Chapter Fifty-Eight: Flight Of The Dart

(The Pollywog, Pt. 4)

***

"This is the reason why I was late to class."

It was the end of the school day and Alistair was back in Mr. Clarke's classroom, alongside Lucas, Dustin, Cami and Max, the ghost trap containing Dart on Mr. Clarke's desk as their science teacher peered at it. Like he had all year, Alistair tried to ignore the barely visible crack spiderwebbing the floor, the evidence of when he used his power for the first time and dead rats had burst out of it to attack the Demogorgon at his unintentional command. For two weeks the classroom had been conditioned off while people cleaned up the mess left behind, just like they cleaned up the bodies left behind by both El and the Demogorgan. And while the cracks in the floors had been covered up pretty well, Alistair could still see them, and remembered what he had done.

"Pretty neat," Mr. Clarke said as he looked at the ghost trap. "These doors function?"

"Yes, but it's not about the trap, it's about what's inside," Dustin claimed, making their teacher look at him with renewed curiosity. "Now, this very well may change your perception about the world."

"Consider my interest piqued," he said.

"Alright, first, let's just clarify, this is my discovery, not yours," Dustin insisted and Alistair rolled his eyes as Lucas said exasperatedly, "Dustin, Jesus, just show him."

"Yeah, just show him already," Alistair muttered in agreement, folding his arms.

"All right, trying to clarify," Dustin said, slight irritation edging his words, but he did move to open the ghost trap and reveal Dart to Mr. Clarke.

However, just before he could, Mike burst in, a panicked look on his face as he grabbed the ghost trap and said, "Stop! I'm really sorry, Mr. Clarke it was just a stupid prank!"

"Mike, what the hell are you doing?!" Dustin demanded as Alistair stared at his friend, frowning. What the hell was Mike doing? And why was he so panicked?

"We need to go right now. RIGHT NOW!" Mike bellowed a second before he was racing out of the room and away.

Alistair had only a moment to share a perplexed look with his friends before they followed after Mike, arriving at the AV club room, where Will was outside, looking nervously at the ghost trap and fidgeting with his sleeves.

The feeling Alistair felt earlier returned, curdling in his stomach and thickening when after Mike opened the door and Dustin, Lucas, Will and himself were inside, Mike slammed the door before Cami and Max could enter, Alistair seeing a split-second of their shocked, confused and hurt looks before the door was closed and locked.

On any other day, Alistair would have snapped at Mike for it. But one look at Will's and Mike's faces, and he knew why Mike had shut out Cami and Max, why he would do that.

This had something to do with the Upside Down.

And that as much as Alistair wanted to think it was over, it wasn't.

***

The sharp ring of the bell signalling the end of school threatened to cut through the Runaways tape playing in Rowan's ears, but she ignored it as she marched out of her classroom alongside the other rush of students fighting to get out, merging into the swarm of people making their way to freedom from the educational institution.

Rowan didn't fight it, keeping her head down and letting music drown it all out before she could taste air not tainted by the musty smell of school, body odour and cheap cologne and perfume. Waving a quick goodbye to Eddie—Robin and Chrissy had to stay behind for their respective extracurriculars—Rowan made her way to where her aunt was waiting, seeing Aunt Aco lean against her car as the slight breeze made the strands of her hair whip around her face, a grin on her face as she saw Rowan.

"Hey kid," she greeted as Rowan came closer and took her headphones off and paused her Walkman. "Had a good day?"

Rowan bit her lip, thinking over the encounter in the gym before deciding on, "It was okay."

Aunt Aco gave her a look before she hummed and opened the door, sliding in. Rowan was about to do the same when she noticed Valerie walking toward her, curls flying around a face written with worry.

"Hey, I think one of my friends is coming to talk to me. I'll be a second," Rowan told Aunt Aco, who only nodded and said, "Okay, kid. Be quick. I'm gonna leave to pick up Alistair soon."

