Us.
Mike
1984, September 27,
"Do you understand what you did wrong?" Mrs. Deed, their gym teacher asked.
Mike rolled his eyes, but nodded all the same.
"Your lucky Troy didn't want to call his parents because I would have to call yours and this would be the sixth time in the last four months.
Mike said nothing only looked away.
Mrs. Deed shook her head disappointed, "You know Michael your one of the best students according to Mr. Clarke. What happened to the smart boy who loved A.V. club?"
"Nothing," Mike said looking down, "Nothing happened."
"If that's what you want to believe," Mrs. Deed said, "You're free to go then."
Mike got up happily and opened the door to the hallway and started down it.
As he walked he looked up to see Troy talking to another one of his friends and Mike was happy to see his cheek from where he had slapped him across the face was still red.
Both boys looked up at him and Mike just looked back not scared of what they could do to him now, he had seen far, far worse.
After a moment they looked back down and away from him. "Mouth breather," Mike said under his breath as he walked pass them and pushed the door open and was hit with warm air laced with the beginnings of autumn.
"There you are," Dustin said and joined him along with Lucas and Will as they walked to their bikes.
"What happened?" Will asked.
"You were there, I slapped that asshole across the face," Mike answered.
"But what did he say to you?" Lucas asked.
Mike let out a breath. Today had been dodgeball day, a day they all hated since they were the fisrt to be hit and just have to sit on the sidelines watching, bored out of their minds until the bell.
Mike had ended up on the opposite team as his friends, the same one as Troy. He had been doing just fine with ignoring him but of course Troy couldn't keep his mouth shut.
"So what are you going to do now that your little freak girlfriend isn't here to protect you now?"
Mike had ignored him, but of couse he couldn't just stop.
"Whatever happened to that little freak anyway? Did she go back to the hell hole she came out of? Or did she go back to the freak show? You know because that's where frea-"
Mike had dropped the ball he had been holding and walked over to the other boy until he stood right in his face.
"What did you just say?"
"You heard me," Troy said, "Your little freak-"
His words were cut off as Mike hit him across the face as hard as he could.
Troy was so surprised that he just stood there, his eyes wide.
"If you ever say anything like that about her again it will be your other arm in a cast!" Mike said, his voice low and he was happy to see the fear in his face now. It was an empty threat of course but Troy didn't know that and no one ever talked about El like that, not when she had saved hawkings from the Demogorgon. The feeling of triumph didn't last long as Mrs. Deed grabbed his arm a moment later and pulled him away.
"He really said that?" Will asked.
"He deserved it," Lucas said as they rounded the corner to where the bike rack was.
"You're not in trouble?" Dustin asked.
"Troy didn't rat me out or anything and he didn't call his parents."
"You got lucky," Will said.
"No, he got lucky," Mike said unlocking his bike and got on.
"Mike…" Dustin said.
"What?" Mike said.
"Nothing," Dustin said finally after looking at him for a long moment.
They rode in silence, Will splitting off first, then Lucas but Dustin followed after him.
Mike biked up his driveway and turned to see Dustin do the same.
"You missed your stop," Mike said getting off his bike.
"I think your missing something," Dustin said.
"What are you talking about?"
"Come on don't try that bullshit on me, we're all your friends and we all know that your still missing El."
"You don't know what you're talking about," Mike said opening the garage and walked his bike in.
"You know we all were her friends, we were all there when she….killed that Demogorgon. We all have to sit in that same classroom where she…" Dustin trailed off a moment before he went on, "So don't act like your the only one hurting."
Mike had frozen up at his words, "It's different," he said under his breath.
"What?" Dustin asked unable to hear him.
Mike turned back to Dustin, dropping his bike. "It's different! We… we were different than friends."
Dustin looked at him surprised.
Mike closed his eyes a moment before shaking his head, "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to snap I ...I just miss her."
" I know, " Dustin said.
Mike nodded but knew he never could, no one knows what it was like losing her right in front of his own eyes, what she meant to him even in those few days he knew her. Yes, he knew that he was torturing himself every night for the slightest chance that El could be alive, just waiting to be saved but he didn't care. To him she was like a drug that he could never get over.
"I'll see you tomorrow for D&D," Mike said.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow," Dustin said and got back on his bike.
Mike watched him bike away before he hit the button for the garage door and went into the house.
"How was school today?" His mom asked as Mike walked past her heading for the basement.
