Her nose was running blood so much it was dripping into her mouth and down her chin.
Mike felt himself tense even more
T-Twelve? What do you MEAN twelve?'
Hopper shushed him, -'Not now' he mouthed.
El didn't wanted to rip her gaze from Levi, as if he was gonna go away if she did. But she had to know where they were.
She closed her eyes and sat on the ground, putting both hands along the stream of invisible water...
-'Hawkins' she whispered, she couldn't believe it. Levi was in Hawkins. In an underground facility. They had to act NOW.
El kneeled beside the bed that held her son, -'I'm coming for you, okay? And then you'll be safe and sound with me...I promise'.
El's shaky hands removed the sock off her eyes. She tasted a metallic substance in her mouth. The smell of blood was nauseating. She found Mike's worried stare pasted on her.
Of course. She was bleeding a lot. This had taken a toll on her. But she didn't faint, or even showed signs of decompensation. Her voice, though, came out like a cracked whimper
"Almost gone".
Mike's eyes immediately filled with tears, for what seemed like the thousandth time in two weeks.
-'W-What do you mean almost gone, El?'
She had a hard time forming words at this point
-'Do you-Do you remember, back at the beginning of summer when he-he got sick...like very very sick and-and I thought he was gonna die'
Mike nodded and realised then, -'Is he sick again?', El just nodded,
-'But the people that have him...they're not...they don't know what's wrong with him, s-so he can't get the help he needs'
-'They're just keeping him alive so they can experiment more on him' Hopper announced, convinced that was the truth. El looked up at her father and nodded, -'We have to find him...now'.
As Hopper tried to figure out their next move, El sat on the kitchen table to think.
-'I'm gonna kill each and every single living thing that gets in my way...I swear on the life of everyone I love' she whispered, almost anticipating the moment she could do something to save her son. Mike took her hand, -'El there's other ways-'
-'Other ways?! Other ways Mike? What are you gonna do...call the police and expose all of this? Expose ME? There isn't another way...and you know what? Everyone in that fucking lab knows what's going on. I was the reason Hawkins lab was still there. And now Levi is the reason why this-this place still exists...I just can't let them escape...S-So they just kidnap my child, the person I gave LIFE to, and I just, what, show them mercy and let them go?' She wiped away some tears, -'No. no mercy. No mercy to the people who made us have the accident, no mercy to the people who-who TOOK him, no mercy to the people who keep experimenting on my son...This has to end, and god dammit I am gonna fucking kill anybody that gets between me and MY SON. Do you understand?!'; Mike nodded and managed to let out a whimper, -'Let go of the knives though' he pointed at a whole set of kitchen knives floating in mid air.
Hopper laid out a map of Hawkins in front of El.
-'Jane, I need you to think...where is the bunker', he tried not to press too much but the urgency in his voice was palpable.
-'I think within a mile radius of the main lab...but very well hidden, it could take a few days to find it', her eyes glistened with new tears. She was desperate.
-'Okay, we don't have a few days...right?', El nodded, -'He's sick, dad...he needs treatment, or he-he's gonna-',
-'He won't. El. He won't. Okay, so we can't call the police, or for backup in my case. It will only draw unwanted attention'
-'Maybe if we start looking now..'
-'Yeah and what happens when we find it?' Hoppr raised an eyebrow.
-'There's only one way in and one way out...that's easy to do' El nodded to herself as if to apease any concerns, -'I'm gonna need your back up, dad. But you're gonna have to get the bulletproof vest' her eyes fixed into Hop's grey ones, -'They're gonna try to kill us. No doubt. Including me' she heard Mike leave the table and gasp for air elsewhere, Will softly comforting him. El closed her eyes and tried to ignore his sounds.
-'So they're gonna try to kill us dad, I can stop bullets but we have to have a plan B. And that's you'
Hopper nodded. He wasn't scared of guns. He had been in numerous shoot outs when he was a cop in NYC. He jjst wanted to get through and rescue his grandson.
-'So you're wearing a vest too-',
-'I don't need it'
-'Jane, you are. I won't lose my little girl to a bullet. And Levi is not gonna lose his mother to a bullet. Are we clear'
El nodded and looked over at Mike,
-'You're gonna stay, Mike',
-'Wha?! Are you SERIOUS? I'm fucking going!'
-'It's too dangerous! Are you not hearing what I'm saying?!'
Hopper looked at the couple bickering and thought for a second...
-'I may need a driver. If I get hurt, I'm gonna need someone to drive'
-'I can drive dad come on!'
-'No, you'll have to take care of the baby when we take him out of there, Mike can drive'
El shot her father a glare and sighed reluctanctly,
-'FINE. I just didn't wanna put more people in danger'
-'He's my son, El. I'd give my life for him. And for you'.
-'Are you not gonna call the rest of your little shit friends to let them know what you're doing' Hopper asked while examining a bulletproof vest in the light,
-'Mike told them...they'll be there if we need them. Always alert'
-'Good kids. But stupid. That's a dumb idea, they could get hurt'
El nodded and rubbed her eyes, -'Yeah I guess'
-'You tired?'
El chuckled sadly and nodded, -'Yeah. Sleepless nights again huh? Remember when Levi first got home? It was terrible'
-'You don't have to remind me' Hopper winced, 'still adore him though. As if he was my blood...' he added.
