Hopper watched as Steve jumped into the over turned van. Karen's car flew down the road, carrying the kid away, making his heart sink a little. He rushed over, listening to coughs as the van filled with smoke. A large bump on the back side showing where the tan van had hit it. Steven popped his head out of the door, pushing will up to hand to Hopper. Jonathan grabbed the boy, his skin cold and sweaty. Hopper watched as he placed Will onto the ground before Hooper jumped onto the car to help Steve with Joyce.
He listened to her slight cry as Steve tried to lift her through the door. Hopper got her down from the van; she was unable to stand on her left leg. A cut ran across her right cheek, blood spilling down her face.
"We can take the other van," Steve yelled, jumping down onto the pavement. Him and Hopper looked to the van they had been placed him, men shuttling the other van drivers into the back of the vehicle. They watched as they carried Brenner into the back of the van, the vehicle backing up swiftly before leaving them stranded in the road. "What about the other van," Hopper looked around them. Between the two broken down cars was the tan van, smoke slowly coming out of the front. Hopper leaned Joyce on Steve, walking over Will.
"Hello!" Hopper yelled, coming to the tan door. He looked through the passenger window. A young girl with purple-pink hair sat in the seat, passed out. Blood ran down her face, the girl in the driver seat next to her leaned over the steering wheel. He came around the front of the car, slipping slightly on the iced grass. He listened to the van door slide open, a large man stepping out of the back. He pulled a girl with large blonde hair from the back door, placing her in the wet snow before going back in. Hopper moved quickly, opening the front door to get the girl's out.
"Make sure they lay flat," the man said to Hopper.
"I know," he yelled back. He rushed to the other side of the car, pulling the passenger door open. The girl opened her eyes, looking up at Hopper with confusion. She looked tired.
"Jane," she whispered to Hopper. He stopped his movements, looking down at the girl with a little more interest. He yanked the girl out, placing her on the ground and putting his hands on her shoulders.
"How do you know that name?" he asked her in a stern voice. She blankly stared at him before falling backwards onto the snow. Hopper growled, moving up from the wet ground and back to the car. He slide his side door open, looking into the back of the van. The large man on the other side pulled a Mohawk boy from his seat. The kid stood in his spot, looking around in a daze. He looked to the back of the van, someone laid on the floor of the van. He jumped inside, the smoke growing larger. He coughed as he grabbed the girl; she let out a scream as he pulled on her arms to take her out of the smoking vehicle. He threw her onto the ground with a hefty sigh. She cried out in pain, making Hopper stop to pay attention to her; suddenly realizing she was the girl he had taken a bullet out of.
…
She hadn't been sleeping for long when she felt a hand bunch up her shirt on her stomach. She let her eyes drift open, forgetting that she had been in a car, her head resting on Mikes lap, her body hurting from the accident. She looked around the back seat, looking up at Mike who had fallen asleep. His hand was resting on her stomach, his fist squeezing her shirt. She looked down at her dirty feet that were resting on the car door, noticing blood on her pants. She grabbed Mike's hand, trying to remove it from her shirt while she slowly sat up.
"You're awake," she heard Nancy's voice say quietly. El looked over to the front of the car; Nancy had her body turned in the front seat looking at her. She lifted her hand to El's face; El winced as Nancy touched something above her left eyebrow. "The cut doesn't look to bad, but it's swollen." El nodded her head at Nancy, looking over to the woman next to her.
Her mouth was dry, and something didn't feel right; something deep in her gut was falling and she didn't know what. She looked over to Mike; his head was resting on the window as he slept. She sighed with relief that she was at least with someone that felt like home to her.
"Are you okay honey," the woman in the front seat said. El glanced over to her, meeting her eyes in the rear view mirror. She could see it, Mike's eyes in hers and she knew then; she was in the car with his family.
