• disappearing: a stranger things choose-your-own adventure •

𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟳 - 𝙝𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜

After school. 

You're with the Party- riding your newly fixed up bike. It's 3:15, and El is meeting you outside Mike's house, next to the power lines.

"Ready?" Mike asks. "We only have a few hours to find Will." 

El looks a bit uneasy, but she climbs onto the back of Mike's bike anyway. 

Your headphones around your neck, and muffled music finds its way to your ears. 

𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘪 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦. . . 

You walk your bike along the old train tracks going through the woods, looking around. 

"This all seems. . .really weird," you say. 

"What?" Lucas frowns.

"Why can't anyone find Will?" you wonder. "There have to have been a bunch of search parties sent out, right? Hawkins is a small town, isn't it? Someone has to have seen some sign of him." 

"Maybe he's hiding from something," Dustin says. 

"What would he be hiding from? Shouldn't that concern us more?" you ask. 

𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨'𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥. . .

"I don't know!" Lucas scowls. "That's why we have the slingshot."

You shrug. "I guess. . ."

𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦. . .

The sun starts to set. "It's getting kind of late." You look over at El and Mike, who seem to have been having their own conversation. 

"El can find Will," Mike assures you. 

The five of you curve around the woods, and you realize you've walked practically into Will's backyard. 

"Here," El says. 

"This is where he lives," you say. 

"Hiding." 

"No, no, he's missing from here. This is where he lives," Mike says. 

"What are we doing here?" Dustin says. "If we walked all the way out here for nothing-"

"That's exactly what we did!" Lucas says. "She doesn't know what she's talking about."

"Guys-" Mike says. 

𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯. . .

You stop listening, noticing a rustling coming from the trees. You glance back at the Party, who don't seem to notice. 

You wonder if you should check it out. 

The rest of the Party might slow you down, and they don't seem very keen to go on another wild goose chase again. 

The rustling could be nothing, but something tells you it's something important. 

𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲!

○ 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝙜𝙤 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 8𝙖 

○ 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝙜𝙤 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 8𝙗 

○ 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝙜𝙤 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 8𝙘