-'I know dad...' El put a soft hand on his shoulder and patted his back, -'It's gonna be okay. I tell myself that every day. Even if there's a chance that it isn't gonna be okay'
-'I'll be there. Through everything and anything...I'll be your human shield while you're out there El, there's no other way'
-'No chance. You can't-'
-'This is not up for discussion, Jane' his voice was stern. Not a hint of fear in it. He was willing to sacrifice himself if it was necessary.
-'If they get me, and there's nothing you can do for me, just run. Run to safety...do you promise?' He grabbed her face, tears were running down her cheeks, -'I promise dad' she whispered, then letting him kiss her forehead,
-'That's my girl'.
-'I'm going with you guys, too' Will whispered sombrely.
El looked up from her hands and frowned, -'Will, you can't-'
-'I wanna be plan C' he said firmly
Joyce's eyes went huge and started shaking her head, -'No, no way, you stay HERE okay?!'
-'Mom, I want to help! We are family mom...we have to be there for each other. I'm gonna go look for Levi with them, please'
Hopper sighed deeply,
-'You stay with Mike in the car'
He nodded and held his friend's hand, -'We are on the bench again, huh?'
-'As long as being in the bench is helping, then I like the bench'.
Max held El's hand and looked at her attentively, -'Are you nervous?'
El nodded sincerely without a second thought. Not just nervous. She was terrified. Terrified about putting her life on the line, terrified that she could be too late...but she had to do this.
-'Yeah I am...we are gonna start the search party tonight, are you going with Lucas?'
-'Yeah but, what search party, can you explain-'
-'The lab facilities are underground in the woods. And Levi is in there, I saw him. But he's sick, Max'
-'H-How sick? Is he like, dying?'
-'He's like...a few months ago, when he went into the hospital, remember?' She saw the redhead nod, -'So when that happened, the doctors told us he was technically gonna be unwell for the rest of his life. It's a thing he has. And Mike and I always took very good care of him and everything, and now he-he just...like this was my worst nightmare. He's sick without us there to help him...the people at the lab where I was, were not doctors. They didn't have advanced knowledge in health things...I know that first hand'.
El remembered vividly.
The people in the lab were not person doctors. They were biologists, physicists, mathematicians, linguists...there was a neurologist but he got killed off after he suggested El's usage of her powers could cause her brain damage and should be taken to a real hospital.
Everyone in that place lived off the thrill that a human could lift things with their mind.
Now Levi was sick in there and El was sure the lab didn't have a pediatric neumologist in hand.
Max just tried to process all this information. Through their three years of friendship, Max and El have had ups and downs. Partly because El has a very strong personality even if her demeanour doesn't show it (certainly her clothes communicate a lot. She still likes the punk make up and straight hair), and Max is very sarcastic so they had clashed every once in a while. But this time, they had to leave their differences aside and help a common cause.
-'I'll be with Lucas, searching...we can split up in teams, maybe?',
-'Yeah that was the plan...it's just weird searching for...the thing I hate the most in this world. Hawkins Lab and its people, you know? It's weird searching for it again because they took the person I love the most. The person I'd give my life for',
Max didn't know the feeling, but she could imagine.
-'I see you got your punk vibes back' Mike tried to be more light and less depressed.
-'Yeah...you know how I like my eyeshadow and jacket'
-'Mhmm...come here, I wanna talk to you'
El frowned, he hasn't sat with her like this in a while. She sat on his lap and locked her arms behind his neck,
-'What'
Mike struggled to find words.
-'If it comes up to it...I'll be your human shield'
El let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.
-'Mike, Mike come o-'
-'You need your dad. He's strong, he knows guns, he knows strategy and how to get you two to safety first. But El...if I see you two in peril, don't ask me to sit in a car and wait for a miracle because I won't do that-'
-'Mike' she held his face. His beautiful face.
-'No, Jane...you don't understand. I swore on my life to protect you and Levi. If I have to die for you guys to escape and be safe...I don't even have to think it twice'
-'Y-You're not gonna die, stop saying that' she was in tears at the thought of losing her Mike, -'We-We are a family. A small one, and an unconventional one, as you said. But we have to be together, s-so stop talking about dying'
-'I'm just saying that El, because I want you to know what I'm willing to do to keep you safe'.
Hopper looked at his daughter with a stranged face as she walked out of her bedroom alone. She seemed troubled, a bit confused and very disturbed.
-'What...what happened? What did you two talked about?' He frowned.
El sighed deeply and tried not to look at her father in the eye,
-'Just...keep him away from razors until this is over. And make sure Karen checks if he's taking his medication'.
His blood ran cold. Was Mike suicidal again? Was he thinking about self harming like the time El went missing for a year? The young man had definitely sank into a deep depression. As if he wasn't succeptible enough with traces of PTSD manifesting after 1983.
At this rate though, and in this situation, Mike was more likely to starve himself to death than end it with a razor. Depression had fallen on him like an old black cloud, always looming, never really completely covering. Until now. The boy was miserable and a god damn mess with his family all broken up. The sheer fear of losing El as well made him stay up at nights, made his brain ignore his stomach's violent demands for SOMETHING, made everything feel extremely difficult to do.
Hopper remembers...
That time a few months ago that Levi got so sick everyone thought he wouldn't make it (even doctors).
He had seen the extent of Mike's sadness and paranoia. After having lost El for a year, and now on the possible verge of losing his son to an illness nobody understood, the young man was going into overdrive. His fight or flight reflections at an all time high, like if he closed his eyes, Levi would just die like that.
When the little baby came out of the woods though, Mike shifted from being a good dad to a stellar one. Seriously, Hopper had never seen someone so dedicated to another person.