[ Location: Abandoned Bus - The Junkyard Woods ][ Time: 5:45 PM ]
The woods were getting darker, the shadows stretching out like long, grasping fingers. We hadn't gone far—just deep enough to be invisible from the road, but close enough to the junkyard to scavenge if needed.
We found an old, rusted school bus half-buried in dead leaves and vines. It was creepy, smelled like mildew and raccoon pee, but it was dry.
"Home?" El asked, stepping inside the hollowed-out shell.
"Temporary base," I corrected, kicking a pile of old beer cans out the back door. "It's not the Ritz, but it beats a prison cell."
El sat down on a rotting bench seat, pulling her knees to her chest. She looked small.
'She's safe,' I thought. 'For now.'
I sat opposite her on a crate. My head was throbbing, a persistent, rhythmic drum solo behind my eyes.
'I have a shovel. I have 155 points. And I have a power that gives me a nosebleed if I open a door.'
I clenched my fist. It wasn't enough. If Brenner came right now, if the Demogorgon showed up... I'd be dead weight. I'd be the guy who dies in the opening scene to show how scary the monster is.
'I need to stop being a side character. I need to grind.'
I looked at El. "El. Teach me."
She tilted her head. "Teach?"
"The power," I pointed to my head, then to hers. "You move things. Big things. How? What do you feel?"
She frowned, thinking hard. She pointed to the rusty door handle of the bus.
"Push," she said.
"I know 'push'," I sighed. "But how? Do you visualize a hand? Do you use anger?"
She shook her head. She touched her chest. "Here."
"Heart?"
"Battery," she whispered. Then she touched her head. "Wire."
'Battery and wire. Source and conduit.'
I closed my eyes. I focused on a loose bolt lying on the floor.
'Okay. My body is the battery. My mind is the wire. Don't force it. Channel it.'
I reached out. I didn't try to lift the bolt. I tried to connect to it. To feel its weight before I moved it.
[ Ability Active: Telekinesis. ]
The pressure came, but instead of fighting it, I leaned into it. I visualized the energy flowing from my chest, up my neck, into my brain, and out toward the bolt.
Hover.
The bolt rattled. Then, it floated. Smoothly. No wobble.
"Good," El whispered.
I held it there. Sweat beaded on my forehead.
'Hold it. Sustain the connection. Feel the burn.'
[ System Notice: Telekinesis Proficiency Increased. ][ Current Mastery: Level 1 (13%) ]
I grit my teeth. 'More.'
I grabbed another bolt with my mind. Two targets.
The strain doubled. My vision blurred.
'Don't drop it. Push through the migraine. Pain is just weakness leaving the body. Or a brain. One of the two.'
I held them for ten seconds. Twenty. Thirty.
Drip.
Blood hit the dusty floor.
I dropped the bolts. They clattered loudly. I gasped, clutching my head.
"Vivan?" El looked worried.
"I'm good," I wheezed, wiping my nose. "I'm... getting stronger."
[ System Notice: Telekinesis Proficiency Increased. ][ Current Mastery: Level 1 (16%) ]
'3% in one session. It's slow, but it's working.'
I opened the Shop.
'I need fuel. We can't grind on empty stomachs.'
[ Shop: Food ]
High-Calorie Energy Bar : 1 Points.
Water Bottle: 1 Point.
I bought four bars and two bottles. [ Cost: 6 Points. Balance: 149 Points. ]
"Dinner," I tossed a bar to El. She sniffed it, wrinkled her nose, but ate it anyway.
I ate mine in two bites. It tasted like chalk and chemicals, but I felt the energy hit my system almost instantly.
'Okay. Physical training done. Now for intel.'
I needed to know where Lucas was. I needed to know if he found the Gate.
"El," I said. "I need to look for Lucas. Stay here. Watch the door."
She nodded, chocolate smeared on her face.
I leaned back against the rusted metal wall. I closed my eyes.
'Remote Viewing. Target Lucas Sinclair.'
[ Ability Active: Remote Viewing. ]
The transition was smoother this time. The static cleared faster.
