"she has schizophrenia. ever heard of it, chief?"

—

erin did eventually go back to sleep. after a lot of coaxing from her sister, and sleeping medicine. she slept soundly, not making a noise, although michelle stayed with her for most of the night just in case. when she did wake up, she almost started to cry.

the brunette yawned instead and stood up from her bed. then she tip-toed to the door and turned the knob. she's met with the smell of eggos and bacon.

she walked down the steps quietly and into the kitchen. her sister is sitting there, as well as her mother at the stove.

"morning, sweetie. how do you feel?" michelle asked once she sees her there.

"i'm okay. i'm sorry." erin apologized.

"you're perfectly fine, erin. okay? never let anyone tell you different." michelle stated. erin smiled and made her way over to the table.

"i have to get going. i'm already late." michelle then told her girls once erin sat down.

"you didn't have to wait on me. i would've been fine." erin said and michelle shook her head.

"i'll be late tonight, so just call in a pizza because i don't want you cooking for yourself." michelle said. she pulled out money from her pocket and laid it on the table." the sisters exchanged glances. they've had to call in a pizza more frequently as their mom picked up more hours at her job.

to erin, it had always been just her, elizabeth, and her mom. their dad had walked out when she was about to turn four, so she didn't remember anything. she didn't even know what he looked like. neither elizabeth or her mom told her, nor did they show a picture. they tried their best to make it seem like he never existed in the first place.

erin blinked as michelle wrapped her arms around her. "okay. love you, mom." erin hugged her.

"bye, mom. drive safe." elizabeth sighed and her mom kissed her head.

"love you girls. be good." michelle said before walking out the door and to her car.

-

once erin met up with the boys, they pedaled together in silence. the boys must have gone to will's house first because he wasn't with them and they kept on talking about something joyce said. this made erin's heart hurt.

the four pedaled to hawkins middle school in silence. when they reached the school, they put their bikes in the bike racks and looked around. "that's weird. i don't see him." mike stated once they got off their bikes.

"i'm telling you, his mom's right. he probably just went to class early again." lucas sighed as they walked towards the school.

"yeah, he's always paranoid gursky's gonna give him another pop quiz." dustin agreed.

"guys, what if he isn't there?" erin whispered. walking side by side to dustin, she silently hoped that he would be sitting in the room when she walked in, but her thoughts were interrupted.

"step right up, ladies and gentlemen." a voice called behind them. the four turned around with a silent groan. "step right up and get your tickets for the freak show." troy and james emerged in front of them.

"who do you think would make more money in a freak show?" troy asked james. "midnight," he stepped up and punched lucas on the shoulder. "frogface," he did the same with mike. "toothless," he shoved dustin's shoulder. "or psycho?" he hit erin's shoulder lightly.

"stop it, troy." erin murmured lowly, always at the boys' defense.

thankfully, he didn't hear her, and james pretended to think. "i'd go with toothless." he leaned forward and said it so that he was imitating dustin.

"i told you a million times, my teeth are coming in." dustin sighed. "it's called cleidocranial dysplasia."

erin inwardly smirked. "you know they're incapable of understanding big words, dustin." she turned to him. the boys slightly chuckled at their daring friend and troy scowled at her.

"shut up!" he yelled in her face and shoved her back.

she sighed out and rolled her eyes but didn't say anything else. james mimicked dustin again. "i told you a million times." he slurred. the two boys chuckled and troy raised up his hand.

"do the arm thing." when dustin hesitated, james yelled.

"do it, freak!" so, dustin set his stuff on the ground and took off his jacket.

cracking his bones in his arms, troy and james groaned in disgust. "god, it gets me every time." troy said and they both walked through the four kids.

"assholes." mike looked at dustin. "i think it's kind of cool." he stated nicely.

"it's like you have superpowers or something." erin smiled.

"yeah. like mr. fantastic!"

"yeah, except i can't fight evil with it." dustin sighed, picking up his stuff.

-

erin stared at mr. clarke as he droned on about the subject. honestly, she loved mr. clarke. he was extremely helpful and the only teacher in the school who didn't treat her like a ticking time bomb. but, sometimes he could drone on about useless stuff way too much. she was snapped out of her stare by the bell.

"remember, finish chapter 12 and answer 12.3 on the difference between an experiment and other forms of science investigation." mr. clarke started to say as the kids left the classroom. "this will be on the test, which will cover chapters 10 through 12." he started to trail off while looking out the door. "it will be multiple choice with an essay section." he turned back to the front and was met with four eager faces.

"so, did it come?" mike asked.

"sorry, guys." mr. clarke sighed. "i hate to be the bearer of bad news, but..." the four kids frowned. "it came."

mr. clarke led them to the room which had the kit. they walked around to the desk looking at it in excitement. "yes!" mike sighed in satisfaction.

