𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝟰. 𝘿'𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙣𝙖𝙣

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝟰. 𝘿'𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙣𝙖𝙣

"I still don't get why they call him Zombie Boy," Max said as she, Lucas, and James walked down the hallway toward their next class, the murmur of other students echoing around them.

"I mean, I get he was lost in the woods for a week or something," she went on, frowning, "but why zombie?"

"They probably thought he was dead or something," James said with a shrug, though his face showed he didn't quite buy the explanation either.

Lucas nodded. "Yeah. I mean, we had a funeral for him and everything."

Max stopped walking for half a second. "After a week?" she said, incredulous.

That was way too short to plan an entire funeral for a missing kid. The idea alone sounded insane. Hawkins was weird, but this was another level.

Lucas rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, see... some other kid drowned at the quarry. We thought it was Will because his body was super decomposed."

James frowned. "I don't think a body decomposes that fast..."

None of it connected properly. The more he heard about Hawkins, the more it sounded like a place that twisted logic into knots.

"Okay, that's not funny," Max said sharply, planting her feet and facing Lucas head-on.

She clearly thought he was messing with them.

Lucas let out a small, frustrated sigh.

"It's not a joke, all right? It's public knowledge. You can ask anybody. Just... not Will, because he's really sensitive about it. Okay?"

He looked between the siblings, making sure they understood he was being serious. Max and James exchanged a look, then nodded.

Even so, James wasn't entirely sure he believed all of it. It sounded too wild, almost grotesque, an entire funeral after a few days? A misidentified, decomposed body? Hawkins was full of surprises, but he wasn't sure he liked the kind he was hearing about.

They stepped into their classroom together. Science with Mr. Clarke.

"The case of Phineas Gage," Mr. Clarke announced as he paced to the front, "is one of the great medical curiosities of all time." He tapped a long pointer against a projected skull image. "Phineas was a railroad worker in 1848 who had a nightmarish accident. A large iron rod was driven completely through his head."

A few students gasped. Max leaned back in her chair.

"Phineas miraculously survived," the teacher continued. "He seemed fine. And physically, yes, he was. But his injury resulted in a complete change to his personality."

While Mr. Clarke spoke, James noticed Max's eyes drifting toward the first row. Will sat there next to Mike, shoulders hunched, staring blankly at his desk.

James understood why Max was intrigued, he was too, but Will clearly had enough going on. He didn't need more people staring at him like he was some kind of curiosity.

James made a soft pssst noise and nudged Max with his elbow, giving her a look that basically said stop staring. But of course, that was the exact moment Will turned around.

His wide eyes met theirs, and both siblings immediately looked away, trying to play it off.

"So much so that friends who knew him started referring to him as 'no longer Gage,'" Mr. Clarke went on. "Although it wasn't a—"

The classroom door slammed open.

Dustin stumbled inside, completely breathless.

"I am so sorry, Mr. Clarke," he wheezed as he collapsed into his seat. "Really—so sorry. Please... continue with the class."

James frowned. From what he'd seen, Dustin wasn't the late type. Ever. If anything, Dustin was the kind of guy who showed up ten minutes early everywhere.

Max shot James a confused look. He shrugged back. No idea.

After whispering urgently with Mike, Lucas, and Will, Dustin turned toward Max and James and mouthed something like:

"AV Club. Lunch."

James hoped he understood him right.

"Dustin," Mr. Clarke snapped.

Dustin shot upright. "Yes, my lord?"

The class snickered.

"Would you care to join us?"

"Please, yes. I'm focusing. I'm focused," he said, pulling out his books. Under his breath, he repeated, "AV Club. Lunch."

Max and James gave him a thumbs-up. Max looked at James like, What is going on? James raised his brows: Your guess is as good as mine.

- ⏳-

James had absolutely no idea what he was looking at.

Some kind of massive, slimy larva writhed inside the small plastic container Dustin held. It was too alive, too squishy, too animated. Its skin was a sickly, grayish color with stubborn hints of green. Repulsive and totally unfamiliar.

"His name is D'Artagnan," Dustin announced proudly, like he'd just found a puppy.

He scooped the creature into his palm. It made soft, squishy noises against his skin.

"Cute, right?" Dustin added, grinning at them like he expected applause.

Cute was definitely not the first word that came to James's mind. Not even in the top hundred.

"D'Artagnan?" Mike repeated.

"Dart, for short," Dustin said.

James blinked. "Cool, a musketeer." 

