S4 x E07 — The Massacre at Hawkins Lab
DONT FORGET TO VOTE AND COMMENT PLEASE!
——
In the upside down Steve is struggling to get one of the bats off him, there's also one chocking him with its tail and Steve is trying not to get suffocated. One of the bats suddenly get slapped away and whimper in pain, Steve looks up seeing Melanie who has a peddle in her hand which she probably used to get the bat away, Nancy and behind her with a peddel and Robin weponless.
Usally everyone would question why Melanie isn't just using her powers but they didn't have time for that right now. Nor did they know that Melanie's powers nor healing work in the upside down.
"Hey there." Melanie says just as Nancy hits a bat away.
"Quick! Hold it, Robin!" Melanie yells.
"I got it." Robin yells out as she stands on the bat who is strangling Steve. Melanie starts getting the bat off as Nancy and Eddie watch out for other bats.
"Get it!"
"Kill it! Kill it!"
Another bat comes flying which Eddie and Nancy quickly take down with they're peddels.
Robin and Melanie keep hitting the bat but it won't get off, "Come on! Please!"
Eddie yells, "Melanie, behind you! Watch out!"
Melanie yelps as one bat goes straight at her. It gets on her back and won't get off, "Oh my God, Melanie!"
"Robin, get it off me!"
Eddie is focused on another bat coming towards them, "Got it, got it, got it! God damn it! shit!"
Robin is trying to get the bat off of Melanie, "Let go!"
Steve finally managed to get the bat of his neck. He stands up holding the tail of it. While Robin finally gets the bat of Melanie, Robin throws it to the floor holding it.
"Nancy!" Robin yells.
Nancy runs up to them after fighting off another bat with Eddie. She uses the peddel to kill the bat that tried to attack Melanie, "Go to hell!"
Eddie is trying to fight bats, "Come on, come on, come on, you son of a bitch! I said come on! Let's go!"
Steve is grunting in pain and starts hitting the bat repeatedly on the floor until it stops moving. He puts his foot on the body and pulls the tail off.
After Steve was sure it was dead Melanie walked up to him worried, not bothered by her own wounds on her neck at the moment.
"Steve!"
Eddie is in the background panicking while yelling, "Jesus Christ. Jesus H. Christ!"
"Are you okay?"
Steve looks down at his wounds, "Well, they took about a pound of flesh. But other than that, yeah, never better."
Steve notices the wounds on her neck, "Hey, are you okay?"
"I'm fine." She said wincing in pain.
Steve noticed and was about to ask why she wasn't healing until Robin spoke, "Uh, do you guys think these bats have, like, rabies?"
"What?"
"It's just that rabies are, like, my number one greatest fear. And I think we should get you to a doctor soon because once symptoms set in, it's too late. You're already dead."
They all watch as more bats come they're way circling the gate, "All right. There's not that many. We can take 'em. Right?" Steve says.
Suddenly more bats are heard they watch the sky seeing a big swarm coming. Robin gulps, "You were saying?"
Nancy turns around looking for a hiding place, "The woods. Come on."
Everyone runs after Nancy Robin sighs, "Great. More running."
——
After a while of hiding behind and under rocks for the bats they finally get out of one of the rocks, "Oh... okay. That was close." Robin says
"Yeah. Too close." Eddie says agreeing.
Suddenly Steve falls back against a rock, "Oh, sh... shit."
Melanie turns grunting in pain as her wound herself isn't healed, and it wouldn't heal unless they get back to the real world. But she wouldn't tell anyone she didn't want to cause drama, "Steve? Jesus."
"I'm fine. I'm fine."
"No, no, no. You're not. You're losing blood. Come on, sit. All right?"
Steve grunts in pain as he sits down,
"All right."
Robin goes to crouch next to Steve when she sees his wound, "Oh.. Okay. So the good news is I'm pretty sure wooziness is not a symptom of rabies. But if you start having hallucinations or muscle spasms or you start feeling aggressive, like you wanna punch me, let me know."
"Robin."
"Yeah?"
"I kinda wanna punch you."
Robin laughs, "Sense of humor's still intact. That's a good sign."
"Yeah."
"Okay." Robin goes back to stand next to Eddie and Nancy as Melanie rips a piece of her shirt off.
"Okay. You ready?"
