Mike sat at the Byer's kitchen table as he listened to his sister softly talk over the phone. They were hoping that at this time in the morning their mother would be the one to answer, but sadly Ted grumpily said hello.
"Dad," Nancy said in a harsh whisper. "If I was, that would be none of your business." Mike raised his eyebrows at his sister, not wanting to know what Ted was saying on the other line. "Eww," Nancy said a little louder. "No! I would never do that with my brother in the same house." Mike silently gaged pushing himself out of the chair and grabbing the phone away from his sister.
"I don't know about the Byer's sometimes," his dad continued to talk as Mike put the phone to his ear.
"Dad," Mike said.
"That boy wants to go to art school, what kind of guy does that?"
"Dad," Mike said a little louder.
"Don't even get me started on the whole family situation-"
"Ted!" Mike was growing impassionate at this point. This was supposed to be a fast phone call to their mother. She was in the loop now, and all they wanted to do was make sure everything was going okay in town. The dark clouds had gotten taller over the hours, and without being in town they didn't know how people were taking it.
"Michael," his dad said with a surprised tone. "Why haven't you come home yet?" Mike rolled his eyes, looking over to Nancy who took his place at the table. He leaned against the end of the wall, trying to take in a calming breath.
"Just put mom on the phone," Mike said through his teeth. He looked into the living room, hoping he hadn't woken anyone up. He looked to his watch, forgetting he had given it to El hours ago. He had no idea what time it was, but new the sun hadn't risen yet.
"I would love to get your mother but she's sleeping." His dad said in a low tone. "Do you want to know why he's sleeping son?" Mike rolled his eyes, not giving his dad an answer. "She's sleeping because it four in the morning, and like most people at four in the morning she is asleep."
"Could you wake her up," he looked over to Nancy who leaned forward in the chair, putting her head into her hands. She let out a soft sigh as she began to rub her tired eyes. Mike put his hand onto the receiver of the phone. "Go to bed Nance," He said softly as his dad grumbled words into the other end of the phone. "Get some rest before the sun comes up." She looked at Mike, and he watched the internal debate that was happening in her head.
"Come get me if dad says something weird like "I love you", or "are you okay,"" Mike gave her a small smile as she stood from her chair. She left down the hall, peering into Joyce's room, before stepping into Jonathans.
"Mike!" Mike jumped in surprise when he heard his mother's voice. "Oh god, are you okay?" Mike let out a relieved breath as he heard his mother's voice on the phone; he didn't realize how much he was missing her.
"Everything's fine," he said to her. "I just wanted to check in, let you know that we're okay."
"What's happening?" Mike closed his eyes at the question; he looked back into the living room at his friends and Kali's crew.
"I can't tell you a lot over the phone," he said. "I do want to let you know some things though," he looked down at his left arm, the pain only coming and going when he moved it; not sure where to start.
…
El was sitting in her room, not the one at the cabin, but the one her mother had made her before she was born. She was listening to people talking down stairs as she brushed a dolls hair. The crib was gone and replaced with a nice bed with a big bed frame, the baby decorations replaced with posters of Nancy Drew, an ocean landscape. She had never been to the beach.
She listened to her mother's voice, at least she though it was her mother's voice. She sounded mad for some reason. She heard a man talk back to her with ice in his voice, and it made her want to shiver. El placed her doll onto the floor, the small brush beside it as she stood to close the door. She listen for just a few seconds, holding onto the door knob as she peaked her head out of the hall way.
"You can't do this," her mother was saying. "You don't know anything about her, she's shy, she scares easily."
"What other choice do you have," the man said. "Your hands are full, and you and I both know that this was only temporary."
"You're not taking her away from me," her mother said with tears in her voice. "You can't take her from me."
"You signed a contract," the man said. "I can do whatever I want. You and her belong to this country, and you and I both know how voluble she could be to this nation's safety."
"Oh please," El looked up and down at the hall way, not sure if she should be listening anymore. She felt uncomfortable for eavesdropping, but at the same time she couldn't help but wonder what they were talking about. "All you want to do is put your name on whatever study will get you seen. You don't care about us; you don't care about this country. You just want to be the name they put in history books." El listened to the silence, slowly taking her head out of the door way to close her door. "You won't touch Jane," El's ears perked at the name. "She is never seeing the inside of those labs; she is never going to be tested on like some animal."
"I'm sorry you believe that," El let her head slowly go back into the hall to hear a little more clearly. There was a loud bang that echoed through the house, making El jump out of her skin. She closed the door quickly, listening to footsteps on the stares. She grabbed her snow glob from the dresser, holding it like a weapon and slowly backing away from the door. She took a second to process, looking back at the snow globe with confusion. She had seen it somewhere before; the castle on a hill, the fake snow flying around the water as she moved it around in her hand.
The door opened quickly, a tall gray haired man staring at her. In his hand he held a gun. Her heart started to race as she realized Brenner was standing in her doorway.
"I will always be here," he said, stepping closer. In the distance a beeping noise started to chime. "You're just like me," he said, the beeping getting louder. "A killer," and louder. "You're an infection," he got closer the beeping beginning to scream. "And you will infect everyone that comes near." She dropped her snow globe, the glass breaking on the floor. She put her hands to her ears as the beeping screamed from all around. "You will infect everyone," beep!Beep! "And everything," beep! Beep! "And you will kill them."
The watch on her wrist was what was waking her. She looked around the dark room, and heard Hopper snoring on the floor. She smashed multiple buttons on the watch; trying to remember which one Mike had been pressing all night. Mikes make-shift bed was a mess of blankets, but he was nowhere to be seen. She sat up, a draft hitting her bold head. She looked around to find her hat on the floor, and she quickly picked it up to throw it back on.
