"Mike, you've got a letter from California!" Mrs. Wheeler called from the bottom of the stairs.
Mike shot up from his bed where he'd been half-sleeping, dreading to comply with his alarm clock. Jumping off his bed and running out of his room, he raced to meet his mother. He hoped she wouldn't comment on his lack of clothing.
Snatching the letter out of her hands, he rushed to say, "Thanks, mom!"
Dashing back up the stairs before she could ask anything, he closed the door behind him and sat on his bed.
Eagerly unwrapping the letter, he began to silently read.
Dear Mike,
Today is day 185. Feels more like ten years. Joyce says time is funny like that. Emotions can make it speed up or slow down. We are all time travelers if you think about it.
For example, this week is going very fast. I think because I am so busy. I have to make something called a visual aid. I hope Mrs. Gracey will give me an A.
Some exciting news: Joyce got an amazing new job! She gets to work at home. She says she loves the "freedom."
Will is painting a lot, but he won't show me what he's working on. Maybe it is for a girl. I think there is someone he likes, because he has been acting weird.
Jonathan is acting weird also. I think he is just nervous about college. He is still waiting for his big letter. I hope he and Nancy get to go together. But I don't know how he'll get to college because his car is still broken. His funny friend Argyle has been taking us to school. His hair is longer than mine. And he and Jonathan like to smoke smelly plants together. Jonathan says the plants are super safe because they come from the earth, but to not tell Joyce.
Me? I am twice as happy now! You were right. It just takes time. I think I have finally adapted. At first, I missed all the spring flowers, but now I find it pretty here too. I even like school now. I am still best at math, but my grammar is getting good now also. It helps that everyone is so nice here. I have made lots of friends.
Even so, I am ready for spring break, mostly because I get to see you. I am so excited to see you; it is hard to breathe. Are you excited too? I think you will love it here like me. I think we will have the best spring break ever.
I hope my spelling was better this time. Miss you.
Love, El.
As Mike finished the letter, the doorknob to his room rattled, and he perked his head up. As Nancy burst into the room, he could tell he'd forgotten something just by the look on her face.
"The hell are you doing? It's ten after!"
"Oh, shit. Shit!"
Standing up, Mike feverishly looked around for some clothes to wear.
"Thirty seconds or I'm leaving without you, okay? Thirty seconds!"
"Okay, I have to find my pants!" he called as she stormed out of his room.
Searching his floor, he found a used pair of jeans and his Hellfire T-Shirt.
Good enough.
Throwing on the jeans as fast as he could, Mike continued to put on his shirt as he ran down the staircase.
He grabbed his backpack from a chair at the bottom of the steps and went to the pantry, trying to fish out something to eat.
His mom strode up to him and said, "Michael, I know your D & D club is tonight-"
"Hellfire," Mike corrected.
"Why don't you call it the High School Dropout Club?" his dad shot back.
Mike ignored him as he put two poptarts in the toaster.
"I want you home no later than 9:00," Mrs. Wheeler continued.
"I'll try," Mike replied, disinterested.
"No trying. You need to go to bed early."
"Why?"
"It's a 6:30 flight, Michael," Mr. Wheeler scoffed.
"Yeah, I know, but-"
Mrs. Wheeler shook her head. "No buts. Nine or no California."
"And no sweetie pie," his dad added.
"Mike!" Nancy yelled, dangling the car keys out of her hands. "Let's go!"
"Jesus. How am I gonna survive a whole week without you guys?" Mike asked sarcastically. Grabbing the poptarts out of the toaster, he followed Nancy out the door.
"Nine!" his mom called after him.
Closing the door, Mike and his sister headed into the Station Wagon.
"Seriously, Mike, how much do we have to talk about this? You have to get ready faster."
"I know, I know. I'm sorry, okay? But, look, it doesn't seem like we're going to be late," Mike reasoned. He knew there was no stopping a worried Nancy, though.
After they defeated the mindflayer at StarCourt, Nancy was a wreck when she found out Billy had hurt him. She'd cried and sobbed and hugged him, and even after all of that, she wouldn't stop fussing over his injuries for a week. But, seriously, it was just a broken nose and a concussion. Compared to El, he had nothing.
Nancy hadn't thought so, though. Maybe she'd felt guilty for not being there?
"Mike, please, the big game is tonight. I have to do the newspaper for it, alright? And I can't be late. It's not rocket science."
"Fine, fine, just drive."
