𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗲, steve harrington

33. A SPY

"Nobody." Sadie shrugged. "And not just comas... people in vegetative states. Comatose, some may call it." They were horrendous attempts to make this seem better and so eventually, she gave up. "People who have little to no brain activity, people who had suffered accidents, people with mental health issues - like having mental breakdowns, various forms of psychosis... episodes. People who aren't reacting to the normal forms of human interaction."

"How do you know this?" Dustin asked. "I've seen all your school projects because Mom likes to see them, and I was in your room the other day and there's nothing to do with any of this kind of thing in there."

"Well... Nancy was helping Steve look at colleges a while ago, I looked at a brochure and took a day trip up to Purdue and... pretended to be a college student." Sadie said. "I was interested, all right? And it got me a day pass into Pennhurst Asylum, the place you all thought El was from at the beginning? Met a couple low-level patients... people who would greatly aid me in writing my thesis."

"Your thesis? You pretended you were writing a thesis when you were sixteen?" Nancy's eyes were wide. "...Is that why you wanted to borrow my blouse and skirt that time? Because I have never seen you wear anything but sweaters and band shirts."

"Yeah... possibly." Sadie shrugged. "But it works, and now I know. I don't have my notes on me - and really, they're great notes, better than anything else I've ever written, I met this guy who thought I was some kind of fairytale princess - very interesting. But I can remember a couple of things." Behind them was a clang of metal; Hopper had deemed the shed behind the house an appropriate place to carry out their plan.

"So, what do we need to do?" Joyce asked.

"We need things he's familiar with. Songs - I know he likes that one the Clash song, right?" Sadie pointed toward Jonathan, who nodded. "And people who know key memories for him. When he wakes up he's going to be disorientated and angry, we kinda need to calm him down." She paused, lost in thought as she dived through the limitless amount of information she kept stored away. "Music might be best, though. It's been found to trigger particular emotions, increase memory... stuff like that."

There was silence for a moment, before the sound of Steve ducking out of the way of Dustin's smack. "What the hell, dude?" The Harrington boy asked.

"We have to focus, dude." Dustin replied, shaking his head and coming back to the group, who was staring at him. "It's not my fault he was staring at-"

"Dude!" Steve hissed, his eyes darting across the group to several members of it and resting on Sadie a little too long before adjusting his haze. "Let's just..."

"Yes." Sadie looked around the group. "Jonathan, Mrs Byers, do you think that would work? It was only a suggestion but if you have any other ideas...?" She trailed off, looking at the mother and son sitting at the end of the table. Sadie

Joyce's focus was on the table, almost unaware of what had just transpired between Dustin and Steve, who were evidently becoming closer by the second. "Yeah." She said vaguely with Jonathan's hand landing on her shoulder and it brought her back, voice hardening. "Yeah." Mrs Byers repeated. "That... that should work."

"Alright. I'll get my radio." Jonathan disappeared down the hallway and the rest of them sprang into action in helping the Chief of Hawkins Police to set up the shed outside for that very purpose. And eventually, the room was completely stripped of anything that Will might recognise and Jonathan's speakers and radio attached were set down on a surface. Sadie helped them set it up properly like she had done years before when he initially got it, ignoring the small spark of pain in her heart that had her thinking that Bob, too, would be helping them.