She let her feet touch the cold wooden floor as she thought back to her dream. You will infect everyone; it almost felt so real for a minute. At first she had thought her mother was talking to her father. She looked over to Hopper, before bowing her head at the word.
Father.
She slowly stood from her bed, letting her arms stretch over her head. She didn't have much of a plan, but knew that today would be the day; she was going to close the gate. She felt a sadness fill her when she thought of Will, but knew he would want it this way. He would want her to stop it no matter what because that was the kind of person he was. She took a few small steps on her tippy toes, opening the door slowly and peeking her head out. She could see Mike at the end of the hall way, his back was to her as he talked in quiet whispers on the phone. She looked across from her at Joyce's door, debating on if she should risk trying to get new cloths and maybe some shoes.
"I can't tell you mom," she heard Mike say with a little more volume. "When I see you next I'll let you know." He was talking to his mother. She let a frown play on her face, thinking back to Karen and how Mike said he loved her. She wondered if she would ever love her mom like that, if she would ever get the chance to hold her hand and talk to her again.
You will kill them all.
She shook her head, moving from her room to Joyce's. She opened the door slowly, trying to make sure Mike didn't see her in the process. Joyce lay in her bed, Jonathan next to her. They had fallen asleep holding one another; both of their heads resting on the head board, El closed the door softly, trying to maneuver around the dark room. She opened each dresser drawer, feeling around for the texture of certain clothes. When she was satisfied with what she grabbed she went for the bedroom door; opening it slowly and closing it with silence.
Mike still had his back to her, as he argued with his mother in hushed tones. She walked to the bathroom slowly, closing the door and locking it behind her. She kept the light off. She was thankful that the moon was fighting the clouds to help her see. She looked down at the jeans she had grabbed, along with a sweater that said New York in big letters. She changed quickly, layering the New York sweater with the one she had on. She kept the hat and looked down at her feet. She hadn't grabbed shoes, but at this point she didn't really care. She looked in the mirror one last time, before walking to the window and unlocking it.
She looked back at the bathroom door, feeling the pain in her chest. She lifted the window, the cold wind blowing in her face. She didn't want to leave them, only because she was scared, because she had grown an attachment to everyone that she couldn't describe with words.
Don't be stupid.
She had lived a year by those words, and now she was asking herself if what she was doing made her stupid. She didn't know the answer, but knew that if she didn't do this it would never end. She opened the gate, so she had to close it, but as she stared out the window she didn't know why she couldn't move. She couldn't bring herself to climb through the window like she had done a few nights before.
There was a loud knock on the door, making El jump out of her thoughts. She turned to the noise as a strong breeze hit her neck.
"El," Mike's voice sounded. She let out a sigh knowing she was missing her chance. "Is everything okay?" She looked down at the watch on her wrist, moving to remove it but stopping herself halfway through. "Hopper's about to bust down the door if you don't open up." El sighed, grabbing hold of the window and closing it. She locked the latches, turning to move to the door. She heard two hard knocks, Hoppers voice arguing with Mike on the other side.
El opened the door slowly, peeking on the other side with a frown. Mike looked up at her from behind Hopper, who stared down at her with a mad expression.
"Don't make me have someone baby sit you when you use the restroom," He said pointing his finger in her face. "Last time you locked the door, you came back with someone shot." He opened the bathroom door a little wider, looking at the pajama pants she had been wearing on the floor. He rolled his eyes, ushering her out of the bathroom into Mike. He grabbed her wrist, looking down at the half attached watch on her arm; a frown forming on his face.
"I'm going to get some sleep," Mike mumbled, licking his lips with distaste before dropping her wrist and turning back to Will's room. El felt her stomach drop slightly because he knew, he knew she was trying to leave again and she had hurt him. El and Hopper watched as he closed the door behind him before Hopper dragged her down the hall way.
"Wheeler made out a small plan," he said in a hushed tone, grabbing the sheet of paper that sat at the kitchen table. "I thought we could look it over together, form so idea of our own before going out and getting things done." El could feel something inside her shift, a moment of weakness falling away as she started to realize what she had done. She had promised herself that she would go, that she would end it before anything could get started.
She took a seat across from Hopper, as he slowly read through the words Mike had written down. At the bottom of the page was a small diagram of hallways. She looked into the dark living room, Tory staring back at her from her place on the couch. She quickly looked away, feeling awkward at the exchange, before sneaking another peek at the girl, but her eyes had drifted back shut.
…
Mike lay on Will's bed looking out of his window, the sun slowly rising outside. He felt something in his chest he couldn't really explain. It wasn't anger, and it wasn't frustration; something he had been feeling for days now. He felt desperate, a need to go back to El and ask why. She was going to leave, he knew she was. The watch he had placed on her wrist was half off, and by the look in her eyes he just knew. He could feel the cold air hit his bare feet from under the bathroom door. He heard the slight creak of the metal as she slowly raised the window.
He watched the sun rise slowly, because it was still way too early in the morning to be out of bed, but it was way too late to fall back to sleep. He didn't know what to think, or what to feel. On one end he was mad, because he had waited three hundred and fifty-three days to see her again. He called her every night, no matter what the situation was. He had craved to see her, or to even hear her, to know that she was okay. Yet, she had been so ready to leave so many times before, and didn't even think to ask if he could come with her. She had made a promise, and that was something they couldn't break.
But, what would he do to help her? She had all the power, all the strength to end it all. She didn't need Mike to baby sit her, she didn't need him to provide a home anymore; Hopper had been doing that for a year now. All the sudden she had found this independence without him, and as much as he wanted to be mad at her, he was tremendously proud.