"Yeah. Just do it."
Steve groans in pain as Melanie tightens the ripped of piece of her shirt against the wound, "Sorry."
"It's okay."
"Too tight?"
"No, that's good. All right."
"Okay."
"Thanks."
"Yeah."
The two stare at eachother in silence. Steve was praying that this was Melanie, his Melanie. He was hoping this was humanity Melanie.
Steve stopped staring when he noticed blood dripping from her neck, "Hey Melanie, why isn't your wound healed yet?"
"It's nothing."
"No tell me."
"Steve, I said it's nothing."
"It's not nothing, Melanie it's clearly not looking good."
"I'm fine, Steve!"
After her outburst Eddie, Nancy and Robin turned towards them asking what's going on. "She's not healing!"
Melanie turned to him annoyed, "Steve!"
Nancy is the first one to speak of the three, "What do you mean she's not healing?"
Before Robin or Eddie could even say something Melanie felt lightheaded. She lost a bit of her balance but Steve quickly caught her. Robin started panicking, "What if you gave her rabies, Steve?!"
Nancy gives her a look, "I'm just wondering why she's not healing isn't super fast healing a vampire thing."
Melanie smiled lazily against Steve, "It should be."
Eddie turned confused, "What's that suppose to mean?"
Steve started getting it, "Wait why aren't you healing? Melanie?" After no response he got worried that she might've passed out he shook her a little, "Melanie!"
"Relax! I'm fine."
Robin clears her throat, "Then explain."
"I'm human!"
"What?"
"I mean atleast in the upside down, I don't have any of my powers here which includes my strength and healing."
Eddie scoffs, "Well that's just great isn't it! The only person we had with superpowers to defeat Vecna can't even use them!"
Nancy and Robin turn to Eddie, "Shut up!" They say in sync.
Eddie nods and goes back to climb onto on of the rocks. Nancy and Robin turn back to Steve and Melanie. Nancy sighs,
"It's okay, we just need to get out of here quickly. The sooner we're out the sooner Melanie can heal."
Steve nods, "Let's just do it quickly, I'm not planning on going home with a bleeding out Melanie."
Melanie laughs softly but groans in pain when Steve moves suddenly Melanie stops walking with him, "It hurts too much, Steve."
Steve sighs and rolls his tounge on the inside of his mouth. He bends his back and holds his arms back, "Come on."
"What?"
"Get on my back."
"You mean a piggyback ride?"
Steve sighs, "Yes a piggyback ride."
Melanie cheers and jumps up happily on his back besides the pain. Robin and Nancy laugh while Steve gives them a look, "Don't tell the kids about this."
Robin turns, "What scared they'll make fun of you doing litterly everything for Melanie?"
"Pshh, no!"
Robin and Nancy turn giving him a look, "Okay, maybe."
Eddie yells from the rock he's standing on, "So, uh, this place is like Hawkins, but with monsters and nasty shit?"
Nancy shrugs, "Pretty much. Wait, watch out for the vines. It's all a hive mind."
"It's all a what?"
Steve sighs, "All the creepy crawlies around here. They're, like, one or something. Step on a vine, you're stepping on a bat, you're stepping on Vecna."
"Shit." Eddie struggles to get off the rock without touching the vines.
Robin clears her throat, "But everything from our world is still here, right? Except people? Obviously."
Melanie sighs sadly from Steve's back,
"How am I suppose to have a snack then?"
Nancy turns, "You have our permission to eat Steve."
Steve yelps, "What?"
Melanie her eyes light up, "Really? You're going down Harrington!"
"Melanie, don't u dare."
Melanie pretends as if she's gonna bite him making Steve yelp in fear. He almost drops her but she holds on tightly "Asshole! I would never eat you."
"Really?" Steve says smirking.
"Steve, stop! I was not flirting."
"Whatever you say, I knew u couldn't resist my charms the ladies dig it."
Robin snorts, "What ladies? All the failed dates u had since Melanie."
Melanie snorts from his back, "I'm the only woman who can tolerate you. Accept it Harrington."
"Does that mean.."
"No. I'm not going on a date with you."
Steve sighs and Nancy and Robin watch sadly. Steve walks over to Eddie with Melanie still on his back.
"Do you think they will ever get back together?" Robin asks.
