_________
c h a p t e r s i x t y
Now at a gas station somewhere in Nevada, Bianca leans against the wall with annoyance on her face as she listens to Jonathan try and fail to book a flight to Indiana.
"No, no, like I said, I-I've tried everyone. Yeah TWA, PanAm, Eastern... No, it doesn't have to be a one-way. I'll take one seat, if you have it. I mean, please, there has to be something you can do."
She shakes her head at the clear no he was receiving, glancing over at El, who was staring at a billboard in the distance.
"One of our family members is really sick, and I don't know if she's gonna make it through the night. Is there any way you could just... No, no, no. Like I said before, I've tried them already," he continues. "Okay, well, is this anyway I could speak to a manager?"
He keeps going back and forth before eventually hanging the phone back on the hook.
"What happened?"
"Earliest is tomorrow."
"No, that's way too late," Mike frowns.
"Yeah, El said she saw them making a plan this morning. We need to be there in the next four hours," Bianca argues.
"Hey dudes, plus dudette," Argyle calls over. "Ask 'em if we can ride in the baggage compartment."
"The baggage compartment?" she furrows her eyebrows.
"Yeah, dudette, you could definitely fit," he responds, making her look to the side in disbelief.
"Not the issue here."
"We'd suffocate."
"Dogs ride in there all the time, man. They don't suffocate."
"I have a way," El interrupts, and you can practically hear the rest of the group cheer internally. "A way to protect Max. From here."
"Do tell, Wonder Woman," Bianca looks up in intrigue.
She then guides them over to the van, using the dust-covered window to illustrate her idea.
"This is Sam. 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 Sam's. She can carry me to Vecna. I can piggyback. I can protect her, from One. Fight him from here."
"Mind fight. Righteous."
"Wait, so you actually think this could work?" Mike eagerly questions.
"A bathtub would help."
"Yeah, gotta be clean to enter the mind."
"Oh, my God," Bianca whispers to herself, hand over her face. "It's a sensory deprivation tank, not a bubble bath."
"It helps her calm down and focus on her powers."
"Wait, we just passed a motel."
"Yeah, but they won't have enough salt."
"Well, how much salt are we talking here, my dudes?" Argyle asks.
"Well, depends on the size of the tub, but a lot," Jonathan responds.
"Why?" Bianca peers over, having a feeling he might actually be going somewhere with this.
"Would 600 pounds suffice?"
"You know a place that has 600 pounds of salt?"
He then approaches El, literally sizing her up before grinning. "Yep, it'll work."
"What will work?" she scrunches up her face.
"I know a magical place that has all you need, my brave, little superpowered friend. The mind fight is on."
"You know, I'm starting to enjoy his eccentricity," Bianca whispers to Mike, who slowly nods.
"Come on. ¡Vámonos! Let's go! Pronto!"
"We get the point," Bianca chuckles, climbing in the van.
She didn't want anyone to know, but she was actually more scared than ever knowing her sister was essentially the bait in the fight against Vecna. A fight that required El's assistance. A fight that they could lose.
And all she could do was sit here in Nevada and wait.
______
Speaking of Sam, she was now at Creel House with the rest of her group, using bug zappers to try and locate Vecna.
She pads through the bedroom, growing tired or the light remaining still, when Erica comes, holding up a note.
FOUND VECNA
They rally everyone else over to the living room, watching as the lamp grows brighter every few seconds.
The child writes another note, pointing it at her and Lucas.
PHASE ONE?
They nod, Sam gulping as they closer and closer to her part of the plan. Her potentially very deadly part of the plan.
She shares a look with Dawn as Erica runs out to the play structure to alert everyone else.
"It's gonna be fine, it's gonna be fine," she whispers to herself.
______
Shortly after, Argyle parks the car, letting them out at another Surfer Boy Pizza.
"You gotta be shitting me."
"Trust me on this one, my dudes," he assures, leading them in.
"My sister is in danger, I'm willing to try anything," Bianca shrugs.
"Surf's up, my dudes," Argyle alerts the boy at the counter, who seemed just as high as Argyle always is.
"Uh, woah," he grins. "Nice shirt, my dude."
"Thanks, my dude."
"Uh, listen, I would love to feed a fellow Surfer Boy, but the kitchen closed, like, five minutes ago, so no more pies tonight, man."