She didn't answer the woman, not really sure on what her answer should be. All see really wanted to do was cry. She wanted to punch her pillow in her room and listen to Hopper walk around the cabin in loud stomps. She wanted to hug the teddy bear he had given her, feel the love that went into his name as she thought of Sarah. She wanted to sit in her room with the door closed, looking at her snow globe, wishing she could live in such a bit castle that was all her own.
"I'll be stopping soon," Mike's mom said, "I know I shouldn't but I need to call Tedd." El watch as Nancy and her mom looked at one another in the front seat. "He's probably having a conniption over what's happening." Nancy let out a sigh, and El sat back in her seat, looking out her side of the window, watching the trees thin out slowly as a city came into view. Lines of houses started to appear, taller buildings after that. They had been driving for so long, and El had no idea what direction they were going.
"Where are we," she finally asked, looking at the big sky scrapers ahead of them.
"Indianapolis," Nancy said. El nodded her head like she knew what that meant, but she had never heard the word before. "We have some family that lives here, and since mom didn't grab money before leaving we're going to have to stop and stay with them." El felt her stomach drop. She didn't want to do that; she didn't want to meet anyone new. She looked back out the window as they got onto a ramp, the car speeding up as they got on the high way, circling around the city. She could feel a panic start to build, her leg was hurting, her head was hurting, and unfortunately her left shoulder was starting the flare up.
"Hey," she felt a hand on her left arm, her head snapped to the side. Mike was looking at her with concerned eyes, slightly groggy from sleep. "What's wrong?" he asked her, scooting a little closer. She looked him in the eye not really sure what to say. She was starting to feel over whelmed. She wanted Hopper there, she wanted to be back in the cabin with the window shades down, and the door locked. She wanted to hide.
"Hey," Mike said again, pulling her back into focus. "It's going to be okay," he unbuckled his seatbelt, turning his body towards her and putting both hands on her shoulders.
"Michael," his mom hissed, but Mike ignored her. He got closer to El, her breath hitching in her chest, because she couldn't breathe as her mind spiraled to what was happening.
"We're going to figure it out," Mike said to her quietly. "We'll get you cleaned up, and make sure you're okay, and then we're going to figure it out. If this past year has taught us anything it's that we can get out of sticky situations." She could feel tears in her eyes, she didn't really know what that last part meant, but she dropped her head to look at her lap.
"Sticky?" she asked him in a thick voice.
"Yeah," he said with a slight smile, "a sticky situation. It's like a moment in time that isn't that great. At this moment we aren't having a great time, it's complicated and scary; it's sticky." El looked up at him, letting tears fall from her eyes. "It's a sticky situation, but like we have always done before; we will figure it out, okay?" They looked at one another; Mike whipped the tears from her cheeks as she closed her eye, nodding her head. "Hopper's going to be okay," he continued, "He's probably with Ms. Byers and the others at her house, smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee. "El gave him a small smile, as she pictured Hopper with Joyce sitting on the front porch.
"Yeah," she said through a slight sob in her voice. She sniffled her nose, letting her tears fall. She was so tired; so done with it all. She was done with the fact that she had powers, she was done with the bad men, she was done with being Eleven. She looked back down at her hands, lifting her sleeve to look at her tattoo on her arm. She frowned at it, wanting to rip her skin off and throw in out the window. Mikes hand left her shoulder covering the tattoo. She looked back up at him with sad eyes; his forehead coming forward to rest on hers.
"I promise," He said to her, "that one day, this will just be a memory. It'll be a story you tell when people ask who you are and who you used to be." She closed her eyes, thinking about what kind of future she could have. Her thirteen year old brain couldn't wrap itself around that fact that she could be older. That one day she would be an adult. "You'll be able to say that you live a normal life, and that you made it through this sticky situation." El opened her eyes, Mike look right back at her, his forehead on hers.
"Promise," she said through a hushed voice.
