Escape ~ S.Harrington

10} Powerline Problems

Jenna parked in the Wheeler's driveway and walked over to the power lines to find the boys and Eleven already waiting for her there.
"Sorry I'm late, children. I had a bit of a hold up at school," She apologized.
"It's fine, Jenna," Mike told her, "We just gotta get a move on. We only have a few hours."
Jenna quickly ran to the Wheeler's garage to snatch one of her old bikes that she left there in case of emergencies. She hopped on and realized that the little assholes already started going without her.
"WAIT UP, DICKHEADS!"
She pedaled hard until she eventually caught up with them. El was on the back of Mike's bike and Jenna was very happy that the girl was more comfortable around the boys.

Once they got to the woods, El and Mike started to walk together while Jenna, Dustin, and Lucas tailed behind them a bit.
"So, what exactly are we doing out here?" Jenna asked.
"We're doing more Will hunting," Dustin scoffed, "Duh."
"Well I got that much, shit for brains."
"Wait, how am I the one with shit for brains? You're the one who didn't know why we were out here!"
"Can it! Don't fight with me. You know I will always win in a fight."
"Yeah, yeah, sure. Whatever you have to keep telling yourself."

"You know, Jenna," Lucas subtly tried to slip his hand into Jenna's, "We could just ditch these butt-heads and go, I don't know... to make out behind a tree?"
"Hard no, Sinclair," She shoved his hand away, "How long have you been thinking up that poorly crafted plan?"
"My. Whole. Life."
"Dude," Dustin interjected, "How many times do I have to say it: Stop. Hitting. On. My. Sister. It is so weird. Especially when you do it in front of me."
The boy continued to bicker while Jenna quickly lost interest and started to look up towards El and Mike. They looked so comfortable around each other.
Oh shit. Mike is blushing. HARD. Does he have a crush on her? It kinda looks like it! AHHH! I love young love.

~

The kids and Jenna trekked through the woods, following Eleven until it was dark out. Eventually, they got somewhere, but not a 'new' somewhere. They were led right to the Byers' house.
"Here," Eleven turned around towards the group.
"Yeah," Mike looked around, confused, "This is where Will lives."
"Hiding," Eleven responded, "Upside Down."
"No, no," Mike corrected, "This is where he lives. He's missing from here. Understand?"
"What are we doing here?" Lucas asked, annoyed.
"She said he's hiding here," Mike scrunched up his eyebrows.
"Um..." Lucas snorted, "No."
"I swear," Dustin started, "If we walked all the way out here for nothing..."
Lucas cut Dustin off, "That's exactly what we did! I told you she didn't know what the hell she was talking about!"

"Why did you bring us here?" Jenna bent down to eye level and asked Eleven calmly.
"Jenna," Lucas snapped, "Don't waste your time with her."
"Hey!" Jenna scolded, "Don't be mean to me or Eleven. All you're going to do is scare her and piss me the fuck off."
"What do you want to do then?" Mike asked Lucas.
"Call the cops," Lucas told him, "Like we should have done yesterday."
"We are not calling the cops!" Mike defended.
As the boys bickered, Jenna felt a weird energy around the Byers' house. One that was normal for her to feel. It was a similar feeling to what she felt after Steve's party.
Oh, no... please don't be what I think it is.

"Hey, guys?" Dustin yelled at the group, also snapping Jenna out of her trance.
"What other choice do we have!" Lucas continued.
"GUYS!" Jenna and Dustin yelled at the same time.
Sirens could be heard approaching and zooming by the Byers' house.
"Will..." Mike faintly whispered, but everyone heard him crystal clearly.

Everyone scrambled to pick up their bikes and hopped on as fast as their kid-sized legs would let them.
They zoomed down the road behind the ambulance and police cars in hopes of being at the site if they found Will. Eventually, they cut down another trail in the woods as a shortcut and finally caught up with the sirens at the quarry. They hid behind a fire truck as they watched the scene unfold in front of them. A lifeless body was being pulled out of the water and onto a stretcher. The body looked very similar to Will and it had on the same outfit that he was wearing the night that he went missing.

