Escape ~ S.Harrington

87} The Sorcerer and Hunting Down Jenna

Will knelt in the middle of the wreckage he'd helped create on the military base with Vecna's horrifying words bouncing around his head. How he chose the children because they were weak. He was worried for them and worried for Jenna who was trapped in her own mind. Before he could let his thoughts consume him, Joyce ran over to him and pulled him up into a hug.
"Mom," He sniffled.
"Oh, baby," She pulled back and held his shoulders, "I don't understand. How did you...?"
"He's a sorcerer," Mike ran up to him with a smile, hugging him the same way Joyce had, "A real-life, honest-to-god sorcerer."
"Mike," Will hugged him right back.
"You did it. You really did it."
Will's smile quickly faded from his face as he remembered, "The kids. Vecna... he's got the kids."
"I know," Mike frowned, "Derek, Mary, Glenn."
"No. Not just them. The others, they didn't make it out of Hawkins. I could've helped them fight if I had just acted sooner. If I didn't wait for.... for Jenna."

"Jenna?" Mike scrunched up his eyebrows.
"Yeah, she found me. In my mind. I wouldn't have figured out how to do that if it weren't for her."
"But she's clearly possessed-"
"She said she's trapped in her mind. That she can't find her way out, but I could. So she helped me fight back. She's scarily good at giving a pep talk. But it wasn't soon enough. I should've just figured it out on my own because if I had, maybe I could've stopped him and saved the kids. I was too late. He has all twelve. We failed. I failed."
"No-" Joyce tried to say, but got cut off by helicopters approaching them.
"The tunnels," Mike immediately suggested, "Radio Shack."
Will wrapped his mom's arm around his shoulder and led her behind Mike into Radio Shack and to safety. Or at least temporary safety for the time being.

Once down in the tunnels, they found Lucas lying on the ground with blood on his chest.
"Lucas," Mike and Will knelt down next to him.
"Hey, hey guys," He winced.
"Oh, no," Joyce knelt with them, "Oh, no."
"Oh shit," Mike's eyes widened.
"It's just a scratch," Lucas closed his eyes, protecting them from the flashlight shining in them.
"God, Mike, first aid," Joyce held her hands out for the first aid kit from Mike, "Can you lift it? Can you show us?"
"Yeah," He slowly peeled back his shirt to reveal just how badly he'd been sliced.
Everyone groaned in disgust.
"That's not too bad," Will tried to lighten the mood.
"Oh shit," Lucas' eyes rolled back as soon as Joyce applied gauze to the cut.

"Yeah," Mike agreed with Will, "It looks like just the right amount for a couple of badass scars. You can match with Jenna now."
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect the kids," Lucas flinched.
"You did everything you could," Will reassured him, "You... you fought. You risked your life. Nice swing, by the way."
"You saw?" He sat up slightly.
"He more than just saw," Mike smirked as Will nodded.

Once Joyce got him patched up and ready to move, Mike explained everything to him.
"So," Lucas recapped while they walked back to the Squawk, "Demos floating, limbs snapping, dying. That was... that was all you?"
"I mean... yeah," Will bashfully shrugged.
"Holy shit," Lucas took a deep breath before it really sunk in, "Holy shit! You know what this means, right? You're like Will the Wise, but for real."
"Not really."
"He's more like a sorcerer than a wizard," Mike explained.
"Okay," Lucas laughed, "Yeah. I mean, sure. But you get what I'm saying, though, right? Like, this totally changes the game. We got our second El."
"I'm not like a second El," Will defended, "I don't have powers. I'm just... I'm siphoning. I'm stealing Vecna's. And to do that, I have to be near the hive mind, and Vecna's not coming back. Plus, I don't have Jenna anymore and have no clue how to control this without her."

"Let's say hypothetically Jenna can help again," Lucas hobbled along, "Won't Vecna send his demos again?"
"I don't think so. They came for the kids, and he's got them all now, and he has his vessels."
Mike and Lucas stopped walking, "Vessels?"
"That's what he called them. He said, 'vessels for reshaping the world.'"
"I just hope your theory's wrong," Mike turned to Lucas.
"What theory?" Joyce flicked her eyes between them.
"November sixth," Lucas sighed, "The day all this started... is the day it ends."
Everyone fell silent as they continued their walk. Mike lifted the hatch and helped Lucas through. Before Will could leave, Joyce stopped him.