Jonathan, Mandi and Nancy arrived at a motel. Mandi rang the bell at the receptionist's desk but she didn't look up. "We'd like a, uh, some rooms", she said. "We got those", the receptionist responded, still not looking at them. "But only two. So two of you will have to share". They exchanged looks and Nancy quickly darted off to one of the rooms and locked herself in.
Jonathan and Mandi sat up in their beds. "Mandi...", he said, leaning forward to look at her. "Uh, on or off?"
"Hmm"
"What?"
"Nothing. Just...deja vu"
"Yeah"
"Don't you think it's weird?"
"What?"
"Nowadays, how we only seem to hang out when the world's about to end?"
"It's not going to end"
"Feels like it"
She leaned over the table separating their beds, holding out her hand which still had a mark from where the knife had sliced through. "Still have yours?" she asked. "Yeah", he said, putting his hand alongside hers.
"Yeah, mine's bigger"
"Congratulations"
"Thanks"
They looked at each other for a moment before she removed her hand and they both laid down on their sides. "What happened?" she said.
"What do you mean?"
"To us? After everything, you just...disappeared"
"Yeah, Will needed me. And I honestly thought you wanted nothing to with me"
"I waited. I waited for you for a month before I realised you weren't gonna call"
"It was only a month"
She turned around to lie on her other side. "I want them off", she said. He turned them off and lay down on his other side.
A rock song played on the stereo as Jonathan drove them to what looked like an abandoned warehouse. "Are you positive this is the right place?" he asked Nancy. "3833. Yeah", she replied, reading it off of a small piece of paper.
"Alright"
They got out of the car and a train horn blared in the distance as they approached the door. Keep door closed was written in red spray paint on the door. Jonathan pressed the button near the door and it buzzed loudly. "Look at the camera", a voice instructed through a speaker. "The camera". "What camera?" Jonathan asked.
"Not the loudspeaker. Above you, to the right"
They finally found it and looked up. The door rattled and opened, revealing a half-bald man with a beard and glasses. "Nancy Wheeler. Jonathan Byers. Mandi Crawford. You're a long way from home", he said before gesturing for them to come in.
"Well...", he said, leading them into the living room. "I hope you didn't come all this way to tell me about the bear in the Harrington kid's backyard. I've heard that one already". He led them through another door.
"Take a look. Go ahead, don't be shy"
It was a bulletin board full of evidence and newspaper clippings.
"I followed up on 200 tips, most bogus, but that's how these things always go, okay? I know every last step Barbara took that day, every last person she talked to. The answer to what happened to your friend, it's up here somewhere. I assure you that. I just gotta connect the right dots"
"Timeline's wrong", Nancy pointed out.
"I'm sorry?"
"Your timeline is wrong. And the girl with the buzzed hair, she's not Russian. She's from Hawkins Lab. Her name was Eleven"
"You might wanna sit for this", Jonathan suggested.
Max arrived at the arcade. After discovering the out of order sign on her usual machine. Keith took her to the back room where Lucas and Rosie were waiting for her. "You better get me that date now", Keith said. "I told you I would", Lucas replied.
"And keep things PG in here, alright?"
He winked, closing the door. "He is never going on a date with my sister", Rosie stated. "What is this shit?" Max asked them.
"Sorry. We just needed a safe place"
"A safe place to what? Be creepy?"
"Listen. We're gonna tell you the truth about everything that happened last year. But if anyone finds out, you could be arrested. Possibly killed"
"Killed?"
"We need to know", Lucas said. "Do you accept the risk?"
"Oh, my God! This...this is so stupid"
"Do you accept the risk?"
"Yeah. Sure. Fine. I accept the risk. Let's hear it"
"Last year...Will didn't get lost in the woods", Rosie explained. "He got lost somewhere else".
Margo was at the mall, holding her bags full of shopping when she spotted Steve, muttering to himself outside the flower shop. Before she could make an escape, he caught her eye. "Hey! Margo!" he greeted her.
"Hey, Steve. What are you doing?"
"Buying flowers for... For..."
"Nancy?"
"Yeah"
"You know, you usually get the flowers if you enter the store"
"Yeah, right. Yeah, I just don't really know what to get her to say sorry"
"Sorry? Sorry for what? Didn't she call your whole relationship bullshit?"
"Yeah, she did. But she was drunk. She didn't mean it"
"What if she did?"
"She didn't"
"Okay. Red roses. They're her favourite"
"Why didn't I remember that?"
"No offence, Steve but you're that great of a boyfriend. Do you even remember my favourite flower"
"Lilies"
"Oh. Okay. Well, I'm gonna go. Good luck"
"Did you drive here? Or is Jonathan around?"
"No, my car's broken down. I got the bus"
"Is someone picking you up?"
"I'm just gonna get the bus again. It's no big deal"
"No way. I'll drive you home. I'm going that way anyway"
"Steve, no. You're buying flowers and going to Nancy's. I'll wait. I'm fine"
"No, not a chance. I'll be just a minute buying flowers and like, five minutes tops at Nancy's. Then I'll get you home. Sound good?"
"Fine. Whatever. Only because the bus stinks"
He smiled.
They arrived at the Wheeler house and Steve got out with his bouquet of red roses. "Make it really quick", Margo yelled out the window. He gave her a thumbs up as he started walking up the driveway, muttering to himself. She couldn't help but wonder why he was never walking up her driveaway, muttering and apologetic with a bouquet of lilies. She was snapped out of her daydream by Dustin, opening the car door holding the bouquet. "Do you still have that bat?" Dustin asked Steve. "Bat? What bat?" Steve replied.
"The one with the nails"
"Why?"
"I'll explain it on the way"
"Now?"
"Now!"
