10
𝗶 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗻𝘆
𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐏𝐈𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 like a ripple slicing through glass, so sudden and sharp it seemed to resonate in the very marrow of Tessa's bones. They froze, every sense heightened, each breath a shallow whisper as the hairs on the backs of their necks prickled in unison.

The forest was thick and foreboding around them, cloaked in an eerie quiet that felt too heavy, too suffocating, as if the woods themselves were watching, waiting. Tessa's flashlight cast a thin, wavering beam, illuminating the twisted knots of roots and branches, but her eyes strained to see past the shadows at the edges. She could feel the boys tense beside her, each of them transfixed, suspended in the silence that had crept back in after that strange, otherworldly rustle.

And then she saw her.

A girl—small, pale, otherworldly—stepped from behind the trees, her figure half-obscured by the oversized, ill-fitting shirt she wore, with the faint, worn lettering of Benny's Burgers across the front. Her hair was shaved close to her scalp, her wide, dark eyes glistening in the moonlight, reflecting the barest hint of vulnerability against her haunting, silent presence. Her feet were bare, her skin smudged with dirt and something else, something raw that seemed to speak of unspeakable hardship.

The boys stared, slack-jawed, as if she were a vision rather than a girl, something conjured out of their most secret nightmares or half-formed daydreams. Tessa's mouth opened to speak, but her voice was gone, her words swallowed by the dark. She took in the girl's fragile form, the hollow of her cheeks, the tired, wary glint in her eyes, which never left them as she took another tentative step forward.

Mike was the first to break the spell. He stepped toward her, his hand outstretched, his gaze tender yet tinged with awe. "Are you... are you okay?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper, as if afraid that any louder sound might shatter her fragile existence.

The girl only looked at him, her gaze unwavering, her silence heavy with things left unsaid. Her small frame seemed almost weightless, yet there was a strength in her stance, a kind of determination that belied her fragile appearance.

Dustin spoke next, his voice trembling. "She... she doesn't look okay, Mike. She looks like... I don't know, like she's seen a ghost or something."

Lucas nodded, the seriousness in his eyes mirroring Tessa's own bewilderment. "Or maybe she is the ghost," he muttered, though there was no malice in his voice, only a kind of morbid curiosity.

The girl's eyes flitted between them, her expression unreadable, her hands hanging at her sides as though she had forgotten what it meant to hold anything, even hope.

"Listen, we have to take her somewhere safe," Tessa said finally, her voice low but insistent, breaking the spell of the silence that had engulfed them. "She shouldn't be out here, not like this."

Mike nodded quickly, his face lighting up with the hint of a plan. "My basement," he said, his tone hushed and urgent. "Mom's not there right now, so... we could bring her, just for a bit. Just to figure things out."

Lucas looked at him skeptically, but a flicker of hope crossed his features. "You're serious?"

"Yeah," Mike replied, already moving to guide the girl with a gentle gesture. She followed him with a quiet obedience that seemed both natural and alien at the same time, her footsteps barely making a sound on the forest floor as she walked. Tessa fell in beside her, close enough to lend support, though she wasn't sure the girl would even accept it if she offered.

They made their way through the trees, the hush of their steps filling the void where words could not. The air grew colder as they approached Mike's house, the suburban quiet seeping back in, swallowing the sounds of the woods behind them. Tessa's heart pounded as they crept around the side of Mike's house, toward the basement entrance.

Rain battered the world outside, drumming a hollow rhythm against the small basement window as though the night itself knew something was wrong. In Mike's cluttered basement, where every nook and cranny was filled with relics of childhood, the air felt thick, charged with tension. An old lamp cast its dim glow over the room, illuminating the dusty shelves, forgotten board games, and Mike's childhood artwork, now peeling and fading on the walls.

Tessa sat against a pile of sleeping bags in the corner, her legs crossed and eyes narrowed, watching the scene unfold with the kind of curiosity one might have for a puzzle missing half its pieces. She didn't know who this girl was or why she had suddenly become a part of their night, but something about her gnawed at the edge of her mind, like an itch she couldn't quite scratch.

The girl stood in the middle of the room, wearing an oversized shirt that swallowed her thin frame. Her head was nearly bald, just a dusting of hair giving a ghostly sheen to her scalp under the dim light. She was tiny, almost lost within herself, but her eyes held a depth none of them could quite meet. Tessa noted how she kept glancing around, her gaze skimming the dusty shelves and the haphazard piles of games, as if everything here was foreign to her, as strange as she seemed to them.

Mike, the ever-empathetic one, cleared his throat and took a careful step forward, his brow furrowed in worry. "Is there... I mean, do you have a number we can call for your parents? You know, to let them know you're okay?"

She just stared at him, her expression blank but somehow full of hidden questions, as if she were trying to decipher a language she'd never heard before. The silence stretched, thick and uncomfortable, until Tessa, ever the blunt one, tilted her head and squinted.