"Promise," he said back. She took her head away from his, turning to look out the front window. His mother's eyes were moving from the road back to the rearview mirror to look at them. Nancy turned in her seat to look back, nodding her head at El in agreement to what was said.
"We're almost there," His mother said into the silence of the car. "Why don't you guys put seat belts on?" They both settled back into their seats, strapping themselves in as she exited the high way.
El looked up at the big white house that stood in front of her. She watched Mike's mom step out of the car, Nancy following behind. She looked over to Mike who looked at her and then his mother. She didn't know if she should get out of the car. People always looked at her like she was a weirdo, and with the way she was presented at this moment would just make things worse. Mikes mom bent down into the car again, looking right at El.
"Why don't you and Mike stay here for a minute?" El nodded her head, looking back out the window. Nancy stood in the grass, looking at her with a small smile. "I'll get you some clean clothes, and hopefully we can figure out what to do from here." El looked over to Mike, he slowly took off his seat belt, opening the door and stepping out. She watched as he slowly approached his mom, giving her a quick hug. He said something to her, but if was too much of a muffle for her to hear.
Mike had gotten so tall over the past year; he almost sat eye level to his mother. She kissed the side of his head before closing her car door, Mike taking a seat back next to her. For some reason she felt awkward, like she was missing out on something that she didn't know she needed. Mike closed his door, his mother and Nancy walking to the front porch.
"Did you need anything?" Mike asked her after a couple of moments in the stillness in the car. She wanted a lot of things, mostly just a shower and her own bed. She really wanted some eggos, and at least two days of sleep if it was at all possible. She wanted to know what he said to his mom, and she wanted to know what it was like to have a mom.
"What did you say to her?" she asked, turning sideways in her seat to look at him. She crossed her legs, letting her hands rest in her lap.
"Oh um," Mike turned towards her, resting his right leg on the seat. "I told her that I loved her," he said shyly. "She doesn't really know what's going on right now, and I know she's really worried about Holly." El thought about that word; love. She had heard it before. She had watched people on shows say it to one another, but most of the time it ended with a romantic kiss. She scrunched up her eyes in confusion, not really sure if she was understanding the word. Why would he say something like that to his mother?
"Love?" she said looking up at him. He raised his eyebrows at her. They stared at one another for a moment, as she watched Mike blankly stare at her.
"Do you know what love is?" He asked her.
"I think so," she said back. She thought about his question; did she know what love was? "You say it to people you like, a lot." She thought about the last movie she had watched, I Love You Again. "Larry says it to Kay." She said to Mike. He looked at her in confusion.
"Who's Larry?" he said. She thought about the movie, how Larry really is a bad guy, at least before his amnesia.
"Larry," she said, trying to think of the story line. She hadn't really told a story before; at least not a long one. She looked down at her dirty feet; there was a rip in her pants, dried blood on her leg. "It's from a movie," she said. Mike looked at her in understanding. He nodded his head.
"Love can be more than romantic," Mike said to her. "I told my mom I love her because I do, even if she drives me crazy." He laughed a little at himself. "I'm sure you might feel the same for Hopper in a way." He looked at her, waiting for her to say something back, but she couldn't. She thought about how Hopper dragged her out of the van, how he cut her out of the bed. Don't do anything stupid; that was the last thing he said to her.
"I have to go back," El said quietly. She let her feet fall to the car floor as she looked out her window again. She grabbed the door handle, opening up the car to the chill. She let her feet hit the cold pavement, Mike yelling her name from the back of the car. He got out on his side, coming around the car and grabbing her arm.
"We're not going anywhere," Mike said to her, standing in her way. "Hopper made me promise to keep you safe," El looked him in the eye. She didn't like being told what to do. "No," mike said putting his hands on either arm, rubbing them up and down. "Don't give me that look; we aren't going anywhere. You need new clothes, some shoes, and at least one meal before you decide what is going on." El huffed, not really in the mood to be mad. She felt slightly light headed, maybe from getting out of the car so fast.
