"Shit," Lucas hit the car door when Lyn made a sharp turn.
"I'm sorry." She apologizes. She was speeding through residential neighborhoods trying to get to Mike's house as fast as possible. She needs to at least get Lucas in better range so that he could make contact with them.
"If you guys can hear me, say something. DUSTIN! MIKE! ELEVEN!" He yells into the walkie talkie.
"Lucas!" The two let out a scream of joy when Dustin came over the radio.
"Yes, it's Lucas. I found the gate. Bad men are coming. They know about Eleven. You have to get out of there." He yells.
"Lucas, I can't hear you but we're at Mike's house," Dustin told him. Lucas repeated himself. When the radio comes up silence he yells it again. Lyn pushes the gas pedal to the floor to go faster. She prays that people would hear Darling's engine and not try to cross the street.
"Lucas, if you can hear us, slows down. We can't understand you." Mike's voice came through the radio.
"Yes, I copy! Do you? They know about Eleven! Get out of there! They know about Eleven! The bad men are coming! All of them! Do you hear me? The bad men are coming! The bad men are coming!" Lucas screams into the walkie.
"Bad men!" Mike yells back. Lyn and Lucas let out a sigh of relief that they got the message.
"Why is it silent?" Lyn went from feeling relief back to anxiety in a split second.
"I don't know. Dustin! Dustin, do you copy?" He kept repeating it into the radio only giving short chance for a response.
"Yeah, Lucas, they're on us." He told them, making the two in the car curse.
"Where are you?" Lucas asks next.
"Cornwallis," Dustin tells them.
"Tell them to meet us at Elm and Cherry." Lyn took a sharp U-turn to meet up with the three kids.
"Meet us at Elm and Cherry. Copy," He relays the message.
"Elm and Cherry! Okay." Dustin was breathing heavy from riding the bike as fast as he could.
Lyn stop the car when they got to the street that they were supposed to meet the kids on. "Where are they?" She looks around for them.
"There they are!" Lucas points to the three bikes that were coming their way. Dustin and Mike quickly shove their bikes in the trunk. The three kids got into the car.
"Lucas! Rosalyn!" Dustin yells their names. He was happy to see that they were okay.
"Where are they?" Lyn turns around to ask the kids.
"I don't know," Mike said through deep breaths.
"I think we lost them," Dustin said in the same manner.
Tires screeching made them look back to see three vans chasing after them.
"Go, go, go, go, go!" Dustin screams at his sister. Lyn slams down on the gas and race down the road.
"Go, go, go, go, go! Faster, faster!" Mike orders the driver. Lyn grinds her teeth, how were these vans able to keep up with Darling, what kind of horsepower did they have under their hood?
"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" Dustin chants as the vans got closer to them.
"Fuck!" Lyn yells when another van pulls in front of them. It was racing towards them playing a game of chicken. Right when Lyn was about the turn the wheel to go off the road and ride on the sidewalk. The van was left into the air and it flies over them upside down and slams down behind them. It forces the other vans to stop.
"Where do we go?" Lyn asks now that they lost the bad guys.
"Go to the junkyard," El told her. Lyn looks in the rearview mirror to nod her head at El. She drove into the junkyard and parks her car in the middle of the field. They climb out of the car. Mike and Lyn help El out. They set her down on a large tire.
"Holy, holy shit! Did you see what she did to that van," Dustin jumps around.
"No, Dustin, we missed it." Mike rolls his eyes. Lyn grabs the first aid kit from the glove department of Darling. She kneels in front of El to use an alcohol wipe to get the blood dripping from her nose.
"I mean that was…" He tried to think of a word to describe it.
"Awesome. It was awesome." Lucas said making everyone turn to him in surprise. He went over to kneel beside El. Lyn stood up to give them their moment. "Everything I said about you being a traitor and stuff I was wrong. I'm sorry." He apologizes to her.
"Friends, friends don't lie. I'm sorry, too." El smiles weakly at him.
"Me, too," Mike held his hand out. Lucas got up to shake his hand. Dustin and Lyn share a smile, glad to have their friends getting along again.
"Now that everyone kissed and made up, what are we going to do?" Dustin asks.