"Don't worry, I will," Rowan promised as she slammed the car door shut and made her way to Valerie, greeting, "Hey, Val. You okay?"

Valerie stopped, and now that they were closer, Rowan could see the worry lines creasing Valerie's forehead, her brown eyes staring at Rowan full of concern as she said, "My sister, she... she said she would meet up with me here so we could drive home together, but she didn't show. I gave Cami a few minutes and I'm probably worrying over nothing, but I heard what happened to Will Byers last year, and we're still new here and being girls like us in a small town..."

Valerie's breath hitched, her body trembling with worry. Rowan's heart ached in sympathy—especially when she knew firsthand the worry and panic of your sibling being gone—and put a hand on Valerie's shoulder.

"Hey, she's probably fine," Rowan said. "She's probably still with my brother and his friends at the AV club. I'll go and find her and bring her and Al here, okay?"

Valerie looked at her and nodded. "O-Okay. I'll wait here, just in case. Thanks, Rowan."

"No problem. I understand," Rowan said, aiming for a smile that Valerie gave a trembling version of back.

Rowan let go and headed back to her aunt, rapping on the window before Aunt Aco slid it down and she said, "I'm heading to Hawkins Middle to get Al and my friend's sister. That okay?"

"That's completely fine. I'll wait here," her aunt said, parking the car that had been idling as she rolled the window up and Rowan made the short trek to the middle school, knowing exactly where the AV club was.

Her boots echoed dully on the linoleum floor as she traversed the halls looking for the group of middle schoolers that annoyed her as much as she would give her life to protect them, headphones slung around her neck. Rowan didn't think she should put them on right now, not when she was looking for Alistair, his friends and Valerie's sister. She knew her friend's sister was safe, but given the events of last year, even she would feel better knowing Cami was all right.

She couldn't begin to think of another kid trapped in that rotting, horrific world like Will had been.

When she finally came to the corridor where the AV club room was, Rowan breathed out a sigh of relief as something knotted and tense inside her chest loosened at seeing a girl with her dark curly hair up in a ponytail thanks to a colourful scrunchie next to the door and instead of wearing a costume was now instead wearing a long-sleeved rainbow-striped shirt with faded denim jeans that had bright flowers embroidered on the pockets and hems and Converse shoes with drawings on them in the corridor next to a girl with fiery red hair and a skateboard next to her.

Cami.

"Uh, hey," Rowan greeted and the two younger girls looked at her, wearing matching looks of confusion. Right. They hadn't met her. "I'm Rowan, Alistair's sister. Cami, I'm also friends with Valerie and she was getting a bit worried when you didn't show up at the parking lot, so I said I would come make sure you're fine and bring you and Al to the parking lot."

Cami's eyes widened, and Rowan wondered if Valerie had told her. The other girl's eyes were wide and she was staring at Rowan. That was when Rowan remembered what Eddie had said, the day the asshole arrived two days ago—about seeing a kid in the front seat of Hargrove's car.

She must be the kid.

"Shit, I forgot," Cami cursed, wincing. "Díos mío, she must be having a panic attack right now."

"Hey, it's okay. Once I find Al, we can head out and your sister won't start a manhunt for you," Rowan assured, earning a smile from Cami.

Looking around, Rowan noticed the surprising lack of her brother and his friends, and she asked, "Speaking of my brother... where is he and the other gremlins?"

This time, it was the redhead who spoke, irritation clear in her body as she jerked her head to the closed door and answered, "They're in there. Mike shut the door before we could get in and they won't let us in. Assholes."

"What?" Rowan breathed, shock running through her—that didn't sound like her brother and his friends. Okay, it did sound a bit like Mike, but given with what happened with El, she couldn't really blame him. Then, shock shifted into anger as she said, "Okay, that's not cool. No way in hell they should have done that. Move over."

Cami and the redhead did so—Rowan found she was liking the feisty girl with hair as fiery as her apparent character—and Rowan marched up to the door, pounding on it as she yelled, "Hey! Hey shitheads! Open up the door!"

