Raining Hellfire

RAINING HELLFIRE chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Flea and the Acrobat

When you and Nancy had walked home together, all you could talk about was the possibility that Will and Barb were alive. You couldn't lie, you were hopeful. It made you that much happier. But you still didn't have all the facts. And you knew what that meant; you were going to have to talk to the party.

And, like you had somehow conjured him from air, you and Nancy found Dustin sat on the Wheeler's front door steps. He sprung up as soon as he saw you, running over.

"There you are! We've been waiting for you, there's so much we need to talk-" His ramble was cut short when he saw Nancy was beside you, his eyes widening.

"Talk about what?" She queried.

"Um... D+D?" He said, smiling. It was clearly a nervous smile. He wasn't good at the lying thing.

"I promised the boys I'd help them out with their new campaign." You said to Nancy and she laughed.

"Really? I thought you hated D+D."

"No, I just didn't understand it. But they needed a fourth so I promised I'd help them. They're going to explain it to me."

Nancy nodded but she still looked unconvinced. You leaned in to her like you didn't want Dustin to overhear.

"I just felt bad. Ever since Will..." You whispered and she quickly nodded.

"Well have fun?" She finally said. "I have a few things to... work on." She looked at you and you nodded back. She was going to put together a plan.

"That was a close one." Dustin sighed, wiping imaginary sweat from his forehead. "How did you do that?"

"Practice." You simply said, walking him inside and entering the basement.

"Finally!" Mike exclaimed, sitting next to El who... was in disguise?

"...What did I miss?" You looked at each of them, eyebrows furrowed.

"I got this." Dustin said, holding his hand out against his friends when they opened their mouths to speak and clearing his throat. "El tuned into our walkie talkie and Mike thought he could hear Will so he invited us over and we were all like dude, no way but he insisted. And then we needed a bigger radio so we disguised El in one of Nancy's old dresses and a wig and pretended she was a Swedish cousin just so we could sneak her into the school to use the A.V. club's new awesome radio which you can't even imagine how cool it is, like its frequency-

"Dustin!" The other boys say in frustration.

"Right, sorry. So we got in undetected thanks to our improvisation skills and El did her magic thing on the radio and thats when we heard it. Will. He's alive but stuck somewhere. Oh, and it took a lot out of El so we came back here to let her rest." He finished, smiling to himself for explaining so quickly.

"I honestly dont know how to respond to that." You said, pinching the bridge of your nose. "Okay, so this radio... you really heard Will?"

"Yes." Lucas sighed.

"That makes sense. I think Will was taken by something, and I think it took Barb as well. They're both alive we just need to get to them." You said.

"What was Will saying?" Mike asked himself, his hands in his pockets. "Like home... like home... but dark?"

"And empty." Lucas remembered, his elbows on his knees as he clasped his hands into a rest for his head.

"Empty and cold." Dustin chimed in, "Wait, did he say cold?"

"I don't know. The stupid radio kept going in and out." Lucas sighed.

"It's like riddles in the dark." Dustin muttered.