to show them how by pretending to take off his shirt and knocking his hat off in the process. erin rolled her eyes as lucas continued.

"i bet she escaped from pennhurst." he said, holding up his hands. erin shuddered. pennhurst was a place for loonies. she had testing up there before.

"from where?" mike asked, annoyed.

"the nuthouse in kerley county." lucas said. dustin raised his eyebrows and smiled.

"you got a lot of family there?" he asked. erin snorted and then covered her mouth while staring wide-eyed at lucas.

"bite me." he said in return.

"seriously though, think about it." lucas said as erin discreetly high-fived a smirking dustin. mike rolled his eyes and sighed. "that would explain her shaved hair and why she's so crazy." lucas said, pointing at erin's fallen-down ponytail while talking about her shaved head.

"why she went like..." dustin said, referring to her about to take off her shirt by pretending to take off his shirt again.

"she's an escapee is the point. she's probably a psycho." lucas said, staring dead-on at mike.

"like michael myers." dustin stated, his eyes widening.

"exactly!" lucas said. erin rolled her eyes.

"oh, come on, guys. now you're just blowing it out of proportion! michael myers was a killer, i doubt she's killed anyone. she looks like she's our age." erin tried.

"we should've never brought her here!" lucas said as mike rolled his eyes and sighed again.

"so, you just wanted to leave her out in that storm?" mike asked, aggravated.

"yes! we went out to find will, not another problem." lucas argued. erin tilted her head.

"i think we should tell your mom." dustin said.

"i second that." lucas agreed. the boys looked to erin. she shook her head.

"nope!" she said, popping the 'p'. "not getting in trouble, thank you."

"see?! who's crazy now?" mike cried. "how is that crazy?" lucas asked.

"'cause, we weren't supposed to be out tonight, remember?" mike said and erin nodded.

"so?" lucas shrugged.

"so if i tell my mom and she tells your mom and your mom and your mom.." he landed on erin. she nodded and looked at the two other boys.

"oh, man." dustin whimpered.

"our houses become alcatraz." lucas realized.

"exactly. we'll never find will." mike told them. the three exchanged looks and dustin even pretended to be the girl again by pretending to take off his shirt.

"alright, here's the plan. she sleeps here tonight." mike stated.

"you're letting a girl other than erin-" dustin immediately started but was cut off by mike. erin shuddered, looking to the slightly closed bathroom door.

"just listen!" mike turned to lucas. "in the morning, she sneaks around my house, goes to the front door and rings my doorbell. my mom will answer and know exactly what to do." mike said, impatiently.

"she'll send her back to pennhurst or wherever she comes from." mike said and erin squinted.

"michael," she started and mike winced. erin always called him that when she thought he was being irrational. "maybe she should stay at my house," erin slowly suggested. "y'know, girl and girl. it would make more sense." she said and mike shook his head.

"we don't want to get in trouble, it would be an unnecessary hassle." he said and erin nodded in agreement.

"okay. yeah." she said and looked at dustin and lucas.

"but, we'll be totally in the clear!" mike continued. "and tomorrow night, we go back out. and this time, we find will." he said ambitiously. erin nodded and sniffled again. lucas darted his eyes toward her.

"sorry." she whispered and wiped at her nose.

by then, the girl had come back out, fully dressed in the clothes mike gave her. she sat in the blanket fort the five of them had made a while ago. erin watched as dustin and lucas started up the steps but stopped upon hearing mike talk to the girl.

erin went back and forth on deciding wether or not she should follow them, but walked up behind mike anyway. she felt as if the girl would be more comfortable with another female present.

erin heard dustin and lucas talking before dustin's sigh. and then they were gone.

