011 Eleven is Coming
Since the day of the first successful kill of an adult Demogorgon, the town seemed to have returned to peace once again. More than a month had passed, and there hadn't been a single casualty in town; not even a report of wild animal sightings had surfaced. It was as if the heart-pounding experience of that night was nothing more than a nightmare.
But Richard, Robin, and Hopper, who had lived through that night, knew that the peace was merely the surface of a crocodile-infested lake; undercurrents and dangers were still surging beneath the water.
The autumn wind of late October blew through the town, and people put on long sleeves and jackets, yet a trace of chill remained, inexplicably locked in Richard's heart.
"November's coming," Richard suddenly said with emotion.
"Why the sudden dramatic tone?" Robin was a bit confused. Having a certain talent for languages, she had been picking up various phrases from Richard. She heard his mysterious lament but didn't quite get the weight behind it.
Hearing him mention November, Robin immediately thought of the upcoming holiday. She smiled and said, "How about we spend Halloween Night together tomorrow?"
Richard didn't refuse immediately, but instead looked at her with a strange expression. "At a time like this, instead of taking the chance to ask out Tammy, you're coming to hang out with a guy like me?"
"Oh god, don't mention that name to me again. I'm full of regret now." Robin rubbed her brow with a pained expression. Clearly, the girl who made her heart flutter had done something to break it. Seeing Richard's gossipy smirk, she couldn't help but roll her eyes. Having long since mastered the temperament of this annoying friend, she simply explained, "You should know, Tammy was recently scouted and is currently a trainee for some talent agency. She'll debut after graduation. But just two days ago, I saw her walking into a motel with some guy who looked like he walked off a Harley Davidson billboard..."
"Alright, I've already filled in the rest of the story for you." Richard interrupted Robin. From her frustrated look, he knew this was a heavy blow to her. He patted her shoulder. "It's okay. You've only lost someone who wasn't worth it. This is a good thing; your vision can now expand from just this one person to the whole world. Now, there are plenty of fish in the sea."
"Thanks for the comfort." Robin shrugged, her mood seemingly improving a bit as she leaned on Richard's shoulder. "Don't talk about me. Don't you have a girl you like?"
Richard scratched his head, a helpless yet peaceful smile appearing on his face. He gazed into the distance at the blue sky, fell silent for a moment, then suddenly raised his eyebrows and put on a comical act: "An outstanding and mysterious guy like me should just shine alone like the sun. Anyone who falls for me or tries to get close to me will only get hurt."
"...I told you, next time you say something so full of yourself, please bet five bucks that you're lying." Robin looked at him with disdain.
Richard sighed and shook his head, blinking. "But it's the truth. I am such a tragically handsome man."
...At the Hawkins Police Department, the pot-bellied Chief Hopper pushed the door open and returned in a huff. He walked into the public office, poured a glass of cold water, and downed it frantically. The back of his uniform shirt was soaked with sweat stains.
"Chief, were you bothering The Lab again today?" The station's dispatcher, a middle-aged redhead, walked up behind Hopper holding several record sheets.
Hopper turned around and wagged his index finger. After finishing the water, he took a breath and said, "Flo, strictly speaking, it was an investigation."
Florence's brow furrowed. "You know, ever since you led people to break into The Lab last time, the State Police have issued orders to us. From now on, unless the State Police give us a search warrant, we can't go in like we did the first time."
"The more they do that, the more it means The Lab is full of secrets they don't want us to know," Hopper said dismissively with a smile.
Officer Powell said seriously, "But didn't we investigate it already? We didn't find anything unusual."
"Yes, but they only let us investigate the ground floor and upper levels. The basement level wasn't open. I bet the secrets of The Lab are in the basement," Hopper said, looking at him.
"Hmm..." Officer Callahan, sitting diagonally across from Powell, turned his swivel chair toward Hopper. "But that only proves the basement has secrets. It doesn't mean the secrets are necessarily bad."
Hopper shook his head. "You guys don't understand. I don't blame you."
"Chief, I think instead of investigating conspiracy theories, why not focus on the town's actual security? At least that's the practical matter at hand." Florence sighed like a concerned mother. Sometimes she felt Hopper was a child who hadn't grown up, and she worried quite a bit for this scruffy-bearded, pot-bellied Chief.
Hopper didn't reply immediately. He snatched a donut that his subordinate Callahan had placed on the desk and began eating ravenously. He hadn't eaten lunch all day.
