3 Castle Byers [Ep1]

As the children crept into the storage room, they slowly walked over to the open door that leads to the dining room. They stopped and watched intently as the man, Benny, dropped off a plate of burgers and some fries, "All right, and one more." 

A man to Benny, "Hey, Ben. What do you think about that, uh . . ." They didn't have to finish their sentence when Benny answered, shrugging his shoulders, "Hey, I don't know. I don't know." He shook his head slightly. 

"I don't know, 37 points per game average- - -" The man sighed, "Thirty-seven now, but. . . '' Benny interjected, "Mr. Basket." 

The three children ignored what the men were talking about and headed through the swinging doors that led into the kitchen. The men's conversation getting further and less understandable. The three children looked around the kitchen, looking for something edible to eat. 

The girl spotted a bowl of french fries on the counter, she nudged the older boy and pointed to it, Both walking up to it with the younger being dragged again. They slowly approached the fries, The girl trying one first, to make sure they could eat them. 

She had never tried anything like this before, it was nothing like the food they had at the place they were before. She quickly handed some fries to the other two kids, who were hesitant to try it but their growling stomachs won over caution. They both took a bite, instantly falling in love with it, just like the girl had. They all took handfuls of the fires and began eating them quickly, though the youngest was eating them a bit slower, not trusting the food fully. 

There was indistinct chatter coming from the Dining room, the children looking up every so often to make sure no one was looking at them. Benny was still talking to his customers with his back turned to the kitchen window. 

The children were scarfing down the fries when Benny turned around, going to head somewhere, probably to another customer, when he spotted the three children in his kitchen. 

"HEY!" He shouted, scaring the children. They looked back up, shock on their faces as their cheeks were full of fries. The girl quickly grabbed the bowl of fries, and The older boy's wrist, and the older boy taking hold of the younger boy's wrist. 

They all ran out the kitchen doors, trying to make it back to the back door, while Benny chased after them, "Hey! Come here!" The children almost made out but unfortunately weren't fast enough, the youngest child was grabbed first, pulling the other children to a stop as Benny quickly grabbed hold of them too. 

He turned the children around, Making sure to keep a hold of them so they wouldn't escape, "You think you can steal from me, boys?" Benny ignored the youngest boy clawing at his hand as he held the children tightly. Benny's expression softens when he realizes that one of the children was a girl, and the other two were painfully skinny. 

"What in the hell?" 

The children finally stop struggling, well two of them do, The youngest still trying to claw at the man's hand. The two children lock eyes with Benny, all three of them breathing hard and . . .  

. . . . 

There was a school bell ringing, and the children in Mr. Clarke's science class all began grabbing their things and heading out the door. Mr. Clarke, however, was trying to remind them as they all walked out, "Remember, Finish chapter 12 and answer 12.3 on the difference between an experiment and other forms of science investigation. This will be on the test, which will cover chapters 10 through 12." He began trailing off when he realized that no one was listening to him. 

Mr. Clarke went silent for a few seconds before he turned to the only students still left in the classroom, Mike, Lucas and Dustin. They were standing in front of his desk at the front of the classroom, "So, did it come?" Mike inquired with expectation filling his and his friends' eyes. 

Mr. Clarke, however, didn't look as excited as them, "Sorry, boys. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but . . ." He trailed off again, the excitement and expectation on the boys faces slowly fading into disappointment and sadness, When Mr. Clarke finished speaking, "It came." 

. . . . 

The door to the A.V club burst open, The trio rushed in with Mr. Clarke following close behind them into the room. The both quickly raced over to a brand-new ham radio that was sitting on a desk amidst piles of older equipment, "The Heathkit ham shack." 

"Whoa." 

"Ain't she a beaut?" 

They boys examined the radio with wide, expectant eyes. "I bet you can talk to New york on this thing." Dustin guessed, playing with the nobbs, "Think bigger." Mr. Clarke told him with a wide smile. 

"California?" Lucas guessed. 

"Bigger." 

Mike had a blue headset as he guessed, "Australia?" Mr. Clarke nodded his head. The boys made sounds of amazement, "Oh man. When Will and Maverick see this, they're totally gonna blow their shit." Lucas chuckled, Dustin and Mike chuckling along with him. 

"Lucas!" Mr. Clarke exclaimed in a warning tone as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, "Sorry." Lucas apologized with a small smile while Dustin was chuckling. Mr. Clarke just smiled softly, watching the boys play around with the radio. 