"Where ever you go," Mike continued, "I go. That's going to be the deal for now on. You can't just run off whenever you feel like it." El nodded her head, liking that deal more than being on her own. She let him guide her back into the back of the car; he looked over his shoulder to see if anyone was watching. She moved all the way down, letting him get in after her. He slammed the door behind him, looking more serious as time went by. "Why did you leave," he asked turning back to her. She looked at him in confusion. "At the cabin you promised you weren't going to do anything dangerous, and then you did."
El could feel her heart sink slightly. She felt bad, because she knew she didn't really have much of a choice. She had to get out of there; it was almost like she was driven out. She thought about the day she walked to the quarry on her own, how she felt like she needed a moment to escape. She thought about how she wanted to swim, how she didn't want to be trapped anymore. Everything made her feel closed in, like she was being suffocated not only by her surroundings, but by the people around her too.
"I had to go," she said to him. She slouched in her seat, pulling up memories of just a month ago, when she left on her own to Chicago. That almost felt like another life time from now. "For a while, I thought I would never leave." There was stillness in the car, she didn't look over to Mike, but knew he was listening. "He always said soon, but it was never happening, and then one day I couldn't take it anymore, so I left." She looked out her window; staring down the street as rows of the same looking houses filled her view. The sun was starting to set, and she didn't know where the day had gone. "It was like the lab, but different." She looked over to Mike, hoping he would understand.
"The girl that got shot," Mike said, "is she from Chicago?" EL looked over to him, forgetting that she had left the girl behind.
"No," El said quietly, slightly perking up in her seat. "No, she's from somewhere else." She put her hands to her eyes, rubbing them as she tried to remember what Tory was like before she left her. She thought the girl was going to die when she saw her that morning. El let out a heavy sigh; why did she have to follow Will? She would have never run into Brenner, she wouldn't be here at this moment; she would be home with the same four walls she had been looking at all year.
"Where is she from," Mike pressed on. She looked over at him, for some reason she was feeling slightly annoyed by the situation. She didn't need a babysitter, and she didn't need Mike to watch over her. She felt like everyone was under estimating her, treating her like a small child when in actuality she could take care of everything herself.
"I don't want to talk about it," She said flatly. "How long?" She asked looking out his window. His mother and Nancy had been gone for at least ten minutes.
"I don't know," mike said looking over to the front door. "My aunt Char loves asking questions, and I know my mom has to call Hopper as well. I'm sure we can find real clothes to fit you though, I have a cousin that's around your size." EL nodded her head, wondering what a cousin was, but had no real interest to ask. "I'm sure we won't stay here though," mike continued, "after my mom calls Hopper I'm sure the lab people will have someone come out here. I'm sure they have Wills phone bugged, I know they bugged ours a long time ago." El looks at him in confusion, not quite sure what that meant. At that moment Nancy came out of the front door, running down the steps and opening Mikes care door.
"Let's get inside," She said to them. "Mom called Hopper but there was no answer. We are all going to take a shower and get some food. Maybe stay the night." Mike looked over to El, her stomach slightly dropping.
"What did you tell Aunt Char?" Mike asked starting to move out of the car.
"Well mom still doesn't know the full story; she just said we found a girl on the side of the road and that we are trying to get her home." El looked down at her clothes, not moving from her seat. She almost felt embarrassed, something she didn't really know about. She could feel her cheeks heating up, looking back at the house. A family that probably had never seen a kid like her, looking so bad.
"El," Mike said from his open door. "You and I can share a room. Let's get inside before the sun goes down and it really gets cold." EL hesitated before opening the door to her side of the car. She slammed it as hard as she could, moving to the front of the house. Mike took the lead following his sister. El looked behind her, looking up and down the street before following up the steps and through the front door.
