Chapter Seventeen: Dusk Till Dawn.

"But you'll never be alone
I'll be with you from dusk till dawn
I'll be with you from dusk till dawn
Baby, I'm right here
I'll hold you when things go wrong
I'll be with you from dusk till dawn"

Saturday, November 9th, 1985

"Will, you suck at this," Dustin shook his head, feigning disappointment.

"No, your cat is just dumb," Will boldly stated.

"Excuse me, sir, but—"

"Hello? Dustin, do you copy?" Mike's panicked voice crackled through Dustin's walkie on his bookshelf. "Dustin, Lucas, Will, Max, for crying out loud, does anyone copy?" Will and Dustin shot each other nervous glances, their friend sounded like he was on the verge of tears. After a few moments of silence, Mike continued, "Dammit, will one of you please pick up? This is a code red!"

Faster than the speed of light, Will snatched the device up and nearly shouted, "Mike, It's Will! What's going on?"

"Get home right now, I don't have time to explain. Just get there as soon as you can!"

Will's eyes began to tear up, hearing his best friend freaking out and not knowing why was scaring him to no end. Dustin grabbed his supercomm and headset before he shoved on a pair of sneakers. He and Will sprinted through the living room and out the front door. They each grabbed their bikes, mounted them, and took off towards the Byers' house.

Dustin's mind was racing with theories of what the hell could be going on as he pedaled faster than he ever had before. Was the gate opened again? Is there news from Hopper? Did something happen to Nancy or Holly or his parents?

Wait, wasn't Mike supposed to be watching Holly? Why was he at the Byers', then?

The curly haired adolescent shook those thoughts away, he would find out soon enough. He decided it would be a good idea to get ahold of Lucas and Max, maybe they could help, too.

"Lucas, Max, do you copy?" Dustin asked, praying that one of them would pick up. Luckily, they would be in range for a couple minutes to hopefully get through to one of them.

A few streets away, Lucas heard his Supercomm struggling to get a message through. Skateboarding had done a number on him, tearing his skin open on his knees, hands, and elbows when he lost his balance. So, he sat with Max on the curb while she helped clean the gravel and dirt from his open wounds.

"Lu—d—co—py?" Max furrowed her eyebrows, glaring at Lucas's backpack. She finished applying neosporin to a cut on her boyfriend's knuckle, stood up, took a few steps to where the bag was, and pulled out the walkie-talkie.

The muffled and staticky voice gradually grew clearer, helping Max identify it as Dustin. "Dustin, this is Max. I copy. What's g—"

"Go to the Byers' house as soon as possible. No, we don't know why either, but Mike said it was a code red. So, hurry!"

Lucas threw the medical supplies back in the first aid kit. He was about to pick up his bike when he realized he wouldn't be able to, "Shit, how am I gonna do this with my hands all fucked up?"

"I'll steer, you hop on behind me," she said, gripping the handlebars and mounting the uncomfortable seat.

He raised his eyebrows in shock. Gripping his girlfriend's shoulders, and wincing at the pain, he put his weight on the pegs of the rear wheel. She took off as soon as he confirmed he was stable.

"If you hit a bump or something and—"

"Stalker, I'll do that on purpose if you don't shut up."

"Sorry."

"El! El, please let me in!" Mike begged, repeatedly slamming his fists on her bedroom door.

Luckily, whoever had been the last person to leave the house had forgotten to lock the back door. So, Mike took advantage of that and immediately ran to his girlfriend's room, only to find her door locked.

It's safe to say that Michael Wheeler was never more terrified in his whole life. Was Eleven okay? Was she just asleep? Was he imagining the whole thing and she's perfectly fine? Was she even… alive?

Rubbing his hands together to ease the pain he caused himself, he tried to figure out how he could open the locked door. There's no way in hell he'd be able to force it open, he's way too weak for that.