It didn't open, but inside Rowan heard muffled voices and what sounded like screeching. Rowan's blood chilled as her mind flashed with the last time she heard a screech like that, before she shook her head. No. Focus, Rowan.

More voices, sounding like arguing. Did they even hear her?

Rowan frowned and she tried the handle. It was locked. Her frown deepened. What the hell? What the fuck was going on in there?

Rowan stepped away from the door, getting ready to kick it in, when the redhead shouted, "Wait!"

Rowan turned and saw she was holding up a paper clip, the end straightened.

Rowan's lips quirked up. "Oh, I like you."

She stepped away, letting the redhead jiggle with the lock using the paper clip. Rowan had a feeling that in that parking lot, her aunt had a burst of pride of a girl breaking the law and picking a lock to get in somewhere, even if that somewhere was the AV club. As the redhead picked the lock, Rowan questioned, "Hey, what's your name?"

"Max," the redhead, Max, replied, brow furrowed in concentration.

Rowan grinned. "Cool name, Max. Cool name for a cool girl."

Max's lips lifted in a grin as Cami asked, "How can you do that? I'm from New York and even I don't know how to do it."

"I saw it in a movie," Max answered without looking up from what she was doing.

Leaning on the doorframe, Rowan offered, "Hey, if you want to learn more about picking locks, I could teach you or even my aunt could—"

Before Rowan could say anything else, Max picked the lock and the door swung open.

And all chaos broke loose.

Rowan held back a screech as something came bolting out of the room, a slimy-looking creature with a tail and four limbs and no eyes in its shapeless face as it made a break for the corridor and chittering all the way in its escape, something about its eyeless face niggling at a part of Rowan's brain. Especially when its presence had her feel a feeling she hadn't felt since she fought a monster under the glow of berserk Christmas lights, like a discordant frequency was grating against hers.

Then, while Max and Cami had been staring at the escaping creature in shock, the five boys rushed out of the room, ploughing into the girls and they all crashed to the floor in a tangle of limbs and shouts. Rowan could pick out her brother among them, apologies spilling out of his mouth to Cami and Max as he scrambled to his feet and helped Cami to her feet while the others got to their feet as well, Lucas helping Max up.

"What the fuck was that thing?!" Rowan screeched.

"It was Dart!" Dustin yelled as he fixed his cap, which had become askew.

"What the hell is a Dart?!"

"That was Dart!" Lucas shouted, pointing in the direction where the creature had gone, and Rowan's eyes widened as she realised that creature had been this Dart.

"It's Dustin's pet!" Alistair revealed and Rowan turned her wide-eyed gaze onto Dustin.

"How did you find it, what is it, and why the absolute fuck did you keep it as a pet?!" Rowan shrilled, feeling her confusion and blood pressure rise.

Dustin's eyes widened, and as he stammered for a defence, Mike whirled on Max as he yelled, "You let him escape!"

"Hey! She didn't know he was gonna escape, Mike!" Alistair yelled, jumping to Max's defence as his friend turned his glare on Alistair.

"Yeah, we had no clue he was about to run out! If we had, we wouldn't have opened the door!" Cami agreed, also jumping to Max's defence and standing beside Alistair.

Rowan just stared, feeling her annoyance and exasperation rise, knowing one thing: They had to find Dart, and they had to bring it immediately to Hopper.

But it seemed the kids before her didn't have that common sense, because right before her eyes, Dustin now turned on Mike, yelling, "Why did you attack him?!"

Mike glowered at Dustin and bit out, "Come on. Let's just go and find Dart."

Rowan agreed, but Dustin looked like he was about to protest and another argument was going to happen and Rowan was having none of it, not with Dart loose in the school and its chitters and eyeless face and wrong feeling electricity reminding her uncomfortably of the Demogorgon.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Rowan yelled and the seven children in front of her turned to her. "Look, Mike's right, we're gonna find Dart and after we find it we're bringing it straight to Hopper, okay?"

