Chapter 21: Cramming And Planning
"MONSTERS exist?" Robin incredulously attempted to confirm the news they just dropped on them. She knew that she, Jean and Erica were clearly in the dark when it came to the information, as per their matching faces that held a mixture of disbelief and fright.
"Yup." Lucas gave a nod, popping the 'P' at the end.
Jean gulped harshly, recalling what she'd seen down in the Russian facility, what she'd sensed upon seeing that rift. All she could think of was how right she was when she deduced there was something sinister on that other side of the wall. But still, it was a lot to process. It was a nightmare that went beyond their reality. Even if their reality had people with superpowers, it was still too much.
"So you're saying that the real creature is in an alternate universe?" The redhead queried, her eyes calculative.
"Yup."
"And the one running around this town is just a proxy?" She continued, piecing everything together. So the monster was exerting its influence from all the way beyond that doorway. Jean wondered if it had telepathic abilities just like hers, but she was sure it was amplified and much stronger than hers if it can exert its control people from such vast distances.
This time, it was Mike who confirmed her questioning statement. "Yes. The Mind Flayer, it built this thing in Hawkins, to stop El, to kill her and pave a way into our world." He declared, and he watched as both Jean and Hopp's faces grew grim.
"And it almost did. That was just one tiny piece of it." Nancy added.
"How big is this thing?" Hopper asked, wondering how much horrors his daughter suffered through while he was gone.
Gulping, Jonathan Byers remembered the gigantic creature. "It's big. Thirty feet, at least." He declared.
"Yeah. It sorta destroyed your cabin. Sorry." Lucas hesitantly said to Hopper, grimacing as he did.
'So, no home to go back to. Cool.' Jean sarcastically thought to herself, crossing her arms in front of her as she stood between Maxine and Steve.
Steve -whose brain took a longer amount of time to comprehend what was going on- raised his arm in question. "Okay, so, just to be clear, this this big fleshy spider thing that hurt El, it's some kind of gigantic weapon?" He asked, and Hopper was rolling his eyes at the repetition.
"Yes." With a hand scratching her forehead, Nancy nodded.
"But instead of, like, screws and metal, the Mind Flayer made its weapon with melted people." He said in disbelief.
Jean cringed as her imagination took her to an unpleasant imagery. But she was yet to know that her mental picture of the creature was nothing near as horrifying as it was in real life.
"Yes, exactly."
Steve gave an incredulous nod, glancing to an equally disgusted Jean. "Yeah, okay. I, Yeah, I'm just making sure."
"Are we sure this thing is still out there, still alive?"
Max nodded in confirmation to Joyce's question, sighing loudly. "El beat the shit out of it, but, yeah, it's still alive." She replied, and watched as hope gleamed in Will's eyes.
"But if we close the Gate again-" He began, and the younger redhead was quick to continue his sentence. "-We cut the brain off from the body."
Jean found a small difficulty trying to catch up with their plan, but after recalling their prior explanation of last year's events -it being Will's possession and their way to end the Mind Flayer's invasion- she was beginning to make sense of things.
"And kill it. Theoretically." Lucas finished, drawing her attention back to them.
"Yoo-hoo! Yoo-hoo!"
They all looked up to the bearded man dressed in shorts to find him speed-walking towards them, waving his arms at them with number of papers in hand.
"Who the hell is this guy?"
~~~
The teenage telepath was seated atop one of the plastic tables in the food court, her legs swinging as she saw the man with glasses rummaging through the yellow papers he had and then slamming one of them on the table for Hopper to see.
"Okay, this is what Alexei called 'the hub'. Now, the hub takes us to the vault room." He said, pointing with his finger to where they needed to go.
With a focused nod, Hopp leaned forwards. "Okay, where's the Gate?"
The curious/nosy Erica walked up to the group of adults, spying an eye to see where he was pointing.
"Right here. I don't know the scale on this, but I think it's fairly close to the vault room, maybe 50 feet or so." The man said, only to be corrected by a scoffing Erica.
"More like 500." She said, shaking her head at him.
Seeing the skeptical looks they were sending the dark haired girl, Jean interjected to confirm her statement. "Yeah, and it's packed with security." Jim's eyes grew wide as he looked up to her. "And you know this, how?"
"We were down there." Steve nonchalantly answered, shrugging his shoulders.
Jean's nose pinched in fear when she saw Hopper's seething face. "You were down there?!" He yelled, his voice so loud that Murray coiled back covering his ears. He was now pissed because he realized that not only Eleven but Jean was also putting herself in danger while he wasn't around.
"Yup. All five of us." Robin answered when nobody did, pointing her finger at Dustin, Erica, Jean, Steve and herself.
