Chapter Twelve: Finding Heather

(The Case Of The Missing Lifeguard, Pt. 4)

***

The wheels of Cami's bike skidded across the wet road. Rain poured down, sinking into Cami's hair as her curls soaked up the water like a sponge, even through her blue raincoat. Beside her was Max, El clinging on, as they biked to the one place they could find answers.

Hawkins Community Pool.

Cami eyed the fanny pack in El's hands—the fanny pack that now concealed the bloodied whistle. Every instinct in Cami was screaming at her to go to Hopper and show him the whistle, but another part of her whispered there was something more to it. Something that didn't feel right—not like anything about this felt right.

That this wasn't a thing you should talk to the cops about it.

When Hawkins Community Pool arrived, Cami barely had time to stop and slam her bike in front of it. Her heart was pounding as she hopped off, waiting only for a second before Max and El did the same. The three girls looked at each other before they ran inside, heading up to the information desk where a guy and a girl were sitting there. They both looked bored, the guy flipping through a magazine as the girl did the same while drinking new Coke. Cami's nose wrinkled—she hated new Coke. Why change a classic?

But that wasn't what she had to focus on. Right now, she had to focus on the more serious matter of locating the girl the fanny pack and bloodied whistle belonged to.

"Excuse me," Max started, but before she could get any farther, the guy said in a voice as bored as his face, "No one in the water until thirty minutes after the last strike. And don't try and argue with me. You wanna get electrocuted, go climb a tree."

"Yeah, we don't care. We're not here to swim. Or get electrocuted," Max snappily responded, looking at Cami. They both knew if they had a death wish and wanted to get electrocuted, there was another way in the form of Rowan when she was extremely pissed.

"That's the literally the last thing that we want do. Actually, that should be the last thing anyone wants to do," Cami commented, frowning. Why would anyone want to get willingly electrocuted?

"We found this," El said, holding up the fanny pack, letting the guy see the white cross stamped on it.

"Does that belong to anybody here?" Max questioned.

The guy looked at it before his gaze once more turned back to his magazine, as if he was more interested in what he was seeing than one of his employees being missing. 

"Oh, yeah. That's Heather's. I'll get it back to her," he said.

Cami highly doubted it as she exchanged a look with Max and El before El offered, "We could give it back to her."

"Yeah, just tell us where she is and we can do that," Cami suggested, flashing him one of her trademark smiles.

However, the guy only shrugged.

"You could," he said. "'Cept she's not here. Bailed on me today."

Cami's gut twisted as she looked at Max and El, not liking what he said. About what it could mean for Heather, if Cami's gut feeling and the bloodied whistle and Billy trying to hide Heather's belongings was correct.

Finally, the guy looked up at them and demanded, "What is this? You girls want a reward or somethin'?"

"No," Max rebuked with a shake of her head. "We're just... Good Samaritans."

Cami nodded. "Yeah. We're very charitable. Doing this out of the goodness of our hearts."

The guy looked at them like he didn't believe a single word they said as the girl drank her new Coke noisily.

Cami kept up her smile, but she was frustrated. They had a lead, but it went cold and it did nothing to alleviate Cami's fears of the worst happening for Heather—of how Billy could pull this again, especially with his job here. And especially when he was curiously missing as well...

Max showed her frustration a bit more, sighing noisily as Cami turned around, seeing El standing in front of a notice board.

Nudging Max, they followed after her, where they saw her staring at a picture of a girl with dark curly hair in a red swimsuit... and wearing a a medical fanny pack and yellow whistle.

"Heather," Max and Cami breathed, before Max looked at El and asked, "Do you think you can find her?"

El didn't respond. Instead she ripped the photo off the board. Her answer more than anything that she could.

With the photo in El's hand, the trio rushed to the girls' locker room. Cami was never more grateful for it being a rainy day as she was right now, as it was practically deserted—meaning it was perfect for El. As the telekinetic girl worked on blocking out the light for the goggles she found, Cami and Max set to work on the sound, turning the showers on max, until the room was full with the noise of rushing water. Combined with the faint boom of thunder, Cami felt it was good enough white noise for El to use.

With water rushing in her ears and fear for Heather pounding in her heart, Cami sat on a bench while Max sat on another, El sitting in the middle between them. Placing the picture of Heather down in front of her and sliding on the goggles that had been thoroughly covered in duct tape, El breathed in and out, her body going still as she tried to find Heather.

Max and Cami waited, Cami's foot bouncing anxiously, before Max asked softly, "What do you see?"

"A door. A red door," El answered, her voice as dream-like as always when she did her mind-walking.

Cami and Max shared a look as Cami questioned, "Any sign of Heather?"

El shook her head, before she grew still again. Seconds passed until her face contorted into an expression of panic and Cami's heart leapt into her throat, her own panic rising, mirrored in Max. She was about to get off the bench and grab El's shoulders when El pulled the goggles off, panting as blood dripped from her nose.

"What happened? El!" Max questioned.

"Did you see Heather? What happened to her? El?" Cami pressed.

El didn't answer. Instead, she buried her face into her hands as Max reached out to touch her shoulder. Cami did the same, giving El comfort as she recovered from whatever she'd seen.

When she did, she looked at them and said, "I saw Heather. I... I think she's in trouble."

Cami and Max shared a look, knowing what that meant.

They had to find Heather. Right now.

***

Slightly short, I know. But I hope it's worth it

Yeah, what was that guy saying? Normal people don't want to get electrocuted (but yeah, if these girls did, they'd just ask Rowan) Also, why did he not care about his employee being mysteriously missing?? Like, I would have called her house to make sure she was okay?? Smh

And yeah, the girls now know something is definitely wrong! And now, to actually find Heather...

Next chapter's back with Scoops Troop! And then, the girls finding Heather...

Please read, comment and vote!

GhostWriterGirl out!