Tension filled the air of the small observation lounge as the soldiers brought Hopper and the new sheriff in through the door and Joyce immediately realized something terrible was happening.

"Hopper?" she asked quietly even as Professor Stroude entered behind them and got the two men to relax on the nearby couch.

"Missus Byers, it would seem we have a few more people who are concerned about Will. You should have invited them to join us back at the camp, and then this little reunion wouldn't be quite so awkward," the tall man said as Joyce rushed over to where Hopper was at and he gave her a roguish grin.

"Sorry, just trying to save the world like usual," he admitted as Mitchell placed his hands on the glass and looked down at where Will was at in the room just beyond them.

"What is the meaning of all of this?" The sheriff asked in frustration.

Before the scientist had a chance to respond, one of his men entered the door again and softly gave a report.

Malcolm seemed a bit surprised but also happy to hear it as he raised a finger toward the sheriff and replied, "It looks like we have a few more stragglers from the lake. You people really are predictable."

"Get them onto the exam floor, and then get those girls connected," Malcolm told his men.

Joyce clenched her fists and ran toward him to punch him in the side and the tall man looked at her with amusement.

"I really don't understand you people. I sit here and explain how I'm trying to protect the whole god damn planet and yet you keep trying to get in my way," Stroude said as he grabbed her arm and twisted it.

"I told you before I was going to save your son, but I never said he would survive the experience. Sometimes the only solution is the one that we don't want to face," he said coldly.

"No! Will!" Joyce said angrily even as he pushed her back to where the two men were seated.

Deeper in the bunker, the girl with the strange purple hair forced the group of kids into the room where Will was still strapped to the strange machine.

Mike wanted to call out to his friend but at the moment he was too scared to say a word. Reluctantly he followed the soldiers toward the center of the room even as Kali turned Eleven.

"I'm sorry sister," she said with tears in her eyes. El had been waiting until she knew that she got s chance to use her gifts, and as the soldiers took Kali to another similar machine the curly haired girl raised her hands and started to attempt to twist the metal apart.

As the boys watched in fascination they could see the struggle that covered El's face and as blood trickled from her nose the girl came to a sudden realization. Her abilities were not working.

A soft noise above them caused all of them to look up and a voice called over the intercom, "There isn't any need to waste your time Jane. As long as I keep this signal going you won't be able to do anything unless I tell you to. So take a break and welcome to the Dreamscape."

Eleven looked about in confusion as she saw her sister willingly submit to being placed in the machine and then turned her attention toward Mike, feeling scared.

"Trippin'," Steve muttered as he and Jonathan and Nancy were put near to where Mike and his two friends stood.

Lowering her hands in defeat El heard the ringing again and almost felt like falling over. But then it seemed to subside as she was hurdled to the third and final piece of equipment and she heard the voice of the malicious scientist, "You have no idea how long I have been waiting for this."

Eleven felt a strange tinge as the device was locked onto her wrists and then looked toward Will and Kali, both of whom almost seemed lifeless.

"Power It up, maximum strength," Malcolm said sternly. For a brief second, she felt nothing and then suddenly a pain like intense needles poking thru her entire body.

Mike, Dustin and Lucas watched without knowing fully what was happening as it seemed a swirl of energy was beginning to form between the three different pieces of equipment and Will and Kali started to convulse as the strange energy shot thru their body.

"We need to do something," Jonathan said as he clenched his fists and then rushed toward the nearest soldier.

He shoved the man to the ground and started punching him even as Steve and Nancy also tried to pry the door open but nothing seemed to be working.

The swirling bright energy grew larger as it connected the machines together and El started to scream and scream until a darkness covered her body.

A mysterious otherworldly noise emerged from the portal as the soldiers struggled to get Jonathan off of them as Joyce above slammed against the glass.

"You have to stop this!" Joyce shouted angrily as she tried to grab ahold of Malcolm.

"You still don't understand, none of you do. Each of these children are infected with a disease that must be killed. Their sacrifice is necessary to help save the entire freaking world.

So sit your ass down and shut up!" Stroude called out even as he heard one of his techs say, "Sir we are having a problem. The girl, Jane Ives. She is fighting the process."

The scientist looked down at the growing portal where unusual spaces and colors formed and disappeared in the blink of an eye and saw the girl trying against all odds to fight using her special powers.

He was in awe as the girl was able to push back the power from the massive vortex that seethed with energy and shouted, "Raise the level past its limit!"

But even as the techs struggled to listen to him it seemed that the girl was still having success.

"This isn't over, not by a long shot," Malcolm said as he turned to one of the guards and took his fire arm.

Pressing down on the intercom he pointed the weapon toward Hopper.

"Listen up Jane, you've got a choice to make. Either start playing nice with the other kids or your dear old dad will be on the floor bleeding out. I'm going to give you until the count of three," Stroude snarled.