"I'll show you guys the layout of the lab." Lucas went around to grabs three sticks and an empty soda can. He laid them out on the ground. He motions for everyone to gather around. They sat down in a circle. "This is Randolph Road, right here. The fence starts here and goes all the way around. And this is the lab right here. The gate has to be in there somewhere. It's got to be." He uses the sticks to demonstrate the fence and a soda can to represent the lab.
"Well, who owns Hawkins Lab?" Dustin asks.
"The sign says Department of Energy," Lyn remembers seeing the sign as she walks along the fence.
"Department of Energy? What do you think that means?" Dustin squints his eyes.
"It means government. Military." Mike explains.
"Then why does it say "Energy"?" He uses air quotes around energy.
"Just trust me, all right? It's military. My dad told me before." Mike said. Lyn rolls her eyes for two reasons. One, Mike always brought trust into it when he didn't know how to explain something. Two, Mr. Wheeler had to be the most clueless idiot she had ever met.
"Mike's right, there are soldiers out front." Lucas agrees.
"Do they make, like, light bulbs or something?" Dustin asks.
"Yeah, the military is taking up making light bulbs as their side hustle." Lyn rolls her eyes once again.
"No, weapons to fight the Russians, and Commies and stuff," Mike repeated what his dad told him.
"Weapons," Lucas gasps.
"Oh, Jesus, this is bad." Dustin sighs.
"Why are you surprised? You said it a hundred times Dustin that El is the ultimate weapon." Lyn didn't understand why they're freaking out. They knew from the start they were taking on bad guys.
"We only have one of her. What if they have a hundred superpower people?" Dustin pulls at his curls.
"This is really bad. The place is like a fortress." Lucas told Mike and Dustin.
"Well, what do we do?" Dustin looks at each of their faces.
"I don't know, but we can't go home. We're fugitives now." Mike reminds them.
"Guys? Do you hear that?" Dustin looks up as the noise of a helicopter got closer.
"I'm going to get Darling in the woods. You guys get on the bus." She nods her head to the bus. She got in the car and drives it into the woods. She cringes as the tree scrap against the side of her car. "I'm sorry, Darling." She rubs the roof.
"Come on, come on!" Her brother yells at her from the window of the bus. She put the car in park and rips the keys out of the ignition. She grabs her crowbar and ran over to the bus as the helicopter noise got louder.
"Get down!" Lucas yells. They drop down on the ground of the bus. Lyn shook in fear as the helicopter noise was so loud that it had to be right over them. They let out a sigh of relief when it got quieter. The helicopter still could be heard, but it was further away now.
Dustin was across from his sister. He narrows his eyes as he was taking a good look at her for the first time since the last saw her. "What happened to your face?"
The other preteens on the bus turned towards her, all wondering how they didn't notice her black eye and bandage on her eyebrow before. "Jonathan and Steve got into a fight. While trying to pull Jonathan off when the cop where coming, he elbowed me in the eye." She raises her hand to her left eye. Now, that the adrenaline was dying down she could feel the aching again.
"What were they fighting about?" Mike asks. She told them the whole story. "Douche bag Steve." He mutters under his breath. He had no idea what his sister saw in him.
The radio made a clicking noise letting them know someone was about to talk. They crawl over as Mike grabs the walkie from out of his bag. "Mike, are you there? Mike? Do you guys hear me? Mike, it's me, Nancy. Mike, are you there? Answer. Mike, we need you to answer."
"Is that your sister?" Lucas recognizes her voice.
"Who's we?" Lyn ask.
"This is an emergency, Mike. Do you copy? Mike, do you copy?" Nancy's voice was becoming desperate.
"Okay, this is really weird." Dustin gasps. It had been a long time since Nancy ever showed that she cares about them.
Lucas went to grab the walkie, but Mike pulls it away. "Don't answer."
"She said it was an emergency." Lucas points to the walkie.
"What if it's a trick?" Mike kept the walkie away from him.
"It's your sister!" Lucas yells at him.
"What if the bad people kidnapped her? What if they're forcing her to say this? Lyn's right we don't know who's we. We can't answer." Mike argues.
As if Nancy heard him, she pleads, "I need you to answer."
"It's like Lando Calrissian. Don't answer." Dustin agrees with Mike.
