chapter twenty-two.
well, that explains where my mom has been.
😄
tw: puking
disclaimer: I hope everything in Spanish is accurate!! I used Spanishdict like someone told me too !! Hopefully it's correct :)) but thank you to that person (I forgot their username, my bad)
lowercase intended !
STRANGER THINGS 3
episode five
ELEVEN LOOKED FOR HOPPER. The group of friends held their breath, their collective silence giving El the space to share her findings. "I found him," she finally spoke up, breaking the quiet tension. Max's response was a gulp, her hand moving closer to Josie's, fingers intertwining as they sought comfort in each other.
"Where is he?" Max questioned, her voice reflecting a mix of anxiety and determination. El's monotone response hung in the air. "Woods." Confusion crossed Mike's face. "Woods?" he asked, seeking clarification. El nodded softly. "He's with . . . Will and Josie's moms."
Will's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "My — my mom?" he stuttered, clearly taken aback by the unexpected connection. Josie, unfazed, began a sentence that was swiftly cut off by a harsh nudge from Max's side. The Cortez girl quickly zipped her mouth shut, a mischievous yet gentle grin curling onto her lips. Max shook her head with a soft chuckle.
Max sighed, voicing the collective confusion in the room. "What are they doing?" she asked, seeking answers amidst the uncertainty. El, still grappling with language nuances, stuttered out her response. "Ill . . . annoy. They're going to Illinois."
As Mrs. Wheeler knocked on the door, interrupting the conversation, she called out, "Mike! Breakfast!" Mike's response, a shouted "Not now, Mom!" revealed his focus on the ongoing discussion.
Turning back to El, Mike sought clarification. "Illinois? Illinois, like the state?" he questioned, attempting to decipher El's cryptic message.
El shrugged her shoulders, her attempt to convey the complex concept evident in her stammered words. As El struggled with language nuances, Josie stood up from the couch, intertwining her hands with both Max and El.
However, Mike's attention was drawn to Max's neck. His eyes scrutinized something, and a gasp escaped him. "Max, what is that on your neck?" he questioned, his voice revealing a mix of curiosity and surprise. Will and Lucas directed their attention toward Max's neck, their expressions mirroring Mike's intrigue.
Josie's attention shifted to El, and she suggested, "Let's clean your bloody nose." Taking the initiative, she led the two girls to Mike's bathroom, located behind them. Once inside, Max closed the door behind them. In a moment of gratitude, Max gave Josie a thankful look and a soft kiss on the cheek.
Josie turned on the faucet, taking charge of helping El wash off the blood trickling down her nose. With care, she used warm water and a soft cloth to gently clean El's skin, ensuring not to scrub too hard or cause any discomfort. As the task continued, Max observed Josie's gaze, realizing she was looking at the red mark around El's neck that Billy had left.
Josie's lips curled into a frown, expressing her regret. "I'm sorry that I didn't stop him, El . . . I just froze," Josie apologized, her words reflecting the weight of the guilt she carried for not intervening during the confrontation with Billy.
El glanced at Josie, raising her hand to the mark on her neck. Her fingers touched the red imprint as she spoke reassuringly, "It's okay . . . it happened. I forgive you."
Josie nodded with a soft smile, her movements gentle as she continued to care for El's bloody nose. Max, expressing concern, inquired, "Does it still hurt?" Josie dropped the used washcloth in the sink, leaning against it, creating a moment of pause.
El looked over at Max, her raspy voice conveying the discomfort she felt. "Only when I talk," she stated, rubbing the affected spot with a hint of discomfort.
Josie snorted a laugh. "Well, it's a good thing you're not Mike then. 'Blah, blah, blah, blah.' You would be in a lot of constant pain," she joked, eliciting laughter from Max and El. E, "So, what was going on last night?" El asked, her voice still raspy.
Max and Josie exchanged a look, their eyes meeting with a shared understanding. They both recognized that Hopper hadn't really explained to El what sex is. A moment of silence passed as they stood there lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Josie spoke up, breaking the quiet moment. "Uh . . . it's not important, honestly," she said with a cheeky smile. El eyed them before looking down with a sigh, the unspoken topic lingering in the air.
