the bathtub

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"That's better," Mike explained as he wiped the blood off of my face. I turn, looking at myself in the mirror. I felt the top of my head. "You don't need it," Mike reassured me. "Still pretty?" I ask. "Yeah! Pretty. Really pretty," Mike stammered. "Y/n?" Mike blurt. "Yes?" I ask, turning to him. "Um, I'm happy you and El are home," Mike stammered. "Me, too," I smile. Mike slowly started to lean in, I did the same. "Guys!" Dustin exclaimed, swinging the door open as Mike and I pulled away. "It's Lucas, I think he's in trouble," Dustin blurt. Mike and I run out of the bathroom and to the walky. "Do you remember how he said he was looking for the gate?" Dustin asked. "Yeah," Mike replies. "What if he found it?" Dustin quizzed, handing Mike the walky-talky. "What's he saying?" Mike asked. "I don't know, he's way out of range," Dustin replied. Mike put the speaker up to his ear. "... son of a bitch!" Lucas spoke. "Lucas, if you can hear us, slow down. We can't understand you," Mike demanded. "Mad Hen. Does that mean anything to you? Like a code name or something?" Dustin asked. "The bad men are coming!" Lucas yelled. "Bad men. Bad men! Stay here!" Mike told El and me as he and Dustin ran upstairs.

Mike and Dustin run back downstairs. Mike grabbed my hand, and Dustin grabbed El's as we ran outside. They grabbed their bikes as we ran next to them. I got onto Mike's bike, and El's on Dustin's. We turn to see a bunch of men staring at us. "Go, go, go, go, go, go, go!" Mike shouts. "Oh, my god. Oh, my god," Dustin exclaimed. Dustin and Lucas were talking over the intercom. "Copy. Elm and Cherry," Dustin repeats. "Okay," Mike exclaimed, following the directions. "Shit!" Dustin exclaimed. "This way, come on," Mike demanded as the vans were approaching us. We took a short cut, almost hitting some girls in the process.

"Lucas!" Mike exclaims as we meet up with him. "Where are they?" He pants. "I don't know," Mike stammered. "I think we lost 'em," Dustin added. All of a sudden, we hear tires screeching. "Go, go, go, go! Faster, faster!" Mike yells. "Shit! Shit! Shit!" Dustin mutters. We were blocked as a van pulls up in front of us. Using her powers, El made the van in front of us flip. I use my powers to make the other vans crash into each other.

Mike helps me off the bike as we get to safety. "Holy--Holy shit! Did... did you see what they did to the vans?" Dustin screams. "No, Dustin, we missed it," Mike panted as he helped sit me down. "I mean, that was--that was.." "Awesome. It was awesome," Lucas panted, cutting Dustin off. Lucas walked over to El and I, "Everything I said about you guys being traitors and stuff... I was wrong. I'm sorry," Lucas admits, placing a hand on my back. "Friends... friends don't lie. I'm sorry, too," El whispers. "Me, too," I add. "Me, too," Mike continued, sticking his hand out for Lucas to shake.

"This is Randolph Road, right here. The fence starts here, and goes all the way around. And this is the lab right here. The gates gotta be in there somewhere. It's gotta be," Lucas explains. "Well, who owns Hawkins Lab?" Dustin asks. "The sign says Department of Energy," Lucas replied. "Department of Energy? What do you think that means?" Dustin asks. "It means government. Military," Mike announced. "Then why does it say Energy?" Dustin questioned. "Just trust me, all right? It's military. My dad's told me before," Mike corrects. "Mike's right. There's soldiers out front," Lucas explains. "Do they make, like, lightbulbs or something?" Dustin asks. "No, weapons... to fight the Russian's, and commies and stuff," Mike asserted. "Weapons," Lucas repeat. "Oh, Jesus, this is bad," Dustin muttered. "Really bad. The place is like a fortress," Lucas explains. "Well, what do we do?" Dustin asks. "I don't know, but we can't go home. We're fugitives now," Mike sighs. "Guys? Do you hear that?" Dustin asks, bringing our attention to the helicopters circling around us. The boys hid their bikes under the bus before we enter it. "Get down!" Lucas yelled. We all hid in the bus, breathing loudly. "Mental," Dustin exclaimed.