Steve rushed into the car as Dustin got into the backseat. "What's going on?" Margo said as Steve started the car. "I don't know", Steve said.
"And that was the last we ever saw of her", Rosie concluded. "After that, she was just gone". "I can't believe it's been that long. Feels like yesterday", Lucas added. "Yeah. I mean, I bet", Max said. "Wow". "It's crazy", Rosie said. "I know".
"It's crazy, but...I really liked it"
"Liked it?" Lucas questioned.
"Yeah. Well, I mean, I had a few issues"
"Issues?"
"I just felt it was a little derivative in parts but..."
"What are you talking about?" Rosie said.
"I just wish it had a little more originality. That's all"
"You don't believe us?"
"Come on, seriously? How gullible do you think I am?"
"Why would we make this up?"
"I don't know. To impress me or something? Or you're just, like, insane"
"We tell you all of this. I mean, top-secret stuff", Lucas said. "Risking our lives. And this is how you react?"
"Risking your lives?"
"Oh, so this is funny to you?"
"Yeah. I mean...kind of funny. Stupid, but funny"
She got up to leave. "Where are you going?" Rosie said.
"Story time's over, isn't it?"
They went after her as she stomped off. "What's wrong with you? I gave what you wanted", Rosie said.
"I wanted to be a part of the group, not part of some joke"
"It's not a joke"
"You did a good job, okay? You can go tell the others I believed your lies if it gets you experience points or whatever"
She tried to leave again but Lucas grabbed her arm. "We have a lot of rules in our party, but the most important is, "Friends don't lie", he said, letting go. "Never ever. No matter what".
"Is that right? Then how do you explain this?"
She went over to the machine, took off the out of order sign and placed it on Lucas' chest. "We had to do that. To protect you", he sighed, taking it off.
"To protect me from who exactly? The big bad government baddies from Hawkins Lab?"
"Lower your voice"
"Maybe it was to protect me from the Demogorgon from another dimension?"
"Max, I'm serious, shut up!"
"Oh, no, no! You know what it was? It was Eleven. The girl–"
She shoved his palm onto her mouth, shutting her up instantly. "Stop talking", he warned again with wide eyes. "You're going to get us killed. Do you understand?" She lowered his hand. "You're serious?" she said. "I really wish we weren't", Rosie said.
"Prove it"
"We can't"
"So what? I'm supposed to just trust you?"
"Yes"
Interrupting their discussion was the sound of a car engine revving and tires screeching. Max looked outside to find Billy waiting for her in his car. "Shit. I gotta go. Um...", she said. "Don't follow me out. Okay?" "Do you believe us?" Rosie called after her. She didn't answer, running over to the car and getting in. They drove off. Rosie grabbed Lucas' hand and squeezed it.
"What if they tried to replicate that? The more attention we bring to ourselves, the more people like the Hollands know the truth, the more likely that scenario becomes. You see why I have to stop the truth from spreading, too. Just the same as those weeds there. By whatever means necessary". The tape recorder clicked as Murray sat in stunned silence. "So, is it enough?" Nancy asked him. "The tape recording. Is it enough? Is it incriminating?" He stood up and walked off, leaving the three teenagers to share confused looks. They followed to the kitchen to find him pouring vodka into a beaker. "What are you doing?" Mandi said. "Thinking", he replied.
"With vodka?"
"It's a central nervous system depressant. So yes, with vodka"
He shook the vodka in a cocktail shaker before pouring it into a glass. He walked over to his record player, picking up a sleeve and looking at it. "Music? Really?" Nancy questioned.
"Yes. It helps me..."
"What? Think?" Jonathan said.
He sighed heavily, putting the record on. He picked up his glass again and walked around the room. "How long is this gonna take?" Nancy said.
"Longer if you keep talking"
"Is the tape incriminating or not? It's a simple question"
He laughed. "There's nothing simple about it. Nothing simple about anything you've told me"
"You don't believe us, do you?" Mandi said.
"I believe you, but that's not the problem. You don't need me to believe you. You need them to believe you"
"Them?"
"Them. With a capital "T". Your priest, your postman, your teacher, the world at large". He scoffed. "They won't believe any of this"
"That's why we made the tape", Nancy said.
"Oh. That's easy to bury. Easy"
"He admits it. You heard it. He admits culpability"
"You're being naive, Nancy! Those people...". He chuckled. "They're not wired like me and you, okay? They don't spend their lives trying to get a look at what's behind the curtain. They like the curtain. It provides them stability, comfort, definition. This...this would open the curtain, and open the curtain behind that curtain, okay? So the minute someone with an ounce of authority calls bullshit, everyone will nod their heads and say, "See? Ha! I knew it! It was bullshit". That is, if you even get their attention at all"
"So you're saying we did all of this for nothing?"
"I'm saying, I'm thinking"
He raised his glass and took a sip, wincing. "Ooh!" he grunted, walking back over to the kitchen. "This is ridiculous", Mandi said.
"That's it. That's it!"
"What's it?"
"It's just too strong. Too strong"
He poured club soda into his glass and sipped it, nodding. "Better", he said, pouring more in. "Perfect". "We water it down", Nancy said.
"Precisely"
"Wait. What?" Jonathan said.
"Your story. We moderate it. Just like this drink here. We make it more tolerable. Perhaps Barbara was exposed to some dangerous toxins"
"A leak from the lab. Like Three Mile Island or something"
"Something scary but familiar"
He placed three glasses of vodka and club soda in front of them. "Close enough that it hits the man right where it hurts", he said. "And those assholes that killed Barb...", Nancy said, raising her glass.
"They'll go down"
They all raised their glasses and took a big sip.
hope you enjoyed! comment your opinions!