A new chap within five days? Can you believe?!

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy! Please let me know what you think (Reviews make my day!) in the reviews!


Chapter Five: Code "You've Gotta Be Shitting Me"

Wednesday, February 12, 1985

Melvalds

"Hi, yes, hello, we need to talk." Dustin smacked his hands on the counter in front of him. Robin and Steve stared at him.

"He won't tell me what's going on but it's "serious"." Erica told them.

"Look, I know I said that me begging for a ride just to get candy was serious, but this is big time serious. Code "you've gotta be shitting me" man, like, bad serious. July serious." he whispered the last bit.

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh ." Dustin raised his eyebrows.

"I'll go let Mr. Melvald know we have an emergency, that a friend of ours got hurt or something." Robin said, before rushing off to Mr. Melvald's office. Steve started banging his head on the counter until Erica grabbed him by the hair to stop him.

"Ow!" he yelped. "Let me go." he grumbled.

"Stop banging your head. We need you somewhat functioning this time."

"Fine." Steve huffed and she let him go. He immediately pulled out a compact mirror and fixed his hair, all the while casting glares at Erica.

"Really? You're worried about your hair?" Dustin scowled. "Mike could be getting kidnapped as we speak, and you're worried about your hair?"

"WHAT?" Steve and Erica yelled.

"ROBIN, HURRY UP WE GOTTA GO!" Dustin yelled. She came running back, middle finger in the air.

"We'll go in my car." she told them. "It's my grandmas old minivan, so enough for however many people we end up with."

In the car, Steve turned around to look at Dustin.

"Tell me what the fuck is going on, right fucking now Henderson !"

"I was waiting to talk to my girlfriend, right? Well, I accidentally switched channels and I heard Russians again." he said. "They were speaking in English for the most part and… they're being lead by an American. Martin Brenner." he said. "From what I gathered, he wants to get Mike so that he can get information on where El is. He thinks El can control the Demogorgons or anything from the Upside Down."

"Step on it, Robin, make this piece of shit go as fast as it can."

"Hey!" Robin snapped. "Shut your mouth." but she did as she was told.

"Go to Mike's house." he added.

"I thought Brenner was dead ." Steve ran a hand through his hair. "What the hell ."

"We did too. But I heard his voice and I heard them calling him by name. And you can't forget a voice like that." Dustin shook his head.

"Well I'm sure Mike's fine, he knows how to handle himself." Robin said, biting her lip.


The Upside Down/Wheeler's House

Hopper was sitting in the front lawn of the Wheeler's when he heard Mike start screaming. The kid was supposed to be alone for a few hours, Hopper had learned, having been listening in to conversations, so he decided to sit and wait until someone got home. He'd got a weird feeling in his gut that something was gonna happen, so he wanted to stay close.

"LET ME GO! LET ME GO! YOU PIECE OF SHIT- HELP ME! LET ME G-!"

Hopper jumped up quickly, following the sound, and faintly heard the word "chloroform" and Mike went silent.

"The kid definitely puts up a fight. This'll be fun." he heard a familiar voice say. "Let's get him to the lab."

The fucking lab, of course.

"I really fucking hope that's not where all the monsters are." Hopper muttered to himself as he took off running towards the lab.

He couldn't help but feel hope that this was his way out. Maybe they've reopened the gate? Which wouldn't be good, but it would be a way out, that's for sure.

It took him awhile to get to the lab from there- he's old, still not in the best shape, he gets out of breath easily, cut him some slack.

"I'm too old for this shit ." he muttered to himself.

Upon seeing the lab, Hopper stopped dead in his tracks, realizing exactly what they wanted Mike for. They wanted El. There'd be no other reason for them to do anything to him. " Shit ." he took off, testing his luck, and got into the building easily. As he opened the door, he heard a deafening screech and whipped around. In the distance, above the trees, he saw a dark, smokey arm- or whatever you want to call it- shooting up into the sky, others following with it.

" Fuck ."


The Wheeler's House
Fifteen minutes after Mike is kidnapped

"The doors open." Erica said as they pulled to a harsh stop in the driveway of the Wheelers. She was right, the front door was cracked open the slightest bit. Steve darted out of the car and into the house.

"Wheeler!" he yelled. "Mike, are you here?"

"Son of a bitch." Dustin huffed after they looked through the house quickly, making sure he wasn't asleep or something, but they knew better. "Son of a bitch, we were too late." he put a hand on his forehead.

"You've got to be shitting me." Robin muttered.

"Why is it I can never protect you little shits? I mean seriously, something always goes wrong !" Steve threw his hands in the air.

"Well, instead of freaking out, let's go look for him?" Erica suggested.

"Where? Where could we look for him, Erica." Steve asked. "I genuinely wanna know so we can ."

"The lab." she said simply. "Specifically, the basement is where they'd probably take him if that's where he's at." the three older teens looked at her, eyebrows raised.