"Fine, PE was great," Mike replied as he opened the door and started down the stairs.
"Mike?" His mom called looking after him, but just shook her head, "Teens," she said under her breath.
Mike grabbed his walkie talkie and went over to the fort he had made for El and sat on the floor.
He let out a breath before he turned it on. Static rang out around him just like it did every day.
Mike hit the button and the static was muted for a moment.
"Hey, El.. It's day 294. Today was a harder one without you. It's funny sometimes it's just a normal day and I only think about you when I have to sit in Mr. Clarke's classroom. But other days I can't stop thinking about you…" Mike trailed off closing his eyes for a long moment, letting go of the talk button and the static once again filled the silence.
"Mike?"
Mike looked up and for a split second El stood next to the fort. But her hair was curly and she wore dark jeans and a blue t-shirt. But a breath later she was gone and he knew it couldn't really be her.
"Mike time to do your homework," he heard his mom call from upstairs.
"Coming!" Mike called back as he stood up turning off the walkie talkie and let it fall to the floor. Maybe it wasn't her, but when he did find her, it wasn't a if like with his friends because he would find her. And when he did he wouldn't let anything happen to her ever again.
July 22, 1985
Mike
"You really want to give all of this stuff up?" Nancy asked looking at the boxes in front of his room.
Mike looked down at them as well. When their mom had asked them to clean up their room and get rid of some stuff before school starts again he hadn't thought he would want to give up too much of his older toys and books. But when he thought of if he really needed this or that or if he had even touched it in the last six months it was surprising to find he didn't care about the boxcar children books or old stuffed animals anymore.
Of course, he had kept the things he had shown El that still sat on his dresser but otherwise he didn't feel much sadness over the loss.
"You really are getting older I guess," Nancy said, "I mean really getting rid of some of your star war things is a big step."
"Well I'm going to let Holly go through some of it," Mike said.
"Why would she want any of your old star wars toys?" Nancy said.
"Why wouldn't she? Star Wars is the best movie trilogy ever."
"She's only five and has no idea what Star Wars even is."
"Who said she can't learn?" Mike asked.
Nancy rolled her eyes and started to turn away and head back in her room but stopped as someone knocked on the front door.
Mike made a face of confusion as he looked over at Nancy, no one was supposed to be coming over today and it couldn't be their parents who were both out with Holly.
Nancy started downstairs as whoever it was started to knock harder seemingly getting impatient.
Mike followed after her just to see who it was.
Nancy went over to the door and opened it to find Jonathan standing there, his fist still raised for a knock.
Mike rolled his eyes as he turned back for the stairs, they probably wanted to have a make-out party on the couch are something like that while their parents were out.
"Jonathan, what are you doing here? I thought you and Will were doing something today?" Nancy asked as Jonathan pushed pass her too look around.
"Have you seen El? Is she here with Mike?" Jonathan asked.
Mike stopped dead, one foot halfway raised to take a step but his whole body going cold a moment as that night at the school came back to him.
Nancy gave him a confused look, "No, she's not here, why? Wasn't she with you guys this morning?"
"She was…but we got some news and she ran off and the first place I thought of was your house."
Mike turned and almost threw himself off the stairs and over to Jonathan.
"What do you mean ran off!?" Mike said.
"What news?" Nancy asked far more calmly seeing that both Mike and Jonathan were about ready to have a break down.
Jonathan ran a hand through his hair as he looked at her, and even she felt like it was something she didn't want to hear by the pained look in his eyes.
"We're moving."
For a moment the world was quite before Nancy and Mike spoke in unison, "What!"
"What do you mean moving? Where?" Nancy said.
"Why would you need to move? Mike said at the same time.
"I don't know, my mom just told us this afternoon," Jonathan said.
"Where's Will?" Mike asked.
"He's at the house with my mom, they wanted to wait and see if she just went out to clear her head and come back."
"I'll call Max, she may have gone over there," Mike said as he went into the kitchen grabbing the receiver and dialed her number.
"Where are you moving to?" Mike heard Nancy ask as the phone rang.
"Iowa," Jonathan answered.
"Jesus," Nancy said.
Mike blinked a moment, he was going to lose her...It was miles this time, but...but he was losing her again.
"Hello?"
Max's voice sounded horse and for a moment Mike thought maybe she had been crying.
"Max is El with you?"
Mike heard her clear her throat before she spoke. "No, she's not here."
"Shit," Mike hissed under his breath but Max still heard him.
