The Next-Door Down

Radio

You let your bike clatter to the floor outside your front door.

School had sucked today.

You sigh as you trudge into the house that you knew so well: 12 Laboratory Lane, Hawkins Indiana.

Your home was deadly silent since your parents had an extremely late shift at the building that you seemed to hate the most, Hawkins National Laboratory.

Still, you walk into the kitchen with a slight grin because when you were home alone, you could do whatever you want.

Today, that sly grin faded much faster than it normally did due to the lack of positivity at Hawkins Middle today, you decide make yourself a warm drink and stare out the window at the enormous lab that blocked the sunlight from pouring into your house.

Not that it was actually going to be sunny, it was November 6th.

The radio crackled on the windowsill, tuning in and out of channels, making the house seem even more quiet when you walked up to it to turn it off.

As you plonked yourself back into the chair, you realised that you probably needed to study for the next pop quiz that Mr Clark had set your year.

Today, you really couldn't be bothered with it.

You let your mind wonder, completely unchecked, eventually you find yourself wondering about the new radio they'd installed  at school today.

Rumours were that it could go all the way to Australia. That was epic.

Radios had always interested you but you had never thought to join the A.V. Club.

You weren't sure why.

Your mind deviates from the A.V. Club and towards its members.

You had never really talked to Mike, Dustin, Lucas or Will.

The only time you had ever spoken to them was when you were talking about Marvel Comics and were debating if Quicksilver would win a fight against Phoenix.

You said that Quicksilver would win.

Obviously.

But after you'd made your point and probably pissed them off a bit, they'd just decided to leave you alone.

You probably should've tried to start another conversation with them.

They were the class nerds and truthfully, you were one too.

It was then that you were shaken from your thoughts and heard a strange and eerie sound.

It was like a tearing noise as if someone were ripping apart the very fabric of reality.

Maybe they were.

The thing that filled your gut with dread was the fact that the noise had come from the lab.

And that was where your parents were.