Dustin, Lucas and Will stood at the doorway of Mike's small familiar bedroom. Their gazes locked straight forward, and their mouths gaping at an open window on the far side of the room. The sunlight glimmered like candlelight in a power outage and shone through the thin glass. A heavy draft wafted through the room, whipping each of their warm faces with it's cool touch across their soft skin. Lucas charged to the window, pulled at it. It was open.

Lucas' gaze drifted, looking back at Dustin and Will with a sharp glance that could cut glass. Dustin stepped up, "It's open." he breathed, eyes wide and his grin slipping from his face by each passing moment.

"No shit." Lucas spat as he paced across the room.

"I don't get it. Where's Mike?" Will chimed hopefully as a young child would have.

"I don't know." Lucas said curtly

"He could have left a note or something. Did you see a note?"

"I don't know." Lucas said staring at the floor more tone painting his voice now.

"This is bad. This is bad. Emphasis on the BAD part." Dustin motioned crazily in the air with his hands, wildly.

"Maybe he's at school already, wanted to go early." Will suggested shrugging his shoulders.

"Maybe. Probably." Lucas said stroking his chin. After a few moments passed he looked up, his thick eyebrows unwinding, "Let's go." he declared decidingly.

As their dirtied tennis shoes slapped the wood of the upstairs halls stomping down the old worn stairs the three boys paid no attention to the over protective mother blocking their path. She stood at the bottom of the staircase before the door.

"Where's Mike." she said tilting her head, opening her eyes with a sudden confidence radiating from her, ready for an interrogation.

The boys exchanged glances and Dustin stood up immediately confronting Mrs. Wheeler's tired figure ready for an emergency improvisational escape plan.

Lucas looked up at Dustin worriedly that he might say something stupid and only cause them more trouble.

"Mike's at school. He left early. He left a note on his bed."

"Hmmm..." Mrs. Wheeler seemed to be considering the thought until looked up again staring deeply into each of the boys' youthful frightened eyes and she spoke again. "Did he mention what time he left?"

"Nope just that he wanted to get there early to help Mr. Clarke set up some AV stuff." Dustin chirped with as much seriousness as he could muster into his shaky voice.

"And Mike didn't try and get in touch with any of you before leaving?"

"Nope. Probably didn't want to wake us. He's a nice guy." Dustin said shaking his head with enthusiasm.

"Sorry, Mrs. Wheeler, but we really need to get to school." Lucas chimed in.

"Okay." she said stepping aside glumly. She stood up more firm than before and addressed them, "Tell Mike we need to have a talk when we get home. Got that?"

"Sure." Lucas said smiling

"No problem." said Will over excitedly.

They turned quick on their heels while Mrs. Wheeler slumped back glumly and retreated to the kitchen to treat herself to a warm cup of milk to calm her energized and jumpy nerves.

Once outside the door to Mike's house, Dustin, Lucas, and Will hopped on the seat of their bikes pushing themselves down the driveway, propelling them forward. They rode across the rigid pavement against the strong rubber of the bike's large circular tires.

A long path of tall shedding trees and small rectangular street signs were all there was to see other than the graying morning sky that seemed to fade in a matter of minutes. As they rounded the corner bordering Hawkins Will began to slow his pace.

"Keep it moving! We need to hurry!" Lucas shouted over the strong wind slapping at his dark skin in the crisp morning air. Will looked up dizzily, his face paling, and his eyes, glazed.

Dustin came to a stop.

You okay, man? Dustin asked stopping his bike and fully turning his attention toward Will who seemed to be growing weaker.

"I'm fine, it's just I-"

"Dude, you like shit." Dustin examined, looking him up and down, testing his posture.

Will chuckled slightly under his breath looking back up towards the road.

"LUCAS!" Dustin screeched startling both Will and the young boy who was riding his bike, determined, and almost out of sight. Lucas turned and lifted his hands up hastily in the moist wet air. Will glanced worriedly at Dustin.

"What the hell man!" Lucas yelled his shoulders and hands forming an over-exaggerated shrug. Lucas pedaled half-heartedly back to where his two companions stood. "What." he said his eyes narrowing, daring either of them to speak.

This was usually taken by Dustin as a challenge. He opened his mouth forming the words with his long pink lips, his finger pointed outward, but was interrupted quickly by a small frail voice. Will.

"It's nothing really. My stomach hurt. I had to stop, I'm sorry."

"We need to get Mike." Lucas persisted.

"I know I'm sorry I just-" but he was stopped mid-sentence. He was gone. Like he had just blinked out of existence. Not a trace, not one brown silky strand of hair was left in his place. He was just gone. The damp pavement unharmed. The trees around them swayed their usual pattern. Everything around the two remaining boys seemed to stop, time just stopped, and there was nothing. The image of his widened and fearful, large brown eyes stained to the back of their minds.

Swiping his hand through the empty air, open-mouthed, Dustin looked sideways at Lucas, clearly confused.

"That was some mystical shit." Dustin said his eyes still wide from surprise.

"Shut up." Lucas said almost in a whisper, but clear enough for Dustin to hear.

The auburn, curly haired boy opened his mouth once again, his lips forming the words, mouthing them into the frosty air.

"Mental." he breathed