𝐭𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐬, 𝐦𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫. ►

CHAPTER FIVE: DIG DUG

"Okay, so Hopper is here." She nodded, placing the paper onto the wall before taping it as the kids watched.

"Yeah, now we just need to find out where here is right?" Mike questioned with a small and hopeful smile as Joyce nodded, still studying the wall.

"Right.."

"Uh, did he say anything? Before he left?" River kneeled down beside Joyce, causing her to look at the younger girl beside her with a nod.

"Something about..Vines?" Joyce confirmed as Rivers gave a slow nod, and studied the papers.

They had all heard a car pull up and Joyce went outside as Mike and River stayed inside with Will.

After a few minutes of speaking of random things, and staring up at the walls, Bob walked in, shocking the kids.

After a while of discussing, and searching the walls, as the walked all over, Everything was coming together.

"It's a map! Of Hawkins, Right Will?" Bob smiled as he looked around, with a nod as Mike and River looked at each other in both shock and realization.

They were both very amused by Bob, and how easily he had solved this shit out.

˗ˏˋ✦ ✦ ✦'ˎ˗

"Okay, what about Danford to Jordan?" Bob called out, as they took measurements from the distance of each place.

"Ugh, this has gotta be enough." Joyce groaned walking over to Bob, who only gave a shake of his head.

"It's not, Its really not." He denied with a simple shrug as she sighed, observing the paper he wrote on from behind him.

"Well, can't you figure it out?" Joyce had urged as he shook his head, giving an uneasy look.

"The ratios not exactly one to one." He started, turning to Joyce now, "I mean if your twisting my arm, and you're twisting my arm. I would say..The X is half a mile south east of Danford?" He estimated as Joyce smiled.

"Thank you! Thank you." She said while quickly taking the map and running off, the kids following right behind. Though, River had ran back and gestured for Bob to come along awkwardly, and he stood with his brows furrowed.

"Come on, let's go." She urged in a soft tone, as he widened his eyes.

"Wait, what are we really going?"

Driving through Hawkins to find the X Mark wasn't really easy. They'd been driving around for a while and it felt like this was all useless, until they had finally gotten closer to where they needed to be.

As they did, River panicked as Mike looked at her with slight concern, giving her a weak shrug before turning.

"There's nothing, there's nothing here." He'd pointed out as Joyce sighed, looking around.

"A-are we close?" She asked, turning to Bob who nodded slowly.

"We're in the vicinity." He simply stated, as his way of answering her question, causing her to furrow her brows before glancing at him.

"What's that mean? Vicinity." Joyce urged him to go on as he only shrugged, with a stressful sigh.

"It means we're close, I mean I don't know it's not precise."

"And we did all that work."

River stopped listening to the two adults in the front as she saw Will shutting his eyes tight and suddenly opening them, causing her to give Mike a small look of confusion, him doing the same.

"Turn right." Will ordered simply, causing everyone to now glance at him.

"What?" River questioned as he turned to look at her, glancing to Joyce every Now and then.

"I saw him." He spoke up to her, breathing shakily.

"Where?" Joyce asked, frantically looked around before Will shook his head, turning away to face his mom now.

"Not here, in my now memories."

"In your what?" Joyce had raised her voice as she questioned this before Will had yelled out, interrupting her in a panic.

"Turn right!"

Joyce took a sharp turn and and recklessly drove now, hitting some stuff on the way causing everyone to scream out, and the kids in the back gripped onto each other in fear. The car had stopped abruptly and Joyce turned.

"Everyone alright?" She questioned, glancing between them all as they only stood quiet, and Mike turned to the other two.

"Superspy." He simply blurted, before making direct eye contact with River, who nodded.

"What's Jim doing here-"

"Kids, I need you to stay here." Joyce ordered, with a stern look as River leaned forward.

"No, this-this isn't safe." River stammered, she was speaking to the woman who played the mom figure in her life, when her own mom wouldn't, which was most of the time, so obviously she'd protest.

"That's exactly why you need to stay here. Stay here!" She shouted sternly, closing the door behind her.

Once Joyce and Bob went down the hole, The kids walked up to it and River sighed.

Her breaths were shaky, and she turned to Will before gulping, and speaking up, "Do you see anything in your now memories?"

He just shook his head in response, staring straight at the home they went down, causing her to slump down in slight defeat.

After a few minutes of just standing outside of the hole, they all turned to see vans pulling up and men with hazmat suits rushed out, confusing the three kids as they exchanged looks.

It was one of River's worries that something could've happened to Joyce, but she clearly had bigger ones once Will suddenly dropped down, before he had started to whine.

"Will!" River screamed out, kneeling down quickly, grabbing him as she attempted to help him up.

"Will are you okay?" Mike added in as a question, before kneeling down beside River who was frantically searching Will's eyes, and trying to help him up as she groaned.

"Will what's wrong?" They yelled in unison, growing more worried as they waited for a response.

Though, he suddenly started screamed and shaking uncontrollably and Mike jumped away, pulling River off of him from behind as well.

"Will!" River screamed, repeating it on and on as Mike kept his arms that he used to pull her away still tightly around her waist, staring at Will as well In shock.

River glanced back at Mike, who was close behind her, and his glossy eyes were set on Will, who still was in great pain from the looks of it.

And so the two kids watched as Will shook and screamed, in fear.