Stranger Things Happen to Will Van de Kamp
Hi guys, and welcome to my new story, following the mysterious life of Mulder and Scully's son William. This my idea of how they meet, and will tie in with the Event series. I shan't say anymore, so please read and I hope you all enjoy!
At three-thirty, every Thursday, this particular classroom was occupied by the same three students of Patterson High School. It was situated just outside of Casper, Wyoming, in the small town of Hanker. The club name was labeled 'The Examination Club.' Over the two years of the club being active, the same three students had spent every Thursday in the room. They were the founders and original members. Only one other student had turned up once, but had mistaken the room number, looking for the debate club. She had disappeared as quickly as she had appeared.
'These guys are the bomb, I swear!' One of the three said, the boy with the frizz of blond hair and tanned complexion. Typically dressing in a white t-shirt that slurred the government, or a computer joke which he had to explain five times a day, to people who really didn't care. His name was Dexter Miller. Seen as the boy who would one day live in an RV on his parents drive, spouting enthusiastic conspiracy theories. He was hovering over a ripped magazine spread with the second member, a taller boy of Japanese descent, named Isaac Akimado, who had found the article about to be used in paper mache of the school's mascot. Isaac was skinny as could be with tufts of black hair and a habit to speak his opinion. A bad habit with plenty of students whom Isaac disliked.
'Say 'the bomb' again, I dare you.' Isaac said with a grin, he too enjoying the ideas of the author. The name had been ripped at the foot of the spread, along with the remaining article. Going by the various sections, the piece had been written by a group.
'How have we not found this before?' Dexter cried, looking between Isaac and the other boy. 'The Zoo hypothesis, amazing! You'll have to find the rest of the piece, Akimado.'
Isaac looked deflated. 'It's probably been glued to the Ram's head that got wrecked by Roosevelt High. We have to find the author's online page, there will be loads more.' Isaac turned to the boy sitting at the single computer bank in the room. 'Hey, Van de Kamp! What's up, you go crazier for this than Dexy does.'
William looked up from the computer for a brief moment and smiled at his friends. It was enough to sate them before they re-examined the article. William turned back to the computer and peered through his glasses. The result of too much computer and television time, his mother said. His father said his mind probably was a computer by now. They might not be wrong. How else would he be able to find these locations? At these moments exactly? Upon plugging his camera into the computer, he uploaded all the images he had taken through the valley beyond his family's ranch, on the edge of Hanker. The landscape stretched on forever, whether at night or day, with the same shape hovering high above. Triangular and just out of focus. A dark blur, visible even at night. Always hovering, always still. Like a bird that had been frozen.
Will could find it whenever. Not when he wanted to, mind. But whenever he felt it. A tingle in his chest, like an instinct he had been born with. More commonly now, he climbed out of bed and snuck out with his camera. He would walk for miles at night, even beginning to get closer to the mountains. Whenever it called, he would find it.
The camera was the only thing to stop it from being just dreams or dangerous hallucinations.
Will leaned back in his seat with a deep huff. Strange things like this, William kept to himself. His friends knew there was something different about him. After the fifth grade rumor of him being an alien, he kept all strange factors to himself. If something strange occurred in Patterson high, a phrase was a common as dust around here: Stranger things happen to Will Van de Kamp. His family were never allowed to view his pictures. His mother would go crazy at the idea of him sneaking out at night. Dexter was convinced the images were a satellite projection, to stir up ideas of aliens to mask secret aircraft tests. Isaac thought it could be just a reflection. A consistent reflection.
Will was the shortest of the group, with thick dark brown hair, a notable nose, and shining blue eyes. Family friends said he was the spitting image of his mother. A biological impossibility. They didn't know, but the Van de Kamp's had come clean on William's tenth birthday, about his adoption. After that it was swept under the rug. His mother would tear up if he mentioned it, and his father would scowl. They had done everything for him, save for giving birth. Maybe he did look like his mother, the woman who was god knows where. Or maybe his father. Questions had run through his head a thousand times and he had a thousand different scenarios to play as answers.
'Hey, Will? Will!' William snapped out of his trance as Dexter got up. 'C'mon, don't you want to find the guys who wrote this stuff?' All through lunch they had poured over the piece, hiding in the back of the cafeteria with Tater tots. The pecking order was well established at Patterson High, like any other school across America.
'Sure, hold on.' He saved his newly taken images and unplugged his camera, before he began to type.
'What you got?' Isaac said, bounding over like a pup. The three of them were infamous throughout the school's student body and faculty as the 'spooky kids', researching aliens and all sorts of supposedly dumb theories. It was what they loved.
