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The four young teens who were caught in the woods sit in the living room of the Wheeler household, sitting on the all too familiar couch. Dustin in the middle, Max on his left, Lucas on his right, and Ethan on the end, sitting on the arm rest as he tries to hide his hand away. To say it was mangled was probably an understatement, and the excuse to sit and cry in the bathroom to sob the pain out wasn't very sneaky either. He wished he could hide and escape, but he had to get through the pain, just for right now.
"What exactly were you all doing at the lake?" Powell questions.
"Uh... It's- "
"We were... we were just going for a walk." Max quickly nods, looking back up at the literal crowd of adults around.
Lord, was Ethan lucky that Nicole wasn't here to beat his ass for lying.
"A walk, at 9:00pm?" Officer Callahan furrows his brows.
"To the lake!" Dustin squeakily defends. Callahan gives him a sarcastic look. "We were gonna... take a little swim."
Ethan looks at the adults with a blank, numb smile and stare, trying his best not to focus on the hand he had shoved in his hoodie pocket. Thank God Lucas always somehow had a hoodie everywhere. If not, he would've been busted and they could've all gotten in serious trouble and questioned even harder to wonder how it happened.
"Dusty, someone was just murdered there!" Claudia exclaims, speaking to her son.
Ethan warily looks down at the three beside him, wondering what story they were going with here. He still felt dazed and confused and nauseated as well, considering the possession and floating midair thing. It did a number on his eyesockets, creating a genuine, raw pain that made him want to scream in agony. He was counting the seconds, eyeing the clock on the wall, waiting for enough useless time to pass so they could go, so Ethan could get help, maybe go scream in the woods to try and feel anything but pain.
"Yeah, we... we didn't realize that until we got there, " Dustin speaks.
Lucas, beside him, is unable to even look at his parents, fearing getting into trouble. Max looks over at him with a 'You're a terrible liar' look.
"That's why we didn't swim." Lucas speaks up, trying to help his friend build the story.
Karen speaks up, worried about her daughter. "And Nancy, was she with you at this night swim?"
"No."
"Yes. Uh..."
"Holy shit," Ethan exhales quietly.
"Language, Ethan."
"Sorry, Mrs. Wheeler."
Lucas gulps, a monotone voice striking his words, "We're not sure."