"No! We can't bring him to Hopper!" Dustin insisted and Alistair stared at his friend like he lost his mind. Rowan felt the same as she pinned him with a heated glare.

"We're finding whatever the fuck you adopted as a pet and we're taking it to Hopper, Henderson! No ifs, ands or buts!" Rowan said, her voice rising as she gritted her teeth. "Is that understood? Is that understood?"

The five boys grumbled, especially Dustin, but nodded in understanding.

"Okay, good. Now, we'll split up and search this entire school. And if any one of you gremlins, especially you, Henderson, argue about taking Dart to Hopper again, I'm gonna sting you," Rowan threatened, and while Max and Cami looked confused, the other boys understood and nodded frantically, even though Rowan would never carry out that threat—not that they needed to know. "Okay. Now, let's go and find this thing."

With that, she turned to march down the corridor, Mike joining her as Dustin yelled, "Rowan, don't you hurt him! Don't you hurt him!"

"Keep yelling and I will!" Rowan shouted back.

That shut him up, and after turning on their Super-Comms and assigning areas of the school to search—with Alistair joining Will to search the south of the school and Rowan searching the entirety of the school on her own while Cami and Max looked for Dart in the gym—they set off.

The hunt for Dart officially beginning

***

Rowan panted as she teleported in an abandoned corridor, wiping a trickle of blood away. Once she did, she checked for the buzz of a security camera, and was relieved like the last ten times she'd done this that she hadn't felt a single buzz.

Stepping out, she looked around, looking for any sign of Dart, but nothing.

This part of the school was abandoned, just like the last few areas she checked.

It was like the creature had vanished into thin air.

Turning on the Super Comm she'd borrowed from Alistair, Rowan said, "This part of the school is clear. No sign of the son of a bitch. What about you gremlins?"

"East is clear. No sign of Dart, either," crackled over, Mike's voice full of static as a moment later Dustin's voice came over.

"West is clear too. Will, Al?"

"South is clear. Lucas? Anything?"

Nothing on Lucas' end for a while, until he answered, "Nothing here."

Rowan held back a frustrated sigh as she said, "Okay. I'm gonna check the library. Let me know if any of you find Dart—and remember, after we find it, we're taking it right to Hopper. Over and out."

She turned the Super-Comm off and covered her face in her hands, yelling, "Fuck!"

By this rate, Rowan was considering the slimy bastard had escaped out of of the school and had gotten into the woods. Because if what her feeling was true, that thing could be from the Upside Down. And that meant it wasn't over, that the Upside Down was back, that they had to bring Dart to Chief Hopper the second they found it.

And she would wrestle the creature away from Dustin if he insisted again on keeping it as a pet.

Pushing down her frustration, Rowan made to teleport to the library when the Super-Comm crackled to life. Snatching it up, Rowan headed Will's voice say, "Guys, I found him."

Relief washed through her as Dustin's voice demanded, "Where?!"

"In the bathroom, by Mr. Salerno's," Will informed, Alistair's voice coming over as he added, "He's curled up by one of the toilets."

Rowan gripped the walkie tightly as she said, "Okay. Will, Al, stay there. I'll be there in a minute. Al, keep a lookout so it doesn't escape again."

"Will do, Ro," her brother affirmed and the walkie crackled out.

Looking up, Rowan pushed a stray strand of hair back and blew out a relieved sigh, making her way to where he was—given that Cami and Max would probably be coming to the bathroom, Rowan didn't want to risk them seeing her pop out of thin air. They'd found Dart. Now they just had to trap it and bring it to Hopper. 

If only it were that easy.

***

Alistair leaned against the wall, watching the door like a hawk in case Dart tried to escape again. Normally, he'd find that ridiculous, but given how quickly Dart had escaped from the AV room, Alistair knew it was smarter to wait and catch Dart.