…
Mike watched as his sister led El upstairs. El had a slight limp in her right leg, a slump in her shoulders, and the dark lines around her eyes were still visible. El looked back at him as he watched her go. She followed Nancy to the bathroom, and Mike looked around the house to figure out what he should do.
He could hear his aunt in the kitchen down the hall. She talked loudly to her mother about social services, and his mother refusing to give them a call. He sighed, following their voices while looking at the pictures that hug along the wall. He hadn't seen his family in almost a year. His cousins looked a little bigger in the new family picture that hung on the wall; Catherin was his age, but they never really got along that well.
He stepped into the kitchen, looking at his mother as she lead against the counter, her sister slightly shorter smoking a cigarette by the open window above the sink.
"Michael," he aunt Char said. "You've gotten so big." Mike looked down at himself and then over to his mom. She had a glisten of worry in her eyes as they stared at one another. "So, where's this girl," his aunt asked.
"Upstairs with Nans," Mike said," She going to take a shower really fast." He looked over to the phone that sat on the wall next to him. He thought about Hopper, how he wanted them to call; he said he would be there. He picked the phone up from the receiver, punching in Will's number.
"I already tried Mike," His mom said. He didn't listen as he put the phone to his ear. He listened to the first ring, hearing a slight click over the silence before there was a second and then a third. He frowned at the clicking noise; taking the phone from his ear and looking down at it.
"Did you call dad from this phone?" he asked turning around to look at his mom. He felt his stomach fill with butterflies.
"Yes," his mom said, popping herself off from the counter, slowly moving closer to him.
"And what did you tell him," Mike asked.
"Just that we were here and we would be home tomorrow," Mike took the phone in his hand and slammed it back onto the wall. They needed to leave, they needed to go. He rubbed his hands on his jeans, sweat building up from nervousness. He didn't know where to go, or what to do. All he did know was that the click was them listening in, they were listen in on Hawkins, and now they knew where they were. "Mike," his mom said from behind him. He turned back to her feeling the panic build up.
"I think we should go," he said as calmly as he could. He looked over to his aunt slightly, her faces confused as she took a breath of her cigarette. His mom got closer to him. "I think we should go," he said looking into his moms eyes. She took the keys from the counter.
…
She had a gash in her right leg, and the cut above her left eyebrow was throbbing in pain as she let the hot water run over it. Everything hurt, but that didn't matter because she was in a hot shower. She watched as the dirt fell off of her, listening to Nancy move on the other side of the shower curtain. She didn't want to get out of the shower, but she could feel her stomach growl and yell as she slowly began to realize how tired and hungry she really was.
"I have all the band aides and cotton balls we need to patch you up," Nancy said. "Are you almost done?" El turned off the water, grabbing the towel that hung from the shower rod; covering up her body as she stepped out. Nancy handed her her under garments and turned around giving El some privacy. She put on a pair of jeans; she had never worn pants that had fit her so perfectly. She slipped on a tight flannel shirt, some socks and a pair of vans. The shoes were slightly big, but the closes she had ever worn on her feet. Nancy gave her a smile as she dabbing the cut on her forehead with a gel.
"You look good," Nancy said to her. El looked down at herself with a smile. Her outfit reminded her of someone. She frowned, thinking of her friends.
"Max," she said. Nancy giggled, patting her arm to tell her that she was done with her cut.
"Yeah that does look like something she would wear," There was a knock at the door and they both jumped.
"Hey honey," Nancy mom said on the other side of the door. "Are you almost done?" Nancy walked over, opening the door to her concerned mother, mike standing next to her.
"We need to get out of here," Mike said softly. "We need to go now," El walked closer to the door. Mike looked her up and down before handing her a coat, a simple black hooded jacket. She grabbed it and put it on; Mike grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the bathroom as she did.
"What's going on?" Nancy asked.
"They are listening to the phone calls," Mike said to her. El looked up at him in confusion. "Mom called dad and told him where we are, they were probably listening in on what was being said." Nancy and El looked over to his mom, El frowned at her.