Nancy nods, "They will, Melanie just went through alot after the mall fight I guess. And now with the no humanity I guess she isn't really the Melanie we know."
Robin sighs, "Yeah I guess so."
Nancy clears her throat, "Anyways as far as I understand it, yeah."
"So, theoretically, we could go to the police station and steal guns and grenades and whatever we need to blow up those bat things that are guarding the gate."
Steve turns around hearing them talk of weapons, "I highly doubt the Hawkins PD has grenades, Robin. But guns, yeah, sure."
Melanie clears her throat, "Well, we don't have to go all the way downtown for guns. I have guns in my bedroom."
Eddie jumps down from the rock finally, "You, Melanie Hargrove, have guns, plural, in your bedroom?"
Robin smiles, "Full of surprises, isn't she?"
"A Russian Makarov and a revolver."
Steve laughs, "Yeah, Nancy almost shot me with that one." Melanie and Nancy snort as Melanie remembers the story Nancy told her about.
Melanie laughs, "You almost deserved it."
Eddie throws a jacket at him making him lose his balance a little making Melanie groan, "I'm also here you know!"
Eddie gives her an unamused look and turns to Steve, "For your modesty, dude."
Suddenly loud rumbling is heard as the ground starts shaking, "Oh my god!"
Melanie almost falls of Steve's back but Steve quickly puts her on the floor and holds her tight. While Robin, Eddie and Nancy fall down together.
Creatures baying in the distance are heard and Eddie looks up, "So guns seem like a pretty good idea to me."
Robin agrees, "Yeah, me too."
"So what are we waiting for?" Steve says putting on the jacket and letting Melanie hop on his back again. The group walks off to go find the Wheeler house in the upside down.
——
In the woods the group is walking in three groups Melanie is now in between Robin and Nancy as both of them hold her steady while Steve walks behind with Eddie in the middle of the two groups
Robin sighs, "Couldn't we have tried a road, or something just slightly less creepy?"
Melanie laughs, "I agree."
"I think we're getting close. We're almost out of here. Don't worry."
Steve clears his throat walking a bit faster so he's next to Eddie, Eddie. Eddie. Hey, man. Uh... Listen, I just, uh... I just want to say thanks. For saving my ass back there."
"Shit. You saved your own ass, man. I mean, that was a real Ozzy move you pulled back there."
"Ozzy?"
"When you took a bite out of that bat. Ozzy Osbourne? Black Sabbath? He bit a bat's head off onstage."
"I don't..."
"You know?"
"No."
"Doesn't matter. It's very metal, what you did. That's all I'm saying."
"Thanks."
"Henderson told me you were a badass. Insisted on the matter, in fact."
"Henderson said that?"
"Oh yeah. Shit. Kid worships you, dude. Like, you have no idea. It's kinda annoying, to be honest. I don't even know why I care what that little shrimp thinks, but, uh, guess I got a little jealous, Steve."
Steve looks at him confused as Eddie continues, "I guess I couldn't accept the fact that Steve Harrington was actually a good dude. Rich parents, popular, chicks love him. Not a douche? No way, man. No way. That, like, flies in the face of all the laws in the universe and my own personal Munson doctrine. Still super jealous as hell, by the way."
Steve laughs, "Great.."
"Which is why I would never have jumped in that lake to save your ass. Not under any, uh... normal circumstances. Nope. Outside of D&D, I am no hero. I see danger and I just turn heel and run. Or at least that's what I've learned about myself this week."
"Give yourself a break, man."
Eddie points towards Nancy, Robin and Melanie, "See? The only reason I came in here was 'cause those ladies came in straight after you. Now, I was too ashamed to be the one who stayed behind. But Hargrove right there, she didn't waste a second. Not one second. She just dove right in. Now, I don't know what happened between you two. Melanie never bothered to tell me the full story, but if I were you, I would get her back. 'Cause that was as unambiguous a sign of true love as these cynical eyes have ever seen."
Steve turns to Melanie thinking, he knew how he felt about Melanie. He just didn't know how she felt at the moment. He just needed to be patient and wait for her humanity.
Suddenly loud rumbling is heard another earthquake Steve groans, "Goddamn it!"
"Here we go again."
Robin yelps, "Second on my list of least favorite things, earthquakes. Seriously, I'm unsteady enough as it is."