The gym was already very crowded when Mike made his way inside.
Searching with his eyes, he spotted Dustin in the the middle section of the bleachers. Weaving his body around people to stand next to his friend, Mike pulled his backpack off and dropped it on the hard plastic.
"Morning," Dustin said.
"Morning," Mike responded. "How long do you think this stupid thing will take?"
"Knowing Jason, it could be from five minutes to forty-five minutes."
"Super…."
"What, you eager to see El?"
"Over being forced to be here? Never," Mike said sarcastically, a hint of a smirk on his face.
"So you're gonna be out the entire break to see her?"
Mike nodded. "She's the best girlfriend in the world." Before Dustin replied, Mike caught a glimpse of Max moving to stand next to them.
"Look, I'm not saying that my girlfriend is better than yours; it's just that Suzie's, like, a certified genius."
Scoffing, Mike replied, "You do realize El saved the world twice, right?"
"And yet you still have a C in Spanish," Dustin pointed out.
How did he know that?
The crowd fired up in cheers as the cheerleaders finished their little dance.
"And let's hear it for your Tigers!" an announcer yelled.
Mike was forced to clap as the basketball players crashed through a large banner, waving to the crowd in excitement. He almost instantly spotted Lucas running out with a broad smile.
Look, Mike was thrilled for Lucas to make the basketball team. He was. But ever since Lucas did, all he's done is hang out with the popular kids, making barely any time for the others. Each time they'd asked him to join the Hellfire club at lunch, his friend had turned him down. And yes, it's true that it probably wouldn't be wise if he wanted to stay 'cool' or whatever, but it still hurt a bit.
Eddie, the head of the club and local freak, hadn't minded too much. Surprisingly. But that didn't mean it didn't hurt Mike and Dustin's reputation at Hellfire. Not to mention Lucas's.
So, as Lucas entered the gym, Dustin and Mike gave half-assed claps with slight frowns.
"Good morning, Hawkins High!" Jason cried. The students whooped. "First off… Hey. First off, I'd like to thank each and every one of you. Without your support, we wouldn't be here. Give yourselves a big hand."
The gym broke out in cheers and clapping.
"And of course, of course, I have to give a special shout-out to the best and the prettiest fans of all time, the Tiger Cheer Squad. Chrissy… Chrissy, I love you, babe."
"Aww," the crowd cooed. Typical.
"You know… I think I can speak for all of us when I say it's been a tough year for Hawkins. So much loss. And sometimes I wonder, 'How much loss can one community take?' In dark days like this, we need something to believe in. So, last night, when we were down by ten points at half to Christian Academy, I looked at my team, and I said, 'Think of Jack. Think of Melissa. Think of Heather. Think of Billy.'"
Mike felt a twinge of sadness for Max, who looked anything but impressed.
"'Think about our heroic police chief, Jim Hopper. Think about every one of our friends who perished in that fire. What did they die for? For us to lose to some… some crap school? No.'"
"No!" the student yelled.
"'For us to return home with our heads hung low in defeat?'"
"No!"
"'Let's win this game. Let's win this game for them.' And that's exactly what we did!"
Once again, the gym broke out cheering.
"We embarrassed those candy-asses in their own house, and now tonight, tonight, we're gonna bring home the championship trophy! Let's go!"
Wait, but the final Hellfire campaign was tonight!
"Tonight?" Mike asked Dustin.
"How is that possible?" he questioned.
Max rolled her eyes, "They call it a tournament. You win one game, you go on until there's only one team left."
Well shit…
Once the assembly was over, Dustin and Mike met with Lucas as the students headed out of the gym.
"I hate to break it to you, Lucas, but you realize Hellfire is tonight, right?" Dustin said.
"I have the game, Dustin."
"Then skip it!" Mike said.
Lucas shook his head. "I have a responsibility to basketball."
"And Hellfire!" Dustin argued.
"I don't get the big deal. Just talk to Eddie. Get him to move Hellfire to another night."
Dustin scoffed. "'Just talk to Eddie,'" he imitated.
"Why don't you just talk to your coach and get him to move the game?" Mike asked.
"I think that's a great idea, Mike," Dustin commented.
"Thank you, Dustin."
"This is the championship game!" Lucas exclaimed.
Dustin shot back, "And this is the end of Eddie's campaign! A semester of adventuring has led to this moment, and we need you."
"Yeah, and the Tigers don't. You've been on the bench all year," Mike pointed out.
"That's not the point," Lucas retorted.