"How do you know they're taking him to the lab?" Robin asked.

"Where else would they take him? The mall? That's burnt down? No, I don't think so. And what other place would they even consider taking him?"

"I don't know, maybe the cabin?" Steve suggested. "For some weird reason, I don't know."

"No, not the cabin you idiot." Erica huffed. Steve threw his arms in the air again.

"Let's go to the fucking lab, I guess. Like it's gonna do any good if he's even there."


The Lab/Upside Down
Twenty minutes after Mike was kidnapped

Hopper was cautious as he walked through the lab. He figured they weren't going to be in the actual building, it would raise suspicion out in the real world, of course, but he checked a few rooms and stood quietly to make sure he didn't hear voices anyways. Then, he made his way down the stairs- he didn't know how many staircases their were, but he knew his legs would not be happy with him later when he finally reached the basement, which wasn't really a basement at all. An underground hell story if you ask him. When he thinks about a basement, he thinks of the Wheeler's. A place to go where you feel safe, but no one could possibly ever feel safe in this place, and not just because he was in the Upside Down version.

The place was just as horrible as he remembered. Long corridors, a door or two on each. A rarity, really. He stopped at each he passed, though, and felt dread seeping into his chest the closer he got to the gate. He could hear voices, but nothing to do with Mike. This was where they were operating, like he'd thought. He reached the room with the gate much quicker than he'd hoped, and took a chance with the tall ladder over the edge to the floor. It creaked, and it groaned, and he nearly fell off a few times, losing his footing, or one of the steps breaking. He did, however, fall about four feet because the bottom part of the ladder was gone. He barely managed to stick the landing, despite it being a fairly short drop.

The only way he was able to see any of this, was thanks to the giant pulsating, bright gate in front of him. It was as big as he remembered, looking as though it hadn't been opened back up long. There were no monsters around, though, and he was thankful, but he knew this wasn't gonna be very fun, and hoped that he'd be able to change into one of those full jumpsuits he'd worn once.

Hopper stepped closer to the gate, sound roaring in his ears as he reached it, and scratched his chin. He'd grown a beard in his time here, it was cold here, so it helped. His hair was long, and he was sure there were a few more grey streaks in it by now. Hopper reached a hand out and squeezed his eyes shut as he pushed through the gate.

He couldn't describe what it felt like, he just knew it was disgusting, but it was easy to go through, as if it had been worn down from multiple entrances and exits. Had people come inside here? And I didn't notice? He thought as he kicked his left leg through, and pulled himself completely through. God I hope there aren't any guards out here .

There weren't, so Hopper was free to suck in a huge breath of fresh air and immediately fall into a coughing fit.

"Fuck!" he choked out, dropping his gear and taking his wet, gooey jacket and pants off, wiping his hands on a clean jumpsuit and putting on a new one, all the while coughing. He didn't have any time to spare. He took a deep, sputtering breath and swallowed thickly, relieved when the coughing stopped. "Okay, okay, let's see here." he looked at the new zipper in front of him. He remembered watching the old one get unzipped for he and Joyce to enter this place. God, it was so long ago now, it seemed. Not even three years.


The Lab/Hawkins

Thirty minutes after Mike was kidnapped

When Mike came to, two things happened. He quickly realized he was restrained, and that he was gonna puke. He leaned over as best he could and puked up everything in his stomach.

"Ugh, that is disgusting. I didn't know chloroform did this." a strange voice said from the corner.

"Shut it, Cheslav." another voice ordered. It was familiar.

Mike gagged and spit what was left in his mouth on the floor. His eyesight was blurry.

"Stop that." Cheslav hissed, suddenly in his line of sight.

"S'not m'fault, ya dick." Mike slurred.

He was shivering, the room he was in cold, and all he wore was a short sleeved t- shirt and jeans, no shoes, no socks.

Then before he could even blink, he was soaked and shivering.

"What the fuck !" he exclaimed, trying to kick at whoever poured water on him. One of them ran a dry towel over his face harshly, one time to get the water out of his face, another just to be an ass.

"We're going to ask you questions." Cheslav said.

"I'm not going to answer." Mike retorted, only to get punched in the stomach. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." he choked. "I'll puke on you."

"I'll kill you." Cheslav threatened.

"Stop, Cheslav." the other voice said. Another person came into view, and Mike's eyes nearly crossed. God, his head hurt. "Michael Wheeler, you will answer any question we ask, or you will be punished." Mike just let out a snort and tried to focus on the man in front of him. White hair, he could tell, a suit…

"Brenner." Mike said, voice filled with hate.

"You'd be correct." Brenner grinned, but Mike couldn't see. His vision just wouldn't clear up. "Cheslav, would you like to ask the first question?"

"Yes." a big, burly man stood in front of Mike, close to his face.

