Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!
The kids have decided (most of them, reluctantly) to leave with the unconscious and bloody-faced Steve in Billy's car. They had what they needed before departing. Max was driving because she got some experience driving around a parking lot once. It was the best they could do. Lucas sat next to her, showing her the directions, while Dustin and Jane were at the back. The curly-haired boy held an ice to the teen's head, which had bandages where there were cuts, while the tomboy just carried the gallon of gasoline.
Steve began to stir, feeling like absolute hell due to the beating. His vision was fuzzy as he looked to his left, seeing Jane herself carry the gasoline. Since she was dimly-lit, he couldn't exactly tell it was her and not... "Kali...?" he muttered. She gave him a puzzled glance before his vision began clearing up. Then her look was of shock.
He closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose before Dustin whispered, "Hey, hey, don't touch it." His voice seemed to echo as the boy removed his hand from his nose. He looked to see the boy, seeing him smile. "Hey, buddy..." He then shushed him. "It's okay, ya put up a good fight." Did he...? "I mean, he kicked your ass, but you still put up a good fight." Okay, so he did get his ass handed to him by Billy.
Wait, where the hell was Billy? As a matter of fact...
"Okay, keep going straight for half a mile, then...make a left on Mount Sinai," Lucas told Max.
As if he wasn't hazy, now Steve was confused. He asked in a husky voice, "What's going on...?" The two kids at the front looked at him with wide eyes. When his mind became clear, he realized what was going on...
They were going through with their goddamn dangerous plan...and one of them was driving.
"Oh my God...!"
"Relax, she's driven before," Dustin said to him reassuringly.
Jane looked at the other tomboy and asked, "The parking lot you drove at was big, right?" Parking lot? That's how much experience-
"She can still drive," Lucas replied.
"Oh my God-" He tried to move, but Dustin tried to get him back down.
"The rest of them were going to leave you behind," he stated.
Jane gave him the stink-eye. "Yeah, because he could get in the way."
"Oh my-"
"I promised them that you'd stay cool." How could he stay cool in a situation like THIS?!
Without any warning, Max stepped on the gas and made the car go faster, Steve being very, very uncomfortable and worried about this situation. He held his hand up and exclaimed, "WHOA, WHOA, WHOA, WHOA! SLOW DOWN! STOP THE CAR!"
Jane groaned and glared at Dustin. "I told you he wouldn't be calm about this!"
"STOP THE CAR!"
Frustrated, Max yelled, "SHUT THE HELL UP! I'M TRYING TO FOCUS!"
Lucas looked down at the map he had and began to freak out, pointing at the road. "WAIT, TH-THAT'S MOUNT SINAI!"
She gave him a puzzled look. "What-"
"MAKE A LEFT! MAKE A LEFT!" Without any more hesitation, she did...at high speed...destroying a mailbox in progress. Everyone began screaming, Lucas screaming higher than them all.
Back in the cabin, it was completely hot, everyone in it sweating like crazy and their hair drenched in it. Kali leaned against the wall, Joyce was stand near one of the heaters, and Jonathan sat down behind one. The heat was enough to wake Will up, everyone tense by how he was going to react. He looked around, breathing heavily as he noticed all the sources of heat around him. He then struggled to get out of his ties.
"Wh-what's happening...?" he asked, no one answering. He struggled more. "It...it hurts." His voice sounded strained, then he began to thrash around in panic. "AH, IT HURTS! IT HURTS, IT HURTS!" He kept screaming that. Jonathan stood up, looking very worried and scared for his brother. Kali put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it.
Joyce also looked worried and scared for her son, but that thing needed to get out of him...it was why Bob died and he was being like this. She proceeded to heighten the heat coming from the heaters as Will screamed, "LET ME GO! LET ME GO! IT HURTS!"
The auburn-haired teen began to cry, not taking the fact that his little brother was hurting and his mom was amplifying it well. "Mom-"
"NO!" she shouted, pushing one of the heaters closer to him.
Will thrashed around like crazy, screaming from the top of his lungs. Jonathan couldn't bear to look, so he turned away and covered his face. Kali hugged him, but he did not feel comforted. She didn't think she would be comforted in a situation like this either...
Finally, the kids have finally arrived at the farm, Max pressing the brakes hard when the large hole was in their sights. It was abrupt, throwing everyone back. "WHOA, HELLO!" Steve exclaimed.