"What's wrong?" Max asked her voice alert now.
"El's missing," Mike said and gave her a quick rundown on what he knew so far.
"I'll call Lucas," Max said.
"I'll call Dustin and meet you by the Library."
"Got it, see you there, "Max said and hung up.
"Where are you going?" Nancy asked as Mike started for the garage.
"We're going to meet up and start a search party, look around her favorite places," Mike said.
"We'll drive around too," Nancy said grabbing her keys from the hook, Jonathan following behind her.
Mike grabbed his bike as Nancy and Jonathan got in the car.
A moment later Mike was biking down the street his mind racing with one thought.
Where are you El?
El
El let out a long breath as she walked, the warm air laced with a chill now, though she couldn't tell if it was because of the sun being covered up by ever graying clouds or if it was just her.
She didn't know how long she had been walking for only that it felt better than just sitting on the couch, the word Iowa rattling around in her head. She had thought about going to Mike's or even Max's house, but for the first time she could think of she didn't want to be around the others. She just wanted to be alone…
El paused a moment, did she really want to be alone? It didn't feel like it was something she had thought of… It's like she had just got up and walked and didn't even think about it until now.
El blinked and looked around herself for what felt like the first time and found she was in the woods, trees lined her every side and she couldn't remember walking here ...or even where here was...How long had she been walking?
El started walking back the way she had come in hopes of finding where she was but a noise stopped her in her tracks.
"El… "
She turned towards where the sound had come from and felt her eyes go wide with horror.
Billy stood there with Heather...and others. Other people she had never seen before.
"Hello El," Billy said.
El closed her eyes hoping that when she opened them again they would be gone but when she did, of course, they were still there.
"You did this…." Billy said and his voice was almost calm in the quiet.
El felt her body run cold as she realized that the world had gone silent, the birds no longer singing, the breeze dead, even the sound of her own feet moving slowly back made no sound as lighting flashed somewhere in the distance.
"You did this to us," Heather said taking a step forward, "Billy wouldn't have taken me to that place of the Mind Flayer didn't want you, I would still be alive."
El kept backing away looking at each and every face that had died to make that monster for her. There were children...children younger than she had was. Older men and women who should have died peacefully in their sleep not being murdered to make something evil years from now.
El shook her head and a second later she turned away from the eyes that judged her and took off running.
She ran, ran pass trees in a blur, the branches clawing at her face and clothing leaving her with small cuts and scratches but she didn't care as she blindly ran not sure where she was going but the sound of running footsteps behind her meant she couldn't stop.
"You did this to us!" she heard someone scream.
El looked back once and her heart fell as her breath seemed to get caught in her throat as she saw them all running after her. Billy in front a smile across his lips.
She put a boost of speed, getting a few blessed feet away from them before she turned, cutting through a patch of thick trees in hopes of losing them. She felt the branches cut into her cheek, the pain making her eyes water but she didn't stop as the voices and footsteps got quieter.
El stopped suddenly as the trees thinned and she came into a clearing. She closed her eyes for a second as she tried to catch her breath, her heart beating a mile a minute as if it was going to pound out of her chest.
She looked up then opening her eyes to see Hopper's cabin. How had she managed to walk here and not even realize she had been walking home….though she guessed it wasn't actually her home anymore.
"El…"
El froze a moment, Billy's voice was close.
"Elllll come out, come out wherever you are."
For a second she didn't move to listen for footsteps but there was nothing, the only sound was her heavy breathing from running.
With a deep breath she turned and looked from behind the tree she was standing behind and saw nothing.
She had believed they were right behind her but..
"Got you!"
El let out a surprised scream as an arm lined with blackened veins grabbed at her sleeve pulling her back into the trees.
For a moment El believed this was it, she didn't know what they wanted from her but it couldn't be anything good.
Reality came back to her suddenly and pulled away from the grip as hard as she could and surprisingly the hand let go.
El took off towards the cabin then the footsteps again behind her.
She didn't dare look back this time, her only thought was the key to the front door and getting inside and away from...from whatever they were.
El took the stairs two at a time. She reached the porch in seconds and grabbed the key from where Joyce had left it in the mailbox.
"You really think you can get away from us? The people that died for you?" Billy asked as he stopped in front of the steps.
El didn't look back only shoved the key into the lock and threw the door open, before she slammed it shut behind herself.
She slid to the floor, her whole body shaking. Lightning flashed then and a heavy rain followed it a second later.