"That's alright, my dude. We're not here for your tasty pies. You see this weird girl behind me?" Argyle nods to El. "She needs a tub with a bunch of salt so we can enhance her psychic power so she can save the world from the super bad dude. But to make this salty tub, we require your kitchen."
"Ah..." he looks to the side. "Well, it's just, uh... I'm supposed to meet Chaz at Taco Bell, in, like, ten. So..."
They blankly stare at him, Bianca getting this close to just running past him into the kitchen, because, let's face it, he is not in the state of mind to chase a bunch of teens.
"My dude? We're not asking for your help for free," Jonathan cuts in, gaining his attention. "You ever partake in Purple Palm Tree Delight? It'll make all your troubles float away. Like the seed pods of a dandelion in the wind."
He then holds up the joint in Argyle's pocket and the boy accepts faster than they could blink, allowing them to run to the back.
Argyle guides them to the freezer, picking up a frozen dough ball.
"First ever mind fight held in a pizza dough freezer. Pretty rad, right?"
"Rad indeed," Bianca high-fives him before they all get to work on preparing the makeshift sensory deprivation tank.
Unloading the freezer, moving everything around, filling it with salt.
"Mike, get the sunglasses from the car, I have an idea," Bianca directs the boy as she opens another salt bag and pours it in.
He agrees, quickly running off and returning with the shades.
_____
Back at Creel House, Sam was patiently waiting for a signal to continue on to the next phase, sketching with Dawn in the meantime.
Lucas and Max were on the other side of the room, having some sort of silent conversation of their own.
The blonde passes her a note, noticing the way her leg was bouncing a mile a minute.
YOU OKAY?
HATE WAITING :(
IT'LL BE FINE - ROB'S A SLOW WALKER
TRUE
WHAT ARE YOU DRAWING?
Sam then turns the page around, revealing what Dawn recognized to be a picture of her, Sam, Steve, and Robin from last summer.
They were at Hawkins Eats, which had finally recovered from the financial disaster that was Starcourt Mall, recovering from a pool day by joking over an order of milkshakes when the waitress offered to take a picture of them. She said it reminded her of her youth.
It was also one of the best days they had that summer.
"Dawn, that's disgusting," Steve screws his face up at the blonde dipping her fry in the shake.
"It's a French fry, not a chicken tender. Stop being a baby," she tosses one at him.
"I for one, think it's an excellent combination," Robin agrees.
"Sam?"
"To each their own," she puts her hands up. "But sweet and salty is a great combination."
"I cannot believe this," Steve shakes his head.
"How does it feel, Steven? She likes us more than you," Dawn teases, she and Robin sticking their tongues out at him.
"Yeah, right," he wraps his arm around the brunette, who chuckles.
"Oh, let's play never have I ever," Sam grins.
"They're gonna kick us out of here, you know," Robin looks at the kitchen staff cleaning the rest of the restaurant.
"No way, they love us," Dawn shakes her head.
"I believe the game requires alcohol."
"We drank so much today I think we're good," Sam shakes her head. "We'll do it the PG-13 way."
"Okay... Never have I ever tried to flirt with a teacher to pass a class," Robin looks directly at Steve.
"You are evil," he reluctantly puts a finger down.
"No freaking way," Sam snorts.
"You really are a slut," Dawn laughs.
"It was Miss Click, and it got me suspended for 2 weeks," he admits.
"You told us you were suspended for skipping," Sam remembers.
"Apparently the Harrington charm has its limits."
"The class wasn't even hard," Sam chuckles.
"When you barely show up, it is," he shrugs.
The waitress then walks over, smiling warmly with a Polaroid camera. "Hey, kiddos. Hate to bother but you guys just remind me so much of me and my friends when we were young. I can take a picture for you all. Preserve the memory."
"Sure. Thanks, Rosie," Sam grins, leaning back into Steve's arms before making a silly face.
"Say cheese!"
"Cheese!"
She smiles not only at the memory but at Sam's sheer talent.
TRES MAGNIFIQUE
Sam silently chuckles before nodding to her sheet, to which she turns over to reveal a sketch of her and Sam at a concert. They were wearing the same outfits they wore to their first concert back in 1980.
IS THIS FLEETWOOD MAC?
AKA THE BEST NIGHT EVER?
YES
Before Sam can respond, she spots the light flashing at their window, bursting their nostalgic bubble.
TIME TO GO
Weird how such a normal phrase can turn ominous at the drop of a hat.
______
a/n: spooky scary