'Hang on...there. The Zoo hypothesis? An article written by the group known as The Lone Gunmen. Check this stuff out.' Will moved back and allowed his friends to peer at the screen. The group had several of their published articles posted online, but no blog entries in the web page's existence.
'Maybe they stick to magazine publications. Harder for the government to chase up paperwork than online data.' Isaac suggested, scrolling on the page.
'There!' Dexter cried. 'Experimental aircraft! Causes mass belief in extraterrestrial visitation! There's the reason for your pictures, Joseph Nicephore Niepce!' Dexter said, laughing with a clap on Will's shoulder. They nicknamed him after the first person to take a photograph when they found his secret hobby.
'I'll save the link, hang on.' Will sent a copy of the web page to each of their emails, just as the classroom door was pushed open, a teaching assistant warily looking in.
'Sorry boys, closing shop early today. Staff meeting.' The teacher nodded out of the door. 'Head on home.' The boys collected their stuff, Will placing his camera in his rucksack, and absently picking up the article by the Lone Gunmen and tucking it in his pocket. They followed the route down the stairs and out of the broken emergency exit in the school's main building. The three wandered over to the bike shed. Although they were all fifteen, Isaac was the only one with a learner's permit. Will hadn't been interested in driving, and Dexter's family were radical environmentalists, who didn't own a car, and refused for Dexter to learn. But he worked part time in order to save up so he could learn. But for now the three stuck to bikes, as they had done since elementary school.
'C'mon. Maybe tomorrow we could hit Benny's junk store. He has a stack of old magazines. Maybe we'll find more. Or eBay.' Dexter suggested as they rode out of the school grounds, following the main road of Hanker. It was only a small town. Dry and nearly forgotten by the rest of the world. Most lived on farm ranches, like Will, dotted around Casper county. But Issac lived in the center of town with his parents. They followed the streets until Isaac pulled off and dismounted.
'Kiss your mom for me, Akimado.' Dexter grinned as the two continued.
'We still going to the movies tomorrow?' Dexter asked as their bikes clanged onto the start of Maple and Oak.
'Should be. After Benny's, though.' Said Will. 'I want to find more on phone tampering and surveillance.'
'Why? Got a secret admirer, Van de Kamp? Or have you decided to stalk Sarah Gellows rather than just stare at her in class?' Dexter grinned before gliding down a slope to the homestead his family owned. Will sent a rude hand gesture, but then waved and continued down the dusty road. Cars rarely passed, but he pulled to the side as a large red fire truck sped past, it's siren wailing. It was still light out, so Will figured he had time to observe what was going on. He picked up speed as the road descended into a light decline. His bag rubbed his back as he peddled faster, the siren fading. But as he skidded to a halt at the spot known as the cross roads. His stomach sank. One road lead to Casper. The other to his home. With such force he was surprised the bike chain did not snap, Will biked down the tree lined street, void of other homes. Until, in the distance, an orange mass was looming. His palms began to sweat, his stomach aching as he raced home, the siren, still calling him in.
Not mom. Not dad. Not home. Not them, please.
His bike bounced over loose pebbles as he screeched onto the property. Cop cars and two fire trucks were stationed in front of the house, with emitted a thick black cloud of smoke and stung Will's eyes until they bled with tears.
'Mom? Dad!' He cried. They weren't in there, he begged his mind. They would have gone into town. Dad needed a new wrench and mom needed groceries. Yeah, they would come home now in the car and pull him away as their home burned to the ground.
'Mom! Dad!' He continued to scream over the hectic scene. A couple of cops ran towards him as he charged towards the homestead.
'Mom! Mom! Dad!' He cried out, one cop grabbing him around the waist.
'Son, calm down now-'
'Dad!'
'I'm sorry kid.' Another said. Will fought against the hands that tried to keep him at bay. His eyes continued to weep from the toxic smoke and the horrific scene before him. Everything he knew was dying right in front of him. The blaze seemed to go on for hours, in that single moment. Will thrust the bodies away from him and tumbled to the ground. He curled into a ball on the dusty road where he had played a thousand times, staring blankly ahead. The cops stood over him, not sure what to do. One mentioned a social worker, but Will didn't hear. His fingers traced the dust of the ground, unable to look up.
He studied the numerous boot prints on the ground, the disregarded pebbles, and the crushed packet of Morley cigarettes a cop must have dropped.
Thank you all for reading, please drop a comment and tell me what you think!