NANCY AND JONATHAN CAME OVER URGENTLY. The Wheeler girl paced back and forth, her anxiety evident. "I just don't get it! The exact same thing that happened to Will last year. And look at this," she leaned forward, grabbing a clipboard and placing it in front of them on the table. "Look at the body temperatures," she pointed out as Will studied the clipboard. His eyebrows shot up, and he looked up at her when he read the temperatures. "He likes it cold," he emphasized, a revelation that sparked a realization in the room.
"Okay, so this crazy old woman who was eating fertilizer—" Mike began before Nancy swiftly cut him off.
Nancy gave him a scolding look. "Mrs. Driscoll," she corrected him, emphasizing the respect for accuracy. Mike nodded in acknowledgment. "Right, yeah, Mrs. Driscoll. What time was this attack?" he asked with an unamused tone, showing impatience. "Last night," Nancy replied, her response resonating with a sense of urgency.
Mike nodded. "Right, but what time was last night?" he persisted, annoyance in his voice. "Around nine," Nancy replied, providing the sought-after information. Jonathan gave her a look of disapproval. "You waited all night to call?" he scolded. "I was waiting for the doctors to run some tests," she stated, defending her actions in the face of criticism.
Will's expression held disbelief as he questioned his brother's absence. "You weren't there?" he asked, seeking clarification. Jonathan, seemingly unfazed, shrugged in response. "Well, I'm here now, aren't I?" he retorted sarcastically, adding a layer of tension to the conversation. Nancy, not one to let it slide, sarcastically exclaimed, "Hallelujah!" The room crackled with awkwardness, and Lucas couldn't help but wince at the awkwardness between the couple.
Josie couldn't resist a cheeky remark. "Trouble in paradise, Nance?" she joked, earning a sharp glare from Nancy. Josie quickly sealed her lips, feeling the weight of the sharp look, reminiscent of being scolded by her mother. Nancy sighed, attempting to redirect the conversation. "Um, so, what time was your... sauna test?" she questioned the group of friends, shifting the focus back to the urgent matter at hand.
Together, the group of teens said, "Around nine," in unison. Nancy's eyebrows shot up. "Well, that proves it. That proves my theory," she exclaimed, finding validation in the synchronized information. Mike nodded in agreement. "She's flayed, just like Billy," he stated.
"Flayed?" Jonathan gave a confused look. Josie cleared her throat and stepped in to explain. "The Mind Flayer. He likes to flay people, go inside their minds, and control them," she clarified, shedding light on the supernatural threat they were dealing with.
Lucas gasped. "If there are two flayed..." he trailed off. Will finished his thought, nodding his head. "We have to assume there are more."
El furrowed her eyebrows, her thoughts connecting. "Heather," she spoke up, leaning forward. "Billy was doing something to her. She was scared. She was screaming. Bad screams," El explained, describing the distressing situation she had witnessed. Lucas, trying to lighten the mood, interjected with a question. "What's a good scream?" he quipped, injecting a touch of humor into the serious conversation.
Josie, feeling a bit embarrassed, buried her head in her hands as her cheeks turned red. "Why did Lucas have to ask that?" she mumbled. Before she could continue, Max cut her off. "Doesn't matter," Max said with a pursed lip and a head shake.
Nancy, trying to catch up, asked, "I'm sorry, I'm lost. Who is Heather?" Josie removed her head from her hands, looking up at the Wheeler girl, and crossed her arms against her chest. "She's a lifeguard at the pool," Josie answered, providing the necessary context for the unfolding events.
Nancy's eyebrows shot up in recognition. "Heather Holloway?" she quizzed, her curiosity piqued. El confirmed with a nod. Nancy and Jonathan exchanged a knowing look, connecting the dots. "Tom," they said in unison, a realization hitting them about the potential involvement of someone they knew.