He was stuck in a circle of thought and emotion. All he knew was that he didn't know his place anymore, for anything. Was he the leader and strategic planner? Was he the angry emotional Mike that wrote on bathroom walls and cussed out neighbors as he rode by on his bike? Was he this kid that desperately tried to fix what he once had, only to find that it would never be the same again?
Mike lay in Will's bed, his eyes slowly dropping shut as he watched the sky turn from dark purple to red; finally shutting them to get at least a few minutes of sleep.
…
"No."
"What do you mean no," Kali whispered to El as they sat across from one another. "For once in my life I'm willing to agree with a cop." Hopper looked to the side at her with his eyebrows raised. El sat back with her arms across her chest, a mad frown forming across her face. She didn't really like the plan that was unfolding in front of her. She trusted her friends, and new beyond anything that they were smart enough to pull something like this off, but something inside of her said no.
Kali had woken about an hour before, walking into Hopper and El's conversation; willing to listen to what he had to say. El had stayed quiet for most of the exchange because she didn't want it, she didn't want to go back to him. She didn't want to see Brenner, or the lab, or even the parking lot they left behind for that matter.
"You go," El said with a little attitude, "but I will never step foot in there again." Hopper gave a sigh, sitting back in his seat and grabbing a pack of cigarettes that sat in his small shirt pocket. "I go," El said pointing to the back door, "and you make sure they get Will out." Kali shook her head.
"I can't stop those things like you can," she said. El considered this, thinking about the last time they ran into the tall lanky monster on the high way. She looked into the living room at Tory; sleeping on the couch hugging a small pillow.
"You both go," EL said throwing her thumb over her shoulder at Tory.
"What will she do Jane?" Kali looked at her, to Hopper, and then back to her again. Hopper lit his cigarette while it sat on his lips. He shrugged his shoulders at Kali like he had no interest in the conversation. "All she's going to do is make everything worse. She throws things off balance. She can't control herself."
"She could try," El shot back. "She could do something other than sleep." The girls stared at one another for a moment. The only sound in the room were heavy breaths, and the breath Hopper let out of smoke. "She can help with Will, or maybe with the bad men." Kali shook her head for a moment, trying to wrap her head around the thought.
"Here's the deal," Kali said, sneaking a peak at Hopper form the corners of her eyes before continuing. "We didn't come here for this. We came here for you." El sat up at her words, not sure if she should be angry or not. Kali had brought this here, she had made this happen. "We are going to go through with this plan, and then the three of us," she said motioning to them and the people in the living room. "We are getting out of here."
"Hold on," Hopper said sitting up and taking his cigarette out of his mouth. "She," he said pointing at El and making full eye contact with kali. "She not going anywhere after this is done. Her family is here, I don't care who you claim to be in her life, but she's my responsibility, and you can't just take her away." They angrily stared at one another for a minute, while El tried to hide a small smile from her lips. She could feel water form in her eyes but quickly blinked them away. She looked back to the backdoor, concentrating. She felt an itch; something at the back of her head poking her.
"She doesn't have to abide by your rules," she could hear Kali say, but didn't listen as she felt her eyes slightly closed.
"Yes she does," She could hear Hopper as his voice echoed softly in the distance.
"Jane is her own person-"
There was earie quietness to the void she had never heard before. There was no echo, and there was no water to reflect what light she could see. As she looked through the space she could feel a push of something in her chest she couldn't make sense of. She turned in a slow circle, looking for anything that would be familiar, but only darkness showed. She could feel a cold mist on her feet, her footsteps not making a sound as she took a slow step. She could feel something pushing back, something not wanting her to move forwards. She looked around for the source, not finding anything in her space.
"Stop," she could feel something on her shoulder. She looked over her right side, a hand placed on top of it. She slowly turned her head to see Will staring right back at her. "Don't turn around." He looked tired, slightly out of place. His hair was pressed down by sweat and grease, his eyes rimmed with red and darkness.
"You are obviously an expert source on how to live a healthy life," Hoppers loud voice rang into her ears as she snapped her eyes open. Warm blood trickled down her upper lip, a drop landing on the tiled kitchen floor.
"Oh and you are?" Kali yelled back. El quickly moved her sweater sleeve to whip her blood away. She looked at the two she sat with at the table, they chairs pushed back as they stood with anger in their eyes. El had to give it to Kali, she put some much confidence in the fact the El would go with her that she wasn't even considering any other alternative. She looked to the back door, trying to think of a way around everything. She didn't want to go back, she didn't want to go to the quarry, but she knew there was no other way. She knew that if she wanted to do what she felt was right she was going to have to make her own plan, and they would have to work around it.
Don't turn around.
What did that mean? She already knew she wasn't going back, so why would he concern himself with letting her know? Was that even him, or was it the monster talking to her?
She looked down at Mike's watch that still sat on her wrist, the time reading seven three one. She sighed, letting her head ache pound through her skull as she put a hand to her hat. She looked down the hall of the house, thinking of the time she spent with Will; how he was always quiet but caring. He had made her a hot chocolate when she had never had it before. He had treated her like a person, and never asked what it was like; to have powers the no one else did.
"I think I'm going to sleep," El said through the two loud voices. They both stopped their talking, looking down at her from where they stood. She pushed her chair out from the table, standing and turning to look into the living room. Her friends eyes were on her; Max, Dustin, and Lucas sitting up in their small floor beds and looking at her.
"Would you like some company," Max said quietly from her spot on the floor. El gave a small smile, nodding her head as she moved for the hall way. All three moved from their small made up beds on the floor, following her as she moved to Will's room.
