Chapter X:
In the last two years, possibly more, Nancy stopped keeping track once she was fired from the Hawkins Post, to never follow the book, not even her gut sometimes. At this point, Nancy did not trust her gut, which was at least ninety percent right. Because her gut, like her personality, was type-a. So, type-a, she almost wrote off Robin altogether in seconds. Back when her now-friend felt forced upon her by a flesh monster and Steve Harrington, of all people.
No, today, Nancy was going off book. She was not even in the damn library anymore. Nancy wasn't going to lose anyone ever again. So, here she was in a situation she both hated and loved once she realized how useless the last eight weeks of school were for a Senior.
She sighed. Looked at the pale blue flyer in her hand, announcing the reopening of Hawkins Lab. If Steve was tasked with the responsibility of talking to the Lab's personnel. She could do the busy work of figuring out why the hell they decided to open the damn place again, to begin with.
She looked at the nameplate next to the door. Mr. Pucket Advanced Physics. The teacher who taught her how Energy fundamentally worked should know something, anything, about what this ERAOI. She took a breath and knocked on the door.
"Come in," came a distant voice clearing itself of phlegm.
Nancy pushed open the door. She came face to face with a tall, sturdy man. And electrified balding ghost white hair. He smiled the genuine smile of a teacher, glad to see the face of a past student. Even the last time she interacted with him was in December of the past semester.
"Hi, Mr. Pucket. Do you have a second to speak?"
"For you, Ms. Wheeler, I'll give you two."
Nancy smiled and walked to where he stood at the classroom chalkboard. She looked at the flyer and then passed it over.
"I've been looking into different avenues for the paper recently, not that the 'earthquake' should be considered old news. Is there anything else to write about? And, well, I found this the other day."
Mr. Pucket took the flyer. He gave it a quick read. "Always so inquisitive. I won't lie, Ms. Wheeler. I was furious when I found out that mind of your's was set on a career in journalism and not science. Think of the possibilities." He waved away those thoughts and handed back the flyer. "I saw one of those on a telephone pole outside Melvald's General Store this weekend."
Nancy smiled again.
"What is not connected to that 'earthquake' these days? My best suggestion for you, Ms. Wheeler, look into the Hawkins post."
She made a face, and he laughed.
"Fine, fine, fair enough, the bigger papers then. Now, I am a man of facts, Ms. Wheeler."
"It's why I decided to come to you, sir."
He began to write out bullet points for his eighth-period class.
"I am a man of facts, but even I can't ignore the rumors surrounding this 'earthquake.'"
Nancy produced her notepad and pen. "Rumors?"
"Absolutely ridiculous, mind you. Why would the Government create secret fracking facilities? Anyhow, it's really the politicians. Big business groups like those are the ones that benefit from randomly creating groups like ERAOI."
"So, it was random?"
"No, no, I miss spoke. What's random is that 'they' are using the incident here in Hawkins as their reasoning to finalize the creation of ERAOI. Look at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, ERCOT. You'll see what I mean then."
The bell rang, and students began filing into the room, removing their backpacks, and taking their seats.
"I hope that helped."
"It did, Mr. Pucket. It did, thank you so much." Nancy folded the flyer and set it inside her notepad.
...
Nancy drove into the lot of Family Video. She parked at the side of the building. Where Steve and Robin suggested. If she was not planning to rent any videos. That way, Keith and the owner would not 'be up their asses' for letting friends park in a paying customer's spot.
She knocked at the glass, catching the attention of Robin, who waved. Robin said something to Steve. He waved her off. Steve was speaking to someone on the phone. Robin shimmied around the counter with a few significant strides to the door. It opened with a jingle.
"What's up? Steve's been on hold with that number for like twenty-thirty minutes now if that's what you were… wondering…." Robin trailed off, her attention briefly on an unassuming Buick Skyhawk.
Nancy watched Robin. "What," she blinked, "Steve's on the phone with the Lab." She shook her head. "No, no, that's not what I was… I stopped by my house." She held up a plastic bag of quarters. "Could you help me?" Nancy motioned to the long line of Newspaper boxes.
Robin looked over the bag to the line of newspaper boxes at the intersection. "Sure—sure, of course." She dipped her hand into the bag.
