[ Location: Frostwell Residence - Kitchen ][ Time: 6:15 PM ]
Stealing food from your own house shouldn't feel like a heist movie, but here I was, army-crawling across the linoleum floor in my silk pajamas.
'Okay, Vivan. Target acquired. The Freezer.'
My parents were in the living room. My dad was pacing, talking to someone on the phone about "security measures" and "private investigators." My mom was sobbing quietly.
'Guilt. Again.'
I pushed it down. I couldn't help them if I was powerless. And right now, the key to power—or at least, the key to the plot—was freezing to death in my bushes.
I reached up and opened the freezer door.
Creeeeaaaak.
I froze.
"Arthur? Did you hear that?" my mom asked.
"Probably the ice maker, Eleanor," my dad sighed. "Just try to relax."
I exhaled. 'Close call.'
I grabbed a box of Eggos. Frozen. Rock hard. Probably tasted like cardboard.
'Perfect.'
I tucked the box under my jacket and slithered toward the back door.
[ Location: The Backyard / Edge of Mirkwood ]
The air outside was biting. November in Indiana didn't mess around. I could see my breath puffing out in white clouds.
I crept toward the trellis where I had seen her.
It was dark, shadows stretching long and twisted across the grass. A twig snapped under my slipper.
Snap.
Immediately, the bushes rustled.
A figure bolted from the cover of the ivy, scrambling backward on hands and feet like a frightened animal.
"Wait!" I whispered, holding up my hands. "I'm not gonna hurt you!"
Eleven—El—froze. She was pressed against the trunk of a large oak tree, her eyes wide and terrified. She looked even smaller in person. The hospital gown hung off her frame, stained with dirt and grime. She was shivering so hard her teeth were chattering.
'She's just a kid,' I thought, my heart aching. 'A kid who can flip a van with her mind, sure, but still a kid.'
She stared at me, her chest heaving. Her gaze dropped to my chest. Specifically, to the yellow box sticking out of my jacket.
'Ah. The universal language.'
I slowly pulled out the box of Eggos.
"Food," I said softly, ripping the top open. "It's... well, it's frozen waffle. It's not exactly gourmet, but it's better than acorns."
I held out a waffle.
She didn't move. She looked at the waffle, then at me, then back at the waffle. Her eyes were intense. Calculating.
'She doesn't trust me. Why would she? I'm just another person.'
I needed to show her I was safe. I needed to bridge the gap.
'Telekinesis,' I thought. 'Don't fail me now.'
I placed the waffle on the flat palm of my hand. I focused. I pictured the waffle sliding forward, floating through the air.
'Move. Just... float.'
My head throbbed. The familiar pressure built behind my eyes.
Wobble.
The frozen disc lifted an inch off my hand. It hovered, shaky and unstable, spinning slowly.
El's eyes went wide. She gasped, taking a small step forward.
I pushed it toward her. It floated across the three feet of space between us, bobbing like a leaf on water.
She reached out, her dirty fingers trembling, and plucked it from the air.
As soon as she touched it, I let go. The connection snapped.
Drip.
Blood ran from my nose.
El looked at the waffle, then looked at my face. She reached up and touched her own nose, then pointed at mine.
"Sick?" she whispered. Her voice was raspy, unused.
I wiped the blood away with my sleeve. "No. Just... different. Like you."
A flicker of recognition crossed her face. "Like... me?"
She took a bite of the frozen waffle. Then another. She wolfed it down like she hadn't eaten in days. Which, she probably hadn't.
[ System Alert: "Eleven" Influence Level: Acquaintance. ]
'Step one complete. We are now waffle buddies.'
I focused my intent on the chat, typing a quick update while she ate.
Vivan Frostwell: Found her. It's a kid. She has powers like me but stronger. Starving, scared, wearing a hospital gown.
Lloyd Frontera (Admin): A starving super-kid? Feed her. Debt creates loyalty.
Optimus Prime: A child soldier? This world is cruel. You must protect her, Vivan. Do not let her come to harm.
Esdeath: Does she have killing intent? If she is scared, she is easy prey.
Vivan Frostwell: She has waffle-eating intent right now. And Esdeath, stop calling children prey.
"More?" El asked, holding out her hand.
I handed her the whole box. She clutched it to her chest like it was gold bullion.
"You can't stay here," I whispered, looking back at the house. "Bad men might come."
Her eyes darkened at "bad men." She nodded frantically.
"Where?" she asked.
I looked at my house. My parents were on high alert. Cops were everywhere. Hiding her in my room was a nightmare.
'But if I send her away, she goes to Benny's. And Benny dies.'
I took a deep breath.
"Come with me," I said. "I have... a room. Inside. It's warm."
She hesitated, looking at the dark woods, then at the warm glow of my bedroom window.
"Friends?" she asked. The word sounded foreign on her tongue.
My heart squeezed. 'She remembers what Benny said? No, wait, Benny hasn't said it yet. Maybe she read it in a mind? Or just hopes?'
