The Overcomer, Stranger Things

Fugitives & Eggos

Gwen had her hands clenched tightly around El's flannel as the older girl carried her piggy-back through the woods. When the Byers girl asked where they were going, Eleven said that they had to go to the dealer's... or maybe it was the Wheelers'. Gwen was still quite disoriented. As the eccentric pair approached the Wheeler household, the older of the two was horrified to see several police cars outside the house. The youngest still thought they were going to the dealer's. Gwen looked up curiously as the blinding blue and red lights invaded her vision. As the girls got closer to the suburban house, a feeling of nostalgia washed over the youngest. Gwen closed her eyes as memories flooded her mind.

~:~

Gwen Byers' heart pounded as she pumped her legs harder on her new bike. The bike was any six-year-old's dream. Its body was a blush pink with a lavender-purple basket. The handlebars even had colorful streamers hanging off the sides! The Byers girl could not wait to show it off to her friends. Everything was going great until things started going downhill. Or rather, she did.

"AHHHH!" Gwen screamed as her bike hit a tree stump, resulting in the girl getting catapulted off the contraption.

Having heard the girl's scream, Lucas, Dustin, Mike, and Will immediately scrambled over to the Gwen. The overprotective group of boys had no idea what to do. So they did what 12-year-olds do best. Place blame.

"I can't believe you didn't watch her more carefully!" Lucas yelled at Will, whose face had turned a pale greenish color.

The boy didn't seem to hear him as he kept repeating the same phrase over and over. "My mom is going to kill me."

"Don't you play martyr here, Lucas Sinclair. I saw you ogling at those pudding cups through the kitchen window," Dustin rebuked, putting his hands on his hips in a scolding motherly manner.

Lucas' face turned red as he looked down at his hands. He didn't think anyone saw that. Mike rolled his eyes before taking control of the situation.

"Enough! She's losing blood here people." Mike stated, before starting to assign tasks to the helpless boys.

"Lucas go get the first aid kit from the upstairs bathroom. Dustin, you get a glass of water and a washcloth. And Will, please go find a trashcan."

Mike sighed as he looked down at his, now soiled, garden gnome. "You just threw up on Muckbuckle."

The three kids immediately hurried to follow Mike's instructions, going in separate directions. Mike knelt next to Gwen, who was cradling her head close to her chest. The Wheeler boy gently put his hand on her shoulder, making the girl look up at him. The boy's heart nearly broke in two when he saw that the girl had tears in her big blue eyes.

"Can I see it?" he asked, motioning to the girl's cut that was hidden by her bangs.

Gwen hesitated before she pushed aside her hair to reveal a small gash on her forehead. Mike gently touched the cut, causing the girl to wince.

"Does it hurt?" Mike asked, obviously concerned.

Gwen opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off by Dustin sprinting towards the two, holding the first-aid kit. Lucas was right behind him, yelling about how Dustin stole the box from him. And Will was lagging behind, dragging his trashcan after him. Dustin collapsed in front of Gwen before cupping the girl's face to check for injuries. When he saw the nick on the 6-year-old's forehead, he almost had a heart attack. Lucas rolled his eyes at Dustin's dramatics before offering the girl a cup of chocolate pudding. Gwen accepted it gratefully.