The search for Will and Rick [Ep1]

[Edited]

Currently, in One of the boys basement were Three kids that were around their ages seated on the couch. They were huddled together, breathing heavily. The three kids each had one of the trio's jackets on their shoulders. The thunder outside rumbled loudly, spooking Ten, Eleven and Twelve.

A boy with raven colored hair, Mike, A boy with curly hair and a hat on, Dustin, and a dark-skinned boy, Lucas, were standing in front of the couch, "Is there a number we can call for your parents?" Mike asked them, he was probably the only one of the three boys who looked concerned for the kids on the couch.

"Where's your hair? Do you have cancer?" Dustin asked with wide eyes, causing Mike to look over at him, Lucas then followed up with, "Did you run away?"

"Are you in some kind of trouble?" The boys just kept on throwing question after question at the shivering kids. Lucas then noticed there was blood on Ten, Eleven and Twelve.

"Is that blood?" Lucas raised his hand to touch Eleven's yellow wet shirt where there were some blood stains. None of the boys seemed to have realized that Twelve was bleeding from his leg, and Twelve had almost forgotten about it by now.

When Twelve saw Lucas's hand reaching out towards Eleven, he bared his teeth slightly, ready to pounce if he hurt his 'Sister'. Luckily, he didn't have to hurt the dark-skinned boy as the raven haired boy slapped Lucsa's hand away from them as he shouted, "Stop it! You're freaking them out!"

Lucas then shouted back, "They're freaking me out!" Looking at Mike with irritated eyes. Dustin then suggested, "I bet they're deaf." He then leaned closer to the three and clapped loudly causing Ten and Eleven to jump while Twelve was focused on not jumping at the curly haired boy. Dustin shrugged, feeling slightly disturbed by Twelve's glare, he looked back at his friends, "Not deaf."

Mike sighed, "All right, that's enough, all right? They're just scared and cold." He stated, looking back at the Ten, Eleven and Twelve as they watched the three boys with anxious eyes. Mike then walked away and headed towards a laundry basket filled with clean clothes. Suddenly, the thunder roared again, causing the three soaking kids to jump again. Lucas and Dustin watched them with curious and cautious eyes.

Soon Mike walked back over with two pairs of clothes, He handed them to three kids on the couch.

"Here, These are clean. Dustin, do you have any clothes in your backpack?" Ten carefully took the clothes Mike handed him and Twelve, He then whispered, "Thank... you...a lot." Mike smiled at him, nodding his head.

While Dustin quickly grabbed his backpack. He unzipped it and grabbed out a dark blue shirt and some gray sweatpants before handing over to Eleven. Eleven held the warm, dry clothes and rubbed her face on it. Ten holding his and Twelves clothes in his lap when he saw Eleven take off the jacket on her shoulders. He wondered what she was doing, and he paled slightly and he quickly stood up when he saw her trying to take off her yellow shirt right in front of the other boys.

"No, no, no!" Mike shouted, quickly stopping Eleven from lifting her shirt up while Dustin and Lucas looked away, "Oh, my god." Dustin repeated as he turned around. Ten handed the clothes to Twelve before walking up to Eleven, "....No." He shook his head, confusing the girl.

Mike then pointed to the bathroom that was on the right side of the stairs, "See that over there? T-That's the bathroom. Privacy. Get it?" Mike told her, and Ten nodded his head, "...Got... it." He said slowly, holding onto Eleven's hand. Eleven nodded too before she turned slightly to pick up the clothes she set on the couch, before grabbing Twelve's hand.

The three kids then walked towards the bathroom, The three boys noticing the small limp Twelve had when he walked, "Uh, shouldn't those two stay out here?" Mike inquired, glancing at Ten and Twelve before looking back at Eleven. Eleven frowned, looking at Mike before she shook her head. She and Ten went everywhere together unless they were separated by Papa and The two couldn't leave Twelve alone with unfamiliar people, or alone in general. "No...Together." Ten answered for her right before the three entered the bathroom.

Ten, Eleven and Twelve looked around the bathroom with wide and fascinated eyes. Mike turned on the light before he went to close the door, causing Ten and Eleven to panic and quickly catch the door before it closed.

"You don't want it closed?"

The duo quickly shook their heads, "No." Eleven finally spoke up, surprising Mike. "Oh, so you can speak. Okay, well . . ." He trailed off trying to think of a solution, "Um, how about we just keep the door . . ." Mike slowly closed the door until there was a 2-inch crack, "Just like this."