Everyone caught their breaths, panting. "Whoa..." Dustin breathed out.
"That was actually great, Max," Jane told the redhead.
She smirked a little and said, "I told ya, Zoomer." The kids all unbuckled and got out of the car, going to the trunk to get their things. Steve fell out and let out a small cry of pain. The kids were putting on cloths around their noses and mouths as masks and goggles as well. The teen groaned and leaned against the car, seeing them do this.
"Oh no, guys..." he groaned out. Jane grabbed the gasoline and a flashlight and walked towards the hole...right past Steve. He looked stern. "Hey! Where do you think you're going, Jane?!" She ignored him and looked down the hole with her flashlight.
She looked back at everyone else, pulled her mouth mask down, and told the kids, "There's already rope. It's just stuck on the ground." The other kids nodded in understanding.
"Let's grab the spare, just in case," Dustin suggested, Lucas nodded and grabbing the rope they already got.
Steve was peeved that no one was listening to him. "Uh, HELLO?! Are you guys deaf?! We are NOT going down there right now! I made myself CLEAR!" No one still responded to him, making him even more mad. "Hey, there is NO CHANCE we're going down that hole!" He stormed to the trunk. "This ends RIGHT NOW!" Thankfully, Dustin stopped him and began to talk to him about this situation. The kids, especially Jane, wondered when he would shut the hell up.
Lucas tied the rope they got onto the front of the car, then Jane got him the rope that was stuck there and gave it to him. He tied that up as well. Max had another gallon of gasoline and brought it down to the hole. Dustin was finishing up, "Now, I know you promised Kali to keep us all safe, especially Jane." He then grabbed Steve's bat and backpack. "So keep us safe." The teen thought there was no convincing them, stubborn little shits, so he gave in and grabbed that stuff.
...
With a shovel they got from the shed of the Byers' house, they managed to create the hole Hopper and Terry got through. Steve, wearing goggles and his mouth and nose mask, got down first, looking around with wide eyes. "Holy shit..." he muttered. The rest of the kids got down too, looking around this place. So THIS was what the Upside Down looked like...
Jane shined her flashlight on a map they all created before departure and said, "Okay, I'm pretty sure this way." She gestured to the path in front of her.
"You're 'pretty sure' or you're certain?" Dustin asked.
She looked back at him. "I'm 100% sure, Dustin. Just follow me, okay?" She moved forward, but Steve grabbed her arm.
"Hey, hey, hey, I don't think so," he said, much to her annoyance. He could see her narrow her eyes at him, but he didn't let up. "If any of you little shits die down here, I'll get the blame. If I let YOU die, Jane, then it'll be worse. You got that?" She groaned as he swiped her flashlight from her. He flashed it towards the other kids. "Listen, from here on out, I'LL be leading the way, so come on." He moved on forward, the kids following suit. "Hustle, hustle!" Jane was completely annoyed by Steve right now, but if he wasn't going to stop their plan, then she'll let it slide.
Back in the Lab, Hopper, Terry, and Mike were there. They entered into a hallway, the adults pointing their guns both ways. Hopper's had a flashlight attached to it since things were getting dark. They all then walked to their right, approaching a side door that led to the stairs. "Here," Terry whispered to the both of them. The two adults got in there before the freckled boy did, him looking at this place once more with a sinking feeling. He then followed them inside.
They descended down the stairs before spotting...blood down the steps and on the rails. "Jesus Christ..." the woman muttered.
"Stay here, bud," Hopper said to Mike, gesturing Terry to come with him. She nodded and they both slowly walked down the steps. They looked at the other set of steps, looking surprised to see who was responsible for the blood. "Oh shit..." Terry had the same sentiment.
They both descended down those steps...getting to Dr. Owens, who had a bloody injury on his chest and his leg. He was breathing, so he was alive, though it wouldn't be long since he was bleeding out. Hopper removed the shotgun from around his shoulder and Terry put her handgun in one of her back pockets. "Dr. Owens?" He looked up at the both of them, not replying.
They both looked at the injuries he got, Hopper asking, "Those sons of bitches got ya good, huh?" He opened his mouth to speak, but then he said, "Hey, it's okay, don't talk." He didn't as Hopper removed his belt to use as a bandage of his leg wound. "I gotcha, I gotcha." He looked behind them, shocked to see that Mike was there. They locked in eye contact.
They both looked back, neither of them surprised that he came down with them. They looked back at the doctor, the police chief saying, "Right, we've been meaning to tell you about him."
