✓ | WE ARE INFINITE , ʳᵒᵇᶦⁿ ᵇᵘᶜᵏˡᵉʸ

¹⁶ énouement

"Eleven?" Max spoke up, an excited glint in her eye as she held out her hand for El to shake. "Hey. Um, I'm Max. I've heard a lot about you."

Imogen watched awkwardly, holding in an amused chuckle as El glanced at the outreached hand before ignoring the redhead altogether and walking towards Joyce.

Joyce led El to Will's room while Max frowned, dropping her hand as she watched El walk off before turning to the two boys and tall girl. "Is she always like that?"

Lucas and Dustin shared a confused look at why El was mad while Imogen shrugged, walking into the kitchen where everyone gathered.

"You've opened this gate before, right?" Joyce questioned once she brought El back with the group.

El looked at the cardboard that said 'CLOSE GATE' her breath shuttering slightly. "Yes."

"Do you think if we got you back there that you could close it?" Imogen asked the question on everyone's mind.

Eleven and Imogen had a staring contest before El nodded a look of determination in her eyes.

"It's not like it was before, it's grown. A lot. And, I mean, that's considering we can get in there." Hopper sighed, rubbing a hand down his face.

"That place is crawling with those dogs," Mike added.

"Demo-dogs." Dustin interrupted, Imogen rolled her eyes as she and Steve shared a look.

"I'm sorry, what?" Hopper glared, sending a pointed look to the siblings who stood by him.

"I said, uh, Demo-dogs. Like Demogorgon and dogs. You put them together it sounds pretty badass--"

"How is this important right now?"

"It's not. I'm sorry." Dustin looked down in embarrassment.

"I can do it." Eleven's voice broke the silence.

Hopper let out an exhausted breath, "You're not hearing me."

"I'm hearing you and I could do it."

Mike shook his head earning everyone's attention. "Even if El can, there's still another problem. If the brain dies, the body dies."

"I thought that was the point?" Imogen questioned, Max, nodding along with her in agreement.

"It is." the boy confirmed but he continued on his eyes only on Imogen. "But if we're really right about this...I mean, if El closes the gate and kills the mind flayer's army..."

"Will's a part of that army." Lucas finished, his eyes widening.

"Closing the gate will kill him." Imogen ran a hand through her hair, her hope dwindling.

Steve placed a hand on her back when a tense silence hovered over them, the group sharing looks.

"He likes it cold."

Everyone looked towards Joyce who had a look of thought before she began to walk towards Will's room.

The group followed the woman watching at the doorway as Joyce closed the window in Will's room. "We keep giving it what it wants."

"So if this is a virus, and Will's the host, then..." Nancy began to piece it together.

Jonathan looked at the girl. "We need to make it uninhabitable."

"So if he likes it cold.."

"We need to burn it out of him," Imogen stated, her eyes moving between the teens.

"We have to do it somewhere he doesn't know this time." Mike walked into the room, his eyes going to the pale Will on the bed.

"Yeah, somewhere far away," Dustin confirmed.