Dustin said as they entered the high school building, "Please, arrive at the point. If I get in good with these guys, I'll be in the popular crowd, and then you guys will be too."
Mike scoffed. "Has it ever occurred to you that we don't want to be popular?"
"You wanna be stuck with the nerds and freaks for three more years?"
"We are nerds and freaks!" Dustin cried.
Stopping in front of his next class, English, Lucas sighed. "But maybe we don't have to be. I'm tired of girls laughing at us. I'm tired of feeling like a loser. We came to high school wanting things to be different. Right? So now we have that chance."
Valid…
"I skip tonight, that's all out the window. So I'm asking you guys, as a friend, just talk to Eddie. Get him to move Hellfire. Come to my game. Please."
As the bell rang, Mike replied, "Okay, we'll try."
Geometry was… fine. Not fun, but not terrible. And PE sucked but whatever.
The only thought that preoccupied his mind was talking to Eddie, though. And the prospect was terrifying. Eddie was kind to them. He'd taken them under his wing. But sometimes, he could be… intense.
So when lunch came around, both he and Dustin were nervous as hell.
Watching him from afar, they couldn't hear what he was saying, but he seemed very energetic.
"Shit, he seems really revved up today," Dustin uttered.
"He's always revved up. We'll just act casual."
"Casual," Dustin repeated back.
"Right, okay. Totally."
Sitting at the table, they overheard Gus say, "Society has to blame something. We're an easy target."
"Exactly," Eddie responded. "We're the freaks because we like to play a fantasy game."
Mike startled as Eddie jumped on the table and called to the cafeteria, "But as long as you're into band or science…" he sneered in a mocking voice, "or parties…."
A dude from the 'party' table flipped him off.
Expected.
"Or a game where you toss balls into laundry baskets…" he shouted at the basketball table.
Jason stood up and asked, "You want something, freak?"
Mike laughed a bit when Eddie stuck his tongue out and put two fingers on his head, imitating the devil. "It's forced conforming." Then, hopping off the table, he yelled in a girl's face, "That's what's… killing the kids!"
The group chuckled.
"That's the real monster."
Dustin hesitated before saying, "So, uh, speaking of monsters, uh, Lucas has to do his, uh, balls-in-laundry-baskets game. So… he's not gonna be able to make it to Hellfire tonight." He let out a small laugh. "And I know there's no way we can beat your sadistic campaign without him. So, me and Mike, we were talking, shooting the shit, and we were thinking that maybe we might… Postpone."
The table broke out in an uproar.
"Over my dead body," Gus snarled.
"Shut up!" Eddie groaned. "You saying Sinclair's been taken in by the dark side?"
"Uh, something like that," Mike mumbled.
"Something like that?" Eddie retorted, throwing a piece of food at Mike.
"Jesus Christ," Dustin squeaked.
"And rather than find a sub for him, you want… you want to postpone 'The Cult Of Vecna?'"
Mike shook his head. "I…I don't want to postpone it. We don't want to postpone it. It's just that, you know, most of the subs will be at the championship game."
"Oh, it's the championship game?"
"Yeah…"
"Can I level with you? Jeff graduates this year. Gareth's got, what? A year and a half? Me, I am army-crawling my way toward a D in Ms. O'Donnell's." He said, getting out and wandering around the front of the table. "If I don't blow her final I'm gonna walk that stage next month, I'm gonna look Principal Higgins dead in the eye, I'm gonna flip him the bird, I'm gonna snatch that diploma. I'm gonna run like hell outta here," Eddie laughed.
"Didn't you say that last year?" Gareth asked.
"And the year before?" Jeff added.
Eddie brushed them off. "Yeah, yeah, and I was full of shit. This year's different. This year is my year. I can feel it. '86, baby."
The boys chuckled.
"You know what that means?" Eddie questioned Mike and Dustin as he wandered over to them. Mike shocked his head. "It means you boys are the future of Hellfire. I knew it the moment I saw you. You sat on that table right over there, looking like… looking like two little lost sheep. You were wearing a Weird Al T-shirt," he said to Dustin, "which I thought was brave."
"Thank you."
"Mike, you were wearing whatever shit your mommy bought you from goddamn Gap."
Everyone snickered.
Suddenly, Eddie grabbed the two of them by the shoulders and forced them to stand, dragging them along to the middle of the cafeteria. "And we showed you that school didn't have to be the worst years of your lives, right?"
"No."