"Yeah," I said, smiling despite the headache. "Friends."
[ Location: Frostwell Residence - Vivan's Room ][ Time: 6:45 PM ]
Getting her up the trellis was surprisingly easy. Telekinesis helped steady her when she slipped.
Now, she was sitting in the middle of my floor, wrapped in my spare duvet, eating her fourth frozen waffle. She looked like a burrito with a buzz cut.
I sat on the edge of my bed, watching her, and updated the chat again.
Vivan Frostwell: She's safe in my room. She has a tattoo on her wrist. "011".
Sosuke Aizen: Numbered subjects. How crude. But it implies she is the eleventh iteration. A lab rat.
Vivan Frostwell: She's not a lab rat, she's a kid.
Makima: A dog is happiest when it has a master. Be kind to her, give her a home, and she will bite anyone you point at.
Vivan Frostwell: You guys are sociopaths. All of you. Except Optimus.
Optimus Prime: Thank you, Vivan.
"Name?" El asked suddenly, pointing a sticky finger at me.
"Vivan," I said. "I'm Vivan."
She pointed at herself. She pulled back her sleeve, revealing the tattoo on her wrist.
011.
"Eleven," he said.
"El," I corrected. "Short for Eleven."
She smiled. It was small, fleeting, but real. "El."
'Okay. She's safe. Benny is safe for now. But Will is still gone.'
I looked at her. She was powerful. Way more powerful than my Level 1 trick.
"El," I said, leaning forward. "I need help. My friend... he's gone. Like you were gone."
Her smile vanished. She put the waffle down.
"Gone?"
"Yes. In the..." I struggled to explain the concept of the Upside Down to a girl with limited vocabulary. I grabbed a piece of paper and a black crayon from my desk.
I drew a stick figure. I flipped the paper over. I drew a stick figure upside down, surrounded by scribbles.
"Here," I said, tapping the back. "The bad place."
She recoiled from the paper. "The Upside Down."
'She knows the name!'
" Yes! Can you find him?" I asked desperately. "Can you see him?"
She looked at the paper, then at me. She looked scared.
"Radio," she whispered.
"Radio?" I frowned. "You need a radio?"
She nodded.
I looked at the sleek, expensive stereo system on my shelf. It wasn't a ham radio, but it had speakers.
"I have a radio," I said.
She stood up, letting the duvet fall. She walked over to the stereo. She turned the dial. Static hissed through the room.
shhhhhhhkkkkkk.
She closed her eyes. The lights in my room flickered.
'Here we go.'
The static deepened, sounding less like white noise and more like... breathing.
"Will?" I whispered.
"...mom..."
The voice was faint. Tinny. But it was him.
"...it's like home... but dark..."
My heart hammered in my chest. He was alive. He was hiding.
"Will! Can you hear me?!" I shouted at the speakers.
El flinched. Blood trickled from her nose. The lights surged, the bulb in my desk lamp exploding with a loud POP.
"VIVAN?!"
My mom's voice screamed from the hallway. Footsteps thundered toward my door.
"Oh crap," I hissed.
El looked at the door, eyes wide.
"Hide!" I pointed to the closet. "In the closet! Now!"
She scrambled inside, pulling the door shut just as my bedroom door flew open.
My mom stood there, chest heaving, staring at the shattered lamp and the static-filled radio.
"What happened?!" she cried. "I heard a noise!"
"I... uh..." I stood in the middle of the room, nose bleeding, holding a box of frozen waffles.
'Think, Vivan. Lie like your life depends on it. Because hers does.'
"I was... practicing," I blurted out.
"Practicing?" My mom looked at the waffles. "With frozen breakfast food?"
"Yes. It's... a science experiment. For the fair. About... thermal dynamics."
At Moment Chat group video mode was on.
Lelouch vi Britannia: Terrible lie. I give it a 2/10.
Shikamaru Nara: Troublesome. You should have said you tripped.
My mom stared at me. She looked exhausted. She walked over and hugged me, avoiding the waffles.
"Please," she whispered. "Just go to sleep. I can't handle any more disasters tonight."
"Okay, Mom," I said, hugging her back, my eyes fixed on the closet door where a tiny piece of hospital gown was sticking out. "I promise. No more disasters."
She left, closing the door.
I let out a breath and slumped against the wall.
'That was too close.'
I opened the closet. El was curled up in the corner, scared, clutching the radio I hadn't realized she took.
"Safe?" she asked.
"For tonight," I nodded. "Yeah. Safe."
I climbed back into bed, but sleep was impossible. I had a fugitive in my closet, a monster in my town, and a chat group in my head.
And somewhere in the Upside Down, Will was singing "Should I Stay or Should I Go."
'I need to get stronger fast,' I thought, looking at the ceiling. 'Level 1 isn't going to cut it.'
[ Quest Update: The Party Grows. ][ Reward: 50 Points. ][ Current Balance: 55 Points. ]
'55 points.'
"I really need a better job," I muttered, and closed my eyes.
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