"We need to know that you're there, Mike," Nancy spoke to them again.
"Listen, kid, this is the chief. If you're there, pick up. We know you're in trouble and we know about the girl." Jim Hopper's voice was now coming over the radio.
"Why is she with the chief?" Lyn narrows her eyes at the radio. Authority seems to the last thing they could trust right now.
"How the hell does he know?" Dustin asks the question that was on all their minds. If he knew then why was he only helping now?
"We can protect you, we can help you, but you got to pick up. Are you there? Do you copy? Over." Hopper tried to reach them again.
"Answer him," Lyn said making the preteens turn to stare at her. "We can't hide in this bus all day. We need to take a chance on something."
Mike slowly raises the radio to his mouth and clicks the button. "Yeah, I copy, it's Mike. I'm here. We're here."
"Tell me your location and I'll get you kids," Hopper promises them.
Lyn grabs the walkie from Mike's hands. "Before we do that you have to agree to our conditions."
"What are they?" The man asks.
"You have to agree to not give the girl over to them. You have to promise that you won't use her as a weapon or make her do anything she doesn't want to do. You have to promise to remember she's human and not to overwork her. If you break this promise, the girl can and will stop your heart mid beat." She threatens the officer.
"I promise." He said without hesitation.
"We're in the junkyard." She told him.
"Are you crazy, you just threaten a cop?" Dustin slaps his sister in the back of the head.
"We have to protect each other." She glares at him.
"Thank you." El blushes at having so many people furiously care for her.
They move to the back of the bus. Dustin was pacing up and down the aisle. "Will you stop pacing?" Mike snaps. He was making him more nervous than he already was.
"It's been way too long. Do you know what? Maybe you're right. Maybe this is all a trap and the bad men are coming to get us right now!" Dustin was now ranting and pacing.
"It's not a trap. Why would the chief set us up? Nancy, maybe, but the chief?" Lucas glared at the boy.
"Lando Calrissian." He stops to shoot them a look before going back to pacing.
"Would you shut up about Lando?" Lucas snaps.
"I don't feel good about this. I don't feel good about this!" He shouts in Lucas's face, and then went back to pacing.
"When do you feel good about anything?" Lucas yells at his back.
"Oh my god, Dustin, please sit down. Can't you see that you're stressing everyone out?" Lyn grabs his sleeve to force him to sit down next to her. A roar of car engines made them run to the window.
"Shit!" Dustin yells when they saw two unfamiliar cars pull up. The preteens went to hide behind the bus seats. Lyn kneel down by the driver's seat with a crowbar in hand ready to swing at them.
The strange man in a suit forces open the bus doors and Lyn stood up to hit him with the crowbar. Before she could connect a hand pull him back. "What the hell are you doing?" Dustin yells when his sister moves to the door.
Lyn watch as Jim Hopper beat the crap out of the stranger. She looks out to see that he already took care of the other men. She moves back when Hopper made his way onto the bus. "All right, let's go." He told them. When they stay frozen in place, he yells with more force. "Let's go!" They ran out of the bus.
"Should I get Darling?" She looks towards the wood where her car was.
"No, they know the vehicle. It's not safe for anyone to be in that car right now." Mike shook his head. Lyn bite her lip, she hates the thought of leaving her car here, but she didn't have any other choice right now. She climbs into the passenger seat of the 1980 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. The four preteens squeeze into the back seat.
"Where are we going?" She asks the officers.
"To the Byers," He told them. The ride there was quiet as the kids stare at the officer. They had a lot of questions on their minds, but it wasn't time for that right now.
They pull up to the Byers and got out of the car. Nancy came running out of the house and pull her brother into a hug. "Mike. Oh, my God. Mike! I was so worried about you."
"Yeah, uh me, too," Mike said awkward, not use to his sister showing him affection.
"Is that my dress?" She cocks her head at El.
"Properties Nancy, properties besides this dress is more for a little girl." Lyn grabs El's hand and led her into the house. Everyone follows after them.
She looks around at the house. She didn't know how anyone was living here. There were wires for Christmas lights up with no bulbs, trash and clothes were everywhere. She slowly made her way into the living room and took a seat along with everyone else. Mike explains to them the acrobat and flea theory with a piece of paper. "Okay, so, in this example, we're the acrobat. Will and Barbara, and that monster, they're this flea. And this is the Upside Down, where Will is hiding. Mr. Clarke said the only way to get there is through a rip of time and space."