"Mom," Nancy said in an annoyed voice. "They bugged those phones forever ago." She rolled her eyes, looking down the hall way.
"I want to know what's going on," His mom said, pointing her car keys at all of them. "I'm not leaving here until you tell me what's happening." Mike gave a heavy sigh, trying to grab the keys out of her hand. She raised them above her head dangling them from her finger. Her and Mike had a stare off, one El new well. It was like watching her and Hopper communicate.
El looked up at the keys. Being the shortest one there she knew she would never be able to reach them. She felt a tug on her brain as she tried to lift the keys from her finger, a slight pain erupting in the front of her head. She blinked, concentrating, watching as the keys gave a slight jingled as they lifted from her finger. She let them drop, catching them in midair. She felt warm blood running from her nose, pulling the sleeve from her shirt to wipe it away.
Mike's mom looked over to her in shock. Nancy looked over to Mike, who for a moment didn't know what to say. He looked at the keys in her hand, grabbing them from her and showed them to his mom. He gave a slight nodded down the hall to tell them to follow.
"I don't think so," his mom said grabbing his shoulder.
"I think this conversation is better left for the car," Mike hissed as his mother. "Trust me." His mom glanced at El once more, taking a step away from her. El looked down in embarrassment, checking her nose to make sure all the blood was gone.
…
Hopper watched as Jonathan dabbed the cut on his mother's face. She winced; grabbing hold as Wills hand as he slept. They decided to make the long walk back to the cabin; the closest place to where they were left in the middle of the street. There had been long arguments on the way there as the kids from the tan van yelled at one another. The girl that got shot passed out in the large man's arms, as the girl driver of the van helped carry the other girl. One arm around her shoulder, while the guy with the Mohawk had the other. Hopper looked into the small kitchen, four young adults standing around awkwardly. They had placed the two girls in El's bed, both with bloodied noses and cut up bodies.
The sun had gone down hours ago, and there had been no sign of Dustin and Lucas by the time they had made their way back. Hopper put his hands to his face, trying to figure out the next step, was there a next step? He didn't know how he was going to get in contact with El, he didn't know what he was going to tell Joyce about Will, and even though he didn't want to he had to make it back to the quarry to see what El had opened.
Steve pulled one of the wooden chairs from the small dinner table, looking over to the punks with a glare. Hopper gave him a small nod as they looked at one another. Hopper stood from his seat on the couch, walking to El's room to look through the door way; both girls still asleep in El's bed.
"Is that Kali?" Hopper asked looking to the group in the kitchen. They all looked at one another, no sure what they could say. "Why did you hit the van? Was it on purpose, or are you guys just stupid." They all glared at him; he stepped a little closer to the group. "Look, we're all stuck here so you might as well open your mouths and tell me what's going on."
"We came for Jane," the small blonde mousy girl said. "They were hopping she could help."
"Help with what?" Hopper asked, crossing his arms. The group of misfits looked at him, not sure if they should say more. "Look, Jane, El is like my daughter. She means a lot to all of us," Hopper motioned to everyone in the room. "If we want to get out of this situation I think you should start talking." Silence filled the room, making Hopper feel the heat from his anger rise above his head.
"We have been after these people for years," the Mohawk said. "When Jane showed up we thought it was a miracle. She could find them so easily. Once she left, Kali was mad; she was more intense on finding these men. I don't know how, but she found out about Tory, and we went to break her out. They wanted El's help to find more; to make sure that no one else was suffering." Hopper turned his head to Steve who lifted his eyebrows at him. He turned to look at Joyce; she slowly looked up at him placing Will's hand in her lap.
"I don't think you guys know what you have walked into," Hopper said looking back at them. "There's more to this than just some bad lab guys that deserve some revenge." They all looked at one another in confusion.