Scrunching his fair brows, Jim turned to Murray in confusion. "Didn't Alexei say it was an impenetrable fortress?" He asked in disbelief, only to see the other man shrug.
With the reminder of their departed friend, 'May he rest in peace', Murray thought in grief.
It was brief, but Jean unintentionally read the bearded man's mind for that exact moment. Finding out about the death of his friend so recently, it made sense to her why he was so on edge.
"I'm sorry for your loss." She said to him, her face crestfallen. She watched as his eyes grew incredibly wide beneath his thick rimmed glasses.
Jim Hopper chose to ignore the questioning glances Murray sent him and his daughter. "So, how did you manage to get out unscathed?" He asked the group.
"Unscathed?" Steve repeated. He looked offended, gesturing for the mustache-donning man to see his wrecked face.
Robin and Dustin smirked. "With Jean's badassery."
Mike dedicated a doubtful look to his friend.
Shaking her head, the youngest Sinclair got back to the point, slamming her hand on the table that the map rested on. "The point is that you can't just waltz in there like it's commie Disneyland."
Exhaling sharply, Murray held the urge to curse out the child. "I'm sorry, who are you?"
"Erica Sinclair. Who are you?" She bit back.
"Murray Bauman." He answered, looking around him, silently asking the people around him why she was being this sassy towards him.
"Listen, Mr. Bunman, I'm not trying to tell you how to do things, but I've been down in that shithole for more than 24 hours. And with all due respect, you do what this man tells you, you're all gonna die."
Jean held back a chortle.
"I'm sorry, why is this four-year-old speaking to me?" Murray asked, having had enough of Erica's disrespective attitude.
Said girl glared up at him, her face furious. "Um, I'm ten, you bald bastard!"
"Erica!" Lucas scolded, walking up to her and dragging her away from the seething older man.
Getting up from the table, Jean made her way to Jim and Murray, her hands going to fix her wrinkled shirt. "I'm sorry. Despite the sassy backtalk, she's just trying to help." She apologized, followed by Dustin.
"She's right. You're all gonna die, but you don't have to. Excuse me. Sorry, may I?" The curly haired boy said, his hand extending to draw on the map.
"Please." Murray sarcastically said.
Not minding the man's tone, Dustin pulled out a pencil and started explaining how to get there safely. "Okay, see this room here? This is a storage facility. There's a hatch in here that feeds into their underground ventilation system. That will lead you to the base of the weapon. It's a bit of a maze down there, but between me and Erica, we can show you the way."
Hopper, who was still trying to recover from the initial shock of them entering the death trap head on, gave both kids a patronizing look. "You can show us the way?"
"Don't worry, you can do all the fighting and the dangerous hero shit, and we'll just be your navigators." Dustin said, smiling up at the man.
"No." Jim retorted, shaking his head. "Nope."
~~~
Not long had passed, Jean and Eleven were curled up on a bench in the mall's decorative indoor garden, fingers intertwined. "How are you feeling?" The older girl asked, she was more than concerned for El.
"Better." Eleven muttered. She knew that at this moment, she could no longer fight, physically nor mentally. However, if she was sufficiently satiated, her physical toll could be alleviated. And although her body had grown accustomed to the recurrent use of her powers, being able to go longer durations without succumbing to complete exhaustion, the past few days have proven to be too much.
Jean shook her head. "No, how are you feeling? You must be terrified with this thing coming after you." She said, her voice fading at the end.
Eleven pursed her lips and looked down to the polished floor. Her downcast expression made Jean's heart ache. "I'm sorry." She choked out.
Bewildered at the apology, El looked up to Jean, her dark eyebrows furrowed. "Why?"
The tall girl gulped harshly, her eyes sweeping over the bruises on Eleven's neck. "For not being there for you when you needed me. I mean you helped me out when I had literally no one." She released a humorless breathy chuckle.
"You're here now." The younger girl reassured, squeezing Jean's hand and making her smile. She wore a matching grin.
Jean didn't speak of it but she hoped, she wished that she had the strength to protect El and the ones she cared about. She cursed herself for her own powerlessness, she hated being this weak.
'Isn't there anything that I can do?' She frustratedly wondered.
A comfortable silence then instilled between the two girls for a couple of minutes.
"Jean?" The brown haired girl began, catching her attention. "Yeah?"
Eleven exhaled sharply through her nose. She couldn't forget what happened when she visited Jean in the mental void and accidentally entered her mind. She could only think back to that frightening crimson cloud of flames that came rushing towards them, and Jean had only the option to push her out of her head to guarantee her safety. El had seen a great deal in her life time. But nothing like that.