…
Hopper looked down at the paper in his hand as he watched the kids walk down the hall. He wasn't worried about getting to Curly County. It wasn't far from where they were, and the psych ward was just on the outskirts of the small town. It was getting inside, walking the halls, and getting Will out in one piece that made a small shiver fall down his back. He felt like he was back at the lab, looking at the small security screens trying to find a way out of the hell that took over their cold halls.
"Maybe I can distract them," he heard Kali say from beside him. He looked over to the girl, dark circles forming under her eyes. She looked different with a shaved head; slightly younger, and a little more innocent. "I've never really dealt with those," she waved her hands in the air trying to find her words. "Those, whatever they are, but if their like anything else that breathes maybe I can distract them." Hopper looked back down at the piece of paper, looking at the small map Mike tried to draw out from Kali's memory.
"I can deal with the humans, if you deal with the other worldly creatures." Hopper looked into the living room; Kali's friends still asleep on the floor. Tory's eyes slightly opened to look at them through the door way.
"I do not want my friends involved," Kali said, moving around the table to get a better look into the living room. "I will help you and your people, but I will be doing it for my sister." They looked at one another one last time before Kali disappeared into the living room, leaving Hopper to think.
He didn't want El to go on her own; he didn't want her involved with any of this, but knew that without her nothing would get done. Hopper turned to the sink, the small window that sat over it showing the mixture of dark clouds and the happy sun. He looked over the trees, over the distant super cell that hung over the Earth a few miles away. He wondered want the others were thinking; if Floe had been trying to call him over the radio, if people in town were scared or just ignoring it like a bad storm.
Hopper jumped out of his skin because within the silence of the house came the ringing of the phone. He looked around the empty kitchen, slowly walking to the wall and picking up the receiving end.
"Hello," he said in a low voice.
"Hopper?" Hoppers ears perked up, the man on the other end continuing. "I told Joyce I would be there as soon as I could," Owens said, "but then I got a different call, and I thought that one was a little more important." Hopper raised his eye brows.
"Spit in out doc," Hopper said.
"I got a call from Brenner. He told me where he was and what was happening." Ownes paused for a moment, giving a small cough before continuing. "I'm here with Will chief, and I need you to tell me step by step how you fixed him the first time."
…
Mike felt like he was sleeping, but he heard movement all around him. He hated that moment before waking up, because sometimes he would be lying there, not able to move. He listed to the movement of everyone coming into the room, someone sat down beside him on the bed.
"How's your head," he heard Max say.
"Cold," came El's voice. Mike felt himself twitch a little, his muscle coming into the realization that they couldn't move.
"I think it looks badass," Max said back. Mike could hear everyone taking their seats on the floor or against a wall around the room. "It's real punk." Mike could feel himself grin slightly, finally lifting his eyes to the brightly lit room. His body was still facing the window, the sun finally up compared to when he had fallen asleep.
"MTV punk," El said slowly. Mike felt a shift in the bed, he turned over his bad shoulder to see El getting more comfortable by his feet. She looked over to see him staring at her, her eyebrows rising in surprise. He sat up slowly, seeing Dustin leaning against the closed door, Max on the floor, and Lucas standing right behind her.
"Time to wake up lover boy," Dustin said sitting up a little straighter. Mike rolled his eyes at him. He leaned his back against the bedframe, feeling slightly weird about being in Will's room without him being there.
"I have a plan," EL said abruptly. Everyone turned their eyes to her, but she was only staring at Mike. "I was wondering if you could help me." Mike could feel his stomach drop slightly at the thought of El coming to him for help. Just hours ago he was debating on if he was good enough to even been seen by her. "I just don't want to go alone anymore."
Mike looked around at his friends; all of them bring their attention to him. He moved a little closer to her on the bed, grabbing her hand waiting for her to talk. She looked around at her friends, and then back to Mike.
"I'm going to close the gate," she said a little quiet. " I'm going to close it today."
…
"There's no way," Axel said loudly; waving his gun in the air like it was a toy. "Why would we risk ourselves for some coper, and his band of goodie-too-shoes? We don't even know this kid." Hopper wanted to push him against the wall, maybe give him a little punch to the face. He couldn't understand it either; why Kali was okay to help them. All she wanted was to take things from him, to take her away even though she finally felt some comfort with the people in her life.
"We," Kali began to say, motioning to all of her friends. "We aren't doing anything. You guys are going to get out of here, find a new safe location to bunk in and wait." Hopper looked around the group, their eyes brows raised.
"Kali," Mick said softly, looking to Hopper as if he could be including in what she had to say. "This is stupid, you know it is."
"They need my help," Kali looked down at her hands, then back up at her friends. "Just make sure you don't hide too deep, because I need to be able to find you when we're done." Hopper raised his head to look down the hall way from where he was standing. He looked over to the phone he had just hung up, focusing now on the words he shared with Owens.
Brenner had run, he had left them all behind in the mess he had created. Owens was going to do it, he was going to get that thing out of Will, but it was Hopper that was going to have to get them out. Their windows and doors bolted, hidden deep within the building and running out of time before those monsters where able to get to them.
Hopper shook his head at the thought, trying to find control so he could wake up Joyce. He had to get them ready, he had to prepare each other for what they were about to walk into.
…
It was weird, or at least he thought it was until he realized where he was. It was the voice that started to echo within the dark space that made him realize what was really happening. Because the last thing he could really remember was splitting pain as he lay in a bed that wasn't his own; the blaring sound of gun fire as he sat in the darkness of his mind.