"Do you think she opened it," Steve said standing from his chair. "That crack at the quarry, was that it?" Hopper rubbed his forehead; he looked into El's room, looking at the girls on the bed. His daughters teddy bear laid on the floor face down on the wood. He walked in and picked it up, looking into the bears eyes.
He thought back to the day; watching as the dark cloud circled around Will and El. He thought about the needle that was shoved into El; the black liquid, something he had never seen before. He placed the bear onto of El's book shelve, walking back out into the living room. He looked over to Will, watching as Joyce brushed his hair out of his eyes. Jonathan made eye contact with him, his eyebrows coming together with concern.
"Has he not woken up once?" Hopper asked moving around the couch to look over Will.
"The last time that, thing," Joyce said looking at Hopper; tears in her eyes. Not from sadness, but anger raged inside of her. "The last time this happened, he was awake like nothing happened. He felt a little off, but he was awake."
"He did fall into some frozen water," Steve said from the table. "When I pulled him up he wasn't awake, but I thought that had something to do with water in his lungs."
"Maybe it was the accident," Jonathan said. "I mean the van was flipped on its side. Do you think it's his head?" Hopper looked down at Will; his eyes dark, his skin pale.
"I think we need to get back to that quarry," Hopper looked over to Steve. "We'll take my truck," he pointed to the young adults in the kitchen. "Can I trust you not to do anything, at all?" They all looked at one another. A few of them nodded their heads and Hopper let out a strong breath. " I'm only trusting you because of El," Hopper said, "Make sure you check her bandages," he said pointing into El's room. His eyes enlarged thinking about the night before, Him and Dustin patching the girls bullet wound. "There were two boys here," He said.
"Dustin and Lucas?" Steve asked. Both him and Steve looked at the crew.
"They were here when we left," the bigger guy said. "We didn't do anything but intrude and take the girl." Hopper watched as Steve let a breath out.
"They probably went home," Hopper said to him. He patted the guy on his shoulder ushering him out the door, taking one last glance at Joyce. "This could be like last time," He said to her. Her eyes widened. "Just make sure he doesn't know where he is if he wakes up," Joyce looked down at Will putting her hands on his forehead as Hopper shut the front door.
He decided to park his truck by the trail where he had found El a few weeks ago. It was a ten minute walk to the quarry and he didn't want anyone to see his truck out in the open. They were trying to go unseen, at least for now.
"How did you figure out where we were?" Hopper asked Steve as they walked. Steve swung his car keys on his figure, both slightly slipping on mud patches as the snow melted.
"I radioed your emergency radio station you had given me, channel elven. Dustin told me that you had left after the kids, and what way you guys had gone. I guess my brain decided to have a smart moment and I took a good guess on where you were being led to." Steve shrugged his shoulders. Hopper took a glance around him, seeing no sigh of anyone else.
"Why was Mrs. Wheeler with you?" Hopper looked over to the kid; he had a large gun in one hand.
"She called the station; I think she was looking for you. The lab people showed up to her house. The gray haired guy was looking for Nancy and Mike. I rushed over knowing something had to be going on since you were late for work." Hopper let out a grumble, not wanting to think about what he was going to say for his disappearance. He didn't work Saturdays often, but they were usually their busy days.
They let silence play between them for the rest of the way; both looking around them every so often to see if anyone was following them. By the time they were able to see the trees thinning out, Steve's car still in the dirt path way, they were out of breath. They couldn't see anyone in sight, but didn't want to take any chances. They slowly peaked their heads out of the trees, moving slowly around the rock hills to get to the front of the water. A large crack ran up the side of the tall rock wall. Black ivy crawly from the hole that was made in the rock; dropping down into the water.
Hopper looked around the quarry, not seeing anything weird other the crack in the wall. He heard a droplet of water ring in his ears; he looked out into the ice water. The hole that El and Will fell into was still there, large blocks of ice breaking off from the point. The water lifted slightly, as if pulsing, as large wave came into the middle of the ice hole cause water to splash up slightly in the middle of the small lake. The ice cracking.