Nancy and Robin walked to the corner of the intersection, their hands full of quarters, and began to insert the coins into the different newspapers. "What brought this on," asked Robin.
She dropped quarters into three separate machines, opening their doors one at a time. Robin laughed. "Nancy, and I want you to be honest." She held a cloth delicately with two fingers.
"Sure." Nancy made a face. "Robin, what are you…?"
Robin motioned with her head to the title on the box, 'Hawkins Post.' She tossed what she hoped was a dirty rag or sock. "You're not vandalizing Newspaper boxes now?" She pulled the following paper from the pile, then grabbed the top article of 'The Indianapolis Star' and 'Chicago Tribune.'
Nancy laughed. She gave Robin's forearm a playful shove. "No. If I wanted to get back at the 'Hawkins Post,' I'd find a way to get them from the inside."
The teenagers laughed as they gathered the six different papers together. They began their walk back to the Family Video building, passing the unassuming Buick Skyhawk.
Its front windows are rolled down now. Revealing a man with short, cropped hair, a thick neck, and Ray-Ban sunglasses. Silhouetted sitting in the passenger seat, a woman with long hair. Her elbow rests on the edge of the opposite door, the window partially rolled down. The peak of the sun reveals boxed blond roots. Her bangs shadow her eyes. But then, creeping out at the tip of her hairline, the dark band of an eye patch.
Nancy sets her papers on the hood of her station wagon and opens the driver-side passenger door. Robin tossed her papers inside, moving out of the way for Nancy as she did the same. "Do you want to hang out inside? It's Tuesday. Steve has been on hold with another 'job opportunity,' and no one has batted an eye."
"Sure."
The teenagers make their way to the front door. Robin opened the door in the polite, unassuming way girls are told boys do but rarely achieve in Nancy's experience. She smiles and mouths a thank you. Putting a curl behind her ear. She tried her best to hide the blush on her face.
Steve waves in Nancy's direction. Robin wheels a tray of video cassettes to where Dustin and Lucas huddle together, talking to one another in hushed tones. Nancy decided to b-line over to Steve. Hands-on the countertop. She listens quietly to Steve's very one-sided conversation.
"There's really nothing you can tell me over the phone. I mean, the flyers are everywhere around Hawkins. People must be calling, and you know, asking for some general information. You know, like me."
The female voice on the other end is muffled but still comprehensible. "I'm sorry, sir. The phone number on the flyer is to inquire about appointments only. Any questions you or anyone else you know may have? Will have to ask them during your assigned appointment, and any knowledge discovered outside of the appointment must be viewed as inaccurate information."
Steve sighed. "You have to see how crazy that sounds. Who will just make an appointment and show up without having basic questions answered?"
"Again, sir," repeats the female voice. "If you would like to make an appointment. I can do that for you right now. Anything else, I'm sorry, but I do not have the authority to answer. Would you like to make an appointment?"
He runs his hand through his hair. "I'll think about it. Thank you." He sets the phone back on the receiver, releasing a long sigh of internalized frustration. "Well, that was a waste of thirty minutes of my life."
Nancy laughed. "It couldn't have been that bad."
...
Robin pushed the cart closer to the windowed area of the store. "Is that car still there," asks Robin. She continued to restock the video wall and her back to the window.
Dustin, his back to the window, too, runs his hand along the shelf.
Lucas shifted his attention to the row of VHS from the other side. He eyed the outside. "Buick Skyhawk?"
"Yep," Robin pops the p. Now crouched, her attention on a lower shelf of videos in front of Dustin.
"Yeah, what for," he asks, confused.
Robin nodded. "No reason." Now on her feet, she pushed the hand cart back toward the counter. Robin's focus is still on the car. She hits the stall shaking it a bit.
Dustin and Lucas shuffled to the others.
"You're sure," asked Dustin.
Robin is now inside the u-shaped kiosk with Steve. She began scrolling through the computer. "It doesn't matter. I thought I saw someone I knew." Nancy watched Robin's fingers move effortlessly along the keyboard. "Nothing to worry about."
Dustin shifts at his feet. "So, did you get anything," he pressed impatience in his voice.
