Immortal Strangers: The Experiments

Chapter Two: The Case of the Gunk

The day was passing slowly for Stefan but it gave him time to meet more of the locals. A lovely woman named Tara worked at the general store. Though she seemed haunted. He asked her about her day and if she was doing okay. When he asked her that question she closed up and stared off into space as though she was seeing a ghost. This town had a lot of history and it seemed like it had a lot of pain. Maybe he could help solve some of the problems that loomed over Hawkins.

When Stefan returned to the video store, everything was dark. The whole building and there was only one car there. It was a 1981 BMW 733i. A very nice car but it looked like it needed some work done. Maybe that was something recent. Either way, he could probably fix it up. The car's lights turned on and Stefan saw Steve sitting in the driver's seat. He turned his head and looked directly at Stefan. There was fear and curiosity in his eyes. After Stefan had smiled, Steve rolled his window down. So he did the same. "Hey, you want to follow us?" Stefan nodded to him and after he had backed out, he followed after them.

They didn't drive for too long but it was just outside of town. Though part of Stefan was starting to grow more concerned. Where he was hunting was only a few miles in a different direction. Was this stuff close to the animals he had been feeding on? As Steve's car pulled to a stop. He also stopped and parked his car. Slipping from the driver's seat, he met Steve at his vehicle. "Wow, you're fast." Sometimes he didn't ponder how quickly he could walk. It was dark though. Not like anyone saw how fast he had been.

"Yeah, I was always athletic, in school." Steve smiled and it seemed like Stefan might have said something he could relate to. "Is this where it was?" Turning to look around at an empty field. It looked like it had previously had tomato plants. He could still smell the soil from a sweet tomato lingering in the air. Steve nodded to him and Stefan nodded back. "So tell me, what about this stuff was dangerous?"

"I told you, we shouldn't have brought him out here. He's going to ask too many questions and we don't even have all of the answers." Steve rolled his eyes as he turned to Robin.

"Well, do you have any better ideas?" Robin scoffed.

"Yeah, like not talking to a stranger?" Steve rolled his eyes again.

"Seriously?" It was clear the two were quarreling about differences in opinions over trusting Stefan.

"Look, I'm not a normal stranger. I've seen things that you couldn't even imagine in some of your darkest dreams. Whatever happened here, is probably something that's right up my alley. I just want to help you guys make sure that whatever is on those tapes isn't here anymore." Steve trusted him. He could tell by the way he stood and looked at him. Robin was the one who was still having a hard time. "Would it be better to ignore the problem, wait for it to get worse, and then need my help?" That seemed to work with softening Robin up. She sighed and realized Stefan was right.

"Fine, but you can't tell anyone else about any of this. Okay. We're going to tell you some crazy things. They're going to sound insane but I promise you we're not crazy." Steve glanced at Robin.

"Speak for yourself..." She looked at him and after a second he realized that he had made it seem like he was the crazy one and not her. Stefan liked Steve. He's not the smartest guy but he seems to have his heart in the right place. What he needed to focus on now was figuring out if this stuff was still there. Was it spreading? Stefan's footsteps were in stride with Steve's as they approached an area of the ground that looked disturbed. He knelt as Steve pointed at it. "This is where the hole was at." Looking up at him as Stefan grazed his hand on top of the soil.

"Hole?" They needed a shovel.

"Yeah, one sec..." Steve disappeared and he looked at Robin who was still staring at him with uncertainty.