"A gate," Dustin adds when he saw the adults and teens except his sister were confused.
"That we tracked to Hawkins Lab," Lucas told them where the gate was.
"With our compasses." Dustin had to add in the part of the compasses. "Okay, so the gate has a really strong electromagnetic field, and that can change the direction of a compass needle." He explains when they still looked confused.
"Is this gate underground?" Hopper looks at them.
"Yes." El nods her head.
"Near a large water tank?" He asks.
"Yes." El nods again.
"How do you know all that?" Dustin asks.
"He's seen it." Lyn answers. From the look in the officer's eyes, she could tell the man had seen things he couldn't forget.
Lyn's head turn to Joyce when she started talking to El, "Is there any way that you could reach Will? That you could talk to him in this…"
"The Upside Down," El spoke. Lyn kept a careful watch on the girl. She was searching for a look of uneasiness on her face. If she saw any, she would pull the plug on whatever idea they had.
"Down?" Joyce repeats.
"Yeah," El nods her head.
"And my friend Barbara? Can you find her, too?" Nancy asks. It unnerves Lyn when El didn't respond to her. She just stares at Nancy. El didn't like to give bad news. It was likely that Barbara was in bad shape.
They stood around a small dining table and put a walkie talkie in front of her. "Listen, El, if you feel strain or weak at any time, you pull out alright. Don't push yourself to the limit like you did last time." Lyn kneels down to tell her.
"I promise," El whispers softly to her.
Being satisfied with that answer Lyn stood back up. El closes her eyes. Static noise went in and out on the radio. "I'm sorry." She opens her eyes and stares at Joyce.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Joyce felt herself start to panic.
"I can't find them." El whimpers. Jon walks out of the room as Joyce and Nancy cried.
Lyn grit her teeth as she glared at them. She knew they couldn't control their reaction, but they were making the El feel bad. "Hey, it's alright." She kneels down to hug the girl. "Just because you couldn't find them doesn't mean they're dead. Remember this small radio can't get you to the Upside Down. The last time we need a stronger radio."
"Can I go to the bathroom?" She stood up.
"Sure, I'll take you." Lyn grabs her hand and led her to the bathroom.
She went back to the kitchen, where the boys were explaining how El's powers work. "Whenever she uses her powers, she gets weak. The more energy she uses, the more tired she gets." Dustin explains to the people in the room.
"Like, she flipped the van earlier," Lucas told them.
"It was awesome." Dustin smile.
"But she's drained." Mike got them back on topic.
"Like a bad battery." Dustin tried to relate to the adults who seem to have a hard time grasp on to the supernatural.
"How do we make her better?" Joyce asks, desperate to get her son back.
"We don't. We just have to wait and try again." Lyn shot a glare at the two frantic women at the table. She wanted to find Will and Barb too, but not at the expense of El.
"Well, how long?" Nancy whines.
"I don't know, Nancy, why don't you flip over a van and tell me how long it takes to recover." She snaps.
"Hey, there no need to get hostile. I promise you that we wouldn't overwork her and we won't." Hopper grabs the teenager that was reminding him of a mother bear, with the way she was flashing her fangs at the other females in the room.
El walks back into the room and whispers, "The bath."
"What?" Joyce turns around in her chair to ask the girl.
"I can find them in the bath," El remembers that she had to speak in full sentences. She told them about how she could recall things better when she was in the tank that was by the gate.
"Then we have to build a sensory deprivation tank. It time for you to talk to Mr. Clark again." Dustin turns to his sister.
"What, no Dustin. It was so awkward the last time. Besides you guys end up asking all the questions anyways." She rolls her eyes.
"Yeah, but when he hesitated you were able to get him to tell us," Lucas argues.
"Our teacher has a small crush on my sister," Dustin explains to the confused faces in the room.
"Ew," Nancy stuck her tongue out.
"What?" Hopper shouted.
"It's harmless." Mike waves it off.
"It's not like he has the guts to actually put a move on her." Lucas shrugs.