"You know what." Steve held a finger up in Dustin's direction. He eyed for help. "Nancy. You heard her. We won't get any information. Unless someone actually goes to the damn place to get an interview."
"Okay. So, it's easy then," declares Dustin.
"It's not that easy," Steve runs a hand through his hair again. "You and Lucas look like teenagers. Erica isn't even a part of the equation. Nancy and Robin might be able to pull it off like they did with Pennhurst, but it's not like they can just skip school to have an interview during the day." He held up his hand as Dustin attempted to interrupt. "Will, Mike, Jonathan, El, and Argyle are possibly on some government watch list now. We haven't even discussed if we mention this to Hopper and Mrs. Byers."
Dustin bit at his lip.
"So, no, Dustin, it's not that easy," finished Steve.
...
It is a Thursday night the Wheeler house was quiet. All the lights turned out for the night. Karen was busy filling the dishwasher for its nightly cleaning. Nancy is at the median of the stairs. She held her English binder and backpack, having decided, on a whim, to just have her bags ready and in her chair for the morning.
There was a sudden ring of the phone.
"Who in their right mind would be calling this late at night," spoke Karen to no one. Nancy could see her mother debating whether she should ignore the call. Ingrained politeness won out since it was only barely over nine at night.
"Hello, Wheeler residence," she said flatly, her telemarketer tone.
Nancy rested against the banister.
"Oh, my no, no, it's not a problem. Is everything alright? How long would you need? That is quite some time. You considered… oh, I know, they are rarely in town anymore. I'll run it by Ted, but it should be fine. Not a problem at all. See you tomorrow evening."
"What," mouthed Nancy to herself. She debated returning upstairs, but her curiosity won over. Nancy waited for the phone to click and continued her trek down the stairs to the kitchen table. "Is everything alright," she asked. Setting her backpack on the chair. Nancy placed the binder in its perfect slot amongst her bag's contents.
Karen flicked at a few buttons on the dishwasher. "You heard that, did you?"
"Some."
"I need to mention it to your father. I don't think he'll mind. He prefers your friends over your brother's, but don't tell him I told you that."
Nancy stared at her mother, bewildered.
"Your friend, Robin. That was her mother. She is going out of town for a few weeks. The friend who typically watches her house and Robin isn't available. And, she considered asking the Harringtons, but you know how they are never at home. And, well, Robin has been spending so much time here since Spring Break. She thought she might ask if we could keep an eye on Robin and let her stay with us for a few weeks.
"A few weeks? Wait, I thought Mrs. Buckly was the Middle School librarian."
"Oh, she is, but apparently, she can still be shipped off to God knows where. Robin is eighteen, so she has no valid excuse to be ignored."
"What?"
Karen shook her head at her daughter's bewildered state. "I believe she still works for the Military in some capacity." She walked up to Nancy and gripped her shoulder lovingly. "It will be fun." Karen made her way to the stairs.
Nancy went back to the stairs. She stared off into the darkness. "What," she mouthed again.
...
The group of friends took over the Wheeler kitchen. Opting to make their food rather than order out. Dustin was face-deep in the refrigerator, looking for lunch meat that did not have pieces of olive or cheese inside it. Lucas and Erica sipped at their drinks, playing with their finished sandwiches. Erica twirled at a loan chip.
Nancy rushed past the kitchen, her friends loud enough for her to hear their conversation.
"Look, I offered to give her a ride. She turned me down. Robin said she'd get her mom to bring her by," answered Steve. He was eating a bag of chips. Next to him was a plate of discarded crust.
"Really? That could be any time… we aren't going to have time to play, are we." Erica sounded genuinely upset.
"I offered, but she said she couldn't," repeated Steve. "What about Nance? She's running all over the place. Upstairs in the direction of her room. Then again, messing around in the living room."
Mike is at the table, finishing the sandwich he made himself. "She's been like that since we got home," adds Mike, mouth full.
"Dude, close your mouth," says Lucas.
Mike chewed and then swallowed. "She's been like that all afternoon. Helping my mom clean up the house. It's crazy weird. My mom only gets like this when Nana Whe is coming to visit."
The doorbell suddenly rings. Nancy is at the top of the stairs. So, she decided to make her presence known, joining her friends in the kitchen. They all watched the door. Ted eyed his children expectantly, then sighed, answering the door himself.