"Your breath stinks." Mike groaned.

"Where is Martin Brenner's daughter?" he asked, making sure to blow his breath in Mike's face.

"She's dead." Mike spat, making sure spit got on Cheslav's face. He backed up, wiping at his face with his sleeve.

"See, that's where you're wrong, child." Brenner said. "We found a picture of you and her together, at the cabin where she and her late "Adopted father" lived."

Fuck

"She's dead." he repeated. "She died in July."

"You don't sound very broken up about it." Cheslav said, slapping Mike, hard .

"No, because I know she doesn't have to worry about you mother fuckers-" Brenner hit him this time, and he could feel the blood coming from his brand new split lip. Mike glared at him.

"Knife?" Cheslav asked, hopeful.

"Yes." Brenner said.

"You guys suck at this." Mike spit. "Already bringing the knife out after one question. Stupid." God, he knew he'd regret all this talking back, but he was one hundred percent not in his right mind. He was freezing, his head felt like it was about to explode, he wasn't having a good time. He would not recommend.

"Coming into this we knew you'd be difficult." Brenner said. "You love my daughter-"

"She's not your daughter!" Mike yelled. "Is that what you're telling these people?"

"Cut him once. On the arm." Brenner ordered, and suddenly Mike's entire arm was stinging. He bit the inside of his mouth to keep from screaming in pain. "She is my daughter, child."

"She's just an experiment to you." Mike hissed, chest heaving. "You took her-"

"Again."

His arm stung even worse than before. A searing pain.

" Stop ." Mike cried out, squirming, trying to get out of the ropes.

"Then stop telling lies!" Brenner punched him in the face, hard enough to make his nose bleed, but it wasn't broken. He didn't think, at least.

"I'm not lying you piece of shit. "

" Again ." Brenner hissed. This time, he aimed for Mike's thigh, instead of cutting, he jabbed the knife into the side of Mike's thigh, close to the knee and Mike shrieked in pain.

All of a sudden, alarms started blaring and a voice came over Cheslav's radio.

"CREATURE HAS ESCAPED. REPEAT, CREATURE HAS ESCAPED. NEED ALL THE HELP WE CAN GET. OVER."

"Go help. I'll take it from here." Brenner told him. Leaving the knife, Cheslav ran out of the room.

Mike squeezed his eyes shut, tears slipping out easily. He heard Brenner moving around and heard the click of a gun. Mike tensed at the sound, and started trembling at the feel of the cool metal against his forehead.

"I don't want to kill you, Michael. I want to know where Eleven is. She's mine ."

"She's not yours. I'd rather die than tell you where she is." Mike fired back, shaking his head, not opening his eyes.

"She is MINE!" Brenner yelled.

Before Brenner could pull the trigger, or hit Mike again, or whatever he was going to do, the door slammed open.

Brenner dropped the gun, startled, and Mike- Mike, who was hardly in his right mind to know to do this- kicked the gun as hard as he could, considering he was tied to a chair. He thinks it may have went off when it hit the wall, but something- or someone- was barreling towards the two. Brenner was tackled to the ground before he knew it, and he was getting his face punched in.

"You sorry piece of shit !" the man above him yelled. "You're fucking insane!" Brenner tried his best to fight back, barely getting a few weak hits in, before the man stopped and grabbed Brenner by the collar.

While Brenner was getting his ass beat in front of him, Mike took the time to try and look at his injuries. His vision was still blurred to hell, but he could tell that none of it was good, and that was after the fact that he was in a lot of pain. A knife was jammed into his thigh, blood slowly seeping through his jeans. His left arm had too, deep gashes going the same way. Slanted, beginning on the outer side and going in. He wondered if they were deep enough to cause him to bleed out. Considering his luck, most likely.

He looked out at the sight before him, eyes crossing again as he tried to focus on who was in front of him and beating Brenner like there was no tomorrow. He heard the voice yelling, he knew it was familiar, but he could hardly remember his own name. He felt blood dripping from his nose, and he scrunched it up, which didn't help the pain and he let out a small noise. The mysterious man stopped when he heard it, and glanced back at Mike for a moment. All Mike knew was that the guy had a bushy ass beard.

"You're gonna pay for this." he heard the man hiss at Brenner, before lifting his head up and slamming him back down, knocking him out. "Piece of shit." he muttered as he stood, and rushed back over to Mike. "Hey kid, kid, look at me." Hopper said, tapping Mike's cheek. Mike furrowed his brows at the man.

"Wha- Hopper?" he slurred.

"Yeah kid, it's me." Hopper gave him a grin. "I'm not dead yet. And neither are you, can you tell me everywhere you're hurt?" he asked, using a different knife to cut the ropes.

