Evanescent | Stranger Things ¹

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

DON'T LOOK BACK

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November 12, 1983. Saturday.

"IF ANYONE ASKS WHERE I am, I left the country!"

My brother's panicked voice echos down the stairs from where he argues upstairs with our mother in the kitchen. Meanwhile, Dustin and I scramble madly around the basement, gathering up last minute belongings in our attempt to flee. Only minutes prior, after Lucas had lost contact through the radio, Dustin went upstairs to see a long caravan of vans just down the block from our house. It is clear who they were here for. Now, there is no time left to linger.

"Come on, Mike!" I boom, hoping he can hear me. Only seconds later, he is leaping down the staircase to join us. Mike quickly throws a backpack over his shoulder and starts for the backdoor, all the while holding Eleven's hand.

Dustin is quick to follow them outside and I am just behind him, pulling the hood of my jacket over my head as if I assume it will help. Then, as I step over the doorway, I hear my mother's call from upstairs. "Michael! Melanie!" She shouts. "Get up here, right now!"

My hand lingers on the doorknob and I sigh softly. "Sorry, mom," I murmur under my breath. I know she cannot hear me, and I also know that after this, it is unlikely she will forgive me, either. Then, I am closing the backdoor and walking out into the center of the yard where my brother, Dustin, and Eleven wait. I don't look back towards my house as I quickly swing a leg over the back of Dustin's bike and hop on behind him. "Let's go."

Dustin does not need to be told twice as he rapidly peddles towards the street. Just as we reach the curb, and Mike and Eleven join us, I hear the younger girl's suddenly breath catch in her throat. She is turned away from us, her knuckles white from how tightly she holds onto my brother, and I can see the fear in her eyes. Following her gaze, my attention lands on the long caravan of white vans with darkly tinted windows just down the street. Over a dozen men stand around the vehicles and every one of them is looking back at us.

Moments later, one of the men steps forward. His hair is as white as snow and I can see his dark eyes glinting in the sun. His lips are moving but I cannot hear what he says from this distance. As soon as he finishes speaking, though, all other men are returning to their vehicles in a mad dash. It is obvious that the white-haired man is the leader amongst the bad men.

Dustin tenses beneath me at the sound of the revving engines. "Go, go, go, go, go, go!" He frantically ushers. The curly-haired boy quickly kicks off the curb and my stomach lurches at the sound of screeching tires behind us. "Oh, my God!" Dustin yelps. "Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!"

"Just don't look back," I attempt to soothe. Carefully, I peek a look over my shoulder. The mass of white vans are already moving down the street, gaining more and more speed than our bicycles can ever possibly manage. I swallow weakly. "Definitely don't look back."

"Not helping!" Dustin cries.

Suddenly, one of the engines revs loudly from behind me and I wince. "Pedal faster!" I shout bluntly in his ear.

"Dammit, Melanie, I'm trying!" He yells back.

Before I can respond, the radio now taped to Dustin's handlebars crackles to life and I instantly recognize Lucas Sinclair's voice. "Dustin!" The boy calls. There is no static when he speaks which clarifies that he is significantly closer to us, wherever it is he may actually be. "Do you copy?"