Mike was sitting in front of the radio, while Lucas started working the dials. Mike then grabbed the Transceiver, before speaking into the transceiver with a bad australian accent, "'Ello, this is Mike Wheeler, President of Hawkins Middle AV club." Dustin then snatched the headset and grabbed the receiver, "What are you doing?" Lucas asked him. 

"'Ello, this is Dustin Henderson, secretary and treasurer of Hawkins Middle AV club. . .  Do you eat kangaroos for breakfast?" Dustin spoke in an even worse Australian accent. They were all laughing and having a good time, Lucas started taking the Headset from Dustin when there was a knock on the open door. 

They all looked up and saw the principal standing at the door. "Sorry to interrupt, but, uh, may I borrow Michael, Lucas and Dustin?" Chief Hopper and Officer Callahan stepped into view, worrying the boys. 

. . . . 

The three boys were crowded on a couch. They were talking over each other, Making it difficult to understand them. They were also trying to talk with their hands, making excessive hand movements. Across from them sat Officer Callahan and Chief Hopper. The principal was sitting behind his desk, just watching everything play out. 

"Okay, Okay, Okay." Hopper finally had enough of all the indistinct chatter, "One at a time, all right? You." Hopper then pointed to Mike, who nodded his head. "You said they take what?" 

"Will takes Mirkwood and Maverick lives on Cherry lane. " 

"Mirkwood?" 

"Yeah." Mike and Lucas nodded their heads, "You ever heard of Mirkwood?" Hopper questioned Callahan, who wrote the name down on a pad, "I have not. That sounds made up to me."  

"No, It's from Lord of the rings." Lucas informed them, "Well, The Hobbit." Dustin corrected his friend, "It doesn't matter." Lucas Exclaimed, uncrossing his arms that were around his arms. Mike looked fed up with his friends at this moment. "He asked!" Dustin argued, to which Lucas mocked in a slightly higher pitch, "He asked!" 

"Shut up, guys!" Mike shouted. Hopper leaned over in his seat a bit, "Hey, hey, hey! What'd I just say?" He got their attention, "Shut up." 

"One at a damn time. You" He pointed to Mike again, "Mirkwood, It's a real road. It's just the name that's made up. It's where Cornwallis and Kerly meet." Mike explained, Getting a nod from Hopper, 

"Yeah, all right, I think I know that- -" Hopper was interrupted by Mike, "We can show you, if you want." Hopper just leaned back in his chair, shouting,"I said that I know it!" 

"We can help look." Mike continued, "Yeah." Lucas agreed. But Hopper said "No." Which made the boys start talking all at once again, Hopper sighed, "No. After school, You are all to go home. Immediately. That means no biking around looking for your friends, No investigating, no nonsense." Hopper told them, seriousness very evident in his voice, "This isn't some Lord of the rings book." 

"The Hobbit." Dustin corrected Hopper, making him bite his tongue. Lucas reached over and hit him lightly, shouting, "Shut up!" The two boys then started hitting each other with Mike in the middle of them, "Stop it!" He pushed them apart, but the two boys were still bickering. 

"Do I make myself clear?" Hopper repeated in a softer voice. The boys stopped fighting, thankfully, but they didn't answer Hopper. So he stood up from his seat and looked down at the boys, "Do I make myself . . . clear?" He said in a slightly harsher tone. 

The three boys on the couch nodded their heads, "Yes sir." Mike and Dustin said, "Yeah." Lucas nodded.  The three boys shared a look, they were all worried for Will and Maverick. 

. . . . . 

(Flashback) 

Joyce was striding through the woods, However, she looked a lot calmer and . . .  happier now. 

Joyce had a smile on her face as she approached a small childs fort, beautifully constructed out of sticks and tarps. Even though it was make-shift, anyone could tell that a lot of attention and care went into building this. 

There was a hand-painted sign on top of the fort, it read: 

"CASTLE BYERS & WYND" 

Joyce kneeled down in front of the pale tan sheet door, She pushed the bell stuck onto the a stick. 

"Ring-a-ding-ding! Anybody home?" 

A familiar voice answered from inside the fort, "Password?" Joyce paused to think about that, "Uh, Rada . . . R-Radaga- - Radagast?" She stammered, using her hands to help her think. 

She heard the voice from inside the tent answer, "Yeah. You may enter." Joyce grinned before reaching out to move the sheet door to the side so she could enter the fort. Inside she saw Twelve-year-old Will and Twelve-year-old Maverick, in a boy's dream room/fort, Comic books, Drawings, Toys. And sure enough, there was Will and Rick sitting inside, reading comic books on a make-shift bed. 

"Thank you, sir." Joyce thanked her son, taking a seat in front of Will and Rick on the bed, "So, guess what?" 