"Ellllll, you can't hide from us," Heather said sounding like she was right in front of the door now.
El was frozen in her spot on the floor, unable to move as rain started to pool on the floor from where a hole had been made from the Mind Flayer.
"Come on El open the door," Billy said, "There's no point in trying to keep us out."
El jumped, a gasp escaping her lips as someone kicked the door so hard she was sent forward.
She stood up watching the door with wide eyes as whoever it was kicked it over and over again and she heard the wooden frame cracking.
El went for the back door just as the door was kicked open so hard one of the hinges was sent flying almost hitting her.
El stepped back, closer to the back door but she couldn't look away from the group of people standing in the doorway. Billy stood in front, his eyes black to the core.
He tipped his head to the side, his face blank of any expression matching the ones behind him.
"You think you can run from us?" Billy asked, "After what happened to us?"
"Go away!" El shouted, her arms going out instinctively but of course nothing happened.
El looked at her hands a moment but Billy's laughter made her look back up.
"Don't you remember what a said before?" You can't save anyone, not yourself, not your friends, not us."
"Your friends will be among us soon enough," Heather said stepping up to stand next to Billy and for the first time El saw that it wasn't just rain pooling at their feet but black water dripping from them.
"You're not real!" El shouted back, "You're just in my head!"
"If that's what you want to believe then go right ahead," Billy said, "But it still won't save you or the ones you love."
Billy started to move forward then kicking things over as he went, books falling to the floor, games breaking open and spilling their pieces.
El turned away then, grabbing for the door handle as lights all around the cabin started to flicker but of course it was stuck. She remembered Hopper saying he needed to fix the thing but he never got the chance.
She looked back up as the lights flicked faster and faster as Billy and the others got closer, walking slowly as if she was a rabbit trapped and they were the snakes, knowing she had no way out.
Suddenly the world it's self started to flicker into a world she knew far to well. The Upside Down.
"Come on El just give up already! Your only going to end up letting your friends get hurt."
Within a blink of an eye they were in the Upside Down, the ashy snow falling around her as with the last bit of her strength she pushed at the door and it swung open.
El almost fell forward but got her feet under herself and started running, the rain soaked her instantly but she barely noticed as she jumped from the back porch and took off weaving around the blackened trees that had once been a light brown.
"You can run all you want but you have to face us sooner or later!" she heard Billy call after her.
El kept running her hair sticking to her face as she splashed through puddles, her shoes and lower half of her jeans dripping black water.
She didn't know how long she ran for, just that when she looks back no one was following after her anymore.
She slowed then as she came to the dirt road that she and Mike would walk down. She let out a breath, her blood pounding in her ears still as she looked around. It looked just like the road leading to the cabin, only everything looked dead.
El reached out a hand letting the "rain" fall into it and just like she had believed it was black. But not like the kind of water that was just muddy, but it looked like ink and had the same consistency.
"El!"
El looked up to see through the heavy rain a light in the distance getting closer and closer.
"El!"
She turned to run again but stopped herself as she recognized that voice. A voice she could never forget after listening for it for 353 days.
"Mike!" El called out trying to see through the rain.
"El thank god!" Mike said as he pulled up next to her and jumped off his bike.
"Mike?" El said her voice almost a whisper as he wrapped her in his arms.
She let her head rest against his shoulder a long moment before she looked back up and saw the others. The light she had seen was from Max's bike she saw now as she stopped next to them, Will pulled up a side Dustin and Lucas.
"What are you doing here!" she asked having to shout over the heavy rain. How had they gotten into the Upside down?
"We've been looking for you for hours," Max said.
"We almost were going to stop when it started raining," Dustin said, "But Will said we needed to check here first."
El blinked at them a moment before she noticed the world had come back, she wasn't in the upside-down anymore, when it had changed she couldn't say, the rain was too heavy to see much in.
"Come on," Mike said taking her hand and picked his bike back up, "Were going to head back to Will's house since its the closest until the rain stops."
She nodded, noting that they were all just as soaking wet as she was if not more from the downpour. She got on the back of Mike's bike wrapping her arms around his middle a second before they started down the road again.
El looked back once to see the world flicker for just a moment before it when back to normal.
She was getting crazier.
An/
Well again that took longer than I believe it would but I hope you all enjoyed this chapter it was fun to write. As always thanks for reading it means a lot to me. If you want to review and give me your thoughts and or any criticism on what I could do better or just that you liked it please feel free, it always helps.