Tʜᴇ Fʟᴀʀᴇ ꕥ Lɪᴢᴢɪᴇ Jᴏʜɴsᴏɴ

sᴇʀɪᴇs ᴏɴᴇ ꕥ 3

As the storm still raged outside, the four kids stood in Mike's basement, facing the girl they had just found in the woods.

Lizzie had got her a jacket from the wash basket, which she had accepted, but she hadn't spoken a word yet.

"Is there a number we can call? For your parents?" Mike asked gently.

"What happened to your hair? Do you have cancer?" Dustin asked, referring to the girl's buzz cut. This comment earned him an elbow in the side from Lizzie.

"Did you run away?" Lucas asked. "Is that blood?"

He stretched his hand out but Mike slapped it away. "Stop it! You're freaking her out!"

"She's freaking me out!" Lucas retorted.

"I bet she's deaf!" Dustin said, and then he clapped in the girl's face. She jumped back though, disproving this theory immediately. "Not deaf."

Lizzie, however, was just stood there. "You idiots! She's just a cold, scared girl who need our help, except you won't give it because you're too busy arguing!"

Mike nodded at once. "Agreed, Lizzie."

He went over to the wash basket again and found a full change of clothes. He walked back over and handed them to the girl. "Here, these are clean."

She looked around, standing up slowly and taking off her jacket before slightly lifting up her big T-shirt.

"No! No! No! No! No!"

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!"

"No!"

Dustin and Lucas turned round immediately but Lizzie and Mike stayed with the girl. "See, over there?" Mike said. "That's the bathroom. Privacy. Get it?"

Lizzie rolled her eyes and said. "Here, I'll show you. Come on."

She led the girl over to the bathroom and opened the door. "Hey... I'm sorry about my friends. They've just... always been very blunt."

She smiled and laughed slightly as the girl went into the bathroom. Lizzie then tried to close the door but she immediately put a hand out, stopping it from closing. "You... don't want it closed?" Lizzie asked.

She shook her head. "No."

"Oh, so you can speak," Lizzie said. "Well, how about we just keep the door, say, three inches open?"

She put the door to that measurement. "Just like this. Is that better?"

The girl nodded. "Yes."

"This is mental," Dustin was saying as she walked back over to the boys.

"Well, she can talk," Lizzie shrugged.

"She said no and yes, Mike's three year old sister can say more," Lucas pointed out.

"She tried to get naked!" Dustin said.

"There's something seriously wrong with her," Lucas agreed.

"She just went like-" Dustin imitated her pulling the T-shirt over her head.

"I bet she escaped from Pennhurst," Lucas went on.

"Where?"

"The nuthouse in Kerley County."

"You got a lot of family there?"

"Bite me," Lucas rolled his eyes. "But seriously though, that would explain her shaved hair and why she's so crazy."

"Why she went like-" Dustin did the imitation again.

"She's an escapee is the point. She's probably a psycho."