Another Chance → Mike Wheeler {Stranger Things}

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Seven

I shivered every time my bare feet came in contact with the cold, wet leaves and twigs beneath me. It had been raining pretty much nonstop for the last twenty-four hours or so and although it had now finally stopped, the air was still freezing and my ripped old hospital gown definitely wasn't the appropriate attire for this weather. I took every step with caution, not wanting to step on a thorn or pinecone or anything that could hurt me were I to step on it. After a year of living off of whatever scraps I could find in the garbage and finding shelter under nothing but trees and if I was lucky, alleyways, you'd think something mildly pricking the sole of my foot would be the least of my worries, but here we are. I was so concerned about watching my step that I forgot how wet and slippery the ground was, until I skidded on a leaf and tumbled forward. Just to make things worse, I happened to be on a slope and ended up falling all the way down the hill, landing right at the bottom where there happened to be a road. The good news is, I landed on the side of the road as oppose to in the middle. The bad news is, my ankle was in excruciating pain to the point where it was throbbing. I don't know if I broke it or not, but I do know it hurt too much to get up when I tried to do so. I sat there and pulled my knees to my chest, tears springing to my eyes. I was crying partly because of the pain, but also because I was now stranded here where anyone could find me, including the bad people.

Mike

Me, Will, Dustin and Lucas were riding home from school when I spotted someone sat on the side of the road.

"Hey, who's that?" I pointed to them.

"I don't know, but can we please hurry up and get to your house? I'm starving." Lucas complained.

"We can't just leave them, what if they're hurt?" I said.

"Mike's right, we should at least see if they're okay. Come on," Will agreed and so we all cycled over to the person. As we got closer, I realised it was a girl around our age. She had short chestnut hair, the same colour as Will's actually, and it stopped just under her ears. She was wearing what looked like a hospital gown - or old, dirty, ripped cloth that used to be a hospital gown - and she had dirt and mud all over her face, legs, arms and other places. I don't want to sound mean, but she looked like she hadn't showered in a very long time. Her face was buried in her knees but as soon as she heard our tires on the gravel her head shot up, bloodshot eyes wide. She looked terrified.

"Are you okay?" Will asked her but she just continued to stare. It was then that I noticed the tearstains on her cheeks.

"Have you been crying?" I frowned. When she still said nothing, I got off my bike, gently set it down and walked towards her. I heard her breathing pick up as she cowered away, looking even more scared.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you." I told her softly, kneeling down in front of her, "We just want to help you." She relaxed the tiniest bit and that was when I noticed her clutching her foot, more specifically, her ankle.

"Have you hurt your ankle?" I asked and she slowly nodded, "Can you walk?" She shook her head. I glanced back at the boys and they all looked concerned, except for Lucas.

"Come on, we can get you to a hospital." I reached my hand out for the girl, but she flinched, terror returning to her eyes. The way she reacted made me feel terrible for her.

"I'm not gonna hurt you, okay?" I reassured her, my voice firm in hopes of convincing her, "We can find you someone to look at your ankle."

"No hospital." She muttered and I smiled slightly because she finally spoke. Her voice was soft but hoarse, as if she hadn't used it in quite a while.