Dried leaves crunched beneath his feet as he walked, dark eyes fixed on the ground as he followed the unseen and fading trail. It was a faint shadow, a stain in the air and earth itself, and was fading even still. That lingering wrong energy dwindling with the passage of time... To him it was like a hum, a soft whisper in his mind, and he was determined to follow it to wherever it lead. There were trails such as the one he currently followed lining Hawkins, he'd found. Some were as the one he currently walked- ever softening- while others were sharp and jagged and still bristling with a thing both familiar and unknown to him...

Jack had left his motorcycle parked along the road in order to follow this path, hoping that perhaps a more faded one might lead him to the answers he sought. He paused in a small clearing, dark eyes scanning the area until they fell upon a tree. Approaching he dropped down to a knee and moved to press his palm against the trunks, fingers tracing along the bark. He inhaled sharply through his nose before letting it out in an exasperated huff upon the realization that this trail simply ended here... as though it had entered into the tree and vanished entirely.

Another dead-end.

"Son-of-a-bitch..." The biker muttered with a shake of his head, standing back up and stuffing a hand into his jacket pocket. He pulled a pack of cigarettes out and plucked one from the slightly-crumbled pack before stuffing it between his lips. He wasn't going to get anywhere at this rate... The trail was running colder by the day and he was no closer to his answers now than he was a week ago- or a week before that- or a month- or a year- or-

The hair at the back of his neck bristles and he wrinkles his nose in frustration, the air growing heavy around him. The branches creak unnaturally, twisting and slowly snapping with every thump of his heart... red ring pulsing in his eyes for a moment. He shakes his head and reaches back into his pocket to fetch his lighter next- the pressure easing as he  quickly regained his composure...

He still had time to figure this out- to understand- surly he would.

LISTENING to the familiar voice of Dustin on the other end of the receiver, Joyce tries to hide her chuckle. She knows this isn’t the first time he’s called, but it’s nice to actually talk to him for a change. Plus, the boys aren’t home and someone has to answer the phone. “Oh honey, I–” It’s too soon. At least in Joyce’s mind it is. “Soon, I’m sure. We’re still settling in, and unpacking, and getting the boys into a new school with El… What’s the next holiday coming up?”

          she could have sworn she recognized a young girl with brown hair at STARCOURT mall. the one branded with ‘ 011 ‘ on her wrist , matching the ‘ 006 ‘ on her own. the anxiety she feels is high , but she needs to talk to 011. there must have been a reason the girl was DRAWN back to this hellish town. 

             tris is trying to be as sneaky as possible , instead , makes her stick out like a sore thumb with her ‘ SUSPICIOUS ‘ movements. the blonde comes to a halt , pivoting on her feet only to stumble a bit back to reveal the boy in front of her.  

     ‘       geez ! ‘  

        ‘ were you following me ? ‘  

        daniel lets out a long sigh as he looks out over the seating area in hawkins town library. it’s strangely busy today -- students studying for finals, mostly. all the tables have at least two people at it, except one, occupied by a boy. he’s probably middle-school age, and he is accompanied by a stack of books. he looks like decent company, so daniel takes his bag and sits down across from him, hoping not to disturb him too much.

he is trying — trying to hold himself back at snapping at the kid, trying to get some semblance of control over the situation. jim closes his eyes. he counts to ten, head tilting, lips drawn into a tight line and then:   ❝ what i hear, is your constant nattering when i expressly asked for quiet. ❞       he is… failing.