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A Nightmare on Cherry Lane /intro
A Nightmare on Cherry Lane Wicket /1706817 It was all a nightmare come true. After all that they’d been through, to lose any member of the team just felt wrong. Sure, it was good that Suzie was in town now and staying with Dustin and his mom, but he couldn’t help but be convinced he’d just led his girlfriend right into a death trap. Dustin had laid in the bed a little bit longer than he should have. The group wanted to meet at Cherry Lane. Losing Lucas did something to Dustin that he’d never anticipated. Sure, he was normally one for jumping into the fray to fight all the bad guys, but losing Lucas meant that they were not as invincible as they thought they were. Kids weren’t supposed to get killed.
Dustin turned over in his bed. He heard his mother outside his door taking Suzie to the garage. She had that extra bicycle in there that had actually been hers back in the old dark ages, the fifties or something like that. Suzie was so sweet and so good, she’d taken the piece of junk with no complaints. After Suzie had taken off on that old piece of junk, Dustin covered his head back up and delved deeper until the covers. He didn’t want to come out and face the world.
“Dustin!” He heard his mother knocking at his door a few minutes later. “Can I come in for a minute sweetheart?” She asked with a softer voice. She knew how close her son was to Lucas. This was affecting him and she felt so helpless right now.
He stayed under the blankets. “No. Go away.” His mop of curls were all disheveled and awry. It hurt too much for him to think right now. He pulled the blankets over his head closer. All the lights were off in his room and even his electronic action figures and models were dark. This was completely out of character for him. This was what happened when one lost one’s best friend at an early age.
The door opened and Dustin’s mom came in anyway. “Dustin, I really want you to get out of this room, okay. You and your friends need one another. It’s not good to isolate yourself like this sweetheart.” She started to turn on his lights and straighten up the toys that were laying all strewn about. Her sweet boy was always so full of life and with a spark that inspired others. Now, he wasn’t smiling. He was sitting in the dark all broken. She sat at the foot of his bed. “Lucas was a good kid, Dustin. I know he was your best friend. I am so sorry that this happened.” His mom was whispering because she didn’t honestly know what to say.
Dustin knew what his mom was trying to do. She was all that Dustin had in terms of parents. He knew that this wasn’t an easy job for her. He tried not to be too much of a bother, but right now, he didn’t know what to do. “There are dangerous things out there Mom. Lucas wasn’t supposed to die. Kids don’t die.” He stared at the underside of the galaxy pattern on the blankets. “I don’t want to die.”
His mother’s heart was breaking. He was so deep in this depression and she had no idea how to bring him out of it. She did know how to do one thing and that was to be his Mom. She tugged at his blankets and met his lost gaze. “I don’t want you to die either Dustin. I want you to live. If you stay in here under these blankets, how are you going to do that? Lucas wouldn’t want you to stop living would he?”
Dustin didn’t cover his head back up when his mom spoke to him. He listened to her intently. She could tell that his mind was processing her words and making sense of them. He had fought against the Demogorgon with the others. He stopped the MIndflayer with the others. Dustin and his friends could have died either time with any of those monsters but they didn’t. Lucas had lived. Something else had stopped him. Dustin slowly sat up in his bed and clung to his mother.
Mrs. Henderson held her son for just a few moments while stroking those sweet curls. He was trembling like a child in her arms. A silent tear in her eye raced down her cheek. “Now can you get up and head out after your friends? Suzie already left.”
Dustin clung just a little bit longer to his mother before he leaned back. He used the back of his hand to push away a tear that he didn’t want anyone to see. “Yeah…” His voice choked even on such a simple word. His lips pursed together and he nodded. Mrs. Henderson took that as her cue to get up off the bed to give Dustin a chance to get up on his own feet. His mom was right. He did need to get out of this house.
~*~
On Cherry Lane
Dustin pulled up on his bicycle right next to Suzie. He wasn’t smiling like he normally did. It was obvious that when he stood there straddling his bike, the sparkle had gone out of his eyes. How were they supposed to go on without Lucas? That was something they’d all have to figure out on their own. Mike was already there talking about a plan of action. Dustin just couldn’t seem to get himself into a position to be angry. Right now, he was still consumed by grief. Being here was something that he needed to do, but after that…? He just listened not saying a word.
"I Am On A Curiosity Voyage, And I Need My Paddles To Travel."
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