"It's not Will," Mike shook his head, "It can't be."
"It's Will," Lucas started tearing up, "It's really Will."
"Mike," Eleven whispered while reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder.
"'Mike'?" Mike snapped angrily as he swatted El's hand away from him, "'Mike,' what? You were supposed to help us find him alive. You said he was alive! Why did you lie to us! What's wrong with you? What is wrong with you!?"
"Mike," Jenna tried to calm him down, "Stop yelling at her. She didn't know and neither did we, so stop blaming her. You just met her for fuck sake!"
"Mike..." Eleven said, hesitantly.
"What?" He yelled back.
Eleven just shook her head which triggered Mike's breaking point. He ran off to his bike, ready to leave.

"Mike," Lucas pleaded, "Come on. Don't do this, man. Mike..."
"Mike," Dustin added in, "Where are you going? Mike!"
"Seriously Mike," Jenna tried to stop him, "Don't be like this. Wait a couple minutes and we'll bike home with you."
He didn't listen and just hopped on his bike, riding off on his own into the night. Everyone stood there in disbelief and eventually started to break down. Jenna opened her arms for the kids to join in for a hug. They did so without a fight and everyone just started to cry together.
"It's gonna be all right," Jenna sniffled, "Or at least as ok as it can be."
While the kids were crying, Jenna looked over towards Will's body. Even from a distance it looked like something was off with him. Jenna let the kids continue to have their moment as she walked over to Hopper.

"Hey," She wiped her eyes, "I know we're not supposed to be here, but we heard sirens and got concerned."
"It's ok, kid," He told her, "I'm just glad we found him."
"Me too."
Jenna gave Hopper a hug, just like she did the kids. This made them both feel a lot safer and gave them both a sense of 'home'. Plus, it gave Jenna a great angle to look at the body a bit closer up.
That 'thing' is definitely not Will. Maybe Eleven was right after all.

~

Jenna and the kids rode back to their homes with Jenna and Dustin taking El with them. Jenna figured Eleven could stay in her room with her and she could drop the girl back at Mike's the next morning. Their mom was absolutely crushed when her daughter told her the news. While that was happening, Dustin snuck El in and they sat on the floor in Jenna's bedroom waiting for her. Jenna shooed Dustin out and it just left the two girls alone.

"Here," Jenna handed her some clothes, "I found some old pajamas for you to wear tonight."
"Thank you," El replied.
Both girls quickly got changed into their PJ's and Jenna started to pull out a sleeping bag for El. Both of them were very tired from the day's activities and just collapsed, very ready for bed.
"You know, for all it's worth, I believe you that Will is alive. That didn't look like him back there," Jenna quietly said.
"You look familiar," El told her, "And... feel familiar."

Jenna brushed her comment off and ignored the conversation by shutting off her light and curling up to sleep. Jenna soon realized that it was most likely going to be another sleepless night for her and just grabbed her half empty vodka bottle and a book off her nightstand and started reading with the little reading light she had clipped to it. About an hour after Eleven fell asleep, a light knock was heard at her door, and low and behold, it was her brother. She quickly tucked the bottle under her bed. He thought she had stopped drinking months ago and she didn't want to disappoint him.

"I couldn't sleep," He sniffled, "Could I stay in here with you?"
"Sure, lil bro," Jenna whispered to him, "Just be quiet. You can sleep closest to the window so you're furthest from El. I don't want her to wake up and make her feel uncomfortable by your overwhelming presence."
"Thanks, Jenna. Even though I'm mean to you a lot, I still love you and think you're a great sister."
"That means a lot to me, Dust. Come here."

Dustin jumped into her bed and cuddled up next to his sister for comfort. She continued reading and eventually she could hear the dull snoring of the girl they found in the woods mixed with her brother's. She was jealous that they could both fall asleep so easily after everything that happened. She just wished that she were a tad bit luckier.
Why can't I still be as naïve as those kids? God, I would kill for that back.

[Edited]