Firestarter

Chapter Twelve

Summon Undead

ANNE WATCHING THE CARS APPROACH WITH WIDE EYES. It was only when the first one blared its horn and everyone jumped to the side that she considered moving. Anne hurried to the side just in time. Wind whipped past as the car tore out of the laboratory driveway. The next car to appear was Hopper's police vehicle. It screeched to a stop in front of them.

"Let's go," Hopper called.

The group hurried into the back of the car. It was cramped, meant for four people at the most. They barely had time to sit down before Hopper slammed on the gas. Dustin, the last one in, wasn't. The door closed and the car lurched forwards, sending the still standing Dustin reeling. Between Lucas and Sam, though, they were able to wrestle their friend into a seat instead of letting him fall into the front section.

A million questions came from the children. What had happened? Did they see the monsters? Was everyone okay? Hopper only responded with grunts and gruff scolding. Finally, he got frustrated and snapped at them, making them all fall silent.

Finally, they arrived at the Byers house. Curtains were drawn and lights turned off as they hurried inside. Only enough light was left for them to see.

It took Anne a moment to count everyone. Jonathan was crouched next to Will, who laid on the couch unconscious. Nancy stood over him while Steve hovered in a nearby corner. The kids had collected in the living room. Hopper had picked up the phone to call for backup, and Joyce rushed to her room the second they arrived. Anne was certain she saw the start of tears in her eyes, and Loomis had politely excused himself to anyone who would care to go check on her.

Finally, Anne spotted Campbell pacing in front of one of the windows. Once in a while he would pause and stare at the closed blind, before shaking his head and continuing to pace.

Anne went to stand next to him. She wanted to hug him, but knew Campbell was unlikely to appreciate it as much as she would.

"I found my mom," Anne mumbled.

"I heard."

Campbell paused again. He didn't turn to look at her, instead of staring at the blinds again. It seemed like he was trying to look through them and out the window on the other side.

"She was nice," Anne added.

"I'm sure she was," Campbell replied.

Anne shuffled her feet. Perhaps it was selfish to expect someone to be excited for her, especially after what had happened, but the unenthusiastic nature of Campbell's responses left her feeling as hollow as his tone sounded. It would have been better if he was upset. At least then there would be something for Anne to understand. Some hint at how she was supposed to feel about the previous events.