Number Four

The Town Hall

And so Bonnie Quatre wound up sitting amongst the concerned parents and citizens at the town hall meeting, watching all the worried faces and tasting the fear and sense of misguided justice boiling in the air. Something was about to blow.

Jason was up on the stand, giving an impassioned speech. "...So I came here today, humbly, to ask for your help. Join me in this fight. Let us cast out this evil, and save Hawkins together!"

His words rung out in silence. Then a man rose to his feet, turned and walked down the hall. "What are you all just sitting around for? You heard the kid."

Rising from her chair, Bonnie stepped out in front of him, blocking him in his path. "Why don't we all just calm down?" Slipping past the man, she slunk up the aisle towards the stand. She had changed before coming; now she was dressed in a suit of bold red, drawing all attention firmly on her.

"Wonderful speech, Jason. Very rousing, very passionate. I'm sure you could practically hear the heroic music swelling there at the end." She mounted the stage, gently sliding in front of the microphone and him out the way. "The debate team would be lucky to have you."

There was a few laughs from around the room. Levity. Good.

She turned to the audience, eyes gleaming, pushing out waves of calm upon them as she spoke. "But there's just a few things that aren't quite... adding up.  Eddie Munson... Satanic powers... Cults... People levitating?" She shot an exaggeratedly incredulous look at Jason, then back to the mic. "...Are we sure? As a scientist, I'm finding it a lot to believe, at least without some form of proof."

She quieted the few voices of dissent that began to rise. "I know they were murdered, I know, I know. But that's all we know." She turned to Jason beside her again. "Now, Jason, I'm sure you mean well. I am so very sorry for what happened to Chrissy, I can even imagine... awful, it's just awful." Back to the crowd. "But, don't you just think Jason might be too close to this case? What's more likely, that he saw someone levitate and be murdered with magic powers, or that he's traumatized and doesn't know what he saw?"

The response to this was more positive, sounds being made in agreement.

Four felt a prickling in her eyes, blood welling up in the corner. Casually she wiped it away with her thumb.

"Eddie Munson is a highschooler. Do you really think a highschooler is capable of all this? I mean, if he's got magic powers, you'd think he'd be able to magic up some physics homework once in a while." A few more chuckles. She was really laying it on thick now. "So you go after him. You lock him up. You make him see justice. ...What then happens if it doesn't stop? If it's not him. Because then you have a problem- not only have you ruined the wrong man's life, you've let the killer get away with it. The blood then is on your hands." She realised she was leaning forward as she spoke, microphone clutched in both hands, staring intensely at the stone-silent audience. She straightened up. "Maybe he did do it, maybe he didn't. But this is modern day America, not Salem in the 1690's. Trust me, we'll leave no stone unturned, but you don't just blow up the first stone just because you found it! This case needs approaching with care and consideration, calm-heads and logic. Let the people who know what they're doing do their work. The last thing this needs is amateur detectives, rabid mobs and," She gestured to Jason for the last time. "Wannabe superheroes. Thank you."

She stepped down from the stage, walking through the silent crowd to the door. As she went, she pulled out a handkerchief, and under the guise of tears, wiped away at the blood that was starting to trickle down her face.

That should buy some time. But mob mentality was hard to tamp down; it would not be long until they stoked themselves up again.

A/N: Apologies for the update taking a longer time than usual! I got wrapped up doing registration and prep for University. Hopefully the next chapter will come out sooner XD