You idiot, there's a key on the frame, he remembered suddenly. Reaching the top of the ledge, he felt around for the small metal implement and sighed in relief when he finally grabbed it. Moments later, he swung the door open, nearly face planting into the carpeted floor.

Quickly regaining his composure, his eyes darted around the room frantically until they finally fell to the ground. Then, everything stopped.

He couldn't breathe, tears clouded his vision, blood running cold.

"Eleven," he choked, limbs going numb, failing to hold him up. He collapsed to his knees beside his girlfriend, his hands hanging by his sides, unsure what to do with them.

The right side of her face was against the carpet, her right leg loosely extended while her left was barely tucked beneath her stomach, hands crushed under her chest over her heart. She looked like she was sleeping. But, as soon as he laid eyes on her, Mike knew that wasn't the case. He knew right away that she was passed out, but he didn't know why.

"El, I'm here. Please be okay. I need you."

Mike isn't sure how long he knelt there, taking in the sight before him. He couldn't really believe it, actually. Maybe, he thought, this is all just a nightmare. Maybe, it'll all be over soon.

"Mike? You up here?" Will shouted, bursting through the back door of his home, Dustin, Lucas, and Max hot on his tail.

However, the boy was too lost in his miserable daze to hear the loud footsteps running up the first flight of stairs.

"Mike?" This time, it was Lucas's calling out to him, wariness evident in his voice. The four teens were ascending the second flight of steps, rather loudly, up Mike still didn't hear them.

Maybe, my mom will come in and wake me up because I overslept—

"Mike!"

He whipped around, completely startled by the appearance of his friends stumbling towards him. They bombarded him with questions rapidly, not even allowing him to greet them and fill them in on the little information he had. It was all too overwhelming for him.

He was suffocating. There was too much happening at once. It was too loud. Too many questions. Too many worries. There were too many people way closer than he would have liked. His skin was too tight for his body. He couldn't take it. It was too much.

His agitation boiled over. He burst at the seams.

"Everybody, shut up!"

Nobody said a word. The only sound was the low humming of static from the radio. Not a soul dared to move.

"I don't know what happened to her," Mike's voice was soft yet firm, terrified yet frustrated. Unclenching his fists, exhaling deeply, he locked eyes with Will. "Go call your mom. Please. She'll know how to help."

Will nodded, standing up and gesturing for the others to follow him. Thankfully, they all silently agreed that they needed to give Mike his space and let him deal with this on his own. They wanted to help and make sure their friend was okay but it wasn't up for negotiation.

Once Mike was left with just Eleven, he crept closer to her, still kneeling. Being as gentle as possible, he pushed her shoulder so she was on her side, facing away from him. He shifted his legs out from under him so they were parted, leaving room for his girlfriend's frame.

Using all of the minimal muscle he had, he pulled her body to his, carefully positioning her so that her legs draped over one of his. Her upper body was supported by his other leg that he had bent, allowing her to lean against him.

"I got you, El. I'm here, I promise."

Shakily moving his one hand to cradle the back of her head, he closely examined her features. The black fabric covering her eyes caught his attention quickly. It looked a bit damp, which Mike found odd, but he assumed it was just from tears.

His gaze fell down to her small nose, blood staining the skin beneath her nostrils. The liquid was congealing, becoming tacky to the touch. There was a lot of it, too, spilling down her plush lips and down her chin, dripping onto her neck. That's when he noticed that there was red dribbling down from her ears, too.

Holy shit, he panicked more. Not counting the time that the Mindflayer caught her leg and bit off a chunk of her flesh, that was the most blood he'd ever seen her lose. And it was terrifying. Not to mention, it was making him queasy. Small amounts of blood didn't bother him, but this was not minimal. Far from it.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he decided to pull the blindfold away from her eyes. As soon as the fabric was gone, it nearly slipped from his fingers. Beneath the black material was more blood, not much but there definitely should not be blood coming from someone's eyes.