Will could hear him, he could hear the familiar panicked voice of a doctor as his yelling from a far corner of the darkness. He looked around himself, seeing only black, a mist covering his eyes; he felt cold. It was almost as if he was lost, like when he was in the upside down. He tried to hear his mother, like he would when he was looking for home, but he couldn't find her.
It was happening, he knew it was. He thought for just a little bit that he would be okay, that everything was over. Now he could really feel it; the Mind Flare looming over his conscience as he tried to place a simple thought in front of him. He was taking over, and Will couldn't do anything about it. All he could think about was his mother, and his brother. How sad they must feel now that they were really losing him. He was never going to go back; he would never be able to be Will again.
…
Hopper woke Jonathan first, telling him in hushed tones to try and find something to make for food. Jonathan's groggy eyes blinked slowly at his words as he nodded his head; moving slowly away from his mother. Hopper waited for the sound of the door clicking shut before he place a hand on Joyce's shoulder, slowly shaking her awake.
"It's time to wake up," he said softly to her. Her eyes shot open; reality coming back to her fast. She sat up quickly looking around her and then at Hopper. "We have to start moving," he said to her with a frown.
"Where Jonathan?" she asked.
"He's fine, I just have him cooking something up for everyone," he reassured her. She let out a small sigh of relief as she looked around her room. The sky was getting darker even though it was the morning, the tall looming clouds taking over their sun.
"What's it like in town?" she asked looking at her window. The blind were drawn, but they both could tell what was making the light disappear.
"I have no idea," Hopper said with a sigh, moving one hand over his fore head. "I should check in with Flo, but at this point I don't think it really matters. It's been days since I've even thought about work." Joyce put a hand on his shoulder to making him feel better. Her touch sent an electrical current through his arm like it always did; making his mind focus back onto reality. "Owens called," he said to her in a deeper voice. "He's with Will."
…
Jonathan moved slowly through the kitchen, he stood at the fridge door for what felt like ages before moving. He took out a carton of eggs, half full, some milk; a half used onion, and sighed. They had nothing, but he had always been good at making nothing into something.
"Need some help," her voice made Jonathan freeze, forgetting he was in a house full of people, and not just making breakfast before school like he always did. He turned to see Nancy in the door way, he hair a little frizzed from sleep. She wore the same clothes from yesterday, her eyes slightly open as she was still trying to wake up.
"I can make the best toast," she said with half a smile, making him laugh softly. She slowly started to walk into the kitchen to stand beside him. "You laugh but it's true," she continued. "Just asked Holly, she thinks it's to die for."
"I'll take your word for it," he said back, moving everything from the fridge to the counter. "If you can make six eggs, some milk, and half an onion into something than I don't think you have to prove anything to me." She stared at the ingredients than back at the fridge.
"Anything in the freezer?" she asked opening the freezer door. A puff of cold air came out as she looked from side to side. Jonathan watched as she began to pulled frozen veggies, and fruit from the freezer. "We are just going to have to settle for an ore of weird foods together." She said to him placing what she found next to his findings.
"Let's get started than," Jonathan said glancing over to her with a small smile.
…
Steve sat on the couch in the living room watching Jonathan and Nancy cook together. He felt something in his stomach; something that was mixed with jealousy and hatred, but he tried to swallow it down. He took his eyes from them, looking around the room at the outcast group. Kali sat across from his against the wall, watching his observe the group as they talked. He felt uneasy with them, mostly because they were a group of criminals and he didn't like to associate himself with low life like that.
"You judge so quickly," he heard Kali say across from him. He looked at he with a frown, annoyed that he had to talk so early in the morning.
"And you don't," he said back to her, sinking deeper into the seat. She raised her eye brows at him, but he payed no mind to her as he looked back to the kitchen. He moved his bat around in his hand, thinking about the time him and Nancy made cookies for a bake sale at school. He had only been there to eat the dough as she worked, and to make a mess of things to make her laugh. He let the lump in his through fall as he swallowed at the thought.
"Maybe you should do something more productive with your time," Kali said back to him. "I don't think watching will get you anywhere."
"I'll do whatever I want with my time," Steve bit back. "Maybe you should start to think of a way to get Will out of the building, and do a little less sitting around yourself."
"I have a plan," she said sitting up from the wall. "Maybe if you were awake when it was being forged you would know about it."
"Yeah sorry about that," Steve said through his teeth. "I was doing this thing all night last night called watching our backs. I don't know if you noticed but I was the one sitting by the door while everyone else had a good night's rest." He gripped his bat a little tighter as they glared at one another, the others in the room going quiet.
"Poor little rich boy," she said through her teeth. He stood at her words, growling under his breath. She stood with him, her eyes giving s shine that wasn't there before. "Must be hard not getting what you want." Steve could see the room getting slightly darker, the corner of his vision not focusing on anything around him. He could smell something that wasn't there before as he stared at the girl; the smell of a cigar, like his dads office.
He felt a shiver run down his spine as he looked around himself, the walls melting like wax and turning into the painted gray walls of his home. He was standing at his front door, the stairs to his house on his right. He gave a big swallow as he listened to his dad talk loudly from the living room, he could see him mother sitting on the couch in the distance.
"He's not going anywhere," he father said. "He won't even take my advice on staying in town, and God only knows how he's going to get into a school with the grades he has." Steve looked down at his hands as he felt the guilt run through him. "I can't believe this is happening, I can't believe this is how he turned out." Steve backed himself against the front door, moving to leave, but something caught on his legs and he fell backward. He closed his eyes before the impacted; feeling himself fall onto a soft cushion.