"Okay, but where's your hair?" she asked, one eyebrow raised as she studied the girl's bare scalp. "Do you... have cancer or something?"

Lucas snorted, crossing his arms with an incredulous look. "Or did you run away?" he asked, leaning in a little. His eyes were sharp, suspicious, the kind of look he got when he thought someone was messing with him.

The bald-headed girl remained silent, her gaze darting from one face to the next. She seemed to consider each question carefully, but the answers stayed locked behind her eyes. Dustin, in his usual, eager fashion, piped up.

"Are you in some kind of trouble?" he asked, his voice gentler than the others. "Is... is that blood?" He pointed to a faint, dried smear on her arm, barely visible but enough to raise the hairs on the back of their necks.

At this, Eleven shifted, pulling her arms closer to herself, like a shield. Mike frowned, his eyes flashing with frustration. "Stop it! You're freaking her out."

Lucas threw up his hands, looking at Eleven with wary eyes. "She's freaking me out!"

Tessa rolled her eyes, letting out a sigh. "What if she's, like... deaf or something?" she wondered aloud, leaning forward and clapping her hands loudly in front of Eleven's face.

She flinched a bit, clearly startled.

"Not deaf," Tessa muttered, brushing her hair out of her face with an exasperated huff. The air felt thick again, each of them teetering between curiosity and unease, like balancing on a narrow ledge over a yawning abyss.

Mike, his face softening, stepped toward the pile of clothes in the corner and picked up an old sweatshirt, his mother's, from a long-ago camping trip. He offered it to her, his voice gentle. "Here, you must be freezing."

Eleven took the sweatshirt cautiously, her fingers barely brushing his, and then, with startling nonchalance, she began lifting her oversized shirt to change right then and there.

"Oh no, no, no!" Mike yelped, stumbling back with his hands in the air, his cheeks turning a deep shade of red as he spun around.

Dustin slapped a hand over his eyes, practically wailing. "Oh my God, oh my God!"

Tessa, both horrified and amused, waved her hands wildly. "Hold up! Ever heard of privacy? That's why we have bathrooms." She pointed at a narrow door off to the side, giving  a look that was half horrified, half pleading. "See that? Big deal in civilization. Trust me."

Eleven blinked, staring at the door as if it were some enchanted portal. Slowly, she padded over to it, Mike following, just the close it behind her, although she quickly held the door open. 

The three listened to the conversation engaging between the duo, as Lucas crossed his arms.

Dustin peeked through his fingers, hoping it was clear to finally look.

"She said 'no' and 'yes,'" Lucas whispered as Mike began to strut back. "My three-year-old sister says more than that."

"Yeah, well, she also almost stripped in front of us," Tessa added, unable to hide her amusement. "Guess that's... one way to communicate."

Lucas scowled, muttering, "There's definitely something wrong with her. She's... like Michael Myers-level creepy."

Tessa chuckled, shrugging. "Nah, she's like... escaped a nuthouse creepy. Pennhurst creepy."

A nervous laugh escaped Dustin, but Mike's face turned serious, glancing between them. "So what, you just want to leave her out in the storm?" he asked, his voice soft but steady.

"Yes!" Lucas exclaimed, his arms crossing tightly. "We came here to find Will, not babysit some... new problem."

"Right," Tessa smirked, rolling her eyes. "And let's just call your mom and tell her you wandered into the woods looking for Will in the middle of the night. Great plan."

Lucas opened his mouth to argue but thought better of it, his lips pressing into a tight line. "Fine," he muttered, relenting. "But what are we supposed to do?"

"Simple," Mike replied, his mind working. "She stays here tonight. Tomorrow morning, she sneaks around to the front, rings the doorbell, and my mom finds her. She'll think she's a lost kid, call the authorities, and... that's it."

"Back to Pennhurst, no strings attached," Lucas added, clearly relieved. "It's perfect. Tomorrow night, we actually go out and find Will."

Dustin brightened, nodding along, "Exactly, no more distractions."

Tessa glanced at Eleven, who had finally settled on the floor with the sweatshirt wrapped around her shoulders. In the dim light, she looked even smaller, more fragile, as if she could vanish with the next thunderclap. But there was something else, something unreadable in her dark, watchful eyes that seemed to hold a universe of secrets.

"All right, then," Tessa sighed, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "But for tonight, let's keep Michael Myers over there from killing us in our sleep."

The others chuckled nervously, but the unease lingered in the room, settling into every shadowed corner. As they all moved to settle in for the night, the storm outside only seemed to grow louder, the wind howling against the walls, as if trying to pry them apart.

Lucas threw a cautious glance at the basement door, his face a mixture of worry and hope. "Tomorrow," he whispered. "Tomorrow we go back out there and bring Will home."

.ೃ࿐ IRIS SPEAKS !

its literally only my crush that can call me for 12 hours and still not ask me out

MADE A GIF FOR THIS TOO, WHAT DO WE THINK?

anyways, kisses xo