She nervously met Jean's gaze. "When I looked for you, in your head... That thing, what-" El's question was interrupted by Robin and Dustin who sprinted to them, abruptly halting.
"Come on, Jean." The curly haired boy said, a little out of breath.
Jean tilted her her head in confusion. "Come where?"
Robin smiled widely at her. "We're going to Dustin's Cerebro."
Do you know the feeling when something happens and suddenly you question whether you're dreaming or or not? That's what Jean abruptly felt like. "His-his what?" She stuttered, forgetting what they were saying in the first place.
"My radio tower. We're gonna help Hopper navigate from someplace else." Dustin declared.
Jean gulped. Her green eyes looking between El and the two Scooper Troopers. "Sorry. You'll have to leave without me." She said, and she smiled nervously when she saw Dustin's face falling.
"What?! Are you shitting me?" He yelled in disappointment.
Erica walked up to them, curiously glancing at the frowning Dustin. "What's wrong?" She asked.
"The Scoops Troop is disbanding." Dustin mumbled, his shoulders slumping as he made his way to the mall's exit.
Jean could only giggle when she saw him kicking a trashcan on his way out, cursing. She stood up when she saw the boy she liked approaching her.
Steve dragged himself to his feet, the blood on his skin drying up and beginning to crust off his skin. "Hey," He said with a smile, jiggling the car keys he had in his hand.
Jean looked up at the lean boy, her heart swelling. "Be safe, okay?"
His smile turned upside down. "You're not coming with?" He asked with an adorable downcast look.
Jean shook her head, almost dejectedly. She allowed her irises to travel back to her sister who was now talking with Max. "No, I'm staying with El. She's been through hell."
Steve fanned a hand through his hair, which still looked glorious after spending more than 24-hours in that underground hell hole. "Haven't we all." He mused, his smile returning.
"Steve!" Robin shouted from all the way of the mall's threshold, wanting him to hurry up.
He sighed, his eyes closing in mild frustration. "Just a second!" he yelled back. Once opening them, Steve's brown eyes lingered on Jean's for a moment and he did his best to push the flashes of their recent encounter in the bathroom back inside his mind; there would be enough time for that after they won, Steve reassured himself.
As if she heard his thoughts (and she probably did) Jean smiled up at him, her hand slipping into his. She got close to him and quickly planted a smile on his cheek. "I'll see you later." She softly said.
Her action, proximity and soft look all collectively prompted his stutter. "Y-yeah, I'll-I'll see you." He nodded, smiling like an idiot.
"God, either you make out and get him out of the friendzone already, or you go to the GODDAMN RADIO!" Murray Bauman who watched the whole ordeal, shouted in an extremely loud volume. His words succeeded in making the two jump back from each other.
Both Steve and Jean blushed once they'd noticed that every and each set of eyes were focused on them.
It was a curse to see this clearly, Murray thought, shaking his head.
Clearing her throat, Jean tore her gaze from the ground, a nervous grin decorating her lips. "Be careful."
"Yeah, you too." Steve said. He flinched once he saw Hopper sneaking up behind him, cocking the big rifle in his hand threateningly. "Jesus! Will you leave already?" Hopp cautioned.
The teenage boy nodded readily, rushing away. "Yes, sir." He sternly said, but not before turning back to send Jean a wink. Laughter broke over Jean's lips, and she stared as he walked out the door into the summer air.
After they left, Jean caught up with what was going on. Apparently while she was too busy talking with El, they'd come up with a plan; the adults would head underground to the Russian base and close the rift, and one group would navigate from the radio tower on Weathertop, while the other would watch the rest of the kids and keep El safe. Simple, right?
The redhead sat in one of the benches, not too far away from Eleven and Maxine as they talked. Murray was explaining the paranoid security measures of his safe house to a very confused Nancy and Jonathan. Lucas, Mike and Will were off organizing through a bag filled of fireworks?
Jean paused, tossing a look over her shoulders to see the Chief of Police who was wearing a green and pink patterned shirt. "Hey." Jean held a smile, even though the world felt like it was about to end, she couldn't help but feel the immense comfort in his present.
Taking in his swollen red face, and busted lips, Jean winced. "Well, you look like shit." She commented, but she knew she must have looked like a mess, as well. Sweat soaked into her skin, bruised face from the Russian officer's smack, and the palor of her skin from all the blood she didn't even know they drew from her system.
"Look who's talking." Hopper let the sentence drop off, his mustache bending with a grin.
The corner of Jean's lips lifted, her eyes turning glossy. She finally allowed herself some vulnerability now that she knew that she didn't have to be the adult in the situation. "I missed you." She blurted.