There was a slightly red glow, illuminating the water as another pulse raised a wave. Hopper looked over to Steve who let a gulp run down his throat in disbelief.
"I think she opened something," Steve said. A wave finally reached their feet, the cold water rushing into their shoes. "I don't think we should be here," Steve said. A large pulse went through the water again, the red glow getting a little brighter, the wave a little bit bigger. They both slowly backed up, not able to take their eyes off of what they were seeing. The wave of water followed them, so they starting to move faster. "I really think we should go," Steve said through a panicked voice.
"Yeah," Hopper said under his breath. They turned, moving to Steve's car in a rush. A pulse rumbled the ground as they starting to run, both opening the car doors in haste. Hopper got in the passenger seat, watching as the waves got bigger. Steve turned the car in top speed, flying out of the mud and rock to get back to the high way.
"We should probably get El back right," Steve said turning quickly onto a main road. "Like, who else is going to take care of this? She closed it last time, she could close it ago." There was a moment of silence in the car as the sped down the road. The sun was beginning to set, and the darkening of the trees was starting to freek Hopper out. "How do we even get in contact with her, where did they end up going? I can only think of a few places that Nancy has talked about, but what if they decided to stay off the grid."
"How about we have a moment of silence kid," Hopper said to him. "Just let me think for a second. Go to the Byers, they have a phone and that's where I told the Wheelers to call." Steve shook his head, speeding faster down the road. Hopper listened to the air hit the car, rocks and mud still falling from the car tires. He looked out his side mirror, not seeing anything out of the ordinary.
By the time they got back to the Byers house the drive way was empty, the sky was dark, and there were still a few lights on from the night before. They walked to the front door, the phone was ringing as they climbed the porch steps. Hopper ran inside, picking up the phone to hear the dial tone. He had missed the call by a second.
"Maybe they'll call back," Steve said as Hopper slammed the phone down. He looked around the house, refusing to let tears drop from his eyes.
…
"Now what," Mikes mom said as they sat in his aunts drive way. "Are you going to tell what's happening now?" Mike let out a sigh of frustration. His sister looked over to him from the front seat, trying to find any sign of approval.
"Fine, I'll tell the story," she said after a couple of seconds. Nancy began to talk while Mike looked over to El. She played with her hands as she looked out the window. Nancy mentioned the word lab and experiments, El looked down at herself. He felt his heart break slightly, reaching his hand out to her, but she ignored him.
It took Nancy fifteen minutes to move through the rushed story, his mom sitting in her seat with her mouth wide open. Once Nancy shut her mouth the car remained in silence as his mother took in all the information.
"I'm sorry," His mom said quietly, "but why?" she said a little louder. "Why wouldn't you tell me?" she yelled at them. EL jumped in her seat slightly, Mike felt ashamed and anger all at once. "How many times have I told you, you can tell me anything?" Nancy looked over to Mike, they both said nothing. "This would fall under the anything category." El slumped in her seat, letting out a huffed breath.
"We go back," El said quietly. All three of them look at her. "We go back, because they need us." She looked at Mike with hard eyes. He stared back not sure what to say.
"If we did go back," His mom began to say.
"We go back," El interrupted in a hardened voice. Mike watched as El and his mom glared at one another. "Take me back," Mike looked over to his mom with a small plea to just listen to her, but at the same time he didn't want to go back. He was perfectly content with going anywhere else but home.
"Fine," his mom said, "but if anything happens that's on you. Hopper told me to get out of there, but I'm only going back for my kids." Mike gulped down, looking over to El who sat slump in her seat. The cut on her forehead looking better, but the darkness around her eyes looking the same.
He knew she didn't have the energy for anything to big. She could barely get the keys off of his mother's fingers. He looked out his own window, watching as the car started forward, towards the storm that was beginning to churn in Hawkins.