"I dialed the number, here you go." Dustin held the phone out for his sister.
"You're a brat." She snatches the phone from his hand.
"Hello?" Mr. Clarke answers his phone, wondering who would be calling this late.
"Hi, Mr. Clarke. It's Rosalyn Henderson." She told him.
"Rosalyn? Is everything okay?" His voice filled with concern.
"Yes, everything is fine. I have a science question." She ran a hand through her hair.
"It's ten o'clock on Saturday. Why don't we pick this up…" Lyn didn't know but he was glancing over at his date that was on the couch waiting for him. Mr. Clarke felt extra dirty talking to the teen he had a forbidden attraction to, even though there wasn't anything intimate about the conversation.
"When could we pick it back up… it's not like you're my teacher. I don't see you every day, unfortunately." She turns to face the wall, not wanting to see the other faces as she flirty to get information.
"What's your question?" He broke down for her. He felt guilty for thinking dirty when she spoke a certain way.
"Do you know anything about sensory deprivation tanks, specifically how to build one?" She got to the point.
"Sensory deprivation? What is this for?" He asks.
"Fun," She shrugs. She knew it was a lame answer but she couldn't think of anything else.
"Why don't we talk about it on Monday? After school, okay?" He really wanted to get back to his date and away from his taboo.
"How would that look, me going to your class after school? It's a small town, people have nothing to do but make wild rumors. No one is going to believe that I'm just a curious mind." Lyn made her voice small and innocent as she spoke to him.
"Tell him you want to unlock the door of curiosity?" Dustin tugs on her sleeve.
"Won't you help me unlock the door of curiosity?" She changes her tone to what she imagines was seductive, but she wasn't sure. It wasn't like she ever tried to seduce someone. She was going off the smutty book she read.
"Ew, I did not say to say that." Dustin gags.
Mr. Clarke let out a soft sigh, "Alright, get paper and pen."
She let out a happy sound. She grabs a pen and notepad before pushing Nancy out of her seat at the table. "I'm ready." She sat down and put the pen to the paper. She wrote down everything that Mr. Clark told her.
"That how you would do it. I don't know what you're doing Rosalyn, but be careful." He told her.
"Of course, I'll be careful. Thank you. You don't know how much this means to me. I'll see you on Monday when I pick up Dustin." She hangs up the phone. "Do you still have that kiddie pool we bobbed for apples in?" She looks across the table at Joyce.
"I think so." The older woman nods her head.
"Good we're going to need it, that and a lot of salt." She told them.
"How much is a lot?" Hopper asks.
She looks down at her notes, "1,500 pounds."
"Where are we going to get that much salt?" Nancy asks.
"The school," Hopper stood up.
"I'll get the pool." Joyce stood up and went outside.
Lyn walks over to the sink to see beer bottles pile in there. "Can I have these bottles?" She asks Jonathan.
"Sure, Lonnie left his mess like always." He shrugs.
Lyn grabs the box for the beer that was still on the floor. She was able to fit 18 bottles in there. She put the lighter that was on the counter in her back pocket. She took a shirt that was draped over a chair and put it on top of the box. "I'm ready." She picks up the box.
"Then let's go." Hopper walks out the door.
Lyn got to Hopper's passenger seat with her box in her lap. Lucas, Dustin, and El climb into the back seat of his car. Mike was going to join them in the back seat, but Nancy pulls him over to Joyce's car.
Hopper let Joyce pull out first and they follow them.
"What is a crush?" El broke the silence.
"What?" Lyn turns around to ask her.
"Dustin said Mr. Clarke has a crush on you. What does that mean? Does he want to crush you?" Her question made Lyn embarrassed. She never had to explain stuff like this to Dustin.
"No, crush is a code word. It means that he likes likes me." Lyn tries to explain with as little words as possible.
"Like like?" She tilts her head.
"It's when you like someone beyond a friendship. You know what we'll watch a romantic comedy when this is all over. That will explain everything." Lyn turns forward to avoid any more questions.
Hopper pulls up in front of the school. "You guys get out here. Jonathan and I will go get the salt from the back."
"Come on." Lyn got out and guide the kids into their school. "Dustin and Lucas set up the pool in the gym." She gave out orders.