Terry used her hand to point to Mike. "This is Michael," she stated. "He was called either Michael Eleven or M11 here." She looked back at the boy, now gesturing between him and the doctor. "Michael, this is Dr. Owens." She then looked at the doctor. "He's the reason why I didn't die before finding you." He was a bit confused about what she said at first, but then realized that...well, his dad and Dr. Brenner could have had her killed for everything she had done last year. This man was the reason why the Lab didn't kill her, huh?
"He's been staying with me for about a year now," Hopper added. "Terry comes in during the night to make us dinner and keep us company. Now, he's gonna save all our asses." He looked at Dr. Owens straight in the eye, him doing the same. "Y'know, maybe when this is all said and done, maybe you can help him out like you helped Terry live, no? Maybe give him, I dunno, a normal life to lead. One where he isn't poked and prodded...not treated like a lab rat, y'know?" Terry loved the sound of that, wanting that for the boy too. The boy in question thought about that. A normal life...without any of that...it was what he wanted most.
Hopper gave Dr. Owens a wry smile. "Dunno, it's just a thought." With that, he tied his belt on the doctor's wounded leg tight, making him groan in pain.
"Think about it, will you?" Terry said to the doctor. "I appreciate the compromise we made to let me live and you continue to work. You've saved my life." She tilted her head towards Mike. "Why not save his as well? He's going to save all of us, after all." They were pretty damn persistent, weren't they? However, it wasn't like he was a copy of Brenner or Wheeler. Plus, this kid...despite him not working at the facility prior to this year, he knew what he went through. It was tough...and completely inhumane.
He nodded at both of the adults, the woman standing up. Mike tried his best to hold back tears. He never thought someone like him would consider helping him. Hopper whispered to him, "Don't go anywhere." He gestured the two others to come along and they did, descending down the stairs more.
Steve and the kids continued moving through the tunnels, the kids looking around in shock. "God..." Lucas muttered.
"What IS this place?" Max asked. Jane kept thinking about the fact that her mom was stuck in this place with Hopper for nearly TWO days, at least. The fact that they all could be stuck down here haunted her mind, but they needed to go through with this-for her mom, for Mike, for Will.
"Come on, let's keep moving," Steve told them. They did...well, most of them. None of them noticed that Dustin had stopped and looked at what was on the ceiling...not until he started screaming.
Everyone froze up and turned back, hearing him yell, "HELP! HELP! HELP!" They all rushed towards his voice, seeing him run and trip over.
"DUSTIN!" the kids all exclaimed, out of sync.
"SHIIIIT!"
Steve wasted no time getting near him. "What's going on?! What happened?!"
"IT'S IN MY MOUTH! SOME GOT IN MY MOUTH! SHIIIIT!" He then coughed, pulling down his mouth mask to cough out more. When he was done, he looked up at everyone, worried as hell about him, and stated, "I'm alright."
All of them were relieved, but annoyed. "You're kidding..." Jane muttered.
"Haha, very funny, man," Steve said to him in a dry, sarcastic tone. The curly-haired boy got up and put his mask back on, cuing for everyone to move on back forward. "Seriously..."
"Jesus, what an idiot," Max muttered, much to his dismay.
Despite that, he moved on forward with them. "Hold on, wait...wait." He caught up with them.
...
With Jane's map, Steve looked around at the place he stopped at right now with his flashlight. "Alright, Jane," he said. "Think we found your hub." Jane got next to him, everyone flashing their lights around. They all saw dead animal corpses and entrances to other tunnels. This WAS the hub, the place where her mom and Hopper were found.
Without any hesitation, she said, "Let's drench it."
...
With their respective tanks of gasoline, everyone spread out and either sprayed or poured the gasoline all over the place.
Will was still screaming and thrashing around in pain, making everyone in the room disheartened to see him like this. He was doing that for what felt like a long time, Jonathan's worry skyrocketing.
"I-it's not working," he muttered before turning to Joyce. "Mom, it's not working!"
"J-just wait!" she replied in distress.
His eyes began to tear up again. "How much longer?!" He pointed at his little brother frantically. "L-look at him!"
"Jonathan, just wait-"
Now he looked like he was about to break down. "YOU'RE KILLING HIM!"
"JUST WAIT, GODDAMN IT!" He shook his head and put his hand on one of the ties to loosen it. Joyce managed to stop him before he did so. "NO, JONATHAN, DON'T DO IT!"