"Well, I'm here to tell you that there are other little lost sheepies out there who need help. Who need you. And all you guys gotta do is get your Bo-Peeps on and go and find one."
Shoving them forward, Mike knew that they weren't going to be sitting back at the table until they found a sub.
As Eddie went to sit back down, Dustin muttered, "Well, shit."
"Guess we better start getting on it," Mike said.
Mike knew his chances of success were low, to say the least, but it was worth a try. So when he barged into the newspaper club, he was slightly embarrassed as he yelled his sister's name only to be met with silence and stares.
When he caught a glimpse of his sister, he cringed. She looked pissed, to say the least.
"Nancy, hey," he uttered awkwardly. "Um, do you wanna join Hellfire tonight?"
"No," she said flatly.
He didn't push it. "Sorry…"
Sheepishly leaving the room, he tried to brainstorm who to go to next.
The wrestling team?
Heading that way, he knew it was a lost cause. Why would a wrestler join a club for D & D?
Still, who else was he going to go to?
Entering the gym, he spotted a boy from one of his classes. James or something? He'd talked to him a few times, mostly during group projects, but the kid was friendly enough.
Waving to him, Mike strolled over.
"Hey… James."
"Oh, uh, it's Issac."
Mike wanted to slap himself. "Right, duh. So, um, we have this thing tonight. A club I'm in is called Hellfire. We play this game called D & D, which is short for 'Dungeons and Dragons.' Basically, it's this fantasy game where you have these dice that you role that controls your actions. Like you fight with them and stuff. You play in this imaginary world, and a Dungeon Master is moving the plot forward. It's a bit more complicated than that, but once you get going, it's a bit easier. We need a sub because one of our members is playing in the basketball game. Would you like to join?"
Issac looked confused. "So you fight with dice?"
"Yes, but these aren't your normal dice. They have up to 20 sides."
"I was planning on going to the game tonight, so I can't make it. Sorry."
Damnit.
The following person Mike attempted to recruit was someone he didn't even know. He'd walked into the chemistry club, found a random kid, and prayed.
Giving the same speech he'd given to Issac, the science kid shook his head. "Mom says the game promotes Satanism and animal cruelty."
Mike rolled his eyes. "That's just bullshit media propaganda."
"60 Minutes begs to differ." His beaker exploded with a spark, and Mike realized this was a different type of nerd he was used to.
Oh well.
Mike tried to convince several people. A math kid, a theater kid, and two random chess kids. All of them were rude about it too.
Sitting outside with Dustin, the two of them felt absolutely defeated.
"I hate high school," Mike panted.
A pause and then… "So, screw it," Dustin said.
"Screw what?"
"Screw high school."
Sometimes Dustin would say things that were so ominous that Mike couldn't wrap his head around them.
His friend abruptly stood up and started sprinting to the middle school.
"What? What? Dustin, where are you going?" Mike called, hurrying after him.
"Just trust me!"
"Come on, just talk to me. Tell me things!"
Instead, Dustin looked at someone on a skateboard and yelled, "Wear a helmet."
"What are you talking about?" Mike said.
Dustin didn't reply until they were inside the building. "Who's a middle schooler you know who plays D & D?"
And then it clicked.
"Erica…."
"Bingo."
Heading to the cafeteria, they quickly found Erica sitting with her best friend, Tina.
"Erica, we need your help," Dustin pleaded.
The younger girl stared at them incredulously. "With what?"
"Hellfire is tonight, and we need a sub."
"Let me guess: it's for Lucas."
Mike nodded. "Can you please do this one thing for us?"
"Hmm. I don't know-"
"Erica!"
"Fine," she scoffed.
Later that night, the three walked through the hallway to the theater where the Hellfire club was held. For some reason, Erica was wearing the American flag as a cape, but Mike wasn't going to ask her about it. As long as she was helping them, that's all that mattered.
So, as they entered the large room to the table, they stood their ground as Eddie chuckled upon seeing the middle schooler.
"Absolutely not."
Dustin sighed. "You asked for a sub. We delivered."
"This is Hellfire Club. Not Babysitting Club," Eddie replied.
"I'm 11, you long-haired freak," Erica snapped.
"My, my, the child speaks." Eddie shot off his throne. "So, what's your name, child?"
The other three laughed.
"Erica Sinclair."
"He's sharp," she said, turning to Dustin and Mike. Everyone quietly laughed.
Eddie shot his friends down with a glare. "What's your class and level? Level one dwarf?"
