Escape ~ S.Harrington

1} The Vanishing of Will Byers

(November 6th, 1983)
[Hawkins, Indiana]

BEEP!

Ugh...

BEEP!

Shut up.

BEEP!

Leave me alone.

BEEP!

Oh shit!

Jenna Henderson slapped her hand down on her alarm and sprang out of her bed, panicking that she was going to be late picking up her brother Dustin and his friend Will Byers from their DND campaign at the Wheeler house. She headed to her door, thinking she was all set to go, but looked down, realizing she was only in her sports bra and a pair of jeans. She quickly threw on an old Queen shirt that was definitely in need of a wash, her red zip up, and a pair of high top Converse before sprinting to the front door. As she crossed the threshold, she tripped, falling flat on her face.
"Fuck..." She winced, sitting up and giving herself a brief once over.
No blood. That's good. I'll probably be feeling that later though.

She picked herself back up and made her way towards her car. Once safely inside of her red '70 Chevy, she popped in one of her precious mixtapes that her dear friend Jonathan Byers made for her as a birthday gift. Should I Stay or Should I Go blasted through the speakers as she drove down the road to the Wheeler's. She had the windows down, letting the breeze drift through her brown curls as she sang along to the music. Most of the time, she was driving someone else around so she craved the few moments she got alone in the car. Mostly because they were some of the only times she didn't have to hear about her quote unquote terrible driving skills that Dustin and everyone else seemed to think she possessed. Upon arriving at the Wheeler's, she parked her car haphazardly in the driveway and trudged up to the front door, still half asleep and in pain. After a loud yawn and a quick eye rub, she rang the doorbell.

RIIIIING!!!!
She heard muffled footsteps from within the house, making their way quickly over to the door. It opened to reveal Karen Wheeler with an exhausted smile on her face and a food-covered apron.
"Hello, Jenna," She greeted, messily blowing a strand of hair from her face, "I'm guessing you're here to pick up Dustin?"
"You'd guess right, Mrs Wheeler," Jenna smiled at her, "I'm also grabbing Will. Jonathan and Joyce are both working tonight and the little rascal left his bike in my front yard this morning."
"Well, isn't that sweet of you? You know where they are. Oh, and Nancy's in her room if you want to see her. She's been glued to her bed all evening."
"Thanks, I'll make sure to say hello before I leave."

Karen moved out of the doorway so Jenna could slip past her. Before she even reached the basement door—right where she knew the kids would be hiding away for their campaign—she heard enthusiastic screaming from Mike creeping up through the floorboards. Having participated in dozens of campaigns with the boys, she knew they were loud when they got excited; especially the dungeon master.
"Boom. Boom. BOOM!" He yelled. Muffled words followed, but Mike's voice soon rose again, bellowing, "The Demogorgon!"

Jenna slowly creaked open the door, trying her best not to disturb them. Given her past experiences dealing with them, she knew how irritable they could get when they were interrupted. In her expert opinion, they reverted back into toddlers, whining for just a few more minutes of playtime.
"Will, your action!" Mike commanded.
"I don't know," Will gaped.
"Fireball him!" Lucas Sinclair exclaimed as if it were the only correct option.
"You have to roll a 13 or higher," Will groaned.
"Too risky. Cast a protection spell," Jenna's brother tried to reason.
"Don't be a pussy. Fireball him!" Lucas scoffed, rolling his eyes dramatically.
"Cast protection," Dustin whined, slumping back in his chair.