"MOM, YOU'RE KILLING HIM!" While they were yelling at each other, Kali noticed something dark appearing on his neck, making her breath hitch.
"Guys!" she yelled, though the both of them were still arguing. "GUYS! LOOK AT HIS NECK!" They stopped yelling, them seeing the veins of his neck turn black. It was coming out of him...
Suddenly, at a blink of an eye, Will managed to rip through of one of the ties and tried to loosen the other one. Joyce was quick to try and stop him from doing that. However, she was met with his hand tightly wrapped around her neck...choking her. Both of the teens looked horrified at this.
Hopper, Terry, and Mike had finally reached to the bottom of the Lab, large spores flying everywhere. They were close to the testing room, but they all heard growling, making them keep their guards up. "Stay here, Mike," Terry told the boy before she and Hopper moved on forward. He began to breathe heavily, worrying about them a lot.
They both faced the entrance to the testing room, Hopper putting his flashlight away as they moved forward. They heard more growling, so there was no doubt in their minds that those...monsters were in there. "Get over there, Terry," the man whispered to her, pointing at the side of the entrance. She nodded and hid behind there, him hiding on the other side. He got out his pocket knife and used its reflection to see if any of those dogs were in there. There were, making him look distressed and stifle a sob. Terry did the same, seeing his reaction. They had to get in there, but how the hell were they going to do it? It wasn't like they would die in one shot...damn it, Michael had to be in there...that poor, young little boy...shit.
Mike still looked worried about them, wondering about whether or not he should join them. They wanted him to stay back, but they were at the bottom...Hopper said they were fine with him using his powers down there, right...?
The group was all down dousing the entire place in gasoline, being in the tunnel they came out of before. Steve was in front of them, asking, "Right, you guys ready?"
"Ready," Jane, Lucas, and Max answered.
"Yeah," Dustin also answered. The teen got out a lighter as he added, "Light it up."
As he lit up the lighter, he muttered under his breath, "I'm in such deep shit." Not that these little shits weren't safe under his watch, but still...he was gonna do this.
Will continued choking Joyce while Jonathan tried to break out of his hold. None of them thought this was Will's strength that kept her in a chokehold...it was the Mind Flayer's.
Kali looked around frantically for a way to force the mind flayer to stop Will from choking his mother to death. She then spotted the fire poker near the fire in the fire place. Though it'll permanently scar Will, it was better than Joyce dying by his hand. She ran around the cot and grabbed it, Jonathan spotting her doing so. "K-Kali, what're you doing?!" he exclaimed. She didn't answer him and poked the hot part of the poker onto Will's side. He screeched and let Joyce go, the woman regaining her breath.
Hopper tried his best to suppress his saddened face and looked at Terry straight in the eye. He mouthed to her, "I'll go first." Her jaw dropped at that suggestion.
"No, Jim," she mouthed back. Without any reply from him, he stormed into the testing room, getting the attention of the Demo-dogs right outside it. She didn't want that man to go and have a high chance of being mauled by those things, so she got in with him.
"GET THE HELL OUT OF MY SON, YOU MONSTER!" Joyce yelled at the mind flayer as Kali put the fire poker back.
Steve threw the lighter at the hub and it quickly engulfed in flames. Everyone shielded their eyes from its complete brightness.
Will moved his head back and forth at an inhuman speed, everyone looking aghast at this.
As Terry got to Hopper's side, they both suddenly saw the Demo-dogs flinching and screeching in pain. They were both puzzled as to why they were doing this, lowering their guns. "What the hell...?" Hopper muttered.
All the vines were screeching and flailing around, burning to crisps. The group all stood up, Steve yelling, "Let's go! LET'S GO!" They began to run away from the flames before they could get caught in it.
Will stopped moving his head the way he did, his face full of black veins. His screaming was fading in and out.
"LET'S GO, LET'S GO!" Steve yelled at the kids again, all of them sprinting their way out of this place.
The two adults finally saw those things get into the hole...like they were called away to somewhere else.
Finally...after all this time, the black dust that had gotten into Will during that day on the school field began exiting out through his mouth. Everyone got back, looking shocked as all hell as they saw the amount that was coming out of him. It then moved out the cabin at the pace of lightning. Kali ran out and saw that the dust was reaching up to the sky. "That's right, go, you son of a bitch," she muttered under her breath.
