HIDDEN !¡ MIKE WHEELER

09. ✰

THE FOUR KIDS walked down to the basement to bring El food. "El?" Mike called. Him and Mabel kneeled down next to the blanket fort. "No adults. Just us and some meatloaf," he smiled, putting the tray down.

"Don't worry, they won't tell anyone about you. Right?" Mike looked back at Dustin and Lucas. "We would've never upset you and your sister if we knew you actually had superpowers," Dustin laughed. Mike nudged him. "What Dustin's trying to say is that they were just scared earlier, El," Mabel reassured her sister.

The redhead knew that the kids didn't actually believe — except for Mike — that Mabel had superpowers until they saw it right in front of them. "We just wanted to find our friend," Lucas told El. "Friend?" El repeated. "Yeah, friend. Will," Lucas nodded.

"What is "friend"?" El asked, looking at her sister. "Is she serious?" Lucas asked. "Yes, Lucas. Don't forget we grew up in a lab. El, a friend is someone you'd do anything for," Mabel smiled. "You lend them your cool stuff, like comic books and trading cards," Dustin added on.

"And they never break a promise," Mike nodded. "Especially when there's spit," Lucas mentioned. "Spit?" Mabel was the confused one now, turning around to look at Lucas. "A spit swear means," Lucas began, spitting into his hand. "You never break your word. It's a bond."

He shook Dustin's hand with the same hand he just spat in. "That's disgusting," Mabel blurted out, rolling her eyes. "That's super important, because friends... they tell each other things. Things that parents don't know," Mike finished. El looked up, nodding.

She then stood up, walking to the table in the middle of the room and sitting down. "What's the weirdo doing?" Lucas whispered. "Don't call her that," Mabel elbowed him in his side. "El?" Mike said her name as they walked up to her. El closed her eyes and then grabbed a game piece, picking it up.

"Will," she let out. "Superpowers," Dustin said. Lucas rolled her eyes. Mabel sat down next to her sister. "El, do you know where he is?" she asked. El wiped all the characters off the board and flipped it upside down. She then grabbed the wizard piece and set it down.

"I don't understand," Mike mumbled. Mabel caught on to what her sister was saying. "He's hiding," she slowly said. "Will is hiding?" Mike asked. El nodded. "From the bad men?" Mike asked again. El shook her head. "Then from who?" Mike asked. El picked up the demogorgan piece and placed it next to the wizard. All the kids exchanged looks as Mabel took a shaky breath.

"The monster."

THE NEXT MORNING, all the kids were back at Mike's house. Their plan was to lie to their parents and go to Mirkwood to search for Will. "We'll just tell our parents we have AV Club after school. That'll give us at least a few hours for Operation Mirkwood," Mike told the three kids standing in front of him.

El was sitting on the couch, playing with Mike's walkie-talkie. "You seriously think that the weirdo knows where Will is?" Lucas asked. "Call her that one more time, I'll slit your throat in your sleep," Mabel looked Lucas dead in his eyes, causing him to tense up beneath her powerful stare.

"Just trust me on this, okay?" Mike said. "Got the supplies?" Lucas nodded, opening his bag. "Binoculars, from 'Nam. Army knife also from 'Nam. Hammer. Camouflage bandana... and the wrist rocket," he pulled out the last thing, grinning.

"You're gonna take out the Demogorgon with a slingshot?" Dustin scoffed. "First of all, it's a wrist rocket. And second of all, the Demogorgon's not real. It's made up. But if there is something out there, I'm gonna shoot it in the eye..." Lucas snapped his wrist rocket. "And blind it."

"Dustin, what did you get?" Mike sighed. Dustin emptied his bag on the table, revealing a bunch of snacks. Mabel, Mike and Lucas all shared annoyed looks as Dustin searched through his items. "Alright, so we got Nutty Bars, Bazooka, Pez, Smarties, Pringles, Nilla Wafers, apple, banana and trail mix," he smiled.