"Ugh… what the fuck." Mike muttered. He rubbed at his eyes once his hands were free, successfully smearing blood on to his cheek. "Uhh, there's a… knife." Mike muttered. Hopper looked down, thinking that for whatever reason Mike was talking about the one in his hand, and then saw the one lodged into his thigh.

"Son of a bitch ." Hopper hissed. "What the fuck? Why are they doing this shit?"

"Want El." he muttered. "Wouldn't tell them. Talked back."

"Goddammit." Hopper huffed, glancing back at the door every few seconds. Mike was trembling so hard it was difficult for Hopper to cut the ropes on his legs without hurting him again, but somehow managed.

"M'cold."

"That's what chloroform will do to you." Hopper told him. "It'll wear off in a few hours." Mike just groaned, letting his head fall back. Hopper grabbed the towel that Cheslav had used earlier and used his knife to cut it, and wrapped it around Mike's leg, around the knife, as best he could, to help stop the bleeding. He couldn't take the knife out yet, not yet. He didn't want to risk the kid bleeding out from hitting an artery. That's the last thing they needed here. "I'm gonna get you somewhere warm as soon as I can, kid, okay?" Hopper told him. Mike groaned again. He took the rest of the towel and tied it around Mike's arm to help the bleeding to the cuts. They were deep, but they looked like they'd be fine. He wouldn't die from them.

After, Hopper poked his head out of the door and looked down each side of the hall. No sign of anyone, no noise. He picked up the flamethrower and put it on, making sure everything was where it was supposed to be and not flopping around, and went back to Mike.

"All clear." Hopper told him. Mike nodded and just sat there, staring at him. "Come on, kid." Hopper helped him up and he yelped when he put weight on his leg.

" Shit ." Mike whined. "Is this what Steve felt like all those times he got his ass beat?"

"Stop swearing." Hopper grunted, lifting the scrawny teen up a bit higher. "I know you're hurting kid, but you're gonna have to help me out a bit here."

"Yeah I'll try." Mike mumbled something under his breath that Hopper didn't catch, but ignored. Mike limped next to Hopper, leaning most of his weight on him, but he did try, Hopper will give him that.

It took around ten minutes for them to get out, and Hopper had no idea how they did it without getting caught by a guard, or running into the Demogorgon. Hopper dreaded that the most, because he'd have to literally drop Mike and use the flamethrower against it, and he really didn't want to do that.

Thankfully, he didn't, and he managed to get them out of the lab safely. Well, for the most part, they were safe. Mike was in a mess, but he was alive, and he'd be fine.


Forty-five minutes after Mike is kidnapped
The Wheeler's yard

Lucas was on his way back to his house, having gone to the Wheeler's to talk to Mike about something, when he saw her. Max was storming down the street towards the Wheeler's house.

"No one's home!" he called to her. She stopped in the driveway.

"What?" she called back. He jogged towards her and repeated.

"No one's home."

She let out a huff and stomped her foot like a three year old having a tempertanturm. And he'd seen many, with his sister, and Mike's little sister.

"Um, what's up?" Lucas asked her.

"Well, since you asked, my step father is the biggest fucking dick on this planet, and we all thought it was Billy. He got mad at me because I was listening to music and Billy's favorite song came on, and he started talking shit about him and my mom just stood there and let him. Just fucking stood there and let him talk shit about his dead son. What kind of bullshit is that? And Neil confessed and said that he just threw all of Billy's stuff away instead of putting it in storage like he said. Just threw it all in a dumpster and never looked back."

"That's fucked up."

"Right?" Lucas nodded in agreement.

"Uh, why'd you come to Mike's then?"

"He's like my best friend now and I was gonna make him take me to the pool." she told him. Lucas raised his eyebrows.

"The pool? Like, Steve's pool or the public pool?"

"Public, you idiot. Where Billy was a lifeguard. All the girls that were in love with him insisted that no one bothered his locker. Just leave it how he had it, you know?" Lucas nodded, but he did not, in fact, know that. "I want to break in and get something of his."

"You can't wait until summer?"

"I'm mad, and I want to do it." she replied. "I'm gonna do it, whether someone's with me or not, but someone has decided to just disappear today, so." she shrugged.

"I'll take you." Lucas offered. She eyed him. "I mean, we've rode together before, so…" he shrugged.

"Can I trust you to not get us caught?" she asked.

"Of course! You'd have to worry about Mike getting you caught. If you didn't know, Mike can barely walk straight, and would make the most noise."

"Like you do any better." she rolled her eyes. "But let's go."

She followed him to his bike, and it was a little tighter of a fit, but it worked out, and they were off.

It was dark when they arrived, and no one else was in sight.

"You have a flashlight on that thing don't you?" she asked him. He nodded, and turned the light on his bike on. It wasn't as bright as it used to be, but it did the job. She pulled a bobby pin out of her jacket pocket and started messing with the lock as Lucas kept watch.