Josie, sensing the urgency, joined her friends outside. Walking around to the back of Nancy's car, she opened the trunk and climbed inside. In the confined space, she made herself as comfortable as possible, taking a deep breath to steady her nerves. Though the space was a bit cramped, the determination to uncover the truth overshadowed any discomfort she might have felt.
Josie's eyes darted to Mike and Will getting into the back as well, prompting her to squeeze herself closer away from them. She avoided looking at Mike throughout the entire car ride, choosing to focus on staring outside the window. The journey was quite long, and Josie contemplated trying to go into the void. She needed to know if her best friend was okay, as she hadn't heard from her in a few days.
Josie closed her eyes tightly, focusing on imagining Charlotte. Her heart raced, and in her imagination, she reached for someone's hand, assuming it was Will's, finding comfort in the thought of a friendly connection. However, it turned out to be Mike's hand she grabbed, and he interpreted the gesture romantically.
Mike, realizing what Josie was attempting, refrained from moving, understanding that Josie believed it was Will holding her hand.
Josie marveled at the bright white void around her as she gracefully walked across the pool of endless water. The distant voices became clearer, and her smile widened as she approached the source. There, she found Charlotte and Dustin, holding hands in a tranquil and harmonious moment.
In the void, Josie found herself walking down a seemingly endless hallway alongside Charlotte and Dustin. Their conversation revolved around Russians, prompting Josie to tilt her head to the side in confusion, trying to grasp the context of their discussion within this dreamlike realm.
As the car came to a sudden stop in front of a house, Mike hesitated but knew he had to wake Josie. Gently shaking her, he whispered, "Jo, you gotta get outta there. We're here." Josie, with a radiant smile, opened her eyes. "Mike, I did it! I went into the void!" Her excitement bubbled over as she enthusiastically shared her achievement.
Josie, feeling a mix of joy and relief, couldn't contain her emotions. She wrapped her arms around Mike, holding him close. Despite the earlier tension and her challenging feelings, this shared moment of accomplishment seemed to bridge the gap between them, if only momentarily.
As Mike hugged Josie, a whirlwind of conflicting emotions churned within him. He found it challenging to grasp the rapid shifts in Josie's mood, oscillating between anger and warmth. The inconsistency left him feeling perplexed and wished for clarity in their interactions. Adding to the complexity was the unspoken truth that Mike loved Josie, not El, and the longing to express his feelings remained unfulfilled.
After a moment, Josie pulled away from Mike and turned to Max, who regarded her with a mix of confusion and jealousy. "Come on, darling," Max forced a smile, holding out her hand. Josie took Max's hand, and they all got out of the car. Walking towards the door, Josie couldn't shake the sense of happiness knowing she had her friends by her side.
Nancy attempted to pry the door open without success, so she turned to El and Josie with a hopeful smile. Josie sighed, asking, "Want me to do this, or do you wanna?" El softly replied, "You can." Josie took a step forward, narrowing her eyes at the stubborn doorknob. With a deep breath, she focused her energy on the door. A sudden burst of force later, the door flew open, revealing the room beyond. Stepping through, Josie couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction at the successful entrance.
Upon crossing the threshold into the house, a heavy sense of melancholy washed over her, casting a shadow on the once-familiar surroundings. A subtle shudder traversed her spine, prompting her to instinctively grasp Max's hand, seeking solace in the connection.
"Tom? Heather?" Nancy's voice echoed through the stillness, the unanswered query hanging in the air. As a united front, the group trailed behind Nancy, exploring the labyrinth of rooms. Josie's gaze wandered, scrutinizing the framed moments frozen in time on the walls. The smiles captured in photographs seemed peculiar, each concealing a narrative untold, weaving an enigmatic tapestry within the house's history.
"Jesus, it's freezing," Max remarked. "You want my hoodie, sunshine?" Josie offered, earning a grateful smile from Max. "Nah, I'm fine," Max reassured her, gently squeezing the Cortez girl's hand. Mike stood behind them, glaring with a pang of jealousy. Wishing it were him with Josie, not Max, he silently followed them through the chilly house.