He had no idea why the name mattered when the real question was: what the hell were they looking at?

"And he was in your trash?" Max asked, leaning back a little.

"Foraging for food," Dustin said, as if that explained anything. He looked down at Dart, then up at Max. "Do you want to hold him?"

"No. No," Max said instantly.

"He doesn't bite," Dustin insisted and before Max could protest again, he plopped Dart into her hands.

Max's eyes widened in horror. "No—ugh, I don't want to—"

Too late.

"Oh my god, he's slimy!" she squealed, immediately shoving it at James.

"What? No, no—" James recoiled, passing it straight to Lucas without a second thought.

"Ugh, he's like a living booger," Lucas groaned, handing it off to Will.

Will practically threw it to Mike, who unlike everyone else didn't look disgusted at all. Clearly only he and Dustin were immune.

"What is he?" Mike asked, studying Dart more closely.

"My question exactly," Dustin said, reclaiming Dart like an overprotective mom. "At first I thought he was a pollywog. But they need water. Dart hates water."

"All pollywogs need water?" Lucas asked.

"No. Two don't," Dustin said. "But one's from South America and one's from India. And neither should randomly crawl out of my trash can."

"Maybe some scientist brought it here and it escaped?" Max suggested, rubbing her hands on her jeans in disgust.

James snorted. "I doubt there's any scientist living in Hawkins."

Mike suddenly leaned in. "Do you guys see that?"

Everyone's attention snapped to Dart, now sitting in the center of the table under the AV room lamp. Something inside it... shifted.

"Looks like something's moving inside of it..." Mike said, squinting.

James grimaced. "Okay, that's disgusting."

They all crowded a little closer. Mike angled the light toward Dart slowly, cautiously until the brightness hit its slimy skin.

The creature shrieked and lurched at Mike, trying to leap off the table.

Mike jumped back, but Dustin managed to grab Dart mid-air.

"I got you, little guy. It's okay," he murmured, cradling it gently until it calmed. "And there's another thing, reptiles? Cold-blooded. Ectothermic. They love heat. The sun. Dart hates it. It hurts him."

"So if he's not a pollywog or a reptile..." Lucas said slowly.

"Then I discovered a new species," Dustin said proudly.

Before anyone could argue, the bell rang, echoing through the AV room. Dustin hurried to tuck Dart back into the Ghostbusters trap he'd repurposed as a creature carrier.

"We gotta show him to Mr. Clarke," Lucas said as they walked out of the AV club.

"No! What if he steals my discovery?" Dustin shot back, clutching the trap protectively.

"He's not gonna steal your discovery," Mike said, rolling his eyes.

Dustin wasn't convinced. "You know, I'm thinking about calling it Dustinious pollywogus."

He turned toward James and Max expectantly. "What do you guys think?"

James shrugged. "I... guess it's a fine name?"

Max didn't hesitate. "I think you're an idiot."

Before they could do anything with Dustin's new discovery, the group still had to finish their classes. Which they did, technically. James didn't hear a single word. His mind kept drifting back to that thing Dustin had found.

A few days in Hawkins and already: • a missing-but-not-missing kid, • a funeral that shouldn't have happened, • and now a slimy maybe-species from the trash.

Stranger things indeed.

When the final bell rang, the group gathered in the corridor, vibrating with excitement.

"This is why I was late for class," Dustin declared proudly as he set the trap on Mr. Clarke's desk.

James, Max, and Lucas leaned in around him.

"Pretty neat," Mr. Clarke said, examining the trap. "These doors function?"

"Well, yeah, obviously. But it's not about the trap—it's what's inside." Dustin puffed up. "This may very well change your perception of the world."

Mr. Clarke chuckled. "Consider my interest piqued."

"Okay, first let's clarify that this is my discovery—"

James tried not to laugh as Lucas groaned.

"Dustin, Jesus! Just show him!"

"I'm just clarifying—"

"Dustin!" Max snapped.

"Okay, okay! Fine!"

Just as he reached for the latch—

The door exploded open.

"STOP!" Mike shouted, racing in with Will. He lunged for the trap.

"I'm really sorry, Mr. Clarke. It was just a stupid prank. I told him to stop."

Everyone froze.

"What are you doing?" Dustin sputtered.

Mike looked panicked, like something had suddenly become very, very wrong.

"We need to go. Right now."

"Mike, what the—"

"Right now!" Mike barked.

Thank you so much for reading this far! 🎡

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