"the heathkit ham shack." mr. clarke said as mike uttered a small 'woah'. "ain't she a beaut?" mr. clarke continued.

"i bet you can talk to new york on this thing." dustin said as he reached over to the dial. erin sighed at it. mike picked up the headphones and put them on.

"think bigger." mr. clarke gestured with his hands.

"california?" lucas asked, turning around.

"bigger." mr. clarke replied.

"ireland?" erin asked, a certain tinkle in her eyes.

"even bigger." mr. clarke stated.

"austrailia?" mike asked, finally looking away from the kit to mr. clarke.

mr. clarke nodded with a grin. they all exclaimed in happiness and surprise. "when will sees this, he's totally gonna blow his shit." lucas laughed.

"lucas." mr. clarke scolded while staring at the back of the boy's head.

"sorry." lucas apologized but mr. clarke couldn't help but smile at the young kids who reminded him of his childhood days.

dustin chuckled in amusement as did erin. lucas and mike fiddled with the tuners, trying to get it to connect. mike leaned forward into the microphone and started talking with an australian accent. "hello, this is mike wheeler, president of hawkins middle av club." erin giggled in excitement causing dustin to giggle with her.

erin couldn't help her hands as she grabbed the headphones off of mike's head and put them on her's.

"what are you doing?" mike giggled, looking at her.

"g'day mates, this is erin cartwright, secretary of hawkins middle av club." dustin suddenly grabbed them off of her head.

"hello, this is dustin henderson and this is treasurer of hawkins middle av club. do you eat kangaroos for breakfast?"

as mike and erin giggled, lucas reached over to take off the heaphones. "um," erin mumbled as their principal approached the door and knocked on it. "why's the chief here?" she whispered. mike shrugged.

"sorry to interrupt, but, uh, may i borrow michael, lucas, erin, and dustin?" he asked pointing to them. erin and lucas exchanged glances before getting up and following the men.

-

erin sat in between mike and dustin with an anxious face. the three boys were overlapping each other with their words. erin squeezed her eyes tight and tried to ignore them. she hadn't taken her pills after lunch like she was suppose to yet. the nurse never came to get her.

the chief, hopper, sighed. "okay, okay, okay. one at a time, all right? you." he looked to mike who nodded in response. "you said he takes what?" hopper asked.

"mirkwood." mike told him and erin nodded.

"mirkwood?" hopper asked and mike nodded with a 'yeah'.

"have you ever heard of mirkwood?" hopper asked the man beside him.

"i have not. that sounds made up to me." his deputy said.

"no, it's from lord of the rings." lucas said. they glanced at him.

"well, the hobbit." dustin corrected and erin leaned back, slightly rolling her eyes, already knowing what was coming.

"it doesn't matter." lucas shook his head while looking back at dustin.

"he asked!" dustin yelled.

"he asked!" lucas replied, mockingly.

"shut up, guys!" mike said as hopper leaned forward.

"hey, hey, hey!" he scolded. "what did i just say?" he asked.

lucas sighed at dustin, "shut up."

erin breathed out and wiped at her nose. "one at a damn time. you." he snapped his finger to mike. "mirkwood, it's a real road. it's just the name that's made up." he explained.

erin started breathing out through her nose as dustin glanced at her. erin heard the voices getting louder and she stared at her fingers, counting them over and over. there was always one more finger if something was wrong.

"it's where cornwallis and kerley meet." hopper leaned back.

"yeah, all right, i think i know that-" mike cut him off.

"we can show you, if you want." he stated.

"i said that i know it!" hopper exclaimed as erin flinched, staring up at him.

"we can help look." mike protested.

"yeah." dustin whispered looking up from erin.

"no." hopper said firmly. all three boys started talking over each other, saying how they could be able to help. "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." hopper said.

"the hobbit." dustin sighed.

"shut up!" lucas said as he reached over and hit dustin's knee. "hey!" dustin said as he hit lucas back.

the boys continued to bicker, completely ignoring erin, mike, and hopper. "do i make myself clear?" hopper leaned forward.

lucas and dustin hit each other one last time before hopper stood up. "do i make myself... clear?" he asked, now standing in front of the four kids. erin shrank beneath him. 

they all nod but only the boys speak. "yes, sir." dustin and mike say, while lucas just utters a simple 'yeah'.

"what about you, young lady?" hopper asked erin.

she just looked up at him with weary eyes. hopper looked at mike. "what's wrong with her?" he asked, pointing.

mike glanced at erin and then the principal. "she has schizophrenia. ever heard of it, chief?" he sassed. hopper looked away from mike to erin and sighed, nodding to his deputy as he walked out.

