Protection

"Um, we will... Look near the river, okay?"

     Seeing the police at Billy's reignited the panic Prudence worked so hard to fight off. He may not be a victim of Jason's snap, but that doesn't mean he's safe or okay at all. Her mind races. She can't possibly get her parents involved, so she runs to her bedroom and snatches the phone up. She dials Robin's number.

     "Hello?" Robin answers.

     "Robin, hey. It's Prudence."

     "Hey! How are you?"

     "I'm fine. I'm... I need help." Her voice cracks.

     "Whoa, it's okay. What can I do?" Robin always becomes a little awkward when someone cries.

     "Billy's missing." Just saying it takes the breath from her lungs.

     "Oh, my God! Was it Jason?"

     "Please, just get Steve, Uh, Nancy, those freshmen, I don't know! Whoever you can find. I'll pay all of you. Just help me find him." Prudence doesn't mean to come right out the gate begging, but that's exactly what she does.

     "Calm down! I'll call Steve right now. No payment necessary."

     "Everyone meet me at my house as soon as possible. Thank you." Prudence hangs up and beelines for her weed stash. Joint after joint, right outside her window, she still can't feel it. At this point, she just relies on it as a placebo. She smokes until two vehicles pull into her driveway. Steve's car and an old van she doesn't recognize until Eddie steps out.

     Prudence runs to the front door as fast as she can, opening up and inviting her friends inside. Her face falls as she realizes it's only the three of them.

     "Where is everybody?" She furrows her brows.

     "Uhh, the kids are 'busy' and Nance just said 'no.'" Steve explains.

     "This isn't enough people..." She mumbles to herself before slipping away to the living room. When the group follows and gets comfortable, she proposes they make a plan for the search.

     "So, what do you mean he's missing?" Steve asks, looking for more details.

     "He walked me home last night, but I don't think he ever made it home." She looks down.

     "Was it Jason?" Eddie's first question has been eating at him since Steve called.

     "I thought so, but I ran into him earlier. He looks completely normal again. He said he's been back on his medication." Prudence explains with a sense of trust that causes the others to glance at each other in concern.

     "We should start searching near water. If he's dead, they probably dumped him by the river," Eddie announces all too casually. He's smirking at his dark humor until he glances at Prudence whose face has warped into the saddest expression imaginable. Tears threaten her yet again. Eddie's eyes widen and he shoots looks of panic at Robin and Steve. They just shrug and frantically shake their heads, unsure why he'd say something like that.

     "Um, we will... Look near the river, okay?" Robin pats her shoulder. The group regains order and finishes their game plan. Steve and Robin will search near the water and Eddie and Prudence will take opposite sides of the woods near Billy's house.

     Suddenly, the doorbell rings. Everyone glances at the door. Prudence can't help but instantly convince herself it's Billy, though why would he ring the doorbell? It doesn't matter, she tells herself. She runs to the door and slings it open.

     "Billy!" She explodes, only to feel a detrimental wave of disappointment when she sees Jason standing before her. "Hey, didn't we talk about this?"

     "I was at the gas station and overheard that Wheeler chick talking about the search party. She doesn't want to help you, but I do." Jason looks serious like he's worried this could somehow be tied to his episodes.

     "I don't know..." Prudence weighs her options. She doesn't want to even look at this guy that's best her into hospitalization, but she needs more people to cover more ground. Steve and Eddie appear behind her, staring daggers into Jason. Neither of them is known for fighting, but they've already discussed their course of action should Jason ever start coming around again.

     "You guys will never cover enough ground by yourselves. The sun goes down in a few hours, it'll be pitch black before you find anything."

     "You think you're gonna make that much of a difference, Carver?" Steve asks, annoyance dancing through his words.

     "No, but the team will." Jason gestures behind him to the truck full of basketball players. They're piled in every seat and sitting in the bed. Prudence glances at her friends for their opinion, and they'd rather not have him or the team helping them, but Prudence is desperate.

     "Okay. Let's go." Prudence shoves past him and climbs into her car. "Eddie, you can ride with me."

     He happily slips into her passenger seat, not wanting to lug his finicky van around. They all make their way to where they believe Billy might be. A large chunk of woods right beside a rushing river.

     "Eddie, same spot we talked about. Steve and Robin, you're good to go. I want someone with Eddie, someone with me, and nobody looking alone. We don't know what happened, we have to be careful. I fucking mean it." Prudence angrily barks out instructions, saving her kinder voice for her friends only. This is the first time Billy's influence has been so obvious on her.

     The groups break apart, and somehow, conveniently, Jason ends up with Prudence.

     "Nah, I don't think that's a good idea," Eddie speaks up, abandoning his trip to his side of the woods.

     "Would you rather go with her, Munson?" Jason raises an eyebrow.

     "I'm just not entirely convinced you're not behind this." Eddie looks him up and down. Jason reveals a small smirk that goes unnoticed when Prudence interrupts.

     "Eddie, please. I can't trust them to look as thoroughly as we will. We have to split up, it's fine." Hesitantly, Eddie turns around and heads into the forest. Prudence and Jason start their trek into the darkness as well.

     "The last time you saw him was last night? No phone calls or anything after?" Jason asks, already knowing the answer.

     "Yeah, nothing..." Prudence keeps a decent amount of space between her and him. "I'm sorry, I just- I don't know how I feel about being around you."

     "I get that." He stuffs his hands in his pockets. "I wasn't trying to corner you alone in the woods. By the time I turned around to find someone to search with, the guys were already heading out." He laughs as he continues. "You had them in formation. I've never seen them listen like that, and I'm the captain."

     "Yeah, they were really on it. I appreciate you guys. Doesn't make up for the literal attacks, but it's pretty cool." She flashes a reserved, forced smile at Jason and they continue to trek through the woods.

     "Prudence, I know we already talked about it, but I need to tell you I'm sorry again." Jason spills his guts as they scan the ground diligently for any trace of Billy.

     "Well, I'm not gonna condemn somebody for being sick, but you did some really fucked up stuff, Jay." There it is. The nickname he hasn't heard since they were kids together. It's all she ever called him. Hearing her say Jason felt the same as his mother calling his full name when he did something wrong.

     He stares at her for a moment, softening. Almost regretting his already in-motion plan. But it's not enough. Nothing will ever be enough.

     "I know. I'd like to be able to make up for it one day, but I know I can't. I've caused you and Billy and even that freak back there a lot of grief." He gestures behind him, toward Eddie's side of the woods.

     "Focus on your recovery and staying medicated. The rest can wait, okay?" Prudence just wants to get back to searching. She cares about his situation, sure, whatever, but right now truly all she cares about is Billy, dead or alive. God, please be alive. "And... Don't call him that."