Outside stood Will, Eleven, Jonathan, and Argyle. "Hi, Mr. Wheeler," said both Will and Eleven, and the four filed into the house.
Ted sighed and sat back in his chair.
Nancy sighed. "Fucking hell." Why was she so nervous? She passed by Steve and Dustin and sat in the living room with her father.
"See, I told you, weird," stated Mike as he offered Eleven and Will drinks. Then motioned to the others on the counter for Jonathan and Argyle.
Nancy held up her hand to hide her other hand. She flicked off Mike.
...
"You don't have to come to the door." Robin was nervous. Very rarely has this scenario played out like this. Usually, Tommy comes into town to watch the house. To protect her, but he's away in Virginia. It is spring, after all, and this is the time of year he teaches the new FBI recruits.
"I know. I want, too," states Robin's mother.
The two exited the small sedan. Robin's mother, her hair pulled back in a perfect bun. She wore a service uniform, dark green jacket, knee-length skirt, and modest heels. She is also in hosiery. Robin's mother is tall and athletic. A far cry from the slightly disheveled look she hides behind at Hawkins Middle school. Her glasses are in a case inside the middle console of the car. She opens the back seat and pulls out Robin's backpack.
"Is all of this really necessary," Robin asked her. They make eye contact over the hood of the car. She has always found her mother's military look over the top. And considering the people who might see it, Robin is more nervous than annoyed.
"It's easier to explain this away."
Robin decides it better not to respond. She grabbed the modestly sized duffle and flung it over her shoulder, walking toward the Wheeler front door.
...
The doorbell rang again. Answered this time by Karen.
"Hello! Welcome, come in, come in," Karen moves to the side, revealing Robin and her mother to the rest of the house. Nancy sat still on the sofa, looking in the direction of Robin. Ted rose from his seat, folded his paper, and extended a hand to greet Robin's mother. She took it.
The others stood at the open entrance of the kitchen, all in wonderment, all but Eleven. Eleven seemed strangely uninterested in the reveal.
Robin and her mother stood together. Even without heels, her mother would be considered taller than her by a few inches, aside from the obvious blonde hair and Robin's freckles. The two could be twins.
A door from the floor above slammed. Holly must have exited her room. Both Karen and Ted looked in the direction of their stairs.
The shake from the walls caused a decorative hanging along the border to shift and fall from its location. Without a second thought, Robin's mother caught the object with her heel, tossed it to her hands, she placed it back in its original location. All of this took place in a matter of seconds.
"Lovely," says Robin's mother. She eyed the trinket, no acknowledgment of what had just taken place.
"It belonged to my grandmother," answers Karen.
The women smiled at one another. "I wanted to come in and thank you. In-person, if that's alright."
"Yes, of course," replies Karen. "We're always happy to help. Nancy, why don't you show Robin where she'll stay while she's here."
Nancy broke from her trance. "Right, I'll show you the guestroom again." She took hold of Robin's forearm, leading her toward the stairs.
"What just happened," asked Mike.
...
Up the stairs, Robin releases a breath she was unaware she was keeping in. "I'm so sorry about that. She always makes everything so awkward."
"No, it was my fault. It's not what I was expecting. I've only ever heard my brother describe your mom before." Nancy opens the door to the guest room. "I thought you might want to stay with me in my room." She did not see Robin's momentary panic. "But then I remember this isn't a sleepover, so you might actually want your own space."
Robin nods. "Yeah, no, this is great." She sets the bag on the bed. "This is weird. I'm making this weird."
Nancy shakes her head. "No, I am. I just wasn't expecting our moms to be the ones who would invite you over to stay at the house. Before me." There is a laugh between the two.
...
Robin's mother handed over the backpack. They looked at each other. "Can I speak to you outside for a moment?"
Robin nodded, set her backpack down against the wall, and exited the house with her.
"Such a nice woman," stated Karen, and she and Ted made their way toward the den.
Nancy walked over to the group. She stood close to Mike, curiosity crossing her face as she watched Robin interact with her mother outside.
"What the…," trails Will. "Wasn't that?"
"Mrs. Buckley, the Librarian. Apparently, she's Robin's mom," states Lucas.