"Got it!" she said, holding the padlock in her hand as the chains hit the ground with a loud clang . "Shit. Well, it's a good thing there's no one around I guess." Lucas snorted and shrugged.

"I guess."

They went inside the gate, closing it, and putting the chains back around it to make it seemed locked, in case someone did come by. Walking around the pool, Max cringed.

"I figured they'd like, cover the pool or something. That's what they did back in California during fall and winter."

"I don't know, I thought they did too. Maybe they just forgot or something this year." he shrugged.

"Well it's gross in there. Can't even see the bottom." Lucas nodded in agreement and they continued on.

The door to the locker room was harder to pick, because it was a normal door lock, but Max got it, and they went in. Lucas flipped a light switch and a single light came on, just barely brightening the room.

"It doesn't look like all of them are locked." Lucas said, crouching down to look at the bottom row.

"Yeah, it's winter. No one's working here now."

"No shit." he muttered.

She rolled her eyes and found the ones that were locked- there were three. Probably Billy's and Heather's lockers. She wasn't sure who the third one could be, but she shrugged it off and went to picking.

"Of course, the last fucking one I open is right." she huffed. Lucas watched her dig around in the locker until she came out with a little grin on her face and a hand holding a lighter. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"A lighter?" he asked. "There isn't anything better?"

"Hey!" she threw a towel at his face. "There's clothes and shit and a broken pair of sunglasses, so this is all I got. Plus, I can just refill it and keep using it, asshole." she grumbled, closing the locker and locking it again.

He doesn't say anything else, he just watches her lean against the rows of lockers and slides down it until she's sitting on the floor. He sits where he was standing, a foot or two away from her, and they sit silently. She flicks the lighter on and off for a while, that being the only sound, until,

"You know I-" Max started.

"I wanted to-" Lucas interrupted.

"Go ahead." they said together, and looked at each other. Lucas snorted and Max grinned at him, shaking his head.

"You go first." Lucas told her. She nodded.

"You know I've been trying to apologize." she started. "Not just to you, but mainly to you, you know?" Lucas nodded.

"Yeah, I know." he sighed. "I just… I don't know, I'm stubborn I guess. Didn't wanna hear it for a long time. Or say it. What I said the day we broke up for the last time still stands, to an extent. I'm sorry for being as… harsh as I was, because I didn't have to stoop that low, but I think now you know why I was the way I was that day." she nodded.

"I do, and no you didn't have to stoop so low, but I kinda deserved it. I was a bitch to you and Mike, and probably everyone else at one point." he just shrugged at that.

"I wouldn't call you a bitch."

"Because I'd beat your ass if you did, but that's not my point. I'm sorry for being controlling and breaking up with you for bullshit reasons. That's not how relationships are supposed to work."

"They're not, no, but no one really knows how they work, I guess. There's not some perfect way to be a couple."

"Actually, Mike and El are a pretty good one." Max snickered. Lucas rolled his eyes but laughed.

"They're not perfect either, but damn if their love isn't like a fairy tale. I swear it was love at first sight for them. Mike pretty much just shined a flashlight in El's face in the pouring rain and they stared at each other for like three minutes before anyone did anything." Max snorted.

"Really?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

"Nah, it was only for like thirty seconds because we were all shocked so…" he shrugged. She laughed.

"So, can we forgive and not necessarily forget?" she asked. He nodded and held out his hand.

"Friends?" he asked.

"Friends." she confirmed, shaking his hand. "Thanks for not trying to get me to do the spit thing you guys do-"

Before she could continue, there was a loud crash coming from the room next to them. They stood quickly.

"What the hell was that?" Lucas asked. Max shrugged and slowly started backing away, shaking her head.

"I don't know, but I don't want to stick around to find out-" she cut herself off with a scream when a giant form slammed its way through the door, the door nearly falling off its hinges. It stuck its long legs through the door and tried to pull itself through, but it was stuck for a moment.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" Lucas shrieked. "Oh hell no." he turned on his heel and grabbed Max, running for the locker door.

"What the hell IS THAT THING?" she yelled.

"I DON'T KNOW!"

Lucas let her go as they ran towards the gate, but Max was distracted, looking back to see what was chasing them. It looked like it was from the Upside Down, that's for sure, but it wasn't any Demogorgon or Demodog they'd ever seen, but a massive fucking spider , and that just made it worse. It meant it was faster, and could probably climb up a damn wall.

She didn't get a chance to look at it very long, because before she could register what was happening, she let out a shriek as she fell into the pool, the lighter flying out of her hand and onto the concrete surrounding the pool.

"You've gotta be shitting me!" she yelled when she reemerged.

"Oh shit, oh no, that's not good." Lucas exclaimed, turning around to see what happened. Thankfully, the spider was not coming for him. Unfortunately, it was after Max, but she was in the murky water, and the spider didn't seem to like the water.