Will and Rick closed the comic books they were reading and set them aside so they could listen to what Joyce's mom wanted to tell them, "I got off early and . . . Ta-Da!! Poltergeist." Joyce pulled out three white movie tickets, showing them to her son and her basically-other-son.  

"I . . .  I thought we weren't allowed to see it." Will said, a smile making its way to his face. Maverick had a big smile on his face too.  Joyce put the tickets down, "I changed my mind. As long as you guys don't have nightmares for a week." 

"No, we won't. I don't get scared like that anymore." Will assured her, shaking his head. Maverick nodded his head, "Yeah! Me too!" 

"Oh yeah? Not even of clowns? " 

"No." 

"What about my witch?" Joyce said in a funny voice, as she started curling her pointer finger, "No. Mom. . ." Will groaned, "Ooh. . ." Maverick chuckled, "Mrs. Byers!!!"

"We're not five anymore." Will told his mom, who had closed both her eyes and curled her lips, "But Will Byers . . .  Rick Wynd . . . I'm going to cook you up in my soup." Joyce reached out to her son and Rick, who were both cracking a smile, "Stop. That's so stupid. Mom!" Joyce started tickling both boys, who were laughing loudly at this point. 

Will and Rick's laughter filled the small fort, their smiles as bright as the sun . . .  

(End Flashback)

. . . . .  

The fort was empty.

Joyce was looking inside it, desperate but there was nothing. So with a sigh, she left the fort. 

"Will? Rick?" In the background, Jonathan was shouting for the two missing boys. Joyce decided to join him, looking around the forest as she continued to shout the boys names, "Will! Rick!!" 

"Will!! Maverick!!" 

The mother and son pair continue walking around, calling for the boys. 

And yet, no matter how loud they yell, There was no response. 

Only Silence. 

. . . . . 

*SNAP-HISS* Three well-seasoned hamburger patties were slapped onto a broiler with Benny tending to them. He looked behind him once before focusing back on the burgers. Once the burgers were finished being cooked, Benny put them in plastic bowls that had paper covering them, (I don't know what they are called.), and added some fries to three bowls. 

Before this he had given the children three shirts to change into, He had shown them where the bathroom was and let them get changed while he made the food. 

"Bad man?" The boy with the light brown hair asked the dark haired girl. They were both standing by the sink while the honey haired boy was sitting on the toilet. They all decided to go in together, just in case it wasn't safe. 

The two older children had changed already, they were wearing the same large yellow shirt that went to their knees, while the younger boy on the toilet was wearing a white shirt of the same design that also went to his knees. Benny didn't have any pants that would fit them so they were stuck with wearing the short shorts they were wearing previously. 

The dark haired girl shook her head unsure, "Don't know." 

The brown haired boy sighed heavily, before helping the girl wipe her face down to the best of his ability. The girl thanked him before he helped the younger boy sitting criss-cross applesauce on the toilet. Once he finished wiping both of their faces, he wiped his own face with some help from the girl. 

Once they were done, the older boy grabbed the girls hand and cautiously grabbed the younger boys hand, making sure he wasn't going to go 'Wild' again before they carefully and cautiously walked out of the bathroom and into the dining area where they took a seat at a table with four chairs around it. 

The girl and younger by sat next to each other while the older boy had moved one of the chairs across from them to the side of the table so he was near them. Benny then brought them out to the dining room, where the three young children sat alone. He set the food down in front of them, before taking a seat in front of the girl. The children looked around first, noting that everyone had left and it was only the four of them left in the place. The two older kids began digging into the burgers and fries but the youngest didn't touch the food yet. 

He just glared at the fries and burger in front of him. The girl next to him noticed this and slightly nudged him, making him turn to her. She nodded at the food, as a way of telling him that the food was alright to get. So the honey haired boy carefully took a bite of the fries, before he began devouring them along with the older kids. He would occasionally look up and stare at Benny for a few seconds before he went back to eating.

The honey haired boy happened to look up at Benny when he started talking to them, "Geez. Your parents forget to feed you?" However, none of the kids gave him an answer. Benny looked from the older kids to the younger, feeling a bit awkward under his gaze. "Is that why you ran away?" But there was just more silence. The honey haired boy started bearing his teeth a little, hands clenched on the table. The girl noticed out of the corner of her eyes, nudging him a little bit. 

"They, uh . . They hurt you?" 

The young boy flinched, as he started growling softly before the girl and boy next to him both put a hand on his own hands that were clenched hard enough to draw blood. But still none of them gave the man an answer to his question. 

"You went to the hospital, you got scared, you ran off, you wound up here, Is that it?" 