There was nothing Mike could do besides gape at the sight. Deep crimson blotted the skin around her eyes, mostly underneath. It didn't make sense to him, too shocked by the image. Unless the blood came from her fear ducts, unless she literally cried blood, there was no logical explanation for how it got there. But that never happened before! Not even when she closed the gate, when she could barely breathe because of the overexertion.

"Mike," he glanced at the door, unfazed by the sudden presence of Joyce. "Oh my, God. Wha—h-how?"

"I don't know."

Kneeling beside the broken boy, Mrs. Byers tried to figure out what the hell she was going to do. Did she even have a pulse?

"Will, grab towels and a bucket of water," she said over her shoulder. Her son, who had been standing in the entryway with Lucas, Dustin, and Max, nodded and did as told.

"Mike?"

He looked at the concerned woman next to him. She looked just as scared as he felt.

"Does she have a pulse?"

Mike's eyes widened and his lips parted, realizing he didn't even check that. He wasn't even thinking about if she was breathing or not, too focused on the blood caked on her beautiful face. "I—I don't know. I didn't think about that…"

Joyce loved Mike like a child of her own, she loved all of her son's friends. And she knew how smart they all were, but wow sometimes their lack of common sense just blew her mind.

"Here," she gestured for him to grab Eleven's wrist. "Let's see."

"Oh, thank God," she sighed in relief.

Just then, the four party members returned with towels, a bucket of cold water, tissues, crackers, and water bottles for each person.

"Thank you," Mike mumbled, reaching for a washcloth from the stack of linens Max set down next to the water bucket.

"Hold on," Dustin's attention was suddenly on the red surrounding El's eye sockets. "What the hell?"

"What?" Lucas and Will both asked at the same time, slowly making their way over to Dustin, Max, Joyce, Mike, and El.

"That's not normal, Mike," the curly haired boy breathed nervously.

"Yeah, no shit, Dustin.

"Mike, chill out. I'm just worried abo—"

"Good for you!"

"Mike!" Will clamped his hand on his best friend's tense shoulder. Only Eleven and Will could calm Mike down. "Relax. Everything will be okay. She has a pulse. That's a step in the right direction, right?"

Guilt hit Mike like a ton of bricks. God, why do you have to be such an asshole? They literally did nothing wrong!

"I know. I'm so—" a shuddered sob escaped his throat, despite his desperate attempts to hold it back. "I'm sorry. I just… I don't want… I can't." He couldn't even get the words out, but everyone understood what he was trying to say.

Everyone sat in silence, excluding the occasional sniffle. Mike continued to rid Eleven's face from the metallic, rusty liquid. He was surprised, and saddened, that when he cleaned around her eyes particularly, that she didn't even flinch.

Once she was free of the blood, Joyce suggested that Max could assist her in putting El in some more comfortable clothes. The boys nodded in agreement, gathered the dirty towels and water bucket, and made their way out of the room.

Before the group of four headed back upstairs, Mike stopped them.

"Listen, I'm really sorry for being such a dick. I just… God, I just don't know what I'd do without her. And seeing her like that, I—I really wasn't sure if she was still there," his voice cracked at the end, tears falling unwillingly.

"You're forgiven, Mike," Dustin spoke softly. After a moment, he stepped forward, engulfing his tall friend in a bone-crushing hug. Lucas and Will exchanged a look, eventually deciding to join the embrace.

It was a sweet moment. The four of them haven't had many opportunities for just them anymore - the original party. Of course, they loved Eleven and Max, but it reminded them of how things were in fourth, fifth, sixth, and the beginning of seventh grade before Will went missing. Before they met Eleven. Before they met Max.

"Awww!" Joyce couldn't help but gawk over the sight of the four boys. They had such an incredible bond, it made her heart melt.

"Mooooommmm," Will groaned, breaking up the hug. "You ruined it."

Mrs. Byers simply rolled her eyes as she descended the stairs. "Max is still up there," she told Lucas, reading his mind. She made her way to the kitchen, leaving three of the four boys to go check on their friend.