Melanie is on the ground next to Robin, "Nancy! Where are you going?"
Robin takes Melanie by the shoulder helping her up when Steve and Eddie run by Steve helps Robin by getting the other side of Melanie. The four of them go after Nancy, "Nancy!"
"Come on." Nancy says as she sees her house.
The group enters the Wheeler house Robin clears her throat, "Might be time to get a maid, Wheeler."
Melanie groans, "I wanted to make that joke."
Nancy sighs, "Come on. I don't want to stay here longer than we have to." The group follows behind her on the stairs. Except Steve who stays on the stairs as he hears Dustin's voice in the distance.
Upstairs Nancy gets out a box from her closet she opens it and Eddie sighs, "Those aren't guns."
Robin agrees, "These heels are pointy, but I was hoping for a deadly projectile."
Melanie smiles, "Anything can be a weapon if u use it correctly."
Everyone looks at her concerned and turn back to Nancy, "I don't understand."
Eddie sighs, "Maybe you left them somewhere else."
"There's a six-year-old in the house. I know where I keep my guns. And also, I threw these away years ago."
Nancy looks at the table seeing study notes she goes through them as she remembers the study session with Steve in sophomore year.
Robin sighs, "I get that grades are important, but perhaps studying can wait till we get out?"
"These are from sophomore chemistry. And this... this wallpaper, this is old wallpaper. And this mirror, this went to a yard sale. And you... You're not supposed to be here. No, I gave you to Cousin Joanna two years ago."
Nancy walks over to her diary opening it. She looks at the date and shakes her head confused. Eddie clears his throat, "What is it?"
Robin sighs, "Nancy? You're freaking me out."
Melanie agrees, "Yeah same here, and I've seen some pretty crazy stuff."
"I think the reason that my guns aren't here is because they don't exist yet."
"They don't... exist?" Eddie asks confused.
"This diary should be full of entries. It's not. The last entry is November 6, 1983. The day Will went missing. The day the gate opened. We're in the past."
The four of them turn they're head when they hear Steve screaming downstairs, "Dustin! Dustin! Dustin! Can you hear me? Dustin! Du... Hello? Hel... Hello?"
The four of them watch as Steve yells at the ceiling doing circles. Melanie tilts her head confused, "Maybe he really does have rabies."
"Hello! Hello?"
Nancy speaks, "Steve, what are you doing?"
"Hello! He's here. Henderson. That little shit, he's here. He's like... He's in the walls or something. Just listen. Dustin. Dustin! Dustin! Dustin! Dustin! Can you hear me?"
The four of them look at him confused when they hear nothing. Melanie her eyes go wide when she hears a voice echoing.
Eventually Robin, Eddie and Nancy also hear it. The five of them start yelling around the house looking for the sound of his voice.
"Dustin!"
"Dustin?"
"Dustin!"
"All right, either this kid can't hear us or he's being a total douche bag." Steve sighs.
Nancy shakes her head, "Will found a way."
"What?"
"Will. He found a way to speak to Joyce through the lights."
"Lights?"
"The switch. Try the switch."
"Okay. It's not working."
Steve points his flashlight towards one of the chandeliers, "Guys? You seeing this?"
Meanwhile in the real world the chandelier in the Wheeler house gets brighter. Nancy keeps her hand going through the particles.
"Whoa." Eddie says as he walks up to the light with Robin and Melanie. The three of them also put they're hand in. Steve ends up joining.
"It..."
"Tickles."
"It kinda feels good."
"Does anyone know Morse code?"
Robin, Steve and Melanie speak up in sync, "No."
"Wait, does SOS count? Is that... Is that good?"
In the real world Erica notices how the lamp keeps flickering while Dustin still talks to her, "So our working theory is that Vecna makes remote contact from his attic. We don't know why. We assume he can do it from anywhere. Are you even listening to me?"
"I'm listening. It's just... You said you followed Vecna through lights, right?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Because I think he's here." Lucas and Dustin sit up noticing the light.
Dustin walks up to it realizing it's morsecode, "S. O. S." He mumbles. "Hey, uh, remember when I said they wouldn't be stupid enough to go through Watergate?"
"Yeah?" Lucas asks.
Dustin turns to the two siblings, "I overestimated them."