-

erin sat at home, in her bedroom, snuggled up in her bed. she sniffled every now and then, just staring at the ground. once she had arrived home, she had ran to the bathroom and coughed and cried so hard that she puked. then she took an extra dose of her medicine and came to her room to nap.

she had been laying in there for a couple of hours, not moving a muscle. she closed her eyes but was jerked back to from her walkie-talkie blaring mike's voice. "lucas, erin, do you copy? it's mike." erin started to stand up, but sighed as lucas started talking.

"hey, it's lucas." erin stood and picked up the walkie-talkie while pulling out the antenna and holding down the button.

"it's erin." she croaked out.

"guys, say 'over' when you're done talking so i know when you're done. over." mike said.

"i'm done. over." lucas said, annoyed.

"i'm worried about will. over." mike stated and erin perked up at the sound of will's name.

"i am, too. over." erin piped up. lucas sighed.

"yeah. this is crazy. over."

"i was thinking... will could've cast protection last night, but he didn't. he cast fireball. over." erin sighed.

"what's your point? over." lucas asked.

"my point is... he could've played it safe, but he didn't." mike said and erin nodded as she sat up. "he put himself in danger to help the party. over." mike continued. erin sniffed. it was silent for a bit until lucas spoke up.

"meet me in ten. over and out."

-

erin finally slipped out her window and landed on the grass with a thud. she went to the tiny shed that her bike leaned against and grabbed it. she stopped for a moment and huffed out, closing her eyes and leaning over her bike. anything to get rid of the terrible headache she had.

she started down her driveway and then was riding along the sidewalk. "lucas!" she whisper-yelled upon seeing him up ahead. he turned his head and they made eye contact. she pumped the pedals until she was next to him and they made their way in silence. it wasn't long before they all reached each other.

"bad feeling. bad feeling." dustin spoke to mike once they were all four together.

"always a bad feeling, huh?" erin asked. he shook his head, aggravated.

"let's just go." mike suggested.

soon, they were coasting down the road with their lights on. erin's long brown hair flapped in the wind as she shook her shoulders to adjust the backpack.

"ah, man. this is it." lucas said as they finally rode upon the blocked-off posts for will's search. erin sniffled once more and lucas rolled his eyes.

"could you not? are you sick or something?" he asked and she glared at him.

"i don't know! i feel like i'm getting a nose-" mike cut her off.

"guys!" he warned and they sighed.

they all sighed again as thunder rumbled above them. they started getting off their bikes and erin squinted at the sky. dustin looked up as well. "hey, guys. you feel that?" he put his hand up. he wiped his eye as a droplet of rain hit him. erin held her hand all the way up and did in fact feel three droplets hit her palm.

"i think maybe we should go back." dustin suggested.

"no." mike said, turning to him. "we're not going back. just stay close." he said and erin nodded. "come on." mike said, walking forward as lucas followed him.

"yeah, dustin. we could be will's only chance. you know chief hopper, he'll try but think it's a lost cause." erin patted his shoulder as she bent under the pole.

mike relented. "just stay on channel six. don't do anything stupid." mike said, accepting the fact that dustin was staying there. dustin scrunched up and breathed heavily as erin shot him a half-smile.

"be careful." she said, pulling out her flashlight.

the thunder rumbled again and erin looked up. "hey, guys, wait up. wait up!" dustin called. erin turned around as dustin ducked underneath the guard pole and ran up to them.

they made their way into the woods, erin shivering in the process. she walked in between dustin and mike as they shined their flashlights too. the thunder rumbled above them.

"will!" they called over and over.

"will byers!" erin yelled to the top of her lungs.

"byers!" lucas yelled.

"i've got your x-men 134!" dustin shouted and erin shook her head.

"will!" she cried.

"guys, i really think we should turn back." dustin stated and erin turned around sharply.

"dustin, come on! will's gotta be here somewhere!" she yelled.

"you wanna be a baby, then go home already!" lucas agreed.

"i'm just being realistic, lucas!" dustin screamed back. erin shook her head harshly because of course, the noises she heard were getting a little too loud - and the boys arguing wasn't helping.

"no, you're just being a sissy!" lucas said as erin shined her flashlight off to the side.

"did you ever think will went missing because he ran into something bad? and we're going to the exact same spot where he was last seen? and we have no weapons or anything?" dustin asked and erin's head shot towards him. she turned back.

her eyes widened and she huffed out while continuing to walk. "dustin, shut up." mike said.

"i'm just saying, does that seem smart to you?" dustin asked.

"shut up. shut up." mike quieted him once again as he listened to leaves rustling.

erin tilted her head to try and hear and widened her eyes. "what?" she whispered to herself, taking a step forward. mike grabbed at her sleeve and she softly pushed him off.

the rustling sound suddenly got louder and they quickly turned to the side, where it was coming from. they gasped and shined their flashlights on whatever it was as a strange indistinct screeching sounded in the distance.

then rustling was suddenly behind them and they all turned.

they were met with a small, frail girl with a shaved head, shivering in the cold.

—
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