Every time it touched the water, it jerked its leg back out of the water and hissed.

" Shit ." Lucas smacked his forehead, "MAX! GET TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE POOL!" he yelled to her and took off running towards the spider. It didn't pay him any mind, so he was able to get behind it without worrying about it turning on him. He spotted the lighter on the ground a few feet behind the spider, so he grabbed it and tucked it into his pocket. He took a deep breath and ran up behind the spider and kicked it, sending it tumbling into the pool. Then, he ran around to Max and helped her out of the water. They didn't look back this time, they just ran to the gate and undid the chains, rushing out and doing them up again, along with the lock, as if that would do anything against the massive spider. Fortunately, it didn't seem like they'd have to worry about it, because no matter how hard it tried, it just couldn't keep itself above the water- thrashing it's legs, water splashing out onto the concrete. But it sank deeper the harder it tried. They watched until it finally stopped moving, which did take a few minutes, but it did, and sank until they couldn't see it anymore.

"Well." Lucas said, taking the lighter out of his pocket. "That was fun. Here's your lighter."

"How'd you get it?" she asked ignoring the first part. She took it from him and flicked it, and it lit.

"It just flew out of your hand when you fell I guess." he shrugged. "I saw it before I kicked the spider in and grabbed it."

"Oh, well, thanks." she gave him a small smile. She was shivering violently as she looked up at him.

"Oh shit, here." he shrugged his jacket off and put it around her shoulders. "I know it won't help much right now but it's better than nothing." he told her. "Let's get you back to my house, you can warm up there." She nodded and he picked up his bike.

"This is gonna be a story to tell, huh?" Max asked as they rode away from the pool.

"Yeah, what should we call this thing? A demospider?"

"I mean, it works." she chuckled. "A fucking demospider. What's next?"


One hour after Mike is kidnapped, ten minutes after he is rescued by Hopper

"Just sitting here is doing nothing." Steve said as he looked at the lab through binoculars. The four were literally sitting in the trees, watching for any sign of movement at the lab, but saw nothing. They'd been sitting there for an hour now, for what, Steve didn't know. "They could be torturing him in there and we're just sitting in the damn trees."

"Well, if you'd look more closely, you'd see movement out there, ass hat." Dustin said, throwing a stick at him.

"Wait what?" Steve put the binoculars back up to his eyes so fast he almost gave himself a black eye. It took him a minute or so to see what Dustin was talking about, but sure enough, there was a figure moving towards the fence around the building.

"Who the hell?" he muttered. He tossed the binoculars into a bag and scrambled down the side of the tree. He grabbed the bag on his way down and the others followed after him.

"That's Mike." Dustin said. "And some big dude is pretty much carrying him."

"Well let's not just stand here!" Erica huffed, throwing her hands in the air. "There's a hole in the fence down there, I'm sure that's where they're heading." she told them, pointing.

"Shit." Steve took off running towards the hole in the fence, and the rest of the group followed closely. "HEY!" he yelled as they got closer. "MIKE!"

"Harrington?" a familiar voice called back. Steve ducked under the hole in the fence and pointed at the remaining three.

"Stay there." he told them and rushed toward Mike and the person carrying him. As he got closer, he realized it was Hopper . " Hopper ?" he asked, eyebrows pinched together in confusion.

"Hey Steve!" Mike waved his arm at him.

"Ignore him, he was knocked out with chloroform, tortured for a few minutes, and doesn't really know what's going on."

"I do know what's going on!" Mike slurred, head falling forward for a second. "I got my ass beat because I talked back to the Russian. Steve, is this how you felt?" Mike asked seriously. "I have a knife stuck in my leg, Steve."

"What the hell ?"

"A knife Steve." Mike said, nodding as if agreeing with himself.

"I, yeah, I see that."

"It doesn't feel good."

"You wanna help me get him somewhere warm before he freezes to death? Look at the kid, he's vibrating like a damn chihuahua."

"I'm cold."

"Yeah, come on. We've got a lot of talking to do." Steve said, going to Mike's other side and helping him walk along with Hopper. "ROBIN! GO START THE CAR!"

After ten minutes of hauling Mike's scrawny ass to the car, they made it. Dustin and Erica had gone with her to search for the blankets Robin said she kept inside it, and had them ready to cover Mike the second he was in the van.

"I can't fucking see ." he grumbled, flopping back against the door as everyone else squeezed in. He had his legs stretched out in the back seat over Robin and Dustin's laps.

"Stop saying fuck." Hopper said as he took off down the road. He hadn't driven in months, so he was a little out of practice.

"He's not gonna stop saying it." Dustin said. "Why has he still got a knife embedded in his leg?"

"Because I don't want to risk cutting an artery and him bleeding out." Hopper said.

"So we're taking him to the hospital?" Erica asked.

"No. We're going to a pharmacy so that you can go inside and get supplies we need and then we're going to Murray's."