After making a plan they take the computer from Holly, "Hey!"
"I'm sorry!" Lucas says running out.
"Sorry, sorry, sorry." Dustin says taking the computer.
Erica runs past her handing her candy, "For your understanding."
In the upside down the five of them are waiting for a sign. They hear Dustin's voice in the distance, "Okay, you guys seeing this?"
Nancy starts playing with the light infront of them which makes the computer shine brightly in the real world. Dustin hugs Erica excitedly, "Holy shit!" Erica says making Dustin laugh.
"We're not moving it, but we're gonna unplug it. Stand by. Yank it. Okay, try it now. Try it now."
"Okay. Um... Uh..." Nancy tries spelling out a word.
"H. Hi!"
"Hi!"
"Hey!"
"That worked!"
Eddie gets excited, "Yes! Hi!"
"Okay. Um..."
"S... T... U... Stu... Stupid? Stupid? ..C... K. Stuck. Stuck."
Steve sighs in relief, "Yes."
Robin laughs as Eddie keeps nodding his head, "We are."
"They're stuck in the Upside Down. Okay. Uh, you can't get back through Watergate?"
Steve looks up confused, "What the hell's Watergate?"
Robin realizes, "Cause it's in water and it's a gate."
Melanie snorts, "Oh. That's cute."
"Right." Eddie says agreeing.
"Um, no. It's..." Nancy says as she continues to spell words out.
"That a six?"
"B?"
"No, G."
"Yeah."
"U... A... R. Guar? Guar... Guar... Guar... Guard... Guarded."
"Guarded?"
"Okay. Uh, Watergate's guarded."
Eddie claps as Steve gets impatient, "Perfect. Yes. Yes. Yes."
"We think we have a theory that can help with that."
"Yes. Genius child."
"We think Watergate isn't the only gate. That there's a gate at every murder site."
On they're end all they heard was murder site. Nancy turns to the group, "Does anybody understand what he's talking about?"
"No."
"No idea." Nancy draws a question mark as they didn't hear what he said.
"Okay. Seriously? How many times do I have to be right on the money before you trust me?"
Steve sighs, "Jesus Christ. This kid's gotta get his ego in check."
"It's his tone. Right?" Eddie says.
Melanie snorts, "I know."
Nancy ignores the talk of the three whining about Dustin's ego, "Okay. So... So how far is your trailer?" Nancy asks Eddie.
"Seven miles."
"Nancy? Uh, I know your house here is, like, weirdly, creepily frozen in time and shit, but haven't you always had bikes?"
After a while the group started biking there not aware that one of the bats saw them and warned Vecna of they're presence in the upside down.
——
"Right here." Eddie says as they finally make it to his trailer.
"That's gotta be a Guinness World Record. Most miles traveled interdimensionally." Robin says.
"Just inhaled a bunch of that crap." Steve cough, "It's stuck in my throat."
They get in the trailer and all look at the ceiling seeing what looks like a gate.
"Goddamn."
Eddie gulps, "This is where Chrissy died. Like, right where she died."
Melanie feels another emotion come up, loss and grief. She pushes it down again but there's only so much she can push down until her humanity bursts out. Which will make her weak and that's exactly what Vecna wants.
Robin speaks, "I think there's something in there."
Something is pushing down, "What the hell is that?" Eddie says confused.
All of them yelp in fear when a stick pokes through making a hole. Steve goes first slowly walking towards it the rest follows behind, "No way."
They all look up and smile. On the other side Max, Lucas, Erica and Dustin are standing. Dustin laughs, "Hi there."
Steve waves back, "Hi."
"Hi." The other four say in sync.
"Holy shit, this is trippy." Robin says laughing.
Dustin laughs excitedly, "Bada-bada-boom!"
Max and Lucas have put down a mattress and Dustin is making a rope. Everyone turns to Eddie seeing the stains on his bed, "Those stains are, uh... I dunno what those stains are."
Robin nods, "Mmm."
"Not quite sure how these physics work. But, uh... Here goes nothing." Dustin says as he throws the rope up.
"There we go. And if my theory is correct..." He lets go of it and it stays in place, "Huh. Abracadabra."
"Holy shit." Max says amazed.
"All right, pull on it! See if it holds!"
