The Wheeler basement had always been a refuge.It smelled faintly of dust, cardboard, and old carpet familiar, grounding. A place where dice rolls mattered more than homework and monsters only existed in manuals and imagination.Tonight, it felt like a bunker.
The lights were dimmer than usual. The shadows deeper. Everyone spoke too softly, as if raising their voice might summon something listening from the walls.
Thomas leaned against a support beam, arms folded, watching the group fracture in real time.Eleven sat on the floor with her back against the couch,wrapped in a blanket Mike had given her without asking questions. Her eyes followed every movement, sharp and alert, like she expected danger to step out of thin air.Mike hovered nearby, pretending not to hover.Dustin paced.Lucas stood apart.
Too far apart."We can't just keep guessing," Mike said finally, breaking the silence. "We need to decide what we're doing next."
"We already decided," Lucas replied. His voice was tight. "We tell the police everything."Dustin spun toward him. "They won't listen!""They'll have to," Lucas shot back. "This isn't a game anymore."Thomas closed his eyes briefly.Here it is.
Mike shook his head. "They think Will ran away. Or got lost.""And you think some… monster took him?" Lucas snapped. "Based on what? A weird girl and...." His eyes flicked to Thomas. "someone who won't explain himself?"The words landed like a slap.
The basement went still.Thomas didn't move.
"You want to say something?" Lucas pressed.
Thomas pushed off the beam and stepped forward, slow and deliberate."Yes," he said. "I do."Lucas crossed his arms. "Then say it."The System pulsed faintly at the edge of Thomas's vision.
[Mental Strain Increasing]
Thomas ignored it."I've been holding back because fear makes people reckless," he said. "And reckless gets you killed.Lucas let out a humorless laugh. "You don't trust us.
"That's not true," Thomas replied. "I trust you to be brave. I don't trust the thing out there to give you a chance."Dustin swallowed. "The thing… like the one that killed that deer?"Thomas nodded once.Mike stiffened. "Killed?"Thomas met his eyes. "Not hunted. not attacked. Killed."Eleven hugged her knees tighter.
Lucas stepped forward, anger bleeding into his voice. "So you knew something like that was out there, and you still let us go into the woods?""I stayed with you," Thomas said immediately."That's not the point!"
Lucas's voice cracked, just slightly."My parents don't even know I'm out here half the time," Lucas continued. "If something happens to one of us"
"It already did," Thomas said quietly.
The room froze.
Mike's breath hitched. Dustin stopped moving. Even Lucas faltered."Will is already gone," Thomas said. "And pretending this is normal won't bring him back."Eleven lifted her head."Will is alive," she said softly.Lucas stared at her. "How do you know?"
She pressed her fingers to her temple. Her breathing quickened.Thomas stepped in immediately. "You don't have to prove it."She looked up at him, surprised.
"He's… cold," Eleven said anyway. "And scared."
Mike squeezed his eyes shut.Lucas turned away, hands shaking. "This is insane.""No," Thomas said. "What's insane is thinking this ends if we look away."
Silence stretched.Finally, Lucas spokequieter now.
"If you're wrong… if we do this your way… and something happens"Thomas didn't hesitate.
"Then blame me."Lucas turned back, eyes wide.
"I'll carry it," Thomas said. "Every consequence."
The System flared briefly.
[Leadership Burden – Active]
[Sanity Cost Increased]
Lucas stared at him for a long moment.Then he shook his head and grabbed his jacket."I need air."The basement door slammed.
No one moved.
Dustin cleared his throat weakly. "Well. That… sucked."
Mike rubbed his face. "He's not wrong. He's just… scared.""So am I," Thomas said.Eleven shifted closer to him without realizing it.Thomas noticed he said nothing.Outside, thunder rolled faintly in the distance.
and something in Hawkins listened.
System Summary
Level: 4
EXP: 38%
Sanity: 66 / 100 ⚠️
Status: Group cohesion weakened
Passive Effect: Leadership Burden now applies stress during conflicts
Narrative Flag: Trust vs Control established (Lucas ↔ Thomas)