━━━━ 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 !
𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍
After countless minutes of listening to Jonathan's protests, Argyle swerved the van into an empty parking space at the nearest gas station he could find. The lot featured a quaint little convenience store that appeared as if it received little to no business — in all fairness, it was located in an extremely small town in the middle of nowhere.
Inside the store was a middle-aged employee who looked like he hadn't slept in days. He was hunched over the counter with a cigarette tucked between his fingers and a tabloid magazine in his right hand.
"I'm gonna go grab some snacks. You guys want anything?" Mike asked, motioning toward the small establishment.
"M&M's," El piped up.
"Reese's Pieces, please," Will chimed in.
Mike responded with a firm nod before pivoting around and walking into the convenience store. Through the windows, Will was able to see the employee rolling his eyes after the ravenette entered. He chuckled to himself and wandered away to check on his brother.
˗ˏˋ꒰ 🎱 ꒱
While Argyle filled the van's gas tank, Jonathan anxiously stood at the payphone with the telephone pressed to his ear. He had spent the past thirty minutes phoning multiple airports and begging for a flight to Indianapolis.
"No, no. Like I said, I . . . I've tried everyone," He scolded the woman on the opposite end. "Yeah, TWA, Pan Am, and Eastern."
Mike, El, and Will paced back and forth while they waited for the older teenager to find a solution. Catching a flight to Hawkins was their only hope, as the van certainly wouldn't get them there in time.
"No, it doesn't have to be a one-way. I'll take one seat if you have it."
Jonathan paused to allow the airport associate to respond. After a few seconds, his rambling continued.
"I mean, please, there has to be something you can do. One of our family members is really, really sick and I don't know if she's gonna make it through the night. Is there any way that you could just . . . no, no, no! Like I said before, I've tried them already!"
Unbeknownst to the boys, El slowly wandered away to get a closer look at a billboard she spotted in the distance.
"Okay, well, is there any way that I could speak to a manager? There's . . . there's no one there?"
The girl's gaze was fixated on a billboard reading: SCENIC ROUTE AHEAD — NEXT RIGHT. She seemed to be deep in thought.
"No, that's the problem. I can't call back."
El continued to study the billboard, her eyebrows furrowing as she thought to herself. Maybe there was another way to help her friends.
˗ˏˋ꒰ 🎱 ꒱
"Damn it!" Jonathan shouted, slamming the telephone back into its designated spot.
"What'd they say?" Will asked.
"Earliest is tomorrow."
"No! That's way too late!" Mike sneered.
"I know," Jonathan muttered.
"Hey, dudes?" Argyle piped up from his spot by the gas pumps. "Ask 'em if we can ride in the baggage compartment."
"The baggage compartment?" Jonathan raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"We'd suffocate," Mike said matter-of-factly.
"Dogs ride in there all the time, man," Argyle chuckled. "They don't suffocate."
"Jesus Christ."
"Holy shit."
"I have a way."
Everyone cranked their heads to locate the source of the soft voice — Eleven. Her expression was neutral, but it was evident that she had a possible solution.
"A way to protect Max," The girl continued. "From here."
The boys shot each other glances of perplexity. Protect Max? From two-thousand miles away? Will couldn't fathom how it would be possible. Then again, he grew up in a town filled with monsters from alternate dimensions, so anything was possible.
˗ˏˋ꒰ 🎱 ꒱
El led the boys back to the van and proceeded to doodle a stick figure on one of its foggy windows. She proudly added two strands of hair and a cute smiley face to it.
"This is Max," She explained. "When One attacks, he'll be in her mind. But I can do that too. I went into Mama's mind, into Billy's. I can go into Max's. She can carry me to Vecna. I can piggyback. I can protect her from One — fight him from here."
"Mind fight. Righteous," Argyle nodded with a cheesy grin.
"Wait, so you actually think this could work?" Mike asked, a glimmer of hope sparkling in his dark eyes.
"A bathtub would help," El replied.
"Yeah," Argyle smiled. "Gotta be clean to enter the mind."
Everyone shot him a dirty look. This guy had zero idea as to what was going on.
"What? No, no," Mike shook his head with frustration. "It's a sensory deprivation tank. It helps her calm down and focus on her powers."
"Wait," Will spoke up. "We just passed a motel."
"Yeah, but they won't have enough salt," Mike frowned.
"Well, how much salt are we talking here, my dudes?" Argyle asked, his hands on his hips.
"Well, depends on the size of the tub, but a lot," Jonathan replied.
"Does six hundred pounds suffice?" He asked.
"You know a place that has six hundred pounds of salt?" Mike asked, raising his eyebrows in disbelief.
Argyle didn't respond. Instead, he took one step forward and used his arms to make mental measurements of who-knows-what. Mike turned to Will, who simply closed his eyes and shook his head. He knew better than to question the stoner's antics.
"Yep, it'll work," He sang.
"What will work?" El asked.
"I know of a magical place that has all you need, my brave, little super-powered friend." He proudly smiled. "That mind fight is on!"
Everyone froze, debating whether or not to trust him on this one — it wasn't like they had time to fool around.
"Come on! Vámonos! Let's go! Pronto!"
Without further hesitation, the teenagers piled back into the van and prepared for their next adventure.
𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 !
i'm getting sick of people complaining that "tHiS sToRy iS LiTeRaLLy a RePeAt oF tHe ShOw aNd tHeRe'S nO oRiGiNaLiTy" um it's a REWRITE of the show so obviously it's gonna be extremely similar. & we haven't even gotten to the good stuff yet because this is a slow burn. if you don't like this story, that's perfectly fine! just don't complain please & thank you!