Josie couldn't shake the eerie sensation lingering within her. The group halted as Nancy sniffled. "Do you guys smell that?" he inquired. Josie cautiously inhaled, her expression contorting as she scrunched her nose in disgust. "Gross, yeah, I do. We better make this quick; I'm getting queasy," she declared, her hand instinctively hovering over her stomach.
As they turned the corner, a plethora of chemicals lay scattered around. The brunette's eyes widened. "Jesus Christ, were they drinking these?" she pinched her nose, attempting to stave off the urge to vomit.
They moved closer to investigate, but Josie felt it coming up. "Oh shit, I think I'm gonna—" she turned her head, but a wave of nausea overwhelmed her. Unfortunately, she ended up emptying her stomach on Mike's shoes. The Wheeler boy looked annoyed. "Aw, man, Josie! Couldn't you do this the other way?" he scolded, his frustration palpable.
Josie felt embarrassed, but Max quickly came to her aid, holding her hair back, and rubbing her back. "It's okay, Josie," Max said soothingly, their touch comforting the Cortez girl. "Just let it out."
Josie, overwhelmed with gratitude for Max's support, found solace in her girlfriend's comforting presence. After an unexpected burp, she looked up at Mike with an apologetic expression, her eyes reflecting a mix of embarrassment and remorse.
"I'm so sorry, Mike," Josie frowned, feeling a tinge of shame. "I didn't mean to do that," she added, the sincerity in her voice palpable. Mike initially wore a scolding look, but after a momentary pause, he sighed and said, "It's okay, Josie. Just try to be more careful next time," his stern expression softening with understanding.
Lucas shot Mike a questioning look. "Next time? Does she have a weak stomach?" he blurted out, prompting Josie to nonchalantly shrug her shoulders. "Honestly, I don't know," she admitted.
"So, are they just drinking these chemicals?" Josie questioned, interrupting the conversation with an unexpected burp. Mike, wrinkling his nose, waved his hand in front of his face. "Not this way, please. Your breath smells like throw-up," he scowled, eliciting a bemused yet defiant look from the Cortez girl.
"I guess," Nancy replied with a sigh. "But last year, Will didn't eat chemicals, did you?" Max gave a puzzled look as Will shook his head. "No... this is something new," Will stated.
"Mr. Clarke, fifth grade. Posit. What happens when you mix chemicals together?" Mike questioned the boys.
"You create a new substance," Will and Lucas said in unison, their synchronized response carrying a hint of uncertainty in the midst of the mysterious situation.
Josie rocked back and forth on her heels. "So, they're making something?" she raised an eyebrow as Max gave her a knowing look. "In themselves? I mean, come on, if you drink this crap, it'll kill you," Max added, emphasizing the potential danger.
Lucas nodded. "Yeah, if you're human," he pointed out, the implication of an inhuman element weaving a thread of unease through the room.
They trailed Nancy into the dining room, greeted by a chaotic scene with a table strewn with a disarray of items, bearing witness to the inexplicable events that had unfolded. Stains marked the once-pristine surface. The Cortez girl, sensing an anomaly, narrowed her eyes at a bottle on the ground. Josie, driven by curiosity and a sense of determination, walked over to the tumult, knelt down, and delicately picked up the mysterious bottle in her hands.
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, her mind clearing as she focused all her energy on the enigmatic container.
A sudden surge of energy enveloped Josie, transporting her into a vision of the unsettling events. In vivid detail, she witnessed Billy and Heather inflicting harm upon her parents, the brutality unfolding before her eyes until everything plunged into darkness. When she snapped back to reality, her breaths came heavy, and she turned to her friends with a haunted expression.
As Josie's eyes met theirs, a sense of fear lingered in the air. A small stream of blood trickled down from her nose, an unsettling physical manifestation of the psychic toll the vision had taken on her.