She got back inside, all of the heaters turned off now. Jonathan and Joyce untied his other wrist and his ankles. Everyone looked at him, the boy looking completely normal now, but unconscious. The woman was crying, her and her oldest son trying to wake the boy up. He then opened his eyes, much to everyone's relief. The Byers were overjoyed to see him awake, then he looked at Joyce and said, "...Mom?" Now her tears and Jonathan's were of joy.
"Oh, Will..." Joyce squeaked out before pulling him into a hug. He hugged back, Jonathan joining in too. Kali couldn't help but smile and join in as well. It was a relief that he was alright. Now, if Jane and her mom were alright as well...
Mike walked into the testing room, looking just as shocked as the two adults were that there were no Demo-dogs anymore. The three looked at each other, trying to process this, then Hopper's walkie-talkie began to whir. "Chief?" Jonathan's voice asked through the crackles. "Are you there? Do you copy?"
He pulled it out, pressed the talk button, and answered, "Yeah, I copy."
"Close it." It was over with, then? That was a goddamn relief.
Before Hopper could put his walkie-talkie away, they all heard Kali's voice now, saying, "Wait, I need to know my mum's alright. Is she there?" He looked at Terry, who gestured him to hand over the walkie-talkie. He did.
She pressed the talk button and answered, "I'm here, sweetheart. I'm alright."
Kali let out a sigh of relief. She looked overjoyed to hear her mother's voice and that she was alright, her eyes getting teary. The Byers was also relieved to hear she was alright, especially Joyce. "Are you okay, Kali?" she asked.
She nodded and answered, "Y-yes, Mum."
She smiled, her eyes getting teary from hearing her adopted daughter's voice. "Get back to the Byers' home safely, alright?"
"You got it, Mum." She was going to hand back the walkie-talkie to Hopper, then she heard her say, "Get back here safely too, when Mike closes the gate, okay?"
She swore she could cry right now. She answered into it, "I will, Kali. I promise."
"Thank you, Mum." She finally handed the walkie-talkie back to Hopper and regained her composure. They all looked at the hole right across from them, ready to close it, once and for all.
...
They were all in the pulley weight, it going down as the red light of the hole shined on them. Mike was baffled to see how big it really was compared to before, but he couldn't back down now. Still, its size was intimidating. He held the adults' hands with his. The two squeezed his hands to allieviate his complete anxiety over this...and their own as well.
Steve and the kids continued running, the teen looking down at the map with his flashlight to make sure he didn't get them all lost. "Alright, this way!" he shouted to them. They all ran, but then Jane tripped and fell, letting out a cry. She sat up to see one of her legs wrapped by one of the vines. She tried to get out of the its grip, but it was too tight. "HELP! ONE OF THE VINES GOT ME!" she yelled to the others. "HEEEEEELP!"
Hopper pressed a button on the pulley to make it stop, the three still holding hands. He and Terry looked down at the boy, who kept his eyes on the glowing red hole. He looked at the both of them, giving them a look that said that he was ready. They both nodded and the three let go of their hands. The two adults were still worried about the boy, since this was a grand task for him to complete. He was like a son to them. However, they'll make sure he completes closing the hole.
Mike looked straight at the hole again, hearing a low, loud growl. He couldn't let that intimidate him as he took a deep breath. He tilted his head down and raised his hand up, using all of his power to close it. His hand was shaking due to the amount of power he was using, but he still kept going. The hole glowed some more, another growl heard. The boy still kept going, his nose starting to bleed.
Suddenly, they could all see a grand shadow appear in the hole. They all felt their goosebumps raise from the sight of it-hell, Terry and Hopper felt themselves shiver from looking at it. They all came to the conclusion that right there, what was in that hole...
Was no other than what the kids called the Mind Flayer.
Stopping right here. What do you guys think? This is a pretty action-packed chapter. Are there any typos or mistakes I might've missed?
Oh man...the next chapter will be the final one for the season! I know it's going to be a pretty long one, if you guys don't mind that. It must sound pretty sad that I would be emotional over what I wrote, but...yeah, I'm going to get emotional writing the final chapter for this season. I mean, no matter how much I watch it, the Season 2 finale of Stranger Things will always get me emotional, so...yeah. I got free time over the weekend, so maybe I'll have it all done by Sunday. :)
Keep on supporting this fanfic like you guys do and I'll see you in the finale of M11 Season 2! :D