"Stop," he heard a girl say from behind him before he opened his eyes. He was back in the Byers living room, half lying on the couch. He turned his head back to the voice, Tory's face coming into view as she moved into the room. "Don't feed off my anger," she said quietly to Kali. Steve turned back to her, not knowing how to concentrate when his mind was still reeling on his father's words.
"Then don't force them on me," Kali said through her teeth. Both girls looked at one another with dagger like glares. Steve half laid on the couch looking back and forth, his eyes a little wide. He sat up quickly grabbing his bat that had fallen on the floor. He looked between both girls, then around the room at their friends. He decided to leave it at that, not wanting to be in the same room as them anymore. He would much rather be cooking with Nancy and Jonathan in the kitchen.
…
"If I have her with me maybe that will give me enough to close the gate," El said from her place on the bed. Mike walked around the room thinking, Lucas and Dustin watching him.
"I'm still confused on what she can do," Max said to her from the floor. "I mean, she controls emotions I guess, but how does that help you?"
"She had anger," Mike said stopping next to the bed. "She's been messing with a few of us in the house. Yesterday I felt so mad; I don't think I can even describe what it was like."
"Anger can help me," El said, everyone looking back to her. "When I went to Chicago Kali told me that when I focus my energy on emotion my power gets stronger. When I closed the gate I focused on all the things that made me made, that's how I closed it."
"I don't think she's going to want to go with us," Lucas said from his spot on the wall. "I mean she doesn't really do much but sit there, and all she really seems interested in is staying out of everything."
"Maybe she doesn't have to want to go," Dustin said. He scratched his head in thought. "Maybe we take here without her permission."
"We kidnap her?" Max said with wide eyes. "Yeah, sorry I'm not doing that."
"She would be madder," Mike said looking to Dustin. They both nodded their head at the thought. "I mean we would have to be really carful, she could make us turn on one another."
"But all that anger could feed into El closing the gate," Lucas said, sitting up from the wall."
"Uh guys!" Max said loudly.
"The only thing we would have to worry about was getting to the quarry with her, and potential monsters."
"Guys!"
"We have El for that."
"Hello!"
"She needs to conserve her energy."
"I'm not doing this," Max said loudly, standing from her spot on the floor. The boys stopped their talking, looking at the red head as they looked at every one of them. "You're talking about kidnapping someone with the ability to turn your emotions into a fire ball!" El looked at the girl, picturing all her friends fighting one another when they aren't even halfway to the quarry.
"Let me handle it," EL said, standing from her seat. "I'll talk to her." Max let out a stressed sigh.
"What's the escape plan," Max said, sitting back on the floor and looking at the three boys.
…
Hopper sat at the kitchen table, Joyce on one side of him and Steve on the other. Kali sat across from them, drawing lines on a fresh piece of paper. She stopped mid line, tapping the pencil in thought.
"I'm about ninety percent sure this is where his room was," kali said, drawing a space for a door way then continuing with the hall way layout. She stared the door way space looking up to the other three she sat with. "Hopefully they are still keeping him there."
"Owens probably moved him to a more interior area," Hopper said. "Do you know of any room that was far from windows and outside doorways?" Kali bit her lip in thought. Go through her memory once again as they sat; waiting. Hopper listened to Jonathan curse under his breath, moving a pan from the stove top as Nancy covered a steaming pan.
"There was a room they brought me to." She said slowly. "It was big, with a tank." She closed her eyes at the thought. "It's underground, I'm sure that's where they would go."
"Then that's what we aim for," Hopper said to everyone. "Joyce and Jonathan bring the heaters, me and Nancy will have the gun power, Steve keeping the back with his bat, and you," he points to kali, "you lead the way, and distract when you can." They all nodded in unison.
"What about El," Joyce asked softly.
"She won't go," Hopper sighed. He didn't know what to tell her, he just knew he wasn't going to let her leave this house. "I'll talk to Wheeler, make sure the kids keep her here." He looked around the kitchen in thought; glancing at the small cabinets on the other side of the room. A small syringe sat on the wooden top, black liquid filling it half way. Mike had taken the dart from the cabin; the one Brenner had shot her with. "Maybe," he said slowly. "Maybe we can make sure she doesn't leave at all."
…
"Their probably still in his pocket," El said looking to Max.
"I think I might be able to get them, we just need a distraction. He's a cop; he probably knows what it feels like to be pit pocketed."
"As long as we get the keys who cares." Dustin said siting down on the bed with a sigh. "We are literally walking into death right now, we need a ride out."
"I think I know where the area is," Lucas from the wall. Mike continued to pace in thought as they talked. "It's like a ten minute walk to the trail, we'll probably be caring El back, but that's the only place I could think of his truck being."
"Then we head there," Mike said. "We move fast and we keep our minds focused." He walked over to El, leaning onto his knee in front of her. "Are you sure about this?" He asked seriously locking eyes with her.
"I can do this," she said to him. "I have to do this." A soft knock came to Will's door making them all jump in unison. Lucas came off the wall, opening the door to Nancy.
"There's some food," she said quietly, looking to all of them. Her face showing some sort of emotion that El couldn't place. Her and Nancy locked eyes, Nancy's eyes drifting away quickly.
Dustin stood with force, stomping to the door, Lucas and Max following suit; Mike staying in his place, El doing the same. The thought of food made her stomach turn.
"We'll be right out," Mike said to his sister. She nodded her head, cracking the door before walking back to the kitchen. Mike looked at the door for a moment before looking back to Will. "Promise me you're going to be fine." El had watched enough soaps and movies to know that happy endings never amounted to anything in real life. She knew that promising him anything wouldn't do them any good, and she knew that at the end of all of this she didn't know if she would be walking away.
