𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛, 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨

→ 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙖 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙩

Dustin was spinning around with an object in his hand, everyone looking to him by now. "Dustin, what are you doing?" Mike asked, Dustin not answering. "Dustin?" Mike called again, the boy still too focused in whatever he was doing. "Dustin!" Mike and Lucas shouted, Dustin finally answering. "I need to see your compasses." He spoke quickly, the rest of the group confused. "What?" Mike asked, Sev watching in amusement. "Your compasses. All of your compasses, right now!" Dustin ordered, his friends surrendering and going to grab them all. "What's exciting about this?" Mike asked bored, Dustin facing the compasses the right way. "Well, they're all facing North, right?" Dustin asked with a grin, Lucas shrugging. "Yeah, so?" He asked, Dustin turning to him. "Well, that's not true North." He spoke, Mike leaning forward. "What do you mean?" Mike asked, Dustin turning to him.

"I mean exactly what I just said. That's not true North." Dustin spoke as if Mike was dumb, Sev watching curiously. "Are you both seriously this dense?" Dustin asked, his friends not answering. "The sun rises in the East and it sets in the West. Right?" Dustin 'taught' Lucas and Mike, them shrugging in sync. "Which means that's true North." Dustin spoke, pointing to the opposite way of the compass points. "So, what you're saying is the compasses are broken." Mike suggested, Dustin groaning and leaning his hands on the table. "Do you even understand how a compass works?" He asked Mike, showing him one of the compasses. "Do you see a battery pack on this?" Dustin asked, turning the compass quickly. "No." Mike answered, Dustin nodding. "No, you don't. Because it doesn't need one." Dustin taught again, Sev's face scrunching up.

"The needle's naturally drawn to the Earth's magnetic North Pole." Dustin informed further, the words going into one of Sev's ears then out the other. "So what's wrong with them?" Lucas asked, absolutely clueless as Dustin sighed. "Well, that's what I couldn't figure out, but then I remembered. You can change the direction of a compass with a magnet. If there's a presence of a more powerful magnetic field, the needle deflects to that power." Dustin answered, Mike slowly getting it. "And then I remembered what Mr. Clarke said. The gate would have so much power-" "It could disrupt the electromagnetic field." Mike interrupted, Dustin nodding. "Exactly." Dustin spoke, Lucas staring at the compasses. "Meaning, if we follow the compasses' North..." Lucas trailed off, Dustin nodding. "They should lead us to the gate." Both Sev's and El's faces dropped.

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SEV WALKED NEXT GO EL THIS TIME, THE GROUP FOLLOWING THE COMPASSES TOWARDS THE GATE. Sev had to check if his sister was using her powers okay. The two had decided to change the compasses' direction for obvious reasons. They had also decided to use El's powers because hers don't leave red essence when used. They couldn't just let four boys go unarmed into a alternate dimension full of monsters. It was way too dangerous. "How much further?" Sev heard Lucas ask Dustin, the two ahead of the twins and Mike. "You okay?" Sev whispered, El nodding and wiping her nose. "Do you think she's acting weird? Him, too." Lucas asked, Dustin looking to his friend. "You're asking if the weirdos are acting weird?" Dustin asked sarcastically, Lucas sighing. "I mean, weirder than normal?" He asked, Dustin shrugging as Sev saw a stray cat, his eyes widening.

"Who cares?"

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"PAPA?" SEVEN PROPPED HIS ELBOW UP ON HIS BED. DR BRENNER AT THE DOOR. The only light came from the open doorway, Brenner's shadow seeming taller. "I'm very pleased in you, Subject Seven." The man smiled, Seven tilting his head. "What?" He asked, Eleven asleep as it was late at night. "We need to know if you fit into something." Dr Brenner grinned, Seven confused before getting up and following Dr Brenner towards a different room he had never seen before. "You have showed extraordinary abilities during your time here. More than anyone else." The man spoke, Seven smiling lightly when Dr Brenner patted his head twice. "You can call this a promotion." He spoke, Seven's smile dropping. "Promotion?" He asked slowly, Dr Brenner smiling. It's when you go up one step higher. One step better." The man explained, Seven smiling lightly. "We would like you to try this on." Dr Brenner spoke, the doors opening as a woman walked in.