"Is that better?" He asked the pair, who both responded at the same time, "Yes." Mike smiled slightly before walking away, leaving the three alone in the bathroom. They looked out the crack in the door for a few seconds before they turned back around. They saw Twelve sitting on the toilet, watching his 'Siblings' while he still held onto his and Ten's clothes.

"Let's change." Ten told them, both of them nodding their heads. Eleven got changed by the sink, her back facing Ten and Twelve who were on the other end of the bathroom, they were also getting changed with their back facing Eleven.

Ten changed himself first, he was wearing a gray sweatshirt and gray sweatpants. He then helped Twelve change, he took off the white t-shirt he was wearing when he remembered the gun wound on Twelve's leg. He looked at it but . . . there was no wound? It had already scarred over.

"Twelve. Leg." Ten pointed out, making Twelve look down at his leg and see the scar. "Hm?" He looked back up at Ten, just as confused he was. Ten stayed silent for a little while, contemplating on what to do when said, "Worry later. When alone." Twelve furrowed his brows before nodding his head and allowing Ten to finish dressing him in a black sweatshirt and long red sweatpants.

They didn't hear any shuffling coming from Eleven behind them, "Done?" Ten whispered loud enough for her to hear, "Done." She answered, allowing the boys to turn around and see the girl in a blue sweatshirt and gray sweatpants.

The three stayed in the bathroom a little longer, so they could talk about their situation a little bit,

"Trust them?" Eleven asked Ten, who was leaning on the wall near the door crack, he turned his head to her before pursing his lips, "Maybe." He told her.

By time Ten, Eleven and Twelve walked out of the bathroom, Lucas and Dustin were grabbing their things and heading up the stairs. Eleven and Twelve walked over to the fort that Mike had built them while Ten watched the two boys walking up the stairs, waving at them when they looked over at him. Dustin waved back but Lucas just rolled his eyes and continued to walk up the stairs with a few comments shared between themselves.

Ten frowned slightly, before walking over to the fort and crawling in next to Twelve. Mike soon walked over and handed them two sleeping bags, as they were the only one's he could find, so he gave them a few more blankets.

"Here you go. This is my sleeping bag and my older sisters. I couldn't find another sleeping bag so I grabbed a few more blankets." Eleven and Ten grabbed the Sleeping bags, "Thank...You." Ten gave him a small smile.

"Hey, um, I never asked for your names."

Eleven and Ten looked up at Mike, Twelve playing with one of the blankets Mike gave them. Eleven looked at Ten, who gave her a reassuring smile and nod, she then slowly pulled up her sleeve to reveal the tattoo on her wrist.

"Whoa! Is that real?" Mike went to touch her wrist but Eleven quickly retraced her wrist, panic on her face and clouding her eyes. Ten reached and held her hand gently, reassuring her again that she was fine and safe.

Mike realized that he scared her so he hurriedly apologized, "Sorry, I've just. . . Never seen a kid with a tattoo before." He then looked over at Ten, "Do you have one too?" Ten hesitated a second before nodding his head, he then slipped his sleeve up a bit too to show Mike his tattoo on his left wrist.

Mike studied his Tattoo before someone, (Twelve), jumped on Ten's back from behind which surprised both boys. Mike looked up at Twelve, who had his arms wrapped around Ten's neck. Twelve narrowed his eyes at Mike, like he was assessing him or something before he too pulled up his sleeve and showed the raven haired boy his left wrist.

"Ten, Eleven and Twelve? What do they mean?" Mike asked them, taking his gaze away from their wrists. Twelve felt Ten and Eleven tense slightly, He tilted his head looking at Ten and Eleven. He observed them before laying his head down on Ten's shoulder.

Eleven pointed to herself, "Eleven." She then pointed to Ten, "Ten." and then Twelve, who was almost asleep on Ten's shoulder, "Twelve." Mike furrowed his brow, "Those are your names?" He asked them, a lot of questions filling his head.

Eleven nodded her head, her face could show that she was tired, they all were.

"Ten. Eleven. Twelve. Okay. Um, well, my name's Mike. Short for Michael." Mike finally introduced himself to the three, "Maybe we can call you "El." Short for Eleven." He suggested, Making Eleven nod with a small smile on her face. Mike then looked at Ten, "Since your name is already short, we can just call you Ten." Ten nodded too with a soft smile on his face as he shook Twelve to wake him up, "Um, and We can call you Lev." Twelve lifted his head off Ten's shoulder. He opened his mouth a little bit but ultimately just closed it and nodded his head before getting off Ten's back, going back to playing with the blankets.

