Season 1 -
DANGER BREW IN THE SMALL TOWN OF HAWKINS, INDIANA. Despite escaping from the lab that started it all, Ten is unaware of this. All she wants is to help those who have helped her. Accidentally bringing them into the danger she herself had b...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The Christmas Lights
TEN TRIED TO REMEMBER THE WAY BACK TO MIKE'S. Maybe if she walked straight back, she would run into his house. But what if that meant going through town? What if his house wasn't directly across from Castle Byers? What if she still managed to get lost?
Why hadn't El told her this was a terrible idea beforehand?
Even though the sun had risen, the air was still ice cold. Ten wrapped the blanket tighter around herself and sniffled. Maybe she was going to get sick. And she hadn't even found Will. Maybe they would accept Castle Byers as a sign. Maybe they already knew.
Then there was El. Technically she'd lied to El. Friends don't lie. She needed something, or everyone would be disappointed in her.
Something approached Castle Byers. Ten's eyes widened. It sounded like footsteps. She looked around. There was nowhere to go. Finally, she settled on hiding under the pile of blankets and watching through a small gap. Big enough to see through, small enough she could drop it if something looked too closely.
"Will?"
A woman stuck her head into Castle Byers. For a moment there was a look of hope on her face. Then it fell as she realized Will was there. She took a shaking breath and climbed inside.
Ten watched as the woman picked up the Will the Wise drawing. She sat and stared at it. After a moment Ten realized she was crying.
Now, logic said to stay hidden. The woman could be dangerous. She could even work for the bad men. If she didn't, she might call them, or kick Ten out and leave her to freeze. But on the other hand, the woman was crying. She was upset, and hurt, and Ten knew what it felt like to be upset and hurt.
Which is why Ten carefully crawled out from under the blanket. She approached the woman. After a moment she tapped her on the shoulder. The woman jumped in surprise.
Ten asked, "Okay?"
The woman wiped her eyes, "Oh, no, I'm fine. You surprised me, that's all. I didn't expect anyone to be in here."
"Sorry," Ten mumbled.
"It's okay, sweetheart," the woman assured. "Are you lost?"
Ten nodded. She was, in fact, very lost. The problem was she couldn't tell the woman where she was lost from. The woman might call the bad men, and she wasn't supposed to tell anyone they were staying at Mike's. Then the boys would get in trouble and they wouldn't be able to look for Will.