It also left him with his thoughts about what Dart was, and where it came from. Thoughts that made him feel sick to his stomach of how Dart could be a creature from the Upside Down, that the episodes Will was having were actually him seeing into the Upside Down like he had True Sight, just like his sister could when she dream-walked, except his best friend was awake. And while logically Alistair knew nothing could hurt Will since Rowan was never hurt, it didn't stop the sick feeling that something could hurt Will in these episodes from twisting inside his stomach.

The feeling that he was once again helpless in stopping the Upside Down taking Will again—except now it was worse because Alistair knew what the Upside Down was and the monsters lurking inside it and he had a power more useful than he had a year again and yet he still felt so fucking useless in stopping his best friend's torment.

When will I stop feeling this way?

Alistair wished Hugin was here, the bird nipping at his ear or tugging at a curl and the thoughts and emotions he could feel their bond would distract him. Hell, he'd even take the bloodiest, most nightmarish ghost in existence if he meant he would stop thinking how pathetic he felt at not being able to stop the Upside Down from affecting Will even a year later, and—

The bang of the bathroom door slamming open jumped Alistair out of his thoughts and nearly out of his skin, his heart ricocheting in his rib cage as he made to grab Dart in another attempt at escape.

But he could only see Will, his eyes wide and full of panic, breathing heavily. The expression on his best friend's face shifted Alistair's fright into concern.

"Will?" he asked softly, reaching out a hand to put on Will's shoulder. "Will, are you okay? Where's Dart?"

The moment Alistair put his hand on Will's shoulder, the other boy visibly jolted, like Alistair had gotten his sister's powers and sent an electric current through Will's body. Will whirled, eyes fixated on something, going even larger as his entire body trembled with fear.

Alistair's own fear built in him as he asked, "Will, what's wrong? Will? Will!"

Will didn't answer.

Instead he turned from Alistair and ran.

He ran down the corridors, like his life depended on it. Like something was chasing him.

Like he was back in the Upside Down and running for his life again.

Alistair's eyes widened as he realised Will was having another episode, and he bolted after Will, shouting, "WILL!"

He didn't even notice Dustin running down the corridor and straight to the bathroom, didn't bother to stop and make sure Dustin didn't hide Dart away or something. He could only focus on Will and do what he couldn't last night and snap him out of it, especially when Will looked so scared.

The only problem was that Will was fast, and while Alistair was no slouch, it took everything in him to keep pace with Will. He knew that last night, and it was painfully reminded here in the corridors of the school. The only good thing was that Will seemed to be going in a straight path so it was easy to keep his best friend in sight, but Alistair would prefer if Will wasn't running and he could try to wake him up and shake him out of whatever episode he was having.

Actually, the thought of Will standing completely, unnaturally still, eyes fixed on something Alistair couldn't see—was that what it was like for his family and friends to see on him whenever he looked at a ghost?—sounded more terrifying in Alistair's mind.

Will slammed the doors open and ran out onto the field, Alistair following a step behind. He felt more than saw Hugin fly up from a tree and into the sky, his caw filling the air and Alistair felt Hugin's concern, but he pushed the bird away; he needed to focus on Will.

Thankfully, he seemed to stop running, and he turned around, and Alistair felt relief, that Will had snapped out of it.

"Will," he said, jogging up to his best friend. "Will, you scared me, are you o—"

"Go away," Will said, voice tremulous and cracking.

Alistair froze mid-jog, staring at Will. "What?"

"Go away. Go away!" Will yelled, and that was when Alistair saw Will's eyes were focused on something else, and he realised Will was still stuck in the episode.

"Will! Hey, Will, can you hear me? It's just an episode! It can't hurt you! Will! WILL!" Alistair yelled, gripping Will's shoulders as he shook him, but Will couldn't hear him, his face twisted in panic and fear as he screamed, "Go away! GO AWAY! GO AWAY!"

