|| Nine and Three || A Stranger Things AU Story ||

Chapter 6

31st street wasn't too busy of a place. As a matter of fact, it looked abandoned. It was darker than the rest of the city. Granted, they had only seen a small portion, but in their small world, it was big. This street was in the outskirts of Chicago. The sidewalks were wet from a past rainfall, and their worn shoes soaked up a bit of the moisture. The two looked at each other occasionally, and they looked around a little before turning and finding themselves in a cool, misty fog as they walked the street quietly. They saw the overpass and could tell they were closer, then saw a big building, the warehouse, as Kali had called it, and a door with a light flickering behind the small, foggy glass window. Antone grabbed Hazel's hand and squeezed it as they approached, the place seeming quite eerie and full of mysteries. Hazel closed his eyes for a moment and tried to remember if there were any more details. No. This place had to be it. Antone twisted the knob to the door and pushed it open. There was a soft humming noise inside, almost like a machine, nearly inaudible over the voices they could hear coming from around the stack of plastic barrels and boxes. It was wall to wall graffiti, and Hazel clung to him as they slowly crept towards the light, and they could see people. A group of four. Gathered around a fire, some sitting on the ground, others on a bench, some standing.

"Hello?" Antone asked and walked over, Hazel nearly behind him, feeling afraid and shy. He didn't see Kali. One of the people stood and chuckled as he walked over to Antone, who pushed Hazel behind his back to keep him safe. "Well, well..." He slowly walked over Antone, a sly grin on his lips. His hair was like a shark's fin, dyed orange, and he had tattoos on his neck and hands. He had one dangling earring and some of the others laughed a little. Hazel bunched up a bit of Antone's jacket in his hand and held on.

"What do we have here? What might two brothers be doing here?" Antone stood his ground.

"Kali told me she was here." Hazel said softly, stepping out from behind Antone, looking at the taller, a bit standoffish people that intimidated him.

"Kali, huh? How do you know her?" He asked, grabbing something from his pocket.

"Don't hurt him, we're just here because we need somewhere to stay. We're friends of Kali. Where is she?" Antone asked, urgency in his voice, keeping a close eye on the knife in the man's hand.

"Three?" They both turned. She was coming down the steps, holding onto the yellow railing, then stood and looked at both of them.

"Three? Hell do you mean by three?" The man asked and spat on the ground, shoving his knife away because clearly Kali knew the two, and she would probably threaten him with mind tricks.

"Kali!" Hazel ran away from the group and ran up the stairs to hug Kali. Kali wasn't used to hugs, so she sort of returned it awkwardly and smiled a little.

"I'm really proud of you. Both of you. For escaping. And you're welcome to stay. Two more numbers in the gang would help out a lot. Come with me."

"Antone!" Hazel waved him over and Kali took them to the room where they would stay. It was a cozy, mood-lit room with a big bed, pillows and blankets everywhere, trinkets on the tables around, and a closet hidden by a thin curtain. Hazel took the orange blanket off of the colorful bed and sat down, hugging it and smelling it. It smelled really good. Incense was burning in there, and there was a mirror, and some lit up signs and a few boxes. It was a pretty comfy space, and to top all of that off, the door was a window followed by two big windows on the wall beside it. Easy to peek into.

"I also have a change of clothes for you guys. Lots, actually and you can pick some stuff out. If you want to be a part of our gang. You'll want to dress like us, then we'll go on a trip to pick out your masks."

Antone stood looking into the mirror, then looked around and slid his hand along the wall, which also had graffiti on it.

"Masks?" Hazel asked and took off his book bag, standing up as he watched Kali walk into the closet, pushing away the curtain.