||𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐕||
The sun had set behind the trees by the time the chief's car pulled up in front of the Byers home. Strangely, it feels like years since we were last here when it had only been three days ago. As we all exited the vehicle, three figures emerged from the house; Nancy, Jonathan, and Mrs. Byers.
"Mike. Oh, my God. Mike!" Nancy exclaimed, running towards him.
He stepped forward and she engulfed him in a hug.
Grabbing him by the shoulders, she pulled away. "I was so worried about you." She scolded.
"Yeah, uh... me, too." He said awkwardly.
Nancy's eyes trailed over to El and an odd look crossed her face. She tilted her head slightly.
"Is that my dress?"
El looked to me not knowing what to do and then back at the older girl. For some reason, and what I can only assume to be my state of mind and being under so much stress I begin to chuckle, finding the whole situation kinda funny.
⊹ ⊹ ⊹
"Okay, so, in this example, we're the acrobat."
We had all made it inside and currently, we were all gathered around the living room. The party and I were sitting on the floor surrounding the coffee table while the others were seated on the furniture. Mike had drawn up Mr. Clark's diagram of the flea and the acrobat and was catching everybody else up with what we've learned so far. They all stayed quiet for the most part — occasionally jumping in to ask clarifying questions which we were more than happy to answer — and listened intently. I, however, remained quiet. I was still trying to process what had happened during my encounter with the bad men. I was also transfixed in the living room around me. Wondering how the once welcoming and cozy second home had changed so drastically.
And what the hell was with all these Christmas lights?
"Will and Barbara, and that monster, they're this flea. And this is the Upside Down, where Will is hiding. Mr. Clarke said that the only way to get there is through a rip of time and space,"
"A gate," Dustin interjected.
"That we tracked to Hawkins Lab"
"With our compasses,"
"And El's help of course," I added, smiling at El who shyly returned it.
The others exchanged confused glances.
Dustin took this as his cue to talk.
"Okay, so the gate has a really strong electromagnetic field, and that can change the directions of a compass needle.
Hopper spoke up for the first time in a while.
"Is this gate underground?"
Surprising us all, El answered almost immediately. "Yes."
The two made eye contact. "Near a large water tank?" He asked.
She nodded and her gaze dropped to the floor. "Yes."
Beginning to feel more on edge, I spoke up, my voice faltering. "H-How do you know all that?"
The man said nothing and only kept his gaze. Mike looked to the drawing. "He's seen it."
I frowned at his odd behavior and I didn't try to hide my confusion and anxiety from him, I then dropped my gaze to my hands, growing tenser at the thought that these horrible people could be out to get me.
Mrs. Byers spoke up, addressing El. "Is there any way that you could... that you could reach Will? That you could talk to him in this—"
"The Upside Down." El finished.
Joyce's voice fell into a whisper. "Down. Yeah."
El nodded her head yes.
"And my friend Barbara?" Nancy spoke up hesitantly. "Can you find her, too?"
I could see the confidence build in El and it was then that I knew she was willing do everything she could to help us.
⊹ ⊹ ⊹
We were all gathered around the dining room table, watching with bated breath as El attempted to find Will and Barb. She had breifly explained that she could sometimes find people telepathically somehow. She required white noise, hence Will's walkie was on the table, switched to a blank station so static filled the silence and she had her eyes closed.
Nancy had offered a once torn up photo of Barb sitting on the edge of a pool as a reference for El. What felt like minutes passed and suddenly the lamp overhead flickered and El opened her eyes. Her voice was hoarse.
"I'm sorry."
"What? What's wrong? What's happened?" Mrs. Byers stuttered.
El was blinking back tears and her voice broke. "I can't find them."
⊹ ⊹ ⊹
El had excused herself to the bathroom, probably to catch her breath. I just hope she wasn't blaming herself. The rest of us are still at the kitchen table, processing everything. My attention was pulled to the boys when they began elaborating more on her powers.
"Whenever she uses her powers, she gets weak." Mike said.
My head perked up at this.
"The more energy she uses, the more tired she gets," Dustin added.
I've had a lot of time to think about what had happened and what I had done earlier today and in that time I could never help but assume that however, whenever El got her powers, I got mine. Whatever it may be, we must be connected somehow.
I recalled that in the short time I've known her and seen her use her powers, I've seen the toll it takes on her.
If it makes her weak, that must have been why I passed out earlier... my body had never grown accustomed to the exertion.
"Like, she flipped a van earlier."
"It was awesome."
"But she's drained."
"Like a bad battery."
I sat there, my eyes glued to the floor as I listened to the boys unknowingly talk about the similarities between me and El.
I felt a pair of eyes on me and I hesitantly lifted my head and briefly made eye contact with the chief who seemed the slightest bit suspicious of me. I quickly looked away and tried to focus back on the group.
"Well..." Mrs. Byers stuttered. "How do we make her better?"
"We don't. We just have to wait and try again." Mike said.
"Well, how long?" Nancy asked.
Mike shrugged his shoulders weakly. "I don't know."
"The bath." El's quiet voice grabbed everyone's attention and we all turned to see her standing just outside the kitchen.
"What?" I asked.
"I can find them." She seemed very hesitant, almost afraid of what she was going to say next. "In the bath."
⊹ ⊹ ⊹
Well, this is happening.
We really are calling our science teacher at ten o'clock on a Saturday and asking about sensory deprivation tanks and how to build them.
That won't be weird at all.
Nevertheless, we all watched nervously as Dustin stood by the phone and made the call.
"Mr. Clarke? It's Dustin."
"..."
"Yeah, yeah. I just, I... I have a science question,"
I cringed, unable to imagine any scenario in which this would pan out.
"..."
"Do you know anything about sensory deprivation tanks? Specifically how to build one?"
"..."
"Fun."
I furrowed my brows and then sighed defeatedly before putting my face in my hands.
"..."
"You always say we should never stop being curious. To always open any curiosity door we find. Why are you keeping this curiosity door locked?"
I couldn't help but let a small chuckle escape, slightly impressed he threw Mr. Clarke's words back in his face and I looked back up.
"..."
All of the sudden Dustin motioned for something to write on and with and Jonathan was quick to supply. Dustin sat at the table, listening to the instructions and writing them down.
"Uh-huh... uh-huh... How much? Uh-huh. Yep, all right... Yeah, we'll be careful... Definitely. All right, Mr. Clarke... Yeah, I'll see you on Monday. I'll see you on Monday, Mr. Clarke bye." Dustin quickly trailed off and was quick to hang up the phone.
"Do you still have that kiddie pool we bobbed for apples in?" Dustin asked Mrs. Byers almost immediately after hanging up.
"Uhh, I think so, yeah."
"Good. Then we just need salt. Lots of it."
"How much is 'lots'?" The chief asked.
Dustin took a look at the notepad and looked back at Hopper.
"1,500 pounds."
"Well, where are we gonna get that much salt?" Nancy asked the question everybody seemed to be wondering.
⊹ ⊹ ⊹
The school. It was the chiefs idea. We all headed to the school, taking separate cars.
Chief Hopper and Jonathan went to the shed to grab the bags of salt, Mike and Nancy were getting the hoses while Dustin, Lucas and I set up the pool in the gym.
"Damn, this thing is heavy." Dustin panted as we both rolled the folded up kiddie pool to the center of the gym.
Together we undid the ropes holding it together and attempted to unfold it. After much trial and error we finally were able to get the pool set up. The water temperature had been tested just as much as the bouncy of the egg to determine if there was enough salt.
The finishing touch; Will's walkie switched on to static nearby. Finally, we were ready.
Mrs. Byers and I had helped El into the bath. She had just taken off her shoes and socks as well as the digital watch Mike had given her almost a week ago. Mrs. Byers and her seemed to have constructed a waterproof blindfold with ducttape and goggles from the science lab.
We all sat nearby, ready in case she needed anything and it was almost chilling to watch her float on her back. Suddenly, the lights in the gym flickered accompanied by the sounds of the electricity surging. Finally, the lights went out. We all looked cautiously towards the ceiling before looking back to El.
Seconds felt like hours when suddenly, El spoke. Her voice broke, she sounded fearful.
"Barbara?"
My heart began to faster once more.
El's breathing became frantic and the lights flickered again.
"What's going on?" Nancy asked worriedly towards us.
"I don't know." Mike said, just as panicked.
"Is Barb okay? Is she okay?" Nancy asked frantically to El.
El began whimpering.
"Gone. Gone. Gone."
I looked to Nancy, who brought a hand to her mouth to mask her sobs. My heart ached for her.
But it never stopped pounding. My hands were shaking even worse.
Mrs. Byers immediately reached a hand out to El and held her hand, and rubbed her arm comfortingly.
"It's okay. It's okay. It's okay." She cooed.
"Gone. Gone!"
I felt like I was stuck in the middle of a storm, unable to move. Unable to help. Useless. Waiting for the worst.
"It's okay. It's okay. Hey. It's okay." Mrs. Byers was doing everything in her power to calm the girl.
Even the chief gently grabbed her other hand to try and soothe her.
"It's okay, we're right here. We're right here, honey. It's okay. I got you. Don't be afraid. I'm right here with you. It's okay. You're safe."
||𝟑𝐑𝐃 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐎𝐕||
Eleven found the wave of panic dissolve into nothing as she heard the distant echo of Joyce's voice reassuring her.
For the first time she felt somewhat calm in this horrifying place. Suddenly she saw something in the distance.
It was a small hut roughly her height, made from large sticks and branches. It was decorated with flags and a painted sign that read
《•••》
"Castle Byers." El muttered.
My eyes widen in shock and my eyes were glued to the girl in front of me. Terrified of hearing the word "gone".
My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears and my fingers grasped the edge of the pool dangerously tight.
《•••》
Eleven slowly approached the fort, scared of what she might find. But she knew she had to. She needed to.
After everything everyone had done for her. How kind Mike and Y/n had been. She felt she owed it to them. Facing her fears she brought her hand up to the blanket entrance and brushed it aside as she stepped inside.
There he was. Drenched in sweat and slime and shivering from the cold conditions, laid Will Byers unconscious, but clinging to life.
She lowered herself to the ground and sat on her knees.
"Will."
《•••》
"Will?" El asked hopefully.
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and everyone around us gasped.
《•••》
In his life threatening state, he saw the girl kneeling before him and like a mirage, he allowed his mind to create a reality in where he saw the person he grew so fond of. He was still dreaming.
《•••》
"Y/n?" The voice over the walkie talkie echoed all throughout the gym.
My heart stopped and I felt everyone's eyes on me and everyone gasped.
The voice, the sad and broken voice of Will Byers crackled over the radio saying my name causing me stare at the walkie talkie.
My eyes became glassy and my vision blurred.
He's alive. He's alive and that all that matters.
"That's Will! Tell- You tell him... tell him I'm coming."
《•••》
Eleven spoke the words that echoed in her brain. She grasped the boys hand and shook it ever so slightly.
"No, but they're looking for you. And your mom... she's coming for you. Everybody is looking for you."
Finally gathering enough strength to open his eyes, he looked to her and spoke.
||𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐕||
"Hurry."
His voice echoed through the gym once more and we all watched feeling helpless.
Mrs. Byers continued to feed words to El.
"Okay. Listen, you tell him to — to stay where he is. We're coming. We're coming, okay? We're coming, honey."
We heard whimpering on the radio and suddenly El shot up, gasping for air making us all jump back. She scrambled backwards into Mrs. Byers arms and she softly calmed the girl down.
Tears were now freely falling down my cheeks as I try to process everything that just happened.
"Oh, okay, okay. I've got you. It's okay. I got you. I got you. I got you, honey. You did so good. Are you okay?"
I quickly attempt to wipe my tears away with the back of my sleeve as I watch everything unfold. I wanted to be strong for El.
For Will.