"Do you have money?" Dustin asked. "Cause I'm broke."

"Do I look like I have money." Hopper deadpanned.

"True."

"I have some." Erica said, reaching in her bag and pulling out a wad. "Hopefully this is enough."

"I'd hope so, damn." Dustin muttered.

Hopper came to an abrupt stop in the parking lot of the pharmacy.

"You need to get rubbing alcohol, some towels or rags, the best painkillers they have on the shelves, some kind of ointment or whatever to put on the cuts, medical tape, and a lot of gauze. And a couple bottles of water." he told Steve, who nodded.

"Oh, are you guys going inside?" Mike asked. "Cause I want something to drink."

"What do you want?" Erica asked him.

"Uhhh water." he said after a minute. She made a face at him but nodded, and got out of the car with Steve.

"And hurry up!" Hopper yelled. Then he turned in his seat to look at the three in the back. "You think you two can help me get him in the way back?"
"Like the trunk?" Dustin asked.

"If you wanna call it that. There's space for him to stretch his leg out and for me to do what I need to do."

"What are you gonna do?"

"I need to get the knife out." Hopper said.

"Uh uh." Mike shook his head. "This knife is staying in me until I know I won't die." Mike stated.

"You're not gonna die." Hopper huffed. "I'll be glad when you're in your right mind again."

"He hasn't been in his right mind in a while, Hop." Dustin quipped. "He's been convinced you were a ghost and haunting his house by moving magnets on the fridge."

"I didn't say he was a ghost , Dustin ." Mike said, smacking him on the shoulder. "I said he was in the Upside Down like Will was."

"Well, I have been trying to contact him." Hopper said. "I was in the Upside Down." Dustin and Robin stared at him for a moment while Mike picked at his fingernails, squirming uncomfortably.

"You were in the Upside Down, for seven months?" Dustin squeaked. Hopper nodded. " How ?"

"A long story. We'll worry about that later, but for now, let's get him in the back."

By the time they got the teen in the back, Erica and Steve had come back out.

"Harrington, do you know how to get to Murrays place?" Hopper asked.

"Uh, no."

" Shit , well, I'll give you directions." he told him which interstate he needed to get on and turned his attention back to Mike as everyone got settled in their seats. He was sipping his water. "Hey, kid, I'm gonna clean you up some, okay?" Hopper told him. Mike nodded and put the top back on his water.

They'd bought a small case of water so that it wasn't too cold for him, so Hopper broke one out and opened it. He soaked a rag with it and started wiping some of the blood off his face. Mike got this blank look in his eyes as he stared ahead, and once Hopper cleaned the blood from his face, he tapped his cheek.

"You good, Wheeler?"

"Yeah." Mike nodded. "You look weird without your mustache." he told him. Hopper rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well, it's kinda hard to shave in the Upside Down." he retorted.

"Oh." Mike nodded. "My head hurts."

"I'd be concerned if it wasn't."

"So you're not concerned now?" Mike asked, furrowing his brows.

"Oh no, I'm very concerned." Hopper told him. "But you're gonna be alright and we'll get you fixed up in no time."

"Oh. Thank you." Mike told him.

"Of course, kid."

Hopper cleaned up the cuts on his arms, and they definitely needed stitches, but he was going to do his best for now and clean it with both water and rubbing alcohol- which Mike did not like, and sobered him up a bit, and wrapped them tightly with gauze.

Hopper was not looking forward to taking the knife out, and was almost tempted to wait until they got to Murray's, but that was still a ways away, and the sooner the better is what he learned.

"Alright, hey kid?" Hopper looked up at Mike. "You with me?"

"Uh huh." Mike nodded.

"Are you still cold?" he nodded again. "There any more blankets up there?" he called. A thick, fluffy blanket was thrown to him, and he wrapped it around Mike's shoulders. "Alright, there we go. I'm gonna need you to bite down on this." he held up a rolled up stack of gauze. Mike made a face. "I've gotta take the knife out and I don't want you bite your tongue off." Mike's eyes widened but he opened his mouth and let Hopper put it there. He bit down on it and Hopper took the ripped up towel off his leg- which was now nearly soaked in blood.

"Okay, okay. Henderson! Uh, and whatever your last name is." Hopper barked.

"Buckley."

"What?" Dustin turned to look at him.

"I need you two to turn around and face me since you're in the back, and hand me anything you need. Also, did any of you learn where arteries are in school?"

"Yeah, depending on how long the knife is, it should be okay to take out." Robin said. "It's not completely buried in his leg, but most of the main arteries are up higher in the thigh and closer to the inside of it." Hopper stared at her for a second. "What? I go to the library when I get bored and read random books."