"hey, um, i never asked your name." mike said. erin nodded with a small smile. the girl glanced between them before pulling back her sleeve and showing the numbers, "011".

erin flinched, looking behind her, the words, "she'll kill you all" echoing in her head.

erin stumbled back upon seeing the tattoo, it looked so familiar.

mike reached forward to touch it. "is that real?" he asked and the girl yanked herself back. the girl's eyes went away from her wrist to mike. "sorry, i've just... never seen a kid with a tattoo before." he stated.

the girl stared at him before glancing to erin as he asked, "what's it mean? eleven?" the girl continued to stare before taking her pointer finger and jabbing it at herself.

mike didn't seem to notice erin's discomfort and if he did, he wrote it off as her schizophrenia acting up again.

"that's your name?" mike asked, almost as if he didn't believe her. the girl nodded, looking down a bit. "eleven. okay." mike said in return, glancing back at erin. "um, well, my name's mike. short for michael. that's erin, that's her full name." mike pointed back at erin.

mike looked down for a second. "maybe we can call you, 'el'. short for eleven." he suggested and erin nodded. the girl, eleven, nodded in agreement before mike looked at the ground awkwardly.

"um, well, okay. 'night, el." he said before standing up and reaching for the blanket atop the fort.

"goodnight, eleven." erin told her quickly and nervously, shrugging on her backpack. eleven looked up at her.

"'night, erin. 'night, mike." she said, looking up at him as he pulled the blanket over so that she wouldn't be seen. as soon as the blanket covered the view of her, erin swiftly turned around and started towards the stairs.

"'night, mike." she mumbled. she heard a quiet, "'night."

erin opened up the basement door and shut it back before jogging to the front door and opening it as quietly as possible. when she slid it open, she heard the basement door open but it was just mike going to his room. she took a step outside and closed it back as the rain instantly hit her.

the thunder still continued on and so did the new-found lightening and she shivered. she walked to her bike and pulled it up before starting to ride down the road and to her house.

but, upon hearing cries, she stopped and hopped off her bike. "hello? anyone there?!" she shouted into the woods, the rain muffling her words. "will! will?!" she shouted again.

nothing.

erin stopped and almost started to cry. she wrote it off as one of the voices. but, it wasn't just the voices. it was a voice. just not one she was expecting. it was the girl back in mike's basement that she would soon grow fond of.

-

erin laid her book on her desk as she took a seat behind lucas, like always. to lucas' right sat dustin and mike would have sat to lucas' right, except he wasn't there yet.

erin let out a sigh and looked to the two boys in front of her.

"oh, this is weird." dustin stated, looking over at mike's empty seat. erin looked again. "he's never this late."

"i'm telling you, his stupid plan failed." lucas told them and erin leaned forward.

"i thought you liked his plan?" dustin asked and lucas glanced at him.

"yeah, but obviously it was stupid, or he'd be here." lucas said.

"i'm really worried, guys." erin said, looking at them.

"we're worried, too, erin. but i'm sure he's fine." dustin said and erin nodded.

he's fine. he's fine. mike's fine. she tried to soothe herself. dustin leaned forward with a slight surprised smile. "if his mom found out a girl besides erin spent the night-" lucas finished for him.

"he's in deep shit right about now." erin rolled her eyes but slightly smiled as she looked out the window. dustin suddenly patted at lucas.

"hey, what is she slept naked?" he asked. erin leaned forward and slapped his arm and her scrunched her nose at him. he glanced at her and held up his hands.

"oh, my god, she didn't." lucas said, annoyed. erin rolled her eyes and this time, she didn't have a smile.

"oh, if mrs. wheeler tells my parents..." dustin sighed, putting his hand to forehead.

"no way. mike would never rat us out." lucas argued.

"i don't know." dustin sighed. erin slapped him.

"are you crazy? mike would never in a million years do that to us. plus, that's not what matters right now." erin said and lucas made a gesture that agreed with her.

"right. all that matters is, after school, the freak will be back in the loony bin, and we can focus on what really matters, finding will." he said and erin opened her mouth, ready to argue.

but, as soon as she did, mr. clarke sat down and that meant for them to open their books.

—