She hesitated for a moment as long ethereal tendrils began to snake out from the portal, the beastly image of the Absoleth barely in sight as the hole grew larger. She looked first toward Jonathan who was being shoved down and put under the heel of a soldier's boot and then toward Will and Kali, their eyes aglow with some celestial power she knew courses thru her veins as well.

Then she heard Hopper, he spoke clearer than she had ever heard anything. "You listen to me Jane! Don't worry about me you here? You finish this son of a bitch and do it right," he shouted over the intercom.

Closing her eyes she focused on the man near the control panel and then screamed even louder ready to rip him apart.

Malcolm saw the glass on the observatory deck begin to crack and then hesitated. Hopper laughed and used the opportunity to tackle the man to the ground.

Eleven screamed louder as she felt the bonds on her wrists begin to grow hot and the dark portal of energy changed and merged into one of light.

She was not going to lose.

Malcolm and Hopper struggled on the carpet as the soldiers kept Mitchell and Joyce at bay and then amid the chaos everyone in the bunker heard a single gun shot.

No one moved for what seemed to be eternity and then, after the silence came another scream. Joyce pushed Hopper over and looked down at his chest to see where the bullet had gone thru and then shouted in agony even louder as the scientist got up and looked down at the man who had tried to attack him.

"No... no... no... no no no no no!" Joyce shouted angrily as the noise from the machine reached a piercing shrill.

Jane's eyes opened, filled with rage, vengeance and a desire to end it all and she clenched her fists so hard that she pierced her skin in her palm.

With every ounce of energy in her body she sent a shockwave of power straight toward the deck where Malcolm stood.

What followed next happened in an instant but to everyone there it seemed like forever.

Jonathan fell backwards as the surge of power struck the two other machines, Nancy reached for him but was pulled back by Steve even as the group of kids huddled closer and listened to the ringing grow louder.

The Absoleth disappeared as the portal shifted to a glowing light brighter than the sun and Stroude felt his body began to convulse.

"It's not possible..." he said with a laugh as it seemed like everything had gone according to his plan.

Then like a piece of paper being taken to the fire, Jane pushed a little harder and made the man burst into flames.

Malcolm shouted in horror as the machines went faster and faster, cackling and screaming madly as his body disintegrated and then the light grew so bright that Mike and the others had to cover their ears.

Like a whirling bolt of lightning the noise canvased the entire room and filled it with light and those standing there felt every part of their body feel jolted like a rocket or a theme park ride.

Then at last, everything returned to a calm almost serene state and Nancy was the first one to open her eyes.

As she clung to her brother she looked about at the chamber they were in and realized it looked very different than it had a moment ago.

Will Byers and Eleven collapsed to the ground and Dustin, Mike and Lucas rushed over to them to find what had happened. Kali was nowhere to be seen and neither was the machines they had been trapped to.

Steve looked at the room above and saw that it seemed like there was no one there watching them and raised a curious eyebrow. It was like the seven of them were all alone.

"Hopper..." Eleven said as she grabbed Mike's shirt and then started to cry. All of the group huddled together in the darkened room and cried softly together as they realized what had happened to their dear friend.

When the tears had been shed, Nancy walked toward the door where the guards had stood a moment before and was able to easily open it.

Wordlessly, and filled with a tired spirit the others followed and walked thru the seemingly empty corridors of the bunker.

They walked to the deck where Malcolm had held the adults hostage and saw nothing to even prove they had been there and finally Steve was the one to say something, "What the fuck is going on?"

As if to answer all of their unspoken questions they heard footsteps approaching and the seven kids turned to see who might be coming.

The man looked unfamiliar to any of them as he entered the room and remarked, "I thought I heard something from in here. What are you kids doing out here anyway?"

They looked at each other uncertain how to even explain and then he gestured for them to follow and stated, "Come on. I'll get you back to camp. If the Colonel found out you were down here I would have hell to pay."

They followed him out and toward the level ground a surge of sound filling the air as they walked toward them and the man said, "We better use the fire exit."

He pushed the door to the outside and gestured for them to all go out.

The seven did so eagerly but Dustin was the one to hesitate and look around.

No longer was the base they had been in run down or decayed but now filled with life as soldiers moved about and worked and seemed as though it was brand new.

"What the..." he muttered as Steve grabbed him and they got into the back of a clunky Ford pickup parked near the side of the building.

The man that had found them started up the engine and made sure they were all inside before muttering, "I swear, this summer camp has really messed up our training regimen."

"Um... what exactly are you training for?" Nancy asked softly.

He paused as he was about to start up the engine and remarked, "Man you kids been living under a rock all year? Eisenhower gave us the go ahead. We're training for Vietnam."

The seven kids stared at him a bit longer and then he said with a sigh, "You kids need to get out more. Or stop listening to that rock and roll. It's 1955 after all, times are changing."

Then he started the engine and drove away from the camp as the group hunched down in the back of the pickup and realized how deep in trouble they really were.

END OF CHAPTER FIVE