"I promise," she lied to him. She looked down at her hands in her lap, feeling tears cover her eyes, not letting them slip past the lids. Mike grabbed one of her hands with his good arm, standing from him spot on the floor.
"Then let's eat," he said, pulling her from her spot on the bed and leading her out of the door.
…
Mike could feel it, the pressure in his chest as he took a seat at the table. The all to familiar feels from a month before when they had closed the gate for the first time. He looked around to everyone, Kali's crew missing; where they had gone, he didn't really care.
Mrs. Byers placed a small plate in front of him, a little bit of eggs and veggies stacked next to each other, one piece of toast cut in half.
"Nancy didn't make the toast right?" Mike said picking up the crusty bread and inspecting it. He looked to El who took a seat next to him at the small table. "Nancy makes the worst toast."
"Do not," Nancy said from across the room, nudging Jonathan who tried to hold in his laughter. Joyce moved a small plate in front of EL, who just frowned down at it.
"I'm not hungry," she said softly to Mrs. Byers.
"At least drink this," Hopper said from the kitchen counter. He placed a small plate next to his empty chair, handing over a red drink to her, frost building up in the side of the glace. El grabbing it and frowned; looking it over in confusion. "It's strawberry's, but all grinded up into a drink. I put some pain medicine in there so it might taste a little funny, but it'll make you feel better." She nodded her head, looking over to Mike.
"You should drink it," Mike said lowly as everyone else began to dig into their small plate of food. "You're going to need it." Hopper cleared his throat at Mike's words; stuffing a full fork of eggs into his mouth.
"Here's the deal," Hopper said, looking down to his plate and then back at Mike. "You kids are staying here," he pointed his fork at the line of kids that sat in front of them. "Kali and the rest of us are going to Will, Owens is there now trying to assess the situation." Mike looked over to his friends, all of the looking down at their food. He looked back up to Hopper. "You need to promise me that she does not leave this house." Mike and Hopper both looked to El he took a gulp of her drink, frowning down at it as she forced herself to swallow.
"What about the gate," Mike asked looking to Hopper. He wasn't going to promise anything, only because he knew the plan, and they were going to stick to it.
"We are dealing with Will first," Hopper said in a harsh dad voice. "We'll figure out the gate later, but I don't want a repeat of last month. That shit wasn't good for her, and she's too banged up now to put herself into that kind of situation again." Mike looked to El, who tried not to make eyes contact with anyone in the room, her lips returning to the glass, taking another gulp with disgust.
"Yeah sure," Mike said softly.
"Tory staying with you guys," kali said. They all looked to her and then to Tory who quietly played with the food on her plate. "She's still too weak, and without having control over her power I would hate to bring her into a situation that can blow things out of proportion."
"What a good idea," max said under her breath. Lucas nudged her leg with his own. Mike took a few bites of his toast, swallowing the dry bread while lost in thought. Maybe she was too weak; maybe closing the gate would take her this time. He thought about the first time she disappeared. She got lost in the upside down because she didn't really know what she was doing, what if that happened again; except this time she didn't get lost, she just never woke up again.
His thoughts were stopped by the sound of glass breaking next to him. He looked to El with alarm as she fell from her chair, her eyes opening and closing slowly. She crawled slowly away from the table as Hopper stood from his chair. She looked over to the drink and then to Hopper who rushed around the table to get to her. Mike stood from his seat, looking at the smoothing like drink, most of it already drank; the rest spread on the floor with broken glass.
"It's okay," Hopper said to her as he kneeled in front of her. She brought in a deep breath, trying to move away from him, before he eyes closed. Hopper caught her head before it landed on the tile floor. Mike kneeled next to him, while everyone else either looked surprised, or sat with guilt in their chairs.
"What did you do?" Mike asked with anger as he looked up to Hopper. The man shook his head, picking the girl up from the floor.
"I'm not stupid kid," Hopper said to him, standing in the kitchen with El in his arms. Mike looked to his friends, their eyes wide. Max stood from her seat, moving next to them.
"Let me help you get her to bed," she said slowly to Hopper. Hoppers eyebrows frowned in confusion, but accepted the offer with a head nod anyway. Mike stood in shock as they moved down the hall, back to Wills room.
"Mike, don't be mad," Nancy said as she ushered him into the living room.
"Don't be mad?" he said loudly. "You guys drugged her with something that takes he powers away, of course I'm mad." He put his hands to his face, hissing in irritation and pain from his left shoulder.
"We're not stupid Mike," Nancy said. "She was going to go and close the gate, we all know she was." Mike stood in silence looking to Nancy with squinted eyes. "You all were going to get yourself killed by just getting close to that thing," Nancy lifted her arm to the ceiling as if the clouds floated through the room. "We'll get that things closed, we just need to focus on getting Will back first, and don't you want him to be okay." Mike turned around, looking around the room.
Of course he wanted Will to be okay, but they had gotten to a point now, a point of no return. Sometimes the good guys die, and sometimes you can never get them back. All Mike knew was that the Mind Flair was out, and people could be in real danger if El doesn't close the gate. He turned back to look at his sister, biting his lip and shaking his head.
"I don't think you know what you just did," he said lowly. "Of course I want my best friend back," he said through tears, "but what about the others, what about Hawkins? The Mind Flair is looming over our town, our family, we have to get the gate closed." He pushed pasted his sister, nocking into Hopper in the door way, Max slowly coming from behind the large man, slight fear in her eyes. She looked around the living room awkwardly, making eye contact with Mike before turning back to the kitchen and taking her seat next to Lucas.
