𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐭

xii. FLAYS PEOPLE

   

     That following day, the group now sat in front El who was trying to find Hopper in the void. "I found him." She says. "Where is he?" Max asked and she took a second. "Woods." She says. "Woods?" Lucas asked, confused as to why Hopper would even be there in the first place.

     "He's with... Will's mom... And Sarah." She said and Charles' eyebrows furrow together. "My-my mom?" Will said as he leaned forward. "And mine? What are they doing?" Charles asked. "Ill... annoy." She said, Charles gets more confused. "They're going to Ill-annoy." She added.

     Someone knocks on the door, "Mike! Breakfast!" It was Karen, Mike's mom. "Not now, mom!" Mike yelled and Charles looks at him. "Illinois? Illinois, like the state? The state of Illinois?" Mike asked as she slowly took off her blindfold.

     "I-Ill-annoy." She stammered, clearly not knowing. As Max and El went into the bathroom, Will and Charles sat side by side on the stairs, Charles was holding one of Will's hand in his.

     "Something's not right. I can't get Hopper off my back all summer, now all of the sudden, he's hiking with Will's mom and Charles' mom to Illinois? And Dustin's MIA, too?" Mike said, pacing back and forth in front of the couch where Lucas sat.

     "I mean, this can't be a coincidence."

      "What does it matter?" Lucas asked and Mike looks at him with a worried and confused look. "The bottom line is, they're not here. It's up to us." He says as he gestured to Will and Charles then to himself. "Up to us to do what exactly?" Mike asked, using air quotation marks when he said up to us. "Find Billy and stop him." Lucas says.

      "Okay, yeah, that's a really nice sentiment, but even if El could find him again, and that's a pretty big if then what?" He asked him. "We burn the shit out of him and make sure he doesn't escape this time." Lucas said and Charles sighs.

      He looks down, making patterns on the back of Will's hand with his thumb. "Okay, then what?" Mike asked him. "Then we win." Lucas says. "No, see, that's the problem. We don't. We don't win. We got the Mind Flayer out of Will before and he just came right back. We don't just have to stop Billy, we have to stop the Mind Flayer." Mike says.

      "How in the hell do we do that?"

      "I don't know."

      "Maybe El does." Will says, looking up and Mike stops, looking at the bathroom door. "What are they still doing in there?" He asked and Charles rolls his eyes, getting up and going to stand next to him. "Maybe sapphic things." Charles says with a small smirk and Mike looks at him.

      "Girls just like hanging out in bathrooms. Ignore Charles." Lucas says as he came to stand right behind them. Will got up as well, standing next to Charles. "Why?" Mike asked them. "I mean, I don't know.." Lucas says as he shrugged.

     "They're conspiracing against me." Mike concluded and Charles looks at him. "That's what you're concerned about right now?" He asked him in disbelief. "It's not my main concern. It's just a sub-concern." Mike just explains.

     "I thought it was already over."

     "It's not over, okay? We're just taking a break."

     "She said she dumped your ass. That doesn't sound like a break." Will says. "It wasn't!" Max shouted and they all look over. "You guys do realize we can still hear everything you're saying, right?" Max said and then they can hear El laughing.

    "Conspiring. I told you they're conspiring."

    Someone knocks at the door again, "not now, mom!" Mike yelled as Charles and Will go to sit on the couch now, side by side again. "Mike, open the door." It was his older sister, Nancy.

      The two older teens stand in front of the younger teens all sitting down on the couch, Charles and Will at the end and El and Max on the other side of them with Lucas sitting on a tiny seat.

      "It was the same thing, the exact same thing that happened to Will last year." Nancy said and Charles looks at Will. "And look at this. Look at the body temperatures." She sets down the paper and they all lean forward to look at it.

     "He likes it cold." Will says, before leaning back. "Okay, so this crazy old woman who was eating fertilizer—" "Mrs. Driscoll." Nancy corrects him. "Right, yeah, Mrs. Driscoll. What time was this attack?" He then asked her.

      "Last night."

      "Right, but what time last night?"

      "Around 9:00." She says and her boyfriend looks at her. "You waited all night to call?" He asked and she looks back at him. "I was waiting for the doctors to run some tests." She explains.

     "You weren't there?" Will asked. "Well, I'm here now, aren't I?" Jonathan says right back. Nancy lets out a small breath, "hallelujah!" She exclaimed but it was obviously sarcastically.

     "Ooh.." Lucas says, closing his eyes as he looked away. "Um, so, wha— what time was your... sauna test?" Nancy asked and Mike looks down at the others. "Around 9:00." They all say at the same time. "Well, that proves it. That proves my theory." Nancy says and Charles looks up.

     "She's flayed, just like Billy."

     "Flayed?" Jonathan said, questioningly. "The Mind Flayer. He flays people. Takes over their mind. Once they do that, they basically become him." Mike explained to them both.

     "If there are two flayed—" "We have to assume there are more." Will said after cutting off Lucas. "Heather." El says and they all look at her as she leaned forward. "Billy was doing something to her. She was scared. She was screaming." She said before looking back up at them.

      "Bad screams."

      "What's a good scream?" Lucas said and El looks at him. "Max said—" "Doesn't matter." Max cut El off as she shook her head and Charles' eyes widen then he furrowed his eyebrows, curiously.

     "I'm sorry, I'm lost." Nancy held up her hands. "Who is Heather?" She asked and Charles smirks. "Hot chick that works with Billy at the pool." He says and Will looks at him right away.

      "Heather Holloway?" Nancy says and all of the kids nod their heads right away. Nancy and Jonathan then look at one another, "Tom."

  

  

   

    

     

       

      

authors note no one:
charles, a gay teenage boy: *calls a girl hot*