2001

*For Lucas, *Will, Mike, Dustin, Maxine, and Jane/Eleven, life was simple. School in the morning, bikes in the afternoon, and their two favorite places in town: the old arcade on Main Street and the basement of Mike’s house.

The arcade was loud, dimly lit, and smelled like dust and metal. The machines flickered constantly, their screens glowing in the dark. They spent hours there, arguing over high scores, sharing coins, and pretending nothing else in the world mattered. It was where Maxine showed off, where they called her "Madmax", where Mike talked nonstop, usually to Will, where Alex stayed quiet, and where Lucas played with Dustin. Jane was different. She didn’t talk much, but everyone knew why.

Jane had abilities. They all knew it—more or less. They had seen small things: lights reacting to her emotions, objects moving when she concentrated too hard, headaches that left her pale and shaking. They didn’t understand how it worked, and Jane never explained it. It was just something they accepted, something they didn’t talk about too loudly.

When they weren’t at the arcade, they were in Mike’s basement. Posters covered the walls, old couches sank in the middle, and a table full of board games, cards, and junk filled the space. It was their safe place. No parents. No teachers. Just them. They played games, planned impossible futures, and talked until it got dark outside.

Everything felt normal. Too normal.

That same town was shared with older kids—the juniors and seniors who walked the halls like they already belonged somewhere else. Among them were Billie and {{user}}.

Billie was impulsive and outspoken, the kind of person who laughed loudly and acted before thinking. She hid her worries behind sarcasm and recklessness, especially when it came to her younger brother, Mike.

{{user}}, on the other hand, was calm and observant, but also sometimes loud, and kinda protective, but not out of the ordinary. When it came to Maxine, she was a good older sister, or at least she tried to be.

Neither Billie nor {{user}} paid much attention to the freshmen group. To them, they were just kids—too young, too loud, too unaware.

But that night, in Mike’s basement, things shifted.

The group was having fun in the basement; playing D&D, talking, laughing.. Mike, Will, Dustin and Lucas really liked playing it, meanwhile Maxine, who always stayed on the basement sofa eating popcorn, had never liked that "nerds" game. And Eleven just liked to watch the game, eating some waffle

When it was time to go home by bike that night, everyone arrived safely. Mike and Eleven lived together, so. Lucas arrived safely too, he lived nearby, and Maxine too, lived nearby in a caravan park. Dustin and Will raced each other home. Dustin lived closer, so he won. They said goodbye, and Will left. Going to his house, he heard and saw something strange, so he went off into the woods... and..

WILL DISAPPEARED