"Um, well, okay. 'Night El, Ten and Lev." Mike smiled at them, he then stood up to pull the sheet down in front of the fort, "'Night Mike." Ten and El smiled back, Lev just sending him a glance before he turned back to the Blankets.

Mike pulled the sheet down before walking over to the stairs and turning the lights off, he gave the fort one last glance before he walked up the stairs, leaving the basement and the 'siblings' alone.

El and Ten laid down on top of the sleeping blankets, listening to the basement door opening and closing. Ten saw El clench her jaw, squeezing her eyes shut. He could tell what she was thinning about so he held her close to him, letting her cry into his chest. He also let out a few tears but quickly wiped them away, he had to be the big brother after all. The one who helps his siblings and holds them all together. He can't let himself break.

Lev was biting on a blanket in his hands when he heard sniffling, he took the blanket out of his mouth and looked over at Ten and El. He could hear them sniffling, and their shoulders were shaking slightly. Lev didn't like seeing his 'siblings' cry, it hurt him too. So he crawled over to them, before opening his mouth a little . . . and finally said something to them:

"Brother? Sister?"

El and Ten froze, their tears freezing as well. They looked up front their embrace and looked up at Lev,

"W-Why C-cry?" He asked them in a soft voice, almost like he was afraid of scaring them. He then saw El and Ten give him a big smile before they grabbed his wrists and pulled him down into their hug.

Lev was confused, but he didn't reject the embrace. In fact, he snuggled into them with a small smile on his face. "SLEEP." He said, closing his eyes. El and Ten soon fell asleep with their arms around Lev, they all had smiles on their faces.

. . . . .

The next morning, El and Ten were the first one's awake. El and Ten crawled out of the fort, wanting to find something to entertain them while they waited for Lev to wake up. Sometimes, they felt like his parents, (but they don't know what that means. They just remember the other numbers always saying that to them.).

El found a walkie-talkie on the table, she picked it up and started messing with it while Ten walked around the basement, looking at all the stuff that was down there. He was quite fascinated with the small figures on the large square table.

While he and El were doing their own things, and Lev was sleeping, Upstairs Mike was shoving a few eggos and poptarts into his jacket pockets before heading over to the dining table for breakfast.

. . . .

Mike was sitting in between Nancy and Holly at the table. He was basically shoving Eggo's down his throat, trying to eat as fast as he possibly could. Nancy looked over at her brother, furrowing her brows a little as she watched him eat like an animal. Karen looked over too, she was concerned but didn't say anything as she continued to eat her meal.

Nancy was the one who said something about the way he was eating, "Slow down, Mike. That's disgusting." She told him, causing Mike to look over at her with his mouth full. He raised his eyebrows before asking her, "Do a lot of studying last night?" Nancy raised her eyebrows too before smiling a little smugly, "Yeah, actually, I did."

"What was your test on again? Human anatomy?" He guessed, his eyes narrowed at his sister, who looked at him with a glare in her eyes before she kicked him under the table, causing Mike to kick her back.

Karen finally said something about their behavior, "Hey, what's going on?" Her kids looked up at her as they answered in unison, "Nothing." They then went back to eating in silence.

. . . . .

In the fort, El was playing with the walkie-talkie as she sat with her legs criss-crossed (Applesauce)

Ten was trying to wake Lev up close to her, which was quite the difficult task even for Ten. Lev was an aggressive sleeper, he would move around a lot and try to nip anything that came close to him.

Ten's hand was aching already, and Lev had yet to bite him.

"Why me?" He asked El, who just shrugged her shoulders, causing Ten to look at her appalled which made her chuckle. Ten whined a little bit before he started shaking Lev softly, being extremely carefully.

"Lev, wake up. Morning." He softly told his younger 'brother', who just groaned in response and turned his back to Ten, who just whined some more because this was one of the things he hated doing the most. Don't get him wrong, he loves Lev but Lev was just difficult sometimes.

Ten went to shake him again when he and El heard footsteps coming from the stairs. They both looked up from what they were doing and watched the sheet that was covering up the fort. They watched the sheet being lifted up and then saw Mike kneel down in front of them. He saw what was in El's hand and smiled.