Robin pulls on it like asked and it stays in place. Dustin laughs and Erica gasps, "This is the craziest shit I've ever seen in my life. And I've seen some crazy shit."
Robin gets on first, "Guess I'm the guinea pig."
"Let's clear the landing pad." Dustin says getting out the way as Robin falls down.
"Oh my God! Oh, thank God. That was fun."
Eddie turns to Steve, Nancy and Melanie when none of them move he sighs dramatically, "All right, guess I'll go."
Eddie lands and smiles, "That was fun. shit." Nancy goes after who exclaims
it actually felt terrifying.
Steve chuckles turning to Melanie,
"See you on the other side."
"On the other side."
Melanie gets on and keeps climbing when she doesn't fall she yells when she keeps falling, she finally hits the ground painfully.
"Jezus."
Melanie gets up rubbing her back which she landed on. She looks around in horror when she sees where she is. She's in the mall, the same mall which 'burned down' the same mall Billy died in.
Melanie feels herself panicking when she looks around and sees nothing else but the empty voice of the mall. She hears the sound of thunder and follows it, she ends up at the exit she opens the door and sees that she's still in the upside down. Her eyes go wide in panick.
"No please, not again."
She thought she was in the upside down but she was really in Vecna's mind. He put her there once he found out they were here.
In Eddie's trailer in the real upside down Steve is panicking. He's shaking her arms as her eyes have gone completely white, "Melanie. Hey! Hey! Stay with me. Melanie! Hey! Melanie, wake up. Wake up! Melanie!"
In the real world the group looks up in panick. Max gasps in realization, "Vecna."
Melanie looks around in panick as she runs back into the mall hoping to find a hiding place there. Suddenly a dark figure is laying on the ground, the exact same spot where Billy's dead body was laid. Melanie walks over to it and gasps as she sees Billy's dead body covered with vines and other stuff from the upside down.
Suddenly a voice is heard making Melanie look up frightened, "Do you remember what you did, Melanie?"
Melanie sees flashes go through her mind of Steve holding her back when the mindflayer attacked. She could've gotten out of Steve's but she didn't even try.
"Or have you already forgotten? When I kill someone.. I never forget."
Blood comes pouring towards her slowly Melanie panicks as she sees where the blood is coming from. Right from Billy's body.
Melanie finally decided to get out of the mall when she got out she wad back where she was last time. The place where she saw Chrissy and Fred's body. She sighs as she realizes she's stuck. The sound of the clock is heard again.
"I see your friends have been looking for me, Melanie. You were all so close. So close to the truth. How was old, blind, dumb Victor? Did he miss me? I've been meaning to check back in, but I've been busy."
Melanie gasps when she sees Chrissy's and Fred's body again, "So very busy."
Suddenly the setting changes. Melanie is standing in the Creel house. But it looks like a memory of when people lived there.
"What'd I tell ya?"
"Wow. This is amazing. It looks like a fairy tale. A dream."
"Alice, no running."
"It's so big!"
"This is nice."
"Yeah."
Melanie her eye goes towards the one boy in the back of the couple standing alone,
looking sad. Something about him seemed familiar.
Melanie follows the boy watching how lights kept flickering everywhere he went. She watches how he goes into the vent where Steve had found pots of dead black widows.
More memorys kept going, now was one of the little boy drawing a spider. Melanie watched intrigued. As he started starting at the clock in the house. Melanie watched how the boy made the time of the clock move.
She gasped and when she turned there was a new memory this time it was the boy killing a bunny. She looked horrified at the child killing an animal, slowly but surely parts of her humanity came back.
Melanie ran back into the house terrified where she saw a baby crying into an fireplace. She turned to another room hoping to forget what she saw. She walked into the diningroom where the family was sat. She watched how the dad stood up fixing the radio suddenly the mother flew up, her bones started snapping and she fell down on the table.
Melanie watched how the boy wiped blood from his nose. The dots slowly connected in her head when she realized. She watched how the father also known as Victor Creel got put into jail for it. While the boy went into the hands of Brenner, Dr Brenner. The man Eleven told her about.
Melanie watched in terror how the man made the boy do thing that were exhausting him. Torturing him. It was then when Melanie saw what Dr Brenner was putting on his arm the digits 001.
She gasped when she realized. Vecna was 001. Vecna was the little boy otherwise known as Henry Creel.