"Mike, are you there? Mike?" a voice spoke on the intercom. "You guys hear that?" Dustin asked. "Mike, it's me, Nancy. Mike, are you there? Answer. Mike, we need you to answer," Nancy demanded as Mike pulled out the walky-talky. "Is that your sister?" Lucas asked. "Okay, this is really weird," Dustin blurt. "Don't answer," Mike ordered. "She said it was an emergency," Lucas exclaimed. "What if it's a trick?" Mike quizzed. "It's your sister!" Lucas added. "What if the bad people kidnapped her? What if they're forcing her to say this?" Mike asked. "I need you to answer," Nancy begged. "It's like Lando Calrissian. Don't answer," Dustin encouraged. "We need to know that you're there, Mike. Listen, kid, this is the chief. If you're there, pick up. We know you're in trouble and we know about the girls," they demand. "Why is she with the chief?" Lucas asks. "How the hell does he know about..." Dustin murmurs, looking at El and I. "We can protect you, we can help you, but you gotta pick up. Are you there? Do you copy? Over," He explained. "Yeah, I copy. It's Mike. I'm here. We're here," Mike replied.

Dustin paced around the bus. "Will you stop pacing?" Lucas asks. "It's been way too long. Do you know what? Maybe Mike's right. Maybe this is all a trap and the bad men are coming to get us right now!" Dustin yelled. "It's not a trap. Why would the chief set us up? Nancy, maybe, but the chief?" Lucas argued. "Lando Calrissian," Dustin repeat. "Would you shut up about Lando?" Lucas begged. "I don't feel good about this. I don't feel good about this!" Dustin exclaimed. "When do you feel good about anything?" Lucas retorted. As we heard vehicles approaching, we ran to the front of the bus. "Shit!" Dustin exclaims. "Go, go, go, go, go!" Mike muttered. We got back to our hiding position, I buried my face in Mike's shoulder. "Lando," Dustin repeat. "You think they saw us?" Lucas whispered. "Both of you, shut up," Mike ordered.

We heard noises and shots coming from outside, and before we knew it, the chief stepped inside the bus. My eyes widen. I've seen him before, I know I have. "All right, let's go. Let's go!" he shouted. I was the last off of the bus. The chief and I made weird eye contact before we followed him to the car. At Will's house, Mike's sister ran over to Mike, embracing him in a hug. "Are those my clothes?" She asks, pointing to El and I. "Okay, so, in this example, we're the acrobat. Will and Barbara, and that monster, they're the 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." Mike explains. "A gate," Dustin blurt. "That we tracked to Hawkins Lab," Lucas adds. "With our compasses. Okay, so the gate has a really strong electromagnetic field, and that can change the directions of a compass needle," Dustin continued. "Is this gate underground?" Hopper questioned. "Yes," I whisper. "Near a large water tank?" Hopper asked again. "Yes," El replied, nodding her head. "How do you know all that?" Dustin asks me. "He's seen it," Mike mumbles. "Is there any way that you could... that you could reach Will? That you could talk to him in this--" "The Upside Down," El corrects. "Down. Yeah," Joyce continued. El nods. "And my friend Barbara? Can you find her, too?" Nancy asked.

Static played on the walky-talky as El tried to use my powers to contact Will and Barb. The lights flickered a couple of times, I could tell that El couldn't do it. "I'm sorry," she cries out. "What's wrong? What happened?" Joyce stammered. "I can't find them," El whispers.

Every now and then, Hopper and I would make eye contact. I was still trying to figure out why he looked so familiar. El came out of the bathroom. "The bath. I can find them in the bath," El explained.

Dustin spoke on the phone with Mr. Clarke while the rest of us sat around and watched him. Dustin wrote down everything Mr. Clarke told him on a note pad. "Do you still have that kiddie pool we bobbed for apples in?" Dustin asks Joyce. "I think so. Yeah," Joyce replies. "Good. Then we just need salt. Lots of it," Dustin explained. "How much is 'lots' ?" Hopper asked. "1,500 pounds," Dustin specified. "Where are we gonna get that much salt?" Nancy asks

We pulled up to school in Hopper's car. I was in the gym helping Lucas and Dustin.

time skip

El sprung up from the bath. Mrs. Byers hugged her as she cried. The five of us sat on the bleachers. I lay my head on Mike's shoulder as we all sat in a huddle.

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