"Hey, you found my supercomm. Pretty cool, huh?" Mike babbled on, "I talk to my friends with it. Mostly Lucas, 'Cause he lives so close. Signals pretty weak." Mike then rummaged through his jacket pockets and pulled a few Eggo's and Poptarts.

He handed them to Ten and El, "Got you breakfast" El took the Eggo's and Ten took the poptarts. El took a bite of the Eggo and instantly fell in love with it and vice versa with Ten and the poptarts. They both left One Eggo and One pop tart for Lev for when he wakes up.

"So listen, this is gonna sound a little weird." Mike started, "But I just need you guys to go out there," He pointed to the door near the fort, "Then go to the front door and ring the doorbell. My mom will answer and you'll tell her that you're lost and that you need help. But whatever you do, you can't tell her about last night or that you know me. Understand?"

"Really, it's no big deal. We'll just pretend to meet each other again. And my mom, She'll know who to call." Mike assured them, when he saw the uncertainty on their faces. Ten and El shared a look, they were about to say something when they heard a small voice coming from behind them.

"No."

The sudden voice spooked the three kids, El and Ten whirled around and saw Lev sitting up while rubbing his eyes. He let out a small yawn before he crawled in between his 'siblings.' Mike was a bit dumbfounded, 1. Because it was his first time hearing Lev talk, 2. Because he refused his mothers help.

"No?" His mind focused on the important part, he could ask about the boy's silence later. "No." This time it was El who said it with a small shake of her head. El then felt Lev crawl on to her lap, his head resting on her chest. She put her arms in front of him, continuing to play around with the supercomm.

"No . . . . You don't want my mom to get help?" Mike hypothesized, his guess being right when Ten nodded his head a slight fear in his eyes as he scooted closer to his 'siblings'. "You're in trouble, aren't you?" Mike guessed again after thinking for a few seconds. Ten, El, and Lev all looked up to him this time. They all looked slightly distressed as they looked at him. This also confirmed his second guess, they were in trouble but with who?

"Who. . . Who are you in trouble with?" Mike almost felt slightly scared to hear the answer they gave him. Ten was the one who answered him, as El was staring off into space, probably remembering what happened, and Lev had become mute again.

"Bad." Mike noticed that Ten had unshed tears in his eyes and so did El, "Bad? Bad People?" Mike repeated, and to his horror, The three siblings all nodded their heads. Mike hesitated for a split second before he asked them, "They want to hurt you?" The bad people?"

None of them answered the boy. Instead El just raised her hand in a gun form before aiming it at the side of her head, Ten's and Lev's head, who tried to nip her, then she pointed straight towards Mike, who's eyes widened at the sight.

"Understand?"

El said with a small tremble to her hands, Causing Ten to gently take her hand in his own, With Lev snuggling closer to her in her lap. There was a small bout of silence before there was a loud shout from upstairs, "Michael, where are you? We're going to be late!" Ten, El and Lev all jumped at the sound, Lev producing a small growl from his throat.

Mike looked up at the stairs from his crouched position on the ground, "Lets go!" Mike quickly turned back to three, "A-All right, I'll be back." Mike told the siblings, frantically making arm movements, "Just stay here, okay? Stay here." He then stood up and covered the fort back up with the blanket. The three heard Mike's receding footsteps from inside the fort, El and Ten on the verge of tears.

"It's okay. We are fine. We are tog. . . Together." Ten wrapped his arms around Lev and El and held them close to him. He didn't mind El's tears staining his shirt or Lev chewing on his sweatshirt. He just cared that his family was in his arms. Even if he didn't exactly know what Family means.

. . . . .

At the Hawkins Laboratory, Dr. Brenner was rushing down the hallway as he slipped his black suit jacket onto his shoulders, "When was this?" Brenner asked the person walking next to him, "Last night. Less than two miles away." Was the answer he received from the woman in a light gray suit. Brenner was looking down at his watch as he walked, "And the boys?" This time it was a male wearing a black suit who answered him.

"Still missing."

. . . . . .

At Hawkin's High school, Nancy and her best friend, Barbara, were walking down the hallway. Barbara was helping Nancy study as they walked, "When Alpha particles go through gold foil, they become . . ."

"Unoccupied space."