Hopper nodded, before wrapping his thick arms around his daughter. "Missed you, too, kid." He affirmed. He and she both seemed to have needed that hug because it lasted for a while. After letting go, Hopper began to nervously rub his chin.
"You know-" He began and Jean tentatively listened. "I called this guy I know, has some connections. Once this is all over, I'm gonna ask him to finalize the adoption papers." He declared, referring to Doctor Sam Owens. Hopefully, once he'd helped save the world one more time, the doctor wouldn't hesitate to do him another favor.
"Adoption?" Jean repeated, eyes widening a bit in surprise.
"If-if that's okay with you."
"No-I mean, yeah, I'd love to." She shook her head. "But aren't I too old for that?" She asked, anxiously clenching and unclenching her fists. She didn't know her exact date of birth, but she was definitely somewhere between seventeen and eighteen. Didn't that mean it was too late for that?
"You can't be too old to have a family." Hopp instantaneously replied, a soft smile on his mustache-draped lips. "You and El, you're my family, Jean."
Jean's lower lip trembled, vision starting to get blurry from the happy tears that threatened to spill. She didn't know how she got so lucky as to find people who unconditionally loved and cared for her. Without any other words, she jumped forward and wrapped her arms around Jim's torso, hugging him one more time. The smile from earlier never left his cheeks as he affectionately patted her on the back.
Once they parted, Hopper exhaled sharply, his blue eyes on Jean's green ones. "Look at for each other, alright?" He urged, his tone fluttering with desperation.
He was scared; not for his own life, and while he should be, because he was heading into a Russian death trap. He was scared because he knew he wouldn't be able to withstand the thought of losing the two daughters he had. He couldn't handle the hurt for a second time.
"You got it, Chief." She replied with, nodding with conviction.
El wouldn't get hurt. Not on her watch. She wouldn't lose her family.
Not for the second time around.
Heat hung low in the air outside Starcourt like fog. Mike and Jean were carrying Jean, El's arms slinging atop the two tall people's shoulders. The rest of the Griswold family rushed to the car.
Max pulled the car door open, but froze when she saw Eleven's weeping wound. "El, you're bleeding. Are you okay?" She asked, and El just gave her a pained nod.
"Here. Lay down."
Once she secured Eleven in the back, leg stretched, Jean squeezed next to the group of kids. Her knees pressed up against Max's and Mike's as she sat in the middle of them. "Put your seat belts on." She instructed them.
Mike rolled his eyes while the other redhead have her a look that literally said, 'Seriously?'. Jean gave a sharp nod of confirmation.
"I don't know about this Mind Flayer, but I can guarantee that he hasn't killed more people than car accidents have." She affirmed, shrugging.
Max had to hold back a breathy chuckle before she complied. "Fine."
Seeing as the car wouldn't start after a whole minute, the people in the back began to get worried. "What's wrong?" Lucas asked.
Nancy vigorously shook her head, her shaky hands turning the keys harder. "I don't, I don't know."
Five minutes have passed with Nancy getting frustrated by the second, while Jean only grew anxious, the hairs on the back of her neck on end.
"Come on!" Mike's older sister screamed, banging on the the car wheel. Seeing her aggravated condition, Jonathan brought a comforting hand to her shoulder. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Just stop, stop!Pop the hood." He said, unlocking the door and getting out.
The tall redhead didn't feel like it was a good idea.
Jean's premonitory thoughts were confirmed once they'd heard the aggressive sound of a car roaring from across the parking lot. She jumped at the sound that rendered in the air.
Turning her head, Jean's eyes were attacked by the bright headlights radiating from a car not too far from them. With a gasp, she recognized the vehicle, even though it was a wrecked mess, she knew who that dark blue Camaro belonged to. Her heart was in her throat as she sat by Eleven, eyes glued to find Billy's raging form through the small square window of the car.
"Billy?" She muttered under her breath.
"Back in the mall! Back in the mall!" Nancy yelled, pulling the station wagon's door open.
"Go! Go, go, go!" Jonathan frantically uttered, ushering for the kids to hurry and get back inside the presumably safe mall.
Once their feet hit the pavement, the party rushed back, gathering together as they stared at Billy warningly revving his engine. Jean was right behind the kids, dashing for the entrance, but she stopped for a moment to turn her head around, her untamed red hair flipping at the abrupt motion. Her eyes locked once again on the distant Camaro in the dark carpark and her heart throbbed.
With a shuddering breath, she ran inside after hearing Nancy screaming for her to get inside.
A/N:CLIFFHANGER DUN DUN DUUUUUH!Hope you enjoyed this one! Let me know what you think