"Okay." Hopper nodded. He took his knife and cut Mike's jeans around his knee, giving Hopper room to work with. The wound itself definitely didn't look too great, and not just because there was a knife in it. "Alright, hand me another wad of gauze and someone give him a hand to squeeze."

Robin handed him the gauze and Dustin held his hands out to Mike, who took them, slightly confused. He wasn't confused when Hopper counted to three and yanked the knife out, though.

"Mother fucker !" Mike yelled around the gauze in his mouth, squeezing the shit out of Dustin's hands. Mike rocked forward a few times as Hopper worked.

The wound wasn't pouring blood like Hopper thought it would, but it was bleeding, and there'd definitely be a few blood stains on the carpet. As soon as he took the knife out, he put the wad of gauze against it and applied pressure. Mike whimpered and squeezed his eyes shut.

"I'm sorry kid." Hopper told him. "I need another was but of the wider gauze." Hopper said to Robin, who quickly handed it to him. "And now tape." she ripped off a few pieces and he wrapped the gauze up tightly with the medical tape, slightly relieved that blood wasn't immediately soaking through the gauze.

Mike spit the gauze out and stared at Hopper.

"You suck ." he slurred, before promptly passing out against the window, hands falling from Dustin's and into his lap.

"Hop!" Dustin shrieked. "Oh my God, did he die? Oh my God."

"He just passed out, Jesus Christ, Henderson." Hopper shook his head. "I figured it'd happen soon, I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner ."

Hopper carefully moved Mike so that he was lying down, and put one of the regular sized towels he didn't use under Mike's head for a pillow. He made sure that the blankets were tucked around him and leaned against the back window, running a hand through his hair.

"So…." Steve started, after a few minutes of silence. "How long is this drive?"


Murray's Warehouse

Murray pulled his usual shit when they arrived, making them look at the camera and ask questions before letting them in.

"Why didn't you say there was an injured child? I'd have let you in immediately!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

"Oh shut it, Baldy."

"It's too late for a six year old to be out, what are you doing here?"

"I'm eleven, you bald headed bastard." she huffed, and sat down in a chair. He made a face and nearly fell when he realized that it was Hopper who was helping carry the injured kid.

" Jim ?" he gasped. "I thought you were dead!"

"Nope. Where can we put him?" he gestured to the kid.

"Uh, on the couch." he pointed. Hopper and Steve put Mike on the couch, and Hopper lifted Mike's legs and sat under them, elevating them slightly.

"Jim-I-Where have you been ?" Murray asked, sitting across from him.

"The Upside Down." he replied, leaning back on the couch, finally able to relax a bit.

"You say it so casually." Dustin said, making a face.

"I'm tired, Henderson, give me a break."

"Understandable."

"What should we do?" Steve asked. "Do we call Mrs. Byers?" Hopper ran a hand through his hair.

"I don't know." he sighed. "I… I want to see her and El as soon as possible, but… what time is it?"

"Going on eleven thirty." Dustin replied, checking his watch.

Hopper bit his lip, there was a slight chance that Joyce could be up- it took her awhile to fall asleep back before July happened, but now… he didn't know.

"One of you call her." he decided. "If everyone thinks I'm dead, well… I don't think me calling out of the blue would be a good thing."

"I got you. Hey Murray, do you have any food? If so, you should make Hopper something because who knows what he's been eating."

"Oh God, please , I need something other than deformed rabbit and deer." everyone cringed at that, but didn't ask questions. Murray got up to make him food, and Dustin called Joyce. It took two tries, but she eventually answered.

"Hello? Who is this?" Joyce asked, voice rough from sleep.

"Mrs. Byers! Hi, it's Dustin!"

"Dustin? Why are you still awake? It's late."

"Well, we have a few problems and a surprise for you guys and we require your assistance as soon as possible."

"What's going on?"

"I'd rather not say on the phone. Know what I mean?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows even though she couldn't see him.

"Oh. It can't wait until tomorrow? We were planning on leaving to come your way."

"Uh no, I don't think so. We like, really need your assistance- ask Will, if a party member requires assistance-"

"Yeah I know. Who are you with right now?"

"Oh we're at Murrays." he replied. "The rest of the Scoops and I plus two others plus Murray himself."

"Even Erica?"

"Even Erica."

"Jesus Christ, Dustin, why do you have the poor girl out so late?"

"Have you met this child? She won't take no for an answer Mrs. Byers!"

"Good point. Is it really that important?"

"Mrs. Byers. I can tell that if you had already been awake for a while that you'd be realizing what I'm telling you, so I'm going to narrow it down and I'm sorry if I seem disrespectful but… bad men. And that's just one problem."

"You've gotta be shitting me."

"Nope, now, get our lil buddies awake and get your asses to Murray's as soon as possible. And maybe bring Will's friend Luis, we might need him."

When El and Will visited last month, they brought Luis along, and he told them about his powers, and showed them to them.

"We'll be there in an hour."