Wind. Rustling leaves. Chain-link fence.
I was hovering in a tree. Below me, Lucas was crouching in the bushes, binoculars pressed to his eyes.
He was looking at a massive, fenced-off complex. Hawkins National Laboratory.
'He found it.'
I pushed my consciousness closer, looking over Lucas's shoulder.
Through his binoculars, I saw activity. White vans were idling. Men in suits were checking weapons. And power trucks—Hawkins Power and Light—were moving out.
They weren't shutting down. They were mobilizing.
Lucas lowered the binoculars. He looked terrified. He grabbed his walkie-talkie.
"Mike? Mike, do you copy? It's Lucas."
Static.
"Mike, pick up! I was wrong! I was wrong about everything! They're coming! The bad men are coming!"
I watched Lucas panic. He scrambled back to his bike.
'He sees them. He knows. But Mike isn't answering.'
I snapped back to my body.
[ System Notice: Remote Viewing Proficiency Increased. ][ Current Mastery: Level 1 (31%) ][ Psionic Strain Reduced. ]
I sat up, the headache noticeably lighter than before.
'Lucas knows the threat. But he's isolated. I need to check on Mike and Dustin.'
I didn't wait. I didn't ask the Chat. I just chugged some water and went back in.
'Remote Viewing. Target Mike Wheeler.'
[ Ability Active: Remote Viewing. ]
Suburbs. Streetlights. Bikes.
Mike and Dustin were pedaling hard. They weren't at the junkyard anymore. They were searching the streets.
"Where did he go?!" Mike shouted over the wind. "He said the gate! He went to the gate!"
"That's the Lab!" Dustin yelled back. "We have to go to the Lab!"
They were heading straight for Lucas. Straight for the Lab. Straight into the path of the vans I just saw mobilizing.
'This is bad. The timeline is converging. The agents are leaving the Lab. Lucas is at the Lab. Mike and Dustin are heading to the Lab.'
I saw headlights in the distance. A convoy of vans turning onto the main road.
They weren't going to miss each other. They were going to collide.
I snapped back.
"Vivan?" El asked, sensing my tension.
"Trouble," I said, standing up. "The bad men are moving. They're hunting."
I paced the small space of the bus.
'Think. I can't reach them physically. We're too far. But I have the radio.'
I grabbed the walkie-talkie El had stolen from Mike.
"Lucas," I said into the radio. "Lucas, this is Vivan. Do not go home. Do not go to Mike's. They are rolling out."
Static.
'Damn it. Range. We're too deep in the woods.'
I looked at El.
"El," I said. "I need you to boost the signal. Like with Will. But for Lucas."
She looked at the radio. She wiped her mouth. She nodded.
She placed her hand on the antenna. I placed my hand on her shoulder.
'I'll help. I'll push with you.'
[ Ability Active: Telekinesis (Signal Amplification). ]
I didn't know if it would work. I just imagined pushing the radio waves, stretching them, throwing them across the town.
"Lucas!" I shouted. "Code Red! The bad men are rolling! Get off the road!"
[ System Alert: Synergy Detected. Psionic Output Amplified. ]
The radio sparked in my hand. It got hot.
"...Vivan?!"
Lucas's voice crackled through, loud and clear.
"Vivan! I see them! They're heading for Mike's! I tried to warn him!"
"He's not at home!" I yelled. "He's looking for you! Meet at the junkyard! Go back to the junkyard!"
"Copy! I'm going! Tell them to—"
Click.
The radio died. Battery drained.
I dropped it. It was smoking slightly.
El slumped against me, tired. I felt a wave of exhaustion hit me too, but I forced it down.
[ System Notice: New Skill Unlocked: Psionic Synergy (Level 1). ][ System Notice: Telekinesis Proficiency Increased (19%). ]
I grinned, blood dripping from my nose onto my shirt.
'We connected. We warned him.'
I looked at El.
"We rest for one hour," I said. "Then we move. We have to meet them at the junkyard."
"Junkyard?" El asked.
"Yeah," I nodded, wiping the blood from her face with my thumb. "The party is getting back together."
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