"Okay." Lucas nods his head and took the pool from Joyce. Dustin helps him carry it as they made their way to the gym.
"Mike and I will get the hoses." Nancy grabs her brother's arm and drags him along with her.
"I'm going to go to the science lab to get this ready. Are you coming, El?" Lyn held up her box. El nods her head and follows after the teen.
"I'm coming too." Joyce went along. "What are you going to do with those anyway?" She opens the lab door for Lyn.
"I'm going to make Molotov cocktails." She put the box down on a lab table. She took a paperclip off the teacher's desk and opens the cheap lock they had on the cabinet that held the chemicals. She grabs every chemical that she knew to be flammable and put it on the table. She took the largest beaker she could find. She pours the chemicals into it and stirs it up. She pours the mixture into the bottle. She rips up the shirt and soaks the pieces in the mixture of chemicals. She had a piece hanging out of each bottle.
"This will keep it dark for you just like in your bathtub." Lyn looks up to see Joyce handing El safety goggles that were wrapped in black duck tape. "You're a very brave girl. You know that, don't you? Everything you're doing for my boy, for Will, for my family. Thank you. Listen, I am going to be there with you the whole time. And if it ever gets too scary in that place, you just let me know, okay?" The woman reaches out to grab the little girl's hands. Lyn felt a little better that she wasn't willing to sacrifice El for her son.
"Yes." El nods her head.
"Are we ready?" Lyn put the bottles back into their box.
"Ready." El nods her head. Lyn picks up the box and they went to the gym. They walk in to see the swimming pool in the middle of the gym. Next to it was a cart with the walkie talkie on it and a carton of eggs.
"What's up with the eggs?" Lyn put her box down on the bottom shelf of the cart.
"To see if we did it right. It's ready." Dustin told her.
El took off her shoes, socks, and gave Mike his watch back. Joyce hand her the blackout safety goggles. After she put them on, Lyn and Joyce guide her into the pool. Everyone sat around the pool as El lay down in it.
Immediately the light started to flicker. "Barbara," She spoke making Nancy lean forward.
"What's going on?" Nancy turns to Mike.
"I don't know." Mike watches El with concern.
"Is Barb okay? Is she okay?" Nancy asks El.
"Gone! Gone! Gone! Gone! Gone! Gone." El screams out in horror.
Lyn reaches out to grab El's hand and gently pull her towards her. "I'm right here El. I'm next to you. Remember you're not really there. You're here with me."
Joyce grabs El's other hand. "We are all here, El, don't be afraid. I'm right here with you. It's okay."
"Castle Byers," She spoke after she calmed down. Jonathan and Joyce share a look while Lyn and the boys share one of their own. Finding Will was what all of them work so hard for.
"Will?" El called out.
"You tell him I'm coming. Mommy is coming." Joyce's grip tightened on El's hand.
"Your mom, she's coming for you," El spoke to Will.
"Hurry," Will's voice came from the radio.
"Okay. Listen, you tell him to stay where he is. We're coming. We're coming, okay? We're coming, honey." Joyce went from talking through El to speaking directly to Will.
"Just hold on a little longer," El told Will. "Will. Will. Will? Will!" She began screaming as low growl, pants, and whimpers were coming through on the radio.
El sat up in the pool and yanked her goggles off. Lyn pulls her out of the pool and onto her lap. "I'm right here, nothing is going to get to you. You remember what I swear to you on the night I meet you." She held onto El who was shiver and crying.
"You wouldn't let the bad guys get me." El would always remember the first time someone wanted to protect her.
"I'm going to keep that promise." Lyn kisses her forehead.
"You did so well," Joyce praise El.
Lyn picks El up and carried her to the bleachers. The boys follow them. Lyn sat her down as Lucas wraps a towel around her. Mike sat next to her and El automatically leans on him. Lucas sat behind her making sure the towel stay on her. Dustin sat down next to Mike while Lyn took the spot on the other side of El.
Lyn looks up as Hopper puts on his jacket and went outside with Joyce, Nancy, and Jonathan follow him out. They were probably going out to find the gate to get Will. As much as Lyn wanted to help with that, she knew they could handle it. Besides, she had a promise to keep. She was going to guard El. If she had to give her life to do it, she would.