✓ | 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌 (BYLER)

𝒙𝒙𝒗𝒊. THE RESCUE

━━━━ 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 !
𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐒𝐈𝐗

The van pulled up to a rather frightening scene. A helicopter whirred in the blue sky, bullets rapidly spewing from its interior. Numerous lifeless bodies were scattered across the desert ground, pools of blood oozing from beneath them. In the center of it all was the very girl they had been frantically searching for.

Eleven.

"There she is! There she is!" Mike shrieked with excitement, pointing a finger at the girl.

"Where?" Jonathan shouted, his eyes darting back and forth as he tried to locate her.

"On the ground!"

"Yo, what are those dudes doing on the ground, man? Is that blood, man? Shit!" Argyle panicked, his breaths growing unsteady due to a combination of anxiousness and the fact that his marijuana had worn off.

Jonathan revved the engine and accelerated as fast as he possibly could so that he could reach his step-sister in time. As the van grew closer to the chaotic scene, the crew noticed the girl standing up from her once-seated position and extending her arm toward the helicopter above.

Will's jaw dropped when he realized that El's hair was shaved again. The sight in itself was enough to bring him to the brink of tears.

He vividly remembered the way she glowed with excitement when she learned about the various hairstyles she could experiment with. She often practiced braiding — with Joyce's assistance, of course — and eventually got the hang of it. While doing basic activities such as watching television or doing her schoolwork, she would braid little sections of her hair, take them out, and repeat the process. She even braided Jonathan's shaggy locks whenever he allowed her to, which wasn't very often.

Now, the beautiful locks of hair she had spent three years growing out had vanished into thin air. Will just prayed that she wouldn't feel insecure about it. She was beautiful inside and out, with and without her hair. And honestly, her shaved head was pretty badass.

El began to twist her hand, causing the helicopter to spin uncontrollably and unnaturally. Its blades whirred erratically. Bullets continued to fire out of it, but the girl wasn't worried about getting shot. The helicopter's uncontrollable motions made it close to impossible for the military men to aim at her.

The erratic motions of the helicopter only meant one thing — El had regained her powers. At least something valuable had come out of her absence.

All of a sudden, El extended both arms toward the sky and shouted at the top of her lungs, bringing the helicopter to the ground with a thunderous crash. Its contents erupted into the largest explosion Will had ever witnessed. Clouds of smoke and fire covered the scene and made it difficult to breathe. Completely worn out from using her powers, El collapsed to her knees.

˗ˏˋ꒰ 🎱 ꒱

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Jonathan shrieked, swerving the van in a zigzag-like manner to avoid the fiery particles spewing from the explosion.

Merely nanoseconds after he put the van in park, the rest of the crew leaped out and dashed over to the girl as fast as they possibly could. As always, Mike was the first person to grab her attention.

"Eleven!" He exclaimed, relief wavering beneath his enthusiastic tone.

She blanked out for a second, trying to process everything — the helicopter she crashed with her mind, the fact that Dr. Brenner was dying, and Mike's unexpected arrival. After a brief moment, she pulled him in for a tight hug.

After their wholesome embrace, Mike and El simultaneously pressed their foreheads together and gazed into each other's eyes.

Will felt his heart sink for the millionth time that week. So much for Mike not being in love with her. The way he stared longingly into her eyes said otherwise. He didn't know why he actually believed the ravenette when he said that.

The Byers boy mentally smacked himself in the face for focusing on Mike's relationship with El in a time like this. That was the least of his concern! He needed to concentrate on the fact that his sister was safe — that was the only thing that mattered at the moment.

"It's really you?" El smiled, gently caressing the boy's freckled cheek.

"It's me," Mike grinned, still trying to regain his breath. "I'm here. Everyone's here."

The brunette girl cranked her head away from Mike and was met with her step-brothers and Argyle, who were eagerly waiting to greet her. Will stood there with a massive grin on his face. She returned the smile and began to approach him with Mike's assistance.

Will immediately engulfed her in a tight embrace, refusing to let go. He sobbed into her flannel, soaking it with his tears. Her absence helped him realize just how much she meant to him. She was his family. He had missed her more than anything and was eternally grateful that she was alive and safe.

"Eleven," He breathlessly said after pulling away from the hug. He then noticed the collar around her neck. "You . . . are you okay?"

"I'm okay," She smiled, giving him a reassuring nod.

Will was about to pull her in for another hug, but their sentimental moment was interrupted by Jonathan's voice.

"Hey, guys. We gotta go," He announced, turning to face Eleven. "We gotta get you out of here."

Just then, the collar around El's neck unclasped, startling both her and her brother. She slowly removed it and began to approach a weakened, dying Dr. Brenner. Even in the desert heat, Will shivered at the sight of the cruel man.

El spoke to him for the last few minutes of his life, but she refused to say she understood why he did what he did. Will was incredibly proud of her for standing her ground, as he knew it wasn't an easy thing to do. Once she was finished, everyone scrambled back into the van. Jonathan fled the scene as fast as he could.

˗ˏˋ꒰ 🎱 ꒱

"Hawkins," El said to Mike. "We need to get to Hawkins."

"I know. And we will," Mike reassured her. "But right now we need to get you somewhere safe. There's gonna be people behind us."

"No, Mike, we need to get to Hawkins tonight," El exclaimed.

"We'll never make it! That's over two thousand miles!" Jonathan hollered from the driver's seat.

"We need to find a way!" El fired back. "If we don't, they are going to die!"

"Who's gonna die?" Will asked, his voice trembling.

El just stared at him in silence, her lip quivering as she held back the tears stinging her eyes.

"El, who's gonna die?"

𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 !
hello i'm alive