Lights flashing, sirens blaring, the screech of tires on asphalt, first responders shouting, and a horrible, unbearable burning-

Will shot up in bed, breathing hard. His face was wet with tears.

An urgent voice called out in the darkness, "Will?"

His head snapped to the noise, suddenly remembering.

In the dim light, Will could barely make out Mike's face next to his bed. He was wrapped in a sleeping bag on the floor.

"Will, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm fine. It's just-"

"A bad dream?"

Will sighed, "Yeah."

"About… the Mind Flayer?"

"No… about that night… in the field. When they… you know…"

"Yeah."

Will looked over at the clock; 2:46 in the morning. Between the nights at the lab and the constant threat of the Mind Flayer, no one in the house had gotten much sleep over the past week. "Sorry I woke you up."

"No, it's fine. You sure you're okay?", Mike asked.

Will lay back down in the tangle of sheets, "Yeah," he said, "I'm fine."

BEEEEP! BEEEEEP! BEEEEP! The alarm on Will's nightstand blared, cutting through the silence of the morning. He heard a rustle from next to his bed- Mike was up and, by the looks of it, the rest of the house too.

He rolled out of bed and followed his friend out into the kitchen, where Nancy, Jonathan, and his mom were getting breakfast ready.

Mom looked over as they walked in. "Hey, boys! What do you think about school today?"

Will didn't want to miss another day of school. With all that had been going on, he wanted something to go back to normal.

"Anything's better than sitting around the house for another day." he said.

Mike nodded wordlessly.

Twenty minutes later, they were dressed and waiting by the door.

"Mom! I can take them if you want." Jonathan said.

"No, no. That's okay."

"Mom, come on. Nancy and I have to go anyway."

Will's mom hesitated, but only for a moment. "Okay, fine. But be careful!"

He laughed. "Always. Come on, guys."

El woke up still completely drained. She tried to stand up, but ended up almost knocking over the lamp on her nightstand.

The crash brought Hopper into the room. He understood immediately.

"No, you are not going to school. Not today, anyway."

"But… but…" she protested, still trying and failing to get out of bed.

"What, do you want them to wheel you around on your first day? No, you don't. We'll see if you can stand up tomorrow. Then we'll see about school."

"No! But-"

"This is not a discussion."

She sighed and pulled the covers back over her head.