𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐰𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞, eleven hopper.

iii. - yellow shirt

CHAPTER THREE
YELLOW SHIRT

Hunched over her bed Lucy's eyes were pricking with tears. Bloody tissues were scattered over her bed and overflowing her trashcan. Melted icepacks were stacked up on her bedside table beside an almost empty pill bottle. Today was the worst Lucy has ever felt. Her nose had poured blood nonstop for over twenty minutes and her headache was showing absolutely no sign of leaving.

"I'll put these back in the freezer," Melanie said grabbing the stack of limp icepacks. "I'm sorry I have to leave you here. If I could cancel I would." Lucy shook her head, wiping a few tears off her cheeks. Turning her head slightly she could see her sister grabbing the full trash can, tying the bag close. "It's fine. Julie's aunt died. That's worse than my headache." Lucy told her.

Melanie stood up straight. The trash bag in her hand barely grazing the floor and the stack of icepacks resting on her shoulder. "I'll try to come back home early. I'll call if something happens. We have a few extra bottles of Advil in the bathroom if you run out, but don't take too many pills. Okay?" Lucy nodded lightly, shoving her face back into her pillows. "And please don't do any science experiments while I'm gone. Or anything else that could be classified as stupid."

"Yeah, yeah. I got you." Lucy said. Her sister stared at her for a little longer before turning and leaving her alone in her room. This was going to be one long night if this headache of her didn't get better any time soon. Hopefully, she'd be able to fall asleep soon. Sleeping was a great pass time when feeling headaches... well, if she could even fall asleep.

"Lucas, Lucy, do you copy? It's Mike. Lucas?" Mike's voice said coming in through her walkie-talkie that sat on her desk. "Hey, it's Lucas," Lucas said a few seconds later. "I know it's you. And say 'over' when you're done talking so I know when you're done. Lucy are you there? Over."

Groaning loudly and dramatically Lucy dragged herself off her bed and to her desk. Grabbing her walkie-talkie off of it and propping herself on it. "What's up? Over." Lucy said leaning herself against her wall. "I'm worried about Will. Over." Mike said. "Yeah. This is crazy. Over." Lucas added.

"I told you guys something was wrong. He sounded super scared and then just didn't answer. That's sketchy. Over." Lucy told them. There was a slight pause after her words, non of the boys speaking right after she said that. "I was thinking..." Mike hesitantly started. "Will could've cast Protection last night, but he didn't. He cast Fireball. Over."

"What's your point? Over." Lucas asked him. "My point is... he could've played it safe, but he didn't. He put himself in danger to help the party. Over." It didn't take long for Lucy to get at what Mike was hinting at. It didn't help her mood at all. Only making her feel as if she could throw up. "Fuck... over." She groaned. "Meet me in ten. Over and out." Lucas said before turning his walkie off.

Lucy stared down at her walkie-talkie. From the sound of his voice, it sounded like he had a plan. Hopping down from her desk Lucy grabbed her jacket and a small bag. Shoving a bottle of Advil, a chunk of tissues, and her walkie-talkie in there before putting it on. Rushing down her stairs and out of her house Lucy was quite happy now that Melanie and her dad were gone. It would make this a little easier.

Jogging over to her bike Lucy picked it up and off of the floor, cursing quietly to herself at how cold it was outside. She pulled her jacket closer to her body, getting into her bike and peddling towards the street where her friends would be meeting her.

"Ah, man. This is it." Lucas said as they pulled up to a small barricade. They started to get off their bikes. Thunder rumbling and raindrops slowly starting to fall down. "Hey, guys. You feel that?" Dustin asked looking up. "I think maybe we should go back." "No. We're not going back. Just stay close." Mike told him.

"The worst is that we'll be wet and cold. We can always turn back later." Lucy said heading over to cross the barricade. "Just stay on channel six. Don't do anything stupid." Mike said crossing the barricade himself. "Roger that, Michael." Lucy saluted. Three of them began to head into the forest, Dustin watching them with some worry. Thunder rumbling just before he spoke. "Hey, guys, wait up. Wait up!"

As time went on the rain began to fall harder and harder, causing the kids to get wetter and colder. The ground was now soggy under their feet and their hair stuck to their skin as well as their clothes. Every now and then one of them would call out for Will. His name, where he was, that it was his friends. Dustin had also been telling him he had his X-Men 134. It was getting darker by the second, and as more time went by the worse and more paranoid Lucy felt.

"Guys, I really think we should turn back," Dustin spoke up. "Seriously, Dustin? You wanna be a baby, then go home already!" Lucas snapped at him. "I'm just being realistic, Lucas!" "No, you're just being a big sissy!" Lucy reached up to rub her forehead as it began to throb painfully.

011

It came to her in a bright flash of light, tattooed onto a small wrist. Just one of her forced images, that's what she wanted to believe. But it felt different this time. It wasn't just an image, it was a person. Someone running around the woods, in a yellow shirt with the number eleven tattooed onto their wrist.

"Quiet." Lucy hissed at her friends, their bickering causing her headache to get worse. Her skin began to tingle and sting. An echoey and vibrating pain ringing through her whole body. Almost making her feel numb. This person was close, really close. She wasn't going crazy now... was she?

"Did you ever think Will went missing because he ran into something bad?" Bang. "And we're going to the exact same spot where he was last seen?" Bang. "And we have no we have no weapons or anything?" Bang. "Dustin, shut up." Bang. "I'm just saying does that seem smart to you?"

BANG. "Dustin! Shut it! Now!" Lucy snapped at him not being able to stop herself from snapping at him. She looked around them, trying to see where this person was. She had absolutely no proof that anyone was near them. She could just tell, she knew she wasn't going crazy. Not now. "What's wrong?" Mike asked confused with her sudden behavior.

"You're acting weird Luc," Lucas added. She held her finger up now whispering. "Someone's near us." "What? Who?" Mike asked. "I'm trying to figure that out." Dustin's bad feeling grew tenfold at that moment. Freaking out about how they were all next. Mike and Lucas calming him down.

For Lucy, it all went quiet for a moment. All the pain she felt suddenly leaving her body. Just like that, it was like someone was whispering in her ear, telling her to turn around. And she listened. Turning around and shining her flashlight on the girl in the yellow shirt.

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓 - 1260