Alex was on the couch, messing with one of Bob's brain teasers as Max and Lucas cleaned the glass from the smashed window and Dustin and Steve were putting the demodog in the fridge to preserve it.
Alex had been ordered to stay on the couch by Mike and Steve, neither of the boys wanted her to injure herself further. She was blocking out everything Steve and Dustin were saying, the unlikely duo proving to be a good friendship.
She continued to mess with the brain teaser absentmindedly as her mind drifted back to the lab. Since she told the whole group the memories had started to plague her mind, the pain she went through. She didn't see Max's concerned glances or Mike's pacing.
"Mike, would you just stop already?" Lucas snaps at the boy loudly, breaking Alex out of her web of thoughts. This caused Alex to look at Mike, blinking rapidly to come back to reality.
The lab was over, ended done. She wasn't there anymore, she hasn't been there for six years, everything's fine. But when she let her mind wonder, it's like she was back there, just a helpless kid as they injected her with random stuff.
"You weren't there, Okay Lucas! That lab is swarming with hundreds of those dogs," Mike says to him, Worry taking over his expression as he fiddled with the buttons of his shirt.
Alex thought it was kind of cute how Mike worried for El. Over the year she had been gone, Alex noticed he had been quieter, more upset; like a piece of him was attached to her.
"Demodogs!" Dustin shouted from the other room, making everyone groan. Mike rolled his eyes, the constant correction getting under his skin.
"The chief will take care of her," Lucas assures Mike with a nod. Lucas wasn't good at comforting people, they had established that years ago and he wasn't the closest with Eleven either but he knew for sure that she could handle herself, the girl had superpowers for gods sake. They all knew that, deep down, that she would be fine, but there was that little though at the back of their minds, a feeling of doubt.
"As if she needs protection," Max mutters picking herself up up of floor. Alex sets the brain teaser on the small table as Steve walks in with a tea towel, wiping the demodog juices off his hands.
"We have to help them, who knows what those dogs can do-" Mike starts, pacing again.
"It's demo-"
"Shut up Dustin," Alex and Mike shout in unison, making the curly haired boy shrink back, "One of those things ate your cat, ate Bob, almost at Alex and it'll eat Hopper and El next." Mike stressed.
Alex laughed a little at the mention of her name, causing the others to look at her as if she was insane. Alex just held her hands up in defence, "What, i think it's funny that i almost got eaten by a dog!"
"Dying isn't funny, Alex," Steve spoke back, not even understanding what about it was amusing to her to begin with.
"The face of optimism here folks," Alex mumbled, ignoring Steve completely, causing Mike to throw a cushion at her.
"Listen, dude, a coach calls a play in a game, bottom line, you execute it," Steve says to Mike who was still stressed, "All right?"
Alex rolled her eyes at Steve's analogy, basketball games and killing demon dogs were way different.
"Okay, first of all, this isn't some stupid sports game," Mike says to Steve, also rolling his eyes, "And second, we're not even in the game, We're on the bench,"
"So my point is..." Steve stopped to think and everyone stared in anticipation only to be left hanging, "Right, yeah, we are on the bench, so uh, there's nothing we can do." Steve said, looking deflated.
Everyone's hope sunk with that, Alex looked at Mike who looked defeated, tears welling in his eyes and just an overall sad expression on his face. Anxiety, frustration - she understood it, the fear, helplessness.
"Not entirely true," Alex said, hoping to raise the morale of the group, mostly Mike though as he seemed affected the most, "I mean, these dogs-"
"Demodogs!"
"Shut the fuck up Dustin, As i was saying, the dogs have a hive mind," Alex said, glaring at Dustin as he pouted before turning back to the group as a whole.
"She's right," Dustin nods at her words, ignoring her comment about him, "I mean when they ran away from the bus, they were called away, and when they attacked Alex, it was in a pack, like they had been told to do so," He explained to Mike.
"Not important," Alex muttered, looking at the floor. She didn't want to keep talking about herself, sure she liked attention but not in this way, when they were concerned for her. It was better in school, the attention was always on her but they were scared of her, worshiped her as she walked the hall with the two most popular boys on either side. This just made her feel weak, people looking at her as if she would break.
"If we get their attention..." Lucas starts, his brain formulating a plan as he latched onto the idea.
"Maybe we can draw them away from the lab," Max finished and Alex smiles, if the boys don't let her join the party after this she would be beyond pissed.
"Clearing a path to the gate," Mike ends, now smiling as it made his girl a little bit safer.
"Yeah, and then we all die." Steve cuts in, putting a dampener on their good moods. He was definitely not letting his little sister or her friends risk their lives for this. He was the babysitter and if anything happened to them, the blame would be on him.
"Well, that's one point of view," Dustin says with a little nod. They all knew Steve was just trying to keep them safe but they all felt useless, just left to housesit while the adults did all the important tasks, and their best friend was risking her life to close the gate.
"No, that's not a point of view, man. That's a fact," Steve says to the boy who he has bonded with throughout the traumatic events.
"I got it!" Mike shouts in eureka before pushing through Steve and Dustin, everyone follows, Max grabbing Alex's hand, noticing the girl was wincing as she stood up. Alex sent her a smile in appreciation and they walked through to mike who was pointing to one of the drawings of the tunnels plastered to the wall. "This is where the chief dug his hole. This is our way into the tunnel. So ... " He gets up again and walks into a different room. They all follow, watching him, "Here, right here. This is like a hub. So you got all the tunnels feeding in here. Maybe if we set this on fire..."
"Oh, yeah? that's a no," Steve says pointing at it and shaking his head. He wasn't sure why but he had this feeling that he had to protect these kids no matter what so venturing into a tunnel that could kill them all was a big No.
"The mind flayer would call away his army," Dustin says, completely ignoring Steve's words in protest.
"They'd all some to stop us," Lucas realises.
"Then we circle back to the exit," Alex added, grinning now.
"Guys, no -"
"By the time they even realise we're gone-" Mike starts, only to be cut off.
"El would be at the gate," Max finishes, putting a triumphant smile on the groups faces.
"Hey. Hey! Hey!" Steve says clapping his hands to gain their attention, they all turn to face him, waiting for him to give then another pep talk or something completely motivational about sports that none of them really understood except from Alex.
"This is not happening!" He says to them, clearly distressed by their planning.
"But-" Alex says, trying to get her brother to hear them out.
"No, no, no, no, no, no buts. I promised I'd keep you shitheads safe, and that's exactly what i plan on doing. We're staying here. On the bench. and we're waiting for the starting team to do their job" Steve tells them, ah there it was, the sports metaphor that was barely applicable, Does everybody understand?"
"This isn't a stupid sports game," Mike snaps.
"I said, does everybody understand that?" Steve asks sternly, reminding Alex of their mother a lot, "I need a yes." he says, flinging the tea towel over his shoulder, god he was like their mom.
Before they could protest, they heard an engine rev outside. Max quickly walked over to the window, dropping Alex's hand in fright. She saw an all to familiar Camero. Max stepped away for Alex, knowing what her brother would say if he saw them together.
"It's my brother," Max says with wide eyes, her heartbeat rising rapidly, "he can't know I'm here. He'll kill me," She looks at Lucas in fright, "He'll kill us."
Steve glanced between the two teenagers and the door - he knew he had to stop Billy, whatever the stakes.