The children finally gave Benny some sort of reaction. They stopped eating for a second to look up at Benny. He thought they were finally going to speak up, thinking that he hit close to the mark. They gazed at Benny for a while, not speaking or opening their mouth once. 

Benny sighed, he had no choice left. He gently took the food out of the kids hands, put back in the bowls and then took all three bowls of food away from them. The children just watched him, chewing the food still in their mouth as they listened to him. 

"I'll give the food back to you, all right? And you can have as much as you want. All right? Maybe even some ice cream." Benny looked at each child before finishing his sentence, "But you gotta answer a few of my questions first, all right? We got a deal?" 

There was still no response but the children were paying attention to him at least, "All right, let's start with the easy stuff, All right?" Benny held his hand out to the girl in front of him, "My name's Benny. Benny Hammond." 

The children looked at his hand confused, they knitted their brows slightly as they wondered what the man wanted the girl to do. The dark haired girl's left hand found the honey-haired boy's right hand. She wrapped her hand around the younger boys for comfort. 

Benny watched the children's looks of confusion. He grabbed the girls right hand, causing her to flinch and pull her hand back slightly. The young boy next to her let out a soft growl of warning while the brown haired boy glared at Benny, watching him carefully. 

"It's okay. I got you. Don't worry." The girl didn't give him a response, as he kind of expected, "See? Like this. Here." He said, softly putting the girl's hand in his, shaking it gently, "Nice to meet you, yeah. And you are?" 

The girl didn't answer, causing Benny to sigh as he began to withdraw their conjoined hands when he looked at her left hand, that was holding onto the honey-haired boy's hand. He caught a sight of a tattoo or something on her wrist. He moved her hand over slightly, looking at the simple, black lettering that spelled(? Is that the right word?) out:

011. 

The girl harshly yanked her hand back, and The honey-haired boy's hand, back towards her. She moved closer to the wild boy, who was full on growling at Benny now. The older boy jumped out of his chair, rushed over to the girl and put his arm in front of the young girl. 

Benny sighed, bring his hand up to his mouth. 

"Eleven? What's that mean?" None of the children answered, all just staring (well glaring and growling) at him with wide eyes and hesitation, "What's it mean?" He asked again. 

The girl looked at him for a second before looking down at the table, "No." The girl softly said. The honey haired boy ceased his growling and looked at her. He squeezed their conjoined hands tightly, panic evident on his face. 

"Well, I'll be damned. She speaks!" Benny chuckled, he turned to the other two, who have yet to speak. 

"What about you two? You guys speak too?" 

The brown haired boy looked down at The girl, who subtly nodded her head. The brown haired boy looked back up at Benny, "Yes." Benny smiled softly, before looking over at the honey-haired boy, who just let out a small growl. 

Benny left it at that, looking back at the girl, "'No? No, what?" 

When Benny got no response he clicked his tongue, grabbing the baskets of food. 

"All right. I guess no more food, then." The young children watched the man turn in his seat, about to leave when the girl spoke up suddenly, "Eleven." Benny turned back to them, "Yeah. What's it mean?" 

He tried again, this time finally getting an answer. 

The girl then pointed to herself, "Eleven." She then turned to the boy sitting next to her, gently taking his hand in her own and showed Benny the tattoo on his wrist that was just like the girls but his one wrote out:

012. 

"Twelve." 

She then looked up at the oler boy behind her, he held out his wrist voluntarily, his tattoo wrote out:

010. 

"Ten." 

Benny seemed to turn speechless for a second, nodding his head. "All right, then. Here you go." He said before sliding the food back to the children, Ten taking a seat again. The children began devouring the food again, making Benny chuckle again. 

"Take it easy, take it easy." He sighed, before heading back to the kitchen, leaving the children alone in the dining area. 

Twelve watched the man walk away before he began devouring the fries and burger in his basket. Once he was finished, he looked around the room for something/anything interesting. When he found none, he looked at his 'siblings' who were too busy eating their food to pay attention to him. He quietly slid off his chair before he began roaming around the dining area. He climbed up on tables and looked out the windows, ran around . .  ect. Anything that could keep him busy while he waited for Eleven and Ten to be finished with their meal. 

. . . . . .

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A/N: Here is the third chapter!! Hope you like Ten and Twelve!

Ten, to me, feels more like an kind older brother type of person.

While Twelve, to me, feels more like a wild, Animal like child.

A question to the reader: What do you want Ten's power to be?

I'm thinking of making Twelve's power the same as my original idea but I'm not sure if I want to do that. What do you guys think?

Anyway, Thanks and Enjoy!