The fan in the station slowly dissipated the heat from his body. As he ate, Hopper gradually regained his composure. Whenever he fell into such a conflicted state, the events of that night in September would haunt him like a nightmare.
If the problem with The Lab wasn't solved, the town he lived in would never know peace.
After filling his stomach and resting for a moment, Hopper passed by Florence, took her case registration list, scanned it, and said to his two subordinates who were looking at him expectantly, "What are you still sitting around for? Today's work isn't finished yet."
Hearing this, everyone in the station smiled at each other. Powell and Callahan immediately stood up, ready to follow.
"Callahan, don't forget to grab my hat!" Hopper shouted from outside...
"Hey, Lee, are you free on Halloween Night?" Jonathan found Richard during PE class and asked somewhat shyly.
Richard smiled and said, "What's up?"
"Uh, it's nothing really. It's just, if you're free, do you want to go to the Halloween party Tina is hosting? We could go together." Jonathan's eyes were a bit shifty, drifting toward Nancy, who was playing badminton with her best friend Barbara. Before Nancy could notice his gaze, he quickly looked away in a panic.
Richard grinned. "Sorry, I already have other plans for that night."
Jonathan froze for a moment. He wasn't too surprised, but he was still a bit disappointed. "Is that so? Well, okay, it doesn't matter... I can go by myself."
Seeing this young man so hesitant when it came to romance, Richard patted his friend's shoulder and whispered in his ear, "If you want to tell Nancy how you feel, it's better to do it sooner rather than later. If I'm not mistaken, Steve has already made up his mind to ask her out at the party tomorrow night."
Hearing this, Jonathan paused. He looked at Nancy, then at Steve, who was performing excellently on the basketball court. His expression couldn't help but darken. He forced a smile and said, "Thanks for the heads up."
Richard didn't say much more. Jonathan still lacked courage; sometimes he worried too much, and his gentle personality was also a kind of burden.
In this regard, no matter how much was said, it was useless. Jonathan had to figure it out for himself.
During afternoon club time, Richard left early as usual; it had already become a habit. As he passed a certain classroom in the school's science building, a window covered in band stickers suddenly opened. A guy with long curly hair wearing a denim vest said with an exaggerated laugh, "Heh heh heh, where is my good buddy Chade going now?"
"You know, Eddie." Richard used his index and middle fingers to mimic legs walking quickly and winked jokingly, meaning he was cutting out early.
"Listen friend, 'bang bang bang' is indeed every guy's dream, but for now, it's better to enjoy campus life more. So, do you want to have a pleasant game of D&D?" Eddie kept winking at Richard and beckoned him. Then, his club members appeared behind him, all dressed in the same metalhead style, each holding D&D game props with expressions identical to Eddie's.
Eddie, whose full name was Edward Munson—Eddie being short for Edward—was a junior at the school, and thus younger than Richard, who was a senior. He had formed the Hellfire Club at school, ostensibly a D&D club, though the school didn't pay much attention to it, so it was quite relaxed. The members would occasionally play games and jam on their instruments.
Richard sighed softly. "I always stay far away from any game or gamble that relies on luck. Believe me, you don't want a teammate who drops the ball at a critical moment. I can roll an eighty percent chance of success into a failure."
Hearing this, Eddie's expression stiffened as he recalled the experience of playing D&D with Richard a week ago. Every time it was Richard's turn to determine an outcome, the vast majority of the results were terrible. If Eddie hadn't personally confirmed the guy wasn't doing it on purpose, he wouldn't have believed Richard's luck was so cursed. But he still said, "But it's hard to find another student in our school who is interested in playing D&D with us like you."
"If you don't care much about the age gap, I recommend you go to the middle school and find Mike and his three buddies. Mike is the younger brother of our high school's Nancy Wheeler. They're really into it and are also D&D enthusiasts. Since they'll be coming to this high school sooner or later anyway, you can just think of it as getting to know them in advance," Richard suggested.
"What!? You want us to go find middle school kids?" Eddie looked shocked.
Richard waved his hand. "Just a suggestion. As far as I know, they play quite well. Think about it. We don't care that much about what people think, do we?"
After saying that, Richard had already circled behind the dorms, found his bicycle that he had stashed in advance, and slipped out of the campus through the back gate.
Eddie was somewhat intrigued. He turned back to look at his club members, whose eyes were also shining, and gave a mischievous smirk: "What do you guys think? Should we go meet those little nerds who might join our 'Hellfire Club' in the future?"
"Let's go!"
"We must recruit them!"
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