"Don't forget she's also in the Military," adds Dustin. He squints his eyes. He watched outside.
Erica frowned. She crossed her arms. "Leave Mrs. Buckley alone. She's great. You guys loved her." She debated whether it was worth accosting her brother and his friend for badmouthing one of the few people who encouraged her love for learning.
"You guys got hot-mom librarians in Hawkins," asserts Argyle. He looks over Dustin's head, the same as Lucas.
Jonathan looked out the window with the others. "Evidently." He made eye contact briefly with Nancy. This caused him to blush and turn his back on the scene.
Steve looked out in the direction of Robin and her mother, who spoke to one another halfway down the path. "What am I doing," said Steve. "I already knew Robin's mom was like European-Supermodel hot. This is nothing new to me." He falls onto the couch, looking toward the wall. Steve sighs. "Would you guys stop… it's like creepy. That's my best friend's mom. You're making it weird."
"So, you knew Robin's mom was in the military, and you didn't think that was important to tell us," Mike's voice cracked a bit. Eyes still on the two outside. Nancy pinched his side. "Hey, ow!"
Steve does not dignify him with a response.
Eleven simply shakes her head at Mike's behavior.
...
They stopped walking down the path. Robin's mother looked at her intently. She moved a hand to her neck, searching for a long gold chain, and pulled it from beneath her shirt and over her head. The chain was long enough to conceal a small metal key.
She handed it over to Robin.
"Just in case," she said. "You remember what to do? I trust your judgment. If you think it's necessary to use it. You use it. No second guessing yourself."
"Yeah, Mom, I remember what to do." Robin took the chain, dropped it over her head, and placed the key under her shirt.
"You have my emergency number?"
"Yes."
Robin's mother stepped close and gave Robin a hug. It was not forced, but anyone watching the two could tell this type of display of affection was not something Robin's mother was used to doing in private or public.
"God, you're making this so bizarre, Mom." Robin hugged her back. "I'll miss you. Would you at least call when you get where you need to go?"
"I'll see what I can do. I know you'll behave, so keep yourself out of as much trouble as possible. Please."
"I'll try." Robin turned from her mother and walked back to the Wheeler's front door. Her mother walked to her car.
...
Robin opened the front door. She looked in the direction of her friends. "God, you boys are nosey little shits." She eyed Mike, who glared. She picked up her bag.
Nancy broke away from the group. "Here, just put it next to mine in the kitchen. Let's head downstairs before it's too late, yeah?" Her best attempt was to take whatever Mike wanted to say and move it out of earshot of her parents.
"Don't have to tell me twice." Steve rose from the sofa walking behind Robin, who did as Nancy suggested.
"Yeah," agreed Eleven. She followed Steve, Robin, and Nancy.
...
The game was ready. The map was set out on the old coffee table. The friends were prepared to start what they all came here to do. Only Mike could not help himself. He could not leave well enough alone. Nevertheless, he was smart enough to keep his eyes on the table and not directed at Robin.
"Why didn't you tell us your mom works for the government," asked Mike.
"Because she doesn't, well, not anymore." Robin is not the least fazed by the question. She looked in the direction of Dustin. "Don't you say what I can see your brain thinking? She's not that either."
Dustin scrunched his face and bit at his fist. "Then why was she able to do that in the living room? You saw it. I know you all did."
"Good reflexes?" Robin turned her attention back to Mike. "You knew who my mom was."
"We didn't—I didn't know she was in the Military," Mike repeated. "The one profession…."
Nancy interrupted her brother before he could put his foot further up his mouth. "Mike." He had not noticed the frustrated disinterest Eleven displayed from his behavior.
Robin held up a hand as much as she might appreciate it. She did not need Nancy defending her like this. "It's fine. I didn't say anything because my mom was honorably discharged from the Military before I was born. She wears that silly thing when she needs to go out of town because it causes fewer questions." She held her other hand up in Dustin's direction again. "Dustin. Don't." Robin took a breath. "My mom has multiple jobs like many people out there. We are leaving it at that." She eyed Mike daring him to ask the question he wanted.
Before he could, however, Eleven spoke up from her spot on the floor. She sat on a discarded cushion. "Robin's mama is not after me. She is not after you. She is not after any of us." Her tone was final.