Hopper placed a hand on Mike's right shoulder leading him to the hall way and towards Will's room.
"You will stay here," Hopper said, leading him to El's bed side, "and you will make sure she stays safe until we get back with Will." Mike looked up at the man with cold eyes; like they ever listen to any adult.
"I hope you know what you just did," Mike said to him with venom. "She trusted you."
"I'll do whatever to keep her alive," he said, looking over to El. Mike shook his head, as Hopper stomped out of the room.
…
Lucas sat at the table, his eyes glues to his plate of food which he hadn't really touched. He listened to everyone stand from their chairs, Dustin and Max staying seated next to him. Mrs. Byers took a few empty plates from the table, Steve sneezed Dustin's shoulder before disappearing into the living room, Kali looked at them her dark eyes.
They all watched as everyone slowly left the room, Kali staying behind with them. Tory looked to the girl, behind looking at the others with a scroll and disappearing to the bathroom down the hall.
"She response great to fear," Kali said with a small voice. Lucas and the others looked up to her in confusion. "El," she said trying to help them understand. Lucas looked to Dustin who shrugged his shoulders at him. Kali let out a frustrated sigh, "El works well under pressure. If you get her awake, I have strong faith that she would be able to do it." Lucas raised his eyebrows at her. Honestly he thought El could do anything, he wasn't too worried about her ability to close the gate or not, it was their ability to get there that made him fearful. "Just make sure she's away before you get there." Kali took one last look at them before walking to the living room.
"She gives me weird vibes," Max said shaking out shivers in her body. Lucas and Dustin looked to her. He had almost forgotten she had gone with Hopper to help lay El down.
"Did you get them?" He asked looking around their surroundings and then back at her. She looked around herself before patting her jean pocket.
"Grabbed them when he was leaning over her," she gave a small smile, which quickly disappeared as Hopper stomped into the kitchen. He looked at all three of them with a sigh.
"Don't even think about stepping foot out of this house," he said pointing his figure at all of them. "We'll walkie you once we make it back a into city limit which isn't too far from her; you understand." All three of them slowly nodded their heads as Hopper looked into the living room. Lucas could see Jonathan stuffing a second heater into a back pack, while his mother walked down the hallway with her own back, walking into Will's room to get a few things. Nancy placed the small wooden gun onto the couch, looking at the big black one Hopper had brought in. Steve stood with his bat, looking down at his watch.
To Lucas it was like they were getting ready for war, he guessed because that's what they were really doing. It reminded him of the stories his dad was tell about the war, going into Nom without know what awaited them beyond their war ships; what awaited them beyond the trees.
…
Mike looked out of Will's window, watching as everyone stuffed themselves into Steve's small car; Nancy sitting in Jonathans lap in the back seat. He looked back to the unconscious El, his brain freezing as he tried to figure out what to do.
"Okay," Dustin said, opening the door wide, holding a large bottle of ammonia. "Let's get this party started." Mike looked from him to El, then down to the bottle of chemicals. Dustin fished through his jean pocket, pulling out a cotton ball, and untwisting the cap of the ammonia bottle.
"Wait," Mike said. "What about Hoppers car keys? How are we going to get Tory to come if El never got to talk to her?" Dustin placed the cotton ball on top of the bottle, twisting it upside down fast and moving it far away from him. He took in a big breath.
"This stuff stinks," Dustin said, moving closer to the bed. "Max got the keys when Hopper brought El to lay down, and I don't know what we're going to do about the girl yet, but I'm sure we can over power her."
"Dude," Mike said twisting his face in discussed.
"What," Dustin said. "We're talking about kidnapping here, no matter what I say it will come out sounding creepy." Dustin leaned over El, placing the wet cotton ball under her nose. Mike leaned over on the other side of the bed, waiting for her eyes to pop open like Will's had about a month ago.
Nothing happened.
Mike looked to Dustin with a frown, as Dustin removed the cotton ball away from her nose. They both looked down at the girl, both lost in thought on what else they could do to wake her up. Dustin put the chemical bottle on the floor, grabbing El shoulders. He shook her hard.
"El!" he yelled in her face. "Hello." Mike grabbed Dustin, pulling him off of her.
"Stop," he complained. "Maybe this stuff is supposed to keep her asleep. Maybe we should give her a little bit before heading out."
"It'll take us an hour to get there by foot," Dustin said shaking his head. "Plus there might be some obstacles to get there, we need to go now." Mike gave a sigh, looking back down at El and then to the bedroom door. He moved past the bed, glancing back at Dustin before walking out into the hall way.
Lucas and Max stood in the kitchen, Lucas looking at big Kitchen knives as Max rolled her eyes at something he said. Mike looked at them for a second, wishing it could be so easy for him. He closed his eyes only for a moment, imagining what it would be like to have El in his life as if she was normal. He shook his head from the thought, moving down the hall way to get into the living room.
Tory sat on the couch, and as soon as Mike was able to lock eyes with her she did the same with him. He took a deep breath in the spot that he stood, not knowing what to say or how to phrase it.
"We're leaving," he said, scrunching his eyebrows because he hadn't planned on saying that.
"Okay," the girl said back to him.
"Well," he paused for a moment, feeling his stomach drop slightly. How do you tell a person their going to be kidnapped? "You're coming with us." He said plainly, moving a little closer to where she sat.
"I'm not going anywhere," she said sitting up straight. "I'm staying here like I was asked." Mike rolled his eyes at her words because they came out with a mocking attitude. He glanced behind him as if he didn't want anyone else hear what he was going to say next.
"I don't think you understand," Mike said. "You're coming with us, even if we have to take you by force."