Risky Business.

009. hatching a plan

chapter 009,
hatching a plan

                             THE LAST THING LUCY WANTED TO DO was hash things over about Jonathan forgetting her birthday, given all that was going on. Lucy still hadn't been fully filled in on all that had gone down in Hawkins over the past year, but she knew it was much more complicated (and supernatural) than she could have ever even imagined. What she understood was that Will, her little brother's sweet, caring, D&D-loving best friend, had to have been sedated upon leaving the lab because he was possessed by some sort of monster from another dimension—the same monster that had been the ringleader of all the smaller monsters that had attacked Lucy, Steve, Max, Dustin, and Lucas at the junkyard.

     And Jonathan still wanted to talk about Lucy's feelings.

     Once Hopper had skidded to a stop in the Byers's driveway and all of the kids had spilled out of the car, Lucy was the second-to-last inside. Her lips parted out of confused shock when she entered the living room; some sort of blue scribbles drawn on plain paper were draped over the entire house's walls, all connected by both sides. It almost looked like a tunnel, if Lucy squinted.

     "How's he doing?" Lucy asked, kneeling by Jonathan's side to watch over Will. "Is he okay?"

     Jonathan held a hand to Will's forehead, his eyes glued to his brother as he pursed his lips and shook his head. "I have.. no idea. I just... I should have been there. I should've been there for him."

     "Jonathan, it's okay," Lucy said, though she wasn't sure how much she believed her own words. She watched Will as she spoke. "He'll be okay. He's a strong kid."

     Jonathan looked up for the first time and met Lucy's eyes for a split second, then lowered his gaze and twisted his lips to the side. "Lucy, about your b—"

     But Lucy stood up, shaking her head. "Let's just... talk later, okay?"

     He gave her a sad smile and a nod. "Okay," he said, then returned to caring for his brother.

     "...I don't know how many people are there!" Hopper was yelling into the phone as Lucy rounded the corner from the living room. He had one hand on his hip, the other gripping the phone furiously as his voice rose. "I am the police! Chief Jim Hopper! Yes, reach me at the number I gave you; 6767—I will be here."

     And with that, he slammed the phone back onto its base, then ran a hand through his hair frustratedly. Lucy took a seat at the dinner table between Dustin and Leo. She gazed up at Hopper, but she knew the answer to her question before she even asked it.

     "Nothing?" she said, stupidly. "They didn't believe you, did they?"

     He turned over his shoulder and looked over the kids sitting around the table. "We'll see."

     "We'll see?" Mike repeated, standing from his chair angrily. "We can't just sit here while those things are loose!"

     "We stay here," Hopper said through grit teeth, "and we wait for help."

     The six of them watched as Hopper stalked back into the bedroom to find wherever Joyce had gone. Mike dropped his head onto the table, Lucas ran a hand down his face, Max leaned back in her chair and exhaled a heavy sigh, and Dustin cursed to himself. Without warning, Leo stood so suddenly his chair scraped against the wood floor. He stormed out into the living room to sit by Will's side some more. Lucy watched him go, staring at the doorway with a pitying gaze until Mike's voice stole her attention.

     "Did you guys know Bob was the original founder of Hawkins AV?" he asked, staring at some technical toy in front of him.

     That got the rest of the kids' attention. Dustin picked up his head. "Really?"