Panic strangled Alistair as well as he kept shaking Will, looking into his friend's unfocused eyes, climbing up his throat and coiling around his spine, desperate to snap him out of the episode, to get him to just wake up.

And then Will tensed, his body turning as rigid as stone, and his eyes began moving rapidly.

Alistair stepped away, staring in shock before panic reclaimed him and he shook Will's tense body even harder, yelling, "Will, wake up! It isn't real, it can't hurt you, you're not back there! Will, please, wake up! It's me, it's Al! Please wake up, Will! WAKE UP!"

But Will was deaf to his pleas, and another voice rang out on the field.

"WILL!"

Alistair turned and saw Mike running toward them, staring in shock at Will's frozen form.

"Will!" he yelled, running to Will and shaking him, only to receive no response. He turned to Alistair and demanded, "What's wrong with him?!"

"I-I don't know! He ran out of the bathroom and then kept running, before the field and then he stopped and became frozen!" Alistair answered, the words spilling out in a panicked tumble. "I think it's another episode!"

Mike's eyes widened in panic, and he shouted, "Try to wake him up! I'm gonna let the others and Rowan know!"

Alistair nodded and returned to trying to wake up Will as Mike panickedly called the Party.

"Guys, Rowan, forget Dart!"

"Forget Dart? Why should we forget Dart?" Lucas asked.

"Will's having another episode! Al's trying to wake him up, but I-I don't know if he can, it's worse than the ones before! Just come quick, please!"

"We'll be there as soon as we can. Mike, help Al and try to wake Will up," Rowan's voice came over, firm and calm but Alistair could hear the crack of panic underneath it, but he only focused on Will, Mike joining him as they shook Will and shouted his name, trying desperately to wake him up.

To snap him out of whatever hold this episode had over him—and, though Alistair didn't want to think it was true, that he hoped wasn't true, whatever hold the thing Will was seeing had over him.

***

Will was good at hiding.

He hid from the monster, the Demogorgon, when he was in the Upside Down. He hid from the bullies. He hid from his father's anger and scorn. He hid from the world and its whispers there was something wrong with him, that he wasn't normal, that he was a freak.

He had hid from the Shadow Monster, had run from it on Halloween night and screamed denials of it isn't real it can't hurt you you're not there anymore it's not REAL, until he remembered Bob's advice, turned and stood his ground toward the looming creature made of shadow and evil. Even as he trembled with fear and the urge to run, he stood his ground and screamed.

"Go away. Go away. Go away! Go away! GO AWAY! GO AWAY!"

But it didn't go away and instead one of its legs or tendrils, a storm of shadow, a tornado of darkness, came toward Will, until he was in the eye of the shadows.

And then the shadows were inside him.

Will could feel it pouring into him, into everywhere, his body jerking and twitching with the force of the darkness pouring itself into his body, into his mouth and nose and eyes and ears. He could feel it crawling inside him, seeping into his blood, like an infection, he could feel it in his nerves and his bones, he could feel it in his brain. Will wanted to sob, wanted to scream, wanted to cry as he thought make it stop make it stop make it stop MAKE IT STOP!

But it didn't stop. 

Will was good at hiding.

But he couldn't hide from the darkness crawling into him and inside him.

***

Heheheheh surprise Will POV!!!

In all honesty, please don't kill me *hides*

I liked writing this chapter! I liked writing Rowan and Valerie's friendship, liked writing Rowan getting along with (and finally meeting) Max, loved writing the chaos and having Rowan assume her dad role and be the dad who says no to the pet the kid adopts (except there won't be no bond between Rowan and Dart) And yeah, I especially liked writing the scenes where Alistair tried to wake Will up and where Will was getting possessed, even as they made my heart ache to write :(

But yeah, we're FINALLY getting into the supernatural aspects of s2!! I can't wait to write more of it—and the scenes in s2 I'm most excited to be writing ;)

Next chapter will be soon!

Please read, comment and vote!

GhostWriterGirl out!