The Long Game, Lucas Sinclair

the one where sam isnt there

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TWO DAYS LATER

warning: long chapter (11,007 words (sorry))

There wasn't a single car in the lane driving towards Hawkins, except for the pizza van Corey was forced into. In the alternating lane next to them, however, cars and cars were lined up after each other — they were desperately escaping from the cursed town so far away in the distance. Each fearful family after fearful family passed the large red sign reading 'LEAVING HAWKINS – COME AGAIN SOON.'

Corey looked out of the window, watching each car drive by. Occasionally, he would make eye contact with a concerned passenger wondering why the hell their big clunky pizza van was driving towards Hawkins.

Frankly, Corey was sure he was the only one so desperate to get back.

Each car ride in the stingy van had been torturous. Corey didn't know how long he'd actually spent in Argyle's misery vehicle, but they'd been riding in it since Tuesday when they started their journey to find El.

It was now Saturday.

For someone with claustrophobia, five days really started to feel like five months pretty quick. Especially now, with the addition of El. Corey was stuck in the back, squished next to Mike, who was squished next to El, who was squished next to Will. Argyle and Jonathan were in the front, free with room to breathe, although they weren't getting away so lucky, because both boys were harboring black noses.

That may or may not have been Corey's doing.

Now, the claustrophobia combined with desperation. Corey needed to get back home. He needed to see his friends. He needed to see Sam. While El hadn't discussed much what happened when she was fighting Vecna, Corey knew enough to be worried about Sam. In El's words, one second she was there, and the next Sam was gone.

He could only hope the same didn't go for Sam's physical body.

Corey squeezed Mike's hand tighter, growing more anxious when the van passed into Hawkins. They could do that now — hold hands. The secret of their relationship was out of the bag to everyone in the van (although Will and El had known since they got together, it was just that Jonathan and Argyle didn't).