After an evening of Mac and Cheese at Mike's house, it was time for the boys to say their goodbyes. As usual, Mike stood outside of his house and waved as the other three biked out of sight. Unlike a year ago, Dustin and Lucas made sure to go with Will to his home first. He lived in a shadier part of Hawkins, and they weren't taking any more chances.
They biked up to the house and noticed there were two cars in the driveway – one more than the usual since Jonathan was still at work. Will's eyebrows knit together as he took in the 1980's Chevrolet. The first thing he noticed was the dirt on the tires, but that was moments before he noticed the row of police lights dim on the car's roof.
"What do you think Hopper's doing here?" Dustin asked, foot motionless on the pedal. He had spent more time with the police chief than Will had, so it made sense that he recognized the car's owner. "I'm not really sure…" Will replied hesitantly.
"I'm sure he's just checking in on you. Wants to say 'Hi' or something." Dustin said with his usual optimism. Lucas shot him a look. "I don't think Hopper's the kind of person to make house calls." Dustin shrugged and Will just stared blankly ahead. He steeled himself before turning back to the boys. "You guys can head home. I can take it from here."
After moments of going back and forth to try and ascertain whether Will actually wanted that, Dustin and Lucas finally biked off. They shot back jokes that could be heard until their bodies faded into the night's fog. After they disappeared from view, Will hiked up his backpack and walked to the door.
He took a deep breath before entering the house.
Dustin and Lucas biked on. The night was filled with fog that seemed to appear out of nowhere, which made their bike ride feel eerie. After a minute of pedaling at their usual speed, their feet began to quicken. "Do you hear that?" Lucas said quietly. "Hear what?" Dustin asked back. "Nothing. That's what. It's just so…quiet." All of this was said through Lucas' panting breath, but that was when Dustin realized it.
All of the bugs that chirped in the night had gone silent. The whistling trees were no longer whistling. Even their bikes with wheels turning frantically seemed to be put on mute. The only thing that could be heard was their breathing, and even that was shallower and quieter than normal.
"I'm sure it's nothing," Dustin said, trying not to look at Lucas. "Last time we thought that, there was a monster attacking our friend." Lucas hissed, his eyes flying all over.
Dustin thought about it for a moment. "All right. We're almost at my house. Make your parents let you stay over." Lucas eyed him. "On a school night?" "Do you have any other ideas?" Lucas thought for a moment and shook his head. "No, I guess not."
Dustin nodded his head as they turned the corner onto his street. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash through the trees. He rubbed his eye with his shoulder, almost crashing into Lucas. "Hey! Watch it! What're you doing?" Lucas yelled out. "I thought I saw something over there," Dustin replied. They slowed their bikes down and stared into the woods for a moment.
There was nothing. No movement, no sound: Nothing.
And then the trees began to whistle and the cicadas could be heard from blocks away. They waited for another second before shrugging and sitting back on their bikes. "I think I'm going to go home. I'll be fine." Lucas said as they headed up the street. Dustin looked at the road with worry in his eyes. "Maybe my mom should drive you home. You can put your bike in the back seat."
At first, Lucas looked like he was about to fight the suggestion, but he shrugged yet again and nodded his head. "Fine, but only because the Upside Down sounds nasty!"