"A molecule that can- -" Barbara was cut off when Steve snactehd the index cards out of her hands, "Hey!" Steve walked in front of the girls, "I don't know. I think you've studied enough, Nance." Steve told her, ''Going through her index cards, "Steve- -" Nancy started only to be cut off by Steve, "I'm telling you, you know, you got this. Don't worry." He reassured her, "Now, on to more important matters. My dad has left town for a conference and my mom's gone with him, cause, you know, she doesn't trust him." He explained, "So are you in?"

"In for what?" Nancy asked with a furrowed brow, "No parents? Big house?" Carol hinted with a smirk on her face, "A party?" Nancy guessed.

"Ding, Ding, Ding!" Carol sounded, making Tommy laugh. Steve was nodding his head with a big smile on his face, "Its tuesday." Nancy reminded them with a confused smile on her face. Tommy mocked her, "It's tuesday. Oh, my God," Steve and Carol laughed, "Come one. It'll be low key. It'll just be us." Steve Insisted, "What do you say? Are you in or are you out?"

"Um. . ." Nancy didn't get a chance to answer Steve because Carol suddenly grabbed their attention, "Oh, god. Look." She turned her body slightly to the right, causing the four others with her to look at what she was looking at, "Oh, god, that's depressing." Steve commented, his hands on his hips.

What they were looking at was . . . .

Jonathan Byers.

He was putting up two posters, One for Will and One for Rick.

"Should we say something?" Nancy asked, feeling bad for him. "I don't think he speaks." Carol said,

"How much you wanna bet he killed them?" Tommy chimed in, leaning against the wall behind Carol.

Steve hit him lightly telling him to, "Shut up."

Nancy glanced at Steve and Tommy before slowly turning her head back to look at Jonathan with pursed lips, a firm decision in her mind. She walked over to Jonathan, who was just about finished with pinning Rick's missing poster up.

"Hey." Jonathan looked to the side, shocked to see Nancy standing in front of him, "Oh, hey." He greeted her back, but was confused on why she was talking to him. "I just . . . I just wanted to say, you know, um . . . I'm sorry about everything." Nancy spoke awkwardly, not really knowing what to say Jonathan.

Jonathan looked at her before looking behind her at Steve, Tommy, Carol and Barbara. Nancy looked back too before looking at Jonathan, "Everyone's thinking about you." She told him. Jonathan just pursed his lips, nodding his head.

"It sucks." Nancy said, looking up at him, "Yeah." Jonathan mumbled, shrugging his shoulders lightly. Then there was an awkward silence between the two, even though they were in a very noisy and crowded hallway.

"I'm sure they're fine." Nancy said, hoping to break free of this super awkward silence engulfing the two of them. "They're smart kids." Jonathan didn't get to say anything when back when the School bell rang, meaning they had to get to class.

"I have to go." Nancy chuckled lightly, "Chemistry test."

"Yeah." Jonathan smiled back at her, "Good luck." Nancy told him as she started walking back, "Thanks." He nodded his head, watching Nancy walk back to her 'Friends.' Jonathan stalled for a few seconds, making sure the posters were in place, before he walked towards the schools front doors.

He walked out of the school without looking back once.

. . . .

Meanwhile, In Hawkins Middle school Lucas and Dustin had arrived at their first class and had taken their seats, putting their backpacks on the back of their chairs. Dustin noticed that Mike wasn't at his desk, "Oh, This is weird. He's never this late."

"I'm telling you, his stupid plan failed." Lucas scoffed, "I thought you liked his plan?" Dustin pointed out as he made himself comfy in his seat, "Yeah, but obviously it was stupid or he'd be here." Lucas remarked, clearly annoyed.

"If his mom found out a girl spent the night- -" Dustin started, "He's in deep shit right about now." Lucas finished for him, nodding his head slightly. Dustin suddenly nudged Lucas, "Hey, what if she slept naked?"

Lucas rolled his eyes, "Oh, my god, she didn't."

"Oh, If Mrs. Wheeler tells my parents . . ." Dustin trailed off but it wasn't hard to figure out what he meant. He held his forehead, just imagining what his mom would do to him. "No way. Mike would never rat us out." Lucas assured him, turning in his seat, "I don't know."

"All that matters is, after school, the freaks will be back in the loony bin, and we can focus on what really matters, Finding Will and Rick." Lucas finished speaking with conviction, Leaving Dustin unable to say anything else as they both started opening their books up.

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A/N: Another Chapter edited! What did you think about it? I don't quite like this chapter all that much. I feel like it could be better.

Well, Thank you and Enjoy!