Mike did not get it. "But, we don't…."
"Yes, we do, Mike, because I know her mama isn't after me. Can we please play? I would like to play the game." Eleven looks to the older few of the group for help.
Argyle is the one to step in. "You heard the lady. Let's get going and play the game."
Will, Jonathan, Nancy, Erica, Lucas, Steve, and Dustin situated themselves in more comfortable positions. Mike clapped his hands on his knees. "Let's play the game."
-.-.-.-
The walk back through the Hall of Dragons is just as eventless as the walk to the Dragon Throne. Our Adventurers travel the hall, Meepo walking at the front. He points out the traps to avoid, finally stopping at the door. Meepo looks back at the two Rogues, Barbarian, Half-Elf Monk, Paladin, Ranger, Fighter, Sorcerer, Dwarf, Gnome, and the Elf. All standing at the ready. Meepo begins to pull the iron handle of the door. He looks down and back at the company. He jumps over the four-by-four pressure plate. He wobbles back and forth, and with a thumbs up, he stands upright.
"This way, this way," he motions with his hand walking through the empty chamber, ignoring the crumbled flagstone and stains.
The Fighter and Ranger are at the front, the others following close behind. The Fighter crouches above a large amount of rubble and dust. "Over here, the rats," states Jonathan. The Fighter points in the direction of more tracks. "There looks to be human."
Walking in the Fighter's direction, the Ranger bends down from behind. His hand was on the flagstone. "The rat's no more than a day old," shares Lucas. "Over here," the Ranger points to the human tracks. "There were at least two, maybe three humans. Possibly a month old."
"You're sure," asks Nancy. The Elf quietly watches the Fighter and Ranger.
The two look up in the direction of the Elf. "Positive," Lucas and Jonathan answer together.
Meepo has reached the next door. Hand on the handle, he looks back at the group. "This way."
The two Rogues and the Dwarf look at one another. The door Meepo stands before, the only direction to go. They shrug.
Meepo opens the door again, quieter, more cautious this time.
There stands a large fountain to the left along the east wall. Dust and odd bits of debris and rubble lie on the floor. The fountain is ornate. It is built into the wall, an overarching carving of a diving dragon. It is beautiful. In direct correlation with the engraving, another relief on the west wall is another door.
The Sorcerer walks to the fountain. The Gnome hobbles behind. A thin layer of scum coats the fountain's basin, which is otherwise dry. The Sorcerer motions over the empty basin with his hand. "Do you feel anything," Will asks the Gnome.
The Gnome waves a hand delicately over the empty basin. His hand admitted the green glow of magic. "Most definitely, magic, my dude."
The Sorcerer brushes away at the scum revealing a fraise written in Draconic. "Let there be fire," reads Will. The fountain admits a soft gurgle. Reddish liquid begins to well from the diving dragon's mouth. The others corral around the Sorcerer and Gnome. Meepo hurries to the fountain bending forward and looking at the liquid. He eyes the Sorcerer.
"A gift," declares Meepo, a smile on his face.
The Gnome pulls an empty glass flask from his oversized robe cuff. He dunks it into the liquid and then seals it with a stopper. He places it on his belt.
The Rogues focus on the west wall eyeing the dragon relief. They both touch the stone door. It's cold to the touch. No critical openings or slots at its sides. "Nothing," sighs Eleven.
"Later," agrees Erica.
They join back with the others. Meepo at the front, cautiously walking the musky hall. All six jail doors are slightly ajar, leading to small units. A few contain large abandoned Giant Rats nests. The faint tracks of both Giant Rat and human continue to lead the company up north.
The closer the group and Meepo get to the large adjoining room, the more pronounced the two disabled traps become. The companions examine the two holes, spikes line the walls of the twenty-foot drop, and the bones of rats and other muck lay at the bottom.
"Do you think this was the other three," asks Erica.
"That's my guess. Can't think of anyone else who would be down this way," agrees Steve. "Right, Meepo."
Meepo bobbed his head in agreement. "Right."
There is a door to the west. It stands slightly ajar. It is barely open but open nonetheless, allowing the Adventurers to better hear the scurrying of little feet and the smell of rot and decay behind the door on the other side.