"My name is Lady Applejack. And I'm a chaotic good half-elf rogue, level 14. I will sneak behind any monster you throw my way and stab them in the back with my poison-soaked kukri. And I'll smile as I watch them die a slow, agonizing death. So, we gonna do this, or we gonna keep chitchatting like this is your mommy's book club?"
Jesus. Christ.
There was a moment of complete and utter silence. Mike thought Eddie would lose his shit, but to his surprise, he said, "Welcome to Hellfire," and shook her hand.
The game began after that. They were getting pretty good rolls the entire time. Smiles and grins all around the table. That was until the end, at least.
Everyone was on the edge of their seat as they got to the climax. As they got to the Cult Of Vecna, Eddie muttered, "The hooded cultists chant, 'Hail Lord Vecna. Hail Lord Vecna.' They turn to you, remove their hoods. You recognize most of them from Makbar. But there is one you do not recognize, his skin shriveled, desiccated. And something else. He is not only missing his left arm," he said, putting his arm behind his back. "but his left eye!"
The table erupted in cries.
"No! No!"
"-Vecna's dead."
"So it was thought, my friends. So it was thought. But Vecna lives."
Slamming Vecna's model on the throne, the room yelled all sorts of different things.
"Shit, shit, shit!"
"We're so screwed!"
"You are scared. You're tired. You are injured," Eddie said. "Do you flee Vecna and his cultists? Or stand your ground and fight?" The room was deep in thought. "Come on," he urged.
"I say we fight," Dustin replied. "To the death."
"To the death! To the death!" the group chanted, pounding their hands on the table.
The next twenty minutes were utter chaos. Some of their rolls hit. Some missed entirely.
In the end, it was just Erica and Mike left.
"Time-out! Time-out!" Gus yelled.
The group huddled in a circle. "Guys, I hate to say this, but we've got to flee," Gareth said.
"I concur," Gus replied.
"Didn't we just agree 'to the death?'" Erica retorted.
"That wasn't literal," Gareth responded.
Jeff whispered, "Vecna just decimated us. We can't kill him with two players."
"You too? He only has 15 hit points left. Don't be pussies," Dustin sided with Erica.
"Pussies? Really? 'Cause we're not delusional?" Gareth hissed.
"Delusional? How about not cowards?"
"Hey!" Eddie called. They turned to look at him. "If I may interject, gentlemen, Lady Applejack. Whilst I respect the passion, you'd be wise to take Gareth the Great's concern to heart. There is no shame in running. Don't try to be heroes. Not today, 'kay?"
Dustin held up a finger. "One sec." They huddled back together. "How many hit points do you and Applejack have left?"
"Twelve," Mike and Erica said together.
"It's risky as hell. But you're the ones on the battlefield. So it's your call. What do you say, Lady Applejack?"
"You really gotta ask?"
"Screw it. Let's kill the son of a bitch."
Jeff gazed at Dustin like he was crazy. "The chances of success are 20-to-1."
"Never tell me the odds." Dustin looked Eddie straight in the eyes. "Give me the D20."
Tossing it over, Eddie wore a large smirk.
Dustin clasped the die in his hands and shook it. Then, finally, he let go, and they watched anxiously as it rolled across the wooden table.
Mike's heart dropped as it came to a stop.
An eleven.
"That's a miss!"
Everyone cursed as Eddie laughed at them.
Next was Lady Applejack's turn. Grabbing the die, Mike hoped to god it would land on the twenty.
And so, as she threw it, he held his breath.
It landed on twenty.
"Crit hit!" Erica cried.
Everyone screamed in delight, hugging each other in warm embraces. They'd done it!
"What?! What?!" Eddie said dramatically.
And so, just like that, Eddie wrapped up the game.
Walking out of the high school building, they were still celebrating their win. Mike saw the people coming out of the basketball game were also cheering. They must've won too.
As the group said their goodbyes, Mike joined Nancy in the car.
"So, how'd you do?" Nancy asked.
"Erica managed to roll a twenty, and we won," he replied excitedly. The entire car ride, he described the game, though he wasn't quite sure if Nancy was fully paying attention, let alone understanding what the hell he was going on about.
She described how Lucas had taken the winning shot just as the buzzer rang. The car ride was rather pleasant compared to that morning.
Once back at the house, Mike was relieved that he'd gotten there before nine so his mom wouldn't yell at him.
And that night, as he went to bed, all he dreamed of was California.