"Billy and Heather... they knocked my parents out," Josie's voice quivered with a mix of fear and disbelief. Her hands trembled slightly as she recounted the unsettling vision, reliving the distressing moments. Carefully, she returned the bottle to its original position on the ground. A heavy atmosphere enveloped the room, and her friends exchanged glances, grappling with the weight of the disturbing revelation.
They entered the garage to find a coil of rope on the ground. Jonathan bent down to investigate, glancing over at the teens. "They must've tied them up," he deduced, his expression growing somber. Standing up, he added, "They must have taken them somewhere." Nancy's eyes widened at the realization.
"Mrs. Driscoll... she kept saying, 'I have to go back.' What if the flayed, it's taking place somewhere else? There must be a place where all this started, right? A source," Nancy suggested, her mind racing with the possibility of uncovering the origin of the mysterious occurrences.
El's eyebrows raised. "Somewhere he didn't want me to see," she said, her mind connecting the dots. Josie nodded in agreement. "And for me to help her beat him," she added, crossing her arms with determination. Max chimed in, "If we can find the source, then maybe we can stop him. Or at least stop it from spreading or doing whatever the hell he's doing with those chemicals."
El frowned, her eyebrows furrowing. "How do we find it?" she questioned, seeking a plan of action. Will spoke up with a suggestion, "Mrs. Driscoll. If she wants to go back so badly, why don't we let her?"
Once they arrived at the hospital, attempting to approach the elevator, they were halted by the stern front desk lady. "Woah, woah, woah! Excuse me! Where do you think you're going?" she scowled, hand on her hip, as Nancy looked at her.
"Oh, um... I was just going to visit my grandma again. And— and this is... this is my family," Nancy explained, attempting to offer a plausible reason. The front desk lady gave her a skeptical 'really?' look, challenging the authenticity of their intentions.
Lucas cracked a grin. "Extended," he informed her. "I don't care who you are. You know the rules. Two visitors at a time," he asserted, challenging the front desk lady's attempt to restrict their access.
"Yeah, but—" the lady began to protest, her resistance met with the group's determination to bypass the rules for the greater cause they were pursuing.
"two!"
In the waiting room, Josie and Max found a lighthearted escape, engaging in a playful candy-throwing game. Giggles and laughter filled the air as they tossed sweet treats back and forth, attempting to catch them in their mouths. Oblivious to the curious glances from others in the waiting room, Josie and Max reveled in their impromptu game, relishing the joy and camaraderie it brought amidst the tense atmosphere.
"Josie, you're going to make me choke on this candy!" Max exclaimed, laughter bubbling between them. "Sorry, Max! I can't help it. I'm just so excited!" Josie replied, her grin stretching from ear to ear.
The two girlfriends continued their candy-tossing escapade, oblivious to the disapproving shakes of heads from others in the waiting room. Yet, Josie and Max remained unfazed, their shared happiness overshadowing any judgment.
Meanwhile, Mike approached El, subtly signaling for Will to join Lucas. Will hesitated for a moment but eventually moved to sit with Lucas. As Mike settled into the chair beside El, he took a deep breath. "We need to talk," he stated, a serious undertone in his voice hinting at the gravity of the conversation to come.
The Hopper girl looked at him, her expression unreadable. "I know," she said softly. Mike took a deep breath, continuing, "So... I messed up. Like a lot. I liked you, El... but when Josie came into my life, I felt something, but it's obviously one-sided. But I don't know why I did what I did. I was clearly using you to make Josie jealous... it didn't work. And I'm really sorry. I hope you can forgive me." The weight of Mike's apology hung in the air, awaiting El's response.
Eleven bit her lip, staring at Mike with a blank expression, her heart weighed down by a sense of heartbreak. She loved him, a truth she hadn't admitted but felt keenly. Without saying anything, she got up and walked over to Max and Josie. The two girls turned to her, noticing the sadness in her eyes.
"El, you okay?" Josie asked, concern evident in her voice. Before Eleven could respond, the lights in the room began to flicker. "Oh shit. He's here," Josie announced, her face turning pale. Tension gripped the air as the ominous presence they feared made its presence known.
—
ash speaks!
and how do we feel after this chapter?