Evanescent | Stranger Things ¹

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

⇝ ⇝ ⇝

November 12, 1983. Saturday.

THE LOOMING, POUNDING ECHO of footsteps on the squeaky floor chases after Jason Duke and I as we round another seemingly endless hallway within the tomb that is now Hawkins Middle School. The government's men are slowly beginning to catch up, and I am not certain that we are going to be able to escape. Every door we have come across, either classroom or exit, has been padlocked shut. We are trapped.

"Keep moving!" I usher quietly to Jason, my hand still enclosed tightly in his. "We need to get back to the gym."

"How?" Jason hisses back, struggling to keep his breathing even. "They've blocked off the main entrance back."

"We'll figure it out," I insist. "There's always a way."

There has to be a way out of this. We have already evaded the bad men once which meant that we can do it again. This is no longer a strange occurrence to my brother, my friends, or myself. This has nearly become a daily part of our routine. Wake up, survive, start over. Eleven could beat the bad men. We can beat them, too.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Jason Duke skids to a halt and he wraps one hand around my arm whilst the other goes to my lower back, holding me in place. Jason is looking up towards the ceiling and I continue to stare at him madly, listening to the harsh voices of dangerous men grow closer. This isn't a time to be stopping. What is he doing?

"Here," The boy announces, moving towards the side of the hallway so that he is practically looming in the shadows. I have no choice but to follow, letting him tug me along. Moments later, Jason is pulling open Mr. Barton's classroom door. The entire room is pitch black, but from across the room, I can see the familiar open window that I had noticed earlier in the evening. This had been Jason's original way into the school. Now, he is making it our way out. "I'll go first," Jason volunteers, navigating between desks, all the while still making sure that I am close behind. "You'll follow. I'll catch you when you drop, okay?"

"No!" I exclaim, digging my heels into the floor. "We can't leave! We need to go back to the gym!"

Jason's eyes widen in disbelief. "You want to get out, don't you?" He questions.

"I want to find my brother!" I insist. "I want to find my friends. They're in danger."

"We're in danger, Melanie," Jason corrects sternly, pointing a finger between the both of us. His eyes then carefully drift over my shoulder to where my back is turned to the door, and his jaw drops in horror. "Get down!" He cries.

Jason's hands automatically go to my shoulders and he immediately pushes me to the ground, quickly joining my side on the cold floor only seconds later. Jason has just barely shifted a desk in front of us before the classroom door is kicked in, and multiple men storm into the room, speaking in loud, harsh voices. Jason winces in fear as he crouches beside me, bending away from the sweeping rays of flashlights that creep along the floor, searching and prying for intruders. I hold a hand over my mouth to keep my trembling, shaky breaths from giving the both of us away. My other hand—the one enclosed in a cast—is still tight within Jason's hold. Kneeling so close to the boy, I am certain I can hear his heartbeat, and that sound alone seems to have the potential to give us away.

"Clear," One of the armed men announces, and then, just like that, the wave of bed men dissipates as they move onto the next classroom over. I exhale loudly, leaning my head against one of the cool pegs of the desk shielding us.