"Uhm, Mrs. Byers?" Mike asked nervously, following the woman into the small kitchen.

"Oh, I didn't hear your footsteps," she chuckled, slightly frazzled. "What's up, hun?"

"Would you," he paused, shaking his head. He tried again, "Is it okay if… I…" He sighed in annoyance. Jesus, just spit it out! "Can I stay with El?"

She raised her eyebrows, slightly confused, "I assumed you were going to, regardless of what I said."

"O-oh." Shit, maybe she didn't get what I was fully asking. "I meant, like, could I sleepover?"

A knowing smirk tugged at Joyce's mouth, ah, there it is. She knew he was going to ask that. Usually, she would be very hesitant about him staying over, especially if it was in El's room.

She wasn't dumb, she knew that they snuck off and locked themselves in there. She trusted the two kids, even though she still had her apprehensions. Their relationship was something not even she would even begin to wrap her head around, an intense connection no other humans seemed to share.

But, this time, she was lenient. After all, Eleven was still out cold and she knew Mike would never ever even think of doing anything to hurt her, especially in the state she was in.

"Sure," she shrugged. "I can give you a quick ride back if you need to get an overnight bag."

"Thank you," Mike beamed at the woman who was basically his second mother. "And thanks for the offer, but I rode my bike here so…"

"Okay, sweetie," she smiled. "Now, go check on her. I know you want to."

"Thanks, Mrs. Byers!" He shouted, bolting to the flight of stairs.

"Anything yet?" Mike asked quietly, closing the door behind him.

Max replied, "Nope. Still out."

The lanky boy frowned, crossing the room and sitting at the foot of the bed beside Will. Max was next to El, brushing through her hair with her fingers. Lucas sat on the floor beside the bed while Dustin was in the chair at El's desk.

"Okay, now can you tell us what in the fuck happened?" Will questioned Mike.

"So, I had just put Holly down for a nap, right? I was just, in my room, not doing anything. And then suddenly, I felt like I was being watched. But, it wasn't, like, creepy. It was familiar. And then my Supercomm started making these weird noises, like someone talking, but not actually saying words… I don't know, it was really weird."

He took a deep breath before continuing, "Then the feeling got stronger, and I felt like someone was in the room with me. It was like how it felt when El would find me in that… place… in her mind. And next thing you know, it's like a cold hand was grabbing my wrist, but obviously nobody was there. I was really freaked out because that was something new. El told me whenever she tried to touch someone in that plane, they would disintegrate."

"Then, El's voice came through the Supercomm again, but I could tell it was her and I could make out her words. It was all a blur but the last things she said were that she needed help and she needed saved. But, the even weirder thing was that when I closed my eyes, it was like her voice was in my head. Like, it wasn't going in through my ears, it was actually in my head. It was so… unsettling. Next thing I know the coldness around my wrist is gone, my Supercomm is silent, and I don't feel like I'm being watched anymore."

The four teens stared at him. If they hadn't seen El's condition earlier, they wouldn't have believed him. Her powers were gone, there was no way she could have contacted him. But it all made sense.

"But… why?" Will wasn't concerned about how she suddenly had her powers back, but he wanted to know why. There surely had to be a reason. And it seemed like she intended on keeping it a secret. So what the hell was it?

Mike shook his head, shrugging. "I don't know. We should wait till she's ready to talk, not pressure her."

"Well, as much as I enjoy sitting here, I have to get home," Max said after a few minutes of quiet, Lucas and Dustin mumbling in agreement.

"Thank you for helping, guys," Will stood up to walk them downstairs and to see them off. "You're not coming, Mike?" Will asked.

"No, your mom said I can stay over," he replied, taking Max's spot on the bed.

"Oh. Well, instead of yelling to me, use the Supercomm to let me know when she wakes up."

"Got it."

At last, he was finally alone with Eleven, even if she was still sleeping. He didn't care, though. All he wanted to do was be in her presence, to comfort her when she finally woke up, to be there for her.